RCM- I apologize for the long wait between updates… The new semester has given me even less time to work than the old one did…

Sol- We haven't been able to work on anything related to the story in over 3 weeks! It's ridiculous!

RCM- Because of this, I have an unfortunate announcement to make… This will be the last update for a while, at least until the workload lightens again… Believe me, this is not something I want to be saying…

Sol- We hope you understand… In the meantime, let's proceed to Chapter 30.

RCM- In this episode, the party searches for the source of the curse plaguing Bridge, and Lance finds himself face to face with an old enemy.

Sol- As always, we don't own any of the copyrighted material present in this story.

RCM- I will not be making any closing comments for this chapter… So until my hands become untied by schoolwork, I bid you a fond farewell.

Sol- Bye!

(both vanish)

Chapter 30

The Deadland

The dark streets that met the party as they entered the town were not encouraging. "This is weird… where is everybody?"

Elric's question echoed through the shadows, adding to the desolate feeling they all felt. However, not long after, a tiny sliver of light emerged from one of the doors. Someone was peeking out. "You'd best find some shelter fast, strangers. This place isn't safe at night anymore."

Link was about to ask why, but Shadow stopped him. Sniffing the air, he shifted his weapon into a scythe. "There is death among us… Living death…"

"Shadow, what are you… ARGH!" A floating purple skull slammed into the back of Lance's head, abruptly cutting him off. As the small demonic creature began wrapping six bony tendrils around toward his face, he shook off his confusion and noticed what was going on. "The hell?!" Ripping the skull off, he sliced it in half with his blade.

Lance quickly realized it wasn't the only one. Elric was busy firing volley after volley of arrows at the advancing skulls, shattering many of them. Link cursed under his breath before joining the elfin archer. "I hate Bubbles…"

"No, Bubbles are always engulfed in blue or red fire… these are Specters…" A chattering sound from behind them caused Shadow to spin on his heel. A new group of enemies were charging around the corner, their small 'bodies' enveloped in blue flame. "Now THOSE are Bubbles!"

One of the new enemies struck Tikal before she could completely turn around. While the flames licked at her, they did very little actual damage. Unfortunately, that wasn't their only function… "Aah! Why can't I pull out my staff?! It won't move!"

Link glanced over and saw the hazy glow in her panicked eyes. "It's the Bubble's curse! You won't be able to attack until it wears off. It should only last for a few minutes, so just don't get hit again until you can strike back!" Noticing another Bubble closing in on him, the Hylian warped to a nearby roof. His would-be attacker slammed into the wall behind where he had been, stunned long enough for the boy to finish the threat. "Ok, this is getting old." Trying something new, Link focused the magic of Din's Fire into his blade. Instead of wrapping the sword in flames like he had hoped, the mystic fire caused a small pillar of fire to spiral up in front of him. Another pillar burst forth next to it as the first fizzled, and within moments, eight pillars had encircled him. As the eighth faded away, the entire immediate area erupted into concentrated explosions, wreaking havoc on the undead enemies.

Shadow blinked, completely blown away by the sight. Not only was the magical attack immense, but it also left both the homes and the heroes completely unharmed. "How the hell…? Kid, where'd you get that kind of power?!"

With a shrug, Link glanced down to his sword. To his surprise, three circular indentations appeared on the hilt, arranged in a pyramid. The circle at the top glowed briefly, the light fading to reveal a four-armed spiral. As soon as she saw it, Anri began flitting around the Hylian excitedly. "Wow, that was fast. I didn't think you'd be able to use Bombos this soon."

The others turned toward the fairy, clearly confused. "Huh?"

"Bombos is one of the three Chaos powers that only Link will be able to use. They're derived from the powers that his world's Goddesses gave him, infused with elemental power. Each one requires three specific elements to use, and the one currently active will always be the one in the upper circle. Bombos requires Fire, Wind and Earth.

Link blinked in confusion, looking more closely at the new engravings on his sword. "So how do I use the others when I learn them?"

"When you get the elements you need to activate a Chaos spell, the emblem will add itself to your sword's hilt. As you focus the Goddess power into your blade, the emblems will switch positions on their own so you can use them at will."

"That's all well and good, but can we deal with the pest problem before the tutorial?" Banging on the door from earlier, Shadow called for the occupant to return. As the door cracked open, he plainly asked, "Where are all these ghouls coming from?"

A short while later, the six found themselves at the gates of a haze-filled graveyard. "This looks like fun…" Elric said dryly. To light the way, he lit up a Fire Arrow, letting the flame's glow break through the fog.

"Come on, let's do this fast so we can get some sleep." Lance led the way into the mist, watching carefully for any attackers. They didn't have long to wait. "What was that?!"

Elric spun around, letting the arrow illuminate the area around them. "I'm not sure, but I heard it too… Wait! There!" From a nearby grave, a skeleton was digging itself out, armed with a sword and shield. Luckily, it wasn't a Stalfos. "Well… this is odd…"

The Darkman looked with confusion at the creature, which had just finished digging itself free. "Odd indeed… It looks more like the remains of a soldier brought back to life than a real demon…"

The skeleton charged forward, sword swinging. "Looks like an enemy's an enemy. Elric?" The Fire Arrow flew right between the creature's eyes, incinerating the zombie warrior.

"We got two more coming in from the left. These ones have skin." Shadow sent a pair of Wind Cutters their way, each hitting cleanly. One of the undead creatures, resembling the corpse of a clown, was ripped to shreds. The other laughed off the blow, its thick rusting armor absorbing the hit. With a shriek, the rotting zombie clumsily lifted its sword and sliced forward, sending a sharp wave of red energy into the Darkman. "Argh!"

The armored zombie raised its blade for a second shot, but a sudden flurry of fireballs reduced the threat to a pile of cinders. "Careful, lad. There's more of them coming this way!" Rand cautioned, holding his axe in one hand and a warhammer in the other. Both were glowing in fiery red energy.

Lance fired off a blast of Crystal Sword shards before asking, "Where'd you get the hammer?"

"Picked it up from that bastard ogre after he bit the dust." Slamming his new weapon into the ground, a bright flash of flame rose and destroyed three more armored zombies. "Looks like they ain't givin' up yet. Go on ahead, I can handle this alone."

"No, Rand. There are too many of them."

"I can kill many at once with both Heat Axe and Flare Hammer. Don't worry about me, just end this nonsense and stop whatever's causing it!"

Elric shot another volley of arrows into the growing mass of undead monsters, the flaming tips eliminating the cursed clowns. "Lance, I'll stay too, give some extra cover fire. Go! We'll keep them off your back!"

Nodding, Lance led the others deeper into the graveyard. It didn't take long for the nest threat to make its appearance. "Oh damn, not more dragon zombies…" The three decomposing creatures sluggishly pulled themselves from the dirt, foul gas escaping their jaws. Luckily for the heroes, the wings were too corroded to be of any use to the monsters. "Good, they can't fly like that other one did…"

As their glowing yellow eyes settled on the warriors, the creatures began to advance. "Let's finish this quickly." Link cried, sending three arrows into the center dragon's face. Though all three hit, they had little effect. "Uh… ok, maybe I should've used magic arrows…" The ice-tipped arrows had a much better effect, freezing the center zombie solid.

"Excellent!" Tikal froze the remaining two, motioning for Lance and Shadow to continue. "We'll keep them on ice while you finish the job! The graveyard can't be much bigger! Hurry!"

As they approached the mausoleum at the furthest end of the cemetery, a small pumpkin lying in the path suddenly expanded to over ten times its original size, completely blocking the way. Several vines expanded underneath it, waving about like tentacles, lifting the obstacle off of the ground. In its center opened a wide, gaping mouth and a single bloodshot eye. "Holy shit…"

"I'll handle this, Lance. You get inside." With a roar, the ebon warrior leapt upward, firing a Twin Dream into the creature's eye. As the beast fiercely recoiled from the blow, Shadow cast Agility on his human ally. "Go! Now!" Taking advantage of his speed boost, Lance wove his way through the pumpkin ghost's tendrils and into the gray stone building.

The shadows within blocked everything from view. To compensate, Lance charged Fire energy into his blade, the red glow illuminating the dark confines of the mausoleum. On the far side, a pulsating black vortex shimmered in the magical light. "That's probably it…" As he approached, the vortex collapsed on itself, reforming into a humanoid creature. "What the hell?!"

"Hell?" The apparition chuckled darkly, "Is that where you want to go? Is that where you want me to send your pathetic little soul?" The shifting shadow finished changing, revealing the form of a Darkman, back to Lance. "That can be arranged…"

The red glow around the boy's blade intensified to a golden hue. "You're the one that caused this?"

Hearing Lance's voice clearly this time, the Darkman seemed to perk up. "Well, well, well… Lance Aran, we meet at last…"

Lance gripped his sword a little tighter, slightly unnerved at the Darkman's tone. "And you are…?"

"Oh, how rude of me! And to you of all people… I assumed you would know me from before…"

"You Darkmen are all the same to me."

"I'm sure Bel'Tasur would hate to hear you say that, after all he's done for you… Oh, I'm sorry, the traitor goes by 'Shadow' now, doesn't he?" The black apparition laughed. "What a weak excuse of a Darkman! Aligning himself with the light, it's revolting."

"Enough talk! Face me coward!"

"My, my… such a temper…" Laughing, the figure spun around to face him, its cape whipping the air as it moved behind him. Lance noticed that the demon's eyes were closed. "Nothing like your Father!"

Lance's blood ran cold at those words, recognition overtaking him. He did know that voice. "You… it was You!"

"That's right boy!" The Darkman's eyes flashed open, the unnatural glow from them almost paralyzing. They were blood-ruby red. "I am Neh'Kdos! Leader of the Darkman tribe and your father's executioner!"

Lance's shock was rapidly converting to rage. The emotional reaction to finally confronting the one responsible for his father's death was taking a severe toll on his senses. "You've been a plague to my race and my family for far too long! Prepare to die!"

Neh'Kdos merely narrowed his eyes, the malicious grin on his face never fading. "Oh no, young Aran… mine is not the soul to depart this day…" The dark warrior extended his arms, each hand holding a small orb of energy. One was glowing green, the other red. "You have a choice, child. You can flee this place now, and perhaps survive long enough to witness the triumphant return of Chaos, or you can stay and face me in a duel of shadows if you dare, but know that if you do you will not be leaving this place alive."

"Bring it on, murderer."

"Very well…" Crossing his arms, Neh'Kdos fused the two orbs together, the red overtaking the green. "Your fate is sealed…" Without warning, he uncrossed his arms again, sending a wave of shadow surging towards Lance.

"Gah!" The startled human shielded his eyes as the black flash engulfed him. After a few seconds, he moved his arm to find he was no longer in the mausoleum. The area seemed to be devoid of anything, only murky shadows surrounding him. Out of the fog lining the floor rose Neh'Kdos, hovering a short distance in front of Lance. Flashing another wicked smile, the Darkman morphed into the pulsing vortex he first appeared as, splitting apart into six identical portals.

"Let the shadow duel commence!"

End Chapter 30