"She retches and I'm jumping."
"Ohhhh," Kara moaned, clutching her stomach.
Talm was trying to slide away from her grasp by pulling on Ryko's shoulders. She responded with another slap, then glared at her redheaded friend.
"Okay... take it easy, Kara. Just don't look down," she offered as the high-speed winds blew her hair about wildly.
Sure enough, the first thing the Bunny Karate member did was glance toward the rushing landscape far below. Her 'ears' were pressed back by the force of the billowing gales.
"Ugh... I don't feel so well," she muttered.
"I said DON'T look down!" Ryko repeated as Talm tried to push both the martial artist and himself away from their companion.
The Junior Premier of Vane was sitting farther up on Shade's back. She looked back at what was happening as she carefully held Thundra in her arms.
"Hee, hee. Shade, I think we'd better land soon... she's looking pretty green back there," Lemina remarked.
The rumbling voice of the dragon spoke back.
"We're almost there... Azuren flew ahead to keep a bead on the sorcerer." She paused and continued, "Funny that Nall didn't catch us as we flew by Taben's Peak... he's probably out with Ruby again."
The black dragon soared onward toward Vane.
"There's the last of them... nasty little buggers," a gruff voice muttered.
Atop the structure known as Taben's Peak, a couple of Tricksters and Pyromaniacs were busily tying up a bunch of Dragon Kids. The children (who had been taken under Nall's 'wing' so to say) were whining and making threats as they sat on the metallic floor.
"Absolutely... I'm still aching from those bites... wish we could just eliminate them," a flaming fiend responded to the mage next to him.
The Trickster nodded as another group entered the chamber that the white dragon usually frequented in human form. A Cult Priest led a troop of eight metallic creatures. Each had a small round body and six spindly arms hanging from it.
"Quiet you two... we just spotted a pair of dragons flying past the tower... it's mere luck that they didn't land to look for the white one here," the priest spoke. "We must locate that sword as soon as possible... it's the only thing that could counter the Dark Scimitar."
He turned and faced the robotic beings that followed him.
"Stix... tear this place apart and find that blade! The rest of you... continue to spread out and search this tower. It has to be here somewhere!"
The Stix machinations silently began to move about the room. The priest and the other henchmen left the chamber as they began to literally rip the metal panels from the walls and floor, slowly moving toward Nall's chair.
None knew that Nall had already taken the precaution of carrying Althena's Sword with him when he left.
"Okay... she looks a little more calm... land quick, Shade," Lemina spoke. The dragon nodded its head and began to descend toward Vane.
"You okay?" Ryko quested as she looked at her companion.
"Yeah... urp... I feel more stable... it's not so... ugh... bad up here..." Kara slowly replied.
Talm grinned as he put his mask back on.
"It certainly is much better to be flying through this fresh air compared to, say, being covered with pancreas back in those stinking sewers," the ninja jested.
"Ugh... ohhhhh... I'm going to vomit!"
"IDIOT!" Ryko shouted, "Land now or we're going to need another cleaning!"
Shade complied promptly. Kara hopped off and ran for the bushes. Lemina and company only cringed as they listened.
In a few minutes, the now humanoid Shade stood with a grinning Lemina, a red-faced Ryko, a pale Kara and a slightly dazed (after being browbeaten) Talm. The thunder raven circled them in an attempt to stretch its wings. The stone stairway that led up to Vane was before them.
Azuren, also in human form, came rushing down the steps.
"I scouted the town already... there's no sign of him. There's still the mansion to check... but I doubt that the crest has been stolen already since there's no commotion," he spoke.
"Weird... you don't think he could've been just trying to get away?" Shade quested.
Azuren shrugged and replied, "I don't know. Perhaps the answer lies in the Guild Mansion."
Before they could move, Lemina interrupted.
"Wait a minute! If you didn't see him leave Vane from the air... he must still be in here somewhere... but what if he took the Cave of Trial as his way in or out? We better check that too." "The Cave of Trial?" Ryko quested, "Isn't that some sort of ancient testing ground for magicians. I seem to remember Jan hearing something about it from her father."
"Yep. That'd be the perfect place to hide out if he still plans to go for the crest... of course, who knows if there's anything dangerous down there now... Hiro and the rest of the group cleaned it out awhile back," the Junior Premier answered.
"Fine... Lemina, you and Azuren check the Mansion. I'll guard the town entrance from the cave," Shade ordered. "And you three..."
"Hold it... you're going to put us through the Trial?! Wouldn't it be more intelligent to send magicians in there rather than martial artists?" Talm quested with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"Well, you have to 'pay' your way in somehow," Lemina giggled. "And who knows... maybe your skills will qualify as 'magic'... then you could join the Guild and have all the benefits and-"
"Ahem... the sales pitch can come later," Shade interrupted. "Maybe your avian ally will give them some assistance."
As if she was listening, Thundra landed on Ryko's shoulder and emitted a pleasant note of song.
"Guess so," Ryko muttered. The Horam trio dashed off toward the Fountain of Transmission (which was still in operation), passing by the old man who technically guarded it...
...But he was sleeping deeply as they ran by and into the portal, bickering all the way.
"You're going first, Ryko," Talm commanded.
"Why me?"
"You've got the bird."
Shade, Azuren and Lemina ran up the stairway and separated into two groups. The former ran over to the Trial's exit portal and peered within. The other duo brushed past townspeople and hurried into the mansion.
The main chamber was empty... but the Black Dragon Crest was still there at the head of the room.
"Whew... guess we beat him here," Lemina sighed. Azuren glanced about the room.
"Where is everyone... it's too quiet here," the Blue Dragon spoke.
"It is... isn't it?" a familiar voice spoke.
They spun on their heels to come face to face with the Necromancer... and a bruised Miria being held by a Pyromaniac. Two Fly-Boys were pointing their weapons at her head.
"MOTHER!!!"
"Kinda creepy, isn't it?" Kara asked shakily.
Ryko sighed aloud as Thundra shifted on her perch. The young girl was not scared... much. For a Cave of Trial, so far it hadn't been that much of a challenge. They already found stairs to another floor without a single peep being heard.
Talm had his darts ready as they wandered the dark passageways. He was unable to see any sort of movement so far.
"Maybe it's just a trial to see if one's afraid of the dark," he remarked.
As if by response, the large chamber that they had just entered was suddenly illuminated by light. A pair of cloaked mages stood at the other end of the room.
"Tricksters? Another creature that's out of its normal region standing in our way," Ryko spoke aloud as they turned to face the trio.
A deep rumbling filled the chamber and threw the young martial artists from Horam off of their feet. The cavern floor burst as a huge, decaying figure smashed through it. A pair of Pyromaniacs leapt through the opening and took up flanking positions next to the mages.
The figure had decomposing purple flesh draped over an obviously inhuman skeleton... a HUGE skeleton. It somewhat resembled a squid with its flailing limbs. A large, single eye glared at them.
"How are we supposed to fight against something like that?!" Talm blurted out.
"As Lemina said," Ryko responded loudly, "Let's try skills!"
Thundra screeched and soared toward the undead Truffle Troubler as Ryko leapt toward the nearest Pyro. The flaming creature tried to engulf itself in a ball of flame... but Ryko landed too quickly after a Sparrow Dive with Jan's sword in front of her. She rolled to the ground and was on her feet before the Pyromaniac hit the floor.
The thunder raven proceeded to pepper the floating beast with electrical bolts... but the Troubler seemed to be absorbing the energy of the attacks. The abomination continued to flail about with its many limbs as the bird circled it wildly.
Talm tried a trick that his virtual ninja training had just taught. He vanished as a Trickster hurled waves of white energy at him... then FOUR shades of his likeness appeared around the mage and began to hurl darts at a rapid pace.
Kara engaged the other Trickster by bouncing and flipping around him as he cursed and threw magic blasts at her.
Ryko was about to aid her companions when the decaying Troubler whipped its tentacles around and whapped her in the head. Dazed, she fell face first on the floor.
A split second later, the Troubler grabbed her ankle with one of its limbs. The black-haired girl screamed in pain as the electricity that it had absorbed surged through her leg and into her body.
Talm's head turned quickly at the sound of her yell. The Trickster was longer any of his concern with its body riddled with holes. He vanished from sight again.
Thundra dove to the dusty floor as Ryko's weakened body was hurled across the chamber. She slumped into a corner, panting heavily. The bird tried to get close and claw the beast with her talons but was foiled by its shining tentacles. She circled back and engaged the remaining Pyromaniac.
Kara finally closed the distance on her adversary and 'bounced' in front of him. Dazed for a second, the mage was knocked off its feet as she back-flipped, then sprung off her arms into the air.
The Pyro raised a fire shield as it watched the young woman slam down feet first into the midsection of the Trickster, taking it out of the fight with two punctures upon its chest. She stood up straight and ran over to the bird's side as it emitted more lightning bolts. The fiend's fiery field deflected most of the attacks.
The virtual ninja appeared above the undead Truffle Troubler and bellowed as he showered a circle of projectiles atop the creature, pinning many of its purple limbs to the rocky floor. He landed atop it and proceeded to stab the head with his remaining blades.
The thunder raven kept zapping the remaining villain to keep it occupied.
Kara noticed the Troubler was stunned and defenseless. She looked to see Ryko just barely crawling to her knees. Kara ran at the monster with a fierce battle cry and took a flying leap toward it...
...The next thing she knew, her spiked heel was embedded deeply into the only orb that the creature possessed... and she wasn't in it anymore. Kara was currently lying next to Ryko, slightly dazed as she looked down at her now bare foot and then back at the thrashing beast where her shoe was stuck.
Talm and Thundra took the opportunity to slash the monster rapidly with their blades and talons until the magic that held it together finally dissipated. The Truffle Troubler 'died' again right there.
The Pyromaniac immediately lowered his shield in shock... then felt another shock as Thundra hit him with another bolt. Kara stood over him with one foot on his chest to keep him down as Talm helped Ryko to her feet and administered one of the few healing herbs that he had.
"You're... *cough*... you're wasting time with me... it's too bad we couldn't get all of you to come down here," the Pyro muttered weakly. "No matter... the next crest will be ours... and your friends will be VERY busy... busy all over Lunar... heh, heh..."
The miscreant fell unconscious with a wicked grin on his face. "Ryko... you okay?" Kara asked.
"Fine, fine... I'm charged and ready to go... so to speak," was the response.
"What was that about... busy all over Lunar? What could that mean?" Talm murmured as he helped Ryko up to the next floor.
Kara went over to the rotting corpse and recovered her shoe and slipped it back onto her heel. Thundra landed on her shoulder and screeched softly.
"The others... oh no," she whispered. Loudly, she yelled as she chased her friends upward. "Guys! Wait up... we need to hurry!"
"What have you done to her?!" Lemina shouted as Azuren held his staff in front of his body.
"Nothing much," the Necromancer responded, "Unless you want us to."
The Fly-Boys pointed at their weapons with smirks. Miria was silent.
"Just give us that crest up there and you can have your mother back, Junior Premier. Any fancy moves and she becomes one of my undead servants," the wizard spoke.
Lemina looked at Azuren.
"I have to do it... there's no way we could pull off a spell fast enough before they shoot her," she whispered.
The Blue Dragon slowly nodded as she reached up and removed the crest. One of the winged soldiers hovered over and snatched it out of her hands.
A few more Pyros entered the room and surrounded the two of them.
The Necromancer walked over and glanced into the face of Azuren.
"I can't seem to place your friend here, Miss Ausa. Something about him seems familiar though... reminds me of a persistent old adversary."
"Where's Borgan... how could both mother and the big tub be defeated so easily and quietly?" Lemina thought to herself as the Pryo's pushed the two of them toward the stairs leading to the roof. Miria was prodded along in front of them.
The roof of the Guild Mansion was currently inhabited by a trio of unusual beings... two skeletal and one metallic. The formers were standing on four legs and resembled the remains of large canines. The latter was floating and had green lights flashing on its large arms while it beeped wildly.
The group walked out onto the top of the structure. The gray robed wizard now carried the Black Dragon Crest.
"What do you think, minions? Shall I just 'erase' them with the crest... or perhaps these long 'sleeping' Bronze Dogs would like another meal?"
General guffawing and laughing was emitted from the Pyros and Fly-Boys.
One winged villain near the mage responded, "Let the doggies have 'em... we want to see this ancient Agribot thing in action."
The Necromancer chuckled and nodded. He moved toward the edge of the roof as the trio of monstrosities approached Lemina, Miria and Azuren. A couple of Fly-Boys took flanking positions near him.
"Very well... watch and enjoy, troops! We're one step closer to domination!"
"You're not making a meal out of my future wife and daughter! Earth Spike!" a thunderous voice boomed out.
Both the heroes and villains glanced dumbly as set of rock spears burst out of the floor and impaled a pair of Pyromaniacs. The miscreants who surrounded Lemina's group scattered.
"Hmm... guess Borgan has been relearning his magic a lot faster than I expected," Lemina muttered as the large man came out of the stairwell, floating on his platform with his metal staff at the ready. Numerous wounds covered his body.
The Necromancer sighed quite loudly.
"I told you to finish that floating fat man off... what good is not killing any of them? Take 'em, troops!" he yelled as he prepared to take off.
Lemina looked at Borgan... who only smiled back at her... and raised a Magic Shield.