Chapter ___ -- Thank you Mario, but the Princess-wait, wrong line.
Daedalus rolled his eyes. Whatever that speedy creature was, it was certainly not interested in stopping him. Too bad for the creature! The Hoshi continued through the palace, the shadowy guards becoming less and less of an obstacle. He had soon reached the dungeons, a cold dank area with cobblestone walls and floor. The most interesting thing about this dungeon was its nullification of magik. Not a problem, as the shadow-guards on this floor were pretty much wiped out.
He continued along this aisle, peeking in each cell. Most cells were empty but on occasion he would come across an interesting prisoner of another species. None of these prisoners appeared particularly friendly, so he let them be. They weren't the reason he was here anyway.
She was.
He found her in the last cell, her staff hanging across the way. She was especially distraught, as though she had lost something important. Daedalus smirked. He had found his client. He had found Prismaya Styrani.
Prism looked up at the approaching hoshi, staring almost dumbfounded. It was as though she was looking in a mirror, with her reflection male, older, and with green eyes. The similarity was too strange to call coincidence. Could this be...?
"I am Daedalus," the older hoshi said with a bow, and Prism dismissed her train of thought. Of course it wasn't -him-! It was foolish to think so after all these years. But his rainbow skin and graying blue hair... "Her Majesty Queen Quartzina Amethyst Styrani sent me to rescue you, Your Highness." the male hoshi continued, disrupting the princess's train of thought again.
"Great Sir," Prism said with the utmost politeness that her subjects expect of her, "with all due respect, aren't you a little -old- to have a job such as this?" Daedalus smiled, bid her stand back, and with a great swing of his scimitar, split the lock of her cell in half, sparks flying in the process.
"Let's just say...I age gracefully." The male replied with a smile, and Prism nodded. He had certainly gained a great deal of her respect within two minutes. She only hoped that at his age she would be just as strong. The princess opened the door and gratefully took her staff from the opposite wall. "I believe this belongs to you, Your Highness." Daedalus muttered, handing over her Shard of Light. "One of the shadow-guards had stolen it." Prismaya accepted her Shard with great relief.
"May the Gods smile upon you till the end of your days, good sir." She said with a curtsy, before donning her necklace. The two journeyed through the castle, finding very little resistance as T'lucan had left for now and Daedalus had taken care of most of the guards and the master of the castle apparently didn't want to bother with them. They walked out the front entryway of the fortress, each sighing a breath of relief. "Now, shall we go?" The princess asked cheerfully, grateful for the opportunity to leave the dire planet of Dharnuu.
"Indeed, Your Highness." Daedalus replied. "Let us go now, to MichinoHoshi!" Prism flushed, her cheerful smile fading.
"No, -we're- not going back to MichinoHoshi, Daedalus." She replied.
"But the Queen--"
"I don't care what Mom says." Prism snorted. "I'm not going back. I set out on a quest and I intend to continue it. I am now to find the rest of the crew of the Spectrum, the train I had journeyed on until we split up and I got captured. If you must remain with me until I return home, you should go with me. If not, return to MichinoHoshi emptyhanded."
"But the Divine Crystal--"
"The Divine Crystal is in capable hands." the princess retorted, her cute multicolored snout wrinkling with disgust. "You have such little faith in the Elemental Guardians! And they will summon me if I am most needed. Come now, this is about the fate of the multiverse. There can't possibly be anything more important than -that-!"
Daedalus wished to speak up, to tell the princess all that he knew about the threats to the Divine Crystal, but he knew that he could not at this time. "Very well, Your Highness, but as I cannot return alone, I should like to remain with you until such a time as is expected of you to return to our kingdom."
"Agreed." Prism replied. "I've had such little hoshian company anyway. Now let's find us a nice civilized planet where I can get a good bath, a good meal, and a decent night's sleep." She moved into star form, her cyan light glimmering amongst the darkness of this unfriendly planet. He smiled and did the same, transforming into a tiny green star. After deciding on a direction, the two shot off into the night sky.
Guess groaned. Groaning is expected when you're drunk out of your head. Guess staggered aimlessly out of the pub. This is also expected when you're drunk out of your head. Guess vomited. I suppose this too is expected when you're drunk out of your head. Guess vomited on the entering demon's boots. Now -that- was unexpected!