I'm back, but I'm still kinda tied up with various things… Even so, I have 3 new chapters in the works for you all, which I hope you enjoy. I've sent Sol off to join the rest of the party, partly due to the site's new rules, partly because Author's Note conversations were beginning to bore me anyway. In any event, I don't own any of the copyrighted material present in this story. Now, on with the show.

Chapter 31

Necromancer

"Why don't you face me like a man, coward!"

The Darkman laughed, the sound echoing from the six portals slowly orbiting Lance. "And here I thought you were one of the great Chaos Protectors… Surely you are able to handle a little… ADVERSITY!"

"Argh!" The blonde cried out in pain as a sudden slash tore into his shoulder. Clutching it with his left hand, he spun around frantically to find the source of the blow. It wasn't even close to what he was expecting. "What the hell…?"

Retreating into the portal behind him was a greenish apparition. A pair of long sinuous arms each brandished three thick claws, one set of which was dripping the boy's blood. The thin, elongated head blinked its eight eyes as the mandibles at its end twitched happily. "First hit honors appear to be mine, boy." With a creepy chirp, the entire monstrous form vanished into the dark hole. As Lance tried to follow with his sword, all he got for his trouble was a powerful electric shock from the vortex's energy field. "You fool, you can never reach me as long as I'm within my shadow realm! Just give up and save yourself the embarrassment!"

"How…?" Lance clutched his sword a little tighter, looking frantically for the creature Neh'Kdos had apparently transformed into. 'If I can't attack him inside the portals, I'll have to wait for him to come to me…' He thought bitterly, 'And that hit really screwed up my arm… I can't use my shield now…'

A chattering sound to his left immediately dispersed his thoughts. Spinning around, he narrowly escaped another blow. "Not bad, child. You're catching on!" The shadow ghoul again retreated into the vortex, and the violet ring of energy bordering it vanished.

'Huh…? That wasn't there before… I wonder…' Waiting and listening carefully, keeping a close eye on the edges of each vortex. This time he heard a slight whooshing sound, and as he turned to face it, saw Neh'Kdos charging toward him again. "Whoa!" Rolling out of the way, he looked toward the portal his foe had flown out of. The outer rim was a vibrant violet. 'That's it! The color shifts before his attacks! If I pay close enough attention, I can nail him!' Looking around quickly, he waited for the next one to shift color. Again, it was directly behind him. "Not this time!"

"Gah! Impressive!" The creature cried as it retreated again, this time with one claw missing. Lance's counterattack had left it severed at his feet. "However, you're mistaken if you believe you've accomplished anything!" Poking its head out of the portal again, the beast snarled. Its dismembered claw had grown back completely. "You'll have to do better than that!"

With a low growl, Lance began charging energy into his blade, not even paying attention to which element he was using. Closing his eyes, he held his sword out in front of him and waited, intently listening for the next attack. 'Come on… I know you're coming… Do it…'

Neh'Kdos didn't disappoint. "Fool. Enjoy the afterlife!" The shadow ghoul let loose a feral roar as it erupted from the portal directly behind Lance, its claws poised to rip the human warrior to shreds.

"You first." Sensing the attack, Lance crouched before pushing off of the ground into a neat backflip over the charging monster. Shifting his body slightly, he positioned himself to land on the surprised creature's back, blade first. "Having fun yet?"

As the glowing blade sank between the shadow ghoul's shoulders, its roar became a shriek of pain. The energy lacing the weapon erupted into a blast of fire incinerating everything it touched. With a sickening thump, the body of the beast fell to the floor as the blaze raced into the glowing vortex. Before Lance could blink, all six portals burst into flame and vanished, leaving just himself and a pissed off Neh'Kdos in the room. Moments later, they were back in the mausoleum.

"Whoa…" Turning back to the Darkman, Lance's gaze hardened. The evil general had morphed back from the creature he had become for the fight, and was now rising from the stone floor. The only solace in the sight was the fact that the dark warrior was bleeding profusely from the wound just under his right shoulder.

"Grrugh… No one has ever survived that strategy…" Lance's resulting smirk infuriated Neh'Kdos further. "Oh no, child. This is nowhere NEAR being over!" Without warning, the Darkman lunged forward, his Berserker shifting into a devilish trident.

Unfazed, Lance brought his shield up to bear, blocking the enraged thrust. "You're not kidding, asshole!" Quickly shifting his weight, Lance pulled his shield back to the left. Since the trident's tip was still embedded in the shield, the surprised Neh'Kdos was pulled along for the ride, allowing a clean shot at his back. Lance took full advantage of the opportunity. "Tag, bastard."

"You insolent…!" Breaking free, the general shifted his weapon to a double-edged sword and began slashing furiously. Recalling his prior duel with Shadow, Lance blocked each and every attack with an almost serene grace. After quickly analyzing his opponent's movements, Lance slipped in between the flurry of slashes and retaliated with a single one of his own. The force behind the blow cut clear through the chest plate, knocking the Darkman back a few feet. "Argh!"

"What? Is that it?" Lance charged forward, hacking quickly, yet methodically, at the Darkman. Unlike the human, he was unable to block all of the blows. "For a General, you sure don't have much going for you."

"Enough!" A small explosion erupted from within the Darkman, sending a short wave of black energy straight into Lance. Shocked by the sudden attack, the boy recoiled a bit, back to where he was defending mere moments before. "Now you die!" Acting on his foe's disorientation, Neh'Kdos rushed at Lance, intent on running him through.

"Like I said earlier…" Homing in on the furious taunt, Lance slashed forward. Though still blinded by the dark flash, he scored a direct hit. "You first."

"Lance!" The rest of the party rushed to his side as the Darkman recoiled from the blow. "Is that the source of this mess?" The haze lifting from his vision, Lance nodded, his focus never shifting from his opponent.

Curious recognition lit up in Shadow's eyes. "Can this be…? Neh'Kdos, Supreme Leader of the Darkman Army? Defeated like this? Lance, I must say I am impressed!"

Angrily fingering the cross-shaped slash wounds across his chest, the evil warrior glared daggers at the whole party, then focused his cold stare on Shadow. "Bel'Tasur, you filthy traitor… You will die for you treachery!" Neh'Kdos charged again, this time for his fellow Darkman, but Lance's Flare Blade sent him right back where he started. The flames licked at his heavily damaged armor as he snarled at the Protector's leader. "Grr… well met, Aran… Like the true hero that you are… But I am not willing to admit defeat yet. We shall meet again!" Another portal opened behind him, and with a flash, he was gone.

As the vortex disappeared, the wall directly behind it shattered, revealing a second room. A stone walkway crossed over what appeared to be a pool of an eerie green liquid. The ooze emitted an unnatural glow, adding to the creepy ambience already saturating the area. Her eyes quickly adapting to the light, Tikal pointed over to the other side of the room. "Hey, what's that up against the wall?"

Lance examined the bridge before attempting to cross. As he suspected, it wasn't exactly safe. "Nightstone… Shadow, can you cast Agility on me so I can check out what's over there?"

"Of course." With the effects of the yellow magic, the human crossed the enchanted bridge, easily escaping the fall into the green pool below. Walking up to the object, Lance appeared to be puzzled. "What is it?"

"It looks like a tablet of some sort…" Running his hand across its face, he discovered an inscription. "There are some runes written here!"

"What do they say?"

Try as he could, the dim light wouldn't let him decipher the whole message. "I… can't tell for sure… I can't make out all of it in this light…"

Anri floated out from behind Link's shield. "Maybe my glow can help." Flying over, she positioned herself above the passage, illuminating the whole thing. "How's that?"

"Much better. Thanks Anri." Looking closely, he read the words silently to himself. "It looks like some sort of spell…"

"Read it." Shadow suggested, "It may hold the key to stopping the undead here."

Nodding, the human warrior turned toward the tablet. Closing his eyes and concentrating, he spoke the words written before him. "'The rising sun will eventually set, the newborn's life will fade. From sun to moon, moon to sun, give peaceful rest to the living dead.'" At his words, the entire building began to tremble. As the small quake grew in intensity, the green pool began to change.

Link noticed it first. "Hey look! It's turning into normal water!" As the shaking finally subsided, they all saw that the mysterious liquid had converted to a crystal-clear spring, the pure water sparkling in the moonlight coming through the doorway.

With a sigh, Lance crossed the Nightstone bridge right before Agility's effect expired. "Come on…" he said, "Let's head back to town. It's high time we get some sleep." No one disagreed.

End Chapter 31