//------------------------------// // The Fights ... // Story: The Adventure Continues // by Dragon Shimmer //------------------------------// Sharp metallic noises ring out as armored knights shaped like chess pieces attack Natalie and Matt. The heroes are becoming quite tired due to the number of opponents. Sensing his enemies weakening the Chess Master grins. Arrogantly he takes out a cane and knocks it on the checkered floor. The armors respond by moving back into the corners of the board. The Chess Master stood up from his throne and claps his hands, "Since you both fight so well, I have an offer for you." The man slowly walks up to the chessboard and continues. "You can become my knights and join my glorious chess army. In return, I will take good care of you both. Especially you, my dear. Imagine yourself as my new queen…" Ending his speech, the man dramatically turned to face the pair, but a fireball sailed by his face, burning his cheek. Angrily, the Chess Master glares at them and adds, "ah, if you insist." Slamming the cane on the ground, his soldiers resume the attack on the duo. However, Matt has taken advantage of the Chess Master’s rant to recharge his claymore. The swordsman strikes several knights down before he notices Natalie is just standing still. It is her signal to him that she needs some time to build up strength for a powerful spell. Matt glances at his long-time teammate, trying his best not to smirk as he feels the mana building up. The swordsman does his best to defend Natalie so she can finish her spell. A sudden wind whips around the room as a blue aura surrounds the mage. Sensing danger, the Chess Master commands his armored soldiers to attack Natalie, but it’s too late. Natalie glares intensely at the Chess Master, her neutral expression slowly changes to an ominous grin. Intimated by the mage’s stance the checkered man slowly retreats to his chair. The mage drops her staff and puts her palms on the ground. Instantly, a magic circle illuminates the room. A large ray of light is shot from the magic circle and breaks through the roof. Meanwhile, the old guard, who had asked the Team to destroy the factory, is eating at the Chrystal tavern. He worries about the group’s safety inside the complex. There have been rumors about dangerous guardians inside the structures. Unexpectedly, the guard notices his glasses and tableware shaking. Several persons are screaming outside, so the old man runs out to investigate. The villagers look in amazement as a ray of light is shooting into the sky. "What?" The old man looks at the ray. After a while, he realizes what is looking at, "I...I never thought that I would see this spell again." One of the villagers asks him, "You mean this is the spell that you saw thirty years ago?" the old man nods, "Aw man, I thought you were crazy." The man nods again while his lips curve into a small smile, "It's okay because it's hard to imagine. Now the town has hope once again that the factory can be destroyed." After the spell dies down, all of the knights are shattered into pieces. The once overconfident Chess Master steps away from Natalie holding his cane in his trembling hand in a vain defense. "How... how can you know this spell?" He asks her astonishingly. Ignoring the defeated foe, Natalie calmly walks to the battery to claim it. "Hey, that’s mine.” Whines the Chess Master as he tries to block the mage with his cane. However, Natalie turns around and punches him in the face. The woeful man’s head falls back against one of the fallen knights and is promptly knocked unconscious. Triumphantly, Natalie picks up the battery and strides towards the exit. The mage gives the swordsman a knowing look as she leaves the room. Slowly the man formerly known as the Chess Master begins to wake up. The man moans softly as he holds his head and attempts to sit up. His eyes suddenly fall on the now-empty holder for the battery and moan for the second time. Feeling amused, the swordsman watches his foe slide down the side of his chair into an overwhelmed heap. Matt casually walks over to the checkered-dressed man slumped on the floor. “Ok, buddy, let’s go!” pips Matt as he gestures to the former baddy. When the man would not move, the swordsman attempts to drag him out. It does not take long for Matt to get frustrated with the uncooperative costumed man. Finally, the swordsman’s patience runs out. “Come on you Harlequin wannabe, we promised to rescue everyone in here. Do you want to stick around when this place goes sky high?” “Oh no,” moans the costumed man, “the boss is going to kill me…” Matt rolls his eyes at the sulking figure before whispering to him “you know… my friend is in the next room and is still kind of… irate. Would you rather she use that aggression on your boss or… come back in here for you?” The man’s only answer was a nearly inaudible squeak. Watching the short pudgy man scamper out the room, Matt can’t help but smirk in amusement. As the swordsman exits the room he thinks to himself “Lesson learned. NEVER get Natalie mad…” The plus-shaped bridge shook as the four combatants continued to fight. Sweat runs down Drill’s face as the ninja struggles against Nolegs. Drill has underestimated the feline’s swiftness. The female ninja tries to slash him with high speed but the acrobatic cat dodges all of her attacks. In the meantime, Anna, using the rubber bridge pads as stabilizers, attacks the other ninja, Jack. Showers of various arrows rain around Jack from the relentless Anna. The ninja attempts to reach the archer but is impeded when she creates an ice wall. Jack huffs in frustration as the spell surrounding the girl makes his superior speed useless. Concentrating on a fire spell on his palm, Jack slams his palm on the ice to melt it. Gripping his sword in the other hand the ninja moves to strike the archer. However, he sees an arrow pointed at him and quickly ducks. But it was a trap. The arrow was a distraction by the clever girl. As soon as the ninja leaned forward, it provided Anna a chance to kick Jack squarely in the chin. The opponent hit the bridge wall hard, followed closely by a new slew of arrows. One arrow hits his palm, pinning it to the structure. Drill witnesses her brother’s trouble with the archer but is blocked by Noleg’s sword before she can help. Frustrated, the ninja glares at the taunting cat and grips her sword tighter. Drill enchants her sword to become longer and covers her body with a blue aura. Despite the spell further increasing her speed, the feline continues to evade and taunt her attacks. With the ninja now boiling mad, Nolegs enchants his sword with electricity and hops on the end of Drill’s now extra-long weapon. She futilely attempts to shake off the cat, but the weight of his body makes the sword too heavy to hold up. The female ninja has no choice but to drop the sword. However, to Drill’s astonishment, the cat jumps back into an insulated box instead of continuing the attack. Cheerfully, Nolegs holds his lighting sword over his head and ‘meows’ at the confused ninja. The sword sparks brightly before striking the metal bridge. “Huh?” ponders Drill, “Did that cat just say good… night?” With his opponent unconscious from the electric shock, Nolegs holds up his blade and 'meows' in victory. Afterward, the cat quickly hops up to where his teammate is fighting the other opponent and plugs his sword into that side of the structure. Jack feels the bridge shudder but pays it no heed. All of his focus is on the green girl before him. Growling with anger and pain from the wound, the ninja unplugs the arrow from his hand. Sword in hand, Jack charges at the nimble archer who has reactivated her ice wall. In response, Anna stomps her foot to thicken her ice defenses. Undeterred, the ninja enchants his sword to dissolve ice and thrust his blade into the frozen barrier. Steam comes off of the weapon as Jack removes the blade from the ice wall, however, there is no blood on the sword. Two other attacks yield identical results. Flabbergasted, the ninja takes out a talisman and attracts it on the Kunai. As he is preparing to throw the charm Jack spots movement from the corner of his eye. Suddenly an arrow whizzes past Jack’s cheek. Looking up, numerous arrows are plummeting towards his spot. The ninja’s swordsmanship deflects the attack but damages part of his protective padding. Perceiving his foe’s ice wall was damaged in his last attack, Jack charges forward in a zig-zag pattern towards his objective. A seemingly stray arrow catches on the loose part of the ninja’s uniform, pinning it into the bridge, but Jack just slips out of the damaged material. Anna fires another arrow but the ninja's weapon is ready. Crackling magic is flowing over the sword as it easily slices the arrow. The arrow promptly… detonates. Reacting to the ninja’s magic, the arrow produced a powerful gust of wind that blows Jack onto the metal portion of the bridge. Without his protective gear, Jack becomes the second ninja casualty of the electrified metal assembly. Anne calmly watches her opponent promptly faint and tumble over the side of the bridge. There was an audible smack as Jack lands on top of his poor unconscious sister. Hopping down from the trestle, the tired archer reunites with her feline teammate. Anna kneels to allow her friend to hop onto her shoulder. The cat 'meows' happily accepting some fresh ear scratches. “We make a great team, don’t we?” remarks Anna. Nolegs 'meows', in response and motions to a stand at the end of the room, "Oh right, shall we take the battery?" Nolegs nods in agreement. Hanging from a string-covered ceiling, another archer is experiencing concerns battling a powerful foe. Karel the archer attempts to hit what appears to be a well-built robot dragon. “This is not right,” muses Karel as he repeatedly attempts to shoot down the orange dragon. However, Sunset simply waves her claw and burns the arrows. Moving through her shifting ceiling filaments, Karel tries to figure out his adversary’s ability, it is not as easy as the archer thinks. The dragon continues to counteract all of the archer’s attacks. When the arrows fail, Karel attempts to use her offensive cards. Using an arrow as a distraction, the archer follows up with the card. The result is a frustrating failure as Sunset only needs to move her head aside to dodge the attack. Karel thinks, “This is not a simple robot. I should negate her power source.” He shoots an arrow on the roof that has a rope on it and swings to a lever. He turns to the dragon and says, "Looks like we have to end here. You fight well but I have to shut you down." Sunset just stands there and replies, "Ah… I’m not a..." Karel grins as he pulls down the lever and watches the summoned drones tumble from the ceiling. The swarm of beeping orbs floats around Sunset. Karel chuckles to himself, while Sunset holds back a grin, "These machines absorb electricity. They will shut you down in minutes!" The archer dramatically aims his bow at Sunset, "Soon, you will be my newest trophy!" Silence permeates the room for a moment before a new sound is heard. Karel can only observe the scene in confusion. Sunset could not control herself any longer. The last incidence was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Emanating a noise louder than the floating orbs, the not deactivated dragon is rolling on the floor… laughing. When Sunset stops laughing, she shakes her head and conveys the last chuckle to Karol, "Have you ever considered I’m not mech…” Suddenly, a group of electrified orbs hurled towards Sunset. She evades the attacking drones but they pass close enough to burn one of her legs. The dragon is not pleased. “You know what, forget it." she snorts. Fire erupts into the chamber from the now irritated Sunset Shimmer. Her transformed golden wings blind her opponent. A second burst from the dragon’s fire burns up the remaining strings, forcing Karel to retreat. Once floating orbs start to drop from the air, exploding upon impact to the floor. Fiery spheres rain down on the archer as he scrambles for safety. "Enough robot!” Shouts Karel. “Time to finish you off." The archer shakes slightly as he claps his hands to summon another wave of mechanical minions. "These machines will absorb all of your battery power and you will finally break down." A low groan emanates from the now annoyed dragon as yet another wave of orbs approaches her. These machines appear to be connected by electrical arcs, but Sunset is no longer interested in how they function. Instead, she teleports behind the multi-legged source of her growing frustration. The dragon appears behind Karol, but he is aware of her sudden appearance. Karol uses his bow to block the dragon’s claws, however, the blow is too strong and he is sent crashing into the wall. “Stupid robot.” Coughs the now bleeding archer - spider, “You will pay for that.” Grabbing his bow, Karel shoots several more arrows at Sunset, but the dragon steps aside to dodge them. Unexpectedly, the arrows boomerang around Sunset before they shatter into a thick rope. "Well, at least I can immobilize you." Karel retorts still wiping his bloody cheek. "What an unusual model you are, I can’t wait to start disassembly. I wonder what polyurethane blend the outside is made of? Huh, where is your serial number?" “Not a... Hello? Are you listening to me at all?” grumbles Sunset to the rambling archer. Rolling her eyes in annoyance, the dragon whistles loudly. “Yoohoo? Are we forgetting about something?” Karel turns to find the dragon missing. He quickly reaches for his bow, but Sunset is faster and the archer ends up pinned against the wall by her scaly tail. Snatching up the archer’s bow in her claws, Sunset breaks the item before turning her full attention to her foe. Her patience spend, Sunset pushed her snout right into the archer's face. Karel’s eyes go wide when smoke comes out of her nostrils. “Ok wise guy, look I understand you have been in this room a while with not a lot of opportunities for social interaction. But let's get one thing straight, there is nothing mechanical about me, understand? I am not a machine. I am not a rob...” The monolog abruptly stopped when Sunset observed the archer had not moved. Perplexed by the odd reaction, she was further baffled when her adversary started changing colors. Sunset watched her foe’s face slowly turn green and was concerned she may have hit him too hard. The dragon loosened her grip to allow Karel to slide down the wall. “Not a robot…” Groans the archer before turning white and keeling over. Sunset quickly checked the archer for injuries. Thankfully there were none. The archer had just fainted. “Well,” she thinks, “that’s one way to end a fight.” Sunset ties Karel up with the leftover rope before flying up to claim the battery. A wonderful smell is slowly filling up the main room. Oddly out of place in the otherwise stark metal chamber are 2 persons sitting casually around a campfire. One of the people is stirring a metal pot suspended over the fire. The wonderful aroma of spiced stew is slowly winning the fight over the factory’s old smell of motor oil and grease. Smiling triumphantly at his latest cooking creation, Lance looks over at his companion, April. The girl looks much more relaxed since they first met, however she still appeared on guard. Sensing his comrade is uncomfortable, Lance stretches out on a floor pad. The gunner then proceeds to remove two books from his travel pack. After placing one book down, he offers the second book to April, who declines. April looks at Lance and wonders why he set up a campsite in the middle of a waste processing plant. “This is one of the most thing surreal things I have seen.” She observes. “But why are you doing this now instead of helping your teammates?” Lance replies, "Lass am helping ‘hem out by doing this. Ya believe that they’ll successfully return from their quests and then will complain to ye they are hungry. Ye don't know ya teammates, well as ya do. Mark ye words, ye am saving your life." April tries to retort, "Ok, but what if-" but stops when the first door opens. Natalie triumphantly enters the room carrying the battery. The mage then walks over to the large door to plug in the unit. Then a stocky man in a ragged-looking costume and a black eye comes running out. He stops a few feet from the door to catch his breath. Matt follows behind him. Despite gasping for air, the out-of-shape villain appears to be considering an escape. But Matt just whistles and points to Natalie. The man yelps before jogging over the campsite. When the mage returns to join the others, the checkered man ducks behind April to hide. April looks slightly annoyed at the cowering figure. Then she turns around to get a better look at the man. April’s expression changes when she recognizes the person. “Eustace? Is that you?” inquired April. “What on earth are you wearing?” “The Chess Masters real name is Eustace?” questions Natalie pointing to the man. “We used to be such great co-workers and friends. You have to save me Susan!” cries Eustace. April rolled her eyes in response. “What? I ah I mean Kathy… Come on give me a hint.” Matt, who was sitting next to Lance, just shake his head and whispers“poor guy, Chess Master sounds like an improvement.” “Ye assume this guy made Natalie mad,” Lance asks Matt. “Yep,” Matt replies quietly. “It was almost as bad as the time that miner called her ‘sweet-cheeks’. Poor guy didn’t have a chance.” Lance pats Matt on the back. A short time later, the other two doors open to reveal the rest of the team. Anne is dragging the two ninjas, while Nolegs balances the battery on his head. Sunset has a tied-up archer hanging off the end of her tail whereas she carries her claimed battery in her claws. Matt cheers at them, "Hey, good job all around!" Nolegs jumps on Matt's head immediately and 'meows'. Sunset places the archer down next to the disabled ninjas and goes to the large door to plug in her battery contribution. Lance signals her to discreetly pick up a small bag next to the door. Anna reports to Matt, "You are right about the extra training. Nolegs and I make a great team." “Great timing everyone!” announces Lance. “The stew is ready!” “Ah, Lance. Why did you make food when I brought stuffed buns?” Asked Matt. “Matt, that be exactly why ya needed to cook.” Replied Lance. “It was an emergency for ‘ur health and general good.” “Nothing is wrong with my buns.” Retorts Matt. “After all Sunset ate some.” The swordsman pulls a bag from his pouch to show the group. “Sunset,” replies Lance “is a dragon and a very tough lass.” The team looks at the buns. The color is fine but the smell is off. They look at each other with apprehension. Finally, Nadalie picks up a bun and smells it. She takes cautiously takes a minuscule bite before dropping the item. The mage starts coughing and grabs her water pouch for some relief. Anne grabs another bun and breaks it open to find an off-white paste inside. The smell also becomes more pungent so the archer plugs her nose. Turning to Matt she inquires “what is in these?” Proudly pulling out a bottle Matt shows the team his secret ingredient. April takes it from him and reads the back of the label. Matt explains he found this miracle ingredient in the market. The vendor promised it can increase antioxidant enzymes in humans, reduce stress, and it was an immune booster when eaten raw. So he had purchased several bulbs and an extract as the ultimate health food. April speaks up. “According to the bottle’s instructions, this is a concentrated formula so you only need a few drops. So how much did you use?” “What do you mean how much? Hey, if some are good and healthy more is better right?” Replied Matt. “These are very healthy rolls with freshly crushed garlic inside. Plus I flavored them with the extra garlic extract.” The rest of the team looked at each other and had their bowls out in front of Vance’s pot almost instantly. April was the first to praise his cooking skills. “Thank you, Lance! You were right. This was an emergency and it did save our lives (or at least our taste buds).” “Yes, I agree Lance is a hero.” Sunset followed up. The dragon had been very grateful for the small bottle of mint extract Vance had left for her. When the rest of the group was distracted. Sunset was quietly removing a certain side effect from Matt’s rolls of awesomeness. “Well, I really should have learned my lesson about Matt’s cooking experiments when he tried to make slime dumplings.” By this time, Matt had discided to try one of his ‘healthy’ buns. It did not end well for him and the poor swordsman ended up with a bad stomachache. While waiting for Matt to recover, April volunteered to take the factory scoundrels back to town. Sunset and Natalie placed a shrinking spell on the villains, then secured them in a metal box with a handle for easy carrying, with Eustace complaining the entire time. “Thank you all again for everything!” says April joyfully. Holding up the box she laughs. “It's true what my grandma said after all. A man wraps up in himself makes a very small package.” Sunset watches April make sure she left the compound safely and returns to see if she could help Vance to open the door. The batteries were all plugged in but Lance still needed to unlock the door. Lance opens the door’s control computer and analyzes its system. It just had a code with no other programs, not even a folder. Lance starts to check deeper in the computer and discovers a map. The gunner starts typing into the computer very quickly, then he turns to the Team to announce the results. "This may take a while so please wait. Ya have to break ‘his security to open the door." The Team nods. As they start chatting happily, they are also mentally preparing for the next big fight.