HoloJourneys

by vanderblast

A fateful encounter with a fluffy sheep inside a castle dungeon, begins a journey that will change the world. In a world of magic, swords, magical spirits and endless possibilities, Anon, sets forth on a journey with his friend Watame to see everything this world has to offer and to find their origins. The journey won't always be easy, but together, they can always make it through.

22. A Stormy Welcome For Uninvited Guests

The plan is simple; waltz up to the front doors, either walk inside quietly, or break them down, and then find the closest monster or dark wizard and start making as much noise as possible. Then, the infiltration team will find an opening to sneak into the castle with, find the captured fairies, and get them out. After that, you'll just be winging it. The specifics of your plan however, are meeting their fair share of debate.

"Do you really think it's such a good idea to just charge right in, Anon?" Flare looks at you with her arms crossed and an impatient finger tapping her arm. "What if there's something just like what we fought at the plains? Or something even worse?"

"Well there shouldn't be something THAT big right at the front door." You argue. "And even if there is, that's the point. Keep the biggest and baddest they got focused while you, Watame, and Polka find the captured fairies."

"Wait! I can't go with you!?" Watame gasps as she starts to pout at you with pleading puppy dog eyes.

"Watame, you know there is nothing I'd rather do than storm one of these black castles with you while we trash the place and dismantle it stone by stone." You begin as the description seems to lift the sheep's spirits slightly, and even makes her cheeks flush a bit…damn she just made this a lot harder. "But if we want a real chance at this working, we need to be more strategic. You and Flare used a lot of your mana back in the woods. That's why you two should try to avoid the fighting for a while."

"I guess you have a point." Flare sighs. "Why isn't Pomu coming with us though? She might be able to point us in the exact direction of the other fairies."

"I think whoever has been trying to get me to come here, knows where I am." Pomu answers. "Even though I REALLY want to be in the sneaking mission, I would just expose you guys. That's why I'm going to help Anon distract want Pomu, they're gonna GET Pomu!"

"See? Pomu is ready to give the jerks who hurt her forest a piece of her." You say, happy that you and the fairy were on the same page regarding this setup. "I bet a forest fairy has all sorts of interesting magic to surprise them with."

"Oh, I'm good at surprises!" Pomu bounces up and down slightly, seemingly trying to psyche herself up a little, since you can still see her legs shaking from her knees down.

"And Watame." You say as you turn to your sheep and place a hand on her soft blond head. "I'll make sure to save the finale for when we're back together. You and I will deal the final blow to bring that place down. Sound good?"

"Mhmm!" Watame nods as she wears a confident and excited smile. She leans a little more into your touch until your hand rests against the base of one of her proud horns. Even if you run into trouble, you have no doubt that Watame will find you just when you need her the most, she always does.

"Polka, Flare. We're counting on you." You say as you lift your hand off the sheep and turn to your two friends.

The circus fennec gives you a big thumbs up with a wink, while the half-elf nods back at you assertively. IF anything tries to get in their way when they try to find Pomu's missing kin, they will have a hell of a time trying to keep them down.

"You'll help protect Anon for me?" Watame says walking up to Pomu and taking her hands in hers. The sheep's contact gives the fairy pause at first, but it also seems to stop her shaking completely. "I'll make sure to find your friends and family, Pomu. Just promise me you'll watch Anon's back while we're apart."

"You got it, Watame!" Pomu exclaims. "I'm his wingfairy after all! I'll do my best to make sure you find him in the exact condition you left him in! Unless you kinda like a little rough and scuff. I can try to arrange that too! Maybe a little extra dirt on the cheeks, tear the shirt a little, get something real rugged goin'"

"That's enough of that. No one is purposely tearing my clothes." You remark as you cut between the sheep and fairy by pushing the fae back by her forehead with your palm. "I only have one other outfit, and I barely consider it to be decent enough for public. So just put that idea away forever."

"Well now you got me curious." Pomu says to you. "What kinda scandalous outfits do you have hidden away, Anon?"

"None of your business." You snap. The outfit given to you by the people of Bjornholm is NOT one you want to go parading about, especially to a pesky fae who already has her mind in gutters you didn't even know could exist.

"Come on!" The fairy whines. "What if…what if I come up with a really good plan for distracting all the jerks inside this castle? Will you tell me more about the clothes you're embarrassed about?"

"Nene and Anon, already make good plan." Nene interjects. "Go up to castle, smash door and anyone mean inside. Good plan. Smart plan."

"It is a smart plan." You agree. "The last master of one of these castles wasn't expecting anyone to mess with him either. They're in for a surprise. Now let's get going."

"Don't worry Pomu, I'll tell you about it later." You hear Watame whisper to the fairy, and her mood considerably brightens, despite your groaning.

After a few soft giggles at your expense, you turn from the woods' edge and look at the looming castle up ahead. It's still as intimidating to look at as when you first laid eyes on it, but for some reason, you feel ready for this. You grip the hilt of your sword that lays within its sheathe tightly. You've been tormented by the declining state of the forest, sent into a panic because of magic that warps the mind, and even had to watch two of your closest friends try to hurt each other under its influence. Enough waiting.

"Alright let's do this! We're gonna start tearing right through that place. Wait a few minutes before looking for a way to sneak in. If things get too dicey, find your way to us. We're gonna try our best to clear a way out for all the fairies. Any questions?" You ask as you make a half turn to partially face your group.

The heads of your friends shake to answer your question along with their determined smiles. Nene looks like she can barely stand still anymore. The opportunity to fight alongside the girl with the powers of a bear god again does excite you a little.

"Time for a hero huddle!" Polka cheers, causing Nene to skip in place and clap her hands, while Flare and Watame both take her cue and flank both your sides and gently push you to form a tight knit circle with everyone in it.

With arms over the shoulders of the sheep and half-elf, you lean your body downwards to bring your head into the circle. Watame's sturdy horns poke the side of your head over so slightly while Flare's sharp ears tickle your own.

"Okay everybody!" The fennec announces, her voice booms in your chest and starts to ignite something inside you. "We don't know what we're gonna find in there, but we're going to teach whoever thought they could mess with nature and Pomu's fairy friends that WE'RE the force of nature they should be worried about! This forest has been shrouded by fog for WAY too long, and it's time for us to shed some light on it! Are you ready!?"

The ring mistresses' question is met with a rallying battle cry from everyone in the circle; your own spirit rises and yearns to begin the charge.

"Then it's showtime! Anon! Nene! Undine! Pomu! Get in there and bring the house down! We'll find you as soon as we make sure the other fairies are safe!" Polka cheers you on, ending her rousing speech with an enthusiastic jump as she breaks the chain of the huddle.

"You got it, Polka!" You shout back with confidence as you give her a thumbs up. Knowing you'll just continue to linger longer if you keep looking at Watame's, Flare's, and Polka's faces that shine with trust and faith in you, you turn and begin to run towards the castle.

"Bye bye Omarun!" Nene waves happily as she rushes to catch up with you, with Undine and Pomu bringing up the rear.

As you get closer and closer to the castle's large wooden doorway, you unstrap your spell book and grip it tightly in your hand. Polka said to bring the house down, and that's just what you're going to do; board by board, and stone by stone. The certainty in your task radiates in your heart, making your spell book shine radiantly through the grayed air around you. Let anything be on the other side of that door; demons, faceless shadows, mad wizards, you'll stop them all.

"The first spell!" You chant as you aim your open palm at your target. "Stellar!"

A beam of starlight races through the air and collides with the sturdy wooden door dead center. Your spell blows the entryway apart, splinters of wood scatter across the air, rising above the smoke the blast created. With your opening created, and making no attempt to be subtle, it was time to make sure everyone inside knows right where you are.

"Stellaruke!" You follow up, the veil of starlight around your body along with your pumping adrenaline and fighting spirit, makes you feel invincible. With your sword in hand, and your book back in its pouch as it shines, you are the first one to step foot into the foreboding stone structure.

Immediately, you are hit with the sense of eriness and unrest that lingers in the air that is familiar to that of the castle that belonged to the dark wizard: Hector. What you see however, further cements the fact that this castle did NOT belong to him. Where the interior of the first castle was practically the bare minimum for a place of living, this one was more what you might expect from such a structure.

A bright red carpet lays underneath your feet and looks to roll all the way down the hallway straight ahead to a foyer. A dark copper chandelier with twenty or thirty lit candles glows above you, illuminating the gothic accents along the walls and the suits of armor; complete with greatswords and shields meant to cover the entire body, that stand at attention against the black stone.

As the footsteps of your friends cross the threshold behind you, the clattering of metal begins to echo within the halls that stretch in all three directions. Your eyes dart to find their source, your grip tightens around your sword, what kind of creatures would you find here?

"Summoner." Undine says to get your attention, her tone more serious than ever. "I am sensing a powerful presence. Multiple in fact. All of which are dark and unsettling."

Someone that isn't one of those disgusting creatures with a talent for sensing magic? That's a surprise. A voice, a woman's, speaks to you all from seemingly nowhere and everywhere. While I'm thankful you delivered that wretch right to my doorstep, I wish you didn't have to break my door to do it. I would have just let you go, but now I'm feeling a little vindictive, even more so than usual.

"S-She's talking about me? Isn't she?" Pomu quivers behind you, a lot of her bravado from earlier looks to have vanished, not that you can blame her. Even without the ability to sense things as well as Undine or Pomu can, you can feel the weight of some strange magic trying to come down on you. Her voice and her words are so full of spite and malice, but you can't let that get to you.

"Are you responsible for what's happened to this forest?!" You bark into the air, eager to finally have a target for your rage.

I am. I will also be responsible for all your deaths if you do not abandon the winged pest and leave. Final warning.

"Nene never abandon friend!" Nene growls at the ceiling. "Come fight Nene! She not afraid of ghost lady!"

"And that goes double for me!" You echo Nene's resolve. "If you want Pomu, you'll have to get her over my dead body!"

The woman's sighs throughout the castle. Fine. Anyone who would side with a fae deserves to have the life snuffed out of them. Before I order your deaths, I need to ask this…or I'll never hear the end of it. Did you happen to kill a couple of demons a few days ago?

"That's right!" You shout proudly. "We stopped those monsters before they could hurt anyone! If those were the worst you got, you better just surrender now."

Let's see how long that bravado lasts. I wonder what will break first? You. Or the fae. I don't know what she told or promised you to get you to throw away your lives for her, but be sure to thank her with your last breath.

The sounds of shifting armor and metal continues. Down each of the three hallways, you hear footsteps march on. Suddenly, the suits of armor that decorate the walls nearby, begin to move their limbs and step down from their display stands.

A normal suit of metal armor suddenly getting up and walking toward you would be one thing, but the spectral boney hands that grip its sword and shield are made all the more spooky by the sharp red glow coming from the horned helmet's eye slits.

Perhaps in its prime this armor was worn with pride, but the charcoal black armor was chipped, frayed, and even torn apart in some spots. The sword the approaching soldier wields is easily as long as it's full height; its blade has suffered multiple gashes across its length. The hilt bears the molding of a skull with sharp, long fangs, and a gem that glows an eerie red. The kite shield bears similar scars from battle, and has the shape of a horned demon's face crafted into it, along with eight more gems that glow the same shade as the one from the sword. Both items are insanely large, yet are somehow casually held within those skeletal hands.

The one behind you is practically an exact copy of the first, and now you have time to notice the shimmering outline of a rib cage exposed by its broken chest armor. You look back at Pomu who looks as pale as a ghost. This is probably a lot to have to face at once, especially for such a once carefree fairy.

These are corpse spirits, fae. The woman's voice speaks out again, now laced with a twinge of delight. Not very mobile, but more than enough to cleave those disgusting wings right off your back in such a close space.

"Don't worry Pomu." You say assuredly. "We've dealt with much worse than this. Come on, Nene! Let's show them how heroes of Bjornholm fight!"

Thrilled to finally let the power of Ursol free, Nene channels the power given to her by the primal god. The bright yellow glow that materializes the bear gloves and ears outshines the light from the overhanging chandelier. She gives her claws a flex towards her palm, electricity begins to spark from their black nails.

"Nene rip boney monster to shreds!" She growls with a hungry smile. Her voice becoming more feral to match the sharpening of her teeth.

A step forward, and a downward strike from one of her mighty claws happens like lightning as the sound of metal ripping apart fills the air. The kite shield held by the otherworldly soldier was torn to ribbons from just one slash. Nene follows up with a strong forward punch from her balled fist into her foe's midsection using the opening she created. The armor cracks and crunches when it collides with the stone wall of the castle after it is sent flying backward.

Knowing the second Nene transforms, her adversary wouldn't last too long, you take action against the walking armor approaching you. A small mana coat of starlight around your blade, and the strength of the Stellaruke spell behind it, you step towards your own opponent and deliver a horizontal slash aimed at the exposed skeletal ribs. The corpse spirit raises its own sword in its defense, catching yours, but your shining blade bites and cuts through the worn weapon until it is split in two. The break in its defenses staggers the demonic soldier as you complete your motion to bring you past him. You turn your body in tandem with your sword to slash right through the top half of the armored body; sending the fiend toppling backward onto the ground in two pieces.

"Summoner! More foes approach us! We will need to work together so that we are not overrun!" Undine shouts as she points with her trident towards one of the three hallways that converge to the room you are in.

"Right!" You reply as you make a quick assessment of the situation. The hallways that branch into the sides of the castle are narrow and look like they go on for quite a bit. The one straight ahead however, looks to lead to a large foyer room of sorts. There's much more room to fight in there.

"We're gonna clear a path straight ahead. Let's push those walking scraps back. Everyone ready?" You ask while the hilt of your sword clicks into its sheath, and the spell book now in your grip, begins to glow brightly.

The water spirit stands beside you, her eyes focus on the group of five armored specters marching your way. She raises her trident, and an orb of water begins to form in front of its prongs. The bond you share allows you to feel her intentions and movements alongside your own. With a powerful thrust of her arm next to your own, you chant the first spell.

Starlight and water shoot forward and intertwine with one another down the now brightened hallway. Even the giant kite shields the demonic soldiers use cannot keep your assault at bay. When the pair in the front row buckle from the pressure, they are carried by the azure deluge into the next set behind them, the scrapping and clang of metal is almost nearly drowned out by the roar of the waters that push them further back.

While you want to bask in the accomplishment of your own spell book's magic perfect melding with Undine's for the first time without the need for your resonance, your enemies from the two side hallways snaps you back into focus. You quickly take Pomu by the wrist who looks to still be trying to steel herself for the situation she now finds herself in, and begin to run down the middle hallway. Your attack intended to push your foes back into the next room looks to have almost worked, the toppled over bodies of armor lay on top of one another at the threshold to the next room of the castle. However, the six guards begin to force themselves back onto their feet with the help of their massive swords.

"Nene make sure path stays clear for Anon!" Nene roars as she sprints ahead of you with a burst of speed. She then leaps forward the demonic knights and delivers a powerful dropkick to the raised shield of the one that sought to protect its comrades. An explosion of bright orange mana erupts beneath Nene's feet at the point of impact, blowing the group of soldiers into the middle of the next room.

"Ne-Nenes amazing!" Pomu squeals. "What kind of magic even is THAT!?"

"I honestly have no idea." You chuckle. "But I think it's just so cool!"

The rest of you charge into the room ahead where Nene takes the opportunity to finish off her next prey by slashing through the helmet of the first risen knight that lays flat on its back. You look behind you to see the two groups of soldiers quickly running down the hallway. Two, four, six, eight…that could be hairy if they all come at you at once, and there's still five to deal with in here. They're slow to start, but they look like they're getting faster.

"Summoner! I will deal with the approaching demons." Undine says with an excited grin on her face as she stands firm to meet her enemies. With a sharp wave of her downward facing hand across her body, crescents of water fly forward and cut into the darkened armor; staggering the advance of the skeletal bodies that wear them.

That is definitely a nostalgic scene to behold, but you focus back on your own battle. Nene was already sinking her claws into the shield of another demon, but one is poised to strike her from her side with its sword.

"Stellaruga!" You shout as you let go of the fairy's wrist and point your open hand towards the monster that seeks to hurt your comrade.

The spiraling beam of starlight strikes at the open hole in its armor; sending it flying backward, while an eruption of starlight shines through the scattered openings through its being. Switching back to your sword, you spring forward and thrust the tip of your blade into the chest of the demon Nene continues to pressure. A faint hiss of air escapes its helmet as its body becomes limp and falls to the ground.

The three that remain form a triangle perimeter around you and Nene, hoping to keep you both contained. You stand back to back with her, it feels so natural, and so right. You feel as though the entire world could be against you, but with Nene at your side, nothing can overtake you.

With surprising speed, one of the knights swings its great sword downwards which is met with your own blade. The sharp clang of metal rings in your ears as you bring both hands around your sword's handle to help keep your adversary at bay. From the corner of your eye you can see another long blade flying toward you, panic begins to rise, you won't be able to disengage from your opponent to get out of the way fast enough.

The dark edged weapon's approach is stopped by Nene's mighty claws before it can reach you. She grunts as the power around her paws thickens and brightens. With a loud battle cry and plunge forward, she shreds through the blade and follows up with a quick slash across the knight's chest, leaving deep gashes in its armor; further exposing more ghostly bones. You're not going to let up either, you focus your mana into your blade and thrust both your arms forward to break your engagement. As the corpse spirit tries to restabilize, you point your blade's tip towards the ground, and begin to swing diagonally upward. Your mana molds and uses the length of your sword as a launch pad, firing a bright ball of blue energy into the chest of your opponent.

Blown backwards and disarmed, the decrepit armor falls to the ground with a hard thud after your magical projectile carries it through the air a couple feet before dissipating. One more, give the other one a taste of it too! You perform an about face and pour your magic and feelings once more into your gleaming blade. Another diagonal swing of your sword fires another blast of azure magic at the knight that pushes Nene away with a bash of its kite shield. It is quick to react and uses that very shield to take the brunt of your attack, but the force pressures it to slide backwards as it digs its armored heels into the stone floor.

Nene then uses the opening you created to side step the demon with two quick hops and lacerate it from behind with her crackling claws. As the light vanishes from its helmet, the demon falls to the ground. Nene pants a little above it, and then her gaze turns back toward Undine who is beginning to struggle to keep the approaching platoon from reaching this room.

"Something wrong." Nene then growls. "Lifeless armor keeps getting stronger. Nene's claws need to try a lot harder to smash last two."

"That's what I thought too. Undine cut through the first two no problem, but the rest just keep pushing forward." You agree. "Either way, we need to help Undine."

The water spirit had created a wall of water at the room's entrance to keep the risen knights from reaching you, but it is proving to only be a temporary impediment.

Their full classification is "Draogul". The woman's voice echoes around you once more. At the start they aren't very impressive. I did say they are not very mobile, but that's only at the start. You see, they gather the remnant energy from their fallen brethren. Since you are all dumb enough to protect a fae, I will spell it out for you. The more you defeat, the stronger the ones that remain will become.

"Crap! How many are left, Undine!?" You ask as your mind starts to try and come up with a plan of attack. With each one you eliminate, their strength will just get passed on and make the next one even stronger.

"Six! I am afraid my waters will not hold them for much longer." The water spirit answers as she strains to keep the azure barrier as thick as possible.

"Let them come." Nene says. "We smash every one to bits!"

"Trade spots with me, Undine." You suggest as you put your sword away in favor of your spell book. "If they want to keep getting stronger, fine. I'll just redirect all that power back at them."

"A wise tactic." The water spirit nods as she lowers her hands while stepping backward.

You then begin to fuel your spell book again. The water wall begins to dissipate and the six Draoguls step forward, but you're not about to let them go another step unchallenged.

"Stellashield!" You shout as your shield of starlight blocks the entryway, knocking the front two knights back in the process of its creation. Immediately you feel the impact of their swords hacking away at your celestial guard. Each strike causes you to shake from the pressure of keeping your spell intact and strong, but you persevere, you still need more. A couple more conjoined strikes from your enemies create hairline cracks throughout your shield, you have to use it or lose it!

"Charge!" You shout, causing your shining protection to funnel its energy into your free hand. The demonic knights welcome the removal of their opposition and quickly advance toward you, swords lifted overhead. You barely manage to avoid joint strikes from their blades meant for your head, but you feel a slight sting along one of your shoulders and the side of your chest. The pain you feel fuels your rage and makes your book respond even more."Stellaruga!"

The beam of starlight that erupts from your palm drills right through the shield, and through the midsection of the first Draogul; the metal chips from its armor fly through the air, a few even bounce off your face. Your spell travels through the next knight in the lineup, slower to pierce its armor, but still manages to carve its own path through its shield and body. Unfortunately, that was the last direct hit the group of risen knights would allow; the others quickly step to the side to avoid the brunt of the beam.

Two down, but now the rest are two more stronger. That's alright, if I continue to use my shield spell with the stellaruga spell, I should be able to punch a hole right through the rest until-

Before you can finish your thought, two of the remaining Draogul charge forward and make a joint strike at your person; one slashes down from above, the other from your side. With no time to draw your sword, you quickly urge your mana to form around your left arm and hope it can do the job as you dodge to your right to avoid the blade that looks to cut you in two. You feel the edge of one of those dark greatswords collide with your arm, the force knocks you off balance and onto the stone floor. Your eyes dart to where you were struck, expecting to see a nasty opening, but you are pleasantly greeted with the quickly fading light of your starlight mana coat. It may feel like you were just hit with a two ton hammer, but not losing your arm is definitely preferred.

You quickly rise to one knee and take aim. "Stellar!"

The beam of starlight crashes against the shield of one of the demons, but does not push it back. You groan in frustration as you notice Nene and Undine fend off their own individual opponents. You might just need to hold out somehow until they can help you.

The Draogul who was not hit by your blast is already upon you, their speed combined with a hectic situation was bordering on unmanageable. You raise a hand in your defense, not sure if you can fend off its strike. The armored arm begins to bring the sword it holds down upon you, but a flash of orange comes into your vision, tackling you and moving you out of harm's way before the demon's blade slams against the ground.

"Nene…Nene never let anyone hurt husband!" Nene snarls as she hunches over you. A trail of red drips down her left arm. From behind that very arm, you spot one of the demon knights hurrying towards you. You wrap Nene in your arms and roll the two of you along the floor, just in time to dodge another pointed blade meant for the two of you.

With three relentless risen knights advancing your way, you quickly sit yourself up and put yourself in front of Nene.

Nene just got hurt! Why is all of this happening?! Pomu watches the entire battle unfold from a hiding spot from behind the side railing of the large wide staircase. I have to help! But how? I'm just little Pomu. I can't fight monsters….but…Anon needs me. Lady Undine needs me. Nene also called me her friend. I need to help them! Those scary armor guys are gonna hurt them again! Come on Pomu! Stop them. Just puff out your chest, dig deep, and…

"Leave my friends alone!" Pomu suddenly screams, as it begins to feel like a storm has suddenly kicked up right inside the castle.

You look over at the forest fairy near the staircase that starts at the other end of the room; her hair, clothes, and even her wings blow within the cyclone that now forms around her. She raises her two hands above her and wills the gathering winds to concentrate and form into a large sphere between them. With a deep breath and a mighty heave, she brings both her arms down in the direction of the three demons that hope to be your end. The ball of wind flies across the room and connects with a raised shield.

A loud thunderous boom pops your eardrums as the ball of condensed air expands and turns into a raging tornado; lifting the three demon knights off the ground and carrying it along its torrent. You watch in awe as a force of nature is suddenly localized within the interior confines of a castle, but remember there is still one more demon uncontained. You put away your spell book and draw your sword.

"Nene. Are you okay?" You say, turning to the girl who winches with the pain of her injury slightly.

"Nene want to fight alongside husband. Protect him." She growls with a slightly curved smile, her blond hair flies across her face in the direction of the raging cyclone.

"I'm not sure how long Pomu's spell will hold for, so we need to figure out a way to win this battle. First we need to help Undine, are you with me?"

"Nene will always be with husband!" Nene cheers.

"Wait guys!" Pomu says as she runs up to the both of you, before leaning forward with her hands on her knees, shaking and taking big breaths. "How?! How do guys just keep being so brave?"

"How about I tell you exactly how, after we win this fight?" You propose with a grin. "We can do it even faster if you help us, Pomu."

"You're really gonna cliffhang me on a life or death situation!? Sheesh Anon. That's brutal." The fairy remarks, with a little more cheer at least.

"I promise it'll be worth it." You say as your own spirits begin to rise. "Okay, let's help Undine out. Pomu, can you keep that storm going just a little bit longer?"

"I can try." Pomu nods as she turns her attention back to the windy cage she had created, and begins to focus her mana back into it with outstretched hands. "I'm not sure how long I can keep doing this though, so be quick, okay?"

"Nene very fast. Let's save Husband's water lady. Make up for mean words she said earlier." Nene declares, in which you nod in agreement.

With renewed resolve and heighted chances of victory, you and Nene spring forward towards where Undine keeps her opponent's sword locked within the prongs of her trident. The water spirit smiles thankfully when she sees you and your partner approach the demon from behind. Movements in sync; sword and claws cut and tear through the back of that dark armor. The same unsettling hiss comes from the now hollow interior as it falls onto the floor.

"Thank you for coming to my aid, summoner, Nene." Undine bows slightly. "I must admit, I am troubled that I was finding it difficult to combat that opponent. I should not feel as worn as I am currently."

"Don't worry about it for now, Undine. We still got a fight we need to win. Except now we just made it a little harder."

"Only three left. Nene has two hands. Husband uses sword on last one." Nene suggests through gritted teeth.

This is not looking great. With enemies that will get stronger two more times, a Nene who is quickly becoming more reckless, and a frightened forest fairy trying her best to not quake in fear as she tries to hold her own spell together. You don't want to use one of your trump cards just yet; the spirit resonance. You wouldn't have the mana to resummon Undine yet anyway, so it would be best to save that for later. If only there was some way to prevent the Draogul from getting stronger, Nene is going to rip and tear the first one she can, and then the rest will get stronger….Wait! "Smash every one to bits", that's it!

"Nene, you're a genius!" You exclaim.

"Nene knows this." She growls as she looks at you straight faced.

"We're going to smash every one of them at the same time!" You announce. "We'll line them up, and wham! One final strike through all three at once. That way the strength they pass on won't matter."

"Nene like the sound of wham!"

"Quite tactical again, summoner. I shall assist in keeping our enemies in place. Undine says confidently.

"Perfect. That leaves the easy part to us, Nene. We need to strike at the same time, okay?"

"Nene understands. Slash boney armor same time as husband. Easy." Nene nods determinedly.

"Let's do this! Okay Pomu! Let them down!" You call out as you run to position yourself close to the tornado that begins to wane.

The fairy looks over her shoulder at you and nods, her face is strained and covered in sweat. She lets her arms drop and hang in front of her as the torrent of wind vanishes in an instant. The armored demons drop like stones to the ground, but are quick to begin to push themselves to their feet. Undine plans to grant them no time to recover, as she lets her trident vanish to begin weaving a spell with both her hands.

When wind becomes still, water rises. A puddle of water that covers up to the knees of the Draogul begins to ripple and stir. Three tendrils of liquid purity emerge from the pool and begin to coil around their targets. With a clench of her fists, the azure appendages tighten and constrict the armored demons.

"Summoner! You and Nene must combine your strengths. Finish this in one blow!" Undine commands.

You look at the girl who stands beside you, ferocious, single minded, and best of all, your trusted friend. The battle has been far tougher than you expected, but with Nene at your side, you have a constant reminder of all the good things to fight for in this world. People and places like Bjornholm; a place that was like home, with people you consider family. Remembering that, fills you with determination and an overflowing sense of energy. Like the power that crackles around Nene's sharp claws, the feeling you have is almost…electrifying. Electricity? That gives you a really cool idea.

"Alright Nene. Are you ready to win this, together?" You say as you reach as deep as you can within yourself and begin to urge your magic to come to the surface.

"Nene can win one hundred battles, if she is with husband." Nene nods happily at you. How her sharpened fangs poke out from the top of her lips is actually quite adorable, and also something a little more…don't get distracted, Anon.

"Then this will mark number three!" You exclaim as your spell completes and a light coat of water flows around your sword's blade. "Would you mind giving me a small spark?"

Nene stares at you, and then back to the sword you have extended toward her. She soon gets your meaning and gives the tip a light touch with one of her nails; the water carries the current within itself and crackles with energy. Now you can really end this in a flash.

Without the need for a signal or command, you and Nene charge forward together. Undine has worked her watery binds to line all three demons in a line within her trap; making them an easy target.

"You're all done!" You tell your trapped prey as your feet splash in the small pool.

"Power of Ursol and Ursoc will crush everything evil!" Nene chants beside you with her claws extended and eager to rend.

With a sudden burst of speed that pushes your legs past their limits, you and Nene race through the line of demons; each of you taking one of their sides. Your charged weapons slash through one after the other, until you come to a sudden stop at the other end.

"Taste our combined power! The power of Bjornholm! Ursoc's thunder blade!"

"The power of Bjornholm! Ursol's thunderclap!"

A burst of thunder and lightning erupts behind you, frying the life out of the three monsters, made all that much more powerful due to the water that binds them.

You flick the remaining sparks and water off of your blade and smoothly place it back in its sheath at your side, the battle is over. When the armored bodies cease moving, Undine lets her waters vanish and breathes an exhausted sigh. You give the water spirit a thumbs up for a job well done, as well as one to your other comrades.

"Anon and Nene are the strongest!" Nene cheers as her bear gloves and ears disappear in a puff of magic when she wraps her arms around your neck for a tight hug.

"We are pretty tough aren't we?" You let yourself be prideful. You've never taken on that many enemies at once before. The fact you're still in one piece is impressive too…Wait. "Crap, you're still hurt Nene."

"It kinda hurts, but Nene will be okay." She tries to assure you. "Nene promised she would protect Anon. That's what she did."

"Let me protect you too." You almost scold her while you hold a hand to the cut that runs across her upper arm and try your best to scrounge together some last bit of mana. You begin to plead your body to give you something, even if it's only enough to seal the wound. Seemingly having considered your request, the glow of blue mana begins to glow dimly under your hand, as you feel the cool embrace of water form and cover Nene's wound. The sudden cold touch makes the girl shiver slightly at first, but then her expression softens as a look of bliss stretches across her face. The effort is more than a little strenuous, but when you think you've done all you can, you remove your hand from Nene's arm to happily see that the cut is nowhere to be found.

"Thank you Anon!" Nene chirps as she marvels at how her arm is as good as new. "Nene might be better at protecting, but Anon is better at fixing. That make us good team. You fix Nene after she protects you, okay?"

"I'll do both." You correct her before you leave the matter at that and look up towards the ceiling and around the larger room you just had your battle in. "What? Nothing to say now?" You ask the air with your arms wide.

What? Were you expecting a congratulations? Maybe you want me to curse you? You defeated a group of mindless walking corpses. Bravo~ You're all still going to die here. There are much more formidable creatures at my disposal that will easily pry that winged THING from whoever is stupid enough to keep her from her fate.

"Cut the crap!" You shout back. "We're stopping whatever mad schemes you got today! Pomu and the rest of her fairies will be free and have their forest back!"

The woman's voice cackles in the air.

Let me give you something to think about while you scurry around my castle, hero. Of the two, which do you think you can TRULY save? The fairies? Or the forest? Since I can guarantee you, that you will NOT be getting both. Have fun~

As if someone had left the room, you no longer feel the ominous presence that appeared when the voice first spoke to you all. Perhaps she is taking her eyes off of you in a sense for the moment? At least that gives you a moment to breathe. You let yourself sit down upon the stone floor and exhale heavily.

"That was amazing guys!" Pomu cheers, her wings spreading out to match her excitement. "I saw it and I still can't believe you beat up all those spooky knights."

"Hey you helped too." You remind the fairy. "We would have been in big trouble if you didn't step in when you did, so thanks for that."

"I didn't even mean for that spell to happen like that." Pomu starts, growing unsure of herself. "I just kept bouncing between getting scared at the monsters, concerned for you guys, and mad at myself for not doing anything. It all then just kinda…exploded."

"And all three of those are things I keep in mind when I need to be brave in a battle. And that last part is kinda normal too sometimes, the exploding part." You chuckle.

"You're going to have to explain how being scared helps you be brave." The fairy remarks, clearly still a little confused over your answer. "Aren't they opposites? Can you really be both at once?"

"Of course you can. Just because you're scared of something doesn't mean you don't have the courage to face it. Like when I stepped into a castle like this that popped up near where I grew up. I was scared out of my mind, and then there were these weird shadow monsters that didn't even have faces. I remember how I was trembling at the sight of them, but then I thought about who I was there to find, and my body moved to do what had to be done." You explain, while you still did not like to recall those shapeless beings of shadow and their unhinged master, you MIGHT have preferred to face more of those than the Draogul.

"The desire to protect that which is important to you, can give rise to power and courage you never thought you had." Undine adds fondly. "My summoner has shown me the strength of such resolve time and time again."

"Do you not think about what might happen if you get hurt though?" The fairy then asks.

"You can't think about what MIGHT happen." You shake your head. "In battle, you can only focus on what WILL be. What you CAN do with your own two hands. Everything you do can change the tide of a battle. There will be times where it feels like the tide is too strong to stand against, but if you keep trying, if you consider your options, and probably most important of all, if you remember what it is you're fighting for, you will find a way to surf that tide all the way to victory."

"Anon always knows how to say pretty words." Nene coos as she sits on her knees and leans her head against your shoulder. "Nene will also tell Pomu that for Nene, there is no choice but to be braver than Nene was before. She was blessed with power of Ursol to protect. That all there is to it."

"That's also one way to think about it." You say, a small smile forms on your face when you look down at the blond head of your comfortable comrade. "If you don't consider the possibility of defeat, you can only find ways to win. That's something my uncle always preached too. That one is much easier said than done though."

"You make it sound so simple…" Pomu sighs as she lets herself drop to a sit in front of you. "How do I know I won't just freeze up again the next time a fight happens?"

"Just remind yourself what you said to us before we entered the castle." You say plainly. "You looked me straight in the eyes and said that even though you were scared, the fact that others need you is all that matters. You promised to only tell me the truth, remember? Just tell yourself that when your legs don't feel like moving, and you'll find the courage you need."

"Find the courage I need, huh?" Pomu says to herself as she turns her gaze down to her open hands before giving them a firm flex into fists. "Alright, Anon! I'll do it! No more freezing for this Pomu! I'm gonna do my best to back you all up and be a real hero!"

"That's what I like to hear!" You beam. "If that lady who's been talking to us isn't actually bluffing, we're all going to need to step up. How's everything feeling energy wise by the way? That first fight definitely took more out of me than I would have liked."

"Nene feel much better after Anon fix boo boo on arm." Nene chirps. "Nene can use the power of Ursol again very soon!"

"While my own mana is running low, with a short rest I should have enough to fight again." Undine then says.

"I should be good to go whenever!" Pomu says with a confident smile. "You leave the heavy lifting of the next guy who thinks they can mess with us to me! I'll show them what Big Boss Pomu is made of!"

"Oh yeah? And who calls you that?" You can't repress a small bit of laughter at the fairy's brightened spirits and self acclaimed title.

"You will, silly!" The fae points at you. "You did a lot of work leading us this far, now let your wingfairy take over for a bit. You can count on your Big Boss from here on out."

"If I find out that's a character title from one of your books I'm gonna-" You start, before sighing and just letting the matter go. No point in trying to squash the girl's confidence, she's going to need every bit of it after all. "Nevermind. We should probably get moving again. It's not a good idea to stay in one place for too long."

"What our adversary said earlier does trouble me somewhat." Undine laments as she further takes in the surroundings of the foyer. "The kind of magic we have seen today has been unsettling and dark. We cannot allow it to continue."

"I'm thinking the same thing." You confirm with the water spirit.

"Do you think she was telling the truth earlier?" Pomu then asks you directly, her eyes glazed with worry and doubt. "About how we might only be able to save the fairies OR the forest?"

"I like to think she is just trying to get us to doubt ourselves." You say only half believing that yourself. "I honestly don't know what to make of this woman so far. Only thing I can tell for sure is that she really has it in for you, Pomu. Do you happen to know her?"

"No way!" Pomu snaps. "I would never know someone that mean! But she sure seems to know me, huh?"

"Pomu might just be another fairy to ceiling voice." Nene suggests. "Might not know her personally."

"Yeah, you're probably right, Nene. She just seems to have a vendetta against the fairies, or maybe she's planning to use you for something. The last dark castle had a master who captured defenseless people and just drained their mana over time. Maybe this is one doing the same thing?" You begin to work through it as you talk.

"If she is draining the mana from the fairies that once lived here, that might explain how she would be able to summon such powerful beasts." Undine offers. "We should expect this to not go as easy as the first time, summoner."

"You got a point there. Whoever this castle's master is, they seem a lot more competent than Hector ever was. The fact that she can apparently see or talk to us from anywhere in the castle is a lot more…." You begin as a shocking and panic inducing thought invades your mind. "Oh crap."

"Okay guys, let's go." Polka waves her hand forward, the three had found a secluded spot along the forest's edge to watch Anon and the others charge into the castle.

Watame, Flare and Polka scurry across the dying field towards the side walls of the black castle. While they waited, Watame had told her two friends about the escape tunnel that was in the previous dark structure; the one that she spent a good deal of her life in. Hoping that the layout would be similar in that regard, they agreed to check the back corner walls first.

The sheep was anxious and eager to see her task done as soon as possible. Not only to free the innocent forest fairies from their wrongful imprisonment, but to also rejoin Anon and tear this horrid keep apart. Her own magic started to manifest itself without her knowing, quickly urging her own legs along with the legs of Flare and Polka, to pump themselves up and down faster with the beat of her marching hum.

Once they reach castle walls, Polka does a quick look up at the ramparts to make sure there are no lookouts. With a quick nod from her to indicate that the coast was clear, the three begin combing the walls as they make their way towards the rear end of the keep.

The group keeps their eyes peeled for anything resembling doors, windows, or even a loose stone. About halfway down the length of the castle, the fennec spots something. Just a few heads higher than her own height, is the opening of what could be an escape tunnel like Watame described earlier.

"Give me a boost, Flare." Polka says while trying to reach the edge of the opening on her tippy toes.

Positioning herself in front of the circus fox, the half-elf kneels down and holds one hand under the other. Polka then takes a firm step onto Flare's hands as she is lifted upward towards the tunnel's exit. Once the half-elf reaches her full standing height again, Polka uses one of her shoulders as a springboard to better support pulling herself into the overhanging tunnel. Flare flinches in pain at the sudden weight on her person and breathes out through her nose.

"A little warning next time would be nice!" Flare grunts through gritted teeth as she struggles to keep her arms and legs steady. "What did you eat today, Polka!?"

"Noone!" Polka snaps, red faced. "I-I mean n-nothing! Same as you!"

With a loud grunt, Flare pushes Polka up by her foot into the tunnel as the fox scrambles to kick her legs to help her get further inside.

"My turn!" Watame chirps as she clips her harp along her satchel strap, and approaches Flare, who looks at her with immense apprehension.

"Watame! No Wait!" Flare pleads, but the sheep already has her hands on the half-elf's shoulders as she jumps straight up, her powerful legs giving her enough height to then dig into Flare's shoulders as she is forced to then use her own hands to push the sheep up further.

"Alright! No more gorging ourselves on sweets and snacks the night before we need to infiltrate a forest castle!" Flare grunts again as she uses all her arm strength to push Watame upward for Polka to then help pull the sheep into the tunnel with her.

"Eh!?" Watame gasps, but before she can protest further, the half-elf takes another deep breath and forces the sheep up into the opening with the fennec.

After exhaling and wiping her brow, Flare looks up at her two friends expectantly. Watame and Polka then lean the top halves of their bodies over the tunnel's edge and reach out their hands. Flare backs up a few steps, and then makes a running start before jumping and climbing as high on the wall as she can. Her friends grab hold of her hands and begin to pull her up.

"And you were trying to tell us we were heavy!?" Polka says through her teeth as she struggles to pull the half-elf up the wall.

"No fair!" Watame whines.

"Sh-Shut up and pull!" Flare demands while trying to use her feet against the wall to push herself upwards.

Through strained effort, Flare is lifted up into the tunnel, and the three collapse next to each and try to catch their breath. The half-elf looks at their path forward, which looks to steadily incline and groans slightly.

"So are we supposed to climb UP that?" She asks.

Polka then removes her hat from her ear and plunges her arm into its hole. Her face scrunches as her tongue pokes out the corner of her mouth while she digs within the magical confines of her headwear.

"Ah! There they are!" She suddenly exclaims after a few minutes of searching. From her hat she pulls out a collection of what appear to be red suction cups; each with their own elastic fastening strap. "This is how, my favorite half-elf. Put these bad boys on your hands and knees, and not even gravity will keep you from traversing any solid surface."

"Polka?" Flare asks as she stares at the fennec; arms crossed with a finger tapping impatiently. "If you had those the entire time, why did you have to use me as your personal step stool? Why didn't you make a trampoline like you've done in the past for that matter?"

"Well I can't go using up mana for that. You two are running low as it is. I need to save all I can in case I need to get us out of a jam." Polka starts. "As for these, there's a very good explanation for why we didn't use them to climb up here. I hadn't thought of it. That's okay though! We had fun getting up here!"

"Uh huh..." Flare sighs. "Just hand them over, we got a tunnel to climb."

In her study, the sorceress pushes her chair from her desk and rises to a stand. The crystal ball that had given her a full view of the intruders who so brazenly stormed into her castle, now only showed a deep ever shifting mist. Although the Draogul were not the strongest, it was rather surprising that a group of three adventurers and one loathsome fairy took down the entire front guard. Tapping her chin, she walks over to the simple wooden stand that rests against one of the far walls; where a stand fashioned in the shape of a claw holds an orb that swirls violently with red energy.

"Looks like your fog did not have the effect it should have had on their magic." The sorceress scoffs at the sphere. "They all had more than enough mana to defend themselves and even defeat the Draogul. Some frontline you had me waste time on summoning."

"Those are NOT normal adventurers!" A low guttural voice replies from within the orb. "While they battled with my kin, I sensed something…ancient."

"And what? The draining effects of the fog don't work on things that are 'ancient'." The woman clicks her tongue.

"This is NOT the time for your attitude!" The demonic voice then booms, shaking the vials and other artifacts that sit along the shelves throughout the study, but the sorceress remains unfazed. "I could not be certain at first, but now after sensing that magic along the floors of the castle, there is no doubt that those waters belong to the great water spirit, Undine."

"I had a feeling that the blue girl was something a little different than the rest." The woman says, her interest beginning to match her annoyance. "That doesn't give the other two an excuse though."

"The other uses a magic that I have not sensed before. It did not use mana, and felt celestial in nature. The last seems to have been blessed with another type of ancient magic, one belonging to one of the great bears who once made their home in this region. The fog DOES work as it should, but it could not drain them of their strength completely."

"Bears, eagles, I don't care about either." The sorceress sighs. "I just want that wretched fae to breathe her last. I'll just go finish them off myself."

"You would be wise to NOT underestimate the power of the great spirits. I do not know how one has emerged after countless years of absence, but it is possible that the human with the strange magic is her summoner." The orb hisses.

"Oh, that's right." The woman smirks. "Didn't you find yourself sealed away because of one of those great spirits?"

"Sylph merely had a hand in my imprisonment, and I will use her own offspring to fuel my return. I will be free to rule the skies once again, as I was always meant to. You MUST deal with the human boy. We cannot risk him summoning Sylph back to this world."

"Why not? I'd actually welcome getting to slit the throat of the entire reason for the fae's existence." The sorceress says with a dark glee. "I'd even give them the mana he needs to do it too."

"YOU WILL DESTROY THE BOY BEFORE HE CAN SUMMON THE WIND SPIRIT. THAT IS FINAL."

"Okay, okay." The woman concedes. "I don't see why you're so worried. If the water spirit is any indication, the wind one will not be much to write home about. How can you even be sure if he can even summon the disgusting sprite mother."

"I cannot. Although his use with mana is not impressive, I will not make the mistake of underestimating those who ally themselves with the spirits. You would be wise to do the same. Do I make myself clear?"

"Fine. I'll make sure the little nuisance dies first." The woman sighs, exasperated. "It sounds like I'll need to grind his bones into dust before he gives up the fairy anyway…"

"And what about the group that are making their way into our castle?"

"What about them? They don't have the fairy with them. And they can't pose a real threat to us anyway. Let them get lost down there for all I care." The sorceress remarks as she turns back towards her desk. "Unless you sense something 'ancient' about them as well?"

"No. I agree with your assessment that they should not pose any significant threat to us. Even so, I would not let your guard down. We are very close to both our goals being realized. I will not tolerate failure just because YOU decided to be careless." The orb says in a low voice.

"Are you saying I will make a mistake and mess up everything that I've worked for the past few years!?" The sorceress snaps as she turns her head back towards the clawed orb, her one eye twitches in rage. "I will NEVER forgive those disgusting winged FREAKS for ruining my life! You want to see me take this seriously!? How's this for serious!?"

The black robbed woman stomps over to her desk and places a shaking hand over her crystal ball.

"Kureha! Gremory! Time to make yourselves useful!" The woman spits with tyrannical command.

As a faint maniacal chattering starts to fill the air of the study, the red eyes from within the cloudy orb flash brightly.

"Finally going to command some of my more crafty kin, are you?" The voice from the orb asks in intrigue. "I thought you found their appearance 'too repulsive' to deem fit for service."

"I told you I was serious about this…I'm going to break that little fairy's heart in two, before I kill her. Just like the fae toyed with me, giving me false hope, I'm going to do the same to her. Not only that, but I'll see to it that every soul that she thinks is her friend dies an agonizing death because of her. Let's make sure our newest guests are properly greeted."

A barred iron door hatch is opened within a dimly lit room of the castle. Polka's fluffy ear and two pronged jester's hat poke out from the circular dropway before her eyes peek out ever so slightly to scan the room the tunnel had led her to. Satisfied with what she can see, she pokes out of the hatch and lifts her leg that sports the pink and white striped stocking over the edge, before bringing the one clad in blue and white over next. She stands up and brushes down the frills of her colorful skirt, before turning around and reaching into the hatch to help her half-elf friend out next, and then the sheep.

A spacious square room whose ceiling looks to rise two stories is filled with a dead silence. Watame looks around curiously and finds the shape of jail cells along the black stone walls on both far sides of the room. Her expression brightens a little at the prospect of being exactly where they need to be.

"I knew it!" Watame says as she steps further into the room. "It's a dungeon! I told you we'd find it!"

"Intentionally walking into a dungeon…I've done crazier things I guess." Flare sighs as she turns her head to get a better look around. "I see plenty of cages, but they're all empty."

"Maybe all the fairies are just really small right now. Pomu said they could do that after all." Watame suggests as she skips over to one of the barred cells and peers inside.

"They could just fly through the gap in the bars then, Watame." Polka says as she inspects one of the smaller cages. "It looks like the place is empty, but you said these places tend to have more than one jail right?"

"Mhmm! There should be at least a few more dungeons somewhere." The sheep nods vigorously. "Come on! We need to find those fairies and catch up with Anon."

"Do you really think they'll be okay?" Flare asks pensively. "Polka said she thinks he got into a fight right away. I know they're strong, but Anon was almost out of mana earlier. I'm just worried."

"All the more reason to get moving!" Polka chirps as she happily marches towards what looks to be the room's doorway. Her jaunt is suddenly halted, as a stream of gooey clear liquid falls into a deepening puddle in front of her.

Everyone's heads tilt upward to follow the head sized drops to the ceiling; a coiled shape slowly rises and falls in an unsteady rhythm. The sound of a haggard breath echoes throughout the room as the shape begins to shift and crawl along the blackened stones.

The fennec quickly walks backwards to rejoin her friends who begin to back away slowly towards the wall behind them.

"Maybe we should make a break for the door." Flare whispers after the three stand side by side.

"Y-Yeah. Leaving is good!" Watame squeaks.

"Okay…on three." Polka calmly starts. "One. Twooo…"

Three. An icy woman's voice comes from nowhere, making all three girls jump and tense up, their legs not listening to their pleas to run forward. Their eyes fixate on the open doorway that now looks like it might as well be miles away. A dark red light begins to glow around its frame.

From the door that leads further into the castle, slithers a group of serpents that carry large jagged red stones in their three taloned claws. Their underside and forearms are covered in pale gray scales, while the rest of their bodies are a dark charcoal color. A wild collection of fur that could be mistaken for a messy head of hair starts at their back necklines and stops at their pointed brows; where beady yellow eyes stare at the group intensely. Perhaps their most unsettling feature were the unhinged jaws they wore where a long forked tongue waves about among teeth that look like they could bite through bone.

"Polka…what the hell are those? And why does it look like they were expecting us?" Flare asks as she slowly slides her bow from its resting spot on her shoulder down along her arm to grasp its handle.

"No idea. I thought Anon and everyone else was going to make enough of an uproar to take everyone's attention. What happened?" Polka asks as she takes a single step ahead of the two, her cane held tightly in her hand.

What happened was that I noticed a group of circus rejects sneaking their way into my castle! The sorceress's voice thunders in the room. I was content just letting you stay lost down there, but that godforsaken sprite seems to think you're actually her friends, so that means you have to die.

"Wait. The wizards who make these castles can see anywhere in them at all times?! Watameeeee?!" Flare whines to the sheep next to her.

"I didn't know that!" Watame shakes her head in a panic. "The evil wizard never did that! He didn't even know Anon got into his castle until they first fought! Watame hasn't done anything wrong!"

"Who cares?! Let's just push past those things and find the fairies! That's what we got to do!" Polka shouts.

You can certainly try. The Vouivre are particularly vicious this time of day, so I won't hold my breath. Don't worry though, I made sure to instruct them to NOT mangle your corpses too badly. I want that little winged mistake of nature to recognize you when I lay your bodies at her feet. I'm actually a little giddy just thinking about the look of her face.

"This girls got some issues." Polka whispers. "But the good news is that it seems like Anon and the others are still okay. I bet they're still trying to tear up the castle. There's a chance they might find the fairies too!"

"Then let's beat these things and find them!" Flare says as she locks an arrow and takes aim.

"They look kinda hungry though…" Watame mumbles meekly, her legs shaking slightly.

"No worries, Watame! Your host for tonight is primed and ready to go! Now! Without further ado." Polka grins widely as she twirls her baton above her head, the glow of purple mana beginning to radiate from her gloved hand and all the way down the shaft.

The serpent-like demons begin to slither towards the three, their jaws emitting an echoing hiss as their pointed tongues whip at the air in front of them. Polka looks back confidently as she then sweeps her baton along the ground; the magical streams of purple light shimmer along the black stone, before erupting in a flash of bright fun colors. From the smoke, sit an artillery of five small cannons, colored in red, white, and blue stripes.

With a loud snap from Polka's fingers, the fuses at the back of each cannon light, and quickly burn down to their ends. The colorful mortars cock back, the ends that hold their ammo expands, before snapping forward and releasing their charges with a loud bang. Cannonballs painted with pink and white polka dots, fly across the room and slam into the advancing demons.

The cannon fire carries its victims into the castle walls behind them, and explodes with a colorful crash of smoke and confetti. When a few of the serpent-esc monsters flop over limp onto the cold stone floor through the clearing smoke, Polka takes her hat in her hand and performs a gracious bow to her opponents and then turns around to do the same for her friends.

"That was awesome, Polka!" Watame claps. "You blew them all away at once!"

"What was that about those mutant belt straps being 'particularly vicious'?" Polka taunts into the air.

The boy was desperate for praise too…Fitting that he might have learned that from a clown that performs party tricks. If knocking a group of glorified table decorations is what passes for impressive by you lot, I'll just go tend to more pressing matters and let the Guivre take care of you. That's the giant demon that's been up in the ceiling, in case you forgot. Have fun.

The reminder that a monstrously big creature was still lurking above them takes the wind out of Watame and Polka's sails as they look up again; the coiled body above begins to unfurl as a low growl rumbles across the room. The creature spreads webbed wings that sprout from its pink scaled back, and flies in circles along the ceiling.

"W-We might be able to make it through the door still!" Watame offers as she tries to collect herself after being reminded of the possible predator that stalks above her. "I don't think it'll fit!"

"If it's all snakey like the others, we can't count on that." Flare says, putting on a braver face than the sheep. "Besides, what would Anon and Nene say if we ran away from a fight we can win?!"

"Flare's spot on!" Polka cheers. "We owe it to them and all the other good people in this world to take down things like that! Now let's see those war faces!"

The circus fox turns to both her friends who look back at her with confidence and resolve. Watame looks like she's trying a little too hard to furrow her brow, and her puffed out cheeks are coming off as cute instead of intimidating.

As if to answer with its own form of intimidating; the beast above takes a quick dive towards the dungeon floor, its body perfectly straight. Before reaching the hard stone floor, it expands its wings; catching the air to bring it to a full stop as its body lands and rises to show its frightening size to fully block the room's exit to the rest of the castle.

What would best be described as a snake with wings stares back at the trio. Its tail makes an unnerving rattling in the background of the beast's low snarling. Its pointed snout looks as though it was forcibly pulled upward to reveal its magenta gums. If the jaws and teeth of the Vouivre looked like they could chomp through bone, the pure white teeth that were as long as a limbs, could probably chew through steel without so much as a chip in their points. The beady eyes that shine like rubies focus on its prey, and the demon lets out a wet roar; saliva splatting against the ground in front of it.

"Okay girls, it's showtime!" Polka energetically declares. "This thing may be huge, gross, and hungry, but we're unstoppable when we work together! Now get ready to fight like everyone's watching!"

"Let's slay this snake, Polka!" Flare resounds as she draws her bowstring back; her arrow aimed the beige underbelly of the serpent.

Polka then waves the air above her cannons with her baton; a shimmering veil of purple mana washes over them, and they begin to fire once again. A quick volley of arrows alongside cannonballs soar toward the Guivre.

The demonic winged serpent flutters its wings a few times before quickly maneuvering to bring the second half of its body around to whip the oncoming projectiles back to their senders. Flare's arrows bounce harmless off the scales of the beast, while the spherical explosives created by Polka's own magic are heading back towards them with incredible speed.

"Wuh oh!" The fennec gasp, as she hits the ground and covers the back of her head with her hands. Watame and Flare only barely managed to do the same before the fun colored cannonballs just whizz above their heads. A loud crash rumbles the dungeon walls and shakes the ground slightly when the reflected ammo collides with the back walls.

Watame lifts her head up to be met with the ferocious visage of the Guivre gliding towards her. The sheep shrieks as survival instincts kick in and she begins to crawl backwards desperately. Polka waves her baton again to arm her cannons for another round, but the demon lunges to sweep all of the clown's conjured firepower into its jaws. In one bite, the thick, impaling teeth of the beast break them apart; their shattered bits and pieces fall to the ground like rain.

Another arrow aimed for one of those ruby eyes ricochets off the scales of the Guivre's snout, and it hisses in anger. Flare curses the ineffectiveness of her weapon, and not having the mana to carelessly try to enhance its power.

"Polka! Watame! We need to regroup." Flare commands as she rises from her kneel.

"No problem!" Polka answers as she points the head of her baton up at the ceiling above the demon's head. A twirl of her wrist creates a ray of her signature purple mana that lights up the dungeon with its radiance. A giant red and white striped tarp appears in the air and covers the Guivre from above, causing it to thrash around in an attempt to remove the hindrance to its vision.

While the demon tries to restore its sight, Flare leads Watame and Polka to the farthest corner of the dungeon.

"We need a plan." Flare says sternly. "That thing is too fast and too tough for us to try and throw things at it until something works."

"But" Polka starts with a pointed up finger.

"No buts!" Flare snaps. "I know you're more amped up than normal, Polka, but we need to play this smart. There's no telling how many more monsters there might be in this castle. If you use everything you have here, what are we going to do if something just as big shows up in the next room? Watame and I are still barely able to cast more than one worthwhile spell without more rest."

"Oh don't worry about me running empty, Flare." The fennec waves off with a chuckle. "I'm feeling like a brand new fox!"

"Hmmm." Watame hums as Flare is about to launch a possibly brutal counter argument at Polka, before the sheep's eyes light up with an idea. "Hey I know! What if we lock the mean snake up?!"

"Lock him up?" Flare repeats, a little confused, but then she notices the empty cages that line the walls that should be just big enough to hold the beast and constrict its movement.

"That's awesome, Watame!" Polka compliments her friend. "We land him in a big cage and then WHAM! I'll hit it with something big that he can't dodge. A real Omaru Polka finale."

How come fights always seem so complicated whenever Anon isn't around. Flare ponders to herself. Even with a goal to confine the beast, there is still the matter of actually hurting it enough to defeat it. That goofball just always seems to find the right way to get around the obstacles his enemies put in his way. He fought a snake this big, no problem. The softie even helped the poor thing by pouring gallons of water down its throat...That's it!

"Polka! Can you make something like will give that demon some really bad heartburn? Like I'm talking life endingly bad." Flare asks, excited at her sudden inspiration.

"You betcha! My magic is ready to get downright explosive!" Polka replies, perhaps a little too excitedly.

"That's how we'll win. A triple combination attack. Watame, do you have enough in you to give us enough of a speed boost to open that cage over there?" Flare then asks as she points to the cell in question.

"Mhmm!" The sheep nods.

"Good. This is going to be a little scary, Watame, but I know you can do it!" The half-elf then says as she clasps a hand on one of Watame's shoulders. "You and I are going to lead that beast in front of the cage door. Once we do that, you can give its eardrums a real pounding. Polka and I will take care of things after that."

"I-I can do that!" Watame says with resolve.

"Not to try and poke a hole in your plans, Flare, but how can we be sure that snake's yapper will stay open long enough for me to give it a nasty surprise?" Polka then asks.

"You leave that part to me! I got just the thing." Flare says with a wink, to which the fennec seems to grasp her friend's plan instantly and she grins widely.

A plan is set none too soon, as the Guivre had just finished tearing the large curtain Polka had covered it with to shreds with its gleaming teeth. It lets loose a sharp howl as it locks its gaze on the three and stretches its form higher up; its wings unfurled to their full width.

"Now Watame!" Flare orders as she matches the winged serpent's fiery glare with her own. She WILL make sure this monster goes down. There's bigger fish to fry.

Gathering her courage, Watame strums a powerful melody from her harp that when it reaches the ears of her and her friends, they feel a sudden burst of energy from within their legs.

"Oi! Mr. Smiles!" Polka taunts. "Check this out!"

After a big inhale to puff out her chest, Polka blows into the air as loud as she can while she begins a grand display of magic. In front of her appears a set of six juggling pins. With a hand at each end of her baton, she brings them together; the staff of the ring mistress vanishes with her movement in a puff of magic. She then catches each pin by its head as it falls down in front of her. She grins happily at her opponent, it was time to try this act in front of a live audience.

The clown fennec begins to quickly toss one pin after the other into the air. The demon watches each with a mix of confusion and frustration, but cannot seem to will itself to lunge forward just yet.

"Welcome to Polka's magical juggling act!" The circus kitsune announces in her best showman's voice. "I've decided to add a special twist to our performance tonight. Something that the more bloodthirsty members of the audience will really enjoy!"

Always the improvisionist, Polka causes a slight mixup in Flare's initial plan. When the half-elf shares a glance with her close friend, she knows this is EXACTLY how this show should play out. Flare then taps Watame's arm with her free hand and they sprint off for the biggest cage in the dungeon on the other side of the room.

The Guivre makes a cautious slither forward, still almost hypnotized by the red and pink pins that cycle through the air. Polka takes a step to her side, but still catches and throws the tools of her performance perfectly. When the fox sees her two friends in the dim light open the door of the large cage in the distance, she smiles and begins the next part of her act.

"Now you might be asking yourself, what is this twist Omaru Polka mentioned? She wouldn't leave us hanging would she? It had to be something spectacular! Well you would be right! In each one of the pins I throw carelessly through the air, is a dangerously unstable pocket of magic! Now what that means for your heroine; any that she drops or fails to catch, will explode!"

"What did she say?!" Watame gasps, as she helps Flare push the jailcell's door as far as it can go.

"She's really going all out today. It's almost a little TOO much, even for her." Flare remarks as she looks on at the fennec who slowly continues to make small steps to help position the Guivre just right.

"Now for a demonstration!" Polka shouts as she tosses one of the pins she just caught straight in front of her, hitting the serpent demon right under its jaw.

The mere tap of the plastic juggling instrument against something that wasn't Polka's hand, triggers an explosion of mana that even forces its wide jaw shut for an instant. The demonic winged serpent hisses at the fox and raises its head further towards the ceiling as it prepares to lunge forward. The circus fox only giggles with a slight twinge of madness as she lobs another pin that lands right against the top half of the beast's massive maw. Another blast at close range knocks the Guivre's head to the side. When the smoke in front of its eyes finally clears, it only sees the forms of the sheep of the half-elf in front of it; they will have to do.

With an angered roar, it flaps its massive wings once before darting forward at the pair. The menacing gateway into its gut opens widely as it slides along the castle floor briskly. To keep its path straight towards her, Flare fires arrow after arrow at the beast; each bouncing off its hard scales harmlessly, but continuing to anger it. The Guivre dives forward, just missing the half-elf with its pronged teeth. Now on equal level, Flare gives the red veiny gums exposed along the demon's maw a hard press with her heel, before taking one more arrow and stabbing it into the tender flesh.

It was now Watame's turn; she runs closer to the Guivre's head, inhales deeply, and lets loose a harsh scream of off key notes from her vocal chords. The air in front of her pulses and vibrates with the sound of her magic traveling to the ears of its target. The demon's eyes widen as the sudden invasion to its senses registers, causing it to wince and howl in pain. It tries to raise the top half of its body, hoping to escape the noise, but Watame pushes harder; strumming a mismatch of notes along her harp to horribly combine with her screeching.

While the noise is mind rattling to her sensitive ears, Flare stays resolved as she clings to the dripping flesh along the monster's mandible. It is time to make sure Polka has just the opening she needs. Carefully stepping over a few of the razor sharp pointed teeth, Flare enters the monster's maw as its squishy tongue gives from underneath her feet. Holding her bow in front of her, she lowers to a kneel. The Guivre attempts to clamp down, only to find that its jaw will not fully close. With firm shaky hands, Flare holds her bow tightly, the flexible wood of its ends giving slightly under the sheer strength of the jaw trying to close itself around her. This wouldn't be enough on its own, but the half-elf has just the thing to keep it in place.

Focusing what mana she has to spare, Flare channels her magic through the shaft of her bow, all the way to its tips. A faint glow of white appears at both ends, and the flesh they touch begins to harden with ice. With more unpleasant sensations, the beast thrashes its head violently back and forth, hoping to somehow dislodge the source of its pain. Flare is tossed to the side, her arm brushing against one of the sharp white prongs that make up the beast's mouth. It grinds its jaw slightly to try and dig further into the half-elf, slicing a thin clean cut along one of her arms through her white sleeves. In a panic, Flare dives out of the side of the Guivre's mouth, now a good twenty feet off the ground.

"Someone catch me!" She yells in an almost upbeat tone.

"Eh!?" Watame gasps as she quickly pushes her legs to work, running towards where her friend should land with all her might.

The sheep lowers herself down to a slide as she approaches the falling half-elf; her arms stretched out to catch her friend. Watame and Flare collide; knocking some of the wind out of the poor sheep, but she smiles when she sees that her friend is back safe.

"Thanks Watame! You did great! Now It's time for Polka and I to end this." Flare beams as she quickly springs off the still shaky sheep, who lets herself fall completely onto her back on the stone floor. "Polka! You ready?"

"Always am, Flare!" The fennec cheers as she continues to juggle her explosive pins. "I hope that things ready for a really spicy finale."

Flexing her fingers into her palm a few times, Flare readies herself to use what might be the last of her mana. Everything she learned on her mountain climb with Anon starts to come to the surface as her magic begins to manifest in both her hands. The unstoppable push of nature that cannot be overcome alone. The free feeling of nothing beneath your feet. A guiding presence to either a destination, or victory. Those things are what wind means to the half-elf. This understanding fuels the spell that spins and accelerates between her cupped hands, even more power.

"On three, Polka!" Flare shouts as the orb of wind she creates grows bigger and faster. "One!"

"Two!" Polka counts, her juggling accelerating to not be knocked away by the forming torrent the half-elf creates.

"Three!" Both yell together as they let their attacks loose.

Flare brings her arms forward, her wrists touching as a gale force wind erupts from her palms towards the Guivre. The whistle of the blowing gusts echoes in the darkened dungeon as the hisses of the demonic serpent are drowned out.

Polka then begins to fling pin after pin along the powerful jet stream, trails of purple mana streak behind them. While the beast's maw is wide in pain, the colorful throwing instruments are launched down its gullet. It begins to flap its wings in panic to try and keep itself from being pushed by Flare's magic, but the half-elf begins to push even harder. With one final pulse of wind, the Flare sends the serpent into the cage behind it, where Watame hurries and closes its door to keep the beast inside.

A snap from Polka's fingers cuts off the magical tethers that connect her to her pins to her hands, and a deep red tarp then appears over the iron cage to cover it completely. The cloth ends barely fall flat against the bars before an explosion from within the jail cell blows against its flaps with a trail of smoke leaking from below.

Everyone stares in silence for a moment, and only after a moment of no movement or sounds from within the covered cage, does Watame let out a relieved sigh.

"Woohoo!" Polka cheers as she jumps in victory. "That snake demon is toast!"

"We really did it, huh?" Flare remarks, her hand gripping her injured arm tightly.

"That was amazing, you two!" Watame cheers next as she runs to rejoin her friends. "I had no idea you could cast a wind spell that big, Flare! It was like you made a storm right from your hands! And Polka! Your juggling was so cool! You've gotten really good!"

"Thank you, thank you." Polka does an extra low bow for her praise before rising back up. "Did you really just lose your bow in that thing's mouth though, Flare? Is that alright?"

"Yeah." Flare answers quickly. "I figured it was the best way to keep it opening wide enough for you to deliver the goods. Besides, if everything's hide is going to be strong like that, I'm better off just using magic to fight anyway. I was thinking I should get back into swordplay though. I was pretty good when I practiced with Noel while we were growing up."

"Sounds like an excuse to get more one-on-one practice sessions with Anon." Polka grins. "You'll probably take the first chance you get to disarm him, then pin him to a wall with the tip of your sword, and then ever so slightly you get closer, and closer, until you have just where you want him, and then-"

"T-That's not it at all!" Flare huffs, before leaning closer to the fennec's laughing face. "What about you anyway? Your magic was really charged up. I've never seen it be that explosive before. How did you pull that much off after being in that freaky forest?"

"A fox just has to do what a fox has to do." Polka nervously laughs to brush off the half-elf's question. "I've just been extra amped up! Aren't you too?! I mean, that wind blast was HUGE!"

"That probably took all I had left." Flare answers a little frustratedly. "But you still have plenty to spare don't you?"

"That's right! I'll take on any demons or witches that try to stand in our way!" The fennec says proudly, seemingly trying to change the subject.

"Hmmm." Watame hums as she stares intensely at Polka, her own curiosity ignited. Her purple eyes continue to search the fennec's expression, who in turn tries to look away nervously, trying to keep some secret well hidden. As Polka's lips curl to a small smile as she knows her friends know she's hiding something, she lets out repressed giggles.

"I know!" Watame suddenly exclaims. "I know why Polka's magic is so powerful today!"

"W-What do you mean?!" The circus fox stammers. "This is just me on any good day!"

"You took a bite of Anon today. Didn't you?" Watame asks, proud of her deduction as she points a finger at the fox.

"Wha?!" Polka reels back in shock, knowing that she just might have been found out.

"I think you're onto something, Watame." Flare says slyly, her tone and mood shifting to something a little mischievous. "I remember when you told me about the battle in the mage's tower back in Lu'Shalador; how Polka's magic was particularly potent because she fed a little off Anon's soul. That would explain a lot."

"Now hold on!" Polka tries to interrupt, her hands waving in front of her.

"And now that I think about it more, Anon was teasing you with something that you apparently didn't want getting out." The half-elf continues her playful prodding. "Have you been taking little bites of him when we weren't looking~?"

"It's okay if you were, Polka." Watame says kindly. "I'm just glad you finally let yourself lean on him when you need a little boost. If I could do the same thing you could with Anon, I would probably sink my sheepy teeth into him all the time."

"I have NOT been taking bites of him!" Polka shrieks, completely red faced. "This was the first time since Lu'Shaldor! Honest!"

"Why are you so embarrassed by it, Polka?" Flare chuckles, finally relenting in her teasing a little. "It's part of just being a kitsune for you, right?"

"I know at first you didn't want to possibly hurt Anon, but we all know he's more than strong enough to handle it." Watame tries to assure the fox.

"I know that!" The circus fox yelps as she takes off her hat and attempts to hide her face in it. "Look…do we really have time to be getting into this right now?"

"The fairies!" Watame gasps, wide eyed. "We gotta go find them!"

Reminded of her goal, the sheep starts to run towards the dungeon's exit, almost blissfully unaware of the world around her.

"Watame! Don't run off on your own!" Flare scolds as she begins to run after the sheep, only to be stopped by Polka's hand around her wrist.

"Oi! Hold on a sec, you! That cut along your arm is pretty bad, let me heal it a little first." Polka says while eying the still bleeding incision along the half-elf's arm.

"I'm fine." Flare almost snaps. "Healing magic takes a little more out of you than others. We don't know what else is lurking in this castle. We need to play this smart. We probably haven't even seen the worst this witch can do yet. I'm still too tapped out…you'll have to be our main force on this one."

"But-"

"Look, maybe we can just bandage me up for now? When we meet back up with Anon, I'll ask him to use some of that new healing magic of his on me…" The half-elf offers.

"Oh I see~" Polka grins again. "I see how it is, Flare."

Taking off her hat and reaching into it, the circus fox pulls out a roll of white bandages and begins to quickly wrap them around Flare's injured arm.

"I gotta say, it's pretty impressive you'd willingly put yourself through a bit of pain just to get the healing hands of your favorite human on you." Polka says playfully as she tears the end of the bandage and gives her medical work a few soft pats.

"What do you think Nene will say about how you use Anon as a type of snack?" Flare says unamused. "Maybe I should make sure to tell Pomu all about it too. She would probably get a real kick out of it, her imagination can be pretty wild. She might even get excited and start coming up with all sorts of interpretations for the act."

"Okay okay! You made your point!" Polka concedes as she sighs.

"Come on you two! We need to search the castle!" Watame calls from the dungeon doorway, jogging in place.

"Coming, Watame!" Polka calls. "Even though whoever owns this place can see us, let's hope those 'more pressing matters' she mentioned involves trying to keep Anon and the others from bringing all her walls down."

"Yeah! I bet they're causing more mayhem than she can handle!" Flare chirps as she and Polka run to catch up with their friend. There are still fairies to rescue after all.

Your mad dash through the castle in the hopes of finding Watame and the others has been nerve wracking to say the least. The realization that your plan was completely botched the second it became apparent that the master of this particular castle could not only see what goes on through all of its halls, but can also command demons to action in any part of it, sent you into an almost inconsolable panic. As soon as everyone became able, you doubled back to the castle's greeting room and darted down one of the side hallways. You at least knew Watame would likely try to find an entryway similar to the one you had planned for your own escape back at Hector's castle.

The first hallway unfortunately led to a dead end, and none of the rooms that could be accessed along its walls contained anything useful, or anyone for that matter. With a groan laced with worry, you turn everyone around and make back for the castle's entrance.

The trip down the next hallway was even worse. Demons that disguised themselves as table statues sprang to life in front of you; mostly serpent-like in shape, but had two arms with claws that held a dark red gem. More than once they tried taking a bite out of you and Pomu as you ran past their perches. Thankfully, a swift slash from your sword or stab from Undine's trident are enough to dispatch the beasts when they try to make their moves against you. In your haste you end up suffering a few mild scrapes and cuts from their razor sharp teeth, but you couldn't afford to be slowed down right now. With no sign of a dead end so far though, this is at least looking promising for finding the rest of your friends.

"I really hope there aren't more of those scary snake things…" Pomu laments as you all continue running through the castle hallways. "They kept jumping for ME specifically."

"Sorry Pomu, you're just the target of interest today." You say matter of factly. "I still can't believe how stupid I was! The woman who runs this place being able to just peak wherever she wants at any time."

"How were you supposed to know that!?" Pomu exclaims. "Just imagine how bad the plan would have gone if we ALL tried to be sneaky."

"I believe Pomu raises a good point, summoner." Undine says in an effort to reassure you. "Things may not have gone as planned, but we still have made considerable progress toward our objectives. I am certain Watame and the others are doing the same."

"I'm just worried…" You admit. "Flare and Watame don't have enough mana to engage in a full scale fight right now, so-"

"So you shall put your trust in Polka." Undine changes the end of your sentence to what it SHOULD be. "You know as well as I do, that she is more than capable of protecting our friends."

"Omarun is really strong!" Nene then cheers. "Maybe almost as strong as Nene."

As you nod to your friends, their words somewhat diminishing some of your worries, you hear a set of rapid footsteps from up ahead. Everyone halts their movements to see what lies ahead; your sword at the ready and Nene at your side. You can hear Pomu gulp behind you as she slightly flutters above the floor.

Down the candle lit hallway, you spot something bright bouncing in the distance. As it gets closer your heart leaps. It's Watame! Her golden hair acts as a beacon to lead you to your favorite sheep.

"A-Anon!?" She asks as she spots you, but continues to skip towards you even faster. You can see that Flare and Polka are having a hard time keeping up behind her.

"You guys are okay!" You exclaim as you sheathe your sword and run to meet your fluffy sheep halfway.

"So are you!" Watame beams as she jumps into your arms for a big hug. It seems that no matter how little time you spend apart, you just HAVE to reunite with a fluffy embrace, and that is just perfect for you.

"Glad to see everyone's still in one piece." Flare says between breaths as she catches up to where you and Watame have stopped. "I think there might be a few kinks in your plan, Anon."

"Yeah yeah I know!" You retort as you let Watame down and take a good look at Flare and Polka. Thankfully they look to be okay too, but Flare's one arm looks to be bandaged? "I'm guessing you had a run in with our hostess too?"

"Sure did!" Polka chirps. "But we gave her welcome party a pretty explosive performance! They didn't stand a chance."

Before Flare can voice her own opinions on the situation, you walk over and take her wrapped arm gently over your hands as you inspect it up and down. A dull red can be seen staining the underside of the bandages, she was still bleeding.

"Anon, I'm okay, really." Flare starts as she notices your hardening expression. "It's just a cut I got from the teeth of one of the monsters we beat I'll be-"

"Hush." You command. "I need to close this before it gets worse. Don't move."

"But you need to save your ma-"

"Not while my friends are hurt and I have the power to make it better." You interrupt her as you begin to unravel the adhesive medical strip. The sight you reveal almost takes you aback, it could practically be a gash that runs from the outside of Flare's forearm, all the way past her elbow. That stubborn half-elf must have been putting on a brave face since the second she got this souvenir.

Placing a gentle hand on top of the middle point of her arm, causing Flare to wince slightly, you begin to channel your mana. Just like how you healed Nene, you are going to heal your other friend. The rejuvenating embrace of water; a source of life and healing, will help you close this wound and make your loved one feel brand new again. Your thoughts that fuel your magic and the love you have for Flare ignites a shine of light blue mana that is much brighter than the one that appeared when you first used this spell. A thin layer of water then escapes your hand and begins to cover the top of the half-elf's injury up and down. You stare intently at your own magic, focusing on extending your instruction to take your friend's pain away. The sky blue waters continue to seep into Flare's skin and pores, and glow brightly as the wound begins to shrink and close in around itself. You continue to focus and power your spell across the entire length of her arm, the effort is considerable, but you would gladly overcome any obstacle for this girl. You always had a feeling through what you've seen and heard second hand that love could power one's magic to new heights, but to actually feel it for yourself is surreal.

Once you are satisfied that Flare's cut is completely healed, you let go of her arm and allow her to test it for herself. She curls her arm up and down in front of her, amazed by how effective your spell must have been. Those orange eyes of hers look at you affectionately with gratitude in a way that makes you melt a little and forget where you are.

"Thanks Anon." Flare says warmly. "I feel a lot better now. I wish I could say the same for my sleeve though."

"Looks like we're both going to need a tailor after today." You chuckle as you point to a few rips and tears along your own clothes from the last battle. "It will probably just get more intense from here too. Let's try to keep the wardrobe casualties to a minimum from here on out."

"I can agree to that for myself, but I wouldn't mind getting to see you in the traditional hero's wear of Bjornholm again." Flare winks.

"Well keep dreaming." You scoff, as you do your best to not let the half-elf's flirting get to you right now. "My clothes would need to be in utter tatters for me to wear that thing for a whole day again."

"What about for just a half hour?" Watame then asks from behind you.

"Enough." You groan. "Focus! We're in the middle of a castle of dangerous monsters and demons!"

"Anon's right!" Polka chirps happily as she leads an arm on Nene's shoulder. "Sorry we haven't found the other fairies yet, Pomu, but they gotta be around here somewhere."

"We snuck into a dungeon just like I knew we would, but there wasn't anyone there." Watame says sadly. "We checked the other rooms on this side of the castle too, but we haven't found anyone yet."

"Well a lot seems to be different about this castle from the one we knew." You start. "It's possible this sorceress could have them on a higher floor. I say we make our way up and find her. If we don't find Pomu's missing family along the way, we'll just make that witch tell us where she hid them. Simple as that."

"Nene like that plan!" Nene claps. You can't help but crack a smile at how much the two of you are on the same wavelength today, now whether that's good or bad, is debatable.

"Not like there's any other way to do this now." Flare sighs. "So I take it the owner of this castle talked to you too?"

"She sure did." Pomu nods. "She sounds kinda scary…and she reaalllly doesn't like me for some reason."

"Whatever her problem is, that doesn't give her the right to hurt the forest and take your loved ones prisoner. That's just plain sick." You spit.

"That's right! And this Pomu is gonna kick her butt if she hurt any of my friends!" The fairy says with resolve. "I can be brave just like the rest of you! I'm gonna help fight and show them that this is one fairy they aren't ready to deal with!"

"That's what we like to hear!" Polka cheers. "Now let's go show this witch what we're made of!"

"Are we even sure where we should go next?" Flare asks. "I know we should find this sorceress, but we really should try to make sure the fairies are safe first. Do you have any idea where they might be now, Pomu? Now that we're inside, have you sensed anything?"

"Welllll" Pomu puts a finger to her chin as she looks around, trying to focus on something. "I got a strange feeling a little after our fight, something almost a little familiar. I didn't say anything then since we needed to find you guys first, but there is definitely something I recognize higher up."

"Let's do it, Anon! Let's run upstairs and trash this dark place!" Watame cheers.

"Yeah! I'm starting to feel really charged up now." You exclaim, finding your friends safe, and being able to take on whatever evils lurk up higher in the castle, lights a fire in your belly. "Pomu and I will lead the way. Once we get upstairs, I'm counting on you to lead us to where this familiar feeling of yours wants to take us."

"When you say something like that you have to call me Big Bo-" The fairy starts before you put a finger to her lips.

"I'm not calling you that." You say, which only earns a bright grin from the fae. She is enjoying this a little TOO much, but again, it's better than being scared out of your pants.

After hard won battles, your group is reunited. Things may not have gone as planned, but that is just fine. An array of questions run through your mind as you make your way down the halls of the castle; Where could the other fairies be? Who is this spiteful sorceress? How does she command scores of demonic creatures? Perhaps the question that weighs most on your mind is if there is any truth to the question she posed to you earlier. Can you only truly save either the fairies or the forest? You want to believe that she was only trying to taunt you, to goad you into doubting yourself. That is probably it. At least you hope.

"I can't believe those mutants defeated the Guivre!" The sorceress slams a wooden work table within a circular room at the highest point in the castle. A dark green glow illuminates the area from above. "You! Do you have any explanation that's worthwhile for this? That was supposed to be one of your stronger brethren. It fell into a simple trap!"

"A kitsune with raw magical talent for conjuration, a sheep demi-human, and an elf that seems to have more magical potential than what is average of her kin…While the loss of the Guivre is not ideal, its defeat will not be in vain. After the draining effects of the fog, and their previous battle, those three should not have any more strength to make a stand against us. Just make sure the boy tied to the water spirit dies, and there will be no chance of our defeat." The demonic voice that acts as the woman's only companion echoes all throughout the room.

"Yes, yes. Kill the summoner. I got it." The robed woman sighs as she looks at the crystal ball in front of her. Her exasperated expression turns into a crooked smile at what she sees. "It looks like the little fae is taking the bait."

"Good. When the last of Sylph's children breathes her last, we will finally have what we both want before the day is done."

"Finally. Every last horrid, wretched, disgusting fae wiped off this earth." The sorceress says with a dark glee as she holds a hand to her face.

"And with that, my return…" The guttural voice feels the need to add. "The world shall once again know true terror when I am free to rule the skies once more!"

"The world can rot for all I care, so do what you want with it. Grendel."