Ray
walked up to the gates of Adlehyde Castle, stopping by the two guards.
"Yeah?
You want something?" One of the guards asked.
Ray
cleared his throat. "I would like to speak with the Queen."
The
other guards waved his hand dismissively behind him. "Go right ahead."
The
guards looked at Ray, and both burst into laughter when he saw the puzzled look
on his face. "What? You're surprised at how easily we let you through?"
"Well…uh…yes."
"Anyone
can visit the castle. Heck, this place is more like a tourist spot than a royal
castle."
Ray
blinked. "Oh…I'm sorry. I haven't visited Adlehyde for quite some time, so I
had no idea."
The
guard shrugged. "That's alright. Can't blame you for being behind the times."
The guards laughed again. Ray sighed and walked past.
Ray
stood in the throne room of the castle, looking around. He had been here before
when he was a small boy, and the place amazed him now as much as it did then.
Looking
forward, he noticed the Queen, Cecilia Lynne Adlehyde, sitting on the throne,
and her assistant, Minister Johan, by her side. Twenty years ago, she and her
two friends, known by the names Rudy Roughnight and Jack Van Burace, had saved
Filgaia from the threats of the evil Metal Demons. Afterwards, they had left
Adlehyde to fulfill their roles as Dream Chasers. Minister Johan had promised
to take care of Adlehyde in Cecilia's absence-but, unfortunately, he didn't do
as good as everyone thought he would. Five years later, Cecilia had been forced
to return.
Ray
smiled as he reflected upon all that, and walked down the hall.
Cecilia,
looking up from a conversation with Johan, noticed Ray walking towards her. She
sat up straight on the throne.
"Good
morning, Your Highness," Ray greeted, and bowed.
"And
the same to you, sir," Cecilia replied, smiling. "What brings you here today?"
Ray
stood up. "I am Ray Valeria," he began.
Cecilia
raised an eyebrow. "Ray Valeria…why does that name sound familiar?"
Ray
nodded. "I was a good friend of your parents."
"Oh!
Yes, that's it. What are you here for?"
"Your
Highness, I was reading a book the other day," Ray said, pulling out the book
that he had brought with him. "And I noticed something interesting. Take a look
at this." He opened the book to the page and handed it to the Queen.
(A/N:
No, I'm not going to do one of those legends described in a poetic passage, I
suck at that.)
A
few minutes passed silently, as Cecilia read the passage Ray had pointed out.
"A new threat…even more powerful than the demons?" she wondered. "It'll…oh my…destroy
everything in a white-hot blaze…) She shook her head and looked up. "Why'd you
come here just to tell me about this?"
Ray
shrugged. "It just seemed…imperative…that I notify you." (A/N: Did I use
imperative right?)
Cecilia
sighed and put a hand to her forehead. "I don't know what to do about this…"
Ray
was silent. Now that I think about it…what was the point of bringing this
to her? Did I possibly think she could know what it means? He shook his
head.
"My
queen," Minister Johan started, "may I suggest we take this passage to someone
who may know what it means?"
Cecilia
removed her hand. "That's a good idea. But I can't think of anyone who could
possibly interpret this."
Ray
turned away. What had he accomplished by bringing the news to Cecilia? Nothing
but causing her discomfort. He had a strong urge to punch himself.
(A/N:
Sorry if that scene was a little dull…)
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Meanwhile,
Anastasia had gotten extremely bored…again. She leaned against a wall in the
East Plaza, watching as people set the place up for the upcoming festival.
After
about half an hour of watching, she was just about ready to turn around, storm
into Adlehyde Castle, grab her father and ask him to tell her what he was
doing. She had just decided to do so, when suddenly she heard something.
"'Scuse
me! Coming through! Sorry! I'm in a hurry!"
Her
head snapped around as people in the crowd fell over and were pushed aside, and
soon a large gap had severed the crowd. But Anastasia could not see who or what
they were making way for.
Until
she looked down.
There
was a small, blue…thing…running through the crowd. As it got closer, she
noticed it was a…
Rat?
A sprite-like rat?
She
gasped. It was Hanpan, the companion of Jack Van Burace!
Hanpan
was going so fast that he accidentally bumped into Anastasia's leg.
"Sorry!"
he called as he sped on.
After
standing there for about five seconds, Anastasia suddenly gave chase.
Soon
she caught up with the rat, and jumped in front of him.
"Look,
ma'am, I said I'm sorry about-" Hanpan began.
"That's
not it," Anastasia said, cutting him off. "You're Hanpan, right?"
"…Uh-huh…"
"What's
the problem?"
Hanpan
was panting. Hard. As if he had just run many miles. In fact, he had.
"Rudy…Jack…"
he gasped. "In big trouble…gotta speak with Cecilia…now…"
"What?"
Anastasia knelt down. "Rudy and Jack in trouble? How?"
Hanpan
stopped panting. "You sure you want to know, miss?"
"My
name's Anastasia. And yes, I want to know."
"…All
right…"
Jack
looked around the barren plains as he walked. "…I've got a bad feeling about
this…"
Rudy
stopped and turned to look at his friend. "Why? All we're doing is paying a
visit to Cecilia. What's there to be nervous about?"
Jack
shrugged. "I don't know…it's just…"
"You're
so paranoid, Jack!" a voice squeaked from Jack's front pocket.
Jack
slapped the pocket. "Shut up. I am not."
Hanpan
crawled out, looking dizzy. "Ow…"
The
treasure hunter snickered.
Rudy
turned and continued on towards Adlehyde. "You guys coming?"
Jack
nodded and followed Rudy. And five seconds later…
"OW!"
Jack fell onto the ground, face first. "Jeez! Hanpan, why'd you do that?!"
"I
didn't do anything!" Hanpan said.
Jack
got up and grumbled. "Must've been a monster then…" He turned around-and
screamed.
Rudy
froze for a second, and then whipped around. And he wished he didn't.
Facing
the trio was about twenty…things. They looked like nothing Rudy, Jack,
and Hanpan had ever seen. Their heads looked like green skulls, and they had
long, lanky green arms and short green legs. Red, clearly seen muscles bulged
from the limbs as though their limbs were invisible. And there was…something…on
their torso. There was just no word able to describe the thing.
(A/N:
Hey, you take a look at a Protoblazer and try describing the monster! …I
shouldn't have said that, should I?)
"What
the hell are those things?" Rudy said as he grabbed the handle of the Arch
Smash ARM.
Jack
drew his sword. "I don't know, but they don't look like they're here to comment
on the weather!"
One
of the monsters took a step forward. "Are your names Rudy Roughnight and
Jack Van Burace?" it whispered hoarsely.
Rudy
jerked. He hadn't expected the thing to talk! "Yes, we are. What do you want?"
The
monster's mouth twisted into a sick grin. "Nothing much…just your lives!
Attack!!"
With
a huge roar heard in a twenty-mile radius, the monsters charged.
Rudy
jumped back and fired the Arch Smash. A large blue laser-beam lanced out from
the barrel of the weapon. It struck the ground in front of the monsters, and
rippled into a shockwave.
None
were affected.
Jack
also jumped back, next to Rudy. He held up his sword and called "Cosmic Nova!!"
He swung the blade in a wide arc and a huge wave of energy emanated from it.
It
didn't have much better results than the Arch Smash did.
Rudy
clenched his teeth. "There's too many of them!" he said. "How are we going to
defeat them all?"
Jack
gripped his sword with both hands. "Let's see if they can survive this…Trump
Card!!" The treasure hunter leaped forward and struck one of the monsters,
converting his strength to power as he did. The monster collapsed.
And
climbed back to its feet!
"What?!"
Jack jumped back before the monster struck with its claw. "How did it-"
"We
have to overkill!" Rudy said. He concentrated for a second, accumulating his
force power.
"Fury
Shot!" He raised the Arch Smash and pulled the trigger. An enormous blue
laser-beam fired this time, approximately five feet in diameter. The laser
engulfed the group of monsters. When it had passed, the monsters had fallen.
And
all of them stood back up.
Rudy's
eyes widened. "Unbelievable! That was my most powerful attack!"
The
leader of the monsters cackled. "That was your most powerful attack?
Then you stand no chance!"
"Why
you…! Take this!" Jack charged and swung his sword repeatedly, performing the
Cosmic Nova Fast Draw over and over. The monsters cackled as they stood there,
absorbing every wave.
"Enough
of this!"
the leader growled. "Let's finish them, my friends!"
The
monsters jumped into the air and fell upon Rudy and Jack, faster than the eye
could see.
The
next few minutes were a blur for the two Dream Chasers.
Jack
could not see anything but a rush of green and red. All he could feel was the
blows of the punches and several of his bones snapping.
Rudy
tried to fight, swinging his sword like a madman. Some monsters fell and stayed
there. And still, they came. It wasn't enough to hold them off, and soon he
felt something happen to his left arm…a ripping sensation…
After
about five minutes, the monsters backed off, satisfied. Rudy and Jack lay
unconscious, bloody and battered.
"Heh
heh!" the leader cackled. "Did they really think they could defeat us Protoblazers? Come, let's
destroy-"
"No," a sharp voice said.
"Eh?" The
Protoblazer looked around. "But-"
"No buts," the voice said. "Leave
them. They are of no threat to me anymore."
"But master! They are not
dead yet!" the Protoblazer protested.
They heard a deep laugh. "They are of no threat
because you have crippled them. You have done well-they are incapable of
fighting anymore."
The Protoblazer grumbled. "All right…"
With that, the monsters disappeared into the ground.
A few minutes later, Hanpan crawled out of Jack's
pocket. He shuddered when he looked at the state of his two friends. Jack had a
lot of bruises and cuts, and it seemed his right leg and left arm were broken.
Rudy was in worse condition…none of his limbs were
broken, but he had more bruises and cuts than Jack…and his left arm had been
torn off.
Again.
Hanpan shivered again. Nothing like this has ever
happened before…he thought. What were those monsters? And what was that
voice? How can I help them? Ack, too many questions. …Wait, that's it!
In a flash, he took off in the direction of
Adlehyde, wishing for his friends to be okay.
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Anastasia stared. "Are they all right?"
"That's an idiotic question," Hanpan said crossly.
"Of course they're not! Now excuse me, I have to see Cecilia."
With that Hanpan took off between Anastasia's legs.
She whirled around. "Hey! Wait!" she called as she
ran after him.
A/N
#1: Yes, I know I exaggerated the Protoblazer's strength. I know
Rudy and Jack could easily destroy them. But some monster had to severely
injure Rudy and Jack, and what better candidates than the minions of Lord Blazer?
(At least, I think they are…)
A/N #2: Please don't flame me if you're a Rudy or Jack fan. Something had to happen to them to prevent them from fighting in the war, and killing them wasn't an option. Well, it is, but I don't want to do that!