"Food! Food! Food! Food! FOOOOOOOOD!!!!" Cecilia and Noble Knight screamed as they bolted toward the Milama cafe. Zed, Rudy, and Elmina burst into laughter while Boomerang just rolled his eyes and started for the inn, followed by Lucied, Jack, and Seph. As quickly as they had run off, Noble Knight and Cecilia returned, Cecilia carrying at least three cheeseburgers in her hands and Noble Knight carrying five. Elmina let out a whistle when she watched Noble Knight finish off two of the cheeseburgers in nearly thirty seconds flat.
Noble Knight looked at her and asked, "What?"
"Oh, nothing..." Elmina responded, still unable to believe how fast she could eat. ‘Large appetite' was an understatement!
Jack exited the inn and called down to Elmina, Cecilia, Rudy, Noble Knight, and Zed who were still standing at the bottom of the stairway outside, "Boomerang and I just signed each of us a room for tonight. It's still midday, so I guess we should go to the Guardian Shrine."
"Why the Guardian Shrine?" Rudy wanted to know.
Jack answered as Lucied, Boomerang, and Seph came out of the inn, "The Guardians still have their powers, even though they don't exactly exsist on Filgaia anymore. My guess is that the demons will try to attack the Guardian Shrine, since it seems to be one of the sources of the Guardians' powers."
Cecilia asked jokingly, "And how did you figure out where the sources of the Guardians' powers are with your puny brain?" Elmina and Rudy burst out laughing.
Jack growled, "I'm going to overlook that for now...Anyway, let's go." Zed silently gulped.
Noble Knight, who was just then finishing her last cheeseburger, asked, "Um...where is the Guardian Shrine?"
"You don't know where the Guardian Shrine is?!" Cecilia asked.
"I live on an island," Noble Knight laughed, "I don't see the world all that much."
Boomerang, however, was not listening. His eyes were wide under his visor. He turned to Zed and asked, "Th-The Guardian Shrine? THAT'S where we're going?!" Zed nodded, nervously, seeming to share the exact same feeling that Boomerang was experiencing right then. The same feeling that neither of them had felt very many times in their lives.
Fear.
As the Dream Chasers walked toward the Guardian Shrine, Boomerang looked at Zed and grinned mischievously. He then spoke, "Nice shiner." The two demons were trailing pretty far behind the others, and, by now, were out of earshot.
Zed glared at him and rubbed his black eye. "Yeah, you should be proud of it!" he growled, "It's your handiwork, after all."
"And not too bad, even though I do say so myself! ‘Course, I wish I could have done something a little more...oh, I don't know...permanent?"
"Huh?!"
Boomerang pointed to his rib cage. "I should be paying you back for THIS!!"
"HEY! You're the one who threw the first punch! Or...boomerang...SO DON'T TAKE IT OUT ON US!!"
Boomerang pointed to Cecilia, Rudy, and Jack. "Well, if they hadn't killed me three days ago, this whole ordeal might never have happened!!"
"Three DAYS?! It's been three years!!"
"WHAT?!?! Time must go by slower down there..."
Elmina stopped in her tracks and turned around. She thought she had heard something. The Fenril Knight groaned when she saw that Boomerang and Zed had also stopped and were now practically screaming at each other in an enormous argument. "GUYS!!" Elmina yelled, startling the arguing demons, "Thank you! Now, if you'd stop arguing for just ONE second, maybe we could get a lead on where the demons are hiding." Zed just razzed at her and followed the Dream Chasers. Reluctantly, Boomerang followed in suit.
"Um...what's with you two?" Rudy asked. They had gotten to the Guardian Shrine just five minutes after Zed and Boomerang's argument, but, now, the two demons absolutely refused to enter the shrine.
"Uh...oh...nothing!" Zed replied nervously, "W-We'll stay out here...um...just in case Zeik tries anything."
"YEAH!" Boomerang agreed, showing the same amount of nervousness, "Just in case they attack!"
The Dream Chasers and Noble Knight exchanged a glance, not believing one word the boys said. They huddled together and whispered to each other, making sure that Boomerang and Zed did not hear. Jack asked, "What's with them?"
"You've got me..." Cecilia responded.
"They're pretty nervous about something, but I can't figure out what," Rudy added.
Noble Knight grinned and stated, "Zed's your problem. I know how to get Boomerang inside."
"How?" Elmina wanted to know. Noble Knight walked over to Boomerang, grabbed his wrist and started to drag the demon inside the shrine.
"AAAAUGH! I DON'T WANNA GO IN!!" he yelled, not bothering to mask his nervousness and fear anymore. Jack and Rudy walked behind Zed, placed their hands on his back, and began to push him through the doors of the shrine.
"HAAAAAAALP!!" Zed screamed.
"STOP! Do not take them inside there!!" came Stoldark's voice just a split second before Noble Knight would have managed to get Boomerang inside. The two demons pulled away from the Dream Chasers and backed away from the Guardian Shrine, leaving the humans and Noble Knight looking at them in confusion. Noble Knight stifled her laughter when Boomerang hid behind Zed.
Cecilia asked, the Water Rune now in her hand, "Why? It's just a condemned shrine. Why can't they go in?"
"What is WITH you two?!" Elmina demanded.
"The demons used to be the Guardians' enemies. Because of that, all of our shrines, even this old one, have spells around them to keep the demons out," Stoldark explained, "Lucadia was the only one who did not have the spell on her shrine."
"What kind of spells?" Rudy had to ask.
"Well," came Moa Gault's voice, "Let's just say that Boomerang and Zed would learn a whole new meaning to the words ‘shock therapy'."
"Ouch..." was all Cecilia could say. They all looked over to the demons who were shivering with fright.
Noble Knight then asked, "What about attacking it? Is there a spell that prevents the demons from attacking the shrine, too?"
Both Stoldark and Moa Gault were silent for a moment, as if unsure of the answer. Finally, Fengalon spoke, "It depends. If the demons attack with magic, such as Zeikfried's Negative Rainbow or Mother's Inferno, then the shrine would be safe. But if the demons managed to find the source of the barrier around the shrine, then the structure would be history..."
"‘Source of the barrier'?" Elmina asked.
This time, Justine, the Guardian of Courage, answered, "You did not see it when you journeyed through the Guardian Shrine, but near the center of each shrine, there is a crystal that powers the barrier around the shrine, and it is only vulnerable to attacks from swords, throwing weapons, or ARMs. If it was destroyed, then the shrine would be wide open for attack."
"But the demons cannot enter the shrine...so the shrines are safe?" Seph said, speaking for the first time since they left the Mountain Pass.
Odoryuk, the Guardian of Life, replied, "I would think so. And, considering the reaction of your friends," The Dream Chasers looked at Boomerang and Zed who looked like they were just then getting over their fear. "I would not think that the demons would try to get inside and destroy the crystal."
Noble Knight groaned, "So it was a waste of time coming here..." She sighed and looked to the sky. "Well...we spent most of our extra daylight coming here and learning that we came here for nothing."
Elmina laughed and said to the two demons, "You two can settle down, now. We're not going to go inside." They both let out a sigh of relief. Boomerang then realized that he was still hiding behind Zed, clutching his shoulders. In both embarassment and disgust, Boomerang threw the green-haired warrior down to the ground.
"ACK!" Zed shrieked as he landed face first in the dirt.
Cecilia groaned and rubbed her head. The childish behavior of the two boys was giving her a headache. "Let's get back to Milama and work out a different plan." Everyone nodded, including Seph. They could not wait to get some rest.
It was fairly dark by the time the warriors and sorceress got back to Milama. They walked into the main room of the inn and decided that it was too late to discuss anything at that time. They all bid each other a good night, except for Boomerang, and went to their rooms.
Cecilia, however, walked back to the main room about twenty minutes after everyone had gone to sleep and looked out the window at the stars. Both the worry of the battles to come and the fact that she had drank five cups of coffee at the cafe prevented her from sleeping. She sighed as she began to think about days before the first war with the demons. Of the days in Adlehyde castle. Of the times when she played "hide-and-seek" with the soldiers. Suddenly, Boomerang walked up behind her and asked, using his cold voice again, "Dreaming of better days, are we, human?" He put a little extra emphasis on the word ‘human'.
"Don't you know how to be kind?" Cecilia asked, realizing it was an idiotic question before she finished.
"KIND?!" Boomerang snapped, whirling around to look Cecilia in the eye. "I've never met anyone, human nor demon, who was kind to me!!"
Cecilia took a step backwards, shocked by the force of Boomerang's response. "M-Mabye if you tried-" she started.
Boomerang cut her off, "I've never had the chance to TRY!!" Even through his black visor, Cecilia could see the demon's eyes beginning to glaze over. "Ever since my first days I've had monster after monster, human after human, demon after DEMON who only wanted one thing: to wear the spirit and life out of me! If I wasn't being fought every minute of every day, I was being TORTURED!! Oh, you haven't felt it yet, but I'll bet you will one day. The ‘baring rein'. Your head tossed high, obliged to hold it there! For hours on end you're unable to move it except with a jerk still higher!" He mimiced the action, showing that he would be in a position where the slightest movement would snap his neck. "Force is ALL I know of creatures' kindness..."
Cecilia, her eyes wide, said to the demon, beginning to understand, "I...feel sorry for you-"
He, once again, cut her off, "Well, DON'T!!" Cecilia took another step back. "Learn to fight back. I did. That's why I am the way I am now." Boomerang, who had been leaning on the windowsill balanced on one foot, shifted his weight to his other foot and continued, "Don't even think your life will be back to normal after this war! One who has fought before is suddenly hit by an onslaught, battle after battle, war after war! A warrior keeps fighting for justice and right until he fetches a good price and becomes a mercenary, or until he's injured, or broken! Then it's off to another battle, then ANOTHER, until he or she reaches the bottom of this miserable universe of conflicts. Mind you, see to it you don't get dragged into this blackhole of misery and pain..."
Tears beginning to stream down Boomerang's face, he said, lowering his head, "I wish I could think of things like you do, but I can't. Not after all I've been through...."
Cecilia looked down at her feet, letting the demon's words sink in. After a long pause, she looked back up at Boomerang who was once again staring at the stars and said, "G-Goodnight..." With that, she left the main room of the inn and went back to her own room, Boomerang's heartbreaking tale echoing in her mind.
Boomerang yawned and stretched. It had been ten minutes since his talk with Cecilia and he was finally starting to feel sleepy. There was no clock in the main room, or one that worked anyway, so Boomerang could only guess what time it was. His guess was around 10:15. Lucied was in their room. She had gone to sleep shortly after the warriors had gotten back to Milama. He sighed and started to go back to his room, when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him. He spun around and groaned inwardly as he saw Noble Knight walking toward him.
What was with the girl?! Why did she persist on being around him?
Wait...that doesn't look like Noble Knight, he thought. Noble Knight's hair, usually bright silver, now looked as if it was ash grey, and her cat-like ears and wolf-like tail appeared to be pure white. Also, she appeared to be hinding something behind her back. Boomerang guessed that the dim light in the room was making him see things.
He started to ask her what she was doing there, but stopped when he noticed her eyes. Her eyes were supposed to be jade green, but instead they were blood red! "You're not Noble Knight!!" Boomerang shouted.
The fake Noble Knight grinned evilly and spoke, her voice exactly like the silver-haired warrior's, "How very cleaver of you!" With that, she brought the item that she had been hiding out from behind her back. Boomerang's eyes widened when he recognized it to be an ARM exactly identical to Rudy's Hand Cannon. The imposter then aimed at the demon and fired.