Chapter 14: Healing, Hearts, and Breaking Free
Jin's image blurred as he rushed Syl, the impact throwing her back. He was readying to unleash a giant poison-drenched shuriken when the sound of a gun's hammer cocking stopped him. Looking to Matthew, he saw the barrel of a gun shoved in the boy's mouth with a trigger-happy pirate smiling toothlessly behind him. Syl recovered, looking at her crew member, and smirked.
"I wouldn't make any sudden moves, Jin, or any move for that matter. Kain there has a bit of an itchy finger." Jin growled in his throat, tightening the grip on his dagger.
"You accuse me of cowardice, yet you would stoop to taking hostages?" he sneered. "Master Zhen would be disappointed." Syl's face wrinkled into a rage, walking to where Matthew was being held down.
"My father was leagues above you, traitor!" she hissed, kneeling down to look at Matthew more closely.
"Lemme do it, boss, lemme do it!" Kain laughed with an insane look in his eyes, pressing the gun further into Matthew's mouth. Syl's scowl became a grin as she turned back to Jin.
"No doubt you trained this little worm. No wonder capture was so easy." Syl sneered, dragging her razor-sharp Moonshadow dagger across Matthew's cheek. Matthew flinched from the pain, but he was held down even harder by the pirate.
"I wouldn't be so underestimating of them, Syl," Jin purred, grinning as he relaxed his stance. Syl tensed her jaw as the grip around her dagger tightened.
"Be quiet, you traitor! Surrender, and I will spare your little 'Guardians'." Syl demanded, deadly light flashing in her eyes. Matthew bit down on the gun, trying to think of a plan when he felt mana disappear and realized the Mana Overdrive was still active. A slight breeze rose over the water, accompanied by a low droning buzz. Matthew looked to Olsen and motioned with his eyes towards the sky. Olsen pointed out and swung his finger in a circular motion as if saying 'tornado'; Matthew squinted and nodded slightly as the breeze became more vigorous.
"We are the Guardians of Ossyria. And we will not be so easily defeated. You see that in the sky?" Olsen asked, pointing upwards as best he could. Syl turned to him with fire in her eyes; how could this child be so obstinate? But when she looked up, she saw Jenny atop Mir, holding a potent Wind Bomb Arrow. It radiated with emerald color as if it were a green sun, winds churning around a tribally-designed alien bow.
"And what will that accomplish? It's just a single arrow." Syl replied smugly, feeling the pressure of power coming from the bowman above her and inwardly shuddering.
"JENNY! AIM FOR THE LEAD SHIP!" Olsen shouted. Jenny snapped her aim to the large galleon and released the arrow as a shock wave ripped through the air. A narrow beam of light plunged through the ship's deck and then obliterated it in a dome of green light, creating a huge wave. Mir flew down, allowing Jenny to skidded to the ship's bow, closing her eyes and holding her cloak forward, imagining a barrier the size of the boat. A vast magical circle appeared as the wave came crashing over them, directing the water around the ship and leaving Syl impressed. Matthew then looked to Olsen again when he felt the Overdrive break. Matthew thought about trying to re-align them using the crystal's power when the exhaustion hit him, as well as the others.
"Is that all you can muster? One puny shot like that?" Syl scoffed, trying to hide the utter terror she felt from the display of bute power the girl wielded. Jenny growled and wanted to reactivate her bow, but it only sputtered and sparked instead of radiating the blue energy from before due to lacking mana. Mir landed, and Jack remained on her back. He was catatonic, staring blankly at the ship's deck, making Matthew wondered if Jack had killed someone.
A few feet away, Matthew saw his alien sword and felt a wave of doubt rush over him, remembering the life he had tried to take. The warrior had been so eager to fight them off, remembering the countless pirates slain in the game. He never gave any thought to the fact that they just might be sentient creatures. He looked up when the pirate holding Helen down screamed in pain, holding his hands from being severely burnt as she stood once again.
"No. That is not all we can muster." Helen shouted as her staff roaring a violet color, buzzing in a higher-pitched note. Jenny realized she could still use the crystal, channeling its power into her bow. The arms sizzled back into existence as a green hue. The commotion allowed Olsen to jerk his arm, freeing him from under the pirate and hitting him across the gut with one of the claw's energy blades. The pirate let him go, holding his stomach as blood oozed from between his fingers. Olsen swallowed hard, trying to keep from retching at the sight of so much blood.
Matthew buried his elbow in the face of the pirate holding him, then ran to the alien sword, the blade tearing into existence. The supercharged blood-red energy emanating from the blade burned away the anodized color on the handle, revealing the bare metal below. Syl grit her teeth as she watched these children easily overpower her hardened men. But she refused to let her apprehension show in the face of her sworn enemy. But with Shinsoo and Mir aiding Jin, even her men and ships were at a disadvantage. But it appeared they had never taken a human life before, especially with one of them appearing lost in his own mind.
"Retreat, all of you retreat!" Syl finally commanded, jumping back to her waiting boarding raft. The injured were gathered and brought to the boats as they rowed back to her remaining ships. From inside the hold, Antonia burst out, but Jin caught her shoulder. His cold stare made her immediately lose her enthusiastic attitude.
"Who are you?" he asked sternly. Antonia swallowed and stammered a response.
"M-my name is Antonia. The Guardians rescued me from the bottom levels of the clock tower." She said, further explaining why she was even there when Jin pressed her.
Helen deactivated the staff and clipped it to her belt, turning to the helm where she had stored her original staff and noticed Jack, sitting on Mir with a blank on his face.
"Jenny, what's wrong with Jack?" she asked, watching as Mir set him down on the deck and returned to her human form. She could see Jenny trying to hold back the same expression. Mir sighed and explained.
"Jack boarded one of the ships on the horizon, fighting the pirates up close. I think he killed one of them. I only saw one of the pirates fall over while he just stood there for a while." The dragoness explained as Jenny began to break down.
"Did Jenny do it as well?" Helen asked. Mir nodded.
"I don't think it registered at first, but she shot the pirates surrounding Jack after he froze and rescued him. She did also detonate an entire cutter that was fully manned a few moments ago. It may be catching up to her." Mir and Helen watched as Jenny dropped to her knees and, letting her bow hit the deck. Helen went to Jack, her eyes saddening when she saw the blood on his white shirt and the case of his alien knucklers.
"Jack?" As if awakened from a trance, he looked to her and wrapped his massive arms around her shoulders tightly, desperate for reassurance or forgiveness.
"I killed a person," Jack whispered with a shaky voice. Matthew closed his eyes tried to forget the ease with which his Neocora plunged through his captors' flesh; he actually felt pleased with himself after he had cut down the first pirate for the brief moment, and it repulsed him.
Olsen helped Jenny to her feet before running to the railing and retched hard into the water below. Lillianne came up behind Matthew and placed a hand on his back, massaging his neck over his long, crimson hair.
"Have you ever killed anyone, Lilli?" Matthew asked with a subdued tone. She nodded her head as she clipped the deactivated alien halberd to her back.
"Once." She replied, thinking back to that terrible moment when her blade came down on the poor man she had been fighting during the retreat of Ossyria to Herb Town. He was a mage in the Black Wing's army and was probably no older than she was. She could still feel how easily her blade passed through his flesh; she still had nightmares about it from time to time. Matthew took the red tasseled oriental helmet from his head and let the rest of his hair flow in the breeze, some of which covered his eyes to hide streams of tears falling down his cheeks. Helen led Jack to where Matthew stood, followed by Olsen and Jenny, who lobbed her bow, crossbow, arrows, and new alien bow onto the deck.
"If this is what we have to become to save the world, I'm not sure that I want it or this power." She said, taking her hat from her head and running back to her quarters, Olsen and Alden running after her.
"So that's it? You're just going to let one of your teammates quit because they've spilled human blood?" Jin asked coldly as he walked into the space that Jenny and Olsen had previously occupied.
"What would you have us do, Jin?" Helen asked bitterly. She hadn't been forced to take a life, but she could still feel the cold grip of the pirate that had held her. She could only imagine their confusion and surprise.
"Push on. From this point, you have tasted the bitter flavor of killing another human being. This is war; it will only become bloodier. You five the one thing that can stand up the Black Mage. If you can't do it, then who will?" Matthew clenched his fists and slammed down on the railing.
"It took the life of Minerva and very nearly took the life of Aran. If they could barely do it, how do you expect us to do it?" he growled. But Jin was right. From this point on, the distinction between who would live and who would die would become harder to see. Lillianne stood and was about to slap Jin across the face when Matthew put his arm around her shoulders and waist, stopping her in mid-swing.
"Decide what you will," he huffed. As he left, Antonia walked over to them in a giddy struggle against herself.
"Wow, lemme just say that standing in your presence is really…"
"You don't have to treat us like we're some kind of royalty," Olsen interrupted as he came back from Jenny's quarters with a solemn expression darkening his face.
"Well, you're all just so much more powerful than I am. It's kinda hard not to. And you're supposed to be the ones to stop the Black Mage!" Antonia said excitedly, looking around at them and feeling less bubbly when she saw their downtrodden faces, noticing that the one she wanted to see wasn't among them.
"Where did the archer go?" she asked carefully.
"Her name is Jenny," Olsen replied, finding himself caught in Helen's intense gaze, who motioned to take Antonia to Jenny's room.
"Follow me; I'll take you to her." Olsen offered, picking up Jenny's bows and arrows while leading the excited Antonia back to where Jenny had disappeared.
"This is so COOL! I get to meet the Guardian Archer in person! I've only heard stories about the archer!" She squealed, dancing in place as she walked alongside Olsen, utterly oblivious to what she had seen in the others just a moment before.
"Don't go overboard in your excitement. Jenny's not really herself right now: none of us are." Olsen warned, leaving her bows on the deck outside the door. Antonia took a breath and knocked, waiting anxiously for Jenny to answer. When nothing happened, she knocked again. From inside, the girl heard Jenny's muffled voice.
"Go away." she sounded cold and heartless, nothing like the woman she met in the Clock Tower. But Antonia was determined to become her apprentice, so there was no turning back. After taking another deep breath, she turned the handle and went inside the room.
"Lady Jenny? It's me, Antonia. You guys rescued me from the Clock Tower."
"I said GO AWAY!" Jenny growled, throwing her boot at the door from the middle of the bed. She drew up her legs and buried her face in her arms. Her cloak and armor lay strewn across the floor, dressed instead in a simple shirt and shorts.
"Lady Jenny, please make me your apprentice!" Antonia asked, bowing down on the floor and awaiting her reply.
"No," Jenny said with a chocked tone after a long and awkward silence. Antonia sat back and began almost to become desperate.
"Please! It has been my dream to become a master archer! And now I have a chance to learn from…" Jenny uncurled her legs and walked to the door, slamming it open and roughly pulling Antonia to her feet. Antonia stopped and stared for a bit when she saw Jenny's red eyes and clumped eyelashes from her crying.
"Master Jenny, what…"
"I said no, that is final!" Jenny seethed, throwing her against the railing so hard, it bent.
"I am not the one you should be learning from," Jenny said, slamming the door shut as sparks skittered across the deck. Antonia was confused: she had heard so many things about the Guardian Archer, and how she would be a great person, able to defeat a thousand foes with just a single arrow. But the person Antonia met wasn't at all what she expected. Pulling herself out of the bent railing, Antonia winced when her hand brushed a tender spot on her arm. Walking up to the door again, she let out a sigh and knocked softly.
"Jenny? I don't know what happened since you left the Omega Sector, but the world still needs you. I need you. So if you ever wanna just talk, lemme know, Master." She timidly said, setting Jenny's bows upright next to her door, then running down to the main deck. In the room, Jenny shut her eyes and buried her face deeper into her arms.
"I want to save everyone I can. But… I feel like I'm slowly becoming a monster. Olsen, I'm scared of myself; help me, please."
Jin and Shinsoo made good time back the Herb Town to report to the Empress and the other masters.
"I feared this day would come, but I never imagined that it would come so soon," Aran said.
"Jenny, however, has rejected her bows. Should I send Athena to take her place?" Jin asked. Dances shook his head in protest.
"Right now, she needs to work through the pain in her own way. Sending Athena to take her place will only solidify her belief that she isn't fit to be what we have trained her to be," he said. Athena nodded in response.
"I believe you're right, Dances. I still clearly remember how I felt when I first killed someone. It took quite a while to work through. Ultimately, one of my students brought me out of my daze." Athena said, a faraway look coming to her eyes.
"Speaking of students, Jenny may have an apprentice of her own." Jin continued. Athena grinned sadly.
"For now, all we can do is wait and hope that Jenny doesn't completely give up," she said, the others nodding as they returned to their patrols around Herb Town. As he left, something jabbed at Jin's senses. Athena took notice, reaching for her crossbow when Jin jumped into the air and disappeared, flying through the air. Athena followed, feeling a bit concerned for his safety. Something about this particular twinge felt… different.
It wasn't long until she caught up to him, hiding behind a tree and making eye contact. Jin touched two fingers to his eyebrow and pointed forwards, then slowly swept his hand to the right, ending with a quick jerk of his fist down. Athena nodded, clipping her crossbow to her belt and pulling her bow over her shoulders. A green light surrounded her eyes, like glowing eye shadow, and scanned the area, looking for any sign of movement. With a quick draw, she launched a powerful Mortal Arrow at the tree where the white cloak blew, pressure rings appearing from the tip of the arrow as it left her bow.
Before it hit, Syl leaped from her hiding spot and hurled her dagger towards Athena while running at Jin. Athena summoned a straw dummy, catching the blade in its chest and dissipating into a cloud of mana. Jin launched towards Syl with blinding speed, disappearing as he drew shuriken from his claw, only the leaves giving away his position. He finally stopped while he held back Syl's sharp dagger. Athena grabbed her crossbow, firing a frozen bolt with the same force as her Mortal Arrow.
Syl jerked her head to the side, watching as the arrow barely missed her cheek and tossing a small bamboo bomb from her belt. It detonated with a flash, leaving Athena dazed and unable to focus. Jin managed to shut his eyes and cover his ears, avoiding the head pounding explosion. Syl appeared next to Athena as dark violet spell circles swirled around her and small flames flared around the blades.
Jin stood and mumbled a spell as black tornados appeared from thin air between Syl and Athena. Syl deflected the hundreds of knife strikes coming from the winds, planting her feet hard on a red spell circle, and launched away from the cutting winds.
Athena rubbed the rainbows from her eyes enough to draw the Dragon's Breath arrow, solidifying the attack and launching it with a growling force. Syl finally corrected herself with just enough time to cross her arms as the Dragon-like image blazed past her. It tore a large chunk of her cloak and leveled the trees standing in the arrow's path behind her. Syl's eyes were wide with surprise; she knew Athena was a potent bowman, but never to this degree.
"I see: it seems that I will have to use stronger techniques." Syl laughed, hoping her grin hid her nervous jitters. Jin appeared before her and struck her across the face, a small green ghost sinking into her skin and making Syl feel disoriented.
"Still using the same tricks, Jin? It's no wonder you had to kill my father to gain the title of Dark Lord. MY FATHER WOULD HAVE NEVER ASSIGNED YOU AS THE SUCCESSOR TO THE NIGHT LORDS! YOU WERE LIKE A SON TO HIM, AND YOU SPILLED HIS BLOOD!" Syl screamed, her voice cracking slightly, struggling to keep her composure.
"Now, I will show you something that not even you have seen," Syl shouted, folding her hands through multiple shapes when something looking exactly like Syl appeared beside her, weapons and all. Syl lunged at him, stabbing his body so fast that the air bleed.
"JIN!" Athena yelled. Syl leaned in close to his ear and whispered with a smile on her face.
"Now you know what my father felt." She said, her smile sinisterly pleased as she backed away. Her pleasure turned to confusion when Jin smirked, then winked as a log statue took his place, her posture stiffening when she felt the sharp edge of Jin's dagger on her neck. Syl held up her hands and dropped her blades, trying not to provoke anything further.
"Why don't you finish me off the way you did my father, you traitor!" Syl panted, turning her head up and exposing her neck further.
"Because I didn't kill your father! What were you told? Or better yet, what do you believe?" Jin hissed. Syl tried reaching for her katara when Jin pressed his dagger even further into her neck. Syl took a sharp breath and relaxed her shoulder, releasing her grip on the katara's hilt.
"My attendant Ryden followed you when you had gone after Shadow Lord against his orders. When he arrived, you were pulling that very dagger from his chest." She seethed, turning her eyes towards the blade against her skin.
"After Shadow Lord's burial and you had been named leader of the Night Lord's, he told me what happened. You were the one that sent that note to lead him away from Kerning, where you would have had the obvious advantage to kill him. Ever since then, I swore to hunt you down and kill you myself." Syl said, on the verge of tears.
"Then you haven't heard the whole story," Jin replied in a despondent tone.
"THEN WHAT IS THE WHOLE STORY?!" Syl roared, making Jin's dagger slip, creating a hairline cut. Jin jerked the blade away to prevent further injury.
"Master Zhen received a message from the warrior Tristan, telling him that he and Dances with Balrog would need his assistance to defeat a powerful monster. Yes, he told me to stay put, but my unsatisfied pride told me to follow. However, when I made it to the Sleeping Wood, Zhen was no longer himself; something happened to him. The Sleeping Wood village was in ruins. I tried to reason with him, but it was all I could do to keep from being myself." Jin took the dagger from Syl's throat and took a step back.
"For a few moments, he did regain himself, telling me the creature they faced, the Black Mage's pet Balrog had taken over his mind and was using his body to continue his destruction, despite its death. Balrog slowly began taking over once again, and he ordered me to kill him. I tried to convince him that there had to be another way. With his last ounce of sanity, he begged me to stop him. So as ordered, I killed Master Zhen. Not as an act of violence, nor to become the leader of the Night Lords. I did it at the request of my master." Jin stood silent for a moment, as did Syl, shaking and gritting her teeth while livid tears began to run down her cheeks.
"Liar. LIAR!" she screamed, reaching for her Katara and swinging for his neck. Jin stepped back again, deflecting the knife away. Flames flared on Syl's blades as she picked them up and lunged. An ancient symbol appeared where her dagger plunged ahead. From the other side, thousands of knives made of light burst out. Jin disappeared from sight, but everywhere he went, Syl was already there with another deadly attack. Athena tried to keep up, but their movements were too fast for her to follow. When they both stopped, Jin stood in a tree while Syl leaned against another, panting to catch her breath. Her hair had become a wild mess, and her eyes danced with feral rage, her knuckles white while holding her daggers.
"If you won't let me kill you, I know she will." Syl laughed with an almost insane smile in her voice. Taking a deep breath, Syl shifted her weight back on one leg and brought the pommel of her Katara to her palm, wiping something onto the blade while black aura steamed from it. Athena's eye went wide as she saw the mist disperse into the air.
"JIN! That is Black Magic!" She hollered, drawing her bow while summoning flames around the Spine Arrow she conjured to counter the impending attack. Jin shook his head in worry: that was no Black Magic, but it was just as potent. He had seen Shadow Lord use this very technique once or twice before, and he knew of the damage it could inflict. Summoning a spell, tiny blue wings appeared on his feet as he shot off the branch to where Athena stood. Just as Athena let her arrow go, Syl launched into her attack shattering the flaming.
Athena reached to draw her bow again, but her foot slipped off the side of a rock. Syl grinned to herself as she watched Athena fall and forced herself to twist harder. Something dove between them and took the air splitting hit, kicking dust up all around them. When the dust lifted, it revealed Jin leaning into Syl's attack, his shoulder, and part of his back having been reduced to a bloody, torn mess. Blood had splattered all over Syl, pooling on the ground below. The smile that spread across Syl's face became sick as she dug the dagger further into his shoulder, making him scream.
"At Last Jin! You will feel what it was like for my father!" Syl shouted, yanking the dagger from his flesh while Athena reached forward to keep him from hitting the ground. But the sweet victory lasted for only a moment until something hit her in the head, throwing her back towards the ground. When she opened her eyes after the initial reaction, Syl looked all around as she tried to gain her bearings. Everywhere she looked was nothing but a great white expanse in all directions.
"ANOTHER OF YOUR TRICKS, JIN? IT WON'T WORK THIS TIME!" she shouted when she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"Syl, what have you done?" she froze in surprised anticipation. Recognizing the voice as her father's. She slowly turned around to see him standing amid the expanse. He removed the black bamboo hat he always wore with calm movements, revealing his neatly combed jet black hair, and pulled down his face mask as his comforting dark eyes met Syl's.
"Daddy?" Syl questioned, dropping her daggers and running to him, almost knocking him over, holding on as tight as her arms would let her.
"My dear Syl. My how you've grown since the last I've seen you. You've become a lovely young woman." Zhen said, stroking the top of her head lovingly.
"I've done it, father. I have finally avenged your death!" Syl said shakily as she clung to his armor even tighter. Zhen bowed his head and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Why did you feel it necessary to avenge my death?" he asked.
"Because that traitor Jin killed you to become the next Dark Lord." Syl cried. Zhen only shook his head, kissing her forehead almost apologetically.
"Oh, my sweet little Syl; You've been carrying around an unfounded burden all of these years. I know it must have hurt all the more since you and Jin were becoming quite close. But my death wasn't in an attempt to gain my throne; it was the only way that I could keep you, my most precious of treasures, safe." Syl backed away from him, seeming confused.
"I'm sure Jin told you the story of what happened when he so blatantly disobeyed my orders." Syl chuckled softly.
"He did, but I didn't believe his lies." She said, looking up to him as her smile faded when she saw his saddened, stern eyes.
"What he tells you is the truth. Yes, appointing himself as the leader of the Night Lords may have made his actions seem sinister, but that was Jin's way of making sure that you were safe." Syl's eyes darted back and forth as she became lost; for so many years, she was sworn to kill Jin with her own hands, but now, she was faced with the truth that her path of vengeance had been misguided.
"What? No, that can't be. My most trusted attendant Ryden had seen Jin pull the dagger from your chest! He told me that…"
"Ryden has always felt the need to find a way to usurp my leadership." Zhen interrupted. "Even before you were born, even before I met your mother, Ryden was always trying to find ways of turning the other Night Lords against me. He would conveniently see only that which mattered enough to be damning. Fortunately, he could never provide any solid proof." Syl closed her eyes and rested her head to Zhen's chest, gripping his shirt harder while the truth of her unfounded rage continued to set in.
"If he was so treacherous, why did you charge him with my safety?" Syl demanded. Zhen chuckled at his daughter's question, thinking back for a moment before answering.
"Ryden presented a fairly convincing argument that he would be changing his life for the better not long after you were born. Minerva only knows what was truly in his heart, but I accepted his penance and charged him with keeping you safe. I warned that should he in any way cause or allow harm to come to you, that I would personally behead him." Syl nodded against her father's chest; Ryden had been killed after the Black Mage's rise. Now that she was presented with a side of Ryden that she never knew, she questioned if Ryden had indeed seen the whole event of her father's death.
"What will I do now, Father? I've spilled the blood of an innocent man." Syl finally asked after wrapping her arms as tightly around him for what felt like hours.
"Jin won't die so easily. You may even ask his forgiveness. I think you'd be surprised at what he'd say." Zhen answered, easing his grip around Syl and putting on his hat.
"I must be going." He said in a low voice. Syl tightened her grip around his waist.
"No! Father, please don't go!"
"I must, Silver. But as long as you think of me, I will live on in your memories." He smiled, pulling her arms from around him with almost agony-fueled strength, then turning and walking into the white expanse.
"No! Daddy, please! Don't go!" Syl beginning to run after him, calling for him. Despite her speed, Zhen slipped further away from her until the expanse engulfed him and vanished. She was left standing with her hand out, facing the forest where she and Jin had been fighting. Syl brought her hand to her chest as tears streaked her face, collapsing to her knees just as Grendal and Aran arrived. Both saw Athena leave Herb Town and not return. Jin coughed and gritted his teeth against the inferno on his left side while Grendal first cleaned and healed the wound. Aran grabbed Syl's collar and hauled her from the ground hard enough that her head jerked back.
"Were you the one who did this to Jin?" he asked angrily. Syl said nothing, just let her head fall back and stare into the sky with a lifeless light in her eyes, the look of someone who had lost the will to live.
"Aran, let her be. She won't be a threat any longer." Jin wheezed, flinching every now and again as his flesh was closed up.
"But Jin! She nearly…"
"I said let her be," Jin growled, the light in his eyes being serious as he spoke, clashing with the anger in Aran's. Reluctantly Aran loosened his grip, dropping her to the ground, where she slowly righted herself on her knees again.
"This wound isn't healing fast enough. I need to go back and retrieve my potions, so I will be gone for a moment. Athena, make sure that he doesn't move and re-injure what I have already healed." Grendal instructed. Athena nodded as Grendal left, teleporting as fast as he could back to Herb Town, returning with his potions a short while later. He applied tiny drops of Red and Orange potions on the wound to speed up the healing.
"Alright, I've healed him enough that we can move him back to the village." He said, He and Athena helping Jin to his feet.
"What of her?" Athena asked, looking back to Syl, who sat still as a stone on her knees, lost in her own mind.
"Leave her. Whatever she wants to do is up to her." Aran growled, watching her for a long while as they walked back to Herb Town.
"What do I do now, father?" Syl thought as her empty eyes looked up into the grey sky, tears flowing from her eyes and over her temples.
"Just what am I supposed to do?
"Are you sure about leaving her behind? Jenny still seemed pretty down." Antonia asked over the wind blowing in her ears, standing at the Ludibrum locomotive ship's bow.
"In her state of mind, she would just get in the way," Olsen commented harshly as Antonia jumped down from the deck and reached out to smack him across the face, stopped in mid-swing by Olsen.
"That was heartless Olsen. What about Jack and Matthew. Aren't they in the same state of mind?" Antonia hissed. Olsen released his grip on her wrist and leaned against the railing with a heavy sigh.
"Perhaps, but they didn't throw their weapons down and lock themselves in the ship's sleeping quarters." He shot back. Yes, he was angry at Jenny for giving up like she had, and yes, he still had his own feelings to fight back. But like it or not, they were at war, even though it may only seem like it. Antonia reached for her bow to level an arrow at him, but before she could pull it from over her shoulder, she was met with the tip of Olsen's dagger to her throat.
"You will go through the same thing she is someday. Are you going to curl up into a ball and hide from the world when that time comes?" Antonia slowly put her arm down and relaxed. He was right: what would she do once she had killed her first person? Olsen sheathed his dagger and walked over to Jack, leaning against the opposite rail with Helen softly talking him through what he had done.
"Hey, how are you doing?" Olsen asked, slapping him on the back. Jack sighed as he looked back.
"I don't know. When I started this whole 'save the world' thing, I thought I was prepared to do whatever it took to stop the Black Mage. Now I'm not so sure: I killed a person I was supposed to save."
"Will you be able to go on?" Olsen asked flatly. Jack could only shrug.
"I should be able to get over it in time. What about you? I've heard that you hit someone with a star." Olsen clenched his jaw; he hated to be reminded of his own faults.
"I'll manage." He said, knowing that he didn't believe his own lie. To some degree, he kept thinking of their world was just like the game, which had very few consequences: Get a quest, kills some monsters, get some item, and finish the quest. There was never any blood or worry that he would hurt someone. The crusted blood on his claw, however, was a cold wake-up call. This was an actual world where people lived. He could even seriously hurt people and even kill them if he wasn't careful.
"How's Matt?" Jack asked. Olsen shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know. He's been stonewalling me. Lillianne too." Jack nodded at his response, stretching as the Kerning City airport came into view.
"Well, I guess we'd better get things together. We're gonna be on our own from here." Jack said through his stretch. Helen nodded as she jumped from the railing and teleported to Mir's back, informing Evan of the plan, then teleported back.
"Careful, you get too close, and he might actually kiss you," Jack grunted, pulling on his Psychotic Edges, checking the clip in his gun and his reloads. Helen snorted silently to herself, mentally questioning why Jack would stab such a cutting comment to her.
Matthew and Lillianne stood near the loading plank, ready to lift it from the deck to the ground. Mir shifted to her human form as she and Evan followed them down into the subway platform. They expected a train to be waiting for them, but the station was empty.
"Well, now what?" said Olsen loudly. "The last time we went to Masteria, we had to take this huge stream train thing to get there, and it was underwater." Just as he finished, the screech of metal wheels echoed down the tunnel, followed by something that sounded like a giant heartbeat. Smoke and steam billowed into the station as a steam engine rumbled to a stop at the station.
"Please board the train. This unit apologizes for the delay." A voice said. Jack raised his eyebrow, seeming to recognize the voice.
"Machinist? Is that you?" he asked. A release valve opened, letting off a plume of steam.
"To a small degree, yes. I will give my larger self your regards when I return to Masteria." It said.
"So, we're not going to Masteria?" Evan asked, confused.
"No. I will deliver you to the Pendergeist Mansion." Jack, Olsen, Helen, and Matthew looked back and forth: in the game, the Crimsonwood Forest, the Phantom Forest, and the Pendergeist Mansion were all part of the continent of Masteria. The coach coupled to the tender hissed and plumed as steam pistons opened its door.
"So we're still going underwater then?" Lillianne asked as she boarded the coach. A small screen jutted out from the side as they all boarded, snowing for a moment and then bringing up the image of a well-dressed, middle-aged man.
"I'm afraid not." The man said. "I was informed of the situation by Dr. Kim; you are familiar with a version of Ossyria from a game. However, the Specter Wood, or what you would know as the Phantom Forest, the Crimson Forest and the Red Keep, or what you know as the Crimsonwood Keep are all somewhere else." Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Somewhere else? Where are they then?" He impatiently asked as the doors hissed shut and the train lurched into motion once they were all seated. Mir held onto Evan's arm, trembling so much that her jaw shuttered as well.
"No one knows. According to my readings and history archives, it seems to exist in an inverted dimension of Ossyria."
"Wait: if it exists in another dimension, then how is the Black Mage siphoning Mana from the ground at the Pendergeist mansion?" asked Helen.
"Imagine the world you know as one side of a paper. Pendergeist Mansion and the Specter Wood exist on the other side of that paper. It is attached to the same ground, but not in our world."
"So, how are we going to get there if it isn't even in the same dimension?" Antonia asked, skeptical of her decision to stick with the Guardians. She was adventurous, but not this adventurous. The Machinist looked at her and smiled.
"I sent some of my Wolf Spiders to retrieve one of the dimensional gateways residing in the Sleeping Wood and have successfully dialed the dimension where the Mansion exists. I have sent portable generators and a few Wolf Spiders to an 'underground' mechanic in Edelstein. " The Machinist answered.
"What I want to know is how that big house got there in the first place," Olsen demanded, walking over to the screen staring hard into the camera hole.
"That is something I have yet to hypothesize. Records in my data banks say the entire region disappeared 2,000 years before Olde Sapp was erased. No other accounts explaining its disappearance or records of who lived in the area at that time have ever been found. If such record existed, they have since been removed from my memory." The group nodded until Helen caught sight of Mir hanging onto Evan's arm as though she were terrified, curled up into a fetal position with her wings drawn around her and her tail curled around her feet.
"What is wrong with Mir?" she asked, moving to the edge of her seat. Evan looked down at Mir and brushed a strand of hair away from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear, then put his arm around her as she buried her face into his red coat.
"She's closterphobic. It's the one thing that she can't stand and why we're outside most of the time. The only place she isn't afraid of is the small hut where we live." Evan explained. Helen felt sorry for her; the poor dragoness, mighty companion of Evan, was reduced to shivering like a leaf in this small space.
"If you knew that it was going to be in this small space, then why did you make her come?" Helen asked.
"As long as Master Evan is here with me, I can endure it." She said, looking up at Helen for a few moments and seeming happy, despite her shaking hands and white knuckles before she buried her face again in his red coat. Two hours passed as they made their way to the western edge of Victoria, where they stopped. Jack got out of his seat and stretched hard, seeing that Evan and Mir were sound asleep and leaning on each other. Matthew got out of his seat and walked up to the screen, and tapped on it, speaking in a low voice.
"Hey, Machinist. Why did we stop?" the screen whistled and fuzzed for a few moments until the Machinist appeared and responded.
"Right now, my system is synchronizing with a submerged rail to Edelstein created not long after Minerva began reshaping this world."
"Why go to Edelstein? I thought we would be going to Masteria for this?" Matthew questioned, putting his fists on his hips.
"Edelstein is the only place to get enough Mithril Crystal for creating the power conduits needed for the gateway. Being near the mine allowed their actions to remain relatively unnoticed." Machinist answered. Jack huffed to himself and shook his head, stretching his arm over his chest.
"Well, The Black Mage knows about it now." He said with a sarcastic tone.
"This train has been equipped with magic jamming insulation called IgroSIeign created in Magatia. He shouldn't see or hear us as you stay on the train. Traveling by ground also allows the IgroSleign to react stronger due to the ground's magnetic pulse."
"Ok, that's good and all, but I really need to use the bathroom!" Olsen said, standing and squirming in place.
"I made sure to incorporate facilities should they be needed. It's the compartment at the back of the coach." The Machinist answered. Once he saw the compartment, Olsen made a mad dash for it. Outside, there was a splashing rumble making them run to the windows. Hundreds of ship hulls bobbed up from below the water's surface and connected hundreds of sections of rails together, spilling water over the edges draped in agley and seaweed.
"Please be sure and keep all extremities inside the car at all times as we will be moving at an extremely high speed." Said The Machinist as the train lurched into motion again. The engine quickly huffed and thrummed out its heartbeat, steadily becoming faster until it was a rush of steam. Olsen came out of the bathroom, buckling the last of his belts, when he quickly became dizzy from the sun glinting off the waves.
"It will be another two hours before we arrive in Edelstein at this pace. Please make yourselves comfortable." Everyone still awake tried as best they could to find a comfortable position, listening to the steady sound of the wheels clicking over the joints in the rails and letting the comforting sway of the coach rock them to sleep.
The Black Mage dimmed his crystal and walked out into the hallway of his grand castle, annoyed that he couldn't see or hear what it was those damned neonates had planned. Patience was required now; all he needed to do was wait for them to appear again. Besides, he knew they were headed to Edelstein because of the bridge that appeared from nowhere in the western sea. What was it that they were planning?
"Is something troubling you, master?" Eleanor asked as she put her arms around his chest. A long, torrid whisper escaped The Mage's lips as he held his hand to the crystal ball once again, showing nothing more than a rail line.
"I'm sure it is nothing to be worried about," Eleanor replied with an alluring tone. The Mage looked at her over his shoulder, narrowing his eyes as low whispers hung in the air around them. The image in the ball changed to that of the central square of Edelstein. Eleanor squinted her eyes as she thought up possible reasons for them coming to the mining town. The citizens, as of late, were becoming a bit restless towards the officers. Eleanor reached for the amulet on her cloak and pushed a small amount of power into it, making it glow a strange black color.
"Bavan, report." She commanded. Her amulet shifted to blue. The voice that came through was slightly distorted, more so from the fact that his mouth was full of sweets and not from the magical communicator.
"Yes, Lady Eleanor, what service can I offer you this fine day? Oooh, chocolate." The voice said in a pleased tone while the sound of chewing came through.
"Have any of the citizens been acting strange?" Eleanor asked in a firm tone.
"Not that I could see. However, there has been some chatter in the mines: something having to do with spare parts." The Mage reached for his own amulet, producing growls and whispers, making Bavan sound nervous and surprised.
"Black Mage! What an honor to have you…" The Mage made a loud ethereal growl deep in his throat, a jagged opening glowing where The Mage's mouth would be.
"My apologies, master; the parts mentioned were a drill, power cores, and command wires." The Mage let his amulet go, hissing in his throat as both his and Eleanor's amulets went dark.
"It sounds to me that they are doing nothing more than acquiring parts for the mining equipment," Eleanor stated, pulling her cloak around her. The Mage looked harshly at the crystal ball on his table: what was it they were planning?
The Guardians were awakened by The Machinist calling out to them as they began slowing to stop in the Edelstein station. Just after Jack gently awakened Mir, she caught sight of the open door and was more than eager to get out of the cramped train car. She pushed her way through the small group, transforming and flying into the skies, calling in a bird-like voice.
"I bet she's happy to outside," Jack commented as Evan nodded, rubbing his eye and coughing when Mir had used his stomach to push off. A chubby boy came running up to them, holding a sucker, then grabbed Lillianne's hand and began dragging her with him. Matthew ran after her and was about to pull her back when something drifted into his mind, sounding like a young woman's voice.
"Trust him, child. You must hurry." Matthew looked around and saw no one but decided to take the voice's advice and called for the rest to follow. The boy led them through back alleys and drains until they arrived at a place where generators hummed and wires buzzed with power leading to a platform where a stone ring sat. Steam and vapors rose from the platform while people ran from here to there, making final checks and adjustments.
After a short time, Mir joined them in the alley, latching onto Evan's arms when she shifted into her human form. She was happy to be outside, but the alley they were in was still more cramped than she felt completely comfortable with. The boy then let go of Lillianne's hand and ran to a man wearing a welding helmet that resembled a teddy bear's head, checking over a mass of glowing circuits. Another man standing beside the first held a steampunk-inspired staff with flaming red, spiky hair held down by a pair of odd goggles and fierce yellow eyes. The man in the welding helmet patted the boy's back, and the two men walked over to them.
"So, you are the ones that the Machinist told us about." Asked the red-haired man, looking over them and raising his eyebrows in apprehension.
"I was told to expect nine of you, I only see eight, and it's the Archer that's missing." the one in the helmet said.
"She's… having some difficulties of her own right now," Olsen replied shortly. The man shrugged and offered his hand to them. Antonia unknowingly gravitating behind Olsen.
"Name's Deren. And that's chuck, but we just call him Checky." Daren said, pointing back to the welder.
"It's nice to meet you," Checky said, muffled by his welding mask. His heavy welding apron and gloves almost made him look like a human-sized teddy bear when standing at a distance.
"We were just running the final system's check. Everything should be ready to go." Checky said, tipping up the welding mask revealing his intense reddish-brown eyes and white hair.
"Then let us be going. The longer we wait, the less time we have to complete our mission," Helen pushed. Checky nodded turned to those around him, taking off his gloves.
"Alright, ladies! Let's get this show on the road! Set the dial sequence for the mansion!" he called to the room of people.
"Sequence calculated and plotted!" called a man at what appeared to be a control console.
"Spell one, Lock on." Checky called. The ring and within carvings on the face glowed. It spun to the right until a symbol stopped at the top. A secondary stone appeared from nowhere and clamped around the emblem.
"Spell one, Locked."
"Spell Two, Lock on!" Checky shouted over the humming generators. The exact process repeated, clanking loudly once it had locked in place.
"Spell two, Locked."
"Spell three, Lock on!" the process repeated until all 12 symbols had been clamped and lit. The light on the characters then lifted from the ring in a grayish light before hanging above it in a straight line. The ring began spinning faster and faster until something appeared in the center. It expanded to the ring walls, revealing a dark and twisted forest where the gates to a mansion stood.
"We only have enough power to keep the portal open for three hours; be back before then, or you'll be stuck there for months while we get enough power to get it open again," Deren shouted over the roar of the plasma generators. Quickly, The Guardians passed through the portal, seeing a giant wispy black castle looming over the mansion.
"That's the mana drill?" Helen asked in awe until Matthew called their attention back to the task at hand.
"We've only got three hours, and we're a friend down. Jack, you go with Evan and Mir, check out any and every room of the mansion that might look promising to reveal who the 'anchor' is for the Drill. Helen, you go with Olsen and see if you can get into the castle and find the actual anchor. Maybe there's something like the one we found Elde's mom in. Lilli, Antonia, with me; we're going to see if we can find out why this place came here at all." Matthew called out; the group quickly spit up to their duties, each of them nervous about what they might find.
Jin finally stirred as the pain killers wore off but still dulled the pain raging through his arm and shoulder. Grendal and potions had healed the majority of the wound, but there were still some tender spots. He tried to sit up when Athena came over to him and placed a hand on his chest. She then reached her hand behind his head and picked it up to give him a drink of a bitter herb potion Tae Sang had made to help with the pain.
"Thank you, Athena," Jin whispered, resituating himself so that his arm wouldn't hurt so much.
"Why did you do it?" Athena asked gently, pulling her hand from behind his head. Jin smirked as he shrugged with his good shoulder, wincing slightly when the action made his other one sting a bit.
"There wasn't enough time to get there and activate the dummy. I just decided against you getting hurt and took the blow." Athena curled her lips inward, nodding her understanding sitting down on his bed.
"How does it feel now?" Athena asked with a hint of concern in her voice.
"It feels better now. There is still has a good stab every now and again when I move, but I should be fine." Athena nodded and picked up the bowl with the herbal potion in it.
"That's good to hear." Athena smiled, picking up the bowl and leaving, looking back at Jin for a moment. As she washed out the bowl, Lilin came walking up and began washing out a canteen.
"You sure like watching over him, don't you?" Lilin asked knowingly. Athena looked back at her with a start as her cheeks flared pale red.
"You might see a deeper connection Lilin, but I can assure you, no such thing exists. He is a valued friend and comrade." Athena shot back.
"I see. That's just like you, Athena." Lilin laughed, filling her canteen from the well that stood next to them. Athena sighed as she rinsed the bowl one more time.
"What do you mean?" Athena asked.
"You've always tried keeping your distance from Jin as long as I've known you. You've kept your distance from everyone." Lilin smiled, leaning against the well and taking a drink.
"Many of my friends have died in my lifetime, Lilin. And there will be many more before I succumb to my age."
"What about when you went to the other world? There must have been at least one person you grew close to for Jenny to be born." Lilin asked. Athena sighed a long breath.
"Kalib was indeed remarkable; he was the exception."
"But you've known Jin for far longer. Haven't you ever thought about trying to win his affections?"
"While Jin and I are indeed close, I have never seen his as more than a comrade. I would not want to ruin what it is we have built." Athena smiled, drying off the bowl.
"What if Syl steals him away from you?" Lilin asked.
"Lady Syl and Jin have a long and complicated history. I would not be surprised if Jin were to choose her. I had Kalib, and he was enough for me." She smiled, leaving Lilin to smile at herself and return to her duties. She admired Athena's strength and independence but wondered if that would be the best for her in the long run.
Jack, Evan, and Mir
Just as they were about to knock on the mansion's front door, someone pulled the large oak door open. A well-dressed teenager and older gentleman dressed as butlers greeted them warmly.
"Welcome to the Pendergast Mansion. My name is Edmunds, and this is my nephew, Nathan. Is there anything that we can assist you with today?" Edmunds asked, extending his hand to Jack and then nodded to Nathan. The teen had well-kept jet black hair with red streaks here and there, draping over one of his stunning Sapphire blue eyes. He wasn't as large of a build as Jack, but the brawler could tell that Nathan could hold his own. For a moment, Nathan let his gaze linger on Mir and then continued to whatever his task was.
"Actually, yes. Has there been any strange activity around here lately?" Evan inquired. Edmunds thought for a moment, rubbing his chin with one hand and supporting his elbow with the other.
"There hasn't been anything extraordinarily strange. But then again, the things that live in this house can't really be seen as normal either. The only thing worth noting is that the Master's toy factory has begun again, which is fantastic. All sorts of new toys are streaming from its belts for the children of Olde Sapp." Jack and Evan nodded skeptically, looking to one another. The Pendergeist Mansion had disappeared two-thousand years before Olde Sapp was destroyed, so why was this man referencing Olde Sapp children? Carefully, the three of them began searching all the rooms for a hint as to the 'anchor.' In the kitchen, Nathan tended to his stored weapon and armor, covering the metal in storage oil when his eyes became blank, and his head was yanked back. Instructions buzzed through his mind and released within a few moments.
He wiped away the oil and donning his armor: a Black Templar chainmail draped over him with a heavy black steel fabric draping over the chainmail. Light gloves covered his hands while heavy black steel war boots donned his feet. He lowered a bronze helmet over his head, decorated with steel horns, and then swung a dark, ragged cape over his shoulders. Tentatively he pulled a small sword pendant from under the chainmail and stared at it.
"You'd be proud of me, Aeris." He thought, tucking the pendant back into his shirt and picking up his trusted spear, the Reverse Alchupiz, then closed the closet that held his armor and walked to the front door.
"Uncle Ed, I'm going to be out for a while. Watch the house while I'm gone," he instructed. Edmonds didn't respond to him, only stood near the door with his hands crossed in front of him, staring straight ahead. Just as Nathan neared the door, Edmunds reached out and pulled open the door.
"Welcome to the Pendergeist Mansion. My name is Edmunds, and this is my nephew, Nathan. Is there anything that we can assist you with today?" Nathan shook his head. He knew that was going to happen, but it was better than being all alone. Well, maybe he was alone; he just didn't want to accept it. He jumped from crag to crag onto the roof, where he could go anywhere around the mansion in a minute, even the giant shadowy castle that enveloped part of the estate.
Helen and Olsen
The two of them managed to find a window, despite avoiding the hundreds of dead soldiers patrolling the castle. Helen and Olsen's problems worsened inside, quietly slipping past the guards while searching the rooms for a way down to the dungeon. The further they traveled, the more confusing the castle became. None of the hallways seemed to lead downward, but plenty led further up in the castle. Olsen scouted ahead, while Helen kept her powerful sacred arrow ready to draw if they were unexpectedly surrounded.
After an hour of searching, not a single clue about where the anchor was could be found. And since the castle didn't appear to have a dungeon, they began to assume this particular castle was based on the other principle of having a Mana center rather than using a person as an anchor. Unknown to them, Nathan slipped through the halls after them. Only a couple times did he see them get near what he liked to refer to as the 'Red Zone,' but neither one of them had spotted or detected it.
When Nathan had been sent here, he was told only that no one other than the one who sent him would be allowed to go in the door. He didn't need any further explanation, nor did he want it. The warrior knew that his duty was essential. Quietly he reached into his shirt and pulled out the small sword pendant, thinking back to a few weeks prior.
"Here, I got this for you." The girl handed him a pure silver chain with a small silver and gold sword with an emerald chip in the guard's center.
"Aeris, you didn't need to do that! This looks like it cost at least 15 gold coins, maybe 20!"
"Well, it is your 16th birthday, and you deserve something special in your life for once." Nathan smiled as he put his hand around her waist and pulled her close, planting a gentle kiss on her lips. The next thing he knew, everyone was screaming and running away. Taking Aeris by the hand, he half dragged her with him as he ran for cover when part of the mountain where his village was nestled gave way. Aeris pushed him away and was buried under a mountain of earth in his stead. Nathan tried to dig her out, but another villager grabbed his arm, pulling him along as more of the hill gave way.
Nathan gently kissed the sword and tucked it back into his shirt before grabbing his spear and following after the mage and ninja again.
Matthew, Lillianne, and Antonia
Matthew had split off from his group, searching around the edge of the landmass the mansion stood on. Perhaps he would find some clue as to why it came to this empty dimension in the first place. Lillianne and Antonia searched around the mansion itself when they came upon what looked to be a secret door into the chimney.
"Antonia, go get Matt," Lillianne commanded, examining the doorway's joint in the cobblestone until Antonia returned with Matthew in tow. Matthew looked over the joint before tilting his head back to try and see the top.
"Shall we see what's inside?" he asked.
"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Lillianne shrugged, forcing her halberd in between the rocks as Matthew jammed his Tiger's Fang into the same joint to try and open it. As they searched for a handle, Antonia saw something hanging in a nearby tree's twisted branches. It appeared to be a ragged doll of a girl with curly red yarn hair in a blue dress and white apron, knocking it off the branch with her bow. Matthew and Lillianne heaved the door open behind her, tossing it to the ground and kicking up dust leaves, revealing a passage of stairs leading into the dark.
"Stay close," Matthew whispered, calling Antonia back to where they were and walking into the dark. Beyond the stairway, the steady thrum of machinery and bursts of hysterical laughter could be heard. As they ascended, they saw a factory similar to Ludibrium's massive toy factory but was much less refined and primitive. A black aura surrounded the gears and connecting rods. To one side, a man stood over a myriad of levers, buttons, and valves controlling the machine, assembling and then setting free toys of a monstrous nature. Antonia reached for her bow and nocked an arrow, waiting for whatever might come at them.
"You shouldn't be here." Said a small voice. All three whirled around; Lillianne reached for her alien weapon. Antonia drew the sinews tight as she turned. Matthew hesitated, merely resting his hand on the cool steel of his sword. They saw a little girl with curly red hair, porcelain skin, and deep blue eyes clad in a blue dress with a white apron. Antonia relaxed her bow, reaching for the doll she tucked in her belt.
"Is this yours?" She asked, holding it out. The little girl's eyes lit up, taking the doll and hugging it close.
"You found Annabelia!" she said happily, swinging back and forth as she held the doll close. Matthew let out the breath he had been holding, glad that he wouldn't need to fight, and walked over to her.
"You said that we shouldn't be here. Why is that?" Matthew asked. The little girl relaxed her grip on the doll and looked down to the floor as though ashamed.
"Because of what this place does; you gotta leave before you can't," She mumbled, desperately grabbing Matthew by the hand, then pulling him and the girls out of a revolving door and into a library, closing the door behind them. Inside the library, Jack, Mir, and Evan stood with surprise on their face.
"Hey, what are you guys doing in here?" Evan asked.
"She brought us here," Lillianne replied, pointing back to the little girl who seemed to be looking around franticly as if something back was about to happen.
"You need to leave before he gets here!" she said, grabbing Matthew's hand again and trying to pull him from the room when Matthew pulled her back and held her shoulders firmly.
"Before who will come?" Before she could answer, a sickening laugh rolled through the halls accompanied by the chiming of tiny bells badly out of tune.
"It's too late now." The girl whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut and beginning to shake as the laughing and bells became louder.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Looks like we have some fresh meat to keep this mansion alive!" a high-pitched voice said from somewhere in the darkness near the ceiling.
"You won't be taking ANY lives!" Evan yelled as Mir shifted to her dragon form, flames billowing from between her lips and wisps of smoke trails from her nostrils.
"Oh, I'm not here to end a life; I'm here to preserve it by adding it to my collection!" the voice replied as it laughed hysterically, appearing from the dark as it dropped down from the ceiling. Matthew grabbed the girl, Lillianne grabbed Antonia and leaped away as Jack prepared to swing. As he activated the knuckler's blades, he froze, his thoughts flashing back to the pirates. Just before the creature landed on him, Matthew tackled Jack out of the way. The force of the creature landing nearly blew out all of the candles in the room.
"You alright?" Matthew asked, making sure that Jack was on his feet.
"Yeah…" Jack muttered, shivers running through his body and his hands beginning to shake. Mir reared up and drew a large breath as Evan cast a fire spell. The billowing flames disintegrated everything in its path but missing the creature as it dove out of the way. The thing stepped back into the dull light, holding up its floppy purple striped sleeve, smoldering at the edges. It pulled back to the elbow, revealing the creature's long and yellow fingernails. Its body was pudgy and round, standing nearly seven feet tall dressed in a striped one-piece pajama suit. Over its head and eyes was a red and yellow jester's hat with a giant blue star over one eye, tipped with rusted bells. Only its mouth was visible, the chubby cheeks pulled aside in a horrid smile, revealing its crooked and yellowing teeth.
"My my, aren't we hot-headed," the thing chuckled, bursting into laughter as it charged for them. Matthew reached for the Tiger's Fang but thought back to the pirates. Lillianne slid in front of him, swinging her halberd up hard and tossing the creature into the air with a shower of sparks. Just as it reached its zenith, it was met with a combined attack from Mir and Evan, who concentrated their mana on one point, erupting into a beam sending him into the wall. Matthew still stood frozen for a few seconds until Lillianne slapped him and Jack across the face.
"Wake up, would you!" she shouted, shaking their shoulders. Mir's form hurled to the ceiling, pushing off the ceiling while snapping her jaw around the thing's body, throwing it to the ground. It bounced, only to be driven into the floor by Lillianne bringing down a giant double-bladed ax made of ice. Shards of ice sprung up around it, pinning it to the ground.
"JACK! THROW A GRANADE!" Lillianne called, leaping off the creature, grabbing the girl and Antonia while running to the room's far side.
"But what if I…"
"JACK! GRANADE! NOW!" Lillianne shouted as she slid behind Matthew. Gritting his teeth, Jack compressed mana between his hands and lobbed the grenade into an icy crag, then running behind Matthew. The room shook as the grenade detonated, bits of wood, ice, and stone ricocheting off the shield form of Matthew's cloak. When the dust had settled, the thing lay in a smoldering heap.
"We need to find Olsen and Helen; we're running out of time. There's an hour before we're stuck here." Lillianne commanded as she began leaving the building.
"Who made you the leader?" Matthew asked with a growl. Lillianne turned back to him, chuckling to herself.
"You and Jack froze. Someone has to be the one to take control when you lose it." She huffed. Matthew clenched his jaw hard in frustrated anger.
"Guys? That thing is getting back up!" Antonia called, her eyes wide as memories from Ludibrum came flooding back. Jack balled his fists. Every fiber of his being wanted to charge in and fight, but the pirates he hit with his Knucklers kept him frozen.
"Jack! This way!" Matthew called, waving him over through the door. The small group ran for a while until they found a room with covered furniture for storage.
"It's no use running; it only made him angry." The girl whimpered as she dropped her eyes to the ground.
"If these two log bumps would suck it up, they'd have him taken care of in a flash," Lillianne sneered, looking back to the door. Matthew clamped down on Lillianne's shoulder, pinning her against the couch they hid behind.
"It's that easy, is it? Just wipe off the blood and on?" He wanted to scream, but he kept his rage to a growling hiss. Lillianne could see the fear and confusion in his eyes, the same feeling she felt after taking a man's life during the rise of the Black Mage.
"No, it's not! But if you don't pull yourself together, even just a little bit, we're all going to die! If this… thing… is as powerful as that little girl believes it to be, I won't be able to beat it on my own." Lillianne set her ax down and put both hands on the sides of Matthew's head.
"I know it hurts. But you have to accept it." Jack swallowed hard, looking over the couch, making sure that they hadn't been followed. The words that Lillianne said rang in his head; she was right. If he didn't at least fight to protect himself, then it would be all over.
"What was that thing anyway?" Jack asked the girl. Lillianne and Matthew realized where they were and refocused on the task at hand. Matthew thought for a moment.
"Didn't you get a look at that creature's clothes?" Jack asked. For a moment, Matthew's eyes darted back and forth as he recalled what he saw, verses his adventures in the game.
"Yeah, it looked like…" Matthew snapped his fingers a few times, trying to remember what it was until Jack finished for him.
"A Twisted Jester, from Prendergast mansion!" He said. "Now I know why it didn't add up at first; this place is called Pendergeist mansion," he said. The little girl shook her head, not understanding what they were talking about.
"That thing is what I call Nester." She stated. Antonia raised her eyebrow, snorting while trying to stifle a giggle.
"Nester?" Antonia asked. The little girl nodded.
"He's the reason we're here and can't leave." The girl said when something clicked in Matthew's mind.
"Wait! You're Sophilia, aren't you? Your father, Jonas, used to be a toymaker, but when your mother Annabelia died, your father locked himself in his workshop to try and make better toys!" Everyone looked to the little girl, who nodded slowly.
"You're right. My name is Sophilia. My daddy is Jonas, and my Mother was Annabelia, which is why I named this doll after her." Sophilia said in a mournful tone, brushing the hair of the doll out of its face.
"But how did your house come to this dimension?" Evan asked. Sophilia sighed as she began, her tone and seeming to age into a full adult, despite her child's appearance.
"As you said, knight, my father was a simple toymaker back when Olde Sapp still existed. Yes, I know that it doesn't exist anymore. My family used to be simple carpenters; we were poor, but we led happy lives. My father couldn't make enough money to buy toys, so he created them. For many years, we lived in that happy state. But it didn't last long; my mother became ill. It was severe, and it took my mother from us within days. My father threw himself at his work to combat his grief, sometimes spending days on end creating a single new toy for me since he hated to see me sad.
"This soon led to his toys being discovered when the banker came to issue an eviction notice. Upon delivering said notice, he saw the craftsmanship put into my toys. In exchange for canceling our family's debt, my father was asked to make a set of toys for his children. That one act sparked his new business of toy-making for Masteria. He became the richest, most famous man in all of Olde Sapp within months. Due to his fame, many of the wealthier family's daughters sought him out to marry; but they ended up leaving us because of his work and me. Yet my father still continued to work on his toys for me. I always kept this doll closest since it was the first toy that he had ever made for me, and it reminded me of my mother. With each marriage and divorce, his fame grew.
"As his fame grew, there came a time when he and his machines could no longer keep up with the demand. Instead of investing in a larger factory, he turned to other methods, using magic to speed up production by leaps and bounds. But because of his depression, the magic began affecting the toys. When complaints about the toys becoming violent began to surface, my father tried to correct this by reapplying the spells he used. Unfortunately, his mental state warped the magic even further. It would also twist him into not seeing that his toys were becoming monsters. Before long, I locked myself in my room just to stay safe.
"The magic continued to erode his sanity until he began experimenting with dark arcane spells. He wanted to bring my mother back and show her what he had accomplished. His dabbling brought our home here, killing everyone still inside. I found out later that Nester tricked my father, feeding him lies about applying the spells he experimented with. Nester feeds on people's life forces; once he devours a life force, the person becomes his puppets to sustain him and to do whatever he wants. I am the only free life force left. He appeared, making some kind of deal with Nester after coming here. It was around then that the castle appeared behind the house, and when Nathan appeared."
"Nathan?" asked Matthew, as Lillanne and Antonia looked just as confused.
"He said he was Edmonds's nephew, but I doubt that's true," Sophilia explained. Matthew and the girls still seemed confused as Jack explained what she was talking about.
"I'll bet that he's the Soul Anchor for the Mana Drill. We have to find Olsen and Helen and find this Nathan." Lillianne suggested. Matthew shot a piercing look at her for a moment but nodded in agreement. The group left their hiding spot and ran for the castle, searching the halls as quietly as possible for their comrades.
Olsen and Helen
"We need to hurry. We only have 45 minutes left until the gate closes." Helen repeated while walking down a hallway they had just searched.
"Don't remind me," Olsen replied sharply.
"Then why are we coming back to this hallway? We've already searched it and found nothing."
"It's just a feeling. There's something down this way that I really can't explain… hush." Pushing Helen against the wall, Olsen listened to the voices coming towards them. Olsen jumped out, poised to hurl shuriken down the hall. He was met with the end of Jack's Hades pistol, and Matthew readied to wing hard. Olsen immediately put up his hands.
"Oh, it's you guys. I thought it was a skeleton patrol." Olsen sighed, pushing the stars back into his claw.
"We think we've found out who the anchor is," Matthew said, sheathing his sword on his back.
"Is that so? Whom?" Helen asked, walking into the hallway, wincing when she felt what Olsen mentioned he felt.
"It's a kid by the name of Nathan. Apparently, he's in the house somewhere."
"I'm right here, actually," called a voice. Behind them stood a boy in his mid-teens, between them and their exit.
"You all know too much, and I cannot allow you to leave!" the boy said, lowering his stance, ready to strike. Olsen was about to step forwards when Matthew stopped him. His whole person seemed to change, a pressure filling the hall. Helen could almost see phantom flames of his Ruby Power flowing around him.
"What are you doing?" Olsen hissed. Lillianne put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.
"Let him have this. I think he's trying to reset himself," she said, turning back to Matthew, who nodded and faced the teen before him.
"What is your name?" Matthew asked.
"Nathan, son of Jonathan, wielder of the Spear." He replied. Matthew nodded, drawing his Tiger's Fang and taking a step forwards.
"Matthew Drake, son of John Drake. Weilder of the Blade." Matthew answered, widening his stance. Both of them watched each other, waiting for the other to twitch. Nathan charged forward with a stab of his spear. Matthew parried as violet light gathered around the guard. The sword whistled as it cut through the air, barely missing the boy's shoulder as he ducked. Nathan spun around and was about to hit Matthew broadside. Instead, he met with a wall of iron that dissipated into a cloud of mana vapors.
Matthew thrust forward through the mana cloud while Nathan flipped back. Back on his feet, he spun his spear like a bow staff, then stabbed again. The metal case of Matthew's Warrior's Guard appeared. It absorbed the attack then spat the end of the spear back at Nathan. The boy dove to avoid being hit. In the same instant, the spear yanked from his grip while the tip of the Tiger's Fang appeared near his face. Gentle winds flowed through the halls as they both stared at one another. Matthew then spun the spear around and handed it back to him.
"You're good, but you need training from a master," Matthew explained in a relatively flat but kind tone.
"Guys! Over here!" Antonia called, looking at a portrait of a stout man pointing straight down to an inconsistency in the stone. Helen walked over to it and ran her hand along the wall.
"At least we know it ain't Nathan who's the anchor," Jack chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest. Helen continued to feel the cobblestone of the wall until she felt one that had been polished smooth.
The stone sank in and opened the door to a passage leading downward. With weapons readied, the group walked down the path, where it opened into a musty dungeon. Each of the cells hosted skeletons or empty chains pinned to the wall. Out of curiosity, Nathan followed them. He was instructed to guard this doorway but never told what it was he was defending. Dozens of empty cells lined the walls. At the end of the central row was a cell with a charm above the door, catching Mir's attention as she clung to Evan.
She tugged on Evan's sleeve and pointed it out to him as Lillianne peered into the cell, seeing a girl held in the air by some invisible force. Nathan, too focused on the cell, staring at the girl within. She had long golden-brown hair that nearly touched the ground, a black silver hemmed corset and miniskirt with a small silver chain hanging where the belt would be. Knee-high platform boots adorned her feet, while a long black sleeveless trench coat hung from her shoulders.
"No, it can't be…" Nathan breathed, jogging to the cell just as Helen teleported inside, and then teleported back with the girl in her arms, feeling somewhat woozy from the cell's effect. Jack reached out and steadied her as Nathan ran to the girl and hugged her close.
"Do you know her?" Matthew asked.
"I thought she had died 3 months ago," Nathan said as his voice began to choke. The girl stirred, her topaz eyes fluttering open to Nathan staring back at her. Quickly, Matthew reached for his water skin for her to drink from as color returned to her cheeks.
"What was Aeris doing in a place like this? And what was she doing in that cell?" Nathan asked rhetorically. Helen healed the minor wounds all over her body as she explained what she had been to the castle as its anchor.
"The Black Mage did this?" Nathan asked, brushing aside the locks of hair from her face. The air within the room began to feel as if it were trembling. Whispers weaved around them. Nathan's spear unexpectedly shot away from him and into the hand of The Mage, looking over it disappointedly. He held his hand over the shaft and began drawing a bright misty substance from as it quickly began to rust and corrode, stabbing it into the ground when he finished. Lillianne stepped between The Mage and the two on the floor, holding her halberd at the ready and taking an aggressive stance.
"You are nothing more than a disgusting…" Lillianne's rage was cut short when The Mage snapped his overpowering gaze to her. She dropped her weapon and began clawing at her throat as she floated into the air. Just before her vision went black, The Mage released his magical grip and let her fall in a coughing, heaving pile. Tense hissing whispers filled the air while The Mage pointed a boney finger to Matthew and narrowed his eyes. Matthew lowered his gaze as his entire body began to shake in rage, crimson vapors rising into the air around him.
"You're wrong! People are not merely tools. They are much more than that!" Matthew bellowed. The Mage casually looked back to Lillianne, narrowing his eyes to her, his whispers making her fair skin pale. Slowly he moved towards Lillianne, kneeling next to her and whispering something in her ear. Matthew set his hand on the alien sword. As The Mage stood, Matthew locked gazes with The Mage as best he could, trying not to let his empty eyes overpower him.
"What would you know of human nature?" A satisfied ethereal chuckle came from The Mage as he held his hand forward and pointed to his Neocora sword. Matthew looked down to it, tightening his fist as his sins were again brought to the forefront.
"That fault is mine to bear but is one that I don't intend to make again! People are priceless, irreplaceable, and above all, worth every last breath in my body to protect!" Matthew lunged for The Mage, the alien weapon roaring to life with ruby power. The blade buzzed with each wind-waking swing. Lillianne led the others away, looking back at Matthew with worry; she was glad to see him at least begin to accept what happened, but she feared that he was overcompensating and lashing out.
When the others were gone, a peel of red lightning struck at Matthew's feet, his attacks becoming even heavier. The Mage blocked each swing with lengths of chain. With each strike, showers of sparks would fly through the air, igniting the small weeds growing through the cobblestone. Matthew swung wide for a hard strike. The Mage hurled his palm forwards to his gut.
The swordsman spun right, driving his elbow into The Mage's back and throwing him to the ground. Raising his sword, Matthew drove it down, plunging through the rocks. The Mage teleported behind him, striking Matthew hard into the wall. Matthew growled as he pulled himself from the rubble, spit out a glob of blood, and charged in again.
Outside, Lillianne launched into a battle step, charging into an army of skeletons blocking their path to the portal. Mana flowed through her halberd, creating a Polar Bear paw and tearing through the front line. No sooner had she completed her swing than more took their place. She planted her feet and smashed the butt end of her halberd into the ground, making ice creep up her legs holding her fast while she swung through skeleton after skeleton.
But even with her rapid attacks, she was slowly being overrun. Quickly she clipped her halberd to her back and reached for the alien weapon. She pushed so much mana through the converter, threads of bright blue electricity sparked from it upon activating it. Her swing unleashed a sonic wave ripping through hundreds of skeletons but did little to allow them through. Helen, Evan, Mir, and Olsen did the best they could. Even though these enemies were mere pushovers, their sheer number was quickly making them tire.
A line of explosions ripped through the ranks of the skeletons, creating a pathway for them. Not trying to think who had helped them, Lillianne pushed them on through the ranks of the undead. When one of the Skeletons would get in their way, it would just as quickly fall. Hurriedly they all spilled back into Ossyria, but Lillianne remained for a moment looking back. Lillianne was about to charge back into the castle when someone grabbed her cloak and stopped her.
"Lillianne! Come on, we need to go!" Jenny shouted over the roar of generators.
"Matt is still in there!" she shouted. As the castle crumbled, Jenny pointed to the top, revealing Shinsoo flying out with Matthew atop his shoulders. The portal began to destabilize, the edges of it wavering as the power supply began to run out.
"KEEP THIS PORTAL OPEN!" Lillianne demanded. Frantically, the mechanics typed and pulled levers, trying to keep the portal open. Lillianne watched eagerly as Jenny guided her back into Ossyria. Contrails streamed from Shinsoo's stiff feathers as he flew with ever-increasing speed towards the exit. Just as they were about to make it through, one of the generators sparked and exploded. Instantly the portal collapsed. Steam roared from under the ring as the other generators spun down and the lights on the ring went dark. Lillianne stood in stunned silence for a moment kneeling on the ring's platform. Matthew was stuck there, alone with whatever monsters were in that dimension. The other guardians came up to the ring and stared in blank silence as the one person they thought would make it through didn't.
"How long will it take to get the energy again to dial that dimension?" Lillianne asked quietly. Checky pulled out a calculator and furiously typed in numbers.
"Just a little over eight months without raising any suspicions. Unless you can get your hands on a quantum crystal drive from Omega sector's Grey museum, he's going to be there a while." Checky responded, making Lillianne hang her head in defeat: eight months, there just had to be another answer. For a long while, no one said anything when the ring heaved into motion, and the symbols began to ignite one by one. All of them watched as the portal spun left and right with varying degrees, locking all the spell seals in place, connecting to the dimension from which Human Shinsoo and Matthew came spilling into the room. But just as they came crashing in, the portal collapsed and terminated, leaving Shinsoo and Matthew knocked out on the floor. Eagerly Jenny pulled on Lillianne's arm.
"Come on! I have Shank's ship waiting for us. We need to leave right now!"
"Why?" Helen asked.
"A huge platoon of Black Wings soldiers headed this way." she urged. Jack pulled Matthew over his shoulder and ran out of the garage to the main square. Lillianne hauled Shinsoo over her shoulder and followed them. Evan and Mir bolted straight from the garage into the air, heading back to Herb Town. Shanks hurriedly guided his ship the buildings, nearly catching the prominent town hall spire with the keel when all of them were aboard. Within minutes of them leaving, a platoon of soldiers burst into the hidden room. The one who seemed to be the captain walked up to Deren, then Checky with a deadly look in his eyes.
"The Mage will deal with you personally." The man said with a low voice. Checky had never seen this man before, but he could already tell that this man was powerful. His magenta eyes narrowed to vertical slits, the large Dume sword appearing to spark with threads of mana around the handle.
After only a day, Jin was becoming restless. Short of strapping him down, Athena did what she could to make sure he didn't move too much and aggravate his wounds. But it was him facing Syl again after so many years that she worried about. She knew about them being close as kids, and the way Jin spoke about her before their meeting made Athena wonder if they had dated before Master Zhen died.
Jin had also been oddly silent, stewing about something. As Athena periodically checked in on the ninja master, Lilin would playfully pester her about expanding her relationship with Jin. These thoughts made her smile as she came back to his hut, once again making sure that he wasn't trying to leave or so some kind of training. Upon walking in, Athena found his bed empty. Sighing, she scanned the area around the hut, activating her Eye of Arrows, but unable to see him. From behind her, she heard a twig break, finally seeing Jin slowly walking into the forest. Athena sighed again, walking after him, hoping that he wasn't sneaking off to train. She also thought he might be walking to the forest for the quiet to meditate as he often did.
Jin would evade her sight from time to time as she followed, but her sharp elfin eyes would always find him within a few short moments, seeing him standing over Syl, who still knelt in her vegetative state from the previous day. Athena quickly hid behind a large tree, peeking around it to watch.
"Why would Jin be coming here?" she wondered. Syl's daggers still rested on the ground next to her, and the catatonic state what was in could all be an act.
"Syl, wake up," Jin said softly. Syl looked at him with the same blank stare.
"Jin, you're still alive?" she asked with dazed surprise. Jin nodded as he extended his hand to her.
"I'm not that easy to kill. You of all people should know that." Syl looked down to the ground, her shoulders dropping.
"Jin, I'm…" Jin knelt, put a finger to her lips, and shook his head.
"I've already forgiven you."
"I tried to kill you! How can you forgive me so easily!?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Syl, do you remember the first time that we snuck out of your father's house through the back alleys of Kerning?" Syl nodded as she recalled all the fun adventures they had at night, despite the severe scoldings from Master Zhen every time they were caught.
"Yes, I do, and the times that we trained together."
"And even the few times we stayed on the roof all night counting the stars?" Syl's eyes became softer, making her look down and grab her elbow.
"Yes, I do. Those were some of the happiest days of my life." She said. Jin gently brushed aside the hair covering her right eye and tucked it behind her ear as he pulled her chin up to meet his gaze.
"We could share those days again. Back then and even now, you're the one my heart has belonged to, and it will be the only one that it will ever belong to." Jin said while slowly leaning down, pressing his lips to her's. From behind the tree, Athena smirked. Before leaving Ossyria for Earth, she would sometimes see Jin staring at an old picture of him and Syl as teenagers hidden in his claw.
"Fair luck to you, Jin. I wish you the best," she smiled, silently leaving the two of them behind. It made her think of her late husband Kalib and his awkward introduction back on earth. He was an archer attendant at one of the tournaments she attended. He nervously handed her bow to her and almost dropped it after asking if they could go for coffee after the contest was over. And she was ever glad she accepted.