Gems of Light

The team saddled up their horses, and rode off towards the Gemstone Cave. Once there, they went inside. Suddenly, a feeling of cold and death began to take hold of the team. Virginia felt the Guardians shivering from the cold inside. She too was feeling a little sick, as was Jet. Their connection to the planet caused these things quite often. The young woman looked towards Clive. "What sort of place is this? I can feel the whole planet crying out, it's in pain. Is this where it was said to have been ravaged in the old war?"

"No, there is no evidence of any war wounds occurring here," Clive replied, "This is where there is a leak of energy from the planet's lifeline. That energy forms together to make gems, just like the ones that we see in the ruins. You know, the orange ones that restore vitality, and the white ones that grant evasion."

"They're not worth any money?! Why in the heck didn't you tell us this before? We need some of it in order to survive out here on this little quest, that's why we wanted to come in the first place!" yelled Jet in a fit of anger. He sure wasn't happy about being left in the dark about the power of the gems. No person in their right mind would buy such things, it was considered a sign of bad luck to purchase gems that had the properties Clive had spoken of. For if you took away the energy source of Drifters, you would be cursed.

Clive said, "Well, there is also general treasure to be found, and monsters to kill. Here, we can find a small hint at the planet's deterioration. Maybe it will help us to set things right once more. How about we search around for the vein's source and examine it. Then, we will go back and head for the Fortune Gear."

No one had any arguments. So they trudged on, each a little bit weary from the long trip in the hot sun. At least the cave was cool if nothing else. They would be able to get a little bit of peace here. And a small spring of water was also inside, they could drink the purest water they'd ever seen. The stuff you find in the wells that people had erected wasn't of the best quality, it often contained dirt and airborne pollutants that you generally wouldn't find in a cave that was so far removed from human society. Virginia felt happy.

But the happiness wasn't to last. For shortly in, they ran into the Schroedinger team once again. It wasn't the happy type of reunion, the four of them were hell bent on finding the gems inside. Maya looked at the four Drifters on the lower level. "Well, we meet again. But you'll never find the gems inside the cave before me. It is my destiny to find every beautiful gem in the world, every sparkle, every shine. I will be the one to possess those items. The prettier and rarer the gem, the more worthwhile the whole search will be."

"Maya, these aren't gems like you would think about," Virginia pleaded, "Please, we don't want to fight, we're here for research purposes only. There is no need for the two of us and our teams to battle it out. I think we should just be friends. If we were friends, we would be able to think things through rationally. Just give me a chance, we can really use your help." She was starting to get hoarse from all the yelling out.

"Are you done yet? If you are, just try to catch up to us. And if you can manage to do that, then I will fight you for the gems inside of here. Friendship, I'm not looking for that now. All I want is to find a new treasure, every gem in this world. Schroedingers, move out," Maya ordered. At once, the four left the room.

Virginia looked to the others, and said, "Well, we'd better get on and get going. I'm sure the four of us will have to deal with them later, but let's not dwell on it. For now, we should just try to figure out what we came here for, and fight all the monsters we can. We'll need both money and information to finish this."

* * *

Maya was being her usual pain in the butt self. She had decided to block their path with a boulder thrown from the ceiling. But when Virginia heated it up with her Tindercrest, and Gallows cooled it down, it was weak enough for Clive to bomb it. Along the way, they also found some treasures that were out of their reach. Luckily, Gallows had discovered a Doll called Steady Doll in the Sand Cannel, while they were in the mood for a little knight beating, and he was able to control it to fly over the chasm and to reach the chests.

The last straw came when Maya decided to kick them down a hole, landing them at the very bottom of the cave. As luck would have it, there was a way to get back to the top, and they took it. Finally, they were able to find the right hole, and Maya had taken a wrong turn. As she ranted and screamed, the four had taken the opportunity to get on and go ahead. Virginia sighed, she knew they'd have to fight later on.

She was right. Soon, they found themselves overtaken by the other team. And Maya came out in a funny magician's outfit. Gallows was laughing so hard that he'd fallen over on his back. Let's just say that Maya wasn't too happy about this. "Laugh all you want, it won't do you any good against me now. I have become 'Wonder Witch', a character from one of my favorite novels. You see, I can emulate anyone I want, as long as they are in a book. I even can use their powers as well. Now taste my magic, Cremate!"

Instantly, our heroes found themselves a little bit fried. Virginia got mad and attacked with her own Refrigerate spell. Jet had decided to burn Todd's Afro again. Gallows and Clive were helping him to attack the bodyguard, as he was able to counter any attack against another teammate with a Heal Berry. As well as the confusion. But with Todd distracted, Maya and Virginia were having a personal duel, one on one.

"You're not too bad a sorceress," Maya stated, "Especially since those powers are only from one of the Guardians. My powers are strait from my body, so I don't have to worry about losing energy when the spell transfers from Medium to hand." Suddenly, she felt light headed, and fell to the floor flat on her face.

"Maybe so, but that also means your body is the one losing energy. Now then, I don't really want to fight you, my team is just here for research. You can take the gems, if you still think they're worth Gella after you see exactly what kind of gems they really are," Virginia told her rival. Maya ran on, and shrieked.

They all knew she'd found out the gems weren't valuable at all. But the four just shrugged, and tried to tell her some words of comfort. All Maya said, however, was that she would just keep on looking, and left the cave. Virginia knew they had to split as well. After all, who know what the Prophets were up to. They could even be at Fortune Gear right now, and ready to cause more trouble for the young girl and her team.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Word…

I know that was an understatement. But I'm in a good mood because my dad found a person on Amazon.com selling the Slayers volume that was backordered at a cheap price. A bit of a Slayers freak. And the episode at the end of the previous tape was a total cliffhanger. Look at Amelia and Zelgadis, they're just like Virginia and Jet. He's always rescuing her. I think I'm referring to NEXT episode 8. Where Zel ran at Amelia in order to save her from an "intruder" who was spying on her and Lina. He even called out her name. Not only then, too. I don't have to count the times he's rescued her, and I've only seen less than half of the series. Can we say "Jet rescues Ginny"? I know you can.

Fun Fact: Seen the entire series by the time this is posted, and my comparison is reinforced.