United Hearts

The next day, they put the plan in motion. Zeniba cast a spell on a small circle of rocks to make them look like the six brides. They appeared to be laughing and having a good time. Off to the side, she made another rock look like Haku; if he weren't guarding Chihiro, it would appear somewhat suspicious.

"He should come by soon; knowing that his brides are in the area," she whispered, "And when he does, follow the plan and hit him with everything we've got. Remember, brains will always beat brawn if they both are used to their maximum capacity." She then hushed Kira before the girl could speak up.

'This is it; the fated moment. We either will find our freedom or all end up in cages. I'd rather go out fighting though. Then, at least I know that I didn't just walk into his prison. Surprisingly, I'm not that scared. I know my friends are all by my side and well fight as one. And…Haku. There's just something about having him by my side that eases all my tensions. I guess that's just how you feel when you're in love. No matter what, you trust one another to watch your back and aid you in life,' Chihiro told herself.

When Inferno didn't show up right away, the group sat down to play with some of Yume's cards. It was a Spirit game called "Elemental Rondo." The object was to get rid of all the cards in your hands. Four types of card existed; Wind, Fire, Water, Earth. To start, a single card was turned from the top of the discard pile. Play went clockwise starting with the one who rolled the highest number on a dice. If he couldn't find a card with the same element or number, he picked one from the deck; if still nothing, his turn ended. The game ended when one person managed to throw away every single card in his hand.

The game went on for a long time because no one seemed to get the right cards. By the end of the game, Kira had about twenty cards in her hands, Kaze had thirty, Hana and Ayame were down to about three, Chihiro had five, Haku had two, and Yume had won. Zeniba didn't play because she was keeping watch. Waiting around for their adversary was starting to get boring; how long would he take?

S...S

Inferno didn't arrive until mid-afternoon; Hana said that he loved to sleep in and surprise the brides with the timing of his visits. The second he saw the camp, he shot a blast at the fake Haku. Then, he swooped down on the other dummies. But at the last second, Zeniba broke the spell and he slammed into the ground, somewhat stunned. When he recovered, he whipped his head back and forth, confused.

Hana called out, "Now gang!" With that, she strewn a veil of rose petals to dance around the enemy. Then, the shadows were called up by Ayame, confusing him alongside the illusions Yume could bring. Inferno looked around wildly, unable to pinpoint the direction the attacks had been cast from.

Then it was time for the physical attacks to supplement the defensive ones. Kaze first threw out a wind gust to knock him back; the Volcano Spirit was promptly tripped by a small army of foxes that had rushed through the clearing. Finally, Chihiro and Haku united their powers once more to strike out with a water gush. Inferno was injured, but not out. And when he recovered, he looked madder than ever.

The Volcano Spirit's head darted back and forth, looking for the culprit. "Where are you girls? You won't get away with this! I'll see to it that all of you are locked into your rooms for a thousand years. The only contact you'll have is with me; I will visit you at least once a day to remind you who is in charge in the castle!" At that moment, flames began rushing out from around his body, scorching everything in a foot radius of his position. Zeniba's guard shield just protected the team before they too were incinerated.

"No! You won't be getting away with this!" screamed Chihiro as she stood up, "We aren't about to sit quietly and let you take over our lives. The six of us are willing to fight for our futures, and when we fight as one, you won't stand a chance!" With that, she began to transform into a Dragon again, as did Haku. The other girls stood in a semicircle around the duo, all preparing for another large scale attack.

"What a laugh; you actually think that you can defeat me. Oh well, I'll humor you ladies a little while longer. But come tonight you will all be sleeping soundly in my castle!" Inferno called back. Then, he too took to his draconic form. And as the girls and Haku, he also prepared to cast another spell.

Zeniba brought up a second shield as Inferno's flames shot towards the six runaway brides. But this one reacted much differently. For starters, it was able to keep any more damage from occurring to the native flora. And secondly, it acted as a mirror; sending the attack right back from whence it came. Inferno was knocked backwards once more, in prime position to be struck at from his enemies' assault.

Chihiro mind called, -Now's the time to strike! He's weakened and easier to damage!- At that instant, they all let loose their abilities at once. Rose petals, shadows, and illusions began going to work to scar Inferno mentally. At the same time, the winds, waters, and a pack of wolves began tearing at his spiritual body. Inferno let out screams of pain, still reeling from being struck down by his own fiery powers. At the last minute, as he screamed, Chihiro and Haku threw a last gush of water in the fray.

Inferno's screams began to echo throughout the clearing; causing sonic booms to emit from his draconic body. A third shield from Zeniba kept the team from being injured in the process. Suddenly, lights strewn from the Volcano Spirit; something was about to explode! And then, in an amazing display of pyrotechnics, he exploded. The gang's barrier was blown back, knocking into a wall of the bathhouse.

Kira exclaimed, "I knew this was a bad idea! I've got a splitting headache from all of the noise. And I think I broke something when I hit the wall!" She began to whimper like a little lost puppy. The pain was getting too hard to bear for one so childish. In fact, she hurt so badly that she was nice to Kaze.

Yume looked around at her dazed friends. "Look on the bright side guys. We killed Inferno and everyone is going to be alright." It was then that she saw an angry Yubaba come flying down from her window, noticing the damage that had now been added to her bill. "Maybe I spoke a little too soon…"

Teefa's Last Words...

I'm surrounded by crazies! My musician is humming songs from an obscure RPG, my artist is drawing things that I don't even want to know why, and my Partner is complaining in my ear about all the mush. Oh well, this is almost over. Next time, we clean everything up. It's funny though. I thought this one would last much longer and this La Pucelle fic I wrote much shorter. But this one was quite short and the La Pucelle fic went on and on and on because I kept getting ideas to add.

Oh, and the reason this chapter is later than usual is because I have an anime convention today, tomorrow and Sunday and I was busy all week putting the finishing touches on my costume.