Charge Up
"Of all Guardians, it had to be Lightning," muttered Cecille, "Can we just skip this one, I'm sure there are others we can use instead. This place makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Hey! I know, there's a cave I've heard about near Fila del Fia, it's probably the resting place of Rigdobrite. We can go there and ask for the help of the Star Guardian." Her face showed signs of nervousness and she turned her head from side to side rapidly, as if she was expecting to be ambushed. She'd been like that ever since they arrived.
The team had finally made it to Spark of Life, in search of Nua Shaxx. Lilka was excited, she loved nothing more than spending a stormy day up in the attic, where one could see the storm best. If it weren't for the fact that lightning was dangerous if you were struck by it, she'd probably have watched it from a tall treetop, or at least the outskirts of the forest, where trees no longer obscured her view of the storm.
"Cecille! Don't tell me you're afraid of lightning. I thought you weren't scared of anything, you're always so brave when we're on an adventure. I haven't heard you cry since that time when you were seven and the monsters cornered you in the shed. You were only just learning attack spells then, so you really couldn't defend yourself. Then my mom ran in and summoned Schturdark to kill them all," stated Ashley.
Cecille replied, "It's not that I'm scared, it's that I don't like lightning. I was born under a water sign so I don't really feel comfortable around its opposite. You two, however, were born under a fire sign, so you mix quite well with lightning. I can stand lightning alright, just don't put me in the middle of a storm, and I'll be just fine." Cecille was always a good source to ask if you wanted to know about Shaman lore, as she'd grown up with her midwife grandmother who insisted she learn everything about her people that she could.
They continued onwards, until they arrived at a door with ornate carvings on it. The carvings looked as if they told a story or something, and were filled with lightning bolts in various places. Lilka looked a little closer. "I think Nua Shaxx is telling a story about his past or something. I can see a symbol that seems to represent Cecilia Adlehyde, Rudy Roughnight, and Jack Van Burace in here, and another that stands for his guarding of a piece of the Demon Queen's heart, in order to keep her from being revived. Both of those are tales that we were all told as children by our parents. There's more, but it's very illegible."
"Correct, those carvings are your pathetic human legends," a voice called out, "But now, you are in my trap. The Gemini, what a foolish prophecy to place faith in. Of all the people the Guardians could have chosen, they chose a trio of whelps fresh out of magic school. If they needed warriors, I think they should have sent someone with more experience. But why should I complain, that makes my job easier."
A woman entered the room. She had jet black hair and devilish red eyes. Her skin was pale, and tinted with gray. In her hands, she held a long sword and a small cage. The clothing she wore consisted of a low cut black dress with long billowing sleeves, and black heels. But what was most amazing was her hands, instead of finger nails she appeared to have claws that were painted blood red. There was a wicked look in her eyes, as she advanced on the three young Shamans, without even telling them what it was that she wanted. There was no doubt though, she wasn't here to ask them to a party or anything.
"Like the name implies, Gemini, twins. The Guardians had to choose a pair of twins to carry out the mission. And they figured that we'd be more comfortable with our childhood friend than some stranger on the quest," Lilka told her. She then realized she'd left out Leon again. Why didn't she want to speak of the fourth person destined to help save the world? Was it because she was angry at him? Disappointed in him for not fulfilling his destiny? Or could it be something else, something she could not name at the moment?
The woman inquired, "Yes, but what of your mother and Uncle? Surely, they are twins as well. That means the Guardians could have asked them. Their folly has cost you your lives, you will now die by my hands. Then, your souls will belong to me." She held up the cage for the team to see. Now that Lilka got a closer look, she noticed the pain radiating from it. This cage had been used to steal the lives away from humans, and hold their souls prisoner. For what though, she couldn't say at the moment.
But what Lilka did know was that it had to stop, here and now. "Monster! How dare you toy with human lives like that! Just who are you anyway, and where do you come from?" She was dangerously
close to forgetting her vow of secrecy, bringing out Dist Dims, and laying the smack down on the woman with a well placed Saint spell. But Lilka kept her calm, something she did with relative ease.
"My name, is Oni, and I am a Demoness," she stated, "I was growing in a tank, from cells taken from other Demons, when those foolish Drifters came to attack the Deus Ex Machina. Luckily, my tank was fortified, and I managed to live to this day. Now, I will destroy all is good and peaceful on Filgaia."
Suddenly, a white glow emitted from the door. Lilka hurried to open it. A Medium flew out at once, sparking all over the place and scaring Oni a little. One bolt hit her cage, causing it to blow up. Then, the Medium landed in Ashley's hands. The boy Invoked the Guardian right away, and looked at it.
*My powers are yours, Shaman child. You must stop this madwoman's scheme, before all of your parents' and uncles' hard work is turned to ashes. Let both your Shaman and Filgaian powers work in sync with one another, to end this new period of bloodshed and sorrow,* begged Nua Shaxx.
Oni stated, "I have to go now. Without my cage, I need a new way to steal the souls of humans who attempt to defy me. But mark my words, I will return here soon. Then, you will wish you had just given me your souls without a fight." She teleported out, leaving her laugh behind with them.
Cecille looked from Lilka, to Ashley. She blushed a little, he was her protector, and surrogate big brother figure. She wondered if he liked her the way she liked him. "So, where to now? Our enemy has been ascertained, and we've got to hurry up and stop her before her plans come to fruition. I'll bet any amount of Gella she wants to do what the demons who made her tried to do, and terraform Filgaia."
"If I was a betting man, I'd agree," replied Ashley, "But you've already given us our next move. Remember the cave you told us about? I'd say that's the next place we should go to find a Guardian."
"Then let's set out right away, before there isn't a Filgaia to save," said Lilka.
- - - -
Sky's Corner
As you can tell from the name of our villainess (oni=fiend), Teefa has found her Japanse Dictionary. She's now lost the notebook with all of her parody songs in it. Since she's looking for it now, I will be catering to you. Ack! I nearly forgot to introduce the last chapter Guardian. So she doesn't kill me…
~Aru Sulato~
Fridgid: Ice attack
Scanner: Like Analyze
Crack: Drops DEF
Shatter: Drops MGR
(PS: Ice Ward, Glass Ward, Initiative)
~Nua Shaxx~
Plasma: Lightning attack
Spark: Ups speed
Static: Heals status ailments
Shocker: Paralyzes an enemy
(PS: Thunder Ward, Paralysis Ward, Eagle Eye)
You really can tell this woman is cloned from the other Demons, she's got Leehalt's hair, Melody's figure, Malik's youthful air, and Sigfried's eyes (mutters) most likely they were red under that helmet of his, since red eyes look good when talking about demons.
