Author's Note: This chapter turned out to be longer than usual. But then again, it involves a fight. Normally I don't do fights very well...but enjoy Ch. 4 anyway.
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Chapter 4

The group ended up waiting through the remainder of the three week period until the day of the talent show. They sat at Madame Musette's house for breakfast that morning.

"Thank you all so much for coming," Musette said. "I must admit that breakfast is much livelier with such company."

"Don't mention it," Senel said. "We all feel the same way."

"Hey Dad, guess what!" Harriet said. "I got a special assignment from school yesterday!"

"Really? What's this assignment?" Will asked.

"I'm supposed to write a report on my parents' jobs. I only have one parent, and my dad has the coolest job in Werites Beacon...no, the whole Legacy! I never knew that being a sheriff on the Legacy would be so cool!"

Will hung his head. "I'm not a sheriff...I'm a natural historian! Besides, my job is also the most dangerous job in Werites Beacon. Well, I'll do whatever I can to help."

"You know, Hattie, you should worry about your talent show picture," Norma said.

"My talent show picture is finished, thank you very much!" Harriet told her. "What about your stupid song?"

"No, my song is not stupid! And no, my song is not finished!"

Then a revelation suddenly hit Norma. "Oops."

"Please!" Jay interrupted. "Some of us would prefer to have breakfast in peace."

"Yeah, and Jay ain't one of them," Moses threw in.

Jay sighed. "Can't you keep your stupidity to yourself for once?"

"Pipe down, you two," Will said.

Meanwhile, Senel noticed that Chloe was eating very slowly, mostly picking at her food.

"What is it, Chloe?" he asked.

"I can't believe we're just waiting around for Vaclav to make his move," Chloe said.

At that moment, the three Scallop Brothers rushed in. "Jay! Jay! Jay!"

Jay seemed surprised at the outburst. "Wh...what is it?"

"It's Vaclav! He's making his move!" Pippo said.

"Use the Poppo Scooters to get to the bridge and stop him!" Poppo said.

Everyone sighed.

"All right, we'll head out now," Will said. "Madame, if you'll excuse us..."

"Of course, Will," Musette said.

"Ooh, I'll go, too!" Harriet said.

"No, it's too dangerous," Will told her. "This is Vaclav we're dealing with."

"I know! That just makes it more exciting! My report is gonna look so awesome when I write about Vaclav and the Terrors!"

"Meeting Vaclav and the Terrors isn't something to get excited about," Senel said.

"Yeah, Vaclav plays dirty," Moses added. "There ain't no tellin' what he'll do to you."

"Please, let me go with you!" Harriet continued to plead. "I'll be really careful, I promise!"

"Oh, just let her come with us, Teach," Norma said. "Let her learn the hard way."

"Hey, I won't get hurt!" Harriet cried. "I'm coming with you, no matter what!"

"Excuse me," Jay said. "The longer we argue about this, the more time Vaclav will have to carry out his plans."

Will sighed. "All right, Harriet. If you come with us, you have to promise to stay clear of the battle. Understood?"

Harriet frowned. "Yeah, okay."

"Here we go!" Moses called.

The group stepped outside Werites Beacon with their scooters.

"Are you ready, Harriet?" Will asked.

"Yeah, I got my pen and my notebook handy," Harriet said.

"Remember what I told you..."

"I know! You don't have to warn me about every little thing!"

Harriet clung tightly onto Will as they stepped onto the Poppo Scooters.

"Hang on, Harriet," Will said. "We have a terrible habit of crashing on these scooters."

Harriet gasped. "You what??"

Everyone revved up the scooters and took off. When they caught sight of the bridge entrance, they squeezed the brakes well ahead of time. They slowly came to a stop right at the bridge entrance.

"Wow, we actually stopped that time," Norma said.

"It looks like we have to hit the brakes early," Will said. "Let's try not to go too fast."

The group nodded in agreement, then carefully rode into the bridge.

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Meanwhile, on the top floor, Vaclav was receiving the report.

"Senel and his friends are here?"

"Yes, sir," Melanie said. "They're riding some odd scooters."

Solon shrugged. "I knew it wouldn't be long before they discovered our plans. I would expect no less from my own apprentice."

Cashel gave him a look. "It almost sounds as though you feel some love for that little punk."

"Of course I do. I just love to make him miserable. You should see how the poor boy trembles at the mere sight of me. The last time we met, I experimented with a whole new form of molestation. I hope to go much farther with it next time. I was so enjoying it."

"Amusing. I'd like to hear more about it later."

Solon turned to Vaclav. "Commander, would it be to much to ask for Jay to be spared?"

Vaclav pondered for a moment. "You realize how dangerous he is, don't you?"

"Of course. He is my pupil after all. He can't be any more dangerous than myself. I'll be sure to keep him on a tight leash."

"Very well. You may do with him as you please."

Solon turned his back to the others. "Heh heh...Jay...wait'll you see what I have in store for you next. Your life will be spared, but you'll wish you were dead."

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The group rode along the corridors of the bridge on the Poppo Scooters. Navigating through the straight corridor was a breeze...but up ahead was a sharp right turn.

"Hang on, Harriet!" Will called.

Harriet clung tightly to her father. The party members swerved to the right, hoping to make the turn smoothly, but they crashed into the side wall. They slowed down, then came to a stop in front of the duct. After stopping, thr group walked the scooters into the duct to the next area. There, they found themselves in an empty room, where they had defeated Melanie the first time.

"Harriet, how are you feeling?" Will asked.

"That crash really hurt," Harriet said. "Don't you know how to ride these things?"

Senel frowned. "Not really, no."

"Let's rest here for a bit," Will suggested.

The group sat down in the middle of the floor. Harriet looked around.

"So this is the Legacy's bridge," she said. "Lemme write that down..."

"So Hattie, what kind of painting did you make for the talent show?" Norma asked.

"Hmph! I'm not telling!" Harriet said. "But it has a row of houses, pretty green grass, a clear blue sky, and a fine dirt road."

"So you just told us anyway..."

"Hey Dad, is it really okay to just sit here in Vaclav's territory?"

"We do this all the time," Senel assured her.

"Yeah, nothing ever happens when we take a break in these places," Norma added.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Vaclav's soldiers along with the three Terrors stepped into the room from all directions. The Terrors held their respective weapons, while the soldiers aimed their crossbows at the heroes.

"Hold it right there," Melanie said dryly.

"Oops, break time's over!" Moses called. "Time to go! Yeehaw!"

As he said this, the party scrambled to their feet, hopped on the scooters and took off through the doorway ahead.

"Damn you!" Cashel yelled.

"Let's not get worked up just yet," Solon said. "I doubt they'll be able to elude the Commander's trap."

The party members rode the scooters up the slopes leading to the top floor of the bridge. Then they rode down the final corridor towards the control room. However, as they neared the room, a column of glowing green bars shot across the center of the room. The party instantly panicked as they squeezed on the brakes as hard as they could. In her panic, Harriet lost her grip and fell off the scooter, rolling several feet along the floor.

However, it was too late for the rest of the party. They crashed into the bars, seemingly sticking to them, while the scooters passed through harmlessly, crashing into the wall. Everyone struggled, but they could not pull themselves off the bars. Soon, a green light flashed throughout the room, and the bars were transformed into a green net, collecting the party members and pulling them into the air.

"What the hell!?" Moses groaned.

"Don't tell me it's a trap!" Jay exclaimed.

"Did Poppy even put brakes in those things?" Norma asked.

"I was beginning to wonder that myself..." Senel lamented.

"Jay, get your arm out of my face!" Moses cried.

"I can't help that you're so big and stupid," Jay responded.

Norma gave Moses a shove. "Red, move over!"

Moses shoved her back. "You move over!"

"Go find your own net!"

"Shut up!" Senel cried.

"Would you all stop it already?" Will scolded.

"Oh my..." Grune gushed. "Let's have a group hug."

"Huh?" the others asked in unison.

"Listen to them squabble..." a familiar voice said from below. "It's hard to believe these were the people who bested us before."

The party stopped squabbling and looked down. Commander Vaclav stood in the center of the room with the three Terrors.

"Welcome, everyone," Vaclav added.

"You don't look so tough now!" Cashel taunted.

"In fact, you seem kind of helpless," Melanie said.

"Yeah, we seem helpless..." Jay whispered to himself.

"What do you want, Vaclav?" Senel growled.

"Why, vengeance, of course," Vaclav responded. "I was so close to holding the whole world in the palm of my hand...and then you ruined everything!"

The party fell silent for a moment.

"What about you, Solon?" Jay asked out of nowhere. "I never expected that you would follow the orders of a commander."

"Hmm, neither did I," Solon told him. "However, you could say that I also seek vengeance. Plus, Vaclav has given me the chance of a lifetime. The chance to create a world of war."

Jay sighed. "I'm sorry I asked..."

"Jay, why don't you do away with that sarcastic attitude and join me?"

"Must we do this again? I already told you, no."

"I highly recommend that you join us, Jay!"

"I don't care what you recommend! The answer is no!"

"Enough talk!" Vaclav interrupted. "It's time to decide how we're going to finish them."

Solon drew his sword. "Leave that to me. It's time for you to die. Jay, you alone will be spared. You should thank me. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Grr..." Jay glared at Solon with the angry glint in his eyes.

Just then, Harriet came into the room casually, stopping right in front of the villains. She paid no attention to the net above her that contained her father and the rest of the group.

"What's going on?" Cashel asked. "Who is this kid?"

"Me?" Harriet responded. "I'm Harriet. Harriet Campbell. I'm here on a school assignment."

"Harriet, get out of there!" Will demanded.

Harriet looked up at him. "Pipe down, Dad! I'm trying to do my homework here!"

"This is no school, kid," Vaclav said. "Now get lost."

"I'm not leaving until I take good notes!" Harriet snapped. "Now, you're Commander Vaclav, right? What has my dad done to you?"

"Your father...along with Senel and the rest of these brats...thwarted my plan to conquer Gadoria with the Nerifes Cannon!"

"I see..." Harriet said, writing in her notepad. She then turned to the three officers, focusing on Melanie. "And you must be the three Terrors. You must be Melanie the Crimson, because there was only one female Terror, right?"

"That's right," Melanie said.

"Harriet!" Will called.

Jay nudged him. "Will, please calm down. While Harriet has them distracted, we can think of a way out of this situation."

"Hey, that's a good idea," Senel said. "So what are we gonna do?"

Harriet turned her attention to Cashel. "Let's see...you wear a mask, so you must be Stingle the Vicious!"

Cashel folded his arms. "No, I'm Cashel."

Harriet raised an eye. "Cashel? Cashel the Phantom? No way!"

Cashel vanished in a puff of smoke, then reappeared with his multiple shadows surrounding Harriet. "Yes way."

"Whoa! Okay, I'll write that down..." Harriet wrote in her notepad again. "Cashel...not Stingle..."

She then turned to Solon. "So you must be Stingle."

"No, I am Solon. Stingle is no longer one of the Terrors."

"Huh??" Harriet wrote down more notes. "So Stingle retired...and they said he was the newcomer."

"Stingle was a goody-two-shoes," Cashel said.

"Okay." Harriet made that note as well. "So Solon, what do you do?"

"I live for war, I have fun just killing and seeing people suffer," Solon replied.

"Okay, cool."

"I also enjoy molesting children on the side."

"Okay, that's not so cool...but I'll write it down anyway."

"Um, Will?" Shirley started. "What did Harriet say her assignment was about?"

"It was supposed to be a report on her parents' occupation," Will said.

"It looks like she's more interested in Vaclav than in your job, Teach," Norma said.

"That's quite enough, kid," Vaclav said. "As a reward for your bravery, you can watch your father die with your own eyes!"

Harriet looked up at the net again. "What? You're going to kill him?"

"I've been looking forward to this..." Melanie said.

"But...my song!" Norma cried. "I haven't even finished the song yet! I was almost finished, too! Please, let us finish our song before we die!"

"'Us'?" Will asked.

"'Our song'?" Senel added.

The party members glanced at each other, and realized that they were all thinking the same thing.

"What should we do?" Melanie asked.

"They're trying to trick us!" Cashel cried.

Vaclav pondered for a moment. "Well, I suppose they are entitled to a final request. Very well, but make it quick!"

"Okay, on three," Norma said. "One...two...three!"

The group began to sing in unison.

You had a reason, you had a rhyme
But you were way wrong to cross my line
You were the soul mate, you were the crime
You've gone too far, you've crossed my line!

Jay pulled his dagger and swung it outward, slicing the net open. The party dropped to the ground, but quickly picked themselves up. Jay twirled his dagger tauntingly.

"Did you really think you could constrict us with a simple net?" he asked.

"All right!" Harriet cheered. "Come on, Dad, show these guys what you're made of!"

"You insolent child, you distracted us!" Vaclav growled. "Kill her at once!"

"With pleasure!" Cashel grinned behind his ninja mask as he raised his tonfa blades. Harriet gasped and shrank back.

Will extended his glowing fist, and a lightning bolt struck Cashel.

"Harriet, clear out!" Will called.

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Harriet ran out of the control room, then peeked through the doorway.

"Vaclav!" Senel yelled. "You're going down!"

"Get them!" Vaclav ordered.

The Terrors and iron erens rushed towards each other, while the crystal erens backed off. Harriet watched the ensuing battle while jotting notes in her notepad.

Melanie came towards Will as he was casting his spell. Will aborted his spell and moved to the side. Melanie came to a halt.

"Hold still!" she ordered.

Will gripped his hammer and swung it low, striking Melanie's legs and knocking her to the ground.

"All right, Dad!" Harriet cheered.

Jay backed off, holding his knife towards Cashel, who slowly advanced on him.

"You..." Cashel growled. "I would have stopped Senel if it wasn't for you. Prepare for your punishment!"

Jay twirled his knife one more time. "Impress me."

Moses ran to Jay's side. "Jay!"

When Jay ignored him, Moses grabbed him by both wrists and began swinging him in circles. Cashel charged at them, but Moses swung Jay around, striking Cashel in the face and knocking him to the floor.

Harriet took down more notes. Stupid bandit.

"Let me know when you've had enough!" Moses said as he continued to swing Jay in circles. "You can get dizzy, goin' 'round and 'round like this."

"M...Moses!" Jay cried.

"Enough of this foolishness!" Vaclav yelled. "Hell strike!"

He released a red dome of energy from his body. Only Moses, Jay, and Shirley were within its range. Moses hit the floor while Jay flew across the room, crashing into the wall before hitting the floor.

Moses stood up, thoroughly stunned from the attack. "Ugh...now I feel dizzy..."

Jay was also stunned. Solon took advantage of this and seized him from behind.

"Gotcha!"

Jay squirmed for a bit, then repeatedly rammed his elbow into Solon's ribs. Solon tried to endure as he held on tightly, but eventually the pain became unbearable, and he lost his grip. Jay stumbled forward, then spun around to face his former master, dagger in hand. Solon unsheathed his sword and charged at Jay, but the apprentice flipped over him, kicking him in the back just before landing. Solon hit the ground, then rolled onto his back.

Jay sprang up into the air, gripped his dagger with both hands, then landed with his feet on either side of Solon's body, and thrust his dagger downward. However, Solon reached up and grabbed Jay's wrists before the dagger could penetrate him. Jay continued to strain, aiming his dagger at Solon's throat. However, Solon held on tightly, preventing the dagger from stabbing him.

Finally, Solon threw both of Jay's arms to his right, then kicked him away. Jay hit the ground, immediately rolling backwards to his feet, breathing heavily.

"Damn you!" he growled.

Solon stood up as well. "Let's be certain about one thing. I will not die by your hand. Do I make myself clear?"

"Damn you!" Jay screamed again.

Meanwhile, Vaclav targeted Shirley while she was stunned. He lunged at her, and Shirley wrestled with him, trying to get him off. Finally, Shirley pulled her arm back, twirled her fist, then threw a fierce punch to Vaclav's face, sending him flying across the room.

"Whoa, nice punch, Shirl," Norma said.

Shirley smiled. "Thanks. I learned that from Senel."

Will looked around. We can't keep fighting with Harriet here, he thought.

"Everyone, retreat!" he called.

The party ran to the scooters, then rode away. Harriet grabbed onto Will as he passed. Melanie lashed out with her whip, wrapping it around Moses' scooter. Instantly, she was yanked by the whip and was being dragged along the floor as the scooters rode down the corridor.

Moses turned back to see Melanie. "Hang in there, baby! This is gonna be a wild ride!"

Jay pulled alongside Moses. He threw his dagger, and it plunged into Moses' scooter, severing Melanie's whip. Melanie only slid a few more feet before coming to a stop.

The party members rode the scooters to the bottom floor, then successfully exited the Legacy's Bridge.