A/N: Hi, welcome back. Thanks again for all the terrific comments and helpful criticism. Before we begin, I just wanted to explain something very briefly: the Elgatos use the formal, polite suffix 'el' (pronounced like the letter) to address Diana and Eric, almost like 'san' in Japanese. That's it. Enjoy, please.

The Silver Veil

X.

I.

Oh, how his ideas were always terrible in retrospect. Everything went according to plan until Hank turned into Venger, like some sick, poorly shot sci-fi movie where the human melts into an alien with lasers for eyes. Why, why, why did it have to be ole horn-head? Couldn't he have disguised one of his minions as Hank?

Eric suspended his speculation as he ducked a lightening bolt that tore through the house behind him. He suppressed a cough and waved away the dust that currently coated his armor. Venger was pacing furiously in the town center, blasting away building after building.

"CAVALIER! I WILL FIND YOU!" Not if I can help it, Eric thought, eying a grate in the street next to him.

Speaking of Venger donning a Hank costume, he'd known, just known that Venger was conniving and cunning enough to try to pull a trick like that. As soon as he'd rolled 'Hank' over, Eric had felt the difference, but he'd decided to make sure his hunch was correct. And talk about a load of bullshit with 'All I remember is the light' and 'I was attacked.' It had been the flimsiest lie Eric had heard, ever. That's when he implemented this harebrained plan. Sometimes I'm so stupid…

But his stupidity worked because Venger still didn't know where Diana and the others were going. Pausing in his musing, Eric jimmied the grate open and cringed considerably from the vile odor that wafted from the open hole. Christ, I'm gonna suffocate, he considered darkly, but he'd rather suffocate than be barbequed, so he pinched his nose and jumped in feet first. Cowabunga, he thought, splashing in liquid knee-high deep and curling his toes in his boots.

The sewer, for that's what it had to be, was dark and wet. Slimy. Disgusting. He lifted his glowing shield, casting light and shadow around the enclosed space. There was a lifted stone walkway along the wall, so Eric stepped on that to get out of the whatever-it-was that he'd landed in. Over his pounding heart and the loud whispers of disbelief that he was making his getaway, Eric stepped carefully along the underground tunnel.

This is something for Hank, Eric thought dismally. The golden ranger had no problem going into the most oozing areas filled with peril and dangers beyond belief. The Ranger enjoyed that kind of thing, and he probably relished the fact that Eric abhorred going along. Eric despised adventures, particularly ones that involved nearly all-powerful evil mages, other worlds, and drippy, gag-inducing sewers. Shivering with sudden goosebumps, Eric stopped to listen carefully, but only heard Venger's chilling voice as it echoed in the underground.

No, something else reached his ears. It was a cheeping, or maybe some sort of squeaking? Eric slipped in something mushy and prevented himself from falling by touching the wall. He regretted it instantly, as the cold, germy wetness soaked through the fingertips of his gloves.

"Yek," he said, flicking his hand. Then he nearly fainted with terror when he felt something scurry across his foot. That was it. He couldn't cope down here any longer. It didn't matter if Fang-face seized him. He'd been in Venger's dungeons, and they were a hundred times more preferable than this hellhole. Next opening, he was getting out, no questions asked. He wondered if Venger would torture him first, as he drifted into the darkness further.

And further.

And still further.

This can't be happening. Why me, God? Why…me?

Once again, his plan was terrible. There was no next opening, none whatsoever in the ceilings or in the walls.

Then some warbled, distorted noise stopped him dead in his tracks.

"Huh?" His voice echoed around the steady dripping that was now nearly driving him crazy. He could have sworn he heard some-

"-ic!" There it was! But it didn't echo like his voice had. Maybe he was imagining things. Maybe…the dripping water had made him loco. This is stupid, he thought, interrupting his speculation. He wished Diana was there. She'd know what to do. Or at least, if they'd been lost together, she'd keep him company, and he'd feel mildly secure.

The hand that currently held the shield flexed; Diana had held that hand, effectively knocking him off his guard. He remembered how easily she slipped her fingers between his, how she seemed to want a response from him, but he was too surprised? Amazed? Plea-

"Eric!" the voice whispered, jerking him back to his dismal reality. Already his heart was throbbing in his chest, beating as loudly and as hard as a bass drum. Maybe humming some Led Zepplin would ease his-

"Follow the light," the voice whispered again. It sounded like it could be someone he knew, but the pitch and tone of the voice was too distorted.

"Dungeon Master?" Eric called, hoping the short dude was playing a stupid trick, but again the echo crashed around him like waves on the beach. The echo died out and silence filled in. If it was that little twerp, he'd wring his wrinkly neck. Eric made a low sound in his throat, aggravated. He'd heard things, and now he was seeing things, like a little fluttering light dipping and rising in front of him. It cast a sweet, warm shimmer over the ugly tunnel walls. Itching his head, Eric pondered his options:

1. Wander around down here until a way out is found.

2. Wander around down here until I die.

3. Follow the light, like the voice I wish I hadn't heard suggested, and possibly get out of here.

4. Follow the light into Horn-head's clutches or something equally painful or worse.

Finally the Cavalier sighed. To hell with this. He'd follow the damned light and whatever happened, happened.

II.

"THEY WHAT?!" Diana shrieked, manhandling Sh'Gyra as she did so. Both fists were balled in his vest, and he had just been slammed against the side of the canyon. He hissed and curled back his lips to show a row of teeth normally found in a piranha. "How could you let them do that?!"

"Diana-el, please release him," Ra'Veath requested, gently touching the young female's shoulder. Her head swiveled wildly. Her eyes fixed him with a glare so hard it hit him like a brick. Immediately the Elgato's hand-paw dropped as he stepped back involuntarily. Ra'Veath had the uneasy feeling that she would not be consoled…he flexed his aged digits and glanced at Sh'Gyra, who understood his meaning.

"Where are they?" she demanded, rounding again on Sh'Gyra. When she'd woken up this morning, both Eric and Hank had been missing from the clearing. Upon her inquiring where they were, Sh'Gyra had very calmly told her that Eric had left, and Hank had followed. It confused and infuriated her, especially since Eric had his suspicions about Hank. Not only that, but why hadn't he told her or said goodbye or…

The younger Elgato had ceased snarling and instead gripped her arms, bringing her to reality.

"Please trust us, as Eric-el has," he told her. Diana cocked her head, not clear on what Sh'Gyra meant by that, but before she had a chance to ask, she felt a warm pressure on the side of her neck. Still feeling surprised, Diana slumped over as her world went suddenly dark. Sh'Grya had a hold of her and lowered her carefully to the ground.

"Yikes," Ra'Veath murmured, repeating a word he'd heard from Eric in situations such as this. Sh'Gyra had a pained expression as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I can't believe there is so much strength in such a small thing," he replied. That was the second time this little human had injured him. Ra'Veath sighed and leaned down. The girl's face was pretty, even by Elgato standards, and he understood why Eric was sweet on her, and his actions to protect her only proved that.

Sh'Gyra had explained the whole situation to him and the others. Eric had suspected his friend of being a spy, and so devised a plan to create a diversion. Eric had a hunch that Shadow Demon was spying as well, and any 'secret' conversations would be overheard and reported to Venger. The Cavalier must have been correct, because when he left early in the morning, Hank followed not long after. As Eric lead the go-around, the Elgatos and Diana would rush onwards to the Pool of Reflections and gain possession of the Silver Veil.

When Sh'Gyra related the plan, he had sounded impressed. Ra'Veath and the others, anxious to get the journey over with, decided that Eric's plan was most sound and logical. However, as with any plan, there was a slight snag. And she was lying unconscious on the ground.

Sighing, Ra'Veath hoisted Diana over his shoulder. They would carry her. It had been Eric who had warned Sh'Gyra, and consequently all the Elgatos, that Diana would not go along with his plan willingly. Again, he had been correct.

"Let's get going," he grunted, as his knees cracked with exertion, rather than from Diana's slight weight. Sh'Gyra hovered, concern widening his eyes. Ra'Veath waved him away. "Don't make me feel older."

"But-" Ra'Veath cut Sh'Gyra off with a low growl. The younger Elgato backed off, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Sorry!"

Soon after, the four Elgatos moved rapidly among the narrow walls that hemmed them in. Their pace, slow before, had increased so that if Diana had been awake among them, she would not have been able to keep up, even at a full sprint. In a matter of hours, they exited the canyons and came to the Autumn Forest, where the tree leaves remained perpetually gold, red, orange, and bright yellow.

As they wound along the woodland path, Diana stirred. Ra'Veath motioned to the others to halt, and they stopped to allow her to recover on a mattress of fallen leaves. When she finally woke, woozy from the hard unconsciousness she'd succumbed to, she searched the furry faces for Eric and Hank. It was only when she didn't see them that she remembered…Eric left, he had left and Hank had followed…

They left me. Diana, rarely a crier, felt the despairing tears sting her eyes. Why? Why had they left? It's just like…Kosar. Angrily she pushed away Ra'Veath, who had knelt beside her worriedly and had reached out to touch her.

"Diana-el, listen," he said softly. Her stricken look had touched him deeply. She was at the edge of something painful, toeing a line that would break her to pieces if she crossed.

"NO! You listen," Diana interrupted, ashamed that she was so easily upset. "They're…they're all I have. I have to find them, I have to help."

She broke off with a sob, pressing her hands to her eyes. This is so unfair! Why was she the one to be left behind? And Eric going off by himself…did he have a death wish? And what if he doesn't come back? An icy knife plunged straight to her heart, doubling her over. Without her realizing it, Ra'Veath cradled her as she was wracked with painful sobs and suffocating anxiety.

"There, there," he comforted, as the three other Elgatos stood by helplessly. "Eric-el didn't abandon you. He left to protect you…to protect you and your friends from Venger. Right now he needs you to be strong. He needs you to find the Silver Veil before Venger catches on. You'll help him by doing what he wants you to do."

Diana sniffled and accepted the handkerchief offered by Ra'Veath. She was trembling in his arms, almost sick from the emotions that pummeled her.

"But…but what if-" she couldn't finish the sentence for the fear that closed her throat.

"Eric-el is more capable than you believe him to be. Trust him," Ra'Veath replied, stroking her hair. He had soothed his little ones' fears many times this way. A gentle touch, coupled with soft words, were enough to stop even the gravest of tears. Diana gazed at him, tearstains marring her smooth face, and nodded, breathing deeply.

"You're right," she whispered. She was stronger than this. What would Eric think of her bawling like a little kid? He would have fodder for a month, and his teasing, she imagined, would be relentless. I can't let that happen. I have to find it. I have to find it for Eric. And for the others. He's…THEY'RE…relying on me.

"Thank you," she told Ra'Veath gratefully. He had told her exactly what she needed to hear. There was a slight pause as Diana shored up her strength.

Right then, a loud snap had her twirling around. The three Elgatos, and Ra'Veath beside her, tensed, slowly drawing their weapons. None of them had stepped on a twig.

"We're…not alone," Ra'Veath murmured, readying his knives. His spear rested on the carpet of leaves; he would not have time to pick it up. Diana reached around and withdrew her javelin as she cautiously rose to her feet.

Whatever it was that would come, she was ready. Everything was on her shoulders, and she refused to fail.

A/N: I have the feeling that Eric's bad luck and Diana's good luck will come into play in the next chapter, although I have yet to write it. As always, let me know what you think, your thoughts and opinions are ALWAYS appreciated. Thanks, and see ya next time!