So we had another contest on the phorum, but I decided not to enter. But I still enjoy writing, so I threw this together based on the prompt. The prompt was: Add and Lu have pretty made the El Search Party bankrupt and now the gang must look to a dubious legend of pots of gold at the end of rainbows to pull themselves above water again. Well...
It was just another normal day for the El Search Party following the insanity that was Lanox. Having decided to take time off from halting demon invasions and pissing off a big, red dragon - Glave told them the castle was a popular tourist attraction - the group settled down in a large house on the outskirts of a recovering Velder. Here they spent their time fiddling in their own little hobbies.
Elsword practiced his sword fighting alongside Raven and Elesis. Ara had picked up knitting, but somehow ended up as a human ball of yarn, and that was on the good days, more often than not. Rena took to tending a garden filled with both flora and produce - Raven swears he saw her thumb turn green. Aisha flipped through tome after tome of magical research - Elsword swears he saw letters and numbers stamped on her eyes. Eve and Chung took to tinkering with almost anything they could get their hands on - Eve still says it was Chung's fault for trying to convert a toaster into a laser cannon, which ended up blowing out the kitchen. And Add and the demon pair, Lu and Ciel, were of course...
THUD!
The sound of the door being thrown open startled the Lunatic Psyker so much he bumped his knee on the corner of the desk, knocking the pylons he painstakingly aligned askew and sending a shock of agony up his leg. Holding back a curse, he sent a hard glare at the intruder. But once he confirmed it was the Nasod Queen, his expression softened slightly.
But his knee was still throbbing and his experiment was ruined so it was hard for him to sound polite - though, he was never one for grace normally. "Eve. What can I do for you?" He scrutinized her face to get a read on her intentions, and warning sounds started going off in his head instantly. The way her eyebrows were kneaded at a two degree angle inwards meant she was mad.
And then she spoke. "Add..." Now sirens were blaring in his mind. Her voice was a pitch and a half lower than normal. She wasn't just mad.
She was pissed.
"Come with me. Now."He couldn't even begin to argue when she yanked him from his chair and dragged him from the lab...
Lu licked her fingers one by one, savoring the lingering sweetness of her treat. "Ciel. Another please," she demanded, to which the Royal Guard complied by presenting a lavishly decorated cream colored cupcake on a silver platter. Giggling happily, Lu reached for the fancy dessert eagerly. But just when her fingers brushed the bottom of the cupcake, she noticed the platter started shaking.
"Ciel, please keep it steady. I will not stand for having my cupcake sliding off the platter because you're shaking," she shot him an annoyed look and noticed that her companion was standing absolutely rigid, his eyes wide and staring at something behind her in terror. That was when she felt a chill travel up and down her spine. And there was only one person who could cause such a feeling.
"Lu... Ciel..." an icy voice called from the door to the tea room. Lu shakily turned her head and trained her eyes on the guest, already dreading the oncoming disaster. What she beheld was their resident archer standing in the doorway with a smile that was more threatening than kind. In fact, there was a pulsing shadow of darkness behind the elf, further enhancing her terrifying aura. She was never sure how the elf managed to do that, but all she needed to know that if it was there, you were in big trouble.
"R-Re-Re-R-Re-Rena... Hahaha... What ever is wrong...?" she asked, her voice trembling. Ciel was breaking out in cold sweat and didn't dare speak a word.
"I need you both to come with me. Now, please," she ordered, stepping aside from the door and gesturing for the demonic duo to leave. Not even daring to defy the angry elf, Ciel set down the platter nervously before marching out of the room, the Noblesse closely behind them.
And they most certainly did not hold their breath as they walked past the elf. Not at all...
"Okay, so everyone's here?" Elsword did a quick mental headcount. Everyone from the noisy Aisha to the high and mighty Lu and Ciel were here. Letting out a small sigh, he continued. "So, I got bad news. Like really bad news." He reached into his pocket and pulled a small coin pouch from it. Undoing the knot on top, he turned over the sack to dump its contents on the dining table. What came out was a dust bunny and... well, that was about it unless you also counted the moth that escaped as well.
"Basically, we're broke," the Elemental Master chimed in, mimicking the Lord Knight's actions, except her pouch spat out a skittering spider, to which she, Ara and Elesis screeched at in horror until the Blade Master flicked the poor thing off the table. And yes, it was dead because he did it with his claw.
"Miss Rotten was kind enough to allow us to live here free of charge, but we still have expenses to pay," Raven said as he wiped the gooey remains of the arachnid off his claw, clicking his tongue.
"Yes, like food and El power. We still have to pay for those," Chung added and looked to Eve.
The Code Empress summoned a holographic keyboard and tapped a couple keys to bring up a pie chart. "This is a breakdown of our spending. I have categorized it by individual." She gestured to the display and everyone saw something rather odd. While there were indeed ten members of the El Search Party, eight of the ten sections could be barely made out. Elesis had to squint and turn her head sideways to see them.
"Oh wow. It's as bad as I thought..." she mumbled.
"Why are we going over this now?" Add grumbled, to which the entire room, except Lu and Ciel, shot him a piercing glare.
"I think what we're trying to say is..." Ara, forgoing her usual politeness, snapped at the boy. "Is that you two are the ones spending most of our funds."
She smacked, or at least as close to smacking a display made of light she could come to, the pie chart. Indeed, two slices took up almost the entire graph.
"Between your experiments and Lu's... sweet tooth," Rena continued despite the protests from the demon lord that cupcakes were a ruler's right. "We have completely exhausted our store of ED. All twenty billion of it."
"So, that's why we're all here. Because thanks to you two, we're now broke," Raven grumbled, shooting looks as sharp as his blade at the two spendthrifts, shooting shivers up their spines.
"I recommend we sell Add's equipment to get us at least enough for the rest of the month," the Code Empress suggested, earning her a slew of profanities and reasons to the contrary from Add.
"Fuck that! I need those for me to continue my research on the quantum mechanics of th-"
"Silence," she interjected before summoning Ophelia to hogtie the poor boy in a distant corner of the room while Oberon gagged him.
"And we could also put on a little party for the people of Velder. Charge them a small entry fee and they can come and sample Lu's cupcakes. They are supposed to be very good after all, considering how expensive they are," Rena added, shooting a small glare at the demon girl.
She threw herself on the Grand Archer, eyes welling up with crocodile tears. "No! Please, Rena! Anything but that!" she begged. But the elf merely snatched the girl's collar and pulled her up to face level, her visage a storm of terror.
"Quiet," she commanded, and the Noblesse immediately ceased her fake balling, until her eyes fell on her aggressor's chest.
"Uuuuu... WAAHHHHH! It's not fair!" she wailed, but of course Rena did not realize what she was referring to was their proportions.
"I said QUIET!" she roared, shaking Lu like a dusty rug.
Just as the chaos was about to reach a fever pitch, the doorbell rang. Everyone went quiet and stared at the door before Elsword got up from his seat and answered it.
"Yes? Oh, Rosean? What brings you here?" Sure enough, once he stepped aside to allow the visitor in, the accessory vendor from Sander stepped in. She was wearing her normal outfit, but it was accentuated with a deep green instead of the typical orange.
"My, look at you all..." She then started to pinch each and every member until she got to Rena and Lu, where she clicked her tongue in disappointment at the elf as she pinched the little demon in the archer's hand.
"Hey! What's the big idea!?" Aisha cried out, rubbing the sore spot on her arm. Apparently, Rosean was much stronger than she looked.
"Well, everyone but dear Rena wasn't wearing green," she drawled, causing the entire room to shoot her questioning stares.
"Oh come on now, don't tell me you don't know what today is?" she huffed. Everyone's awkward silence was her answer.
"Well, whatever. I was going to invite you all to come join in the annual Gold Rush race but-"
"GOLD RUSH!?" Now she had the gang's full attention, as all them, even the bound Add, were now in her face, their eyes shining with anticipation.
"Ah... Well, there is this legend about today. It is said that at the end of a rainbow you will find a pot of gold, so Velder decided to make an event out of it. Basically, whoever wishes to participate just enter this race and try to get to the end of the rainbow. At the end, they are awarded a cash prize, and there are no rules apart from no killing other participants," she said, at which Rena, Raven and Eve looked at each other skeptically.
"Aren't rainbows technically circles?" Raven inquired.
"Yes, but to see the full circle requires specific conditions and positioning," Eve answered.
"So if there was really a pot of gold at the end of one, would it be where we are no longer in those conditions?" Rena mused.
The rest, however, were already starting to stretch.
"This is just what we need!" Elsword cried happily.
"Better yet, only one of us needs to win!" Aisha cheered as she tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to touch her toes.
"And we are all battle-hardened. We will be able to hold off most of the other runners without hurting them," Chung mentioned as he finished his thirtieth squat.
"Oh, I am so excited! It's been a while since we did something this fun and rewarding!" Ara was almost done with her jumping jacks.
"Well then, let's get to it!" Elesis finished her stretches.
"Mmph!" Add was still hogtied and gagged on the floor.
"Ciel! We must win! Then we can preserve my cupcakes! You may use any means necessary to keep people out of our way!" Lu bounced up and down like a ball, free from Rena's grasp.
"Lu, we cannot kill the others, and I am pretty sure it would look bad on the El Search Party if we go out there bloodying people up just so we can win," Ciel refuted.
"Well, looks like we have a solution to our problem. Guess we should enter," Rena thought out loud before turning to Rosean. "Where do we sign up?"
Rosean shook her head with a playful smile on her lips. "There is no registration. You just show up. The event starts once you see the rainbow."
"You mean like that one?" Elesis pointed outside the window. The rest of the gang crowded around the pane to look outside. Sure enough, there was a rainbow hanging high in the sky.
"Hm... Yes, I suppose it would be like that one..." Rosean mused and was about to continue when she heard the stomping of feet and a door thrown open. When she turned to see what all the noise was about, she realized she was now alone in the house. Stealing a glance out the window, she saw the El Search Party sprinting off to the rainbow, Oberon and Ophelia carrying a still bound and gagged Add along.
"Ah, but the race starts in Clock Tower Plaza... Oh well..." she giggled to herself as she skipped out of the house and towards Velder...
"Alright! Pot of gold here we come!" Elsword cheered, leading the pack. The group was now sprinting past the Velder garrison and onto the open Feita plains. With the demon corruption gone, the plains was alight with Solace's rays, though some devastation remained. But the motley crew was not concerned with the scenery, their eyes transfixed on the rainbow extending across the sky.
"Looks like it extends all the way to Bethma..." Rena scrutinized the path of the spectrum. Then her elvish ears twitched, something that didn't pass Raven's attention.
"Rena, what's wrong?" he asked, speeding up so he ran at her side. The elf's eyes narrowed as she focused on her sense of hearing.
"I hear... an avalanche? Coming from behind us... But, we're on the open plains, so why would there be an av-"
"Mmph!" came Add's muffled cry. The gang slowly turned their heads to the rear and were shocked at what they beheld.
A stampede of people was hot on their tail, and slowly closing in. Worse, they all had the same look in their eyes. Their right eyes had the image of an "E" on them, while their left ones looked like a giant "D."
"Lady El... It's the other racers!" Elesis shouted.
"And they are about as rabid as those Gripigs in the Burnt Forest!" Chung cried out as he began to pump his legs faster.
"Eeeek! That look in their eyes reminds me of that insane look Sir Add gets whenever he saw a piece of machinery!" Ara screamed.
"Mmph!"
"Oberon. Ophelia. Use whatever means possible to halt their advance," Eve ordered. Her servants nodded, and without a single wasted moment they tossed the bound Add in the path of the oncoming stampede.
"MMMMMPPPHHH!" Add's cry was quenched by his gag and the trampling feet of the crowd. His body was able to trip up a pair of the runners at the front of the herd, which served to trip a few more behind them. But otherwise, it had no effect on their momentum.
"Tch. Useless..." Eve grumbled as she poured more power into Moby and Remy, accelerating her further.
"What do we do now!?" Aisha cried, already feeling her legs burning worse than her Meteor Call. Yeah, that bad.
"Just keep running!" Raven shouted.
So they did just that. They ran and ran. Lu started complaining about her burning legs, forcing Ciel to scoop up his mistress and carry her. The stampede behind them, however, was tireless, the promise of riches fueling their legs with inhuman endurance and power. Aisha had to resort to her teleportation magic in order to keep up and was chugging down mana potions in order to continue her magic.
The chase seemed to go on for what seemed to be an eternity when...
"I see it! The pass to Leikiki Lake! We're almost there!" Elsword shouted above the din cries and stomping feet.
"But they're almost on us!" Elesis cried out. Sure enough, the greedy crowd behind them was almost upon them. They would overtake them before they reached the end.
"Rena! Aisha! Elsword! Go on ahead!" Raven cried out, skidding to a stop and motioning to the others to halt with him. Elesis, Eve and her servants, Ara, Chung and the demonic duo stopped as well and prepared to stand their ground.
"What are you doing!?" Rena screamed.
"Only one of us needs to win, right?" Raven said, drawing his blade.
"We shall halt them here. The narrow terrain makes their numbers useless," Eve explained, positioning Moby and Remy into battle positions.
"Don't worry about us. We've dealt with worse," Chung reassured them, bringing his Destroyer to the ready.
"How many demon invasions did we stop?" Ara inquired as she sprouted nine spectral tails.
"Three? I think? I lost count," Elesis chuckled and settled into a combat stance.
"Waitwaitwait! Why do I have to stay behi-" Lu began to protest but her partner covered her mouth.
"Remember that we cannot hurt them too much if we can help it," Ciel reminded them, releasing his pouting mistress and drawing his gunblades.
"Everyone... Thank you! We won't let you down!" Elsword cried, a single tear trailing behind him for dramatic effect. Sounds of combat erupted behind them as their friends engaged in the most desperate and downright ridiculous battle they had ever fought as they ascended the trail to the lake.
Once they crested it, they saw the rainbow trailing down into a small pond fed by Lake Leikiki. Aisha, having exhausted her mana and potions began to collapse.
"I... can't... go... any..." she whimpered as she fell, but she was caught by the Lord Knight.
"Aisha! Hang in there! We're gonna do this together!" Elsword cried dramatically, shaking the Elemental Master awake.
"He's right," Rena panted, setting a reassuring hand on the mage. "We three set out together. It's only right we end this together."
"Elsword... Rena... You're right..." Aisha squeezed the words out between her deep breaths. Her friends helped her to her feet, but she was still weak. As they waded into the pool of water, Rena and Elsword supported their friend every step of the way.
And then, they finally saw it.
A glowing point of light in the pool where the rainbow ended.
They had made it.
"Hm~? Oh, hello everyone~" a voice swooned, and the trio would've sworn it came from that light.
But all they could manage was a confused "Huh?" as a figure stepped from the light, the rainbow oddly following them.
What they beheld was the accessory merchant from Bethma Richian, stripped down to his under garments.
"Oh? You look so disappointed. And here I thought you all came to see the fabulous me~" he cheered and struck a seductive pose.
Rena's mouth fell open, Elsword looked like he just got a whiff of the worst smell in all of Elrios and Aisha was as white as a sheet.
"Now... join me in celebrating today~" Richian began dancing towards them, pirouetting through the air. "Happy Sa-"
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Richian is fabulous okay? This is not a bash or anything, just me having fun. Hope you enjoyed it! Please Read and Review! Until next time!