PART III (DMR)   
Gina Nebula: Dreamspell 'Mia'

The team was climbing down the last part of the Glowena peak, when a sudden wind 
blew hard. 
"Wow! Why d'the wind grow stronger all of a sudden?" Darien wondered. 
"I dunno. I'm not good at weather changes." Timothy replied.
"Maybe a storm's on it's way…" Jason said. 
"I hate storms…I get all wet and my system jams…" Sharp complained and Cassie 
giggled.
"What do you think the King of the Mines will tell us?" she asked the rest. 
"Who knows? I just hope he can give us some information that's not in riddles…" 
Timothy said. 
They kept moving in the plain land, when they noticed a figure standing on a hill, 
wearing a cape that was flying from the wind. 
"What's that?" Darien asked out loud. 
Sharp proceeded to a zoom in. "It's a human…covered face, not very tall, light built, 
probably a woman, pretty young, can't make out anything else." He reported. 
"That's enough…" Jason said. "This area is full of thieves, maybe she's one of them." 
"She's targeting us? Doesn't she see we're a whole party over here?" Timothy 
wondered. 
"Maybe that's why we shouldn't underestimate her…" Cassie said. 
"Wow, wow! She's making a move fellas…It's a sort of ritual with the hands…like 
she's drawing on the air…" Sharp said. 
"Guys!! Look behind us!" Timothy yelled, and the others turned to see. Saber was 
already looking that way, snarling, and his revealed fangs dripping saliva.
"Yikes!!" Jason gasped. 
It was a monster, a 'youma' actually. They could tell it was a demon monster, and 
they were called 'youmas'. It looked like a deformed species of deer, walking on four 
legs, with a big head supporting itself on a thick neck that connected to a huge, 
muscular body. It's horns were massive, and sharp like blades. It let a loud sound like 
a cry of a deer, and attacked them, running fast. 
"Shit!" Darien shouted as they dodged the attack, and the edge of a horn went by him. 
"Look over there! Another one! Oh no!" Cassie mourned as another creature came 
towards them with quick steps. 
It's name was Ifrit. At least, that's what the woman called him. "Ifrit! Handle the 
youma!" she cried out. 
Ifrit had long, curved horns, and a mass enough to compete with the deer youma's. He 
roared, and generated fire in his palms. 
"Let's get out of the line of fire guys!!!" Sharp yelled, and they moved right, to avoid 
Ifrit's dash towards the youma. The two creatures clashed hard, and the deer was 
pushed a little backwards from Ifrit's momentum. 
"Hey! She's commanding this Ifrit guy! The girl! That means…"  
"It's a Guardian Force…" Cassie filled Timothy in. 
Ifrit and the youma battled, clashing their horns and Ifrit burning the youma with 
fireballs. The strong scent of burned meat and hide hit the party's nostrils. 
"I think he could use a bit of help…" Timothy said. He took out the Berserker, and the 
Karahasane. He played the flute, and Garusha took over. She took control of the 
sword, and attacked the deer's legs, cutting wounds in the flesh, near the hoofs. 
"Yeah! If you hit the tendons, it's legs'll be paralysed!" Jason said with enthusiasm. 
Garusha succeeded. The deer moaned in pain and staggered. The Berserker returned 
to Timothy's hands. 
"Look out, Ifrit's attcking again!" he cried out. 
"HELL FIRE!" Ifrit said in a roaring voice, and summoned up a big ball of fire, which 
he hurled at the staggering deer youma. The fireball landed on the youma, in a series 
of flares and small explosions that devastated the battlefield. 
When the fire went off, the youma has nothing but a corpse that smocked. 
The woman that had summoned Ifrit came near, galloping on a Chocobo, and stood 
before them. A Garuda was curled over her shoulder. 
Garuda's are small, squirel-like carnivores, that have orange colored fur with black 
stripes, a fluffy white collar around their necks and a long, fluffy trails.  
"Alright!" she said in an unpleasant tone. "You saw what my GF can do. Now hand 
over anything precious you have and I'll let you live." 
"A thief!" Jason said, and tried to pull his sword, but Darien stooped him, nodding at 
the GF that was still growling. 
" I'm afraid that's not possible my dear. We appreciate your help, but since you're a 
common thief, we have to oppose you." Timothy stated seriously. 
"Very foolish of you." The woman said, and with a nod, Ifrit prepared to attack. 
"I think not!" Darien said and sent a bolt of dark magic at Ifrit, making him stagger. 
GF may be powerful, but a good shot of dark magic can damage them. 
The woman, having not seen Dark Magic before, was stunned giving Jason time to 
act. He darted, and gripped the woman's wrist. She cried out in surprise, but Ifrit was 
trying to protect himself from the dark magic Darien was sending at him. The Garuda 
growled, but fell off the woman's shoulder, and she fell on it as Jason pushed her to 
the ground.   
Jason drew out his sword and placed the edge of the blade on her throat. 
"Leach up the GF, or I'll slit your throat." He said coldly. 
The woman let a low sound of hate and ordered the GF to leave, which disappeared in 
thin air. The Garuda managed to peep up from under the woman's back. 
"Ok…Now who are you!?" Timothy asked sharply, going near Jason, followed by the 
rest. 
"My name's Gina Nebula. I'm a thief. Ain't it obvious?" she said, removing the scarf 
from her face. She was young, not older than 16 or so, with long black hair and nice, 
hazel eyes. She wore leather trousers and a leather top, and over that a crimson cape 
with a hood. "And this is Macotu…" she said, pulling the Garuda gently from under 
ther back. 
"Yeah, it quite is…Nice summoning there before." Timothy admitted. 
"Sure thing idiot." Gina said. 
"Hey, watch your tongue young lady. You're not the only witch around here!" Cassie 
said. 
"Yeah, I noticed." Gina sarcased them. "So what's group of guys like you doing 
around here?" 
"We're heading to the Mines of the Giants. We want to see the King to ask him about 
the Holy Grail and the Six Talismans." Sharp said before the others could stop him. 
"Holy Grail? Talismans? Hmmm!" Gina said and took an interested, greedy look on 
her face.
"Nice doing tin-can!" Jason said to Sharp with a threatening tone on his voice. 
"What's all that? Are they…artifacts perhaps?" Gina asked, supposedly innocently. 
"I believe so." Timothy said. 
"I hear the Mines of the Giant's aren't a safe place. You might need the help of a 
summoner there…" she said with an amusing tone on her voice. "Can I come? I 
promise I'll be good!"  she blinked with a cute, innocent look on her face, and the 
others were a little perplexed. 
"Well…"Timothy said. 
"She's got spunk though."  Sharp said. 
"Pleaaase?…" Gina begged. 
"Heck, we might need the help of a summoner…" Jason admitted.
"Of course you will! Who's gonna look after all you three handsome boys?" Gina said 
with a laugh, and Cassie felt like someone had dropped a brick on her head, but also 
pulled a smile, because Gina was so cute and funny. 
"You know…I'd like some girl company too…I can't stand being the only girl in a 
party of guys." She said politely. 
"Ok, you can come…but you'll keep your hands where they should be, and away 
from our gear." Timothy said seriously. 
"Yaay!" Gina said out loud and jumped up. "Yes! I get to be with these three hunks 
and in the end, I'll get for myself those treasures their looking for!" she thought to 
herself. 
"Thanks!" Gina laughed and gripped Darien's arm, hugging it, with a cute smile on 
her face. 
Darien tried to be calm, but blushed and side looked at Cassie who was giggling and 
tried to get Gina off him. "Hey! Let go of my arm please." He said, but Gina just 
giggled.   Cassie tried to be cool under that exclamation, but seriously thought Gina 
was odd. Saber let a whining sound. 
"You agree too huh?" she asked the wolf. 
Saber nodded affirmatively. 
"Oh well…" Cassie sighed. She didn't feel Gina as a threat, but didn't like her 
behavior either. 

The demon in Akira was awake again, and looked through the smoke at the party. It 
had grown as strong as before, before they had entombed him in the well. 
"They know now," it hissed. "They will suffer…the wrath of my 
servants…Servants…will find the Talismans before them. And…throw them to 
HELL!!!!!" 

The party was crossing the steep mountain paths of Mount Fau'Ler. They had to cross 
it to reach the Mines from the quickest way. The winds were terrible, and the party 
had a hard time, especially Jason's horse, Cisco, who wasn't used to so bad weather. 
They were at a pretty high altitude, and the snow was plentiful, and flying all around 
them. They had a hard time seeing where they went, and only Sharp's infrared 
scanning beams saved them. 
"It's only getting worse, dammit." Darien coughed. The cold had bothered his health a 
bit, and not only his. 
"I know…Maybe we shouldn't have came from here?" Timothy said wiping his nose 
with a piece of cloth Cassie gave him. 
"Maybe, but we've already saved a day. And perhaps we can find shelter, until the 
winds subside a bit." She said. 
Gina and Jason returned from the path ahead. The two of them went to have a look. 
Gina had been here before, but the snow had changed everything, and she had trouble 
remembering the way, so she decided to go scouting to see if she could find the cave 
she had used when she came by here. Jason had gone with there to help her. 
"Well?" Sharp asked. 
"I found the cave. It's not far from where we are, and it's big enough to fit all of us. 
Com'on!" she said, and raised her voice to cover the wind's whistling. 
The others picked themselves up and followed Jason and Gina back to the cave they 
had found. Once they were in, they were deeply relieved to find out that the place was 
dry and when they lit a fire, it was warm and cozy. 
"Ahh…finally, some relax after all this snow and wind…" Timothy sighed and rested 
his back on the rock. 
"Really…we needed this." Darien agreed, and kicked back too. 
Saber dried up his fur at the fire, and then went over to Gina to cuddle, with his 
tongue sticking out. 
"Hey!" Gina giggled when the wolf rubbed his snout on her arm. "Hehe, I didn't 
know you were so playful! Haha!" 
Macotu growled, and the wolf licked him. The two animals looked at each other for a 
moment, and then Macotu replied to the lick, by licking Saber's nose, and swinging 
it's tail. 
Jason laughed. "Saber's still young, that's why. He likes playing. Even when it's not 
the time to play." 
Cassie smiled with the scene, and prepared to cast her cards. She had a premonition, 
and felt like consulting her cards to be sure. Jason and Gina started watching her with 
interest, as they had never seen card casting before. 
Cassie went through the usual ritual, and the some cards were flipped over when she 
blew over them. 
Cassie bit her lower lip slightly, skeptical over the cards. She thought to herself. 
"The Beast…an enemy…The Shadow…he's hidden…but near, hence the Hermit, 
which also means a fight. We'll have to battle. The Mirror and the Scroll…hand in 
hand almost…more revelations? Hmmm…Oh…and…The Sun…good luck?" Cassie 
wondered in her thoughts. "I don't quite get it, but that's what I make out…" 
She told her thoughts to her friends. 
"Hmmm…Maybe we should be more careful from now on." Sharp said. 
"If an enemy is close, we'd better be more alerted. I wonder how an enemy would try 
to attack us here?" Timothy said skeptical, and touched his chin with his hand. 
"It is odd really. Where could an enemy hide up here, but above all, what sort of 
enemy could it possibly be that's after us?" Darien said. 
"Darien's right." Jason said. "It might not be an ordinary enemy. Maybe it's a magic 
being." 
"In that case, we can take it on!" Gina said. 
"Yes…indeed…but, there are other factors that may make a magic being differ from 
other magic creatures. Don't forget that Gina." Sharp said. 
Suddenly, Saber started growling. He got up and looked at the other end of the cave, 
where darkness still was, and growled. 
The others looked at him. 
"What do you think is going on?" Cassie whispered. "Saber's sensed something, but 
what could it be?" 
"I don't know…but it's not gonna be good." Jason said. 
Timothy tried to break through the black veil of the cave with his eyes. "I can't see 
anything there…" he whispered. 
"But there IS something there…I can almost feel it." Gina whispered. 
"Wait, wait! Shhh!…" Darien said and listened away. "Listen!" he said and knelt 
down. "It's underground…vibrating noise…you hear it?" he asked the rest. 
"Yeah! That's what Saber heard. What is it thought?" Timothy wondered. 
Their fire went out. They turned to look. There was still some dim light from the snow 
outside, but they couldn't see very well. 
"What did that?" Gina asked. "It can't be the wind. It doesn't reach us in here." She 
said. 
"Something's wrong." Timothy said. "Be alerted guys, anything my happen!" 
Just as he finished his speech, there was a weird sound, and then the ground started 
shacking. 
"Quake! Cover your heads!" Sharp bawled. 
"Rocks are falling!" Darien shouted. A boulder landed by his foot.
Cassie took out her card deck, and pulled a card in a hurry. 
"Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Shield, cover us in a protective 
barrier!" she bawled, and beams of blue light came from the card, covering them 
under a light blue, semi transparent dome. 
"I'll help too!" Gina said. She concentrated, and summoned a GF. "Magistro! 
Empower the Shield's magic!" Gina ordered the specter GF that looked like ma man 
dressed in a long, purple cape. Magistro raised his hands, and a yellow light flowed to 
the dome, turning it light green, and making it thicker. 
"Alright!" Timothy said, trying to calmen his freaked out Chocobo, while Jason was 
holding Cisco's head and covered the horse's eyes to keep it calm.
The quake stopped after a few moments, and Cassie withdrew the card, as Gina sent 
Magistro away. Cassie smiled at Gina. 
"Thanks for your help. Something tell me we're gonna get along well." Cassie said. 
"Heh, nothing to it. I do those kind of things all the time." Gina bragged. 
Darien and Jason were looking at the entrance. 
"Dammit, the rockfall blocked the entrance. We can't get out." Jason said. 
"Bummer…" Gina said and snapped her fingers. "Listen, these caves go a long way 
into the mountain, and lot's of springs come out from the mountain. My Grandad said 
there must be a whole network of caves in this mountain. Maybe we can get out from 
somewhere else." She continued. 
"Gina's right. This mountain is basically limestone, and cave networks always exists 
in limestone grounds. After all, what do we have to lose?" Timothy said. 
The rest were skeptical, but in the end agreed. 
"Alright. We'll move deeper into the caves, and try to find a way out." Timothy said. 
"Timothy, hold on a sec. These caves could be a labyrinth. We could get easily lost. 
Even card magic isn't strong enough to help us here. The caves could stretch for 
miles." Darien said. 
"Hey! I have an idea." Sharp said. "Gina, Garudas are specialized in sound attacks, 
aren't they?" 
"Yes but…" 
"Then, Macotu can get us outta here! I'm sure he can use supersonic sounds, and 
through my computer, we can use them to make a map of where we're going, and get 
outta here like in no time!" Sharp said excited. 
"Heeey! That's a great idea!" Cassie exclaimed. 
"Yeah! I think Mac can do that!" Gina said. 
"Ok then. Let's roll with it!" Sharp said. 
Gina moved towards the other end of the cave, with Mac. Sharp waited for the 
supersonic sounds to be broadcasted. 
"Mac, Supersonic Sound!" Gina ordered Mac. 
It appeared she had trained the little mammal very well, because he immediately let a 
series of high-pitched, supersonic sounds that were bounced off the walls, and the 
scan was passed the Sharp's processor. 
"Bingo! I've got the layout of the 50 first meters ahead of us, and I know what I'm 
doin'!" Sharp said. 
"Great job Sharp." Darien said.  
They moved on a head, after Darien lit a few torches so they could see. The caves 
were cold and moist, and water dripped from the stalagmites on the ceiling. They 
moved quietly, and careful not to slip on the wet, and mossy floor. 
"This is odd…There weren't any aftershocks." Jason commented lowly. "That was a 
strong earthquake, and there should've been aftershocks. Isn't it odd?" 
"Yes, it is. You're right. But I'm glad there are no after shocks." Timothy said, 
strocking his Chocobo's neck.
Sharp and Macotu kept leading the way, with the others right behind them. Suddenly, 
Sharp stopped. 
"Hmm? What's up Sharp?" Gina asked. 
"The Supersounds show an obstacle in our way, but I can't pin down what it is…it's 
got a weird shape…can't get it on screen clearly." Sharp said. 
"It's odd." Cassie said. "What could it be that technology like Sharp's can't detect?" 
"Maybe it's magic." Darien said. "Magic never shows it's full shape or power before 
technology." 
"Yeah, Darien's right." Jason said. "I've heard that too. Maybe we should let our 
wizards help." He continued. 
Cassie and Darien nodded. Gina pulled a wry face. 
"I'm only a summoner, my magic is just for that. Hmpf!" she said. 
"Darien, you go first." Cassie said. 
Darien stood before the corridor ahead of them, where the weak signal came from, 
and concentrated. Something like black flames began flowing off him. When he 
opened his eyes again, they were solid blue and shining. A third, vertical eye opened 
on his forehead, solid blue as well. 
"It's called Vishnu's Eye. It's a Dark Magic art that reveals any hidden magic 
elements and creatures. It's very powerful, and nothing can stay hidden under it." 
Cassie explained. "Darien's fallen under a trance to achieve full range sight." 
Darien looked at the direction the signal came from, and kept staring at it for a little. 
"Wow, Darien's energy force has reached it's maximum!" Sharp said performing a 
scan over Darien. 
Darien turned his head left and right to scan the whole area in front on him and on his 
sides, to get an idea about the whole area. When he finished, the third eye closed, and 
his eyes returned to normal. 
"There's something ahead alright. The obstacle is organic, it's alive. But, it's of Dark 
element, and powerful, so I can't make out what exactly it is. It looks human shaped." 
Darien said. 
"Cassie, can't you do something?" Timothy asked Cassie. 
Cassie nodded. She drew a card out of her deck, and held it in the air. 
"Magic of the card, come to my call! Card of the Mirror, show us the truth, what 
stands in our path?" Cassie cried out and the Mirror let a beam of light that turned into 
a mirror and stood before them. It showed them what stood ahead of them. There was 
a shadowy room, and there were many figures around, and one large one in the center. 
The Mirror lighted the scene, and they saw the real identity of the figures. 
"Trolls! Thousands of trolls!" Timothy gasped. 
The Trolls are a race of humanoid creatures that live in dark and humid places. They 
are shorter than humans, but can be twice as strong. 
"What's in the middle?" Gina asked. 
"It's like a huge rock. Oh wait…what's that?" Timothy said. "A…an arm?" he said 
seeing something on the rock move. 
"It…it is an arm!" Cassie exclaimed. "That thing is alive!" 
"What is it?" Jason asked. 
"A living rock…" Darien said, seeing the rock unfold another arm and a body, and 
then get up from a knelt position. It was way taller than the Trolls, and surely taller 
than a human. "A youma…" 
"A youma? A demon? Are you sure!?" Sharp said. 
"Am I am Mage, give some credit. That thing is created by magic. Nothing like that 
naturally exists in the world." Darien said very sure. 
"Uhhh…did anyone notice the Trolls are moving?" Gina said worried. 
"Oh shit…" Timothy said. "They're heading straight at us!!!" he bawled. 
"We can't escape or avoid battle! Get ready to rumble!" Sharp said. 
The party prepared themselves, just as the Trolls came roaring in their tunnel.
Darien had prepared a first welcome for them, stretching his arms in front of him, 
making the floor under the Trolls' feet ignite and throw them to all the directions. 
Jason attacked with his Fire-Calibur, and sent more Trolls flying in the air. He swirled 
his sword around him, and cleared some space around him. 
"There! You can't breathe with all this Troll stench!" he exclaimed and barged in the 
fight again. 
Saber was raiding over the Trolls, howling and snarling. His jaws closed on arms or 
necks, and broke the bone as if they were matches.  
Gina jerked her Cobra shuricken at the Trolls, while hitting about with the Scorpio 
nunchaku. She was incredibly accurate and well trained in using her two weapons at 
the same time. She jerked her nunchaku's end and the Trolls she hit fell on another 
one behind it, and both fell on the floor. Macotu didn't sit like a duck to watch the 
battle; he used Supersonic Sound to confuse the Trolls, giving the others the chance to 
get them with ease. 
Unable to use her bow, Cassie went for magic. She chose the Sword and fought with 
the card's magic sword. She swung it around her like Jason, clearing a path, then 
shopped off Troll heads. As the Trolls attempted a second wave upon her, she 
changed to the Dragon card, and released the Dragon upon the Trolls. The Dragon 
was like a Plain land Dragon, and breathed it's fiery breath at the Trolls, while Cassie 
finally grasped the chance to show that she was a top grade archer. 
Her arrows killed many Trolls, while led other injured ones to the blades of the others. 
Darien used his knife pole with incomparable technique. He swung, slashed and 
pierced with the speed of a thunderbolt, not without using his abilities as a Dark 
Mage. He disappeared from the reach of the Trolls, and reappeared where they never 
expected him to come from and killed them with blows that seemed to come outta 
nowhere and from the most unexpected angles.
Timothy caused havoc within the Troll lines, blowing them off with the powerful 
Berserker. He swung it once as if playing baseball and got three Trolls with one hit. 
It wasn't difficult for him to keep up with the rest. He ducked to avoid a throwing axe, 
and with a swift move yanked his whip at the offender, wrapping the whip around his 
neck. Timothy yeakned again, and the Troll was flung on it's comrades. 
Sharp tried as hard as the rest. He fired his machine gun and laser cannon at the 
Trolls, avoiding with ease the blows targeted at him. 
"Guys! Take cover!" He shouted at his comrades as he unleashed his Limit Break, 
Plasma Wall. 
Sharp's laser cannon overcharged and then unleashed a major orange beam that 
spread out like a wall and covered the full range of the tunnels opening. The Trolls 
that were hit were all killed. Sharps Limit Break bought them some time to re-
organize. 
"We won't be able to keep up for long." Jason said with a pant. "There's too many of 
them." 
"Yeah, but we gotta keep it up." Timothy said to encourage them. 
Gina was holding her injured arm with her hand. "It's hopeless. I can't even summon 
a GF, we'll get caught in the crossfire." 
"They're comin' again…oh shit, whatever that rock being is, it coming with them…" 
Darien panted. 
The rock creature showed up from the turn with a roar. "WeLCOme TO my laiR! 
THIS is wHerE YoU ShALl DIE!" 
"What the fuck is that?!" Cassie bawled. 
"Whatever it is, it's magic, and it's surpressing ours." Darien replied. 
The creature was tall enough to fill the tunnel, and had a roughly shaped, granite body 
with muscles sticking out from it's arms and chest, and legs as thick as old oak trunks. 
The whole team took a step backwards, as the stone youma advanced on them, while 
the Trolls withdrew, letting the youma do the job. The youma roared again, and 
swiped it's hand on front of it, giving the team a mean slap that threw them on the 
walls. Then, it emerged stone spikes from the ground, that caged them. They tried in 
vain to get out, hitting the rock with their weapons, but it was no use. 
The youma laughed, and said it was going to let them all die in the cages, which 
started shrinking around them, and were going to crush them. They were doomed, and 
gave up every attempt to get away. Only Timothy kept hopping, and kept banging the 
rocks with the Berserker, whose blade had been forged with a metal from some 
meteor of ancient times. He was sweaty and tired, but didn't give up. 
"HaHHAahaHahaH! YoU aRe dOOmEd! WHy DoN'T YOU GIve uP?" the youma 
teased him. 
"I…I'm never gonna…give up…on Akira…I still hope…I can get through…" 
Timothy said clutching his teeth. "I'll do it dammit!" 
That's when the outburst came. Timothy let a cry as he cut a stone spike, and his chest 
started glowing. The glow was expressed as rays of light that burst out of it, and 
spread to all directions, leaving everyone within the tunnel speechless. The light 
scared off the Trolls, and blinded the youma. It even made the rock spikes subside. 
Everyone watched in awe Timothy get levitated in the air, and he looked at himself 
with an equal wonder. 
Sharp was sure the energy field his friend emitted right now was ten times than the 
normal human energy filed, and wasn't controlled by him. The light got brighter, and 
it seemed as if a part of Timothy's chest was coming off him. From his chest, the first 
talisman, the Silver Mirror, sprouted up, and swirled around itself. It was silver and 
rectangular, not very large. The word 'hope' was written on it's top. 
Something drove Timothy to grasp in his two hands, and turned towards the 
remaining Trolls. The Trolls were scared by the light, and tried to cover themselves, 
but upon meeting them, the Trolls were turned into stone. The others renewed their 
courage, and attacked the youma. 
Jason put to work Grunvald's old gift, the skill of the Illusionist. The moonstone on 
his headband shone a bit, and projected a hallucination to the youma. The youma 
thought it saw a huge tidal wave come flooding and washing towards it, and it roared, 
trying to get out of it's way. Jason was leading the youma right where he wanted to: 
into a deep pit with steep walls. The trick worked, and thanks to a dark magic shot of 
Darien's, the youma was pushed into the pit, where it fell with a loud crash as stone 
fell onto stone. 
"Everyone, step aside! This is my case!" Timothy yelled full of rage, and grasped his 
Berserker, to unleash his Limit Break, the Akutakuken. 
The sword vibrated, and got charged with energy released by Timothy. He jumped up 
and into the pit, landing on the youma on his two feet. Taking advantage of the 
youma's lack of space to move, he started hammering it with home kicks that made 
the stone crack, and them started hitting with the sword. He hurled over to the head, 
and cut the face horizontally, then lowered the cut to the chest, hitting it twice with a 
swirl and then, making a reversed summersault in the air, hit it for a third time. He 
turned his back at the youma and pierced the stomach with a back turn of the blade, 
and delivered one last blow to the legs with a low swing. Finally, he jumped up in the 
air, and bringing the word in front of him, landed in heavily on the youma's chest, 
piercing it from one side to another.   
The youma started decomposing to stone particles and sand, crushed by Timothy's 
Limit Break. It crushed to nothing just in front of Timothy's feet. 
"Hey Timothy! Catch!" Darien said throwing him the end of a rope. Timothy grasped 
it, and the others helped him up. Once he was on steady ground, they applause him. 
"Excellent show my man!" Jason giggled. 
"Yeah, I haven't seen something like that like in years!" Cassie exclaimed. 
Timothy grew perplexed. "Hahaha…cut it off guys…"  
After that, they all turned to the talisman of the Silver Mirror, and looked at it, trying 
to guess it's secrets. It stood in the air, hovering a meter over the ground, swirling 
slowly around itself. 
"This is like nothing I've ever seen in my life. It emits magic forces unlike any on this 
earth." Darien said. 
"It's beautiful." Cassie said. 
"And its surely not human…"Gina said. "It's…it's divine…" 
"Gina's gotten it exactly. I wouldn't be very surprised if this was one of the 
talismans." Jason said. "The language on the top is ancient Lomkaster, but I can read 
it. It sais 'hope'." 
"Hope…" Timothy echoed. "That's exactly what I was feeling when I fought. I felt 
hope, and I felt I could take on the world." 
"Remember what Grunvald said? That the talismans rest in human hearts. What if this 
is what he meant?" Sharp budded in. 
"…I think you're right Sharp." Cassie said. "And also that the King of the Mines 
would help us. Maybe we should head on for the Mines of the Giants again."
"Cassie's right. And of course, we're gonna take the talisman with us. It's a very 
powerful artifact, and must be let to fall to wrong hands." Timothy said, and 
reluctantly stretched his arm to touch it. Once his hand was close to the Silver Mirror, 
it swirled faster, and in a flash turned into a ring that slipped in its own around 
Timothy's finger, never to be removed.
"It's true…the talismans have a mind and heart of their own…" Cassie commented. 
Jason took a step foreword. "Timothy, I've seen this happen, and I believe in the 
existence of the talismans now, if I ever had the slightest doubt before. I'm going to 
follow you even around the world if I have to, to help you find the other talismans, 
and help you save your Princess. On my word of honor as I knight." 
"You're going to need a mage or two to see this through if you want my opinion. 
We're more than happy to tag along and help you till the end, if you want us to come 
of course." Darien said, crossing his arms over his chest. 
"Yes, and the more the better. A Dark Mage and a Cardmancer will be great help." 
Cassie added. 
"AND a GF summoner. Don't forget me. I'm coming along, even if you guys don't 
want me to. Someone has to look after all three boys!" Gina said, and Cassie felt that 
'brick-drooped-on-my-head' feeling again, but smiled. She knew Gina had a crush on 
Darien and Jason, and understood that. She too had that kind of feeling when she was 
sixteen, and before Darien had asked her to be his girlfriend. 
"I don't think I have to add that I'll follow you all the way now, cause I have nowhere 
to go thanks to you numbskull, but what the hell! Let's do it." Sharp said. 
"Thanks guys. I really appreciate all your help. We'll find the other talismans, and 
help Akira, and then, on my word of honor, I'll pay you back this friendship. 
Honestly." 
The six friends made a circle, and placed their hands on one another's, making an oath 
to see this journey through together.   
"Now, shall we move on foreword? There's an exit closer than we thought there'd 
be." Sharp said. 
"Lead the way Oh-lord-Sharp…" Gina said with fake politeness that made the rest 
giggle, and Sharp let an illegible sound that showed an amused anger.
There was an exit an hour walk from where they'd been attacked by the youma. It was 
a hole on the rock, that ended on a steep cliff. There was no obvious way to get down. 
The valley of the Giants lay before them, but there was no way down. 
"Cassie and Darien can move on ahead with his motorcycle, but what about us?" 
Jason wondered. 
Darien pulled a wry face. "Jason, we're mages, give us a little credit goddammit." He 
said. 
"There is a card I can use…" Cassie said with a smile. "Voila! The card of the Gate. 
Extremely useful." She said holding it up in the air. "Magic of the card, come to my 
call. Card of the Gate, give us a way to the bottom of the cliff." She ordered the card, 
and a gate of light opened swirling before them, and the other end at the bottom of the 
cliff. 
"Ladies first…" Sharp said with a nod of the hand. 
Cassie and Gina went first, laughing with Sharp's ridiculous version of the 'noble 
male' posse. They all passed through the Gate, and ended up at the bottom of the cliff, 
ready to move on, towards the Mines of the Giants. 
"All this with the first talisman has gotten me wondering. The talismans aren't simple 
artifacts, and I want to know what this whole thing is, and what do I have to do to find 
the rest of the talismans." Timothy had said. 
They rested there for an evening, and then moved on through the woodland canyon.    
 
"The Mine is dead ahead." Jason said, under his hood, a day later.
"I hope we get there soon, the storm is getting worse." Timothy noted under his. 
It was the third day of their journey, and a bad thunderstorm had broken out, and rain 
was pouring down on them. 
"Pray fog won't come up, or else we'll be lost for good." Gina said. She lift her hand 
and wiped the moist off her face. "I usually like rain, but this is too much." She 
grumped.  Mac was curled up in her clothes, sleeping deeply.
"Once we're at the Mines it'll be ok." Jason told her. 
"You know, I just remembered I don't know anything at all about the Mines of the 
Giants. Anyone else here to enlighten me?" Cassie asked, hugging Darien's waist 
tighter, when his motorcycle wobbled a little on the wet ground.  
"Anything for you Cassie." Sharp said. "The Mines were first dug in during the War 
of Fire, 6 centuries ago. The Giants, the huge humanoid race, mined for gold, some 
copper and jems in those mines. However, they didn't do all the digging themselves, 
they were way too lazy. They had the dwarfs do most of the job, and when the Giants 
were wiped out during the Great Dawn, the dwarfs took up, until the previous century 
when they gave up on them, claiming there were too many evil spirits." Sharp said.
"Evil spirits eh?" Darien said, biting his lower lip skeptical. "I'd like to bet my bike 
there's a big fat youma in them waiting for us." 
"You just took the words out of my mouth…" Jason guffawed.
"What about the King of the Mines, whose he?" Gina asked. 
"The only thing stated about him is that he was the guardian of the mines, from the 
day they were first dug in. But, although he was present, evil spirits still lurked in the 
mines, terrifying the dwarfs." Sharp said. "There's nothing else." 
"Well, then he's surely not human…" Gina commented. 
They kept moving through the thunderstorm, and followed the old road that went 
from the Mines to the biggest cities of the ancient empires, as a trading road. They 
arrived at the Mines a day later, wet and chilly.
They immediately camped at the entrance, where it was dry and lit fire to dry up and 
warm themselves. 
"Shucks, this weather is a killer." Sharp commented sourly as he repaired some moist 
systems. 
"Speak of that again…" Cassie said out of mood, seeing Darien and Jason cough. 
"I don't have the guts to walk anymore today…" Gina said grumpily. 
Saber was sitting next to her, and licked her cheek. 
Jason pulled a wry face. "What did you do to him? He's never so sweet with me." 
"Maybe cause you're way too serious." Gina said, stroking Saber's thick fur. 
They camped there for the night, and fell in a deep sleep, without dreams. Sharp was 
watching guard, talking to himself.
"What is all this with the talismans?" he wondered. "Magic…not exactly. It's like 
divine, celestial…what am I saying?!  I've never seen anything like that, and my 
archives and index have nothing that can even match it in the minimum." He 
murmured to himself.
"Sharp!" Darien said loudly, waking up. 
"Yes?" Sharp asked. 
"Shut up!" Darien snapped, and Sharp stooped talking, and swore Darien softly. 

The next morning, Gina woke up by Saber and Macotu licking her face. She pushed 
the two animals away, and sat up. Cassie was also waking up from Sharp, who was 
bleeping and saying illegible things. 
"Cassie, what's up?" Gina asked, still half asleep. 
Cassie sat up, pushing Sharp away, and looked at Gina. 
"I dunno…Hm? Where's Darien and the others guys?" she wondered and looked 
around. 
"That's what I'm trying to tell you!! They went off in the middle of the night, when I 
was busy repairing my circuits and wasn't watching!" Sharp bawled and shook his 
short hands. 
"Why?" Gina wondered. 
"I don't know! All I remember is that I heard an odd song. Like a bird singing. I've 
never heard anything like it, and it sounded wicked." Sharp said. 
"Do you think it may have something to do with their disappearance?" Gina asked. 
Cassie got up. "There's only one way to find that out. Find them." 
"I'm a good tracker, and Mac can find their traces around." Gina said. 
"Ok, let's hit it." Cassie said. 
Gina and Mac started looking around for traces and tracks, helped by Cassie and 
Sharp. 
"Yo! I found something!" Gina said aloud. "Look, tracks. They head in the Mine." 
She said. 
Cassie looked ahead, and listened out. "I do hear something." She said. 
"Come on! Let's go in!" Gina said eagerly. 
Cassie nodded, and the two girls, followed by Sharp dashed into the mine, following 
the faint, mysterious song that might be the key to the boys' disappearance.