Broken Nightmares
Act 8: Oi Lina! Where Are We?
By: Sora Kazeno
Before they knew it the storm had past. Zel had taken the last shift and was glad to see the clouds dispersing. It did not take long for the others to awake and gather their belongings. Drake stood in the corner studying the map he had received from Rowdy. He seemed to be plotting their next step.
"We have to go north for a little bit until we reach a bridge that we can use to cross the river. The forest will provide cover until we reach the bridge. The bridge will provide safe passage over the rapids."
"How much further do we have left?" Amelia asked.
"We should arrive at the temple later today… barring any complications," explained Drake as he folded the map.
Zelgadis paused to look at the position of the sun in the sky. It seemed apparent to him that they had been traveling for hours. He scanned his memories and did not recall crossing the bridge Drake had discussed at the start of the day. "Are we close to the bridge?" Zel asked Drake as he turned to face him.
"We should be there soon…" Drake said as his voice trailed off. He pulled out the map to consult the image. He did a quick 360 turn to get his barring. Everywhere he looked he saw trees. He looked back at the map as his pace slowed. He looked up again and saw trees everywhere. Yet according to where they should be on the map they shouldn't be in a wooded area. He stopped walking. "I'm not sure how to say this but… I think we took a wrong turn."
Amelia teardropped as the events unfolded around her. This was typical for any of their traveling adventures. "So if we're lost… what do we do next? If I use a levitation spell we could figure out where we need to go in no time."
"Then you run the risk of Kakken finding you again," Lina said as she reminded her companions of the same dilemma they faced yesterday.
"We'll help you!"
The high pitch voices redirected Lina's attention to her left. Three small figures with wings floated in air resembling fairies.
"I'm Clina!" Exclaimed a red headed fairy in a green dress.
"I'm Deedlit!" Said a fairy with blonde hair wearing a blue dress.
"I'm Leaf!" Exclaimed a fairy a brunette fairy wearing a red dress.
Lina stared at the three fairies with her jaw dropped. The last thing she expected to find were fairies in the forest to lead them in the right direction. But at this point she was welcoming any help she could get.
"Okay… so we're looking for a bridge to cross a river…" Lina began to explain to the trio.
"I know where it is!" Shouted Clina as she began to fly in circles. "We have to go to the north!"
"You don't know what you're talking about! We have to go south!" Leaf exclaimed and she flew next to Clina to yell at her.
"You are both wrong!" Leaf shouted at both of them. "The correct direction is to the west."
Lina's jaw dropped. This wasn't happening. How could she be surrounded by such directionally challenged people? She felt her patience wearing thin. "That's it! I'm casting a levitation spell since no one knows where they are going!" Within seconds she lifted off the group and slowly made her way to the canopy of the trees. She quickly looked around and did not see anyone floating around her. She raised herself slightly higher and search for a bridge. The bridge was southeast of them. They didn't seem that far away. She slowly returned to the ground below.
"East! We need to go in that direction!" Lina exclaimed as she pointed to her right.
The three fairies looked at each other. "So you're saying… none of us where right?" Asked a confused Deedlit as she seemed shocked by this discovery.
"That can't be right!" Leaf exclaimed with a tear in her eye. "We have never all been wrong before!"
"There is a first time for everything," Zelgadis muttered under his breath. Clearing his throat he said loudly, "we need to get moving to the east immediately. We don't have any time to waste."
"Let's go!" Amelia exclaimed as she led the way.
"I never thought I would be so happy to see water!" Lina exclaimed and she finally caught sight of the infamous river they needed to cross on their journey to the temple. Her eye twitched when she realized one small problem. They needed to cross it.
Zelgadis examined the part of the bridge that was closest to him. "So I guess we fly across?"
"You could," Deedlit said but if you want to get there as quick as possible you want to travel down river. The river will curve in the direction you seek. The current will take you there in no time."
"How do you propose we travel the river?" asked Drake.
"You make a raft silly!" Exclaimed Leaf as she stared at Drake as if he had asked a stupid question. "How else are you supposed to travel on a river current?"
"Isn't it quicker to just fly over and walk the rest of the way?" Naaga asked as she rolled her eyes. "We can be there in no time."
"Ahead is a maze of twists and turns …. And we get lost all the time!" Clina stated matter of fact.
"So… we build a raft," Drake said as he walked over to trees inspecting his source of lumber. "Gourry I'm going to need your help cutting the trees down with your sword."
Sylphiel watched in amazement as the group quickly constructed a raft. The entire process couldn't have taken more than an hour. During that time period she spoke to the fairies and was assured it was the quickest route to the temple they sought. Sylphiel was in favor of ending this ordeal but has hesitant due to the events that would have to unfold. She hoped Kakken would eventually give up on her search.
"Umm… how do we get down there?" Asked Gourry as he took a few steps closer to the edge of the cliff to look down. "I mean… we can't just jump."
"Drake and Gourry should get on the raft and the rest of us will use raywing to carry the raft down," Zelgadis said as he directed the others.
"Don't forget about us!" The fairies exclaimed as they landed next to Gourry and Drake on the raft.
"We haven't been there in so long," Leaf said with little stars in her eyes. "There is bush there with some of the sweetest berries!" said Leaf as drool began to form at the corner of her mouth. Deedlit and Clina flew onto the raft to join them.
Within minutes the group was on the river. The river seemed to be moving at decent speed. "This isn't so bad," Amelia said as she looked at her surroundings. "At least he can rest this way too."
The group sat silently for the next 15 minutes as a few of the other group members caught up on some much needed sleep.
Zelgadis stared at the current of the water. It seemed to be picking up speed. Zel redirected his gaze ahead and noted the speed of the river. Something wasn't right. "We seem to be picking up speed."
"Isn't that a good thing so we get there faster?" Asked Naaga as she smiled.
"Getting there quickly is good; however, getting there safety is also important," Drake said as she looked ahead.
"Do you hear something ahead?" Sylphiel asked as she strained her ears to try to focus on a distance sound. The entire boat turned silent.
"It's like a roar…" Drake said as he continued to study the sound.
"It sounds like thunder," Gourry said as he looked up at the sky. "But I don't see any clouds."
"… rushing water…" murmured Lina as she narrowed her eyes.
The water seemed to pick up even faster. The raft quickly turned a corner and the water began to dip down. "WATERFALL!" Amelia shouted as she pointed ahead at the river that seemed to disappear 20 yards in front of them. The raft continued to pick up speed.
"What kind of anime gag is this?" Lina shouted as the raft continued to pick up speed. Within a few moments the raft went over.
The raft they constructed was made quickly and was not very durable. Boulders lined the waterfall which meant the raft didn't stand a chance. The boulders began to snap the wooden logs as if they were no thicker than twigs.
The group emerged from the river drenched. "Where… are those fairies!?" Lina yelled as she moved locks of her firely hair from her face. Her eyes scanned the remaining area. They were nowhere to be seen. "No!" Lina shouted as she looked around. "We can not be lost again!"
Zelgadis twisted his cape to ring out the excess water. "We know we need to head east." Zelgadis looked at the river and raised his eyebrow at his revelation. "That means we need to cross the river again… to get to other side."
Naaga continued to separate her hair from the spikes on her armor. "Fine. But I am flying over it and crossing it this time."
Lina smiled. "For once I agree with her. Once is the river is enough for me."
It did not take long for the group to move to the other side of the river.
"Where do we go next?" Sylphiel asked as she looked around the river's ridge. "We shouldn't have too much more to go."
Zelgadis turned to face Drake.
Drake pulled out a large wet yellowish clump from his pocket and sighed. "Well… this is the map… what is left of it. It seems the river made it unreadable. If I pulled it apart to try to read it will rip into tiny pieces."
"…so we're lost again," Amelia said as she hung her head.
"But didn't the fairies say the river turned in the direction we need to go?" Sylphiel asked trying to give the others a feeling of hope.
"So… we follow the river!" Drake said as he began to move forward. The others quickly followed.
They traveled in silence for a while as they seemed to be lost in thought. Drake abruptly stopped as he stared at the sight before him. It was a creature he had never seen before.
Amelia smiled as she approached the white four legged creature in front of her. "It's a unicorn!" She beamed as she studied the lavender mane of the animal.
"Are you sure you should be approaching the animal?" Sylphiel asked in a worried tone. "I mean, how do you know it's friendly?"
"Unicorns are the most pacifist creatures. She should have no problems," said Zelgadis as he tried to reassure the dark haired woman next to him.
"I never thought I would see one! I thought they became extinct a long time ago!" Amelia exclaimed as she quickly walked over to the unicorn.
"If it starts attacking you I am not helping you," Said Naaga as she eyed the unicorn's body language as the petite girl moved closer to the unicorn.
"It will be fine!" Amelia exclaimed as she reassured her traveling companions. "Unicorns are the gentlest creature in the forest." As a means to emphasize her point she slowly raised her hand and petted the side of the horse. The horse snorted in response and lowered his head to inspect Amelia. Amelia took this as a sign of encouragement. Amelia stretched on her tip toes to touch the horn of the animal.
The unicorn's head bolted up right once if felt Amelia's touch. The unicorn snorted again but the sound was different this time. Amelia took a few steps back unsure of what the actions of the unicorn meant. The unicorn lowered its head and began to charge at her with its horn.
"You have got to be kidding me," Lina stated as she watched Amelia be chased by a unicorn. "I thought they were one of the gentlest creatures."
"Unless you anger them by touching their horn," Said Zelgadis. He sighed as he watched Amelia run back forth yelling as she tried to avoid being stuck by the unicorn.
Amelia changed her direction and began to run to the others. "Help me with this thing!" She yelled. The unicorn followed her and charged at everyone.
Drake ran to the right and tripped over rock in the ground. Amazed by his clumsiness he inspected the rock and found a marking on it. A marking that would lead them to their destination. If not for Amelia petting a unicorn and making it attack them they would have missed this small sign. According to the inscriptions they were in the right area. "Everyone needs to follow me!" Drake shouted as he tried to draw attention to himself.
"Did you see the way that thing chased me?" Amelia asked as stood leaned against a tree trying to regain her breath.
"I thought they are the 'most pacifist creature' in the forest," Said Lina she imitated Amelia's voice. "I really enjoyed being chased by an enraged unicorn. That was something on my bucket list." Lina said with sarcasm in her voice.
"Yeah but if not for me Drake never would have found that rock and we wouldn't know where to go!" Amelia said as she tried to justify her actions.
Sylphiel watched Gourry anxiously but he seemed to be obvious to the shouting match between Lina and Amelia. Sometimes she felt like she disliked Lina because she had Gourry's attention. Lina was loud and the antithesis of femininity. However, she had a great heart and when the end of the world is approaching she would like to have Lina on her side.
Drake brushed dirt and bark from the side of tree as he tried to get a closer look.
"See anything?" Zelgadis asked as he walked over to his location. He was becoming tired of constantly trying to avoid Kakken. He hoped the end would finally be in sight.
Drake turned his gaze to what looked liked the remains of a path. "I think we're almost there. If you look between the trees it looks like there is some type of a stone structure. Let us hope that is the temple we seek."
"Me too," Zelgadis said as he turned to face the others. "We think the temple is up ahead and might be in between the trees ahead."
"Finally! I was getting tired of all this," Naaga said with a twinkle in her eye. "This has been going on for too long."
Drake walked forward further into the forest while the others followed behind him. A stone structure began to emerge which only encouraged them to walk faster.
Lina felt her heartbeat faster in anticipation of finding the spell book that had consumed her thoughts for the past weeks. Soon everything would finally come to a close. She would possess the knowledge that she sought and if she was lucky she would live another day.
Gourry stopped in his tracks and moved his head side to side. His movements caught the attention of those behind him. "I hear something ahead," Gourry said as his warrior instincts took over. "It sounds like something that is really large."
The others strained their ears to try to hear the same sounds Gourry had mentioned.
"It sounds like it is something large," Said Drake after a few moments. He took a few steps forward trying to gain a better view past the trees. "I'm guessing whatever it is is guarding the temple."
"Perfect," Lina said under her breath. Another obstacle they had to overcome.
The group slowed their pace. They wanted to see what they were up against before the thing saw them. Zelgadis started to develop several scenarios on how the group could rush past whatever it was. However, without knowing what they were up against his plans wouldn't last too long.
An image began to emerge. The creature was a large winged one cover in scales.
Naaga smiled as she recognized the animal. "It is a good thing we have a dragon spooker amongst us," Said Naaga as she burst into laugher.
The high pitched sound turned the dragon's attention to the group. The dragon turned its head to examine the source of the shrieking. Once it identified the location of the source it turned around and began to walk in their direction. The group stared at the creature as it began to take steps toward the temple in the distance. The dragon let out a large roar upon seeing its prey.
"You had to laugh," Lina said angrily as she glared at Naaga. If she might not need Naaga to help battle the dragon she wouldn't have hesitated to clobber her or light her on fire.
The dragon quickly closed the gap between them. The dragon let out another roar.
"The temple as you can see is behind the dragon. That is where I need to go," Lina said as she looked at the others. "Keep it busy so I can get in and find the book."
"Keep it…busy?" Sylphiel asked with wide eyes.
Gourry turned to Sylphiel to comfort her. "Sylphiel we're going to need you to cast protection spells to help us."
The uncertainty in her eyes disappeared. "Whatever you need Gourry-sama!"
The group continued to talk quietly for a few moments. Their plan was set and all they had left was to face the dragon.
The dragon stared at the group and snorted. It was as if the dragon told them they weren't worth of it's time. The group slowly advanced on their adversary. The dragon roared once more. A ball of energy began to form in its mouth. The ball was a dark shade of purple and crackled with small bolts of lighting.
"Sylphiel, we are going to need your magic," Gourry said as he drew his blade.
The dragon arched its neck back. In a swift motion it expelled the energy it had collected. Sylphiel was able to cast shield in time but the magic seemed to past through the shield. Everyone expected to be thrown back by the past but it appeared they weren't affected by it. The dragon took a step back to regain its energy.
"Let's get going!" Lina exclaimed as she pressed forward. Lina bolted forward her concentration on the temple before her.
Zelgadis followed but fell to his knees after a few steps. "It's as if I have suddenly gained 200 pounds!" Zelgadis rose to his feet again and staggered forward a few more feet before he collapsed again.
"What a weakling!" Exclaimed Naaga with glee with her voice. "Let me show you how it's done! RAYWING!" Naaga soared through the air a few feet before she fell into the ground. Naaga attempted to stand back up but she felt weighted down. "What is going on? Why can Lina run across and we can't?"
"It must be the dragon's magic," Amelia said as she slowly inched forward. She seemed to be able to move with a lesser degree of difficulty than her friends. "I wish I knew what kind of magic the dragon used."
Lina was amazed at how quickly she reached the temple steps. She turned around expecting to see some of the others a few steps behind her. She was shocked to find her comrades only feet from where she started and many of them on the ground. She considered her options for a moment. She could wait for the others or continue forward. She needed the book, the others didn't. With a quick glance over her shoulder she ran inside.
Gourry struggled to move forward. He felt as if it he was being weighted down. Gourry quickly unlatched his armor and found it easier to move. With his Sword of Light out he charged the dragon. The dragon seemed frozen for a moment as if it was surprised by Gourry's actions. The dragon regained its composure and roared.
"Why is he not effected as much?" Asked Drake who felt like he was weighted down.
"The dragon's magic…" Zelgadis said as he raised himself of the ground once more, "is gravity! We weight more than Lina and Gourry was able to move more once he removed his armor since it was making him too heavy."
"But I don't weight that much more than Lina!" Whined Amelia as she tried to steady herself. Her efforts were short lived and it seemed as if her chest was a magnet to the ground. She collapsed onto the ground once more.
"Question answered," Naaga said with a smirk on her face. "Lina has… some shortcomings dear."
Lina found herself turned around in the temple. She didn't know where she entered was anymore. Her source of light was a torch she found and lit by using a fire spell. She tried to focus on finding the right path but she was anxious that Kakken might find her any moment and corner her. The last place she wanted to fight Kakken was in the temple since she did not have any room to maneuver. She scanned the walls for a sign or hint of which way she needed to go. A change of color in one of the stone bricks caught her attention. She brushed her fingers over the marking to clear away some of the dirt and studied the pictogram in an effort to make sense of the image before her. She had seen the writing before but she couldn't read it. She frowned as she racked her brain. Then it dawned on her they were elven runes. Out of all her companions Drake might be the only one that could read them but he was in the middle of fighting a dragon and she had no idea where the temple exit was. Clearing away more dirt she found a symbol that looked like an arrow pointing to the direction she had come from. "Oh well," Lina said as headed back.
She picked up the pace as her hand rested on the wall hoping to find another image engraved on the wall to lead her in the right direction. It didn't take long until she reached the next marker. The marker was next to a dead end. She raised her eyebrow. It was possible she had misread the marker and assumed the arrow lead in the correction direction. She cleared dust off the marker and discovered another arrow that pointed to a brick wall. She searched the surrounding area by the emblem hoping to find a lever or a switch. It soon became apparent she would find nothing.
She traced the arrow on the wall and followed the direction the arrow pointed. Her hand brushed against a brick in the wall which seemed to be different from the rest. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and pushed the brick into the wall.
Zelgadis raised his sword once more, "ASTRAL VINE!" He shouted moments before he plunged the blade into the ground. He knew his best chance of hitting the creature relied on an underground attack. Within seconds the dragon roared in rage and focused her attention on the one who had attacked him. The dragon charged at him and he tried to dodge the attack but his handicap due to the dragon's magic caused him to be struck by the talons. Every once and a while he was happy to be part golem, this was one of those moments. He slowly rose to his knees and surveyed the battle. As long as the group could keep the dragon busy it wouldn't be able to cast gravity on them again. Things seemed to be looking up until she appeared.
"Put on a little weight did you?" Kakken taunted Zelgadis as she commented on how slowly he moved. "I guess I just expected more out of you since Rezo once spoke so highly of your abilities."
Zelgadis' eyes narrowed at her remarks. The name Rezo still invoked anger every time he heard it. Kakken was trying to have him lose his temper and it took a lot of self- control not comment back.
Kakken surveyed the battle beneath her. She searched for her prey. It didn't take her long to realize Lina Inverse was not among them. Her gaze was redirected to the temple entrance. "You must have already went inside… and left your teammates out here to fend for themselves. No matter. I will find you soon enough."
"We're not letting you get near the temple!" Gourry shouted at her as he redirected his attention to Kakken.
"Silly boy, aren't you forgetting you are in the middle of fighting a dragon?" Kakken said as she pointed at the large creature closing in on Gourry.
"I wouldn't let you hurt Lina!" Gourry shouted at Kakken. The dragon continued to advance on Gourry and he felt the ground shake behind him. He knew he couldn't divert his attention from the dragon much longer.
Sylphiel brushed a few lose strands of hair from her face. Her hands glowed once more and she began to heal Amelia that had been thrown back against a tree. Zelgadis and Drake stood next to each other and tried to develop a plan to end the battle. Naaga hadn't been seen for a little while.
Kakken floated over in the direction of the dragon. Kakken turned to face the dragon behind her, "he makes a good pet, don't you think? Very obedient. Maybe I should send him to the temple and destroy Lina!" Kakken laughed with glee. She loved toying with him and seeing the anger grow.
Gourry tighten his grip on his sword. He charged forward and seemed to be able to move with ease no longer affected by gravity. He seemed to have a sudden burst of energy. He jumped at Kakken but she disappeared in a blink of an eye. He knew he had to expel the energy from his sword that he had just built up. Without thinking he gestured his sword down and the energy shot down in a diagonal. He didn't expect what happened next. The energy crackled when it hit an unsuspecting object. The dragon let out a grunt as it staggered backward. The dragon took a few more steps before it fell backward. The ground shook due to the impact of the large creature.
Kakken stared at the sight before her in disbelief. She didn't think Gourry would be able to channel all of his anger to defeat the dragon. His gaze was now focused on her. "I didn't think you had it in you. I'm really surprised. No matter. My business lies elsewhere." Kakken teleported herself steps outside of the temple. "I will still find her before you will!" Kakken shouted over her shoulder as she entered.
"We have to hurry after her," Naaga said with mild interest as she seemed to appear out of now where.
"Where have you been?" Asked Amelia as she eyed the elder woman next to her.
"What are you talking about?" Naaga asked trying to sound as if she was confused by Amelia's question. "I have been there the whole time."
Drake rolled his eyes. "We don't have much time. Kakken is getting desperate since Lina is so close to finding the book. We have to find her before Kakken does."
Gourry helped Sylphiel to her feet. She was weakened due to healing the others. "I'll be fine," Sylphiel said as she pushed herself forward. She didn't want to abandon Lina in her time of needed. After all Lina would do the same for her and push herself to her limits.
The group gathered in front of the temple entrance. "We should stay together in the temple since it consists of a maze of tunnels and potential traps," Drake spoke as he looked around at the others.
"But won't it take us longer to find Lina?" Asked Gourry as he began to feel restless.
"If we encounter a trap that hasn't been disabled yet we will be in even more trouble and no use to Lina. The traps in the temple are designed in many parts unless you know the exact path and are fortunate enough to not encounter any," Drake explained to group and he took a few steps closer to the temple's entrance.
"The more we sit around and talk about it, the more danger Lina-san will be in!" Amelia exclaimed as she pushed the others forward. "If Kakken finds her she will need all of our help!"
Without another word the group began to filter into the temple. Drake took the lead. "Let's start by going to the right. We should mark our path in case we need to backtrack so we can retrace our steps."
"Leave that to me," Amelia volunteered as she stepped forward. She raised her hands and created a green x on the spot. She paused for a moment and created another x next to the original. "This way we'll know this was our starting point," she explained to the others.
Drake slowly directed the others down the hallway. "Keep your eyes open there could be trays anywhere." As if on cue several dozen arrows flew down the hallway.
Zelgadis ran in front of the group and cast a protection spell to shield the others. He focused on creating the shield around him since his rock hard skin prevented the arrows from damaging him. The arrows dropped with a loud clanging sound. Zelgadis inspected the ground before him. He noticed a brick that seemed pushed in. It could be possible Lina didn't step on the tile. Zelgadis turned around to face Drake. "I think it would be better if I take the lead spot to help disarm the traps. Drake nodded his head in agreement. "If we find another trap down this corridor it is probably safe to assume Lina did not go down this hallway and we should turn around and head back." The others nodded their heads in agreement.
Zelgadis slowly began to walk forward as he eyed his surroundings. It didn't take him long to come across another trap. The ground beneath him seemed to vanish into thin air. He only had a few seconds to cast raywing to avoid falling into a pit. Zelgadis looked down below him and noticed an entire section of the ground was gone. He smiled. "I don't think Lina traveled this route. There is no way she could have missed this trap." Zelgadis flew over to the others and landed on the ground.
"I'll lead the way back," Amelia said. She murmured a few words and the markers she had placed on the floor began to glow. Amelia beamed at the next trick she was able to cast. It didn't take them long to return back to their starting point. The x's disappeared. Amelia marked the ground again but this time with a red x. "We know which way not to go." Amelia said with a smile.
"I just hope we get there soon and in one piece," Naaga said as she followed the group in front of her.
"Lina-san has to be okay," Sylphiel said as she looked over at Gourry. Gourry was unresponsive and seemed to be staring straight ahead in his own world.
Lina scratched her head in annoyance. She heard voices of other people somewhere behind her but was unable to distinguish who the voices belonged. She wasn't in a hurry to turn around and run after them. She had pasted through a labyrinth and hoped the end was finally in sight. The fire was a dim glow in the darkness. Her heartbeat quickened as she came across an opening in the wall. Her pace slowed as she became more attentive of her surroundings. There might be traps along the way.
She arrived at the outside of the room. She aligned her back with the wall and slowly looked inside the room. There was a book on what looked like an alter at the far wall. She felt blood rushing to her head as she approached the object. She took a deep breath. All of her senses seemed heightened, the sound of her heartbeat pounded in her ears. She took another deep breath and slowly placed her hands on the book. Nothing happen. She sighed in relief a little frustrated at herself for all of the anxiety. She picked up the book in her hands and a blue light began to emit from the book.
The last act will be out early fall. Act 9: Decisive Battle! The Showdown between Lina and Kakken!