Chapter 9: Waterways
The Waterways were a network of stone paths that floated above the water inside the cavern. The stone paths had stone walls to prevent anyone from falling into the water.
Senel and Chloe were the first to enter the cavern.
"Shirley!" Senel called up.
"I don't see her anywhere." Chloe examined the area.
Just then Will and Norma entered cavern.
"Senel! Chloe! Are you alright?" Will asked.
"Where's Shirl?" Norma asked.
"She entered the Waterways." Chloe replied. "But we lost track of her."
"She can't be that far." Will said. "Let's find her! Move!"
They then proceeded onward. After navigating through the stone pathways, they finally found Shirley and Fenimore standing on a stone pillar floating next to the stone path.
Two soldiers were approaching the pillar.
"Demon Fang!" Chloe unleashed a wave of energy from her sword.
The attack struck the soldiers head on. Both soldiers fell to the ground dead.
"Nice shot C!" Norma commented.
"Shirley, can you get down?" Senel asked.
"Yeah." Shirley answered. She then turned to face Fenimore. "Fenimore, climb down."
"But there are Orerines down there." Fenimore protested. "Why are you going with the enemy?"
"They're not our enemies." Shirley disagreed. "Come on, you saw them. They came to rescue us."
"No." Fenimore shook her head. "You can go by yourself."
"I can't do that." Shirley replied.
"Why is that girl hesitating?" Chloe wondered.
"Come on, Fenimore." Shirley pleaded.
"I said, no." Fenimore said. "How can anyone possibly trust Orerines?!"
"Fenimore!" Shirley shouted.
Before they could argue any further, another voice intervened. "That's as far as you go!"
Standing on a nearby balcony was Melanie and two soldiers.
"You there! Alliance Marine!" Melanie shouted from above. "I'm impressed you survived after we tossed you off that cliff." Her lips curled into a devilish grin. "This time you wont be so fortunate!"
Senel knew now was a good time to get moving. "Shirley, jump down! I'll catch you!"
"Oh no you don't!" Melanie shouted.
Just then, the two soldiers activated a mechanism stationed on the balcony. A few seconds later, the whole area began to shake.
"What's that rumbling?!" Chloe asked.
"You don't know?" Melanie asked. "Then allow me to teach you. There's a reason these are called the Waterways!"
All of a sudden, a nearby stone door opened up. Gallons of rushing water shot out and rushed down the stone pathways. The stone walls on the pathways prevented the water from escaping.
Uh oh! Senel thought.
Senel's group was swept away by the current and carried downstream.
"Senel!" Shirley shouted. She then jumped into the current after her brother.
Senels group was carried into a nearby tunnel. Before Shirley could reach the tunnels entrance, a floodgate shot down and blocked the entrance.
"Senel!" Shirley screamed.
--
The current finally finished carrying Senel through the tunnel. He then emerged into another area of the Waterways. Spotting a nearby staircase, Senel swam up to it.
Success! He reached the staircase and stepped on to dry land. He then sat down to rest.
I wonder where everyone is?
Just then he spotted Chloe being carried by the current.
"Chloe!" Senel called out.
He then noticed Chloe trying to struggle to stay a float only to fail miserably. She slowly began to sink. It was almost as if she couldn't…
"Aw hell!" Senel jumped back into the current and swam after her. Within seconds he caught up and lifted her head above the water.
"Chloe, are you alright?" Senel asked.
"H…help…" Chloe gasped for breath.
"Stay calm!" Senel said. "I'm here! Your going to be okay!"
Senel kept Chloe's head above the surface as the current carried them off.
--
The water had finally drained. Shirley sat on the floor all drenched and tired.
"Shirley!" Fenimore ran up to her.
"Fenimore…" Shirley said.
Just then four soldiers approached them.
"N…no…" Fenimore's face paled. "Stay back!"
The soldiers began to advance.
Just then, an energy blast collided into the soldiers totally obliterating them.
"Wh…what happened?" Fenimore asked.
"That was close." A voice called from above.
Shirley looked up and gasped. It was the mysterious youth that kidnapped her at the bandits' lair. He was currently using the two wings on his back to hover in the air.
"You!" Shirley said.
"My name is Walter." The mysterious youth said.
"Walter, your one of the Ferines too, aren't you?" Fenimore asked.
"My true name is Delques." Walter confirmed.
"Delques…"black wings"!" Shirley mused. "I've heard that name before."
--
The current finally came to a stop. Senel and Chloe were now on dry ground. Chloe had passed out during the ride.
She was currently laying on the ground on her back. Senel sat next to her. A few minutes later, her eyes slowly began to open.
"Mmm…uhh…" Chloe sat up.
"Are you awake?" Senel asked.
"Coolidge…" Chloe said.
"Can you stand?" Senel asked.
"Ah…yeah, thanks." Chloe stood up. She then looked around the room. "Where are we?"
"We're at the bottom of this Waterways place." Senel replied. "The water carried us pretty far."
"Carried by the water…" Chloe mused. "That's right! The water swallowed me up!" Chloe remembered. "Coolidge, are you the one who rescued me?"
"I can't just abandon someone who can't swim." Senel replied.
"Y…you figured that out, huh?" Chloe lowered her head.
"Well, the sinking kind of gave it away…" Senel admitted.
"Argh!" Chloe groaned. "And after I'd kept it hidden all this time…"
"It's nothing to get upset about." Senel said. "You just can't swim, that's all."
"It's a major problem to me!" Chloe growled.
"What, that you can't swim?" Senel asked.
"Stop saying "can't swim, can't swim"!" Chloe shouted. "You can't possibly understand my feelings!"
There was a moment of silence.
"Ohh…of all the people, why did he have to be the one to find out…" Chloe groaned.
"It's not like I'm going to tell anyone." Senel said.
"That's not the problem!" Chloe said.
"It isn't?" Senel asked.
"Well it is…but it's not!" Chloe replied.
"If you're feeling good enough to argue like this, I guess your fine." Senel smiled. "Come on, let's go. We're going back up to find Will and Norma."
"Oh…right." Chloe said. "O…of course."
"Get a grip on yourself." Senel said.
"That's enough." Chloe said with a hint of irritation in her voice. "I'm fine."
They then walked down the corridor. After a bit of walking, Senel spotted Will and Norma up ahead.
"Hey! Senny! C!" Norma greeted them.
"Are you two alright?" Will asked.
"Yeah, we're fine." Senel answered. "I'm worried about Shirley. Let's get going."
--
Shirley, Fenimore, and Walter ran down the corridor. Just then Walter suddenly stopped.
"You two go on ahead." Walter ordered. "I'll stay here and slow them down."
"But…" Shirley protested. "Walter…you can't do it by yourself…"
"There's a hidden room to the side up ahead." Walter said. "Go hide there, I'll catch up soon."
"Shirley come on, let's do what he said!" Fenimore said.
"R…right…" Shirley said.
"They're here." Walter said. "Go now."
Shirley and Fenimore ran off. Within seconds, Melanie and Stingle came into view.
"Looks like there's a new knight protecting the princess." Melanie said.
Walter raised his hand, a Zephyr materialized in a flash of light. It hovered near Walter's side.
"That's an interesting technique." Melanie smiled in amusement. "At least you should be more fun than that Alliance marine."
Stingle drew his sword and Melanie's fingertips began to glow.
--
The group had been walking for quite some time. Just then they spotted Moses and Giet up ahead.
"Well lookee here? Quite a coincidence, meetin' like this." Moses grinned.
"You!" Senel growled.
"Moses!" Chloe and Will shouted.
"Stupid bandit!" Norma hissed.
"Heh heh- Hey, one of y'all called me a name!" Moses exclaimed.
"I was just imitating JJ." Norma said.
"Moses, what are you doing here?" Will asked.
"I was walkin' down the middle of the Waterway when this flood just came out of nowhere." Moses replied. "So I took a little ride and wound up all the way down here! Heh heh!"
Moses then walked up to Senel. "Us meetin' here must by fate tryin' to tell us somethin'." Moses raised his spear in the air. "Wanna finish what we started before?"
Senel raised his fists in attack position.
Just then, Will walked up to Moses and bonked him on the head.
"Ow!" Moses said.
Will then bopped Senel on the head as well.
"This is neither the time or place for that, you idiots." Will scolded.
What did I do? Senel thought.
"We all have bigger enemies then each other, right now." Will said.
"I ain't interested in getting' friendly." Moses said. "I'm gonna do things my own way."
"As you wish." Will said. "But don't get in our way."
"Understood?" Norma asked.
"Humph!" Moses said.
--
Shirley and Fenimore entered the hidden room. Just then Shirley collapsed on the ground.
"Shirley!" Fenimore ran up to her, knelt beside her and felt Shirley's forehead. "You've got a fever!"
"That water earlier must have been mixed with some sea water…" Shirley moaned. "This always happens. Don't worry."
"Were you born with a weakness to seawater?" Fenimore asked.
"No, I didn't used to be like this at all." Shirley replied. "I guess it started three years ago…"
"Did something happen?" Fenimore asked.
"W…well…" Shirley wheezed.
"Settle down." Fenimore said. "You can tell me about it once you're better. For now, just rest."
A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door.
"It's me…" Walter entered the room. As he approached Shirley and Fenimore, he fell slumped to the ground on his knee.
"Walter!" Shirley gasped.
"Are you okay?" Fenimore asked.
"It's nothing." Walter replied. "Just a few scratches."
Upon a closer examination, he had a severe cut on his back.
"A few scratches?!" Fenimore asked. "I'm surprised you can even move!"
"I'm fine." Walter said. "We have to get out of here quick…"
"Please, you must rest." Shirley said.
"Why are you pushing yourself like this?" Fenimore asked.
"It is my mission." Walter replied.
"Walter…" Shirley said.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Fenimore asked. "Shirley, tell me what's going on!"
"Watch how you speak to her, girl." Walter glared. "Do you know who this is?"
"What?" Fenimore asked.
"Please, don't!" Shirley begged.
"This woman is the hope of the Ferines." Walter explained. "The guiding light whom we have waited 4,000 years."
Shirley's face paled. Oh god no! Don't tell her! Please don't tell her!
"The Shining One…" Walter said. "The Merines…"
There was dead silence for a minute. For Shirley, time had stopped dead in it's tracks. At this point, she just wanted to disappear.
"Shirley is…the Merines…" Fenimore finally broke the silence. "Ever since I heard the rumors of the birth of the Merines, I'd wondered what sort of person it would be. And after I was captured, my faith in the Merines grew even stronger. The whole time, I prayed for the Merines to help us…to lead the people of the water to salvation."
"Fenimore…" Shirely said.
"But…it's you!" Fenimore's expression darkened. "Where were you while my friends were being killed on-by-one?!" Fenimore's voice was full of anger. "Living with Orerines? With Senel? I have no one left!"
"I…I…" Shirley stuttered.
"All my friends were killed and you did nothing!" Fenimore screamed. "If you are the Merines, then act like one and fulfill your duty!"
"That's enough." Walter said.
"Walter!" Fenimore growled. "Don't you have anything to say to her?"
"I have faith in the Merines." Walter replied. A few seconds later, he collapsed.
"Walter!" Shirley gasped.
"He disappeared somewhere around here." Melanie's voice echoed outside the hidden room. "Search every inch!"
"They're here..." Fenimore's face paled.
Just then Shirley noticed something in her pocket start to glow. It was the shell Pippo gave her.
--
The group continued to walk through the Waterways. Just then Norma realized Moses and Giet were following them.
"Why are you following us?" Norma asked.
"Feel free to get out of my way anytime." Moses said.
"Do you have any idea how obnoxious you are, you stupid bandit!" Norma growled.
"Don't go callin' folks stupid!" Moses growled back.
"And your dog is stupid too!" Norma said.
"Ruff ruff." Giet growled.
"Ignore him Norma." Will said.
Just then, something in Senel's pocket glowed.
"Coolidge, what's that light?" Chloe asked.
"It's the shell Pippo gave me." Senel took the shell out of his pocket. "Is Shirley trying to contact me?!" He took a step forward, the shell grew brighter. "This way, follow me!"
After a few minutes of walking, they reached a dead end. The path was blocked off by a wall.
Shirley, where are you? Senel then pointed the shell at the wall. "Here?"
Senel walked up to the wall and tapped on it. Nothing happened. He then tapped on another area of the wall.
"What's he doin' talkin' to the wall?" Moses asked.
Senel tapped another area of the wall.
CLICK!
The wall opened up revealing a door.
"Got it." Senel said in triumph.
The group then entered the next room.
Walter and Fenimore were in the next room. Walter was still laid on the ground passed out.
"Who are you?" Senel asked. "Where's Shirley?"
"She's…not here." Norma scanned the room.
"Is that the flying man on the floor?" Will asked. "What's he doing here?"
Senel's shell began to glow. A shell that Fenimore held in her hand began to glow as well.
"What are you doing with that shell?" Senel asked. He began to approach her.
"S…stay back!" Fenimore shrieked.
"Coolidge, your scaring her." Chloe said. "Calm down."
"Yeah…sorry…" Senel apologized. "That shell belonged to Shirley. Where did she go?"
Fenimore remained silent.
"Please, tell me." Senel said softly.
"She…she said she'd act as a decoy, and then she ran off by herself." Fenimore stammered.
"When?" Chloe asked.
"Just a few moments ago." Fenimore replied.
"If we hurry, we should make it in time." Chloe said. "Coolidge, let's go!"
"Moses, I need a favor." Senel said.
"Huh?" Moses asked a bit confused.
"That guy on the ground there, could you carry him on Giet's back?" Senel asked.
"Senny! What are you thinking?" Norma asked. "That's the guy who kidnapped Shirl last time!"
"I know but…" Senel paused for a few seconds. "I know Shirley wants us to save him. That's why she gave this girl the shell and led us here."
"Humph. What's in it for me?" Moses asked. "I just wanna stir something up. This ain't my problem."
"Despicable!" Chloe scowled at him.
"You jerk!" Norma shouted.
"Stupid bandit!" Chloe and Norma shouted at the same time.
"Did y'all rehearse that?" Moses asked.
"We'll just have to carry him ourselves." Senel said.
"Senel, are you serious?" Will asked.
"You, come with us too." Senel turned to face Fenimore.
"What?" Fenimore gasped. "Why?"
"Now hold up. Why are y'all doin' this?" Moses asked. "Even if this gal wants what you think she does, why are you goin' this far for her?"
"Well, when it's your beloved sisters wish …you know?" Norma said.
"Sister?!" Moses asked.
"Shirley is Senel's sister." Will said. "Don't tell me you didn't know that?"
"Uh…" Moses said.
"Looks like he didn't." Norma said.
"Your sister's wish huh…" Moses mused. "I guess you can't say no to that." He then turned to face Giet. "Come here, Giet. Give me your back."
"Ruff!" Giet barked.
"So you'll do it?" Senel asked.
"Humph. Just this once, hear?" Moses lifted Walter up and placed him on Giet's back. "There we go."
"Let's hurry up and catch up to Shirley." Chloe said.
"Right." Senel agreed.
The group then left the room.
--
Shirley ran as fast as she could. Stingle and a bunch of soldiers chased after her.
Just then Melanie burst out of nowhere and grabbed her by the arm. "Gotcha you little brat!"
"No…let go." Shirley tried to break free.
"Quit struggling, you are coming with me." Melanie began to drag Shirley towards a nearby transport vehicle.
Just then Senel's group arrived.
"Hold it right there!" Senel shouted. "Your not taking Shirley anywhere."
"Your annoyingly persistent." Melanie scowled. "I'm on a tight schedule right now. If you want to fight, the Citadel Turtle will gladly oblige."
"Citadel Turtle?" Senel asked.
Just then an oversized turtle stepped out of the transport. It had a cannon attached to its back and its shell was heavily armored.
"Let's go Stingle." Melanie shoved Shirley into the transport. "We must hurry or else we'll be late." She then entered the transport followed by Stingle and the rest of the soldiers.
"Senel!" Shirley shouted before the transport vehicles door slammed shut. Within seconds, the transport vehicle drove away.
"Great." Chloe sighed. "We'll have to take care of this thing first before going after them."
"Alright!" Norma shouted. "Let's kick that ugly turtles butt!"
"That armor is nothing to scoff at." Will cautioned. "Melanie has left us quite a present."
"Give me a break Teach, I'll just fry that thing to a crisp. Just watch!" Norma began to charge up a spell. "Fire Wall!"
A giant pillar of fire erupted from the ground and engulfed the turtle. When the fire died down, the turtle emerged from the smoke unscathed.
"What?!" Norma shouted in disbelief. "You've got to be kidding me."
"As I said before, that armor is nothing to scoff at." Will said. "That armor is made out of a special metal that is immune to magic."
"Great, now you tell me." Norma sighed. "Thanks for the late history lesson Teach."
"Our best strategy is to use physical attacks." Will said, completely ignoring Norma. "Senel, Chloe. You go ahead and attack it. Norma and I will support by using our crystal eres to heal you.
"Gotcha." Senel nodded. "Ready Chloe.?"
"Ready." Chloe replied.
Senel and Chloe rushed at the Citadel Turtle.
"Swallow Dance!" Senel jumped in the air and rapidly kicked at the turtle.
"Sword Rain!" Chloe rapidly slashed at turtle.
The Citadel Turtle tucked its head and feet into its shell and shrugged the attacks off. It then aimed its cannon at the group and opened fire.
"Duck for cover!" Norma shouted.
Everyone ducked for cover just in time to avoid a large cannonball.
"Demon Fist!" Senel unleashed a burst of energy from his fist.
"Demon Fang!" Chloe unleashed a wave of energy from her sword.
The Citadel Turtle shrugged the attacks off again. Four extra cannons emerged from its shell. The turtle began to spin around the room firing its cannons.
Everyone ducked for cover as several cannonballs flew all over the room.
"Darn, no matter how much effort we put into our attacks, the turtle keeps shrugging them off. We haven't even made a single dent. Do we even stand a chance?"
"Yahoo!" Moses rushed towards the Citadel Turtle and hurled a spear straight into one of the turtle's cannons.
The cannon exploded ripping away some of the turtles armor. The Citadel Turtle growled in pain as smoke began to pour from the open wound on its shell.
"What are ya'll lookin' scared for?" Moses asked. "Don't matter what the odds are, ain't no backin' down."
"Right." Senel nodded. "Leave the rest to us."
"All right! Hurry up and take care of this thing!" Moses said. "And I don't want to see y'all pullin' your own weight, you hear?" He then left the room..
"All right everyone!" Senel shouted. "Aim for the cannons!"
"Tiger Blade!" Chloe slashed off one of the cannons.
"Lightning!" Will fired a thunder bolt that blew up another cannon.
"Thunder Arrow!" Norma fired multiple lightning bolts at the beast. Although the main shell was unaffected, the remaining cannons were destroyed.
The Citadel Turtle roared before spewing fireballs from its mouth.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Norma groaned. "We destroyed the last cannon and it still wants to fight."
"Try going for the head." Will suggested.
"Sword Rain Alpha!" Chloe rapidly slashed at the head. The Citadel Turtle spewed fire on her. Chloe dropped to the ground and rolled to put out the flames.
"Are you okay?" Senel asked.
"Yeah." Chloe answered. "The head is armored too. My sword was barely able to put a dent in it."
"Oh great." Norma sighed. "And I doubt my crystal eres will be much use."
Oh boy…I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this attack but it looks like we're out of options now. Senel ran towards the Citadel Turtle. Senel's fist began to glow purple. The turtle tucked its head into its shell.
"Negative Strike!" Senel slammed his fist into the turtles shell. The attack tore through the shell, ripped right through armor covering the head and obliterated the brain. The turtle shuddered before slumping to the ground dead.
"Dang!" Norma's jaw dropped open."You could've probably taken out Vaclav and his army with that kind of attack."
"Also, back when we were at Moses hideout, you could've busted down the door instead of pounding away." Chloe added.
"Two things." Senel said. "One, if I had used this attack to bust down the door back at the hideout, I would've risked hurting Shirley. Two, each time I use this attack, I end up loosing a lot of energy."
"Energy?" Chloe asked.
"Every time use this attack, my stamina ends up getting depleted rapidly." Senel explained. "Even now my arm feels numb."
"Loosing energy while using eres…" Will mused. "Interesting, I never heard of that happening before."
"When I use normal attacks, I'm fine."Senel said. "When I use the other kind, I lose energy."
"Other kind? Wait, you mean you have more deadly attacks?!" Norma asked.
"Enough about me." Senel said. "We should head outside and check on Walter and Fenimore."
The group then headed outside.
--
The group finally exited the waterways. Norma began healing Walter, Will went back inside to examine the oversized turtle. Senel noticed Moses and Giet were still hanging around but paid no attention to them.
"I wonder where they took Shirley." Senel mused.
"Are you Shirley's brother?" Fenimore asked.
"Yeah." Senel answered.
"Hmm…your just like she said." Fenimore mused.
"Shirley told you about me?" Senel asked.
"Yes. Just before you arrived." Fenimore answered.
--
Flashback…
"I'm going to go out and get there attention." Shirley said. "I'm the one they want, so it should be okay."
"There's no way you could do something like that." Fenimore said. "You're just trying to make yourself sound good."
"Take this shell and squeeze it hard." Shirley handed over Fenimore a shell.
"It's glowing…" Fenimore mused.
"Concentrate on the shell and think, "Help!" understand?" Shirley asked. "Keep doing that. Don't stop." She then began to walk away.
"Wait!" Fenimore said. "Are you serious."
"Yes." Shirley answered.
"It doesn't matter what you do!" Fenimore said. "Walter and I are still stuck here!"
"As long as you have that shell, you'll be okay." Shirley replied. "My brother will come and rescue you."
"How can you be so sure?!" Fenimore demanded.
"He's my brother." Shirley smiled before leaving the room.
End of Flashback
--
"Shirley said that?" Senel asked.
"Here…take the shell." Fenimore handed Senel the shell. "I'm grateful to you for rescuing me…thank you."
"Yeah, I'm, glad your okay." Senel smiled.
"Wh…why are you smiling at me?" Fenimore blushed. "Your Orerines."
Just then Norma finished healing Walter. Walter immediately stood up, sprouted wings, and hovered in the air.
"Walter?" Fenimore asked.
"Fenimore, come!" Walter shouted.
A purple bubble surrounded Fenimore. Walter flew away towing Fenimore along with him.
"Hey! You would've died if it weren't for us!" Norma shouted. "You could at least say thanks." Soon Walter was out of sight. "Jerk." Norma grumbled.
Just then Will stepped outside.
"Where's Walter and Fenimore?" Will asked.
"They left." Senel answered. "Did you find anything about that magic resistant turtle."
"The turtle we just fought is actually a rare species known as the Mirror Turtle." Will answered. "The shell of the turtle itself is made of a special metal that can deflect magic. People used to hunt down Mirror Turtles and used their shells to forge magic resistant shields."
"Must have been suicidal considering the firepower that thing had." Senel said.
"Well, you see, there were no records about the Mirror Turtle having cannons. So I examined it further." Will said. "An autopsy revealed that the cannons were surgically installed into the shell."
"Well that explains why my crystal eres was able to damage the cannons but not the shell." Norma said. Just then she realized something. "Wait a second, did you just say autopsy. Ew gross, how on earth were you able to gut that thing wide open."
"It took awhile but I was able to pry the shell off." Will gestured to his hammer. "Since the turtle was already dead, it didn't put up much of a struggle."
"Ugh, note to self. Do not go back in there." Norma shook her head.
"I highly doubt we'll be going back to the Waterways anytime soon." Chloe shuddered at the memory of almost drowning there.
"There could be a possibility that Vaclav has found a way to control monsters. " Will said. "But I have no evidence to support this theory other than the turtle we just fought."
"True or not, we should keep our guard up." Chloe said. "I heard some rumors that Vaclav has been capturing monsters for his experiments. The turtle we just fought could be one of them."
Just then Quppo walked up to them.
"There you are." Quppo said.
"Good timing Qutie." Norma smiled. "Do you know where Shirl went?"
"Jay said they were headed to the Ruins of Frozen Light." Quppo replied.
"That's were Vaclav's main force is." Will said. "It's at four o' clock from here."
"I'm comin' with you." Moses walked up to the group.
"And to what do we owe this honor?" Will asked.
"Vaclav plays dirty and I don't like that. So I'm just gonna stomp all over him. Simple as that." Moses then turned his attention to Senel. "I know we've had some differences, but I'm willin' to declare a truce. We're goin' after the same thing, so we should help each other out."
He then offered Senel a handshake.
"Ooh, could this be the start of a new friendship?" Norma said happily.
PUNCH!
"Guess not." Norma sighed.
"Hey, what's that for?" Moses asked.
"Who do you think you are?" Senel demanded. "I'm not going to let you off that easily."
PUNCH! PUNCH!
"You're the one who kidnapped Shirley in the first place!" Senel punched Moses again.
"Can't you just let that slide?!" Moses groaned. "Your supposed to shut up and shake my hand."
"Like hell I'll let it slide!" Senel punched Moses in the stomach.
PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH! PUNCH!
"Aaaahhh!" Moses screamed.
Senel finally delivered an uppercut knocking Moses out cold.
"Um, are you done yet?" Norma asked.
"Yeah, I feel much better now." Senel nodded.
"Coolidge."Chloe said.
"Yeah?" Senel asked.
"Thanks for helping me back there in the Waterways." Chloe said.
"Your welcome." Senel said.
"Oh, are you two warming up to each other?" Norma teased.
"It's not like that…" Chloe blushed.
Just then Moses regained conscious.
"All right!" Moses shouted excitedly. "Time to move out!"
"Red sounds like he's coming with us no matter what." Norma said.
"Very well, you can come with us just as long as you don't cause any trouble." Will sighed.
"C'mon Giet lets go!" Moses said.
"Woof!" Giet barked.
The group then headed off in the direction of the Ruins of Frozen Light.