A Sacred Mission

At Vensnia, Sasha ran up to the Magic Guild. She then turned the sixteen Crest Graphs in to get the Level 2 spells on her Crest Board. Once done, she returned to meet the others. But something was wrong with Sierra, she was sitting off in a corner, not trying to be seen. When questioned, she simply replied that this was her hometown, and she really didn't want anyone to recognize her.

They packed up, and headed north. A forest was the first obstacle, then the desert. It seemed strange, two completely opposite topographic features in such close quarters. Jacob theorized that it must be the Time Guardian's magic, protecting whatever was in the laboratory to the north.

In the middle of the desert, stood the lab. Inside, the team found plenty of devices that could be used to perform various experiments. Said experiments ranged from something as small as practical machines for everyday life, to something big like human cloning. It sent a chill down both Jacob and Sasha's spines. Lyle looked around nervously, while Sierra's stomach was doing flip-flops.

*There's no need to worry,* a voice echoed, *All of these machines were inactivated over two thousand years ago. They will not trouble you, none were for war except this one ARM.* A tall gray cat who stood on his hind legs entered. He pointed to a Pineapple Heavy ARM, which was off to one side.

"Guardian of Time! Just the creature we wanted to see. I am Sasha Vanderbuilt, a descendant of the Adlehyde family, as well as Lilka Jane Enduro. Please, help us on our mission to rid Filgaia of the demons that are trying to harm it, or all will be lost and we'll all perish," begged Sasha.

Dan Darium replied, *I cannot, my mission is to secure peace here. This shrine is the resting place of a young child, the sister of legendary hero Rudy Roughnight. She wasn't awakened along with him, and still slumbers in her stasis. I am to guard her until the day that she can awaken.*

Sasha looked at Sierra and Lyle, who were confused. "Rudy was a Holmcross, a person made of living metal. They were a little too violent, and enjoyed killing more than was necessary. In rare cases, a madness would take over their bodies, causing them to kill friend and foe alike. Anyway, the Elw used a secret weapon that was recently developed to take on demons in order to eliminate them. But, one young boy managed to survive. He was left in a state of suspended animation for a millennia, until a Dream Chaser named Zepet Roughnight found him. That man, was my ancestor, Rudy Roughnight."

*He was an experiment,* Dan Darium added, *The foster son of an infertile couple. But what records do not mention, is that he had a twin sister, created by the same scientist for the same couple. When the Holmcross were being purged, the couple decided to save their babies. Both were sealed in this very lab, the place of their births, and suspended in time until the days when they'd be welcome back into the world. Rudy awoke a thousand years later, as Sasha said, but the old man wasn't able to find his sister. Neither had names either, they were only recently created and there wasn't time to name them before the mob came to kill the twins. When Rudy found this out, he asked me to guard his sister from all harm, as he would probably never live long enough to find her. I've been doing that for over two thousand years now, only stopping in days where danger returned to Filgaia once more. I was waiting for a pure heart to take the child away, I guess you four could do it. Bring her to a town where she'll be safe.*

They continued throughout the lab, at last coming to a door. Inside, was what appeared to be a suspension pod of some type. It looked about the right size for a human infant. But when Sierra looked in to see what kind of child was in there, and what she looked like, she found it empty.

"Hey, you guys, there's nothing inside of it! Are you sure this is the right facility, and that the girl was sleeping inside of here?" she asked the Guardian, For some reason, though, she felt almost as if this place seemed familiar, as if she'd been here before. Sierra quickly dismissed that thought.

The Time Guardian exclaimed, "It can't be! When I was last here, she was sleeping peacefully in this very room. How, in only a hundred years, could something have happened?" He put his paws up to his face, shameful that he let down those who trusted him with this task.


Sasha sighed. "That's what you get for shirking your duties. Honestly, you're not supposed to be goofing off. Could the meteor that crashed a century ago be what had caused you to go running off, or was there a Guardian's council meeting that the humans were unaware of?"

*Correct,* Dan Darium replied, *The meteor that crashed into the sea a hundred years ago is the reason I wasn't here. I had to check up on it, all the Guardians were there. Then, I was watching what went on, trying to see if a threat to our precious balance was coming.*

"And it was, foolish creature. That was our chariot, taking us to this miserable world. We are the Metal Demons, those that went out in a separate ship in order to find more worlds to conquer. When we didn't, we tried to find the main force. And their energy trail diminishes at this planet. I take it you pathetic slaves conspired with the local denizens to defeat our leaders," a voice called out. Then, a man in black armor jumped down. Like the other three, he was pale with red eyes. But, as the armor covered most of his face and the rest of his body, not much else could be seen.

Lyle asked him, "Who are you, and what do you want with us?"

The man laughed. "I am Kaibutsu, leader of the Knights of Death. You must be the ones who have fought with my brethren. Impressive, for lower life forms such as yourselves."


"Who're you calling lower life forms?" inquired Sierra, "Your men just keep running away from us. We won't let demon scum like you have your way with Filgaia, prepare to die."


"I always loved a good challenge. You will all cower before me before this is through, begging me to sever the flesh from your bones, to cleave off your neck, anything to end your suffering," he replied. Then, the Demon Lord pulled out a sword, ready for battle.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Words…

Yeah, a battle next chapter!

Translations

Kachikina=strong will

Kaibutsu=monster