Three months after the defeat of Zeikfried...
The Sweet Candy sailed towards the ghost ship blocking the strait between the Inner Sea and Outer Ocean. On board, Rudy loaded his seven ARMs (having thrown away the Bazooka because it was completely useless) while Jack tuned his guitar. Rudy, Jack, Cecilia, Hanpan, Jane, McDullen, and Bartholomew were wandering Filgaia, hunting the remaining demons. Currently, they were about to eliminate a pesky ghost ship.
The Sweet Candy pulled up alongside the ghost ship. Rudy, Jack -- with Hanpan on his shoulder --, Cecilia, and Jane crossed over onto the ghost ship. Two skeletons came to life and rushed towards them. Jack cast Cosmic Nova and the skeletons exploded.
"Where are all the ghosts?" Hanpan wondered as they descended below deck. The ship seemed deserted.
Rudy shrugged and set some of his bombs. The group hurried back above deck and saw where all the ghosts had gone. They had borded the Sweet Candy. "Help!" Bartholomew shouted.
Rudy, Jack, Cecilia, and Jane ran back to the Sweet Candy. Cecilia smashed one of the skeletons into pieces with her wand. Jane shot another with her ARM. Then Rudy summoned Zephyr and the dragon incinerated all of the skeletons. "Their leader went below deck," Bartholomew said.
The group charged down the stairs. The skeleton captain and six other skeletons were walking down the hall. Jack used Cosmic Nova again, destroying all the captain's flunkies. Cecilia cast Armor Down on the captain. Suddenly, a section of the roof collapsed and Zed dropped through. "I'll save you!" he shouted.
"Shut up, Zed," Jack said, ducking a dagger thrown by the skeleton captain. Hanpan picked up the dagger and heaved it at the captain. It missed. The captain turned, grabbed Zed, and shoved him into a closet. Then Cecilia cast Saint on the captain. A beam of light struck the captain, destroying the undead creature.
"What happened to Zed?" Hanpan asked, looking around. Jane shrugged.
The group went back up to the deck of the Sweet Candy. The ghost ship had already disappeared below the surface of the water, sunk by Rudy's bombs. But the party was not paying any attention to that. Instead, they were looking at the new figure on the deck. It was Emiko.
"Emiko? What are you doing here?" Cecilia asked.
"We need your help in the Elw Dimension," Emiko said. "Somebody has broken into the Elw Castle and stolen the Guardian Amulet."
"Elw Castle? I didn't know there was an Elw Castle."
"It's on the northwest island," Emiko explained. "It's difficult to reach. In fact, there's no way to get there. That's what makes this so strange."
"Then how are WE going to get there?" Jane asked.
"Let's go back to Adlehyde and talk to Emma," Rudy suggested.
* * *
"If we combined the Elw technology that operates the Forest Mound with the Protowing, then we could fly it into the Elw Dimension," Emma mused. "I'll do some research on it and see what I can come up with. This could call for a new version of the Emma-Motor."
"We don't have time for that," Emiko said. "We've got to get the Amulet back before the thief gains complete control over the Guardians."
"Don't worry, I'll get some help," Emma replied. "In the mean time, you could try crashing the Protowing into the Forest Mound and teleporting that way."
* * *
Angol Fred, brother of Angol Moa, relaxed in his recliner, eating a donut and watching reruns of the hit TV show "Touched by a Guardian." At last he would finally get some recognition. Moa was the King of Illusions and he was only the King of False Rumors. But now he had stolen the Guardian Amulet, and he wielded absolute control over the Guardians.
"Sir, we have a problem." Angol Fred's three generals -- General Leo, Yuber, and Aeris -- entered the room.
"What's that?" Angol Fred asked.
"It's something bad that one has to deal with," Yuber explained.
"No, I meant, what's the problem?" Fred said.
"Those people from Filgaia have entered the Elw Dimension," Aeris said.
Fred thought for a moment, then grabbed the Guardian Amulet from the table where it sat. Embedded in the amulet were three gems -- red, blue, and green -- corresponding to the Guardians of Love, Hope, and Courage. Angol Fred removed the three gems. "Each of you take one of these gems and go to your homeworld," Fred commanded. "Without these gems, those fools won't be able to use the amulet." Angol Fred's generals started to leave. "And I've got business to attend to," Fred said, waddling off.
* * *
Zed rattled the door of the closet he had been trapped in. "Help!" he shouted desperately.
| Next chapter: The Elw Castle |