I do not own Dragon Quest 11 or any of the characters.

Cursed

Kai stared around at the city. There was no blizzard this time, but at least when there was, there were people. This time, the streets of Sniflheim were deserted, and though Kai could hear them muttering inside of their homes, they refused to answer the door no matter how loudly he knocked.

"What do you think?" he asked Jade as they stood before the inn. "Should I break it down?"

"No, you shouldn't," Jade said exasperatedly, then frowned, looking around. "What are they afraid of?"

Rab and David had gone to speak with Frysabel, along with Erik who had started spacing out and looked haunted ever since docking. While they did, all of the others were searching town for anyone at all who would speak with them.

"Let's head toward the castle," Kai suggested. "Even if there's something wrong, there should be guards posted outside the gate."

Jade nodded and they headed through the square to the castle's gate. Sure enough, a pair of soldiers stood outside, though both of them looked pale and terrified, looking around frightfully and frequently glancing at each other.

"What's got everyone so afraid?" Kai asked.

"Oh, the Dragovian!" one of the guards gasped. "Our city is beset by a terrible plague whose origins escape even our wisest scholars!"

"What sort of plague?" Kai asked. "What are the symptoms?"

"There are none," the other guard said. "It strikes suddenly and completely. There's no cure or treatment."

"It's that witch Krystalinda's doing," the first guard said. "We've imprisoned her until she agrees to dispel the plague."

"Krystalinda?" Kai asked, glancing back toward the bay. "The gold blocking the bay's part of it, right? But Krystalinda uses Ice Magic."

"How could she be behind it?" Jade asked.

"It began so soon after she returned," the second guard said. "It has to be her."

"Tell us about this plague," Kai said. "Everything you know."

"It's called Gold Fever," the first guard explained. "Anything it claims turns completely to gold. It affects everything. Plants, animals, people. Half the city has already fallen to it."

Just then, the castle doors opened and the others returned just as Sylvando and Hendrik joined them.

"Ah, there you are," Jade greeted David's group. "Did the Queen shed any light on this Gold Fever? We only got a little information."

"Not much," Rab shook his head. "The Queen said Krystalinda was investigating, but the people suspected she was causing it, so she locked her away in the dungeon for her own safety. We talked to Krystalinda, too, and she said that the plague is more like a curse. That someone even more powerful than she ever was caused it."

Just then, an elderly maid began to walk past.

"Pardon me, madam," Rab called out to her. "Do you have a minute?"

"Do I have a minute, he asks!" she scoffed. "How can I know, when every second could be my last! You'd do well to leave this place, too, before you turn to gold!" She stopped, staring at Erik. "Wait! I know you! You're that boy, Erik!"

"You...You know me?" Erik asked.

"Oh, don't be silly!" she waved him off. "Everyone in Sniflheim knows you! You're the-" She stopped, suddenly, clutching at her chest and groaning, seeming to be struggling to breathe. As she gasped for breath, the air around her began to sparkle with tiny specks of golden light as darkness began to radiate from her. "No...this can't be...happening!"

"What's the matter, dear?" Sylvando gasped. "Are you okay?"

"It's...It's...got me!" the maid forced out, trembling in fear.

Then, in a flash of violet light, she was frozen in place, her skin, her hair, even her clothes transformed to pure gold.

"I take it this is a case of Gold Fever," Jade mused, face curled in disgust and sympathy. "It's...horrible."

Erik fell to his knees, groaning and clutching at his head, staring, mortified, at the golden statue before them.

"Erik!" Sylvando gasped, kneeling beside him. "Honey, are you okay!? Tell me where it hurts!"

"It's his memories," Kai guessed. "Looks like there are some truly horrible ones trying to get out."

"Erik?" a voice off to the side said, a priest walking over. "I heard the commotion and came running. I never thought I'd find you here."

"Do ye know our friend, Father?" Rab asked. "He's an auld pal, but we lost him after the Fall. I fear he's taken a blow to the head somewhere along the way. He doesnae remember a thing about his life before then."

"This isn't from a head injury," Kai frowned, holding a hand over Erik, Darkness swarming from his head for a moment. "This is magic. Something or someone cast a spell on him that's locked all of his memories away."

"Oh, my poor child," the priest said. "Perhaps I can help to jog your friend's memory. Come to the church by the city gates, and I will tell you what I know of his past."

The others nodded, and Kai lifted Erik like a child, all of them following the priest to his church where a couple of citizens were taking shelter. The conversation was short but enlightening. As a child, Erik had once had a sister, and they were orphaned. The Vikings who shared the bay with Sniflheim, not entirely peacefully, had taken them in, though only to use as slaves. Then one day, rumor spread that Erik's sister had died and Erik disappeared. However, before the priest could reveal anything further, Erik demanded he stop, then said he needed to be alone and left. They followed him, finding him outside the city on a low cliff overlooking the bay. However, no sooner had they found him did someone scream as a ship began to approach the docks. The priest reached them a moment later, promising to watch over Erik while they dealt with the new arrivals. They turned, running for the gate as the monsters on the ship, golden skeletons and a golden suit of armor, demanded the Sniflheim citizens give them all their gold, then burst through the gate to take it and the golden statues back to their ship.

"That's a Viking longboat," Kai noticed as they ran for the gate. "I think...I think the monsters are the Vikings!"

"Should we...fight them?" Sylvando asked. "If they were people..."

"They were criminals," Kai said. "Thieves and murderers."

"Then we give no quarter," Hendrik intoned, drawing his sword.

Kai nodded, drawing his own. "Their bodies are gold. It's going to take a lot of force to damage them."

"We'll manage," Rab promised, slipping his Golden Claws on, he and Jade both catching the split-second glare Kai flashed them, though Kai shook his head and focused on the matter at hand.

"Move it, metal-headed morons!" the gold suit of armor was ordering the skeletons, all two dozen of them. "Get this statue back to the boat! You don't want to keep Gyldygga waiting!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Kai shouted as they ran through the gate.

"What are you looking at!?" the armor demanded. "Mess with us and you'll have to answer to the great and glorious Gyldygga, shining star of the Spectral Sentinels!"

"So, this is all Mordegon's work," Kai understood. "Or, at least one of his underlings. Good. Then if we take down this Gyldygga, it'll probably under the Gold Fever."

"One battle at a time," David said, readying his sword. "Really wish I had a second sword."

"Remind me after the fight," Kai said. "For now, focus on destroying these things."

"The boss only likes two kinds of humans," the armor informed them. "Gold ones and dead ones! Let's bury 'em boys!"

"For Gyldygga!" the monsters all cheered, charging.

Kai launched himself forward, snarling as he slashed hard, but aside from denting the first skeleton he met, his strike did nothing. Hendrik, Jade, and David all had similar experiences as the skeletons met them. Kai growled in annoyance, deflecting several slashes from his skeleton before spinning around his skeleton, white-hot flames roaring along his blade as he slashed again. This time, he split his skeleton with ease, and turned, roaring and bathing the next four in flames as well just as Rab blasted Jade's opponent with Kazammle, blasting the skeleton apart. David spun, forming a single, massive blade formed of a thousand bolts of lightning born of his Luminary power. The blade carved through a pair of golden skeletons, killing both, and David and Jade both lunged for the four Kai had heated with his flames. They reached the four alongside Kai, and David and Kai slashed through the first two's heated, softened bodies. Jade slashed the third's skull off and the fourth lunged, slashing at Jade, only for Kai to deflect the blade before slashing the skeleton down the front. The golden suit of armor roared, charging forward and launching itself at Kai, and he began to fend it off, humming interestedly at its skill. Finally, however, as it stabbed at him, he spun around it, deflecting its sword, then slashed it across the back at the same time as Hendrik split it across the front, separating it across the chest.

"Appreciate the help," Kai said, then frowned, staring at the gate. "Shit."

The others turned, seeing the dozen and a half or so they hadn't killed fleeing with the maid who'd turned to gold. They ran after them, only to stop as they saw Erik seated on the deck of the longboat, arms tied behind his back, as it sailed away.

"Shit, Erik!" Kai swore. "Where's the priest?"

They ran for the cliff where they'd left Erik with the priest, finding him with a group of civilians.

"Good to see you safe, Father," Kai greeted him. "We saw they took Erik."

"I'm so sorry!" The priest bowed. "They found us and I was powerless to stop them from taking Erik away!"

"Please, do not be so hard on yourself, Father," one of the citizens, a short, heavyset man with a blue coat, said. "It is a miracle that even you escaped with your life. When we heard you were outside the gates when the monsters attacked, we feared the worst."

"Curse those sparkling scoundrels!" another of the citizens, a tall, muscular, aging man dressed like a sailor, growled. "They have run away with every man, woman, and child, struck down by the Fever! They just picked them up and carried them off like so much plunder! Do they mean to sell our friends...our families?"

"No, they don't," Kai shook his head. "Those monsters used to be the Vikings. They were transformed into those things by a servant of the Lord of Shadows, Gyldygga."

"So, they mean to hoard them?" the priest asked.

"Yes," David nodded. "That's probably also why they took Erik."

"It must be," the priest nodded. "He had no valuables on him, and he was not afflicted by the Fever. And yet, they just headed straight for him. It is almost as if they knew exactly who he was. Yes, you may be right! I believe they are, indeed, the Vikings. If that's true, then they should have taken Erik to their hideout. It's a cave just across the bay."

"Alright, we'll start there," Kai nodded. "Thank you."

The priest nodded, and they all hurried back to the row boat Dave was waiting for them at. Kai focused, controlling the water to sail them to the Vikings' cave. The mouth of the cave was empty, and through a set of wooden double doors built into the wall of the cave, they found the skeletons and another of the golden suits of armor. They were discussing how Gyldygga would reward them for the massive amount of gold they'd brought back, as well as Erik, who was valued even higher. However, upon the suit of armor recognizing David as the Luminary, one of the skeletons ran of to what Kai assumed was Gyldygga's castle, the Gyldenhal, only for the suit of armor to decide he'd turn in David's head to the Lord of Shadows personally and be rewarded by becoming a Spectral Sentinel, now that several spots had opened up. And then, while cheering the suit of armor's name, Gyldenbritches, the monsters all charged. Kai roared, bathing them all in flames, and they all shouted in pain, raising their shields, only for their shields to rapidly warp as Jade added her own flames.

"What are these two!?" Gyldenbritches shouted as his shield broke free of its handles.

"Yoohoo!" Sylvando called from above.

Everyone looked up, just as Sylvando fell toward the monsters with a new sword, one Kai had forged for him after they'd dealt with Irwin, in case his rapiers were broken again. This sword was styled between a rapier and a saber, with a purple hilt, crossguard, and knuckle bow, a red gemstone on the ends of the guard's arms and the pommel, and a broad, reddish-pink blade, too thick to count as a rapier. The sides of the guard were decorated by demon faces, and as Sylvando landed, he twisted, slashing hard and carving through three of the skeletons. Kai slammed a kick into Gyldenbritches, caving in his chestplate and blasting him into the wall, where his entire body cracked and deformed. As he landed on his feet, he turned sharply, slashing a skeleton across the ribs, killing it. Jade reached the skeletons alongside David, David slashing a skeleton down the front as Sylvando slashed another skeleton and Jade slammed a kick into a skeleton's skull, sending it spinning away. A pair of skeletons lunged at Jade, but Kai shot past both, slashing them before stopping himself in time to block a skeleton's sword as it tried to slash at Hendrik, allowing Hendrik's greatsword to slash through the last three skeletons, including the one Kai had interrupted.

"Where the fuck is that fat..." Kai trailed off, watching as Rab opened the gate to Erik's cell. "Oh."

"That was easier than I was expecting," Jade said. "Good thing you figured out you can soften their bodies."

"Agreed," Kai nodded. "I'm expecting it'll be invaluable against Gyldygga."

Jade nodded in agreement as they reached the others. However, just as they did, Erik stood, mumbling to himself for a moment before staggering away from them, deeper into the caves. Kai frowned, following him with the others. They crossed through a large, open area,then into a small tunnel that looked like it had once been lived in. Erik stood amongst the various belongings, next to a spot on the ground that had been coated in gold, clutching his head. And to his left was a Yggdrasil root. David walked over to it instantly, and Kai knelt, picking up a golden bird left on the ground. It was perfectly sculpted. Too perfect. It was a bird. One of the victims of the Gold Fever.

Kai looked over at David just as he set his hand on the Yggdrasil Root, and instantly, images filled his mind, just as they had in Heliodor. THe images showed Erik's life among the Vikings. Treated like dirt. Abused. But not alone. He'd had his sister with him. She was a little younger, but she looked just like him. The same blue hair, which she wore in a braid, the same intelligent light in her blue eyes. She wore shorts, a white midriff shirt, a short brown vest with yellow triangles along the front edge, a yellow scarf, gold bracers on her arms, and jade bangles. She had an attitude though. She wasn't afraid to speak ill of the Vikings, and frequently told Erik that he needed to learn to grovel more convincingly to avoid getting in trouble. But despite everything, they were still siblings. They fought, and they made up. They stuck by each other, making plans to find a way to get rich in order to leave the life they hated behind. And then, the image shifted to another memory. Erik giving Mia a gift for her birthday. A golden necklace studded with rubies. She'd acted unimpressed, ungrateful, but though Erik hadn't seen it, she'd clutched the necklace to her chest. It had meant the world to her. And then, she'd put it on, and promptly turned a copper coin to gold. And then, she began to experiment. She turned a handkerchief to gold, then a rock. She was elated. Amazed.

But Erik saw it. There was a hunger in her gaze now. A greed that couldn't be sated. And sure enough, as the image changed to a few days later, it was proven. She'd transformed many things to gold by now. Tea pots, cups, plates, a platter full of apples, forks, spoons, coins. Anything she could get her hands on, it seemed. When he walked over, commenting that she'd been using her necklace's power again, she accused him of being jealous, offering to share one of her "treasures" with him if he asked nicely. But then, she held up a golden bird. In an earlier memory, he'd seen a seagull and made a comment about wanting wings. It had been a treasured memory for him, because it was a memory of her, and so she thought the golden bird would be perfect for him. Except, Erik didn't see it that way. All he saw was a living being that had been turned to gold. It was wrong. It was cruel. And he told her so. But all she'd responded with was that it was small, and that she'd forgotten how greedy he was.

Erik pressed the issue, trying desperately to make her see that she was doing something wrong. Eventually, for the sake of not disappointing her brother, she relented, apologizing and promising to stop, if only for a while. Except, the necklace wouldn't come off. Erik didn't believe her, but as the panic set in, the necklace began to shine with a cold, foreboding, violet light. And then, the curse went out of control. Mia began to turn to gold. Erik tried to break the necklace with his dagger, but the blade was turned to gold by the necklace, and then shattered. Mia cried out for help, but a section of the floor was turning to gold now. Mia reached out to him, shrieking for help again, and Erik reached out as well. But then, the change was complete, and Erik pulled back, staring, horror-struck, at the terrified look on his sister's golden face. Then, the last image was Erik closing the door they'd entered through and sealing it. As the images faded, Kai stood, looking to the spot of the floor that had been turned to gold again. Mia was supposed to be there. His eyes narrowed.

"It was all my fault," Erik said lowly. "After what happened, I ran away...I wanted to leave this place...to leave my past behind. I asked around about the necklace on my travels, and finally found out what it was. I'd given my sister a cursed relic. I wanted to forget who I was, and what I'd done. So I threw myself into any adventure that came along, and before I knew it...I was living as a thief. That's when I met him...the guy who called himself the Seer. He told me to go after the Orb...that if I did, I'd meet the Luminary somewhere deep underground...and that if I helped him...I'd finally be forgiven.

"At first, I didn't believe a word of it. The kind of circles I was moving in, you learn pretty quickly not to trust anyone but yourself." Finally, Erik turned toward them. "But sure enough, I went after the Orb, I wound up underground, and...I met you." He smiled at David.

"Your memory, laddie...it's back!" Rab cheered.

"Good to see you, again, Erik," Kai smiled.

Erik nodded, directing his gaze to Rab. "It's thanks to you guys. Guess I've been kind of a pain these last few days, huh? I'll make it up to you, I promise." He sighed, shaking his head. "Who knows if I'll ever find the forgiveness the Seer promised me. But everything else he said came true...maybe that will too."

"Well, your sister seems to have decided to go for a walk," Kai mused, staring at the golden spot of the floor, which he realized had broken bits of gold lying around it. "Why don't we go and ask?"

Erik narrowed his eyes, nodding. "Yeah. Let's go and find her. This Gyldygga collects all the gold he can find, right? He may have taken her, too."

Kai stared at the gold in silence. It wasn't a kidnapping. Gyldygga didn't take Mia. Mia was Gyldygga. A curse to turn things to gold that was strong enough to affect even living beings was a unique thing. It was born of an insatiable greed. It couldn't be easily replicated, especially not in such a short time. Even by Mordegon, though he could definitely pull it off, if so inclined. But would he? No. He had no need. Instead of recreating it, he could amplify its power and use the host already bearing it. And so, he had freed Mia from her golden prison, only to give her over to the curse, birthing Gyldygga. But Kai couldn't tell Erik that. He didn't have the heart. He couldn't tell them that their enemy was his sister.

He followed them all north, out of the caves and to the foot of a mountain, into which a massive, golden castle had been built. Together, they all headed up the path to the castle gates, Kai killing a pair of golden skeletons that guarded it. The gates themselves, however, swung open on their own. They all shared a hesitant glance, then crossed the threshold into the golden castle. Its hallways were high and wide, every inch gleaming gold, and patrolled by golden skeletons, suits of armor and golems made entirely of gold bars. The hallways were set up in a standard fashion, but the placement of locked doors made it feel like a maze that they were continuously winding their way through while passing back and forth from the ground floor to the second floor and back. And all along the way, decorating the corridors and rooms they passed through, were Gyldygga's victims. Statues of gold made from living beings. There were dozens of them, and unlike the normal treasure strewn about the castle carelessly, the statues were displayed, one and all, on pedestals with lights shining on them to make them seem all the more spectacular. It disgusted Kai. It would have been like if Dragovians had been taxidermied and hung about Heliodor Castle.

"This is awful," Jade said as they were passing a child statue.

"Yes, it is," Kai said. "But if we defeat Gyldygga, they'll be freed."

"Do you really believe that?" Jade asked in a low voice.

"I have to," Kai said, glancing at a dog frozen in gold.

Jade nodded, and they continued on in silence. A pair of golems stomped around the next corner, but Kai shot forward, white-hot flames roaring along his blade before he slashed, splitting one golem down the middle as Jade bathed the other in flames, heating it for Hendrik to kill, which he did with a pair of slashes. A pair of golden marionettes dropped from above,but Kai and Jade both launched themselves forward, slamming a pair of kicks into their chests, and the puppets burst apart, their pieces bouncing away in a cacophony of crashes. Jade winced, but Kai and Erik simply strode forward in silence, neither caring about the nose. The other fights hadn't exactly been quiet either, and they'd been invited in, so sneaking around was pointless. A few hallways later, they were passing a pair of slot machines that suddenly came alive and attacked them, but their bodies were decidedly softer than the rest of the golden monsters in the castle, so Kai killed one with a kick as David split the other in half with a single slash. And then, a few minutes, and several more equally short battles, later, they'd reached the fourth floor along its single path, finally reaching the throne room.

"This is it, huh?" Kai asked. "Everyone ready?"

"Let's finish this," Erik said, pushing the doors open.

The throne room was enormous, open, and lined with displays of even more golden statues than the rest of the castle. However, that wasn't what they cared about. Instead, they all stared at the golden throne before them, upon which Mia sat, watching them all coldly.

"Gyldygga," Kai intoned.

"Mia?" Erik breathed.

"Call me that again and you'll regret it," Mia warned coldly. "I haven't been Mia for a long time. The name's Gyldygga."

"Wait, you're-" Erik began.

"Yes, well done!" Mia interrupted. "I'm the big baddie! It was all me! Gold Fever, stealing the statues! Me, me, me!"

Erik's gaze fell to the floor.

"What's the matter, dear brother?" Mia asked. "Aren't you happy to see your little sister doing so well for herself? Anyway, what are you doing out of your cage? I wasn't planning on having my men bring you here until later." She began to laugh cruelly.

"You men are all dead," Kai informed her.

"You have every right to hate me, Mia," Erik said, stepping forward. "I hate myself for what I did to you! But the Vikings, the Fever, why would you do all this?"

"Ugh," Mia groaned. "Questions, questions! Always with the questions! Fine! If you're so desperate to know, I'll tell you. It all began when the World Tree fell from the sky, and the Lord of Shadows went to visit a certain lucky girl."

She told them of Mordegon visiting her while she was trapped, aware, in her golden prison. He freed her and empowered her curse with his darkness, as Kai had thought, and in so doing, trapped her under the curse's control, though Kai only knew that part because he understood curses. She'd tested it by turning every living thing around her to gold, then corrupted the vikings.

"Mordgeon!" Erik snarled. "What did that monster do to you!?"

"Monster?" Mia scoffed, standing. "He's not the one who left his sister to rot all alone in a cave! Thanks to that 'monster', I'm here today! Thanks to him, I have all the gold, all the power I ever wanted, and more! And for my next trick, I'm going to turn everyone in the world into golden soldiers, just like those stupid Vikings, and work them all to the bone!"

"So you really did turn the Chief and his men into your slaves!?" Erik gasped. "What's happened to you!?"

Mia laughed. "You really think you deserve to know, after all you've done? I'll show you what you deserve!"

She focused, darkness swarming from the medallion around her neck before erupting outward. Everyone shielded their faces against the force of it, but as the dark magic faded, it left a new being before them. The now true form of Gyldygga. A massive, golden beast. It was shaped like a canine monster, for the most part, standing on its hind legs. It had thick, long claws in place of fingers and toes, a horn sticking up off of the end of its snout, a small spike off the front of its lower jaw and out to the either side, three spikes aligned along the outside of its forearms, large spikes on its shoulders and knees, a row of spines running down its back, a pair of horn-like spikes curling forward from its back, past its head, then upward, and the yellow orb shone at the tip of its tail. Its entire body gleamed, and its eyes shone with a haunting, pale blue light.

"I've thought about you every day for the last five years," Erik said, staring at his hand. "The thought of saving you was the only thing that kept me going. It's all my fault. All of this. Everything that's happened to you. Which means I have to finish this. I have to take you down!"

"Now you decide to play the hero!?" Gyldygga roared. "You're too late! You couldn't save me, and you can't save yourself, or your pathetic little friends! Why can't you all just leave me alone!? I don't need a brother, or a hero, or anyone! You're worthless to me, but you'll be worth your weight in gold!"

And then, Gyldygga struck. And their hopes for a swift victory were promptly shattered. Gylgygga was fast, leaping around the room and striking with her claws from odd angles, and her claws ripped through armor easily. Hendrik was struck first, shouting in pain as Gylgygga's claws tore across his back. David moved to strike, only to be smashed aside by the tail before Gyldygga pounced on Sylvando, biting into his torso. Kai moved to slash Gyldygga, only for Gyldygga to hurl Sylvando into him, and Gyldygga spun, slashing both Jade and Rab across the stomach, hurling both. Erik flipped over Gyldygga, slashing downward hard with his twin daggers, but Gyldygga leapt out of his way before his strike could land, then returned, slashing him down the front with her claws, slamming him to the ground before batting him aside. Then, she flicked her tail and David and Hendrik, both of whom were about to cast healing spells, were suddenly encased in gold.

"No!" Kai shouted, finishing his healing spell to restore everyone else to health, but it didn't affect their petrified friends. "Shit!"

Just then, David's mark began to shine, the gold on both himself and Hendrik beginning to crack. Kai's eyes widened, before he sighed in relief, spinning toward Gyldygga, only for Gyldygga's claws to shriek as they grated across his own torso. They failed to breach his armor, but they sent him bouncing across the room, and the sheer force of the strike and the impacts between himself and the golden floor and walls still went through the armor. He flipped, landing on his feet and forming his scales, then shot forward with Erik. Gyldygga roared, launching herself at Erik first, only for Jade to leap over Erik, slamming a kick into Gyldygga's head. Gyldygga flew backward only a few feet, but she crashed to the ground, allowing Kai's sword to slam into her side, hurling her across the room, though only with a small dent to show for it.

"Shit, she's solid!" Kai growled. "This is going to be hard.

The gold encasing David and Hendrik burst off, and both fell to their knees, Rab immediately healing both as Sylvando stepped up beside Kai.

"You and jade focus on heating Gyldygga up, darling," Sylvando said. "We'll handle striking for now."

Kai nodded. "I told you not to call me that."

Gyldygga roared, charging, and Kai and Jade both exhaled, twin jets of flames roaring across the room, only for Gyldygga to avoid them, racing toward Hendrik. She slashed, but Hendrik blocked it with his sword, grunting and sailing backward under the force of the blow. Then, there was a flash of light, and Jade exploded down onto Gyldygga's back in her alternate form. Instantly, both Kai and Jade roared, their flames bathing Gyldygga's body for several moments before Gyldygga reared up, hurling Jade off. Jade landed on her feet, but before Gyldygga's hands could reach the ground again, Erik reached her, spinning and slashing, his daggers shrieking as they tore into the softened metal. Gyldygga shrieked in pain, retreating, only for Sylvando and David to cross behind her, both swords splitting her back. She roared, but as Rab, Kai, Hendrik, and Jade closed in, she spun, her tail slamming into all four before flashing, sealing them in gold before they hit the ground.

Kai tried to move, but he couldn't. His body was locked in place, immobile, and glittering before his eyes. However, before he could worry, David's Luminary mark flashed, and he felt the curse beginning to weaken its grip on him. He fought to move, struggled, feeling the curse weakening further. He growled in his head, focusing, and activated Tension. The cracks sped up as the Tension aura blazed to life around him, a scarlet aura blazing to life around Jade as well. Then, finally, the gold exploded off of him in time for him to throw himself to his feet, roaring as flames encased his sword and he slashed as Gyldygga passed, his sword tearing through her side. She screamed, then again as Jade exploded down on Gyldygga's back, heavily denting it and breaking the spines along Gyldygga's back free. Then, Rab was there, the same blue aura that he'd used to defeat Kai in their last battle surrounding him before his Golden Claws ripped into Gyldygga rapidly. Finally, she twisted, swiping a wide, sweeping slash at Kai and Rab as she threw Jade off of her back. However, both evaded her slash and Rab swung his hands forward, a Kazammle exploding into Gyldygga's chest at the same time as Kai and Jade bathed her in white-hot flames.

Gyldygga roared angrily, leaping out of the flames, but as she landed, Hendrik's blade tore through her side just before Erik passed under her, slashing her across the front before immediately leaping over her and slashing her across the back as well. She spun, slashing at them, but Erik flipped over the strike and Hendrik blocked it, once again sailing backward. Then, she turned, shoving a hand toward Jade as she charged. Massive claws formed of blinding, golden energy formed around her hand before a massive sphere of energy swirled to life and fired. Kai shouldered Jade aside, crossing his arms in front of himself just as Hendrik formed a Magic Barrier around Kai, but the blast exploded through the barrier and erupted against Kai, sending him hurtling backward. He flipped, driving his sword into the floor and stopping on a dime, then ripped it free just as Sylvando's blade tore down Gyldygga's back, then across her side as he ducked under her spinning swipe. Jade's foot exploded into the side of Gyldygga's head, knocking her sideways toward Erik just as Sylvando cast Oomphle on him, multiplying his strength. That was good, because despite Gyldygga's body having cooled enough to be difficult to cut through again, Erik's enhanced strength allowed his daggers to rip through her golden body with ease as he flipped and dodged around her, evading her counters as he tore into her.

As Erik finally retreated, Jade bathed Gyldygga in flames once again as Sylvando, Rab, Hendrik, David, and Kai all raced forward. Gyldygga roared, leaping out of the flames, only for David to use his Luminary power to form the massive, electric blade and slash her, sending her crashing to the ground again. Then, they all struck. Jade stabbed her glaive into the ground, electricity screaming along it before a dozen bolts struck Gyldygga, flattening her to the ground and blasting a gaping hole in her back. Then, Hendrik and Sylvando both passed, splitting Gyldygga across the sides just as she stood. She roared, but Rab jumped in front of her, spinning parallel to the ground and ripping numerous gashes up her front with his claws before kicking off of her to escape her counter slash. Then, David and Kai shot past behind her, David slashing her across the back as Kai amputated her tail, stopping the magic energy building up in the orb, stopping her from encasing them all in gold again. Then, finally, as Erik slashed her across the face, Gyldygga shrieked in pain, staggering backward and roaring before there was a brilliant flash of white and Gyldygga's head and upper chest exploded apart. As the light faded, they stared at Gyldygga's shimmering body, levitating before them with Mia hovering in the now open section of its torso. Around her was a shining sphere of golden energy. However, before they could do anything, Mia screamed in pain as darkness began to erupt from the medallion, the curse going completely out of control.

Massive, spiked tendrils of pure gold began to erupt from Gyldygga, stabbing into the floor and walls around them, only to burst out somewhere else, much larger, and attack Kai and the others as well as spread through the room. In an instant, Erik and David had been separated from Kai and the others. Kai streamed white-hot flames along his blade, but when he slashed a tendril, darkness erupted from the point of impact, repelling his blade.

"Damnit!" Kai swore. "I can't cut them!"

"Are you two alright!?" Jade called over to David and Erik.

"The poor wee thing's lost control of her power!" Rab said. "If we can't stop her, Gold Fever's going to spread like wildfire!"

"I can't let that happen," Erik said. "This is all my fault! I'm sorry, Mia. I have to end this."

"E...Erik..." Mia cried out. "Help...me!"

"She's back!" Kai gasped. "The curse isn't controlling her anymore! Her mind is free!"

"Erik!" Mia cried out, reaching out toward her brother. "E...rik!"

"I can't do it!" Erik groaned. "She's my kid sister! I have to try and save her!"

Just then, several tendrils of gold broke free of the ground, stabbing down at them, as though trying to stop Erik, but David focused, repelling them with the Luminary's power. Then, Erik charged. He deflected a pair of tendrils with his daggers, but the next smashed one of them. He rolled under another tendril, then sprinted up one, leaping off and reaching for Mia. He shouted in desperation, in fear, in effort. Then, he slammed into the golden sphere around Mia.

"N-No!" Mia cried. "Get back! You'll be..."

Erik ignored her, ignored that already he was turning to gold, and instead smashed a hand through the barrier, reaching for his sister. She reached out to him, and he caught her hand, the gold transformation not yet having immobilized his arm. He yanked her into his arms, and she hugged him back, but the change didn't stop. And she didn't leave the sphere. Instead, it moved with her, enveloping Erik as well, and the change sped up. The siblings pulled back, and Erik smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry...Mia."

And then, it was done. Erik was a golden statue floating before Mia.

"Why?" Mia cried. "Why can't we go back to how things used to be? When we'd fight, and laugh, and fight some more. When all we had was each other. We didn't need money! We didn't need anything! I don't care how poor and cold and hungry we were! I want it back! I don't need this. I don't need gold!"

A tear rolled down her cheek, falling onto the necklace, and it shone. The light pulsated for a moment, and then the necklace exploded apart. The sphere shone blindingly, and in a wave, the tendrils of cursed gold shone and faded from existence. Glittering golden light fell around the room, and suddenly, the sphere was gone. Mia and Erik fell, but Erik had been restored, and caught Mia, setting her down gently. After a moment, she opened her eyes, looking up at her brother, and smiled, laughing weakly.

"Nice work, Erik," Mia smiled. "You just lost us a fortune."

He turned her head into her brother's chest, and Erik sighed in relief, hugging her. Kai sighed, smiling, and nodded to himself. It was over. The Gold Fever was gone, Mia was free, and all of her victims would be waking up around the castle. He picked up the gold orb, now free of the tail it had been attached to, which had vanished along with the rest of Gyldygga's body and the tendrils, and turned away from Mia and Erik.

"Come on," he said. "We should gather all of the Gold Fever victims and make sure they're all okay."

Everyone nodded, and they all left the siblings in privacy, Kai passing the orb to David as they went.

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