The alliance of guilds were set to attack Skull Legion and prevent them from finding a destructive weapon called Salus, but Skull Legion got the dropped on them and overpowered them. Just before the master, Dante, unleashed a devastating spell to finish them, he stopped when he spotted Tony.
"What's the deal? You know the kid or something?" Salon said.
"In a way. He might actually be of use to us." Dante said. "What a stroke of fate that we found him here." He held up his scepter and unleashed a hand of darkness that stretched out and grabbed a hold of him.
"Tony!" Ginger and Sandy called.
"Help, Ginger!" Tony called as he was being pulled away.
"Unhand him right now!" Ginger called as she chased after him.
"Stop! What are you doing?! He's just a kid!" Maru called.
"Put a sock in it." Boomer said with him clapping his hands again and unleashing another sonic blast against the down wizards.
"I'll save you!" Sandy called as he flew after Tony and grabbed a hold of him. He tried to pull him out, but the grip was too strong.
"As for the rest of you, begone!" Dante called with him unleashing the spell he attempted to earlier. He unleashed a powerful destructive beam of darkness meant to finish all of them off.
"Shadow Dragon Roar!" Just then, a different blast of darkness came and tried to stop that. Not only that, but the gravity intensified and caused the ground to rise and block out the attack. "Is everyone okay?!" Rogue called with him and Kagura arriving just in the nick of time.
"Rogue! Kagura! I knew those people couldn't have truly defeated you." Yukino said with all of them glad they showed up and saved them.
"No! Tony!" Ginger called. All of them looked to where the enemy was earlier and saw they were all gone.
"No! They took Tony, and Sandy too." Yukina said.
"Bastards." Gin complained. "How did this happen? I thought we could take these guys, but they were way more powerful than I thought."
"No kidding. My whiskers are still tingling from how scary and strong they were." Millianna said.
"I thought they were strong, too." Frosch said. "Even Rogue and Kagura had a little trouble when they surprised them."
"But what do they want with Tony?" Maru questioned.
"Guys! We've got another problem! Aster is still down!" Mary called. All of them looked towards Aster and saw he wasn't getting up with his face twitching in pain. It looked like he took more damage than any of the others. "Aster, try to hang in there."
"Yikes. Take a look at his right shoulder." Risley pointed out. All of them looked to see one nasty bitemark right on him, and it looked more severe than any of his other injuries.
"Oh no. That looks really bad." Yukina said.
"It was that bat creature. He tried to fight it off, but it bit him." Mary informed.
"Was it poisonous?" Yukino questioned.
"Bats don't have venom, but that bite alone looks serious." Sorano claimed.
"He needs medical treatment now." Millianna said.
"But the problem with that is none of us are doctors." Gin claimed. "This is bad. Aster's one of our strongest fighters. We need him if we're going to beat these guys, but there's no way he can fight with that wound."
"What do we do then?" Maru said. They need Aster to help them fight, but now he appears to be too injured. If that wound isn't treated soon, it could get a lot worse. None of them know what to do.
"We need to rescue Tony. He can help your friend because he knows healing magic." Ginger claimed. That sounded like exactly what they need.
"Tony can use healing magic? How? I thought healing magic was considered a lost form of magic." Yukina said.
"It's because of the Neviras." Ginger said. "The Nevira tribe knows a special kind of magic that many outside don't know, and Tony is quite gifted at it. When he began to learn it, he picked it up quite easily. It's called doctoring magic. It's a special type of magic that not only holds healing abilities, but this type magic can make one's hands act the same as a tool a doctor would use. For example, he can use his hands like scalpel. It could be useful in combat, but it's more useful for medical purposes. That suits Tony because Tony is no fighter. He tries to avoiding fighting."
"Doctoring magic? I've never even heard of the kind of magic before." Gin claimed.
"So, Tony is like a junior doctor?" Mary said.
"That's one way to put it. That's also another reason why Tony was the one sent here." Ginger claimed. "The chief of the tribe believed that type of magic would help you, not to mention maybe help Tony grow. Although, I'm not sure if Skull Legion is aware of that, or if that is why they took Tony in the first place."
"I believe we all now know what we must do now." Kagura said. "We have a wounded warrior and kidnapped comrades, but if we can rescue them, we can help Aster. I know we originally planned to attack as a united front, but the circumstances have now changed. Rescuing our comrades is a the first priority right now, and we best do it quickly. That is why I'm suggesting we split into groups this time. We'll cover more ground if we do that."
"We've got to rescue Tony and Sandy, and then we can help Aster." Maru said. "I know we don't know each other that well, but we all have to work together right now." They all agreed to that now that their are lives on the line. Though they are from different guilds, they will do what they can to save their comrades.
...
Skull Legion
Meanwhile, Skull Legion was using a cave near some waterfalls as their hideout. Currently, Tony and Sandy are being held their with them having no way out. Tony is really scared and Sandy is going to do his best to protect him, but he might be in way over his head here.
"You don't need to be scared. I'm not going to hurt you." Dante said.
"Yeah, right." Sandy said as he didn't believe that.
"I mean it, Tony. Behave like a good boy and no harm will come to you." Dante said. "In fact, I need your help with something."
"My help?" Tony questioned.
"Don't listen to him, Tony!" Sandy said.
"I know. I know all about how you creeps are looking for a weapon called Salus, but there's no way I'm going to help you with anything!" Tony argued.
"I beg to differ." Dante claimed.
"I don't get it. Why did you kidnap this brat?" Siena questioned. "Is he going to help us find Salus somehow?"
"I will admit that the kid and the cat look adorable, but I don't see how he can help us." Salon said.
"At the very least, we might be able to use them as shields to make sure those other guild wizards don't get in our way." Boomer claimed.
"This boy is more special than any of you realize." Dante claimed. "You see, he's capable of using a special kind of magic that only the people of the Nevira tribe know. It's a rare type of healing magic." The rest were surprised that a kid knows that type of magic.
"I get it now." Reap claimed. "You want to use it on that." He said with him looking right at something.
"On what?" Sandy questioned. Sandy and Tony looked behind them and were surprised to see there was a coffin right in the back of the cave standing up. "A coffin?!"
"Wha... What are you going to do me that you need that?" Tony said as he was starting to fear for his life.
"That coffin is already spoken for, but it's who's inside that matters. I need you to use your magic on them." Dante said.
"Are you sure about this?" Siena questioned.
"I am. It will be of use to us." Dante said. "In the meantime, you were right about one thing, Boomer. We need to make sure those guild wizards don't get in the way. Boomer and Kage, you two are staying here with me in case they show up. The rest of you, go and take care of them."
"Gladly." Reap said with him liking the sound of that.
"Fine. I need to let my locks flow." Salon claimed.
"Sure. There is one that caught my interest." Siena said.
"Don't worry about the guild wizards. They'll all be dead before the day is over." Reap claimed as he looked like he's going to enjoy that. All three of them were on their way out, but even with the number cut by half, Tony and Sandy are in real trouble. They can only hope Maru and the others come and rescue them soon.
...
Maru's Group
Deciding it was now best to split into teams given the circumstances, the alliance got to work. Before they find Salus, they have to rescue Tony so that he can heal Aster. One group consisted of Maru, Yukina, Gin, and Ginger.
"Do you think Aster is going to be okay? What if we can't find them?" Yukjna questioned.
"I rather not think about that." Gin claimed.
"Ginger, you said Tony is gifted with this special magic of his." Maru said. "What else can you tell us about him?"
"What do you mean?" Ginger said.
"We really don't know much about the Neviras." Maru said. "Does Tony know any of their secrets or something that we should be aware of? Skull Legion might try to get that out of him."
"No I doubt someone like Tony or I would be trusted with something so important." Ginger claimed.
"What does that mean?" Maru questioned. That was when Ginger stopped running.
"The truth of the matter is that Tony and I aren't true Neviras." Ginger claimed.
"You're not?" Yukina questioned.
"No. I've only been staying with them because I have nowhere else." Ginger claimed. "Tony wasn't born in the tribe either. When Tony was just a baby, he was left at the Neviras' doorstep. Out of the kindness of their hearts, they took him in and raised him. To this day, Tony has no idea where he came from."
"I see..." Maru claimed.
"Think about it later. Right now, we need to think about Aster." Gin reminded. He was right. The others were looking, so they have to as well. Mermaid Heel is searching one part whole Rogue, Frosch, and Yukino searched another.
...
Mary
As for Mary and Sorano, they stayed behind to care for Aster.
"There. I did my best with first aid, but he needs real medical treatment." Sorano said with her trying her best to tend to his injury.
"Thank you." Mary said.
"Yes, but I have to go." Aster said with him trying to get back up, but he already looked winded. "We have to save Tony and Sandy."
"Aster, no!" Mary said with her pushing him back down. "You're in no shape to fight right now. The others will take care of it. Right now, you need to try and rest until that happens." Aster wanted to argue, but Mary was right. There isn't much Aster can do until Tony is rescued.
"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Sorano claimed. "They took that kid for a reason, so they'll keep him around until they get it. The more he refuses, the more time he buys. Of course, they don't care if he is a kid. They'll find ways to make him do what they asked."
"You seem to know a lot about what they might do." Mary said.
"Well... I've seen my fair share." Sorano claimed. 'I just hope Yukino will be okay, and the others get to him before it's too late.'
...
Maru's Group
"Come on. We've got to keep moving and try to find them." Maru said. They were going to get back to work, but Gin then spotted something.
"Look! Tracks!" Gin said as he found some imprints in the ground. "They're human. They must have went through here. Looks like we're on the right track." That was good for them to know. "Although, I think there's something we have to do. Come on out! There's no point in hiding! I know you're there!" They saw that a bunch of guys in black came out of hiding, but there were a lot and had them surrounded.
"Who are these people? I thought Skull Legion was a small guild." Ginger said.
"They should be, but I'm sensing little to no magic coming from these guys." Maru claimed.
"Yukina, didn't your father say that Skull Legion hired some help to rob that guild from before?" Gin questioned.
"He did. They must be more hired thugs." Yukina said. "The fact that there's this many of them tells me Skull Legion has a lot of money. I guess having so few members make it easy to save money. I think my father mentioned once that Skull Legion also has some money laundering operation going on."
"I thought they had control over other dark guilds. Why hire common thugs?" Maru questioned.
"Maybe they need those guilds for other purposes. Does it really matter? They're getting in our way." Gin said with all of them needing to get ready for a fight.
...
The Cave
While everyone was still trying to find and rescue Tony, Dante was still trying to persuade Tony to get him to do what he wanted. Tony doesn't know who might be in that coffin, but he knows he can't help Skull Legion.
"Now, you are going to use that special magic of yours on the person in there." Dante said.
"Don't do it, Tony." Sandy said.
"I shut up and just sit there like a normal cat if I were you." Boomer said. "Besides, it's not like the kid even has a choice."
"Who is even there that you want me to heal?" Tony questioned.
"I'm glad you asked." Dante said. He walked right over to the coffin and opened it up with the lid falling right off. When it came down, they could see who it was. "This is a powerful enchantress. Her name...is Celina." It was really Celina herself. Celina was right in that coffin, restrained to keep her in place, but she was right there. She wasn't moving or anything, but it looked like she was simply sleeping.
"Celina?! As in Celina Shiner?! No way! I thought she was gone!" Sandy said.
"Oh! So you know her." Dante said.
"Sandy, who is she?" Tony asked.
"She was once Aster's closest friend, but something happened and she became one bad person." Sandy said. "I thought she was gone forever after the last time we saw her."
"I'm aware of some of the things that happened in Willow. Celina tried to open an actual passageway to the Abyss of Sorcery, but the whole thing ended up imploding." Dante said. "As you can see, Celina survived, but she's in a coma-like state at the moment. You're going to use your magic to revive her." So that's why Dante kidnapped Tony. He wants to revive Celina, but does that mean he needs Celina's power to gain Salus? Will Tony actually do it? If he does, what will happen once Selina is revived?