Shadow hearts
A novelisation
Chapter 7 - Bats, bombs and booby traps
Alice's POV
By Lucia Widdop
A/N - Thank you to all the kind people who have reviewed my work so far including:
Noelle Strife, The Malformation, Alice-Hyuga and Rebornfromtheseashes, your kind words always bring a smile to my face. Thanks to Merciless Angels Never Cry a brilliant writer and honest yet kind beta reader I couldn't do this without you.
Also, thanks to HeartlessTitania and KratosGodSlayer for compliments and constructive criticism.
Remember people from now on any reviewers will be mentioned in the next chapter, you deserve the recognition.
Escaping through the sewers wasn't really my choice of plan but we had no other options. Yuri and I had been framed as murderers, the Japanese army was waiting to capture us, and we were still dodging out of Roger Bacon's twisted grasp.
I was afraid, really afraid, here I was alone in the world, facing monsters, demons and people that wanted to capture me and kill me.
Zhuzhen's warning still swam around my thoughts.
There are people who would use you for your power then kill you.
The only thing which offered me a small amount of comfort was Yuri.
Knowing that I had a strong saviour next to me throughout this journey of horrors kept me going, made me strong.
It was him and the memory of my father which compelled me to fight these demons, discover the truth, and stop Roger Bacon's evil plans.
Almost as soon as my (rather dirty) shoes touched the sewer floor I felt an eerie aura.
I clutched Yuri's hand as swarms of monsters came towards us; mutated frogs, bats, spiders…
Yuri growled menacingly at them a harsh, guttural sound and then fused into his death emperor form.
I ran forwards and walloped the beasts as hard as I could with my new book, Yuri unleashed wave after wave of darkness and eventually their bodies littered the ground and water.
Gingerly I stepped over the bodies following Yuri as we searched for an exit.
Walking left we found nothing but a chest with an item in, I wasn't paying much attention. We decided to check the other side of the water due to a hole in the wall, Yuri wanted to jump over the water but I had to draw a line there after the monsters earlier I wasn't about to chance it even if it annoyed Yuri, sometimes his reckless attitude caused more problems than necessary.
Eventually he relented and we walked round, I was grateful that no monsters attacked us. Once we reached the hole in the wall I saw something shining in the darkness. I was unsure of what it could be and so I daren't put my hand inside instead I stood a step behind Yuri so there was a safe distance between the water and the wall and I.
"Is something there…?" mused Yuri his curiosity getting the better of him as usual.
"Another monster…?" I suggested fearfully fretting at the idea of more disturbing creatures attacking us.
"I dunno," replied Yuri, he seemed so relaxed I chided myself in my head. It was reasonable though that I was frightened after the events on the train, in Zhaoyang, Fengtian and these dark, dank sewers. I hated being such a scaredy cat but I still was not used to this.
A dark shape suddenly bounded out of the hole and I screamed in surprise clutching Yuri in order to steady myself.
The creature barked twice and when looking closer I noticed that it was the cute little puppy from earlier. A wave of relief washed over me. It couldn't have got in through the way we had so I deducted that there had to be an exit somewhere, I just hoped it was big enough for Yuri and I to escape from not just the hole in the wall.
"G-goddamn it, don't freak me out like that!…Well, if it isn't that little mutt from the station," said Yuri his tense posture relaxing once more. The puppy bounded up to me sniffing my clothes. I kneeled down to pet its soft fur. "What are you doing down here little fellow?" I cooed.
At the sound of my voice the puppy whined and I tickled its ears smiling at it.
"The little runt got lost in here and now he can't find his way out! Hah! How dumb!" mocked Yuri.
It amused me that we were in the same situation yet Yuri was calling the puppy dumb. "Just like us, no?" I teased.
Yuri looked down his face flushing slightly and I couldn't help but smile, if we weren't in this situation…Well when it was over I'd miss him for sure.
"A-anyway, Alice! We're off, forget about the dog," said Yuri somewhat grumpily.
"But we can't just leave it here! Let's take it to the exit with us, at least," I suggested hopefully.
"Hey suit yourself, baby! I sure wish someone would take US to the exit…" he complained whilst smiling. I blushed slightly at the comment knowing that I was being silly but unable to abandon the poor thing.
The sudden noise of gunfire interrupted my thoughts, was it the army? How did they know we were down here? Oh lord we were sure to get captured!
"Gunfire!" exclaimed Yuri as stunned as I was.
Yuri charged to the main part of the sewers and although I was scared I followed him, knowing that if it was the army we had more chance of escaping near the entrance as opposed to being backed into a corner.
I racked my mind for spells but I hadn't mastered the blessed light spell yet due to not getting a chance to study my new spell book. I suppose if Yuri attacked I could help heal?
We reached the walkway but instead of seeing an army waiting we saw the spy woman from earlier sprawled on the floor her eyes closed.
"Hmm?!" muttered Yuri clearly he wasn't expecting to see her here either.
"It's that woman!" I exclaimed in surprise.
"Oh… Asleep again, eh? What should I do?" laughed Yuri. I stood still in confusion, what did he mean?
"Um, hello?" he offered awkwardly to the woman.
"Good heavens, she's out cold. I'm she wouldn't mind if I just…" he tailed off thoughtfully.
Mind if what? Was there something I was missing?
"Go ahead," spoke the woman making both Yuri and I jump.
I still didn't understand, go ahead with what? I decided not to ask and to focus on helping the woman.
"Whoa! You're awake?!" asked Yuri shocked.
"Ooh, that hurts…Now look here, sonny boy. Aren't you going to help me up with an "Are you all right, fair lady?" and a smile?" she joked.
I had to smile, of course he wouldn't it was Yuri and she was more than capable of handling herself!
"B-but you obviously don't need any help…" answered Yuri almost apologetic.
The woman shook her head and shrugged despairingly. "I never imagined there'd be monsters roaming the sewers. I guess even I slip up sometimes," she explained.
"That was almost the end of my epic saga! If the press were to lose me now they'd be positively crushed," she declared, I couldn't work out if she was serious or not.
"Ow! Ouch!" she groaned in pain.
"Are you all right?" I asked her concerned. If she wasn't, one thing I could do was heal; it felt good to be of some use.
"Yes, I'm fine, thanks," she replied smiling fondly at me.
I guessed she was lying but didn't press the issue, it was her business anyway.
Knowing this woman if she wanted help she'd definitely ask for it.
Her eyes suddenly widened in surprise.
"Oh, you're the two I met before, aren't you? The terrorist boy and the mysterious girl," she realised. I hoped that she hadn't actually believed the radio alert, it felt strange to be referred to as mysterious.
"You're the terrorist! We're just a couple' a helpless murderers," replied Yuri. I wished that he would take things more serious, what if she took him seriously?
"Terrorist? Don't lump me together with those barbarians! I'm a spy, S-P-Y. Get it? A ravishing beauty that just happens to be miss spy genius," she replied haughtily, clearly offended by his joke. I looked her up and down, tight top and skirt, fishnet tights black boots and a long white coat, well she certainly looked the part!
"The names Malkovich, of course "Malkovich" is just my code name. Say, tell you what…I'll let you in on a secret, sonny boy: My real name. A little "thank -you" for coming to save me!" she said excitedly.
I'd have rather she'd have shown us the exit, when I glanced at Yuri he didn't look too interested either.
"Look, I didn't come to save you, and you don't have to tell me your name," he said slightly cold.
He started to walk and I turned wondering where he was going.
"H-hey, wait a minute! And here I was going to give you my telephone number and everything!" she exclaimed crossly.
Was she flirting at a time like this?
Yuri turned back around looking slightly irritated.
"Jeez! I got it, already! Okay what's your name?" he asked attempting to pacify this strange woman.
"You wanna know that bad, huh? My, my! I can't keep them away with a stick!" she replied flirtatiously.
"Fine, forget it," he replied dully and turned away once more.
"H-hold on! All right, all right. Here goes my real name is… Margarete," she said proudly.
"Margarete, then? My name is Alice, and this is Yuri," I introduced us.
Yuri turned back and glanced at her.
"Nice to meet you both you won't regret having me on board!" she replied enthusiastically.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…" replied Yuri ungraciously. I disagreed it made me feel a lot better knowing that we were a three now, safety is in numbers after all.
Heading north we were reached yet another dead end. We headed south past the monsters bodies which were beginning to decay and to the other side of the sewer which we hadn't yet explored.
Rounding the corner we were ambushed by more monsters, two overgrown spiders and some fire bats.
Yuri didn't bother to fuse choosing to strike with his signature punch and kick combo attack.
Margarete ordered us to stand back and then pulled out a grenade launching it at the enemies, as predicted there was a minor explosion and the enemies flipped onto their backs defeated.
Continuing on we reached a ladder and managed to find a discarded gun which Margarete took.
When re had all climbed up the ladder we were met with more trouble. Similar to Zhaoyang village there was a large seal which prevented us from travelling any further.
"Hey is this…?! Yup, no question about it. It's a Taoist seal…Maybe to keep us from getting out?" suggested Margarete.
I was impressed with her knowledge Taoist seals and magic wasn't the sort of thing an average person spoke about.
"But who set it? I doubt there's anybody in the Japanese army who can use black magic like this," she continued.
Panic worked it's through my veins and I could feel the old fear coming back, was this Roger Bacon's doing? Had he really set a trap and then laid in wait for us? What if he succeeded in kidnapping me and hurt Yuri and Margarete?
"It's a lot different from the kind of magic I know…" I whispered nervously.
"You're right. This feels far more sinister…and evil. It simply reeks of it!" Margarete agreed.
"Anyway, it doesn't look like we're going to be able to get out of these sewers unless we break it," said Margarete in dismay.
"Break a Taoist seal? How? I don't have a clue," Yuri asked, confused.
I had to admit I wasn't sure either.
I found myself wishing Zhuzhen was here, surely he'd know, what was it that he'd said about these kind of seals?
"It looks like something fits into the centre," I observed remembering that he'd said something about a key or a guardian.
We climbed back down the ladder to try and brainstorm a few ideas.
"I've heard about this kind of occult Feng Shui magic before, if memory serves…There are two ways to break that seal: open the lock on the other side, or destroy it's guardian…" she said, it sounded like a familiar story.
"There aren't any guards around, it's just us three," pointed out Yuri.
"But that terrible, oppressive feeling I get here…It's as if someone's been watching us. Ever since we arrived…" I admitted finally expressing my fears out in the open, and shivering as I did so.
"Ah, what a pain. If you're out there, save us both some time and show yourself! C'mon, let's play!" yelled Yuri obnoxiously.
"Dear, dear, there are plenty of situations where brute strength isn't the answer, sonny boy!" scolded Margarete disapprovingly.
"So that leaves the lock… And all we have to do is find something to unlock it with! Right?" I deduced knowing deep down that it probably wouldn't be that easy.
"Awright let's start lookin'…" agreed Yuri.
"Huh?" he muttered as there was a huge crashing noise and the sewers began shaking.
"Right on schedule! The bomb I set in the train depot just went off." trilled Margarete happily.
Bomb?! She'd been so offended when Yuri had called her a terrorist yet here she was setting off bombs!
"Damn, Margarete, how many more firecrackers do you have up there?" an exasperated Yuri asked.
To be fair that was the second bomb she'd set off what on earth was she thinking?
"That was the last one. I bet the Japanese army didn't even know what hit em!" she laughed gleefully.
"Didn't know what hit em…?! And if this whole sewer system collapses, we won't know what's hit us either!" retorted Yuri.
"Come now, who do you think you're talking to, I'm Margarete, Miss Spy genius!" she laughed gaily.
"As if I'd make that kind of mistake. It's all according to plan! Every last detail!" she replied reassuringly.
I couldn't help but wonder how much of a genius she was, and if we were going to get blamed for this whole fiasco…
"I can't believe this…" sighed Yuri.
Once round the corner I couldn't help but notice that the dead end at the north of the sewer which we had inspected earlier was now glowing a bright violet shade…
Once we reached it there was a small bridge which had been created, Margarete's blast had caused one of the walls to begin caving in and bricks littered the water creating stepping stones.
The back wall was still a luminous purple and Yuri pulled out a sealing stone, a large blue orb which appeared to fit the lock on that door.
"All according to plan eh? So why's it caving in, Miss spy genius?" taunted Yuri referring to the damaged wall.
Margarete blushed and then laughed again, "T-this is according to plan, too. See? We got the stone, right?" she lied.
For once even Yuri was speechless, she really was unbelievable.
She shook her head apologetic and clearly embarrassed.
"Okay! I admit it, it was a mistake. But it turned out all right, didn't it? See? Now, let's hurry!" she replied hastily.
Heading back towards the locked door I wasn't really surprised to see monsters rearing their ugly heads and attacking us.
Thankfully we finished them off quickly enough, I was relieved to notice that Margarete stuck to shooting them instead of using any more grenades.
Once we reached the ladder Yuri paled and we stopped to rest, I wasn't surprised when he drifted off and began murmuring to himself.
Margarete looked quite alarmed and so I explained to the best of my ability about Yuri and his fusions.
She handled it rather well even making a joke about how he really was the dark brooding type.
Yuri didn't stay asleep for long but when he woke up I could tell that something had happened because he was going on about receiving the soul of Man dragon and now having the water element at his command.
Margarete (for once) stayed quiet and we eventually decided after making several preparations (which included me healing us all with my cure spell) to climb the ladder.
As soon as we reached the top of the ladder I noticed that the evil aura had sensed was most definitely stronger than before, I clamped my hands together and squeezed my legs together to prevent my body shaking in fear.
"The evil I sensed before…It's getting stronger!" I squeaked in fear.
"Indeed. I'm breaking out in a cold sweat. This is just…icky," she replied breezily.
I just couldn't understand this woman and Yuri, how could they remain so brave and calm in the face of danger? It was as if they enjoyed the thrill or something.
I found myself wishing I was back with my father, when he was with me I always felt safe and protected no matter what. I hated the fact that I had to rely on others but I hated the idea of being alone much more.
Yuri pulled the glowing orb out of his pocket and set it in the centre of the seal.
"…C'mon, baby…" he said as he pressed it into place.
Maybe we'd be okay maybe we wouldn't see any more monsters maybe…
Maybe not. "Something's coming!" I warned as the sewer began shaking.
As the door opened we were greeted with three monsters two water kappas and a water tiger. They looked up huge eyes popping out at the prospect of a large meal.
Their throats were torn the skin ripped away revealing a mass of putrid flesh and their slimy, veiny looking bodies slithered towards us their webbed fingers reaching for us.
Yuri didn't bother to fuse, confident in his abilities as he attacked the right kappa.
Margarete began throwing grenades damaging all three enemies in one hit.
Charging forwards I smacked the kappa which Yuri had attacked as hard as I could.
It clawed at its throat as if it couldn't breath, then it's head tilted to one side as it splayed apart and it died.
The pink water tiger leaped forwards attacking Margarete with webbed hands and feet in anger.
The remaining blue kappa also charged forwards choosing to attack Yuri this time.
I pulled my book out ready to heal either of my fellow party members should they need it.
Yuri's eyes narrowed in determination as he ran forwards attacking the kappa, it didn't die but let out a cry of pain and its head began shaking revealing that it was close to death.
Margarete whipped out a gun and aimed then fired shooting the kappa directly in its throat. Again it gasped and flailed trying to stay alive but eventually slumped to the floor.
Only one left now blocking our exit.
In a flurry I ran forwards and hit the creature it lurched backwards but didn't die, this monster was stronger than the other two.
In anger it ran forwards hitting Yuri instead of me like I'd expected.
Yuri returned the favour by punching and kicking it, Margarete shot it and I smacked it but to no avail, it didn't even seem to be weakening and a little voice taunted me with images of us dying, or being captured and tortured…
Yuri and Margarete refused to give up punching, kicking, shooting and swearing and so I leafed through my spell book and cast two cure spells bathing them both in a golden light.
"Hey that's really cool!" yelled Margarete as she continued to expertly shoot bullets at the beast.
I almost gasped with relief as its body began shaking and Yuri finished it off, it's body sprawled across the floor.
After the battle Yuri and Margarete joined my side, they too seemed to be shaking a little.
"Whew, that frightened me to death…Hey, what happened to it being either lock of guardian?" Yuri complained clearly irritated.
Margarete nodded her head in agreement.
"Jeez, what kind of trembling, little coward double-locks? Hmph well at least it was an easy victory." she sighed.
An easy victory? I thought it was never going to end!
A wave of malice suddenly washed over me and I looked around gasping, the evil still hadn't gone away!
"…What is it?" Yuri asked bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"I know we destroyed that thing, but…I can still sense intense evil…" I said nervously hoping that whatever it was couldn't hear me.
"Don't worry the seals broken!" exclaimed Margarete comfortingly.
The malice had faded slightly, but I was sure it still existed that the seal and the monsters were just part of a bigger picture.
"Up ahead's a landing strip. We're gonna go get us an airplane! C'mon!" whooped Margarete happily.
I exchanged a shy glance with Yuri, could we really trust Margarete to pilot a plane, with us on it? Those things went awfully high…
"I still feel like something's watching us, though…" I continued nervously.
Eventually we all decided to continue anyway, or should I say Yuri and Margarete decided and I followed.
Once we climbed right to the top of the ladder I was grateful for the fresh air and the blue sky. I felt a little uneasy about this landing strip; the evil was even stronger than before.
Attempting to brush it aside I gently placed the puppy on to the ground (yes I really did keep hold of it for that long!) and it scampered away.
"Hey! Tiny" Come back!" I called praying it wouldn't get hurt.
"Hmm? Aww the mutt ran away, huh?" teased Yuri.
I fixed him with a glare as away of response.
"Forget about him, Alice. He's just happy to be outside." he reassured.
I sighed, it wasn't really fair to drag the poor thing along with us, it would constantly end up in danger and I knew that we couldn't give it the care it would need, I just hoped it had an owner somewhere in Fengtian.
"But…" I started the selfish part of me refusing to let go.
"Okay, fine!" sighed Yuri shaking his head, I smiled at him and noticed he couldn't help grinning back and we all followed the dog.
It stopped suddenly barking as if trying to get someone's attention.
"Huh..? A stray dog? You lost boy? Hmm?" asked a voice, looking up I realised it was a Japanese soldier, what had I gotten us into?
If only I'd listened to Yuri, thankfully he didn't pull me up on it.
"Uh-oh, Japanese troops!" exclaimed Margarete as another soldier appeared after the first.
"It's them! The wanted terrorists from Fengtian!" yelled the second soldier.
I bit my lip anxiously feeling guilty for dragging everyone into more fights.
"S-sound the alarm! Prepare for battle! Inform Lt Colonel Kawashima immediately!" continued the soldier looking slightly fearful before rushing off.
"Tsk, damn dog!" tutted Yuri irritably.
Three more soldiers appeared and the four of them charged towards us.
"Looks like we have no choice but to fight!" Margarete said as she whipped out her gun.
"Hah! This should be fun!" Yuri laughed as he raised his fists.
Compared to the monsters that we'd fought in the sewers these soldiers were a piece of cake, a few punches and kicks from Yuri, a few attacks with my book from me and a few shots from Margarete and both soldiers sank to their knees in defeat.
"Damn, they're tough! Keep your guard up!" barked the next soldier as the remaining two launched into battle, once again it was an easy win so I didn't bother using healing magic.
"Over so soon? They're hardly worth their salaries…" quipped Yuri sounded slightly disappointed, typical of the young ruffian!
"What do we do now?! Reinforcements are going to be here any minute!" I asked worriedly.
"Right. No time to waste, time to grab that plane of ours!" declared Margarete, eager as ever.
We ran forwards just as the plane in front of us exploded propelling us backwards.
I hunched with my arms over my head hoping that Yuri and Margarete were okay but feeling kind of stunned myself.
"Hey Alice, you okay?" Yuri asked gently.
I slowly unfurled my arms standing up, surprised that my head was hurting.
"Y-yes, I'm…I'm all right," I stammered slowly relieved that both Margarete and Yuri were okay.
Yuri turned back to the wreckage of the plane.
"Another ka-boom? What the hell's going on?" he asked staring pointedly at Margarete.
I turned suddenly spotting the puppy from earlier lying motionless on the floor, deciding to check on it I edged away from Yuri and Margarete as they tried to figure out what was going on
The puppy suddenly stood up and began glowing a fierce red whilst gnashing its teeth at me.
The evil from earlier! I screamed as it appeared to get larger alerting Yuri and Margarete.
"Why there's nothing to fear, girl! I'm just your cute little puppy Tiny!" laughed a wicked voice inside the dog.
I racked my brains, it couldn't be Roger Bacon? Who was it?
"T-the dog…is…talking?" asked Margarete flummoxed.
"You're the one who blew up that plane, aren't you?! And just as we were about to make our escape!" figured Margarete her tone angry.
"As if I'm going to chase you halfway across the continent! I think not you're coming with me! The heathen girl that is." stated the person inside the dog.
I clasped my hands and knees together in fright, it was like Zhuzhen had said! I would become a target for people who would simply use me and then kill me! I edged back frightened, suddenly Tiny wasn't so cute anymore…
"Who ARE you?!" I yelled confused and afraid at the same time.
"This evil aura…! So you're the one who's been watching us! Ever since the sewers!" I said in horror as I realised that my instincts and sixth sense hadn't been wrong.
"That's correct," laughed the stranger.
"Ooh, I get it! You're Bacon! What, did ya get reincarnated as a dog after I killed you on that train?!" asked Yuri arrogantly.
I almost laughed despite the situation, how did Yuri think up these things?!
"This…this is too much! How unbelievably lame!" cackled Yuri.
The dog grew larger in size, obviously Yuri even managed to irritate a dog, well a person inside a dog.
"No, foolish boy! How dare you mention me in the same breath as that…charlatan!" raged the person.
"You want to know who I am?! Not that you zeros are even worthy of hearing my name," challenged the person irate by this point.
"Um let's see…Is it "Tiny" after all?" asked Margarete, mock innocent.
The dog grew larger inside almost at knee height.
"What? That does it…You wench!" screamed the person in anger.
"I can't follow all this. Look, buddy, I don't know who you are, but we don't have time to chew the fat." explained Yuri.
I groaned, they really had no idea between them they were only making the situation worse!
"I will not stand for this! You shall repent! Taste my wrath…the wrath of Dehuai!" roared the beast.
Oh lord, that person Zhuzhen mentioned, Dehuai! The one who Zhuzhen believed was to blame for the seal in Zhaoyang! We really were in trouble now!
Before we even had a chance to react the puppy transformed into a giant beast and prepared itself for attack.
Even from behind Yuri I could smell the creature, its skin was several sickly shades of orange and red and sagged, a curtain of putrid, rotting flesh.
Its eyes were dark and hungry and its mouth was lined with sharp, canines which looked like they could easily slice through human flesh as if it was butter.
It roared in anger and belched flames pouring out of its gaping mouth.
Its body was a mass of muscle yet it was held up by spindly legs, had I not been so scared then I would have definitely laughed.
I was grateful that Yuri had received the Man dragon fusion as this beast was definitely of the fire element.
Yuri straight away transformed and used his magic to conjure up a flood of water magic which he fired at the enemy.
The beast roared in anger and I trembled a little in fear.
My turn next, I attacked the beast with my book just managing to avoid its snapping jaws, I dealt little damage and silently cursed myself for not getting round to mastering an offensive light spell.
Margarete used a trick I hadn't yet seen which granted me the water element for when I attacked the beast.
The beast dog clearly was enraged as it unleashed another breath of fire towards us.
I gritted my teeth as the fire hit my skin marking with a few minor burns, although the attack did not deal a huge amount of damage or pain it was apparent that should it be used in succession it may cause a problem.
Thankfully the others seemed okay and we continued our routine Yuri attacking with his newfound flash flood technique, me attacking with my book (which dealt a lot more damage than before, thanks Margarete!) and Margarete throwing grenades.
I expected the beast dog to attack us with more fire so was slightly grateful when it used a fighting spirit move which bathed its body in an orange light increasing its physical attack.
Yuri used flash flood once more and I prayed that he'd have enough magic left to use it a few more times as he was easily dealing the most damage of us all.
Although my health was lowering after each attack from the beast I was more concerned about my rapidly decreasing state of mind which threatened to overwhelm me and so instead of attacking I relieved my anxiety by using a pure leaf.
Margarete chose to shoot the beast, riddling its body with water infused bullets instead of using another grenade.
In anger the beast charged forwards aiming for me rather than Margarete, I braced myself, terrified as it head butted me and swiped at my face with its rotten paws before attempting to bite me.
I raised my book in front of my face in defence hoping the beast wouldn't infect me should it manage to bite me.
Thankfully it retreated backwards preparing itself for more attacks and I let out a sigh of relief that I was safe for now.
After Yuri used his next flash flood attack, I could tell that the beast was definitely starting to weaken as it was swaying and shaking on its small legs.
Feeling brave I ran forwards hitting the beast with my book in all of its weak points, in the face, in its leg and for good measure several times in its rocking body.
Margarete threw one more grenade and thankfully, after what seemed like forever, we had managed to defeat the beast.
I suddenly felt a glowing feeling inside my body and looked down at my book which was glowing and floating midair.
I opened it up and smiled when I saw the words.
You are now strong enough to wield the magic and to cast blessed light.
I had done it! I'd actually managed to learn the spell!
Feeling pleased I turned to Margarete and Yuri and told them the good news, smiling in gratitude at their congratulation.
Yuri wiped several beads of sweat from his brow, he too was grateful for the end of the battle.
"Now I get it…So this mutt's actually some wretched old geezer named Dehuai. Ha ha giving yourself away like that…real smart, DEHUAI!" laughed Yuri.
"He seems to know about Roger Bacon, not only that but he seems to know about me too!" I said seriously.
"Hey, come on you two! We've got to stay on our toes!" chirped Margarete a little too enthusiastically given the fight we'd just been in.
"I know a little something about that Dehuai character, I'll tell you both about it later." she continued cryptically.
I looked at her wondering how she knew about Dehuai and why she wasn't spilling the beans now.
"In the meantime, I'll look for a plane we can use be right back!" she finished dashing off towards a hangar.
"Geez Alice you sure are popular with the older guys!" said Yuri leering a little.
I blushed feeling awkward, it wasn't something I liked to think about really.
"You do have that whole innocent thing going on…" he said causing me to blush further.
Could it be that he was…interested in me?
"Or maybe it's because you have some big secret…" he teased.
I stamped my foot in anger.
"Ooh…don't look at me that way!" I growled.
There was a sudden whirring noise and we turned to see Margarete sailing towards us in what looked like very old and highly unsafe plane.
"Hey you guys look what I've found, what do you think? Pretty nifty eh!" exclaimed Margarete happily.
I looked at Yuri uneasily she wasn't seriously expecting us to ride in it was she?!"It was abandoned I think, but it started when I gave it a swift kick!" she laughed in a very unladylike manner.
"Oh yeah, that's a hand me down all right…" sighed Yuri.
"Y-you want us to…ride in it?" I asked astonished at this woman's boldness and disregard for safety.
"Bingo! Stop your chattering kids and hop in!" she ordered.
Yuri shrugged and ran towards the plane forcing me to follow, despite being unhappy about it.
"Damn, is this thing made for midgets or what? And what's with the squeaking? Will it really fly?" asked Yuri doubtfully.
He gasped as the plane shuddered and I fell out of my seat and straight into Yuri's lap.
"Oh! I'm so sorry Yuri!" I apologised mortified at what he or Margarete would think or imply.
"N-no problem, you're plenty light Alice!" he replied, grinning and blushing slightly himself.
"Don't you two get all cuddly on me now! This is it! Hold on tight!" warned Margarete as she directed the plane forwards.
The plane picked up speed and smoke began billowing out of the back of the plane causing both Yuri and I to clutch each other afraid.
"Y-yo Margarete maybe this plane wasn't such a hot idea…" Yuri started fearfully.
"It's really sh-shaking!" I added my voice pitched high in fear.
"There's no turning back now! Come on Yuri you're a boy for god's sake show a little gumption!" Margarete replied.
"Here goes, full throttle!" she roared and the plane roared into the sky, all of us screaming in fright…