Chapter 7- Two Worlds One Heart
A/N: Hey guys! I made a slight edit in the last chapter. Instead of Nao telling DS that the badguys were trying to "Revive the goddess" it says that they're trying to "Find the goddess". Just wanted to let you all know in order to avoid any confusion.
Ps. To Enicara: I loved reading your review! It's an honor to be the first story you reviewed! Check at the bottom of the chapter for the answers to your questions!
Jarlath stood in back of the room, as his leader spoke with that shadowy figure on the other side. It had announced that it had finally tracked down a bishop named Misumii, a girl who apparently shared a soul with Heart. "The Black Wings will find this world's key before too much longer. I expect that your people are doing the same."
Helvetius nodded. "My alchemists are on their way to Emain Macha where the key may be located."
Jarlath couldn't tell if the figure was nodding or if that was just the flickering shadows. This person gave him the creeps. How could another world just exist like that? But Helvetius was blinded by the power this figure was offering. What power could rival the goddesses?
The false portal closed and Helvetius turned back to the room where two men were waiting. "Jarlath, go with the corrupted alchemists and make sure that the job is done right." Jarlath nodded and turned toward the door, when the other man spoke up.
"Don't you think you should have told him about that incubus?"
Helvetius didn't even look at the red headed man. "Your dark knights are very useful for gathering information, but that incubus is nothing more than a friend of the siren. Once we find her in Rundal, there will be no need for it to stay with her friends. Just keep watching them."
The man shrugged. "Not like they can do anything to stop us at this point."
"I'm surprised you would join us so quickly, Ruairi."
Ruairi raised an eyebrow at Jarlath. "As long as that woman ends up dead in the end, then I don't particularly care what happens to this forsaken world."
The clanging noise of a fallen pedestal startled the three men. Red flames flew out from Ruairi's hand toward the small shadow in the corner. The tiny imp had no control over its body as the Dark Knight's Control of Darkness took it over. The three men glanced among themselves as the small imp known as Shadowbox walked towards them.
"But that… That is Katherine's imp." Jarlath stuttered.
Helvetius laughed, "and you were worried that she would die. Even from the dungeons, she sends her pets to spy on us.
"Ru…ruairi…" the imp's voice squeaked as it struggled against the dark hold.
"What should I do with it?"
"Tie it to a shop in Dunbarton, where she can't desummon it. Keep a guard nearby incase her friends are still around." Helvetius said as he left the room. Jarlath summoned an owl, sending it out to his corrupted alchemists. Ruairi sighed, picked the imp up by its scarf, and carried it away.
XXX
It was still early in the morning, and the lobby of Rundal dungeon was cold and damp from the morning fog that had rolled down the stairs. "I'm not so sure about this…" Josh was the only one that had yet to step onto the altar of the Goddess Statue.
Fanny rolled her eyes. "It was your idea."
"I know but are we really strong enough to defeat a siren? I've heard that she can hypnotize men just by looking at them."
"Don't be stupid, she has to play her flute or sing to hypnotize anyone."
"Oh that makes me feel so much better."
The Demon Slayer growled in his throat. What a waste of time. He stepped off the altar and grabbed the boy by the collar. "Now is not the time for hesitation." He didn't give Josh much choice as he pulled him to the altar. "Besides, we do not necessarily need to fight her. We need simply to keep her away from the enemy." When Josh had been dragged onto the altar, Fanny tossed down the Siren Dungeon Pass before he could try and get off.
XXX
"You've got to be kidding me…" Demon Slayer sighed as he watched Fanny drop another golden feather over Josh's limp body. This was the fourth time that the boy had gotten knocked out, and these black rats hardly took any effort to defeat.
Fanny knelt down next to Josh, setting her bow on the ground and pulling out some bandages. "Maybe you should just wait outside on the next room?" she suggested when the boy's eyes opened.
"Well I'm sorry that I never trained anywhere harder than Ciar intermediate!" Josh grumbled. This was exactly why he had said coming into Siren dungeon wasn't a good idea. "I never really had to fight anything harder than giant wolves…"
Demon Slayer had been in Ciar and knew that there was indeed a difference between that dungeon and this one. The first being that the labyrinth of Rundal was made up of stone bridges and rooms that floated in a near infinite expanse, surrounded by dark and murky water. Even he could see how the two Milletians avoided the broken walls separating them from the water, as if there was something hiding in its depths, waiting to drag them under.
Even if there was a difference in difficulty, he rolled his eyes at the Josh's arguments. He had little interest in problems of the weak, and this boy was slowing them down. The elf girl was skilled with both bow and magic. It still amazed the Demon Slayer how she was able to use both fighting styles. Back it Maple world, Adventurers were only able to train under one master, in one skill set. This really is a strange and different world.
Josh pushed himself to his feet, once Fanny finished tending to his wounds. His body felt stiff from so much healing. They had to be halfway through the second floor by now, and it was only going to get harder. "I guess we should get going. …Slayer?" His long red hair hid most of his face but his eyes were intense as they stared back down the last hallway. "What's…?"
"Shh."
Fanny came up next to him listening. She could just make out the hushed voices. "Gnoles?" she asked, referring to the dog-like humanoid fomors that they had fought several times already. The Demon Slayer shook his head.
"The energy is different. Closer to humans, but darker."
"Uhh guys?" Josh whispered from behind, "Would now be a bad time to mention that there were some Dark Knights seen near this dungeon yesterday?"
"What!?" Fanny looked ready to smack him. "Why didn't you mention this sooner!" Normally it's difficult to yell and whisper at the same time but she pulled it off pretty well.
"Well they're just guarding a dungeon. I figured it was something for the Paladins to deal with."
The Demon Slayer didn't understand what the fuss was about, "What's so bad about a Dark Knight? That's just a warrior status."
"Don't be stupid!" Fanny snapped, "Dark Knights are fallen Milletians… the ones that fight against the Paladin order." Slayer rolled his eyes again. Just like Mercedes… he thought. "We need to move," Fanny said throwing the key into the lock. The gate dropped into the floor with a clang.
"Did you hear that?" The Dark Knight's voices were right around the corner. Fanny grabbed her bow and ran out of the room; Josh and Slayer were right behind her.
"Why do we not just fight them?" Demon Slayer objected.
"Those aren't just monsters! They're Milletians. Souls that don't die."
"Aren't you those as well?"
Josh answered from just behind him, "We are, but you're not." His breath was coming in rough gasps. The combination of recent healing and running with heavy metal armor was starting to wear him down.
Fog drifted off the water and over the path. In a way, it was a blessing, because as it got thicker, the Dark Knights would not be able to see them across the different paths. However it became less of a blessing, when the lack-of-vision led them straight into a dead end. The heavy knight's armor clanked over the stone, slowly getting closer. Fanny drew back an arrow, preparing to fire the moment she saw a shadow.
"Psst… Over here." At the very end of the pathway, a pale hand waved over railing. The trio exchanged a look, but with the Dark Knights drawing closer, there wasn't much other option. The Demon Slayer pushed off with his wings and landed gracefully on the thin bars of the fence. Keeping his balance, he helped Fanny and Josh to avoid the metal spikes. On the other side of the railing, there was a thin pathway just below the water's surface, invisible to anyone who didn't already know it was there.
The person that had waved them over was running around the next corner. None of them saw her face, but the flash of blue hair was a dead giveaway, to the two that knew the legends. They had been rescued by the siren. The Demon Slayer, who knew nothing of this, followed after the girl, not understanding why Josh and Fanny hesitated.
The path lead them around the edges of the dungeon map, all the while they tried to keep their splashing to a minimum. This was especially difficult for Josh who's heavy armor was weighing down on him even more than usual. Why was the Siren helping them? Did she know something they didn't?
After nearly twenty minutes the Siren stopped and held up a hand telling them to do the same. She pulled herself up to glance over the edge of the platform. Demon Slayer did the same. The room on the other side was a wide open space, a thin layer of water covered the floor, and both gates were raised, their deep red locks glimmering in the light of the torches.
The Siren lowered herself and turned to the group. "We can talk in here. I hid the gate's key. Even if they defeat the Shinegan Warriors they won't find it. But Incubus, I'd like to speak with you first." Fanny and Josh exchanged a look of uncertainty, but the Demon Slayer saw no problem with that and agreed. The group nodded and climbed over the wall. The two Milletians stood in the far corner of the dungeon, their eyes narrowed on the most dangerous fomor of Rundal dungeon.
The Siren led them away to the other side of the final room. The Demon Slayer kept his guard up as the strange girl circled around him curiously. "You are a friend of Katherine's?" she asked.
"I wouldn't exactly say friends since I've never met her. Contrary to what you may think, I am neither an incubus nor a soul of this world."
The Siren shook her head. "I did not mean in this world. I meant you are a friend in your world."
"What!" The Demon Slayer's heart froze. How did this random stranger know? Is this girl Heart really the key to everything? "Wait… You said I knew her in my world?" The Siren nodded. "But I know of no Heart or Katherine."
"Well she was not called Katherine in your world. The partner of her soul is known as Misumii the Bishop."
The memory of a young woman with long purple hair flashed in front of the Demon Slayer's eyes.
Suddenly, the loud clang of the boss room gate rung throughout the room. "THERE SHE IS!"
Josh and Fanny ran to the middle of the room, standing between the Dark Knights and the Siren. Fanny knocked an arrow and fired. The target knight blocked it with his shield. Before she could fire another, the Dark Knight lifted his shield and charged towards her.
Josh jumped in and knocked the charging knight to the side. "Slayer! Get the Siren out of here!" He blocked the sword swung at him and kicked at the knight's stomach. "What the hell are you doing!?"
The Demon Slayer was standing frozen on the spot. His red eyes seemed to be looking right through the Siren in front of him, as she tugged on his arms trying to wake him. Maybe he and Fanny could protect the Siren, but if Slayer were struck down, he'd never revive. Crap… now what.
A/N: To Enicara: Thanks again for the review! It was great!
On the MMO Mabinogi, the Moongates are a sort of teleport system between different regions.
-The crystals are shards fallen from the moon Ladeca, during one of the wars of the past, from a spell of an evil wizard. When the war was over and the wizard was defeated, Druids found that these shards possessed large amounts of mana. They used the shards to make permanent teleporters between towns.
-Originally (and for the purpose of this story) the Gates would only open at night when the smaller partner moon Eweca would be high in the sky, as the crystals would react to the mana charged air that Eweca's appearance caused.
-This is why the gate did not open when Eweca was hidden behind the clouds on that first night. It was not that way in the game but this is my own version of the world.
-In a recent game patch the Moon Gates were made to be open all times of the day. But again for the sake of this story, I am ignoring that and keeping them open only at night when the sky is clear.