Brilliance, a Legend of Mana Story
Chapter Ten ~Pets~

*WHAP*

"Wark!" Sephiroth yowled, covering his head with his wings. He got up, glaring at the animal who'd hit him. Vincent said nothing, merely pointed outside. The Chocobo sniffed the air, and walked quickly to the door. With a soft wark, he ducked behind the door to the barn, shielding himself from sight.

"Lord Vandal, do we burn the barn?"

There was a moment of silence, then: "Yeah, torch it. Then help me destroy this workshop."

Sephiroth and Vincent exchanged glances. Vincent tapped the side of his skull with his bone sword, a quiet hollow sound echoing through it. The Chocobo shifted uneasily, then nodded, spreading his wings to let the bone knight on.

The soldiers chucked their torches through the doorway at the same time the roof burst apart. The black Chocobo warked loudly, and Vincent flung his sword like a boomerang, knocking down the two men. Sephiroth landed on one, and scratched and clawed at him until he lay still, while Vincent proceeded beating the other senseless with his blunt sword.

After several seconds, the mercenaries stopped struggling, and lay quiet. Both pets peered about, searching for more enemies.

"Wark!" Sephiroth warked, bobbing his head at the trees. There wasn't a very clear view of the master's house, but the flames and smoke were evidence enough. The pets leaped the fence, and charged. The lawn was burning in patches, so they carefully avoided them, working their way to the door. The bad men had nailed a board in place, to hold whoever was trapped inside in. It had symbols carved on it, to stop magic from working against it. Vincent reached for the board, planning to rip it off, when the flames rose up and blasted him to the ground. Sephiroth warked loudly, and danced away. A shape rose in the flames, cackling maniacally.

It was as tall as the door, and twice as wide. Its head seemed to take up most of its body, and there was a gnashing set of teeth directly on its belly. Its entire body was made of flames, and it flickered wildly as it spoke.

"I am Ryuzuu the flame," it said. "This is my sacrifice, you cannot have it."
Vincent charged, flinging his sword, and crashing into the flames. Ryuzuu laughed, and the skeleton writhed inside the flames, slashing wildly, unable to hit anything solid. The demon spat him out through it's belly-mouth, and Vincent landed hard on the ground. His clothes were burning, and his bones were scorched black.

Sephiroth waved his wings, and spun in a circle, before spitting out a ball of Choco-Fire. The demon laughed, as the flames enlarged him. Vincent smacked Sephiroth on the head, who only wark'ked helplessly.

"Children turned to ash . . . my favorite kind of feast." Ryuzuu taunted. "This makes the devil-drinker's slavery of me all worth it."

Vincent stepped forward, but Sephiroth waved a wing. He spun in a circle, and flapped his wings frantically. "WARK!" it yelled.

Loosely translated, that meant "CHOCO-METEOR!"

The demon Ryuzuu looked up, confused, as the sky turned red, and the purple meteor fell. It cried out, screaming shrilly as the meteor struck it, and exploded in a brilliant display of purple light. The flames died down, and finally stopped. Vincent ran forward, breaking the board with a single swipe of his sword. The door swung open, and Lisa came out, supporting her brother. Emeralda staggered out as well, coughing painfully. All three of them looked at the pets, and then around the yard.

"Did you save us?" Lisa asked.

"Rock on!" Bud yelled. He ruffled Sephiroth's feathery head, who coo'd softly at the attention.

Emeralda said nothing, collapsing on the steps, breathless. "We . . . have to . . . run," she gasped.

Lisa and Bud nodded. "C'mon boys, we've gotta get out of here." Vincent and Sephiroth hesitated, then looked up the path. Then both pets stepped in front of the children protectively. "What's the matter?" Bud asked.

"Its too late . . ." Emeralda said softly.

Two men and a woman stood at the edge of Riven's property, looking up at the children thoughtfully. The two men were very old, one wearing a a red and white uniform, with a golden cross over his heart; the other wore dark robes, and carried a book at his side, which rested in a makeshift holster. Both were balding, with only the fringes of white hair at the backs of their heads, but the one in dark robes had tattoos of magical symbols all over his forehead.

The woman was something else entirely. She wore an outfit that seemed made up of white and yellow scarves, and her face was covered with a fox mask. A long steel baton was held loosely in a two handed grip.

"Elves," the man with the tattoos said, his voice phlegmy and disgusting. "I want them."

"Not the Jumi?" the other asked.

"Godhand has claimed the Jumi for his own. But the Elves . . ." the man grinned lasciviously. "They are mine."

The other man turned his head, apparantly disgusted. The man stepped forward, raising his hands, when dozens of cherry bombs struch the ground, exploding their juice all over everything.

Trent's roots tore through the ground, snapping up and striking at the group. The man in the uniform and the girl dodged, but the tattooed man raised his hands, blocking the attack with some kind of spell. Trent's voice came from the backyard loud and clear. "Run children! I shall hold them as long as I can!"

Sephiroth and Vincent leapt into the fray, blocking the woman from reaching them. She spun her baton like a staff, fighting them off, but not gaining any ground. Bud, Lisa, and Emeralda ran for the path to Domina, dodging chunks of earth and stone flung erratically by Trent's roots, and explosions created by the sorcerer's fire.

The other man cried out "Don't let them get away!" before leaping into the air, just barely dodging a root snapping hard against the ground where he'd stood.

Something struck the ground at Lisa's feet, tripping her up. Bud spun, just in time to see Vandal land next to her, and snatch her up. He spun his spear, laughing and he dodged the attacks easily, before he leapt into the air and was gone.

"LISA! No, lemme go!" Bud snarled, pushing away from Emeralda. "LLLLLIIIIIIIISSSSAAAAA!!!!"

"C'mon!" Emeralda yelled, grabbing his arm and dragging him away.

"BOULDER DRUM!" he screamed, sending rocks flying towards the three strangers. "PUMPKIN HORDE! GOLDEN HARP! DARK FLUTE!" Everything he had flashed out towards his enemies. The sorcer raised one hand, and all of Bud's attacks disappeared. He laughed maniacally, sketching various symbols in the air with his hands. Bud was wrenched from the ground, and pulled towards him by an unseen force.

"No!" Emeralda cried.

"No!" Trent's voice echoed.

The man seized the boy out of the air, bared one of Bud's arms, and reached into a pocket. His hand emerged, dripping black with something, and he began scratching something onto Bud's arm with his fingernails. The little elf howled in pain.

Emeralda cried out, and fled.

The man continued laughing, his howling, mad laughter following her to Domina, alongisde Bud's screams.