A flash of light filled the teleportation chamber atop the Blue Spire.
"We certainly are making good time in all these space voyages, aren't we?" spoke a female voice.
"Affirmative," resounded a metallic one.
The tall mechanical titan and the shadowy figure appeared in the chamber. Both stepped to the floor and examined the surroundings.
The machine noticed that his companion was carrying a new object in one hand.
"Was your task completed during your rest?" it asked.
The shade brushed a few strands of its neon green hair out of its face and responded.
"Not completely... I almost had him in my clutches when something intervened... at least I procured this thing... which belongs here anyway."
"Affirmative. Let us begin the second phase," the large metal humanoid replied.
The dark figure grabbed onto one of its arms and held on as its engines activated. The duo abruptly burst through one of the walls into the open air.
A minute later, the two 'visitors' landed at the foot of the Blue Spire.
"I will now seek out our allies here... massive energies have been detected far to the northwest... that could only be his brother. Are you accompanying me or will you put the subterfuge plan into action?"
"Hai... the latter," the shade replied and released the limb of the colossus.
"Affirmative... a small domicile was detected a little to the south of this location. You may desire to start there... I will seek you out after searching this quadrant.".
With that, the machine's engines lit and it soared off into the air with a slight booming sound.
The shadowy figure watched it go off and muttered, "Good luck... KOMUSHA."
The darkness around the figure started to dissipate... revealing a young woman with midnight black skin. The slightly tall female had a nearly waist-length mane of neon green hair flowing over her shoulders. Her body was adorned with a skimpy dark blue outfit... a strange sort of metal made up the 'armor' that covered her shoulders and chest. A slightly darker skirt hung around her waist down to her knees. Similar colored boots were on her legs up to her knees and a pale scarf was around her neck.
Her eyes were the strangest... that which should have been white was now black and the irises were bright crimson.
She sighed, unsheathed a sword at her side and stared at it. Her appearance abruptly changed. The skin tone brightened to a more human shade... though a little pale. The color of the eyes inverted and became normal save for a slight red tint in the irises. Her hair and outfit remained the same.
"Let's just see what 'heroes' exist on this world," she remarked and laughed. It was a vile sound to
The strange woman started dashing to the south... but was interrupted by a Sand Shark who leapt out of the sand and tried to grab her leg.
"Bite me? I'd let you feel my bite if you had some worthy blood," was all she said as her blade flashed through the beast and halved it. She then resumed her sprint.
Nall flew to the pinnacle of the Star Tower with Hiro and Lucia on his back. He gently landed on the outer balcony and let the two of them off.
As he transformed into a human form, the duo quickly entered the tower.
"The Star Dragon Tower... why couldn't it have been this easy to get in last time," Hiro muttered to no one in particular.
"It WAS a test, human," the voice of the master of the structure boomed out.
"Yeah," Nall replied as he caught up to them, "Must've been a really tough one if you let both Hiro here and some random person through."
The threesome entered the main chamber of the tower. The Star Dragon was in his humanoid sentry form.
"Guardian Lucia... I have some pressing questions for you," he spoke.
She nodded, "I have some information that may answer those same questions." Lucia looked to Nall. "Are the other dragons coming?"
He shook his head.
"Doesn't look like it... I can't detect if they're near or far due to all the activity going on... plus they don't seem to be responding to any thoughts I'm sending out."
The Star Sentry added, "They appear to be busy..."
"Hey... where are Jean and that little dragon you mentioned, Nall?" Hiro interrupted.
Nall looked about.
"I was just about to ask that same question. Well... where are they, Starry?"
The armored warrior answered slowly.
"They left this morning. I had detected a large amount of action yesterday toward the north and I suggested they investigate it."
"Great," came the White Dragon's sarcastic response, "It would have been too easy if Lucia could've examined 'Frye'."
"I don't know if that would have helped any," the blue-haired Guardian spoke up.
Hiro and Nall looked over at her. The Star Sentry sat on the floor with its legs crossed.
"There has been some facts that may clear up the current goings-on somewhat... which I have never divulged before. That is why I wished for all the dragons to hear them at once... but I guess that can't be helped now," Lucia began.
"A long time ago... even before Zophar decimated it... the Blue Star was a world with a terrible secret. Althena knew about that secret... the Dark Scimitar... and sought to keep it hidden from beings who followed the Darkness."
"The Darkness?" Hiro interrupted. "Zophar?"
"No," she continued, "Something far more horrid than the mad god Zophar. The Darkness was half of a supreme being that was responsible for much of the universe... but the Darkness' only goal was the destruction of all life EVERYWHERE."
Lucia shuddered.
"As Althena had told me, the Darkness was banished at the beginning of time... during the period when it was infusing its power into a few blades... the Dark Scimitar was one of these and it contains a great deal of the Darkness' power. When the being who banished the Darkness finished its task, it also created a number of light swords... including the blade that came to be known as Althena's Sword."
Nall realized he still had the blade in his back sheath. He pulled it out and it shone with a magnificent brilliance.
Lucia went on speaking.
"All I know is that the Dark Scimitar was left 'sleeping' on the Blue Star when Althena brought her sword to Lunar. The two swords are counterparts of each other and she wished to keep the light sword's power from awakening the dark one."
"And does Zophar figure into this?" Hiro asked.
"Yes... he knew of the Darkness' power and wished to reawaken it... but he was not alone. Many evil beings surfaced on the Blue Star to search for the swords there... some were followers of Zophar... some were dark gods of their own rights... and others even came from different star systems. The arrival of one such fiend heralded the time when Zophar and his allies sought to bring about humankind's downfall on the Blue Star."
Lucia paused for a moment and glanced at Hiro, Nall and the Star Dragon. All were listening intently.
"They first attempted to make man self-destruct in the course of wars and chaos before they took part in the ravaging of the Blue Star. Althena took pity on humanity as you know and with the aid of her dragons she was able to bring many of the uncorrupted humans (and life itself) to Lunar. She then returned to the Blue Star and confronted Zophar and his allies... including the dark dragon who turned against her. Althena was successful in sealing away Zophar... but many other dark ones had to be taken care of. Some had been dealt with by the aid of human heroes on the Blue Star before the invasions had begun... even the dark dragon was made vulnerable by a human... one of its bloodline in fact. Althena 'cleansed' as much evil from the planet as she could... but the Blue Star... or 'Earth' as it was known back then... was damaged too greatly."
She took a few breaths and shivered.
"It is true that the Blue Star was decimated... but it was NOT completely stripped of all life. Althena took MOST of the uncorrupted humans to Lunar as the evil ones wiped themselves out... but it turned out that she left several tiny groups behind due to an accident when she sealed the planet off."
Hiro was wide-mouthed by now. The dragons were a little more stable.
"They were very small and scattered packets of life... not expected to survive for long... but Althena did leave the power of magic available to them just in case they did persist. The Blue Star at one time was dominated by technology rather than magic... it turned out to be the downfall of the planet... though I don't know exactly how," she spoke.
"The legend of the Green Dragon is already known to all of you by now. Althena left this fifth dragon to watch over the Dark Scimitar on the Blue Star. Althena once told me that this drake was supposedly 'split' into several creatures at the same time and would only reappear in its full form when the Scimitar was moderately awake... but this is only a rumor. If any of the dark ones who hid on the Blue Star tried to recover the blade... those who 'were' the dragon would meet and put down the attempt before anything neared the sword."
"And what about the little dragon that Jean found?" Nall quested.
"I don't know what it could exactly mean. If it does contain part of a dragon aura as you say it did, perhaps that dragon is one of the several beings that make up the fifth dragon... though I wonder where the rest of it could be. If the Dark Scimitar is indeed here now... I would expect that all of the Green Dragon would have followed it."
"And the companion?"
Lucia replied, "Maybe it's one of the other components...or the bearer of the dark blade. If it's neither... then both the Star Dragon and I have failed in keeping the worlds separate until the Blue Star is revived. In any case, we must locate all of these travelers and neutralize the Dark Scimitar before it awakens."
"That is all I recall from Althena's teachings," she finished. "I hope it has helped."
Nall held out Althena's Sword to Hiro.
"You're the best at wielding this... we'll probably need it."
Hiro took the sword in one hand and replaced GlitterEdge in its sheath.
The room grew quiet for several minutes.
"This may not be a good time to inform you of more problems... but something else just landed at the Blue Spire... a beam was seen a while before you arrived," the Star Sentry reported.
"More unwelcome guests?! Man, those Guardians aren't very effective, Lucia. We need to invest in better tower guards," Hiro responded.
"So," Nall blurted out, "What do we do now? Chase Jean and this little dragon? Look for either group of other travelers? Find Leo and the Destiny?"
A thought came to Hiro's mind. Leo had lost the Destiny near the Blue Spire... at Gwyn's house. Now even more 'invaders' were in the area... not to mention those dopplegangers they saw awhile back. His grandfather may have been in great danger...
The dark-haired young man promptly relayed this idea to Lucia at his side. The Guardian of the Blue Star became wide-eyed. She turned to face Nall and the Star Dragon.
"I have a request... Nall, I'd like you to bring us back to the Salyan Desert to pick up Gwyn first... with Blue Star travelers in the area, he may be in jeopardy. Then we should split up and search for any signs of the little dragon or his companions... and the Dark Scimitar of course." She looked at the armored humanoid, "I'd ask you to watch both spires and prevent ANYTHING else from coming to Lunar... this situation is getting too dire."
Both dragons nodded and consented. They hurried outside onto the balcony. Hiro and Lucia climbed atop the back of the transformed White Dragon and soared off to the southeast. The Star Sentry looked to the north for any sign of activity... and noticed something large moving toward Takkar.
The shadowy woman had just arrived in the vicinity of Gwyn's home when she heard the sound of jets overhead. The orange and black 'skinned' machine landed next to her.
"My... that was fast. Found them yet?" she quested as she examined a few wounds that the Sand Sharks had given her when they swarmed on the way.
"Negative... this quadrant is empty with the exception of one set of ruins, two small settlements, this house and the tower we arrived in. Nothing powerful was detected in any of these structures," it responded.
"Hai... wait outside and let me see if I procure any useful information from the denizen of this tent."
She moved to the tent flap, found nothing to knock on and decided just to enter slowly. The metal titan simply examined the statue of Althena in front of the building.
"Another spiritual Guardian... must be one that the Light left to guard DarkStar."
"Uh, hello? Excuse Me?" she asked in a moderate volume as she entered.
"Lucia? Have you and Hiro found Leo yet?"
The response came from an old man who appeared to be reading through a stack of books. He was half-human and half-beast. He looked up from the tomes and stood up as he saw the young woman.
"Oh... I'm sorry. My hearing must be going. I thought you were someone else."
He glanced up and down at the visitor's appearance.
As he did, the names he mentioned went through the female's mind.
"Hmm...they sound somewhat familiar...what were the Protectors on this world called?" she thought to herself.
She snapped back into reality as he spoke.
"Well, it seems you're, ah, dressed appropriately for desert travel, miss?"
"Kuyo is my name... and I was hoping that you could maybe give me some directions... this is my first time in this desert," she answered.
"Ah," the old half-breed stated, "Let me get you a map or two and a cup of tea. Say, you look like you've been a fight or two. Why not use the statue outside while I get the maps? I'm Gwyn by the way."
Kuyo bowed.
"Thank you, Gwyn. I shall be right back."
She left the tent and walked to the side of the metal man.
"Well, we'll get a little information here at least," Kuyo remarked as she used the statue. A healing blue light surrounded her body and her wounds closed.
"Hiro is the name of one of the heroes of this world if the information that the master programmed has not been damaged," it answered.
Kuyo grinned evilly.
"Oh... really? I have a nasty plan then, KOMUSHA..."
Kuyo sat down inside with Gwyn and listened to his information on the surrounding areas. She thanked him for the tea and asked for a little information about himself and his grandson.
Gwyn was glad to have someone to talk to and told her many small tales about Hiro and himself. The strangely attired woman was actually rather friendly enough to listen and show interest.
When asked about her past and current little 'trip', Kuyo gave the old man a brief story mostly made up from the little information that the masters had given KOMUSHA. She 'originated' in Vane but later moved to Meribia. Since then, she traveled Lunar in search of adventure. It sounded similar to what Leo had been doing since Zophar was defeated so Gwyn bought it.
As they spoke, the two of them got more and more friendly. Gwyn pleasantly smiled as Kuyo came to call him 'Grandpa' a couple of times.
Tales of Zophar particularly intrigued the woman. She knew all about him already of course, but the causes of his downfall were quite a surprise. This Ghaleon character seemed very interesting as well... it was too bad he had passed away again...
In the midst of a tale of Lunar's guardian dragons, a loud explosion was heard outside the house. Gwyn and Kuyo jumped to their feet... and were knocked back down as a huge figure smashed a hole in the side of the tent and littered them with debris.
"Half-Beast Gwyn...you are coming with me!" yelled the shade in an inhuman tone.
"Eh?! What's this creature?!" the old man exclaimed and raised his cane.
"Beyond your intelligence, old one," it spoke.
"Eh? Well then sleep and give me a chance to really 'understand' you," Gwyn replied and cast an Herbal Breeze. The sleeping spell's effects glanced off the metal hide of the figure.
KOMUSHA responded in a monotone: "Now, will you be accompanying me or do I have to use force?"
Kuyo unsheathed her sword and yelled, "You aren't taking anyone! Grandpa is staying right here!" The female warrior rushed the figure and swung her blade deeply into its knee, rewarding her with a shower of sparks.
"Cursed human! You are expendable... he is not!" the titan answered. From its back were released a set of four triangle shaped metal drones. Each had a long, needle-like projection on one corner.
Gwyn held his staff at the ready as his companion dodged a yellow beam that was emitted from one of the objects. Kuyo thrust one of her arms toward him and what appeared to be a sharp dagger engulfed in a black flame was flung at the metal man. It embedded itself in one of KOMUSHA's shoulders and unleashed more sparks.
"Die human!" it yelled as two of the drones flew up behind Kuyo and blasted her with their beams. The force of the blast slammed her hard against a wall. She sunk to the floor and lay still.
"No!"
Gwyn was about to cast a healing spell on her unmoving body when the other two drones smacked him with red beams. He cried out in agony and painfully crumpled on the floor.
KOMUSHA picked him up and placed the old man in his 'chest cockpit'.
"Did it seem realistic enough, Kuyo?"
Kuyo slowly picked herself up off the floor from which she had been acting unconscious.
"Hai... ooh, a little too realistic," she replied, rubbing one of her arms. "Let's get moving with this hostage and either find the allies or stage something..."
The two of them slowly exited the rubble-filled tent. KOMUSHA took off with Kuyo holding on to one of the machine's arms.