Stone's Dream
Chapter 6

Lying around in Jc and Mo's lounge, the members of the group, even including Amber on this rare occasion. were trying to figure out what to do. "So, what's o fun about Michigan?" Lindsy asked. She inched closer to her boyfriend because Carrie had Blue wrapped around her forearm and was playing with the snake.

"Absolutely nothing, beautiful." Justin answered. He laid his head on her shoulder and got lost in her golden hair.

"So what are we going to do?" Jc asked and laid down the seven he needed to win at solitaire. Chris punched up pay-per-view on the TV and started to scan the channels.

"We could stay in and watch movies."

"No, we have to do something fun." Cassi took the remote from him and turned off the TV. She turned to Mo, who was sitting in the dinning room with her back to them, staring at a map of Detroit. "Is there anything safe to do here, Mo?"?

"There's a lake maybe an hour awy from the city. Sylvan Lake. Why don't we go there and have a picnic?" Joey got up from the sofa and took a look at where Mo was pointing. He shurgged his shoulders and Carrie smiled.

"I like it. Let's go!" On the other couch, Wendy leaned back to Amber sitting on top of the couch behind her and whispered in her ear.

"She would." Carrie somehow heard her and threw a pillow at the both of them. Wendy caught it and threw it at the snuggling couple of Lindsy and Justin. It hit them with a loud "Fwump!" Justin threw it back just as hard and Amber caught it, falling off the back of the couch as she did. They all heard the thump as she landed and they sat quietly until they heard fake snores issuing from behind the sofa. Indigo went over to investigate and everyone heard a struggle take place. Indigo backed out into view with a corner of the pillow in her mouth, and Amber was half dragged and hald crawled out with another corner in her hands.

"My pillow!" Amber yelled at the dog and pulled. Indigo held her ground and yanked back, shaking the poor pillow furiously. Amber let go and the puppy went tumbling head over til with the pillow. "Fine! If you want it so much, have it!" Amber got up off the floor and stalked into the bathroom to fix her tousled braid. The other laughed as Indigo dragged the pillow to the bathroom door and left it there.

"So I guess we're going?" Mo asked everyone. Joey shrugged his shoulders again.

"Why not? What could go wrong on such a beautiful day?"

Everyone was having a grand old time a the lake. They had the southernmost narrow strip of water all to themselves, it was the middle of the work and school wekk, after all. It was very quiet and peaceful. Amber busied herself by sketching in her pad on her beach blanket, Carrie and Wendy sunned themselves on the short dock, Joey and Chris pigged out on the food from the three picnic baskets they had brought with them, and everyone else splashed around in the water. Suddenly, there was an angrey shriek and Cassi came tearing out of the water. She rushed up to Chris and began tugging him back toward the lake. "Jc just put seaweed down the top of my bathing suit! You have to do something!" Chris tried in vain to return to his beloved picnic basket with lame excuses.

"But there's no seaweed here, we're at a lake! Hey, isn't there some rule that says you shouldn't swim right after you eat? C'mon let me go, Cass!" But cassi held on tight and dragged her helpless boyfriend after her into the water. Joey, not wanting to miss a moment of this, followed along, still munching o a friend chicken drumstick. He stepped onto the dock and sat down next to Carrie. She looked up at him and scowled.

"You're in my sun."

"Wan sum?" Joey asked with his mouth full and held out the haf eaten drumstick. Carrie rooled her eyes and stood up. She walked to the end pf the dock and dove into the water. Joey looked from the drumstick to where she was swimming away and back again. Then, he tossed the piece of chicken and dove in after her. Wendy, not wanting to be left all by herself, slipped quietly intot he water and swam off to find Lance. No one in the water noticed the darl, black shadow growing on the hillside under a clear sky until it was too late.

"Well, isn't this a pretty picture?" A deep, husky voice rolled out over the water like thunder. The breeze died, the lake water ceased to lap at the shore, and it seemed that the world had grown as silent and still as a photograph. Everyone stared at a black suit of armor covered with razor-sharp ridges and cloaked in a mud brown colored cape, sitting upon a steed in similar armor. Amber laid aside her pad and stood up to greet the newcomer. She started throwing fireballs with both hands, but the armored man simply batted them away with one arm as he dismounted, sending them to scorch the earth where they fell. "Are you done yet, Firefly?" Amber paused to catch her breath, which gave Joey a chance to speak.

"Excuse me, Mister Black Knight Man, but... um, where did you come from?" The armor pieces grated against one another as the man turned his head toward the water.

"Your worst nightmares." With that the man clapped his hands in a metallic clatter. The beach exploded with arms that began to pull the body of the creature it was attached to out of the sand. They took on the semblance of wolves -- long snouts with wicked teeth, thick black fur and crooked hind dog legs. But they walked upright on their hind legs, had fur covered hands on their front legs, and were as tall as any human. Amber looked from each of them and back to the man.

"What do you want from us?" She spoke without showing her fear.

"We were sent here... to kill you and your little friends!" Howled a creature that was slightly taller than the others. It raised an arm, opened it's fisted hand, and sent its power shock waving out over the lake. Amber was blasted into the lake, while her friends were thrown to the other shore. Lindsy landed at the base of a tree, and she quickly climed up the wooded embankment to reach the deeply forested area beyond. Once there, she stopped and waved a hand over her symbol on her left shin, just below her knee. As she did she called out the words of transformation.

"I am Stone!" A green glow covered her, and her bathing suit gave way to ragged green cloth, edged with soft grayish-brown fur, and loose green stained leather boots and gloves, tied in place with brown leather thongs. Over that when mismatched armor and swatches of mail. Her golden hair found its way into four loose braids, two short ones that bung in front of her eats and two longer ones down the middle of her back. Overall, it was a very barbaric look. She took of running to round the end of the lake, it was far too wide for even her longest of jumps to span, and was joined by all of her sisters. Suddenly, Drake broke awat from the group and leaped at the armored man, the long strips of her skirt fluttering behind her.

"Quake!" Her monstrous yell echoed across the water, woods and hills, full of hatred and rage. She reached over her right shoulder and brought out a metal staf from its holster in mid-jump, releasing its bladed points on either end as she came down on top of the man. He caught the tip of the descending spear between his two crossed sword blades and deflected her attack.

"You dare challenge me, Firefly? The mater of war and strife, two things you live for? Flood may have been more subtle in not attacking himself, but I like to battle. You cannot possibly hope to win against me!" Quake reversed his swords, meaning to slice Drake in half right then and there. But Drake unleashed the three claws on her gauntlet and held his blades in check long enough to say what she needed to say.

"I'm going to send you back to hell with a message for your master. The Guardians still aren't giving up and we never will." She twisted her wrist and snapped her sword blades in half. "And anyway, this time is different because I am challenging you."

Meanwhile, Stone, River and Breeze were fighting the wolf-creatures. "This is going rather bad! These Sandwolves are made completely out of sand!" Breeze called over her shoulder to River, both of them fending off the creatures by fighting back-to-back. River blasted one with her power, scattering its sandy bits for a moment. She called back with a jaunty reply.

"Sandwolves? I like it." She turned back just in time to hammer one popping up out of the beach across the face with her gauntlet. Breeze cut off the arm of one and the head of another with her two sowrds, only to have those parts grow back immeiately. Stone came into her field of vision and hacked a snadwolf in half with her double headed axe, and it becake two hellish creatures.

"That's it! No more Miss Nice Wind!" Breeze sheathed her swords and blew all the sandwolves away with her power. The three of them ran to save Drake from a battle they all knew she couldn't win, but the sandwolves sprung up out of the ground all around them, effectively blocking their way.

"Why won't they just die?!" Stone whined. Then, she looked beyond them ansd gasped. Quake slashed savagelt at Drake's spear and knocked it from her hands. Drake went sprawling to the ground. Quake stood over her, the point of a new sword pressed into her neck. The demon who had spoken before glared at the three now held captive.

"It is the end of the line for your sister. No one fights Lord Quake and lives." It turned its gaze to its minions. "My brethren, let them watch her die!" It howled in victory and its minions joined in. Just then, Drake dove both legs into Quake's torso, forcing him and his sword back. She rolled away, drawing her own sword, and crouched in the sand. Quake advanced and Drake sprung up to meet him. Their swords clashed and held, both using all their might against the other.

"I'll never give up, Quake! You might as well surrender like Flood did."

Quake laughed sinisterly. "You forget why you can never win against me, Guardian." He loosened a hand from the sword hilt. "You fight fair!" Drake was hit with the full force of his power and went flying back, landing in a heap fifteen feet away. She didn't move. Quake stuck his sword into its sheath and went over to her. He grabbed her by one shoulder plate shaped like a dragon's wing and lifted her limp form up to get a better look.

"Don't you dare hurt her!" Stone yelled. Quake shook his head.

"It's a little late for that, but she is beyond pain at the moment." he stroked Drake's cheeck lightly, brushing the sand from her pale skin. "She is quite lovely to look at..." He let go of her and she went tumbling back to the ground. "...when she's lying in the dirt!" He laughed maliciously and waved his horse over. He mounted the saddle and turned the horse so he could salute the remaining Guardians. "Kayen, finish them quickly. You know how much the Master hates to wait." The tall monster bowed low to him.

"As you wish, Lord Quake." Rider and horse rode up the hill and vanished into the black shadow. The shadow dissipated, leaving a round patch of dead grass in its wake. Kayen, the tallest Sandwolf went to Drake and picked her up in one hand by her neck. "I would like to eat her bones. Surrender your weapons and armors, or she becomes my next meal!" The sisters watched as Kayen started to squeeze.

"She'd want up to fight." Breeze said, throwing down her swords and unhooking her collapsed bow from her belt.

"She'd want us to go on without her." River added and eremoved her armor gauntlets.

"But I'm not giving up!" Stone flicked her wrists and sent out both of her grappling cables. The clawed ends embedded themselves deep in Kayen's stomach. Stone wrenched back on the cables and ripped out the demon's sandy guts. Kayen's form collapsed into sand, releasing Drake from its grip. The Guardians moved to surround their fallen sister. The demon rose back up out of the sand at the formation front of its minions. It snarled at the sisters.

"You'll pay dearly for that! I'll have your skulls made into drinking bowls!" Stone just sneered at them. Then she whispered to Breeze and River.

"I have a plan. Take Drake and go."

"You... have a plan?" Breeze paused to grin. "We'd better get the hell out of here then." She and River picked up Drake and hurried away to safety. Stone kept the sandwolves busy with murderous swings of her ax. She glared at them all with a strange glint in her green eyes.

"Now, we're going to have some fun." She swung her ax around above her head and brought it down into the soft, yielding said, screaming, "Eye of Medusa!" A deep crack raced across the beach toward the sandwolves and glowing green vines spread out over the ground. The vines reached for the demons and wrapped themselves around the monsters. They howled in terror as they were turned to stone, but they had enough sense left to reach out and grasp hold of the Guardian. Only Kayen was spared. The demon approached the trapped Guardian, a grin playing on its black doggy lips.

"Looks like your little trick backfired."

"No, it didn't. Just watch." Kayen glanced around but saw nothing. The Sandwolf yurned back to Stone, intending to rip her throat out when something caught around its ankles. Kayen looked down and saw a glowing vine winding its way up from the crack in the ground. The monster clawed at the vine, growled and shrieked, even snapped its jaws at the thing, but to no avail. The vine had the beast in its grasp. The vine began to shake the Sandwolf furiously, moving at blurry speeds. Stone looked away, unable to watch without getting dizzy. Finally, with one last howl, the Sandwolf exploded in a shower of golden sand. Only the demon spirit was left, caught in the embrace of the vine. The vine pulled the evil shadow down into the crack and disappeared with it. Stone gave a sigh of relief and struggled to free herself from the stone statues. "Hello? Would someone come help me?"

"I've got it!" Came a cheerful call from behind her. Stone tried to turn her head, but encountered hard rock instead. Suddenly, a ball on a chain came whistling sround her stone prison. She heard the clink and the click of the chain securing itself. There was a jerk and a wrenching sound as the chain broke through the rock. Then, it was around her waist, lifting her up into the air. The chain released her, and she plummeted back to the ground. She fell into Breeze's outstretched arms. "Are you okay?", said River, coming into view, hooking her ball-and-chain mace onto her belt.

"Fine. Thanks for the flying lesson though." Stone jumped to her feet and dusted herself off "Where's Drake?"

"She's gone already. We should go too, here comes the twenty questions gang." Breeze nodded toward bathing suit clad figured emerging from the woods.

Justin trudged across the sand, meaning to get answers this time, but when he looked up the hill to where those weird women were, he stopped dead in his tracks. They were gone. He turned back to the others, bewildered. Then, he caught sight of the four girls carefully picking their way through the battle debris. Lindsy saw him and came running. They hugged each other for a long while, until Justin noticed that Lindsy was being very careful with her left hand. "What happened? Did you hurt your hand?" She carefully opened her fist, revealing a long, ragged, but shallow gash.

"I cut it on a rock when I fell into the trees."

"Well, we'll get right back to the hotel and take care of it, okay?" Lindsy nodded and they headed off to where they had parked the bike. Everyone else worked to clean up the remains of their failed picnic. Then, the piled into the jeep and the rental. Just as the jeep was about to pull out, the Suzuki peeled up to the back where Amber and Indigo were sitting together. Lindsy reached out and put a hand on Amber's arm.

"Are you okay?" She looked apprehensively at her friend, who was clutching her ribs in the same place Drake had been hit with Quake's power. Amber smiled painfully.

"It's just a flesh wound. How's your hand?"

"Just a little scratch." Lindsy held up her left hand, wrapped in a makeshift cloth bandage. Then, Amber took hold of Lindsy's good hand and sat in seemingly silence.

"You did good out there today kid. I'm impressed."

"Well, if you didn't treat me like a kid, I'd do it more often."

"I guess we've come to an understanding then, but could you teach your dog not to bite me anymore?"