Chapter 13: Sweet Dreams Are Made Of These
It was past midnight in the halls of Scande, capital city of the Dark Dragons. A pair of soldiers were standing guard, having lost the rolling of the bones that determined who took what shift. They were starting to nod off anyways when a bloodcurdling scream filled the air, followed by a thunderous impact. Both were instantly awakened. There was another scream, and more thumps.
"Ladon... what IS that?" One of them wondered. His partner frowned as the screaming continued.
"It's coming from the Tiamat Unit's quarters... who knows what THOSE people are up to." The first one shivered.
"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good... I pity the fellows who are on duty anywhere near there tonight." The other one nodded and mumbled a quick prayer to Ladon for his comrades.
Inside the Tiamat Unit's quarters, two robed and hooded figures were watching as Goda, the Black Warrior, released another beastial howl before crushing a stone pillar into sand with his bare hands. Several other pillars had already fallen in this manner. Nearby, lying in front of a cold stone Statue of Ladon, was the cause of Goda's grief; the dead body of Cort, the Blue Alchemist. The shorter of the watchers, the one dressed in purple, muttered a vile expletive under his breath, and the taller one garbed all in grey turned to him.
"Something wrong, Red?"
"Look at him, Silver." Mote, the Red Dreammaster, hissed. "Not one brain cell inside his head is working... his mental functions are completely shut down. He'll do this for weeks if we let him... but we don't HAVE weeks, and we can't let him bring Scande down around us."
"It seems like a normal reaction to me... albeit dangerous with his power." Silver observed. Mote shook his head.
"You don't see either of us doing that, do you?"
"I haven't known you all for as long as Goda has, and you can probably shut your emotions off at will." Silver pointed out.
"Nevetheless." Mote walked forward. "It won't do for Lord Jade to see him like this... let alone Emperor Zog." Goda turned around, eyes bloodshot and nostrils flaring, and for a moment Silver thought he would attack the Red Dreammaster. Then Mote began to speak, quietly, words that Silver was unable to hear. Goda's fists slowly lowered, and then he sat down on the floor. Mote continued to talk as Silver turned away and watched the door. A few moments later, Jade entered.
"What the hell is going on... oh." He took in the situation. "Black, I assume?"
"Yes, sir." Silver nodded. "Blue's death hit him rather hard, regardless of... well, you know."
"It would..." Jade sighed, shaking his head. "He always had the greatest trouble truly coming to grips with these things." The Gold Lord thought back to the night before, when Cort's last broadcast had come in.
"It is as we expected." Cort's face in the puddle smiled. "He and his friends ripped my Flower-X to shreds. The transformation into an Ice Dragon, for him, was even more impressive than the norm." His smile faded. "Tomorrow, I shall challenge them myself. Certain factors have... made me question exactly what will happen. But in the end... we all know what the result will be. It is certain now. Red... Black... Silver... and Lord Jade... farewell. Tell White as well, when she returns." And with that, Cort was gone, and the next time they saw him, it was his dead body in Silver's arms. Jade had gone to report the Blue Alchemist's death to Emperor Zog immediately, without considering Goda's likely reaction. Now, the Black Warrior was standing up and walking over to Jade, Mote at his side.
"What are Emperor Zog's orders?" Mote asked.
"As we expected them." Jade smirked. "The Red Dreammaster, Mote, is hereby commanded by his Emperor to return to the northwest and supervise the search for the Sky Key."
"No..." Goda rumbled. "Not him. I'll go... I want to take care of this myself..."
"Sorry, Black, but no." The Gold Lord shook his head. "It's not your time yet... Red, you're up. Do you know where the Sky Key is?"
"Not exactly, but I'm close." Mote's eyes gleamed. "However, we did find something else of interest while we were up there."
"I had forgotten..." Goda admitted. "It's the Master Digger, Lord Jade. The Mole Clanner. We found him before they did." Jade blinked in surprise.
"You did? He was in Gramor, then? Well, I'm not surprised he wasn't here... but why?"
"He's a child, that's why." Mote explained. "Only twelve years old. I've already arranged to start my turn... sent one of my pets after the kid. Ryu and company will have quite a time dealing with that."
"Better than Morteo, I hope?" Goda asked anxiously. "Sorry, but they got rid of him without much trouble from the reports." Mote rolled his eyes.
"Much stronger, Goda. I sent the pinnacle of my art in dream beasts... not like I'd use him for anything worse than this case. Ryu and his friends will feel bound to help the boy, even though they're not sure why, and that'll be a hassle. It'll buy me the time I need to find the Sky Key." His eyes dimmed. "I'll leave as soon as White returns and we put Blue to rest properly."
"White... does she know?" Silver asked. Jade shook his head.
"No... as usual when she's on one of her missions, she's cut all contact with Scande in order to make her cover more secure. She won't know what happened until she returns herself with the Time Key."
"The Time Key... at least that's one thing Ryu the Light Dragon won't mess with." Goda grunted, still unhappy. "Mote, you don't have to..."
"Yes, I do, Goda." Mote cut him off sharply. "We both know that... we all know that. Blue did his duty when it was his time. I can do no less. As soon as he's taken care of, I'm going. I'm sorry, but there's nothing you can do to stop me." Turning, the Red Dreammaster left.
"Black..." Silver whispered. "It'll be all right... Red knows what he's doing."
"I hope so..." Goda's fists whitened. "For all our sakes, I hope so."
"More than ours." Jade corrected. "For everybody... and for destiny itself. But Red is one of us... the Tiamat Unit. He'll do what he has to." He straightened up. "Well, I'll be off... think I'll take the Quincunx over to Tunlan, just in case. White might need a fast ride."
"So, why are we here again?" Deis asked. It had been several days since Cort's death. They had rested up in Gust and helped Tina see to the recovery of the afflicted people, and were now ready to move on. Before they did, however, Ryu had insisted that the group congregate in the local Dragon Temple.
"I think we need to have a word with our sponsor." Ryu frowned, bowing in front of the Statue. Everybody followed suit, silently thinking individual prayers. When they rose, Ladon was watching them.
"Something on your mind, Ryu?"
"With all respect, sir... we need to talk." The Light Dragon was scowling. "I'm starting to think there's more going on here than we know. And I'm not just talking about how we can't know the future until it happens and all that."
"Cort." Karn snapped his fingers. "I remember now... he said you talked to him too. And the rest of the Tiamat Unit too. I was wondering about that."
"What of it?" Ladon gave Ryu a direct look. "I am the God of both the Light Dragons and the Dark Dragons, Ryu. Did you forget that? In particular, as Cort said, those ones are your opposites in this chapter of history. I give them instructions, as I do you."
"I see." Ryu nodded coldly. "And you instructed Cort all the way to his death. How do we know you don't have OUR deaths written down in your book of what's-going-to-happen?" Gobi started to talk, but Bo motioned for him to stay out of it. Ladon spread his hands helplessly.
"I can't tell you the future, Ryu. You know that."
"Do the Tiamat Unit know the future?" Ryu asked pointedly. Ladon was silent. "Right. Thanks for helping us so far, sir... but don't count on seeing us at prayer much in the future." Turning on his heel, Ryu left. Deis frowned and inclined her head after him.
"Go on... after him. I'll be out in a second." The others obliged. Sighing, the Sorceress of Wisdon shook her head. "That's not going to work... we both know it."
"Ryu is young... and very angry." Ladon smiled tolerantly. "He is still bound up in his hatred for the Dark Dragons. Give him time, and stay by his side... he will come around eventually." Deis nodded.
"As you will. See you later, then." She joined the others outside with no comment from anybody.
"So... where to now, boss?" Gobi asked after a few uncomfortable moments of silence.
"West, of course." Ryu growled. "We've still got a job to do, even if we're not doing it the way he wants us to anymore. Come on." He led them north, out of Gust. As they neared Cort's old fortress, where there were still Dark Dragon soldiers patrolling, he put a hand on his sword longingly, then shook his head and crossed the bridge. It took them a few days to clear the mountain range. As they left it, they crossed a river that made even Gobi wince at its speed.
"That right there is what's known as instant death to my people." The fat Maniro informed them.
"Yeah, but look north." Karn pointed. North of them, the river turned west; they would be walking alongside it for a while. On the other side, though, was a lush forest. Bo groaned.
"And THAT is what's known as infernal temptation to MY people. I'd give my quiver for that river to disappear." Unfortunately, the river didn't seem keen on accepting the offer. They walked beside it for the rest of the day and made camp where it turned north.
"If I remember my geography, the wasteland of Gramor is up ahead." Gobi informed them at dinner; pike from the river and bird from the skies thanks to Ryu and Bo, along with some apples Ox had punched loose from a tree. "It's the hereditary home of the Mole Clan. Unfortunately, we'll probably only find the children and elders there; all the adults capable of work are enslaved at Scande." Ryu's already-grumpy expression darkened even more, and he chewed his fish without a word.
"Ryu..." Nina said tentatively. "We... we knew all along Ladon would be helping the Dark Dragons too, didn't we? I mean... Belthasar was a Dark Dragon. And Zog and Jade... they both had to have completed the pilgrimage, right?"
"That doesn't excuse him, Nina." Ryu growled, unplacated. "These aren't just ordinary Dark Dragons we have a disagreement with we're talking about here. They're trying to resurrect the Goddess Myria, and rule the world. I don't see any way Ladon should be supporting that."
"Maybe he knows what he's doing better than we do." Nina persisted. "He hasn't killed us this far... and you'll need to see him again to complete the pilgrimage, right?"
"I'm not even sure I want to do THAT anymore." The Light Dragon shook his head. "Not if it means letting Ladon haul me up onto his chessboard again."
"But you'll NEED to." Nina's patience was starting to fray. "I don't think we'll be able to beat Zog and Jade unless you do. You have to, Ryu; it's your duty to the world." She groaned, too late, as she realized she had said exactly the wrong thing. Ryu smiled unpleasantly.
"Duty? Don't you talk to me about duty, Princess. If duty was that important, you never would have come with me in the first place. You'd still be back in Winlan like a good girl. Heh... might have been better if you had." He stood up and left the campfire. "I'm taking my watch. Come replace me in a couple hours, Bo; everybody else, don't bother me." Nina glared after him for a moment, then turned and flew away in a different direction. Karn started to follow her, but was restrained by Deis.
"Nuh-UH." The sorceress told him. "Bad move. Neither of them needs company right now. Leave 'em alone; she'll be back before too long." Several hours later, Nina did return. She took the watch from Bo without a word, then handed it over to Gobi later on before going to sleep.
Ryu and Nina refused to look at each other the next morning. They talked to the others normally, as if nothing was wrong, but it was if Ryu did not exist to Nina, and vice versa. This continued as they entered the Wasteland of Gramor. It was a huge inland valley; a humongous basin that stretched farther than the eye could see. One would think it would collect rainfall easily, but for some reason, the earth was instead cracked and hard. It wasn't dangerous like the desert of Arad; it was just... dead. There was almost no life; the most common plant seemed to be a cluster of lavender stalks taller than Ox. Nobody was interested in seeing how they tasted. The animals were even worse; the dominant monster was a shrieking, disembodied blue skull that would cast powerful spells if given the slightest chance. Nina's white magic could banish them quickly, but they were aggravating nonetheless.
On the third night in the Wasteland, near the center of it, Ryu was awakened at night by Ox, whose watch it was at the time.
"Uh... what?"
"Something happened, boss." Ox reported. "I suddenly saw a little girl... Mole Clan. She waved at me, then disappeared into a big hole in the ground. I think she wants us to follow her."
"And you remember where this hole is?" Ryu asked sharply, instantly wide awake. Ox nodded. "Good job. Come on, let's wake the others." Amid much grumbling and cursing, the others were awakened. Deis was particularly eloquent on the subject, pillaging several extinct languages for swear words. However, once Ox told them what he had seen, they reluctantly agreed that it needed to be checked out. The hole was a good ten feet wide, and had a ladder anchored into the wall. They all climbed (or flew) down without much trouble; even Deis, who somehow managed to move her tail down the rungs easily. The cavern below was like nothing they had ever seen. It was an entire underground town. Mushrooms that emitted light dangled from the ceiling at intervals. Long hallways stretched out, with smaller caves in the sides as individual dwellings. The Mole Clan girl Ox had seen was waiting in one of these. She was only about two feet tall, and she wore a grimy pink dress with a matching ribbon on her head. Seeing them, she curtsied and vanished into her homecave. The group exchanged looks, shrugged and followed.
It was a single common room; cooking equipment and several beds all shared space. Most of this, however, was not in use at the moment. Two of the inhabitants, the girl and an elderly female Mole Clanner, were standing next to a bed. The Mole Clan were a short species; even their tallest people rarely came above waist height of other Clans. They were covered entirely with short tan fur, but had no hair on their heads, although the females often wore wigs. And like their name suggested, they resembled moles, with huge digging claws. The last inhabitant was in the bed. He was a Mole Clanner boy, a few years older than the girl. His eyes were shut, and he made no movements, barely even breathing.
"Oh, thank Ladon!" The old lady smiled, seeing them. "Anne was right about seeing you."
"Do we... know you?" Karn asked tentatively. The old woman shook her head.
"No, but WE know of YOU... Ryu, the Light Dragon Hero, and his friends." She bowed on the floor, low. "Please, goodsirs and gentleladies... please, help my grandson!"
"What's the problem?" Nina asked. Deis sniffed the air, then frowned.
"Whatever it is... it isn't natual."
"No, it's not!" The old Mole Clanner's voice was angry now. "He's been asleep for a week now... thanks to Mote, the Red Dreammaster!"
"Mote?" Ryu stared at her. "Why would Mote do this to an ordinary kid?"
"Mogu..." The little girl, Anne, spoke for the first time. "He accidentally saw Mote... making some kind of plans. He thought he escaped, but a few days later, he didn't wake up... he still hasn't."
"So he overheard Mote's plans." Ryu smiled with grim satisfaction. "Now that's the kind of help we DO need. All right, we'll do our best to wake the kid up. Any ideas, people?" None of the heroes spoke. The old lady coughed.
"Ahem... actually, I think I know what might work... but we cannot go ourselves. On an island called Tunlan... they have an artifact known as the Therapy Pillow."
"The Therapy Pillow! Of course!" Deis snapped her fingers. "I remember that now. It allows you to enter the world of a person's mind! That probably IS the only way to snap him out of it." Her face fell. "Only problem is... it's on Tunlan."
"Is that a problem?" Nina asked her. "Sure, it'll take time to get there, but..."
"It's a problem." Gobi assured her. "The Tunlaners... they're technically human, but their culture is entirely alien from the rest of the world, they're so isolated. They don't even speak the same language; theirs is entirely musical. Unless anybody understands it, we'll have about as much luck there as a trout in Arad."
"Again, we actually have that taken care of." The old lady held up what appeared to be a strange hood, with large cat ears on it. "Tunlan isn't the only place with a sacred artifact. This is the Magic Hood... it allows the wearer to understand any language, no matter how alien."
"You thought of everything, didn't you?" Bo shook his head in awe. "Very good, madame. Well, with that in mind... boss?"
"We head back the way we came tomorrow morning." Ryu decided. "From Gust, we hit Tunlan, get the Pillow, and come back here to fix up... Mogu, was it?" The old lady nodded.
"Yes. We would go ourselves, but the Dark Dragons don't allow us to leave Gramor. Thank you all so much... here, Anne will show you some rooms." The Mole Clanners' beds were simple, but comfortable, and all seven heroes were fast asleep very quickly.
"So the Mole Clan can't even leave Gramor?" Ryu asked. The heroes had made it back to the shore in record time, and were now riding the Gobi Express to Tunlan. Ox nodded sadly.
"Yeah... the old ones and children, at any rate. All the adults of working age are kept in Scande as slaves, and those who can't work aren't much better off alone in Gramor. It's a bad state... one of the worst things the Dark Dragons have done."
"And there's not even an invading army whose butts we can kick to make it go away." Bo sighed. "The Mole Clan's problem isn't going to be solved unless we get rid of the big nasties themselves." Karn shrugged, still cheerful.
"Well, one down, five to go. Six, if that guy in grey we saw haul Cort off really is some new Tiamat Unit recruit."
"It would fit that emblem." Nina reasoned. "That dragon had six heads... red, blue, black, white, gold, and silver... and the silver one on Cort's robes looked like a recent addition."
"So in addition to the rest, we'll have the Silver Something to deal with." Gobi griped. "Why can we never catch a break?"
"Karma for all the people you ripped off?" Deis smirked. "Hold it. Isn't that Tunlan, over there?"
"Yeah, that's it." Gobi corrected his course and pulled up to the single beach on the south side of the island. As they got off, he suddenly swung his tail around and smacked himself in the face with it, wincing.
"How did you-" Ryu blinked. "Never mind. What's wrong?"
"We forgot." Gobi grumbled. "We can HEAR them talk fine... but how do we talk BACK?"
"The flute!" Nina snapped her fingers. "But I can't play... anybody else?" The others looked at each other and shrugged. Karn slowly raised a hand.
"I can. Elder Khel insisted I learn it... said it was in case I became a world traveller. Now I know he was probably talking about this place."
"So THAT's why you insisted we take the flute from the old guy back in Gust!" Bo snapped his fingers. "That old Mole Clanner lady isn't the only one who thinks two steps ahead. Not bad at all, Karn. Looks like you're our official translator."
"And I was so looking forward to one of the girls wearing the cat ears." Karn joked, tying the straps of the hood under his chin and striking a pose. "How do I look?"
"Just adorable. Let's go." Deis smirked. "You first. Remember, people, the Time Key is here too. Let's try and pick that up while we're here as well." Muttering good-naturedly, Karn led the group up onto Tunlan. The island couldn't have been more than five miles across in any direction. It was heavily slanted; the beach at the south went uphill to the palace at the north end. The climate was beautiful; lush green palm trees and sandy shores gradually were replaced by beautiful tiers of tile buildings. Each level of buildings was built onto the rear roofs of the level below it, and rivers flowed down in strategic places forming waterfalls, with actual ducks swimming in them. The entire island was one huge work of art.
"This is it." Bo told everybody. "This is where I am retiring. All we're missing is fancy drinks... and swimsuits. Especially for the girls. Think we can get some in town?"
"Maybe they'll have a shirt louder than Gobi for you." Deis countered. "And a flower necklace. Although I do agree with you on the tropical drinks. They had 'em last time I was here; hope they still do."
"And how long ago was that?" Karn asked, adjusting his hood. "Also, if you've been here before, why can't YOU be our translator?"
"I left my accordion back in Wisdon, and do you really want to know?" Deis asked bluntly. Karn shrugged.
"Probably not, and I'm not even going to ask what an accordion is. Ah, there's a native. I'll try to say hi." It was a young girl, dressed in a turquoise leotard somewhat like Nina's, with a bow of the same color in her hair. It looked like the standard method of garb in Tunlan, along with a flute. Smiling, she played a series of notes.
"Hello, and welcome to Tunlan." Karn translated before responding with a shorter version. The native girl seemed happily surprised as she played a different tune. "Your flute is a masterwork! Where are you from?" Karn thought for a moment, then played a suitable response. The girl laughed before responding. "You're new to our language, aren't you?" Karn scratched his head ruefully before continuing the conversation. The girl nodded and pointed towards the palace while she spoke. Excited, Karn fluted back immediately, and they continued talking without translations for a few minutes until Karn nodded to them. "Right, let's go up."
"What were you two talking about?" Bo asked. Karn was grinning brighter than a sunrise.
"How would you like to know exactly where the Therapy Pillow is? AND the Time Key?" The cheeky thief pointed towards the palace. "In the west wing, there's big vault where they keep both of those, as well as assorted other national treasures. Heavily guarded, of course, but a master thief like myself should do fine."
"We're just going to steal them?" Nina asked, obviously disapproving. "That's-"
"That's great, Karn." Ryu cut her off deliberately, smiling. "Anything we can do to help?" Karn shook his head.
"Nothing personal, boss, but you'd just get in the way. You guys go hunt up some of those tropical drinks Deis was talking about. I'll be back with the loot soon." He quickly moved off towards the palace.
"That was low of Ryu." Deis commented to Bo as the group moved off in search of a Tunlan bar. The Forest Clanner nodded, looking at Nina's scowl.
"Yeah, it was, even if he did have a point. I wouldn't suggest getting involved, though." Deis emphatically shook her head.
"Hell no. I didn't live this long by doing stupid things like that. You?"
"Do I look like the Black Warrior?" Bo inquired rhetorically, folding his arms. "I'll tell you this, though; this can't go on, or they'll screw everything up."
"When you come up with a plan to fix things that doesn't have a prohibitively high risk of you getting killed, be sure to tell me." Deis responded dryly. "In the meantime, though, that looks like a bar. Let's check it out." It was a bar, as it turned out; however, their translator was gone, and none of them wanted to risk trying to imitate the few sounds they had heard for fear of accidentally stumbling into the local curse words. People were talking all over the bar. Flutes seemed to be favorable for the women, while the men mainly used violins, but here and there other instruments could be seen. After about an hour, Karn came stumping into the bar, a foul look on his face. He immediately ordered drinks for all of them without greeting his friends.
"I take it it didn't go well." Ryu guessed. Karn scowled deeper.
"That girl didn't know the half of it. They've got these huge monster statues... we're talking more muscles than you, Ox. You TOUCH the vault, and these guys spring to life and herd you into a trapdoor that dumps you OFF the back of the island. Damn, am I glad I had my Gills. That kind of gear just isn't fair." Their drinks arrived, each one a different color.
"So, what do we do now?" Bo asked, taking a tentative sip of his. It was a bright, almost neon green, but good.
"Socialize and pick up information, I guess." Deis downed her dark purple drink and signalled for a refill. "Maybe somebody else'll know the trick."
"Yeah, yeah..." Karn sighed. "And be 'we' you all mean 'me.' Just give me a moment." A couple tropical drinks as banana-yellow as his clothes later, Karn moved off. When he returned, he seemed to be simultaneously on the verge of laughing hysterically and breaking everything in sight.
"So, what's up?" Gobi asked. Karn shrugged casually.
"Oh, lots. Stuff about the how great the Therapy Pillow is, stuff about how great the Time Key is, several compliments on my flute, not so many on my skill using it... and a very disturbing piece of local politics. You might want to put down your drinks." The others obliged. "Okay. Get this: The local Princess-to-be-Queen-upon-her-eighteenth-birthday, Archne. She's got the hots for... wait for it... Emperor Zog."
"WHAT THE HELL, LADON!" Ryu demanded of the universe in general, outraged, startling many nearby patrons of the bar in the process. Karn nodded bleakly and downed another drink in one shot.
"Yeah, I had to strain not to have a similar reaction. At least most of the people around here seem to agree with us... Archne's not a popular ruler right now. Problem is, she doesn't have to be popular. And she's the only one who knows how to open that vault."
"Just great." Ryu groaned. "What's next, one of the Tiamat Unit showing up here?"
"Well, one guard gave me the fish eye while I was in the palace, but that was it." Karn shrugged, then spoke to Nina in a lower voice. "Don't turn around, but there's some people watching you-don't! Just kinda glance towards that mirror in front of you... yeah." The people behind them were two old women and one much younger one. The old women wee unremarkable, but the younger one definately got everybody's attention. She was a Wing Clanner, and she looked for all the world like she could be Nina's older sister. She even wore a similar leotard, though it was blue with a matching headband. One of the old women approached and began talking to Karn excitedly. Karn turned to Nina. "She wants to know if you have any missing relatives."
"No... but that is uncanny." Nina admitted. "Who is she?" Karn relayed the question, then listened to the response.
"Apparently, she fell from the sky almost a year ago." He translated. "She has amnesia... no memories of her past whatsoever. The old women have been taking care of her, but they haven't found anybody who knows her." Shrugging, the old woman returned to her friends. Karn sighed and pushed his glass away. "Well, we should probably get going to the palace... we'll have to head there to get anything done. Maybe SOMEbody there can help us."
"Worth a shot." Ryu agreed. They left the bar, Deis very reluctantly, and Karn led them up to the palace. The guards let them pass easily; security seemed very casual in Tunlan, although the spears they held looked very sharp. As they walked down the entrance hallway, another old woman passed, garbed in rich green robes and mumbling to herself on a set of weathered panpipes. Karn looked at her sharply.
"Translation?" Ryu pressed.
"Something along the lines of 'What am I to do with the Princess? It's my fault, I didn't teach her right.' Let's ask further." Karn delivered a note that was unmistakably a "Hey!" The old woman turned, and Karn asked something. Her response seemed friendly but strained. "She wants to know what we want."
"Ah, your friends do not speak our language." The old woman said haltingly. Her accent was terrible, but she was nonetheless speaking the common language. Ryu covered his surprise with a respectful bow.
"We do indeed, madame...?"
"Callis, advisor and regent to Princess Archne, until she reaches adulthood in less than a month." The old woman introduced herself. "And you...?" Bo quickly introduced them all before Ryu could say anything about Nina.
"We're looking for... well, a tool to enter the world of dreams, your Grace." He continued. Callis blinked.
"A tool to... are you talking about the Therapy Pillow?" She frowned in thought. "Well... hm. Let me think... ah!" She smiled. "I'll tell you what. I have a little... problem. If you help me solve it, you can use the Therapy Pillow. Sound fair?"
"Would this problem involve the Princess and Emperor Zog, by any chance?" Gobi remarked. Callis nodded, unsurprised.
"You've heard the rumors, I see. Yes, that's it exactly. Of all the men in the world, she chooses Zog!" She clenched her fist until it was white. "Such foolishness will only bring chaos for Tunlan. I think the Dark Dragons have an agent in here... but try as I might, I haven't been able to find it. It seems Zog has promised her eternal youth, which Myria can grant."
"Myria!" Nina yelped. "Wait... is she going to hand the Time Key over to them?"
"You see the problem." Callis nodded grimly. "I've been holding her off as long as I can with what authority I have as regent, but once she becomes Queen... it's imperative that the Time Key be gone by then!"
"The problem is the vault in which both the Key and the Pillow are stored." Ryu frowned. "Only she knows how to open it, correct?"
"Yes, but I do know something." Callis' eyes narrowed. "You see, the way to open that vault is passed down the royal line... but Archne always was a forgetful girl, and when her mother died, she was afraid she wouldn't remember. So she tattooed the combination for the lock on her back."
"Ah..." Gobi smiled. "So if we can get a look at her..." He blinked as both Nina and Deis glared at him. "What? We have to! It's the only way to get the Key!"
"Gobi's right." Karn said piously. "Though we would never stoop to spying on a young lady under normal circumstances, we must put aside our better instincts for the sake of the world."
"Right." Deis snorted. "Just don't make it a habit... if either me or Nina EVER catches any of you trying that on us, you'll be hanging from your shorts by the highest point in the local town." Bo winked at Karn and Gobi.
"Us? Never!"
"If we could get back on subject..." Ryu coughed. "All right. When would be the best time to do this?"
"The Princess bathes every night as soon as the sun sets." Callis told them. "Be back here then... I'll clear all the guards out of that area. I'm an old lady, and my years of stealth are gone, but at least one of you should know how to move quietly. You see the combination, and we'll get down to the safe and get the Key and Pillow out right away."
"Gotcha." Ryu nodded. "We'll be back at sunset."
"Come on, everybody." Ryu called. "It's sunset. Let's go."
"I still can't believe we're doing this now." Deis complained. "What happened to the tropical drinks? You're supposed to relax when you're at Tunlan, not get caught up in complicated plans to rob the royalty."
"Tell you what." Gobi smiled. "When we're done with this whole save-the-world shtick, we'll come back here, and I'll buy enough tropical drinks for us to party for a month." He winked at Ryu. "I'll be able to afford it after a certain debt is paid off, after all!"
"You're a laugh riot." Ryu rolled his eyes. "Can we get going now?" Tunlan at night was not all that much different from Tunlan in the day; there seemed to be just as many people on the streets. When they entered the palace, Callis was waiting for them.
"About time you got here." The old lady grumbled. "Right, this way." She led them up to the second story of the palace, and over to the west wing. "The royal baths are in there. I'll be waiting by the vault... it's down below this spot." She quickly left down a flight of stairs. Karn gently eased open the door. There was a line of palm trees in front of them with a path leading to the left. Motioning to the others to stay there, Karn slipped forward and peeked through the trees without making a sound. Several seconds passed, and then he slipped back, smiling. The heroes silently stepped back out and closed the door.
"Hey, you!" An angry female voice challenged them. Everybody jumped and turned left to see a guard marching towards them. She was a beautiful woman with golden hair wearing a white cape, but the armor she wore and the sword at her side were all business, as was the glare on her face. "You in the banana skins. You're that guy I saw sneaking around earlier today... and I've never seen the rest of you around here before. Explain yourselves!" Ryu started to reply, but Nina already had it covered.
"Excuse me?" The Wing Clan princess was the picture of arrogance. "I am Princess Nina of Windia, here on an ambassadorial mission! Is it customary on this island for the security to interrogate visiting royalty?" The guard took a step back, then frowned.
"And these ruffians?"
"These 'ruffians' are my entourage." Nina gave the guard a glare of pure ice. "Regent Caliss and Princess Archne shall hear of this, I promise you. Now begone, and leave us in peace!" The guard reluctantly left, watching them out of the corner of her eye the entire time. Once she was gone, Karn let out a sigh of relief.
"Thought we had bought it there for a moment. Good job, Nina. That's the guard who was watching me earlier today, in case you couldn't tell."
"Oh, we could tell." Ox smirked. "So, did you see what you needed to?"
"Depends on your definition of what I needed to see." Karn joked. "She had her back to me the entire time, and she was in the water up to her waist, so I didn't get to see anything interesting at all. She was a real hottie, too..."
"Hello?" Deis rapped him on the head. "The tattoo?"
"Oh, right. Yeah, I saw that." Karn assured her. "From left to right, three stars. Different colors. First one blue, second one red, third one white."
"Good." Ryu nodded. "Let's move tail to that vault before she gets out or that guard comes back." The group followed the path Callis had taken down the stairs and soon found her standing in front of a huge iron door with a bizzarre lock on it. The gargoyle statues Karn had mentioned were standing to the sides; four of them, and they were indeed bigger and tougher-looking than Ox.
"Well, did you see the markings?"
"Blue, red and white stars. Left to right." Bo told her. Callis grined jubilantly.
"Excellent! Now, I just have to align the lock properly..."
"Won't the statues move?" Karn asked, a bit nervous. Callis shook her head even as she turned around.
"The lock's the one part of the vault that won't make them move... as long as you don't take too long." She pushed in three buttons on the lock. "Right, then... now we just wait until the door opens." Several tense second passed, and nothing happened. Callis bit her lip. "Doesn't seem to be working."
"Hey..." Gobi frowned. "I just had a thought. Princess Archne put those there so she wouldn't forget the combination, right?" Callis nodded.
"Yeah... so?"
"So, if they're on her back, how does she see them?" The fat Maniro pressed. Ox shrugged.
"A mirror, I guess... or some reflective water... of course, the image... would... be... backwards..."
"...Crap." Karn muttered as the statues all sprang to life. "Get ready to go swimming, people..." But the statues didn't herd them off. They surrounded them from all sides.
"The statues behave differently when you mess with the lock." Callis explained darkly. "Damn... we're for it now." They heard footsteps, and then the statues parted revealing Princess Archne and four guards. The princess of Tunlan, as Karn had put it, was a knockout; at the moment, she was wearing a fuschia leotard with strange winglike attachments on the back. She looked furious.
"You see, your majesty? It is just as I told you! Spies and thieves!" One of the guards yelled triumphantly. It was the one that had caught them earlier. But Archne's eyes were on Callis.
"What is the meaning of this, Regent?"
"Come to your senses, Archne!" Callis snapped. "The meaning of this is trying to save Tunlan from your foolishness!"
"Foolishness?" Archne stared at her. "You dare! I will be Queen of Tunlan, not you! And when the Goddess Myria is revived, I shall be Empress of the world, and I and Zog will be young forever!"
"You stupid-" Ryu started to yell, but Callis cut him off.
"Stop, Light Dragon! This is not your responsibility!" She glared at Archne like a disapproving schoolteacher. "We all grow old, Archne. You can't stop it. Not even Myria can stop it for you."
"I've heard enough of this." Archne laughed coldly. "Seize them all!" Callis sighed.
"You leave us no choice, then." She turned to Ryu. "I'm sorry, but... you'll have to take both the Therapy Pillow and the Key by force."
"To be honest, madame, that's the way we do things best anyways." Ox shrugged, cracking his knuckles. "Deis, the door's yours."
"Leave it to me!" Deis smiled. "If there's one thing I'm good at, it's blowing things up!"
"Get them!" Archne shrieked, and the three guards lunged forward. Deis turned to the door.
"Wait!" Nina tried to stop her, but it was too late.
"YAAH!" Deis howled with glee as a series of mighty explosions from the air itself rocked the door. There was a blinding explosion as it toppled. "Come on, Ryu! Get the Key! OOF!" The guards didn't look like much, but they hit like ten tons of bricks. Everybody went down.
"Don't let them take that Key!" Archne yelled. Nina bit off an unprincessly word and tried to shove one of the guards off of her, failing.
"What a mess!"
"Aha! The Key!" A female voice yelled. It wasn't Nina. Or Deis. Or Callis. Or even Archne. The smoke from the explosion cleared, and everybody saw the Time Key being held by... the guard who had caught the heroes.
"Zog's messenger!" Callis realized.
"Messenger? Oh, much more than that, old woman." The guard laughed, throwing aside her helmet and letting her hair fall back onto her cape. Her face took up a cruel smile. "I am Cerl, the White Assassin of the Tiamat Unit." She turned to Ryu and saluted mockingly. "We who have no past and no future salute you, Light Dragon Ryu."
"Good, Cerl!" Archne ran up. "Now that you have the Key, let us return to Scande together!" Cerl smiled. And with a flick of her hand, sent Archne flying into a wall.
"Fool!" The White Assassin laughed. "The Dark Dragons have no use for you! Oh, and by the way, Emperor Zog's already been married." She smirked at the Princess. "Widower, actually, and no intention of remarrying. Sorry to disappoint you, your highness."
"But... you promised me eternal youth..." Archne stumbled forward, deperate. Deis grunted, squirmed out from under a guard and stood in her path.
"Don't be pathetic!"
"You wouldn't understand!" Archne wailed. "You're already old! Look at you!"
"Uh-oh..." Bo muttered. Deis' eyes seemed to glow red.
"What did you say!"
"Ahem..." Cerl walked up to the two of them. "You seem to have forgotten you just LOST the Key..." Karn escaped the guards as well.
"Get the Key, quick!" He yelled, running forward. Deis shook her head, still glaring at Archne.
"This is more important! This brat makes Nina look like a model of modesty!"
"Excuse ME!" Now Nina was flying over. "Now hold on just a moment! I'm not anywhere NEAR this obnoxious! You shouldn't even compare us!" Now Archne whirled on her.
"Obnoxious? Who do YOU think you are?"
"That tears it!" Yelling, Cerl dived on Archne at the same time as Nina and Deis. All the males and the guards just stared, openmouthed, as the four women fought blindly, not caring who they hit.
"You know, normally they'd sell tickets for this kind of thing, but right now..." Gobi shook his head in wonder. Ryu grunted.
"Yeah. Hey! Nina, Deis, cut it out!" But the Princess and the Sorceress weren't listening. The first one to leave the fight was, instead, the White Assassin, slipping out without being noticed by the other three or most of the watchers.
"Well, there's a diversion if I ever saw one. I'll let you discuss this amongst yourselves! I'm outta here!" Starting to leave, she almost ran straight into Karn. Instantly, she had a dagger heading for his neck, but it was knocked aside by the one the young thief held.
"Not bad, but not good enough to fool me." Karn frowned. Now all the spectators were watching. Quick as a lightning bolt, Karn went for Cerl's other hand, the one that held the Goddess Key. Cerl grabbed his arm with her free hand and flipped him into a wall. Karn twisted in midair, planted his feet against the wall and rebounded towards Cerl, who ducked at the last moment, deflecting his knife with another one of her own. Karn landed behind her and spun around, then dodged left to avoid the thrown knife. Both of them stopped moving, waiting for the other to act again.
"So, you're the one who did this to Archne?" Callis yelled. Cerl smirked at her, still keeping her eyes on Karn.
"That's right. We needed the Time Key before these 'heroes' came here for it. So I fed her lies about Zog wanting her as a wife. The fool!" She laughed coldly. "Zog and the Tiamat Unit have all seven places for the ceremony filled! There's no place for HER!"
"Six, you mean." Gobi growled. "I take it you DID get a new member, then, but your count for the Unit's back down to five again. We ran into Cort already, and he was very dead when we left him."
"What!" Now Cerl stared at him, startled. Instantly, Karn went for the Key, but she recovered and dodged. "Ha! Nice try, but no good! For a moment, I almost believed you!"
"He's telling the truth." Ox said simply. "Cort is dead. We killed him. You'll discover this for yourself if you make it back to Scande."
"We'll see." Cerl smiled again. "But for now, I must bit you adieu. The time is not right for us to fight, even if what you say is true. Until we meet again, Prince of Thieves!" Blowing a mocking kiss at Karn, she dropped something that exploded in grey smoke. Everybody coughed and choked.
"Where is she?" Ryu demanded.
"Gone." Karn spat, disgusted. "Probably already out of the palace."
"Guards, help me!" Archne was yelling. "Don't let these two get away!" Obediently, the guards jumped off the guys and dived into the fray. Callis was dragged in as well, and now with the smoke, nobody could tell what was going on, except that it was noisy.
"Should we...?" Ox asked. Ryu shook his head, standing up.
"With this stuff, we'd probably hit our friends. We'll pull them off when this clears."
"You kidding?" Deis, hearing them, yelled. "This is great! I haven't had a barroom brawl like this in centuries!" A guard's fist caught her on the side of the head, and she staggered, then smiled. "Aha! Now I remember how that spell goes!"
"What was that!" Nina yelled, horrified. "Wait, don't!"
"No, hold on!" Karn yelled as well. But the Sorceress of Wisdon would not be detained.
"Chill out, everybody!" Ryu had a brief vision of snowflakes, thousands of them filling the air, and then everything was cold and black.
"Ugh..." Ryu slowly opened his eyes. He was lying in what seemed to be a hospital. In beds nearby him were Archne and the three guards. The rest of the group was watching him, Nina in particular. Before he could say something, the Princess spoke.
"About time. We were about to leave without you." Ryu scowled. Deis turned to her.
"All right, enough of that. BOTH of you, don't even get started."
"Yeah." Karn shook his head. "You just got too close, boss. Nina got out of the way in time, and the rest of us were out of range."
"And these others?" Ryu indicated the guards and Archne. "How are they?"
"Banged up, but they'll live." Bo shrugged. "More importantly, how are you?"
"Better, actually." Ryu thought for a moment, then sighed. "But Cerl got away with the Time Key, didn't she." Gobi nodded.
"Basically, yeah. I'm starting to think that whenever we meet up with one of the Tiamat Unit, they'll always kick our butts royally the first time around."
"Quite possible." Karn shrugged, acting nochalant. "But that's beside the point. We'll catch up to her eventually. More importantly, do you remember why we came here in the first place?"
"The Therapy Pillow!" Ryu smacked his forehead. "Of course, our chances of her highness actually letting us have it are about the same as a Slime's chances inside an active volcano."
"You'd be surprised, actually." Callis said as she entered the room. She nodded approvingly at seeing Ryu up. "On your feet already, eh? Princess Archne isn't the same, unfortunately... she's sleeping right now. But when she's awake, well... it looks like she's learned her lesson, even though the Key's gone." Callis shook her head. "She'd make a good Queen now... a shame the Dark Dragons will be reviving Myria."
"The Dark Dragons won't be reviving anybody, your grace." Ryu pulled out the four Goddess Keys in their possession. "They need all seven... and we have no intention of handing these puppies over, believe me."
"The..." Callis stared at the Keys, then him. "Ryu... your name is Ryu! THE Ryu! How could I have been so blind as to not see it before? You're the Light Dragon hero who liberated the lands of the east!"
"Ahem. Light Dragon hero AND company." Gobi reminded her. "Minor points aside, though, that's us all right."
"Well, I'm sure Archne won't mind you taking the Therapy Pillow now." Callis shook her head in astonishment.
"Does it help that we eventually intend to beat the crap out of the White Assassin?" Deis winked, and Callis laughed.
"Most likely! Go on, take the Pillow. I'd come with you, but I have to stay with the Princess."
"To the vault, then!" Karn crowed, leading the way. As they walked down the halls, unchallenged by any guards, Ryu drew over to Bo.
"Hey, Bo... is it just me, or is Karn behaving a bit odd?"
"You noticed, eh?" Bo nodded. "He's trying to hide it, but I think he was taken aback by what happened with Cerl back there. She out-thiefed him on all accounts, and I don't think that's happened to Karn in years." Ryu frowned.
"Anything we can do, you think?"
"Nah." Bo shook his head. "Just give him some time... he'll come around. However... there is something you should know, boss." He gave Ryu a direct look. "I know what's been going on between you and Nina, and I know what she said when you woke up, but the entire time you were out, she was watching you like a hawk. Refused to budge from the room for even a minute."
"Huh." Ryu thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Wierd. Idunno, Bo."
"Just thought you should hear about that. Here's the vault." Bo whistled. "Wow... don't remember it being THIS bad." The entire vault door and the backs of the side walls were completely totalled, lying in chunks of rubble all over the floor. Karn gingerly stepped over them and picked up a very fancy-looking pillow. It was stuffed almost to bursting, and embroidered all over with various fancy patterns.
"This has to be it."
"No doubt about it." Ryu nodded. "That's the Therapy Pillow, all right. Okay, people, we got what we came for. Shame about the Time Key, but we can't win 'em all. Let's get back to Gramor."
"Oh, no you don't." Ox shook his head. "Not just yet, boss. You and Nina both need some more rest bad, and the rest of us could do with it too."
"Big man's right." Deis nodded. "We stay in Tunlan one more day. I think we all deserve a little time off here. Relax, have more tropical drinks, catch some sun. Maybe even get some swimsuits like Bo suggested. Then the next morning, we get moving back towards the northwest bright and early. Who's with me?" Ox, Bo, Karn and Gobi all pumped their fists enthusiatically.
"I do believe I have been overruled." Ryu commented, not really displeased.
"Seems that way." Nina agreed. "Ah well, we could use a short break anyways if they're going to insist."
"Guess so." Ryu nodded. They both smiled, and for a moment, it looked as if they were on good terms again, but then both let the smiles drop and turned away simultaneously. Bo silently slapped his face, then caught Deis' eye. She nodded in exasperated agreement.
"To the Inn, then! And then the bar!" Gobi yelled happily, unnoticing and uncaring. The heroes followed him, each of them thinking about different things. The streets of Tunlan they passed by didn't notice either, nor did they care; Tunlan was unchanged, and would remain so even after news of the Time Key's theft became widespread.
"What's that old saying?" Ox muttered. "Nice place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live here?"
"That's Tunlan, all right." Deis agreed. "It's the world's greatest vacation spot, but you don't want to stay for too long. Nothing ever changes here... this place is exactly the same as it was centuries ago. And I'm in a position to know. Come on, let's nap." As they were about to enter the Inn, however, they heard a very strange musical instrument inside. It sounded like a cacophany of ducks being caught in a blender, and yet there was something melodious, a definate musical quality about it.
"What IS that?" Bo wondered. Deis strained to listen.
"Bagpipes? I haven't heard those in ages... but who?" The Inn door swung open, and everybody groaned simultaneously. It was Uncle Specs.
"I should have known." Ryu muttered. "I should have known that if anybody played an instrument that sounded like that, it would be you."
"Flattery will get you nowhere." Uncle Specs said by way of greeting, setting aside his instrument, which was a plaid-colored sack with several pipes sticking out of it at various angles. "Well, maybe to Prima but that's by the get-tossed-off-the-island method. Usually implemented by security. Happened to me three times already. Or was that Wisdon, I don't remember. I wonder why?"
"How did I know I hadn't seen the last of you after I threw you off Wisdon." Deis shook her head, amused. "So your name's 'Uncle Specs,' huh? Well, it works as well as any."
"It durn well better! That's what I designed it for!" The old nutjob cackled. "If it doesn't, I'll just have to whack it with a wrench until it works again. That's how you gotta deal with electronics, you know. Give 'em a good thrashing. That'll teach it." Uncle Specs nodded, apparently trying to look wise-again-and succeeding more in resembling a drunk that was on the verge of passing out. For all the heroes knew, he probably was.
"So, what brings you to Tunlan?" Nina asked cheerfully, trying to change the subject. Uncle Specs winked at her.
"I heard the Therapy Pillow was up for grabs, so I figgered I'd come down here and bid on it in the auction! Got two ducks and a nickel to put up for it, so I like my chances. Always wanted to see what it looked like inside my own head!"
"Why would you need two... no. Don't ask." Bo reminded himself. "Never ask him for clarification. Anyways, you're too late, I'm afraid. We've got the Pillow."
"Tarnation." Uncle Specs muttered in disappointment. "Really wanted that. Now I'll never know if I've really got all sorts of butterflies in the belfry."
"You mean bats, don't you?" Karn corrected him. The old nutjob rounded on him.
"Nonsense, sonny! Bats and butterflies aren't nothing alike! Well, whatever you use that thing for, be careful. You get blown up in there and you'll be a turnip out here! I forget whether it's physical or mental, but either way's bad! I think. Anyways, be careful, especially if you're using it on yourselves! Your heads're probably more dangerous than mine!"
"Wait. Are you saying you think we're crazier than you are?" Ryu asked, incredulous. Uncle Specs winked and tipped his hat, picking his bagpipes back up.
"Well, you don't see ME picking fights with the entire Dark Dragon army, do you? See ya!" Playing his bagpipes again, he waltzed off, stopping only for a brief boxing match with his shadow, which he lost.
"So, do you see that guy often or something?" Deis asked. Ryu sighed and smiled.
"Yeah, every so often. Think this is the fourth time. He's harmless and sometimes even helpful, though, so we don't mind."
"An interesting fellow, to be sure." Another voice agreed with Ryu. From some shadows behind the inn, a tall man walked out. It was the mysterious cloaked guy who had advised them on the GrimFowl, back near Gant. He was completely obscured, as before, although this time his clothes were a bright, flaming red.
"Is this some kind of convention for mysterious wierdos?" Gobi wondered. "I'm just asking here. Is it?"
"Ha ha ha..." The cloaked man laughed. "No, not at all. I just came to see the Wing Clan girl here..."
"You know her?" Nina asked. The cloaked man nodded.
"You could say that, yes. She has amnesia, you know... poor thing. I came to suggest to her caretakers that they go to Spring... there's a doctor there who's a genius with curing amnesia."
"Is that so?" Gobi smiled. "Well, I hope it works out for her. Nice seeing you again." The cloaked man seemed to smile.
"Same to you. Good luck in the future." Walking into the night, he was gone. Ryu looked after him for a moment, then shrugged.
"Well, whatever. Come on, let's go in. I REALLY need a drink."
When the group returned to the Gramor Wasteland, the little Mole Clan girl, Anne, was waiting for them. Upon seeing them, she smiled and waved.
"Do you have it?" She asked quickly. Ryu nodded.
"We've got it right here. Lead the way." Nodding, Anne took them back to the room where Mogu was staying. The old Mole Clan woman looked up as they entered, and immediately saw the Therapy Pillow as Ryu took it out of his pack.
"Thank Ladon... you have it. Do you know how to use it?"
"Not exactly." Ryu admitted. The old woman took it and pressed it against Mogu's forehead, then gestured for them to walk over and place their hands on it. Ryu did, and immediately, they began sinking into the pillow, like it was water. Shrugging, Ryu dived forward, and vanished completely. As he fell, he heard the old woman saying something and the others following him, but he was unable to make out exactly what the words were. Everything began shimmering, and then he was falling out of the sky. With a loud grunt, he landed on a bed inside a building. "Huh. Well, looks like I've arrived."
"Oof!" Nina wheezed as she landed. She and Ryu took one look at each other, and then both scrambled out of the bed as if it was on fire, blushing furiously. Bo was next; he stared at them, dazed, without moving until Deis landed after him.
"Uh! Hm..." She smirked at Bo. "Well, this is cozy. A bit sudden, though, don't you think?" Somehow, Bo managed to blush as well through his fur as they both climbed out as well. Ox was next, almost flattening the bed under his weight, and then Karn, who was actually caught in Ox's arms. Surveying the faces on everybody around them, Karn quickly realized what had happened and winked at Ox.
"Heh... my hero?" Ox responded by dropping the young thief on his butt and climbing off. Gobi was last; nobody caught him. As he stood up as well, muttering something about sueing for whiplash, two Mole Clanners approached. One was familiar; strangely, it was Anne. The other was an old male with a thick white mustache and even thicker eyebrows.
"Who are you? Where do you come from?" The old man asked. "Wait. Did you come here via the Therapy Pillow?"
"That'd be it." Ryu agreed. "Who are you, and what is Anne doing here?"
"You met me in the outside world, then?" The girl realized, pleased. "I'm not really Anne... I'm Mogu's memory of him, as is Elder Dugron here. Everything here is some part of Mogu's mind... well, almost everything."
"Almost?" Deis raised an eyebrow, all business again. Elder Dugron nodded.
"Yes. There is an intruder here... a dream beast that is warping everything it touches. Mogu's mind has been horribly affected by... well, here. See for yourself." He and Anne walked out of the building, and the heroes followed them. Outside was a small cluster of houses. The ground was soft dirt, or had been once; now, sharp rocks protruded from it like a minefield. Twin fountain in the center spewed noxious purple liquid. And wandering around was... Mogu. Several of him, each wearing clothes of a different color and a white turban.
"Okay, this is just getting bizarre." Gobi commented. One of the Mogus overheard him and rounded on the Maniro.
"Who you calling bizzarre, bub? I'll knock that fishy grin right off your face!"
"Whoa, easy there, Mogu." Ox cautioned him. "We came here to help." The small Mole Clanner glared up at him.
"I'm not Mogu, you big blockhead! I'm his Anger!"
"Oh, don't talk to him." Another Mogu walked up. "Anger can't solve any problems."
"Like you're any better, Reason!" Anger spat. "You just sit around trying to make us all do what you say all day! Ha!"
"It's not like we can do anything right now." Reason shrugged. "Mogu will be whole only when all of us are reunited, and since Courage left..."
"Oh, give me a break, both of you!" A third Mogu smirked. "With your arguing, you're almost getting as bad as Fear!"
"Come on, Humor." A fourth, apparently Fear, mumbled. "I WANT to go after the dream beast, but..."
"But you're too scared!" Humor threw back his head and laughed. "Come on, guys! This is no good! You should be like me; don't worry, be happy!"
"The attitude of an idiot." Reason shook his head, and Anger shoved him.
"Watch it, pal! He's doing more than you are! Heck, Sorrow does more than YOU!"
"Leave me out of it..." Sorrow, a fifth one, muttered from behind a hourse. "We're useless without Courage... what's the point of these arguments?"
"He's got a point, you know." Fear agreed nervously, and now Anger rounded on him.
"Now you're agreeing with them too? Ugh!"
"I begin to see the problem." Ryu rolled his eyes. None of the Mogus were paying any attention to the group now, so it was safe. "How many of these guys are there?"
"Six... well, there's supposed to be." Anne looked sad. "Unfortunately, shortly after things started getting this bad, Courage disappeared. Nobody's been able to find him since, and without him, Mogu..."
"The monster's up in the north tower." Elder Dugron pointed out of the town. For the first time, everybody noticed the sky. It was a sea of dark, roiling purple clouds, always in motion. In the real world, it would be signifying a terrible storm, but here, there was not even a small rumble of thunder.
"THAT's not too wierd." Karn commented. More importantly, though, was a tower that they could all see against the sky, rising from the earth like a stalgmite.
"That tower... it's the center of Mogu's mind." Elder Dugron explained. "The dream beast is there... and we think he has Courage with him."
"Then we know where to go." Bo smiled grimly. "You've probably guessed this already, but we came here to kick that thing's butt and get Mogu conscious again. We'll take care of things."
"If Courage is there, the dream beast will have to be keeping a very close eye on him." Anne told them. "Left alone, Courage would be able to use the tower to turn everything around on the dream beast."
"Gotcha. We'll watch out for him." Ryu promised. "You two just keep the rest of these from killing each other until we get back."
"Can do." Anne nodded. "Would you like to say a prayer to Ladon before you go? There's a Shrine over there..."
"No, thanks." Ryu's face hardened. "We aren't on very good terms with Ladon right now. If you'll excuse us." Turning, he led the others out of the cluster of houses, ignoring Dugron's and Anne's stares on their backs.
The world of Mogu's mind was nothing even approaching reality. The earth was thin strips of ground, twisting and turning like a maze, floating in the hazy purple sky. Bo refused to even get close to the edges. It took them an hour to even figure out a reliable way to move towards the tower, and twice as long to actually get there. The going was made particularly difficuly by thow the earth was covered with scattered bones and lumps of rock. The tower, by contrast, was not dark and murky like the rest of the dream world. It was a square-topped, perfectly even-sided building of white marble, with perfect rows of windows side by side.
"It's a little TOO perfect." Gobi commented cynically. "You can tell this is a dream or whatever just by looking at it. Nothing real is THAT good. Auria's attempts at it notwithstanding."
"We're not here to critique it." Deis reminded him sharply. "We're here to kick butt. How about we get started?" They stook one step inside the tower, and stared. The bottom floor was completely bare; there was nothing in the way between them and the staircase at the center. Gobi smiled and started forward.
"Cool. Looks like we lucked out for once-OOF!" He grunted as he slammed into... nothing. Karn rapped on the air in front of the Maniro with his knife.
"Huh. Cute trick. Clear glass walls, probably a maze. This is going to be REAL fun." The heroes ended up having to work their way around by touch alone, hugging the walls to feel gaps they could go through. It was quite a while before they reached the stairs... and when they did, somebody was waiting for them.
"Hi." The tiny human boy smiled up at them. "Who are you?"
"We're the exterminators, kid." Bo answered. "We heard there's a dream beast here, and we've come to get rid of it."
"Really?" The boy stared, wide-eyed. "You must be really strong... you look like it!"
"Well, we've been through our share of tough scrapes." Karn puffed his chest out proudly.
"I'll bet... but Mothro's even tougher!" The boy smiled wider. Nina frowned.
"Mothro? Is that the dream beast?"
"That's him! Mothro's invincible, especially when Mogu's senses are scattered!" He clapped his hands. "And Courage is gone far, far away! So you can't beat Mothro, no matter how tough you are!"
"Izzat so?" Deis glared at the boy. "Well then, why don't you try us, dream beast Mothro? Take your true form... we're not in the mood for games!" The boy's grin suddenly became vicious fangs.
"Okay, but I warned you!" As the little boy jumped into the air, his body warped and twisted, becoming insectlike and elongated. Huge butterfly wings with intricate patterns of red and purple sprouted, becoming most of his mass. The huge nightmare moth shrieked, and darkness extended out from him, covering everything around them. The heroes could still see each other and Mothro perfectly, but nothing else.
"What the hell?" Ox yelled.
"Silly mortals... fighting in the dream world isn't at all like it is in the physical world!" Mothro hissed.
"We'll see about that!" Ox yelled, charging. His hammer slammed into Mothro... who shimmered like a mirage and split into two ethereal images that rejoined once the hammer was clear.
"Maybe this, then!" Deis yelled, raising her staff. The air around Mothro exploded like hundreds of bombs going off, but again, he simply split and was unharmed. The others all attacked in turn, none of them doing anything.
"Convinced yet?" Mothro yawned, hanging motionless in the air without even a single wingbeat. "If you want to run, I'll let you. It's not like you can do anything."
"Damn..." Ryu muttered. "The little bugger's right... we've got no choice. Retreat!" The group banged off down the glass hallway, and Mothro made no moves to stop them. As they neared the entrance, they saw him in the form of the little boy again, hopping up and down with manic glee.
"Run, cowards! Ha ha ha!"
"Problematic." Ox commented as the group moved back towards the cluster of houses.
"Tell me about it." Deis sighed. "On a good note, though, there was one positive thing we learned."
"And that would be?" Ryu asked grumpily. "All I saw was our butts flying."
"Did you see Courage there?" Bo asked. "I didn't. And Mothro said he was far, far away. So it looks like Courage isn't there after all... Mothro stashed him somewhere else."
"So if we find him, and bail him out..." Nina nodded. "Good thinking. Now, we just have to find him."
"Hey! Hey, guys!" A voice hailed them from the cluster. It was Anne, the Mole Clan girl. "You'll never believe this! I found where Courage is being held!"
"See?" Gobi crowed. "I was right! We ARE getting lucky for once! Come on, missy, lead us there!" Anne led them past the town, to a bridge that they crossed.
"This was out before, but Elder Dugron fixed it while you were gone." She explained. "He had a hunch, and he was right." Past the bridge, she took them a bit further, then stopped and gestured ahead. "Now, you just have to cross there!"
"Cross... aw, geez." Gobi groaned. "So much for luck." The stretch ahead of them was the most forbidding thing any of them had seen in the dream world. A network of bones covered the floor, and between them, at random intervals, jets of white gas blasted up.
"Poison." Deis guessed. "Looks like Mothro did everything he could to make this path impenetrable." Nina sighed, then smiled.
"I swear, what would you guys do without me." Rising high into the air, above the range of the gas jets, she flew across to the other end effortlessly and entered the small cave there.
"Show-off." Ryu muttered. A few anxious moments passed, and then Nina emerged from the cave with a Mogu dressed in red.
"Courage here was hogtied inside."
"I'm not what you're looking for." Courage muttered sullenly. "There's no courage here. I'm just form... no substance."
"You're depressed, is what you are." Elder Dugron said, coming up behind the heroes. "You're still Courage, the same as ever."
"Yeah! Snap out of it, Courage!" Anne yelled. "You're still powerful!"
"She's right." Elder Dugron nodded. "Live your life to the fullest, and you'll GIVE it substance."
"Easy for you to say." Courage sighed. Dugron slapped his forehead.
"Come on! You're the embodiment of courage itself! Act like it!" The old Mole Clanner's face was turning red. Anne wagged a finger.
"Now look, Courage! You upset him! You know that's bad for his heart!" Courage sighed and stepped forward.
"Oh, all right... what has to be done has to be done, I guess. Come on, guys." Instantly, the other five Mogus appeared around him.
"We must be united... in order to bring peace to this world, and the world outside." Reason argued.
"Yeah! But since you're with us again, there's nothing to worry about except horrible death! Haha!" Humor laughed.
"It's in my nature to be distressed, but not yours." Sorrow reproved. "I've got too big a share here already... we don't need you making it worse!"
"If you become yourself again, I... guess I'll be fine too. That Mothro's awfully tough, but... we'll try!" Fear attempted to smile.
"Gabbermouth, joker, crybaby and scaredycat are right!" Anger yelled. "We've sat around long enough! Let's get in gear and kick that Mothro's ass right outta here at top speed!" All six looked at each other, nodded, and stepped into each other. With a flash of golden light, there was only one remaining.
"I'm not sure if I can beat him, but... heck, I'll do my best." Mogu smiled. With a thought, he turned off the gas jets, and he and Nina joined the rest easily. "Please... will you help me?"
"Hell, kid, that's what we came here to do in the first place." Ox smiled, then blinked. Anne and Elder Dugron were gone. "Hey... where'd they go?"
"They're not needed any more." Mogu smiled sadly. "If everybody I ever knew was here, it'd be so crowded we wouldn't be able to move. Those two were called up because I needed them."
"And now you're fine. Well, almost fine." Ryu looked off toward the tower. "We've still got one big bug that needs a REAL good swatting. Let's get to it."
