A Cage of Light

The next day, the team took the horses and ran towards the Caging Tower. Virginia was cheering like a little schoolgirl, she'd never had this much fun before in her life. As she ran alongside her friends, the girl thought about all the years she'd spent with her family in Boot Hill. Those happy memories seemed to make her every fear go away, causing her to cheer all the louder if that was even physically possible now.

The tower itself was a place built to held monsters that had been trapped. They would get caught in little cages, and never bother people again. Of course, it was pretty bad when a human was caught in one of those traps. They would have to work hard to get lose before being attacked by the resident monsters as they were transported to a jail cell on the third floor. It happened several times to Virginia and her team in the time they were there. They got as far as the fourth floor, only to be pushed back a level by a trap. The four of them would struggle in vain, and finally be released inside a locked cell. But the door was weak and easy to break open. Although by the time they got lose again, the Drifters were beginning to get annoyed.

After nearly having a cursing fit, Jet managed to use his Radical Sneakers to get the gang to a safe area, the part where the bubble cages were controlled. Once Clive destroyed the control device, they were able to go onwards. Hoping it was the last of their troubles, the team headed for the fifth floor of the tower.

But their troubles were far from over. Maya and her team showed up when they were catching their breath on the fifth floor, apparently backtracking to investigate a noise they'd heard. The second Maya saw Virginia, her mouth turned into a really big smirk. "So, we meet again. Now we'll settle the score with you once and for all. You'll never get the Teardrop, as the brightest gem of all it rightfully belongs to me. If you don't want to die, I'd suggest running away. But I would be happy to fight you if you so desire to be killed."

"For once Maya, listen to me," ordered Virginia in a very commanding voice, "This Teardrop is the remnants of an ancient civilization. The Demons will look for it to steal its great power, and the Guardians need it to help them save the world. We need the Teardrop more than you at the moment, so you let us pass. You know what I can do when I am pushed." She pulled out her ARMs, a serious look on her face.

"Ha, that's a good one. Me giving a gem to you. You've just said the dumbest line I've ever heard. Now, Schroedinger Team, let us go and crush these opponents with our bare hands," Maya yelled. At once Alfred, Todd, and Shady lined up, and began to perform a combination attack. It consisted of sword strikes, fire, and dynamite. The four Drifters were knocked around, and nearly out. In fact, it was by sheer luck they were able to escape unharmed. For Virginia's cloak had come untangled in the firefight, and she was forced to show her wings to the world. Then, her and Jet had joined hands, and accidentally invoked Airget-Barrier.

Virginia told Maya, "If you guys are going to be using a combination attack in battle, then so will we. Jet, let's go now." The two joined hands once more, and invoked their skill the Airget-Storm. It knocked the whole Schroedinger Team backwards. They hit the wall, and were all wounded into an unconscious state.

Maya got up, and dusted herself off. "Well, I guess you win then. You guys are pretty good, I can see the two of you have been at this for awhile now. But what are your real names anyway? You said you never give them out, are you wanted or something?" Jet wondered if she was a bounty hunter or something.

"No," Virginia replied, "We've just had some bad stuff happen to us in the past, that's all. Listen to me now Maya. These Demons want to destroy the whole world and everyone in it. If that happens, there will be no more gems for you to find, no more adventures for you to go on, no more you period. That's why we are trying to save the world from them. So let us have the Teardrop, for if it is the gift the Guardians gave to their avatars, as we suspect it might be, it will be a useful tool for us to have." She looked at Maya with one of her genuine smiles that she couldn't fake even if she tried to. For once, the girls seemed to listen.

"I can actually see your point, Virginia. Very well, but once this is all over, I challenge you to a duel in order to see who should rightfully own the Teardrop. You can borrow it from me until you defeat the ones who want to use it for evil. Don't screw up, or I'll be the one to come after you," she threatened as a joke.

* * *

They all worked together to get to the top. Once there, they saw a red gem on the pedestal. Maya stated, "They say the Teardrop glows a bright blue in the sunlight. Shady, go and see if that's the one we are looking for. The rumors never said it glows blue all the time, so this just might be the one we're looking for." With that, the cat flew up and grabbed the gem. Suddenly, a cage appeared around him, locking him inside. It was in the shape of a pyramid, and Shady wasn't happy about it. He ran around screaming until Maya broke the device, then he flew into Alfred's arms. But the gem didn't glow blue in the sunlight at all.

Alfred looked at Maya. "Sis, I told you we should have gone with my information, it was from a more reliable source than yours. This place is only some sort of cage, not the holder of the great gem."

"You're right Alfred," Maya admitted, "But I wanted to check all the information, to feel the thrill of the hunt. If you guys want to get the real Teardrop, then I can tell you where it is. But remember what I told you, I'm going to fight you for it when this is all over with. Now then, the real Teardrop is located in. . ."

"How amusing, I only wanted to lure Werner's brat in with this false information. Never thought there would be someone who knew about the real Teardrop coming along. Girly, you will tell me where it is or die a slow and painful death," Leehalt's voice echoed. Suddenly, he Melody and Malik teleported in and made the cage appear around Maya. She tried to break lose, but found she couldn't. Nothing could be done as the Prophets took her away with them. Alfred began to freak out over this, and had to light a match to calm.

The boy said, "We must work together in order to find Maya. Todd, give me the direction, Shady, the time. We'll calculate the way she went and how long it took to vanish using the sun, to form a general area of search. Then, all of us can go there to find Maya. Please, can you come with us to save my sis?"

Virginia looked at him. "Of course we will, we'll never let Maya down. So tell me, which way to go."

After all the calculations, they realized the enemy went to the southwest. So they flew that way and found something interesting. It was a strange laboratory, over the mountains near Boot Hill. Virginia began to get chilled, it didn't look like any place she'd visit normally. But all that must be put aside for now, Maya's life was in danger. The team landed Lombardia, and went inside to have a look around the lab.

- - - -

Teefa's Last Word…

And their powers save the day when fighting Maya. Since she's human, as are her companions (except Shady of course), it would probably hurt her in a different way than Demons. Unlike eating away at their flesh, it simply burns them. That's why they didn't get so badly hurt, but enough to knock them out after Jet and Virginia attacked. Kay, see ya next time.