AN: Sorry it took so long people- I had a friend around till last Saturday, then it was school, and then the internet broke again!

I hate that little box, but I can't live without it...


The Seeker Within

Chapter 27- Absent Heroes Part 3

Loki ran, trying to figure out the map in her hands and use it to get to a safe place. In the end, she had to give on the meaningless scribbles. She needed a place where she could concentrate on deciphering them. Settling in a largish chamber, she sat and rested the map on her lap.

The map made perfect sense looking at it now, but without knowing where she was after her run through the tunnels, she had no idea where to go! Looking at the twisting maze that led to King Basilisk, the blonde shivered. This underground labyrinth was too much like the Catacombs for her liking.

Finally, her mind turned away from the puzzle before her, and moved on to other matters. "I'm glad your here, Cherit." Loki said at last, breaking the silence that had hovered over them since they'd fled from Defoe. "I don't think I could stand being alone in this place." She folded the map away, tucking it into the same pocket as her father's journal, and put her head in her hands.

Cherit nodded sagely. "I know, lass. Wide, open skies are more my thing." He ruffled his wings for emphasis, and the azure-eyed teen smiled at him.

They sat in silence for a while longer, before the girl spoke again. "We got away, but what happened to Will and Zhalia?" She asked, worry gleaming in her cyan orbs. The little creature on her shoulder gave her a reassuring look.

"Don't you worry, lassie. Those two are top notch. They'll find us in no time."

A cutting, sarcastic voice echoed around the room. "And so will the Organization if you aren't more careful." However mean the voice and its words were, it was familiar, and Loki leapt to her feet with a grin. Will and Zhalia walked down the stairs near where she was standing, the former smiling and the latter looking smug. "As for the henchmen, and Grier," The blue-haired agent continued, her smug look broadening. "We gave them all the slip."

Will looked his friend up and down, a slightly puzzled frown on his face. "So Loki, how did you finally get away from Defoe?" The blonde smiled at the memory, and gave a little laugh.

"I just did what I thought Dante would do." She explained. The light in her eyes dimmed, and she looked to the floor. "I sure wish he was with us now." The brunette beside her put his hand on her arm, comfortingly.

"I know what you mean." The boy said quietly, wondering where the russet-haired Seeker was. Zhalia nodded as well.

"Yeah." The group looked at her in surprise. It wasn't often that the coffee-orbed woman showed emotion, and rarer still that it was a nice one. A sly smile worked its way onto the azure-eyed teen's face as she put together what had happened in Iceland, and the melancholy look on Zhalia's face now. She held her tongue, however, wanting the pair to find it out on their own, a thing she was prone to doing with puzzles. That didn't mean that she would leave hints for them though...

Zhalia quickly amended her lapse in cold-heartedness. "I mean, he's a talented Seeker. He could come in useful." Deciding to go along with it, Loki nodded.

"If he was here, we could scan the map into his holotome." Will walked over and plopped himself on the ground by her feet, motioning for her to sit next to him.

"Not a problem, Loki." He laughed. "Ciphercall!" Blue fire glowed around his hands, lightening crackling between them, before flashing so brightly that none could look upon them. When the light had dimmed enough to see, the lightening had solidified into a rugged square of blue stone. It resembled a holotome, except for the fact that it looked older, and more tribal. It had none of the sleek lines of Dante's machine, and instead seemed to be hewn from rock. Symbols covered the lid, characters from long forgotten languages, and they glowed with the green power that seemed to power the machine.

The blonde looked at the machine in amazement, prodding it to see if it was real. "Will!" She said at last, laughing. "Why didn't you tell me you had a holotome?"

Opening the lid, the Casterwill shook his head. "Holotomes are merely the Foundation's copy of this, the Cipherdex, used by my family for generations." He held out his hand. "The map, if you'd please." Loki jumped, having forgotten about it in her excitement, and pulled in out of her belt-pouch before handing it over. Obviously showing off, Will lay it gently on the Cipherdex's scanner, then began to input the data.

Zhalia, hiding her interest in the very powerful object, padded over with her hands on her hips. "All Seeker groups have something like it, even the Organization."

Unknown to them all, a Mindrone hidden in the corner of the room was relaying their conversation back to his master, channeling the information to Defoe's holotome. Eyes gleaming behind his glasses, the man gave an evil smile. "I have them right where I want them." He growled.


Meanwhile, far above them all, Dante had finally reached his destination. It had taken him a while because he had walked the whole way, not wanting to use public transport, or any way that could be traced. His friend was very particular about that. Briefcase firmly in hand, he wandered calmly through the gardens in front of the Schönbrunn Palace. Passing the familiar statue of a young, half-naked man playing the flute- a follower of Pan, maybe?- the russet-haired man turned the corner, and padded over to a bench beside it. A man in a grey trenchcoat, grey scarf, and wide-brimmed hat of the same colour sat there, a steel grey briefcase, the mirror of Dante's own, at his feet. He was calmly feeding the pigeons that fluttered about the city, an action that was a odds with his hollow-cheeked, skeletal face.

"I believe you have a friend in bed," The strange man said as Dante approached. "A little under the weather." Golden eyes hidden behind his emerald sunglasses, the Seeker sat down, his face revealing nothing.

"Chicken soup works wonders. Do you have any for sale?" He said after a moment. His black market contact nodded, hearing the password. Although he and Dante had met many times, for many different medications, he always checked. He knew a little of the Seeker World in his search for more medicines for his richest client, and had figured out that the man he knew as John Smith, the most common name in England, could easily be impersonated so well that even the man's mother- if he had one- couldn't tell the difference. The phrase was changed each time, hidden in a magazine sent to him by 'Cars Weekly', a common enough name for the sort of thing a man would buy.

Another short pause in the conversation, as the grey man picked up Dante's briefcase, resting in on his lap whilst he checked the contents. He gave a quick smile, so fleeting that it looked like a grimace, then shut the lid. "I believe you'll find everything you requested." In one sharp gesture, Dante plucked the other briefcase from the ground, swiftly opening it, and running an experienced eye over the vials, tubes, bottles and boxes of possibly life-saving medicine within.

"We'll see." He stood, eyes cold as they met the eyes of the black market contact. "If there's a problem, you'll answer to me." The russet-haired man walked away without another word, tense incase the man tried anything funny. When he was a safe distance away, the young man relaxed slightly. "I swear I'll cure you, Metz, no matter what!" He thought passionately, remembering how much more weak and frail his mentor was since his last visit. It wouldn't be long now before Metz got too tired to wake up, and after that, too weak to breathe by himself. The nurse had told him, after that point, that it would only be a matter of time before his heart grew to weak to beat, and then... Dante trailed off, shaking his head. That would never happen- he wouldn't let it!


Far beneath him, deep within the black labyrinth, Will's holotome had finally finished it's scan. "Cipherdex," The boy commanded, emerald eyes bright. "Show us the labyrinth."

A moment passed before the machine responded, but not in the way that they had hoped. "Sorry, milord." A female voice with a strong British accent conveyed the Cipherdex's message. "Map scan corrupt. Display impossible."

Loki sighed, closing her eyes in disappointment. "Now what?" She moaned, wondering if they could even find their way out of the endless tunnels, each one made of the same, shiny stone.

Zhalia gave a short bark of laughter, as if she'd expected it. "So much for the superior Cipherdex technology!" She jeered, lip curling in spite. Will shook his head, narrowing his jade eyes at both the map and the sapphire-locked Seeker.

"No!" He breathed, hope glimmering in his eyes. "Wait! There's a mystic laminate that's blocking the scanning!" Passing a glowing hand over the sheet of paper, the Casterwill muttered a quick Breakspell, then repositioned the map on the machine's scanner. The coffee-orbed woman standing in front of him sighed, and grudgingly inclined her head in what might have been an apology on any other person.

"I guess that's why Defoe didn't scan it himself." Was all she would say, but it was a step further than the cold-hearted, dead-eyed woman that had helped them in Prague.

"Okay, Cipherdex, trying it again!" The brunette spoke gently to the holotome, as if it were an old friend, and Loki supposed it was. With no parents, any artefact from his family must be precious. She felt the same way about her father's things, the journal included.

Almost immediately, the Cipherdex revealed the labarynth. One room, at the end of a long series of tunnels, glowed red. Loki gave an impish smile, brightening now that the end of their time in the maze was in sight. "That must be our goal!"

Standing, and using the Ciphercall to send the machine away again, Will grinned. "We go down here 30 meters, and hang a right." He pointed to one opening in the dark rock, and Zhalia set off, leading the group.

"Let's not waste any time then!" Loki jumped up, bouncing on her heels as she often did when she was excited, and scampered after her, leaving Will to bring up the rear. The dark-haired boy didn't trust Zhalia, and had decided to go to the back only to keep an eye on her every move.

Cherit settled back into the up-and-down rhythm of Loki's walk, smiling gently. "It'll be forever and a day till those suits find us, I say!" He crowed quietly. The blonde on who he was resting nodded, careful not to disrupt her friend.

"Yeah!" The azure-eyed teen whispered back. "They don't have a map, so we're in the clear!"

She had spoken too soon.

Loki paused, feeling the strange urge to scent the air, or check. Something felt wrong, like something was lurking, a malevolent presence filling her senses. Will passed her, walking up to Zhalia's side, too busy watching the 'untrustworthy' Seeker to notice the danger. The pair walked past a turn off, and slowed, waiting for their friend. That was their undoing. If they had kept going, perhaps they would have stood a chance against the two Redcaps hiding, waiting to ambush them.

Will was the first to notice the shifting in the shadows, and a warning had barely left his lips before he was swatted by one massive, clawed hand. Zhalia spun, hearing his yell, and got hit from behind, falling to the floor, trapped before she could react.

Down the corridor, a Mindrone leapt from its hiding place, and shot Cherit from the air, where he'd flown in horror as his friends were attacked. With wide eyes, and a trembling hand, Loki yanked Freelancer from her pocket, and raised him above her head, calling his name. Glowing, she had almost finished the summons before Defoe himself appeared and fired a Raypulse at her wrist. Freelancer's shield-like amulet flew through the air, landing in a bag held open by Grier. He growled when his eyes met the blonde girl's, sea-green to sea-blue.

She backed away, eyes desperately searching for some way to escape, or help her friends. Oh, how she wished Dante was here! He'd have blasted these suits to kingdom come before they'd been overcome- no, wait! If Dante were here, he'd have noticed them before they were ambushed!

Feeling something brush her back, the pale girl span on a heel, tripping as the thing pushed her over. It was Kreutalk, that vile, alien manta-ray. It hovered over her, its face in her's, and Loki shivered, repulsed by the aura that clung to the creature like a bad smell.

Defoe sauntered over, smug and proud. He waved the map in front of Loki's narrowed eyes, revealing the thing she had felt on her back was Kreutalk stealing the map from her pocket. She glared at the man before her, baring her teeth in a fangless snarl that would have looked more at home on some wild animal of the night. Her body shaking with anger, the blonde tried to launch herself at the man she thought had ruined her peaceful life, however much she loved the one she had now. Kreutalk rammed her in the gut, and she fell back, rolling head-over-heels before stopping. Balancing in a graceful crouch, her hair falling over her face, she felt an emotion that she'd never felt before, something that scared her. Bloodlust. Not only did this feeling contrast with her easy-going nature, and her love for most things, but it stirred the power that she held within her, and it reared up, casting her in a pale blue glow as she prepared to fight. She was stopped by five words from her enemy. "Fight and your friends die." The light died away, and Loki was forced to give up.

"I hope the map was as useful to me as it was to you." Defoe crowed, pulling another growl from behind Loki's clenched teeth. "Fools! I was the one who coated it with Stop-Scan-Shellac, after scanning it myself, of course." He marched forwards, shoes clicking against the floor as Kreutalk went for the blonde again. She dodged, but the manta-ray twisted to follow her, his long, whip-like tail catching her in the back. The azure-eyed teen went flying, rolling to a stop near Defoe's feet. Eyes widening as she realized how close she was to her enemies, Loki made to leap away, but was stopped by the greasy man before her taking a step forwards and placing a foot firmly on her chest.

"A brilliant trap!" He murmured to himself, eyes flashing with malicious glee behind his glasses. He clicked his fingers, and the green amulet around his prisoner's neck was surrounded by a multicoloured circle. "Sorrowbond!" Defoe held out his hand, and the pendant strained against its chain till it snapped, and the amulet floated to his waiting palm.

"No!" Loki screamed, suddenly losing her tie to not only one of her cherished titans, but her father as well. "Kipperin!" She called for him desperately with both her mouth and mind.

Defoe grinned at her reaction, knowing just what he had done. "I think you need some time away from your dangerous little toys." He purred, curling his fist around his stolen amulet. "Restrain them." He waved his other hand, and the suits dragged Loki to her feet, tying her up alongside an already bound Will and Zhalia. The shaking that consumed her body was caused entirely by rage and disgust for the man that had captured them, but the emerald-eyed boy thought she was scared, and reached out a shackled hand to her. Startled, the blonde jumped, but she smiled at Will reassuringly.

In the meantime, Defoe was finding that Loki's titan was just as tricky and unpredictable as her. He prodded the luminous shell around the green pendent, muttering quietly to himself. "And what do we have here?"

"Not yours! Never fly with wingless soul! Bad grounded two-leg! Bad BAD BAD!" Defoe frowned, his lip curling slightly.

"What's this?" He gripped the amulet tighter, as if hurting the amulet could hurt the titan within.

"No NO NO NO! LOKI LOKI LOKI LOKI!" The creature thrummed the girl's name, reaching for that link that he had with her, needing the comfort of her mind against the cruel soul trying to bond with him.

"You're a feisty one." Defoe spat out, grinding his teeth in frustration.

"I WILL NOT BOW TO YOU, NASTY MAN! I FLY FREE WITH LOKI!" Kipperin shrieked down the temporary Bond, pushing back the force trying to bend his will. He loved Loki, felt the kindred spirit within her, felt how light and free she was, how easily she could fly if she would just open her wings! He would never join with this grounded, wingless, evil thing!

With a sigh that was more of a hiss than anything else, Defoe gave up... for now. "But enough of this. I have a titan to claim." Pocketing Kipperin, the only thing he had managed to glean from the titan within the pendant being its name, he marched off down the corridor, with the rest of the group following without a word.


On the surface, Dante was opening the door to his temporary home, eyes filled with turmoil and churning emotions behind his emerald sunglasses. When he found the house empty, the russet-haired man stopped in shock, before switching on the light. Even though he had told his friends not to wait for him, he hadn't expected them to actually do it. "Seems like I didn't get invited to the party." He muttered to himself.

Placing the briefcase carefully on the table, the golden-eyed man sighed and went to check upstairs. The teens were probably trying to best each other at puzzles, listening to music with head phones on (Loki was notorious for not listening when she was on her iPod) or reading quietly. His hopes were dashed when his search upstairs revealed nothing except the fact that both the journal and Will's Cipherdex were gone.

Dante sighed again, something that was happening more and more when it came to the teens, and went downstairs. A crumpled piece of paper caught his eye, and he picked it up, curious. "This is the map Zhalia was looking at..." Putting it down, the amber-eyed Seeker was about to just settle down with a book and wait, when the golden light on the sunset made him stop, heart clenched with worry.

A quick glance at the clock confirming his suspicions, he took a moment to work it out in his head before striding over to the light-switch, legs eating up the ground. "If it is a party, I'll just have to crash it."

The sunset had made Dante realize that if the teens were just checking out the city, they'd have come back by now. The time was too late, and he had a feeling he was too...


The rest of his team were being marched, pushed and shoved along the tunnels, till they reached the largest room yet. Unlike the rest of the maze, the stone in this chamber was a more welcoming, natural, sand-stone colour than glossy black, giving the space a homey, comforting air that was quite at odds with its true purpose. At one end of the hall was a massive stage. Thick, purple curtains covered it, but at one end, the tip of a scaly tail in a painting on the wall could be seen. With a smile of triumph, Defoe gestured at two suits by the wall. "You two. It's time for the final act. Draw the curtain." Loki snorted and rolled her cobalt eyes, earning a yank on her chain and a glare from the suits guarding her and the others.

The two suits saluted nervously, and sprinted to the curtain. As they pulled it aside, a massive creature took shape on the wall behind. It was like the serpent on the roof outside, but there were many differences.

Sitting on its muscular hindlegs, King Basilisk, for there was no doubt it was none other than he, had a curved back, long claws on the end of each pointed foot, and spines rippling along his back. Great, bat-like wings sprouted from his proud shoulders, and he bore gold bands upon his wrists as marks of his servitude. Then, as the head was being revealed, one suit made the mistake of looking up.

He gazed in wonder at the head of the mighty titan for one moment, then screamed, threw up his arms and turned to stone.

The entire group- Foundation and Organization alike- gasped in horror and fear, save for one man. Defoe just gave a little laugh, a cruel smile on his face. "Oh my, how tragic." He didn't sound remorseful at all. "Guess we'll need some more guinea pigs." The suits began to back away, each trying to force the other to stand in front of them. They stilled at his next words.

"Luckily, the Huntik Foundation has been kind enough to donate a few." The Foundation trio bit their lips, and edged closer together, seeking the safety in numbers, even though they knew it made no difference. "Our little fly-girl and the Casterwill brat go first. You do like puzzles, no?" He mocked as Will and Loki were unshackled, and shoved towards the dreaded trap, stumbling at the harsh treatment.

Loki turned to Defoe, back straight, head up and proud. "I do, but even I know when a puzzle will cost me my neck, Defoe. You might want to do the same." And then she turned and sauntered off, leaving the greasy-haired man to figure out the meaning behind her spiteful words. Will, after looking back at the Augerfrost-wielding suits, sighed, his shoulders sagging in defeat. As he hurried after his blonde friend, Defoe's eyes widened behind his glasses as he realized, in his anger and victory, he had just jepardized the Professor's most wanted possession, but he couldn't stop them now without seeming weak, a thing he would never do.

"No choice." Will muttered when he caught up with Loki, tilting his head back at the suits. The azure-eyed girl nodded, and the fire in her eyes went out. Her bravery had been a bluff.

"I don't want to end up as a lawn sculpture!" She hissed to her friend, looking at the ex-suit with worried eyes. Will, following her gaze, gulped nervously. Loki pretended to be shocked, but her voice trembled all the same. "Are you, William Casterwill, heir to the best Seeker family in the world, scared?" The girl forced a laugh past her lips, but her eyes kept flicking to the stone figure in front of them.

The brunette adamantly shook his head. "If we keep calm and think this through, we'll be fine." A sinister laugh floated behind them.

"Hurry children." Defoe purred, triumph coating every syllable like honey.

The teens crept up the stairs to the dias, trying to think of a plan. Loki decided to take Defoe's advice, a thing that would never happen again, and think of it as a puzzle instead of a death trap. She began to list facts, trying to see a pattern."They were both fine when they were pulling the curtain." Azure eyes widened as they traced the body of the titan in the picture. "Only the one who looked up got turned to stone." The blonde breathed, her eyes fixed on the place the curtain stopped, at the end of the neck.

Will, quickly working it out for himself, looked up too. "I bet the head's up there... " They both fell silent for a moment, gazing up at the serpentine creature. Suddenly, the Casterwill remembered the statue outside, and the conversation he had Loki had had beneath its head. He quickly alerted his friend to his discovery. "In the legend of the basilisk, the creature turned victims to stone with its gaze!"

The Irish lass beside started trying to fit the pieces together. "Maybe we can try looking at the problem in reverse. Remember when I solved that puzzle with the mi-" She broke off, gasping. "A mirror! That's it!" As the blonde began rooting around in her pockets, Will followed his friend's train of thought.

"This thick, black curtain absorbs light, and blocks the trap. But a mirror is the opposite! It reflects light, and should turn the trap on itself!" For a moment, the boy recalled the traps left by Joan of Arc, and her obsession with light traps, then he came back to Earth with a bump. "Where are we meant to find a mirror in this underground maze?"

Loki finally found what she was looking for, and a sly smile curved the corners of her lips, making her eyes glint with a mischievous light. "It maybe small, but it reflects." She said, pulling out her prize. Will gaped at it for a second, then gawped at his friend.

"You want to bet us turning to stone on a make-up case?"

The girl nodded, flicking her hair out of her eyes. "Want to reflect it with your sparkling personality? My money's on the eyeshadow." She dashed forwards without another word, knowing that time was running out. "Whatever you do, don't open your eyes!" She commanded, shutting her own and opening the make-up case. Lifting it above her head, she bit her lip before ordering Will to draw the curtain.

Purple light engulfed the mirror, and Loki began to shake under the strain of keeping it aloft. It was as if the basilisk's gaze was solid, and was pushing at the mirror, trying to snap it or bend it. Will cried out, feeling the immense pressure that made him sink to the floor and raise a hand to shield his eyes. "Loki! Hurry!" His friend resisted the urge to scoff. As if she could do anything to hurry this along, or even make it work!

All at once, she felt a shift in the balance of power, and the power shot back from her in a brilliant, violet beam, shattering not only the trap, but the entire wall too! Jumping back to avoid the falling debris, the teens covered their heads and crouched low to the floor.

When the dust had cleared, they stared in amazement at the fruits of their work. "There's another room!" Loki had time to whisper, before Will was yanked away from behind, and she felt an almost familiar hand snake around her throat, lifting her to her feet, then into the air.

"Now that you've done my dirty work, we can pick up where we left off."

Choking as he tightened his hold, the azure-eyed teen sneered, refusing to let Defoe see her fear. "This is getting... old now Defoe! It doesn't hurt... to be original!"

Defoe shook his head, smiling softly. "No, but it doesn't matter whether I'm original or not. You'll get hurt either way."

Looking away from the eyes burning with hate and victory behind the gold lenses, Loki caught sight of a shadow moving silently along the wall of the chamber. She smiled, then looked down on Defoe, getting a deliberate sense of Deja Vu. "Don't you get it, Defoe? This is all part of Dante's plan!"

As predicted, the lanky man snarled, the mere mention of his rival's name setting his teeth on edge. "I'll burn you to ashes for trying such a simple lie twice." He growled from behind clenched teeth, glowing a vile, sickly green. The ugly, misty fog flowed along his arm, but just before it reached its target, a voice rang out in the dusty room.

"If she's lying, then why am I right behind you?"

It was Dante, this time in person, and not just Cherit's impression of him. He shot Defoe a cheeky grin, his amber eyes sparking, stepping forwards from where Loki had seen him creeping closer.

Defoe's eyes widened almost comically, and he span, twisting his hold on his captive so he had her in front of him, one thin arm wrapped around her neck. The blonde strained against his every move, but Defoe was bigger than her, for all he was thin, and he easily overcame her struggles. Dante took one step forwards, but Defoe pulled the canister filled with Kreutalk's acid from around his neck, where it nestled with the amulet of the manta-ray-like titan, and held it threatingly over his hostage. "No fur-"

He himself got no further, for Solwing swooped from his place hiding amongst the rafters, a trick he often used, and grabbed the white tube, scratching Defoe's hand with his talons in the process. He then circled high above them, screeching in a way that sounded almost... mocking.

In that moment of distraction, Loki's eyes hardened into sapphires, and she lashed out with a foot, catching Defoe in a place that made him double over in pain. As he went down, the blonde wriggled out of his weakened grasp, and leapt up. She landed, crouched, a few meters away from her captor, and gave him a wicked smile when he straightened. If he tried to catch her again, he'd better be prepared for more than a kick below the belt!

Seeing that he was going to get beaten soundly against either one of his opponents, Defoe wretched an amulet from his throat. "Emerge, Kreutalk!" The manta-ray streamed from his pendent, straight into Solwing, who tumbled to the ground, then disappeared into his amulet in a stream of blue light.

In response, Dante called out his favourite partner, and the Aztec warrior Caliban leapt to his side. "Let's clean house." The russet-haired man said with a smile, and the titan nodded, having gotten used to his Seeker's strange phrases years ago.

The two men faced each other, eyes locked. Dante took a step forwards, with Defoe skittering back, and Grier clasped the amulet at his throat. "Suppress him, Breaker!" The four-armed bear charged for his target, thudding along the floor like a furry train. Loki wanted to help her friend and mentor, but without her titans, she was useless against such a big opponent.

Caliban warned his Seeker, then jumped though the air, looking like he was flying, and smashed into Breaker, halting both of their charges. Dante and Grier soon copied their titans, clashing in furious battle.

At the edge of the fight, a still shackled Zhalia got bored with playing prisoner. She whipped a leg behind her, clipping the suit in the chest. The hard-hat-wearing individual went soaring, hitting a wall with a sickening crack. The blue-haired woman either didn't notice, or didn't care, and instead shook the hand-cuffs from her wrists, placing the lock pick that she had used to free herself back in the secret compartment in her boot. "Here's where things get interesting." She murmured. Though she wasn't the all-who-ever-did-me-the-slightest-wrong-must-die-at-my-hand kinda gal, she did want to get her own back on the people who had tried to capture her.

In the meantime, Will and Loki had banded together in on corner of the chamber, working together to keep the tide of suits at bay. But there were too many, and the teens soon found themselves being pushed back, and losing ground to the Organization. "No good!" The blonde gasped as they felt their backs hit the wall. "We can't fight them without our titans!"

Cherit, who was flying around their heads and using his tiny fists to try and help, pointed over to the opposite corner. "Defoe dropped his bag, over there!" The trio craned their necks to see over the suits.

"Its gone!" Will cried, losing hope.

A suit saw how they were distracted, and tried to take advantage of it. "Now! Raypulse!" The crackling beam streaked towards the Foundation agents, but Will quickly stepped in front of his friends and called forth a Honourguard to protect them.

"I can't hold it!" He warned his friends, as the shield began to tremble. A strange, low growling came from behind them, then Loki felt little claws on her shoulder, and scales brush her cheek. Smiling, the azure-eyed girl turned her head slightly to look at the newcomer.

Gareon dropped his invisibility, and offered the teens the bag he was holding with his tail. With relieved grins, the pair reclaimed their titans, the Sorrowbonds dissolving at the touch of the amulets' rightful owners.

Will dropped the Honourguard, lifting his hands to the ceiling. "Turn the tables, Sabriel!" The pink-haired woman appeared in a burst of peach-coloured light, bowed to her master, then rushed her enemies.

With a smile, Loki followed the brunette's example, and summoned Freelancer in a wave of cobalt fire. Freelancer inclined his head to his mistress, then joined the fight. Running after him, more confident now that the armored titan was by her side, the blonde spoke briefly with her lance-wielding friend.

"Good to have you back, Freelancer." She said across the Bond. He replied instantly, joy at both the battle and their reunion bringing a smile to his Seeker's face.

"Good to be back, Loki."

With their titans at their side, Loki and Will had soon defeated a large portion of the suits and enemy titans, leaving Grier and Breaker to circle Dante and Caliban undisturbed.

It also left Zhalia free to sneak around the fighting, and slip into the newly discovered tunnel. In the near darkness of the enclosed space, the blue-haired woman had to trail a hand along the wall to find her way, but hurried none the less, knowing that King Basilisk must not fall into the Organization's hands. At the end of the corridor, was a gigantic statue of the titan. His head was as big as Zhalia's entire upper body, and he was at least three or four times as tall as Dante. His wings cast long, dark shadows along the walls and floors. He truly was the stuff of nightmares.

Feeling fear stir in her heart, the coffee-orbed Seeker reached a hand forwards to rest it tentativley on the titan's muzzle. Both she and the statue began to glow with a blinding, violet light. "Its not exactly friendly..." Zhalia ground out, gritting her teeth. "Can I even bond with it?"


Back with the rest of the team, the fight seemed to be turning in their favour. The teens, grinning broadly, high-fived each other as they finished off the suits, then ran to help their titans, who were charging Kreutalk.

Then, it all went wrong. The giant manta-ray spewed a torrent of acid at the Huntik titans, immobilizing them just as their Seekers drew near. "No!" The blonde cried out, feeling Freelancer's pain across the Bond, and knowing she had no way to help him. Before she could even fire a shot at the titan who had hurt her friend, Gar-Ghoul appeared as if from nowhere, smashing into the shield-wielding titan. Loki gasped, wincing as her only fighter settled back into his pendant.

Above them all, a large, blue-skinned man wearing Greek amour with wings instead of arms summoned a ball of sparkling energy, aiming it at Gar-Ghoul. It was Icarus, one of Will's titans, and not one that he used often, relying more on Sabriel. Just before the bird-man released his power, he was shot in the back by Kreutalk's acid attack, sending him back to his amulet in a stream of turquoise light. "No!" Will yelled, feeling the tide of the battle turning against them.

In that moment, the battle was lost. Breaker wrapped his four arms around Caliban as the Aztec was distracted by his fellow titans' defeats, pulling him apart till he evaporated into lightening. The light flowed back to Dante, who winced, backing away from Grier. "Well," He panted. "This isn't good."

As Grier advanced on Dante, Defoe did the same to the teens, his two titans flanking him, making escape impossible. Loki began to reach for her power, now that her friends were in no position to be used against her, but was stopped by a voice from the other end of the hall. "You still have to deal with me." It was Zhalia, her coffee-coloured eyes cold, in a fighting stance.

Defoe didn't give the blue-haired woman much attention. "She's bluffing. Look at her! She failed to Bond with the titan." His eyes fell upon the tribal bear that belong to his second-in-command. It was swiping at Dante, almost hitting him each time. Eyes narrowing behind his glasses, a cruel smile flickered across Defoe's rat-like features. "Grier."

With a nod, the blond called his titan off the russet-haired Seeker, and set it after Zhalia instead. Dante tried to keep Breaker's attention on him, but he failed. A merciless smile crept onto the blue-haired Seeker's face, and her mocha eyes turned purple.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Make them tremble, King Basilisk!" A titan identical to both the picture on the wall, and the statue that lay beyond materialized in a blast of lilac, and before anyone could react to its overwhelming presence, Breaker was a statue at the base of the stairs. The statue crumbled, and the titan returned to Grier. Everyone stared at the serpentine creature, but none looked higher than its neck. It filled the hall, towering and oppressive, hissing softly.

Loki was the first to recover. "Did you see that?" She whispered to Will, who just nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing at Zhalia. This titan was obviously bloodthirsty, and dangerous- and didn't everyone say that titans only Bonded with Seekers that were alike to them in personality?

Defoe gaped at the woman he had so casually dismissed a moment ago. "Impossible." He breathed, already wondering how he could fight such a powerful titan. It rivaled even Metagolem in strength!

The newest owner of King Basilisk strode forwards to the ex-suit sculpture, a cunning smile tipping the corners of her lips. "You have two options." She purred, in her element. "A, you turn tail and hope I don't send him after you, and B, the pedestal in the other room gets a lovely new statue." The huge titan behind her roared, as if to prove a point. Defoe frowned, knowing he had lost.


It took a few minutes for the Organization to make their retreat, and as soon as the last suit had scarpered through the door, Zhalia recalled her new titan to his amulet. Will, who was already suspicious of the woman, took this the wrong way- instead of an act of mercy, something he believed she didn't possess, he thought she was allowing them to live because she was one of them. "Why did you let them go?" The Casterwill demanded sharply, emerald eyes blazing.

The blue-haired woman walked down the stairs from the stage, letting Dante answer for her. "She didn't have a choice." A weak smile flickered on Zhalia's face, before she collapsed, worn out. The golden-eyed man who had been closest to her darted forwards to catch her before she hit the ground, amber eyes filled with worry. "Summoning a powerful titan like King Basilisk is exhausting."

Loki's mouth fell open, her eyes wide. "She bluffed?" The blonde asked, her voice filled with new respect for her teammate. "No way!"


Once Zhalia had come to, the team began the long walk back to the surface. Will led the way for most of it, having stored the map in the Cipherdex earlier. Dante supported Zhalia the entire time, a look of tender care on his face, which he wiped off whenever he thought anyone, including Zhalia, was looking. Loki saw, however, and added it to her list of reasons why the pair would make a good couple.

As the team reached the large, square door at the beginning of the tunnels, a glint in the corner of the room caught Loki's eye. It was a key, and as she picked it up, she was struck by a curious sense of Deja Vu. Taking a moment to think, the blonde soon remembered where she'd seen the object before. A sketch of the rectangular key was in her father's journal, a few pages before it mentioned the address in Vienna. "Why is this thing here?" The girl asked herself.

Will, noticing that the azure-eyed teen wasn't with the main group, called for her to hurry up, and after pocketing the strange thing, she complied.


By the time they'd gotten back to the safehouse, Loki had completely forgotten about the key in her back pocket, till she sat down later that evening and it dug into her side uncomfortably. Pulling it out, the teen held it between her two index fingers, brow furrowed with thought. Cherit flew over from where he was raiding the kitchen, curious. Seeing her little friend land on the table in front of her, the blonde looked up, frowning.

"This key was in Dad's journal. Why did the Organization have it?" The titan looked shocked- he'd figured it was just another strange item that Loki had picked up, as she was prone to doing.

"Can't be sure. Perhaps they were both after the same treasure." As the pair mulled it over, a terrible thought entered the girl's head, and she blurted it out before she could stop herself.

"You don't think my dad worked for the Professor, do you?" Cherit shook his head adamantly.

"Perish the thought! You're father was part of the Huntik Foundation- you must never forget that!"

Dante looked up from where he was reading a book, leaning against the wall. "Cherit's right." He assured the teen. "You're father was a good man."

The blonde didn't look convinced. "Yeah, but he had so many secrets." She stood, and walked over to the stairs. Pausing at the first step, she looked back at Dante with eyes that seemed strangley adult in her childish face. "I don't know what to believe anymore, or even who."

Her russet-haired mentor stared after her long after she'd gone, thinking back 11 years to when his whole world had come crashing down. True, he'd been quite a few years younger than Loki, 7 years old to be exact, but the girl was so innocent, naive and childish that she may as well have been ten years younger. He'd been so lost and confused then that he didn't know who to trust, but he'd come through because of the help and guidance of his closest friends, and Metz. His gaze strayed to the silver briefcase on the table, and he prayed that this time he'd found the cure. If not, there was only so much longer his friend could last...


AN: And there we have it. Everyone's moody- Dante's worried about Metz, Zhalia's exhausted after invoking Kingy boy for the first time, Will's even more suspicious about Zhalia, and Loki's having a faith crisis!