Welcome to chapter thirteen of Guardian Wings! -discretely hides four-leaf-clover charm-
Dis: no own, no sue
"You three alright with that?" Arietta asked Lyude, Mizuti, and Xelha. Getting the affirmative, she declared, "Then it's decided. Let's head into Moonguile."
"Oh, before you go…" Larikush went over to his desk and opened the drawer. He took out two Magnus and handed them to her. Looking at them, she grinned. Sacred Spring and Distorting Wind. "I found those a few days ago, and figured that if Kalas ever came back, I'd give them to him, so…"
'Tell him thanks,' Kalas said.
"He says thanks,"she relayed dutifully, "they'll be really helpful."
"Glad I can help. Come back any time if you need anything."
"Yep."
With that, the two girls started off for Moonguile. They didn't get ten feet into the forest before they were confronted by an Unuk and a pair of Shawras.
'Oh geeze…' Kalas complained, 'These things are weak…'
'May as well get this over with…' Gibari sighed.
"Yep…" Arietta agreed. With a flash, her Wings appeared, and at her side, Andriana drew seven Magnus.
"Alright, what do I use first? Is there a specific order?" she asked her friend. Arietta glanced at the cards and blinked. A Saber, a Wave Paddle, two Brass Knuckles, a Ray of Truth, a Sacred Wine, and a Clock Shield.
"Well…" she began carefully, "how do you feel like fighting?"
"Swords. Those look cool." Arietta felt pride come from Kalas
"Alright. Saber, then Ray of Truth and that shield if you get attacked."
"Okay." Their timing couldn't have been better, because the Unuk attacked. Andriana summoned the Clock Shield like she'd been using Magnus all her life, and switched to the offensive before the Unuk knew what hit it. In a second, it was dead, and the Shawras picked that moment to double-team Arietta. She ducked, and pulled out Hellfire.
"Anyone up for barbeque Shawra?" she joked as the monsters were charred beyond recognition. Grinning, she put her Wings away and turned to her friend. "Ready to keep going?"
There was a pause, then- "I SO call the next one." Arietta grinned.
"Then let's go."
There weren't any more monster attacks for a while after that, something that had Arietta puzzled. Usually, the Shawras attacked anything that moved, including each other. Unfortunately, they didn't figure out why until it punched them in the gut.
"Oh, look, two little girls lost in the woods…" purred a soft female voice. The two girls spun around, each with a Magnus in their hands.
"Who's there?" Andriana called to the surrounding forest. There was a soft, husky laugh, and a figure emerged from the forest.
The figure was a woman, with long, silky black hair that flowed down her back. She had porcelain skin, and a perfect nose set between blood-red eyes and lips. Her navy and indigo dress hugged perfect curves, and she was barefoot. A pair of leathery, white bat wings were folded against her back to complete the picture.
"Who're you?" Arietta asked harshly, mimicking what Kalas had said before.
"Beware, for when the white-winged darkness alights upon the land, the world shall fall to Chaos…" she recited playfully, in her dark, seductive voice. With that, she vanished into thin air, leaving a pair of Devil Hands in her place. The monsters wasted no time in attacking the pair of girls.
"Ari! What do I use?" Andriana cried, ducking the swipes aimed to take her head off while desperately looking at the Magnus in her hand.
"What do you have?" Arietta called back, releasing a Shining Seraph.
"Solar Beam, Black Scepter, Cheese, Tempest Shield, Red Impulse, and two Brass Knuckles!"
"Solar Beam, Red Impulse, Brass Knuckles!"
"Thanks!"
While Andriana hacked at the monster, Arietta was trying to think of a way to take out her own.
"Well, any light spells?" she asked, dodging a darkness-based attack. Without a word, three different energies were pushed at her, and she picked a random one. Her Wings vanished in a flash of violet, and Lyude's Sonic Rifle appeared in her hands. Her eyes widened in shock before she smirked and let the finisher shape itself.
"Here goes nothing," she grinned. "Extreme attack: Finale!"
She jumped in the air and the energy-cannon formed around her as Lyude controlled her body to execute the attack. The Devil Hands screamed in pain before it became a pile of so much smoldering goo on the ground.
She watched as Andriana took out her own Devil Hands.
'That kid's got some skill,' Kalas commented.
"Her mother takes kendo, so Andri picked it up," Arietta replied.
"Ari…" Andriana called. She held up a folded piece of parchment.
"What's that?"
"I dunno, but it's got the words Guardian Spirit written on it, so I assume it's for you…"
Arietta groaned and heard echoes from her companions in her head.
"Lemme see…"
The parchment was milky white, with the two words written on it in sapphire ink. She opened it, dread growing in the pit of her stomach.
Too bad, so sad, you've come too late, I took what this place had. Gold, and then Rainbows, then Forest and things, next I will take is the Land of Kings.
'She's headed for Diadem,' Xelha said, 'We need to hurry!'
"Diadem?" Andriana asked, confused. "Isn't that the place with all the clouds?"
"Yeah, and we really gotta hurry if we're gonna head her off."
"Right."
The pair hurried back through the forest, completely bypassing Cebalrai in favor of zipping through Nunki Valley to Pherkad. Just like in Anuenue, the capital city was deserted and there were monsters everywhere. The Diadem Express Liner wasn't in port, but fortunately, Melodia's ship was there. After a hurried order to take off for Diadem, the two girls fell into their seats, exhausted.
"Was it like this last time with that what's-his-name?" Andriana asked, massaging her aching arms.
''What's-his-name'?' Lyude asked.
'I think she means Malpercio,' Xelha replied.
'Yeah, it was pretty much like this,' Kalas said to Andriana. She looked at Arietta.
"How did you survive all that?" she asked in awe. Arietta grinned.
"Because Kalas is stubborn as an ass, Xelha's got her Queenly privileges, Gibari's strong as a friggin ox, Lyude knows politics, Savyna's got her military stuff, and Mizuti's just… Mizuti," she said. She laughed out loud at the varying replies.
'She's got ya pegged, kid,' Gibari said to a fuming Kalas.
'The Great Mizuti be called 'The Great Mizuti' and be invincible!' Mizuti corrected.
'Of course I know military, I was part of the Mad Wolf Unit,' Savyna stated, a hint of laughter in her voice.
'Hey! I only used my status that one time!' Xelha said indignantly.
'I'm an Ambassador, I must know politics,' Lyude laughed.
Andriana grinned. "Hey, I heard more than just Xelha that time! Cool!" Her grin spread to Arietta.
"On to Diadem, then!"
Review, please?
