Chapter 38

Author's Note: Sorry I haven't been updating a lot. I dunno if it's lack of motivation or school work too. If you've been expecting frequent updates, you may need to change your tune. Sorry again, fans.

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While Locke and Lillith were trekking toward Erazor's palace, Geof and Rydia were discussing their next course of action. Julian suddenly joined in with a suggestion.

"Rydia, I have told you about the history of our family," the vampire hunter suggested. "But I am sure you have never met any of them. Perhaps it's time to see your relatives firsthand." Geof was quick to protest this option.

"Now hold it!" the hedgehog said. "What's the use of going to a damn family reunion when your family's archenemy is out and about, not to mention that this whole world is going to hell in a hand-basket, if it hasn't do so already?!"

"Yeah," Rydia said, nodding in agreement. "Can't we do that AFTER we beat Count Soma?" Julian shook his head.

"I considered that, but then I realized that we must still perform the family ritual." Rydia gulped nervously. She was uneasy about rituals, considering that she was almost a sacrifice in one. Julian smiled reassuringly.

"Whenever the child with the most direction connection to the founding ancestor is ready to receive the Lunaris," Julian lectured, "the eldest member of the clan must conduct a ritual that uses ancient words from holy texts, in order to allow the recipient to wield its full potential. A greater amount of blood-related Diagils present in the castle will ensure that the transfer of power goes more smoothly, but more quickly. At the moment, Rydia…they would not perform that their full ability in your hands."

"If that's the case," Geof replied. "Then I suppose it's not a bad idea. But how far are we from where we'll meet the folks?" Julian pointed over toward a small, grey and red speck in the distance, on top of a mountain looming ahead.

"It is right over there, actually," Julian said. "I led you this way intentionally."

"Can we make it there soon?" Rydia asked. The older bat didn't say anything, but went up to a nearby large rock and pushed on it. Suddenly, a 50-foot-wide magic circle formed underneath the trio's feet, and before Geof and Rydia knew what was happening, they were suddenly warped to the castle's front door.

"Woah, what happened?!" Geof exclaimed. "How the hell did you do that?"

"It is a special warp device created by the great-grandson of our family's founder to ensure that no evil force could access this fair Diagil Castle. We are inside a powerful barrier of holy energy that not even Count Soma can shatter." With that, Julian walked over to the castle.

The castle itself was obviously medieval, but the barrier somehow kept it in splendid condition. The red roofs, painted by iron oxide-derived pigments, shone nicely in the moonlight. The castle was not as big as Acorn Castle, but was just as tall, and far more compact, being partially carved from the mountain itself. It was surrounded by a large, circular moat with a spiked bottom, while close examination of the walls would reveal carved, holy inscriptions.

Julian called up to one of the door's towers, and a young, male white bat about Rydia's age poked his head out.

"Who goes there?" he called out before realizing who it was. "Oh! Uncle Julian! You've returned! Are you hurt?"

"It is nothing that a bit of rest cannot fix, my dear Alfred," Julian called back. "But more importantly, I've found and rescued our heir." His expression seemed to sink a bit before his head left their vision. The castle doors rumbled, then slowly began to open.

"Geof, Rydia…come," the vampire hunter said, waving them to come over his way. Rydia quickly followed, while the hedgehog went at a more leisurely pace.

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"Wow, I haven't seen any place this pretty since I went to Acorn Castle!" Rydia quipped as she took in the vast, tasteful decoration of the castle. In the hall were numerous tapestries and paintings of the Diagil clan's history and victories over the forces of Count Somas Dragud.

It wasn't long before another white bat, a female about Julian's age, dressed in Renaissance-style attire suitable for a female, approached them. She immediately opened her arms joyously at the sight of Julian.

"…Cousin!" she exclaimed as she embraced Julian. "You are safe!"

"It is good to see you too, Nell," the vampire hunter replied. "But I think it's time you met our heir." He stepped aside to show off Rydia, who was still dressed in the tattered clothing she had worn for the past year, and smelled less than appealing. Nell recoiled slightly.

"THIS is the heir to the sacred Lunaris?" she exclaimed. "…This…this...unkempt thing?" She had managed to hold back fouler words, but Rydia's perked ears sunk, while Geof scowled and tightened the grip on the Soulguide.

"We found her in a rather loathsome situation," Julian replied. "And we have travelled many days on foot to reach here, so we have had little chance to get some proper clothing.

"And why do you foul the presence of our sacred castle with this outsider?" Nell then declared. "He has obviously dwelled long in the presence of evil! I can smell it." Rydia suddenly stepped forward and got right in Nell's face.

"Hey! That's no way to talk about my Geof-kun," the young heir said angrily. "Sure he was bad once, but he's good now, so don't be so mean!"

"And our heir obviously knows NOTHING about manners," Nell said with some disgust. "But an heir is an heir. Get yourselves washed up. Grandfather Ajax would not even allow YOU in his presence, Julian, without being clean. As for me, I must change into something clean, since my familial affection has caused my dress to become soiled." With that, Nell spun on her heel and walked back in the direction she came from.

"What got her stockings all in a bunch?" Geof quipped after Nell was out of earshot.

"Nell is the most uptight member of the Diagil clan, even more than my old grandfather. Even so, I'm still mellower than the rest of my generation. Be prepared for a LOT of scrutinizing, Rydia."

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"Finally…we made it…" Lillith panted as she and Locke stood at the massive marble double doors that would surely lead to Erazor Djinn's inner sanctum. They had been fighting virtually nonstop for several hours, plowing their way through an army of evil spirits and lava beasts loaned to the evil genie by Iblis. Lillith was extremely worn out, but Locke's determination and desire for revenge kept him from getting fatigued, and he stood looking at the immense doors before attempting to push on them.

"Damn, they won't budge!" Locke growled as he tried futilely to force the doors open. After a few minutes of no results, he started to back up as far as he could. As he did, he summoned Shahra to his side.

"Shahra, do you think you can give me a boost of speed?"

"Of course, but what makes you think it will help you get into Erazor's lair?" the genie inquired. Locke gave her a look of almost disgusted surprise.

"They don't teach physics in genie school?" he exclaimed before explaining. "It's simple…the amount of force an object exerts is equal to its mass times its velocity. In layman's terms, if I'm going fast enough, I could break that door down even though it's hard and heavy."

"Oh. I suppose that makes sense," Shahra replied. "But yes, I can easily do that. But do you know how much force you will need?"

"I dunno…I bet I could do it if I could go faster than sound," the hedgehog replied. Shahra uneasily nodded and waved her hands around Locke as sparkles of purple, yellow and green escaped from her fingers. A white glow surrounded Locke as he felt his body amp up with incredible energy. He locked his eyes on the door and got down into a starting pose like the one he would use in track meets before calling out to Lillith to get out of the way.

"Okay…here I go…" Locke said excitedly. Pushing off on one leg, he could barely blink before a loud roaring boom resounded through the hall as Locke ripped through the sound barrier. Before he could even enjoy the exhilarating speed, he plowed right into the door shoulder-first. His impact with the doors didn't open them…in fact it knocked them clear off the hinges. Locke fell into his back, dizzy from his sudden stop, though he suffered no serious injury.

This event was surely not gone unnoticed. Erazor, who had assumed a less intimidating, normal human size, sat on an elaborate, distinctly desert-style throne in the middle of a vast, circular chamber made of striped marble, with various tapestries and treasures hanging along the wall. Beside the throne was an oversize bird-cage, minus the usual bird toys and dishes, which held a captive Princess Sabina, who had been moping despondently moments before.

"Locke! Lillith! I knew you would come and save me!" she cheered as Locke and Lillith approached Erazor's throne. Shahra, still uneasy about even being around the djinn, hung back, silently deciding to only aid Locke if he needed it.

Locke, however, still held relatively little interest in the princess. His business was with Erazor, who now stood up and floated towards the hedgehog. They stopped about ten feet from each other. As he and Locke stared each other off, Lillith managed to slip by and reach the princess' cage.

"Are you unharmed, Princess?" Lillith asked after slicing the lock on her charge's containment. The rabbit nodded and looked over toward Erazor and Locke. Finally the genie addressed the son of Sonic.

"I should admire your courage and skill for entering my palace and cutting a swath through my forces," Erazor chuckled. "But we have business to attend to." Locke sneered and drew his sword while leaping at the face of his father's killer. The genie sidestepped the attack and smashed Locke in the back with his bare hand, sending him flying. Shahra winced as her master crashed into the wall. Lillith gasped and Princess Sabina screamed in reaction to this.

"Begone, you two…" Erazor said, waving his hand as if dismissing the two. "Your usefulness has ended." Instantly, they were teleported outside. The son of Sonic, fueled by his ever-increasing desire for vengeance, got to his feet and rushed at the evil genie again.

This time, Erazor drew his weapon, a massive, keen-edged barber's razor, and prepared to cleave the pest in half. But Locke, instead of charging straight at him, faked left to draw his foe's attack then went right as the genie brought down his weapon with tremendous force, causing it to get stuck in the marble floor. Locke rolled to his enemy's rear and leapt as high as he could, then raised Excalibur to drive the weapon into the spirit's head, neck or spine. Locke's attack landed true as he drove the blade into his enemy's spine. Erazor winced and gasped as the sword pierced his body. But to Locke's dismay, the attack was far from enough to kill his foe.

As Locke struggled to remove the blade from the genie's spine, he suddenly saw and felt Erazor double his size in a matter of moments. The genie reached to his back and grabbed the hedgehog in his now-gigantic hand. Shahra gasped, but could still do nothing without her master's command. Meanwhile, Erazor grinned evilly as Locke struggled in vain to escape his grasp.

"You filthy rat," Erazor said with a smug sneer. "You're as foolish as your wretched father…you delivered to me what I desire most…the last three of the World Rings." With a wave of his free hand, he produced the four Rings he possessed, which were soon joined by the other three.

"Now that I have what I desire, you are of no more use to me." With that, he began to tighten his grip, slowly crushing his victim's skeleton. Locke, despite the intense pain, held back his screams, though his thoughts were racing.

No…I won't let it end this way…I've come so close…Dad…I can't…"

But before much else could happen, Erazor's grip suddenly loosened as he suddenly felt the sword stuck in his spine driven in further. Locke fell to the floor limply, most of his bones fractured. He could still breathe, but it was difficult; painful as well. Erazor, meanwhile, turned to see Shahra there, her eyes wrathful.

"No!" she cried. "I will not lose another master to you!"

"Shahra…after all I promised you…" the djinn growled. "You turn your back on me…and doing so of your own free will! You know it is against genie law to strike another genie without a master's command!" Locke feebly looked at the two genies, but could do nothing.

"But I do so in following the most sacred of the laws…a genie must do everything in his or her power to protect their master…"

"If you think you stand a chance, you're sorely mistaken. You are merely a genie of the ring…you could not overpower me, a genie of the lamp, never mind the fact that I possess the legendary seven World Rings." With a bit of grunting, he managed to force out the sacred blade Excalibur from his spine, causing it to land on the floor with a clatter. "With their energy, I am invincible!"

"We'll see about that," Shahra mumbled as she prepared to combat the genie she once cared for, but felt only hate for at the moment…