Role Playing!

[Jason]

(occ: I used jason computer, but this was written by Rigo. I know you can tell by the awful story and awful grammar, but just to let y'all know.)

Sarala's parents looked at the dark queen as she drained them of their purity. Their eye began to be filled with tears, and the began to plea " No, don't do this. We are protectors of the light we will never do you bidding" The eyes of Sarala's parent began to grow dark, and their heart began to freeze. Their precious memories of their beloved daughter began to be lost to the darkness."

Outside of Lucrecia's Chambers the soldiers could hear the cries of the king and queen of the light, and also hear the cold and evil laugh of Lucrecia.

Back in the chamber Lucrecia elaborated on her plan of darkness. When you two arrive to the planet where your child resides, stay near Shadow, He will take care of you both, but if it seem that you have been comprimised he is to kill you two so that your souls will be lost forever, unless they destroy Shadow, but i'm sure they should have a hard enough time trying to hurt their dear family. The end of Sarala and her resistance will shortly come to an end and they shall feel the pain of lost. They shall trully feel what darkness is like, and then the whole universe shall be engulfed in darkness.

The king and queen began emit a dark aura, as they stood up from the ground where they were feeling the pain from the lost of their goodness.

"Go and do your Dark queen biddings. Remember that you don't have any family, Sarala and Shilm are enemies to you beloved queen and you shall go and destroy them. Make it slow....make them feel the pain that I had to endure in the coldness of space." intructed Lucrecia as she opened a portal of darkness.

"Yes, my Queen. Sarala, and Shilm shall be no more." whispered their majesties. Then their eyes began to glow a dark blue empty blue before they returned to their normal color.

Then King and Queen walked slowly torward the portal.....

[Lady Jillith]

Shilm's been bit! Sarala thought, horrified. No more time for subtly, she shot her light beam at the wolf-like creatrue. The attack hit it in the leg, suprising and injuring it enough that it immediately lost interest in Sarala's cousin. As soon as the jaws released, the princess created a wall of light energy surrounding Shilm. The energy would burn any animal daring to get too close. The other wolf tried, and got its horn shortened as a warning.
Sarala ran, no longer invisible, over to Shilm. She opened a doorway in her protective wall, quickly shutting it once she was inside. Shilm's wound seemed fairly serious, but he would probably be able to walk with his cousin's help.
"Come on, Shilm. We need to get as far away as we can before the scientists send people after us. I don't think it will be long." With that, Sarala helped her injured cousin to his feet, and provided him a crutch as they slowly made their way to the door of their personal Coloseum.
Outside the protective bubble of light moving along with the royal cousins, the beasts growled and howled over the loss of their prey.

[Jason]

It was time.
Erk had explained everything to the government officials, and they had believed him, although they were skeptical at first. How could they not be? It was quite the story. But after he had shown them what he could do, they agreed to help him. They also figured he would be a good asset to their army, for as short a time as he would be. They hoped he could lead them to the rebel's underground fort and help them eliminate them once and for all. It was possible, and now he stood outside their lair, the whole of the Arctan army behind him. Even the Blens and the Slengles had lent them support, all being threatened by what the rebels were planning. Now, with an army of thousands supporting, Erk began to prepare himself for the coming assault. The rebel fortress, built into a mountain, was well protected and defended. The terrain made most attacks difficult from any direction except straight through the front gate. Arctan armor would lead the assault from the ground, supported by their own infantry and Blens artillary. The Slengle airforce, the most reknown throughout the whole world, was flying cover and would begin the assault with a rain of bombs, followed by the Blens artillary while the Arctan army moved in. Erk was to go in with the armor, providing as much protection from anything the rebels, the Mlekten as they called themselves, might have placed in the way to prevent an armor attack.
Erk looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, the spoke into the microphone headset he was now wearing.
"It is time. Put me through on broadcast to all troops."
The dispatcher on the other end quickly routed him to all soldier's headset, then informed him that he was connected.
"Soldiers, now is the time! Long have you waited and suffered much. Today, we end this disruptance of peace on this land."
A cheer erupted through his headset, and he could see the infantry below waving their guns in the air. Some of the fighters overhead did a loop.
"Air Squadron One, begin your bombing run. Fighter squad 6, cover them. Artillary group nine, hold fire for two minutes, then begin shelling the place with everything. Tank brigades, begin moving in ten minutes. Free fire for all. Infantry, follow behind the tanks after two minutes. Let's go!"
Overhead, Air Squadron One, also known as the Slicks, began to pull what looked like a series of acrobatic stunts. Erk had been told that it was designed to confuse enemy defenses, leaving head signals all over the place. Radar was ineffective against those planes, they having been designed specifically to absorb all radar emissions. The Slicks completed their moves and flew in, breaking the sound barrier as they went. Bombs of all sorts began to rain down on the mountain, shaking the ground with the force of their power. High-explosives, firebombs, concussion bombs, stun bombs, ground-breakers, and anti-personnel and anti-armor bombs exploded all over, causing the mountain to seem as if it would shatter. Fighter Squad Six, the Blings, flew cover, shooting down any anti-air missles that were launched at the bombers and taking out any installations they could find. Several planes were hit, a few managing to stagger their way out of the fire, a few exploding in the air, and several crashing to the ground. It looked as though all heck had broken loose on the mountain.
Erk heard a high-pitched whistle above the sound of the explosions, and watched as new explosions began adding themselves to the fray. The artillary had begun loosing their rounds on the mountain, and these artillary were the best of the best. The most accurate, with the most devesating rounds. A single round, well-placed, could knock out half of a tank brigade. Chunks of the mountain flew away, exposing gun emplacements in a thick wall that had been set up underneath all the rock and dirt. The enemy gun emplacements began to fire back, but their range wasn't far enough to hit anything yet.
Enough time had passed, and it was time for the armor to move. Erk had been given a motorcycle to ride on, designed to his specifications. He had practiced with it and become really adept with it. Now he could actually fulfill his dream from earlier.
"Armor, let's move!"
He heard the sounds of engines engaging behind him, kicked the starter on his motorcycle, and raced forward. One hand steered, the other was on fire, flames shooting from his hands, destroying any obsticals left for the tanks. He heard the sound of cannon fire from behind him, and even more explosions began to erupt along the wall ahead of him. Enemy fire continued to come back, and now that they were in range, they began to have some effect. He heard one tank explode behind him, quickly followed by another before he managed to neutralize the offending turret. The Slicks were coming back for another run, and now a group of Slengle helicopters appeared, last-minute reinforcements. They began unloading missles into the groups of enemy infantry that were emerging from hidden tunnels and shooting at the armor advancing towards them. The gunships hounded them, keeping the enemy soldiers at bay.
Now the infantry began to move. They had been equiped with jetpacks, a recent development, which gave them incredible mobility and speed. They quickly flew over the tanks and began to land on the wall. Some planted explosives to help blow a way through the wall while others covered them. Many soldiers were hit as they flew, but many survived.
The death toll continued to climb on both sides, tanks exploding, soldiers dying, the wall crumbling. Several of the gunships had been hit, and now enemy artillary fire was dropping both on the advancing troops and their own artillary.
Suddenly, a voice crackled over his headset.
"Erk, this is Kor."
Kor and Emiko, he had learned, had not been kidnapped with the others, but had been found afterward by the soldiers and were being held hostage until he arrived. They were now behind the front lines, helping to direct the battle.
"Erk here."
"We've got a problem. There's a group of enemy gunships moving in, and the Blings are too busy to engage them. They're working on taking down a flight of enemy bombers moving in on you."
"What about our gunships?"
"Too few left. They're in retreat, going to rearm and refuel before returning to the engagement. Some of your infantry have anti-air equipment, but they're under heavy fire to the south."
"Alrighty, I'll take care of the gunships. Work with the rest of the soldiers to continue breaking their way inside."
"Will do."
Erk turned his motorcycle hard to the left and gunned the engine, racing for what looked like a cliff face. He hit the top and flew into the air. As he was flying, he could see the enemy gunships approaching. Still holding onto the motorcycle, he used his flames to begin dispatching them. They returned his fire, and as he hit the ground, a round passed through the gas tank on his motorcycle. It exploded, sending him flying into the air. He quickly absorbed the flames, then turned them back on the helicopters. Several exploded in flames and crashed to the ground. The others quickly scattered, only to come under fire by a group of soldiers that had arrived on-sceen, no doubt sent by Kor. Erk smiled, then worked with the soldiers to dispatch the remaining gunships.
"Thanks, men."
"No problem, sir. You're the best bet we have to stopping them. They killed my entire family, and I'll do whatever I can to stop them."
Erk clapped the soldier on the shoulder.
"You men stick with me. We're going to blast into the fortress through the side. I can tell that our target is on the move, trying to escape, and they're going to need some help. You men ready?"
"Yes sir!"
Erk turned. They were next to the wall, a part that had been damaged by the artillary fire before their artillary had been forced to change locations to avoid taking heavy damage. Erk focused and built up a huge fireball, then flunge it at the wall. The wall exploded in huge chuncks, flying in every direction, covering the sound of the battle still raging to their right. The soldiers rushed in, weapons firing as they took a squad of enemy infantry by surprise. This was an elite group, that had been sent to help him, and they made quick work of the enemy soldiers. Erk ran in behind them, then took the lead in directing them towards Sarala.
'Hang on Sarala, I'm on my way.'

[The Honourable Ninja-san]

(OOC: When did the rebels attack before? Was there any sign of problems when Tarak and Doelcm went to the settlement earlier? How widely populated is this planet and how hightech are the inhabitants, other than the settlers? And where are the inhabitants of Sarala's world? My original idea was that they went through the portals and would live on this world.)

Doelcm had just teleported Alira, Tarak and herself when the explosions started. The floor trembled.
"How will be get out?" Alira asked, "How will we find the surface?"
"Easy. I'll just make handholds in the wall and we'll climb up. . . Except I'm not sure how we'll get Tarak up. Good thing we're not that far underground."
"How do you know?"
Doelcm pointed to the stone and dirt wall. "There are tree roots."
A small movement caught Doelcm's eye. It was Tarak.
"Hey, he's coming to!"
In a few minutes, Tarak was fully concious. He sat up, holding his head. "My head hurts. What happened?"
Alira looked at him with annoyance. "You were showing off your new powers and ran right into the enemy's fire."
Before Tarak could respond, an explosion rang out and the ground shook, more violently than before.
"What is going on up there?" Doelcm asked, speaking to no one in particular. "That can't be them trying to catch us. Oh, well. I guess we'll find out."
Doelcm began climbing the wall, forming handholds and another protactive tunnel as she went. Tarak and Alira followed close behind.

[rr339]

"Thank you dear cousin, I don't know what would of happened if you hadn't come along. You know that I could of hed my own if they wouldn't of kept shutting me with their blasted tranquilizers." Shilm said to Sarala as they slowly made their way out of the area.

The royal cousins fell to their knees due to an explosion, and the alarms within the base began blaring.

"What is going on Sarala?" Asked shilm. "This may be the best time to get our since, whatever is going on, they will be to busy to try to look for us. I hope that we are able to get out without problems, but remember they can see us even if we are invisible." Said Shilm with a drozy sound in his voice.

"You two must help us... we are being attacked by an evil force with extreme power, and without your help we will be totally anhialated." Said one of scientist.

"Sarala it might be Lucrecia, we have no choice we must fight. We cannot allow her to destroy another planet, and once again ruin our people lives. Sarala are you ready? Lets find the others first, and then we can go and deal with the evil one. Let try to heal this leg of mine, so that I may be of more assistance."

Sarala looked at Shilm and nodded her in the affirmative.

[Jason]

As Erk and his band of elite soldiers ran along the corridor, they came to a an intersection with something very weird in it. It seemed to be some sort of wall, forming almost what seemed to be a tunnel, inside the tunnel they were in. And along part of it, bullet marks had damaged it.
"Sir, what is this?"
"I don't . . . "
Then Erk recognized the way in which it looked. It had the design of something Doelcm would make.
"This way! We follow the tunnel. At least one of my friends is alive here and moving, and if we can add her strength to ours, then we'll be able to make much more headway."
"Yes sir!"
Erk and the soldiers hurried down the corridor, following along the tunnel. Suddenly, it came to a stop. It didn't turn, didn't go any other direction, just stopped. Erk looked inside, and saw that it was again covered with bullet marks and tranquilizer darts.
"That doesn't look too hopeful, sir."
"No, it certainly doesn't. Hmm . . . "
Explosions continued to rock the tunnel their troops continued to blast their way into the hideout. Erk thought for a minute, then made up his mind.
"Let's keep going. I don't know what happened here, though that second wall formed right there looks almost as though it was intended as a shield, so I think Doelcm ended up using another of her powers, transporting somewhere. I don't have any way to track her or know where she went, so we'll just have to hope she's okay and gets out alright. For now, we press on."
They continued down the tunnel, keeping a watch for any enemy soldiers lying in wait. Erk could still feel Sarala's presence, though something seemed different. It almost seemed as though she couldn't feel him. And she was getting ready for battle. Knowing he probably shouldn't, but also knowing it might be important, Erk forced his way into her mind, reading the situation there. What he found scared him.
"We've got a problem. We've got to move fast. Sarala and her cousin Shilm have been told that you are all an evil force, and they're worried it's our other enemy. They're getting ready to go on the offensive, and if they do that, we're all in trouble. I've seen them at work before, and they can be deadly. Quickly!"
They began to run, Erk out in front, leading them towards what looked to be the front of the base.
'Sarala! Sarala, can you hear me?"
No reply.
They ran out the front of the base, to meet a sight that stopped them all in their tracks. Arctan soldiers lay on the ground, burned. Several tanks had been turned into melted chunks of metal.
"We've got to move quick. They're already on the offensive."
Erk looked back at the soldiers, and in some of their faces was hatred.
"Save your hatred, men. This is not their fault. Blame the ones who held them captive. What has happened here will be repayed. Somehow, it will be repaid. Believe me, all of us carry a weight you cannot imagine."
"Oh yeah? Try the loss of some of your best friends!" shouted one of the soldiers.
Erk looked at him calmly and with deep sorrow in his eyes.
"Try the loss of an entire country, then an entire planet."
The man looked shocked, then looked at the ground. Erk walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"It's okay. We each much suffer loss in these conflicts. Those to blame are the ones who start this for their own gain, and sometimes they use those that are of a good nature to do their evil work. Now, let's get going."
"But how are we going to catch them? It looks as though they've made good progress."
Erk looked around and spotted an abandoned scout jeep that had somehow managed to avoid being destroyed. He and the soldiers hurried over, climbed in, and one of the soldiers gunned the engine. The turned and took off down the direction that Shilm and Sarala were headed. Ahead, Erk could see flashes of light as they battled their way through the ranks. Missles flew at the pair, whom Erk could see clearly now, but they were intercepted partway and destroyed, to be followed by a return blast of light. Erk could see soldiers scattering every which way, some flung by the power of the light exploding against the rock face they were hiding behind, some running for better cover. And some unlucky ones who were caught by the light, either burned or incinerated.
They sped up by the light duo, and Erk jumped up in his seat. Since it was a scout jeep, all it had for a roof was the metal frame bars, so Erk was standing up in the air as they moved. An Arctan tank unloaded a round at the two cousins above, and Erk watched as Shilm destroyed incoming round while Sarala prepared unleash a return blast. Erk launched flames from his hands, throwing himself up into the air. Sarala sent her blast of light flying, and Erk flew to intercept it.
It struck him directly on the chest, sending him flying backward. The pain was incredible, but the force of the strike was lessened by the connection he still maintained with the light. It wasn't enough to prevent it from hurting him, but it didn't kill him either. Erk fell towards the ground, hit it, bounced, then hit it again and lay there, dazed and feeling like his chest was on fire. He tried to move, but couldn't muster enough strength. Through blurry eyes, he watched as the scout jeep pulled up and his soldiers jumped out, running over to him. Several pulled out med packs and began to go through their contents, looking for what might help him. No one was quite sure, since he was of a different physical make-up than them. Then, before they could make up their minds what to do, Shilm and Sarala landed next to them. The soldiers brought up their weapons, but Erk managed enough strength for one word.
"Hold."
The soldiers obeyed, though some of them seemed more than a little trigger happy as they watched the two run over to Erk.
"Erk!"
Sarala dropped to the ground next to him, tears falling from her eyes.
"Erk, I'm sorry."
Shilm reached out a hand over Erk's chest and a ray of light shot from it, beginning to repair the damage that had been done. Erk's soldiers started when they saw the light, but when Erk's skin began to heal, they paused.
Tears were also streaming down Erk's face, both from the pain and from the joy of seeing them again, alive.
"Sarala . . ."
Erk reached up with one hand, weakly, and Sarala clasped it.
"Hold on, Erk, hold on."
Sarala, reached down one hand and began to add her strength to Shilm's healing him faster. He could feel his chest mending itself, strength flowing back into him. After a few minutes, they finished, and Erk sat up, still holding one of Sarala's hands with his. She helped pull him up, as he was still a bit dizzy and sore. Erk looked at them, then engulfed Sarala in a hug.
"It's good to see you again."
'Indeed it is,' answered Erk with his mind. He felt a connection run between them as they touched, and he felt her mind respond.
'I can hear you again!' she said with her mind.
Erk smiled, then released Sarala. He turned to Shilm, then embraced him as well.
"Shilm, it's good to see you again."
"It's good to see you safe again, Erk."
Erk and Shilm let go, then he stood there, facing them. His soldiers were a little edgy with all the emotion being expressed, but Erk waited a few minutes, taking in the sight of his friends.
"Where did you go?" asked Sarala.
"That's a story for later. For now, we have to get back to work and finish this."
"But who are these people, if they're not Lucrecia's army?" asked Shilm.
"They're the inhabitants of this planet. The Arctans, the Blens, and the Slengles. We're here to put an end to this group. They've been causing trouble for many years all across this planet, though your abduction, along with Doelcm and some of the others, was the most outright thing they'd ever done. They've been raiding cities for supplies for years, engaging in small skirmishes as they've convinced people to join their cause. Some of their people went in as spies, posing as different soldiers in different armies, or as scientists to enable them to have access to the most advance research equipment, which they then stole and disappeared with. They're obsessed with creating the 'super-being' here in this lab, what we believe to be their homebase. This is the major offensive to break them and remove them from the land."
"I see," said Shilm. "That would explain why they wanted our help in fighting. They knew we were fighting some great evil, so after they convined us that this army was Lucrecia's we began to fight." Anger appeared in Shilm's eyes. "They used us to do their dirty work, having us attack those who wanted to help us."
"Indeed. But let's worry about it later."
"No, we must help repay the damage we've done."
"Shilm, there's nothing you can do for the dead. They're dead."
"Perhaps not. The body may be dead, but the soul lasts, staying by the body for a while, to say goodbye. If we are quick, perhaps we can still save some of them."
Erk looked doubtful.
"Trust me on this, Erk. It's an old legend passed down by the royal family. I only ever saw it used once, on one of my mentors who was struck during a practice session when one of the soldiers accidentally loosed an arrow at the wrong time. It hit him and killed him, and a healer was called. He couldn't do anything and quickly summoned the head healer, who, before our very eyes, used all his power to call back the man's soul and to heal the body. I know it can be done. However, it will take all three of us."
"All three?" ask Sarala.
"The power necessary will be incredible, and I believe that only together can we reach that amount."
"How?" asked Erk.
"Come."
Shilm grabbed Erk and Sarala by the wrists and began to rise.
"Wait a sec," said Erk, then looked at his soldiers. "Get back in the jeep and do a little searching around. See if you can find anything unusual around the perimeter of the base. Doelcm is still out there, and she may be trying to get out. Report back to me once you have done so, or if you find anything."
The soldiers looked a little hesitant, but then acknowledged his order, climbing into the jeep and heading off back towards the stronghold.
"Okay, let's do this."
Shilm raised them up to about fifty feet in the air, and then told them to summon up as much energy as they could. Erk reached deep within himself and made contact with the light, summoning as much as he could. His contact was limited, but he still could use some. He could feel the power emenating from Shilm and Sarala, and began to add his own power to theirs. Soon, a glowing ball of light had formed over their heads. Erk had relayed over his headset to all soldiers to not fire on them. Kor, who was glad to hear that he had found Shilm and Sarala alive, was enforcing and recommanding all the soldiers throughout the armies to hold their fire on the light ball.
Finally, enough energy had been summoned, and the ball of light flew upwards, then hurtled at the ground at incredible speed. It struck the ground, breaking into a million little pieces, which flew to all the soldiers who had been killed, no matter who they had been or which side they had fought on. The light passed through them, healing wounds and restoring them, miraculously, back to life. Men began to rise from the ground, a slightly confused look in their eyes. As they watch others get up, they realized what had happened. Their souls had seen what was happening, and they all knew. They all looked at the trio who hovered above, powering the amazing spectacle, and cheered. Even the rebel soldiers, who when more of the Arctan infantry who had survived moved in to capture them, cheered and surrendered without a fight. Throughout the entire battlefield, soldiers rose to their feet and began to cheer. Fighting began to die down and the surviving soldiers looked on in disbelief. Dead friends were rising, cheering and looking on towards the floating band of Empowered. At last, their work finished and their energy drained, the three sank back towards the ground. They came to a heavy stop on a small rock and laid there, their strength gone. Suddenly the scout jeep pulled up in front of them, and with the soldiers were Doelcm, Tarak, and what looked to be the Time General. Erk, Sarala, and Shilm sat up, smiles of happiness on their faces. Doelcm and Tarak jumped out, running over to the three by the rock and they all engaged in a big hug. They laughed, happy to see one another again, tears flowing from all their faces. Alira, who had stayed by the jeep, watched with both happiness and sadness, feeling that, although she was glad they were reunited, there was no way she could ever be a part of their group, once being a major enemy of theirs. Erk looked at her with confusion and suspicion in her eyes, and Doelcm began to explain. After a while, Erk, Shilm, and Sarala understood what had happened, and although they still didn't fully trust her, welcomed Alira. The soldiers stood on, keeping a watch out, just in case any of the rebels should try and sneak up on them. However, the battle was quickly coming to an end. Initially outnumbered and outmatched, the rebel army was surrendering in droves after seeing the incredible event that had just occured. The leaders of the base, the scientists, had been caught trying to flee the fight in a small helicopter, which had been shot down and crashed right in front of a platoon of soldiers who had been itching to go get in the action and had just been on their way to the front lines. Erk's little band of soldiers helped them all into a second jeep they found, and then the group of them headed for the mobile HQ that had been set up for this attack.

[rr339]

Sarala's parents were in the shadows watching the battle, they were pleased with all the destruction, but when Sarala, Shilm, and Erk used one of the most powerful healing abilities, Sarala's parent were digusted.

"We must do something about Sarala, she is getting to independent, she needs to return to us. Shadow! You must make sure that we are able to get close to Sarala, and Shilm so that we can take care of them." Said the Queen of light.

"That Erk will be a problem, but I'm sure that Sarala won't allow any harm to come to us, since she loves us so much." Said the King.

Shadow helped the royal family be able to move in the shadows as they made their way toward the camp that set up by Erk, and his group.

[rr339]

The army that was sent to the other planets were wreaking havoc on the innocent people. Their light from their stars were blocked by the darkness that emintated fromt the armies. It seem hopeless the natives tried to fight, but they were overpowered, and sent through the portal to Earth to meet their new ruler. There were only a few on each planet that contained people with hearts dark enough to change into shadow beast.

Lucrecia was pleased with all of the new slaves that were appearing on her planet.

"Perfect, now these people can go and help these Earth slaves build my kingdom up more!" exclaimed Lucrecia! "I can't wait for my greatest prize the Royal brats! ooooh, how delicious, I can just imagine Sarala's face when she see's her parents there to kill her!!" though Lucreica.

"My Queen....I was ummm...wondering when we will get our own planet to rule over?" asked Syfe.

"Oh, my dear Syfe. Don't worry soon you shall have your planet, and you'll be able to show Erk who is the true Fire warrior, but for now....you and the others go and conquer more planets for me, and don't question me again!!!!!" Yelled Lucrecia.

"Yes, my queen." said Syfe as he bowed and then left the courtroom.

"I need to be careful these, so called general may want to turn on me just as that useless Alira! I'll have to take care of each one of them as the time comes." thought Lucrecia as she saw Syfe leave her presence.

[Jason]

Tarak sat, listening as each of them described what had happened. He mulled somewhat over what he had been through in the last little while. It wasn't something small. He had been . . . changed. Made more powerful. He hadn't initially been given a choice, but once he realized what was going on and what it could do for him and in the fight against Lucrecia and how it would help him be better able to protect Doelcm, he had allowed them to proceed. They had just finished with the second ability of his, exponentially increased ability to heal and recover, when Doelcm and Alira had come and set him free from them. During their escape from the complex, Tarak realized just how much he had been altered. Not only could he easliy move and jump now, but he had been nailed with about five tranquilizer darts, which normally should have kept him under for days. Instead, he was up and moving again in about ten minutes time. And not only that, but he had been hit with one a few minutes later, but it had had not effect. The only explaination he could come up with was that he had somehow become resistant to whatever sedative they had been using. It was something he had seen happen before, with other members of his group back on his old planet, that as they had been bit by one of the slenthacs, a small, poisonous spider that could put someone in a coma for months, over time they had become less and less affected by the poison.
Tarak turned his attention back to Erk, who was describing what had happened to him. Sitting next to Tarak, Doelcm was trying to stay awake. Looking around, he could see they were all tired. It had been a really long day. Doelcm's eyes kept drooping, and she kept jerking back awake. Tarak kept listening to Erk talk, but kept watch on Doelcm out of the corner of his eye. After a while, Tarak saw Doelcm began to tip forward, not awaking this time. He moved an arm around her shoulders, steadying her, and leaned against him, finishing falling asleep. Tarak let her rest, not minding it. He turned his attention back to Erk, who was wrapping up his story.

[The Honourable Ninja-san]

Through a cloud of sleep, Doelcm heard people talking. Erk said something about Doelcm being tired. He sounded amused. Waking up a bit more, Doelcm noticed a warm weight on her arm and something warm against her side. She opened her eyes and blushed when she realized what the warmth was from. She'd been sleeping, leaning against Tarak.
Dang, now what? Doelcm wondered. She considered pretending to still be asleep, to put off facing an embarrassing situation, but decided against it. She sat up and Tarak immediately removed his arm from around her shoulders.
"So, what'd I miss?" She asked.
Erk, who was sitting across the small room they were in, answered. "Well, I think you fell asleep right before I showed everybody the dagger you made me." He gave Tarak a small smile.
"Why'd you show them your dagger? We've already seen it."
Erk got out his dagger and Alira, who had been sitting on a chair close to Doelcm, got up to bring the dagger to her. Erk paused, indecisive, then reluctantly gave the former Time General the blade. Alira ignored Erk's hesitancy and brought the dagger to Doelcm, who half stood to receive it.
Doelcm's hand touched the jewel in the dagger's handle. An explosion of white light erupted from the jewel. When the light faded, both Doelcm and Alira were gone.

[rr339]

"woah, geez!! Everyone is just always disappearing on us. This is so freaky, I can open portals, but it takes so much time and preparation. I hope that Doelcm and Alira are just fine."

Shilm began to walk outside and he invited his cousin to walk with him.

The royal family walked out and began to poder on the future.

"Sarala, we need to do something for our people, and we also need to find Doelcm, and we must fight Lucrecia"

"Shhhhhh...." whispered Sarala.

"What is it?" Asked Shilm

"I don't know I just have a strange feeling as if there was something is the shadows looking at us...we should head back...it's been a long day." Said Sarala

[The Honourable Ninja-san]

When the light faded, Doelcm and Alira were standing in shock in what looked like a tropical rain forest. Doelcm recovered first.
"Well I wonder what made that happen."
"It must have been the jewel."
Slightly confused, Doelcm took the dagger from Alira and examined it. "What does the jewel have to do with anything?"
Alira explained how the jewel lead Erk to the crystal of the planet he had been on and how he obtained the crystal. "So," she concluded, "maybe you were sent here to find a crystal."
"Yeah, maybe so. I hope I didn't loose my powers, like Erk did." Saying that, Doelcm bent down and picked up a small, red rock. As she looked at it, the rock turned translucent, then clear. Dropping the pebble of glass onto the rain forest floor, she looked at Alira. Her companion was visably relieved by the fact that Doelcm still had her powers.
Doelcm's stomach gurgled. "Before we go crystal hunting, how about we find some food?" she suggested.

[Jason]

Erk stood looking off towards the fading sun. It had indeed been a strange day. First, he had helped liberate the others from the rebel stronghold, and then, just a few hours later, both Doelcm and Alira were gone in a flash of light, taking his knife and crystal with them. Erk guessed at what had happened. When they had touched his crystal, it had transported them to the planet where they could find Doelcm's.
"Looks like it's her turn now," said Erk out loud, to the fading sun.
Erk heard a rustle behind him and turned to look. As he did so, the tree next to him collapsed, hurtling towards him. Erk jumped back, startled, then threw himself to the right, just getting out of the way in time. He stood up quickly and lit his hands, bringing light to the quickly darkening plain.
Before him stood two people who looked vaguely familiar, though they reeked of darkness. They were advancing towards him, a look in their eyes that told him all he needed to know. He quickly brought his hands forward and threw a ball of fire at them, but one of them merely lifted a hand and brushed the fireball aside as though it were an annoying fly. Erk stared in astonishment, and as he did, he realized why they were familiar. In their faces, he could see Sarala. Sarala's parents!!!
But what had happened to them? How were they like this?
Lucrecia.
It was the only explaination. Erk didn't know what to do. He hurled another fireball at them, but the only deflected it as easily as the first.
'Sarala, we've got a problem.'
'What is it?'
'Tell Shilm to get a portal ready, now, to anywhere, and get everyone in it. I'm on my way.'
'But why?'
'Just do it!'
Erk flew into the air, blasted upward by streams of fire from his hands. Spears of darkness began to fly up at him, and Erk turned this way and that trying to dodge them. He knew he was no match for the now corrupt king and queen and that his only hope was to flee. He had also seen the look in their eyes, and there was no room for pity. Only destruction and death, of everyone.

[rr339]

"There is something wrong Sarala we must go and help Erk, we cannot run! We cannot leave these people defenseless if Lucrecia is here."

Shilm began to run in Erks general direction.

"Wait!....we don't know what is going on." Yelled Sarala as she saw Shilm run off towards Erk.

Shilm arrived below where Erk, and Shilm saw the spears of darkness that were flying up towards him. Shilm launched light energy to dispell the spears of darkness. Shilm created a light barrier between the dark royal family.

"Aunt, uncle what are you doing? Please stop this you are not evil, fight the darkness that is within you." Every word that came out Shilm's mouth was followed by a foul scream that came from the king and queen. You cannot pass through this barrier...I am more powerful than what you remember from my childhood." Said Shilm

A dark aura shot towards the barrier and shattered the wall of light.

"What the?" Said Erk.

" I don' t know what happened." said shilm

Spirits began to surround the king and queen.

"This doesn't look good." Said shilm

*Gasp* went Sarala as she arrived.

[Jason]

Erk threw several more fireballs at the advancing lords, but again to no effect.
"Shilm, get that portal open!"
Shilm quickly turned and began to open a portal to another world. Dark blasts began to fly at them. Erk threw a fireball at one and found that he could at least deflect them a bit. Soon both he and Sarala were knocking dark blasts aside as fast as they could, while continuing to back up towards Shilm and the opening portal. They knew they couldn't keep it up for long, the spirits surrounding the king and queen were growing large in number and begining to advance towards the weary group of friends. Several soldiers had arrived and were firing at the advancing nightmares, but to no effect. Tarak was hurtling anything not bolted down at the king and queen, hoping to distract them long enough for them to escape. Emiko and Kor were quickly telling the soldiers to get out of them, transferring command back to the normal army generals.
"It's done!"
Erk and Sarala turned as one and ran towards Shilm, who was standing by the portal. Tarak dived head-first in, followed quickly by Emiko and Kor. Erk and Sarala reached the portal and paused. Sarala looked back at her parents, several emotions flitting across her face. She seemed almost reluctant to go, but Erk shoved her into the portal and then dived in himself, followed immediately by Shilm, who closed the portal as he fell through. Where they were now, none of them knew.