PART 2 (WTW) Darien Slaughter: DarkMageRessurection 'Axel' Cassandra 'Cassie' Renata: WTW 'Mari' Jason Ganymede: KAMIKAZE 'John' "A d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d…" Sharp stuttered, sure he'd burned a fuse from fear. "A dragon…" Timothy said as he gazed in awe the giant reptile flying over them. He wasn't sure, but the dragon seemed to belong to the Plainland species. The Plainland Dragons were tall –about six meters on their hind legs- and weighed about a tone. There were a bright, emerald green color, with darker patches on their backs and lighter color on their abdomens. They used fire breath attacks, but their developed wings allowed them to brew up mini whirlwinds. "Oh shit…Oh FUCKING SHIT!!" Timothy cursed as he saw the dragon land before them. He was a BIG male, and had an impressive built too. Timothy gulped. "We're not prepared to deal with this lizard, you know that Timothy?" Sharp said. "I know for God's sake, I know…" Timothy said trembling. The dragon took a step forward, and observed them carefully. It had ruby red eyes that seem rather curious than threatening, but Timothy and Sharp were to frightened to notice. It puffed, and a ball of smoke came out of its nostril. It's orange, clever eyes looked at them, curiously. It growled lowly. Timothy and Sharp were paralyzed. Then a noise came from above, and Timothy, Sharp and the dragon looked up. "It's a…a motorcycle!" Sharp said. The motorcycle had rocket engines on the underside, which explained why it could fly. It landed near them, and the rider got off in a hurry. He was a young man, no older than 19 with raven black hair, and sea blue eyes. He was tall –about 1.80- and wore a black, sleeveless T-shirt, and a pair of weathered jeans that were torn on the left knee. A pendant with a golden, miniature dragon claw and the half of a silver winged heart was tied around his neck. He had wrapped leaving the skin bare, black, leather straps over his knuckles around his hands and wrists. He was quite well built, and several old burns scared his bare arms. "Hey! Conan! Behave yourself!" he demanded and the dragon crept almost afraid to the ground, letting small whining sounds. He lowered his head and put it between his two front legs and stayed in that position until the man had came close enough. Timothy and Sharp were stunned. The dragon had obeyed the young man! "You guys ok?" he asked Timothy and Sharp. "How d'ya do that!?" Timothy asked. "Oh, it's nothing'…I'm Lantidy Circus' dragon tamer, Darien. This here's Conan. Sorry about him, he just flew off. He wanted to play actually." "P-play!?" Sharp bawled. "Yeah. Plainland dragons are calm creatures, and really playful if you know how to approach them." Darien replied. Conan had gotten a hold of himself, and went next to Darien. He rubbed his snout tenderly on the man, who gasped with a smile, and then the dragon licked him with its long, deep indigo tongue. "Yaaak! Cut it off Conan!" Darien said and wiped some dragon saliva off him. "Go home! Cassie's waiting with your dinner. Go!" he ordered the dragon that took off with a flap of its wings. "Heh, he's really keen on me. I trained him you see." Darien explained embarrassed. "Hey, you're from the Lantidy Circus? Do you know the Fortune-Teller?" Timothy asked. "Yeah, sure I do…Cassie's my girlfriend." "Y-your girlfriend!?" Sharp gasped. "But I thought she was an old woman?!" Darien laughed. "No, not anymore…Cassie's grandmother died last winter. Cassie's the Fortune-Teller now, and she's not older than 18. But, don't underestimate her, she can really tell you the future, the past and the present." "Sure she can? I came all the way from Tempest City to see her." Timothy said. Tempest City was the name of Princess Akira kingdom's capital. "Yeah she can. By the way, who are you?" Darien asked. "Oh, I'm Timothy Dasher…and this is Sharp." Timothy said. "Darien Slaughter is my name. Say, it's getting dark. Would you like to stay at the Circus for the night? You can see Cassie too…" "Yeah, sure. Thanks." Sharp said. Darien got on his motorcycle, and Timothy and Sharp followed him. Darien looked like a quite lively and dynamic fellow, and he had already won Timothy's trust. But, still, in Timothy's mind, the inn owner's words about the Lantidy Circus kept him cautious. They turned at a hill, and Timothy was impressed by the appearance of the Lantidy Circus. There was a big, colorful tent in the middle, and other, smaller ones around it. There were also small camps and houses-on-wheels, and mobile cages for the animals. They followed Darien around the Circus, and headed for a lonely camp at the edge of the Circus. The cloth of the tent opened, and a beautiful, young girl came out. She had brown hair and honey brown eyes, but she was beautiful. She wore a short, black leather dress with white jasmine flowers embroidered on it. Over it she wore a long, light purple cape with a hood. There was a pendant around her neck too, with the other half of the silver winged heart. "Darien? Oh you bought the two strangers I told you about." She said. Her voice was crystal and clear. "Yeah. You were right Cassie, as usual. One of these days, you're gonna predict wrong!" Darien said with a giggle as he got off his bike. "In your dreams…" Cassie giggled. "So, you are the Fortune-Teller of the Lantidy Circus?" Sharp asked her. Cassie nodded. "Yep, that's me. Ever since Gramps passed away I'm the Fortune- Teller." "Oh, I've came to ask you something important…" Timothy said. "I'll gladly tell you anything…oh no!…Darien, it's Sam again…" Cassie said, looking at something behind Timothy. "Oh shit, Two Heads Sam. He's angry and up to no good again." Darien said. "Two Heads Sam? Hey Timothy, that's the freak we whooped this morning!" Sharp said. "You did? Hmmm, at the inn? Well, you've got my admiration." Darien said. Two Heads Sam was talking with some other weirdoes and shacking his arms furiously. "I have a bad feeling about this…" Cassie said. Sam and his 'buddies' looked at all four of them, and went over to them, looking very hostile. "Hey you bastard…You've got some fucking balls to come here." Sam's left head said. "Sam, Timothy's my guest, so get the hell outta here." Darien said. "Shut up you devil-spawn! You'll go down too!" the right head said. "Sam, calm down. Leave us alone." Cassie said, trying to avoid the unavoidable. "And you witch! We knew what a bitch you'd be right when you were born! A bitch like your mother!" someone else shouted. Cassie got angry. "Don't you call my mother a bitch!" she bawled. Sam drew his big sword, and his buddies, about a dozen of them, also took their weapons at hand. "Sam, stop it now. Don't provoke us." Darien said. "You know we can really harm you." "Oh yeah? Well I don't care…The Boss always had you two on is not favorite list. Well, I bet Boss'll congratulate me if I do away with you DevilDarien, and then woo the chic…" Sam said. Darien's eyes half closed from anger. He couldn't take that. "Fine Sam. We were gonna leave anyway. The Circus has turned into a brothel. But, if you want a whooping, I'll gladly kick your sorry ass." "HAHAHAHAHAH! Well, looky here! The demon-spawn wants to pick a fight with us." Sam giggled. "H-hey Sam…He's not kiddin'…" one of Sam's friends said. "Shut up!" Sam said and punched the man away. "This is gonna be nice fight DevilDarien!" he said and rising his sword attacked Darien. "(sigh) I warned you…" Darien sighed. Sam closed up at Darien, but suddenly, Darien wasn't there! His sword hit the ground, and Sam gasped. Darien reappeared behind Sam, like a shadow, and kicked his back, making the giant freak fall. "OUCH!" Sam cried out. Darien looked as if he hadn't moved. He hasn't armed, but his fists were raised. Sam's buddies barged in the battle, and Cassie, Timothy and Sharp had no choice but to help. Cassie didn't have her weapon at the moment, but pulled out a deck of tarot cards from her pocket, which seemed mysterious to Timothy…Timothy and Sharp equipped their weapons. A man with an axe attacked Timothy, but he swirled his sword and cut the handle of the axe off. The man was surprised, and lost it for a moment. Then, Timothy punched him right in the face. Darien was still fighting with Sam, and seemed to be pretty amused by his vein efforts to hit him. Darien would just disappear from the course of the sword and appear elsewhere, like a shadow. "How tha hell does he do that?!" Timothy wondered. Three men surrounded Cassie. She didn't seem the least scared. She picked a card from her deck –The Sword-, and raised it in the air. "Magic of the Card, come to my call! Card of the Sword, arm my hand!" she called out, and in a bright light, the card turned into a fencer sword with a wing motif on the handle! Cassie used the sword to scare off the men that had surrounded her, but it was mostly the magic that scared them. Sharp had gotten in a tight spot, but didn't give up. He decided to use another method of getting some free space. He hovered up, and then took a glide down wards, like diving, and rammed like a bull six guys at once, running them a long way before they scattered around from the run. Sharp laughed out loud. "That was my lovely Deep Submerge!" he said through giggles. Cassie swirled her magic sword, and cut the blades of three swords that were pointed at her. "Yaaa!" she cried out as she cut the blades. "The card of the Sword can cut anything! Timothy swung the Berserker in front of him, and threw three guys in the air. Someone banged him on the back of his neck. "Ouch!…" he said and fell to a knee, dizzy. Someone was about to cut his head off with an axe. Sharp's machine gun opened holes on his chest, and he fell to the ground dead. Sharp helped Timothy up. "You alright fella?" Sharp asked. "Thanks Sharp, I'm ok." Timothy replied. Darien was still toying with Sam. Suddenly, Sam managed to hit Darien on the side with his punch. Darien was shocked, and a gasp came out of his mouth. Sam was about to hit him with the sword, but Darien raised his arm and delivered a straight punch on Sam's right face, that tossed the giant five meters backwards!! "He's a demon!" someone cried out. Darien was three times smaller than Sam, yet just a punch from him was enough to send Sam flying! Sam got up, and looked at Darien. Full of rage, he dashed up to Darien, who waited, his teeth clutched with anger, and his eyes burning a blue fire. Once he was close, Darien stretched out his arms and grabbed Sam from the neck and his shirt. Using Sam's own momentum, he lifted him with ease in the air! Then he tossed him away, and onto a pile of wood. A pointed wood went through the giant's chest, but didn't kill him. Sam got up, but Darien was already making his move. Darien raised his hand to shoulder height, and a sphere of black light generated there, with orange electric-like currents going over it, a wicked orb of black light and power. Darien's handsome face was deformed from rage and concentration. He stretched his hand and the black light jerked from it like a blade that struck Sam right on the necks of his two heads. The scene that followed was terrible. Sam held both his necks, as there was a cracking sound, and then the necks were cut, and the blood pumped out as if there was an internal explosion. Sam fell backwards, dead, onto the pile of wood. Darien took deep breaths to calm down and control himself. "Devil! It's the Devil in flesh!" someone yelled. "Kill him! Kill him before he kills us!!" someone else cried out. Darien back steeped. Timothy and Cassie and Sharp went close to him. "And the witch! And the witch! Kill that bitch too!" Darien instinctively placed his arm on Cassie's shoulder protectively. The Sword had turned back into the card it was. "SILEEEENCEE!" Someone shouted. It was the Leader of the Circus. He shouldered his way through the crowd of freaks, acrobats and other performers. "Cassie and Darien…this has gone too far. You two insist on causing trouble! People no longer come to the Circus because of you!" "Oh yeah!? Or maybe is it because you've gathered all the thieves, killers and freaks you could find Boss?! Darien yelled back. "I want you two to leave the Circus immediately. I don't want to have trouble because of you!" the Leader said. "Don't worry, we're leaving! We're not staying in this brothel any more!" Cassie said. "Come with us please…" Darien asked Timothy. "They'll try to harm you if you stick around." "We weren't staying around them actually…" Sharp said Timothy and Sharp followed Darien and Cassie back to their tent. Cassie and Darien packed up a few things, and getting on Darien's motorbike went off, followed by Timothy and Sharp, and didn't look behind them. The demon in Akira woke up again. It opened it's blood red eye and looked at the swirling smoke. It saw Cassie and Darien join Timothy and Sharp. "Death…Beast…Go…Kill…" it said. Then it fell back to its sleep, draining away Akira's power. "Darien, how did you do those things?" Timothy asked Darien later, when they had camped and were warming themselves at the fire. "I'm a Dark Mage. Those are parts of my powers." Darien replied. "Ooohhh…I get it. You're right." Sharp said. "Real Dark Mages are really rare, but the have incredible strength and speed during battle. You can also manipulate shadows, right? Not to mention their magic is the most powerful on the planet." "Yeah, but you forget that a Seastone can halt our powers." Darien added in. A Seastone was a magic jem that could absorb the magic of Dark Mages. "So, that explains how you managed to lift that meat mountain before. Wooo! I'd hate to get in a fight with you!" Timothy said. "I'd hate to get in a battle with you Timothy. You use that sword really well." Darien said. "Ah…I've just trained…"Timothy said perplexed. "After all, Cassie seems to be equally experienced with a sword." "Hehehe…the Sword card can turn everybody to an experienced fencer, even if he hasn't ever touched a sword." Cassie said. "What kind of magic was that? I've never seen such before." Sharp said. "It's Card Magic." Cassie explained, and pulled the deck of tarot cards from her pocket. "My family has used these cards for centuries to predict the future, and see in the past and present. They also used their magic powers. We're Card Magicians." "Ohhh…I get it. The magic's in the cards, right?" Timothy said. "Yeah, that's it." Cassie nodded. "This deck was made by the first of my ancestors. He was a great wizard, but when he got old, he thought it was a waste if his powers got lost with his death, so he put them in the tarrot cards he used for predictions." "Tell me, if I'm not being rude by asking, why did someone call you and your mother bitches?" Sharp asked. "My mother was a…whore. She and my father fell in love. He was an acrobat in the Circus, and my Gramps the Fortune-Teller. Everyone in the Circus hated her, because she was a whore, and she died from sadness shortly after I was born. My father died in an accident a few years later. He'd never gotten over her. I grew up with Gramps, till she passed away last winter. She taught me how to be a Fortune-Teller, and passed the cards to me. She said my mother must have been from a Fortune-Telling family, because I have a lot of power of the cards Gramps never had." Cassie said sadly. "Oh…I don't think it's your past that matters. But, I guess your mother must have been a pretty and kind woman" Timothy said. "You're pretty and kind." Cassie blushed. "Oh, you said you wanted to ask me something. What is it?" she said afterwards. "I need to find the Holy Grail. Do you know where it is?" Timothy said. "The Holy Grail? That artifact is legendary!" Darien said. "I know…but I have to find it!" Timothy said and told Darien and Cassie about Akira and what was happening to her. "Oh…poor Princess…I'm going to try Timothy, but the cards may not know either so I don't guaranty anything. The Grail has a mind of it's own they say, so it'll want to hide well." Cassie said. She took her cards at hand. She closed her eyes. One by one, the cards began floating in the air, and shone as if someone had sparkled stardust on them. All the cards levitated, and remained with the face down before Cassie. She slightly blew on them, and some of the cards flipped over, while others remained face down. "I'm sorry Timothy; the cards don't know about the Holy Grail." Cassie said after observing the deck. "It's alright…I wasn't hoping for much actually." He said disappointed. "Can you at least tell me what you see now?" "Yeah, sure. Hmmmm…" Cassie said and looked at he flipped cards. "The Chariot…It means a journey…The Knight; it means a new relationship, and the card of the Wizard is next to it. That means relationship with a stranger. The Snake…danger. And the Scroll…a truth will be revealed. That's all I can see." Cassie said, and the cards returned to her hand. "Hmmm…Oh well. What can you make outta that Cassie?" Timothy asked. "To reach the Holy Grail, you'll have to go on a great journey, and make new allies. You'll go through a lot of dangers, you and your new comrades. But, the relationship and the revelations you'll see in your journey will make up for the dangers you went through. It's quite obvious." Cassie replied. "Say, Timothy…" Darien said. "I just remembered. There's an old mage living up in the North Mountains. He might know more about the Holy Grail. You should go see him. I heard by someone at the Circus he knows many things about magic items." "Maybe…Yeah, I'd better." Timothy said. "Say, Timothy…I bet you're gonna need all the help you can get in this, right? And your story…it kind of motivated me. You mind if Cassie and I joined you and Sharp?" Darien asked Timothy. "Yes, can we Timothy? You might the help of the two of us. After all, we've got no where to go…" Cassie said. "I dunno…"Timothy said perplexed. He'd started to like the couple, but didn't know if they could manage. He didn't know if he could trust a Dark Mage, because they were said to be dangerous, and evil. And Cassie's powers seemed to bring trouble often. "How old are you kids?" Sharp asked. "Hey! We're not kids! I'm 18 and Darien's 19. We're well adults!" Cassie said loudly. "Alright! Alright!" Sharp said. "Look, if you're worried whether we can handle such a journey, you saw before we're not kidding when we fight. Let us come with you, and I promise you won't regret it." Darien said. "…Ok but…why do you want to come with me so much?" Timothy asked Darien. "Because…If I help you find the Holy Grail I'll finally be able to forgive myself about something." Darien said. "What is that?" Sharp asked. "…I…I can't tell you that. I'm sorry." Darien replied. Timothy didn't insist. "The mage lives on the top of the Glowena Peak. It's gonna be a bit hard to get up there, but we can make it." Darien said. "Ah, we'll be fine." Timothy said. They were moving ahead to the North Mountains, and the day had gotten chilly. They were crossing a grassy field, when Timothy's Chocobo stopped, and looked around nervously. "Hey, what's wrong with him?" Cassie asked. "I think it sences a hostile presence." Timothy replied. "If that's the case, I'll get it out." Cassie said. She took a card from her deck. "The Mirror card can reveal hidden things and creatures, so it's very handy." She said. She held up the card. "Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Mirror, reveal our hidden enemy!" A bright beam of light came out of the mirror and rinsed the land around them. It stopped on a part of a forest to their left. A roar was heard. Crashing the trees, a beast came out, annoyed by the light. Cassie withdrew the Mirror card, and all four gazed at the creature. It looked like a big ape, with the head of a goat with curled horns and the arms of a bear. It had a horsetail, and two small wings coming out of it's back that were obviously useless. "Yaaaa! What's that!?" Sharp gasped. "A monster!!" Timothy said. "No, it's not a monster…" Darien said after looking at it for a while. As a Dark Mage, there were some things he could see that weren't visible to normal humans. "Oh my God! It' the Beast Card!!" Cassie said out loud. "What?!" the rest gasped. "It's one of my cards! It freed itself! And the Beast card is one of the most powerful cards! Oh no! Now we have to capture it and turn into a card again!" Cassie said. "How do we do that?!" Timothy asked. "We have to weaken it first." Darien said. "Time to fight!" he said and drawed his weapon, a Valiant knife pole. A knife pole was a long metal rod with long, razor sharp blades on the ends. Cassie took her Artemis bow, a silver and gold colored bow with an angel wing motif on the ends, at hand and pulled an arrow from her quiver. "Whatever you do, don't kill it! The card will be lost if the Beast is killed!" Darien told Timothy and Sharp who had also armed themselves. The Beast roared, and attacked. It jerked it's armed with claws arm at Darien who just jumped out of it's course with his unique way. Timothy dashed up to the giant beast and managed to cut a deep wound on its right leg, making it roar in pain, and limp. "Good hit Timothy!" Cassie said and aiming, fired an arrow at the Beast's shoulder. The arrow went deep in the flesh, and the Beast roared. It pulled the arrow and attacked Sharp. The robot couldn't dodge the blow and was thrown way up in the air, and he was damaged. However, he managed to land safely on a clump of bushes where he started self-repairs, cursing. Darien jumped in the air, and landed his leg on the back of the neck of the Beast. The Beast stumbled, and Timothy jerked the Dragon Tail at its legs, and it wrapped around them and made it fall. However, the Beast kept squirming and started to get up. Darien swung his knife pole and cut off the left horn of the Beast. "Its power is in the horns." He explained to Timothy. "Stand back, it's my show now!" Cassie yelled and took another card from her deck. "She's going to use the power of another card to capture the Beast. I wonder which is she gonna use. She needs a really powerful one." Darien explained to Timothy. "Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Wheel of Fate, capture the Beast!" Cassie ordered the Wheel of Fate card as she raised it overhead. The card of the Wheel of Fate unleashed a series of beams of light, that wrapped around the Beast like chains, and then, with one bright flash, the Beast turned into it's card, Beast card, and flipped in the air. Cassie caught it as it went vertically to the ground. "There! We're all done!" she stated, and put the loose card back where it belonged in the deck. "Whew! Now all we gotta do is wait for poor Sharp to put himself together!" Timothy said and giggled, while Sharp started swearing and cursing him. They kept moving until the late evening, when they stopped at an inn for the night. They booked two rooms, and went to rest. "Hey Timothy, do you really trust them?" Sharp asked Timothy. "I think I do." Timothy replied. "Timothy! How can you say that! You either trust someone, or you don't!" Sharp said out loud. "Sharp…I don't know yet. It's not in my nature to make quick conclusions. I want to get to know them first. They seem good kids, and pretty mature for their young age. At least, they make me feel they can be trusted…for now. I don't know about the future though." Timothy replied and lied down on his bed. Sharp didn't say anything else, and rested his computer, by shutting down some non- critical functions. "Darien, what do you think of them?" Cassie asked Darien in their room. She was taking off her boots, seated on the bed. "I don't know yet. They seem to argue a lot, but I think they're very good friends. Only the fact they didn't freak out when they knew I am a Dark Mage makes me like them." Darien replied. He was standing near the window, looking at her with his arms crossed over his chest. "Well they did get to know you a bit before they saw you using Dark Magic." Cassie said. "Maybe you're right. But, do you think they can find the Holy Grail-IF it exists?" "If you want, you can have anything…why shouldn't he? He needs it for a good cause, and if the Holy Grail has heart as it has a mind of it's own, it will let itself to him." Darien shook his head. "You think to sensitively Cassie. Life isn't so soft." "And you think of it as too hard. Lighten up a bit!!" Darien didn't reply, and instead pressed his left hand on his chest and groaned softly. "What? What's up?" Cassie asked him. "My chest aches me…again." He said. "Here we go again." He sighed. He looked at the window. "Maybe I should go to the woods for the night…" "No Darien, maybe…" Cassie said. "Cassie, you know how I act under this. It's better I left. I'll be back in the morning…if it's gone by then." "What am I supposed to say to Timothy?!" "Tell them I went to meditate, and I'll catch up with you." Darien said, already going out of the window. "Be careful…" Cassie told him, but he was already gone. "I hate it when it happens…" she thought to herself. The demon in Akira woke up again. It wasn't sure what had awakened it, and opened both it's blood red eyes. The smoke swirled, and a fleeing image of a monster appeared, that disappeared right away. "Creature?…Interesting…" the demon said. Darien had returned to the inn before Timothy woke up. When they all went downstairs for breakfast, Darien seemed exhausted. "Hey, are you alright Darien?" Timothy asked him "Yeah…I just didn't sleep last night." He replied. "Does Cassie have to do anything with that?" Sharp asked, making Cassie blush and knock over the glass with her juice. "No, but it's just I've been ill lately." Darien replied, a bit frustrated with Sharp. "Sharp…behave…" Timothy said. Then he took out a map and laid it on the table. "We have a day's journey to the feet of the Glowena Peak, and the climb will probably consume us another day. But, as we're probably gonna meet monsters and have other setbacks, it might take us an extra day or two…" He said and pointed at the map. "Hey stranger…what's your business at the Glowena Peak?" someone said. The four friends looked around them, but the owner of the voice rose on is own. It was a man in his mid-20es, with short brown hair and a quite sunburn complexion. He turned to them, revealing a handsome face, and a pair of chestnut brown eyes. He was dressed in a short trouser out of light brown leather, and a same colored vest, with a metal chest plate that had a dozen of marks. He also wore a leather headband with a midnight blue moonstone on his forehead, and metal braces around his bare, exercised arms and leather bracers around the wrists. A Grant Sword hung from his heavy, leather belt with the artistically carved buckle, and a metal rod was tied to his back. "Who are you?" Timothy asked the stranger. "Jason Ganymede, Knight of the Order of the Red Dragon." Jason replied. "I'm Timothy Dasher. I want to see the mage that lives on the Glowhena Peak. I need his advice." "Oh, you wanna see Grunvald…Heh, he's an old friend of mine. I can take you there…if you pay me of course." Jason said. "Pay you? What sort of knight are you if you want payment?" Sharp said out loud before Cassie could stop him. "A knight of an Order that died." Jason replied. Darien nodded emphatically. He knew what Jason was talking about. "The Order of the Red Dragon used to be one of the most powerful knight orders in the East kingdoms. 'Used to', because the internal conflicts for power tore it apart the last decade…Am I correct?" "You sure are…I'm one of the last knights of the Order." Jason said. "Do you know the area well?" Timothy asked. "Better than my horse's saddle." Jason replied. "How much do you want?" Timothy asked. "Let's say 20 gold coins." Jason said. "…I'll take that bargain. Can you follow us now?" "Anytime you like my friend…" Jason replied and looked with an examinatory look all four friends. His sight stopped at Darien, who looked back calmly. The party set off a few hours later. Jason got on his horse, Cisco as he called it, and led the way with his unexpected companion: a Giant White Wolf named Saber. Jason explained that he'd found Saber as a puppy, abandoned from its mother and raised him. Ever since Saber was his best friend. Giant White Wolfs were one meter tall to the top of the shoulder, and 2 meters long with their tails stretched. They had a thick white hide that protected them from the cold and the wind. They also had ice blue eyes, and a pitch-black nose. "I'll try to take us through a short path, but it may be closed out from a rock fall." Jason said. "Is there any was we can avoid the north side? I've heard the rock falls are a usual phenomenon there." Cassie said loudly. "Yeah. Actually, we're gonna take a path that's a bit steep, but it's the shortest way to Grunvald's place." Jason replied. "How come you know that mage so well?" Sharp asked. "I saved his ass two years ago, and he gave me this magic headband. I'll show you later what it does." Jason giggled. Darien wasn't participating in the conversation, and was just lost in his thoughts. They were following a trail through the woods and the mountain's feet, up the mountain to Glowena Peak, when Saber suddenly stopped and looking at the north growled lowly, as motionless as a statue, and his hair standing on end. "Shhh…Quiet up guys…" Jason said. They all went quiet, and listened out for any unusual sounds. Saber kept growling lowly. "There's a creature nearby. And I don't think it's friendly…" Jason said. "Maybe we should get out of the trail and move through the woods? The trail's steep, and it's not suited for battling." Timothy whispered. "Timothy's right." Cassie agreed. "No…we can't…" Jason said. "Why?" Sharp asked him, curious. "It's a Wendigo and it's sniffed us out. And it's probably on our trail." Jason said "Those magic monsters hunt humans and tear out their hearts. We'll never lose it in the woods. I thought those creatures were long gone after the second Knight Crusade to these lands." Darien said. Indeed, 20 years ago, knights of different orders had united and made a crusade to the plain lands, seeking revenge of the kingdom of Tempest for the death of the founder of the Order of the White Rose. "Yeah, so did I; but it looks some of them survived." Jason replied. "You know awfully a lot about magic and magic creatures…" Darien was as calm as ever when her replied: "I'm a Dark Mage." Jason fixed his gaze upon Darien. "I should've known…" he said. "How come you picked a Dark Mage as a 'pet' Timothy?" Now Darien got mad. At older times, Mages of all kinds would follow a vagabond knight or bounty hunter or hero that had beaten them in a battle, to protect themselves from the people and serve humanity in a way. Although they were great help, they weren't treated better than animals, and reffered to as 'pets'. "I'm not Timothy's 'pet' Jason; I merely followed him by own decision." Darien replied, trying to contain his fury. "Jason, cut it off; you might be a knight, but still you're no better than all of us." Timothy said. "Oh, really? So I'm in the same level as the Dark Mage? Yeah, sure!" Jason laughed out loud. Timothy and Darien were about to answer, but Cassie got in the middle. "Guys, behave yourselves. We're all part of this team, and there's nothing we're going to gain if we fight each other. Jason, I know you may think Darien and I are of lower class because were peasants, but I assure you, when the battles come up, don't get in our way." She said. "After all, if there's a Wendigo in our path, you alone can't inflict much damage on it. You need our magic." Jason looked at both Darien and Cassie with a detestful look, but grumped and turned his horse to keep leading the way. "He's a bastard, but a good bastard, damn him." Darien hissed to Cassie. They kept moving with the Wendigo steadily on their trail. When they reached a clearing, Jason said there were more than one Wendigoes, and they were probably being ambushed. He was right. When the Wendigoes attacked, that's when Darien and Cassie proved themselves to Jason, who also proved himself to them. He drew out his huge Grand sword, the Fire-Calibur (all for you Johnnie!), and attacked a Wendigo with a war cry that shook the woods. He brought down the sword and cut the Wendigo's arm off, then sidestepped to avoid the blow from the other arm. By now, all five of them knew the rule of this battle: If a Wendigo injured one and he survived, he was condemned to become a Wendigo as well. Jason jerked his sword again, and cut the Wendigoe's head off. Timothy fought another one, with Sharp covering him. Timothy slashed the Wendigoe's abdomen, as Sharp turned them into shufflers with his machine gun. Timothy ducked, and avoided a Wendigo that went flying over him. As he ducked, he grasped a big stone and after aiming, hurled it with force. The stone hit a Wendigoe's head and the momentum of the stone made it fall backwards just as The Berserker came flying and went through its chest, guided by Garusha. Timothy was playing his flute. "Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Snake, come to my summon!" Cassie bawled as she raised the Snake card. In a blinding, neon green light, the Snake appeared. It was big and long, and fat as about a man's hip. Green, with brownish red patches on its back, and amber eyes. It hissed, opened its jaws revealing poisonous teeth and jerked like a green bolt at a Wendigo, biting its chest and gulping its arm. The magic creature roared in pain, but the Snake's poison was so drastic its cry never reached its end. Letting the Snake attack as it pleased, Cassie took her bow and armed it with an arrow. She pulled the cord, aimed, and the arrow went through a Wendigoe's head, killing it, before it knew what had hit it. Darien sent spheres of Dark Magic at any Wendigo that dared to cross his path, and hit others with his Knife pole, silently, unlike Jason who hailed and cried out war cries. A Wendigo gripped his neck, but Darien calmly pushed the Valiant backwards, piercing it. After a little, the remaining Wendigoes retreated into the woods. No one of the party had been hurt. "Well then, I guess we can now move on!" Jason said. Cassie noticed that after the battle, Darien and Jason at least had abided with looking at each other through the eyes. The noon of the next day found them almost at the top of Glowena peak. Jason led the way on the steep mountain path, with the rest following. They had left the woods behind them for good. Saber trotted ahead, panting with his tongue out. "Grunvald's place should be just after that big boulder over there." Jason said, showing them the great rock ahead of them. They kept moving, ignoring the wind that hit their faces, and the quite chilly atmosphere. When they turned around the boulder, they saw Grunvald's fort: a gothic style castle with two towers of the north and south-facing sides. It was quite an old place. "Yup, that's it…Grunvald's good old Mashcard Fort." Jason said. "Um…I don't want you all to get this from under, but my scanning shows something fishy's going on!!" Sharp said. "What?" Timothy asked. "What do you mean Sharp?" "My scanner detected some unusual movements, and the appearance of a fire, two days ago." Sharp replied. Darien looked at the Mashcard Fort. "I think Sharp may be right." He said. "I feel…something around here. Better be careful." "Look, up there…what's that?" Cassie asked, pointing up in the sky. They all looked, but it was too far away in the horizon to see. Sharp made a zoom-in. "Uh-oh…" he said. "It's a big creature, with wings. I can't make out much detail, the sun's too strong." "I get the feeling it attacked the fort." Timothy said. "We'd better run." The rest agreed, and with Jason on Cisco at the lead, they dashed on the road that led to the entrance of the fort. He pulled the horse's reigns to stop him, and looked at the fort for a few minutes. "You were right Sharp, something has been going on, and it's not good, I bet Saber on that." He said. Saber was growling, looking up at the fort. The entered the fort, and stooped again in the courtyard, they got off their mounds, and followed Jason who led them to the main door. He pushed it, and it opened. "It's not locked or protected. That's not good, no way." he said. He stepped in the corridor, and the others followed him without a word. "Grunvald?! Where are you, you old geezer?" he shouted out. There was no response. "Something must have happened to him." Timothy said. "There's no signs of a battle here, but something tells me someone's been here." "Yeah." Cassie said. "Where could he be…come on, think Jason!" Jason muttered to himself. "Jason, don't pressure yourself. Calm down." Darien said. "Cassie, can't you find the mage for us?" he continued, turning to her. "Sure thing. Give me space…" she said, and took out her cards. "When you wanna find a mage, you gotta use magic…" She chose a card, and held it up. "Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Path, show us the right way to the mage Grunvald!" At her command, the card let a stream of light that crept to the floor like a rug, and stretched down the corridor. "Come on, this way." Jason said, following the Path. The card's magic took them to the Grand Hall. They pushed the door open, and saw that the hall had been a battlefield. The mage was lying face down on the floor, moaning, while several mounds of dust were around. "Grunvald!!" Jason bawled and went by the old mage. He knelt down and rolled him over, lifting him in his arms. "Grunvald!" The mage opened his eyes. He was old, with a great white beard, and eyebrows that looked like clumps of cotton. "Jason…" he muttered. "Don't speak old fellow, we gotta help you there." Sharp said, looking at a big cut on the man's side. And a cut on his neck. "No…there isn't much time…there's no safety here…" he stuttered. "There are too many of them…" he said. "Too many what Grunvald?!" Jason bawled. The mage had passed out cold. "Shit!" Jason cursed. "What the fuck could have done this?! Grunvald's a powerful mage!" Darien was examining the mounds of dust. "Vampires." He said, and he suddenly got a little shaky. "The place has been attacked by vampires!" "V-vampires?!" Timothy gasped. "Holy shit…" he gulped. Cassie was trying to help Jason revive Grunvald. The mage awoke in the end, but he was too weak. "Jason, you have to leave…they…they'll come back again…" "No way! I'm gonna help you old pal, like I did three years ago." "You can't do anything this time…" "I can! I even brought two mages with me! And one is a Dark Mage! I'll have them help me!" "Their leader?…Who is the other man…?" "I'm Timothy Dasher. Grunvald, I came here to ask you…" "Yes…Yes…I know…Garusha…Garusha told me…" "Garusha?! How?" "There is no time…*cough*…The Holy Grail will be uncovered only if you find the Six Talismans…" Grunvald said. "The Six Talismans are artifacts of great power…They are weapons…but they are also speakers of pure things…They were dropped by the six angels that…flew over our planet once… They are the only things that can help you find the Holy Grail…" "Where can I find the Talismans?" "They…they rest in human hearts…That is all…I know. The King…the King of the Mines of the Giants…he knows more about the…the Talismans…The Mines are…n- northwest…head there…" Grunvald stammered. "Jason…Jason my old friend…I am going to die soon…" "No! You'll live!" Jason bawled. "Do something dammit!!" he yelled at Cassie and Darien. "You're mages!" "T-they cannot help me Jason…Please, I ask you…a last favor…Escort them in…in this journey. T-they will need…you…your help. Please…" Jason couldn't speak. He was trying his best to keep his tears for himself, but Grunvald said: "Jason…it's no worth holding back tears…tears help hope grow like flowers…" "I…I'm gonna follow Timothy and the others…don't worry, I will. I'm gonna follow him, and help him find the Talismans." Jason said, and a stream of tears ran down his eyes. "I promise I am." "Thank you Jason…Now…now I can rest in some peace…" Grunvald sighed, and closed his eyes calmly. Jason sobbed quietly, then laid his body on the floor, and took a step back. Over the dead body of the Mage, a small plant started to rapidly grow, making roots in the floor of the hall, and covered Grunvald's body. The plant slowly turned into a tree, a mighty maple tree that grew a thick trunk. The others watched in awe and wonder. "It's Grunvald's trick. He wanted to be covered by a maple tree when he died…he told me so once." Jason said. The tree grew high and strong, as if it were standing in the hall for several centuries. They party was still starring at the tree, when they heard hurtling sounds, and other odd sounds. "The vampires…they came back." Darien said. "And it's…gotten dark." Timothy said. "We're in their home field." He said, and sounded frightened. "Timothy, are you ok?" Cassie asked him. "Y-yeah…just that…I freak out with vampires…" "What!?" the others gasped. "Now you tell us!?" Jason bawled. "I can't help it!! When I was a kid, I saw a vampire suck my uncle's blood and my dad was just there to save me. I hate vampires!" "Uh-oh…" Cassie said. "Timothy, don't worry. I understand you're afraid, and it's no shame to admit it." Darien said. "Listen, stay at a corner with Sharp, and just keep them off you, without laying your guard low. I'll take the lead for now if you want, ok?" he spoke softly, to calmen the freaked out man. Darien didn't blame Timothy for being afraid of vampires, and neither did any of the rest. The vampires are bloodthirsty -literally- undead creatures, and are natural predators. It's very difficult to destroy a vampire without means of magic, almost impossible. Timothy couldn't agree more with Darien's suggestion. He drew out his Berserker, and stood with his back against the wall, and Sharp near him. The other three had also equipped their weapons, and waited fro the enemy. "Come on you sons-of-a-bitch, come here and face me like monsters…" Jason muttered behind his clutched teeth. His wish came true as three vampires came flying down from the woodwork of the ceiling. Other four were crawling down the walls like spiders. Five more barged in through the doors. "We're surrounded!" Cassie said. The vampires looked at them with a hungry-literally-look, and let sharp, high-pitched cries. They laughed and revealed their fangs. One which seemed to be their leader spoke to them: "Hehehehe…give it up now, and I promise it's not going to be so bad, hehehe…" "Why don't you go and screw yourself?" Darien replied, sending a blast of Dark Magic at him. The vampire got shocked backwards, but got up, enraged. Two more jumped in the air and headed for Cassie, but she had already fired two Fire Arrows at them. One was hit on the shoulder, and the other on the neck. Both vampires were cut off their course and fell on the floor, screaming and pulling the Fire Arrows out of their bodies. Jason kept a vampire at distance with his sword. The vampire growled and hissed. It pointed its claws at him, but he didn't care. He swung his sword in front of him, and tossed the vampire away with a shriek. Timothy and Sharp were cornered by two other vampires. "Oh shit…oh shit…" Timothy gulped. Sharp fired laser beams that hit the vampires. The beams went through them, and damaged them, but didn't stop them. "Ahhh! These guys are already dead!? What are we trying to kill!?" He flew up again, then dove down and rammed the two vampires, performing his 'Deep Submerge'. The two vampires that had underestimated Sharp, were surprised and were flunged backwards with eerie cries of shock. "That's it, I'm being useless here." Timothy said to himself and took out the Karahasane. "I just hope my 'Sword Trick' won't be affected from my fear…" He started playing Garusha's Theme, and the Berserker vibrated. It flew up, and Garusha took over. She attacked the vampires, and slayed around. She used her 'Whicked Whisper' to confuse the vampires. Garusha used her magic to whisper words into the minds of the vampires that stunned them and made them unable to block for a little. Jason cut in half a vampire that attacked him, but saw it was regenerating. "It's hopeless!" he cried out "these guys keep recharging every time we hit them!" Darien was fighting hand-to-hand with a vampire, whose fangs were targeting his neck. "You want a meal big guy?! Ok!" he said. He kicked the vampire away, then, using his knife pole, cut his wrist, and forced the vampire drink of his blood. As Darien pulled his injured wrist away, and held it with his other hand, the vampire folded over, and fell to it's knees, and did something like vomiting. It rejected all the blood it had drunk, and the blood vessels on it's face tore open, and the blood it had started to spill out, as it squirmed and shrieked in pain. "Oh course!! The blood of a Dark Mage is like poison to vampires!" Jason said and cursed himself for not remembering. Darien supported himself on the knife pole, because the vampire had drained a good amount of his blood, and he was weak. Strangely, Jason was right by him to cover him. "Looks like you need help." He said. "Looks like you've changed your opinion about me." Darien replied, grateful for the help. "Not entirely, but I'm thinking better of you." Cassie kicked away another vampire, and an idea struck her. She slapped her forehead, in a 'how-could-I-forget-that' style, and pulled out her cards. She choose a card, and held it up. "Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Sun, light up this hall!" she cried out, and the card burst out a blinding beam of sunlight, which made the vampires shriek and cover their faces. But the damage was already done. They started letting columns of smoke, as their bodies de-composed. "Now! Hit them now!" Jason cried out, as he Darien and Timothy attacked again, this time finally defeating the vampires. All the vampires had turned into little mounds of dust, and Cassie withdrew the card. "Well now, I guess you'll be saving our asses pretty often." Jason told Cassie. She just smiled back; happy Jason had finally accepted Darien and her. "Timothy, you ok man?" Darien asked Timothy. "Yeah…a bit shaky…but I'm fine." Timothy replied. He was embarrassed. "Hey big man, it's no problem if you're afraid of some things. Everyone's afraid of something. I…I freak out with scorpions…I really do." Jason said. "Better kill me right away than show me a spider, yuk!" Cassie added. "I can't stand bats." Darien said, smiling. "I'm afraid of bats, literally!" "My biggest fear is burning my main fuse…But tell me are we gonna sit here darning socks and talking about our fears?!" Sharp said. "You heard Grunvald, we have to reach the Mines of the Giants! And if my maps are correct, that's a four day journey from here!!" the robot bawled. The other four laughed, and prepared their departure. The demon inside Akira had grown stronger now. It looked at the five comrades preparing to departure, through the smoke. "They…will…perish!"