Author's Note: Chapter 2, hopefully the real action will begin.

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The following morning, the group met at Will's house, then made their way to Port-on-Rage, where the boats dock with the Legacy. The group boarded the ship that sailed over to the Crusand Empire, then departed the ship upon arrival.

"Senel, you said you were one of Vaclav's soldiers once, correct?" Will asked. "Do you know how to reach Crusand Castle from here?"

"Yeah, it's this way." Senel led the group across the dirt fields en route to the gray stone castle that could be seen in the distance. As they got closer to the castle, they noticed that it was surrounded with green grass and bushes. When they arrived, the sun began to turn orange.

"Man, I'm beat," Norma said. "And we haven't even gone inside yet."

"But we have to hurry," Chloe said. "I feel nervous about leaving Elsa on the Legacy. We should get this finished as quickly as possible."

"We'll stop and rest here," Will said. "We'll need to be in tip-top condition before we enter the castle."

"And we'll have a better chance of sneaking in after it gets dark," Jay added.

"It's settled then," Senel said. "We'll hide out here until nightfall, and then we'll go in."

The party nodded in agreement.

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When the sun went down, the sky became a midnight blue. The party stood up, now ready to enter the castle...almost.

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Senel asked.

"Not until we do something about sleepy down there," Will said.

The group looked down to see Norma sleeping soundly on the ground, snoring softly.

"Red and JJ are playing in bed..." she muttered aloud.

"Hey!" Moses and Jay yelled in unison.

They knelt down on either side of her, tugging on her ears.

"Ow, my ears...no pulling...no pulling..."

"Wake up!" Moses and Jay yelled.

"Aaahh!" Norma sat up with a scream.

Will folded his arms. "Are you awake now?"

"Completely."

"Good. Let's go."

The group crossed the drawbridge quickly but quietly, then headed for a stairway that led to the upper level. They looked up at the castle, many catwalks and bridge were strewn all over the place in a chaotic order.

"Whoa...this place is huge," Norma said.

"Norma, do you know where this eres stone is hidden?" Senel asked.

"Or what kind of monster it came from?" Will added.

"Hmm..." Norma pondered for a moment. "It came from a giant ogre creature of some sort. Where it might be, I have no idea."

"You mean they have ogres in the castle?" Chloe asked.

"I wouldn't put anything past Vaclav," Senel said. "He did bring dragons from the mainland, after all."

"Yeah, that's true..."

"Come on, let's proceed with caution," Will told them.

They began to sneak down the path, but then they heard a whooshing sound. Jay looked up to see a large fireball heading in their direction.

"Watch out! Get back!" he called.

The group backed off as the fireball slammed into the gazebo, blasting it to bits.

"What the hell?" Moses exclaimed.

"They have catapults," Jay said.

"They know we're here!" Shirley cried.

"But how?" Chloe asked.

"Move now!" Senel ordered.

He led the group down the path, then stopped them underneath the bridge. They waited as another catapult blast exploded somewhere nearby. The group made a right turn, going up another set of steps, leading to another set of bridges. The group stopped at the top of the steps. A large door stood to their left, which presumably was the way inside. However, they could also see the catapults set up at various points along the roof.

"There's the entrance!" Will said. "Let's hurry up and get inside."

The group ran to the door. Senel grabbed the door handle and jerked on it, but it wouldn't budge. He pounded on the door with his fist, and kicked it a few times.

"Damn, it won't budge!" he cried.

"It looks sturdy," Jay said. "We'll need some heavy firepower if we're going to break through."

Norma looked behind her at one of the catapults. "Um...you guys?"

Everyone turned around to see another catapult blast flying directly towards them.

"Everyone, get to the side!" Senel ordered.

The group scrambled in opposite directions; Moses and Norma let out a scream as the blast slammed into the door, blasting it to pieces.

Chloe picked herself up after the blast. "Well, I guess that's one way to do it."

"Let's hurry and get inside!" Will said.

The group ran through the opening, dashing through the door on their right and slamming it behind them. Now they found themselves in an armory, with a staircase ahead of them. To the right of the staircase was a wooden table, and a silver sword embedded in the wall in the back.

"Whew..." they muttered in unison.

"Glad that's over," Senel said.

"Oh, it's over. What a shame," Grune said.

"And...why is that a shame?" Norma asked.

Grune smiled. "Those fireworks were so pretty, weren't they?"

Everyone blinked at her. "She thought they were shooting fireworks?" they asked in unison.

"Shh! Quiet!" Jay hissed.

The group fell silent. Now they could hear an incoherent chanting whisper.

"What's that chantin' I'm hearin'?" Moses asked.

"It's probably coming from upstairs," Senel said.

"I wonder what it is?" Grune asked. Without waiting for a response, she slowly began to climb up the stairs.

"Grune?" Senel said. "Let's follow her."

The group followed her upstairs, but stopped abruptly when they saw a group of bald men with pale white skin and long black robes. The room itself surrounded the staircase in a rectangular form, while the spears were stored on either side of the wall.

"What the hell?" Moses gasped. "Who're these guys?"

Grune approached the robed figures with a smile. "Hello there. The weather is beautiful, isn't it?"

"G-Girl, this is hardly a time to be talking about the weather," Norma said.

She rushed and and pulled Grune back as one of the figures swung his flail at them. The rest of the group drew their weapons, squaring themselves to fight.

"Look sharp, everyone!" Will called.

Senel, Chloe, and Jay rushed in to attack. Moses threw his spear across the room, striking the figure in the chest. During the battle, Chloe looked around.

"There's no way out!" she cried.

Jay suffered a heavy blow from a flail, knocking him into the wall, where a golden sword was embedded. Acting more on impulse than anything, he ripped the sword from the wall. He then turned around and examined the indentation carefully.

There's something behind this wall, he thought. Come to think of it, there was a similar sword downstairs. I wonder if we need to switch the swords in order to proceed?

He tossed it across the room; Moses ducked to avoid being hit.

"Damn it, Jay!" he cried. "Are you tryin' to kill me?"

"Place that sword in the indentation downstairs!" Jay called. "And then bring the other sword up here!"

Will picked up the sword. "Understood."

He went down the stairs, and everyone followed, except Grune and Jay.

"Hey, you don't have to leave me!" Jay cried.

Grune smiled. "It's all right, Jay. I'll stay with you."

"Thanks..." Jay said, his voice drenched in sarcasm.

He began to shove his way past the robed figures towards the stairs. However, one of them reached out, picked him up, and draped him over his shoulder.

"Hey, what the...?" he cried out. "Put me down! Senel! Will!"

Grune put her finger to her chin, apparently in thought. "Oh dear. Don't worry, Jay. I'll save you."

She turned to examine the spears stored on the wall while the robed figure carried Jay to the staircase with slow, small steps.

"Now which one should I use?" Grune wondered.

"Grune!" Jay screamed. "Forget about that! Just help me!"

"Let's try this one." Grune pulled a spear from the rack. "I'm going to give it my all. Charge!"

She ran around the railing, stabbing the robed figure in the abdomen with the spear. Jay simply dropped to the floor. Then he jumped up in horror as the figure's body began to melt right then and there. The body quickly melted into a thick brown sludge.

"Wh...what was that?"

Grune was still smiling. "So how was that?" she asked. "Was that good, Jay?"

"Yeah...that was great."

While downstairs, Will pulled the silver sword from the indentation and replaced it with the golden sword. Just then, several more robed figures burst into the room from the door behind them.

"Oh no, there's more of them!" Shirley cried.

One of the figures lunged forward, grabbing Shirley and draping her over his shoulder.

"Ahh! Senel!" she screamed.

"Shirley!" Senel cried.

Will concentrated, focusing his power for a quick spell. "Lightning!"

A lightning bolt struck the figure, freeing Shirley. Again, the body melted into a brown sludge as Shirley picked herself up and moved away.

"Eeuw, that is so gross!" Norma cried.

"What the?" Moses exclaimed.

"Let's take these guys out!" Senel cried.

"Got it!" Chloe agreed.

Senel pounded one of the remaining figures with punches, while Chloe slashed the other one with her sword. The two figures collapsed to the ground, also melting into the sludge. Then the group ran back upstairs.

"We've brought the sword," Will said.

"Thank you." Jay took the sword and placed it in the indentation on the back wall. Sure enough, the pane slid open, revealing a red door.

"Whoa..." the group muttered.

"Heh heh...I knew that all along," Norma said.

"Uh-huh, sure you did," Senel responded.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked. "Who were these robed men? They didn't look like Vaclav's soldiers."

"They looked like monks," Will said. "They appeared human, but their behavior was clearly not human. Especially with the way their bodies disintegrated after they died."

"And they were shooting catapults at us as soon as we snuck in!" Norma pointed out. "It's like they knew we were coming!"

"Maybe they saw us hiding outside before it got dark," Shirley said.

"They were also trying to kidnap Shirley," Senel added.

"Oh, they tried to take Jay as well," Grune said.

"They probably want to capture any one of us for interrogation," Jay said. "They probably want to know why we're here before they eliminate us."

"Yes, we're obviously not welcome here," Will agreed. "This castle is full of mysteries. The sooner we find what we're looking for and get out of here, the better off we'll be."

"I helped, too," Grune said. "When they grabbed Jay, I picked up a spear. And then I said, 'Charge!' And then I stabbed the monk and saved Jay. Aren't you proud of me?"

"Yeah, we're thrilled, G-Girl," Norma said.

"We're grateful for your help," Will added.

"Well, shall we continue our search?" Jay asked.

The group nodded. They then proceeded through the door, which led to another outdoor area. They headed straight for a large brown door straight ahead. This room was quite large and hollow, with large chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. There was a catwalk up ahead, where the group could hear an evil laugh...a familiar evil laugh.

"Listen..." Chloe said. "That laugh..."

Jay's eyes widened. "No...not here on the mainland..."

"There's only one sneaky, two-faced bastard who laughs like that," Moses said.

To confirm their suspicions, a man with a dull blonde ponytail and a wrinkled face stepped up to the railing on the catwalk.

"Solon!" the group exclaimed in unison.

"Welcome, everyone!" Solon said. "Please make yourselves at home. Do you like my new army? They're ruthless, brutal, and violent, just how I like them."

"What are you up to this time?" Senel asked.

"Now, now, there's no need to be so hostile after I've come out here personally to greet you," Solon said.

Norma stomped her feet. "Hostile? Your crazy monks were shooting catapults at us, and you're calling us hostile?"

"Well, might I inquire as to why you've all come here?" Solon asked.

"What do you care?" Senel snapped.

"Yeah, cut the 'gracious host' act already!" Norma added. "We all know that you're a mean, cruel, violent sadist!"

Solon sighed. "Very well, I'll get right to business then. If you care about your own lives, why don't you surrender yourselves? Or, Mr. Coolidge, you can just hand over the Radiant girl and walk away."

Shirley quickly hid behind Senel.

"Like hell I'll hand her over to you!" Senel shouted.

Solon shook his head. "As fiesty as ever, aren't we? Regardless, it's always a pleasure to see you, Jay, my dear apprentice..."

Jay narrowed his eyes. "Damn you..."

"Come, Jay, join me, and return to your old life. I'll forgive you for straying from your true destiny."

"No way!"

"Fine! You will die regretting your foolishness!" Solon turned and walked away.

"Hey, get back here!" Moses yelled.

Will folded his arms. "Well, this certainly complicates things."

"Indeed. What is Solon doing here?" Chloe asked. "He wasn't part of the Crusand Empire, was he?"

"No...he probably took the castle after Vaclav was defeated," Jay said. "But even I don't know the origin of those monks."

"They're probably Jay's relatives," Moses said.

"They are not my relatives!" Jay shouted. "How dare you lump me with them!"

"That reminds me of something," Norma said. "JJ, those assassins who kidnapped you before were So-So's men, weren't they?"

"Huh?" Jay was confused at first, but then he remembered that So-So was the nickname that Norma had created for Solon. "Oh...yes, that's right."

"Jay..." Senel said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Jay glared at him. "I didn't think it was that difficult to figure out."

"He's right, Coolidge; we should have realized it ourselves," Chloe said. "Solon was the only one on the Legacy with ninjas under his command."

"At any rate, we should keep the eres stone as our first priority," Will said. "We'll worry about Solon later."

"Damn him!" Jay shouted, stepping ahead of the group. "He'll never stop torturing me! I can't take it any more! I'll finish him with my own hand!"

Moses approached him. "Jay."

Jay swiped his dagger at him. "What?"

"Come here for a sec."

Jay raised an eye as Moses led him over to the side of the room.

"Don't worry, I'm fine," Jay insisted.

"Just remember that you're with us," Moses told him. "We won't let that Solon torture you anymore."

"Oh...thanks."

"And remember that you're my little brother. I'm your big brother, so you can come to me anytime."

"That's...that's very...kind of you, Moses," Jay said.

Moses grinned. "Ain't it?"

"However, I liked you better as a decoy."

"Hey!"

Jay ignored his outburst and rejoined the rest of the group, who only stood there blinking. Moses followed Jay back as well.

"We finally got us a tender moment, and you had to go and ruin it!"

"Ooh, talking about tender moments, huh?" Norma asked. "Does that mean that Hattie was serious about you two being lovers?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Now I understand why Moses calls you Bubbles. Just an empty ball that pops at the slightest touch."

"Hey, that wasn't very nice!"

"All right, we've done more than enough lollygagging," Will said. "We must get moving."

"Yes, there's no reason to keep standing around talking in here," Jay agreed.

The group nodded in agreement, then proceeded deeper into the castle.