Jaid: Hi! We’re back with a longer chapter this time!

Jad: And we’re back from vacation.

Naga: *sigh* What a great vacation…

Jaid: Where’d you guys go anyway?

Jad: You don’t wanna know.

Jaid: Yes I do.

Jad: No you don’t.

Jaid: Yes I do.

Jad: No you don’t.

Naga: Here’s the chapter people.

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Relena sighed. It felt like they had been traveling the twisted catacombs for decades, although she knew that they could not have been there for more than a week. Privately, she wondered how Quatre was holding up. All this darkness…the Elf shuddered, then looked at Trieze. He was listening to something, with a scowl on his face.

"What is it?" Relena asked softly. Treize started and looked at her.

"I’m not sure." He answered. "I thought I heard…" his voice trailed off as he shook his head. Standing, he said, "We should hurry though. I think they may use this tunnel and we should leave before we’re discovered."

* * *

"Ready?" Dorothy asked. Jaran and Sally nodded. Dorothy bit her tongue and turned back to the dark valley. "Any ideas of how to get in?"

"I can use a spell to get us in." Sally said. "But I can’t use it for long; if they have any of their own mages, they’ll feel my power."

Dorothy nodded. "Very well. Use what you have to. We just need to kill the kavu; nothing more, nothing less."

* * *

The company had been stranded for several days. They were quiet, for fear of being discovered, although Wufei had told them that the Chamber of the Moon was considered cursed by the inhabitants of the dark mountains. Quatre sat by himself, thinking. Dreams had come to him again, but these were different. They were not memory mixed with reality, but something else…they were dark. Almost as dark as the visions he had had when captivated by srych. He shivered, though not from the cold and wrapped his cloak around himself.

"Does it still hurt?" Midii asked. Trowa shook his head.

"Feels a little strange." He admitted. "Not using it."

Midii sighed. "I hope we get out of here, soon. I do not like this place."

"Nor I." Trowa told her. "Nor do any of us."

Midii nodded. "I miss my brother." She whispered. Trowa looked down. He too missed his sister, but he didn’t know what to say to the small girl next to him. Instead, he hesitantly placed an arm around her shoulders and to his surprise, she leaned against him.

"You do realize that I will have to kill you for this?" Duo told Hiiron. The dark-haired boy grinned.

"Hey, it’s not my fault I’m good at this game." He said, picking up the small bones and shaking them around in a clay dish. "I will probably defeat you this time as well."

"How much longer can we wait?" Heero asked Wufei. The dark wizard shrugged.

"Not much longer. Soon, someone will sense our presence here. And then…"

"We fight or die." Heero finished.

"We can’t risk that." Wufei said. "All the chosen ones must be alive in order for this to work."

"I know." Heero was quiet for a moment. "It all depends on Trieze now."

* * *

"I’ll admit I don’t like this." Relena murmured slightly. "Our presence could not have gone completely unnoticed."

"I agree." Trieze said softly. "But we have no choice but to continue on. We are almost to the Chambers of the Moon and I dare not stop for any reason."

Relena nodded in understanding, as they continued to walk. Turning a corner, they nearly walked into a woman.

Tall and beautiful, with pale skin, dark hair and eyes and cruel, blood red lips, the woman wore a scornful, arrogant expression. She was dressed in black and held a staff that resembled a dark version of Relena’s, save for the fact that there was a dark crystal where Relena had a sun. The woman smiled.

"So", she said softly. "We meet again, Treize."

"Alisqua." He murmured. The woman bowed her head in acknowledgment.

"You remember." She commented, then a feral light came into her eyes. "Then, master wizard, perhaps you also remember what it is like to battle!"

So saying, she swiftly brought her staff up to bear at the two, while the crystal began to glow. Trieze began to feel a great rush of power, then it was gone.

Relena had blocked the woman’s blow with her own. In midair, black fire fought blue ice. A grim look came over the Princess’ features.

"Go!" she shouted at Trieze. "They need you now!"

Treize nodded and ran. Giving a cry of rage, Alisqua turned to attack him, but Relena sped forward, placing herself in front of the enchantress.

"So," Alisqua said. "You challenge me?" She smiled and raised her staff.

"So be it."

* * *

The army stopped, after hours of pressing onward. Before them, the smoking, desolate plain spread out. In response to their pause, an army of darkness marched steadily closer. Zechs watched as they came.

"So it begins." He whispered.

* * *

"That’s as far as I can go." Sally softly murmured.

"Fine." Dorothy answered absent-mindedly. They were on the rim of a crater-like impression on the ground. A handful of srych and a few Xry slithered down below. Dorothy notched an arrow and let it fly at one of the srych guarding the edge below. It fell without a cry. It’s partner turned, only to fall a second later. The nearest guards were disposed of in this way; quickly and quietly. Carefully, the three slid down the edge of the crater.

"Sweet Mother of the Heavens." Jaran breathed. Dorothy swallowed. In a half-melted ice crystal, a semi-conscious Kavu Wrym wriggled slightly. It’s gaping mouth revealed rows of sharp, knife-like teeth.

"Well…?" Sally looked at Dorothy. The Elf maiden collected her wits and spoke.

"You both hold of the srych and Xry." She ordered. "I’ll take the Kavu."

Jaran and Sally nodded.

* * *

"Hey, what’s this?" Hiiron asked. He had gotten up and began walking around "poking in things", as Wufei called it. The said wizard looked up and walked over to where Hiiron was now.

"It looks like…" Hiiron cocked his head. "An egg."

"It is." Wufei said softly, placing his hand on it’s leathery surface. "It’s still warm." The egg shook a little. Hiiron and Wufei stepped back.

"What does that mean?" Hiiron asked nervously.

"I think it’s going to hatch soon."

"What is?" Duo walked over. "Oh, a Kavu egg."

The other two looked at him. He blinked.

"What?"

"How did you know?" Wufei asked.

"It’s a cave Kavu." Duo explained. "I’m not that surprised to see one down here. There were a few back home that we found. They’re not dangerous."

They were interrupted as the doors flew open and Treize bounded in. Without pausing, he ran for the dais.

"Quickly!" he gasped. "There is no time to lose."

Quatre quickly stood and pulled the crystal out of his pouch. He handed it to Treize. He then stood in the loose circle the other chosen ones had made around Treize. At the same time, the jewels around their necks began to glow and float. A stream of power came from each one and entered into the crystal Treize held. It grew brighter and brighter. Hiiron and Trowa watched in awe, then whirled as the doors were forced open and a squad of srych burst in.

* * *

Relena stood, breathing hard and painfully, thanks to what was undoubtedly some cracked ribs. Alisqua was smiling, although she was breathing as hard as Relena was.

"You are much better than I thought." She commented. "Especially for one so young."

At the flash of surprise in Relena’s eyes, she laughed. "I’m older than you can possibly imagine, girl. And I serve one who saw the making of this world."

Relena’s breath escaped in a whisper. "Ajani?"

Alisqua nodded, raising her staff. "Correct." She said as she hurled a ball of power toward the Elf. Relena raised her staff and a shield of light reflected it. A minute later, the shield shattered into a million pieces and Relena hit the cave wall hard. Struggling to breathe, she realized she was pinned. Alishqua was walking towards her, head bleeding where the deflected power ball had hit.

"Good night." She said, then, for Relena, everything went dark.

* * *

Dorothy took aim and let her arrow fly. It embedded itself in of the Wrym’s eyes. It writhed in pain and let out an in-human cry. Dorothy ran closer, ignoring the srych arrows headed for her. She shot several more arrows at the Wrym, then leaped up the half-frozen crystal. It was slippery, but the Elf held on. An arrow hit the ice next to her head. It was a moment before blood began to slip down her cheek and she realized just what a close call she had had.

Standing on the edge, she realized the Wrym’s hide was slippery as well. Emotionlessly, she pulled out her long knife, then leaped as high as she could. Before Dorothy could fall back down, she brought the knife down into the Wrym’s back. It wiggled painfully. Dorothy grabbed one of its head scales with one hand, then pulled herself up. Taking out the knife again, she stabbed it higher and then pulled herself up again. It was a slow process, and by the time she was near enough to get on top of the head, the Wrym’s black blood covered most of her.

"A few more steps." She whispered, then cried out as an arrow hit her calf. Dorothy bit her lip, trying not to lose her grip on the Wrym’s scales. Gritting her teeth, she finally stood upright on the Wrym’s head, and fired several arrows into its head. It screamed again, but weaker this time. Dorothy stuck her knife in deeply and held on as it began to sway again.

* * *

Trowa and Hiiron drew their weapons, knowing that they had to protect the chosen ones at all costs. The srych hung back, unwilling to venture to close to the light that was brighter and purer than anything they had ever seen.

Suddenly, the back ranks of the srych cried out in pain. Trowa and Hiiron were at first confused, then charged in. After a few moments, the two warriors found themselves face to face with over thirty dwarves. They blinked. One dwarf stepped forward.

"Where is the Elf they call Quatre?" he asked.

Hiiron pointed to the dais at the end of the room. The dwarf’s eyes widened, then the blank look returned to his face.

"Why do you search for him?" Trowa asked quietly.

"Tradition." The dwarf said. "I am Rorco, son of Ethain. Dorco was one of my brothers. He signed his life over to the Elf in friendship. Now he is dead and we have come to fulfill his promise."

"How do you know he died?" Hiiron asked curiously.

"A Dwarf always knows." Rorco answered cryptically.

* * *

With a final groan, the Wrym fell to the ground, dead. Dorothy was knocked off by the suddenness of its collapse, but her Elvish balance enabled her to land on her feet. Gasping, she jumped aside as another arrow flew towards her. In reflex, she immediately strung one of her few remaining arrows and began to shoot, then lowered it, as she realized they were all dead.

Sally approached. Her robes were torn and her face smudged with blood, dirt and soot, as was Jaran’s.

"Your leg." Sally swiftly knelt down, looking at the now broken arrow protruding from Dorothy’s leg.

"I’m fine." She protested, then winced even as she said it. "We just need to get out of here. The Wrym is dead."

"So it is." A voice said. The three looked up. A figure stood, where a pale grayish robe. He appeared to have no face at all and his exposed hands were pale and clawed. A sickly green aura surrounded him.

"I’m impressed." He said, walking closer. "I should never have guessed that one warrior could defeat my Kavu."

Dorothy’s eyes narrowed and unconsciously, she stepped forward. In spite of the armor and grit, she, at that moment, was every inch an Elvish Princess.

"Who are you?" she asked. The figure put his hands behind his back and it felt as if he smiled.

"Oh, I think you know." He said softly. "But it does not matter. What matters, Highness, is that you’ve destroyed my Kavu. Do you think you can destroy what we really were trying to awaken?"

The three looked confused, then apprehensive as the ground split and began to shake. In the split ground, lava flowed, making the heat heavy and oppressive. From one of the cracks, a creature, who seemed to be both shadow and fire rose, as high as a fortress wall. It opened its beak-like mouth and gave a hawk-like cry of battle.

Dorothy’s knees felt like water and she sank to the ground. The sense from the black creature was death, shadow. She could almost feel it consuming her mind-

Sally grabbed the Elf’s shoulder and Dorothy seemed to come out of her vision. The figure looked down at her.

"You know what it is." He said, in the same, soft even voice. "And you know what it will do. You’ve proven to be a great warrior, but can you stand against the Phoenix?"

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Jaid: Yes I do.

Jad: No you don’t.

Jaid: Yes I do.

Jad: No you don’t.

Naga: *to reader* You might as well review and leave. They’re going to be a while….

Jaid: Yes I do!

Jad: No you don’t!

Jaid: Yes I do!

Naga: CUT IT OUT!!!!! SHAVIT! AND YOU PEOPLE WONDER WHY I GO ON VACATIONS!!!!!