A/N: Okay, here's chapter three! Thank you for the several reviewer's last chapter. I thought about hold this one back until I got a few more, but I decided that was unfair to you all. Anyway, a special thank you to FierceDeityMask for editing this chapter. Enjoy!
Anna had a strong feeling of déjà vu as stale, cold air rushed past her. This was just like in the Crystal Caverns, only no Lance to slow the fall. Just as she began to panic, the situation having sunk into her brain, the chute angled out to changing from a sheer drop to a steep incline. The ranger came shooting out to land with a loud crunching rattle in a pitch-black chamber. She lay there dazed for a minute until finally sitting up with a groan, her sore muscles protesting the movement. Anna tested each limb for any breaks or sprains before placing one hand on the ground to lever herself upright. Her palm pressed against something long and smooth, and she frowned. She picked up the object and ran her hands over it, trying to figure out what it was. It was about as long as her lower leg, tapering out to two knobby ends. Anna's eyes widened as she realized she was holding a bone and she flung the thing away with a small shriek.
The bone clattered against a wall, the sound echoing in the darkness. Anna closed her eyes and took a few deep, calming breaths, but stopped as all she could smell was the musty stench of death. "It was just a bone. Be glad that it wasn't you," she told herself. After a couple of minutes, the ranger opened her eyes again to try and spot any light. No luck, the blackness surrounding her was solid. A feeling of claustrophobia started to rise and she shoved it back down. "If there's no light then I'll just have to make my own," Anna said, her voice echoing.
Feeling for her Adventure Pouch, the ranger was relieved to find it still tied firmly at her waist. She tugged it open, reached in, and pulled out the small crystal Shawn had dug up for her what seemed like such a long time ago. Sending a silent thank you to the old researcher, Anna pushed her mana into the small rock and a soft green glow lit the area up for her to see. She almost wished she couldn't as she gave another small shriek as having realized that the crunch when she had landed had been her crushing a human ribcage. Shuddering, Anna scrambled to her feet, careful to avoid stepping on any of the other bones littering the area, making a beeline for the heavy iron door revealed by her crystal's glow.
Anna grasped the iron ring on the door that served as a handle and pulled tugged. The door didn't move. With a growl, Anna pulled harder. No change. The ranger let go of the door and pulled a piece of cord out of her Pouch. She quickly fashioned the crystal into a necklace and placed it around her neck. With her hands now free, Anna grabbed the iron ring with both hands, planted her feet firmly and heaved back on the door, using all her weight. The ranger gritted her teeth as a loud screeching filled the air and the door slowly slid open before grinding to halt with just enough of a gap for her to squeeze through.
Once out of the room, Anna found herself standing in a long hallway. The walls, ceiling and floor were comprised of large stone bricks. Water dripped from the ceiling, making the walls and floor wet and slimy. The persistent stench of death was mixed with that of mold. No other doors were in sight and there was no sign of movement.
"Which way," Anna wondered. The light of her crystal bounced off the damp walls, but did not reveal any difference in which direction she chose to go. The ranger hesitated before readying her bow and heading right. The wet sound of her footsteps echoed loudly in shadows as she walked and the crystal bouncing around her neck made the light cast eerie shadows on the uneven stone. Occasionally a drop of water would drip from the ceiling to land in a puddle and a plinking sound would echo. Anna walked for an indeterminate amount of time; her unchanging surroundings giving her the sensation that she was walking in place. A freezing drop of water landed on the back of her neck causing the ranger to jump and spin around. Her heart raced as she laughed weakly at her own jumpiness before continuing down the hall.
"Finally," Anna murmured as she came to the end if the long hall, marked with another heavy metal door. She grabbed the iron ring with both hands and heaved. The ranger fell backwards as the door came open much easier than the last one, swinging wide and slamming into the wall with an echoing boom. Anna flinched at the noise. The ringing in her ears faded to reveal a strange whispering sound. Anna stood up quickly with an arrow ready against the string of her bow and dimmed the light of her crystal slowly to allow her eyes to adjust the lower light. The source of the whispering finally revealed itself to be an Ice Wraith. The creature glowed faintly with a blue light so Anna cut off the remaining light of her crystal and raised her bow and drew the arrow back, hoping to destroy the ghost before it noticed her.
Letting the arrow fly, Anna screwed her eyes shut as the Wraith was engulfed in a bright flash of light. The monster vanished with a breathy shrieking wail that echoed in the darkness. Lowering her bow, Anna mentally patted herself on the back for killing the monster before it spotted her. Suddenly several Wraith-cries echoed from the shadows of the tunnel the Ice Wraith had come from. The ranger's eyes widened and she willed her crystal to brighten again as she took off in a sprint down the opposite tunnel.
Her breath coming in sharp gasps, Anna raced down the tunnel. She could hear the cries of the monsters behind her getting closer. "I wish the others were here," Anna thought as she ducked down a side passage. She pressed herself against the slimy wall wall and put out her crystal-light, praying that the wraiths would somehow miss her. She swallowed as five wraiths, two Ice and three Spark, came flying down the tunnel. They paused hovering at the intersection as though trying to decide which way their prey had gone. Anna's heart thundered in her chest so loudly she thought the monsters must be able to hear it. Finally, the two Ice Wraiths continued going straight while the three Spark Wraiths turned down the side tunnel Anna was in. And drifted right past where the ranger stood still against the wall.
Anna hardly even dared to breathe until the monster's drifted out of sight. She waited until she could no longer hear the whispering sound of their movement before she moved away from the wall. The ranger wondered how they had missed her standing there until she looked down at the dress from the ruined temple she wore. Anna jumped slightly as she realized that although she knew her body was there, she could hardly see it as it blended with the shadows. She let out a quite laugh of relief and understanding before she slipped around the corner to follow the Ice Wraiths.
The ranger walked until she came to a four way split in the tunnel and she paused wondering which way to go this time. A faint breeze tugged a loose hair over her face and Anna absently pushed the lock out of her vision. She froze suddenly, "A breeze?" Anna excitedly closed her eyes and tried to tell which tunnel the breeze came from. Her eyes snapped open and took an arrow to mark the tunnel she chose before she headed down it. Another long walk later and Anna came out in a large circular room with a dirt floor covered in old rusty weapons. A hole in the ceiling far above her head let a dirty beam of light illuminate the room and was the source of the breeze. She had stumbled across an old arena.
Rapid thuds echoed out of the tunnel behind her and Anna ducked into the shadows at the edge of the arena, readying her bow for whatever came out.
DDDDDD
Lance had blasted his way out of the room he had landed in after Matt had triggered that trap and had been walking down an endless hallway ever since. "Moron," the gunner snarled mentally for the hundredth time as he rounded another corner. He continued walking, eyes scanning the tunnel lit by the red crystal he had duct-taped to the back of his hand. "At least I have light," Lance mused, turning another corner and coming face to face with three Spark Wraiths.
He stared at the floating monsters for a split second in shock; the wraiths seemed equally surprised as they simply hovered there staring back at him. The staring contest ended abruptly as Lance whipped the large Shadow Blaster rifle off of his back. Cursing the fact that he carried a weapon not suited for killing the undead, Lance unleashed a Holy Fire attack on the rightmost wraith. Not waiting to see if it killed the monster or to see what the other two did, Lance dashed past them and ran down the tunnel. Two echoing cries rang out behind him.
"Good, at least one of them is dead-dead," Lance thought with satisfaction as he hurtled around another corner. His feet slipped out from under him on a puddle and the gunner crashed into the wall. The wall made a strange clicking sound and flipped around, taking the stunned human with it. Not questioning the good luck, Lance stood and carefully listened for the Wraiths on the other side of the trick wall; tensing as their screeches came closer and closer. The cries brushed passed the concealed gunner and continued down the tunnel. Lance breathed a sigh of relief as he turned to survey where he had ended up. He willed the crystal on his hand to flare up.
A grinning skull illuminated with a red glow from the crystal filled his vision and Lance let out a choked yell of shock. He leapt to the side away from the skeleton, his heart thudding somewhere in his throat. He took a few calming breaths before chastising himself for jumping at an inanimate object. "Granted it was a rather macabre surprise," he admitted silently. The skeleton was wearing some kind of rusty armor with a matching helmet. Lying on the ground next to the boney cadaver was a bulky object, covered in dust and cobwebs.
Curiously, Lance knelt next to it and brushed the accumulated covering to find a strange device made of some kind of white metal. The gunner rolled the object over carefully and found a trigger. "No, way," he murmured in surprise. He hefted the weapon in his hands. The ancient gun was designed to look like the giant white hand of a statue; the tip of each finger was actually a muzzle for releasing magic and Lance could feel the holy magic infused in the device. He stood up and tried another holy fire at the far wall. The white flames burned twice as large from before and were much brighter. Grinning, Lance stashed his Shadow Blaster and strapped the ancient gun to his back.
The gunner gave the skeleton one last glance before he turned to the trick wall and ran his hands over it, trying to figure out how to flip it around again. "I might actually have to thank Matt for dropping me down here," Lance muttered, "Ah, ha." A brick wobbled slightly as his hands passed over it and he pressed down. With a soft click the wall spun around again and Lance found himself standing in the hallway again. He had taken one step onward when the two Spark Wraiths he had evaded earlier came flying back down the tunnel towards him. Lance smirked and brought his new rifle around to bear. He unleased another Holy Fire attack and the two ghosts shrieked in dismay as they were engulfed in the gleaming flames.
Two more cries echoed from somewhere in the tunnels and Lance placed the gun on his back again and took off running. He came upon an intersection and halted, breath coming in sharp pants. Three identical tunnels stretched out before him. Identical until he noticed a crude arrow scratched on the wall of one of them. Lance only paused for a moment, wondering who would have scratched which way to go, before another cry came from behind him, closer than before. Deciding to wonder about it later, the gunner took off down the tunnel. Light filtered around a corner up ahead and Lance dashed around the corner to come out in a circular pit. A flash of movement in his peripheral had him instinctively twisting to the side. An arrow clattered against the stone wall behind him and fell to the dirt. Immediately after, an unexpected, but welcome voice called out.
"Holy- I am so glad you dodged that," Anna called out, relief coloring her voice.
"I hope this isn't how you plan on greeting me from now on," Lance commented as he looked towards where the arrow came from, but didn't see Anna as she laughed. "Where are you?" he asked in confusion.
"Oh, whoops," Anna said sheepishly, stepping out of the shadows, her Angel Wing bow in hand. It appeared to Lance that she had simply materialized out of the gloom.
He walked over to her and pressed a kiss to her cheek. Pulling back, he observed her blush with a grin. "Planning on changing occupations from ranger to ninja?" He asked, referring to her new stealth.
Anna laughed again, "Not intentionally, no; it's this dress. It saved me from a few Spark and Ice Wraiths not too long ago."
Lance waved his hand dismissively, "The Spark Wraiths are dead. Dunno about the Ice ones; they might have been what had been chasing me, though."
"They don't seem very smart. You'd think they would just float through the walls. Works for us, though, I guess," Anna commented. "Think Matt and Natalie will end up here too?"
"Don't give the monsters any ideas," Lance groaned. "The other two will probably be here soon. We can figure out how to get out of here when they do."
He turned to peer across the room at a tunnel at the other end. Anna finally noticed the new gun on his back, "Nice weapon; did you switch to it when you fell down here?"
Lance glanced over his shoulder at the tip of the gun, "No, I found it by accident. It does some very nice holy power ups, but I don't know what else yet." Anna suddenly reached out and grabbed his hand. Lance stared in confusion, "What are you doi- OWW! Geeze, warn me next time," he yelped rubbing the tender skin after Anna ripped the duct-tape off.
"Don't be such a big baby," Anna muttered, digging for some more cord.
The gunner smirked, "I want a kiss to make the boo-boo better." Lance kept the smirk for all of three seconds before he burst out laughing at the incredulous look Anna sent his way. His laughter cut off as she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips.
Pulling back with a blush, she smirked at his surprised expression, "Better?"
"Much," Lance said with a grin.
"Good, then be quiet so I can tie this knot," Anna said as she worked to wrap the crystal in a secure loop before tying the knot. She then slipped the crystal over his head. "There, much better than taping it to your hand every time you need light," she said with a smile.
Lance looked down at the crystal, "Thanks, that is much better."
She stepped back, "Now I guess we just wait for Matt and Natalie, huh?" Lance nodded and went to sit by the wall.
DDDDDD
Natalie never wanted to see the color black again after this. First she had fallen into a pitch-black room. Then, once she had gotten out, she had found herself in a pitch-black hall. After some walking, she had run into a pair of Black Clays. A couple quick Judgements took them out, but the noise had attracted some black Coal Bats. "At least they were also easy to defeat," the mage thought, trying to find the bright side to all the black. At least the crystal she held in one hand wasn't black. The orange crystal she'd almost forgotten she had, shone a warm orange; a literal beam of light in the overwhelming blackness.
"I really need to find something else to gripe about," Natalie muttered, turning down another damp hall. She walked further, encountering no more monsters, but no exits, either. The silence was even creepier than the darkness, and she shivered as she glanced back over her shoulder. She had the strangest feeling that something was watching her, but no matter how often she looked nothing was there. She shuddered as she turned to face forwards once more, and walked straight through an Ice Wraith that had drifted out of the wall. The sensation was like having ice water replace the blood in her veins and she shivered for a whole other reason than something watching her.
Natalie tried to ignore the cold creeping over her and raised her staff to cast a Fireball spell at the Ice Wraith. The blast engulfed the monster, but didn't quite manage to kill it. The smoking Wraith lifted its robed arms and ice pelted the mage. Natalie groaned as she felt a thin sheet of ice spread over her arms and legs, holding her in place. Unable lift her arms to cast another spell, she tensed in anticipation of pain as she watched the Ice Wraith raise its arms again. Thin spears of ice circled above the trapped mage and her eyes widened with fear. Suddenly, a meow echoed out of the dark behind the Wraith and the spears circling above Natalie as the monster was distracted by the appearance of NoLegs. As Natalie watched in shock, the cat pounced forward, slashing at the weakened wraith, and letting out a pleased purr when the monster died, leaving behind an empty robe.
"O-oh, a-am I g-g-glad to s-see you, No-L-Legs," Natalie said through chattering teeth as she struggled to crack the ice encasing her. The cat bounced over and began chipping away at the ice to help break the mage free. As soon as the girl was freed, she gathered up NoLegs for a hug. "I have no clue how you found me, but I'm glad. What do you say we get out of here?" Natalie asked the purring cat in her arms.
With a happy mrrow of agreement, NoLegs squirmed out of the mage's arms and began to confidently lead her down the hallway. Never pausing in his self-assigned duty as guide, the cat led Natalie down tunnel after tunnel, taking some turns and avoiding others.
Natalie was hopelessly lost as she followed behind the cat, "How do you know where we're going?"
"Meow! Mrrow, meow meow."
"You've… Been here before?" Natalie asked confused. A purr was her response. "Huh, might not want to tell Lance that; he'll think you're conspiring against us."
"Meow…"
Natalie reached down to pat his head, "Of course I don't think that! You're a part of the team, as Matt always says. Speaking of Matt, do you know where he is?"
"Meow! Meow!"
"That's good. Did you know we're a couple now?"
"Meow?!"
"I know; I can hardly believe it either. It only took me drowning, apparently."
"Meow."
"Okay, okay, I know that wasn't funny."
"Meow!"
DDDDDD
Matt hadn't moved from where he had fallen out of the chute. He had made the mistake of trying to land, and his left ankle had snapped. As he lay there, trying not to black out from the burning pain that flared from his foot, he bemoaned the fact that he had touched that evil statue.
"I'll never loot again," He groaned, talking to himself in an attempt to avoid thinking about his broken foot and the fact that he was alone. "Nope, never again; when I get out of here, I'll become a sell-sword." He considered his vow, "Well, if the loot isn't on a pedestal that apparently screams 'trap' I'll take it; or if it's off a monster I killed," he amended. "Although, if it's made of pure gold, someone else might try to take it; I wouldn't want someone to get hurt carelessly looting, so I guess I'd have to grab it to save them," he said aloud. Nodding slightly he decided that would be okay.
The swordsman shifted slightly before freezing as he suppressed a loud cry as a wave of agony flared out from his ankle. He didn't know who or what else was down here, and he didn't want to find out if they were friendly or not when he couldn't defend himself. "I don't even know if there is anyone else down here with me," Matt thought, breathing heavily as the flare of pain subsided. The thought was terrifying; he could die down here and no one would ever find him. As his consciousness slowly slipped away, he hoped that Natalie and the other three were okay, maybe even together. His head fell to the side as he finally passed out from the pain.
A long time passed before a dull pounding sound echoed in Matt's mind, dragging the peaceful, pain-free blanket of oblivion off of his mind. He opened his eyes, not expecting to see anything and frowned as he realized he could see something. An orange light extended from a crack under the door that apparently led into the room. The pounding sound came again, and Matt flinched as he realized that it hadn't been some wake-up call from his mind before stilling to avoid aggravating his ankle again; something was out there trying to get in. A shadow passed across the light shining under the door and a muffled sound came from the other side. Matt held his breath hoping whatever was out there, would go away. A louder pounding rang out and he jumped in surprise, jarring his broken ankle badly. He was unable to suppress the sharp cry of pain before it broke past his throat and echoed around the room. The pounding on the door stopped abruptly and a scraping sound came to his ears.
Matt bit his lower lip using the lesser pain that flared up to distract him from the agony of moving his foot as he slid himself back to brace himself against the wall. Using the uneven bricks as hand holds, he hauled himself to stand on one foot. The pain that was his reward for the effort was so bad he punctured the skin of his lip, tasting blood. He shuddered as the door opened and a horned shadow stretched across the floor. He drew his blade; whatever was coming in would not take him down without a fight.
DDDDDD
"Are you sure he's in there?" Natalie asked NoLegs skeptically, knocking on the big metal door.
"Meow," NoLegs said firmly, nodding. He pressed himself to the floor to sniff at the crack at the bottom of the door.
Natalie tried calling Matt's name, but no reply came back. She pounded a little hard against the door and jumped as a cry of pain came back through it. "Matt?! Hang on, I'm coming in!" She braced her shoulder against the door, shoving against it with as much strength as she could. NoLegs joined in her effort, pressing his furry head against the door and shoving. Finally, little by little, the door slid open.
NoLegs squeezed inside while Natalie threw her weight against the door one last time and tumbled in. She groaned as she landed on her back on the hard floor. The mage tilted her head back to see Matt leaning against the wall staring at her with his Rune Blade drawn. His face was pale and sweaty and he had small trickle of blood running down his chin.
"Hey, there; we're here to rescue you," Natalie said, rolling over and standing up.
Matt's reply was a groan as he dropped his blade and collapsed. Natalie's heart skipped a beat as she lunged forward to catch him before his head connected with the floor. She carefully lowered him to rest on his back and began checking for any breaks in his armor that would signal an injury. She found nothing on his chest, stomach, or arms. His head was fine aside from where he had bit through his lip; a quick heal spell fixed the small wound. Natalie carefully slid her hands under his back. Nothing there either. She ran her eyes down Matt's legs and found that his right foot was twisted unnaturally.
She flinched at the sight, her own foot throbbing in sympathy. "Well, that explains why he's still here," Natalie told NoLegs who was busy rubbing his head against Matt's cheek. "I'll straighten it out while he's still out," the mage decided. A few quick motions later that had Matt jerking awake, "Stay still." she warned him.
"Natz..?" Matt slurred, blinking at her in confusion.
"And NoLegs," Natalie assured him. "Give me a few more seconds and we'll have you up and walking. Try not to move, okay?" The swordsman nodded. Natalie carefully felt his ankle to make sure the bones were aligned properly, causing Matt to hiss. Satisfied that they were in place, the mage leaned back with one more warning not to move and cast a powerful heal spell over the joint.
Matt let out a relieved sigh as Natalie's magic washed over the break, carrying away the pain that had plagued him and fusing the bone together again. He opened his eyes to see a water canteen being held out to him. The swordsman sat up and gratefully accepted the drink, the cold liquid clearing his head.
Natalie watched with a critical eye as Matt sat up and drank before deciding he was okay. Good; that meant they could get going to find Lance and Anna soon. Hopefully, NoLegs knew the way to find them, too.
As soon as Matt finished drinking he capped the container and stood up. Natalie stood a well and steadied him as the blood rushing from his head made the room spin. When the dizzy spell passed the swordsman pulled her close and kissed her. After a few seconds he pulled back.
"I thought I was going to be stuck here until I died. Thank you for coming to find me, and healing my ankle" Matt murmured.
Natalie blushed and then smiled, "Eh, even if this whole mess was your fault, I couldn't leave you behind; I'd miss you too much." She grinned, "Besides, I wasn't the one to find you, NoLegs did."
"Meow!" NoLegs said happily, purring as Matt bent down to rub his head,
Straightening up once more he grinned to the mage, "Shall we go find the others then? We still have a crazy god to stop, after all!"
Natalie smiled and grabbed his hand, tugging him forwards to follow NoLegs back into the hall. The cat was leading the way confidently once more and it wasn't long before they saw a patch of light. Speeding up, the three broke out into a room covered with old weaponry, lit up by a from above by a hole leading outside. The pair grinned and called out as they saw Lance and Anna sitting against the far wall, leaning against each other. The two sitting looked up and waved back with matching grins when they spotted Matt, Natalie, and NoLegs.
The three started across the center of the room when a rumbling sound came from the ground followed by a bulge of dirt. A split second later and a giant worm covered in old weapons burst out of the ground between the reunited parties with a strange throaty cry.
A/N: And after much filler, the party is reunited in time to fight an Evil Worm! And I've finally done something with those glowing crystals! They had been eating at me for some time now :P Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Be sure to review so that I don't get upset and I'll see you all next time!