The Storm Foxes explored the dungeon, inspecting every twist and turn, checking for hidden doors and their switches, in their search for the wellspring. They even found a larger version of the trick stairs. The ceiling pulled away as the floor raised to form steps. Kristal kept it charged while they went up. The dungeon was confusing, as they kept finding paths that looped around back into each other. If Dierk hadn't been marking the walls, they might not have noticed, although Jokribelle disagreed with that notion.
During their search, they found Laboratory IV, which was mainly big vats and distillation equipment. They were empty and everything was bolted down, not that they could carry them out of here anyways.
Nova attacked five more times during their hunt for the wellspring. True to her word, she first attacked Dierk once, then Kristal, and the rest of the times she started with Andraxia.
She was able to score a few small victories, but was slain each time. She destroyed Kristal's Damocles robe, and Rhann's Damocles leather armor. Both had to be replaced with spares. Andraxia was turned to stone twice, along with Dierk and later Kristal. Dierk had to use one of his needles to restore her. Jokribelle was dragged off and quickly drained, but they were able to recover her. So far, Samira was the only one she wasn't able to land a hit on.
"Does it seem she is after me personally?" Andraxia scratched her head as they walk down a new tunnel.
"Maybe it's the flirting you did with her," retorted Rhann.
"Oh, don't worry about that. I will always have eyes for you."
"Not what I was getting at."
"It could be your webs," said Dierk. "She doesn't do so well when you bind her and unlike death, she views that as a threat."
"Speaking of your webs, I think we might need them." Samira pointed to a section of the hallway made up of large metal plates. "I'm not getting anything from these, but I can't image it's a good idea to stand on such a long path of steel."
"While I can't find a trigger, there are small gaps between them, so they could slide out of the way or lower." Jokribelle lifted up her goggles and rubbed her eyes for a moment.
"Oh, alright. But making a path all of you can travel will take some time. Watch my back, and get ready to fire if she attacks from the front." Andraxia sprayed her web across the hallway, and fixed it to the ceiling on the other side. She then fired another and started to construct a bridge, using wooden planks Dierk kept in his bag of holding for just this kind of situation. Normally, this was done for large gaps in caves or if a real bridge had collapsed.
Andraxia crossed over first. She guarded the other side as the group walked over one at a time, starting with Samira and then Rhann. Kristal kept her wand ready as she let them go head of her. Louis kept his eyes on the back.
"Well, this is disappointing. I was looking forward to shocking you guys as you tried to cross." Nova stepped out from behind the corner and swung her staff at Andraxia.
Andraxia evaded the strike and parried the staff with her dagger. "Don't you ever give up?"
"Don't you?" Nova sidestepped a trio of magic missiles Kristal fired around Rhann and Samira. She stepped back, aimed her staff like a javelin, and threw it at Samira as she ran forward.
Samira effortlessly dodged it. However, it kept going and hit several of the web lines supporting the bridge. Rhann lost her balance and fell as the lines snapped. She let out a cry as the floor glowed green. The wards on her armor failed and her Damocles raiment disintegrated before long.
"Do you really think you can fight me without a weapon?" Andraxia lunged forward, landing a few quick hits on Nova.
Nova kicked Andraxia's leg and kept her between her and Samira. "What makes you think I need to?" As webbing covered her left arm she held out her right. "Return." In a puff of smoke the staff returned to her hand. She then swung it at the drow.
While the two were exchanging blows, Louis ran in front, crossing what was left the bridge. Only about a third on the left side had fallen. He then picked up Rhann and pulled her back to the others, leaving her axe and shield where they lay. He then looked at Kristal and said "Heal her," before running to the battle.
Kristal pointed her healing ring at her fallen colleague and shined her light on her. However, it was taking longer than before.
Nova and Andraxia had gotten tangled in the webbing as they fought. Both had dropped their weapons and it became a wrestling match. Nova seemed to have the upper hand in terms of raw strength. This type of battle didn't suit Andraxia, now that she could barely move.
Samira started chipping away at Nova's overshield, slashing her with her sword but taking care not to hit Andraxia.
Louis grabbed Nova and pulled her off of Andraxia, breaking the webbing.
Nova struggled in his grip. "Are you shy, big boy? Show me your smile." She grabbed at his helmet, trying to remove it.
"You aren't getting me like that!" Louis grabbed her left arm and held it against the wall as he gripped her upper torso with his enlarged gauntlet.
"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport. Return." Although her right arm's range of movement was limited, she was still able to strike him with her staff around the same time Kristal cased thunder resistance on him, bolstering his existing insulation.
Still, he was feeling something. Louis extended a large blade from his right gauntlet and struck her with it. Once her shield shattered, he planted it into her abdomen.
"Do you normally have to hold down girls to enter them?" Nova stuck out her tongue as her body started to break apart. She dropped her staff, but it turned smoke and dissipated before hitting the ground.
"You are really starting to creep me out. Do you even feel pain?"
"Oh, are you into S&M?" Nova's head fell as her neck broke apart, but it shattered before hitting the floor.
With Nova gone, the remaining party members crossed over. Rhann recovered her axe and shield. "Next time, I want to kill her."
Kristal dug through her bag of holding. "Bad news, we’re out of spare leather Damocles raiments. I do have this rubber one that should fit you." She pulled out a shiny black tunic. "It doesn't have as much resistance to physical blows, but it should hold up better against lightning."
Rhann held up the garment. "Why do you have this?"
"I was experimenting with new materials. I got a deal from a traveling merchant. They are similar to my gloves, so I thought I would see if I could block lightning with them. They work well enough, but they still have a limit. I also ended up making them too big, as I wasn't used to working with this stuff. I also have one that's good against ice magic."
"Well I'll take it. Also, my wards have broken. Could you redo them?" Rhann looked at her chest, then at Andraxia, who was watching closely.
"Okay. But we have to work quickly." Kristal picked up the shield. She pulled her rune pen and started writing on it.
"Now could the rest of you look away?"
Andraxia smiled. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they don't peep."
"I was talking to you in particular."
While they couldn't leave Rhann alone, the others turned their backs to her, with Louis on one side and Dierk on the other. He couldn't see Andraxia and wasn't sure if she was doing the same.
Kristal finished Rhann's bracers next. "I'm afraid we don't have time to do everything. You will have to make do with this." She drank a mana potion.
"Right. Let's get going, then." Rhann put on the bracers.
They chose to go left at a T-intersection. Jokribelle said it headed away from the mess of rooms they were at a little while ago and Dierk marked the corner with arrows.
They entered another room that was a little on the wide side. There were dark metal blocks bolted to the ceiling, long but thin metal plates on the ground, and alcoves with bars blocking them. Sitting in the back of one of them was a metal chest. At the other end of the hallway was another door, as well as a square opening at the top of the wall above it. For some reason, there was a small gap running through the ceiling, maybe a foot deep.
"We might have found some loot." Rhann ran over to the alcove, careful not to step on the plate. "Now how do we get this open?" She looked at the symbols and metal plating on the wall next to it. There were some strange devices, in a similar style to the dishes the found in Laboratory V, only sticking out instead of in. It had ridges akin to those of a gear, but they weren't attached to anything to make them spin. In the middle was a small hole, fit for a large key or similar mechanism.
Rhann tried turning one of them, but it wouldn't move.
"Let me try." Kristal shot one of them with her lightning ring. The conduits glowed for a moment as the shock ran through them, but nothing seemed to happen. She then tried another. This time, the bars lifted up for a moment before falling back down. "Maybe I have to keep the spell going."
"Or you could try that little ball you picked up before. The hole is about big enough," said Rhann.
"Right." Kristal reached for her bag.
"Wait!" interrupted Jokribelle. "You’re getting careless! I just checked. The chest is a mimic, currently hibernating."
"Is it? That's disappointing." Rhann sighed. She then started looking at the other alcoves.
"Even a mimic can be used for parts."
"Yes, but I don't think we have time for us to kill it so you can fashion another bag of holding from it's stomach. This one seems like a nasty piece of work anyway." Jokribelle looked at the strange device sticking out of the wall by it's cell. "Let's see. This is called a fulgur dial. I'm still not fully sure what it does, but it has a depowered status." She glanced at another one. "This one has capacitors."
"I'm afraid we don't have time to screw around with monsters we can easily avoid. Everything here seems to be bolted down. If you can't find any hidden passageways, then we best get going." Dierk headed to the next door.
"Not sure. There is something odd about the wall in one of the empty alcoves, but these weird triggers are hard to spot." Jokribelle walked over to another set of bars. "Looks like the whole thing slides away. Now if we could just figure out how to open it."
"Oh, I could help you get in there."
They stopped and turned to face the familiar voice. Nova was standing at the end of the hall, holding her staff in her left hand. Unlike before, she wore thick metal gauntlets with green gems by the wrists. Like her outfit, they had a number of green lines running across them.
"I think I will take my chances without your help." Jokribelle loaded her crossbow as Kristal fired off a few magic missiles. Louis started to charge her.
Nova was able to dodge all but one of the shots. She then grabbed one of the fulgur dials. It lit up and sent a trail of green light up to the ceiling as the conduit glowed.
As he approached, Louis started to stumble. He lost his balance and started to fall up. "W-What’s going on here?" He blindly swung his arms and legs as he frantically tried to grab the ground. Soon, he hit the large black square bolted to a track on the ceiling.
"Is that what an electromagnet does?" asked Jokribelle as she watched.
"You know the name? That's rare." Nova rotated the fulgur dial counterclockwise, towards them, and the square moved closer.
"Stop it!" Rhann yelled as she was lifted into the air. Unlike Louis, who fell upright, she was pulled in the same direction, moving slower.
Jokribelle and Kristal fired off some magic missiles and an enchanted bolt. For some reason, the bolt curved up as it flew, going over Nova's head. However, the missiles forced her to let go, leaving her gauntlet behind as she evaded most of them.
A pulse of light shot through the lines on Nova's outfit. She the rushed to the side as she charged.
"Watch out! She just activated a speed buff." Jokribelle struggled to ready another shot.
"You seem to know a lot." Nova pointed her staff at Jokribelle, but Andraxia shot her with webbing, grabbing the weapon. The staff then split in two at the middle, forming a pair of nightsticks. She held onto both ends and while pulling back on the webbing, she struck Andraxia's side.
"You've been holding out on us." Andraxia swung her blade to try and parry the next blow. Kristal cast a speed buff on her, and she was able to keep up with her movements.
"Oh, I don't go all the way on the first date." Nova giggled as she tried to pull back and take Andraxia with her.
Dierk charged his whip with mana and swung it around, striking Nova in the back. The next strike, she was able to counter, pulling the webbing into the way so it would break.
With Kristal providing support, the two of them tried to back Nova into a corner.
As the whip bound the right nightstick, Nova threw the left over Andraxia's head. In the moment she looked away to follow it's arc, Nova rushed her, slamming her palm against her chest and letting out a blast of green lightning. She then caught the nightstick.
As Kristal cast a few more buffs, Dierk pulled out his dagger for the first time since entering this dungeon. He struck Nova's side as he pulled her closer with the whip. However, he failed to guard against the stick he bound and got a shock. His Damocles raiment took most of the shock, but a few holes opened up in his vest.
Nova then rushed forward and kissed Dierk on the lips. His mind started to get hazy.
"Stop that!" Samira's voice snapped him out of his trance. Somehow, she had gotten mixed up in the fray and was swinging at Nova.
Nova blocked the blow, but had to fall back. She was able to hold off attacks from both Samira and Andraxia at the same time. Her plan seemed to be to strike the blades with the thunder ends of her sticks. She was able to briefly get Andraxia that way, but Samira pulled back each time Nova tried with her.
Dierk swung his whip, striking Nova in the chest. There was the sound of glass breaking and she pulled back.
Rhann jumped to the floor, almost landing on Nova. She lacked her weapon and metal armor, now fighting bare-handed. Grabbing her arm, she yanked her.
There was another pulse of light through her outfit as she rammed Rhann, striking her chest with her sticks.
"She just used a strength buff," warned Jokribelle.
"On it." Kristal started casting buffs on Rhann, starting with adrenaline surge and a strength buff of her own.
"Damn." Rhann kicked Nova and broke the strike. She then grabbed both her arms and pushed them to the side. Soon, the two of them fell to the floor and Nova lost her sticks. While it turned into a wrestling match for a moment, Rhann seemed to have the upper hand. Before long, it ended as Nova grabbed her tight with the gauntlet and Rhann struck her with her elbow.
Both women collapsed on the floor, laying next to each other. Nova started to break apart, the squares of light blowing away in the nonexistent wind. Rhann just panted. After a moment, she spoke. "Kristal... crashing... losing... feeling."
"Sorry about that." Kristal walked over to Rhann and cast her healing light on her. "I thought adrenaline would help you fight through the paralyzing effects longer."
"Yes, but it drains my stamina faster." Once she could move, Rhann drank another yellow stamina potion. She then waited for Kristal to mend her rubber armor. "Still, this thing seemed to hold up better."
"Now that that's settled, how about getting me down from here?" Louis called from the ceiling. The rest of Rhann's gear was still stuck there with him.
"I ditched my armor to get down."
"Let me take a look at this thing." Jokribelle walked over to the fulgur dial. The gauntlet had disappeared without a trace, but the mechanism still glowed. "It's status is powered now... 30% charge. Oh, it just dropped to 29%."
"How do we turn it off?" Dierk walked over.
"I saw her turn it." Samira walked over. "Can we do that?" She reached out to touch the dial, but pulled her hand back. "Careful, it can shock you."
After a few moments, they figured a way to spin it right and left. However, that just made the electromagnet slide back and forth, irritating Louis.
"It just dropped to 5% charge. What happens when it gets to zero?" asked Jokribelle.
"It’ll likely drop him, if it works the way I think it does," replied Kristal.
Louis looked down at them. "Is there any way to let me down gently?"
"You know, you could have gotten down a lot sooner if you disengaged your armor." Nova giggled. She was standing by the door with her arms folded.
Dierk pulled out his whip and Andraxia her blade. Rhann reached for her axe, forgetting for a moment she didn't have it. Still, the three of them moved closer, with Kristal getting ready for support.
As they drew close, Nova retreated through the doorway.
"What is she doing?" Rhann followed after her.
"Wait, don't split up the team!" ordered Dierk as Andraxia ran after her.
They entered a larger room. It was wide with a tall ceiling, the largest they had seen in here. At first glance. the only things in this room were a number of pillars.
Nova evaded a kick from Rhann. "Summon." The staff appeared in her hand and she swung it at her, hitting her in the back.
Andraxia fired her webbing, trying to tangle Nova. She was able to get her leg with a line.
Nova responded by throwing her staff again, narrowly missing Andraxia and only coming close to Dierk. He didn't turn to look as it hit the wall behind him. However, he did when he heard the door slam shut and a slab rise from the ground, blocking it off.
Rhann then tackled Nova, knocking her over. The two women rolled around on the ground, taking the webbing with them.
Nova struggled to get free and slashed the webbing with her bare hand. Her outfit then pulsed, no doubt activating some buff, and she leaped free as Andraxia closed in. She righted herself and then ran, quickly outpacing the drow as the neko worked to untangle her feet from the webbing. Soon, she reached a door and ran though it, closing it behind her.
"Stop, stop. We can't go any further. We have to get back to the others." Dierk looked back at the door, now hidden, the staff now missing. The gap above it was too high up for him to reach and there was nothing for his whip to grab onto. "She is trying to split us up, I'm sure of it."
~~~~~
Moments ago, as Dierk followed Rhann and Andraxia through the door, Samira ran to join them. However, she stopped when she felt a pull at her sword and dagger. She gripped them tight as they tried to fly up, and backed up a few steps. The strange pull ceased.
She looked up to see Louis still stuck to the strange black square on the ceiling above her. A moment later, she heard Kristal yelp in shock as a slab rose up and blocked the door.
"No, Dierk!" They were cut off from half the party. Samira's mind started racing, trying to think of how to open the door now. She didn't want Dierk to be cut off from the rest like that. "What if that bitch kisses him again? Oh, I can't stand the thought!
Kristal started feeling the wall. "Jokribelle, help me with this. We need to figure out how to open this."
"Calm down. Dierk is a seasoned hunter. He can hold himself in a fight, and Andraxia and Rhann are with him. I'm sure the three of them can take her. Still, I would feel better if Kristal could give support." She looked up at Rhann's axe as it clung to the square next to Louis' leg.
Dierk's voice came from the gap above the door. "Stop, stop. We can't go any further. We have to get back to the others." It sounded like the fighting was over. That was a relief. "She is trying to split us up, I'm sure of it."
Suddenly, a ghostly image of a staff struk her back. Samira stepped to the side as she turned around to spot Nova coming at her. She evaded the thrust with her staff. The ghostly image of the staff then swung around and went through her side. Quickly, she held out her dagger and blocked the staff below the dangerous end. She then struck Nova with her sword, pulling away before she yanked her staff back.
Samira watched as a fury of phantom strikes came at her. One by one, she dodged Nova's follow-ups, but it was getting harder and harder as each near miss was narrower and narrower. One blow grazed her. A ghostly bolt flew at her, so she stepped to the side, and a real bolt landed on Nova's chest.
Nova let out a short cry as she stepped back. A ghostly image split from her, only half of it there, and struck the ground with her staff. Soon, the real Nova did the same, but Samira had already stepped off the metal plate she was standing on.
"I can't take this anymore!" Louis's voice sounded from behind. After that, then came the sound of a magic blast landing nearby. It seemed he had tried to fire off a shot while still stuck, but missed completely.
As Samira's eyes glanced over at the point of impact, the mirage staff plunged through her chest. "Stupid! How could I look away?" The solid staff grazed her chest as she pivoted to avoid it. Even with her raiment, she still felt a tingle.
The green of Nova's outfit pulsed as she split her staff in two. She took a moment to dodge the next round of magic missiles and bolts before going after Samira again. She was faster than before, the phantom strikes started to blend together with the actual ones. Dodging all of them became impossible. She had to parry the nightsticks with her swords.
After a successful parry, Nova yanked back the stick, hitting the blade with the thicker end.
Samira didn't have enough time to pull away and her dagger flashed green as she was shocked. She wasn't able to hold on and released the handle. Her left hand was limp.
A bolt struck Nova as some magic missiles flew by and her shield shattered. Afterwards, an image of half of Nova lunged at Samira, striking her sword with the staff and kissing her on the lips.
Samira blocked the stick with her sword, sliding the blade down the shaft to avoid the end. She then foresaw a strike to her left. However she didn't have time to evade the strike and it landed on her hip. While the raiment took most of the shock, she still felt a bit numb.
The phantom Nova grabbed her arms and shoved her own phantom body, kissing her against the wall. "Stop!" She begged, but Nova still followed through, knocking away the sword as she attempted to defend herself and pinned her to the wall.
She kissed Samira on the lips and her mind soon slipped into a haze. She didn't know why, but it was strangely enjoyable. Soon, her body started to stiffen and no longer did as she wished. For a moment, she was snapped out of it when she heard a loud crash, but then her mind faded.
~~~~~
Andraxia looked at the door. She ran her fingers along the seams. "How are we going to open this?" This was the strangest dungeon she had ever been in. Normally, there was some logic behind how it was structured. This one was a mix of twists and turns and living areas, as well as rooms she didn't understand.
"With any luck, there is something on the other side that Kristal can trigger to open it,” Dierk said.
Rhann grunted. "This better be worth it. We need that wellspring."
Suddenly, they heard sounds from the other side. Kristal fired off some magic missiles.
"Sounds like they’re fighting! How did she get over there so quickly?" Andraxia looked at the opening above the door.
"There must be a short path through that doorway." Dierk glanced at the door Nova had ran through.
"Then we best get going. They need our help." Rhann started to turn.
"No time." Andraxia fired a non-adhesive web line at the gap. Only the end was sticky as she left the glue off. The bracer allowed her to control the thickness of her lines, and she made this one rather thick. Grabbing it, she then climbed up the wall and saw Nova fighting Samira while Kristal and Jokribelle fired at her.
Andraxia fired another web at the ceiling to propel down the wall as Nova pinned Samira to the wall. She threw her stick at Kristal and Jokribelle to make them jump to the side as she kissed Samira.
Andraxia dropped down and ran at them. Suddenly, Louis fell to the ground to her right, Rhann's shield hitting his leg as it fell as well.
"What the hell!?" Louis pulled himself off the floor. His gauntlet doubled in size as he ran at Nova.
Nova pulled herself away from Samira, who just stood there, and ran to the side. Andraxia fired her webbing at her legs and soon tangled them up.
Louis swung his fist as Nova lost her balance and fell. He struck her hard and broke her in two. "Stay down this time!"
"Why do you ask? You know I won't." Nova stuck out her tongue playfully before her head split apart.
Louis fell down and caught his breath. "Next time… I will blast her as soon as I see her…" His armor released and he drank a mana potion.
"Samira!" Dierk had followed Andraxia and climbed over the wall with the webbing, running over to Samira as fast as he could. She was now a stone statue. "Kristal, we need a needle."
"I'm coming. Hold your horses." Kristal pulled the box of golden needles out of the bag. "This is the last one. I will have to restock as soon as we can."
"Then use it. We can't make it through this without her."
Kristal pricked Samira with the needle and the color returned to her body. She fell to her knees and caught her breath as Kristal healed her with her ring, then handing her a quarter bottle of mana potion. "Drink some of this."
"Thank you." Samira weakly took the bottle and drank the blue liquid.
"Not that I'm complaining, but how did I get down from there?" Louis looked at the magnet.
"I think it has something to do with the dial,” Jokribelle explained. “Its charge had been dropping since I checked it after you got stuck there. Now its status is unpowered and the charge is 0%.”
"Maybe it ran out of mana or whatever." Dierk looked at the gap above the door. "What do you think that is for?"
Kristal followed Dierk's line of sight. "Given that the track the electromagnet is attached to goes through it, I think it's so they can pick up and move things, metal things, between the two rooms. What’s even over there?"
"I rather large and empty room. Nothing but a few pillars and a couple of doors." Rhann placed her armor on while Andraxia was checking out her tail. "One of the doors looked important, but I didn't get too close."
"We should check it out." Dierk pulled two bundles of rope ladders from his bag of holding. "Andraxia, set these up."
"I already put my webbing up there, you could do it yourself." Andraxia rolled her eyes, but climbed up the webbing. She shot a line to grab a rope ladder, yanking it up to her, and attached it to the opening, using its enchantment to hold it in place. She then did the same for the other side. "All set. Now let's get going. We don't want her to show up while we’re doing this." She climbed down into the other room.
Samira was the first to come in, followed by Rhann. Jokribelle noted the seams in the gap; apparently it was a sliding door that was left open. One by one, the others followed. At the end, they recovered the ladders.
Jokribelle examined the room while Rhann and Samira stuck closeby. "There is a grid across the room. I see these large rectangles, less than a foot thick, and I would say six feet long, arranged in a bunch of squares. From the looks of it, we won't be able to get to the other doors without crossing them."
"Do they rise or fall?"
"Not sure, but try not to step on them." Jokribelle pulled out a stone, pressing the rune, and tossed it into an open spot. Nothing happened. She then tossed another stone on one of the rectangles. Again, nothing. "It doesn't seem to be weight-sensitive." She recovered the stones.
With Samira leading the way, they slowly crossed the room to the largest door. They chose that one due to the runes on it's columns.
When they were halfway there, a number of strange runes on ten of the squares started to light up. A group of dark figures rose from them. They lacked any distinguishing characteristics, such hair, clothes, of even faces. They were like walking silhouettes. While they were human-shaped, it wasn't clear what gender they were meant to be.
"What are those?" Dierk pulls out his whip.
"They are called Nebula. They've all got numbers at the ends of their names, Nebula V1.1.5, Nebula V1.4.0, Nebula V2.7.3, and so on. Nebula V4.0.7 has the highest mana level at about 2." Jokribelle slid up her goggles. "They don't seem to have mana overshield, but watch out for the one in the middle."
The group charged at the guild. A pair of energy daggers appeared in the middle one's hands.
Kristal let loose a few magic missiles. The middle one was able to deflect two of them, but two more hit two of the others. One of them fell down, but got back up. The other started to break apart, splitting into little squares that flew off before disappearing. "That didn't take much."
Andraxia fired her webbing, tangling up one of them before dodging another one. She saw a bolt fly through the air and pierce the gut of another one, causing it to break apart.
Louis slammed his hands together. They combined as they grew and formed a large cannon. He fired a powerful magic blast, ripping through two of them. The shot kept going and hit the far wall with a loud boom.
"What that really necessary?" asked Kristal, ducking behind Rhann as she fought off another.
"I'm not taking any chances with them."
"You can't take them all like that. Save your blasted shots." Kristal struck one with her staff before Rhann killed it with her axe. "More are coming."
Another group showed up, replacing their fallen numbers. Their level of skill seemed to vary, but they couldn't take all that many hits.
Louis turned his arms back to normal and started throwing them at each other. He was having trouble grabbing one of them, who was rather agile compared to the others.
One of them attacked Jokribelle right after she shot another. As she didn't have time to load another shot, Andraxia leaped over and struck the attacker. Her dagger sliced through her arm and it fell off. She quickly finished the job.
Dierk cracked his whip, slicing one of them in two. However, the one with the daggers attacked him from behind. Samira then attacked it, striking it a few times and countering its daggers before it fell.
After binding another one, Andraxia looked around. "Looks like their reinforcements have stopped. We are almost done with them." She could only count four of them left, counting the ones she webbed.
"As long as Nova doesn't show up." Rhann smacked one of the remaining ones.
"Don't jinx it,” Dierk said.
Suddenly, slabs shot up out of the ground, forming walls. There were illumination crystals in each of them, so things didn't get dark. Andraxia and Jokribelle were cut off from the others as what appeared to be some kind of maze build itself around them.
"You just had to say that!" Andraxia shouted with a groan as she kicked the wall.
"Welcome to practical testing room 4.” Nova's voice sounded, but there was no way to tell where it was coming from. “Congratulations on making it this far. Few do. I hope you enjoy mazes. I wonder if you are able to find your way out. Will you find the goal, or will you come out at the entrance? Good luck."
"This is bad, this is really bad." Jokribelle looked around. "I have no way of knowing the layout of this maze, and we’re separated from the others."
Andraxia looked at the ceiling. There wasn't any room for her to climb through. "Well, that can't be helped. Let's try the left hand trick and see if we can find the others."
The pair started walking, making a left turn when the path split. This was followed by a forced right. When they took another left turn, they found a Nebula who seemed to be trying to walk through a wall, and failing. It just kept bumping into it.
"What is the deal with that thing?"
Jokribelle looked closer. "Nebula V1.5.0. I'm not sure. I noticed during the fight the ones with lower numbers didn't do so well. Maybe it's the lack of eyes."
"None of them had eyes." Andraxia struck it with her dagger and it fell. "There better not be any more of those. Not ones that can attack, anyway."
"Too bad." Nova came around the corner and struck Jokribelle with her staff, knocking her to the side with a flash of green light.
Andraxia turned and swung at Nova, hitting her staff as she blocked it. "You aren't getting away this time!"
"I could say the same thing about you." The staff split in two, and Nova used it to block the next swing and strike Andraxia's other arm.
The drow tried to kick her to knock her off balance, then shooting at her arm with a web. It got her.
Nova closed in quickly, her outfit pulsing, and struck Andraxia's side with the nightstick. Before she could recover, she yanked down her mask and gave her a kiss on the lips.
She was in heaven again. The bliss of her kiss was unlike anything she had before. Even the room seemed to shake. "No, not again! I must break free. I can't let it end here." She struggled to pull away, to regain control of her own actions.
Nova broke the kiss as she was hit with a bolt. "That was a risky move." She leaped over at Jokribelle and knocked the crossbow out of her hand. "I was going to save you for later."
"You don't scare me."
"I'm not trying to." Nova kissed the dwarf on the lips. Small sparks of light came off of her as her body slowly turned to stone.
Andraxia recovered enough and got to her feet. She shot her webbing, wrapping it around Nova's neck and pulled her back, but it was too late. Jokribelle was already a statue. She jumped on top of the warrior and pinned her to the ground, putting her full weight on her. She then gripped her dagger with both hands and swung it down.
~~~~~
Dierk wasn't happy about this at all. There was an unkillable guardian running around here while he was trapped in a maze with only Samira to protect him. They had to find the others.
Suddenly, Samira lunged at Dierk. "Get back!" She pushed him backwards and he stumbled.
The wall they were about to walk back to exploded, rubble flying everywhere as the room shook. Louis walked through the hole in the wall, the large cannon turning back into a pair of gauntlets. "At least that worked." He then looked at the two of them on the ground. "Hello."
"Louis, you nearly hit us with that!" Dierk slowly got up, helping Samira to her feet.
"You two seem fine to me."
"Only because I saw it coming. What if Dierk was behind that wall alone?"
"Or one of the others? It's a risky and costly move."
"Point taken. I can't do to many more of them anyway." Louis scratched his head, forgetting the armor for a moment.
"Let's just find the others and see if we can get out of here." Dierk took Samira's hand and started walking.
After a few minutes, they encountered a ball of light with a red string attached to it. Samira grabbed it and tugged the string a few times. They then started following it.
Along the way they found one of the Nebulas bound in webbing. It seemed to be trying to stand. They quickly dispatched it.
Soon, they met back up with Kristal and Rhann, the red strings tied to her wand. "Good, we found you. Now we just need the other two."
Dierk said "Let's hope they tried the left hand trick. With any luck, we will find them at the exit if your seeking spell doesn't find them first." It was a simple enough spell, Kristal would attach red magical threads to small balls she had enchanted and send them off flying. They would seek out others, turning to avoid walls. But it didn't always work, as there were a lot of blind spots.
After a few minutes, they found Andraxia following another string. "Hi guys."
"Andraxia!" Samira cried out. "It's good to see you! I was worried. Oh, but this means Jokribelle is all alone."
"I'm sorry, but Nova got her. She is a statue. I couldn't risk carrying her by myself, so I had to leave her behind." Andraxia looked down.
"I'm out of golden needles, so we can't restore her anyway. We have to get out of here." Kristal sighed as Dierk drew another arrow on the wall.
Samira gasped. "Are you serious? We can't just leave her here."
"We don't have a whole lot of choice. While she is the smallest, we can't really fit her in a bag of holding." Dierk patted Samira's shoulder. He tried his best to hide his emotions on the matter. Losing Jokribelle was quite a blow to the team and he wasn't happy about that.
"Too bad," said Andraxia as she wondered over to Rhann.
Samira shifted to her normal spot in the lead, with Dierk close behind her for once. Rhann was walking along side of him, but Andraxia kept on her tail.
Rhann looked at the drow. "I know we have to stay close, but don't get so clingy."
"Oh, but I want to be close to you." Andraxia stroked Rhann's side.
"Look, if this is about last night-hmm?" Rhann was interrupted as Andraxia kissed her.
Dierk looked over. "This isn't the time for that. Take care of your unresolved sexual tension after…" His eyes widened as the color drain from Rhann's body. Her tail slowed and stopped in mid-swing as it turned gray.
Andraxia pulled away. "Don't worry, I'm done with her." She pulled back and quickly duck behind a corner to avoid the whip. "Summon." She came back with the staff in hand lunged at Dierk. She knocked his hand away with one end and struck his leg with another before locking lips with him.
As his mind started to slip into a haze, Andraxia suddenly pulled away as Samira swung her sword at her. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"I'm afraid my appetizer wasn't very filling. I want a full course meal." She blocked the next blow with the staff.
Dierk snapped out of it. "This is Nova, I'm sure of it!" He only lost a bit of mana just now. He charged his whip and wrapped it around the impostor's right arm and the staff, pulling back on it as Louis tried to pass him.
Lines started to appear across Andraxia's body, forming a grid. They then broke off into little squares all at once, reveling Nova beneath them. She then shifted her staff to try and trip Louis while coming close to Samira.
Louis extended his sword and thrust it at Nova's chest. It pushed her back. She then struck Dierk's knee with the staff to try and counter the next blow. However, Louis hacked away at her, not giving her the time to counterattack, until they heard the shatter and he sliced through her.
Nova fell to the floor, her body falling to her knees, as she started to break into little squares of light once more. "Until next time~."
"I didn't know she could shapeshift." Kristal walked over. The passageway had been too narrow for her to do anything in that last fight. "I've read about a number of different shapeshifters, but I've never heard of one changing like that."
Louis looked back at Rhann. "What should we do with her?"
Kristal glanced over. "Dierk, you wouldn't happen to have any golden needles left, would you?"
"No, I'm all out. I used my last one on you."
"Then we can't restore her." Kristal sighed.
"Which means we have to carry her out of here," replied Louis.
"That is going to be a tall order. For one thing, we don't know which way is out. I'm not even sure which direction the door is in. I just picked a path and went with it." Dierk looked at his chalk arrows on the wall. "Look, we can carry her out of the maze, with any luck, we will get out of here before Nova shows up again, but I can't see how we can get her past that closed door without Andraxia."
Louis grabbed Rhann and picked her up. Now that she was petrified, he was the strongest member of the team, and the armor boosted that. However, Dierk didn't like how it used up his mana.
They continued on, taking left turns when ever possible. Dierk kept marking the walls with arrows as they went.
After a while, they found Jokribelle wandering the maze. She turned to look at them. "Oh, there you are. I got trapped alone. It's good to see you."
Dierk drew his whip. "When is your birthday?" He bluffed, he didn't really know her birthday.
"What are you talking about?"
Louis set down Rhann. "Answer the question, when is your birthday?"
"It is... oh screw it. Summon." The gauntlets appeared on her hands as the lines crisscrossed her body. When she burst into small squares, she somehow turned into Nova.
Louis charged her, his sword already extending, and Kristal started casting buffs on him.
Nova cast a buff of her own and grabbed Louis' arms, holding them up as she released a series of green shocks.
Louis pulled back and swung his sword. It was a near miss, which he followed up with a oversized punch.
Nova took the hit, and then started giving repeated strikes to his chest.
Dierk swung his whip and wrapped it around Nova's torso once he had a clear shot. He gave a jolt of his magic as he pulled her back. This gave Louis the chance he needed to break her shield and finish her off.
After they took a quick break to drink some mana potions, Louis picked up Rhann and they kept going, soon finding the exit. They found themselves at the large door they were trying to get to before.
"Good. That maze wasn't all that big, but I fear Andraxia and Jokribelle are still trapped inside." Kristal looked back.
"There is a good chance they are already statues, but if not, then we can only hope they find my arrows and catch up with us."
"We aren't going to wait for them?" Samira looked up at Dierk.
"I'm afraid it's too risky. We only have a few minutes before Nova attacks again. These gaps between her encounters have never been that long." Dierk looked at Louis. "Leave her here for now. We don't know what's ahead, but we will come back for her if we can on our way back."
Louis hesitated for a moment, but slowly set Rhann down, laying her on the floor.
Kristal put his hand on his shoulder. "With any luck, there will be a stock of restoration items in the lab."
Dierk marked the wall and door and they set off. Samira looked back before leading the way down the tunnel. They came up to a locked door, which she picked, and it lead to a circular room. There were carvings on the walls, but what really caught their attention was the pedestal in the middle. It had glowing lines in it and on top of it rested a glowing blue orb the size of a head. Veins of white swirled around in it.
Dierk drew closer. "Could this be the wellspring?"
"I don't know for sure, Jokribelle would have been the one to ask, but I can feel its magical power from here. We should take it." Kristal pulled out a large box from her bag. "This should fit it." She then pulled out a pair of magic tongs, floating the orb up and setting it into the box, which she locked. As soon as the orb was removed, the lines on the pedestal darkened. "We should turn back now. This is the end of the line, anyway."
The room didn't seem to have any other way out of it. It may have been built just for this room. "Agreed. Let's get out of here." Dierk turned to face the door.
Samira led the way, happy to finally be leaving. However, they encountered Nova in the hallway.
"Well, you have gotten a bit too far. Hand it over." She pointed her staff at them.
"Just die already!" Louis pushed his way in front of Samira and fired a shot. However, it only grazed Nova. He then threw a punch at her.
Nova blocked the blow with her staff and struck him with a counterattack. He then grabbed the staff and slammed her to the side. When the staff struck the wall it send out a green pulse through the metal embedded in the stone. Part of the wall shifted, pulling back and sliding to the side, reveling a hidden passageway. "Oh, you weren't supposed to see that."
Louis knocked her back, a wall of fire suddenly blocking her off from them.
Kristal was holding up her hand, one of her rings glowing red. "I think it's time we run."
"Agreed. Let's get out of here. Louis, cover us and fall back." Dierk ran into the new passage, taking Samira by the hand. Kristal soon followed.
Louis looked at the wall of fire then at Nova. After a moment, he followed as well. "How do we close that door?"
"Doesn't matter, she will just open it again." Kristal put up another flame wall before they turned a corner and went downstairs. It took them to a lower tunnel they followed for a while before coming upon another set of stairs they climbed. This seemed to lead them to a dead end.
"Blast it!” Dierk slammed his hand against the wall. “Don't tell me we have to go back."
Kristal felt the other wall. "Maybe not." She pointed her ring at the spot and fired a bolt of lightning. The wall then pulled out and slid to the side. "I think this how Nova gets around. These smaller passageways that bypass the larger areas. However, without Jokribelle, they won't be easy to find."
"I see." Dierk thought to himself, "I should have gotten a spare set of those goggles." They then went into the hallway, finding two paths to take: to the left or forward. They went forward.
***
They eventually found Dierk's arrows, and followed them back. Nova didn't give up her pursuit of them, and kept attacking them at different points. Sometimes Samira foresaw her attacks, and sometimes she would come from behind to attack Louis. Dierk took over Rhann's job of forward guard while Louis remained in back.
They had switched strategies, opting to block Nova off with a flame wall and run if they could get her behind them. However, she still landed a few good hits and Kristal's robe was lost in one attack. Still, they avoided any more statue situations.
"Looks like we are in the home stretch." Samira lead the way into the hallway with all the small rooms.
"Stay on your guard. We can't afford to relax yet," responded Dierk.
As they walked through the hallway, one of the doors opened. Nova grabbed Kristal with her gauntlet and pulled her in, closing the door behind her.
Dierk tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Louis then kicked it open, knocking a large box out of the way.
Kristal's staff was on the ground. Nova was holding Kristal against the wall as she kissed her. There were a number of holes in her Damocles raiment vest. They could see the color drain from her skin.
Louis grabbed Nova and yanked her away, but it was too late. Kristal had already been turned to stone. His gauntlet grew in size and he struck Nova.
Nova fought back with an open palm strike, letting out a blast of green lightning. Her suit pulsed twice and she launched repeated strikes in short session.
"Fall back!" ordered Dierk.
Louis hesitated for a moment, before backing out of the door, launching a few small magic blasts.
Nova charged after him, launching a strike at Louis's head. But before she could connect, Dierk's whip wrapped around her arm and he yanked her back. Missing her target, she turned to Dierk. "I guess you want to dance now."
Louis grabbed Nova's leg, pulling her back for a moment until she broke free with a kick. He then struck her with his sword. When that failed to do any visible damage, he transformed his other gauntlet into a cannon and opened fire point blank.
Nova grabbed the whip and yanked Dierk off his feet. She then blocked a blow from Samira before leaping back up.
Louis swung his sword down and she barely dodged it. When Dierk recovered, he yanked back on the whip. Then Samira struck her back, sidestepping to avoid her retaliation. Louis then rammed her with the sword and the ever-familiar sound of broken glass followed.
"Finish her!" Dierk increased the mana to the whip and it cut through Nova's arm. Samira followed up by striking her through the chest. Once again, she started to break into miniature squares.
"Oh, you are close to the goal line. I wonder if you can make it." Nova giggled before her head disappeared.
Louis returned his gauntlets to normal and leaned against the wall. "Oh, how I... hate her." He opened his helmet to take a mana potion.
"How many of those do you have left?" asked Samira.
"Enough... I hope." Louis slowly lumbered to the room. "We couldn't... save Rhann. We still have Kristal."
"At this point, we can carry her back outside. If we are lucky, we can make it before Nova shows up again." Dierk pulled a bottle out of his back and drank it. Soon, he started to feel stronger. "And we certainly can't leave the wellspring behind."
The two of them entered the room and picked up Kristal. They then followed Samira out of the room. In a few minutes, they were back at the first relief. The door was closed, but she was soon able to fine the triggering mechanism. The wall pulled out and against the opposite wall.
Quickly, they rushed through, following the arrows as a reminder of the way they came.
Louis called out. "We have company! Dierk, take her!" Giving him just a moment, Louis let go. He turned to face Nova, firing at her as she came down the hallway.
Dierk struggled to keep his grip and dragged Kristal along. Samira grabbed her as well, helping him carry her. They took the right turn, walking through an arch engraved with runes, and ran to the fake office.
Louis cried out as he fell, taking a heavy strike to the chest. He rolled back and swung his sword. He took a step back as he retreated.
Nova took a swing at him before screeching to a stop at the arch. She then glared at them.
Dierk and Samira lost sight of them as they entered the office. They then carried Kristal to the stairs. After a moment, Louis followed. At the base of the stairs, Samira pressed the button for the trap door and it opened.
Soon they were topside again, in the dark room of the alchemist's house. Louis fell to the floor and panted. "I thought... we would... never get... out of there…"
"It's not over yet. What happened back there?" Dierk sat up.
"I'm not sure. She just stopped. She dodged my shots, but wouldn't come any closer."
"If we are lucky, she is the type that can't leave the area she is assigned to guard. If not, then she is planning something. We best not stick around." Dierk put his fingers to his lips and whistled.
It was dark outside. Samira pulled out a torch and led the way as the guys carried Kristal. They made their way back to the carriage and soon, the worgs entered view.
Dierk took a moment to pet them. "They are well-rested. They can take us quite a distance."
"Do we have to travel at night?" Louis slowly set Kristal down.
"I'm afraid so. It's too risky to stay here. We don't have Andraxia to set up her webs and Kristal can't erect her wards like this. On the way here, I noted a good place to rest a few miles away. We can spend the night there, and then we can go back to town and properly rest."
"What do we do about Kristal?" Samira hugged her stone body. "Or the others?"
"Load her into the wagon. We have to find a golden needle or a white mage that can restore her. I have the funds for it. As for the others..." Dierk looked back. "As for the others, we are in no shape to save them."
"Agreed." Louis released his armor. He looked pale.
Samira ran over to him. "Louis, do you have potion sickness?"
"A bit. I'll be fine. Let's just get out of there."
The three of them loaded Kristal and hitched the worgs. Louis rested next to Kristal as Dierk and Samira sat up front. With that, they finally left the decimated village.
"Don't worry, after we sell the wellspring we can fund a rescue. We’ll come back with a larger team, better supplies, and a plan."
Epilogue
Nova waited at the threshold. She could hear them running away, the door closing behind them.
"Looks like I'm not getting the girl after all. Too bad." It was a shame she couldn't take even one step forward past this point; the outside world couldn't support her.
Once she was sure they were gone, she turned around and walked away. She entered the passageway and closed the door behind her, pressing her hand against the relief and turning it into light, entering it. She moved along the crystal cable and came out of another relief. She was now in a control room. On the viewing mirror was a map of testing room 4. She summoned a gauntlet and grabbed the fulgur dial, powering it and turning it to the left. The walls then dropped down.
She walked back to the relief. It, plus several others, had been added to the old section of the lab and connected with crystal cables to allow her to quickly move around. Entering the relief again, she moved into the testing room next.
She looked at the stone neko. "So nice of them to bring you halfway here." She giggled and grabbed her. Holding her under one arm, she carried her back to the orb chamber. Setting her down, she returned for the drow and then the dwarf.
She smiled down on her trophies. "Let's get you set up. But first thing's first." She pressed her hand on the five small inputs on the wall. Sending exact pulses, she inputted the code. The room then rotated 90 degrees clockwise, blocking the tunnel, but exposing a new room.
She walked into the storage room. Each side had three rows of shelves. Many of the spots had blue orbs, but there were a number of missing ones. She picked one off it's stand and walked back into the room, setting it on the pedestal and restoring the lights. "They always seem to leave after taking these."
She pressed her hands against the metal inputs again and sent the code again. Another 90 degrees clockwise. She then picked up the dwarf and carried her inside. She took her to the storage room, setting her down with the others. Next, she returned for the neko, putting her away as well. She then looked at the room. It was full of so many statues. "I hope Master returns soon. I'm running out of space for them."
She returned to the chamber and picked up the drow. "You were a tasty one. Come with me." She carried her to the new section of the lab.
She stood her up on a round plate in one of the rooms, ripping off her tattered clothes, leaving only the bracer. Next, she pressed the control crystal and turned it on. Mana flowed into the statue and she started to glow.
Nova walked back and grabbed her arm. She then bent it. In its current state, she could pose her like a doll. She positioned her over and over again until she found a pose she liked. She then shut off the flow of mana.
Slowly, she stroked her stone body before picking her up and carrying her to the show room. It was were she kept those with some of the loveliest mana, and a lot of that. She chose one of the few empty spots. She stood her on a small platform next to a dragon woman.
Once about a hundred years ago, a dragoness had entered Master's laboratory. She had to take on human form, more or less, just to enter. She proudly displayed her wings and tail, along with a few scales. She was a hard foe to conquer, but she had come alone.
Nova slowly stroked the drow's smooth body. "You are a lovely prize. Too bad I have to leave now. Your friends made a mess and I have some repairs to do. I need to keep this place tidy for Master's return." She smiled, enjoying herself a moment before taking her leave.
The End