RCM- Oh good Lord…

Sol- Master just heard what kind of demon attacked Aria.

RCM- That was just unnecessary… Skorch! Pyros! (two red dragons fly in and sit before the mage) Are the hatchlings almost fully grown?

(Skorch responds in a tongue only the mage understands)

RCM- Good. Then I have a job for you…

Sol- Uh oh… I think I know what Master has in mind… while he's busy, I'll fill you all in on what's coming up. In this chapter, we watch the party get supplies in the next town, and learn just what kind of weapon our new ally, Shadow, uses. As always, we don't own anything you recognize from other places. Okay, enjoy! Master, are you sure about this…?

Chapter 13

Nothing Like Flexibility

"I still don't like this…" Hugh whispered to Elric. "I know Lance, this just isn't like him."

"Hugh, I'm just as uncomfortable having a Darkman traveling with us as you are, but if Lance says it's okay, we've got to respect that. He is the leader…"

"Hmph… Leader. Right. Ally, yes. Leader, try again. If Lance was a real leader, he wouldn't let an evil creature into the ranks."

"You do realize I can hear you, right?" Shadow's words froze Hugh in his tracks. Chuckling to himself, the black-skinned fighter looked over his shoulder to meet the shocked human's eyes. "Darkmen have excellent hearing." Hugh hung his head as Tikal walked past him, trying her best to stifle her laughter. With a sympathetic smirk, Elric kept moving.

"Come on, buddy. The next town's up ahead." Link's light shove broke the older boy's shameful reverie. With a resigned sigh, he rejoined the others.

In front of the rest, Lance walked through the open gates into the human town of Iberon. Before any of the townsfolk could notice them, or more precisely the Darkman among them, he turned to Shadow. "I don't need to remind you how much my race hates your kind, so I think it might be a good idea if we pass off the impression that you're a prisoner."

The dark figure scoffed at the notion. "You expect me to subject myself willingly to such humiliation? Your allies were correct, Aran. You are insane."

"You'd rather have the entire town trying to kill us? If you pretend to be our prisoner, the worst that they can do is throw dirty looks your way. Face it, we need supplies, and we don't want trouble. Can you do this for us? Please?"

The indignation virtually glowed in the Darkman's eyes. With an irritated huff, he held out his wrists, looking away. "Fine. Let's just make this quick."

Lance was right. Each and every human walking by them scowled at the shady 'captive' bound by the wrists with one of the grappling hook ropes. Moving quickly, Hugh and Elric went off to buy food while the rest of the group made its way to the weapon shop. Eyeing them wearily, the keeper asked, "What can I do ya for?"

"We need arrows, bombs…" Link looked back at Tikal's staff, badly damaged from the fire spell she used the day before. "…And a Mage's staff."

The gruff-looking man took a look at the staff, sizing it up. "I see she has one of them elfish Lostwood Staffs. Judging from the scorch marks, it's seen its share of action, too." He went to the back of his stall, pulling an iron rod off of a stand on the wall. "This here is made of lightweight steel, so it will withstand plenty more than that beat-up old thing of yours did. I've heard that this green orb at the tip also increases the potency of some of the weaker spells, though personally I wouldn't know. I can let it go for 375 coins, as well as the trade-in of your old weapon."

The elf clutched her charred wand possessively, not wanting to give it up. Lance softly put his hand on her shoulder. "There's no other way, Tikal. Another fire spell would have destroyed it."

"I know, Lance, but…" she slowly weakened her grip. "I've had this staff since I was a little girl…" Handing the weapon to Lance, he traded for the new metal one. Grasping her new staff, Tikal managed a smile. "It almost feels the same."

The merchant took the old stick and placed it under the counter. "Don't forget, we also need the arrows and bombs."

"Don't get your quiver in a bunch, kid. I remember." He pulled five packs of thirty arrows down from the rack, as well as two pouches filled with thirty bombs each. "That enough? Alright then, one Steel Staff, 150 arrows and 60 bombs… total comes to 1125 coins."

Link knew that the old man was charging at least 50 coins over what the prices really added up to, but since the group was in a hurry, he didn't say anything. 'It's probably because we have Shadow… Well, it's not like we can't afford it…' Placing the coins on the counter, he collected the supplies and left.

"Have a good one!" The storekeeper called after them. As they drew further away, Shadow heard the man mutter "Blasted kids. What do they think they're doin' bringing a Darkman around here… Tied up or not, they should kill it."

Not wanting to stay longer than they had to, the party quickly left the town. Once they were a good distance from the gates, Lance untied Shadow. "I'm sorry we couldn't get you a weapon. Frankly, we didn't know what your kind prefers to use."

"It doesn't matter. I may have lost everything, but I still have this." The Darkman reached back under his cape and pulled out what looked like a black sword hilt. As the rest of the group watched in amazement, the item extended and shifted form, molding itself into a fearsome scythe. After that, it morphed itself into a double-edged axe, followed by a sharp trident, and finally a large black sword. "Standard issue among my people. It forms itself into any weapon we choose to hold when we so desire. We call it the Berserker."

"I can see why…" Elric placed his share of the arrows in his quiver before looking to the sky. The sun was slowly fading into the trees to the west. "We should set up camp. We can reach Shadin once it's morning."

Shadow laughed. "What's the matter, elf? Scared of the dark?" Despite the rude comment, even he helped set up camp. Each of them wanted rest after such a trying day. As the sun rose again over the Shadin Mountains to the east, Hugh awoke to see Shadow standing on the edge of camp. He also noticed the Berserker in the form of a scythe in the Darkman's hand. "Before you ask, a small group of Harpies tried to attack while you slept. I clipped their wings right before they burst into flame. I assume that is what happens to Chaos-spawned creatures, yes?"

Wiping the sleep from his eyes, Hugh nodded. "Yeah, I guess… Thanks..."

Though Hugh couldn't see it, a small smile was fighting to appear on Shadow's face. It lost. "Believe me, Connor. It was nothing personal." His scythe returning to its idle form, Shadow began packing his sparse belongings. "I suggest you wake the others. Something tells me there is trouble in Shadin."

Whatever had triggered Shadow's hunch proved very accurate. As they approached the home of the Hillfolk, a loud roar echoed from the skies above them. As the townsfolk fled, Lance spotted the source of their terror. "Holy…"

A brilliant blue dragon, no less than 30 feet long, landed before them. Along the sides of its head grew two rows of sharp horns, with another extending from the tip of its snout. With a belch of flame, the beast took to the sky again, hovering over the buildings it had already destroyed. Link was the first to recover from the fire attack. "Okay, let's try to shoot it down first. Elric?" Taking out his own bow, the Hylian took careful aim. Both arrows flew straight and true, but neither could find its mark.

"Damn! It's moving too fast! Tikal, slow it down!" Try as she might, the young mage's Hinder spell merely drew circles in the air behind the swiftly moving creature.

Suddenly, Link had an idea. "Lance! Hugh! Get on top of those two buildings. While we distract it, you use your Chaos moves to cut off its wings." Nodding, the two ran to where the younger boy had instructed, using the nearby debris to climb to the roofs. Locking onto the dragon with the tool's homing feature, Link let his boomerang fly. Though it wouldn't actually hurt the flying reptile, the impact between the beast's eyes stunned it enough to stop moving for a moment. Conveniently, it was right between the buildings where the other two were now perched. "Tikal, use your magic to bring it closer to them."

"With pleasure." The girl cast her spell one more time. The ring of energy hit, causing the dragon to lose altitude. "Lance! Now!"

The two leaped off of the buildings, using their Chaos moves to add extra height at the peaks of their jumps. Landing on opposite sides of the dragon's back, they smirked at each other before executing the same Cross Cut attack that finished the Dragon Knight only days earlier. Their momentum flinging them from the beast, they kicked off of the buildings to land neatly, back to back. They watched as the now-wingless dragon crashed face first into the ground, slowly skidding to a halt. "Aran! The Fire Element! Let me finish this!" With a nod of approval from Lance, Hugh threw the Chaos Mage's orb to the Darkman. As he absorbed the power, his weapon shifted form into a large axe.

"Shadow! Look out!" Tikal cried as the dragon broke free of its confines.

The ebon warrior's eyes were glowing a pale red. "Hmph. Now it's time to show you true power." Shadow pushed off of the ground in a mighty leap, coming down blade first on the dragon. "It's over! Quake Blaze!" Slamming the axe into the beast, a pillar of fire erupted from the ground below them. The others were nearly sent to the dirt from the tremor brought by the blow, but they quickly applauded the results. The great blue dragon was now nothing more than a rising cloud of smoke dissipating in the mid-day breeze.

Lance and Hugh walked back to where the others waited. "I think we've proven which side he's on." Lance said, extending his hand to the Darkman. "Nicely done, Shadow."

The dark warrior just stared at the blonde human's hand, confused by the gesture. "I don't understand… after all that my people have done to you, to your family… why are you accepting me so readily?"

"Because I've learned enough to know that actions speak louder than words. You saved innocent lives. Not just when you first defied your leaders, but now as well, saving this village. You've proven that you are more than an average Darkman. You've shown us that you really are one of the destined Chaos Protectors. The Mage's orb wouldn't have granted you the Quake Blaze attack if you weren't." Lance smirked. "Besides, I'm after the Darkman with blood-red eyes. Unless there's something about you I don't know, you had nothing to do with it. As strange as it might sound, you've earned my trust. I think it's time we deserve some of yours."

This time, the smile did appear on his face. Firmly grasping the human's hand, Shadow nodded. "Thank you, Lance. Together we will save this world."

Smiling, Elric turned to Hugh. "Still don't trust him?"

Watching the scene before them, the human just smirked back. "Not really… but I think I'm getting closer."

End Chapter 13

RCM- It's always good to be flexible… Now they should trust each other a little more.

Sol- Master, I can't stress this enough. You're overreacting again.

RCM- No, I don't believe I am.

Sol- I know you want to send the hatchlings to Aria to guard that gate of hers, but they're too young. They're unpredictable. And you don't even know if she knows how to train dragons anyway.

RCM- Oh, that's what you're referring to? That was what I told Skorch and Pyros to do, and what they are currently doing. I am not sending the hatchlings anywhere until they are properly trained.

Sol- Um… are you sure this is a good idea? Shouldn't you at least ask Aria first?

RCM- Sol, relax. It will be at least another week before they will be ready, and you know as well as I do that she is going to hear this conversation. If she would rather find something else to guard her territory, she has plenty of time to tell us. And if that is the case, we can always post them in our own dungeons.

Sol- Oh… well, if that's the plan, I guess it'd be okay…

RCM- Good. Now tell me… How much time remains before our… other engagement?

Sol- Let me check… (looks at calendar) Uh, you're scheduled to leave in three days.

RCM- Damn… oh well, it can't be helped…

Sol- Can't I handle the updates while you're gone?

RCM- You know that's not possible. Besides, I'll only be gone four days. In that time I should have plenty of new material ready to make up for my absence.

Sol- Alright. I think we should get started on the Shadin Tunnel chapter now.

RCM- That's a good idea. Let's go. Farewell my friends. I look forward to hearing from you in the reviews.