Interception
author: teri, ian, stana
Date: Sat, 12 Jun 1999 10:24:24 EDT

 "Where is this book then?" Stana asked impatiently, the grip of the
boy turning slick with sweat as the tunnel got warmer.
      "The book was formed inside this castle." Ramdek told them "The
Dreamers sent it here, time and time ago, not realizing that they
placed in the hands of the Chaos bringer. He's sleeping now-- but with
you
here,
he'll be waking up very soon. Very soon." he repeated, the eagerness of
a child pulling an adult to some long-awaited event.
       "All the more reason to get the heck out of here!" Stana said.
"I don't want any Chaos Bringer, whoever that is, to wake up and find
us
here. Lets just get the book and get out!"
        "I want to know who this Chaos Bringer is," Estela demanded, pausing
to crouch by Ramdek. "Is he a man? Was he a warrior or something? Why
the creepy name?"
        Teri shivered again at the name, and closed one fist around her
pendant. Rosey film covered the edges of her vision as she held the
pendant. Something familiar about that name...
        "I agree with stana- we can ask questions later. I..." she paused. "I
dont' think we want to find out who exactly, he is, em... not now.."
Something in the girl's unfocused eyes caused Estela to shut her mouth
and nod.
       "It's here." The boy announced suddenly, stopping at an arched
door. He dropped Stana's hand and danced to the side. "Right inside."
       The three looked at one another, at the darkly green carved
doors. As one, their hands met on the handle, and pushed the door
forward. It
gave with a ghostly silence that was all the more frightening for its
stillness.
Clip snorted, hovering right behind. Shinji was silent.
       Inside the room, dissapointingly plan and roughly carved out of
the surrounding rock, was a small pedestal, and on it a large, leather
bound book. The book was surrounded by a pure light glow, white and
golden as
the small party filed into the room and shifted around the pedestal.
The
warm brilliance made the slick walls of the room infinitely dour by
comparision.

Clip sniffed at it and nodded.
       **There is no negative taint to it**
       Meaning it was safe. Stana looked at Teri, whose hands were once
more
full of Shinji, and Emily, still looking silly with the overlarge
blade. She
clenched her hands once, nervously, not wanting to look at the small
too-eager figure waiting in the darkness of the doorway. She took the
book.

As her fingers closed over the cracked leather, plunging into the
warmth of
the strange glow around the book, as her face became bathed in golden
sunlight and the room too began to fill-- the castle began to moan and
shudder.  A pebble fell from the ceiling and bounced down the wall
behind
Clip.
        Ramdek grinned triumphantly from the doorway, barely touched by
the light. "He's wakening!"
        Stana went pale to the point of collapse as Clip surged to the
door,
shoving the girls out forcefully. her arms wrapped violently aroudn the
book,
desperately as she charged back down the path-- Ramdek laughed at their

terrified expressions and ran ahead of them with the speed of a small
child.
         "That way out!" he shouted, pointing, and disappeared, fading
into
the very air.
         "The little shit!" Teri exclaimed. "Where they hell'd you go,
you
brat?! What the hell's going on!?"
         "Run!" Stana ordered, grabbing the other wheel barrel handle
with
her free hand and helping Teri out.  The bubble had been growing
steadily
heavier- Shinji still sat smugly crosslegged, occasionally chuckling in

amusement.  Clip shoved them both aside and his alicorn blazed with
power as
the sphere levitated. He  hesitated for a moment as he tried to balance
the
unfamiliar weight. When he felt comfortable, he led the rush down the
corridor.
        "Where are we going!? This isn't the way we came!" Estela screamed,
bringing up the rear. No one slowed their headlong flight as the small
passage opened up into a larger chamber- what looked to be an atrium.
        "He said this wa-"
         Just then a pair of hands grabbed Stana from behind and she
screamed.
        Clip reared and spun at the sound. Teri skidded to a halt and
turned around. Estela tightened her grip on her weapon and fell into a
defensive crouch. The still echoing scream was choked off by a powerful
arm as it wrapped itself around her neck. Her hands flew up to try to
pull it
off, but it never budged.
        "Well well," Grib sneered, shifting Stana so that he held her
with his shield arm, "When I was ordered to kill the Chosen, I had
expected something more."
        "Who the hell are you?!" demanded Teri. Above them, the
ceilling gave another lurching groan.
        "My name is Grib, and it will be my name that I will carve into
your rotting carcass." He drew his sword, and four other forms began
stepping out of the shadows.
        Two of them, Il-Dalun and Sira-Ak-Oh, were wielding long
quarterstaves, the ends of which were carved from gnarled and thorn
covered pieces of wood. Without a word they quickly moved to flank the
doorway where Teri and the others stood.
        Another form, huge and hulking, stepped out behind Grib. In
each hand it bore two four foot long two handed swords.
        Teri and Estela's eyes went wide with disbelief as the minotaur
Relgarth raised his head and gave a deafening battle cry. In the
confusion no one noticed the last form quietly slinking along the wall
to the
doorway.
        Grib spun his sword around and drove the blade into the stone
ground. He reached around and grabbed the book from his captive with
little difficulty.  Stana released a moan, forcing out a choking
breaths
against the arm biting into her neck. It was getting harder to get air
into her lungs, and the area around was blurring into pale shadows.
Her eyes met Teri's but even the dark of the other girls gaze was
paling.
        Grib raised the book triumphantly and gave a short, insulting
laugh. Slowly, he lowered the book and used it to point at them just as
he had used his sword a moment ago. His sneer turned into a wide,
toothy grin. "Kill them."
        At the command, the two flanking henchmen rushed forward.
Estela brought her sword up just in time to block the business end of a
quarterstaff before it smashed against her face. Il-Dalun back
pedalled, Estela's counter strike missing him by inches.
       Sira-Ak-Oh let out a feral scream as he launched himself right
into the center of the group. Clip tore his gaze from his captive
charge, and lunged,  slicing deadly arcs in the air with his hooves.
Sira's battle scream turned into one of agony as one of the hooves
connected with his arm, cutting deeply into the dark flesh. Blood
flowed from the gaping wound. Instead of shying away from the pain, it
only
served to drive him on. The attacker's eyes went wide, pupils dillating

wildy. White
froth was beggining to spill from the side of his mouth. Sira gave a
bloodcurdling howl and lept at Clip, his quarterstaff abandoned.
       The Unicorn started, trying to twist in the close quarters of
the room, and then screamed in pain as fingernails filed down to sharp
points scored deeply into his neck, leaving red streaks in the cherry
blossom white of his neck. The attack missed the main artery and Clip
leapt away, throwing out his back hooves in a desperate drive to get
some room to maneuver.
       Shinji's eyebrows creased. Had the bubble just shimmered as the
Unicorn was hurt?
       The pain flaring in his neck angered him, and he twirled, front
legs slashing out to drive his assailant back again. The other scuttled
back and then he crouched on the ground like some insane animal. The
fierce
look against the dark features was a goad to the Unicorn as he lowered
his
alicorn and
charged.
       Sira, thoroughly engulfed in a berserk rage, snarled and spat.
He reached out to grab the long horn as Clip rushed at him. As soon as
his hands touched the enchanted spiral, smoke accompanied by an
anguished
sizzling sound filled his senses. Pain racked his arms, but only for a
moment. The Unicorn's horn slammed in through his chest as Clip found
his mark.
      Sira flopped uselessly for a moment, impaled, before Clip freed
himself and turned towards his next opponent. The pain was numbing
itself out into a dull throb.
        Teri's mouth worked wordlessly as she watched the body flop
once more, then lay still. Clenching her eyes, she fought down the
ever-growing urge to lose her lunch, and forced herself to walk over
and pick up her discarded quarterstaff, her hands trembling. Any weapon
was
better than none.