Chapter 6: The Hunter
"So." Dominus said. "They've made it into the castle."
"Yes sire." Roas said. "They entered the main gate a few minutes ago."
"Well. Lets have some fun." Dominus said. "Shin."
"Yes master Dominus." Shin answered.
"Why don't you get me what I want?" Dominus said. "I know that Pumpking is holding out on me."
"I will sire." Shin replied.
"Very good." Dominus said. "Have fun."
Keja joined the others in large room. The room was illuminated by several torches along its circular walls.
"So where to we go from here?" Keja asked.
"That way." Picard answered as he pointed to the only doorway in the room.
"Lets go then." Ameph said.
"Grab a torch." YQ said. "It gets a little to dark down there."
"Ok." Keja said as they each pulled a torch off the wall.
They walked down the dark hallway with caution. The craftsmanship of the castle was of the satanic sort. Carvings of skeletons were plastered all over the walls, the floor was cracked and broken, and the ceiling dripped blood. The group walked into a large corridor where the bodies of warriors, magicians, and fairies were scattered around the floor.
"Look Picard." YQ said. "There's our old friend."
"A Dragon Zombie?" Ameph asked.
"You mean used to be Dragon Zombie." Picard said.
"Yes." YQ said. "And you thought we'd never beat it."
"Whatever. Can we please continue?" Picard asked with an angry tone.
They continued to walk down the corridor with paranoia. They got to the end of the corridor when YQ spotted something unusual.
"Look at this." YQ said as he walked over to an object that was stuck in the wall.
"A Kunai with Chain?" Picard said. "That could be from anywhere."
"Nope." YQ said. "This thing has been recently used. Clock."
"Yes master YQ?" Clock said as he hovered over.
"How long has this been here?" YQ said as he pointed at the Kunai.
The Time Wizard paused for a second and as he stared at the object. "Less than ten minutes."
"Huh. Well." YQ said. "Best be on your toes people. We're not the only living things in this castle."
"Yay?" Keja said as the group continued down the pathways of the castle.
They wandered down the next hallway and into another circular room. This time the walls were lined with standing coffins. Keja walked over to one of the coffins and examined the box.
"Heh. Lets see how they handle the servants." Shin said as he pressed down a stone in the wall. In an instant a large rumbling began to stir. "That should slow them down."
"The hell?" Keja asked as the four stood back to back in the center of the room.
"This didn't happen last time." Picard said.
"Don't ya think I know that?" YQ said as they began to hear loud foot steps scurry around the walls.
"What's happening?" Ameph asked.
Pounding began to take toll on the doors of the coffins. After time the coffin doors all flew off theirs hinges and the rumbling and noise subsided, but was quickly followed by a figure walking out of one of the coffins.
"Great." Keja said. "Skull Servants."
When Keja was finished the room was being flooded with running skeletons.
"They're nothing!" Picard said as he began to chop down the skeletons.
"That doesn't matter." Keja said. "What really matters is how many are there? My father told me once that these thing are trouble in large numbers."
"Your dad was right." YQ said as he began to swat the servants with his staff.
"So how many are there?" Ameph asked.
"How can we tell?" Picard asked. "They could be endless."
"Clock!" YQ said as the he pulled out his coin. Before he could toss it, he was piled on by a massive number of skeletons. "Get off of me." He stuttered as he gathered his energy and threw the bones off of him. "Tails!" He yelled as he flipped the coin and it landed in his hand, tails. "Alright! Sweep the floor!"
"Time Warp!" Clock yelled as he trapped the each and every last Skull Servant in the warp.
"Good job Clock." YQ said before he heard more rumbling come from the corridors within the coffins. "What the?"
"Here comes the second course." Keja said as more Skull Servants began to pour out of the holes in the wall.
"Well we'll just flip again." YQ said as he flipped his coin. "Tails!" It landed in his hand, heads. "Dammit."
"What happens now?" Keja asked.
"Nothing happens now." YQ answered. "If I miss then I can't use Clock's coin toss spell for another twenty four hours. So it looks like we're forcing our way out of this mess."
"But how?" Keja asked as he continued to destroy the skeletons with ease. "There's too many of these things. We'll waste all of our energy just taking out these weaklings."
"Up there." Ameph pointed out. "That looks like a switch of some kind. If we can flip that somehow, maybe they'll stop."
"That's just crazy enough to work." Picard said. "But it would be an easy task if we could get our hands free here."
They all continued to hack away at the servants as Ameph looked up at the crystal that hung from the top of the ceiling. All of the sudden the crystal was wrapped in a chain, and latched by a Kunai.
"Whats that?" Ameph said as she looked to the source of the weapon.
A tall figure held the chain on its other end and gave it a hard tug. In an instant the crystal shattered and all the skeletons fell to pieces. Keja, Picard, and YQ caught their breath and turned their attention to the figure in the hallway as well.
"Who's there?" YQ asked.
"Just a friend." The figure said as he stepped from the shadows.
"A Zaloog." Keja pointed out.
"A bounty hunting Zaloog." The young man said. "The names Huan Yu."
"Aren't you a little young to be a bounty hunter?" YQ asked.
"Fourteen is plenty old enough to do anything." Huan said.
"You do know that your energy is depleting as we speak, don't you?" YQ asked.
"Nope. That's because I have this." Huan said as he revealed a charm around his neck.
"What's that?" Keja asked.
"This is a shard of the Violet Crystal." Huan answered. "With it I am unaffected by any effects this castle may have on me."
"What's the Violet Crystal?" Ameph asked.
"The Violet Crystal is the heart of this castle." YQ said. "If the crystal is shattered the castle will fall."
"You did your homework." Huan said.
"Apparently." YQ said. "What are you doing here, mister bounty hunter?"
"Well. I have been hired by the King of Wasteland to bring this castle down." Huan said.
"But I thought that the King of Ghosts was the King of Wasteland." Ameph said.
"No. Hades is the ruler of Wasteland." Huan replied.
"Hades. Also known as the Dark Ruler?" Keja said.
"That is correct." Huan said.
"Why would Hades hire someone to bring this castle down?" Keja asked. "He's the Yami's greatest rival, and he has allied himself with the Fushioh Richie, who is the King of the Zombie Nation."
"Hades sees this castle as a threat to his land." Huan said. "Don't ask me why because that's all he told me. I've been hired to shatter the Violet Crystal and bring this castle down."
"Really. Well we have to rescue someone that has apparently being held hostage here." YQ said. "And we basically have the same objective. So why don't you tag along with us. You can shatter the crystal and we can get whoever we have to rescue."
"Sounds good to me." Huan said.
"Very well then." YQ said. "After you."
"So." Dominus said. "They've made it into the castle."
"Yes sire." Roas said. "They entered the main gate a few minutes ago."
"Well. Lets have some fun." Dominus said. "Shin."
"Yes master Dominus." Shin answered.
"Why don't you get me what I want?" Dominus said. "I know that Pumpking is holding out on me."
"I will sire." Shin replied.
"Very good." Dominus said. "Have fun."
Keja joined the others in large room. The room was illuminated by several torches along its circular walls.
"So where to we go from here?" Keja asked.
"That way." Picard answered as he pointed to the only doorway in the room.
"Lets go then." Ameph said.
"Grab a torch." YQ said. "It gets a little to dark down there."
"Ok." Keja said as they each pulled a torch off the wall.
They walked down the dark hallway with caution. The craftsmanship of the castle was of the satanic sort. Carvings of skeletons were plastered all over the walls, the floor was cracked and broken, and the ceiling dripped blood. The group walked into a large corridor where the bodies of warriors, magicians, and fairies were scattered around the floor.
"Look Picard." YQ said. "There's our old friend."
"A Dragon Zombie?" Ameph asked.
"You mean used to be Dragon Zombie." Picard said.
"Yes." YQ said. "And you thought we'd never beat it."
"Whatever. Can we please continue?" Picard asked with an angry tone.
They continued to walk down the corridor with paranoia. They got to the end of the corridor when YQ spotted something unusual.
"Look at this." YQ said as he walked over to an object that was stuck in the wall.
"A Kunai with Chain?" Picard said. "That could be from anywhere."
"Nope." YQ said. "This thing has been recently used. Clock."
"Yes master YQ?" Clock said as he hovered over.
"How long has this been here?" YQ said as he pointed at the Kunai.
The Time Wizard paused for a second and as he stared at the object. "Less than ten minutes."
"Huh. Well." YQ said. "Best be on your toes people. We're not the only living things in this castle."
"Yay?" Keja said as the group continued down the pathways of the castle.
They wandered down the next hallway and into another circular room. This time the walls were lined with standing coffins. Keja walked over to one of the coffins and examined the box.
"Heh. Lets see how they handle the servants." Shin said as he pressed down a stone in the wall. In an instant a large rumbling began to stir. "That should slow them down."
"The hell?" Keja asked as the four stood back to back in the center of the room.
"This didn't happen last time." Picard said.
"Don't ya think I know that?" YQ said as they began to hear loud foot steps scurry around the walls.
"What's happening?" Ameph asked.
Pounding began to take toll on the doors of the coffins. After time the coffin doors all flew off theirs hinges and the rumbling and noise subsided, but was quickly followed by a figure walking out of one of the coffins.
"Great." Keja said. "Skull Servants."
When Keja was finished the room was being flooded with running skeletons.
"They're nothing!" Picard said as he began to chop down the skeletons.
"That doesn't matter." Keja said. "What really matters is how many are there? My father told me once that these thing are trouble in large numbers."
"Your dad was right." YQ said as he began to swat the servants with his staff.
"So how many are there?" Ameph asked.
"How can we tell?" Picard asked. "They could be endless."
"Clock!" YQ said as the he pulled out his coin. Before he could toss it, he was piled on by a massive number of skeletons. "Get off of me." He stuttered as he gathered his energy and threw the bones off of him. "Tails!" He yelled as he flipped the coin and it landed in his hand, tails. "Alright! Sweep the floor!"
"Time Warp!" Clock yelled as he trapped the each and every last Skull Servant in the warp.
"Good job Clock." YQ said before he heard more rumbling come from the corridors within the coffins. "What the?"
"Here comes the second course." Keja said as more Skull Servants began to pour out of the holes in the wall.
"Well we'll just flip again." YQ said as he flipped his coin. "Tails!" It landed in his hand, heads. "Dammit."
"What happens now?" Keja asked.
"Nothing happens now." YQ answered. "If I miss then I can't use Clock's coin toss spell for another twenty four hours. So it looks like we're forcing our way out of this mess."
"But how?" Keja asked as he continued to destroy the skeletons with ease. "There's too many of these things. We'll waste all of our energy just taking out these weaklings."
"Up there." Ameph pointed out. "That looks like a switch of some kind. If we can flip that somehow, maybe they'll stop."
"That's just crazy enough to work." Picard said. "But it would be an easy task if we could get our hands free here."
They all continued to hack away at the servants as Ameph looked up at the crystal that hung from the top of the ceiling. All of the sudden the crystal was wrapped in a chain, and latched by a Kunai.
"Whats that?" Ameph said as she looked to the source of the weapon.
A tall figure held the chain on its other end and gave it a hard tug. In an instant the crystal shattered and all the skeletons fell to pieces. Keja, Picard, and YQ caught their breath and turned their attention to the figure in the hallway as well.
"Who's there?" YQ asked.
"Just a friend." The figure said as he stepped from the shadows.
"A Zaloog." Keja pointed out.
"A bounty hunting Zaloog." The young man said. "The names Huan Yu."
"Aren't you a little young to be a bounty hunter?" YQ asked.
"Fourteen is plenty old enough to do anything." Huan said.
"You do know that your energy is depleting as we speak, don't you?" YQ asked.
"Nope. That's because I have this." Huan said as he revealed a charm around his neck.
"What's that?" Keja asked.
"This is a shard of the Violet Crystal." Huan answered. "With it I am unaffected by any effects this castle may have on me."
"What's the Violet Crystal?" Ameph asked.
"The Violet Crystal is the heart of this castle." YQ said. "If the crystal is shattered the castle will fall."
"You did your homework." Huan said.
"Apparently." YQ said. "What are you doing here, mister bounty hunter?"
"Well. I have been hired by the King of Wasteland to bring this castle down." Huan said.
"But I thought that the King of Ghosts was the King of Wasteland." Ameph said.
"No. Hades is the ruler of Wasteland." Huan replied.
"Hades. Also known as the Dark Ruler?" Keja said.
"That is correct." Huan said.
"Why would Hades hire someone to bring this castle down?" Keja asked. "He's the Yami's greatest rival, and he has allied himself with the Fushioh Richie, who is the King of the Zombie Nation."
"Hades sees this castle as a threat to his land." Huan said. "Don't ask me why because that's all he told me. I've been hired to shatter the Violet Crystal and bring this castle down."
"Really. Well we have to rescue someone that has apparently being held hostage here." YQ said. "And we basically have the same objective. So why don't you tag along with us. You can shatter the crystal and we can get whoever we have to rescue."
"Sounds good to me." Huan said.
"Very well then." YQ said. "After you."