The Journey Renewed and a New Companion

Note of Gratitude: To all of you who reviewed: Thank you a lot! You have kept me on track to update almost regularly! Thank you once again.

Disclaimer: I don't own … blah … I wish I did!

So far: Mamori and co. had reached the White Kingdom only to discover that Sir Shin was dead. After an encounter with a wizard named Takami, Mamori was told to ask Sakuraba what happened and through him find Shin. The wizard also mentioned two new allies …

Who is Who? (This list is getting pretty long now …)

Mamori: Herself still.

Monta: A satyr. A half-goat, half-man creature. Plays a flute.

Sena: A dwarf who was friends with Shin only as a rival.

Eyeshield 21: A super hero … (He is also Sena.)

Kurita: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Otawara. A pacifist with a last name Bonecrusher.

Ha Ha trio: A three-headed dragon with a fear of pictures.

Shin: The lead White Knight of Ojolot and is now dead. Or is he …?

Sakuraba: The only survivor of a devastating ambush. He feels responsible for Shin's death. The only bow master and ranger of the White Knights.

Takami: The equivalent of Merlin. Very wise and can read minds. First to realize Mamori was from another dimension.

Otawara: A half-troll from Joka Machi and kinsmen of Kurita. A White Knight that loves a good quest and is a little absentminded. Last name is Skullsmasher.

Hiruma: A Demon Lord who disappeared 500 hundred years ago. People think he has escaped from his prison and is now wrecking havoc again.

Habashira: A Bandit Lord located in the Zokugaku mountains.

Enjoy chapter four!

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Mamori stepped back as Sakuraba lurched upwards on unsteady legs. His eyes blurred and unfocused. "He is alive!" he yelled at her in hysteria. " I must save him! He would do the same for me!"

"Calm down! Please!" Mamori urged to the clearly drunken knight.

Sakuraba blinked slowly before sinking back into his chair, groaning. "How can I? Shin is out there and he needs my help. It's all my fault …" He placed his head in his hands and a sob shook his body.

Mamori sat next to him and placed a comforting hand on his back. She finally got a good look at the knight now that she was closer. He sat there wearing only a plain brown breeches and a matching brown shirt. His knee high black boots we scuffed and were already stained with dirt. His disheveled hair finished the look of a man too far gone in depression.

"There, there … tell me what happened," she gently cooed. Being Sena's support and protector had trained her well in the way of comforting people. Her English teacher had told her that she could be a future guidance counselor.

"We were riding toward the White Kingdom through a pass in the Zokugaku Mountains when a surprise attack of Demon Fiends lead by a warlord appeared. Shin and his men got separated. I tried to get to him but …" Sakuraba's voice cracked and he looked up.

"He was gone. Just like that … it wasn't the fiends or the warlord. They were as confused as me. It was the Bandit Lord, the Chameleon, who did it, but after that the fiends attacked us. Thanks to Eyeshield 21, I was able to escape with the remnants of my men and Shin's. It has been four days since."

Mamori nodded and stroked his back. "My friends and I need to obtain his services but after we heard of his death it killed our spirit. But maybe you're right … maybe there is hope …" she told the knight she was comforting.

Sakuraba glanced up, hope shining in his eyes. "Really? You mean it or are you just another fan girl?"

Mamori smiled and shook her head. "No, I'm not a fangirl I'm Mamori … err, an arch mage of Deimon High Hill. We're on a dangerous quest to the land where the sun doesn't shine."

Sakuraba leapt up but swayed slightly as his drunken state finally caught up with him. He collapsed again into his seat and moaned. "Why did I have to drink? Everything just happened so fast …" he murmured.

Mamori watched the knight sit in contemplation. His hands folded as he stared straight ahead. "They would've rather had me die than Shin. He was more of a hero than I could ever be," he blurted suddenly.

"Don't talk like that!" Mamori gasped, eyes-wide. But, deep down she knew it was true even in her world. Yet, he had made a change for the better back in her realm so maybe …

"Then you'll have to prove them wrong! We'll help you find Shin and then maybe both of you can help us retrieve an all powerful book from the land where the sun doesn't shine," Mamori assured him, hope shining brightly in her eyes.

Sakuraba looked up skeptically; a flicker of belief could be seen behind his eyes. He stood, steadying himself against the table. "So you believe I can … do this? You'll actually help me?"

"Of course, what are friends for?" Mamori smiled warmly and extended a hand. "Anyways we will need a bow master on this trip."

Sakuraba grinned and clasped her hand. "To the glory of the White Kingdom, my lady," he proclaimed with a newfound smile of gratitude.

"To the glory of the White Kingdom … and home …" she whispered.

-0-0-

A few hours later, Mamori was standing with the others inside a stable near the Drunken Dwarf, waiting on Sakuraba to arrive with his weapons and armor. When she had introduced him to the others, the response had been immediate. They were going to the Zokugaku Mountains to find Shin.

Yet the words of Takami were ringing in her head … 'you will also find two very unexpected allies in the Zokugaku Mountains …'

"Mamori, lass? Ye be looking troubled," Sena asked, concern in his voice. "Ye be thinking about our quest?"

"I was just thinking about something someone told me … nothing important," she said, smiling.

"The Zokugaku Mountains … The home of the most notorious thief ever: Habashira the Chameleon. Here one moment and gone the next …" Monta muttered. "This is going to be maxi-hard."

Mamori shook her head at it all. First Sena, Monta, Kurita, the White Knights, and now Habashira. Who was next? Maybe …

"Have you ever heard the legend of the Zokugaku Mountains?" whispered Monta to Sena mysteriously.

Sena shook his head. "I not be wanting to hear those tales, Monta. They give me the heebie jeebies."

The stable door suddenly bounced open with a panting Sakuraba running in and latching the door quickly behind him. Everyone in the stable gave him a funny look before they heard a crowd of fangirls and fanboys screaming and running by the stable.

"I wish I had the girls chasing me …" Monta sighed wistfully.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting everyone! I just had to pick up a few things from Takami's tower for the trip," Sakuraba said, bowing apologetically.

Mamori rose from her seat and brushed off the hay. "So, is everyone ready to start the journey to the Zakugaku Mountains? The Inn Keeper said it would take about a week to reach them."

"It would … normally." Sakuraba answered with a sly grin, "But Takami gave me the creampuff jumper. It is set to take us to the Zokugaku Mountains with a single bite."

Kurita smiled and clapped his hands. "I just love those puffs! I heard they use milk instead of water!"

Everyone gathered around Sakuraba as he passed out pieces of the cream puff. Mamori wondered what it would feel like to be suddenly transported thousands of miles away in a few seconds.

Kurita must have saw the trepidation on her face for he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It isn't bad. Just a little spinning but it goes quick."

"So, now what? I heard these things are hard to plan where they're going to drop us …" Monta stated.

"Only if you don't eat it simultaneously. We eat it at the same time and then we will all end up in the same place. Somewhere close to where Sir Shin was taken custod," Sakuraba replied with a shrug.

Suddenly a loud thump was heard against the door followed closely by another one. Soon squeals of joy and shouts were heard as the pounding became more desperate. "Sakuraba! He's in there!"

"I love you, Sakuraba!"

"Can I have your kids, Sakuraba!"

"Oh no … my fanclub …" Sakuraba moaned, burying his face in his hands. "We're doomed if they catch us … doomed …"

"The way I see it … he has more of a fan city out there than a club," snickered Monta to Sena.

The door was hit again by a large bang that nearly took the door off its hinges and more squeals were heard as the mob became a sea of girls and boys attempting to take a glimpse of Sakuraba.

"Come on, then! Let's take a bite of these creampuffs and be away from those daft fans!" Sena yelled as the din started to sound like an entire stadium had been built around the stable … Suddenly, the entire building began to tremble.

"What?" Mamori gasped as the entire structure began to shake violently.

"Man, Sakuraba! You have some desperate fans!" Monta yelled as he wobbled around trying to keep his balance.

"I know, I know!" Sakuraba yelled, holding back the door from the fans outside.

"Come on! We have to get going or else we become fan boot jam!" Sena cried, toppling over a hay bale.

"Right then, everybody! On three!" Sakuraba cried out, abandoning his post at the door

"One!" The door banged and almost buckled under the abuse.

"Two!" Another shove and the door had collapsed revealing Sakuraba to the teeming masses.

"Three!" Sakuraba shouted and everyone took a bite.

Mamori felt as if the floor had been ripped away from underneath her as she was hurled forward in a blur. She felt her stomach doing flip flops before she landed heavily on hard, unforgiving Earth.

Mamori groaned, blinked and glanced around in confusion. "Huh? Uh … where am I? … Sena? Monta? Anybody?"

"Mamori! There you are!" a loud, friendly voice cried in joy. Turning her head, she watched Kurita bound down the rocky slope towards her, not even skidding slightly on the steep incline.

"Kurita! Thank heavens! I thought I was separated from the others," she sighed in relief; glad she wasn't alone.

Kurita smiled and pointed up the slope. "They're all up there waiting for us. We were spread out a bit so we thought you might be close."

Mamori nodded and stood up slowly. But they were on a mountain with high cliffs, deep crevices, and loose gravel; gravel that Mamori realized a little too late …

Mamori felt herself slip; her feet going out from under her once more, except this time she was falling into a black abyss. Almost in slow motion, she saw Kurita's mouth open in a shout and spotted her friends gaze down in horror. A scream ripped from her throat as she felt herself fall into the dark crevice. She could remember the image of each of her friends disappearing into the background and their worried faces before her head struck something hard. In an instant, she lost consciousness.

She didn't know how long she had laid there. Hours, days, even weeks … but the pounding in her head reminded her of her fall. But why wasn't she dead? That fall and blow to the head should've killed her. It should've killed …

"Long way down, isn't it?" someone sneered, from overhead. "Too bad you fell into the Door of Displacement on the way down."

Mamori tensed and opened her eyes, wide. That voice ... That mocking, sneering voice that caused even the principal to cringe in fear. Slowly climbing to her feet, she looked up and came face-to-face with a sharp-toothed grin of no other than Hiruma; standing upside down on the ceiling. She gaped in shock at him and found her voice had failed her.

"Something wrong with you, damn girl? Or do you always stare at people?"

-0-0-

Okay … I finished the chapter! Yes! Hiruma has made a small appearance here at the end for everyone who was waiting for him. You'll see why he is upside down on the ceiling and what exactly the 'Door of Displacement' is and where Shin has been taken.

Please review!