Chapter 50

Vivien arrives at the gates of the temple to find a metallic wall had blocked the front door. As Vivien flies over the front gates to head to the Temple, she could see Darkwind and Syntax waiting in the courtyard. A sound from the street behind Vivien took her attention. She turned to see the MobilBlade in it’s tank mode, coming towards her. “There’s the traitorous monster now!” Vivien heard Mal yell. Captain Koror must have told them what had happened through their ComBlades. Vivien quickly flew to the Temple and flew up into an open window. The window was a little tight. Vivien’s skinny frame was enough to fit through. “The evil demon’s gone and fled into that temple!” yelled Mal at the controls. The MobilBlade crashes through the front gates and onto the courtyard. “Isn’t that Darkwind and Syntax?” asked Emhril as soon as he saw the horses. “HOLY GIN!” reacted Mal, “She’s going after the twins! We need to get in there!” “But the doors look to be blocked off!” said Emhril. “Load your Blade in the MobilBlade’s Cannon,” instructed Mal, “We’ll make short work of that wall.” Vivien had found herself in a room with piles of used and smelly training uniforms and several wash tubs. Vivien could smell which pile has the most blood stains on them. It did not smell as like the people who were wearing the uniforms in this pile bled to death. It smelled as if the blood came from minor injuries. Vivien found the door and quietly exited into a long hallway. There was a window that looked down into the main temple but the glass on it did not allow her to go through. She could see the twins, some one dressed like a pirate captain and a man with slicked back hair with a long chain hanging from his belt almost touching the ground. They were standing around a giant chess board with animals on it. A second look showed Vivien that Pawn, Rook and Knight were among the animals as well as mono colored versions of them. Vivien could only guess that these were the Blade Temple’s Blade Animals. She needed to get down there. She needed to get to the twins.

Outside The EarthBlade gets blasted out of the cannon with the eternity chain trailing behind it. It hits the metal wall that already has a few dents in it from other attempts. The EarthBlade falls to the cratered ground once again and the eternity chain begins to pull it back into the cannon. The doors of the MobilBlade open as Mal and Emhril step out. Emhril jumps forward and spins on his feet to swing the heavy EarthBlade around and lets go with a grunting, “I NEED TO GET IN!” before letting go. The EarthBlade hit the metal wall creating the deepest dent ever and shaking the ground around it violently enough to knock Mal, Emhril, Darkwind and Syntax off their feet and hooves. The EarthBlade falls to the ground making the crater deeper. Emhril and Mal get back up on their feet again as well as the horses. “Maybe the wall is finally giving,” said Mal. A high pitched sound strikes them. It was the sound of screeching metal. The wall bent and pulsed until it looked the way it did when Mal and Emhril arrived. “I have an idea,” said a very angry Emhril, “I’ll put my EarthBlade in the cannon and you go in and fire it over the wall. The EarthBlade will take me with it and over the wall.” “As long as one of us gets in there to help the twins,” said Mal in agreement as he turned and climbed onto Emhril’s large chair behind the cannon. Mal fell back hard into the chair that made him feel very small. The seat had taken the shape of Emhril’s backside. Emhril loaded his EarthBlade into the cannon before Mal began to crank it up to aim for the top of the wall. Emhril pulled out a good length of eternity chain before looping it around one of his feet and waist. Mal made sure that his aim was perfect and pulled the safety pin out before pulling the trigger launching the round EarthBlade into the air and over the wall. The EarthBlade stopped when the eternity chain became tight between it and Emhril’s foot. The EarthBlade began to fall straight down, behind the wall. Emhril hopes he can make the EarthBlade heavy enough to pull him up. As the EarthBlade slides down one side, the eternity chain pulls Emhril up to the top. Emhril stands up on top of the thick wall and pulls the EarthBlade up to him after he removes the chain from his waist and foot. Emhril throws it across to a balcony. The EarthBlade lands and becomes heavy enough to keep itself from moving. Emhril takes the chain again and swings down to the ground before pulling the EarthBlade down and made his way around the temple to find a door going inside.

Dark and James finds the door behind James’ horse named Reliant. “As soon as we take back control of my Blade and regroup my security team, I am going to find that vampire and personally put a stake in her black little heart,” said James as he brushed the hay aside and opened the door to reveal a four foot by four foot passage leading deep into the walls of the ship. “James. There’s no need to think so darkly about Vivien,” said DarkRaptor as they both begin to walk on their hands and knees down the passage, “We should give her a chance to defend herself.” “Defend herself?” asked James, “You said she’s a spy. Why do you of all people think she should be given a chance to defend herself?” “We don’t know her motives for her actions,” said Dark. “Her motives are simple!” said James, “She is working for this Master guy and her actions are being governed by him.” “James,” called Dark causing Koror to turn in the tight hallway, “I didn’t want to do this but I think I should let you in on my plan.” “And what plan is this?” asked James. “You have to understand, just like that woman holding your ship hostage, her master is holding this world hostage,” said Dark, “The Mysterious Master has been more than a few steps ahead of the twins even now. He must have an ability or have someone with the ability to see into the future.” “He knows what’s going to happen before it does?” asked James. “I don’t usually believe in things like that, but the course of events I heard from the twins, and the fact that the Mysterious Master was able to get his spy into their group even though they were using an inherently unpredictable means to choose their Blade Masters. You have to believe that not only will the Mysterious Master know where the SunBlade will land. He could be already there. So, if his spy isn’t successful in obtaining what the Mysterious Master needs, he will destroy the SunBlade and this world’s only hope of survival.” “Wait!” said James with his eyes wide open, “You mean you lied to us? You don’t really know who the spy is?” “I do know who the spy is,” said Dark, “I told you it was Vivien to take the twins attention as well as yours away from the real spy.” “But why?!” asked James. “I already told you,” answered Dark, “Had you or I stopped the real spy from completing the task given to them by the Mysterious Master, he would have retaliated by causing everyone’s destruction.” “So Vivien is innocent?” asked James. “Yes she is,” replied Dark, “She is not the spy.” “I think I owe her a very deep apology,” said James. “Let’s get your ship back first,” said Dark. The two begin to crawl down the tight passage again.

“Rook from King’s Bishop one to Queen one,” ordered Salem. The white rook moved from the square next to the white King to a new square. “How can you two be so silent?!” yelled Captain Crellis in frustration, “You only talked to order your moves! Others would be talking up a storm trying to communicate with each other through some keywords! How are you doing it? Are you not going to talk even to answer me?!” The twins remain silent only looking at Crellis with unblinking eyes filled with hate. “Answer me!” yelled Captain Crellis. Pawn began to chirp at Crellis, reminding him that it is his turn. “You are not humans. You two are demons, and I will bring about your end! Pawn!” ordered Captain Crellis, “From King’s Bishop six to King’s Bishop five! The Black Pawn next to the real one moved up one square. Selene, “Queen from King two to King three.” “You are so right. It’s time to use the big pieces,” said Crellis, “Queen from King seven to King’s Bishop seven!” Selene “Pawn from queen four to Queen five!” Crellis began to panic again when he saw that this move was threatening both the real Pawn and the real Knight. “Not this again! You are a real crazy bitch!” reacted Captain Crellis, “Rook from Queen eight to Queen Five!” The black Rook copy took flight and grabbed the white Pawn with it’s TalonBlades and taking it high above them to drop the Pawn. The white Pawn landed on the game board and shattered into pieces. The square under it opened up allowing what was left to fall in and a new perch raised up for the black Rook copy to land on.

Salem did not hesitate when she ordered, “Rook from Queen one to Queen five!” The two Rooks met in the air with the white Rook grabbing the black one by the wings with it’s TalonBlades and squeezing until the wings broke in two small explosions. The white Rook dropped what was left of the black one in the hole before the perch was placed there before the square closed up. The white Rook took it’s perch on the new square. “Except for the Pawns, only the real Blade Animals are left on his side,” thought Salem. “Pawn from King six to Queen five!” ordered Captain Crellis. The real Pawn gave a frightened squeak and turned his head to Crellis to make sure it was he who was supposed to move. “I said to go to Queen’s five you rat!” Pawn turned his head and gave a gulp seeing how a newly moved piece had been taken by another piece. Pawn walks over to the white Rook and looks back at Crellis. This was clearly putting Captain Crellis in a fowl mood, “Destroy that piece and take the square!” Pawn looked back at the white Rook as it looked back at him. “Do it already!” yelled Crellis as the KingBlade on his head began to glow purple again. Pawn opened his ThievesBlade’s void and took the white Rook in before closing. Pawn took the square after the perch had retracted and the square closed. Pawn was now looking around to see if there were any pieces that were about to take him. Selene, “Queen’s Knight Pawn to Queen’s Knight three.” Pawn was relieved to see a white Pawn move up and nowhere near him. “King from King’s Knight eight to King’s Rook eight,” ordered Captain Crellis. Salem, “Queen from King three to Queen’s Knight six!” Queen runs over to a black Pawn copy and pounces on it and bites it’s neck until it was dead. A hole opened and the white Queen dropped the dead black Pawn into it. “I see what you’re about to do!” yelled Crellis who was obviously taking this game very hard, “Rook from Queen’s Bishop eight to King’s Knight eight!” The real Rook flew from his perch to the new one next to the real King protecting him from a side attack from the white Queen if the twins moved it to the 8th row.

Selene, “Queen from Queen’s Knight six to Queen’s Bishop five.” This move put Pawn and Knight in danger of being taken. Captain Crellis did not give himself time to think when he ordered, “Pawn from Queen five to Queen four!” The real Pawn moved one square forward but he did not feel any safer. “He moved Pawn who could only move one space,” thought Salem. “And yet he did not think to move Knight. Knight is a more important piece and he could have moved to where the Queen could not take him,” thought Selene. “Then it’s time to bring this to an end,” thought Salem. “Yes sister. The time is right for us to make our final moves,” Selene thought back. Salem, “Knight from Queen’s Knight five to Queen six.” “Uh, Pawn from King’s Bishop five to King’s Bishop four!” yelled Captain Crellis. “Knight from Queen six to Queen’s Knight seven.” ordered Selene. Knight vanished and the Pawn is slashed to death by an invisible force. Knight lands on the perch that appears on the square. “Knight from Queen’s Bishop six to King five.” Ordered Crellis. Salem, “Queen from Queen’s Bishop five to Queen five.” Captain Crellis, “Pawn, King’s Bishop four to King’s Bishop three!” Selene, “King’s Knight Pawn to King’s Knight three.” Captain Crellis, “Knight from King five to Queen three.” “Knight is in position to take our Rook,” thought Selene. “I will move Our Rook to safety then,” thought Salem. “Rook from Queen’s Bishop one to Queen’s Bishop seven,” ordered Salem. Captain Crellis orders, “Rook from King’s Knight eight to King eight.” “Position our Knight to take Rook,” thought Salem. Selene, “Knight from Queen’s Knight seven to Queen six,” “I think it’s time to make my final moves,” said Crellis, “Rook from King eight to King one, Check!” “King from King’s Knight one to King’s Rook two,” ordered Salem. “He has the same idea to bring this game to an end as well,” thought Salem. “He is too close to the edge to continue,” thought Selene, “He wants to end the game as soon as possible now.”

“Knight from Queen three to King’s Bishop two,” ordered Crellis. The real Knight vanishes and the white Pawn who was standing on the square started to develop deep cuts all over it’s little body until it exploded in dust and stone. The square opens up allowing the leftover stone and dust to fall in and a perch pops up. Knight reappears already sitting on top of the new perch. “He is closing in on our King,” thought Salem. “Well, we have a surprise for him,” thought Selene before ordering out loud, “Knight from Queen six to King’s Bishop seven. CHECK!” The white Knight vanishes and slices up another black Pawn copy before taking it’s square. From the white Knight’s new position, he could bring down the real King. “WHAT?!” yelled Captain Crellis. “You better not lose Crellis!” yelled Stanza, “The Master needs that SaintBlade!” The twins were concentrating so much on the game, they both had completely forgotten that Stanza was standing there, however the man did not look like he would pose much of a challenge, even if he was the master of the SoothsayersBlade. That Blade would really require a natural born talent in order for it to be used in a fight. “King from King’s Rook eight to King’s Knight seven!” ordered Crellis. “Of course he had to move King,” thought Selene, “Too bad we were ready for this.” Salem smiled and ordered, “Knight from King’s Bishop seven to King’s Knight five. CHECK!” After the white Knight moved, the white Rook was clear to take King. “King from King’s Knight seven to King’s Rook six!” yelled Captain Crellis.

Christina chased Sky Arian from over the YeagerBlade and over the water to over the empty town of Koror. Zealot and Whip Arian were busy dodging each other’s whip cracking attacks. Lagan found a foe in Archer Arian who has been taking shots at each of them. It did not matter that Christina was about a hundred feet in the air and probably flying as fast as sixty or seventy miles an hour in the air chasing after Sky Arian. Archer Arian would shoot at least every third arrow into the air and has nicked Christina every time. It was Christina’s awareness of her surroundings thanks to her GullBlade being like another pair of eyes behind her that has kept her from being hit directly. All Lagan could do was to take cover behind the boarding ramp that led inside the YeagerBlade and reload her single shot musket. Lagan fires at Archer Arian again only to have the musket ball stopped by a metal arrow. It was not hard to guess what the power that Archer Arian’s StingerBlade was. The arrows that have been fired would disappear only to show up in Archer Arian’s quiver to be fired again. Behind the TidusBlade, Cold and PurpleRaptor find a way out through one of the Blade’s exhaust tubes. “We are out,” reported ColdRaptor to Dark through her wrist communicator. “Since the main engine is broken, might as well use the exposed exhaust,” replied Dark in a hushed voice, “Now get to the YeagerBlade. The other Blade Masters could be in trouble as well.”

The two Raptors climbed up onto the dock to be met with a thick crowd of panicked people. Although most of the fishing vessels and freight ships had already left, people were still standing on the dock in hopes that a new ship would come. ColdRaptor transformed into her Velociraptor mode and gave a frightening scream. The crowd parted giving the Raptors room to run. PurpleRaptor shook her Soundwave guitar dry and threw it up into the air so it could transform into a mechanical jet propelled bird allowing Purple to morph into her Velociraptor form. The two Raptors ran as fast as they could to the YeagerBlade. It did not take them long for them to see that the others did need help. ColdRaptor transformed into her humanoid mode and pulled out what looked like a revolver from inside her leg. Cold tossed the revolver to Lagan who caught it. “What is this thing?” asked Lagan although its shape suggested that it was some sort of musket. Lagan took the strange weapon and fired it to see what would happen. It fired a bullet at Archer Arian who was able to shoot it out of the air but it got closer to her. Lagan faded back to try and figure out how to reload it. A thought came to Lagan, “This almost looks like Salem’s GunBlade. It can fire multiple shots without reloading.” Lagan aimed again and fired. Archer Arian just fired at Christina again and then stopped the bullet coming to her. Lagan quickly fired again with out waiting to see if the first shot made it. Archer Arian was not ready for the new shot and is hit in her right arm. Archer Arian falls, holding her injured arm as Lagan emptied the gun into the blonde’s back, killing her. The other two Arians gave an agonizing yell. Zealot took advantage of this and made his move with the SabreBlade. The sharp tip of the Blade whipped from one side of Whip Arian to the other. Sky Arian gave another yell as she dropped to the ground. Whip Arian stood in one spot until her head nodded forward and fell off. The headless body fell to the ground soon after. Sky Arian pulls out the JumpBlade and quickly uses it just before Christina lands with both of her swords landing where Sky Arian’s head was.

Selene gave a smile and ordered, “Rook from Queen’s Bishop seven to King’s Rook seven. CHECK!” Captain Crellis went through every move he could think of but he knew it was hopeless. What if he conceded? That really is not losing. He could just use the KingBlade to make them give him the SaintBlade anyway. “Crellis!” called Stanza. “I concede!” yelled Captain Crellis. “We are sorry we had to do this Crellis,” said Salem. “But I am afraid that conceding will still mean your death,” said Selene. “Maybe, but at least I took one of your Blade Animals with me,” said Crellis, “And you are the ones who ordered his death.” “I am afraid not, Crellis,” replied Salem. A square opened and the real Bishop popped up on a platform. “You see, only Death Blades have the ability to kill with magic or by some remote means,” said Selene, “All other Blades, including the all powerful KingBlade can only kill through physical contact.” “Here is the bad news,” said Salem, “you wagered your life using the KingBlade. This has caused the KingBlade to summon someone who has a Death Blade.” Death became visible at the corner holding his ScytheBlade up high, ready to strike the unlucky loser of the game. “No.” reacted Captain Crellis, “NO! I BEG YOU!” “If only I had a collon for every person who has begged me for their life,” said Death as he closed in on Crellis. Captain Crellis tries to run but is stopped by the clamps on his feet. “I have the KingBlade! I order you to stop and kill the twins!” yelled Captain Crellis. “You made the wager and the KingBlade will not allow you to take it back after the match had been played,” said Selene. The clamps around the twins’ feet finally let go and both they and the separation wall sank back into the floor.

Vivien finds her way into the large room in time to see Death slash his ScytheBlade taking the soul of the pirate captain. The KingBlade, KaleidoscopeBlade and pouch holding the unknown book fell to the ground. Vivien sees the KingBlade falling and flies to grab it. Selene yells, “WitchBlade Tangle!” Infection vanes shoot out of Selene’s WitchBlade and capture Vivien. “No you do not, traitor,” said Salem. Death turns into his human form and runs up to the entangled Vivien. “What are you doing?!” yelled Jarody. Stanza jumps for the discarded Blades but stops just before getting his hand cut off by the passing GunBlade in it’s Death Disk Mode. “You stay where you are!” ordered Salem, “You have questions to answer.” The GunBlade was about to hit a wall to ricochet back to Salem when it is stopped in midair. The KingBlade and the KaleidoscopeBlade rise and floats to Stanza’s waiting hands. You don’t think the Master would have me here without protection,” said the greasy looking man. Force Arian steps out from behind a pillar with the GunBlade floating over her. “What?” both twins reacted in shock. “Oh, there are more of her,” said Jarody as he untangles Vivien. “Well then you should know that Vivien is a spy working for these people!” yelled Selene. Emhril comes running, huffing and puffing. A picture of a man who was about to collapse. “Emhril!” called Salem, “Attack her!” Emhril was so tired from running, he threw his EarthBlade as hard as he could at the person Salem was pointing at, but it was stopped in the air by Force Arian. Her KineticBlade, a black headband, began to glow. It was beginning to give out as the EarthBlade started to get heavier and heavier. “What are you talking about?” asked Jarody, “Vivien isn’t a spy!” “At least she’s not our spy!” yelled Stanza as he picked up the bag and put the KingBlade and the KaleidoscopeBlade in with the book that was already there.

Selene yelled, “WitchBlade Infection!” as vanes shoot out to infect Stanza. Sky Arian slices through the infection vanes and stands in front of Stanza to protect him. “All we need now is the SaintBlade,” said Stanza to Sky Arian. “Need Help Force?” asked Sky. Force Arian tossed both the EarthBlade and GunBlade aside and let them drop where they were before turning to Vivien and Jarody and quickly pushing them flat against a wall. “Now this fucking sucks!” yelled Jarody as he drops his curved dagger. “You will never get the SaintBlade!” yelled Salem as she lifted the SaintBlade up in a threatening manner. Emhril grabbed the SaintBlade out of Salem’s hand and throws it to Stanza who catches it. “There! Now give me back my wife!” yelled Emhril. She’ll be waiting for you at the island,” replied Stanza just before Sky Arian used the ReverseJumpBlade on him. Arian turned to use it again on Force Arian but the walls around Force turned into long spikes, skewering the woman. “This entire temple is a Blade called the AresBlade,” said Salem. “And the master of the AresBlade is King,” said Selene. Sky Arian used the JumpBlade on herself before she too was captured. “Explain yourself, Emhril!” yelled Salem. “Girls!!” yelled Jarody. Vivien and Jarody were still being pushed up against the wall, and the pressure against them was growing. “WitchBlade Infection Vanes!” yelled Selene. The Infection Vanes wrap around the black metal headband on Force Arian’s head and pulled it off. Jarody and Vivien fell to the floor. “That is why all of your Blades are black,” said Selene taking a close look at Force Arian’s KineticBlade, “You poor thing. You made Death Blades.” “And with every Death Blade she made, she split herself in both body and mind,” said Salem. “That is the only explanation why there is more than one of them.”

Jarody picks Emhril up by his shirt, “What I want to know is why did they think my sex pet was a spy and what reason did you have to give them the SaintBlade.” “They have my wife!” yelped Emhril. “The dead one?” asked Selene. “Yes,” answered Emhril, “Haiku’s mother. Stanza and a bunch of pirates took her away one night to get me to deal with him. Stanza stayed at the Bill’s Miller until you arrived. They told me that you would choose me as a Blade Master and I were to travel with you until I could take the real SaintBlade from you. If I did that, then they’ll return Shiori to me!” “But how can they return your bitch to you when you are dead?” asked Jarody pulling up his dagger. “No Jarody!” demanded Selene, “We still need him!” “And anyway, he was being manipulated against his will,” said Salem. “You will have a few things to answer for later, Emhril,” said Selene, “So you are not out of any trouble yet.” “Sorry we thought you were a spy, Vivien,” said Salem. The small group heard weak laughing and turned to the remaining Arian. “So you figured it all out,” said the dieing blonde, “You will be too late and the Master will get the power he seeks.” “What power is it?” asked Selene. Her question went unanswered for this Arian was now dead. Pawn returned to Salem’s shoulders as the twins looked up at the sun as it begins to fall from the sky.

Dark and James climb up a skinny ladder to go through a trapdoor under a carpet in James’ Captain’s office. The doorway was almost too small for DarkRaptor’s large muscular body but she was able to push her way through. James checked his desk for his musket. Dark put her ear to the door. Dark remembered what the main Bridge looked like. From what she could hear through the door, Dark knew that there were five of them. One of them were sitting at the helm, one walking around the Captain’s chair, three more walking on the upper deck between the security controls and the main engineering panel. James pulls out his musket. “You stay in the office James,” said Dark. “This is my ship!” began James. “You will get hurt,” said Dark. “I know how to fight,” said James. “I don’t mean that they will hurt you. I will hurt you,” said Dark, “I am going into the bridge and I am not going to hold back. I will kill anything living in that bridge and I will not stop to see if you are a friend or an enemy. Understand?” “What about Commander Ajax and the Ensign that was with him?” asked James. “From what I hear through this door, they are knocked out or already dead,” said Dark before turning to the door, “As long as they stay down and lay completely still, they will be safe.” Dark waits until she hears one of the five in the main bridge come close to the door before opening it and tackling Silent Arian. Trance Arian turned and pulled out her black WatchBlade. Electro Arian pulls her VoltBlade sais out of the control panel cutting off all but the emergency lights. DarkRaptor spins Silent Arian around and tosses the blonde into Katana Arian who was about to attack with her two PolarizeBlade katana swords. Spike Arian’s SpinalBlade armor activates as she runs to the large black haired woman. DarkRaptor vaults over the control panel to land on the main floor of the bridge and drop kicks Trance Arian into the captain’s chair.

The lift door opens and five more Arians enter. “Ten of you,” says DarkRaptor, “Still doesn’t seem fair for you.” The room was very dark but Dark’s visor made the room look as if it were in direct sunlight. Rock Arian jumps into the air as her StoneBlade pendant activates turning her into a moving stone statue of herself. Dark moves out of the way in time as Rock Arian lands on the metal floor and denting it. Dark ducks in time to avoid an attack from Katana Arian. Dark grabs Katana’s leg and uses the woman as a weapon to knock both Logistic Arian and White Arian over the handrail and onto the main floor of the bridge. Blur Arian uses her QuickBlade boots to run up to DarkRaptor and trips her. Dark, who was still holding onto Katana Arian, hits Blur Arian over the head with her sister and the two fall unconscious to the floor as Dark grabs the handrail and pulls herself over to the main floor and lands on her feet on top of White Arian and Logistic Arian. Rock Arian waves a rock covered arm to try and clothesline the large woman but Dark just grabs the arm and tosses Rock Arian over her head to land in an odd position into a control panel. As Rock Arian waves her arms and legs around like an overturned turtle trying to get back up again, Electro Arian fires a bolt of electricity to DarkRaptor. Dark grabs the handrail and pulls it up into the path of the electric bolt. The Bolt hits the handrail and flows safely into the floor. Dark pulls the handrail completely from the rest of the rail and throws the heavy piece of metal to Electro Arian knocking her off her feet.

Dark turns and sees Trance Arian swinging her WatchBlade not far from her eyes. “Your legs are stone” said Trance Arian. Dark quickly back arms Trance Arian in the face and tries to turn again. Dark’s legs don’t move at all. Dark was stuck in the middle of the room as the ten Arians starts to regroup. Spike Arian’s armored spikes were stuck in a wall so she deactivated her Blade to free herself. Rock Arian deactivates her StoneBlade pendant and is able to pull herself out of the control panel. Logistic Arian and White Arian stand up again to join the eight others circling around DarkRaptor and moving in. “We have you now,” said Trance Arian. Dark looked around the room and remembered an old move that could help her. Dark sucked in all the air she could and gave out an ear splitting Raptor scream. All ten Arians covered their ears. “Just wait for her to run out of breath,” thought Trance Arian, “As soon as she stops, we will capture her.” The other Arians agreed and stood their ground. The glass on the view screen began to crack and fall apart. The same thing happened with all the Mirror Blade view screens all around the room. The glass of the view screen on the ceiling began the crack. This is what Dark Wanted as she poured on the power in her scream. The glass crumbled and sharp dagger like shards began to fall on them all. Dark kept on holding her scream as she used her fists to knock away the larger pieces of falling glass but she was still getting cut up by smaller pieces. The Arian were caught by surprise by the attack and were too late to prevent themselves from becoming pincushions for the large glass shards. Spike Arian tries to activate her SpinalBlade armor but Dark hits a large shard that was about to hit her and it flies right into Spike Arian face, killing her.

Dark’s legs return to normal as DarkRaptor catches her breath, her body cut up by the smaller shards of falling glass. Around Dark were ten very dead look-a-like blondes with large pieces of glass sticking out of them from their back to the top of their heads. Dark moves across the glass covered floor back to the captain’s office to check on James. Dark gives a thought and steps aside as she opens the door. A single musket ball flies out. “It’s me James,” said Dark. James comes up from behind his desk. “Are you alright?” he asked as he moved over to the door. “I could use a few band-aids,” joked Dark. “What happened to my bridge?!” yelled James as soon as he saw the devastation that was caused by the fight. “You’re going to have to find more glass,” said Dark. James looks around then a long sword bursts out of his chest. Dark turns and catches James as he falls forward. Sky Arian pulls the JumpBlade sword out of James Koror’s back and uses it to vanish. Dark falls to her knees cradling the dieing man in her arms. Dark gives another roar. “You missed one,” said James in a weak voice. “That one will be the next one I kill,” said DarkRaptor. “Not if I kill you first,” said Sky Arian behind Dark before using the sword’s hilt to knock the large woman out. Tears fall from Sky Arian’s eyes, still feeling the pain of the death of her sisters, “You muscle bound fool. All of this was just to capture you. You didn’t have to kill my sisters.” Sky Arian attached the ReverseBlade to the JumpBlade and sent DarkRaptor away with a single swipe. James watched as the blonde woman put the ReverseBlade back into her pocket and used the JumpBlade to vanish.

The MobilBlade arrives at the dock next to the YeagerBlade. “Selene!” called Zealot, “Where have you been?” “We had a game of chess to play,” answered Selene. Zealot sees Jarody step out of the MobilBlade. “And you, you asshole!” Yelled Zealot, “Where did you go? We needed you!” “Hey, Puff the Masturbation Dragon!” answered Jarody, “I was summoned! I had no choice in the matter!” Zealot turned back to Selene, “With the help of Cold and PurpleRaptor, we were able to kill the women who attacked us, but!” “What is wrong?” asked Salem. “They all look like that woman that was killed back at the Raptor valley.” “We ran into two more of them back at the Blade Temple,” said Selene. “The TidusBlade,” said Salem with a shocked look on her face. Selene pulled out her ComBlade, “Captain Koror.” Salem pulled out her ComBlade and called Koror. ColdRaptor stopped showing Lagan how to reload the revolver and activated her RPG, “Cold to Dark, your twenty please.” A loud sound started to come from Cold’s RPG and a red light flashed. “We must get back to the TidusBlade,” said Cold to Purple before running off down the dock leaving Purple and the others behind. “Wait! What happened?” called Salem after the running ColdRaptor. Purple begins to sign, “The alarm means that the vital signs being detected by Dark’s RPG show that she has been knocked unconscious and may need help.” “Quick Blade Masters, to the TidusBlade,” ordered Selene. The group left the YeagerBlade as quick as possible.

ColdRaptor arrived at the TidusBlade and began to scan the body of the giant ship for a way inside. Selene was running as fast as she could with the others as Mal followed them in the MobilBlade. Christina and Vivien both took to the air and were the next to arrive at the TidusBlade to see Cold jump into the water. Jarody appeared out of nowhere behind Vivien and he gave her a hug. The others get to the ship. Salem was panting when she said, “Can you not wait to show affection for Vivien?” “No I cannot,” said Jarody, mocking Salem. Selene looked at the large ship and said “We need to!” Selene’s ComBlade began to ring. Selene pulled it out of her pocket and answered it. “Selene,” called Ajax, “get to the bridge now and bring that little girl with the spider.” “We are stuck outside,” answered Selene. “I’ll have a port door emergency open. IT will blow off real fast so stand away from the TidusBlade,” said Ajax. “Understood.” answered Selene. The group began to step back when a door near the back of the TidusBlade blew off and went flying in a high arc to land on the roof of a nearby building with a heavy ring. The Blade Masters ran to the back of the shop and jumped through the open porthole. Salem pulled out her ComBlade and dialed 474. Haiku was in the infirmary helping Legs with the injured engineers who suffered a few burns from the exploding main engine. Haiku pulled out her ringing ComBlade, “Yes?” “We need you in the main bridge right away,” ordered Salem. “I’ll be right there!” yelled an excited Haiku and she ran out of the infirmary with the HealthBlade running after her before it jumped and attached to her back.

The Blade Masters and Lagan run through the tight corridors and jumped through the hatchways. It was not long until they ran into Lieutenant Commander John Koror. “We are trying to get to the bridge,” said Selene. “So am I, I was called there,” said John. The group squeezed into a lift with no more room for Christina, Lagan, and Emhril. “Take the next one!” ordered Selene as the doors closed.” Ajax helped James to his captain’s chair. Ajax brushes the broken glass from the chair and rests James onto it. “We need to get you to the Medical wing,” said Ajax. “No. My place now is here,” said a weak James. The lift doors opened and Haiku jumps out. The HealthBlade jumps off of the little girl’s back to fly over the security control panel to land on the back of the captain’s chair. The seven year old girl runs around the top level of the bridge, around a few of the dead Arians, to the nearest stairs leading down to the main floor and to the captain. “There is a great loss of blood and major organs have been sliced open beyond repair,” said the small child. The lift door opens again. James and the Blade Masters almost fall out as they exit into the room. “Father!” yelled John as he made the same jump over the security control the HealthBlade made before but landed on one of the arms of a dead Arian, in front of his father. James opened a small door in his armrest, “TidusBlade command,” he said in a very weak voice, “I, James Tidus Koror, hereby transfer Mastership to my eldest son, John Koror.” “But father,” said John as he fell to his knees in front of his father. The loud booming voice of Tidus, Caretaker of the Sea said, “Does John Koror take responsibility of all the benefits and drawbacks as the Master of my Blade?” John could not speak. He was not thinking about what was going on, his mind was on his father. He did not want his father to die and wanted to do what it took to keep him alive. He did not want to do this now. “Tidus is waiting for your answer son,” said James, “Do me proud and watch over everyone on this ship.” “Yes,” said John, “YES I WILL TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!” “My Blade will now recognize you, John. Master of the TidusBlade,” said the giant voice of Tidus. James smiles as he takes his son’s hand, “We made quite a mess he!” James slips away and falls into his son’s arms. “Holy crap!” yelled Jarody, “How many of these bitches are there?” Everyone else stayed quiet as John picks up his father from the chair and carries him through the lift doors just before they closed behind him.

The twins did not have to wait long for their captor to show himself. He walked down the grand stairway that led up to the living quarters. The man was dressed like a typical pirate captain except for the KingBlade around the top of his head. “Greetings, Legendary Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters,” said the man as he approached them from the other side of the large checkered platform, “I am Captain Crellis.” He takes a good look at the two women at the other side, “You two look very young for women who are over four thousand years old.” “What is the meaning of this?!” yelled Salem. “What have you done to the Blade Animals?” asked Selene. “This is just a little trick I can do with my KaleidoscopeBlade. We can’t have a friendly game of chess with only one of each piece,” said Crellis as he steps up to his side. The floor under him opens as clamps emerged and clamped around his feet, locking him down as well. “You see, Ladies. I am willing to bet my life on this game as well. So here are the terms,” said Crellis, “I will bet my life, The KingBlade, and this book my Master wants from your secret library.” Captain Crellis puts his hand in a small bag that was at his side and pulls out a small black hardbound book with paper sticking out from two pages. It was obviously a marker, holding a place of the information in the book that the Mysterious Master needed. The twins could not see what book Crellis had taken from their private library. They themselves had not been in their own library for about a thousand years. “As for your side of the wager, Not only will your lives be on the line but you will put up the SaintBlade. The real SaintBlade, not that poor copy that was here before.” “Is that all?” asked Selene. “And the secret that Terra gave you,” said Captain Crellis. “That secret? We have told almost everyone about it. Even your spy should have told you!” yelled Salem. “Not the wish you have to reinforce in the name of the Caretakers. I’m talking about the thing she gave you. A thing Stanza couldn’t see with his SoothsayersBlade,” said Crellis. The twins looked at each other. “You weren’t supposed to tell them that!” yelled Stanza as he stepped out from behind a stone pillar, “They were never to know about me!” “So that’s how your Master’s been doing it,” said Salem. “He’s been predicting what had been happening all this time,” said Selene. “Relax, Stanza,” said Crellis, “They’re not going to be alive much longer.” Crellis puts the book back in his bag and pulls out a very short black staff, “My KaleidoscopeBlade has made it so the winner will be freed and the loser of this game will be instantly killed.”

“What makes you think that you will win?” asked Salem. “I am Captain Crellis. I know everything. My greatest natural gifts are strategy and mathematics. This game is both,” said Crellis with a smug look on his face, “I’ve never been defeated.” “The Mysterious Master is waiting!” yelled Stanza, “Lady Slambrawn has killed the Caretaker and the SunBlade is on it’s way to the island! We need to get going!” the twins had heard what Stanza said but chose not to react to it. They knew, to let emotion take them now will mean their deaths. The focus has to be on the game. Captain Crellis takes off the bag and hands it to Stanza. “First, I think we need to get the game board in the right place,” said Crellis. The KingBlade on his head began to glow yellow and the large platform began to turn. “Hey!” yelled Salem. “To make this more interesting, I’ll be black,” said Captain Crellis, “This should give you a little obstacle in the game.” The platform comes to a stop with the black side, the side the Blade Animals are on, in front of Crellis. The white side was in front of the twins. “Before we begin,” said Captain Crellis, “please show your bets.” “Pawn, SaintBlade,” ordered Salem. Pawn did not do anything but look sadly at Salem. “So you have the SaintBlade in that obnoxious void,” said Crellis. “It will only allow the SaintBlade to exit,” said Salem. “Pawn,” called Captain Crellis with the KingBlade glowing purple, “Be a good boy, and give the twins the SaintBlade.” Pawn opened the ThievesBlade’s void and the SaintBlade flew out of it to be caught by Salem. “Great! Now take it from them and let’s get out of here!” yelled Stanza. “But they haven’t lost yet,” said Captain Crellis. “Lost? You mean you’re actually going to go through with this?” yelled Stanza. “Where is the other item?” asked Crellis. “What item?” asked Selene. “What the Caretaker gave you!” snapped Crellis. She didn’t give us anything else,” said Salem. “We will find out at the end of the game then,” said Captain Crellis, “White moves first.” Salem and Selene looked at each other then Salem turned and yelled, “King’s Pawn, ThievesBlade’s void!” The Pawn that was standing in front of the white King copy opened his mouth and the ThievesBlade’s void opened just as it would if the real Pawn were doing it. The black copies were beginning to be pulled in. Suddenly, the white Pawn exploded. Pieces of stone and dust flew everywhere and the ThievesBlade’s void closed. “We’re playing by the strict rules of Chess. Any illegal moves will result in a lost piece and turn. Lucky for you, this was only a starting move and I being a deep believer of the game will give you your piece back as well as your turn,” said Captain Crellis as he looked through his KaleidoscopeBlade and created a new white Pawn, “I trust you two will not be making the same mistake again. OH, and I almost forgot, you will be taking turns in moving your pieces. Only trouble is, you will not be allowed to talk to each other or use any fancy signals.” A wall comes up between the twins. “Again, just to make the game interesting,” said Crellis, “I believe it was your turn Salem.”

Electro Arian took her VoltBlades, two black sais, and placed them inside one of the control panels of the TidusBlade. Power quickly returns to the bridge and the screen lights up to show the dock and sea outside. “Silent Arian,” called Trance Arian, “Lock all doors and passages leading to the main bridge.” “Trance Arian, most of the crew is in the engine room,” said Spike Arian. “That won’t matter,” said Trance Arian, “They won’t be able to stop us unless they can get to the bridge.” “I found the panel with the automated repair control,” said Katana Arian. Trance Arian goes over to take a look at the panel, “Yes, that is what we need.” Trance Arian turns to Force Arian, “Take your place at the security control and lock out all panels except for the bridge.” Trance Arian turns back to Katana Arian, “Deactivate all automated repair, now.” In the main engine room of the TidusBlade, James and John were overseeing the efforts to get the main engine up and running by the time the twins return from the temple. “What?!” yelled Engineering Chief Lara Koror, James’ 31 year old baby sister. “What’s wrong Lara?” asked James. “Not only has the main engine been damaged more than ever before, but the auto repair sequence has stopped,” said Lara. They walked over to the engineering control panel to see why it has shut down and to reactivate it again. “Well that’s odd. It was simply turned off,” said Lara. “Maybe some one accidentally turned it off,” suggested James. Lara begins to restart the auto repair sequence. The panel gave an unauthorized message. “What do you mean?!” yelled Lara, “Why is this happening on my first week at Chief?” “Let me try,” said James, “You may not have been completely cleared through the system yet.” James turn six dials clearing his sister’s six digit authorization number and putting his own. Then James tries to restart the repair sequence. The panel gave an “Unauthorized” message again and shut down so no further attempts can be made. “What’s going on here?!” yelled James as he pulled out his ComBlade and called Ajax. On the bridge, a tone was coming from the unconscious Ajax. Trance Arian pulls out the small mirror that was making the noise and pushes the small bump on it that was flashing green. “Ajax, what is going on up there?” said James as he appeared in the small mirror, “Who are you?!” “I am Arian, and I am holding your Blade and everyone inside hostage,” said Trance Arian. “What?!” yelled James into his ComBlade, “What do you hope to gain?!” The blonde woman on the other side just turned off her ComBlade without further explanation. “Close and lock down all hatches, exits, and the Mirror Blade in the main cargo hold,” ordered Trance Arian.

“What should we do?” said a voice in Selene’s head. “We have an advantage,” thought Selene to herself, “He has no idea of our condition and ability to communicate like this.” “So you want to play and have him think he has an advantage over us?” thought Salem to herself. “Yes sister. Only it is not much of an advantage,” thought Selene, “We are still evenly matched. No matter what he does, it is a game where either of us can win.” “But he will be playing thinking we have to guess what the other will do,” thought Salem. “This is true,” thought Selene, “Make the first move, sister.” “King’s Pawn to King four,” ordered Salem. The white Pawn walked two spaces forward. “Excellent!” yelled Captain Crellis, “And so the game begins. Queen’s Bishop Pawn to Queen’s Bishop five.” The real Pawn, who was standing in front of the real King, watches the black pawn, which was in front of the fake Bishop, walk two spaces forward. “Now it’s your turn Selene,” reminded Crellis. “Queen’s Bishop Pawn to Queen’s Bishop three,” ordered Selene. The white pawn in front of the Bishop on the white Queen’s side moved one space forward. “Good, good. So far, by the book,” said Captain Crellis, “I guess you’ll have to go by the book in order to know what your sister is going to do next. Queen’s Pawn to Queen five.” The black fake Pawn in front of the real Queen moved forward two spaces. A lump in Salem’s throat grew as she mentally contemplated with her sister about her next move. “He thinks we are making our moves based on a basic strategy chess book. You have to do it. It’s not the real Pawn anyway,” thought Selene. “Pawn from King four to Queen five,” ordered Salem. The white Pawn in front of the White King opened the ThievesBlade’s void and sucked in the black Pawn before taking the black Pawn’s place on the white square. This move shocked the twins. “As so goes the first piece,” said Captain Crellis, “Had that been the real Pawn, I would have made the void take him in. It doesn’t matter if he has a soul. I changed the properties of the Blades. But now, it’s my turn. Queen to Queen five!” The real Queen, a black cat who is the master of the VentriloquistBlade, jumped forward and attacked the Pawn copy. The fake Pawn squeaked and squealed as Queen grabbing it by the neck and bit down until it snapped, killing it. The Pawn copy exploded in stone and dust just as before. Queen took her place on the white square where the white Pawn was before. The real Pawn was shocked at the demise of his look-a-likes.

Dark and ColdRaptor enter the engine room where James and John were talking to Lieutenant Henry and a large group of security officers. “I hear that we are being held hostage,” said Dark. “We’re going to correct that now,” said James, “Check every passage and every door. If you can’t get through, find a way around it. If there is none, then cut your way through! We must regain control of the bridge!” The security teams followed Harke and John out of the engine room as Legs came up to James and Dark, “David has reawakened and he’s doing fine,” “We just tazed him,” said Dark, “It would have been better if the right target had been tazed.” “What a day I’m having,” said James, “My long lost son gets phased!” “Tazed,” corrected Dark. “Whatever. My Blade’s main engine gets bashed in by a spy who gets away and suddenly, we are under siege,” said James, “And on top of it all, one of the suns have exploded.” “Like that hasn’t happened to me before,” said Dark. “How did power get restored to the bridge?” asked Legs. “I’m not sure about that,” answered James. “More Blades are the only answer for this,” said Dark, “Is there any secret way to the bridge?” “Only secret passage in the TidusBlade leads from my office to the stable,” said James. Dark looks at James for a while with her yellow cat like eyes. “What?” asked James. Dark looks deeper into James’ eyes. James felt as if Dark was sizing him up for her next dinner. “Wait,” James hits himself on the head, “We can access the bridge through my office! We got to get!” “Wait,” said Dark, “It’ll be better if it was just the two of us. I can take out that blonde in the bridge. You lead the way.” James and Dark ran to the stables.

“Your turn Selene,” reminded Crellis. Selene shakes her head and orders, “Queen’s Pawn to Queen four. The white Pawn in front of the white Queen moved two spaces to stand in front of the real Queen. “I must say that the book can have you do the most riskiest things with your pieces,” said Captain Crellis, “But I’m not falling for it, even though you will be killing the real thing, I’m no fool to lose my best piece. King’s Knight to King’s Bishop six.” The black fake knight takes to the air from the perch he was on and flew over the fake Pawn that was in front of him. The black square that was in front of a black Pawn on the King’s Bishop square opened and a new perch raised up as the original sank down. The fake Knight landed on the new perch. Salem did not hesitate and ordered, “King’s Knight to King’s Bishop three.” The same thing happened with their white Knight. “Still sticking to the book,” said Crellis, “Queen’s Bishop to King’s Knight four.” The black fake Bishop became a blur as he moved from his white square to a new white square, threatening to take the twins’ newly moved Knight. “Let’s see if you’ll stick with the book now,” said Captain Crellis. Selene ordered, “King’s Bishop to King two.” The white Bishop on the King’s right side jumps to take the square in front of the fake white King. “I guess you have no choice but to stick with the book,” said Crellis with a smile, “King’s Pawn to King six.” Pawn gave a frightened squeak. “You heard me,” said Captain Crellis as the KingBlade begins to glow purple again. Pawn moves up one square. Salem called out, “King’s Rook Pawn to King’s Rook three.” “Oh no, you are not going to take my Bishop,” said Crellis, “Bishop from King’s Knight four to King’s Rook five!” The fake Bishop moved back by one white square taking it out of harms way. Selene, “Castle the King!” The King took the King’s Knight one square and Rook took to the air to land on a new perch on the King’s Bishop one square. “Now that is a smart move,” said Captain Crellis, “And still by the book. Queen’s Knight to Queen’s Bishop six!” The real Knight leaves his perch to land on a new one on a white square. Of all of the Blade Animals that were on the board, Pawn was the most unsure of what was happening. He did not want to be playing this game at all. All of his copies made him feel very uncomfortable and the man giving him his orders had a potential to put him in harm’s way.

Salem called “Queen’s Bishop to King three.” The white Bishop quickly moved from his black square to a new black square on the King’s row. “I love this! War is just so expensive and you lose people who want you to be king. If I had it my way, all disputes between countries would be decided by a game of chess. In fact, that is what the Master has promised me. So welcome to the first world battle to change all of Colloquy. But then you won’t be around to see it,” said Crellis, “Pawn from Queen’s Bishop five to Queen four.” The black Pawn copy opened his ThievesBlade’s void and pulls in the white Pawn to take it’s place on the black square. Selene, “Pawn from Queen’s Bishop three to Queen four!” The white Pawn did the same thing to the black Pawn as the black Pawn did to the one before and the white Pawn took it’s place on the black square. “King’s Bishop to Queen’s Knight four,” ordered Captain Crellis. The real Bishop ran so fast, it looked as if he simply vanished from his black square and magically appeared on the new square. Salem, “Queen’s Rook Pawn to Queen’s Rook three.” The white Pawn moved into striking position to the real Bishop. “Whoa!” exclaimed Crellis whose eyes almost fell out of his head. Panic hit him and he stuttered a little as he yelped out, “Bishop from Queen’s Knight four to Queen’s Knight five, NO! Queen’s Rook five!” Bishop moved back a black square. Crellis gave out a large exhale and then began to laugh. “You surprised me. Not only did you make a move not in the book but you threatened one of your precious Blade Animals,” said Captain Crellis through his laughter, “You made me panic. Oh dear Salem. You diverted from the book, and for what? To scare me? What will your sister do now?”

The twins remained quiet to keep from being accused of cheating and losing a turn and a piece. Maybe this was a plan of his to have them do. They were not going to fall for it. But unknown to Crellis, they were in a flurry of discussion about his reaction to the move Selene made Salem do. Selene wanted to know if he would panic again. Selene called out, “Queen’s Knight to Queen’s Bishop three,” moving one of their Knights in striking position to kill the real Queen. “I see a trend,” said Captain Crellis, “First, the sister on the left makes a move off the book and puts one of your Blade Animals in danger, and now the sister on the right makes a move off the book, not that it matters to stay on it anymore anyway now, and places another Blade Animal in danger.” Crellis looks over the large game board. “I should just leave Queen where she is to see if you would actually take her,” said Captain Crellis, “But that would be making an idiot of myself. Queen from Queen five to Queen six.” Queen moved back one square. Salem, “Knight from Queen’s Bishop three to Queen’s Knight five.” “What?!” yelped Crellis, “Are you crazy bitches trying to kill my Queen?! Queen from Queen six to King seven!” “He panicked again,” thought Selene. “He does not want the Blade Animals hurt any more than we do.” thought Salem. “No, we are only shocking him with our unexpected moves. He is only protecting Queen as a good player. No Chess Master in their right mind will ever give up their queen,” thought Selene. “Knight from King’s Bishop three to King five,” ordered Selene. The white Knight landed on the new perch that appeared in the black square just in front of the real Pawn. Pawn was even more shocked at the twins’ moves, and now he felt that he was about to meet the fate of his copies.

“Now you are playing it safe. You didn’t leave much for your sister to work with,” said Captain Crellis, “Bishop from King’s Rook five to King two!” The black Bishop copy runs to the white Bishop and makes circles around it until the centrifugal force tore the white Bishop apart in a spray of stone and dust, and then took the white Bishop’s place. Salem, “Queen to King two!” A meow sound came from behind the fake Bishop causing it to turn quickly. This continued until the black Bishop was made to turn so fast, it met the same fate as the white copy. The white Queen took the white square that the Bishop was on. “Now that was unexpected,” said Captain Crellis, “It would make sense if I was playing a single opponent. But I know for sure that playing two people will lead them to a disagreement even though they are playing for a common goal. Could it be true that twins think alike? I think it’s best to be careful. Castle the King!” The King took the King’s Knight eight square and the black Rook copy took to the air to land on a new perch on the King’s Bishop eight square. Selene, “Queen’s Rook to Queen’s Bishop one” “Hmm. It just amazes me how you two can work together without any contact between each other except for the game board. I’m sure I’ll figure it out by the end of the game. But for now, I’ll just make a simple move. Queen’s Rook to Queen’s Bishop eight” “He made the same move,” thought Salem as the real Rook moved to his new square. “He is just using his turn to see what we would do next. The same reason why I moved our Rook,” thought Selene, “Let us go through with the plan, sister.” Salem, “Bishop from King three to King’s Knight five!” The white Bishop ran two squares to the new space it was ordered to. “Now we are just wasting moves. Very well,” said Crellis, “Bishop from Queen’s Rook five to Queen’s Knight six.”

The GullBlade stands on one of the large wings of the YeagerBlade, oblivious to what is going on in the sky. Christina looks up, transfixed on the horrific beauty happening before her. Jarody, Zealot and Detective Lagan, who were also waiting on the dock next to the YeagerBlade, were also frozen where they were, watching as a third blast of energy exploded from the smaller of the two suns. Jarody smiles when he looks back down to see the frowns of panicked people running from the town and start jumping onto every boat at the dock. Captain Koror has sent security officers to barricade people from trying to board the YeagerBlade. The TidusBlade was too far away from them to see what was happening there. “I knew this was going to happen, but I never thought it would look like this,” said Zealot. Kasey jumped out of the YeagerBlade and ran to one of the four lines that were securing her Blade to the dock. “What are you doing?” asked Lagan. “I’m getting us to safety!” yelled back Kasey as she began to untie the line, “Quick! Get in!” Zealot grabbed Kasey’s arm and pulled her away from the line. “Have you forgotten why we’re here?” yelled the lizard man, “We have to wait for the twins and see where the SunBlade falls so we can save this world!” “But I’m scared!” said the frightened girl in the rabbit costume. “We are here to assure your safety,” said Christina. Then an arrow flew threw Christina’s thick hair and passed under her ear to fly over Kasey and Zealot’s head to stop, locked in the middle of the security line. The Blade Masters turned to see a blonde woman standing over several dead security guards holding a large black bow and a quiver full of black metallic arrows. Zealot did not hesitate to jump over Christina’s head and use his SabreBlade to attack the archer. SNAP! Cracked a sound as a black metal whip wraps around Zealot’s SabreBlade and pulled him out of the air to land hard on the ground. “GullBlade!” called Christina as she ran to help Zealot. Lagan grabs Kasey and pulls her into the YeagerBlade. “No one gets a drop on me!” yelled Jarody as he pulls out his curved blade dagger. SNAP! The blonde with the metallic whip knocks the small weapon from Jarody’s hand and moves aside to allow another Blonde with metal wings and two swords attack. Jarody moves out of the way with a slight step to the right and begins to simply walk to where his Blade had landed.

Zealot stands up before Christina gets to him and he uses his SabreBlade in whip mode to stop a new attack from the blonde archer who was about to shoot Jarody in the back. The tip of the SabreBlade’s eternity chain knocks the arrow out of the woman’s hand. The blonde with the wings flies past Zealot and slashes his arm to stop his attack on the archer. Christina gets to Zealot and turns to the flying blonde who takes to the sky. “Oh no you do not!” yelled Christina, “GullBlade, angel mode!” The GullBlade opens it’s five point harness and attaches to Christina complete with breast plate. Christina leaves the ground to fly after the blonde. “Wait one second here,” said Jarody as he picks up his dagger, “Do these look-a-like women look familiar to you?” Lagan jumps back out of the YeagerBlade and fires her musket. The blonde archer shoots the speeding musket ball out of the air with an arrow with frightening ease. “Yes, these women look like that dead woman back at the Raptor’s valley,” said Lagan as she reloads. Sky Arian turns around and dives down to Christina who blocks the first attack with her double swords. The two women fight in midair. Four swords clashing and a flurry of blonde and platinum white hair connected to silver and black wings twisting in the air. Jarody extended the blade on his dagger and transformed into his true form as Death, “This time when we kill you!” Death just stops in mid sentence and turns to face the direction of the Blade Temple. Archer Arian fired an arrow through Death’s back but the black metal arrow just penetrates Death’s black cloak and out the other side missing Death’s skeletal frame. “Stop standing there and fight!” yelled Zealot as Whip Arian’s metal whip wraps around his thick neck. “I’m being summoned. There are some beings who are about to die over there,” said Death just before vanishing in a puff of black smoke leaving Zealot, Lagan and Christina with the three Arians.

“Is your game plan to try and prolong your loss?” asked Captain Crellis, “I would stall too if I knew I were going to lose my Blades and life.” Selene looks intensely at Crellis and orders, “Bishop from King’s Knight five to King’s Bishop six.” The white Bishop starts running around the black copy of Knight. The owl tried to fly away but is sucked in by the circular rush of air and gets twisted apart in dust and stone feathers. The white Bishop takes it’s place on the black square. Captain Crellis was visibly taken by surprise. He did not expect that to happen. “Ha, so you were able to get a move by me. No big deal,” lied the pirate, “One piece for another. King’s Knight Pawn to King’s Bishop six!” A Black Pawn opens it’s ThievesBlade’s void and sucks in the twin’s white Bishop. The Pawn was in position to do the same with the twins Knight forcing Salem to quickly order, “Knight from King five to Queen’s Bishop four. “You know where that puts us?” thought Selene. “I don’t blame you. I would have done the same. I see that the Knight you just moved has you in the position to take my last Bishop. The real Bishop. And you know what? I am not going to move him,” said Crellis with an evil smile on his face, “You tested me too many times in this game. So here is my test. I already know what you are going to do. And to make sure you understand my intentions. Rook from King’s Bishop 8 to Queen 8.” The black Rook copy moves from one perch to a new one on a new black square. “I made my move,” said Captain Crellis with his arms wide open, “are you going to take my last Bishop? This means killing the real Bishop if you had forgotten. Or are you going to show mercy and waste this move?” “Selene,” thought Salem, “Please do not do it. That is Bishop! The real Bishop! I know what could happen, but I do not want to chance it.” “If we do not do this move, then he will have us. He will use the Blade Animals as shields to prevent us from winning this game,” thought Selene, “We have to make this move, sister.” “There are too many questions. No one has ever used the KingBlade like this. What if we are wrong?” Selene looks at Bishop and gives the move order.

Chapter 48

The twins were eight blocks away from the temple when the sky changed from a clear blue to a frightening red and yellow. The horses stopped once again, but it was out if instinct this time. The twins looked up and saw what they were expecting but never thought they would see it. The smaller of the two suns appeared to be exploding. It was Selene who jumped off of her horse, almost falling off and landing on the ground to her knees. Salem jumped off of Syntax to join her sister. “No!” yelled Selene, her eyes drowning in her tears. “We have to get to the temple, sister,” said Salem, trying hard not to start crying as well. “She is dead. SHE IS DEAD!” yelled Selene, “Terra!” “It hurts me as well, but we made a promise to her to make this last wish. The KingBlade is in the temple. We must get it back,” said Salem. “She was like a mother to us, Salem,” said Selene. “We will mourn her, but right now, she needs us to complete this task,” implored Salem. Selene collapses onto the dirty cobblestone street, crying and grasping at each stone on the ground as she was taken by grief. “I cannot, I cannot go on,” said Selene under her tears. “Sister,” called Salem, holding Selene and trying to pull her up from the ground. Selene shakes. The feeling was overwhelming. Salem brought her sister’s head to her chest and held on tight. The twins sat on the street, alone, as the rest of the town’s population became panicked from what was going on in the sky and ran in all directions, trying in vain to escape the scene.

The Palace of the Hoofar had more security around it than ever before. Not even the religious war eighty-two years ago had as much protection on it as it did now. Hoofar Isis sat alone in her throne room until the silence was broken by a court clerk who pulled open the heavy fabric curtains from the entrance and announced, “Your Majesty, from the country of Lysts, King Abbot.” Abbot entered the large room with Raphael behind him as well as a woman with an arm full of rolled up parchments. “Isis! Very happy you’re able to see me in short notice,” said Abbot. “Why leave your country? Why didn’t you just have your Ambassador from the Lysts Consulate?” asked Hoofar Isis. “Because I feel that this requires a personal touch,” replied the King. “This form of travel does not seem very necessary,” said Isis. “You will change your mind when you can travel from one kingdom to the next in less then six hours,” said King Abbot. The sound of some one running in the hall got louder and louder as they ran into the large room. It was one of the Hoofar’s guards, “Hoofar! You must look outside right away! The Sun god has been angered!” Abbot, Isis and Raphael run to the closest balcony in the palace to see what was happening. The sight had left them speechless. The frightened screams and yelps of Isis’ people could be heard below them. Isis turned to one of the three guards who were posted on the balcony, “Go and have the horns sound. I must address our people before the panic becomes unstoppable.” The guard leaves his post while Isis, Abbot and Raphael start to head down to a different balcony that was better suited to talk to a crowd that will be at the palace soon. “Your Hex Blade twins are responsible for this,” said Isis as they weaved through the long ornate hallways. News of what was going on outside was clearly beginning to spread among the palace servants. “I don’t see how the twins could possibly do anything like that or even why,” said King Abbot. “With the KingBlade missing, whoever has it could be causing the SunBlade to act like that,” said Raphael. “What?! The twins have yet to recover the KingBlade?” yelled Isis, “I thought once they met with Terra, they would have the KingBlade right now.” “I don’t think you realize how hard it is to find an object as small as a crown when it could be anywhere on the planet,” said Abbot. The sound of the great horn on the highest tower could be heard now, calling the people to the Palace. “I’m afraid I’ll have to return to my country,” said King Abbot, “My people will be scared too.” “I understand,” said Hoofar Isis, “I wish you a fast and safe journey home.”

In the Palace City of Lysts, Captain Waller of the P.C.P.D. was at his desk opening a package that had just arrived from Detective Lagan. “I ordered her to return to the department immediately, and she sends me some souvenir from Corsair,” Waller mumbled to himself. He opens the package to find Lagan’s PCPD Detective’s badge and letter of resignation. “That fool of a woman! She’s going after Detective Pacer!” yelled Waller. An officer bursts into Captain Waller’s office, “Sir!” “Haven’t you heard of knocking?!” yelled an already agitated Waller. “Look out the window behind you!” yelled the officer. Waller turned to see that the sky had changed around the smallest sun as the first blast wave leaves it to be followed by another. The Captain accidentally loses control of himself and wets his pants. Determined not to let the officer behind him know what had just happened to him, Captain Waller yells, “Well get out there now and have everyone hit the streets! The city will be going crazy!” “Yes sir!” said the officer. “Well, GO!” barked Waller. The officer left his office leaving Waller to dive into his shelf to retrieve the extra pair of pants he had for such an emergency. The local Church was being packed full of believers, looking for an explanation from the church leaders. The rich and the royals started to retreat to the palace to see the king. The Keeper was busy giving excuses and organizing the arrivals into separate rooms of the palace trying to keep things from getting out of hand.

Selene finally started to get a hold of her emotions and with the help of her sister, she stood up again and shook herself off. “Feel better?” asked Salem. “Yes,” answered Selene, “I had to let that out.” “Now quick, we must get to the Blade Temple,” reminded Salem. The twins quickly mounted their horses again and continued up the now empty street to the temple. They could see the Temple of the Blades now as they closed in. The red energy streams on top of the temple were fluctuating. “Whatever is happening is using a lot of energy,” said Selene. The twins arrive at the gates and pass through at full gallop. The twins had never seen the courtyard this empty, ever. There was no one around. The twins reach the steps to the temple in no time at all. They dismount Darkwind and Syntax and run inside without a word. They reach the top of the stairs when the ground under them shakes, almost knocking them off their feet. Both Salem and Selene make a quick jump and land in a kneeling position. Sections of the walls move in and cut the twins off from the courtyard. “I see,” said Selene. “Whoever has the KingBlade must want us to stay,” said Salem. The twins run into the temple and through the main entranceway that leads to the main temple where the Blades are kept. The twins enter to see an unusual sight. The floor had changed and the area that once had the fake SaintBlade was now a large checkered floor where all the Blade Animals were now sitting. Not only were all the Blade Animals there, but there were two Kings, two Queens, four Knights, Bishops, Rooks, and sixteen Pawns. “Rook?” called Selene. “Pawn?” called Salem. Only the real Pawn and Rook turned their heads but they stayed in place on the checkered floor. There was a black rook with dark gold TalonBlades on its feet along with five black fur Pawns with black metal ThievesBlade masks on. On the other side were two white Rooks with silver TalonBlades on their feet as well as six white fur Pawns with white silver ThievesBlade masks. The same was true for all the other Blade Animals, except for King and Queen. White versions of them on the other side were the only copies.

People were running all around the TidusBlade manually flipping switches and changing around power conduits, trying to transfer as much power as possible to the more important systems on the ship from the emergency battery. The bridge was empty except for Ajax and First year Ensign Stevens. There was only enough power to allow Ajax to monitor the ship’s power flow. Ensign Stevens was sitting at a powerless helm in front of a blank view screen. It was OK with Stevens, he was only there as a policy formality. He was never trained on piloting the TidusBlade. That was an honor for forth year first class Ensigns. Not freshmen 3rd classes like him. He did not even know the first thing to do if the power had been restored to the bridge. Below, Emhril quickly retrieves his EarthBlade from the bashed in and broken main engine. “Mal is waiting for you in the MobilBlade outside!” yelled Dark down to Emhril. “Are you sure?!” asked Emhril, “My Blade!” “The twins need you and Mal, NOW” Yelled Dark, “Go now!” Emhril rushed out of the engine room and headed to the closest access hatch leading outside to the dock.

Captain James Koror and his son, Lieutenant Commander John, show up in the vehicle storage bay. “What have you done to my ship?” yelled James as he walked in. Dark turned from the access hatch she just talked to Emhril through to the angry Captain. David steps forward and says, “Emhril’s sorry about it, there is no!” James pushes David aside and continues to walk to Dark who stands tall in front of him. “Do not do this,” whispered Dark, “We need!” “With all due respect LORD. This is my ship and it has been damaged in a way that strikes too close for comfort for me!” yelled James before stepping around Dark and quickly walks right up to Vivien. “You monster!” James began to yell into Vivien’s surprised face, “They tell me that you could have stopped Emhril’s Blade from rolling over the edge.” “Be fair, James!” yelled Dark, “Only Emhril is able to use his EarthBlade. It is too heavy for her!” “She’s a blood sucking, Gin forsaken, VAMPIRE!” interrupted James as he grabbed Vivien’s right arm and lifts it up in the air, “She can lift a horse with just this arm alone! She could have stopped that Blade! She didn’t even need to lift it!” James turns and places his face so close to the young red head, their noses were almost touching, “You let it fall on purpose. We know about you. You are A SPY for the Master who’s working against the twins!” Vivien shakes her head “No” in fright. “Don’t lie to me! Lord DarkRaptor has already outed you, and I trust her word more than yours!” yelled James as he throws the young vampire on the hard steel floor, “Security, take this monster to the brig!” ordered James. ColdRaptor and PurpleRaptor also ran into the vehicle storage bay with a large group of security guards. Vivien looked around to see that she was surrounded by many angry faces. “Take her by any means!” yelled the Captain. “There’s no need to hurt her,” said Dark, “We have a way to capture her with no one getting hurt.” ColdRaptor stepped up and opened her left arm to reveal a small keypad and screen. Vivien could not hear what Dark was telling James. She was beginning to panic and wanted to run. Vivien had her RPG in her hand but there was no use to try and write out a plea of innocence on it, they probably wouldn’t take the time to read it anyway and the only ones here who understood her sign language were the ones who say she is a spy. David did not want Dark or any of the Raptors to capture her. They would hurt Vivien in the attempt. So he pushed his way through the guards and starts to run to Vivien. “The RPG we gave her has a tazer inside it. It will stop Vivien before she knows what happened” explained Dark, “ColdRaptor is activating it now.” Vivien turns and sees David running to her with his TsunamiBlade. Vivien was panicked already, this just pushed her over the edge. Without thinking, Vivien throws her RPG at David and jumps into the air to try and escape whatever attack he was about to launch. David stops and catches the RPG just as arcs of blue bolts starts to shoot from around it, knocking David unconscious on the floor. “Stop that monster!” yelled James as soon as he realized what happened. Seeing what had just happened to David, all Vivien can think to do was to escape. She had to get out of the TidusBlade and to safety. Vivien takes out her MirrorBlade. “Look out! She’s going to attack!” yelled one of the guards. Security Chef Harke arrives with more guards who draw their musket pistols. Vivien quickly waves her Blade around and disappears. “What happened?” asked Harke. “She cut our view of her,” said Dark. “I see her,” said Cold. Dark did a hand signal and Cold ran out of a door close by. “Where’s she going?” asked James. “Looks like Cold is chasing Vivien into the hallway,” said Dark. “Quick!” ordered James, “Follow ColdRaptor!” The security team exited the storage bay running after Cold while Legs enters. She sees David on the ground and runs to him. “He will be OK,” said Dark, “He just needs to sleep off the shock.”

Vivien flies through an open hatch just as she becomes visible again. The dock was full of people trying to board ships and small boats believing that they would be safe out at sea. “Hey!” yelled a guard standing on the dock, “There she is!” “Shoot her!” yelled another guard. Vivien quickly flies up into the air with musket balls chasing after her. Vivien out flies the small ballistics and vanishes out of sight. James, John and Dark arrive at a porthole to see Vivien escape. “We lost her,” said James hitting his fist on the rim of the porthole. “No we didn’t. She’s gone to look for the twins,” said Dark. She still has to retrieve the SaintBlade for her Master.

A lift door opens in the main bridge and a female crewmember falls out and lays on the floor. Ajax runs to the crewmember to see if she was alright. Another female crewmember jumps out of the lift and kicks Ajax in the face. The first woman gets up and jumps over the security panel to get to the helm. Ensign Stevens jumps up from his seat and pulls out his musket. The blonde woman kicks the weapon out of the young Ensign’s hand. Stevens is able to block the other kick and retaliated with a kick of his own. Ajax grabs the foot of the other woman and throws her face first into one of the control panels. The lift opens again and four more women jump out. Ajax and Ensign Stevens finally get a good look at them and see that they all look like the same woman. “What are you?” asked an astonished Ajax. “We are Arian,” said all six women at the same time before they began to attack again. This time there were three to each of them. Ensign Stevens was easily taken down with a kick to the back of the head. The last thing Stevens saw before blacking out was all six Arians piling on Ajax.

Chapter 47

Captain James was happier then he had ever been before. He has DarkRaptor on his ship and is now showing her around. But the thing that has made him the happiest man of all is his son is traveling with her and fighting at her side. David did not see it that way. David felt like a real disappointment. So far all he has done around Dark was fail to ride a horse, did not get to a fight, followed around a woman who was not there, make love to Christina, and in the last fight, he was completely useless. Even Emhril, who is sleeping most of the time, joined into the fight and used his EarthBlade to bust up a platoon or two. All David had managed to do was to clean the Phantom army’s armor. “I can’t believe you’ve never been on the TidusBlade before!” said James. “I had very little faith in the Blades back then,” answered Dark. The lift doors opened and James escorted Dark onto the bridge. “This is the main bridge,” said James. “Main bridge?” asked Dark, “Is there more than one?” “Well there’s a second bridge but it’s completely unusable,” said James. “Let me see this unusable second bridge,” said Dark.

After awhile James with Dark, the twins and a crewman arrive at large double doors. The doors were actually sideways and the room looked to be located on the portside of the TidusBlade. James called into his ComBlade, “Engine room, restore power second bridge.” “Aye, Captain,” replied the crewman in the engine room. The lights around the sideways double door began to light and grew brighter and brighter. The doors slid open with one door going into the floor and the other going into the ceiling. “Wow,” said Selene, “None of your forefathers has ever shown us this room. “Well there’s no mystery why,” said James, “It’s completely useless.” The group looked inside to see a copy of the main bridge but it was all turned sideways to the right. “The TidusBlade has gravity generators in it,” said Salem, “Can you not just use them to allow you to enter the room?” “We can do that,” said James before he turned to the crewman who was with them and gave him the signal to turn the room’s Grav Generator on. The crewman opened a small door in the floor and he connected some wires. The lights inside the second bridge started to brighten. James showed them the way to step into the sideways room and the others followed his example.

Once stepping in the room everything looked right side up again, everything but the world outside. The screens were showing the ocean standing to the left side. “That is one reason why this bridge is unusable. We can’t navigate when the view is sideways like that.” A look at the control panels revealed that they were closer to the floor than the ones on the main bridge. “The seats,” said Salem, “Look at all the seats in this room.” “They are all half the size of the ones in the main bridge,” observed Dark. “This Blade expects children to use this bridge?” Selene asked herself out loud. “The controls on the panels are smaller too,” said James, “There is no way a full grown person, especially in a high pressure situation, can use these controls without hitting the other buttons around the one they need to use.” “Hence, why you say this alternate control room is unusable,” said Dark.

After seeing the sideways room and being taken on a more expansive tour of the TidusBlade than James gave the Blade Masters at Hellion, the twins returned to the deck where their room is located. The Blade Masters were busy exchanging rooms between themselves. Christina had already gathered her things and moved them to the Koror Family deck where David’s room is. Vivien moved in with Jarody. Zealot moved out of his and Jarody’s room and into Christina and Vivien’s old room to have a room to himself. Detective Lagan has her room to herself without Pacer. “I have an idea sister,” said Selene. “I know. You want to move in with Zealot,” said Salem. “Any objections?” asked Selene. “Go ahead. I will have Lagan move in with me so Dark, Cold, and Purple can have a room,” said Salem. “Are you sure there is not any other motive to have Lagan in the room with you?” asked Selene. “How can you think that?” asked Salem. “I honestly do not know,” jokes Selene before knocking on Zealot’s door to ask him permission to move in. Dark and PurpleRaptor exit the lift and onto the Blade Master deck. “We have a room for you, Purple, and Cold,” said Salem. “Cold is staying on the bridge. She doesn’t need to sleep,” said Dark, “Captain James tried to give me the Royal Suite. I told him, ‘Thank you, but I think its best that I had a room here, where I can keep an eye on that what we were talking about,” said Dark. “Good thinking,” said Salem. “Oh, I’ve taken the liberty of filling the captain in on what needs to be done and why it’s important,” said Dark, “Hope I didn’t overstep my bounds.” “Don’t worry Dark. I bet it had more impact coming from you,” said Selene, “If you excuse me, I will go get Lagan to move into my room so you can move in.” Soon after, the Blade Masters and Raptors finally settled in and enjoyed the heated showers and the soft clean beds.

Night had fallen and a heavy rainstorm had arrived just when Lady Slambrawn, Nuclear-Chipmunk, the LightningBlade and Dalton entered a cave. The cave was large but it was long and winding. A sign, recently carved into the rock, showed Lady Slambrawn that she was in the right cave and headed in the right direction. “Get up Dalton,” said Lady Slambrawn, “My destiny waits.” Dalton gets up after they had taken a few hours to rest at the entrance and begins to pull the large hourglass by its handle as the wheels moved along the uneven surface. The hourglass itself is being kept upright through a series of hinges and wheels. Lady Slambrawn lights a torch, to see in the dark cave. The light was bright enough to see that the sand was a little more than one forth the way to the end. Dalton was halfway hoping that the sand had gone farther then where it is now. Dalton wanted to get the task that the Mysterious Master had sent them on over with very quickly. Deeper and deeper into the long cave they walk with Nuclear-Chipmunk giving a chirp every few feet or so for even he knew that what they are doing is very dangerous.

David introduced Christina to his parents as his girlfriend. James was very happy that his son had found a very VERY proud chested woman to share his love. Lydia, David’s mother, had a different opinion about women with large chests. Everywhere the TidusBlade had been the land women with large chests usually dance naked for money in taverns and pubs or they would mate with anyone for money. Christina had the largest chest Lydia had ever seen, meaning that Christina probably does both. James wanted to talk with David and Christina more, but there was another child of his that he needed to talk to. James waited in his office while he added a new entry in his log as John enters. “You wanted to see me, father?” said John. “Yes, John,” said James, “You know, I have to explain to the philosophers why we had to dump their precious labs into the sea for a bunch of barbaric warriors.” “With respect, Father,” John interrupted, “I thought you regarded the Blade Masters as valued friends.” “Yes, I do. I’m glad you were able to make the choice without having to consult me even with your brother being with them. I know how you feel about him,” said James, “This has shown me that you are ready. When the time comes for your mother and I to leave the TidusBlade for an old couples’ log cabin next to the sea somewhere, I know I will find rest easily knowing that I had left the TidusBlade in the right hands. Your grandfather had to deal with the burden of making me captain. I bet the old man still tosses and turns in his bed at night, not knowing if I have run this ship aground yet.” “You still have a good twenty years in you father. Why are you talking like this now?” asked John. “Can’t I talk with my second in command while the feeling is with me?” asked James, “I’m telling you how proud I am son and you are acting as if I’m chastising you.” “I didn’t!” began John. “Just promise me that David will always have a place here,” said James, “He may stay with the twins or he might go out on his own again. Whatever happens after all of this, no matter what he’s done or what he’ll do. I want him to always have a place here..” John looks down at the floor taking in all his father was saying, “Yes, father.” “He may come and go but he is still family,” said James. There was a knock on the door and Dr. Billing entered, “Excuse me if I was imagining it but I thought I ordered you to bed.” “That’s right, you did,” said James, “A few things came up.” “But they are over now,” said Billing, “Back to bed with you, go on, Doctor’s orders.” “Yes, Legs,” said James as he, John and Legs left the office. “You have the bridge,” said James to his son.

The night was a short one as the TidusBlade heads to the west where the first of the two suns were just coming out from behind the horizon. They had arrived at the busy seaport of the fishing town of Koror. The twins were successful in getting everyone out of bed and gathered in the main cargo hold. A few of the large doors have been open giving the Blade Masters a great view of the busy port as they close in. Almost at the other side of Colloquy, Lady Slambrawn, Nuclear-Chipmunk, the LightningBlade and Dalton arrive in a large chamber. “There she is,” said Lady Slambrawn pointing at a wall in the unbelievably large space. Dalton could not see what his master was pointing at but Nuclear-Chipmunk’s reaction seemed to confirm it. The small rodent turned from happy pet to an animal ready to kill. “The Slambrawn family name is about to join the few,” said Lady Slambrawn, “with Battenberg, Copperfield, Koror, and even the Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters. To kill a Caretaker is to carve your name in history for all time.” This had reminded Dalton to check the large hourglass he was pulling. “I believe we are about ten minutes away from the end,” informed Dalton. “Very good,” replied Lady Slambrawn, “Just as I planned. You know what to do my pet.” Nuclear-Chipmunk gave a squeak of acknowledgement before scampering off to a hiding place. “You stay out of sight Dalton and call out when time is almost up,” instructed Lady Slambrawn. Dalton quickly pulled the large hourglass behind a large rock and tried his best to keep it and himself out of sight.

Lady Slambrawn approached the center of the large arena like room and activates her Blade hidden underneath her very elegant looking dress. The ThunderBlade armor tore her dress into nothing more than confetti as it covers her arms and legs as well as formed the large cannon in its ready position on her back. Lady Slambrawn stops when she thinks she was in the absolute center of the room and looked around. The ground was not only unnaturally smooth here but it was the cleanest rock floor she had ever seen. The ceiling was so high, to look at it for too long made Lady Slambrawn feel dizzy. Rocks were staked at places and shelf like ledges could be seen as well as a small leak dripping down obviously coming from the heavy storm still raging on outside. Lady Slambrawn gave a very crooked smile before the ThunderBlade cannon flips from her back to come to a rest over her left shoulder. The narrow barrel of the canon slowly changed from being cannon like to start to widen until it was a large cone shape and a smaller cone folded around to stop in front of Lady Slambrawn’s mouth. “Terra!” called Lady Slambrawn, her voice being amplified by the ThunderBlade and filling the huge room. Dalton jumped when the si0lence was broken by his master’s booming voice, but the silence quickly returned.

A Plan was made among the Blade Masters. The twins will take Darkwind and Syntax and return to the Blade Temple with the SaintBlade so the monks and Blade hopefuls can see the real thing at least once. While Emhril, David, Vivien, Mal and Haiku stayed aboard the TidusBlade just incase the SunBlade started to fall and headed to a place out to sea. Jarody, Christina, Zealot and Detective Lagan were waiting on the dock next to the YeagerBlade ready just incase the SunBlade looked to be heading towards land when it falls. “Does anyone else find it odd that our plan requires a sun to fall out of the sky in order to work?” asked Zealot. “At least it doesn’t involve tickling a snakeman,” said Jarody. The Twins were with Captain James and the Raptors on the dock watching the crew offload the cargo they had brought from Hellion, The country now called Isis and Cragorus. “We will be ready very shortly,” said James. “Coming with us Dark?” asked Selene. “I think I better stay on the TidusBlade. The less time I spend out in the open here, the better,” said Dark.

The rock wall Lady Slambrawn was looking at began to move and rocks were falling from such a height that they became dust when they hit the floor. Lady Slambrawn stood her ground as the cavern started to light up with strange phosphorescent rocks that were positioned to cover every corner of the room. A large withered looking rock foot emerged from the wall and was quickly joined by another. Before Lady Slambrawn knew it, she was facing a rock giant of a very old woman. “What do we have here?” asked the giant. “I’m Lady Slambrawn of the house of Slambrawn and soon to be queen of all of Colloquy,” said Lady Slambrawn, “I am here to bring death to you and to earn my family the recognition it deserves!” “Oh I see,” said Terra, “Soon to be queen? And you say you have brought death? Sorry my dear if this makes me laugh but I never thought the world would have needed a single queen. As for bringing Death, some good old friend of mine had already brought him by and I must say he really enjoyed my turkey pot pie.” Lady Slambrawn did not take being treated this way very lightly. The ThunderBlade cannon transformed back into it’s attack mode right before, “SLAM!!” A wave of concentrated sound hits the old Caretaker on the leg causing Terra to stumble. Terra saved herself from falling by grabbing onto a nearby ledge. “I’m not playing around you old hag!” yelled the angered Lady Slambrawn, “You will die tonight and at the exact time the Mysterious Master wants you dead!” Terra begins to defend herself by causing a few large stalagmites to rise up in the path of Lady Slambrawn’s next few attacks. “Slam!!! Slam!!! Slam!!!” yelled Lady Slambrawn as she ran across the room.

Dalton had never been as frightened as he was now. He was sure that the large Caretaker will not only kill his Lady, but him as well. This thought in Dalton’s mind caused him to stay curled up behind the rock next to the hourglass trying in vain to stay hidden. Dalton hoped that his Lady did not call out. “Dalton, the time!” ordered Lady Slambrawn as she ran and jumped around to avoid the falling rocks from the stalagmites she was destroying. Dalton took a good look at the hourglass and yelled in reply, “Five minutes to go, my Lady!” Lady Slambrawn stopped when she reached the side of the room she was aiming for. Terra began to create stalactites just above her attacker and letting them fall. “Why does your master want me dead at such a specific time?” asked Terra. “Slam!!!” yelled Lady Slambrawn to intercept the falling stalactites and then turned her attention to the trickling leak almost in the center of the room. “Slam!!!” Lady Slambrawn launched an attack at the leak and caused the ceiling to cave in at that spot. Rocks fell on the Caretaker along with a heavy torrent of water that had collected on the mountain. The waterfall was steady and did not look to be ending quickly. Terra is at the center of the large waterfall leaving Lady Slambrawn to wonder what had happened to the giant. “Because your death will bring down the SunBlade,” said Lady Slambrawn’s amplified voice, “You have to die now for it to land right where the Mysterious Master is waiting for it.”

“Three minutes, My Lady” called out Dalton whose voice was almost drowned out by the falling water. Terra emerged from the waterfall which had now began to slowly come to an end. The water had turned Terra’s body to mud, smoothing her old features and causing Terra to look young again. Terra’s mud body also gave her the ability to transform her arms. This was very evident to Lady Slambrawn as Terra’s right arm turned into a giant ax and began to fly at her with blinding speed. Lady Slambrawn avoided the attack and returned with one of her own, “Slam!!!” The attack hit Terra on the side and blasted a hole in the large Caretaker. “Then I better try and live a little longer,” said Terra as her mud body merely refilled the hole before she attacked Lady Slambrawn again with her other arm now looking like a wrecking ball. Lady Slambrawn was almost caught by this attack escaping it with inches to spare. The waterfall had completely stopped now replaced by a view of the stormy sky. “One minute, My Lady!” called out Dalton. “Now my pet!” ordered Lady Slambrawn. Nuclear-Chipmunk sent the LightningBlade into the large room. Lady Slambrawn saw the glint of the LightningBlade’s golden body as it flew skyward through the large opening after attaching the wire to the Caretaker. The LightningBlade had just left the hole when a real lightning bolt hits it and the energy travels down to the Caretaker. Terra falls to her knees when hit and her arms return to their original state.

“Again my pet, don’t stop!” yelled Lady Slambrawn. The LightningBlade repeated it’s attack over the over again on the Caretaker and continued to find real lightning bolts to amplify the attack power. A heavy steam had covered the giant women and hid her from view. Lady Slambrawn’s ThunderBlade stopped halfway between amplification and attack mode. “Poof,” said Lady Slambrawn as the sound wave blew the steam fog out of the way showing Terra standing very still. “I just made you into a statue,” said the evil woman, “A very easy process I know.” “My Lady!” called out Dalton, “The sand is almost out!!” “I now end this with my family name,” said Lady Slambrawn as her Blade changed back to it’s full attack mode again. “Slambrawn!” yelled the woman just as the last grain of sand fell to the bottom of the hourglass. Terra’s body exploded in a shower of rock and dust. Dalton ducked down again and is quickly covered by rock while Nuclear-Chipmunk jumps back behind the rock he was hiding at and is also covered by rock and dust. Lady Slambrawn yelled, “Slaaaaaaaaaam!!!” creating a protective wall of sound waves around her. The rock and dust was repelled by the waves leaving Lady Slambrawn untouched when the explosion was over. Lady Slambrawn ran to her pet and gently pulled him out of the dust and rock and brushed him off. “My lady,” called Dalton from under the heavy rock. “Should we save him my pet?” asked Lady Slambrawn. Nuclear-Chipmunk gave a disapproving growl. “Aw, but who will row the boat back?” asked Lady Slambrawn before turning the cannon to the rocks covering the servant. “Slam!!!” yelled Lady Slambrawn destroying the rocks and freeing the man. The hourglass was destroyed and looked to be the thing that saved Dalton. “Come Dalton, we must get back to the ship,” said Lady Slambrawn. “What about the Mysterious Master’s hourglass?” asked Dalton. “We were going to leave it here anyway,” said Lady Slambrawn, “If he wants another one, he can get one for himself after he gets whatever it is he wants and makes me queen.” Lady Slambrawn carries her pet as Dalton limps behind her back through the cave.

Mal had bought Darkwind and Syntax onto the dock for the twins when Pawn begins to flinch and jumps off of Salem’s shoulders. The small animal is a blur of silver and fur as it runs up the dock and down the main street. “What happened to him?” asked Selene. Rook also took-off quickly, flying to the Temple of the Blades along with Knight right behind her. “Look!” yelled Salem,” Knight is visible!” “But Knight never flies visible!” said Selene. Then both twins look at each other and say at the same time, “The KingBlade!” “Some one is using the KingBlade at the Temple!” yelled Selene. “The Blade Animals can feel it!” said Salem. The twins jumped up on their horses and began to ride to the temple as fast as they could. Selene took out her ComBlade and called Mal who they just left in a cloud of dust, “Mal, find Emhril and get the MobilBlade to the Temple! You do not need any of the horses in battle mode. We may need it.” “Right,” said Mal as he ran back inside the TidusBlade. Dark and the other Raptors ran after James who also ran back inside to get to his control room. “If someone has taken over the Blade Temple, then it’s not good at all,” said James while running to the nearest Com panel. “Why is that?” asked Dark. James touches the Com panel and yells, “All hands, this is the Captain. I’m calling a red alert, All hands to battle stations.” Alarms all over the TidusBlade began to sound and the halls are quickly filled with crew members rushing to get where they need to be. “The twins never told you?” asked James as he and the Raptors continued to run to the nearest lift to the main bridge. “Told me what?” asked Dark. James and the Raptors jump into the lift. “The Temple of the Blades is a Blade,” said James, “It is the AresBlade. You know, as in Ares, Caretaker of war.” “I take it that is not a good thing,” said ColdRaptor in her monotone voice. The four arrive on the bridge. “Get me a magnified image of the Blade Temple!” ordered James. Ajax steps up to James and says, “I’m sure that whatever is going on at the temple can wait for what is happening now.” “What do you mean?” asked James before looking at the main screen. The image of the smaller sun exploding was on it.

Mal had grabbed Emhril and took him to the storage bay where the MobilBlade was. David, Vivien and Haiku followed them. The MobilBlade was stored next to the platform the BoltBlade was on. Pixie Dust was complaining to a crewman about there being no track in Koror for her to unload her Blade. The Blade Masters had entered the storage bay when a female crewman pointed up and began to scream. Everyone looked up and saw the horrific sight of one of the suns exploding. Only the Blade Masters knew what it meant but it did not take away from the horror they were seeing. Emhril, without thinking dropped his EarthBlade on the ground and it began to roll to the BoltBlade’s platform. The EarthBlade was getting heavier and heavier as it got closer to the BoltBlade. Vivien was the only one close to stop it but like Emhril, she was in a state of shock that paralyzed her. Pixie Dust saw the Blade rolling to her and the long indentation it was leaving behind on the thick steel floor. This told Pixie Dust that it was indeed heavy and will damage her Blade if that thing hits it. Pixie Dust runs to the platform controls and knocks over a shocked crewman. She finds the button to lift up the platform and hits it. The BoltBlade rises to safety as the heavy EarthBlade falls down the hole under the platform and down into the TidusBlade’s engine room. The EarthBlade pulverizes the main engine and causes an explosion. Engineers run in a panic while others begin to help those who were injured in the explosion. On the bridge, warning lights began to flash and more sirens sound. “We just lost the main engine!” reported Ensign McCloud. “Massive crew injuries are being reported Captain!” said Ensign Moody. “Get Security to the engine room now!” ordered James. “Where are the Blade Masters that are still on board?’ asked Dark. “They are in the vehicle storage bay just above the engine room,” said Ajax. “Captain,” called Dark, “The spy. She has struck and disabled the only ship in this dock.” James became very angry, “Security to the vehicle storage bay NOW!” James left the bridge to face the spy once and for all, “You have the bridge John.” “Stay on the bridge Purple,” ordered Dark before leaving with the Captain and ColdRaptor. Purple turned to the main view screen to watch the sun.