"And they call THIS old dump the Castle of Power? Look at it - the buildings are falling apart and the locals are dressed in rags!" Darren said in shock.

"Maybe that's just a cover, just to hide the fact that this IS the Castle of Power." Ayn replied.

"Yeah, you're probably right." They carried on walking to a castle gate. Wren looked at it thoughtfully.

"This might be the entrance to the actual Castle of Power. But, no-one's home! I know..." Wren said. Lyle shrank back, as if he knew what was coming next.

"No, Lyle, not that. I think we should break in, or climb over the wall." Wren said quickly. He paced over to a long growth of thick, tangled vines. Mieu, Wren and Lyle were reminded of the time they had climbed over a growth of vines to help Rhys rescue Maia when he and Lyle were just princes.

"Right, we'll do what we did last time. I'll climb up and help everyone else up." Lyle said. Ayn and Darren were confused - they weren't around when Lyle climbed up the vines 'last time'. Wren saw their confusion, so he quickly explained what was goinbg to happen. Even though he hadn't climbed vines for seventeen years, Lyle still showed grace and finesse as he climbed them. This time, he didn't have to hand his staff to someone - he was able to bring it up by putting it into his belt.

He reached the top and called to everyone that he was ready. Darren was next to climb, and as he neared the summit, Lyle was able to pull him up with ease. Ayn followed, but Lyle was beginning to tire. He didn't have as much energy as he did seventeen years ago. Mieu was next to climb, but Lyle struggled to pull her up, so Ayn had to help.

"C'mon, Wren! You have to climb!" Darren called, but Wren shook his head.

"Lyle is getting tired. He won't be able to manage me. And the vines are getting weaker, so they could tear under my weight." Wren replied.

"Don't worry about Lyle! I'll help him!" Ayn shouted. Sighing, Wren grabbed hold of the vines and began to climb. Mieu grabbed hold of Ayn's ankles and lowered the prince down, so that he could get hold of Wren and pull him up.

"OK, this wasn't expected. But, sometimes we have to do these things." Ayn said to himself as his cloak fell over his head. It didn't fall off completely, thanks to the secure pinning that held it to the prince.

"Careful, Ayn!" Sari shouted from below. Ayn gave her a thumbs-up, but his angle made it look like a thumbs-down.

"That was supposed to be a thumbs-up, Sari!" the prince called. Sari nodded her head.

"Come on, Ayn! You can do it!" Darren shouted as pep talk. After a little more climbing, Ayn was able to grab hold of Wren, and Mieu used all of her strength to pull them up with ease.

"And they say women are the weaker sex..." Darren mumbled to himself.

"What about Sari?" Ayn asked.

"She may have to find another way. I could hear the vines tearing as I climbed them." Wren replied. The prince wasn't about to give up so easily. He asked Mieu to lower him down again, and then Lyle called to Sari to climb. She looked at the vines and refused.

"They're too weak to climb!" she called.

"We need a longer chain! Wren, lower Mieu down!" Ayn shouted. Wren refused.

"NOW, you metalhead!" the prince ordered. Sighing, Wren grabbed hold of Mieu's ankles and lowered her down, so now the chain was a little longer. Sari could just reach Ayn's hand, but she couldn't take it completely.

"A little lower, Wren!" Mieu shouted. Wren lowered them down slightly, and Ayn was then able to grab hold of Sari. Wren pulled with all his might, and he got Mieu safely back up. She began to pull Ayn up, but there was a problem.

"Help me, Ayn! I'm slipping!" Sari panicked. It was true - the prince's grip on Sari's hands was slipping. Mieu summoned more of her strength and tried to pull them up faster. As Sari reached the top, her grip on Ayn slipped completely. Thankfully, a bright green magical rope had stopped her falling to her doom. The rope was attached to a staff, which was held by Lyle.

"That was close." Sari sighed.

"TOO close." Ayn said in reply. The party, after a few minutes rest, set off further into the Castle of Power. Just as they were about to go through the doors, an old, bearded man stopped them. He was wearing a long blue robe that touched the floor. His wrinkled face was kind, and he was carrying a wand in one hand. He was the guardian of the Castle of Power.

"Do you have the Power Topaz?" the guardian asked, holding out his wrinkled hand. Ayn rummaged through his pockets and found the stone the guardian had asked for. He tapped it with his wand and handed it back to Ayn.

"It is the real Power Topaz, just as the prophecies foretold! Now, do we have a half-Layan prince, two cyborgs, a fair princess and a highly-trained female warrior in the party?" he asked. Ayn said that they had everyone except the fair princess. The guardian shook his head.

"You cannot see your true world until you have a fair princess in your party. You must go back." he said. Lyle stopped him there, though.

"I know where there's a fair princess! I'll go and get her!" he said, tapping his staff on the floor, muttering a few words and casting the Ryuka Technique. This particular technique is a teleportation technique that allows the caster to teleport anywhere that is sensible and safe. However, the technique may not work if there is magical interference. For Lyle, a very seasoned technique-caster, the technique worked. He returned several seconds later with Thea in tow.

"So, this is the fair princess. In that case, all of you can see your true world." the guardian said. He clapped his hand and the huge, heavy wooden doors of the castle swung open. Inside, there was a huge spaceship.

"That's it? That's our true world? What a waste of time!" Darren exclaimed, but the guardian silenced him.

"No, that spaceship will take you to your true world." he said. Everyone climbed in, and there was a whirr of engines and the electronic whooshes of all the spaceship's systems booting up.

"Spaceship is ready to take off. Now preparing for launch." a female voice from the spaceship said. Everyone got their seat belts on, and the spaceship blasted into space.

The ship circled around for several minutes, and then it landed on a flagged stone floor surrounded by arches. It looked like the party had travelled back in time to Ancient Rome, but they couldn't see anyone with a toga wandering around.

"According to my readings, we are on another world." Mieu said. It was true. The party had arrived at Satellite, the place that Sari thought the cyborgs were coming from.