Written by BHart
February 5, 2008

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Act LXXIX
Twilight Chains of Evil

They arrived on the western coast of Meriphataud Mountains. "I think I'm starting to get the hang of these things," said Kousagi.

"Where do we go from here? We've reached the end of land," said Rie.

"We need to get to the other mainland. Going by boat is definitely out of the question. Too risky," replied Vasteel.

"These boards are designed to hover over water," informed Tokamo.

"Can they make it all the way to the west mainland?" asked Vasteel.

"It's too far away. They would run out of power along the way."

"Aren't there some small islands in between the east and west mainland? We could use them as a pit stop to recharge the boards," suggested Kousagi.

"That's a great idea," agreed Mia.

"We'll follow you, Mia. You know the sea very well. Take the path farthest away from any possible ships that may be passing by," ordered Vasteel.

They traveled across the sea, following Mia's lead. "I hope we don't get swallowed by Leviathan," joked Nami.

"That only happens in video games," joked Kousagi.

They arrived on a small, mountainous island. It was one of many small chain islands.

Tokamo connected some wires to the boards. One was a red wire and the other was a white wire. She called Rie over. "Some of these boards are powered by fire and others by electricity. I need your help to recharge the fire crystals on some of these boards. Channel some thermal energy through these fire wires. I'll channel electric energy through these live wires."

They hid the boards behind some giant rocks while they were recharging. "How long will it take for them to be completely recharged?" asked Nami.

"Around a couple of hours," answered Tokamo.

"I'm going to look around while we're waiting," said Rie.

They walked around the coastline. There was a building in the distance. There were large trucks dumping something into a wide open pit. The wind blowing towards them carried a foul stench with it. "Oh gross. What is that smell?" asked Kousagi.

"It smells like..decaying flesh," said Feral Heart.

"Yes, it could be that," agreed Vasteel.

Something underneath them zapped them with dark energy, causing them to lose consciousness. There were a series of chains intertwining with one another, hidden under the sand of the beach.

Kousagi awoke, finding herself in a cell, along with Mia, Nami, Rie and Tokamo. Vasteel and Feral Heart were in another cell across the hallway.

"We were wondering if you were ever going to wake up," said Mia.

"What happened?"

"We must've walked into some sort of trap and ended up here," answered Nami.

"What is this place?" asked Kousagi.

Feral Heart was standing on Vasteel's shoulders, looking out of a cell window. "I think this is one of the council's secret agencies that does all of their dirty work," replied Feral Heart.

"I've heard rumors before of such places," said Rie.

Some women guards entered the room, holding Feral Heart's bag of wares and their hover boards. "We found these. What are they?"

"Give me back my merchandise!" demanded Feral Heart.

"I'll keep what's inside for me. I may fetch some good gil for this stuff."

"Those are no concern of yours," said Tokamo, angrily.

"We'll keep them here with us until we figure out what they are," said the guard.

The bars were made of those same kinds of chains that zapped them earlier.

"We'll keep you girls here until someone from the council comes," said a guard.

"We don't get attractive visitors like this very often. Let's have some fun with them," suggested one of the guards.

Two of them walked in the cell of Feral Heart and Vasteel. The guards struck them down with their chains.

"There's nothing to be afraid of. Haven't any of you been with a girl before?"

"Leave me alone, you perverts," yelled Feral Heart.

They waited for the female guards to get closer. The guards put their chains down, walking towards them. When they got close enough, Feral Heart and Vasteel's legs lunged forward, wrapping them around the guards' necks.

The guards could see up their skirts. "What the? Hey, you're.." The guard's necks were broken.

Feral Heart and Vasteel picked up the chains and attacked any other guards that were there, beating them senseless until they died.

They ran over to the cell where the others were. "None of our attacks work against these bars," said Feral Heart.

"Let me see those chains you two are holding," said Tokamo. "It looks like these chains and bars are made of the same material. Try striking the chains against the bars to see if it neutralizes their power."

They struck the chains against the bars of the cell, destroying the chains and bars. "It worked! Let's get out of here," said Mia.

"Not without my bag," insisted Feral Heart.

"And not without our boards," added Tokamo.

They used the guards' keys to get inside the room where their things were being held before escaping. "Which way should we go?" asked Feral Heart.

"Let's head for the coastline," said Mia. They ran behind some bushes to catch their breath.

"Do these things still work?" asked Nami.

"It doesn't look like they were tampered with. They should be fine," answered Tokamo.

They saw a large pit of decaying bodies. A sign reading, "Maporthia" was on the building they escaped from.

More women were coming after them. "We've got to get going. There are more lesbian rapists on their way," warned Rie.

They got on their hover boards, heading for the coast. There were women guards there, too. "What are they doing here?"

"I don't know. Maneuver around them and leave this weird place," instructed Mia.

They made it to the ocean, with many women flailing their chains at them. Some of the chains struck their hover boards slightly, causing them to short circuit a bit. "Just keep going. We should be able to make it to the mainland," ordered Tokamo.

"What are those chains made of? They're very strong," asked Feral Heart.

"They are chains infused with Promathia; chains of Promathia," replied Tokamo.

"It's sickening how many people the council has killed. And they just dump their bodies in a pit like that," commented Rie.

"All of the dead people there were male. I've heard of that pit before," remembered Vasteel.

"It's a good thing none of us are male. We would've already been dead by now," commented Kousagi.

They arrived in Derfland territory. "These boards have had it. That promathian energy has ruined them," said Tokamo, examining them.

They were in a woodsy part of a forest, where there was thick plant life covering the ground. Kousagi tripped over something.

"Are you okay?" asked Nami.

"Yeah, I must've tripped over a rock or something."

"I am not a rock," replied a voice. There was a taru taru sitting down on the ground.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Omatase? Is that you?" asked Vasteel.

"It's been a while, Vasteel."

"What luck; we were on our way to meet you. How's your wife doing?" asked Vasteel.

"Huntress is doing fine. Actually, she's at the house with Fatty, Artemis Evans and Lantard. They're helping her move."

"You mean they're doing all the work for her," said Kousagi.

Omatase chuckled a bit. "Yeah, that's probably how it's working out. I would be there myself, but I've been on a lot of missions lately. I took a trip out here to meditate afterwards."

"You guys are moving again? It wasn't that long ago when you last moved," said Kousagi.

"Yeah, I know. Huntress wanted a bigger home."

"Doesn't she have different projects she works on to bring in some money?" asked Vasteel.

"I wish. You know her. She doesn't follow through with many things. She can't put down those fantasy novels," replied Omatase.

"We better get going. The faster we gather all of the sailor senshi together, the better," said Vasteel.

"Stand close around me, everyone," said Omatase. Everyone was warped out of the area.

They warped to Ore Street. "Where are we?"

"Bastok Mines," answered Omatase.

"Is this where the next sailor senshi is?" asked Rie.

"No, but it's a good starting point. I can't warp wherever I want with traliz warriors all about."

"Hey, where's Feral Heart?" asked Mia.

Omatase and Vasteel rolled their eyes. "I'll go get her," offered Vasteel.

"Meet us at the entrance to the Zeruhn Mines," instructed Omatase.

Vasteel pulled Feral Heart away from the auction house. "What are you doing?" asked Feral Heart.

"We've got work to do. We need everyone to be focused. No more thinking about making more money. Getting all of the sailor senshi together is the number one priority right now," replied Vasteel.

After they were all gathered together, they entered the Zeruhn Mines.

There were some people running out of the mines, bumping into them. The mines were nearly empty. "Those people looked a little scared," noticed Kousagi.

They continued walking down the narrow hallway, heading west, towards a small, underground canal. They reached some gates that were sealed shut. There were some people heading north in a small boat. "Why have these gates been sealed shut? We need to get through them," yelled Omatase.

"They've been sealed shut to stop the dark creature from going anywhere. You all should get out of here now, before you end up dead," yelled back someone from the boat.

"Why don't you seal off the exit to Bastok Mines?" asked Omatase.

"It won't go into town. It doesn't like the light. Take our heed and get out of here while you still can."

"Whatever. We can just bust through these gates anyway," said Omatase.

They heard something moving about. They looked southward, seeing dead bodies lying along a narrow tunnel. "I think something is coming this way," said Feral Heart.

..to be continued..