FanFic: Legend of the Master Hunter

[whizkid7]

Hi, everyone! This is my first try with a fanfic, so be honest with me and tell me what you think! I'll put up the first 3 chapters or so.

Prolouge

Once long, long ago, there was a dark force that threatened the land. It crushed anything that opposed it. It seemed to be unstoppable, until four warriors stepped forward to fight it. They were a HUmar, a FOmarl, a RAmar, and a RAcaseal. The hunter wielded the legendary J Sword, which was said to be able to destroy any and all evil. Using the J Sword, the hunter and his companions managed to defeat the dark evil and send it back to where it came from. The four then placed a seal over the evil’s resting place, hoping that it would remain unbroken for all time. The hunter became known as the Master Hunter, for he was the only one who could wield the J Sword. After the battle, the Master Hunter sealed the J Sword, so that only one of his descendants could break the seal. He and his friends then disappeared, and the whereabouts of the J Sword also disappeared.
A millennia has passed since then. The evil and the Master Hunter have been forgotten. The planet of the Master Hunter became too polluted to live on, so the people began seeking out a new home. They found the planet Ragol. A ship, dubbed Pioneer 1, was sent to this planet to create a colony. 7 years later the second ship, called Pioneer 2, arrived at the planet, and was making contact with the colony, when there was a giant explosion on the planet, and contact was lost with the colony. The cause is unknown, and the hunters were sent to investigate. That was one month ago…

Chapter 1

Inside the Hunter’s Guild, a lone HUmar sat in a bar near the back of the Guild. He wore green armor, with black boots. A Purplenum ID shined on his ID plaque. His brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, which draped over his shoulder. His black eyes stared off into space, as he sipped on his drink. He was known as Vanderbilt, a hunter with an unknown past. But he was well respected at the Guild, for any job he took he finished no matter what. He preferred to work alone, and spent most of his time either doing jobs for the Guild or taking care of his equipment. He sat there, taking in his surroundings. “I’ve spent enough time here, it’s best I leave.” He said to himself. He finished off his drink, left his money on the table, and walked out into the streets of Pioneer 2. He looked around and muttered, “Things have gotten a bit slow, ever since that explosion.” He reflected back to his conversation with Principal Tyrell, and how the Principal had asked him to go down to the planet and investigate. He also remembered how the Principal’s secretary had asked him to look for Red Ring Rico, the famous hunter and the Principal’s daughter. Vanderbilt had no intention of doing so, for he wasn’t getting paid, and money was what he needed. “Well, no sense standing around, better find a place to sleep.” he said, and walked off.
Meanwhile, a FOneweral was running through the streets of Pioneer 2. Her red costume, high heels, and Pinkal ID that flashed in the light stood out in the crowd as she ran. She ran as fast as she could, to get away from the three men chasing her. In her hands, she clutched a small, old object, which was the reason the men were chasing her. She couldn’t allow herself to be caught, or she would have no chance. So she ran, and continued to run, while the three hunters continued chasing her. Unfortunately, the Force was not paying attention to where she was going, and rounded a corner at full speed, unaware that fate was about to play a big role…
As Vanderbilt approached the corner, he saw a girl in red tear around the corner and slam right into him. He went down hard. “Ow…” was all he could say. He began to yell at the girl. “Hey, why don’t you watch where you’re going! What’s your hurry?” She screamed at him, “Get out of my way!” and shoved him off her, then ran. Vanderbilt stood up, wondering what the hell that was about, when he saw three hunters round the corner and run in the direction of the girl. “What the...Why are those guys chasing her?” he said to himself. “Bah, what do I care, it’s not my problem.” He turned around, ready to leave and give the incident no further thought, when he stopped. He found that he could not bring himself to walk away and forget what happened. “Hmph…the damsel in distress trick…gets me every time…” and with that he dashed off in the direction the FOneweral had run.
The girl continued running as fast as she could, dodging thru alleyways and back roads, hoping to lose her pursuers. But the three hunters continued chasing her, and did not give up. She knew that if she continued like this, she would tire out and they would catch her. So she ran faster. She made a sharp turn into an alley, only to realize it was a dead end. She turned around to run out, when 3 shadows blocked out the light in the alley. They had caught up with her, and the only way out was thru them. She pulled out her staff, and stood ready to face them. One of the hunters spoke, “Hand over the map, little girl, and we’ll leave you be.” “You’ll never get this from me!” she spat back at them. The hunter chuckled and said, “Well then, looks like we’ll have to force you to give it up…” Then three began to advance on her. She tried to muster up the strength to cast a spell, but she was so tired from running, that she didn’t have the energy.
She was ready to give up hope when a commanding voice called out, “You three! Leave that girl alone.” The three hunters turned to face the newcomer. There stood Vanderbilt, staring coldly at the three men. The Force recognized him as the man she had knocked over before, but why had he come to save her? The lead hunter spoke, “You stay out of this, fool. Unless you’d like to get hurt.” “Better step away from her, or I’ll have to make you.” was the reply. “Guess we gotta show him a lesson…” said the hunter on the left, and they ignited their Brands. In response, Vanderbilt activated his weapon-a Double Saber. He twirled it around and stood ready to face them. “Come on…” he said. The three hunters charged him with a cry of rage. The girl watched, but all she saw were three flashes of light, and then the hunters fell down, their weapons clattering on the floor. Her rescuer turned off his weapon then walked over to her and said, “I suggest you tell me why they were chasing you.” She responded with, “You should forget you saw me.” “Now that’s not a very nice thing to say to the guy who just saved your life!” “Stay away from me, or you might get hurt.” She ran to the front of the alley, and was about to leave when he cried, “Wait! At least tell me your name.” She stood still, then said, “Leona.” and with that, ran off into the night. Vanderbilt stood there, and said to himself, “Leona…I’ll have to keep an eye out for her…”

[whizkid7]

Chapter 2

Vanderbilt awoke the next morning and headed over to the Hunter’s Guild, when he noticed a large crowd standing at the counter. “What’s going on?” he asked a Ranger. The ranger answered, “Some top secret map of the military’s was stolen last night. They say it was a Force, a girl no less! The military put out a quest to track her down, and three guys took it. But, they were found badly wounded in an alleyway, and some people say that Force did it. Most of us are here trying to decide if we’ll actually go up against a dangerous person like that, but I wouldn’t.” Vanderbilt listened to this in surprise and thought, That girl I met…Leona, she’s the Force they’re talking about. But why would the military want that map? Vanderbilt strode up to the counter and said, “What’s this I hear about a new quest?” The girl behind the counter said to him, “Oh, Vanderbilt, hello! You want to see the details?” “If you wouldn’t mind.” “Here you go.” She handed him a piece of paper, and he read it over. The description, bad as it was, matched what Vanderbilt had observed about Leona that night. He looked down, and gasped when he saw that 50,000 meseta was being offered for her capture. This has got to be real important if the military’s willing to pay that price…, he thought. “I’ll take this quest.” He told the girl. Murmurs and muffled gasps spread throughout the crowd of hunters as he said this. “Okay then, I’ll mark this quest as taken. Take that sheet with you, and good luck!” the girl said to him. Vanderbilt walked out of the Guild and headed off in the direction of the nearest bar, figuring that he could get some info there…
Leona sat, wearing a large cloak to conceal herself in the back corner of a bar. She sipped at her tea, wishing she could find a way to get down to the planet. She had to get down there, and find out the meaning of that mysterious message. As she mused over this, the bar became suddenly quiet. She looked up and saw a man walking in, and gasped. It was that man who had saved her last night! What was he doing here? She heard the bartender say, “Vanderbilt, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?” Leona recognized the name. Vanderbilt, a highly respected member of the Hunter’s Guild, who always finished any quests he took. Was he the hunter that had taken the quest to hunt her down? This question raced thru her mind, and she decided not to stay and find out. She got up and began walking toward the door, holding the cloak over her to keep her face hidden. As she passed by him, he said softly, so that only she could hear, “I need to talk with you.”
She stopped short. He HAD taken the quest by the Guild, and obviously was going to drag her in for the reward. She was scared, and became even more so when he placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “Sit back down at your table.” She sat back down at the table, and moments later he came over and sat down across from her. He eyed her for a moment, then said, “I know it’s you Leona, there’s no need to hide your face.” Her body sagged in her chair, and she slowly slid off her hood. She began to speak, when he held up a hand and said to her, “Before I decide whether or not to take you in, tell me why you stole a map from the military.” She sat there in a state of shock, wondering why he was asking this. “Well? If you don’t tell me, I’ll just bring you in.” She snapped back into reality, and said to him, “It’s my parents.”
He raised an eyebrow, and said, “Go on.” “They were on Pioneer 1. I came on this ship so I could rejoin them. But then there was that explosion, and I got worried. But the weird thing is, I got this message from my parents just moments before the explosion. It said, ‘Come to the ruins. We-‘ it cut off right when the explosion happened. I’m afraid something happened to them, so I knew I had to go down on the planet and find them. But only the military knew the way to the ruins, as they had recovered some ancient map that showed the way. So I stole the map so that I could go down and find them.” She finished speaking, and tears began to form in her eyes. Just thinking about her parents made her feel like she was going to fall apart. She absolutely had to know what happened to them, and she was determined to find out, whether or not he helped her.
Vanderbilt sat there, absorbing the story she had just told him. His mind suddenly flashed back to his parents, when they were alive. He didn’t want to think of these memories, but they came. His memories of his parents continued, and he let them. But he then began to think of that day…No! He couldn’t allow himself to think of that. If he did, his grief and anger might overcome him. He opened his eyes, and noticed Leona staring at him with a puzzled look on her face. “Something wrong?” she asked him. “It’s nothing. So, where do we have to go to find these ruins?” he told her. Her face brightened and she said, “You mean…you’ll help me?” “Where do we have to go?” he repeated. She smiled, and her face beamed. “I…I don’t know how to thank you.” “Stop yapping and let me see this all-important map.” He snorted at her. “Oh, the map! Here, take a look.” She opened up the map, and began pointing to things. “We have to go thru the Forest, then thru the Caves, find a way thru the abandoned Mines, and then there should be a door to the Ruins. But…these symbols here in the Forest, Caves, and Mines, I don’t know what they mean. It looks like some kind of pillars…”
As Vanderbilt stared at the images, something clicked in his mind. “Mutts…Ditts…Poumm...’Here sleeps the ancient one…’” he murmured. Leona looked at him in surprise. “You know what this says??? But…this map is ancient!” “I don’t know how, but I know that those pillars have to be activated to open the door, and that the inscription under each pillar forms the phrase, ‘Mutts Ditts Poumm’ which means ‘Here sleeps the ancient one.’ There’s something else written here…” He looked more closely at the map, and noticed a symbol of a sword, with some kind of engraving on it. His eyes widened in surprise as he noticed that the engraving was his ID! “That symbol…” he said, pointing to the sword. “It represents the legendary blade, the J Sword.” “The J Sword? But that’s a myth!” Leona cried.
People heard her cry out and looked back towards them. Vanderbilt hissed at her, “Be quiet! You want people to know you’re here???” “Oh, right.” She said quietly. “But how do you know the J Sword is real?” “My father told me that our family line is descendant of the Master Hunter, the one who used the J Sword all those years ago. He says that the Master Hunter sealed the sword so that only the descendant of his that was destined to be the next Master Hunter could break it. But, my father said that the knowledge of where he hid the J Sword has been lost, and noone knows where it is anymore. But why is that symbol there?” Leona listened in surprise, and then stated softly, “Wow…that’s strange, because my parents said my family line was the descendants of the FOmarl that fought alongside the Master Hunter.” It was Vanderbilt’s turn to look surprised, and he said, “That IS strange. Weird…” She said to him, “Well, shall we get going?” “Yes, let’s go.” Vanderbilt got up and said to her, “Keep the cloak on. I’ll get us down to the planet, you just keep your face hidden.” “O-ok.” was her reply. She pulled the cloak back on, and the two walked out of the bar…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 3

Vanderbilt headed towards the teleporter that would lead down to Ragol. Leona walked behind him, her face cloaked from view. The first thing he noticed was that the transporter had been deactivated, and that there was a guard standing in front of it. “Just how badly do they want that map back?” he wondered. He walked up to the guard, and the guard called, “Halt!” The guard looked at him, and stated, “Oh, hello there Hunter Vanderbilt. How goes your search for that girl?” “She’s not on Pioneer 2. I think she went down to the planet.” he replied. “Really? I find that hard to believe, as the transporter was shut down right after those three hunters got hurt.” “I’ve searched the whole ship, and there’s no sign of her. She had to have taken the transporter as soon as she took care of those hunters.” The guard chuckled and said, “You sure are thorough. I guess it’s true that you always finish a quest, no matter how hard.” “Will you allow me to go down to Ragol?” Vanderbilt asked him. “Yeah, sure, I’ll turn on the transporter for you.” The guard went over to the control panel and activated the transporter. “It’s set to go to the Forest. That okay?” “That’s probably a good place to start.” Vanderbilt walked past the guard. Leona began to do the same when the guard stopped her. “Hold it! Where do you think you’re going?” he growled. “He’s with me. Let him thru.” Vanderbilt said to the guard. “Well…I don’t like it, but okay.” He let Leona pass, and she and Vanderbilt were transported down to the forest of Ragol.
As soon as they arrived at the Forest, Leona threw off her cloak. “That was close.” she said. “You’re just lucky that the guards know me so well, otherwise I would’ve never been able to do that.” was his reply. “Now let’s get going, I want to reach Central Dome before nightfall.” Vanderbilt began walking off into the forest, his Double Saber held in his hands. “Why should we get there before nightfall?” Leona asked him as she caught up to the HUmar. “It’s much harder to fight the monster here at night than during the day. It’s become even harder since the mutation.” “Mutation?” “Yeah, something happened to the animals and they’ve all mutated into much stronger forms. You know what a Booma is?” She nodded yes. “They’ve been changed. Now they’re called Bartles. They’re big, with large claws. Think a turtle on two legs, that wants to kill you.” “Uh…okay…*gulp*” was all she could say. He turned to face her and said, “Have you actually been down on the planet before?” “…No.” she said sheepishly. “Then stay close to me. Those monsters could tear right thru you.” he told her as he walked toward a clearing. She ran after him, and cast Shifta, the strength boosting technique, and Deband, the endurance and stamina boosting technique, on herself and him. Vanderbilt smiled slightly. Good, at least she would be of some use. She began to say something, when he held up his hand and hissed, “Shhhh!” “What-“ “I said be quiet!” He walked slowly into the middle of the clearing and listened intently.
Suddenly, he spun around behind him, swinging his Double Saber. Three Bartles shot out of the ground at that moment, and the one behind Vanderbilt got its head sliced off by his blade. As its body collapsed onto the ground, Vanderbilt continued his swing and carved a giant gash into another Bartle’s stomach. He was about to attack the last one when the Bartle burst into flames, and fell on the ground, a charred corpse. He looked behind him to see Leona with an outstretched hand, and tiny flames dissipating in front of her hand. “What’d you hit him with?” he asked her. “My Foie technique, why?” “That’s some powerful technique. I’ve never seen a Foie that strong before.” was his reply. “Well, that’s because mine is the highest level Foie that a Force can learn. All my other techniques are also their highest level.” “Are you serious, all of your techniques are level 30??” She simply nodded at him. “Huh…maybe you’re not so bad a partner after all. Let’s keep going.” He walked deeper into the Forest, with her right behind him.
The two fought their way thru the Forest, destroying Bartles, Barbles, the occasional Tollaw, and a Hildelt. They came across a transporter that led deeper into the Forest, and without any hesitation, Vanderbilt walked into it. He found himself materializing in another section of the Forest. He could see Central Dome in the distance. He heard the sound of the teleporter warping, and looked behind to see Leona appearing. “Hey, I can see the Central Dome!” she cried. “Yeah, but it’s starting to get dark. If we hurry, we might make it to the dome before dark.” Vanderbilt said back. He marched off towards the direction of the Dome. Leona chased after him, but stopped short when three Tollaws shot out of the ground, cutting her off from Vanderbilt. She immediately began to summon her powerful Rafoie attack, intending to burn the Tollaws where they stood. But the monsters did not give her a chance, and swatted her before she could finish her casting. The force of the blow sent her into a wall, and she tasted blood. She tried to move, but she was in too much pain. She looked up as the Tollaws stared down at her, and they roared in triumph. This is it, she thought. I’m going to die, and I won’t be able to find out what happened to my parents, and there’s nothing I can do. I only have one hope. She tried to cry out, but all she could do was croak the word, “Vanderbilt…” She doubted he heard her, and she closed her eyes as a Tollaw brought his claw down on her.
Vanderbilt heard Leona say his name. He turned around and saw her pressed against the wall, bleeding and hurt. Three Tollaws surrounded her, and one was preparing to strike her down. He yelled, “No!” and raced over with his weapon ready. He charged at the Tollaw and plunged his sword into the Tollaw’s midsection. The monster screeched in pain, and Vanderbilt took this opportunity to separate the monster’s upper half from its legs. The other two stared at their fallen brethren, screamed at Vanderbilt and advanced on him.
Leona, still lying against the wall, opened her eyes to see the Tollaw that was about to kill her lying dead, and that Vanderbilt was battling the other two. He had heard her, and he had come to her rescue. She felt overjoyed. He came to save me…was all she could think of. Vanderbilt quickly dispatched the other two monsters, then ran over to Leona, knelt down and asked her, “Leona, you okay?” “Do I…look okay…” she said weakly, then began coughing badly. Vanderbilt took off his glove and told her, “You’re too hurt to cast anything. Lie still, I’ll help.” She was about to ask him what he meant by that, but decided to do what he said and lie still. He began to mutter under his breath, and she saw a green glow emanate from his hand. She made a soft cry of surprise. He knew the Resta technique! But how? Only Forces were supposed to have access to the knowledge needed to learn that technique! As she thought this, the Resta spell began to take effect, and she felt her wounds healing. After a few seconds, the green glow disappeared, and Leona managed to stand up. She turned to Vanderbilt and asked him, “Where did you learn that? Hunters aren’t supposed to be able to learn any magic.” “My mother taught me.” “Was…was your mother a Force?” His eyes closed at this, and she saw that his face was twisted in pain. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.” “No, it’s okay.” he sighed as he spoke. “She wasn’t a Force, but my aunt was. She learned the Resta technique from my aunt. Unfortunately, my aunt was killed during a quest before she could teach my mother anything else.” he replied. “Oh…I’m sorry to hear that.” she said back. He looked at her for just a moment, then said, “It’s getting too dark. We’ll have to set up camp. Follow me.” He stood up, putting his glove back on, and began walking away. “Hey, wait up!” she cried as she ran to catch up to his retreating form.
Vanderbilt and Leona set up camp in a nearby clearing. Vanderbilt got some firewood, and Leona cast a quick Foie spell, which lit the logs up relatively fast. She sat down, curled up near the fire to keep warm, and Vanderbilt sat across from her. He stared into the fire, lost in thought. The fire reminded him of his troubled past, and why he no longer had a place to call home. He suddenly snapped out of his reverie, and looked at Leona. “You say something?” he asked her. “I said, what are you thinking about?” was her answer. “I…” “If you don’t want to tell me, that’s alright.” “I was thinking about why the military wants that map back so badly. 50,000 meseta is the largest reward I’ve ever seen them put out.” “I doubt it’s that important. After all, it’s only a map to some ruins.” She stretched and yawned. “Well, I’m going to sleep. Good night, Vanderbilt.” “…Good night, Leona.” Leona propped herself up against a log, and closed her eyes. Vanderbilt looked at her as she lied there, and thought to himself, She’s just like me when I was younger: naïve, and totally un-understanding. He stared intently into the fire, and said, “It doesn’t make sense as to why they’d want that map so bad. But, then again, what they did to me made no sense either.” He looked up and said, “If I ever meet that bastard again, I’ll kill him. He will know how much pain he has caused me, and I will make him pay.” He then leaned back and closed his eyes, and was soon asleep. That was when Leona opened her eyes and stared at him. She had not really been asleep, and had heard the whole thing. She said to herself, “Vanderbilt…what happened to you?” She lied back down, and soon fell asleep, with Vanderbilt’s words echoing in her head…

[whizkid7]

Here's chapters 4 thru 8:

Chapter 4

Leona awoke to the sun shining on her. She looked around and saw Vanderbilt nearby, twirling his blade and slashing at the air. She watched him as he continued to do this for a few minutes, then called to him when he stopped. “You’re awake.” he said as he approached. “What were you doing?” “My early morning warm up. I do that every morning so that my body wakes up.” “Oh…” “Come on, it’s time to get moving.” The two stood up and walked into the forest, headed in the direction of the Dome.
Leona and Vanderbilt battled their way thru the deep section of the Forest, slowly advancing towards the Central Dome. They came across far more enemies than before, including numerous Hildelts. They even had to do battle with an armored Hildetorr, right before the Central Dome. Right before they entered the Central Dome, however, they came across a strange pillar. While it seemed to mean nothing, when they looked at the map, they noticed a pillar on it, with the same marking as this one. Vanderbilt strode up to it and activated it. “I wonder what these things are for…” he said as he headed back towards the dome. The two stood facing the dome, and Leona went up to the door to try and unlock it. The door gave off a large crackle and electricity played across it. “The door’s fried. There’s no way in.” Leona said in disgust. “We don’t go in that way. We take the warp.” Vanderbilt said as he gestured to the warp sitting in the corner. Leona walked over to the warp, and was about to enter when Vanderbilt put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t know if the Dragon was affected by the mutation or not. If it has been, then we could be in for a very hard battle.” “You mean you never faced the Dragon?” She looked at him with surprise. “I faced the Dragon before the mutation, but never after. That’s why I don’t know what to expect.” His face was like a stone as he said this. “Well, guess it’s time to find out.” She stepped into the warp, with him right behind. The two then warped into the Dragon’s lair, ready to battle…
The first thing Vanderbilt noticed when they entered was that they were no longer under the dome. In fact, they were standing on a large platform of ice, with a ring of thick ice blocking escape from the circular platform. He looked around, noticing that they were standing in some icy place that he did not recognize. “Wow…” was all Leona could say. “This isn’t the way I remember it…” Vanderbilt mused. “It’s not?” “No. The arena was under the Central Dome, in a magma cavern.” Just then, the sound of beating wings could be heard. The two looked up to see the Dragon coming to face them. “Oh no…the Dragon’s been affected too!” Vanderbilt cried out.
The Dragon slammed down onto the arena, and screeched a battle cry. Icy breath drifted out of its mouth, and its sharp fangs dripped with saliva. Two massive horns protruded from its head, and its skin was a dark bluish color. It bellowed once more and began to stomp toward the two of them. “Move!” he called as he dashed around the Dragon’s lumbering form and began slashing at its feet. The Dragon cried out, and turned its head toward him, opening its mouth as if to swallow him. But then a large explosion of fire engulfed it, and the Dragon roared in pain. It turned to face Leona, who was warming up another Rafoie attack. It opened its mouth, and blasted its ice breath towards Leona. She jumped out of the way, but her leg was caught in the blast and frozen. She fell to the ground, and could only climb to her knees as the Dragon advanced on her. She looked up at it, and then looked above it as she heard a cry of rage. She saw Vanderbilt, framed in the light, as he dived at The Dragon with his Double Saber pointed down. His blade stabbed deep into the Dragon’s skull, and it roared in pain. It began to flap it wings, and took to the air. Vanderbilt continued hacking at its head, but jumped off when the Dragon dove underground. He ran over to Leona, and picked her up. “We have to keep moving! That thing will come after us underground!” he told her as he ran. She looked behind them to see the ground rising up toward them. She yelled, “Look out!” and Vanderbilt dived to the side to avoid the burrowing Dragon. He dodged again when the Dragon came at them once more, and was forced to run and jump like an acrobat when the Dragon began to traverse the arena in a circular motion underground. He landed and sank to one knee. He was tired, after having to dodge so many times while carrying Leona.
The Dragon burst from the ground in front of them, and landed right in front of them. It roared in triumph, and reared its head back as it prepared another blast of ice. Vanderbilt stared up at it, ready to fight until his dying breath, when a shot rang out. He saw a photon bullet pierce the Dragon’s head, and it screamed a death cry and fell on its side. The thing promptly died. He looked at the source of the shot to see a RAmar with a smoking rifle standing there. He had green hair, and wore a mask over his mouth and nose, leaving only his eyes exposed. He wore a red and black suit, and the Yellowboze ID was emblazoned on his ID plaque. Leona, having freed her leg from the ice, stood up and said, “Who is he?” “I don’t know, but let’s go find out.” was Vanderbilt’s reply as he walked over to where the Ranger stood.
The RAmar saw them headed toward him, and said, “You two are lucky I was here, or you’d be dead right now.” “I’d thank you properly stranger, but I don’t know your name.” Vanderbilt told him. “I’m Vanderbilt, this is Leona. And you are?” “Vanderbilt? THE Vanderbilt? Wow, this is quite an honor. They call me Spyhunter.” The Ranger answered them as he held out his hand. As he shook Spyhunter’s hand, Vanderbilt asked him, “Spyhunter? I’ve heard of you. You’re a mercenary for hire that gets contracted by the military to hunt down spies and traitors.” Leona became visibly nervous at this. Spyhunter noticed this, and took a good look at her. “Hey, wait…That’s the girl that stole the map! But I heard you took the quest to hunt her down, Vanderbilt! Why are you two working together?” “To put it simply, she convinced me that helping her would be worth more than the reward.” he answered. “Oh yeah? This I gotta hear.”
So Vanderbilt recapped how he met Leona, and how he came to help her out to Spyhunter. After he finished the story, Spyhunter nodded. “Yeah, that message certainly is a mystery. I can see why it’s so important to you, Leona.” “Now, why are you here, Spyhunter? Don’t tell me the military didn’t trust me.” “Actually, they didn’t. They figured you’d have found her and brought her in by now. So they told me to find you and make sure you were still hunting for her.” Vanderbilt crossed his arms and muttered, “Those sons of bitches. Why are they so impatient to get this map back?” “I don’t know, but it sounded like they needed it back.” Spyhunter told him. “Um…excuse me. You’re not planning on turning me in, are you?” Leona questioned Spyhunter. He looked at her with a look of surprise, then laughed. “Nah, the reward’s not worth passing up a chance to fight alongside the great hunter Vanderbilt! Besides, I’d probably have more fun going with you guys anyway.” “Well then, welcome to our little band, Spyhunter.” Vanderbilt smiled as he spoke. “We should continue forward. There should be an entrance to the underground caves down here.” Leona pointed at an opening in the wall across from them. “That looks like it.” So, the three adventurers walked thru the opening and down into the dark caves…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 5

Vanderbilt, Leona, and Spyhunter walked into a large cavern. Small pools of magma collected at the edges of the path they stood on, making the heat in the area nearly unbearable. “Hoo! This heat is incredible!” Spyhunter said as he stepped in. “This is the only level that’s this hot. The next one down is much cooler.” Vanderbilt told him. “Vanderbilt, have you been here before?” Leona asked him. “A few times. Some of the quests I’ve taken have involved going into these caves.” Then, the cry of a creature caused them to turn to their side. A large brown, multi-eyed creature with large claws screamed at them, and lumbered toward them. “It’s a Vulmer! Get down!” cried Spyhunter as he unloaded a few photon bullets into the Vulmer’s hide. The thing fell forward, its blood pooling around it. Then, more Vulmers shot out of the ground, along with a few bluish skinned ones, which Vanderbilt called Govulmers. Leona began attacking with her Rafoie, while Spyhunter fired away with his rifle and Vanderbilt hacked and slashed thru them. More monsters came out of the ground, and some Nano Dragons flew in and attacked with their energy beams. After some fierce battles, the room was cleared, and the three stood in the center of the room. “I don’t remember the monsters being this hard to kill, or this numerous…” Spyhunter said to the other two. “You’re right, there seems to have been an increase in their numbers. They also seem to have become more ferocious lately. I wonder why?” Vanderbilt said to him. “We won’t find out by sitting here! Let’s go!” Leona called to them as she dashed off into the next room. Vanderbilt sighed, and Spyhunter chuckled. “She’s in a hurry, huh?” he asked. “No, I think she’s just anxious to get to the ruins and find her folks.” Vanderbilt answered. “Yeah, I’d feel the same way if my-“
He was cut off as they both heard Leona scream. “She’s in trouble, let’s go!”
Vanderbilt cried as he and Spyhunter raced into the next room. They found Leona lying on the floor, unmoving. Looking back, the two saw a very dangerous monster-the Mil Lily. The Mil Lily was a much rarer and much more dangerous version of the Ob Lily. It looked at them, and blasted its Megid breath at them. Vanderbilt took one look at Leona, and felt himself filled with anger. He screamed bloody murder at the Mil Lily, then charged it. The Megid attack passed thru him, but did not affect him. He attacked it mercilessly, hacking and slashing it, even after he had killed it. When his anger finally cooled, he stood in a pool of blood from the lily. Various parts of the monster were splattered all around. He looked behind to see Spyhunter staring at him with wide eyes. He ran back to where he was, kneeled down at Leona’s prone form, and asked, “Can we help her?” “Uh…yeah, we can, provided I still have a Moon Atomizer or two left.”
Vanderbilt smiled at Spyhunter’s reply. Moon Atomizers were rare, but could be used to restore someone back to full health. Spyhunter dug thru his holder till he pulled out a small green object. He opened it up and sprayed the contents on Leona. She groaned and stirred. “Ohhh…what happened?” she asked. “You ran headfirst into a Mil Lily’s Megid attack.” Vanderbilt answered her. “If it wasn’t for Spyhunter, you’d be dead now.” She looked over at the Ranger, who turned away as if embarrassed. “Thanks, Spyhunter.” she told him. “You’re welcome. But how come you don’t have any Moons on you, Vanderbilt? I thought all hunters carried them.” “Only hunters who have teammates carry them.” he said as he helped Leona to her feet. “Leona, next time, don’t charge right into a room. Take it easy.” “Ok, if you say so.” She answered as she walked toward the next room. As Vanderbilt followed, Spyhunter whispered to him, “You freaked out on that lily. But why?” Vanderbilt turned to him and said, “In all honesty, I don’t know.” “Hey you two, better hurry up or you’ll fall behind.” Leona called as she walked into the next room, looking around before passing thru the door. Spyhunter didn’t ask any further questions, and he and Vanderbilt jogged into the room Leona had entered…
The three battled their way thru the first level of the caves, slaughtering Vulmers, Govulmers, Melqueeks, and even an Ob Lily or two. After a particulary rough fight in a room that held hordes upon hordes of monsters, the three weary fighters came across the warp to the second level of the caves. They warped down, and immediately noticed the change in temperature. “Well, at least it’s not as hot down here…” commented Spyhunter. “Never gone this far, huh, Spyhunter?” Vanderbilt said to him. “No, I’ve never needed to go much farther than the Forest to complete any of the quests the military’s given me.” “Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’ve never been beyond the third level of these caves.” “Great. We’re on a quest to find the ancient ruins, and all they care about is who’s been farther. Sheesh.” Leona said as she walked away from the two of them. The two stared after her. “What do you suppose she meant by that?” Vanderbilt asked. “Who knows?” Spyhunter replied, and the two followed after Leona.
They came across some new enemies down here, namely the Crimson Assassin. The Crimson Assassin was a large red bug with two large scythe-like arms, and multiple legs. It could freeze a person in place, and then cut them to ribbons, as well as charge them and knock them to the dirt. Also, the Pan Arms, two monsters connected that could separate themselves at will, appeared here, causing more problems for the already weary band of warriors. Vanderbilt continued to press onward, unaware that Spyhunter and Leona were starting to fall behind because of their exhaustion. After a few battles involving Melqueeks, Crimson Assassins and a few Nano Dragons, Leona sank to her knees, and squeaked, “I can’t go on.” Spyhunter sat down next to her and said, “Vanderbilt, we really have to slow down and take a break. I’m so tired, my aim is off.” “We’ll stop, but it can’t be in here.” “Why?” Leona breathlessly asked him. “Because there’s still something living here.” Vanderbilt continued to look around the room, when he noticed a small puddle of water underneath Leona. He dismissed it as collected liquid, until he looked again and saw that it was getting bigger. “Leona, get up, now!” he cried.
But it was too late. The liquid suddenly shot up, surrounding Leona. She found herself trapped inside some kind of liquid, unable to breathe. The liquid then formed itself into a humanoid shape. “A Poufuilly Slime!” Spyhunter cried as he grabbed his gun and took aim. “No, wait! You might hit Leona!” Vanderbilt yelled to him as he stared at the slime. Leona thrashed and struggled inside the slime, but could not break free. She felt herself slipping, and for the second time today, thought she would die. She mouthed something as she began to lose consciousness, and Vanderbilt read it as, “Help me, Vanderbilt.” He knew that there was little time to save her, but could not risk hurting her in trying to free her. So he improvised. He plunged his hand into the slime and grabbed Leona’s. Pulling with all his strength, he began to pull Leona out of the slime. But the slime did not want to give up its meal, so it fought to hold her in. I HAVE to get her free!, Vanderbilt thought as he pulled harder. He pulled with all his might, and suddenly, Leona was free. The slime reeled back from the force of the expulsion, and then exploded into a millions little droplets as Spyhunter blasted it at point-blank range. Vanderbilt held Leona, and said to her, “Wake up, Leona! Come on, don’t give up now!”
In the back of her mind, Leona heard Vanderbilt’s words, but she felt as though she was already dead. He then said, “If you die now, you’ll never find out what happened to your parents!” That stirred her to try and hold on, but she felt too weak to hang on for much longer. But, she began to think about Vanderbilt, and how he had saved her life twice. He had saved her in the alley, down in the forest, and now he was trying to save her again. She realized then that she had begun to care a lot about him-more than anyone else. She had come to depend on him to be there for her, and he had never proven her wrong. She knew then that she had fallen in love with him, whether or not she had meant to. That was all she needed to bring herself back to consciousness. She hacked and coughed, and opened her eyes. She looked up at Vanderbilt, who seemed incredibly happy that she was alive. “Thank you…” she said weakly. He smiled at her and said, “How about we take a break now?” “I’d like that…” and then she fell unconscious again.
Spyhunter and Vanderbilt set up a small fire with which to keep themselves warm. Leona lay on a small blanket that Vanderbilt had been carrying, sleeping. Spyhunter and Vanderbilt sat around the fire. “So…” Vanderbilt looked up at Spyhunter. “How many times have you saved her life now?” “I think that’s the third. Why?” He answered the Ranger. “Well…because I saw the way she looked at you. Plus, she mouthed, ‘Help me, Vanderbilt.’ Not just ‘Help me.’, but she said your name.” “That’s just because I was the one she could see.” “You don’t get it, do you?” Spyhunter told him. “Get what?” The hunter was puzzled. “She was thinking about you, even in her last moments. Even when she was fading, she thought about you. She wasn’t thinking about herself, or what could happen. She was thinking of you. Doesn’t that tell you something?” Vanderbilt sat there, brooding over what the RAmar had said, when he realized what he was saying. “Are you saying…?” “She’s in love with you, Vanderbilt. I don’t know how, and I don’t know why, but she is.” “You’re crazy. That can’t be. She’s just grateful that I saved her.” “You know I’m right, why won’t you admit it?” “Because you’re not right, Spyhunter, that’s why!” Vanderbilt got off the ground, and began to walk away, when Spyhunter said to him, “And you love her too, don’t you?” Vanderbilt did not answer. “I see…” “You see nothing.” The hunter marched off, and left Spyhunter staring at his retreat. Why won’t he admit what he knows to be true? Is he afraid of what it means? , he thought to himself. He shrugged and went to sleep.
Vanderbilt stormed off, angry at Spyhunter for being close to correct. Actually, he wasn’t angry at just him, he was angry at the monsters for getting in his way, angry at the military for not trusting him, and angry at Leona for caring too much about him. They don’t understand, he thought. Anyone who gets too close to me ends up dead. Why can’t they see that? I don’t want to be alone, I have to be. He smashed his fist against a wall. “Dammit! Why can’t I just be left alone? I can’t let them get hurt, so I can’t be close. Especially not to her. If I get close to her…” He trailed off, afraid to even imagine what could happen. He knew that he could never be close to anyone, let alone Leona. But that was not what hurt the most. He knew how she felt about him, but he could never tell Leona how he felt about her. And that hurt him more than any wound a monster could inflict upon him. He knew then what he had to do, and he knew it would hurt her. But for her safety, he had to.

[whizkid7]

Chapter 6

When Leona awoke the next morning, she saw that Vanderbilt was nowhere to be found. She wondered where he could have gone, when she noticed a note lying on the ground. She picked it up and read it.
Leona, I’m sorry I have to leave so suddenly, but I can’t stay with you. You wouldn’t understand why, so I won’t explain. You probably will never see me again, so I guess this is goodbye. I know that you still haven’t found out what happened to your parents, but I’m sure Spyhunter will help you. One last thing: don’t follow me. If you do, you’ll get hurt, and I can’t let that happen. Goodbye, Leona. I’ll always remember you.
-Vanderbilt
Leona read the note, feeling like part of her had been ripped out. She just couldn’t understand why he’d suddenly run off like that. She stood up, and knew that she had to find him again. She didn’t care what he said, she would find him, and get the truth from him. She woke Spyhunter immediately. “Wake up! Vanderbilt’s gone.” “What?” Spyhunter bolted upright. “That idiot! What does he think he’s doing?” He grabbed his gun and said, “Come on! We’re going to find him.” He and Leona ran off, using the map to guide them.
Deep within the third area of the caves, Vanderbilt battled his way thru the monsters. He felt remorse at having to leave Leona behind. He knew she would be angry, and that she would be hurt, but he had to do it. Besides, he had memorized the map, and knew that clearing the path would help Leona in her search. He reconciled himself with this fact as he moved further into the caves, yet knew in the back of his mind that she would still follow him, even though doing so would mean her death…
Leona and Spyhunter passed easily thru the second level of the caves, as all the monsters had been killed. They came across one of the strange pillars, and activated it. “Well, at least we know he went this way.” Spyhunter said dryly as they walked thru the piles of dead bodies. Leona stayed silent the whole time, gripping the letter as though letting it go would kill her. Letting that thing go just might do that, mused Spyhunter as they followed the path of destruction Vanderbilt had left behind. That stupid idiot, why does he think this is a good idea? He doesn’t realize how much he’s hurt her…Spyhunter kept thinking about this, when Leona asked him, “What did you two talk about last night?” “Just recounted some old stories.” he answered. “You’re lying. What did you really talk about?” “We…” Spyhunter hesitated. If he told her the truth, she might blame him for making Vanderbilt leave. Leona whirled on him, grabbed him by the collar, and screamed at him, “Tell me what you said to him!!!” “Easy, easy! Okay, okay, we talked about you!” “M-me?” “Yes, you! I told him that you had feelings for him, but he couldn’t believe it. Then when I asked him if he felt the same way, he said nothing and stormed off! There, I told you. Now put me down!” Leona dropped Spyhunter, and stared off into space. “He cares…” She fell on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. “Why? Why did he leave me?” Spyhunter knelt down and said softly, “In order to know that answer, we have to ask him ourselves, and the only way to do that is to catch up to him.” Leona stood up, dried her eyes and said, “Yes, you’re right. Let’s keep going.” So they continued, following the trail of dead animals…
They entered the third level of caves with no problems. They immediately noticed the smell of dead things, and concluded that Vanderbilt had come thru here earlier. They continued following the trail of blood and death that permeated throughout the floor, encountering no other monsters. In almost no time at all, they reached a strange warp that led to an underground channel. “Hmm…I have no idea what’s beyond here, so be ready.” Spyhunter stated flatly. The two stepped thru the warp and found themselves on a raft. Leona looked to her left and let out a cry of disgust. A large worm like carcass was attached to the raft, and the stench was nauseating. “Ugh…I don’t even want to know what that is. Quick, thru the warp over there.” He and Leona transported themselves into what appeared to be a mine. What they noticed was that there was no blood or smell of death. They walked into the first room, and saw nothing. No monsters, no body parts, no nothing. There was a few bits and pieces of what looked like machinery lying on the floor, but other than that, no trail could be seen. “We’ve lost him…” Leona said with heavy sadness. “No we haven’t! See these bits of metal? They’re from mining machines, and since this is a mine, it makes sense that there would be a few down here.” “So?” “So, the only way there would be pieces of them would be if something-or someone-destroyed them.” “Which means that if we follow the pieces, we’ll find Vanderbilt!” Leona jumped gleefully. “Let’s hurry, maybe he’s still down here!” Leona raced off, with Spyhunter following right behind.
This is harder than I thought, Vanderbilt thought grimly as he sliced another Gillchich in half. The machine exploded, taking some of its other brethren with it. He had been fighting his way thru this mine for hours, and had barely advanced even halfway. The machines here were quite tough, and being made of steel meant that it required more effort to cut thru one. Vanderbilt hadn’t even known these mines existed, until he found a computer terminal that had explained a lot. These mines had been built by Pioneer 1, in order to gather minerals and other things. The machines here had been built solely to mine this area, but an infection in their AI right before the explosion had made them go crazy and attack anything that wasn’t metal. Plus, these machines had also been altered by the mutation, and were much stronger because of it. As Vanderbilt finished slicing apart the Gillchichs, two Baranzes lumbered out and began launching missiles at him. He jumped and dodged to avoid them, and ended up making most of them hit into the Baranz opposite. The two machines destroyed each other, and Vanderbilt stood there amidst their wreckage, when he heard a metal clank behind him. He turned around just in time to have a bladed fist send him flying onto the ground. He looked to see a Sinow Blue, another mining robot that had been infected. This one held two blades in its hands, and was a formidable opponent, with its quick speed. Vanderbilt tried to stand up to face it, but it kicked him down again. He stared up at it, his body pressed to the floor by its foot, and saw it raise its blade. So this is how Leona felt when that Tollaw was about to kill her, he thought. Funny, even in my last moment, I’m still thinking of her. Spyhunter was right, too bad he’ll never know it. He closed his eyes and resigned himself to his fate.
Leona and Spyhunter ran into the room just in time to see the Sinow Blue ready to kill Vanderbilt. “NOOO!!!” Leona screamed as she tried to summon a spell as fast as she could. Time seemed to slow down, and the blade began to fall. She kept willing it to go faster, but in her heart knew that she would never cast the spell in time to save Vanderbilt’s life. Yet she continued to push harder, giving all she could, because she refused to believe that she could not save him. She watched the blade fall-and saw a large blast of Gizonde emanate from her hand. It struck the Sinow Blue right before the blade hit Vanderbilt. The burst of electricity shorted out the machine, and it fell backwards, lightning playing over it. She felt exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time. She had done it! She had found him, and she had saved his life against all the laws of nature, against time itself. She ran over to where he was standing up, tears flowing freely from her eyes, crying, “Vanderbilt!!!”
Vanderbilt lied there, waiting for his death, when he heard someone scream, “NOOO!!!” He looked over and saw Leona and Spyhunter standing there, gaping in horror. This is worse than I thought. She’s going to see me die, and know that she’s helpless to do anything. The grief alone will kill her. If only she hadn’t followed, she’d be okay…Vanderbilt thought all this out in a second, and noticed that Leona was charging a Gizonde. She’s trying to save me, but she’ll never make it in time, he thought. Time slowed down, and he saw the blade from the Sinow Blue falling towards him, and Leona desperately trying to save him. Then he was shocked to see a blast of Gizonde slam into the Sinow Blue, shorting it out and causing it to topple backwards. She did it…she actually cast the spell fast enough…He was amazed. He had no clue how she had done it, but he didn’t seem to care. He was just glad to see her. She ran to him, and he saw tears in her eyes. For what I’ve done to her, I deserve to die. But since she doesn’t seem to care about that at all, then neither do I. He stood up slowly, still in pain from the attack, waiting for her to reach him.
Leona leapt into Vanderbilt, arms outstretched. She gripped him tightly, and cried into his shoulder. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” she said through her sobbing. “Leona, I…” He could not find a way to apologize, so he resigned himself to returning the embrace. Leona looked up at Vanderbilt, still tearing, and asked, “Why?” “Why are you here? I told you not to follow me.” “Did you really think that I was just going to let you walk away and leave me all alone?” “Yes, I had a feeling you’d follow me anyway.” he said to her. “And as to why…I left because I couldn’t let you get hurt.” “Hurt? By what?” “Leona, I think the fact that we found him and that he’s alive should be enough for you right now. Besides, he’s still wounded. Or did you not notice the wound on his chest?” Spyhunter said. Vanderbilt chuckled lightly, then coughed as pain wracked his body. Leona immediately cast her Resta to heal him, and he felt better instantly. “Leona, I shouldn’t have left you. I’m sorry for that.” “I don’t care about that, I just care that you’re here with me now.” she said as she hugged him some more. “Leona…I promise I won’t leave again.” he told her. “Promise?” “Promise.” They looked each other in the eyes, and Vanderbilt felt his heart race. It’s true…I do care about her, he thought. “Uh, this is all very touching, but can we please get on with the quest? I didn’t join so I could watch you two get all mushy on me.” Spyhunter said tiredly. “Heh-heh. Alright, let’s get going.” Vanderbilt stood up. Leona cast her Shifta and Deband on the group, and the three headed deeper into the mine…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 7

As they traveled farther in the mine, Vanderbilt and company came across more and more crazed machines. Sinow Blues and their cousins, the Sinow Reds, began to show up more and more often. The Gillchichs and their upgraded versions, the Dubchichs, seemed to continuously appear, blocking their path. “Why are these machines attacking?” Leona called out as she fried a group of Dubchichs with her Razonde. They fell apart, and she blasted the control box with a Zonde, destroying all the Dubchichs in the room. “I don’t know, I think it has something to do with their AI!” Spyhunter said back as he blew a hole thru a Sinow Red’s stomach. “The AI of these machines have been infected by some kind of virus, and its made them go crazy!” Vanderbilt yelled back to them as he cut a Baranz to ribbons. The Baranz exploded, the large blast incinerating the Gillchichs behind it. “How do you know that?” Spyhunter asked. “I found a computer terminal that told me what these machines were, and what happened to them.” “Really? What did it say?” So Vanderbilt told the two of them what he had read off the computer terminal. Leona nodded as he was finished and said, “Well, at least we know what the dead worm thing on the raft was.” “You ran into Dal Ra Lie, huh?” “Actually, we ran into its corpse. I assume that was your doing?” “Yeah, I took care of him. But what surprises me is that Dr. Osto, the famous scientist aboard Pioneer 1, made that thing.” Spyhunter nodded and said, “Yeah, that is weird. I think the military must’ve covered up what was going on down here.” “What makes you think that?” Vanderbilt asked him. “Think about it. Why in the world would a mining facility have a missile launching machine? And how come noone even knew there was research going on down here? Plus, why else would the military want that map back so badly? They obviously don’t want anyone to come down here.” Vanderbilt nodded and said, “I think you’re right. It would explain why they want the map back.” “I really don’t care about any of that, I only care about getting to those ruins!” Leona said impatiently to them. “Relax, Leona. We’ll get there in due time. But she’s right, we should keep moving.” he said, and they continued on thru the mines.
They made their way thru the first level of the mines without much trouble. But upon entry into the second level, things got much tougher. There seemed no end to the hordes of Gillchichs flooding the rooms, and the Baranz came out in force down here. On top of all that, most of the lights were damaged or broken, and many rooms were constantly in darkness. In many of the rooms they passed thru, the machinery was destroyed or damaged, showing that the explosion had effected down here as well. The three companions fought their way thru the rooms, battling unending streams of machines all bent on their destruction. They came across another strange pillar, and activated it. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of fighting, they came across the warp to the control room. “Control Room, huh? That probably holds some big computers. They might tell us a bit more about what’s beyond.” Vanderbilt said. “Hey…look over there!” Leona said, and ran off into another room. “What’s she doing??? Didn’t she learn her lesson last time?” Spyhunter said as he and Vanderbilt ran after Leona.
They found her staring at an android in a machine. “An android? What’s it doing here?” Spyhunter asked in surprise. “Hmm…” Vanderbilt strode up to the machine and took a look at the android. It was a female design, with its “skin” being white and its “clothes” being pink. A little pink bow was on top of her head, and Vanderbilt said to them, “Looks like its been deactivated.” “Well, turn it on!” Leona said to him. “Hmm..I think this will do it.” He flipped a switch, and the android came to life. Its eyes opened and it looked at the three standing in front of it. “Hello.” it said in a feminine voice. “Hi! I’m Leona, this is Vanderbilt and that’s Spyhunter. Who are you?” Instead of answering, the android’s eyes began to dim, and it spoke in a monotone. “Accessing database. Searching: Vanderbilt, Spyhunter, Leona. Vanderbilt: HUmar. Highly respected hunter of Hunter’s Guild. Well known for completing quests. Spyhunter: RAmar. Mercenary for hire. Often contracted by the military. Leona: FOneweral. Currently wanted for theft, assault and battery, and resisting arrest.” Then the android’s eyes went back to normal and said. “I know who you are now.” Vanderbilt and the others stared at her in shock. “But…those charges are insane!” Leona cried out. “That is what is in my database.” The android replied. “Tell me, were you built by the military, by any chance?” Vanderbilt asked the machine. “Yes. I was designed as a military droid, for use in battle. My designation is M-E1038. But, you may call me Emy.” “Good to meet you, Emy. Now tell me, what class are you designed to be?” Spyhunter questioned. In answer, Emy pulled out a large weapon. Spyhunter recognized it as a Photon Launcher, a rare long range weapon that only Rangers could use. “RAcaseal is what I am designed to be.” “I…see…” was Spyhunter’s reaction. “Say, Emy. Would you like to help us out?” Leona asked. “How may I be of service?”
Leona explained their situation to the android, and she nodded and said, “That sounds like fun. I would be glad to come along with you.” “Yay!” Leona said as Vanderbilt and Spyhunter smiled. “Then let’s get going. We have to go see about that Control Room.” Vanderbilt said as he walked back towards the warp. Spyhunter caught up with him and whispered, “Doesn’t the fact that she was built by the military worry you?” “It does, which is why she’s coming along with us. If she’s in my sight all the time, I know she’s not receiving orders from anyone and not following us to give away where we are.” The Hunter answered as he continued forward. “Huh. Why didn’t I think of that?” the Ranger said as he followed behind, with Leona and Emy bringing up the rear. The four companions then entered the warp, ready to continue on…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 8

The four entered into the Control Room. At first, all seemed quiet. Then the machines began booting up. “Wha??” was Leona’s reaction. “Everyone get ready, we’ve got a fight on our hands!” Vanderbilt said as he withdrew his Double Saber. Suddenly, a mechanized voice boomed, “Intruders! Intruders! Eliminate! Eliminate!” A large face appeared on the screen in front of them, and began to zoom around the screens. “That is Vol Opt version 2, the main computer for this complex. I am registering an AI infection within its programming.” Emy stated. “Great, this thing is screwed up too! Looks like we’ll have to fry it!” Spyhunter cried as he fired off rounds of bullets at the screen the head was on. The computer screen shattered, and the face disappeared. Then pillars came shooting up out of the ground. “Smash the pillars!” Vanderbilt yelled as he sliced one in two with his saber. Leona fired off multiple Razondes, frying the rest of the pillars and causing them to explode. The face appeared again, and began to move, when Emy blasted it with her Photon Launcher. The heavy rounds from the weapon tore thru the computers, destroying each one. When the last one was destroyed, the whole room began to shake, and explosions rocked the room.
The whole room grew dim, and a large machine lowered itself onto the floor. It began to fire missiles at the group. “Spread out and smash it!” Vanderbilt said as they ran away from the missiles. Vanderbilt hacked away at the machine’s armor, while Spyhunter and Emy stayed near the back, firing round after round of their weapons into the monstrous mechanical being. Leona continued her Razonde barrage, sending thousands of bolts of electricity thru the machine. Then small red beams bean to emanate from an eyepiece, and locked onto the four fighters. “Oh no…MOVE!!!” Vanderbilt screamed out as he jumped out of the way just as a large claw like object dropped from the ceiling and slammed into where he had just stood. He dodged as the things kept falling trying to crush him. They stopped falling, and Vol Opt resumed blasting missiles at them. He looked around and saw that Leona and the others were okay, and sighed with relief. He then dashed back into battle, hacking more pieces of the monster off. Finally, his sword stabbed deep into the mainframe of Vol Opt, and it began to explode. It tried to drag itself up into its resting place, but exploded into pieces before it could. Vanderbilt and the others stood amongst the wreckage, tired and weary. But they had succeeded, and began to rejoice. A warp appeared, and the four of them headed into it.
They found themselves in a long hallway, with no sign of a way out of it. In front of them, a large door stood, and on it were markings. Vanderbilt approached the door and took a look at the symbols. There were three, each one a different color. He noticed that the color and the symbol corresponded to the pillars they had activated in the forest, caves, and mines. “It looks like those pillars were the locking mechanism for this door.” he said to the others. “Now, how to open it…” “Vanderbilt, why don’t you try saying the names inscribed under them? You know, the ones from the map?” Leona said behind him. “Good idea. Thanks Leona. Hmm…Mutts, Ditts, Poumm…I think that was right…” As he said the three words, the three symbols lit up and the door began to shake. It pulled away to reveal a large opening, shrouded in darkness. “This must be the entrance to the ruins.” “We found it!” Leona jumped up and down with glee. Now she could finally find out what happened to her parents!
But her hopes were dashed when the sound of clicking guns behind them made them turn. A large group of HUcasts stood there, a gun in one hand and a saber in the other. HUcasts were android hunters. They were used exclusively by the military, and were very powerful, as well as having no emotion. The lead HUcast said in its metal voice, “Halt! The four of you are under arrest!” “You won’t take me to prison again!” cried Vanderbilt. The other three turned to look at him, and were about to ask what he meant when he said, ‘again’, but did not as the sound of someone coming was heard. A figure in the darkness slowly walked toward them and said to the HUcasts, “Grab them.” The HUcasts grabbed the four of them, and took their weapons. “Well, well, what a surprise. If it isn’t Vanderbilt, the great hunter! How are you, my dear friend?” Vanderbilt stiffened as he heard the man speak, and when he stepped out of the shadows, he roared, “YOU!!!”
The man walking towards them was a HUmar, like Vanderbilt. He wore black armor, and his white hair was spiked upwards. A Whitill ID shone in his ID plaque, and his cold blue eyes stared at Vanderbilt. “You, a great hunter. Hah! Honestly, I don’t know why they delude themselves.” the man said. The HUcast leader walked up to the man and asked, “What do we do with their weapons, General Raganom?” “General, huh? So that’s the rank they give to murderers like you.” Vanderbilt spat. “Come now, I did not murder anyone. She was just dumb enough to get in the way, and I could not stop my blade fast enough.” Raganom said as he approached Vanderbilt. “Like hell! You didn’t have to kill her, you wanted to! And what’s more, you killed him when he wasn’t guilty of anything!” “Oh, he was quite guilty. You saw the evidence yourself. Oh wait, that’s right. You were in jail at that time.” Raganom sneered at Vanderbilt.
“How did you find us? It’s not like you knew where I lived this time.” Vanderbilt said. “Simple. Spyhunter here had a little tracking device planted on him. Oh, but of course he had no idea he was leading us right to you.” “You used me??? You goddamn bastard, I’ll kill you!!” Spyhunter screamed as he struggled to break free. Raganom slapped him across the face and said, “Silence, fool! Besides, even we hadn’t done that, we could’ve found you from Emy. You are so pathetic, you didn’t even bother to check to see if her tracking beacon was active! And you knew we built her too!” he laughed. Emy tilted her head down and said, “I am sorry. I did not know it was still active.” “It’s not your fault, Emy. This creep would’ve found me sooner or later anyway.” Vanderbilt said. “Come on now, Vanderbilt. I thought we were friends.” “My friend Raganom died 3 years ago on that day, and the evil that you are now replaced him!” “Tsk. Touchy, aren’t we?” “I bet that scar still stings every once in awhile, huh, Raganom?” For a moment, anger flashed in Raganom’s eyes, and his hand went to the scar running along his cheek.
Then the anger was gone, and he was smiling again. “Would you like to know what the irony is? Now, not only do I get to kill you, but you get to watch your friends die first. Starting with the girl.” He pointed at Leona, sneered again, and said, “It’s sad really. You spent all this time trying to avoid getting close, and yet that closeness is what is going to get you killed. Once again, you get to see those that matter to you die, knowing that you caused it! HAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Raganom laughed evilly. “SHUT UP, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!! IT’S YOUR FAULT THEY’RE DEAD!! I’LL KILL YOU!!!” Vanderbilt screamed at him. “Oh, by the way, thank you for opening the door for us. Now we finally get to see what lies in the ruins.” Vanderbilt slumped, knowing he was beaten. He had tried so hard to protect them all, but he had failed, and now their association to him was going to get them killed. Raganom was right about one thing: This time, it was his fault. “Take them away and lock them up. They will be executed at noon. Oh, and destroy the weapons.” Raganom told the HUcasts. Vanderbilt and the others were led away, back to Pioneer 2 to await their punishment…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 9

The four of them were tossed into a cell back on Pioneer 2, and were locked in. Spyhunter leaned against the wall, staring outside. Emy sat in the corner, processing what had just happened. Leona walked up to the bars, and stared out. She felt heartbroken. Now, she could never find out what happened to her parents. But then she looked at Vanderbilt, who was seated on the bed. He was staring at the wall, and yet his eyes had a faraway look to them. Leona decided it was time to get some answers. “Vanderbilt?” she asked. He looked up and said, “What?” “How do you know that man? And what was he talking about?” Vanderbilt looked down at the floor, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Leona sat down next to him on the bed, and put her hand on his shoulder. “Please, can’t you at least tell me that?” Vanderbilt sighed and said, “Alright, I guess it’s time I tell all of you. I don’t see why it matters to you, but I’ll tell you anyway.” The three gathered around him as he began to tell his story…
“Raganom and I were friends, way back when I was a kid. He was two years older than me, but we both had the same desire: to become hunters. Strong ones. While it was true that we were still traveling thru space at the time, it didn’t matter to us. We knew that hunters might be needed at the new planet. He and I were good friends on Pioneer 2 for about two years. Then he went to take his hunter’s exam, and he passed. He immediately joined the military, and left. I never heard from him after that. At least, I thought I’d never hear from him again. Two years passed and still no word from him.”
“Then came the day of my 18th birthday. This was also the day I had passed my hunter’s exam, and become a hunter. My parents were overjoyed that I had succeeded with my dream. Then my father gave me his birthday present: A Double Saber. He said that it had been used by him when he was first a hunter, and said it would serve me well. I cherished that blade, and wanted to try it out instantly.”
“That’s when the door of our home got kicked in. A bunch of HUcasts came filing in, and the lead one accused my father of plotting against the government. My father denied these accusations, of course. I couldn’t believe they could even think that my father was a traitor! I was ready to tell them just that, when…HE walked in. I hadn’t seen him in two years, but it was still Raganom. I was very happy to see him, and thought that he could solve this whole mess. He was, after all, part of the military. Then he marched up to my father and told him that he had to go with them to face trial. My best friend…even he believed my father a traitor. My father refused to go, saying that the accusations were blasphemy.”
“Then Raganom got mad. He drew his sword, and I gasped when I saw it. He was holding the Dark Flow. That sword is only given to the highest ranking officer in the army, and only if they have proven themselves worthy of it. My friend was the highest officer in the army, as well. I knew then that he was serious, he had come to take my father. He threatened to hurt my father, but my father still refused. So, Raganom brought his blade up, as if to strike my father down.”
“That’s when my mother screamed, ‘NO!’ and dove in front of my father. Time seemed to slow, and I looked into Raganom’s eyes. For just a moment, I knew what he was thinking. I knew that he didn’t have to bring his blade down. But he chose to. He brought down the blade, and it struck my mother. I cried out in despair as my mother fell to the ground, dead. My father yelled in anguish, and the HUcasts grabbed him. As he was being dragged out, he yelled to me, ‘Vanderbilt! Don’t let them get it!’ I asked him what ‘it’ was, and he said, ‘Don’t let them get the sword!’ I didn’t understand what he meant, but didn’t get the chance to ask him as they dragged him away. I was filled with rage. Raganom, my truest friend, had killed my mother, and he didn’t have to. Now he was dragging away my father for something he didn’t do. I couldn’t take it. I screamed, picked up my sword, and attacked him. He was caught off guard, and I slashed him in the face. That scar on his cheek? That’s the mark my blade left on him. He became very angry, and attacked me. I was totally outmatched, and I fell in moments, slashes and cuts all along my body. He sheathed his sword and said, ‘Throw him in jail. He needs to learn a lesson.’ I blacked out after that.”
“I awoke in prison. I found out that I had been sentenced to a year in prison for obstruction of justice. I also heard that my house had been burned down due to a ‘mysterious fire.’ Obviously, that had been caused by Raganom. That’s when they brought me a televid, and turned it to a certain channel. I saw my father, about to be executed. I tried to turn off the vid, but they wouldn’t let me, and they forced me to watch as they brought the blade down upon my father.”
“They forced me to watch my own father die, and I was powerless. Powerless!” He slammed his fist into the wall, startling his three companions in the cell. Tears formed in his eyes. “I felt so betrayed. My friend, someone I had trusted, had murdered my family and destroyed my home. I was overcome with grief, but I knew one thing: I would train. I would become a better hunter, and when the time was right, I would kill Raganom and make him pay. I spent my year in prison, and on the day of my release, Raganom came by and said to me, ‘One day, I will hunt you down, and kill you. But before I do, you’ll be forced to watch anyone that matters to you suffer and die. And then I’ll kill you.’ So I ran. I joined up with the Hunter’s Guild, and shunned anyone who tried to help me. I kept doing quests, scraping enough money together to feed myself. All the while, I slept in alleys, ditches-anywhere that was warm. That’s how my life has been for the past two years.”
Vanderbilt finished talking and let the tears flow from his eyes. Leona and the others looked utterly horrified. “I’m so sorry…I had no idea…that explains why you left…” Leona said softly to him. “Man…I can’t believe that…no wonder you never worked with anyone…” Spyhunter said to him. “I have not known you for very long, and yet this story fills me with remorse. I feel truly sorry for you, Vanderbilt.” Emy said. Leona put her hand in Vanderbilt’s, and leaned against his shoulder. “You were afraid that getting close to anyone would get them killed…and that’s why you didn’t want to get close to me…” she said to him. “But I failed at that. You’re all here because of me. If you had left me, then you wouldn’t be in any danger.” he said sadly. “Vanderbilt, there is no reason why you should blame yourself. I chose to join you. I knew the risks, but I wanted to, because you needed a friend. And you needed someone to watch your back.” Spyhunter said. “After all, are friends not what everyone needs?” Emy said.
“I could never leave you.” Leona said very softly. The others didn’t hear her, but Vanderbilt did. He looked at her for a moment, then smiled and said, “Thank you, you guys have made me realize that I’ve been missing something all this time: friends. I thought I’d be happy with being alone, but to tell the truth, I couldn’t ever be happy that way. And having such great friends really makes me feel whole again.” He closed his eyes and murmured, “Now how are we gonna get the heck outta here?” “If only we had some kind of spare weapon…” Leona said. “Spare…that’s it!” Vanderbilt cried. He quickly removed his hand from Leona’s and dug into his boot. “What’re you doing?” Spyhunter asked. Then Vanderbilt pulled out a pistol from his boot. “I forgot I still had this thing! Those dumb robots didn’t even bother to search me for another weapon.” “A Varista??? Where did you get that?” Spyhunter cried. “I’ve had it for awhile, but I forgot about it. I bought it a long time ago, and I’ve had it ever since.” “A shot from that would most certainly melt the locking mechanism on the door.” Emy told him. “Okay, stand back. My aim’s not as good as Spyhunter’s.” Vanderbilt lined up the lock with the pistol, and pulled the trigger. The photon shot blasted the lock dead on, and melted it. The door swung open after a swift kick from Vanderbilt. “Shall we?” he grinned as the four of them ran out of the cell.

[whizkid7]

Chapter 10

The four of them ran from the cell, with Vanderbilt leading the way. “We have to find the weapons locker, so we can get some weapons.” “But ours were destroyed!” Leona cried. “I know. We’ll just ‘borrow’ some of the military’s.” Vanderbilt smirked. Emy said, “I can scan for the weapons locker, if you like.” “Please do, Emy. That’ll make things easier.” Emy’s eyes dimmed, and she muttered in a monotone, “Scanning.” Then her eyes lit back up and she stated, “It is to our right, about 30 meters down. But I am registering a few heat signatures beyond. I am assuming there are guards.” “You leave the guards to me.” Vanderbilt said as he gestured with his Varista. The four of them ran down the hallway that led to the weapons locker, and came across two hunters guarding the door. “Hey, what the-“ was all the first one got to say when Vanderbilt blasted him with the Varista. He shot the second one in the leg, then knocked him unconscious.
Spyhunter kicked the door down, and the four spread out to claim some weapons. “A Twinkle Star!” Leona cried as she picked up the weapon. She looked at it, and saw her name etched in it! “Hey, it’s MINE! I always wondered what happened to this…” she said. “No way! A C-Bringer’s Rifle! There’s only five of these in existence!” Spyhunter exclaimed as he grabbed the gun. Emy picked up a Photon Launcher from the rack on the wall and said, “This should replace the one I lost.” The others turned to Vanderbilt, who was staring at a sword on the wall. He took it down, and held it in his hands. “This sword…it’s my father’s…it’s his Orotiagito.” he stated. “Orotiagito??? That’s incredible! Your father found one of the four great swords?” Spyhunter exclaimed. “Yes. While he was on a run thru some ancient temple back on our home planet, he found it. It became his most treasured weapon.” He closed his eyes and murmured, “So this is what they did with it…Well, now I’ll hang onto it.” And with that, he sheathed the Orotiagito and strapped it to his waist. “Let’s scram.” He said as the four of them ran from the weapons locker, their new weapons in tow.
They ran down, using a map Emy had stored in her memory to find a way out. Unfortunately, their escape did not go unnoticed, as alarms began blaring and the sounds of thundering feet could be heard. Vanderbilt looked behind him to see a large group of HUcasts chasing after him and his friends. “Keep moving! They’re right behind us!” He yelled to his friends as they ran. “Quickly, that door! It’s the way out!” Emy said as a door came into view. The only problem was that a large room separated them from the door. “We’ll never make it to the door before those HUcasts get us!” Spyhunter yelled out. Vanderbilt knew he was right, and that the only way to make sure his friends made it was to slow the robots down. He turned around and called to his friends, “Keep going! I’ll hold them off!” “What?” Leona stopped and looked at him. “I’ll catch up later, just GO!” he yelled as he drew the Orotiagito and steeled himself to fight. “I’m not leaving without you!” Leona yelled to him. “I’ll be fine, Leona! Trust me! You have to get out of here!” “Leona, it’s now or never!” Spyhunter called from the door. Leona looked at the door, then at Vanderbilt, then back. She couldn’t decide what to do. Finally, she made a choice. She ran up to Vanderbilt, grabbed his face in her hands, and kissed him.
Vanderbilt was surprised, but didn’t try to stop her. After what seemed like an eternity, she stopped, and whispered to him, “Be careful.” Then she ran for the door. She and the other two soon vanished behind the door. “Wow…” was all Vanderbilt could say. Then the HUcasts approached. “You guys want a fight? Then here I go!!!” Vanderbilt yelled as he charged at the advancing androids, ready to fight for his life…
Leona and the others ran down the hallway beyond the door. Leona felt miserable for leaving Vanderbilt behind, but she knew he could handle himself. She just hoped he made it out of there okay. “Look, a transport!” Spyhunter yelled as they entered a hangar. “Get in. I can pilot it.” Emy said as she opened the door. “Ok, let’s move. …Leona?” Spyhunter looked behind him to see Leona staring at the way they had come. He ran back up to her and said, “He’ll be fine, he’s used to being on his own. Besides, he won’t let them get past him.” “I know…I’m just worried about him…” she said, then turned and ran into the transport. Spyhunter climbed in after her, then closed the door and yelled, “Go!” “Hang on.” Emy told them as she fired up the engines in the transport. The little car shot forward, smashing thru the hangar door and tearing down the streets of Pioneer 2…
Vanderbilt battled fiercely, trying his best to hold back the androids. He sliced one in two, marveled at the Orotiagito’s sharpness for a second, then split another robot across the waist. But the HUcasts kept coming, and no matter how many he destroyed, more kept coming. He continued to battle, doing all that he could to buy his friends enough time to escape. But the androids soon overwhelmed him, and disarmed him. Then they grabbed him and dragged him up. He struggled to break out, when Raganom came out of a nearby doorway. “Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt…You never learn, do you?” He walked up to Vanderbilt, and stared him in the face. “Did you really think you could escape a military compound? You are so foolish.” One of the HUcasts walked up to him, and said, “General, sir, the other three stole a transport and fled.” Vanderbilt sighed in relief. He had bought them enough time to escape, and they were safe. Raganom took his sword and sliced the HUcast in half. “Imbecile! How could you let them get away?” “Aww, poor Raganom. Did I ruin your chance to slaughter more people?” Vanderbilt laughed. “I wouldn’t be laughing. I can still get rid of you.” He smiled evilly. “Now I can add the charge of damaging government property, attempted escape, and theft to your sentence. That’ll ensure your execution.” “My friends will come for me.” “But they’ll never find you, and by the time they do, you’ll be dead.” He gestured to the androids, and said, “Take him to the maximum-security sector. Post a guard on his door, and make sure he can’t escape this time.” Vanderbilt was dragged away, while he fought to break free.
Leona and the others left the transport in an alleyway, then traveled to where Spyhunter stayed. “We can wait here until Vanderbilt returns.” He said as he held the door open for Leona and Emy. Leona looked around. The place was spacious, with a bedroom off in the corner, a kitchen, and a televid, with a few chairs lying around it. “You have a nice place, Spyhunter.” Emy commented. “Thank you. Have a seat, while I check the news.” The three sat down, and Spyhunter flipped on the vid. The newscaster began talking about the explosion and how no cause was known.
“Geez, don’t they ever say anything else?” Spyhunter commented, and was about to switch the channel, when the newscaster said, “This just in! The well known hunter Vanderbilt was arrested today inside a government complex.” “Oh no…” Leona muttered. The newscaster continued with, “He is charged with theft, damaging government property, attempted escape, assault, and battery. It has been decided that he will be executed at noon tomorrow, in the Common Plaza. More news as this develops.” Leona jumped up and said, “We have to go save him right now!” “Easy, Leona! We can’t go now, we don’t know where he is.” “I don’t care, we have to find him!” She started getting hysterical. “Leona, are you alright?” Emy asked. “We need to find him! We need him! I…I need him.” she cried. She slumped on the floor, tears welling up in her eyes. “Leona, relax. I know how much you want to find him, but there’s nothing we can do right now. We have no clue where he could be, and even if we did, we’re too tired to be able to get him out.” Spyhunter told her. “Besides, we know where they’re taking him tomorrow, right?” “Right…” she sniffed. “So we rest tonight, then sneak into the Plaza tomorrow and bust him out then!”
Leona looked at him, and smiled. “That’s a great idea! Good thinking!” “Glad to see you’re back to your usual self.” he grinned. “Now, our only problem is how to get in without getting caught…” “I believe I can be of assistance with that.” Emy stated. “I have in my memory a map of an underground set of tunnels that run throughout Pioneer 2. If we take the correct path, we can end up right underneath the central platform of the Common Plaza, where Vanderbilt will no doubt be.” “Yes, that’s perfect! Way to go, Emy!” Leona said gleefully. “Okay, we’ve got a plan now. I suggest we rest up and get ready. We’ll need to be in top shape to pull this off tomorrow. Leona, you can take the bed. I’ll sleep out here.” Spyhunter said, “Okay. Thank you.” she said as she walked into the bedroom. She dropped onto the bed, finally realizing how tired she was. Tomorrow…we’ll be able to save him tomorrow…she thought, and fell asleep very fast.
Vanderbilt sat in his cell, brooding over what tomorrow would be like. “There’s no way my friends will be able to get in there without getting caught…Looks like I’m finished.” he sighed. “Well, I’ve lived a good enough life. I just wish I had been able to avenge my family’s death.” Then he remembered Leona kissing him, and he saddened. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way…she’s the first person I’ve ever really cared for…she’ll have to find someone else, it looks like.” Just then, the door opened, and Vanderbilt stood up.
Raganom walked in, and closed the door. “Come to gloat about your success?” Vanderbilt spat. “My friend, we can avoid all of this unpleasantness.” Raganom said to him. “First off, you’re not my friend. Secondly, what do you mean?” “All you have to do is join with me, and he will give you power.” “He? Who’s he?” “He is the thing that will change this world. He will strike down the pathetic weaklings that roam free now, and will put his loyal servants in charge.” “You’re insane! You’re suggesting killing thousands of innocent people!” Vanderbilt cried. “Think about it! A world where the strong would rule, and the weak would be destroyed! It’s our dream, remember? To become the strongest hunters? If you join him, you can achieve that.” Raganom told him. Vanderbilt narrowed his eyes, and said, “If being a powerful hunter means thousands have to die, then I’d rather die! I won’t join you, or him!” “You’re a fool. You’re passing up the only chance you’ll ever have! Do you really want to be a weak hunter?” “Shut up, Raganom. Go annoy someone who actually believes your crap.” Vanderbilt turned his back on Raganom. “Fine! I gave you a chance, and you refused to take it. I guess you’ll always be a weakling, just like you were then!” Raganom stormed out. Vanderbilt turned towards the door and muttered, “What in the world has happened to the Raganom I knew?”

[whizkid7]

Chapter 11

Leona awoke the next morning in a cold sweat. She stared around, unsure of where she was, then she realized what had happened. “A nightmare…it was a nightmare…” she breathed. She had dreamt that she and the others had gotten to the Common Plaza, only to watch Vanderbilt die at that moment. She shook the memory out of her head, and got up to go see if the others were awake. “It’s about time, we would’ve had to wake you had you slept any later.” Spyhunter stated as Leona walked in. “What time is it?” she asked. “It is 10:30 in the morning, according to my internal clock.” Emy said. “Oh, no! We have to get going, or we might not make it in time!” Leona cried. Her dream came back, and she shuddered at the thought of it coming true. “Exactly what I was going to say. Let’s move it!” Spyhunter said, and the three of them ran out of the room, onto the streets on Pioneer 2. “Where do we go?” Leona cried. “Follow Emy, she knows the way!” Spyhunter yelled back as Emy raced ahead. They ended up in a small alley, with a manhole cover. Emy lifted up the cover and said, “Down here.” “Ewww, a sewer? Well, I guess there’s no choice…” Leona grimaced as she climbed down. Spyhunter followed behind, and Emy came last, closing the cover behind her. They were in a long, sewage filled tunnel, and Emy began to march off in one direction. “This way, hurry!” she told the others. Spyhunter and Leona raced after her, and the three headed down the tunnel, hoping they would reach the Plaza in time…
At 11:45, Vanderbilt heard the door to his cell open. Two HUcasts stood there, and said, “It is time. Get up.” He stood up, and the guards slapped a pair of cuffs on him. They led him out of the building, and into a car waiting there. He was shoved in, and the
two guards got in after him. The car sped off in the direction of the Common Plaza.
Meanwhile, Leona and the others were navigating the maze of tunnels, trying to reach the Common Plaza. “How much farther?” Leona said breathlessly. “The entrance should be up ahead.” Emy said. “Come on, double time it! We’ve only got 10 minutes before it’s too late!” Spyhunter yelled to them, and they sped up. I have to make it in time, I can’t let him die! Leona thought, and she ran faster…
The crowd surrounding the Common Plaza was made up of members of the Hunter’s Guild, the government official who had passed sentence, and the military guards. Many of the hunters from the Guild couldn’t believe that Vanderbilt had done such things, and others felt he was being executed for no reason. Still others believed that he had done all those things. In truth, none of them really knew the answer, as Vanderbilt had never associated with any of them. Then the guards came in. Vanderbilt was marched in between them, and he heard a whole bunch of booing and hissing as he walked out. Figures, they’ll believe anything, even if it isn’t true, he thought grimly. He was marched over to the central platform, and stood in front of it. His executioner stood there with his sword.
“Does the criminal have any last words to say?” he called out. “Yeah, I do, but most of them aren’t very nice.” Vanderbilt answered. He saw a few smiles on the hunters gathered, and knew that not all of them believed the charges. “How humorous. But humor will not save your life. Now, you shall be-“ the executioner was cut off, as the small metal grating behind the guards and Vanderbilt shook. The grating flew off, and Leona jumped out. She fired of a blast of Gizonde, shorting out the two guards holding Vanderbilt. Spyhunter and Emy climbed out after her, and held the other guards at bay with their guns. “Leona??? What’re you doing here?” Vanderbilt said. “Saving you, of course!” she said as she unlocked his cuffs. “Now let’s go!” she said as she pointed towards the hole. Vanderbilt ran behind her, while the executioner screamed at the guards to catch them. Spyhunter, Emy, and Leona jumped down. Vanderbilt turned to stare at the crowd, and saw many more smiles on the faces of the hunters. They were happy to see him and his friends pull one over on the military. He smiled back, and then dove down the hole.
Vanderbilt landed in the tunnel. Leona wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug. “How did you guys get here?” he asked them. “Emy had a map stored in her. Without her, we would’ve never been able to save you.” Leona told him. “Really?” He looked over at Emy, who tilted her head down and said sheepishly, “It was nothing, really.” “Hey, thanks, Emy. Thanks to you, we can get out of here now.” The four of them ran thru the tunnels, and returned to the surface. “So, what now?” Spyhunter asked. “We go down to the ruins, and see why the military didn’t want anyone to go in there.” Vanderbilt said. Leona looked at him and smiled. He smiled back and said, “Let’s go.” They ran forward, down another alley, when Vanderbilt suddenly stopped. “Is there something wrong, Vanderbilt?” Emy asked him. “Something’s…calling to me…that way!” He raced off, down another side alley. “Hey, wait, Vanderbilt!” Leona cried and the three raced after him.
Vanderbilt followed the strange voice as it led him forward. He didn’t know who or what it was, but he had the feeling that he had to follow it. The voice led him to the one place he didn’t expect, and he stopped short to gape. The others caught up to him, and Leona panted, “What is it?” Vanderbilt just pointed, and they all looked. Sitting in front of them was a small house, scorched and burned as though it had been lit on fire. It was blackened, and missing a wall, but Vanderbilt still recognized it. “It’s my house. It’s still here, after all this time…” he said breathlessly. “This is your home? Wow…” Leona asked. “The voice…it’s telling me to go inside…” and with that, Vanderbilt kicked in the door. He took a look around. The place was burned, and most of the items that had been there were gone, but it was still his home. He looked around, wondering why the voice told him to come here, when he noticed something. There was one brick on the far wall that looked a little different from the others. He walked over to the wall, and peered at the brick. “Hmm…I wonder if…” he murmured and put his hand on the brick. The brick slid back, and the wall shook. He stepped back and gaped in surprise as the wall slid away to reveal a stairway. “Where does that lead?” Spyhunter asked. “I don’t know. I had no idea this was even here!” Vanderbilt said. “Let’s go see where it leads.” He began to head down the stairs, and his three friends followed behind him.
They walked down the stairs, with Vanderbilt leading. He had no clue where this led, but the voice that was calling him told him to continue. He didn’t understand why he was listening to the voice, but he followed anyway. Finally, after what seemed like a long walk down, Vanderbilt and the others walked into a small room. A pool of water sat in the middle, and in the middle of the water pool, was a small platform with a pedestal. Imbedded in the pedestal was a sword. A beam of light, coming from an unseen source, shined upon the platform, and the sword glinted.
Vanderbilt looked at it, and instantly knew what it was. “I don’t believe it…it’s the J Sword!” Vanderbilt exclaimed. “What??? But…that’s impossible! The knowledge of the sword’s wherabouts was lost thousands of years ago!” Spyhunter cried. “Then it’s true…you really ARE descendent of the Master Hunter, Vanderbilt.” Leona said. “Are you serious? His ancestor is the Master Hunter?” Spyhunter asked. “That’s what he told me, just like mine is the FOmarl that fought alongside him.” “Incredible…MY ancestor is the RAmar that fought with the Master Hunter, too! Weird…” Spyhunter muttered. “While I am not sure if this is the same, the model I am derived from is the RAcaseal that helped the Master Hunter.” Emy said. “Amazing…we didn’t all meet by coincidence. I think fate brought us together.” Vanderbilt said. “I think so too. Ever since I met you, I felt as though I had to stay with you. I don’t know why.” Spyhunter said. Emy and Leona both nodded in agreement. “Well, either way, this explains what my father meant. He wanted me to stop Raganom from getting this sword. It also explains why Raganom came after us in the first place. If only I could reach it.” Vanderbilt said.
The voice told him to come. He realized the voice was the J Sword, telling him to claim it. Without really knowing why, Vanderbilt took a step towards the water. He brought his foot down, expecting it to splash into the water-and was shocked when his foot landed on top of the water, as though it were solid. He took another step with the same result. He turned to the others and said, “Guys…?” “I have no idea…” Spyhunter said in awe, as Leona and Emy just gaped. Vanderbilt continued walking, and reached the platform. He stepped up, and stared at the sword in front of him. He looked at the pedestal and read it aloud. “‘Here lies the sword that banishes evil. Only he who is descendent of the Master Hunter can remove the sword from it pedestal. But, only the Master Hunter can break the seal and unlock the sword’s true power.’ Huh…Well, guess that means I can take it out.” Vanderbilt gripped the sword’s handle, and pulled. The sword slid out of the rock, and came free. He held it in his hands, and marveled at it. “I can’t believe it…I’m holding the legendary J Sword…my father never even told me it was here…” he said breathlessly. Just then, a small projector turned on, and a figure appeared before them. “F-Father???” Vanderbilt cried out.
The projection began to speak. “Vanderbilt, if this has been activated, then it means I have been killed before I could tell you. What you now hold is none other than the legendary J Sword, the very one the Master Hunter used. The knowledge of it was not lost. The sword has been passed down thru our line for centuries. My father gave the sword to me to keep safe, and I would’ve given it to you when the time was right. I would’ve explained everything to you then, but since ‘then’ never came, I will tell you now. The J Sword can only be used by someone of pure heart, and he must be a member of the Master Hunter’s bloodline. I hope you fulfill that first requirement. But the next thing is this: Only the Master Hunter can unseal it. Now, this seems impossible because the Master Hunter is dead, but what it really means is this: Only he who is destined to become the next Master Hunter can unseal it. I was not the Master Hunter, and neither was my father. That means that you may be the Master Hunter, Vanderbilt. The only way you’ll know is if you use it in battle. If you truly are the Master Hunter, the J Sword will unseal, and its true powers will be yours.
My son, I am sorry that I am no longer there. I wish I did not have to explain things to you like this. But you are strong. You will get past this and reach your dreams. I will always be watching you, Vanderbilt. Never forget that.” And with that, the figure faded away. Vanderbilt felt tears come to his eyes, and he rubbed them away. “Thank you, Father. I will never forget.” He turned to his friends and said, “Let’s head to those ruins.” The others smiled, and he walked back over to them. They left his home, and headed to the transporter, ready to finally bring this quest to an end…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 12

They warped down to the second level of the mines, and quickly ran thru to the Control Room. They returned to the doorway, and found no guards there. “Guess they went inside already.” Vanderbilt said. The four of them walked into the first level of the ruins, not knowing what to expect. Leona took out her Twinkle Star, while Spyhunter readied his C-Bringer’s Rifle. Emy hefted the Photon Launcher, and Vanderbilt pulled the J Sword from its sheath. They headed forward into the first room. Monsters suddenly appeared in front of them. They seemed similar to the Vulmers, with their claws. But they were greenish, and seemed to be a bunch of segmented triangles stuck together. They screeched at the newcomers and advanced on them. Vanderbilt charged ahead, ready to slice them, when he felt himself slow down. He seemed sluggish, and his sword wasn’t as fast as before. He managed to cleave the first enemy in two, but because of his sluggishness, the monster behind it swatted him with its claw. He was thrown back with a nasty gash on him. Leona healed him, then blasted the monsters with a Rafoie attack. As Emy and Spyhunter destroyed the rest of them with their guns, Leona asked Vanderbilt, “What happened? You slowed down.” “I’m not sure, but I think it has to do with the fact that this sword is still sealed.” he told her.
They continued forward, destroying these monsters and their larger brethren. Then they came across a monster with a blade for one arm and a shield for the other. “What the hell is that thing?” Spyhunter said. The monster looked at them, then jumped forward and brought its arm down in a slash. Vanderbilt, no longer hampered by the slow down, parried the monster’s blow, and sliced at it. The monster blocked with its shield hand, then tried to swipe him with it. Vanderbilt sliced the hand off, then stabbed his sword into the monster. It dissipated in a puff of black smoke, and left a purple puddle of goo behind. They came across many of these as they traversed the area, as well as running into small white claw-like things. They also came across giant blue statues that shot their arms off like missiles, and floating monsters with two crystals beside it, and a staff in hand. They assumed this was some kind of spellcaster, and always destroyed them first.
“Man, what ARE these things?” Vanderbilt said as he sliced another claw thing apart. “My scanners are showing a computer terminal nearby. It may tell us something.” Emy said as she blew a hole in one of the green monsters. “Okay, let’s head that way!” Vanderbilt answered as he took out another one of the sword arm monsters, even though he was slowed down. They trekked over to the computer terminal and activated it. “This is from…Pioneer 1!” Leona said as she read it over. “They were exploring this place when some kind of…THING attacked the exploration party and decimated them. Then the explosion happened.” “Hmm…Obviously, whatever that thing was, it didn’t want anyone down here, so it took out the party, then caused the explosion.” Spyhunter stated. “Does it mention anything about the monsters, Leona?” Vanderbilt asked. “Let me check. Hmm…yes, there’s something here. Okay, the white claw things are called ‘Claws’, and those sword monsters are called ‘Delsabers.’ It looks like they classify the Delsabers as being highly skilled warriors, on par with a Hunter. Next, those spellcaster things are called ‘Gran Sorcerors’ and they are really powerful mages. The blue statues are ‘Indi Belras’ and they are similar to a Ranger. Plus they can fire their arms off at an incredibly fast rate. Finally, those green things are ‘Arlans’, and their cousins are the purple ones, ‘Merlans’ and the big ones with the yellow claws, ‘Del-Ds.’ That’s all of them.” She finished. “Well, at least we know what they are. Let’s…”
Vanderbilt suddenly grew quiet, and he closed his eyes. “Let’s what?…Vanderbilt?” Spyhunter asked. “…” Vanderbilt stood there, then said, “There’s an evil presence here, a strong one.” “Huh? What do you mean?” “The J Sword…it’s saying, ‘The evil one is here. It is awakening. It must be stopped.’ What does it mean?” he asked. Leona suddenly grew very cold inside, and said quietly, “The great evil from long ago…that’s what it means.” “What? Leona, what do you know that we don’t?” Vanderbilt asked. “I can feel the evil thing here. Somehow, it’s familiar to me.” She turned to her friends. “You all know the Master Hunter’s legend, right? How he sealed away a great evil?” They all nodded. “That same evil is here-in these ruins. Somehow, it was sent to this planet, and now, after a millennia, it’s waking up.” “Dark Falz…” Vanderbilt muttered. “My father told me that was the name of the great evil that threatened the land, back in the Master Hunter’s time. Someone must’ve broken the seal that was placed on him, and now he wants out.” “I have a feeling Dark Falz is what caused the explosion.” Spyhunter said. “If it’s really him, then we have to stop him, before he can escape here and wreak havoc on the world.” Vanderbilt stated, and the others agreed.
They continued thru the ruins, destroying the seeming never-ending flood of monsters. They finally managed to reach the warp down to the second level. They entered into the warp, and showed up in another, deeper part of the ruins. They continued forward, battling against the monsters that came against them. Vanderbilt fought the best he could, being constantly slowed down, thanks to the sealed sword. But he found that he was getting hurt more often than he should. He was annoyed at this, but knew that the only way he would know if he could unseal the sword was to fight with it. So they continued on, fighting thru the hordes of enemies, unaware of the danger they were about to face…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 13

They walked into a large room, and were surprised to see two people standing there. Both wore dark blue robes, but one was a woman, and the other a man. The man had black hair, and the woman had autumn colored hair. They turned around when they heard the approach of the four, and Leona gasped in shock when she saw their faces. “M-Mom??? Dad???” she cried. “Those are your parents???” Vanderbilt asked. “Yes, it’s them! Mom, Dad, it’s me!” She ran over to her parents. “Leona…” the father said. “I’m so glad you two are okay! I got that message of yours, and came as fast as I could! Sorry it took me so long.” She said happily. “Good, she got the message…” her mother said. “Yes, that is good. Now we are ready.” her father replied. “Uh…Mom, Dad? What are you talking about?” Leona asked them. “Leona, come with us.” her father said. “He is waiting.” “Yes, he wishes to see you.” “He? Who’s he?” Leona was confused. Her parents were acting very strange. “He is the one that will give you more power than you could ever hope for. All you need to do is commit yourself to him…” her mother said.
“Something’s wrong…” Vanderbilt muttered. This sounds like what Raganom said to me…, he thought. But, why are they…? Oh, no… “Leona! Get away from them!” he cried. “Huh???” Leona looked back at him. “They’re possessed! Get away!” he screamed at her. “W-Wha???” she stuttered. Just then, her parents held out their hands. A strange force slammed Vanderbilt, Spyhunter, and Emy into a wall. They tried to move, but were trapped. Leona whirled around and cried, “What are you doing??? Those are my friends!” “He does not wish for them to interfere.” “They must be destroyed.” Her parents said. “NO! I won’t let you hurt them! Let them go, NOW!” Leona yelled, and pulled out her Twinkle Star. “Leona, you do not want to be with them. You want to be with us, your loving parents. Now, stop this nonsense and come along. He will reward you for joining him…” her father said. She shook her head vehemently and said, “You’re wrong! I DO want to be with them! They are my friends, and I will not let you hurt them!” “Oh dear, she seems set on opposing us.” “It appears we will have to dispose of her. It is too bad, she could’ve had unimaginable power. But, he will not want a rebellious one such as her to join him.”
Her parents began to charge magic attacks. “W-What are you doing??? It’s ME!” Leona cried, but they paid her no heed, and attacked with powerful Foie attacks. Leona jumped out of the way, and yelled at them, “Stop it! It’s me, Leona! Your daughter! Mom, Dad, what’s wrong with you?” She ducked as a Zonde blast flew overhead. “L-Leona…” She looked behind to see Vanderbilt struggling to speak. “They’re…not your…parents…they’ve…been…possessed…you…have to…fight…” “B-but I can’t fight my parents!” she yelled back at him. “If you don’t…they’ll…kill…all of…us…” he said, then slumped over in pain. She turned back and yelled at her parents, “Stop doing whatever it is you’re doing to them!” “Very well, although it won’t matter to you, as you’ll be dead.” her mother said, and muttered under her breath. Vanderbilt and the others suddenly gasped, as the immense pressure that had been pressing on them lifted.
Leona turned around to see dark flames surrounding her parents’ forms. “The Megid technique??? But…you two said that technique was forbidden!” she gasped. “He wishes you to die, and we must comply.” They said in unison and fired the Megids at blinding speed. Leona had only time to gasp before both balls rammed into her. She screamed in incredible agony, and collapsed onto the floor. “NOOOOOOO!!!” Vanderbilt cried out. Leona lied there, unmoving. Tears formed in his eyes. “Leona…no…” he whispered. “She was weak.” “Now we must handle the others.” The parents said. “Not…so…fast…” a voice said. They looked to Leona, who was struggling to stand up. She was hurt badly, but managed to stand and glare. “You…won’t beat me…like that…” she said thru clenched teeth. “Apparently, she is stronger than we thought.” “Yes, but she must be destroyed.” And with that, they began to charge another Megid. If they hit me with that again, I’m as good as dead. I can’t fight my own parents…but I have to. Leona thought. She began to charge her own Megid, willing herself to charge it faster. “So, she knows the forbidden technique, too.” “Obviously, she taught herself it. Too bad she will never cast it in time.” Her parents said as they readied their Megids to fire. Leona pushed harder, willing her Megid to charge faster, and noticed twin purple balls in front of her.
“Forgive me, Mom, Dad.” she whispered, then launched her attack. The two balls hit her parents dead on, and they both screeched in pain, and fell over. Leona ran over to them, and knelt next to her father. “Dad…why?” she whispered, as tears fell from her eyes. “Leona…thank you…you…freed us…” her father wheezed. “We…had been…possessed…by…the evil one…” “Then the message was-?” she questioned. “He sent…the message…to lure you…down…” “Leona, we…are sorry…we were…too weak…to resist…” her mother whispered. “This he you speak of, is it…Dark Falz?” Leona said. Her father nodded, then coughed violently. “Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll help you.” she said. “It is…too late…for us…” he smiled. “We…love you…our dear…daughter…just…promise…you will…destroy…him…” “I-I will, Dad.” she sobbed. He nodded, then sighed and died.
Leona knelt there, wishing they would come back, and all the while knowing they would not. She wailed in agony, and fell on the ground, weeping uncontrollably. Vanderbilt walked over to her, and held her. She pressed her face against his armor and cried heavily. “It’ll be okay, Leona.” “L-liar. They’re gone, and I killed them.” she sobbed, her voice muffled by Vanderbilt’s armor. “No you didn’t. They were dead when Falz possessed them. You freed them from his control.” he told her. She looked at his face, her eyes red and the tears still falling, and asked, “Are y-you sure?” “Yes. Now, are you going to sit here all day moping, or honor their last wish, and help me destroy Falz?” he asked her. She sniffed, wiped her eyes, then looked at him again. “Let’s go get that creep.” Vanderbilt smiled at her and helped her to her feet. Leona looked back down at her parents’ bodies, then said angrily, “I’ll make that Falz pay for destroying my family. I swear it.” Vanderbilt nodded at her and said, “We’ll all make him pay for what he’s done. Let’s get moving.” He looked behind him and asked, “Spyhunter, Emy, you two ready to go?” “Always.” was the RAmar’s reply. “I am ready to fight.” Emy replied. “Good, then let’s go.” And with that, the four left the room and continued onward, into the ruins…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 14

The four continued their advance thru the second level of the ruins. Indi Belras. Gran Sorcerors, Delsabers, and Del-Ds all tried to stop them, but Leona decimated them with her powerful spells. She marched onward, a grim look on her face. She was determined to find Dark Falz and kill him. Vanderbilt and the others watched Leona take out the monsters with a ruthlessness they had not seen in her before. “She must be dead set on getting Falz…” Vanderbilt said to the others. “I agree.” “Yeah, I think so.” Emy and Spyhunter replied. “Stop talking and start moving.” Leona snarled at them as she continued forward. The others took a step back, surprised at Leona’s anger, then moved forward to catch up to her.
They fought their way down to the third level of the ruins. Here the walls seemed to be living, and the area was slightly moist. As they walked down a hallway, they all stopped short as the huge feeling of an evil presence washed over them. “Holy…” Spyhunter said, and stumbled back. “Geez…you feel that?” “Yeah, I did. This is really bad…That’s gotta be Falz. If we can feel his presence that strongly back here, then he must be immensely powerful. We had better be well prepared for this.” Vanderbilt told them. “I’m…I’m afraid.” Leona said. “Do not worry, Leona. Everyone is afraid, even me. But as long as we are together, I believe we can overcome this.” Emy told them. “You’re right, Emy. Come on, let’s keep moving.” Vanderbilt said as he led them deeper into the final area of the ruins. They walked into a room, and the Arlans appeared again. Vanderbilt sliced 2 of them in half with one swing of the J Sword, and Leona froze the others with a Gibarta blast. Emy and Spyhunter then destroyed the frozen statues with their guns. They moved onward, slowly fighting their way towards where they were certain Dark Falz awaited…
They managed to fight their way to a long hallway, and they trekked down it. They came into an empty room, with a strange crystalline structure sticking up from the middle of the floor. No enemies came to attack them, so Vanderbilt said, “Everyone get ready. The next room is probably going to be flooded with monsters.” The others nodded, and together, they walked into the large room ahead. This room had four doors in it, counting the one they had entered. Soon, Vanderbilt’s statement cam true, as Indi Belras, Gran Sorcerors, and Del-Ds began pouring in. Vanderbilt and the others fought fiercely, attacking enemy after enemy. But the enemies kept coming. Soon, the enemies became so numerous, that at least 5 of them were attacking each person. After what seemed like an eternity of slaughtering the strange creatures, the monsters stopped coming. Leona sagged onto the floor, sighing with relief. “Phew! That was rough.” “Yeah. I think we should rest up, to be in our best shape for the fight ahead.” Vanderbilt said.
So the four of them set up camp, and relaxed, deep in the ancient ruins. They sat around a small fire, and Leona found herself staring into the flames, much like what Vanderbilt had done that first night in the forest. Vanderbilt sat down next to her, and asked, “Are you thinking about them?” “Yes. It’s so unfair. I dragged you down here all because I wanted to find my parents, but all we found were evil shadows of them.” she sighed. “I miss them.” “I know how you feel. Not a day goes by that I wish my family was still here, and that I never had to experience that day.” Vanderbilt said to her. “It’s not that they’re gone that hurts the most though. It’s the fact that I couldn’t do anything to help them, and that I had to kill them. I know it wasn’t really them, but still…it hurts just the same.” she told him. “Leona, I want you to know something.” he said to her. “What?” “One of us might not make it thru this, and…” “Oh, please don’t start with something like that. The last thing I need to think about is the fact that I may lose one of the people I’ve come to care about so much tomorrow.” “Alright, I won’t finish. But there’s something else I’ve got to say.” “Well, tell me then.” “Ah…this is kind of hard for me to say…I’ve never actually said anything like this to someone before…” he said hesitantly.
Leona turned to face him and said, “I think I know what you’re going to say.” “You do?” “Yes. And you don’t need to tell me, because I already know.” “Leona…” he was unable to speak. She knows how I feel! Then that means...she DOES love me!, he thought. “And I know how you feel, and it makes me happy. I’ve never loved somebody before, and I couldn’t have wished for someone better.” he told her. “Vanderbilt, do you remember your promise to me?” she asked him. “Of course. I promised I’d never leave you.” He put his hand in hers, then looked in her eyes and said, “And I meant never.” The he kissed her. She put her arms around him, savoring the moment. Finally, he released her, and she smiled at him. “I’ll never leave you either.” He smiled back, and said, “Let’s get some sleep.” The two of them fell asleep, and for the first time, Vanderbilt slept peacefully, knowing someone was there for him.

[whizkid7]

Chapter 15

The four of them awoke, unsure of whether or not it was morning. They all got up, and readied themselves for the battle against Dark Falz. “Everyone ready?” Vanderbilt asked after a few minutes. The other three nodded at him, and he said, “Let’s go.” The four of them walked into one of the doors, and found the warp. They all stood in front of it for a moment, taking in the gravity of what they were about to face. Then, in unison, they all walked into the warp, and were transported to Falz’ lair…
The first thing they noticed was that they were no longer in the ruins. They were outside, and the blue sky sat above them. The lush green grass spread out in front of them, and flowers blossomed everywhere. In the center of this paradise was a giant stone obelisk, with etchings on it. “Wow…this place is beautiful!” Leona cried, and raced over to a bunch of flowers to smell them. “Weird…I was sure this was the way to Falz…” Vanderbilt said. He looked at the J Sword, then said, “Maybe this thing isn’t as good now as it was all those years ago…” “How in the world did we get outside?” Spyhunter asked. “Who cares how? This place is so pretty!” Leona smiled. “Maybe we should go check out that obelisk.” Spyhunter stated. “I would think that is the best plan of action.” Emy said. “Yeah, let’s go check it out.” Vanderbilt said, and walked over to the stone artifact. Leona and the others followed right behind him as he walked up the steps to the obelisk. “Hey, maybe this means-“
Vanderbilt was cut off as the whole floor began to shake. They backed away from the obelisk as it shook violently, then turned transparent. At the same time, the lush paradise disappeared. The green grass and blue sky melted away to reveal a dark, desolate area. The four began to hear moaning and cries of pain coming from around them. “Where is that coming from?” Emy cried. “Oh my god…the floor…” Leona gasped. The four of them looked down to see-faces. There were faces in the floor, all moaning and crying out. They were standing on a giant platform made of these faces. “What the…?” Vanderbilt said, shocked. “Dear god…Are these the people of Pioneer 1???” Spyhunter shook. “H-How could this happen?” Leona whispered in fright. The she gasped again as two faces rose up to stare at her. It was her parents’ faces, and they, too, were crying out in agony. “AHHHH!!!” She screamed, and Vanderbilt raced over. “What-“ He looked down. “Jesus…it’s her parents!” “It’s their…souls…” Leona said, frightened beyond belief. “What the hell IS this sick place???” Spyhunter called out to them.
Just then, a figure appeared, standing in front of the obelisk. “You still haven’t figured it out?” he said. “Raganom…” Vanderbilt growled, and rose to face his old friend. “I was sure you would know what was going on by now.” Raganom chuckled. “What the hell is going on, Raganom? Who are all these people?” Vanderbilt cried. “Oh, them? They are all from Pioneer 1, as you guessed. Actually, it’s all their souls. Aren’t their cries just wonderful? It’s music to my ears!” Raganom laughed. “You-you’ve gone crazy! What’s possessed you to-“ Suddenly, Vanderbilt realized what had happened. “Possessed…you were possessed by Falz!” “Please, I’m not that weak! I made an agreement with Dark Falz.” Then he looked down and smiled evilly. “Oh, look, some old faces have come to say hello. Say hello, Vanderbilt.” Vanderbilt looked down, afraid of what he might see. He gasped and fell on his knees in shock. “M-my parents???” he cried. Indeed, the faces of Vanderbilt’s mother and father stared up at him, moaning. “No…No! This can’t be!” he cried out. “But it is, my friend.” Raganom said. “It can’t be! Falz was sealed away by the Master Hunter!” Vanderbilt yelled.
“Ah, yes, that. He broke the seal and fled to this planet. But breaking the seal and fleeing had drained him of nearly all his power, and he became a ghostly entity, so to speak. That’s when he contacted me. He promised me power beyond my imagination if I gave him souls. I wanted power, so I agreed to help him, and I gained all this power. That happened when I first joined the military. Once I had the Dark Flow, I hunted you down, and took your parents’ souls for Falz. He was pleased, but he needed more. So, I sent a ‘special’ message to Pioneer 1, telling them about these ‘unexplored’ ruins, and suggesting that they send someone down to investigate. It was dumb luck that they sent Red Ring Rico. Falz couldn’t have asked for a better host body!” Raganom laughed. “Host? What are you talking about?” Vanderbilt asked. “Fool! Weren’t you listening? In order for Falz to come back into this world as a living thing, he needed a host body. So he took Rico’s, then used his new body to destroy the colony and take the souls of all the people there. And now here we stand. It’s too bad that you didn’t join me when you had the chance, Vanderbilt. You would’ve had far more power than ever before. As it is, I have to kill you now. You know, finish the job and all that.” Raganom drew his Dark Flow. Leona and the others got ready to fight when Vanderbilt said, “No! I’ll take of him myself.” “Vanderbilt…” “Don’t worry, Leona, I’ll be fine.” Vanderbilt said. ”So, now we end it…” he said.

[whizkid7]

Chapter 16

Vanderbilt was ready to fight Raganom, and this time, he felt he had the ability to win. “What’s the matter, Vanderbilt? Can’t decide which pathetic weapon to use against me?” Raganom laughed. “I don’t think you’ll find this one pathetic, Raganom.” Vanderbilt answered, and he drew the J Sword from its sheath. “What??? How did you get the legendary J Sword???” Raganom gasped. “Did you forget what I told you all those years ago? No, of course you didn’t. That’s why you dragged off my father. You knew about my ancestry, and you believed my father was hiding the J Sword. You wanted it so you could keep anyone from using it against you or Falz, but my father never gave in. He never told you, so you figured that torching my house would keep anyone else from finding it.” Vanderbilt smiled. “What you didn’t know is that it was in the house all along, hidden.” Vanderbilt set himself in his fighting stance.
Then Raganom began to laugh. “HA-HA-HA-HA! You idiot! With that seal on, you’ll become so slow that I won’t even have to try to kill you! And it’s not like you can break the seal, because only the Master Hunter can do that! And you, my friend, could never be good enough to be the Master Hunter.” Raganom stated, smiling evilly. He charged at Vanderbilt, and Vanderbilt felt himself slow down. No, not now!, he thought. He managed to block Raganom’s initial attack, but he spun around and slashed Vanderbilt in the side. Vanderbilt tried to counter with his own swipe, but his slowed reflexes caused him to move too slow, and Raganom easily dodged. Raganom pressed his attack relentlessly, slicing Vanderbilt again and again, and Vanderbilt could not counter fast enough.
Vanderbilt was thrown to the ground after a particularly strong attack, and Raganom stood over him. “You’re a weakling. I can’t believe I ever even thought you might become strong. You’ll never be strong.” He said, and raised his blade, ready to strike him down. “NO!” Leona cried, and tried to race over to save Vanderbilt. But Raganom held out his hand and sent her flying back into the others. “Stay out of this, woman!” he bellowed. Vanderbilt watched what happened, and felt his anger rising. He was going to die, and he would never be able to avenge his family. Plus, Leona and the others would either be killed, or worse, have their souls stolen by Falz. He couldn’t allow that! He HAD to defeat Raganom! The anger built inside of him as Raganom raised his blade again. “Time to die.” He said. “Not today!!!” Vanderbilt screamed out.
Suddenly, the J Sword began to glow. Raganom stared in surprise as the J Sword became covered in a white glow. “W-What is this???” he cried. Vanderbilt slowly stood up, and he felt his wounds healing. The others watched in awe as the seal on the J Sword shattered. The sword grew longer, and its blade became white. Then the glow faded, and Vanderbilt stood, holding the now-unsealed J Sword. “No! Th-That can’t be! How could YOU, a weakling, unseal the J Sword???” Raganom screamed. “The answer’s right in front of you, ‘old friend.’ You said it yourself: Only the Master Hunter can unseal the J Sword. That means that I am the Master Hunter.” Vanderbilt stated forcefully. “I can’t believe it…he did it…” Leona said in awe. “Incredible…he really IS the Master Hunter…” Spyhunter said. “This is quite amazing.” Emy stated. “NO! I will not accept that you can be the Master Hunter! He died thousands of years ago!” Raganom cried. “You see, there’s a little trick to that part about the unsealing that you didn’t know about. Only the person destined to become the next Master Hunter can unseal the sword. And that person’s me.” Vanderbilt said.
“Grrr…it doesn’t matter! I’m still stronger, and I WILL kill you!” Raganom said in rage, and charged at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt met him head on, their swords clashing together in a large crash that shook the whole area. They danced around the platform, swords clashing against each other in brilliant flashes of light and huge expenditures of energy that shook the area. Raganom slashed downward with his sword and Vanderbilt jumped into the air, and began launching beams of energy from his sword. Raganom dodged the beams, then fired his own beams of energy at Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt smashed them with the sword, then slammed his sword into the ground, creating a giant shockwave that traversed nearly all of the area. Raganom was hit by this shockwave and sent flying.
Then he got angry, and launched his sword’s special attack. His special attack created giant waves of energy that shot out in a fan pattern, covering the area that Vanderbilt stood in. Vanderbilt was thrown to the far corner of the ring by the shockwave, and stood up, slightly hurt. “That’s it…” he snarled. He charged Raganom, a cry of rage emanating from his throat. He launched the J Sword’s special attack at him. A giant dome of energy surrounded Vanderbilt and spread out all around him. Raganom charged forward, trying to force his way thru the energy, but was not able to break thru and was hit by the energy. He fell to the ground, in pain, as Vanderbilt advanced on him, still strong. “You’re the weak one Raganom. You had to sell your soul for power, but that power is worthless against someone who has earned his power.” Vanderbilt said. “THAT DOES IT!!!” Raganom screamed, and a dark aura surrounded him, then concentrated into his sword. “I’LL KILL YOU, VANDERBILT!!!” he screamed. “Bring it on!” Vanderbilt yelled back, and a glowing white aura surrounded him, then concentrated into his sword. The two charged each other, screaming in rage. Vanderbilt yelled “This ends NOW!!!” and his sword glowed a brilliant white as it collided with the Dark Flow.
The resulting force was immense, as a giant flash of light emanated from the colliding swords. The area shook so hard, it seemed as though it was going to fall apart. Leona, Spyhunter, and Emy watched in awe as the two hunters’ swords fought against each other. Vanderbilt pushed with all his might. The J Sword pressed harder onto the Dark Flow-and then broke the blade in half. Raganom had about a second to gasp in horror before the J Sword slashed deep into him. He felt the pain, and looked to see a huge gash in his stomach. He collapsed onto his knees, and stared as Vanderbilt landed in front of him. “It’s over, Raganom. You’ve lost.” he said. “Heh-heh…heh-heh…HA-HA-HA!” Raganom laughed. “You fool…by…spilling…my blood…you’ve…completed the…ritual…” “Ritual?” Vanderbilt asked. “In order…to summon Falz…blood…must be…spilled…now he will…rise up…and consume…everyone…HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!” Raganom continued to laugh, then gasped as the ground began to rise up around him. “What? No…NO!...Why…I served you…well! NOOOO…” he screamed as the ground swallowed him up. He was dragged down into the ground, and his screams stopped. Then the obelisk began to shake once again, and it exploded into pieces. Vanderbilt, Leona, Spyhunter, and Emy stood together, ready to face the evil entity Dark Falz, and stop him from claiming anyone else…

[whizkid7]

Chapter 17

A dark monstrosity emerged from the exploding obelisk. It had a vaguely human torso, with a head. Its arms were like giant tuning forks, and there were strange things growing out of its back. But what was most terrifying was that instead of legs, the thing had three giant dragonlike heads, with small claws underneath. “That’s Dark Falz???” Vanderbilt cried out. “Geez…I’m scared just looking at him!” Spyhunter said. Then a booming voice began to speak out. “I HAVE ARISEN ONCE AGAIN. NOW THE WORLD WILL BELONG TO ME!” it said. “That’s…that’s his voice! That’s Falz!” Leona cried out. Then Falz turned his body, and the head stared down at the four standing in front of him. “YOU CANNOT STOP ME. YOU DO NOT HAVE THE POWER.” It boomed. “That’s what you think, Falz! I’m going to destroy you, and makes sure you can’t steal anymore souls!” Vanderbilt yelled at him. Falz began to laugh, a deep evil laugh. But he stopped laughing when he noticed the sword in Vanderbilt hands. “THE SWORD!!!” he bellowed. “SO, YOU HAVE RETURNED TO FACE ME AGAIN, MASTER HUNTER.YOU AND YOUR COMPANIONS ONCE AGAIN STAND IN MY WAY. BUT THIS TIME, I WILL DESTROY YOU, AND ABSORB YOU SOULS!!!” Then Falz began to attack.
Falz began to charge energy into his hands, and two large beams of blue light shot out of his hands into the sky. “We should move!” Emy called out. Then hundreds of beams of blue energy slammed into the platform all around them. “Agh!” Vanderbilt cried as a beam struck him on the shoulder. The others were also hit by the beams. Leona got up and cast Resta on them. “We have to keep him from using that!” she said. “Come on! Let’s get him!” Spyhunter cried, and began firing off shots from his C Bringer’s Rifle. Emy hefted her Photon Launcher and also fired off the heavy rounds into Falz. But Falz seemed to ignore the shots, and began to charge another attack. Then Leona unleashed a powerful attack known as Grants. This attack sent hundreds of beams of light into Falz, and he screamed in pain. “Let’s see how he likes the light!” she called as she launched another Grants. Falz again cried in pain, and he stopped charging his attack. The Vanderbilt jumped up, the J Sword raised high over his head and slashed Falz right in the center of what he thought was his chest. Falz again cried out, this time louder than before. He swung his arm, trying to hit Vanderbilt, but he jumped out of the way and brought his blade down upon the arm. The blade sliced into and then through the arm, and severed it from Falz’ body. Falz became very angry, and the dragon heads underneath him opened wide. Out of them came little things with incredibly sharp spinning blades. They darted around the arena, trying to slice the four warriors. Emy and Spyhunter destroyed the spinning things while Vanderbilt and Leona continued assaulting Falz. After a few more Grants blasts and slashes from the J Sword, Falz screeched, and collapsed onto his dragon-head legs. Vanderbilt and the others began to cheer, believing they had killed Falz.
Then Falz’ body shook, and the dragon heads disappeared. Falz rose up, this time floating around the edge of the arena. The small things sticking out of his back fanned out, and a sort of wingspan formed between them. Now, a giant, red, pulsating ball sat underneath Falz’ upper body, held by large claws. His arm also regrew. Falz began dashing around the area at blinding speed. He stopped behind the four, and held out an arm. Instantly, blasts of Rafoie traversed in a line from where his arm was and crossed the area, hammering Vanderbilt and his friend in the process. They all fell over, in visible pain. “Damn…he’s got magic, too! Powerful magic!” Vanderbilt said as he climbed to his feet. Leona once again cast Resta, then launched a Megid attack at Falz. The attack struck Falz, and he absorbed it, and seemed to become stronger. “Leona! Don’t use that, you’ll only make him stronger! Stick to that Grants attack!” Vanderbilt yelled as he dashed toward Falz, trying to reach him before he moved. Leona launched a Grants attack, and that stopped Falz from moving long enough for Vanderbilt to reach him and stab his sword deep into the pulsating red ball. Falz screamed, and dashed away. Leona continued launching Grants attack, while Spyhunter and Emy blasted away with their guns.
Then Falz reached out his arm, and a giant blast of Rabarta covered the whole area. Vanderbilt and the others found themselves frozen in blocks of ice, and he struggled to break free. He shattered the ice, only to see Falz bring his arm up over Leona’s frozen form. “NO!” he screamed, and ran as fast as he could, willing himself to get there in time. Falz brought his arm down, ready to smash Leona to bits. Vanderbilt held out his hand, trying to reach for Leona, trying to reach in time. He was shocked when he saw a small fireball shoot out of his hand and run into Falz’ arm. Falz gave a small cry, and the arm backed away. Leona then broke out of the ice, and ran away. She ran up to him, and said, “You…just…but how?” “I…I don’t know. I really…don’t know.” He answered. “Hey! Less talk, and more fighting!” Spyhunter said as he fired away at Falz. Leona and Vanderbilt resumed attacking Falz. After a long battle, Falz finally cried out in agony, and his body collapsed onto the ground. The four weary fighters stood still, hoping that he would not rise again this time. Finally, they relaxed, and Leona began jumping up and down. “We did it!” she cried gleefully. “It’s over…he’s gone…” Vanderbilt said. Spyhunter sighed in relief, and Emy came over and looked at him, her features twisted into what they had all come to know as her smile. Spyhunter smiled back. Leona hugged Vanderbilt, and he returned it.
But the battle was not over. The ground began to shake, and Falz’ body exploded. “What’s happening?” Vanderbilt yelled out. The ground disappeared, and they found themselves standing on a large glowing ring, with symbols and ancient language all over it. Then a large form shot up into the center of the ring and laughed evilly. It was blue skinned, with no legs. It had two large blades for arms, and a recession in his chest that looked like it could fit something in it. Two glowing balls of light floated inside a horn like structure on the head. The creature turned to face them, and boomed out, “NOW YOU SEE MY TRUE FORM.” “Falz!!” Vanderbilt cried. “FOOL, DID YOU THINK I WOULD FALL EASILY? NOW, I WILL UNLEASH MY TRUE POWERS, AND FINALLY RID MYSELF OF YOU!” he boomed, and he swung his arm in a slash. There was no time to avoid, and Vanderbilt and the others were hurt rather badly by the swing. Leona shakily climbed to her feet and used Resta, and the battle continued. Falz turned a multicolored white, and Spyhunter’s and Emy’s shots bounced off him. “What the…?” Spyhunter said. “When he does that, he’s immune to any physical attacks!” Vanderbilt said. “Then maybe a little magic will do it!” Leona said, and launched another Grants. The spell hammered Falz, and he screeched. The he flew high up into the air, beyond the range of any spells, and launched blue balls at the four. They jumped and dodged out of the way. The Falz did something unexpected: he cast his own Grants attack. The arrows of light punched into Vanderbilt and the others. “Aggghhh!” he screamed. He stood up shakily, and muttered, “He knows Grants too! Things are going to get hard…”
The battle raged on, as Vanderbilt and the others fought back against Falz’ seemingly superior strength. They found that Falz would switch between being invulnerable and not. They would attack in full force when he was vulnerable, and when he became invulnerable, only Leona would continue attacking. After weathering a few more of Falz’ Grants attacks, and hammering him with their own attacks, Falz stretched out an arm, and suddenly, Vanderbilt felt like a piece of him was being torn out. He stumbled for a minute, then looked at Falz-and was shocked to see a ghostly image of himself inside the recession in Falz’ chest! “W-what?” was all he could say. The others began to pound on Falz, and Vanderbilt felt himself getting hit with the blows. “S-stop!!” he groaned out as he sank to the floor. “Vanderbilt, what’s wrong?” Leona cried as she ran over. “Every time…you hit…him…while…my…image…is on…him…I get…hurt…” he said thru clenched teeth. The other three looked to see the ghostly image of Vanderbilt in Falz’ chest region. Falz laughed at them and boomed out, “YOU SEE MY POWER NOW. NOTHING CAN DEFEAT ME, NOTHING!” Leona cast Resta on Vanderbilt, and he stood up. Then the ghostly image disappeared, and Falz slashed at them again. “Now, while the image is gone! Hammer him!” he cried, and they jumped out of the way of the slash.
The battle continued in this fashion, with the four of them halting their attacks whenever Falz had a ghostly image of one of them in him. Falz also increased his magic attacks, launching Megid in addition to Grants. But Vanderbilt and his friends did not give up. They continued fighting, until Falz hammered Spyhunter, Emy, and Leona with a slash attack, knocking them to the ground. Vanderbilt was the only one left standing as the others were in too much pain to climb to their feet. “YOU ARE ALONE NOW, MASTER HUNTER. DID YOU TRULY BELIEVE YOU COULD DEFEAT ME? SOON, YOUR COMPANIONS’ SOULS WILL BE MINE, AND THEN I WILL CLAIM YOURS!” Falz boomed as he looked straight at Vanderbilt.
Vanderbilt looked over at his friends, then at Falz. He cried out, “Over my dead body, you monster!” The J Sword began to glow again, and Falz started backing away. “Scared, Falz? You should be!” Vanderbilt yelled out. “You stole my best friend, my family, millions of innocents, and now you’re trying to steal from me the only woman I’ve ever loved! I will NOT let you take anymore innocents, Falz! You die today!!!” he cried. Then the J Sword glowed a bright white, and Vanderbilt jumped right at Falz. “This is for my family and friends!!!!” he screamed, then plunged the sword deep into Falz’ head. Falz screamed out in immense pain, and Vanderbilt drove his blade deeper. He ripped the sword out of Falz, then jumped back to the ground. Beams of dark energy began to explode out of Falz’ body, and he screamed even louder then before. Then, in a blinding flash of light, Falz’ body blew apart, and the resulting shock sent Vanderbilt into the ground. His vision became black, and he lost consciousness.
Vanderbilt opened his eyes to find himself lying on the floor of the area they had fought Falz. He looked himself over to find all his battle wounds had healed. He looked to his left to see Leona and the others getting up, also unhurt. He headed over to them, and asked, “Are you all alright?” “Yes…Yes, I’m fine. But how?” Leona asked as he helped her to her feet. “Hey, I don’t hurt anymore. And my wounds are gone!” Spyhunter exclaimed. “Very strange. I cannot explain it, but I am running at full efficiency, yet I should not be.” Emy said. “Weird…” Vanderbilt said, then sensed someone behind him. He turned around to find a woman standing there. She wore all red, and a pair of red glasses were on her face. On one hand was a red ring. She approached Vanderbilt and the others, smiling. “You’re…You’re Red Ring Rico!” Vanderbilt exclaimed. Rico nodded. “Then Raganom was right…you were Falz’ host body…” Again, she nodded. “But, if you’re here, then…Falz is gone?” A nod brought a smile to his face. “He’s gone! Guys, we did it!” “Hooray!” “Yes!” “Yay!” were the cheers Leona and the others cried out.
Then Vanderbilt heard Rico say, “Thank you, Vanderbilt.” “You know who I am???” he cried. “Yes. You are the Master Hunter, that’s who you are.” “Yeah…yeah, I guess I am.” Rico turned to walk away. “Hey, wait! Where are you going? Don’t you want to go back to see your father?” Vanderbilt said. She stopped, turned and said, “I can’t. My body is gone, only my soul remains.” “Oh…” “You and your friends freed my soul from Falz, and I can never thank you enough for that. You also freed all the other innocent souls Falz had taken.” “You mean…?” “Yes. Your parents are free, as well as Leona’s. They no longer suffer. And it is all thanks to you.” Vanderbilt felt a tear come to his eye, and he smiled. “Good…at last they can rest in peace.” “Please tell my father that I am sorry I was not a very good daughter. I will miss him. Can you do this for me?” Rico asked. “Of course.” Vanderbilt answered. Rico smiled, turned around and walked away, her body fading away. The she was gone, and Vanderbilt and the others stood alone. He turned to his companions, and said, “Let’s go home.”

[whizkid7]

Epilogue

Vanderbilt and his friends were hailed as heroes upon their return to Pioneer 2. Their story of destroying Dark Falz and discovering the fate of the people of Pioneer 1 spread throughout the populace, and everywhere they went, they were cheered. The Principal met them in the Common Plaza, amidst cheers of the people. He made a long speech about their courage, and how they would be heroes for all of eternity. He also said that Vanderbilt would be formally recognized as the Master Hunter, and him and his friends would be given the highest award a civilian could earn. After the ceremony, Vanderbilt told the Principal Rico’s fate. The Principal grieved at her loss, but thanked Vanderbilt for freeing her and giving him her message. The Principal had statues erected on Ragol in their honor, in front of the Central Dome, which would be rebuilt.
Vanderbilt and Leona got married as soon as the excitement died down. Nearly every hunter from the Guild came to the wedding. Spyhunter was made the best man, and Emy was the bridesmaid. As they left on their honeymoon, Vanderbilt thought how lucky he was, to meet someone like Leona. “It’s funny…” he murmured. “What is?” Leona asked him. “We met in some strange circumstances, and look at us now.” “Yes, we did meet rather strangely.” He looked at her and said, “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I must be the luckiest guy in the universe to be with someone like you.” “No, I’m the lucky one, to have someone like you.” She smiled at him and said, “I love you.” He smiled back and said, “I love you.” Then they kissed, and everything else seemed to fade away and become unimportant to them. The only thing that mattered was that they had each other, and would always be together…

[whizkid7]

Well, now that it's all said and done, tell me what you think of my first try. And be honest, please.

[Caecilius]

Not bad at all, a bit long but I like it.

*gives cookie*

[whizkid7]

Long? Huh...
I'm glad I got at least one response...
Oh, and thanks for the cookie. http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif