This has been the hardest chapter to write so far. Mostly because I feel as though I am having trouble making the characters... well stay in character. Dante and Zhalia are the ones I am having the most trouble with, this is because they both have unique characteristics which reqire more attention on their actions when writing about them. I have read over this chapter countless times to try and ensure that it will be good enough... There are still some areas that I am unsure of.

Disclaimer: I do not own Huntik.

Chapter 7

Sophie POV.

"Sophie the Spiral is starting to wake up. He will know that I knocked him out." Zhalia spoke quietly, hovering anxiously near the bars.

"Use Simplemind on him."

"Why did you want me to knock him out in the first place then if he would just return to his position... Apart from not wanting him to overhear the conversation...I don't want to waste my powers on nothing."

"I didn't want him to hear us talking to Dante because he would then alert Rassimov."

"I just pointed that out that I already knew that if you bothered listening." Zhalia muttered then used Simplemind to make the Spiral become unaware of the girl's previous actions. The Spiral resumed his position and every few moments gave a sly glance into the cell.

Sophie ignored Zhalia and slowly walked over to the bars closest to the Spiral. "Sir... What is the time?" The Spiral turned to glare at her but Sophie kept a sweet smile on her face.

"Do not talk to me Casterwill!" Anger appeared to pump through the mans body and his eyes and fist started to glow with a power as he slowly advanced towards Sophie.

Sophie sighed and gave a grim smile, "Well you're useless... Raypulse." the Spiral fell back and again fell unconscious.

"Sophie didn't I just point out that I really don't want to have to use my powers on him again to make him forget what you..."

"You won't have to." Sophie cut Zhalia off and walked over to the cell door and destroyed the lock with a spell. Casually as if nothing had happened Sophie swung the door open and walked out, carefully stepping over the unconscious Spiral, she suddenly paused, grimacing and rubbing her wrists but then continued to walk.

"Sophie where are you going?" Zhalia didn't bother whispering this time as no one else was around to hear. She followed Sophie down a dark eerie corridor; the sound of constant dripping water followed them wherever they turned.

"We want to make it easy for Dante to find us and get you... I don't think that any of us would be up to facing a whole army of Bloodspirals in battle today."

Zhalia grabbed hold of Sophie and gave her a critical look. "Sophie... What do you mean by saying that Dante will be getting me?"

Sophie looked away and pulled out of Zhalia's grasp and continued to walk, not answering. Zhalia frowned in frustration towards the head strong Casterwill girl. But followed her without sparking anymore conversation.

Zhalia POV.

They finally reached the entrance of the long narrow cave. The hot barren landscape met them and immediately Zhalia lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the sun's glare. She slowly scanned her eyes across the land around them, taking everything in; suddenly a ledge in the distance caught her eye. It was large enough to hide an aircraft behind it.

"Sophie, head over there. That is where Dante will arrive."

Sophie gave the older seeker a small frown, "How do you know that for sure... There are plenty of good landing spaces around here."

"Don't argue with me Sophie, when you have been in the business for as long as me you just know these things."

"Right..." Sophie grumbled, falling into step behind Zhalia.

They skirted around rocks, to avoid been seen by a stray Spiral. They reached the large ledge within half an hour.

"They should be here any..."

"Now." Zhalia cut of Sophie and indicated to the small vessel which was lowering itself onto the ledge. As soon as it touched the earth the door opened.

Sophie POV.

"Sophie!" Lok raced forward and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. After a moment Sophie slide her arms around his neck and returned the hug she felt relief seep into her body as she had thought that she would never see him again.

"Why did you just leave like that?" Lok whispered into her hair.

"You read the note..."

"Yeah I know... I thought that I would never see you again." Loks voice was filled with hurt and he slowly pulled away so he could hold her at arm's length. "Your face..." he slowly ran a finger over her left cheek.

As soon as his finger made contact with the dark bruise Sophie winced and pulled back slightly. Seeing this Lok lowered his hand back to her side.

Dante POV.

He watched as Lok ran to Sophie and captured her into a hug. The whole trip to the location of Sophie's Cypherdex the Lambert boy had been anxious and quite frankly unbearable. Den had pulled one too many Sophie jokes and for the first time Lok had yelled at the new seeker.

He suddenly realised that he couldn't see Zhalia, his heart felt as though it was in his mouth as he looked around desperately searching for the female seeker. Instant relief flooded over him when he noticed Zhalia hanging back behind Lok and Sophie. Her head was lowered as she slowly walked in his direction.

Zhalia POV.

When they had contacted Dante over the Holotome he hadn't seemed upset or disappointed in her for blowing her cover. He had only seemed concerned for her safety, but now he was here in person.

Zhalia bit her lip, she stopped when Dante was within a metre from her, head still lowered.

She waited for him to speak first... For him to complain at her for her mistakes and say how he was disappointed in her just like Klaus had done in previous years.

It was pure shock which ran through her body when she felt Dante's muscular arms wrapped around her body, then him removing a hand from her waist to cup her cheek and make her look into his eyes.

"Dante..." She was cut off when he slowly put his lips against hers, giving her a small kiss before pulling back a little to see her face.

"I am not upset or disappointed in you and I never will be. What happened was an accident; don't beat yourself up over it."

Zhalia was still stunned from the kiss and partially opened her mouth, gasping in surprise.

"Um... Guys I hate to wreck the moment but there is something that you all might want to see." Zhalia and Dante jumped apart from one another, realizing that they weren't alone.

Regaining a posture of superiority and calm Dante turned to gaze at Den who was running towards them, Cherit close behind.

"Den what is it?"

"There is a massive group of them heading this way!"

Cherit quickly spoke up, "There are at least a thousand Spirals down there... They are all moving towards this ledge!"

"Okay we need to get back on the jet... We are outnumbered by too many Spirals to be having a fair fight, or a chance." Dante indicated for everyone to run towards the jets ramp.

Zhalia turned to gaze at Sophie who was looking unsure as to whether she should follow the rest of the team.

Den had also seemed to notice that Sophie wasn't following them and quickly yelled out at her. "Sophie, hurry! Kiel is with them, they will be here any moment now!"

Sophie's eyes appeared to darken immediately as Den said Kiel's name, "I am staying!"

Lok POV.

Lok searched deep into Sophie's eyes, almost as though he was searching for the glimmer of joy which meant she was only joking. "Sophie I know you want stop the Spirals, but this is suicide!"

"Lok... You don't understand."

"Yeah, maybe I don't but it is... I can't even believe I am about to use this word... It's logical that you come with us, there are too many for us to face off." Lok fought back.

"I never said that you guys had to stay... This is my fight, not yours!" Sophie snapped at him, she quickly turned and disappeared off the ledge before Lok had a chance to say any more.

Lok turned around to give a pleading look to Dante, the older seeker sighed. "Don't worry Lok I wasn't planning on leaving her any way. Seekers, avoid all combat with the Spirals if possible. Just grab Sophie and get her back here... Den I don't care if she threatens to kill you, just do it!"

Den closed his mouth and nodded slowly, as soon as Dante finished speaking Lok sprinted after Sophie.

Zhalia POV.

Dante and Zhalia stood back to back as the Spirals rushed forward, encircling them.

"Do you want to make this interesting?"

Zhalia frowned although Dante couldn't see her, "How exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"We could see who can take down the most Spirals."

Zhalia resisted the urge to turn around and slap some sense into Dante, though she retained her frustration knowing that even if she turned her head slightly the Spirals would take that opportunity and attack. "Dante! This isn't some game! Anyway what happened to avoid all combat if possible?"

"Fine... I will talk to them instead." Dante sighed; ignoring Zhalia's other complaint, even though Zhalia couldn't see his expression she was sure that he was smirking.

"Dante... Wait no!"

The Spirals has been taking cautious steps forward while Dante and Zhalia had been muttering to one another, all were tense and on edge... Unsure on why neither elite seeker had made a move yet.

Before Zhalia could stop him Dante had already taken a stride forward, and held his hands out by his sides with a smirk on his face. The Spirals surprised by his strange movement recoiled but quickly recovered when Dante spoke.

"Really... We are all adults... I think that we should just talk this over and reach the agreement that you Spirals should retreat because you stand no chance against me and my friend."

When Dante said that Zhalia was his friend she felt a pang of hurt in her heart, but she knew that she was more than a friend to him, especially after the kiss he had given her.

Hearing Dante insult their capability in battle the Spirals immediately lunged forward into action. Already twenty fierce Titans had been summoned and were rapidly closing in on the elite seekers.

"Great 'let's be friends' speech you just gave." Zhalia gasped ducking to avoid the flying fist of an enraged Spiral.

"Who said anything about the speech been about friendship. I just was been courteous and warning them not to mess with us." Dante flashed her a quick smile after he had landed a blow to a Spirals jaw, sending them flying backwards and fall unconscious, to be nearly trampled by the stamped of Spirals and their Titans madly racing towards them.

Zhalia and Dante backed up until they were standing back to back again.

"Don't summon too many titans... I have a feeling that we will need to reserve our powers for battle later on."

Zhalia nodded and quickly reached for one of her amulets and evoked her Titan simultaneously as Dante summoned Caliban.

Like their seekers Caliban and Kilthane stood back to back. Each Titan observing their opponents, eager to start battle.

"You ready?"

Zhalia couldn't help but grin at the feel of excitement and adrenaline which pumped through her body. "You know I am."

Cherit POV.

The small white Titan scanned the battle which lay out before him in dismay. Den was cornered by a group of five Spirals and three of their titans. He seemed to be holding his own though with Vigilante helping.

Dante and Zhalia had paired up and were down on a lower flat. They were facing off nearly fifty opponents, which included the Titans the Spirals had summoned. The top Huntik seekers were taking the Spirals out with ease, and they seemed to be having fun while doing it. At one point during the battle Dante and Zhalia lunged out and kicked the same advancing Titan simultaneously, instantly sending it back to its amulet. Then they gave a lop sided grin to one another.

Seeing that Cherit quickly rubbed his eyes, to make sure they weren't playing tricks on him, the seekers were already back into In-depth fighting but Cherit was sure he had seen it properly.

It wasn't like either seeker to display such... different... behaviour especially In battle, but even he had to admit that they had a good effect on one another.

Down on the flat below Dante and Zhalia was Lok. He too was fiercely fighting a large group of Spirals.

Cherit suddenly noticed that Lok was doing something rather peculiar; every time he took down another Spiral or titan he would quickly throw a glance towards a large ledge which stuck off a steep cliff face.

Cherit slowly turned his head... Following Lok's gaze and it suddenly dawned upon him why the Lambert boy was so anxious to keep an eye on the ledge.

Sophie and Kiel where having what looked like a standoff. Kiel was grinning feverishly from excitement as he seethed words of hatred to Sophie.

Cherit frowned and started to fly towards the ledge when he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Horrified the small Titan stopped and turned to get a proper look, rubbing his eyes to ensure that he wasn't seeing things.

The large group of Spirals who had been hanging back where now starting to retreat to a safe distance. There were only four Spirals who stood firm in their positions. The four Spirals were the four most powerful.

The Spirals who had been battling Dante, Zhalia, Lok and Den all quickly retreated back to their friends. The four Huntik seekers seemed to realise what was taking place and regrouped. Forgetting their mission to retrieve Sophie.

Rassimov and Dante left their groups and started to walk towards each other. Suddenly Rassimov lifted his hands and power surged through them as he yelled out 'hopeshatter' Dante leaped out of the way just in time as the power hit Caliban, Kilthane and Vigilante. Sending the titans back to their amulets.

That was the power which everyone started to react to. Instantly the four Huntik team members and the four Spirals found their opponent. Zhalia was battling Shauna, Wind and Lok were in combat. Dante had immediately attacked Rassimov after the lead Spiral had cast his spell.

Den seemed hesitant in his battle though as he was facing his brother, Harrison.

Lok POV.

It seemed hopeless, they were been defeated and there was nothing they could do about it. Every time one of their team summoned a Titan Rassimov would always hit it with 'Hopeshatter' sending it back to its amulet. They had used so much power already and it was only a matter of moments before one of them would be the first to collapse from exhaustion.

It seemed that no matter how much power their opposition used they never weakened. To make it worse for the Huntik team every five or so minutes all of the members from the Spiral brotherhood, the ones who had retreated to a safe distance would combine their powers and release a massive wave of dark power towards the Huntik group. A surge so big that no one had the time to dodge it.

"Dante! I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!" Lok yelled desperately to his battling leader, he glanced back at Wind and was knocked back again by an unsuspected power.

Dante dodged Rassimov's fist and looked as though he was going to reply when the ground shook from another surge of dark power racing towards them. The four Spiral leaders smiled as the power washed over them. They weren't affected by its power in a negative way. Instead they fed off it.

The power hit the Huntik team sending them all flying backwards.

After a moment Lok lifted his head groaning, to his right Den lay motionless, exhausted from all of the power he had used. Dante was already back on his feet, swaying slightly as he walked towards Zhalia who lay on the ground, hands grasping her leg, face consumed with distraught and pain.

Lok tried to climb to his feet, but he would only stand for a moment before collapsing. He was exhausted, every limb of his body felt as though it was about to drop off and his chest burnt with pain from where the wave of dark power had made direct contact with him.

It seemed as though Dante had run out of power also. Their leader had knelt next to Zhalia and both elite seekers were staring blankly as Shauna and Rassimov stalked towards them. Lok turned slightly and noticed that Wind was slowly walking towards him as Harrison strode towards Den a victorious smile creased his face.

Cherit POV.

The Spiral leaders grasped hold of their chosen victims and dragged them closer to their Spiral followers, each placing their victim in front of them.

When Cherit realized what was about to take place he felt sickened, his friends were about to be made an example of. Finished off in front of the whole Bloodspiral brotherhood.

Rage seeped through his body and he started to fly towards the back o the four powerful Spirals. He had no plan; it was pure instinct which surged through him.

As he neared Rassimov he realised a power, stronger then he had ever used before. As it made contact with the back of Rassimov's head; the Spiral leader stumbled forward.

As soon as he recovered Rassimov turned and smiled viciously at the small white Titan. "Fireswarm!" Power erupted from his hands and sent the white Titan flying to the ground next to the spirit broken figure of Lok.

Sophie POV.

"Have you noticed how you friends are holding up?" Kiel suddenly asked, recoiling as Sophie kicked out.

Sophie turned to look off the ledge and gasped in horror. She had not known that her friends had followed her and was shocked to see them all fallen at the feet of the Spiral leaders.

Kiel grasped the opportunity of his opponent's distraction and kicked out, sending Sophie sprawling to his feet.

I am sorry if the character went out of their... element. I am also sorry if I made an epic fail for the Dante and Zhalia moment (that is one of the parts iI wasn't sure about).

Now time to talk about some of the reviews... thankyou again to everyone who is reviewing this story, your responses are much appreciated. :)

One of my reviewers asked why Zhalia didnt just use a power to escape... You were right in also mentioning that it would mess up the plot a bit. One of the main reasons that Zhalia didnt escape previously is because she knew that there were too many Spirals for one person to face off. Instead she decided to wait and keep her energy until it was absolutely neccisary to use it. In this chapter the reason that Zhalia and Sophie still waited in the prison for a while was again.. Because they didnt want to waste any unneccisary energy in combat. If they had left as soon as they had finnished talking to Dante the Spirals may have found out about there escape alot earlier which would of caused lots of difficulties.

Someone else also asked when this story was taking place... Now this may sound confusing but please bare with me.
At the very start of this story (chapter One) it was based around a week or less after Sophie had found out what Kiel had done to her parents... But to make other parts of this story work I had to include other events which happened after Sophie discovered who Kiel was and pretend that they had happened previously... (yeah hopefully after reading that wierd discription you wont be to confused...)

So there you have it... Chapter 7... The next chapter will be full on... and longer then this one... I think...