Statues of Power

"Well, young Lyle," Dr. Moro said, "You've come back for your Golem. Here she is, and I think you'll find her to be quite an impressive creation." He pushed a button, and a hatch on the ground began to open up. When it had finished, a giant machine rose out of the ground. It was humanoid, with the body of a young woman. Her exterior was brown, with golden horns on top of her head. On her arms was what appeared to be a pair of blue barriers, used to protect her master.

"I call her Lucrecia. This baby has the power to walk over rivers, and destroy rocks that may be blocking the road. As well as creating barriers that can protect you from large doses of magic. She's the greatest creation that man has ever seen. And now, I'm giving her to you, just like I promised," he stated.

Jacob asked, "Are you sure, sir? I mean this is a pretty expensive looking device, and what if we lose it? Besides, you created it, and this is part of your research. So why are you giving it to us?"


Moro smiled. "Simple, I only wanted to know how to build one for reference. It's not like I need a Golem around the house. You kids, on the other hand, are taking on the demons of legend, and it will be for the best if you take something like Lucrecia along with you. She's probably got powers that even I haven't dreamed of. And I constructed her from the very first nut and bolt. Oh, and take this Ocarina. It will play a soothing melody that calls Lucrecia to you, no matter where you are in the world."

He handed the Ocarina to Lyle. Then, the crew said goodbye to Dr. Moro, and re-boarded the ship. This time, they sailed even farther north. After resupplying in the town of Marsala, Lyle began to play a tune on the instrument. After Lucrecia appeared, the team got on, and crossed the river, to a valley that was surrounded by not only the river, but a tributary of the river and a mountain range, leaving it inaccessible to normal travelers. There, they found a shrine, and went inside.

* * *

"This is the Divine Shrine," stated Jacob, "I remember looking at pictures of it when I was just a little boy growing up in Baskar. In reality, this is the true home of the High Guardians, our shrine in Baskar is mere formality and comes from our want to worship them. If they are in trouble, we will find nothing but statues at their altars. Then, only our emotions can free them again."

The team continued onwards, through the ruins. Along the way, monsters tried to fight them. None were too much of a threat, and were killed quickly. Lyle was hard at work during the battles, mastering several more Fast Draws. Now, he could use the thieving skill Trickster, the Heal Blade, an instant death called Soul Breaker, and an all enemy attack called the Blast Charge. As they traveled, Sierra managed to find a Shotgun ARM, which had little accuracy and was completely random, which she had no intent of using in the near future. She didn't need unnecessary complications.

"Why would I want a stupid Shotgun? It's gonna take a long time to get the accuracy needed in order to hit my enemy. And the Rifle is WAY more powerful. Whoever made this stupid model of ARM must have been on some drugs when he created it," Sierra commented.

Jacob told her, "Well, it's for people with a real random streak in their nature. Kind of like an ancestor of mine. He's the brother of my great, great, great, well, you get the picture, grandfather, Shane Caradine. Now Shane's brother, Gallows, ran away from home to become a Drifter, which is what they used to call Silver Wolves. He had this lax, let things just come to him, and hope Chapananga is with him at the moment attitude, so a Shotgun was the perfect weapon to fit his personality."

They continued onwards for a little while longer. Near the end of a path, stood a large creature. It appeared to be a spider, but it was much larger, and its eyes were a demonic shade of red. And this spider also seemed to have poison dripping from its fangs, ready to take a bite out of intruders.

Lyle pulled out his sword, followed by Sierra. The young man thrust it out in front, ready to take on the monster. "You will never harm either of these fine ladies, not while Lyle Kenjutsushi draws breath. Divide Shot, weaken my foe so that the others can destroy him." Half of the poisoned spider's HP was taken away, leaving him open for attacks from the other members of the team.

Sasha used Flame, and Jacob used Red Beaut. Because, like all bug monsters, this spider was weak against fire. They were going to be the most powerful forms of counterattack the team would have at this time, as Sierra and Lyle had no elemental attacks to help them. Sierra decided to fight with her Rifle, while Lyle switched over to the Meteor Drive attack. Soon, the spider went down.

"Let's get going," Sasha stated, "That must have been what was protecting this shrine from intruders. The High Guardians can't be too much further on beyond this. Probably past the path that the creature was guarding. We don't have all day now." She began to run down the passage, with Jacob close behind. Sierra and Lyle followed right after the two of them.

* * *

Inside, they saw four pedestals. On each, stood a statue. These statues looked like a Wolf, a Lion, a Dragon, and a Goddess. Jacob stepped forward, and felt defeated. He didn't have to tell the others that these statues were of the four High Guardians, and they had been to late.

"Don't give up. After all, there's got to be a way to restore them," Lyle said.

Sasha replied, "There is. We've got to send enough energy to them, in order to strengthen their spirits. But here's the catch, we've got to use energy from our emotions, the same emotions that each of the High Guardians govern. That's how its always been done in the past."

Lyle looked at them. "Well, standing here isn't going to help anything. How about we head to Narsala, and visit my mom. She'll be happy to see me, and we can get a free room for the night."


The team began to talk about what they were going to do next, and how to find a new move. Only Sierra was silent. She was thinking again about her dreams, and what they could mean. It chilled her to the bone, how can someone like her be considered a monster in some way?

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words

Remember, in a WA, BoF, or FF style story, you must stick with the usual cliches of the story. That's why we've gotta release the High Guardians. I'll make it more like the first two games instead of the third.