Disclaimer: I don't own so please don't sue.
"Welcome Tibor." Said a high impetuous voice from the darkness. "I see you've brought the swordmasters back with you, as promised. I'm still not convinced that we need them, but Nerissa represents a threat unlike any we've faced before."
"Hey we're all in danger here, you stupid" Irma paused "Whatever you are."
A tall female Perrin stepped out of the shadows, an angry expression on her face.
"I am Luba, the leader of the Guardian temple of Zamballa's stone. Remember you are here because Tibor has persuaded me to allow you in. Do not make me regret it."
Tibor held his hands up. "Please, please. We have a difficult task ahead of us and we can ill afford to argue. Luba, will you please escort these people to the temple?"
Her face softened. "Of course old friend." She said in a calmer voice.
Turning to face the five swordmasters and Caleb she beckoned for them to follow her. They soon reached an apparent dead end.
"So now what?" Irma quipped. Sticking her arm into a hole on the left wall, Luba twisted something in there. With a loud creaking noise, the wall in front of them opened to reveal a magnificent temple seemingly made of glass.
"Ok I am officially impressed" said Irma in a low voice. Luba merely smiled as she saw the looks of amazement on their faces. Will however recovered quickly.
"It's not really glass is it?" She asked.
"No young swordmistress, it's a type of crystal, called Trysar. It's very strong." Luba replied with a slight smile. "It's good to see that you're capable of thinking tactically anyway."
Will gave her a thin smile. "I'm a mistress of Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu." She stated calmly. "I'm meant to think about my surroundings. Now may I ask to see where this stone is?"
"Of course." Luba replied. Although she didn't show it, Luba was amused by Will's spirit.
00000000000000000000000000000000
"Why would anyone build a magnificent building like this and hide it in a mountain, behind a hidden doorway?" Irma asked plaintively.
"The mountain and the deposits of Trysar hides the Stones magical signature." Luba replied "Besides, it was originally a palace for a local warlord."
The five swordmistresses, Caleb and Luba took up positions around the stone room. Luba had been most insistent about being there, stating that it was just as much her responsibility to protect the stone as it was theirs. Since they didn't have a reason not to accept her help, they didn't argue. At the rooms centre was a small altar and on it sat a small green, oval stone, the Stone of Zamballa.
An hour later, all hell broke loose. The doors exploded inwards as the body of one of the temple fighters was thrown through them.
"So" Nerissa sneered as she looked around the room. "You think you can stop me do you? I should kill you for that alone."
Before she could say any more though, Will launched her attack with a scream of rage. Their swords clashed as a fast paced battle began, both moving at almost superhuman speed. Before the others could move to help Will, Nerissa's companions entered the room. A wolf man, a winged woman made of lava, a winged man made of ice and a man with a golden mask and black wings.
The end of Caleb's staff came flying towards the golden masked man with cobra speed. The man simply grabbed it and with a sharp pull, dragged Caleb towards him and punched him in the gut. A second blow, this time to the chin, sent him flying. He hit the wall and slumped to the ground unconscious. Then he flung himself at Cornelia, who blocked him with her sword. Grabbing his wings, he pulled them off and began to use them as a pair of swords, the wing feathers turning as hard as steel. With her armoured hand and Zanbato, Cornelia and the man began a fast paced battle. Attack and counter attack, neither fighter could gain any ground.
The wolf man jumped forward, two short swords in his hands. His first swing almost cut Hay Lin in two, but at the last minute she pulled herself back. Jumping straight onto the attack, Hay Lin's batons were in her hands and she hit him in the chest with both of them. As he flew back, she twisted the bottom ends of her batons and from the top ends blades emerged.
"Cane swords" she said with a smirk. Hay Lin leapt forward, her cane swords and her arms forming a couple of straight lines, ready to deal a fatal blow. The wolf man merely held his blades out parallel to the ground in a Shinken stance. Just as Hay Lin's swords were about to hit him, he side-stepped and swung his blade round in a blow that would have split her head in two had she not twisted out the way at the last minute. Even then, his blade caught her on the face, leaving an impressive gash between her eye and ear. The two fighters turned to face one another and they began to fight, dancing around each other's attacks and launching attacks of their own.
The woman made of lava attacked Taranee with surprising ferocity. From her hands erupted a deadly scimitar, its bade glowing with the heat. Taranee countered with her own volley of attacks, spinning her sword into attack after attack. As they continued to launch fast and furious attacks, neither of them sucessfully penetrated the others defence.
The ice man pulled a couple of Sai swords from his wings. Long thin blades with two short prongs on the hilt of each blade, sai swords were widely regarded as ceremonial weapons, most fighters preferring to use sais or rapiers. With a lunge, he began his attack. Irma caught his sword in her toothed sword and with a flick of her wrist, sent him flying towards her. But as she brought her rapier forward, he caught her sword with his second and the two of them were locked in a battle of wills, each determined to free their blade first.
Luba caught Nerissa with a claw punch to the face. Nerissa swung her sword through Luba's neck in reply. But it created an opening in her defence and that was all Will needed. Launching a volley of attacks, she hit Nerissa all over her body.
"Hiten-Mitsurugi ryu Ryusosen, meaning Dragon's nest strike." She stated calmly. Turning over her blade, she raised it to kill Nerissa once and for all.
"This is for my sensei Susan Vandom." She said in a voice that belied her anger.
"That's all I need to know. The desire for something you should not have is all I need to make you mine." Nerissa chuckled. Will struggled as she felt her free will begin to drain away.
Nerissa gritted her teeth in concentration. Susan Vandom's apprentice was fighting her harder than anyone she had encountered before. Hay Lin spotted what she was doing and threw a throwing knife at her. Although the blade failed to connect, it did break Nerissa's concentration and that was enough for Will to break the spell completely. With an angry yell, Nerissa and her companions retreated.
Will turned to face Hay Lin, her face ashen with fear over how close she'd come to a fate worse then death. "Thanks Hay Lin." She murmured.
Meanwhile Nerissa and her minions returned to their camp. Nerissa was annoyed and more than a little worried. Will had been her most dangerous opponent in a while and she didn't like how close she'd come. Then an idea hit her to deal with young Will Watsuki once and for all. She began to draw on her magic and a black shape began to form out of thin air. She grinned. Let Swordmistress Watsuki handle this particular blast from her past.
AN: Sai swords are purely fictional. As far as I can tell their my own creation. Read and review.