Chapter 24--Triumph and Tragedy

Joey and Tristan, much to their dismay, were once again trekking through the humid, buggy swamp, occasionally sinking knee-to-thigh deep in muck. The swamp was as gloomy and forbidding as ever, and they could not see why Karas the Hermit thought it was peaceful.

"Aww, man! Why would anybody want to live here!? Dis is the worst place I've evah been to!" Joey ranted in exasperation.

"Nahh, I thought the Chaos fortress was worse than this," Tristan replied thoughtfully, much calmer than Joey; he was far better at keeping his temper than his best friend.

"Whatevah. Hey--you think we'll be able ta get dat scale Karas wants? Can't see why he's so upset about dis sea-serpent--everything looks just da same as always to me," Joey gumbled.

"That would be because we've never seen the swamp without it," Tristan pointed out, rolling his eyes.
"Oh...right..."

They continued in silence for some time. Then--"Is dis the place we're lookin' for?"

It certainly looked miserable enough. It was a small, deep pool, full of trailing weeds and bog vegetation. There were many places, however, where the plant-life seemed to have been disturbed...

"Uh...sea-serpent? Lookin' for a sea-serpent?" Joey called uncertainly.

"Do you really think that will work?" Tristan asked, looking skeptically at him.

"You have any betta ideas!?" the blond snapped back, temper frayed after the long trek through the swap.

At that moment, their discussion was cut short. The surface of the pool began to rippled. Something was rising from the depths. A scaled, snake-like head broke the surface; they could see its body coiling sinuously into the dark waters. A harsh, guttural voice filled their ears.

"Yes? You call to me, lonely wanderer far from home? Torment me no more, land dwellers...leave me in peace to await my death..."

After a moment of shocked silence, they broke into a rushed explanation.

"We need the Key--"

"No, we need one a his scales--"

"We need to have it to get the Seal--"

"We need dat to get da Key--"

The sea-serpent interrupted them once more, looking mildly perplexed. "You speak in riddles, land dwellers. Is it not enough that I am dying? Must you plague me with your inane chatter? I know nothing of a Key or a Seal or a scale. What do want from me, besides my misery?"

A more diplomatic person would have at least pretended to be sympathetic to the sea-serpent's plight, but Joey and Tristan were--alas!-- not the most tactful of people.

"Could you shut up for a second an' listen ta us? We need da Key of Aramas. For dat, we need da Seal of Shadow. For dat, we need one a your scales ta prove dat we got rid a you!"

The serpent looked at them coldly. "You will now kill me, yes? Very well...end this tormented existence..."

"What is it wit' you an' torment?" Joey asked, amazed that anyone could be so single-mindedly focused on misery.

"I am dying far from my home and my people. Pity me, strangers, for I do not belong here, did not wish to come here, cannot return to my home...pity me...you wish a scale? Kill me if you wish, but I must fight you...it is simple honor, you must try to understand....I may be forced to kill you, but don't take it personally...alas for my sad fate..."

"Would you stop it with the self-pity already? We have to get rid of you, we made a promise! Wait...Karas never said we had to kill you...we could send you home!" Tristan said, having been suddenly struck by this idea.

At this, the serpent looked up quickly, its intelligent eyes alight with interest. "Home? You could send me...home? Ah, to be home again! I did not mean to leave, you see. My World is falling apart--our oceans often open their waters to other places...one can be sucked through a Gate unknowingly...I come from Akarana, but perhaps you do not know it by that name. I am a subject of High Queen Tethys, ruler of the oceans of Dark World."

At this, Joey and Tristan started in. "Dark World!? You mean where Benjamin comes from?"

The serpent appeared shrugged, a very odd gesture in a creature with no shoulders. "I do not know this Benjamin. I am of the sea, and to the sea I would return. Please--help me! Help me, and I will give you a scale! Are we agreed?"

"You've got yourself a deal! We'll get you back to Dark World if you give us one of your scales!"

Joey and Tristan searched their pockets. "Hmm...oh, don' tell me Tea had da Gatin' Device! Lemmee , I need your help a sec! Copycat, can you change into a Gatin' Device and send dis guy home? Ya can? Great! Don' you disappear too, okay? Well, hop to it!"

Copycat nodded, then transformed. The serpent smiled, or at least showed its teeth. "Ah, but I thank you. Most humans would not help one such as me...here--your scale," he said, holding out his tail for them to pull a scale off. "Go well, humans. If you are ever in Dark World, and in need of help, call for Salriss. I am deeply in your debt."

Nodding to them, he vanished. Joey and Tristan high-fived each other. "All right! We got the scale! Now let's head back to Karas and get that Seal too!"

-o-o-o-o-o-

Karas nodded happily. "Ahh! You have succeeded! And now, everyone will go home happy. Here is the Seal." He held out a small, half-circle plate made of black material and engraved with symbols. "Yeah! We got da Seal! Now we can go get dat Key!"

Thanking Karas, they left. Waving cheerily, he called after them. "Good-bye and good luck! Go well, my friends! As long as there are people like you, the humans have not lost all hope!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Far from the gleefully celebrating Joey and Tristan, Tea and Kaiba were in a worse mess than ever. The demon was closing in; the darkness was everywhere, there was no escape; no one would ever now what had happened to them; they were going to die here, like so many others before; everything would be lost because they failed...

But they were not finished just yet. In even the darkest hearts exists a tiny corner of hope; a warrior's spirit can be found in the most timid soul. As Lona struck the wall, crumpling to the ground in a pool of her own blood, several things happened. First, Tea realized that they would only have enough magic to Summon Elf's Light if they worked together; then she realized that Kaiba would never agree to work with anyone. Second, the demon laughed mockingly and closed in on its prey. And lastly, Kaiba remembered something.

"Some fings worth getting deaded for. Yeh?"

Some things are worth dying for. Lona had been willing to die so they could get the Seal. If they failed now, her death would be meaningless. So when Tea said, "We have to combine our magic to make this work!" she was completely shocked to have him actually agree with her. The demon laughed again.

"Work together all you want--you magic is not strong enough. You will die just like your half-breed friend. Hahahaha!!!"

"We'll see about that," Kaiba said, glaring into the darkness.

Tea and Kaiba joined hands. Then, together--"I Summon--Elf's Light!"

The combined power of two Summoners was still not enough to make the card work. It flickered slightly, emitting a faint glow, but...

"We need more power! Our magic isn't enough!" Tea said in despair-- she couldn't think of anything else to do.

"Hahaha....you are as weak as the half-breed.....how pathetic."

Some people say that magic is fueled by the strength of one's emotions. Even if you've never learned magical control, the internal energy of your magic can be activated when you angry, afraid, or upset. These are the most common emotions that activate or give more power to magic; one that people don't always recognize is loyalty.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Elf's Light sprang into being like a shining star inside this dark pit where no light had ever shone. The demon screamed in shock and pain.

"No...NO!!! How...how can this be? It cannot...it cannot...you do not have the power to Summon such light! No....No....NO....NOOOO!!!!!!!!"

The demon twisted and writhed horribly before the light; it began to shrivel like a piece of paper in a fire. A light began to glow in the center of its body, growing stronger and stronger--until suddenly, it exploded outwards. With a final scream, the demon was gone. The Seal of Light, long ago swallowed by the greedy monster, clattered to the floor.

Tea and Kaiba walked over to where their former guide and ally lay unmoving on the floor. Miraculously, Lona was still alive, but she wouldn't last much longer. She smiled weakly.

"Yous...got d'Seal...so...s'gonna be a'right....don' feel bad 'bout me...me notta 'fraid t'die...me 'elped yous...it was worf it...t'die...doing somefing apportant.....me not sad.....ony sorry...dat me's never....gonna 'ave a fam'ly.....guess me aways...gonna be....alla 'lone...eh?"

Tea bit her lip, unable to say anything. It was the most sad and pathetic thing she had ever seen--a dying misfit, only disappointed that she never found a place where she belonged.

"You're wrong, Lona. Family aren't just the people you're related to. There are different kinds of families. You do belong..." Kaiba said, surprisingly; for once, he dropped the "cold heartless businessman" act.

Tea nodded. "Yeah...you're right...family is more than just your blood. It's about what's in your heart. Family are the people who care about you," she said, sniffing.

Lona looked at them, her eyes not quite focused. "Yous...Lona's fam'ly?"

They both nodded.

Lona smiled. "Then...me notta 'fraid t'die....me's okay.....you gotta 'urry now...da 'ole place c'lapse soon....gotta get out...me stay 'ere....don' worry....'bout me.....Lona be okay.......me.........notta 'fraid......g'bye........me's fam'ly...................................................."

Lona's eyes closed. Although Tea and Kaiba both felt great sorrow, they couldn't help being happy for Lona...after being an outcast all her life, she had finally found people she belonged with. After a moment of silence, there was a faint rumbling which began to grow steadily louder. Lona was right; the cavern was collapsing.

"Come on--we have to take the Seal to the Shrine," Kaiba said, back to being businesslike. In a crisis, the young CEO knew how to remain calm and get the job done.

"But--we're trapped! There's no way out of here!" Tea said, not quite as good at putting emotion aside to do what had to be done.

To most people, this statement would seem to be true. The hole through which they had entered the underground cavern was far overhead, and they had no chance of reaching it alone. Dragon tamers, however, frequently develop a more three-dimension way of thinking.

"There's only one way out--up. I Summon--Faith! Let's go!"

Thus did our heroes escape the demon's lair: destroying him with the power of their hearts, and escaping the destruction of his lair on a dragon.