Winds of Change

A cool breeze blew past a Shura lost in thought. Her silver hair blew in front of her, soft waves gently brushing against her face. Standing atop of Pandora's Platform, she watched as the sun set over the fields of Eversun South. The blue sky slowly slowly became a mixture of red, purple, orange and yellow. She smiled softly as she looked down below and watched as two baby Pupus ran after their mother as they headed home. All the while her fingers were wrapped around her necklace. Her thumb traced over the design, a heart shaped pendant with a small stone in the middle. Another breeze blew as the Shura tightened her grip on the pendant and closed her eyes.

Its an Amethyst

Oh Mjrn darling....you shouldn't have

Like it?

Love it

Words echoed through her mind as the breeze blew against her back. She took a deep breath and grasped the necklace with her entire hand. The words replayed in her mind over and over, distracting her from everything, even the sound of approaching footsteps.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd call you a runaway bride"

The Shura's eyes snapped open recognizing the voice. She didn't turn around and kept her grip on the pendant. The voice was soft, but had a darkness to it. It was stirring but calming in its own way. Not something she ever thought she would like but something she knew she would grow accustomed to. Either way, it was nothing compared to.....

"Well....more like future bride. Considering we just announced our engagement"

The Shura couldn't help but grin. She watched as the last of the setting sun fell behind the far mountains, leaving nothing but dark blue sky and lighting the world with bright scattered stars.

"So tell me, what's my Angel doing way out here? Please don't say you're getting cold feet"

The Shura released her hold on the pendant and turned around. She continued to smile as she looked into the eyes of her Fiancé. She stared into deep blue eyes, hair as dark as the night, it too flying against the wind. Tall frame with a strong build covered by a black suit. A smile plastered on that rugged face.

She walked forward, gently placing her hand on that rugged cheek. She smiled as she spoke, "Of course not. The party was just getting a little too crowded. I just wanted to get some fresh air"

A wave of relief passed over those blue eyes as the smile widened, "Good. You had me worried for a second there"

The Shura shook her head, silver hair dancing on top of her shoulders, "Don't be, there's nothing to be worried about"

"I love you Mjrn"

Each time she heard those words, she felt a cold shock pass throughout her body. She was happy but at the same time......either way, she still smiled each time she heard them.

"I love you too Sabin"


Pacing back and forth in the library, a golden haired human mumbled to himself causing two Sylphs to watch in confusement. Tilting her head, a pink haired Sylph looked over to her left. Though he wore dark glasses, it wasn't hard to tell the look the silver haired Sylph was giving off.

Continuing to pace, the golden haired human broke the silence as he spoke, "When was he kidnapped?"

The pink haired Sylph cleared her throat before speaking, "I believe around noon. From what I've heard, he received a letter asking to meet in the Academy of mirrors. Apparently there was a matter of extreme importance. I suppose he thought the letter was from a higher power, aka the Chasm King so he told his guards he would go alone"

"Does anyone know where exactly he was kidnapped?"

"Well that's the thing, he was seen entering the Academy. He just...never exited"

The human rubbed his jaw in thought, "What I don't understand is what anyone would benefit from kidnapping an Elder. I mean...everyone knows no one would negotiate in terms of ransom. I even remember Celica telling me it was impossible to kidnap an Elder. Well....until now that is"

Celica gestured over to a book her Sylph friend had been holding, "Binks and I did some research"

Binks nodded as he looked from the Celica to the human, "Uh....I think you may want to sit down for this Lucx"

Lucx's expression dropped as he looked from Celica to Binks, "After this I'm taking a very long vacation"


"97...98...99...100"

An old man counted as he slowly dropped coins into a waiting hand. A soft smile appeared on the face of a Shura female. Her face was dirty, her clothes were torn and covered in dirt as well. Her black hair was messy and had lost its shine. Her chocolate eyes showing no other emotion except for exhaustion and sadness.

"Thank you"

The old man looked to her and then to the big bear standing behind her. It was golden, though it too was covered in dirt. Its fur was messy and small cuts were spead throughout its body. Poor thing seemed as though it was about to collapse of exhaustion.

"I must say, I would have never thoguht that you two alone would have been able to get the job done, but you did. Amazingly I might add. I cannot thank you enough, and I speak for everyone in this town when I say we were forever in your debt"

The Shura smiled as she shook her head, an ache in her neck causing her to wince at the pain, "It was our pleasure. I'm glad we were able to help you. We may not look like much, but Snuffy and I are pretty tough"

The old man's smile faded as he saw the girl in pain, "Please, you've done so much. Would you at least spend the night in our Inn? You can rest there for as long as you wish"

The Shura hesitated but the thought of sleeping in a warm soft bed sounded heavenly, not to mention a nice hot shower, "Okay, but we can only stay for one night"

The old man's smile returned as he started walking, "That's perfectly fine. Come this way and I'll take you to the Inn"


Mjrn slumped into her chair as she heard the words come from Celica's mouth. The rest of the guild were silent, waiting for Mjrn's next response. Everyone was gathered for a meeting, the long rectangle table stretched to the far ends of the room, some guildmates seemed afraid, others showed no emotion at all.

"But how is that even possible? No one has ever dared to kidnap an Elder before, nothing good can come out of it. Not even Phoenix has attempted such a thing"

Celica folded her hands on top of the table and looked at Mjrn, "You do have a point and considering the powers the Elders hold, it makes no sense why anyone would want to disrupt the balance"

Mjrn nodded in response and looked around the room. Some of the newer members began talking amongst themselves while the veteran members continued to wait patiently, great concern showing in their eyes. Mjrn stood up, placing both hands on the table as she spoke.

"Since the beginning of time, there has always been three Elders balancing out all life in the Mirror World. It is said that there is a fortress where the Chasm King resides that holds three crystals which act as life lines for the Elders. Whenever a crystal begins to darken in color, the Chasm King sends word to King Colette and thus begins the process of choosing a new Elder to replace the one soon to fall from his pedestal"

Mjrn's eyes scanned around the room. Blue and Amber, both fierce as she watched as the information slowly sank in before continuing, "Though an Elder didn't necessarily 'fall' he was pulled from his pedestal thus disrupting the balance"

The chatter became louder but slowly calmed as Celica rose to speak, "We have one week to get the Elder back on his pedestal"

A shy Sylph raised her hand, her sleeve from her kimono covered her fingers as she slowly waved it back and forth. Her golden blonde bangs swayed in front of her eyes. Mjrn looked over to her and nodded.

"Go ahead Kooh"

"Um....what happens if we don't get the Elder back in time? What'll happen after the week is up?"

All eyes turned to Mjrn and then slowly looked at Celica, "I'll tell you in 7 days"

"Your room is upstairs to the left. Please let me know if there's anything more you need. Once again thank you for all that you've done" The old man smiled as he made a gesture over to the stairs in the back of the room.

Liah smiled and nodded as she looked around the gathering hall of the Inn. It looked old, slightly dirty with a bar in the back. Bandits, gang leaders and old men gathered around a large table in the far rear. Other scattered tables where people ate and talked amongst themselves.

Home sweet home Liah thought to herself.

As she walked over to the stairs, she felt fingers close around her wrist. Cold and clammy, sandy even as if they were covered in salt. Liah stopped walking and took a breath, tried once to pull her arm away with no result. Her eyes narrowed but she never turned around.

"You better have a good excuse for grabbing me. You also better give it while you release my hand"

A raspy laugh boomed behind her. Each second that passed, Liah grew more and more upset. She clenched her fist slowly losing patience.

"I won't ask again. Next time you'll just have to let me know what my fist tastes like"

"Oh feisty, I love that quality in a woman. Don't worry sweetheart, I'm not going to hurt you" A raspy voice to match the laugh, both succeeding very well in worsening Liah's mood.

"Trust me, I have no concern with you hurting me"

"I'm sure you don't, I've been watching you. I know very well that you can handle yourself"

Liah's head turned slightly to the side. Trying once again to pull her hand away with no result, she finally turned around. She looked the man up and down. He was short, big round belly with grease stains all over his shirt. He had a long beard with what Liah could only hope to be cheese stuck on it. His hair was slicked back, greasy as if he used it to clean his hands. Liah made a face of disgust as she looked at the man.

"Watching me have you?"

"Oh yes, and I must say I'm impressed. I want you to work for me"

"Thanks but I'll pass. I don't work with grease-monkeys"

"I'm sure this will be a job you won't want to pass up. Lots of money is involved, and by the looks of the payment you just received from that big job you pulled, I'd say you need the money"

Liah glared the man as she took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of cheese and grease. Feeling sick to her stomach but growing more irritated with the man. She did need the money.

The man smiled as he pulled out a chair for Liah to sit, "Have a seat, we have much to discuss"


Mjrn stood by a window in her office looking out into the courtyard. Deep in thought she rubbed her hand behind her neck, loosening out tension. Five fingers soon became ten as she tensed at the feeling of someone else's touch.

"Don't worry, its just me. I'm sorry if I scared you"

Sabin stood behind her. Seeing her so tense he opted to help give her a massage. Seeing her response though he pulled away and even backed away giving Mjrn space.

She quickly turned around shaking her head, "No its fine, and sorry for acting weird. I just have a lot to deal with"

"I understand, I'm just worried about you. I know you're chairperson but you don't have to deal with this alone. That's what I'm here for. After all, the sooner we can get this whole Elder thing solved the sooner we can start planning our wedding"

Mjrn tried to smile but instead ended up biting her lip and nodded. She opened her mouth to speak just as there was a knock at the door.

"Come in"

A silver haired Sprite opened the door and peered inside. Big blue eyes scanned the room, stopping at the sight of Mjrn and Sabin as he stood by the doorway.

"I'm sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything"

"You're not Kaz, is everything alright?"

"Well yes and no. I was walking around the court square when I overheard chatter from the townspeople. Apparently the Darkdale Elder was seen in two different areas in the last hour. Over by the water near East Sea Plains, and also by the mountains leading to Blakatoa Peak"

Mjrn looked at Kaz then over at Sabin in confusion, "Within the last hour are you sure?"

"I'm positive, I mean the people themselves could be wrong but that's what I heard"

"Its very odd. Climbing the mountain alone takes at least three hours. Not to mention the hike from the base to the Plains. I doubt there could have been sightings so close together in time"

"Yeah I agree, though I wanted to look more into it if that's okay. Maybe check over by East Sea Plains"

"Please, also would you mind taking Kao and Kooh with you? It would be easier to cover more ground and kill time just in case. I'm going to send Celica and Zion to the mountains. Hopefully we'll find what we're looking for"

Kaz nodded as he started to walk out towards the door, "I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything"


"Are you certain it was the Darkdale Elder that was kidnapped?"

"Positive"

"But...that's impossible. Nothing good can come out of kidnapping an Elder, no one would be stupid enough to try it"

"Well sorry to burst your bubble sweet cheeks but that's what happened. Now are you and I going to become heroes or what?"

Liah's eyes narrowed as she stared at the man, "Sounds kinda...off. How did you hear about the Elder? And why do you need me to help you anyway? Wouldn't it be better to go out and find him yourself? I mean with me around you'd have to cut whatever reward is being handed out"

The man rolled his eyes and sighed, "Honey, everyone knows about the Elder. I'm surprised you haven't. And I need your help because well.....have you seen me? I've seen how you and your bear work. In any situation I know you will be a good ally to have around. Now, do we have a deal or what? Time's wastin' cutie pie"

Now Liah's eyes rolled. The pet names were getting really old. She was growing more and more annoyed, the feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't going away. Either way she knew the consequences of disrupting the balance of power. She wouldn't do it for the money or even to help out the greasy old man.

"Fine, count me in"


Standing on a pier by the water, Kaz looked around for any sign of the Elder. He stared out into the ocean hearing his name in the distance.

"Kaz! Come here!"

Following the sound of Kooh's voice, he turned around and jogged towards her and Kao. Standing between them was a skinny man, his clothes ragged and dirty, fear in his eyes as he looked down at the big bow in Kaz's hand.

"What's up? Who's this?"

"This guy here says he saw a big group of bandits make camp on the beach two days ago. He says they left this morning roughly right after dawn"

Kaz looked over at the man, "Was there any activity during their stay here? Did anyone come or leave?"

The man was hesitant to answer as if scared Kaz would hurt him, "Well umm...one guy did leave. He was alone but he never came back"

"When did he leave?"

"Umm..shortly after making camp here with the others"

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

"He umm...he was short and kind of fat. Slick hair, kinda greasy"


"So remind me again why we have to climb this mountain?"

Liah stretched her arm up to a small ledge above her pulling herself up. Little by little climbing up towards the peak of the mountain.

"Its the fastest and safest way to reach the peak. I heard from some people that there's a bandit camp somewhere near the top. Don't worry sweetheart, we're nearly there"

Safe? Yeah right

"Okay, if you're going to address me from here on in its going to be by my actual name. No sweetie, no sweetheart, baby cakes or whatever. Its Liah"

"Pretty name. Although, I think I prefer sweetheart"

Liah rolled her eyes as she kept climbing. She struggled to see in front of her, clouds covered the full moon making it harder to see. Liah reached up to grab hold of a rock. It broke off as soon as she tried to pull herself up. She slipped, dangling by one hand on the ledge slowly losing her grip. Her heart nearly stopped at the sight of how high she actually was.

These are the times I really hate my fear of heights

"Whoa, hold on. Try to grab that ledge over to your right"

Liah glanced over to her right, taking a deep breath and swung her arm over to grab the ledge. She held on tight and picked herself up, her arms feeling like they were on fire.

"Whoa that was a close one. You okay?"

"Yeah...I'm good. Lets just hurry and reach the top before something like that happens again, or worse"

"Good idea"

"By the way, I didn't ask for your name grease-monkey"

"Its Kor, not grease-monkey"

Liah grinned wide, "I think I prefer grease-monkey"

Before Kor could comment, Liah reached a clearing in the mountain. She motioned down to Kor to stop climbing as she peered over the edge. Confused, he whispered up to her.

"What's the hold up? Do you see anything?"

Liah kept at eye level to see over the clearing, "Looks like we found the bandit camp. There's a few tents"

"How many?"

"8......10.....I count 15.There's also a big tent in the center, I don't see anyone going inside it though and there's three metal guardians sleeping beside it"

"That has to be the Elder. Come on, lets take out those guys and save him"

"Wait, wait. Don't be so hasty. This sounds a little...easy"

"Easy? You said 15 tents right? That's at least 3 bandits per tent, more guards and three metal guardians outside the big tent. I think that's a challenge right there"

"No no I mean...we're talking the Darkdale Elder here. To pull off a kidnapping would take some serious skill. I doubt a group of 50 or so sloppy bandits could pull it off and leave him so poorly guarded"

"Amateurs?"

"Or a trap"

"Either way, are you going to risk his life over a hunch?"

Liah gripped the rock ledge hard. The feeling in the pit of her stomach worsened but she knew Kor was right, something had to be done one way or another.

Mjrn always said I hit first and asked questions later

"Well? What's it going to be Princess?"

Liah sighed as she started to climb over the edge, "Let's go"


"No one is to scale the mountain. Its off limits due to a recent death. Please, return to where you came from"

"Death?"

"Yes, a man went missing a month ago and his body was found hidden within the mountain. Until further investigation, no one is allowed anywhere near this mountain. I'm only asking one more time, go back home"

"Tooouchy"

"What was that?"

Celica quickly placed her hand over Zion's mouth, "He didn't say anything. We were leaving. Thank you for your help"

Zion mumbled under Celica's hand as she guided him towards the road leading back to town. She rolled her eyes as he continued to struggle, muttering words. She bonked him on the head when she thought he uttered a curse. Smiling she let him go to rub his head.

"Ow Cel. I said that guy's hat looked like a ship"

"Meh, better safe than sorry. Either way I don't trust them. Kinda sloppy to be palace guards eh?"

"I suppose but what are we supposed to do no--wait, there's someone on the mountain"

Celica looked up, scanning the mountain as best as she could in the dark but saw nothing, "Where? I don't see anything"

"Two people just climbed over. I didn't see much, though one looked like a Shura"

"Something's going on up there. That entrance is the only way up the mountain. We're going to have to wait it out. Hide in the bushes"


"INTRU-"

With all her might, Liah threw her fist at the bandit to silence him. His body fell limp to the floor. Quickly, quietly she and Kor took down the metal guardians. Avoiding the sleeping bandits in their tents, she signaled for Kor to wait outside as she slowly opened the tent.

"Wait out here and keep watch. I'll go in and rescue the Elder. Signal if you hear or see anything"

Liah entered the tent, darker than outside as she tried to feel her way around. Her ears twitched and heard....nothing. A strong metallic smell filled the air. A bed was over at the far end, someone was laying on it, unmoving....something was wrong.

Cautiously Liah approached the bed and whispered, "Your grace? Elder my lord I'm here to save you. Hello...?"

"Liah? Hurry I think I see someone coming"

Kor's voice from outside was ignored as Liah placed her hand on the body laying on the bed and immediately her hand felt wet. The metallic scent became stronger as she flipped the body over. She stared into the eyes of a dead Elder. Drenched in blood as the body rolled over pressing onto her body. She backed up in horror as her hands and clothes were now as bloody as the body itself.

"Liah. We have to move now. Someone is coming"

Entering the tent Kor stared in horror at Liah then over to the Elder, "M-murderer...you...you killed him"

"N-no...I didn't do it. I-"

Before Liah could utter another syllable, Kor ran out of the tent screaming at the top of his lungs awaking the sleeping bandits. Liah rushed out to grab him but soon became surrounded by heavily armed bandits. Her eyes darted back and forth, sizing up each and every one of the bandits, holding her ground and clenching her fists waiting for them to strike.

All at once they attacked her, taking stance she leaped into the air and came down slamming the ground with an enormous shudder shaking the entire ground. Bandits lost their footing and fell to the ground, others came rushing at her full speed, weapons extended. She fought them off, punching and kicking. Her ears flinched at a whistling sound, suddenly

WOOSH

An arrow grazed her cheek, causing a small trickle of blood to stream down her cheek. She turned to the direction of the arrow to reveal more bandits, armed with bows and arrows all pointed at her head. Before she could act further she was punched in the stomach causing her to keel over in pain.

"Give it up Liah. You've lost. There's no sense in dying here" Kor spoke from behind the mass circle of bandits

Coward. Traitor. This is so not over

Liah glared Kor and then the other bandits with mass anger and hatred as she finally dropped her fists to her sides. All of a sudden she felt a sharp pain in the back of her head and she soon started seeing spots before her eyes. She fell to her knees as a stone fell beside her covered in blood. Her blood. Dizzy, her vision began to darken as Kor and the bandits closed in on her. She fought to stay awake, growing weaker by the second. Liah finally fell to the ground, her eyes feeling heavy as her world went black.

5 Days Left

Celica, Lucx, Zion and Sabin rushed down the hallway to catch up to Mjrn. Walking as fast as they could and still she kept distance even slowly pulling away. Stepping out of the guild castle and headed for town as they nearly jogged to catch up.

"So you're telling me that the Elder is really dead, they have the murderer in custody for nearly two days and no one knows who he is?"

"Exactly, and on top of that a new Elder hasn't even been chosen yet so in reality the clock is still ticking" Celica nearly shouted so that Mjrn could hear.

"Why is it taking so long? I thought they would have had one already on standby" Lucx looked over at Celica and Zion then to Sabin.

"Its a long process. You also have to remember this Elder was supposed to remain on his pedestal for another 400 years. No one was even considering a kidnapping yet alone a murder" Celica brushed the hair from her face, pink strands falling into her eyes as she walked against the wind.

"Whatever the case, lets just get there so we can verify the murderer's identity" Mjrn said over her back.

Sabin stopped walking, Celica, Zion and Lucx noticed and they too stopped with Mjrn keeping her pace, "Why are we even still bothering with this? I mean I understand everyone in the Mirror World is basically involved but why are we personally involving ourselves? Shouldn't we just leave this up to the authorities?"

Mjrn stopped walking, never turning around as she spoke over her back, "I just wan to see for myself who did it okay?"

Sabin sighed and nodded as he, Celi, Zion and Lucx rushed to catch up. All the while words echoed in Mjrn's mind.

What is it Zi?

The Darkdale Elder has been killed.

Killed...but how?

Its still being investigated but boss....there's something you should know...

What's wrong?

The person they have in custody. The supposed murderer...

Go on...

Its a female shura....boss...she had bunny ears...

Mjrn walked up to the large prison gates with Celica, Lucxene, Zion and Sabin trailing close behind. Thick steel bars stretched high in the sky with lots of barbed wire covering the tips. At the entrance, two large Shura males stood guard. Both were covered from head to toe in heavy armor, each holding a long glowing spear. As soon as Mjrn and the others approached the gates, the guards crossed the spears together making an "X" and stopping any further advance.

"No one is to enter. We have a dangerous murderer in custody and at this moment she's being.....questioned"

They both laughed as Mjrn cast a glance over her shoulder at Celica and the others. To these guards, questioning was just a fancy word for torture. Mjrn clenched her fists in anger and frustration, opening her mouth to speak as Celica placed her hand gently on Mjrn's shoulder. She stepped to the side giving way for Celica to pass as she looked both of the guards in the eye.

"I'm sorry, I don't think you've met Mjrn. She's the Chairperson of Chaotic Dragons and a dear, dear friend of the Chasm King. I believe you remember that Bad Snake incident three years ago. I don't think either of you would like it if she were to tell the King she was denied entry because two guards decided to play the tough guy roll today"

The guards cast a sideways glance at one another and removed their spears from their position. One stepped aside as the other opened the gate and then he too stepped aside.

"Our apologies, we're just trying to keep order among the people. Please step right inside the door on the right, the prisoner will be brought out to you"

Mjrn and the others entered the gate and stepped into the courtyard and towards the door as Celica smiled and followed. Mjrn twisted the knob and stepped inside a large empty room with a chair in the center and another door at the other end. Sabin closed the door behind him and everyone waited in silence, listening to the occasional groans and screams through the thin walls. Soon after, they heard the echo of footsteps. The knob turned and the door was flung open, two more Shura guards entered dragging in a smaller Shura female by her arms.

She was cut, bruised and bleeding. Her dark hair fell over her eyes, shielding them as Mjrn's heart began to pound. Her clothes were torn and dirty but her ears were a dead giveaway. Hanging low with minor cuts on them, her bunny ears were unmistakable.

Liah...

The guards dragged her by the arms and tossed her into the middle of the room. She fell to her hands and knees as Mjrn instinctively stepped forward but stopped herself as Celica grabbed her arm. Liah's shoulders began to shake, she was laughing.

"Very nice hospitality boys but next time you should throw me a little bit harder, you didn't break my other arm"

One of the guards growled low then smiled as he placed his foot on Liah's back and pressed down, shoving her completely to the floor. Mjrn quickly sprung from Celi's grip and stood between Liah and the guards.

"That's enough. We'll take it from here, you two monkeys can wait outside"

The other guard growled at Mjrn as Celi and Zion helped Liah off the ground, "You have 10 minutes"


Kaz, Kooh and Kao were approaching Darkdale. Kaz had been strangely silent since they had left East Sea Plains and slowly began to drawn his bow. Kooh and Kao noticed his actions and they too readied their weapons.

"What's going on?" Kooh whispered

"Someone is following us"

Before Kaz could say another word, vines sprouted from the ground and surrounded him and the others. The vines wrapped around their legs and arms, holding them in place and locking hard on their wrists and ankles. The vines squeezed tightly until Kaz, Kooh and Kao were forced to release their weapons, dropping them to the ground. The more they struggled against the vines, the more they constricted, squeezing the air from their lungs. Kaz tried to reach for a small knife he had in his back pocket as he watched Kooh and Kao go limp from lack of oxygen. He struggled and reached as much as he could for the knife before darkness began to overwhelm his vision. No air...eyelids closing slowly...

FLASH!

A swift swipe of a blade and the vines around his neck and chest were cut, sweet beautiful air was welcomed. Another flash as the remaining vines around his arms and legs were cut too and he fell forward on his hands and knees along with Kooh and Kao. Gasping for air as they looked up at a smiling dark haired boy, his massive sword rested on his shoulders.

"Drag....you're...my...hero" Kaz spoke in between breaths.

Drag smiled and even blushed and he stretched out his hand to help Kaz stand, "Aw it was nothing, you've done the same for me lots of times before. By the way uh....why were you guys picking a fight with vines anyway?"

Kaz slowly rose to his feet as did Kao and Kooh, "Someone had been following us. I had a bad feeling right after leaving ESP but I didn't realize it until it was too late. Apparently whatever we learned out there isn't to be told to anyone else"

Drag's smile faded as he motioned his head towards town, "Well then, all the better to hurry and tell Mjrn and the rest of the guild. Lets head back to the Castle"


Celica and Zion gently helped Liah to her feet. As she rose, her eyes locked with Mjrn's as she offered a very soft smile, "Hello Mjrn"

Tears filled Mjrn's eyes as she slowly extended a shaky hand and placed it on Liah's cheek. Liah sighed, slowly closing her eyes at the feeling of comfort and warmth of Mjrn's hand. Without thinking, Mjrn slapped Liah across the face causing her head to whip to the side. Everyone looked at her in shock as Liah stroked her now red cheek.

"Okay...I guess I deserved that one"

Mjrn took a step backwards, backing into Sabin who placed his hands softly on her shoulders, "Well, I must say that was surprising but never the less, a murderer's punishment is never good enough. Though...I think there's something I'm missing here. Just who are you?"

Ignoring his question, Liah looked to Celica, Zion, Lucx and lastly Mjrn. She tried to stretch out her left hand but winced in pain as she gripped it with her other arm, "Look, I know this looks bad. I shouldn't have disappeared like I did, but you have to believe me. I didn't kill the Elder"

Mjrn's gaze fell to Liah's arm, staring at the blood that covered her forearm as tears filled her eyes. She proceeded to take a step forward but stopped herself.

Liah decided to take the step forward once again locking her gaze with Mjrn's, "Mjrn...you know me. You know I wouldn't do something like this"

She tried to take another step forward but Mjrn quickly backed up and turned her back to Liah, "No. I thought I knew you"

Liah looked down, unsure of what else to say. She began to take another step forward as Sabin walked between her and Mjrn, "I'd keep my distance if I were you. Murderer"

Liah glared Sabin as her fists and teeth clenched, "Call me that again and I WILL be on trial for murder, though it won't be for the Elder's"

Lucx quickly intervened as Mjrn kept her back towards Liah and the others, "Okay, now's not the time for fighting. We need to figure things out. Liah, just where the heck have you been? How did you survive the explosion two years ago?"

Liah never looked away from Sabin as she shook her head and answered Lucx, "That doesn't matter right now. What matters is that I was set up, and the real person responsible for the death of the Darkdale Elder is still out there. Who knows if he'll go after the other two or not"

Celica looked from Liah to Lucx as she sighed and shook her head, "What I don't understand is why? I mean...its not like you're the sole Chaotic Dragon that's hated throughout the Mirror World. With all due respect to Mjrn, but I would think with her being Chairperson, she would be the first person on the 'Set Up or Kill now' list"

Zion shrugged his shoulders, "Wrong place, wrong time maybe?"

Liah shook her head glancing at Mjrn hoping she'd turn around, "Hardly. I was minding my own business and I was recruited for a supposed rescue mission. Someone clearly went out of their way to make sure I was there to take the fall for the Elder's death"

Mjrn glanced over her shoulder, never turning around as she spoke, "Obviously there's still a lot that needs to be investigated. We best get to it instead of wasting time here"

Liah looked at Mjrn and nodded, "Thank you Mjrn"

"I'm not doing this for you. The Guild went through a great amount of pain when we lost you the first time. I'm not going to put them through that twice"

With his hands folded behind his head, Binks floated peacefully beside a tree in the courtyard. Eyes closed, legs outstretched, feet and arms crossed deep in thought waiting for Mjrn to come back.

"I don't think Mjrn is here"

"What about everyone else?"

"Sounds completely empty"

"HELLOOOOOOO!"

Voices coming from the hallway, Binks' eyes snapped open as he banged his head against the tree trunk.

Well that's going to leave a bump

"Out here!" He called out

Drag and Kaz stepped out into the courtyard with Kao and Kooh trailing close behind.

"Hey Binks, where is everyone?"

Binks stood up and stretched, yawning at the same time as he rubbed the back of his head, "Mjrn went with Lucx, Celi, Zion and Sabin to the prison. Everyone else is probably doing their own thing since Mjrn called off the searches. I know I saw the Slogs out shopping. Mrs. Slog went out on a spree and Slog was dragging behind her carrying all her bags"

Kooh giggled, "I guess he thought that by getting her Super Mega he would get out of stuff like that"

Binks smiled then looked to Kaz, "Is there something wrong? You all look like you've been through hell and back"

"Something like that. When Mjrn gets here we'll go over everything"

Before Binks could reply, Mjrn stepped into the courtyard. Looking down at her feet completely oblivious to everyone, she walked passed them to the far end of the courtyard and rounded a corner.

"Well that doesn't look good. I know she goes back there from time to time but most of all when she needs guidance from Tika"

"We had a very.....interesting time at the prison" Celica waved to Binks and the others.

Zion walked in behind her, waving to the group and tripping on a small rock. Quickly regaining his balance, he glared Kooh and Kao as they laughed.

"How so?" Kaz tried to hold in his laughter, smiling at Celica.

"The one they have in custody....its Liah"

Everyone looked at Celica, eyes widened waiting for her to continue. Kooh's eyes filled with tears as her face lit up, she smiled.

"From what she's told us, she was set up. She was asked on a rescue mission, but the Elder was already dead when she got there"

"Is she okay? What else did she say? Did she tell you what happened to her?" Kooh wiped the tears from her eyes waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, she didn't say much else. Though, the guards did a number on her. By the time we arrived, she was beaten and bruised"

Kaz clenched his fists as he stepped forward, "We have to break her out of there. Even with her fast healing ability, she won't last"

Sabin backed away and walked to where Mjrn had gone. Celica gave him a quick glance then looked over at Lucx as he nodded.

She leaned forward and lowered her voice, "I agree. Though I think we should keep this between us for now. Once everyone goes off to sleep, we'll go get Liah"


Mjrn kneeled on a small patch of grass in front of a grave. The sun's rays reflected off the tip of a spear embedded in the dirt beside the grave. Mjrn reached toward and traced the letters carved in the gravestone: Tika, Friend and Ally.

She sighed deeply as she looked up towards the sky, "I wish you were still here with me"

A light breeze blew, leaves and rose petals glided along the air and around Mjrn. She smiled softly as she leaned back and rested her weight on her heels.

"I know, I know. You're still here. I just wish I could talk to you again. You always knew what to say during times like this"

Another breeze blew as a petals of a tulip fell onto Mjrn's lap. She looked over at the grave beside Tika's. Torn red boxing gloves were set next to the stone, tulip petals covered them.

"What do I do?"

"Solve this mystery along with my help so that we can get married and live happily ever after?"

Startled, Mjrn quickly rose from the ground and turned around. Sabin was walking towards her a frown covering his face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Nor did I mean to ruin a tender moment"

"No no, don't worry about it. Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just wanted to check on you. I'm worried about you"

Sabin wrapped his arms around Mjrn as she looked to the side. He sighed, opening his mouth to speak when he looked up at the gravestones. He looked from Tika's to the one beside it.

Liah, beloved wife and friend

"Is that the same Liah that's locked up?"

Sabin pulled away from Mjrn and looked at her. She nodded slowly, turning her head to look at the gravestone.

"Yes, that's the same person"

"But....she isn't dead"

"Until today, we all thought she was"

"That actually explains a lot yet...so little. You always told me she was someone you treasured more than anything"

"I did"

"Tell me, it says beloved wife. Who is she married to?"

Mjrn turned her head back to Sabin, locking eyes with him as tears slowly filled hers.

"Me"

Ice cold water surrounded Liah's head, numbing her entire face. Having her head dunked inside the bucket repeatedly would have that effect. Her eyes shut tight, her chest frozen and on fire from having swallowed way too much water, she felt a hard tug on her hair, pulling her from the water.

A guard laughed as he tightened his grip around Liah's hair, turning her to face him causing her to wince in pain, "Ready for more?"

She looked at him and smiled same as she had been for the last hour, "Funny, that's the same thing I told your mom when I was about to-"

The guard slammed Liah's head back into the bucket before she could say another word. Since her mouth was open, she swallowed a large amount of water, the ice chunks scratching her throat on the way down.

Her arms were tied behind her back, the chains clanging together as she twisted and pulled on them. She closed her eyes once more, taking in the silence of being underwater, very slowly channeling her energy. Her strength was slowly returning to her and her broken arm was healing.

Just a little longer...


Celica was preparing herself before leaving the Guild Castle. Grabbing little blue vials and loading up with scrolls, she packed them in a little pouch at her waist. She grabbed hold of her wand, her ears twitched at a soft click of the lock on the door behind her.

She spun around, aiming her wand at the door when she saw a spiky ruffle of black hair peek through. Zion quickly entered the room and threw up his hands.

"Don't shoot...err...don't...cast? Meh whatever you get the point. Its only me sis"

Celica smiled as she kept her weapon pointed at Zion's face, "And you point being....?"

Zion's hands fell to his sides as he glared Celica, "You better not"

"No, not tonight.....I need the scrolls"

"....There's something really wrong with you"

A soft knock on the door behind Zion caused him to jump. Celica's eyes narrowed and she nodded to Zion. He turned around and slowly opened the door enough to peek through. He saw Kaz, Kooh and Kao and immediately relaxed. He stepped back and let them enter one by one. Zion closed the door after the last member entered and the four of them waited further instruction. Celica let out a big sigh as she held out five small green earpieces.

"Okay, so these work exactly as the yellow ones we normally wear. Anyone wearing the same color will be able to hear us which is pretty much everyone in this room. Each of you take one so we can perform a sound check"

One by one, everyone grabbed an earpiece from Celica's hand leaving one left. She placed it inside her ear and as soon as she did she heard Binks' voice.

"Can everyone hear me okay?"

Binks was replied to with multiple yeses.

"Great. Celica and I spoke, and we both agreed it would be better if I stayed and monitored you guys from here. Lucx and I have the map layout of the holding cells and we can guide you through underground tunnels to help reach Liah fast and quiet"

"Speaking of Lucx, how come he's been so silent?" Zion tilted his head, confused.

"The only problem with these green earpieces is that if more than 6 are connected, we get very bad interference and they just plain don't work. Its a kink I'll have to work out someday. Either way, I'll relay anything he says"

Celica nodded as she gripped her wand tight in hand, "Alright. Now that everything is all settled, lets go rescue a bunny in distress"

"Just make that left turn at the end of the tunnel and you should see a ladder"

Binks directed Celica and the others as they walked along the dark tunnels. Celica's wand glowed, lighting the way for them as they tried their hardest not to breathe in the thick musty air surrounding them.

"Ugh, it stinks down here. I'm all for saving Auntie Liah and everything, but couldn't Binks have chosen a route a little more....lemony fresh?"

Kaz shrugged his shoulders, "Well....I suppose it could be worse Zi"

"Worse? A million and one reasons not to ask, but what exactly could be worse than this?"

A low growl echoed throughout the tunnels. The sound of splashing water grew louder and louder. Soon, it became much more frequent.

Celica held out her hand, stopping everyone in their tracks. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to see through the darkness. She held out her wand as far out as she could.

"Did you guys hear that?"

"Sounds like we're not the only ones down here"

The splashing water stopped. Celica looked down to her feet and noticed ripples in the water. She looked up as a figure came into view. A large red reptile-like creature with sharp but slimey scales. It resembled something very much like a giant lizard with claws that were sharp as well and a long spiked tail could be seen peeking from behind its body. The lizard was so big, it barely fit in the tunnel. It looked as though it had barely enough room to turn around if it wanted to. Only -if-. This thing looked like it went through whatever crossed its path. It had large dark eyes but there was no mistaking the look it was giving off. It was very hungry.

"What's going on? Are you all okay?"

Binks' voice coming from the earpiece so loud it slightly echoed in the tunnels. The creature's ears twitched and it let out a louder growl, baring sharp white teeth.

Celica and the others slowly backed up as one by one they all cast a side glance at Zion. He threw his hands up in frustration.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I just -had- to ask"


Liah's head was again jerked from the water. She coughed out water, inhaling as much air as possible. The guard laughed again.

"Not so pretty now are ya? Tell you what. Since I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you one more chance to talk. Do it and all this stops right now"

Liah began to twist and pull on her chains again. One of the links began to separate.

Finally

"Sorry but I'll pass. I have somewhere to be"

The guard forced Liah to face him as he grinned, "Is that so?"

Now Liah was the one to smile. She pulled on her chains as hard as she could until the links tore apart. The guard's eyes widened but before he had a chance to react, Liah hit him full force on his temple rendering him unconscious. He grunted before hitting the ground as Liah winced at the sound.

Please say nobody heard that

She heard an echo of footsteps as she ran and hid behind the door at the other end of the room. There was a knock at the door.

"Larkin, is everything alright in there?"

With silence as a response, the door opened and a green haired Sylph entered. He quickly scanned the room, noticing a large Shura body laying beside a bucket of water. The door immediately closed behind him and all he saw was a blur of tan and black before his vision was consumed by darkness.


Liah ran through the halls looking for a way out. She rounded a corner and found a case of stairs. The room below was pitch black and with nothing to hold on to, Liah slowly descended. Down in the room she squinted, trying to see in the darkness.

There has to be a way out of here. Need to hurry before anyone realizes I'm gone

She took a deep breath, taking in the foul odor of the room. Her ears twitched to the distant sound of water dripping. She walked towards the sound, an old rusted table in her way. She pushed it, the legs scraping against the floor.

God, I suck at being quiet. It'll be a miracle if I get out of here unnoticed

She pushed the table, revealing a hole leading to the sewers. Her ears twitched again but too late. A strong hand closed around her shoulder. Quickly, she grabbed onto the hand and pulled, flipping the body over her head and down into the sewers. It fell with a loud splash, a groan and then silence. Liah was about to jump down into the hole when she heard a loud roar.

"He's a spirited one"

"Tie his arms!"

"Would someone put a damn muzzle on him?!"

Liah climbed the stairs and slowly peered from behind the corner. 6 Guards were surrounding a large golden bear. Each holding a rope that was tied around its neck. They pulled from all different directions, keeping the bear in place as it roared and slashed wildly.

Snuffy....


Celica and the others readied their weapons, waiting to strike. The lizard's sharp fangs were covered in a pinkish liquid that dripped to the floor and sizzled.

Celica's eyes glanced at the ground then back at the lizard, "Careful, its fangs are covered in acid. Get ready to attack on my signal"

Everyone tensed up but before anyone could act, a loud splash echoed throughout the tunnels. The lizard's ears twitched, its attention directed behind it. Quickly, it turned around, its tail smashing into the wall, scraping along until the lizard's body was completely turned around. Rocks fell from the walls and ceiling, splashing into the water causing Celica and the others to move back and out of the way.

"Oh great, now he's mooning us" Zion mumbled.

Ignoring Zion and the others, the lizard ran in the direction of the splash soon fading into the dark. Zion tilted his head.

"What was that about?"

"Who knows, but it may not be a good idea find out. Binks?"

"The ladder is right after that left turn"

Celica and the others rounded the corner and started to climb the steel ladder. At the top, Celica quietly moved the weight sitting on top and pushed it to the side. A beam of light shone through the tunnel causing her eyes to water. She squinted as her eyes adjusted to the light and she slowly poked her head out to see.

"Whatcha see Cel?"

Celica scanned the room and noticed an empty room of holding cells. Some of the beds were messy as if someone was using them earlier. Torn, dirty sheets rested on them.

"Holding cells. They're empty though"

She whispered down into the tunnel, slowly lifting herself and climbing out of the hole. She bent down and outstretched a hand to Kaz who was right behind her. Before he could grab it they heard a loud roar followed by voices coming from the halls. Celica jumped up and ran to hide beside the doorway as Kaz dunked his head back down into the tunnel.

"Would you slowpokes hurry up? That monster is going to break loose any second now. If he does you'll all be accountable"

5 more guards ran past the cell room and down the hall. Kaz poked out his head as Celica nodded. He quickly climbed from the hole followed by Kooh, Kao and Zion. They gathered behind Celica as she turned to them and whispered.

"Sounds like they have Snuffy. Most likely if we find him we'll also find Liah"

"My heat sensors are counting 13 bodies further down. One of them has an increased amount of body heat and another has a temperature that tends to rise and fall" Binks' voice filled everyone's ears.

"Yup, sounds like them. Everyone ready?"

Celica looked to the others as one by one they nodded.

"Alright, lets go"

Ugh without my gloves, this is going to be painful

Liah prepared to jump out from behind the corner when she heard numerous footsteps echo in the hallway. More guards were approaching. She kept hidden as she counted the guards and kept note of where they were standing. Her attention flicked to the floor as she saw shadows behind her approaching slowly. She tensed up and waited. With the corner of her eye she saw a very small hand reach out to her. She acted.

BAM!

Contact. Her elbow connected with a nose. A soft grunt.

"Ow my nose"

What the...Kaz?

She quickly spun around to look at a rather large silver-haired Sprite cup his nose.

"Kaz! It is you!"

She wrapped her arms around Kaz and hugged him tight.

Surprised at first, but finally Kaz wrapped his arms around Liah, "Hiya Liah"

Liah held him close as tears formed in her eyes, and her nose felt like it was on fire. Her eyebrows arched and she quickly pulled away, covering her nose.

"Kaz....no offense but....you stink. Really bad"

Looking embarrassed, Kaz ran a hand through his hair, "Its a long story"

Having distance, Liah noticed Celica and the others behind Kaz and smiled. She walked closer to give everyone a hug when another roar echoed through the halls.

"Looks like we'll just have to have our reunion later. Gotta save the big guy first"

Celica nodded then looked Zion, "I'll hold them steady while you cut the ropes Zi. Liah will run out and get Snuffy and Kaz you give her some cover fire. Kooh, I'll need some support. You too Kao"

Everyone nodded in agreement as Celica held out her wand and closed her eyes. Liah peeked from behind the corner and soon the ground began to shake. Large green vines sprouted from the ground wrapping themselves around whatever was near, except Snuffy.

"What the heck is this?"

"What's going on?"

"Run away!"

"No! The bear. We can't leave the bear!"

Celica glanced over to Zion on her right, "Now Zi!"

Zion poked out from behind the corner and shot arrows at the ropes around Snuffy.

SNAP! SNAP!

One by one they fell and released their hold. Liah ran out from behind the corner with Kaz right behind her. Kao gripped his harp tightly, gently gliding his fingers along the strings as a soft melody came from it. Colors or blue, pink, green and orange surrounded him and those close by, leaving an invisible shield only visible to those caught in it.

Celica glanced over to Kao and smiled, "Nice job Kao. The arrows will be reflected if shot over here"

Liah yelled out to Snuffy who soon was rushing to her, an alarm blasted through the halls. More guards soon filled out the long hallways and were running after Liah and the others. Kaz shot arrow after arrow over Liah and Snuffy, hitting the approaching guards. Any others in the way, Snuffy barreled through as did Liah.

"THERE! Get them!"

Kooh turned around to see another stream of guards coming from the southern hall. She took out a wand of her own and began to shoot thunderbolts from it.

"Celi, we have to get out of here. There's way too many"

"Those guards are coming from the same direction that we did. We're going to have to find another route"

"COMING THROUGH!"

Celica's eyes widened when she saw Snuffy charging towards her. Kao and Kooh jumped out of the way as Zion grabbed Celica and pulled her to the side. Kaz pressed himself against the wall as a blur of golden fur rushed past him and broke through the wall behind him. Pieces of the wall fell around the hole in the wall, dust and debris filled the air.

Liah was running after Snuffy, motioning to the others, "There's our way out. Everyone move it!"

She jumped through the hole as the others followed. Now outside they kept running towards the forest in front of them. The night sky serving as their cloak as they ran into the bushes and disappeared into the darkness.


Binks was tracking Celica and the others on his computer when he heard a soft knock on the door. He turned off the monitor as Lucx walked over to the door and slowly opened it. He smiled when Drag's face was behind the door.

"Hey there cutie"

"....I'm not cute"

Binks waved over to Drag and motioned for Lucx to close the door, "Come inside before anyone in the hall hears you two"

Lucx patted Drag's head as he grumbled and walked over to Binks, "I just came to see if they were back yet"

Binks shook his head as he rubbed his eyes. The light from the computer screen had caused them to dry up and hurt.

"They should be getting here soon. They were in the process of losing the guards that chased after them. To avoid being tracked they were taking the long way home"

Drag nodded then turned to face the door as he heard the doorknob twist and turn. The door was pushed but didn't open, Lucx had locked it. A series of knocks followed forming the James Bond theme song.

Binks softly smiled and rolled his eyes, "Its Zion, open up Lucx"

Lucx opened the door and a burst of foul odor entered the room. Binks, Lucx and Drag pinched their noses and made faces of disgust.

"Ugh....what's that smell?"

Celica looked at Lucx then Binks, "You don't want to know"

One by one they entered the room, with each one causing the stench grow stronger.

Lucx kept the door open waiting for Liah to enter but she never did, "Where's Liah? I thought you guys said she was with you"

"She uh...she had something to do"

"Like what? Shower? If she smells anything like you guys I wouldn't be surprised if she ran and hugged the first bar of soap she crossed paths with"

Zion got closer to Lucx and smiled, "Oh come on Lucx, you know you want a hug"

Lucx's nose scrunched up as he tried not to breathe, "Thanks but I'll pass. Though...I wouldn't mind getting a hug from cute clean Drag over there"

Drag's eyes widened as he slid behind Celica and hid. He peeked over her shoulder and mumbled, "Not cute"

Celica laughed as she looked around the room. Everyone looked exhausted, their clothes were torn and dirty.

"Its been a long night. Lets get cleaned up and get some rest. We can talk with Liah tomorrow and figure out exactly how we're going to explain this to Mjrn"


"Liah!"

"LIAH!"

Mjrn ran over to the rubble that lie across the field. Rocks piled high, pieces of broken pillars. Small fires surrounded the area. The ground was cracked and split, bodies lie all over. Dead or alive, it didn't matter. She screamed out again as she ran forward. Vicious laughter filled her ears as she looked up. Pinkish feathers could be seen through the smoke and dust.

"She's dead dear daughter. Why set yourself up for more pain? Leave that pile of filth be and come join me at last"

Mjrn ignored her as she fell to her knees in front of the rubble. She lifted rock after rock and threw it aside. The sharp edges of the rocks cutting her hands, arms and legs but she didn't stop. Dust and debris flew everywhere causing her to cough. Tears filled her eyes but she kept on.

"LIAH!"

Mjrn felt something around her thighs, keeping them together along with her arms. Extra weight on top of her body. A scent filled her nose, drawing her from her slumber. A mixture of scents, one foul and very unpleasant. The other, strangely familiar. Strawberries.

A hand closed over her mouth and Mjrn's eyes snapped open. A blur of black and tan soon took shape. Dirt, cuts and bruises. Bunny ears.

"Shhh. Its just me. Please don't scream"

Liah sat on top of Mjrn, straddling her body and pinning her down. Mjrn's heart began to race but she nodded. Liah removed her hand but remained where she was. Frustration growing on Mjrn's face.

"I'm not going to scream. You can get off me now"

"Not until you hear me out"

Mjrn laughed bitterly as she wiggled her arms and legs trying to break free, "Right, because after this I'm soooo going to want to listen to you"

"Mjrn please. I know I did a lot of wrong but this isn't one of them. I didn't kill nor kidnap that Elder. Please just let me explain"

Before Liah even knew what was coming, Mjrn adjusted her body and managed to wrap her legs around Liah's stomach. She pressed down causing Liah to fall back and onto the bed with Mjrn now on top, her Nine Rings pressed to Liah's throat.

"You know better than that Chica. I always win this game"

Liah looked up at Mjrn and remained strangely calm, "I thought you cut that habit of sleeping with your saber under your pillow"

"I started again after I thought you were dead"

Liah looked away, "There are no words to express how sorry I am"

"Then save your breath. Anyways we have more important things to discuss" She withdrew her Nine Rings and placed it beside her bed.

Liah locked eyes with Mjrn and nodded.

Mjrn's face twisted as she leaned back a bit, "Why do you stink?"

"....I hugged Kaz" Liah said flatly.

Mjrn wrinkled her nose, "Actually....shower first, talk after"

After a long shower, Liah stepped out of the bathtub and held up her cloth armor. She looked it up and down and frowned. It was covered in dirt, holes and it was torn all over. She sighed and thew it in the garbage. She then wrapped a towel around her body, took a deep breath and walked out of the bathroom.

Mjrn was sitting on the edge of her bed, her legs swinging over the side and her head resting on the post of her canopy. She looked up and noticed Liah, her eyes widened as she saw her standing in the room with nothing but a towel.

Liah blushed as she hooked a piece of her wet hair behind her ear, "Sorry, I had to toss out my armor. I was hoping you had something I could borrow"

Mjrn continued to stare but quickly snapped out of her trance and motioned over to a trunk sitting over by the far wall on Liah's right side.

"There are some things in there you can use"

Liah walked over to the trunk and opened it. She stared at its contents in awe. Her eyes began to water as she ran her hands over the material. Her fingers traced the designs and colors of pink, red and white. She picked up a shirt, underneath were numerous pairs of gloves. They came in all shapes and colors, some a little more worn out than the others but each having its own memory. Liah picked up a pair of blue gloves and felt her tears filling her eyes that much more. She slowly turned around, a tear falling from her eye as she looked at Mjrn, her voice low and raspy.

"This....this is all my stuff"

Mjrn felt a knot grow in her throat as she nodded slowly.

Liah glanced back to the chest then again at Mjrn unsure of what to say, "Mjrn I....."

Mjrn quickly cleared her throat and cut Liah off, "You should get dressed. We have some things to talk about"


Zion slept comfortably on a couch in the entertainment room. His mind filled with dreams, all too soon being pulled from them when suddenly a weight slammed down on his stomach. He coughed, his eyes snapped open and frantically searched around the room. A low growl caught his attention as his eyes drifted to his stomach to see a small golden bear sitting there.

"Nice going Irwin. Not only did you scare the crap out of me, but you also woke me from one of the best dreams ever. I was King of the Mirror World and everything!"

Yawning, Irwin ignored Zion and laid down getting comfortable. Zion rolled his eyes and sighed. Glancing over to the television, the words "PAUSED" covering the screen and his Xbox controller on the floor. He switched off the game and the television, then he scooped up Irwin in his arms and headed for his room.

He slowed his steps as he heard voices coming from a room ahead. The door was slightly cracked, light stretching out across the carpet. Zion held Irwin tight in his arms and pressed his ear to the wall.

"How much of a chance do I have of winning this thing?"

"Actually a very high percentage. The only problem lies with the Darkdale Destroyer. He's been around all these centuries and the people seem to really take to him"

"Well then we'll just have to fix that won't we?"

Zion leaned forward, trying to peer through the crack on the door to see who was inside. The floor creaked and Zion froze in place.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah, it sounded like it came from the hall"

Zion's eyes widened as he turned and ran, hiding behind a corner. The door flung open and Zion stopped breathing. Slowly, he peeked from behind the corner and noticed Sabin standing at the doorway.

The heck?

Sabin's gaze turned to the corner where Zion was causing him to hide once more.

Crap crap. Please go back inside

At last Sabin turned around and reentered the room. Zion let out the air from his lungs, turning around and quietly ran through the halls of the Guild Castle, heading straight for Celica's room.

He stared at her door, taking a deep breath and finally knocked.

"Cel?"

No answer.

He knocked again, this time a bit harder then pressed his ear against the door. He heard a low grumble, ruffling of bedsheets and at last the door flung open. Wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top, Celica rubbed the sleep from her eyes with one hand. In the other she was holding a small blue bear, a moon symbol on its stomach.

"This better be good Zi or I'll tell Lucx you want to be in his fashion show this year"

Zion tilted his head, his gaze caught on the bear as he pressed his lips together trying to hold in laughter.

"Bedtime Bear?"

Celica looked at him irritated at first then smiled wide, holding out the bear next to him, "Yeah, he reminds me of you. Don't you see the resemblance?"

Zion gave Celica a look as she laughed, "Okay in all seriousness, I need to talk to you"

Celica stopped laughing, "What's up?"

"Not out in the halls"

Celica moved out of the doorway as Zion walked inside and laid Irwin on the bed. Celica closed the door as she waited for Zion to start talking.

"Sabin's up to something"

"What are you talking about?"

"I walked passed his room and overheard him talking to someone. I think...I think he might try and either kill or kidnap the Darkdale Destroyer"

Celica rolled her eyes as she let out a laugh, "Is that why you woke me up? Sabin wouldn't do such a thing"

"Look trust me on this Cel. I know what I heard. I wouldn't make something like this up"

Celica bit her lip and nodded, "Okay, we'll look into it. But if you're wrong......"

Zion sighed, "I know, I know. Fashion show. Got it"


Mjrn was standing beside the window, her back to Liah as she looked out into the courtyard. Fully dressed, Liah dried her hair with the towel as she looked around the room.

"Everything looks just as I remember it"

Mjrn remained silent, rain softly began to tap on the window. Liah walked over to Mjrn's dresser, looking at the collection of different perfumes and hairbrushes that rested neatly on the wood. She noticed a picture sitting on the edge of the dresser and held it up. It was a picture of Sabin lying face down with Mjrn standing on his back smiling and posing.

"Ah, the loud mouth accuser that was with you at the jail. Is he your boyfriend or something?"

Mjrn quickly glanced to Liah then looked back out the window, "He's my Fiancé"

Liah felt a sharp pain in her heart as she placed the picture back down on the dresser.

"I'm glad you found someone"

No one said anything for a few minutes, Mjrn was the one to finally break the silence.

"He uh, has this thing...he likes to tease me about stuff. That day in particular he went on a rant about how Fencers could beat Blademasters if they use the right strategy. I think he tried 6 different ways before he finally gave up"

Liah looked down at her feet in thought. Her tone low, "He sounds like a nice guy"

Mjrn turned and faced Liah, sadness filling her eyes, "Liah...I thi-"

Liah held up her hands and cut Mjrn off, "Don't say anything. You were right, we have other things to discuss"

Mjrn continued to look at her but nodded slowly. She leaned against the windowsill as Liah explained her story. She talked about her meeting with Kor and her betrayal. Mjrn remained silent through the whole ordeal, listening and nodding.

"I haven't seen him since that night at the campsite. I was knocked out so I honestly don't know where he could have gone"

Mjrn bit her lip and nodded, "We have to find him. I doubt he's the one behind everything but he could lead us to whoever is. We're on a very short time frame"

Liah nodded, "How much time do we have left?"

Mjrn turned her head and looked out the window, "Considering the sun is starting to rise...we have 3 days"

Liah placed her hand on her forehead, "Never a dull day in the presence of the Chaotic Dragons"

Celica and Zion stared at Mjrn's door for several minutes. Celica gave Zion a side glance and then gestured to the door.

"Well? Go on. Knock"

Zion's eyes widened as he stepped back. He shook his head violently.

"Oh no no no. I'm not going to knock. You do it"

Celica crossed her arms, "I'm not the one who couldn't wait until morning"

Zion pressed his ear against the door. Through the thickness of it, he could only hear faint mumbling.

"Oh come on Cel, I hear voices in there"

"So....?"

"So? So?! I hear two female voices Cel. I'll bet any money that Liah's in there with Mjrn and I don't want to interrupt them. You know...in case they're uh...'reconciling'"

Celica smiled and rolled her eyes, "Oh forget it, I'll knock"

Celica knocked on the door as the mumbling stopped. A few seconds later a very tired Shura opened the door. Mjrn looked from Celica to Zion and placed her hand over her eyes.

"Please please please don't say you have more bad news"

Zion and Celica cast a side glance at each other. Zion rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish smile.

"Oookay. Is it cool if I tell you that I don't have good news instead?"

Mjrn ran her tongue over her teeth and took a step back. She gestured for Zion and Celica to enter the room. Upon entering, Zion noticed Liah sitting on the clothing trunk and moved closer to Celica, whispering in her ear.

"I told you she was in here"

Before Celica could say anything, Mjrn leaned against one of the canopy poles and turned to her and Zion. She looked exhausted, like she was carrying a weight far more than she could carry.

"So what's going on?"

Celica quickly pushed Zion in front of Mjrn and stepped back herself. Zion turned his head and shot Celica a nasty look as she smiled and winked at him.

"Go ahead baby bro"

"Well uh..you see..its about Sabin"

Mjrn tensed up as she stared at Zion, "Is he okay? Did something happen?"

"Well yeah, physically he's okay...I think. If I'm right he might be sick in the head or something but-"

Mjrn pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes, "Zi....please get to the point"

"Right right, sorry. Well, I was walking back to my room a while ago and I passed by his. He was talking to someone about the Darkdale Destroyer. And something about winning and fixing something. It sounded like they were gonna kill him"

Everyone turned to look at Zion like he was crazy and then back to Mjrn. Mjrn sighed and and shook her head.

"Sabin wouldn't do such a thing. He's been a member of the council for years. Its not like he would have anything to gain from it anyway"

Liah stood up from the trunk, "That doesn't mean we shouldn't talk to him anyway"

Mjrn glanced at Liah, "I didn't say that. All I'm saying is I trust him"

"So in other words you don't trust Zi"

Mjrn glared Liah, standing upright and away from the pole, "Liah. Don't. You know I trust Zi too"

"Well then, what's the problem? You have Zi's side of the story. Now we need your little boy toy's"

Mjrn's eyes narrowed at Liah as she sighed and nodded, "I'll have a talk with him in the morning"


Mjrn knocked on Sabin's door after getting a few hours of sleep. There was no answer so she knocked again to silence as a response once more. She turned the knob and noticed it was unlocked then proceeded to step inside.

"Sabin?"

The room was empty, the bed a mess. She stepped further into the room as she heard the sound of running water. A squeak as the metal knobs turned and soon the sound of feet slapping the marble floor. Mjrn sat on Sabin's bed waiting for him to exit the bathroom.


"OW! Aunty! You're pulling my hair"

"Don't be such a baby and hold still. I still can't see"

"Cel! Do something useful. Balance us!"

"What do I look like? A seal?"

After their attempt at listening through the thick wooden doors of the Guild Castle failed, Liah, Zion and Celica ran out and around the back into the courtyard. The windows of the Castle are relatively high, not to mention Sabin's bedroom is two stories up. With Snuffy as the base, Celica sat on his shoulders trying her best to balance Zion who stood on hers and Liah who sat on Zion's.

Zion tried to tiptoe on Celica's shoulders, giving Liah a second of extra boost as she grabbed onto the window ledge. Liah peered through the window and saw Mjrn sitting on the bed, Sabin just exiting the bathroom with one towel wrapped around his waist and the other he used to scrub the water from his hair.

Zion pressed the tips of his toes deeper into Celica's shoulders causing her to wince.

"OW ZI!"

She lifted her shoulders to release the weight which caused Zion to stagger back and forth.

"Hey..wait!. Whoa...Cel! Stop moving! I'm gonna fall"

Liah held on tight to the ledge and tried to still Zion. She turned her head towards him quickly.

"Shhh. They're going to hear you"

"Hey look...we're the leaning tower of Dragons"

Liah focused her attention back to Sabin and Mjrn.


"Zi seems to think you're plotting against the Darkdale Destroyer"

"Angel, he must have heard wrong. As you remember, I'm part of the council. Meaning I now have rights to take the Elder trials. The Darkdale Destroyer is merely going against me. I mentioned going to beat him yes, but not in the way he would think"

"Well..he heard you talking with someone. And if it was no big deal, why do it in secret so late in the night?"

Sabin shrugged and threw the towel on the bed, tightening the one around his waist.

"We were talking not too long after I left you in the cemetary. And naturally we had a lot to talk about. And we weren't talking in secret. It was late so we kept our voices down"

Mjrn bit her lip in thought then nodded. Sabin tilted his head, walking over to her and bending down in front of her. He placed both his hands on her cheeks as she looked him in the eyes.

"Look, it was late and he was probably delusional. It happens when you're sleepy. Probably playing too much video games or something"

"Mm..you're right. I'm sorry if you felt I accused you"

Sabin leaned forward and kissed Mjrn's nose, "Don't worry about it"


"Oh what a load of-"

Zion began to stagger once again causing Liah to sway back and forth and nearly losing her grip on the ledge.

"Zi, hold it steady. We're gonna fall from here"

"I'm...whoa...trying"

"HEY! What are you guys doing up there?!"

"What the-"

Suprised by the voice, Celica fell backwards causing a chain reaction above her. Zion's eyes widened as felt Celica's shoulders slip from under his feet. Celica fell off Snuffy and hit the ground with a loud thud. Zion came toppling after her, landing on Snuffy's shoulders then slowly sliding off it and onto his back. Liah opened her mouth to scream but her breath caught and she latched herself onto the ledge. Her feet dangled wildly in the air as she tried to find a way to pull herself up.

Lucx held his stomach tightly as he laughed. Celica was rubbing her butt and Zion was laying on the floor unmoving. Snuffy tilted his head and looked at everyone confusingly. Finding it hard to breathe, Zion slowly turned his head to look at Lucx.

"That was...so not cool...Lucx"

"It was if you saw how you both fell! Not to mention poor Liah still hanging up there"

Lucx's face turned red and he continued to laugh until his eyes watered.

"Um...no rush or anything considering I'm only DANGLING IN THE AIR! But could you guys get me down from here?"

Zion started to laugh as he looked up at Liah, "Shh Aunty, Mjrn is gonna hear you"

As soon as those words left Zion's mouth, the window flung open as Sabin and a very annoyed Mjrn looked down at Liah still hanging from the window. Liah slowly looked up and smiled.

"So...funny story. Zion bet me money I couldn't hang from this window"

"WHATTTT?!"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't leave you hanging here"

"Because I'm a bunny -not- a cat and I won't land on my feet if I fall?"

"My statement remains"

Liah gripped the window ledge so tight her fingers whitened. She looked up at Mjrn as she crossed her arms looking past her and down to Zion and the others.

"This was something I'd expect from Zion and Liah but not you Celi and especially not you Lucx"

Lucx's eyes widened as he looked up at Mjrn, "Whoa wait. Me? I just got here. I didn't do anything"

Still laying on the floor, Zion grunted as he slowly raised his hand in the air, "Uh Nai?"

Mjrn looked at him and let out a sigh, "Yes Zi?"

"Cel is the same person who once broke into the Big Beam pet shop and freed all the animals claiming their cuteness was dissipating inside those eggs. Not to mention Lucx tricked some of us into taking part of his supposed special ops mission in which we helped break him into the men's locker room at the Darkdale arena. Do you wanna rethink that statement?"

Mjrn smirked then shook her head, placing her hand over her eyes, "What am I going to do with you?"

"....uh Mjrn?"

Keeping her hand over her eyes Mjrn sighed once more, "Hmm?"

".....Mjrn!"

Mjrn withdrew her hand in time to see a blur of Liah's black hair as it disappeared from view. Liah's grip slipped and she let go of the ledge. Zion looked up, his eyes widening as he tried to roll to the side. He rolled onto his stomach as he heard Liah scream and then felt immense pressure as she slammed onto his back, knocking the air from his lungs.

Unmoving, Liah grunted as she looked up at Mjrn leaning over the ledge and looking down. Lucx and Celica glanced at each other then immediately burst out laughing as Liah rolled off Zion, his body pressed into the grass.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Did you see that?"

"Yeah she just went BOOM!"

Lucx and Celica mimicked the fall with their hands and then held onto their stomachs as they laughed. Liah slowly rose from the ground and turned Zion over.

"I'm sorry Zi"

He was dazed but aware enough to make faces at Lucx and Celica.

"Not....funny"

Through tears and a red face Celica managed to speak, "Well Zi....as you would say, 'That was badass!'"


Back in Mjrn's office, Liah, Celica, and Lucx stood across from her desk as Sabin stood beside her. Snuffy carried a very hurt Zion over his shoulders.

"Normally I would scold you for disobeying me but we have more important things to discuss. First things first is Zi, I think you owe Sabin an apology"

Zion spoke from over Snuffy's shoulder, "Huh?"

Sabin stepped closer and quickly interjected, "I don't know what you heard Zi, but you were mistaken. I was merely having a conversation with an ally about the coming Elder trials"

Liah's eyes narrowed as she turned to face Sabin, "I believe Mjrn was talking to him"

Sabin turned to Liah and crossed his arms, his own eyes narrowing, "Well I'm joining in the conversation. This includes me after all. Though last time I checked, you're the one out of place. Why don't you go back to where you came from? You're not wanted"

Liah took another step closer to him, her fists clenching tightly, "My place is here. No matter what you do, you'll never win their affection. You're just a weasel and a wannabe. Pathetic waste of a recruitment"

Mjrn slammed her hands on the table so hard it echoed off the walls, "ENOUGH!"

Liah quickly turned her head to Mjrn then back to Sabin. He stared at her and grinned.

"You left them. What makes you think they want you here? Mjrn doesn't even want you"

Mjrn turned her head and glared at Sabin, "I. Said. Enough"

Sabin turned to face Mjrn and looked down nodding his head, "I'm sorry"

"Sabin, please leave the room. I need to talk to the others"

He quickly raised his head, his eyes widened, "What?"

Liah smiled and crossed her arms, "You heard her"

Sabin turned his gaze on Liah, narrowing his eyes. Mjrn looked from Liah to Sabin and sighed.

"I told you to stop and you didn't. Now. Please leave us"

Grinding his teeth, Sabin walked to the door.

"Bye Sabby"

He grumbled and slammed the door shut.


Kao and Kooh were standing in the doorway of the Guild Castle talking when Sabin walked between them and headed towards town. Kaz and Drag were walking towards the doorway, noticing Sabin and waving to him as he brushed passed them both. Kaz's eyebrows knitted together as he looked to Drag the finished walking over to Kao and Kooh.

"What's his problem?"

Kooh shrugged and shook her head, "I have no idea. Though he looks like he's headed somewhere"

Kao jumped up and clapped his hands, "Oh! Do you think Mjrn sent him on a mission?"

Kaz turned and watched as Sabin faded from view, "Not sure, though it doesn't matter anyway. After Mjrn finds out we took part in Liah's escape from prison, we're not going to be allowed on any missions for a long time"

Kooh sighed and looked down at her feet in thought. A smile covered her face as she looked at the boys, "What if we go with him? If we help him on his mission then Gram will be thankful and let us off the hook"

Kaz slowly nodded his head, "That's not a bad idea. But he didn't look too keen on anyone going with him"

Drag crossed his arms and grinned, "Who said he has to know we're going with him?"

Mjrn slumped in her chair and put her elbow on the arms rest, holding up her head as she sighed. Liah tilted her head and looked at Mjrn sadly.

"I'm sorry"

Mjrn shook her head, looking up at Liah, "Don't worry about it"

Mjrn leaned forward, placing her elbows on the desk, folding her hands and resting her chin on top. She looked at Liah, Lucx, then Celica and lastly Zion's rear considering Snuffy was holding him backwards over his shoulder.

"We don't have much to go on concerning the Elder's kidnapping and murder and we're running out of time. I want another sweep at ESP and Blakatoa Peak. We'll split into two groups. Liah and Celi will take Kaza and Drag and look around the beach. I'll take Zion, Lucx, Kooh and Kao with me to Blakatoa. Earlier, Liah mentioned a stubby greasy looking man being with her the night she was arrested. Ask around and see what you can find out. There are also going to be guards everywhere looking for Liah and anyone responsible for her escape so try not to draw too much attention to yourselves"

Zion lifted his head as he tried to turn and look over Snuffy's shoulder, "Uh...about that..."

Mjrn slid her chair back and stood up smiling, "We can talk about that later...maybe after you help me clean out the storage warehouse"

Zion hung his head and sighed loudly, "I knew I should have stood quiet"


Drag sat on top of his Sapphire pet as he and the others watched Sabin make his way into Eversun. A white Sapphire pulled up next to him with Kaza sitting on top.

"I wonder what did Mjrn ask him to do in Eversun"

Drag shook his head, "I don't know but we have to be careful. Some of those prison guards might remember what you guys look like"

Kaza nodded as he looked behind him. A red Ruby pet trotted to them with Kooh sitting comfortably on top, her legs casually hung over one side. A large golden bear quickly made its way from the gates of Eversun to the group standing on top of the hill with Kao sitting on his shoulders.

"He went inside Town Hall. There were some people waiting for him outside"

Kaza looked at Drag then at the others.

"Okay, you guys ready?"

Everyone nodded as Kaz dismounted from his pet. He petted it softly on the head and turned to the others.

"Keep a low profile and don't look at any guards in the eyes. Keep your hood on at all times and don't wander off. Remember, we're here to help and not make things worse like get caught"

Drag raised his hood over his head as did the others then began walking into town. Keeping their heads down they made their way through the town square and stood in the alleyway behind the bank. Looking at the floor, Drag saw two shadows rise as two people got closer to the alleyway. He stuck out his arm as Kao nearly walked into it. Everyone stopped in their tracks and pressed their backs against the wall, hiding in the shadows.

"So can you cover my shift for me? My kid is sick"

"Sure no problem"

The guards passed by the alleyway and kept walking. Drag looked back to the others, a single finger on his lips signaling to be quiet. He walked to the corner and peeked over as he watched the guards make their rounds. They turned a corner and headed to the Pub, continuing their chatter. Drag turned his head and looked at the others then nodded.

"Okay, lets go"

They sneaked around the back of the Town Hall building, quietly entering the large courtyard. Some more voices were heard, more guards making their rounds. Panicking, Kaz pushed everyone inside a large gazebo and urged them to keep quiet. From across the yard there was an open window, nothing but shadows could be seen.

"Ow. Someone's elbow is poking my side"

"Whoever has their arm near my butt better move it"

"Are you sure that's an elbow?"

"....what did I get myself into?"

Drag twisted and turned, slightly rising behind the low wall and peeking up to see over it. He squinted and tried to make sense of the figures through the window. Without turning around he whispered to the others.

"I can't really see much...but from what I can see, there's 4 people in that room...wait a second"

A figure stepped closer to the window, his back towards it. Drag waited patiently as a wave of black hair flew along the wind, strands flying out the window. Light shone against the windowsill, highlighting the figure.

"I think that one's Sabin. He's the only one with back hair I see-"

Kaz leaped up and put his hand over Drag's mouth. Guards began patrolling near the gazebo as well as voices began to come from the room.

"Where's that idiot Kor? He failed to check in again this morning. My God its like you all -want- this plan to fail"

Sabin crossed his arms as he leaned against the window. Two figures sat down, disappearing from sight as the other remained looking at Sabin.

"I'm not sure sir. But I mean its not like it matters. Everyone thinks the Elder is dead"

"It does matter because there are people investigating"

Feeling his foot began to tingle and fall asleep, Kao tried to shift his weight. He kneeled and leaned forward to try and get a better look when he felt something sharp poke his back.

"Kooh stop poking me"

He felt another poke, this one a bit harder as his back arched at the sudden pain.

"Ow. Cut it out"

Drag and Kaz shushed him trying to listen in on the rest of the conversation. Kao was poked in the back again, frustrated he finally turned around.

"Kooh when we get out of here...."

His eyes widened as he saw Kooh standing, her hands high in the air, a spear aimed at her back. A guard held out his own spear pointing at Kao's face and urging him to stand up. Slowly Kao raised his hands and stood up. Without turning around, he whispered to Drag and Kaza.

"Uh...guys"

"Shhh Kao, we can't hear"

"Guys..."

Kaza turned around and noticed the guards. He looked around the rest of the gazebo and saw that they were surrounded, spears pointing at them from all directions. He tapped Drag and they both stood up, holding up their hands like the rest.

"Uh...is there a problem officer?"

Holding her hands high in the air, Kooh made eye contact with Drag. He saw the look in her eyes and nodded. Instantly, Kooh whipped around and slammed her fist into the side of the guard's head. He held his head and yelled in pain as Drag jumped out of the gazebo, tackling a different guard.

Kao turned around and grabbed onto a guard's spear, pulling hard on it as the guard lost his balance and fell inside the gazebo. Kaza jumped out himself and went to help Drag who was now fighting four guards at once.

The guard that Kooh hit grabbed her, pulling her out of the gazebo. He turned her around, pinning her arms behind her back as two more guards climbed into the gazebo to fight Kao. Kooh slammed the back of her head into the guards nose, breaking it. He screamed out, letting her go as she saw Drag being pressed against a tree by several guards with the corner of her eye.

"That's it. You're going to pay for that"

The guard spun Kooh around as she saw a glimpse of Kaza lying on the floor unmoving, Kao still putting up a fight inside the gazebo. Before she had a chance to react, the guard hit her on the side of the head with his spear. Kooh's vision grew fuzzy as she managed to kick him one more time. Feeling lightheaded, Kooh fell to her knees as soon her world turned black.


Zion and Liah ran over to Celica who was standing at the front entrance of the Guild Castle.

"Did you find them?"

Zion leaned over and put his hands on his knees, resting his weight and breathing heavily.

"Nah, they aren't anywhere in the castle"

Liah nodded, "They might have gone to collect materials or something"

Celica nodded as she heard footsteps echo through the halls of the Castle.

"Any luck?"

Mjrn emerged with Lucx by her side as Celica shook her head.

"Nothing. Its weird though, I can't even contact them individually"

Mjrn put her hands on her hips, biting her lip and nodded, "They're probably someplace with a lot of interference. Its not the first time they've gone on some 'grand adventure' without being able to make outside contact"

Liah nodded, "Yeah, I'm sure they're fine. I don't want to leave without them but the longer we wait here, the more time we're wasting"

Everyone nodded in agreement as Mjrn called for Livane.

"Okay lets go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can search for Drag and the others"


"Kooh. Can you hear me? Kooh wake up"

Feeling a slow throbbing on the side of her head, Kooh rubbed the sore spot as she opened her eyes. Blinking a few times until her eyes adjusted to the bright light, a blur in front of her soon came into focus as Kao looked down at her very concerned. His eyes widened and a smile formed on his face as he turned to look behind him.

"She's awake!"

Kooh looked over Kao's shoulders to see Drag walking toward her and Kaza looking over his own shoulder, his hands were wrapped around cell bars most likely trying to break them. Drag bent down in front of her and gently placed his hand on her forehead.

"I'm glad you're awake. You have a nasty bump"

Kao and Drag helped Kooh to her feet and held her up as she looked around. Other cells occupied the room, all empty. Water dripped from the ceiling forming small puddles all over the floor. The air was thick and musty, making Kooh sick to her stomach.

A door at the end of the room opened and everyone froze in place. Three sets of footsteps entered the room and walked towards their cell as Drag and Kao put Kooh behind them. Kaza stepped back from the cell bars as three men stood in front of the cell.

The one in the center had a long white bandage over his nose. Under his eyes were purple and green, his nose was so purple it almost looked black. He had traces of dried blood on his cheeks.

"Not so tough now huh?"

Kaza snorted, "Says the one who had to knock out a girl because he couldn't hold her still"

In a flash, the guard reached between the bars and grabbed Kaza by his shirt and pulled him. He pulled with so much force, Kaza slammed into the gate and made it rattle.

"Wanna say that again?"

Kaz smiled, "Do you really want me to retell the story of how an innocent girl kicked your ass?"

The guard gritted his teeth as he shoved Kaza back and pulled again, causing him to once again slam into the gate. The guards laughed, the sound booming throughout the room. Drag stepped forward as the guard took out a dagger and pointed it at Kaza shaking his head.

"I don't think that's such a good idea hero"

Drag clenched his fists and backed up, another voice filling the room.

"That's enough. Put him down"

The guards turned and noticed Sabin walking towards them. Two stepped back and saluted him as the one holding Kaza turned to glare at him. He brought his face close and whispered.

"You got lucky"

He threw Kaza backwards into Kao and Drag then turned to salute Sabin.

"These are the four we caught spying in the courtyard. Do you want us to get rid of them?"

Sabin turned to look into the cell and smiled as he shook his head, "That won't be necessary. I have use for them"

Two Sapphire pets glided along the shore of East Sea Plains. Hovering just above the wet sand, Liah sat atop one and Celica the other. Celica gripped the reins tight, looking down at her saddle in thought and constantly giving Liah a side glance. Celica took a deep breath and looked up at Liah, opening her mouth to speak when suddenly Mjrn's voice radiated from her earpiece.

"How's everything going over there?"

Liah placed two fingers on her ear piece, pressing a small button on it.

"Pretty dead on this side. Not much to see except for seashells"

"Same here minus the seashells. We're almost to the Peak. Once we get the-"

Static filled the earpiece causing Liah and Celica to flinch as the ground began to shake. Waves of vibrations shook the entire beach as distant trees began to fall. Pockets of air from underneath the water soon rose and exploded throughout the ocean. Celica and Liah were thrown from their mounts as parts of the ground began to split open, sand pouring through tiny slits in the floor.

The ground stopped shaking as Mjrn's voice once again rang in their ears.

"...there? Liah? Celi? Are you both okay? Binks, what's their status?"

Liah shook her head, shaking the sand off as she touched her ear piece.

"We're here. Just a little shaken up....literally"

"Thank the Gods. What was that?"

Liah looked over at Celica as she turned to her side, placing her fingers over her own earpiece.

"That was the Mirror World telling us we're running out of time"


Mjrn, Lucx and Zion reached the peak of the Blakatoa mountains. There wasn't much to see except for an abandoned campsite. There were weapons, torn cloth pieces and traces of blood all over the floor. Tents were torn, some had fallen over. Mjrn dismounted from Livane as she walked over to an area where many arrows were laying on the ground. They formed the shape of a circle, giving the appearance someone or something was in the center.

She bent down and picked up a piece of pink and white cloth that caught her eye. A piece of Liah's armor, it was covered in blood. Looking down at her watch, Mjrn turned the inner knob so that the settings on her earpiece changed from "Team" to "Liah". The center light once glowing green, began to glow a soft blue. Taking a deep breath, Mjrn placed her fingers on the earpiece and softly spoke into it.

"I'm sorry"

A slight pause, "For?"

"Everything that's happened to you"

Another pause as if Liah was thinking of what to say next, "A lot has happened to you as well. When this is over, I owe you an explanation"

Mjrn nodded about to reply when Lucx called her name. She looked up as she saw him enter a large tent in the middle of the camp. She walked over and pushed the torn cloth aside, stepping into the tent. Zion stood in the middle beside an empty bed soaked in dried blood. He looked to Mjrn then around the room, his eyes narrowed in thought.

"Something wrong Zi?"

His eyes darted back to her as he nodded, "Yeah. This is the bed where the Elder was killed right?"

"From what we've been told yes"

"Alright, now based on the reports not to mention the fact that the bed is completely soaked in blood....why is the floor dry?"

Mjrn tilted her head as her eyes fell toward the ground Zion was standing on. He was right, the ground had no traces of blood. Zion swept his feet over the floor, scraping dirt.

"There might be something we're overlooking"

Zion tapped his earpiece, "Tia?"

A bit of static as he waited for an answer, "What's up Zi?"

"Not to bring up bad memories but, when you found the Elder's body did you touch him?....wait that sounded wrong...uh...did you grab him?...no wait that's still wrong...GAH nevermind you know what I mean"

Though no one could see her face, it wasn't hard to tell Liah was smiling, "Yeah I did. His clothes were soaked in blood"

Zion grinned slightly, "Thought so. I take it the bed and the floor had blood too?"

"Yeah....why?"

"The bed is the same, the floor however is dry"

"....odd"

Zion took a step forward noticing a sound difference in his steps. His eyes narrowed as he looked down and tapped his foot again. Mjrn looked to him, her own eyes narrowing.

"Found something?"

Confused, Celica's voice came from the earpiece, "Huh? What? We didn't find anything"

Mjrn shook her head as Zion tapped the floor a bit harder, "No, I meant Zi. I think he---ZI!"

The floor under Zion suddenly opened up and he fell through, his hands the last thing Mjrn saw as she and Lucx rushed over to the hole.

"ZI!"

Both Celica and Liah's voices filled their ears, "What happened? What's going on?"

Mjrn got on her knees and leaned over the edge and looked down. She saw nothing but darkness. Her eyes frantically scanned through the dark, trying to find any hint of Zion. Soon after, she felt the ground begin to shake again. A tremor shook the camp as Mjrn struggled to hold her balance. Lucx fell forward and onto Mjrn's back, pushing her down the hole with him right behind her.

Mjrn and Lucx fell into the darkness, unable to scream out of fear. Liah and Celica's voices screamed through the earpieces.

"Mjrn! What's wrong?"

"Mjrn! Lucx! Zi! Answer us!"


Static filled their ears as Liah and Celica looked at each other, fear in their eyes. Celica tapped her earpiece again.

"Binks. Can you hear me?"

"Finally. I've been trying to get in contact with all of you. The earthquakes are messing with my frequency....wait...where did Mjrn, Lucx and Zi go?"

Liah shook her head and sighed, "We were hoping you could tell us"

"I'm sorry. After that last earthquake they kind of just...disappeared from my radar so to speak. Its like they're no longer connected with us anymore"

Celica looked to Liah as they mounted their pets and headed for Blakatoa.

"Can you tell us their last location?"

"The peak of the Blakatoa mountains"

Celica nodded, "Thanks Binks, if you hear anything please let us know"

"Will do"

Celica and Liah rushed to leave East Sea Plains, passing by an old abandoned temple when the ground began to shake once more.

"Oh God not again"

The floor underneath the girls began to split as they got out of the way and to open space. The split in the ground trailed unevenly and tore through to the temple. Liah and Celica watched as the ground opened up, causing pillars to topple and stairs to crumble. One of the larger pillars fell and crashed onto the once sealed door, shattering it as dust filled the air.

The ground stopped shaking as old stones fell from the ceiling of the doorway causing even more dust and debris to fill the air. Through squinted eyes, Liah and Celica walked towards the temple. Liah tilted her head as she saw shadows among the dust. Narrowing her eyes and trying to see through it as she felt one hand cover her mouth and another wrap around her waist pulling her behind a small sand dune.

She turned her head realizing it was Celica that had grabbed her and immediately relaxed. Celica placed her index finger over her lips as she and Liah peeked over the dune.

Two Sylph men dressed in worn out uniforms. Celica's eyes narrowed as she leaned over Liah's shoulder to get a better look. Her eyes suddenly widened as she whispered to Liah.

"Those are the same two guards from the mountain"

"Huh?"

"When Mjrn asked Zi and I to investigate the base of Blakatoa mountain...those two were guarding the entrance"

"That's interesting. Not to mention this temple has been abandoned for years"

"What should we do?"

Liah turned her head to face Celica as she smiled, "Wanna play dress up?"

Liah and Celica watched the guards from behind the sand dune as they stood blocking the entrance to the temple. Liah ducked her head down and turned to Celica and whispered.

"Okay, so what's the plan?"

Celica turned to Liah and simply smiled as Liah laughed.

"Fine but its your turn"

Celica's eyes widened as she shook her head, "Nah uh, its yours. I did it last time"

Liah's eyebrows knitted together as she looked at Celica, "What? When?"

"That time I had to CONVINCE the clerk to let us into the 'Everything Fluffy' super sale a half hour early"

"Oh....right"

Celica smiled as she gave Liah a soft nudge on her arm, "Go on then"

Liah made a face and sighed as she began to stand. Celica quickly grabbed her arm, pulling her back down.

"Wait! You're too.....conserved"

Liah gave Celica a blank stare, "....you're kidding right? This is Shura armor, need I say more?"

Celica pressed her lips tight together to prevent her from laughing as she shook her head. Liah ran her tongue over her teeth as she took off her outer jacket, leaving a tight white tanktop underneath. She tore the cloth of her skirt making it even shorter than it was if that's even imaginable. Through it all she grumbled at Celica.

"I'm going to get you back for this"

Celica laughed, "Go get 'em you smexy thing you"

Liah smiled and rolled her eyes as she walked over to the guards. As she walked, she tangled her hands in her hair, walking very sexily. The guards caught sight of her, their eyes widened as they remained speechless just watching her approach them. Liah winked at them as she grinned, speaking very seductively, her voice low and raspy.

"Hello boys"

The guards stared at Liah then at each other, then back to Liah unsure if she was speaking to them. They opened their mouths to speak but nothing came out, at last they waved. Liah's grin widened, appearing devious as she spoke.

"I'm having a little trouble. My rock pet got himself stuck in the sand. I tried to pull him out but..."

Liah pouted her lips, "I'm just not strong enough"

All the while she could hear Celica laughing through her earpiece. Liah softly cleared her throat to keep herself from laughing as she looked sadly at the guards.

"Would you help me please?"

The guards continued to stare as Liah gave them a confused look. Feeling uneasy by the silence, Celica spoke through the earpiece.

"Something wrong?"

Liah slowly ran her fingers through her hair again, discreetly tapping her earpiece as she smiled, speaking low through clenched teeth.

"I don't know..they're just....staring"

Celica burst out laughing as Liah raised her eyebrows at the guards. At last they awoke from their trance and raced down the broken temple stairs.

Men....

As they ran over to Liah, she tapped her earpiece again.

"Get ready Celi, we're coming"

The guards nearly ran into Liah as she stepped back and gestured her head over to the sand dune Celica was hiding behind.

"My little rocky-poo is just over there"

The guards smiled wide as they nodded and followed Liah.

"Wow you're really beautiful"

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Would you like to know what its like to explore the Town God Temple?"

"We can take you inside and...SHOW you everything there is to see"

Oh God. Touch me and you die

Liah ran her tongue over her teeth again as she ignored the guards, holding out her hand and pointing at the dune.

"He's right behind here"

The guards pushed and shoved each other trying to get in front as they ran behind the dune.

"Move, I got this"

"Please, you pass out lifting boxes. I'll show you how its done"

Liah crossed her arms as she watched the guards disappeared behind the sand dune. She then heard what sounded like one of the guards screaming like a girl, a series of grunts and at last two loud thumps in the sand.

Celica and their Sapphires emerged from behind the dune. Celica's face was bright red, tears streaming from her eyes as she continued to laugh. She approached Liah, folding her hands in front of her making it look like she was praying.

"Oh! You're so beautiful. Pleeeeease, let me take advantage of you inside this biiiiiiig temple"

Liah laughed and shook her head as she walked passed Celica and headed behind the sand dune.

"Shut up, lets get these two tied up and....naked"


A drop of water fell on Mjrn's nose as she twitched it, slowly opening her eyes. Her head throbbed as she brought her hand to her forehead and rubbed it. She felt an intense stabbing pain on her side, the armor in that area feeling moist as she moved her head from side to side and looked around. She saw nothing but darkness, in the far distance she saw a hint of light and what seemed like stairs.

She heard a soft grunt as her head turned to her left and she tried to focus on a nearby shadow. The shadow moved, slowly rising on its hands and knees. It shook its head as Mjrn saw faint flashes of gold. She tried to move and shift her body but that stabbing pain was preventing her from doing anything. Her voice low and harsh, she called out.

"Lucx..."

Lucx turned his head and looked over to Mjrn. His own pain quickly forgotten as he quickly crawled over to Mjrn, analyzing her body. She was laying flat on the floor, a small pool of blood trailing from her side and running along the cracks in the floor. Lucx's eyes narrowed as he inspected Mjrn's wound. He lifted the broken armor and torn fabric as Mjrn winced, some cloth had been stuck to her cut.

Her right side had been cut, a long deep gash spread across her ribs. Lucx made a face as he looked around, wondering what had made the cut. A drop of something wet fell on top of his head as he lifted his hand and touched it. Bringing his fingers in front of his eyes he saw that they were bloody.

Looking up he saw blood continue to drip from a sharp broken piece of metal sticking out of the wall. Mjrn's blood.

"You must have hit that when we fell"

Mjrn groaned as she tried to sit up, her side throbbing and pain shooting throughout her entire body.

"I'll be fine. We have to find Zion"

Lucx quickly placed his hands on Mjrn's shoulders, pushing her to lay back down.

"We need to take care of that first"

Lucx turned to a bag he had strapped to his side and pulled out some bandages, a clear liquid in a vial and medical tape. He poured some of the liquid onto the bandage and moved closer to Mjrn.

"Now...this might sting a bit"

As soon as the bandage made contact with Mjrn's wound, she screamed out in pain, her back arching. Lucx quickly taped the bandage to Mjrn's skin as she pain somewhat subsided as she relaxed. She looked up at him and softly smiled.

"Thanks"

"My pleasure. Its not great since I was only starting to learn the ways of medicine from Celica but it'll have to do for now"

Soft wet sounding footsteps drew closer as someone began descending stairs. Lucx and Mjrn quickly tensed up as Mjrn struggled to sit, Lucx reaching for his wand. An echo of footsteps coming from a hallway to the right as Mjrn reached for a dagger.

The steps growing louder as another shadowed figure stepped to the doorway. Without warning Mjrn threw the dagger, the blade impaled itself into the doorway inches from the shadows face as the handle rocked violently back and forth.

"Whoa! Wow what the heck? You could have killed me you psycho!"

Mjrn's head tilted to the side, "Zi? Is that you?"

Zion's head dipped forward as he tried to make out the two figures in the dark.

"Nai?"

Seeing hints of silver and gold, Zion rushed forward to Mjrn and Lucx. He kneeled down to help Lucx in getting Mjrn to her feet.

"What happened to her?"

Lucx pointed up to the metal bar, "She hit that when she fell. By the way, where were you? And....where are we?"

Mjrn threw her arm over Lucx's shoulder as Zion helped steady her.

"Ouch to the first thing, to the second thing, I was taking a look around and as for the third, I have no idea where we are"

Zion began to walk backwards as he spoke, "From up there it looks like some old abandoned building or temple rather. I was going to do some old fashioned exploring when I heard a scream from down here"

Looking down at the floor, Lucx helped Mjrn walk forward. From the direction they were walking, light reflected off the wet floors and a stream of light grew longer. Something was coming close.

Lucx looked up to say something when he looked up at a yellowish man, his arms strapped with muscles, small horns on his bald head, abs shining off the lantern he held in his big hand. Mjrn's eyes widened as Zion continued to walk backwards, his back hitting something rather large. His own eyes widened as he froze, afraid to turn around.

"....how big is it?"

Lucx and Mjrn stared as Zion swallowed hard.

"That big eh?"

He balled up his fists as he took a deep breath. He quickly spun around and launched his fist into the stomach of what he now saw was an over-sized Minotaur. His eyes widened as he slowly looked up. The Minotaur grabbed Zion by his neck and picked him up with ease, his legs dangling in the air as he gasped trying to breathe.

Mjrn pulled away from Lucx and tried to walk towards the Minotaur but staggered back due to loss of blood. Lucx quickly caught her, trying to set her aside to help Zion as the Minotaur's tightened his grip. Zion's face began to turn blue as he swung his legs up and wrapped them around the Minotaur's neck. He held a firm grip as he threw back his weight as hard as he could, flipping the Minotaur. It flew up and over, finally crashing hard on the floor with Zion sitting on top of his chest, slamming his fist into the Minotaur's nose, knocking him out cold.

Zion winced in pain as he shook his hand and began rubbing his knuckles.

"Damn, what is he made out of? Rocks?"

Mjrn smiled as Lucx brought her closer to Zion, throwing her other arm around his neck.

"Nice move, I'm glad to see all that intense training Liah had once put you through paid off"

Zion smiled wide, "It was nothing.......wait what am I saying? That was BADASS! Did you see how high his feet were in the air?"

Lucx and Mjrn laughed as the three of them walked into the hallway and climbed up the stairs.

Lucx and Zion helped Mjrn up the last set of stairs, a glowing green and blue light reflected inside the damp dark stairway. Each step she climbed caused her to wince in pain but she kept it in best she could. Zion could feel the tension of her arm as she pressed down on his neck.

"You okay Nai?"

"...Yeah. This is just one of those times I wish I healed as fast as Liah"

Zion nodded as they reached the top of the stairs. He slowly ducked under Mjrn's arm as Lucx wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her leveled. Zion walked to the doorway and slowly stuck out his head, looking both ways.

Rows of cells filled the long room. Old rusty rattled chains hung from the ceiling and laid on the floor. Wooden posts forming the shape of an "X" stood in the center of certain cells. Blue and green puffs of smoke floating along the room, going through cell after cell, passing through walls and back. They seemed to have no real destination.

Screams and cries were occasionally heard but sounded very distant. The air was musty and thick, the floors were stained red, cracked and wet from water dripping from the broken ceiling.

"What is it Zi?"

Mjrn's voice broke Zion from his trance as he blinked, and turned towards her and Lucx.

"Nothing its just......I don't think we're in Kansas anymore"

Mjrn and Lucx gave Zion a blank stare as he fought hard to hold in his laughter.

"Sorry. Bad time for a joke"

Mjrn's lips twitched slightly as if she too was fighting her laugh.

"What do you see?"

"A lot of cells, all abandoned. Its pretty creepy. Like something right out of a scary movie"

A blue puff of smoke floated towards the doorway as Zion caught sight of it, his eyes widening as he walked backwards away from it. Mjrn and Lucx froze in place as the blue cloud got closer and closer to Zion.

He held out his hands as the cloud was no more than a few inches from his face. With shaky hands, he extended them out and tried to grab the blue puff of smoke. He felt a sharp pain in his heart, pure fear, his face turned white as the puff twisted and turned and the shape of a person's face formed. Cloud form of course, but there were eyes, a nose and a mouth letting out a painful moan as the puff faded away.

Zion kept his arms outstretched, frozen in fear and disbelief. Lucx was the first to break the silence.

"What the heck was that?"

Zion looked over at Lucx and shook his head slowly.

"Lets just get out of here"

Mjrn reached up and tapped her earpiece.

"Li, are you there? Celi? Binks, can you hear me?"

Nothing but pure static echoed through her earpiece as Mjrn shook her head.

"I don't like this"

Zion walked over to Mjrn, gently grabbing her arm and swinging it over his neck again.

"Neither do I, but I'd rather not stick around here. We should at least find out where we are. Cel and Tia should be looking for us by now"

Lucx and Zion held onto Mjrn tightly as the three of them stepped out into the long room. They looked right then left, two ways to go.

"Which way?"

Both Zion and Lucx looked at Mjrn as her eyes widened, "Don't look at me, I have no idea"

Zion twitched and turned as he struggled to put his hand in his pocket. He pulled out a gold coin and held it up in front of Mjrn and Lucx.

"Heads or tails"

Mjrn stared at him, "....you're kidding"

Zion raised his eyebrows at her, making a face as she smiled and sighed.

"Heads"

Zion flipped the coin in the air, he caught it in his hand and slapped it onto the back of his other revealing the coin with a picture of pupu wings.

"Tails. We go right"


"Ow, that's like the 10th time I tripped"

Celica laughed as Liah stopped right before entering the temple to roll up the bottom of the stolen gear they had taken from the now unconscious guards, laying outside guarded by their pets.

Celica stood in the center of the small room, staring at the rather large shrine. A big crystal dragon sat at the middle with candles surrounding it. Green, orange and blue tags hung all around with an odd language written on them. At the center bottom was a large jade bowl filled with burned papers and gold coins. The rest of the room was plain aside from candles being lined up at every corner and edge of the room.

"I always wondered what was inside here"

Liah looked up as she stood on a lifted platform, placing her hands on the railing and looking down at Celica.

"I heard stories about the people from the old ages coming in here to pay tribute to the Mystic Dragon of the Seas but I had no idea as to why they sealed it"

Without looking away from the shrine, Celica spoke softly as if in a trance.

"Legend has it that this temple was built on top of the graves of the Gods and people that defied the Mystic Dragon. Supposedly the people built the temple as a final slap in the face so to speak. A few months after, whoever came to pay tribute always said they heard screams and saw ghosts"

Liah's eyes looked away from Celica and to the shrine, examining it. Celica broke out of her trance and looked to Liah.

"What I don't get was what were Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb doing in here. Not to mention how did they get inside a sealed temple"

Liah and Celica examined the room carefully and finding nothing. Though the armor they wore was light, being too big for her body was beginning to take a toll on Celica's shoulders. She leaned against a wall as Liah walked over to the shrine and stepped on the praying platform.

Celica looked up at her as she saw Liah extending a hand to touch the dragon.

"Uh...I don't think you should touch that"

Liah laughed, "Do you think the ghosts will come get me?"

Liah struggled to reach the dragon, putting a hand on an orb that sat near the base to give her an extra boost.

"Okay, so with this and the armor fitting me big, not a word to Mjrn. Or else she will seriously never stop with the short jokes, okay?"

As she rose higher, she pressed down onto the orb. It slowly sunk into the table. The wall Celica was leaning on fell back. Celica's scream was caught in her throat as she let out nothing more than a gasp of air as she fell back with the wall and out of sight.

The door rose and clicked back into place without Celica, leaving Liah alone in the room.

"Crap I think I broke this thing. But I was serious about before okay?....Celi, please I'll do anything you want....Celi?"

Liah turned her head and looked around the room. She slowly climbed off the praying platform, her heart beating fast.

"Celi?"

Liah tapped her earpiece and heard lots of static.

"Okay Celi I think that's enough kidding around for one day. Where did you run off to?"

"Pardon?" Binks.

"Sorry, I was looking for Celi. She was right here with me and she just...disappeared"

"Yeah I caught that. Like Mjrn and the others, she disconnected off of my screen and I can't track her"

Liah shook her head and looked down. Over by the shrine she noticed the floor under it had a circular groove. She walked over to it and crouched down as she glided her fingers along the groove.

"There's something here. It kinda looks like this thing could move...kinda like a passageway"

"Like in clue?"

Liah couldn't help but smile, "Exactly like that...now if only I could find--"

Feeling around for a switch or someway to move the floor, Liah accidentally knocked over a candle. Before she could react, the floor under her swung around so fast that she flew off it and landed on a hot stone floor.

She looked up and saw a cavern, dimly lit and scorching hot. The floor under her burned her hands as she quickly stood up. Floating blue and green puffs of smoke moved about as men walked in straight lines, chains tied their wrists and legs as they walked through walls. Red, green, blue, and yellow demons walked about, some whipping the men and laughing while others patrolled the many passageways of the cavern.

Where the heck am I?

Liah walked to the edge of the hill she was on and peeked over, her eyes widened at the sight of the boiling lava below her.

Ooookayyy...lava bad

Sweat slowly dripping down the back of her neck and forehead as she removed the top piece of her armor and threw it on the floor.

Cover or not, I'll die down here if I keep all this crap on

"Hey!"

Liah froze as her eyes looked to the side. Seeing nothing she slowly turned around. A large Blue demon stared down at her. His eyes red and beaming, his shoulders were big and muscular as they hunched over. He wore no shoes but his feet looked harder than stone as it was. He had small horns poking out from the small bit of orange hair he had on his head, one of his arms hung over his shoulder holding onto a stick with a bucket tied to each side.

Without a word he threw the stick to Liah. Instinctively she extended her arms out to catch it but the weight of the contents inside the buckets caused her to fall forward as soon as the stick touched her hands. She fell onto her knees and looked up as a loud booming laugh came from the blue beast in front of her.

"Up. Work. Now"

Liah heard another set of laughs coming from behind her as she looked over her shoulder. Two more demons laughed as she remained on her knees. One Red and another blue one. The red one had no horns but large fangs and claws. He was bigger than his blue companion and twice as muscular.

Great

"Up. Now"

Liah looked back to the blue demon in front of her as she slowly rose without the stick and buckets.

"Pick up"

Liah crossed her arms and just stared. The demon quickly walked up to her and punched her in the stomach without a word, knocking all the air out of her lungs. Liah coughed and gasped for air as the demons laughed.

"Now. Pick up"

A few more guards walked over since they heard the commotion. Liah looked over and noticed them as she picked up the stick, it was so heavy it felt like her arms were on fire. The demons continued to laugh as they watched Liah rest the stick behind her neck.

"Now. Move"

If he says now ONE more time...

Liah turned and faced the two demons and took a step.

"Now. Move"

Liah looked at the two demons and smiled.

She held on tight to the stick as she spun around, the buckets flew with the movement as she slammed them into the face of the blue demon behind her one after the other. It staggered back and groaned in pain as the other two demons ran to her. Liah took a deep breath and swung around again this time letting go of the stick as it flew and hit them both in the stomach, knocking them backwards.

Demons from all directions were running at her as Liah reached behind under her armor and grabbed a pair of very small thin gloves. She quickly slipped them on and pounded her fists at the knuckles as they instantly expanded. She shifted her legs, into fighting position as she waited for the demons to get closer.

Liah lifted her hands high into the air, clenching her fists fight as she slammed them down with all her weight. The floor under her erupted, causing waves of rock to move and travel along the floor smacking into the oncoming mob and throwing them back.

The floor split underneath her, shaking from the hit as another wave of demons began to run to her. A pressure on her stomach as blue arms wrapped around her waist and began to squeeze. The blue demon lifted Liah up, her feet dangling in the air as he walked toward the pool of lava. Liah twisted and turned, throwing her head back in all directions struggling to get free. The demon laughed as he walked to the edge and let go of Liah.

She turned her body and grabbed onto the leg of the demon. She slammed down with all her weight as he fell forward and over the edge. Liah immediately released her grip and grabbed onto the ledge, a sharp pain in her shoulder feeling like something ripped or dislocated.

Seeing the demons approach, Liah let go of the cliff and fell onto a small ledge of rock under her. She pressed her body tight against it as the demons practically threw themselves over the edge to see if she had fallen. They looked down but saw nothing but a sizzling blue demon as they laughed.

Liah looked from side to side for a way out. To her right was a small indent in the wall as she sidled over to it before the demons could see her. With a small dark passageway in front of her, she collapsed to her knees in exhaustion.

Well that was fun

Celica slid fast down a narrow tunnel. It twisted and turned as she knocked her head against the side and kept sliding down. The tunnel became steep as her speed increased and the temperature in the tunnel began to rise. Another sharp turn and Celica saw a glowing red opening where she couldn't see the ground. She gripped her wand and twisted the rod just as she fell through the opening. Her wand extended and caught on the opening as Celica held onto it, hanging just above a small pool of lava. She looked down and around as her feet dangled helplessly.

Noticing a thin bridge of land stretching across the lava, Celica turned around to face the cave wall and bent her knees, placing her feet firmly on the wall. She took a deep breath as she twisted the rod again. The wand shrunk in size, detaching from the opening as Celica kicked her feet off the wall, flipping backwards and landing on the edge of the bridge. She jerked forward nearly losing her balance as she glanced down at the pool of lava, swaying her arms and at last leaning back stepping away from the edge.

She took deep breaths in and out as soon as she remembered to breathe again.

No better time to say it....Holy Frijoles that was close

Celica smiled as she looked around the small room, a dark cave entrance on both sides on the bridge. She made a face as she stared at how narrow the bridge was, waves of heat rose in the distance.

I think that's enough danger for one day. No bridge for me

Turning around, she walked through the dark passageway. Unable to see anything in front of her, she held out her wand as it began to glow brightly. Her hand glided along the cave walls as she walked. The rock began to feel cooler as she made her way through. A soft pink light flickered in the distance near an opening in the passageway.

Cautiously, Celica stood at the doorway and poked her head through the opening. The room was rather large and empty except for a floating lantern in the center. Celica slowly walked up to the lantern but kept a good distance. She waved her wand back and forth underneath it.

Oookay...a perfect 10 on the creepy scale

The light coming from the lantern began to glow brighter, causing Celica to squint her eyes. She tilted her head and with a shaky, sleeved hand reached out to touch the lantern. The light seemed to explode from the lantern as a wave of pink covered the room. Celica held out her arm to shield her eyes as a strong wind blew with the light, her cloth under her armor blowing with the wind.

All at once the wind stopped and the light died down. Celica slowly opened her eyes to see a large room filled with fluffy plush toys all over. Her eyes widened and she smiled wide as she looked around the room. Bunnies, bears, cats and dogs covered every inch of the room.

Celica squealed in delight as she heard a soft whimper. Her eyes narrowed as she looked over to a wolf plushie sitting in the far corner. She slowly walked over to it, tilting her head at the sound of another whimper.

Okay now I'm double excited. A talking plushie! Wait 'til I show Liah

"What's the matter little guy?"

The whimper turned to a growl as the wolf rose up and turned around, sharp teeth bared. Celica froze in place, her eyes widening as the wolf began to walk towards her. Celica held out her hands in front of her slowly walking backwards, her voice low and shaky.

"E-easy there....that's a good boy..."

A series of growls and movement off to the side as Celica glanced to her left and right. Lion and tiger plushies that were once unmoving began to climb over the mountains of plushies. Dogs, cats and bunnies began to walk toward Celica, their eyes glowing red. Celica's back bumped into something soft and warm as her heart began to pound. She felt hot breath pour onto the top of her head as she slowly looked up and stared at a large brown bear.

Oh...my..

It looked down and roared loud as Celica jumped away from it and held out her wand. She twirled it in her hand as it began to glow. She opened her mouth to cast as a wing slapped her hard on her back, knocking her forward and causing the wand to fly across the room. Celica stumbled to her knees and looked over her shoulder.

Slowly beginning to stand, it had large brown wings, reddish scales covered its entire body. Its tail was just as scaly, the tip as sharp as a blade, claws scratched the stone floor. It had a very long neck, its face hidden in shadow but there was no mistaking what it was as smoke came from where its nostrils should have been.

The dragon towered over Celica as she could do nothing but stare, her heart beating fast.

Oh boy..


Kao sat alone in the corner of the cell with his knees drawn up, his arms crossed and resting on top and his head buried in between. A splash of water on the floor as someone stepped in a puddle and kept walking. Kao's cell door was flung open, the metal creaking loudly as the door slammed into the cell itself causing the bars to rattle.

Kao clenched his teeth as he looked up, the guard with the broken nose smiled as he stared down at him.

"Looks like you're next"


"Okay, its this portal for sure"

Zion, Mjrn and Lucx stepped into a sparkling portal glowing with bright light and materialized into a room filled with old rusty chains, broken dirty bookshelves and a large yellow demon lying face down on the floor.

Mjrn clicked her tongue inside her mouth as she stared at Zion in irritation.

"This is the same room"

Zion shook his head, "How can you be sure? I mean...maybe they have so many rooms in here they got bored of making them all different and decided to make some similar"

Mjrn jerked her head over to the demon on the floor, "I killed that a half hour ago remember?"

"Oh yeah"

At the portal across the room from them, a large figure began to materialize. Its horns were long and curved down, it had skin the color of mustard, the lower part of his body covered in a brown fur while his upper part had muscles covering every inch. Zion let out a big sigh.

"Not another Mino"

Mjrn pulled away from Lucx, wincing at the pain in her side as she took a fighting stance and held out her saber. Her Nine Rings glowed both red and golden as she held it close to her body. Zion stepped beside her, holding out his arm.

"Don't worry Nai, I got this"

Before Mjrn could object, Zion was launched forward, nearly flying across the room as he landed on the floor so hard he began to roll. Once he stopped rolling, he stopped moving.

Mjrn and Lucx looked behind them at a second Minotaur who emerged from the portal behind them, its shoulders shaking as though it were laughing. Mjrn swung her saber as the Minotaur leaped back and continued to laugh. A soft groan from Zion in the distance.

"....ow. Cheap shot. Okay then, Nai you can have the other one, I'll get this one"

Zion took out his bow, holding it firmly in hand and pointing it at the Minotaur that hit him as he and it began to encircle one another. With the Minotaur blocking the portal, Zion didn't see the other demons materializing at first. Just as he was about to shoot his arrow, a ball of fire flew up and over the Minotaur and crashed down in between them.

Zion jumped backwards, now aware of the uninvited guests as he reached into his quiver and pulled out numerous arrows. He pointed his bow up and launched the arrows into the air as they fell down like rain. The demons danced around, trying to avoid being hit as Zion smiled distracted.

The Minotaur roared as it charged at Zion, his head down and his horns facing front. Zion's eyes widened as the Minotaur hit him square in the stomach with Zion holding onto its neck. The Minotaur continued to charge as it headed straight for a wall.

"ZION"

Mjrn slashed the Minotaur in front of her in half as she ran forward to try and stop the charge. A mob of demons ran in between her as Zion looked over his shoulder and saw the wall they were about to hit. Over and over Zion pounded the Minotaur's neck and head but it ran faster than ever.

Crap...this is going to hurt

At last he held on as they both went through the wall and left it with nothing more than a wave of ripples.

Mjrn's saber tore into a demon as it fell backwards, its body slamming hard onto the ground causing it to shake under Mjrn's feet. She had her back pressed against Lucx's as they both breathed heavily. From both entryways large figures began to materialize, numerous demons once again filled the room. Lucx's shoulders sagged as he shook his head.

"They keep coming. What now?"

Mjrn held her Nine Rings tightly in her hand, "We need to get out of this room...but I don't want to leave Zi"

"Lets lose these uglies first. We're exhausted as is and won't be much help to Zion if we get ourselves killed"

Mjrn nodded, "Okay, on three we make a break for the portal behind you"

Lucx nodded and took a deep breath as Mjrn began to count"

"1..............2..............3!"

Mjrn ran forward as Lucx turned around and ran after her. Holding out her saber, Mjrn sliced down anything she came into contact with as they charged for the portal. They were running so fast, as they materialized their bodies remained moving and ran to the edge of a high cliff. Mjrn stopped inches from it with Lucx sliding behind her on his tip toes and sucking in his stomach to prevent contact.

They both peered over the ledge to see nothing more than a bottomless pit, sparks of fire from torches hanging on the walls fell down and disappeared. Within seconds demons began to materialize from the portal behind them. Mjrn looked behind her then in front, a narrow stone bridge stretched from their side to a platform very far across. It lead to a staircase seen in the distance. Lucx noticed it too.

"Come on Mjrn, lets cross this thing"

Lucx ran for the bridge and slowly began to cross it. Mjrn was right behind him but she stopped. As he neared the other side, Lucx stopped to look behind him. He saw Mjrn at the other end of the bridge as his eyes widened.

"What's wrong? Mjrn you have to keep moving, they're coming"

She looked behind her at the demons forming at the portal then back at Lucx. Speaking so softly, it sounded like a whisper.

"They're not going to stop chasing us..."

Lucx's eyes narrowed as he yelled across the room, "What?"

Turning around facing her back to Lucx, Mjrn noticed something on the far wall to her left. She looked up and saw big pieces of the cave hanging from the ceiling. Glancing at the approaching mob, Mjrn threw her Nine Rings like a boomerang at the ceiling. It twisted and turned, the fast movement causing a propeller like sound as the saber soared in the air. It sliced through the hanging pieces one after another in a circular form as it made its way back to Mjrn.

The demons poured onto the bridge, shaking the floor as pieces of the ceiling began to come crashing down. Mjrn held up her hand and caught her saber by the hilt just as a big chunk of rock broke through the ground in front of her. Lucx watched in horror as the bridge broke into pieces and fell. He tried to run towards Mjrn, but the ground under him began to break causing him to jump back onto more stable ground.

"MJRN!"

Demons were thrown from the bridge. Others tried to run back to the platform as many began to fall with the crumbling rock. Echoes of groans and roars radiated through the room as they fell, lost in the darkness.

As the bridge fell apart, Mjrn jumped onto a falling piece of rock and leaped towards the far wall on her left. Having noticed an indent in the wall before, she aimed straight for it as she soared in the air. Her jump fell a little short as her body slammed into the wall just under the indent knocking the air from her lungs, her hands slapping the ledge so hard it echoed.

Lucx stared nervously, his heart beating fast as he stood helpless across the room. Mjrn tried to pull herself up, her side feeling like she was being stabbed repeatedly by a hot blade. With shaky arms, she lifted her body as she let out a scream in pain. Her feet scrambled against the cave wall as at last the upper part of her body was raised above the ledge and resting on the ledge. Mjrn dragged the rest of her body onto it, and laid there unmoving trying to catch her breath.

"Mjrn! Are you okay?"

Lucx's voiced echoed through the room as Mjrn slowly rose to her feet and peeked passed the wall that now blocked her view of him.

"Yeah, are you?"

"Just peachy. Now uh...how are you going to get over here?"

Mjrn looked behind her at a pair of stairs, leaning forward trying to see the top. She poked her head back out and yelled to Lucx.

"There's some stairs here. I'm going to see where they lead. You keep on ahead, hopefully we can meet up"

Lucx slowly nodded as Mjrn's head disappeared from view. He quickly called out to her.

"Mjrn!"

Once again she poked her head out. Lucx let out a big sigh as he looked at his friend.

"Be careful"

Mjrn softly smiled as she nodded, "You too"


Zion laid motionless on the floor. Feeling an intense throbbing in his head and stomach as he slowly came to. His eyes flickered open as he looked around the room. It was otherwise empty from what he could see though he noticed the lighting in the room glowed a soft blue.

"Man that was insanely badass...ow...just wish it didn't have to hurt so much"

Groaning, he slowly rose on his hands and knees. To the left, he noticed a floating lantern with the corner of his eye. The blue light radiated from it as Zion slowly got to his feet. He looked toward the wall he went through and noticed the Minotaur lying motionless on the floor.

Zion smiled and crossed his arms, "That'll teach you to try and sweep me off my feet"

The light from the lantern began to glow brighter, catching Zion's attention again. He slowly walked towards it, the light continuing to glow brighter. Slowly outstretching his arms to grab it, the light seemed to explode from the lantern. Blue light covered every inch of the room and a strong wave of wind blew out and away from the lantern.

Zion shielded his eyes as the strength of the wind caused him to step back. The wind died down and the light dimmed. The quiet room was now filled with the sound of a large crowd cheering as Zion slowly opened his eyes. His jaw dropped as he looked around in awe. He was standing in the center of a stage in a stadium surrounded by countless people cheering his name.

Fangirls and guys alike wore T-shirts with his name and face. Some held signs and blew whistles while others waved and blew kisses. Flashes from cameras lit up the stadium. There was a huge TV in the center of the stadium showing a live feed of Zion standing on that stage. He looked up at it as he swayed from side to side and slowly waving his hand back and forth.

Holy....I'm on TV!

Excitedly, Zion waved his entire arm back and forth and smiled wide, his face covering the big screen. A voiced echoed throughout the stadium. It was so loud, the stage vibrated.

"Give it up for Zion 'BadAss' Hazard!"

The crowed cheered even louder as the people stood up from their seats, some jumping up and down. The camera flashes increased as Zion's smiled widened. He began to take advantage of the situation and performed a series of different poses.

The girls screamed loudly as the announcer voice returned.

"Any words for the fans ZBH?"

A microphone dropped in front of him and hung by a wire as the stadium grew silent waiting for Zion's answer. His eyebrows arched in surprised as he stared nervously. He slowly leaned forward and spoke into the microphone.

"Umm.."

Everyone in the stadium stood in suspense as they continued to wait. Zion slowly smiled, his grin widening as he stood straight and placed one hand in his pocket. With the other he made the shape of gun and pointed it at the crowd, winking.

"Who's Bad?"

Instantly the crowd began to cheer. The screams of the girls overshadowed that of the males, to which it was sure Zion appreciated. He grinned wide and crossed his arms, keeping up his "badass" persona as the camera flashes grew more and more frequent. The announcer's voice boomed throughout the stadium once more.

"Oh my God this kid is amazing!!! There's just one thing I have to ask..."

Zion waited for an answer, the stadium once again silencing.

"How does it feel?"

Zion's eyes widened at the change of the voice. It was darker, deeper. Scary even. The voice echoed throughout the stadium, as the people in the seats slowly began to disappear with shadows taking their place. The lights turned off, the camera flashes stopped. Red eyes glowed from the darkness from each "fan" that was once sitting in the stands.

Zion froze in horror as he watched as a judge's bench appeared in front of the stage. A small booth on either side of the bench. A spotlight shone on Zion as a large blue figure began to appear in the seat where a judge would normally sit. The figure had blue bear ears, blue fur and a white stomach. On its stomach was a symbol of a moon with star beside it.

What the hell?.....Bedtime Bear?

Zion tried to take a step forward but couldn't move his feet. The sound of chains clanging together as he looked down to see his ankles shackled to the stage. Bedtime Bear stood from his seat, seeming 10 times bigger than he was while sitting. His eyes no longer looking happy or sleepy, but angry and evil. His voiced boomed in what now seemed like a courtroom.

"Zion Hazard. You have been accused being a BadAss. Do you deny it?"

Zion looked confused as he shook his head slowly, "Umm....I don't"

Bedtime Bear then pounded his paws on the table as it shook. He yelled as the entire courtroom vibrated.

"Your 'BadAss' actions have caused your friends nothing but pain and suffering. Do you deny that?"

Zion's eyebrows knitted together, his head jerked back in surprise, "Wait what?...I didn-"

Bedtime Bear yelled again, cutting Zion off, "This court finds you guilty of endangering your friends with useless thrills. The punishment......"

Zion felt cold metal close around his wrists as he looked down to see a new pair of shackles tying his hands together. His eyes widened as he looked back up at Bedtime Bear. The bear leaned back a bit, his face hidden in the shadows as his eyes began to glow red themselves.

".....is death"

Liah gripped her arm tight as she walked through tunnel after tunnel. The pain in her shoulder continued to throb as continued to walk. After a while, the walls became smoother and soon colored paints were spread all over. There were drawings of the demons roaming around, drawings of slaves and even one of the great Dragon sitting atop its throne.

Liah stopped to analyze a particular drawing that caught her attention. The drawing showed three people, one from each race: Human, Shura and Sylph standing in front of a large wall with three separate entrances. The drawing next to it showed each of the three walking into the entrance in front of them. Liah slowly walked to follow the drawings as the next showed a floating lantern. The last drawing showed the three men all scared as they were surrounded by shadows, floating beside the lantern.

Liah tried to reach up and touch the painting, forgetting about her arm when she felt a sharp pain in her shoulder. She winced in pain, even let out a groan as she bent forward.

Right, forgot about that

Her fingers rubbed her shoulder, trying to soothe the pain when she felt a small gap in between her bones.

Dislocated....great

She took a deep breath as she placed her good hand on the wall over the painting of the latern. She then rested her bad shoulder against the wall, taking another breath in hesitation. In one swift motion, she twisted her shoulders and pressed against the wall, snapping her bones back in place. Liah let out a loud yell of pain as she rested head against the wall and breathing heavily. The lantern part of the drawing began to sink in as Liah put pressure on it and soon after the wall the was resting on began to slide to the side.

Liah quickly stepped back, rubbing her shoulder and slowly rotating it as the wall slowly opened in front of her, a soft purple light flickering in the distance.

Walking with caution, Liah slowly entered the tiny room and noticed a floating lantern in the center. A purple light radiated from it.

"Hmm...from the paintings"

Liah's eyes narrowed as she encircled the lantern, trying to decide what to do with it. Finally she reached behind her and pulled out her gloves. They were as tiny as before, resembling normal thin everyday gloves. She slipped them on and clenched her fists tight and pounded them at the knuckles. The gloves instantly expanded and spikes sprouted from the knuckles.

Liah bended her elbow and pulled back, keeping her fist close to her face. She swung forward with all her might, aiming to shatter the lantern. As soon as her glove came into contact with it, light burst from the lantern and a bright purple light exploded, covering the room.

A strong wind was released along with the light as the force of it pushed Liah back. Her arms formed the shape of an "X" in front of her face as her feet slowly slid back. She clenched her eyes shut as she felt the wind slowly die down. The light dimmed as Liah slowly opened her eyes, squinting. She brought her hands down from her face as her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Mjrn stood in front of her in a long white silk gown, her arms extended as she stood on top of a cloud smiling. Her silver hair flew with the breeze as her eyes, blue and amber were filled with such happiness and love.

"Come closer love"

Liah's eyes fell to her feet as she noticed that she too was standing on a cloud. The breeze that blew made Liah able to see through the cloud, a town lied beneath them, a very long way down. Liah's legs turned to jelly, her heart stopped beating.

Heights..I hate heights

In the next instant Mjrn was right in front of her. She curled her index finger under Liah's chin and slowly rose her head, staring into her eyes.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you"

Liah softly smiled as she nodded. Mjrn wrapped her other arm around Liah's waist and pulled her closer.

Liah's smile soon faded, her eyes widened as she stared at Mjrn.

Mjrn's eyes began to change color, both turning a dark almost blood red color. Her skin began to change too becoming scaly around her neck, chest and forearms while her back and outer arms were covered in a layer of feathers. Her hair grew longer, the color changed from silver to a firey red with blonde streaks. Her feet became thicker, the texture became rougher and she grew talons at the end of her toes like bird feet.

Liah stared in horror as the one she now locked eyes with was no longer Mjrn. She was in the arms of the Phoenix herself.

The cloud under them disappeared, the world below them was still a far way down though they were much closer than before, a battle raging on the ground. Phoenix's arms slid up Liah's body and now wrapped tight around her neck. Liah's clothes were torn and bloody, her gloves lying on the floor below her somewhere.

Due to the lack of oxygen, Liah's eyes slowly began to feel heavy. The sound from the battle became blurred as her gaze shifted from the Phoenix to the side on the ground. She watched as Celica and Mjrn charged through monster after monster rushing to reach her.

Phoenix's wings flapped in the air, her laugh so high pitched, it nearly caused Liah's ears to bleed.

"Did you really think you could have beaten me? Foolish girl"

Slowly drifting in and out of conciousness a voice screamed inside Liah's head.

Its not real. Its not real! Wake up! Wake up!

Phoenix laughed again, as if she was reading Liah's thoughts.

"Oh this is no dream. Observe"

Liah felt a rush of wind as she was thrown backwards. She soared through the air, a sudden burst of pain as she slammed hard against a rock wall. All the air from her lungs escaped her as she grunted in pain, blackness covering and fading from her vision. Liah fell forward and began to fall towards the world below her. Phoenix flew up to meet her, gripping her by the collar of her shirt and flew her back up into the sky.

She laughed again as she pulled Liah close to her face and whispered softly.

"Any last words? You're going to die right here little one"


"This isn't real. This can't be real. Please please pleaseeeeee let this be a dream"

Celica pressed her back against the wall as the dragon got closer. The smoke coming out from his nostrils soon sucked back in as the dragon's head tilted up, his chest puffing out.

Oh God.....please don't say he's going to....

Through small partings in the dragon's lips, a glowing red light could be seen. The smell of smoke and charcoal filled the room as the mouth slowly opened, fire sitting on the dragon's tongue. A small black object sat behind the fire.

Yep...he's going to blow

Celica's eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. The dragon's head jerked forward as a wave of fire flew from its mouth.

The lan-...oh crap

Celica jumped to the side as the fire blew against the wall, melting a hole straight through it. Celica turned to face the dragon as it turned its head to look at Celica, rage in its eyes as it charged up for another go.

Celica quickly took a glance around the room and saw her wand sitting in the middle of a circle of lion plushies.

"Oh come on. There's kitty plushies here! Why couldn't it be in the pile of kitty plushies?"

A growl from the dragon caused Celica to look over her shoulders. The dragon's mouth slowly began to open again, the fire almost spilling out. She quickly rose to her feet and ran over to the lions. The dragon turned his body, fully facing Celica as he thrust his head forward, the fire flying out of its mouth once again and began to chase after Celica.

Oh my God. I promise if I make this, I'll be nice to Zi

One of the lions rushed to meet Celica as she jumped, stepping on its head and leaping off it into the air. The fire glided against the ground as the lions ran in all directions, some getting caught in the blast. As she soared through the air, Celica turned and flipped her body as she extended her hand over her wand. It shook on the floor for a second and flew to her as she caught it in the air and landed on the other side of the pile of what was now black dust.

Celica laughed like a maniac as she twirled her wand in the air, forgetting about the dragon for a split second. The fire soon began to spread around the room, catching onto the curtains and bed along with the other plushies as they all ran wildly crashing into one another. Celica hopped from foot to foot trying to avoid any collision as the fire soon rose to the ceiling, black smoke covering the room.

Celica quickly looked up to the ceiling.

"...the roof, the roof, the roof is on fire"

The dragon roared loudly, its mouth opening again.

"Oh right...no time for that"

Celica saw a piece of the lantern again as the dragon opened its mouth. She pointed her wand at it as thunerbolts shot out, the fire from the dragon's mouth shooting out in the opposite direction. A long stream of thunder broke through the fire and hit the lantern dead on. Celica's head tilted down as she closed her eyes, bracing herself for pain.

A flash of pink light burst through the dragon as it exploded, a strong rush of wind like before nearly blowing Celica out of balance. It stopped all at once and she slowly opened her eyes. Back in the room she was in before, the lantern now shattered and lying on the floor beside her feet.

What the...am I back?

Celica took short breaths as she looked around the room unbelieving she was safe, well as safe as she could be. A loud boyish scream echoed through the tunnels as Celica faced the direction it came from.

Zi...

Without further hesitation, Celica gripped her wand tight and ran through a tunnel entrance.