Chapter 21 Josh

The big man awoke at once. He stared at me.
"Dark Rider!" he bellowed.
I twisted the black cloak around my fingers. I hopped out of his lap and tried to run out the door. I pulled out my bullwhip. Many more guards came to investigate. I ran.
I sprinted down a corridor. A guards snuck up behind me and lassoed me with some shackles.
I fell to the ground. One took the blunt end of his sword and brought it down on my head. I passed out.

I came to. I was Chained in the dungeon.
A few guards stood over me.
"So, he's awake."
I looked up at them. I was weaponless. My sickle and whip sat on the table behind the bars of my cell.
"Give him some potion." The captain of the guard said.
I wouldn't open my mouth. One of the guards held a small tube of a crystal clear liquid.
I bit his hand. He slapped my cheek with his broad hand. I hit the wall. My cheek burned. It began to throb. He gripped my jaw in one hand, he squeezed the side of my lips, which made me open them a little. He thrust the tube into my mouth. The icy potion drenched itself over my tongue. The guard removed the tube and replaced it with a bowl of water. The water filled my mouth. He tilted back my head, and I was forced to swallow it.
"Let him sit like that for a while." The captain ordered.
They left the dungeon.
"Your a very stubborn boy." One of the other prisoners said.
"Why?"
"You dared bite one of them. Tut that one of us can't reach your weapons, you seem a fine young warrior."
The skinny man said.
"How did you come here?" I asked.
"Rebels, like you." Another woman answered.
"We can give you a little poison. Kill yourself, rather than suffer their torture."
"Why exactly would I want to kill myself?" I answred smartly.
"It's better to kill yourself early. We don't stand a chance in wizard courts."
"My friends will come and get me. They'll free you too." I said those words out loud and in my head. I wasn't so sure I believed them.

Narashia

"We have to ffind Josh, who knows how much they're torturing him." I said. We crawled quickly through the shaft.
"No!" I dropped the amulet!" Synge yelped.
"You what??" Giovanni roared.
"It fell down into that empty room." She pointed through the grate, "And it rolled out of sight!"
"Leave it, we have to save Josh!" Anu said.
I obeyed. We lost what we had come for.

Josh

The guards came back. My face was a little swollen from being slapped.
"Now, you will tell us everything about the Dark Riders." The captain said.
The other four Dark Riders ran into the dungeon.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Arrows came flying from the other direction. The captain and his one guard fell over dead.
A crossbow was suspended in the air. My friends looked just as surprised.
"Who's there?" I croaked.
The crossbow vanished. I saw the black robes of a Dark rider form from the empty air. It was Aquila. She held the Amulet in her hands.
"You!" Giovanni shrieked.
"Yes, it's me. I thought you would need some help, and I was right."
She kept the amulet.
"And you!" Giovanni said.
"Don't tell me you're useless..."
"Actually I was rather useless. I have never really done anything but get into trouble." I said. I surprised that actually came from my mouth.
"HE ACTUALLY IS USELESS!" Narashia screamed in horror.
"What did they do to you?" Synge asked, very panicky.
"They forced some liquid down my throat."
"Truth potion." Aquila said quietly.
"They were going to ask him many questions about the Dark Riders, and their power. Then kill him."
"That would be bad." Anu said.
Aquila pulled out her sword. She cut off the hem of her cloak. She walked up to me and tied it sround my mouth, making it impossible to say anything.
"What do yuo think of me, Josh?" Aquila asked.
I was forced to answer truthfully. "Mgummmaadffff ggguuupooooddda."
"Good." Aquila said flatly. "It works."
Narashia cracked the chains with her hammer. It was time for an escape. We slipped out dry boots on. Aquila put the amulet over her head.
I could see the wet footprints on the stone. She pulled out her bow, She redied an arrow. She was watching our backs. I could see the floating Bow and arrows.
We ran down the corridors. Everything was back to normal when it came to guards. Deserted.
The footprints on the floor. I had my weapons back. Our escape. We saw the door.
I heard the voices over the many scarlet communication stones that decorated the hallways.
"The Dark Rider has escaped. Kill all the beings in the dungeons! They know too much!" I ran over to the shaft.
We all climbed into the small tunnel. We crawled to the grate over the dungeon. There were many dead bodies there.
"They did it, they actually did it." Synge murmured.
We ran to the door again.
I saw Aquila's footprints, she still stood by the door. She ripped a metal beam from the wall. I opened the door. We all ran inside. Aquila was with us.
The first door began to close. Aquila shoved the beam under it so it didn't fully close. Water began to fill the small room, a good portion of it ran into the fortress.
We all called out our water pokemon. Aquila had a dewgong.
We all took a deep breath. Aquila pressed the button that would open the doors.
We swam into the waters of the lake. Up to the surface. It was a lot easier going up than down. I slipped the gag out of my mouth. We reached the surface.
Aquila still had the amulet.
"That was scary." Anu muttered.
"You don't know the half of it." I murmured.
"That has to be the truth."

Chapter 22 Narashia

We got out of the lake. Aquila still had the amulet on, though, it was easy to tell where she was in the water.
She removed it.
"I still say that was freaky." Giovanni said.
"Wasn't as bad as a fair amount of what I've been through." Aquila said. We kept moving. I tried to imagine if the whole fortress was flooded by now.
We kept moving. We hurried back to the mansion.
"So, the six of you retrieved the amulet." Corosco studied the amulet.
"I didn't exactly ask you to flood the place." We all shot glances at Aquila.
"But, I can't complain about that now can I?" Corosco smiled.
"No, it wouldn't be right for you to complain about that." Josh said. The potion was talking for him again.
"Say what?" Corosco studied him.
"He's useless." I muttered.
"Actually I am, I never do anything but set us back."
"Don't tell me some one force fed him Truth Potion." Corosco put a hand over his face.
"Aquila, I will see you again. For the rest of you. Get some rest. I don't think that potion will wear off for a while, so rest up until tomorrow night, then I have another very very dangerous task for you." Corosco looked extremely disappointed.
Aquila bowed and was off in her rush jacket.
She covered her face with her Topi cap.
"I shall see you again." She was gone.
"How did Aquila find that amulet?" Giovanni asked me.
"No idea, let's go get some sleep." I added.
We laid down on our beds, and slept for what felt like days. The best rest I've had in a long time.
"Wake up Narashia." Synge was shaking my shoulders.
I got up slowly.
"You slept like a log."
"Uhhhhnnnn." I groaned.
I tilted my head toward Josh, who was actually awake.
"Are you still useless?"
"Nope."
That surprised me.
I got up.
"Here's some porridge." Anu handed me a bowl. They were all so quiet.
"You were talking in your sleep last night, saying 'Aquila got the Amulet from the wizard's bedside table'. Corosco asked Aquila about it and sshe said that was where she found it. You were also mumbling." I stared at him.
Corosco burst into the room.
"Horrible news. The Goblin race, enemies of every other people and species has captured Aquila. They waited for her. They have a very bad grudge against the Shamishi. They took her."
I gasped. "It can't be true, Aquila's a warrior!" Synge yelled.
"It's true, and no one knows where she is. the Rebels might fail without her support." There was a slight break in Corosco's voice.
I thought about Aquila.
Then everything went black.
I saw a village high in the mountains, it was empty and deserted. The sign was in a different language. Aquila lay in the center of a group of Goblins. I could hear them chant.

Shamishi, Shamishi,
all most gone.
What the anocia has hated and
despised.
Lies here. With us.
Only still alive.

I woke up. They all stared at me.
"What happened?" Corosco looked bewildered.
"I know where Aquila is. She is being held captive in her own village."

Chapter 23 Anu

"How do you know?" Corosco looked at Narashia.
"I saw it, in that dream..."
"You have dream sequences too?" Corosco stared at her.
"I have only had two so far.."
"Your father could see things in his sleep. I suppose it's hereditary."
Narashia stood up.
"I have to ask you to leave for the secret Shamishi village now."
He wrung his hands nervously. Aquila was a BIG part of the Dark Riders. Even the Darkness might go to find her...
"Where do the Shamishi lay?" Synge said.
"At the top of Walakawa mountain. Aquila said if she ever went back, that's where I could find her."
We instantly got back on our pokemon. It would be a long journey to the mountain top.
Giovanni filled his quiver. I could see him slide in one arrow that was strange. It was a Shamishi arrow.
"How long until we get there?" Giovanni asked nervously. He pulled out his bow and put on one of the iron arrows.
"You're really impatient." Synge laughed.
"About the rest of the night if we take the shortcut through the pass." Josh said. He looked at the map.
"We have to hurry, we don't have much time." I said.
We urged our pokemon to the fastest they could go.
We don't have a lot of time.
We stared at the mountain range. All the peaks were covered in snow and ice.
"Perhaps, if we had arial travel this would be easier." Josh looked proud.
"We have to keep moving." Synge snapped.
"Goblin warriors!" Narashia yelled.
I saw the large group of Goblins.
"Humans bring pain! Humans live with the demons! Humans care for the Shamishi!" They all chanted in angey shouts.
"We aren't demons, we hate the demons!" I yelled at the angry mob.
"Humans sent the demon goddess to destroy us! We are all left! Demon took Pointed Ear!"
I stared at the short brown skinned, large eared bunch of rioting Goblins.
The Shamishi have pointed ears, like the fairies and elves. That was one way we all knew she was Shamishi. That's why Aquila wore that Topi cap.
"You don't have the Shamishi?" Synge cried.
"Demon took her into the mountains."
"Demon killed most of our kind." They all shouted. Goblins aren't the brightest of species.
"We come in peace!" Narashia took the stand.
"Human kind brings pain and war and death!"
"We hate the demons, let us kill the demon that massacred your people-"
"Humans? The Dark cloaked ones? want to help the poor, goblins?"
"If you leave us be, we will kill the demon goddess."
They stopped blocking the path.
"Thank you, my friends." I shouted at them.
"Friends? All hail the Dark Cloaks!"
"So, who took Aquila from them?" Synge asked.
"The demon goddess, Lilith is back." I said. "Lilith has come back for revenge."

Chapter 24 Synge

I gasped.
"No, Lilith can't be back, she was poisoned, she's dead!" I screamed.
"I think the Darkness has resurrected her, or maybe we just didn't actually kill her." Narashia said. The demons are the only species that can be resurrected.
Why did Lilith take her in the first place? The goblins, demons, and Shamishi are a war triangle, they have alliances with others, but hate each other. Aquila must have killed some of Lilith's people, and now Lilith was going to have Aquila's head for it.
"That really means we have to hurry." Giovanni said. We raced through the mountain pass.
The Shamishi mountain was very snowy and icy, it lay in the center of all the mountains. Ponyta almost slid down the mountain. I wrapped my cloak tightly around myself.
I shivered with the cold. Ponyta was warm though. Josh seemed to be showing the wear.
Through the blinding snow, the outer gates of the village were very welcoming.
The sun began to rise.
We opened the gates.
The village was as much of a sea of death as the catacombs, cold, and barren.
Though without the cobwebs.
We trekked through the deep snow to a very large building.
It had a decorative roof. The etchings on the door were of a different language, Shamishai. We opened the great door of the Shamishi temple.

Chapter 25 Giovanni major mission #2 The Demon in Phantom Armor

The room was very large. There were fountains everywhere. There was a large fireplace at the back. There were a few lit torches at the back, otherwise it was completely dark.
Near the fireplace I could make out two shapes in the shadows. One lay motionless on the ground, the other was hunched over the other figure.
We pulled out our weapons and approached them.
"No, Twillight Riders, she is not dead." It was Lilith. SHe was hunched over Aquila.
"Return her to us, Lilith, and leave this sacred temple." I ordered.
"No, she is my victim, to finish the war triangle. I have dealt with the goblins, they are few now. The final Shamishi lay here, by this fire. You wouldn't want me to destroy that opportunity right here and now, would you?"
"Yes." We all said at the same time.
"A challenge. One of you Dark Riders will have to battle me for her life."
"I will, decide which one."
We all stood in a line. At that instant, rosy crystal covered Narshia, Anu, Synge, and Josh.
"You have been decided to battle me, Giovanni, the gates of hell have decided it."
I pulled out my bow.
"You, and your precious Aquila will battle me." She set Aquila's bow, quiver, crossbow and sword on a small table.
Lilith picked up Aquila's limp body. She gripped her hands. There was a flash of light. She and Aquila spun around a few times.
They stumbled. Now, Lilith had assumed the form of Aquila. The two Aquila's stood in front of the fireplace.
Lilith's voice echoed through the hall.
"Choose wisely which you want to kill. One is real, one is the demon goddess. Which one will choose for death? The choice is yours alone."
I stood there. Which one was which? Which one was what one, what one was who?
"I'm the real, Aquila!" They pleaded. "I'm the last of the Shamishi." None of their pleas gave any hints whatsoever.
"Giovanni, listen, the truth lies in the arrows."
"Are you going to listen to the mumblings of a demon goddess?" The other was arguing.
This was so bizarre, but it was happening.
One was Aquila, in flesh and blood, the other had the evil heart, and was covered in Phantom Armor.
I grabbed my bow. I redied two arrows.
I shot one at each Aquila.
The one on the right caught hers before it hit her.
The left one lept out of the way, quickly.
"Why did you try to kill the real Aquila?" The left one answered.
It was then I understood. The real Aquila had caught her arrow, like I had seen many times before.
I aimed my bow at the demon goddess. She pushed the short brown hair away from her neck. She had a large scar on her jugular. The scar that Josh and Narashia had given her days ago.
Aquila lept up and grabbed her bow and redied an arrow which she shot into Lilith's thigh. Lilith limped against the wall of the fireplace. She grabbed her crossbow.
"You will pay for that, Aquila!" She screamed. She hobbled on her injured leg. She put an arrow in the crossbow. She had it aimed at Aquila.
I snatched Aquila's sword from the table, I pulled off the sheath.
Lilith extended her arm, and had her evil fingers on the trigger. She was just about to pull it when I jammed Aquila's sword into her back. She staggered. I drove it so far into her, that it was all the way in up to the hilt.
Acid green blood spattered the ground.
She clutched at her chest. Aquila told me with her eyes, that the sword blade had gone all the way through. It lay in the center of her heart. Once a demon's heart is pierced by a sword of truth, they cannot be resurrected.
I pulled the blade from her impaled body. She fell to the ground. She twitched a little. my friends were released from their rosy cages.
"Thank you, Giovanni." Aquila said. She smiled.
"You have helped us in countless ways, Aquila."
"Now, we are even."
"Yeah, we're square."
"Aquila!" Synge shrieked. She rushed over to her side.
"How did you defeat the demon?" Narashia asked.
"With an arrow, and the truth that can penetrate Phantom Armor." I stood up.
Lilith turned over.
"Ittt, itt wasss myyy dooinggg. Iii reeeveeeled the seecrett off the seecreettt Shammissshii villllaggeee to thee Darrkknesss." That was her final breath. She was dead. She was never again to waken in this world.

Chapter 26 Narashia

The war triangle of the high mountains was destroyed. Peace was regained between the two living forces. The Goblins, and the last Shamishi. Two dying races.
Lilith had turned into her old body again. Cat eyes closed, I didn't want to see the pale stare in the light of the fireplace.
"Should I put out the fire?" I asked Aquila.
"Put the screen around it. Let it burn out on its own. To symbolize the end of the triangle."
Anu helped me move the giant screen into position.
Aquila picked up a blanket from a chest. She dropped it over Lilith and the giant pool of blood.
Aquila washed her sword in one of the fountains. She prayed for a minute at one of the altars.
"I told them, that this is the last time I am coming back here. The fire burnes out, and this will become the deserted village once more." She closed her eyes.
She pulled back her hair. Her slightly pointed ears showed slightly.
She put on her Topi cap and rush jacket.
"Give this to Corosco, tell him that I am safe, I just have buisness to tend to." She tossed me a small crystal dagger.
She vaished from the temple into the blinding world of snow.
We mounted our pokemon.
We set off for the HQ. We were tired and cold, but Aquila was safe, and the Dark Riders had new allies from Lilith's death.
Corosco looked at the crystal dagger. "Aquila is safe." He put the dagger in his pocket.
"You may rest now. We have gained more ground. The Goblins have helped us immensly. I thank you, await new orders tomorrow night, you need your rest."
"What day of the week is today?" Josh asked.
"Topilari. Why?" I asked suspiciously.
"It has been a whole week, my arm, the one Lilith touched should be all better now." He removed the bandages.
The acid green demon mark remained on his skin. It looked the same as it had last week.
"We have to show THAT to Corosco."
Corosco stared at the green mark that still shone on Josh's hand.
"Well, I think that you should leave that on for another week. Give it some more chance to heal up. It should be gone soon."
Josh pulled on a leather glove over his green arm.
"It'll be fine, Josh." Anu said.
Josh gripped his arm. I could see it pulse. He groaned like it hurt a lot. He fell over.
He stil clutched the glove. I stared at Josh.
"There is something majorly wrong with that arm."