It was soon apparent to Mani that Naomi had planned for this assault much better than he had. She had left a torch near the chamber's entrance, and was currently using it for light as she slowly led the way. They appeared to be descending, most likely into the cliff in which the stronghold had been built.

   "So how did you find out so much about this place?," Mani casually wondered. Naomi smiled as continued leading the way.

   "You didn't get the blueprints," she calmly informed him. "The Artisans' Guild was quite helpful when I mentioned Sardax's name," she added with a grin.

   "Leave it to a woman to remind a man where he screwed up," Mani joked from the rear.

   "Leave it to a man to give a woman a reason to," Naomi responded, raising a brow.

   "Point taken." Mani reached forward, placing his free hand on Naomi's shoulder. This stopped her advance as she turned around to see what was going on. "Jokes aside, though Naomi, thank you... I owe you." Naomi smiled broadly as she turned around and continued leading the way.

   "That you do," she remarked.

   The two continued walking, descending even further into the darkness. "Where exactly are we?," Mani eventually asked.

   Naomi glanced over her shoulder. "There's a network of caves beneath the stronghold," she answered. "One of them leads to the beach." She suddenly stopped and pointed at Laura, slung over Mani's shoulder. "Look, she's waking up!"

   Mani did a quick glance at his shoulder, and sure enough Laura had begun to stir. He slowly lowered her to the ground as Naomi stopped leading and approached, making sure to give Laura some breathing room.

   Laura moaned lightly as she continued stirring, slowly bringing her hand up to her head. She slowly opened her eyes. "Where...," she asked, her voice somewhat raspy. "...Where am I?"

   Naomi shrugged. "Underground..."

   Laura's eyes immediately snapped open as she frantically looked around the walls of the cave. She let out a quick scream as she reached out and grabbed onto Mani's arm, squeezing tightly. "Oh my God," she whispered. "Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod, we're underground and it's dark and scary and ohmygod there might be rats and worms and other nasty things and, ohmygod what if the ceiling caves in and..."

   "Oh my God, I can't feel my arm," Mani grumbled. "Could you loosen your grip just a tad?" He helped her stand to her feet, where she continued to hold on to him tightly. After several minutes of convincing Laura that the ceiling was not going to cave in and that the rats were not going to gang up on her, they began to walk once again.

   "Quick question Naomi," Mani suddenly said, breaking the silence. "When did you learn how to turn into that Phoenix back there?"

   Naomi paused as if she were doing some calculations in her head. "Oh, about... three hours ago?"

   "No way!"

   She snickered. "It's true, really." She cast another glance over her shoulder towards him. "It's like this. I was on the island several hours prior to our little scene back there," she began. "I had snuck in earlier so that I could evaluate the situation here. While I was sneaking around, I just happened to run into Vakaal's library. Have you heard of 'Spirits of Forgotten Lore'?"

   Mani nodded. "AKA the Shapeshifter's Bible, yeah." Naomi smiled.

   "Let's just say that Lady Vakaal had a copy."

   Naomi paused for a moment to brush aside several cobwebs blocking the path. "I should have grabbed my trident on the way out," she grumbled. Mani reached over to his side and removed the katana and sheath hanging there, handing them over to her.

   "Here, you can use this just in case." He then reached into his belt and pulled out a small vial, handing that over too.

   "What's this?," Naomi wondered, examining the small glass bottle.

   "Holy water."

   Naomi nodded and smiled, putting the bottle inside of the pouch at her side.

   "Where's my weapon?," Laura wondered, sounding slightly agitated.

   Mani shrugged. "I have a knife," he offered.

   Laura immediately let go of his arm and stared at him, her arms crossed across her chest. "A knife?," she repeated. "She gets a sword, and I get a knife? What am I going to do with a knife?"

   "I'd imagine you'd cut something with it," Mani answered, visually becoming annoyed. "I mean damn, if you don't want it..."

   "No...," she hissed. "I don't."

   Mani mumbled several obscenities under his breath as he followed Naomi, who was still leading the way. "So you stumbled across a copy of 'Spirits of Forgotten Lore'," he eventually remarked, breaking the tense silence.

   Naomi nodded. "I spent most of the evening leaning about the Phoenix. I figured that I would be better off learning one higher level shift than I would be trying to cram in several lower level ones."

   "Technically, wouldn't have been possible for you to turn into a Phoenix without all of that research?," Mani asked. "I mean, if you know what it looks like and everything..."

   "If I wanted the real thing, no." She stopped for a moment, turning around completely. "It's the effort you put into the research that sets a big red bird that can burn stuff apart from an actual Phoenix," she began. "When it is done correctly, it has been said that you are at one with the spirit of that creature. When you do it right, you don't just look like the Phoenix, but in a sense, you are the Phoenix. It doesn't matter how much you think you know about the creature, there's always some detail, some power that will not manifest itself unless you are that true being. How can you be expected to do something that you never even knew was possible? If all that you hear is that a Phoenix is a big red bird that can burn stuff, how will you ever know about its other abilities? That it can cure sickness and disease, or that it can breath life into a dying body? Rather than just speed through the book, I spent my time learning all that I possibly could about the Phoenix. I think that it was well worth it."

   The three sat in silence for some time after she had finished explaining before Naomi turned back around and began to lead the way once again.

   "And that was the first time you actually morphed into the Phoenix?"

   Naomi smiled, nodding once again. "I think Sardax put it best when he told us that 'Necessity is the ultimate practice'." She nudged Mani slightly. "Heck, you weren't so shabby back there yourself," she complemented.

   Mani smiled and would have returned the favorable complement had Laura not stopped walking once again. Mani slowly turned around, using every ounce of his being to keep from exploding.

   "Yes...?"

   Laura stood with her arms crossed for several moments, looking irritated as always. "I'm sick of all of this walking!," she suddenly shouted, her voice echoing throughout the entire cave.

   "Quiet!," Naomi quickly hissed. "They may still be able to hear us in the stronghold!"

   "I DON'T CARE!!"

   Naomi quickly turned towards her non-shouting friend. "Mani...," she began, a slight edge in her voice. "...If you don't shut her up, I will..."

   "Why did you have to go and get me anyway?!," she shrieked, waving her arms wildly. "Did I ask for you to get me out of there?! Did I ask you to drag me into this dark cave?!"

   "Lower your voice," Mani put forth calmly despite the irritation that was contorting his face.

   "Stop treating me like a child!"

   "STOP ACTING LIKE ONE!," Mani shouted back, finally losing his calm. Naomi shook her head- she didn't think that she'd have to worry about him getting too loud. "Now you listen, and you listen good, Laura," he hissed, spitting out her name. "If you REALLY want to walk back through this dark, funky-assed cave back to that Great Hall we torched so that we could save your irritating, bitching, rebellious ass and go up to that tall, evil, and thanks to me, incredibly pissed off woman back there and TRY to ask for her forgiveness, then be my FREAKING guest!!" He then pointed at her, his hand trembling slightly with rage. "Just DON'T expect me to try to help you this time!" Laura suddenly slapped his hand down.

   "I NEVER ASKED FOR YOUR HELP, JACKASS!"

   Mani suddenly fell silent as her voice continued to rebound off of the walls of the cave. A grim smile slowly began to curve across Laura's lips- she realized that she had struck a nerve. "Look at you, you pathetic loser...," she began, her voice full of acid. "Risking your life like an idiot, and for what? You're such a glutton for punishment. So you risked your life to try and save me... well guess what... I don't care. If you had gotten killed, it wouldn't have phased me a bit!"

   Mani sat in silence for a long time, his mind engaged in heavy thought. He had two choices- he could have stayed, which he realized ran a very high risk of him breaking down and possibly hitting her. Or he could walk.

   He decided to go with the latter.

   Mani turned his back to Laura and began to walk, continuing into the darkness in which they were headed. Naomi stood in shock, the torch still in her hand. Laura, on the other hand, had been a little surprised by his reaction.

   "Don't you dare walk away from me," she hissed.

   "Piss off," Mani snapped back, not even turning around as he kept on walking, eventually vanishing into the darkness.

   Laura stood in silence, her mouth open from shock. In a sense, she felt somewhat defeated. He couldn't just walk away like that... she wouldn't let him.

   "That's why your girlfriend's a FREAK!," she shouted into the darkness.

   Naomi slowly turned to her, glaring harshly. "Grow up," she growled. She turned back towards the darkness, but could not see anything beyond the range of the torchlight. "I don't think he's coming back," she sighed. Laura returned the glance, a curious look on her face.

   "What are you talking about?," she wondered, pointing. "Can't you see him coming?" Naomi gazed curiously into the darkness. She couldn't even make out any movement in the distance, but sure enough, Mani eventually emerged from the darkness, looking highly pissed off.

   "What the hell did you call Lily?!," he shouted as soon as he had come back into light. Naomi's eyes suddenly widened.

   "Wait a second!," she interrupted. She suddenly dropped the torch to the ground. "Mani, could you stomp that out for me please?"

   Mani raised a brow. "Why?"

   Naomi sighed. "Because I can't do it, I'm wearing sandals..."

   "No, I didn't mean why you physically can't do it, I wanna know why you want ME to..."

   "Trust me..."

   Mani shook his head slightly as he stomped out the torch. The chamber was instantly bathed in total darkness, a darkness so extreme that even after their eyes had adjusted, there was no way they could possibly find their way out. Naomi then kicked the torch, sending it somewhere in the chamber.

   "I sincerely hope," Mani calmly put forth. "...that you know what you're doing."

   "OK, Mani?"

   "Yes, Naomi?"

   "Do you see the torch?"

   "Um no, you kicked it away, remember?"

   "C'mon Mani... use that good eyesight of yours."

   "Really... I don't see it."

   "OK... Laura?"

   "What?"

   "Do you see it?"

   There was a brief pause. "Yeah, geez, what are you, blind?"

   "Could you grab it for me?"

   There was a few sounds of movement, and after a few moments, Naomi had the torch back in her hands, which she instantly relit.

   "What was the purpose of that?," Laura wondered, agitated as always.

   Naomi slowly turned towards her, staring for a while. "You," she began. "...have night-vision." Her gaze hardened slightly. "How is that possible?"

   Laura's eyes widened. "I don't know what you're talking about," she answered, shaking her head.

   "Night-vision," Mani clarified. "It means that you can see in the dark!"

   "I know what it means, smartass," she shot back. She turned back towards Naomi. "And I DON'T know what you're talking about."

   Naomi reached over, handing the torch to Mani. "The only way anyone could have seen that thing was if they could see in the dark," she slowly remarked. "I couldn't see it, Mani couldn't see it, but you could..." She shook her head. "Why?"

   Laura's eyes narrowed as she locked gazes with Naomi, who did not turn away. "Well if my eyesight's soooo damned good, then maybe I don't need you or your stinking torch, now do I?!" She then stormed away from the two, but was still heading in the right direction. Naomi slowly turned towards Mani, standing at her side.

   "Are you OK?," she wondered.

   "I'm fine." He sighed. "What's going on here, Naomi?," he wondered, shaking his head. "This doesn't make any sense..." He suddenly fell silent as he and Naomi's eyes locked.

   "On the contrary," she whispered. "It makes too much sense..." She leaned in closer. "Keep your eyes open," Naomi advised. "I don't think it's over yet."

   The nighttime sky was a most welcomed sight.

   After wandering around the darkness for what felt like several hours, the feeling of being able to breath in the ocean breeze was almost indescribable. Laura had already come through before the two. She stood some distance away, her gaze locked on the ocean. Mani gave her a harsh look- he didn't even want to talk to her.

   "She could stay for all I care," he remarked.

   Naomi shook her head. "After everything we went through to get her, I will drag her back if she doesn't want to leave." She then cast him a wicked smile. That smile, however, seemed to fade away immediately.

   "LOOK OUT!," she shrieked, pushing Mani away as she dove back. Lady Vakaal seemed to come from nowhere, leaping down between the two, a look of evil etched into her face. Some distance behind her stood an entourage of the guards, led by Kierianne. Laura continued to stand alone near the ocean, watching the entire engagement.

   "Interfering mortals," Vakaal hissed. "Prepare to meet death by my hands!"

   Mani quickly unsheathed his katana and darted towards her. An attempted slash later told him that her little protective barrier was still up and effective.

   "Crap..."

   Mani then flew a good several feet away as Vakaal backhanded him, sending him rolling in the sand. She then noticed Naomi charging at her out of the corner of her eye. Vakaal simply held up her hand and caught the katana by the blade.

   And bled.

   "How can this be?!," Vakaal shrieked, letting go of the blade. She looked down at her hand, and sure enough, there was a thin cut going across her palm.

   "Of course!," Mani shouted as he managed to stand up again. "A Dalsrayon can only be hurt by weapons made of silver, or weapons that have been blessed, either by a religious figure, the purest of hearts... which includes a virtuous woman!"

   Naomi stood defiantly, holding the katana in her hands and waved it at anyone that got too close. "We may not be able to kill you, demon," she threatened. "But we sure as heck can hurt you, so back off!"

   Vakaal's eyes began to glow red. "You...," she hissed. "...are going to regret that..."

   Cla-CLICK!

   "On the contrary," a voice rang out. "You're not touching her, you demonic bitch!"

   Naomi smiled broadly as she and everyone else turned around to see where the voice had come, turning to see their friends some distance away. It was Neil who had addressed Vakaal, who was standing up front with his sword sheathed at his side, a pulse rifle in his hands. Standing beside him was Jimmy, wielding a disturbingly large battleaxe and an even more disturbing grin across his face. Some distance beside him stood David, clad in his black armor and holding a sword glowing bright blue with energy. Kong sat poised upon one knee, his bow loaded and aimed. The massive silhouette of Darg X was clearly visible, looming ominously behind the four. Vakaal made a motion towards Kierianne and the guards, who immediately readied their weapons and prepared to attack.

   The loud click from Neil readying the pulse rifle convinced them otherwise.

   "I wouldn't try it, ladies," he advised, keeping a watchful eye over the gathering. He slowly began to scan the group, suddenly pausing as he caught sight of who he assumed to be the head of the guards. "Tell them to drop their weapons," he commanded. "I doubt seriously that they would listen to me."

   Kierianne made a slight face, but eventually dropped her spear into the sand. The others followed suit after a brief pause. Neil couldn't help but watch the girl, not because he was afraid she would try something, but because he had been taken back slightly by just how pretty she was. Her armor had been made to fit like a bodysuit, and Neil was silently thanking whoever it was that designed it for her. He slowly raised his gaze to her delicate face, where for a brief moment, their gazes met.

   "Your little gun means nothing to me," Vakaal suddenly spat, breaking his concentration and causing him to look up.

   "I wouldn't be too worried about the size of the gun," Darg X interjected from the rear. "Personally I'd be concerned more with what was in it."

   "Besides," Kong added. "It's not the size that counts, it's how you use it."

   "Quite the case, Brer Kong," Neil responded, turning the rifle away from Kierianne and putting it on her mother instead. "Now, milady, we are well aware of the fact that you can't be hurt by conventional weapons," he began. "So taking that into account, this 'little gun', as you put it, is currently loaded with 'Silver Blast'..." He then motioned towards his associates. "Kong's arrows are tipped with silver, and David's sword... well, let's just say that Sardax got his hands on that one. Our friend Jimmy's a little crazy, so I'm sure he'll find a way to hurt you somehow." At the mention of that, Jimmy nodded his head, a wicked smile across his face.

   "Always gotta make a grand entrance," Naomi teased. "Good to see you guys."

   "Likewise," David responded with a slight bow of his head.

   At that moment, the wind seemed to pick up slightly and drop a few degrees, sending a slight chill through the gathering. Between the two aposing forces, a dark, crackling energy field slowly begun to manifest, soon becoming a swirling mass of black energy. A portal had been opened between the two forces, a portal in which a lone figure had begun to step through onto the sandy beach. "The entrance," a voice declared. "... is what defines a man. The grander the entrance, they say, the grander the man. But what about the man that chooses to enter modestly, not because he has nothing, but because he realizes that such flash brings him unwanted attention?" The swirling mass of energy vanished, leaving the shrouded figure of Lord Paradox standing between the forces.

   "There's nothing modest about appearing out of thin air, Paradox!," Neil shouted, turning the rifle towards him.

   "Who says I'm modest?," the demonlord casually wondered. He slowly turned towards Lady Vakaal, who bowed respectfully.

   "Lord Paradox," she greeted. "I have the girl," she added, pointing towards Laura, still standing near the ocean.

   Paradox nodded, and it could be assumed that he was smiling beneath his mask. He turned towards Laura and held out his hand. "Come," he calmly greeted. "Let's get you out of here."

   "Oh hell no!," Mani suddenly shouted, readying his katana.

   "I'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with our hasty friend," Darg X added, his eyes narrowing. "Let her go."

   "If you're going to try and stop me," Paradox responded, not even turning to face him. "Then do it."

   A low, reptilian growl could be heard coming from Darg X as he bent down a little, preparing to leap. He looked among his associate standing ready at his sides.

   "Get him," he growled.

   No one got a chance to even take a step as Paradox quickly threw up both of his hands, sending forth several blasts of dark energy, striking each of the Travelers and Darg X. The blasts caused no visible damage, but instead bound and levitated each of them.

   "Is it just me...," David began, vainly struggling against the force, "...but did that strike you as being just a TAD bit cheap?" Paradox ignored the comment and held out his hand once again, beckoning for Laura to join him.

   "Leave her alone, you big purple fag!," Mani shouted. "Don't touch her!"

   Laura cast him a long glance before turning towards Paradox once again. She paused for a moment, looking at both of them. A smile slowly curved across her lips as she began to walk- it soon became apparent that she had already made her decision.

   "No..."

   Paradox nodded in approval as Laura came to his side. Mani, in the meantime, was in a state of shock as he stared, not wanting to acknowledge what he had just seen take place. Laura shifted her gaze, slowly meeting with his. "Surprised?," she wondered.

   Mani slowly shook his head. "Why...?"

   "You sold us out!," Kong suddenly shouted, struggling. "You... you bitch! You backstabbing, bloodsucking..."

   "That's enough!," Laura interrupted.

   "...bitch!"

   "Come," Paradox said as energy began swirling about the area, forming a portal before the two. "There is much that needs to be done."

   "This is not over, demon!," Darg X roared, struggling against the black force. "This is not over by a long shot!"

   "What should I do with these intruders?," Vakaal wondered, pointing to the Travelers and Darg. Paradox and Laura were already through the portal, but he paused to glance over his shoulder.

   "It's your island," he offered. "You decide." With that he stepped through, the portal swirling like a whirlpool before finally dissipating.

   Vakaal slowly turned to her guests, still bound by the dark force Paradox had left behind. A smile slowly began to curve across her lips as she regarded each and every one of them. "I am going to enjoy this," she made known.

   To her surprise, the dark force suddenly vanished, dropping everyone to the ground. And in a sudden blur of movement, she found that every weapon in possession of the group was now aimed at her.

   "I see," she slowly remarked.

   "Let us walk, Vakaal," Darg grimly demanded. "Or we will attack."

   Vakaal seemed to contemplate the situation for several seconds before finally nodding. "You have one hour to leave my island," she spat as she turned around and began to walk away. "Kierianne, you and the guards stay and make sure they comply." After several steps, she leapt into the air and began to float, taking flight as she returned to her stronghold atop the cliff, a dark phantasm against the nighttime sky.

   "Thanks for coming," Naomi silently remarked to Darg X, gently placing her hand upon his back.

   Darg nodded. "It was the least I could do." Jimmy approached from behind, his axe slung over his broad shoulders.

   "Are you OK?," he wondered. Naomi nodded.

   "I'm fine..."

   The group was slightly put on edge as Kierianne approached, spear in hand. There was a look of sadness on her face as she turned around, casting a glance towards Mani, standing with Neil near the ocean. "I'm..." She turned back around, sighing deeply. "I'm sorry...," she quietly remarked. "I had no idea that this is what my mother had in mind..."

   "There's no need for that," Naomi answered. "This wasn't your fault."

   Near the ocean, there was a tense silence between the two friends. Mani's gaze was still locked on the ocean in the distance, an undeniable air of sadness about him. Neil sighed.

   "You tried...," was all he could manage to say.

   "Yeah... I tried..."

   Mani suddenly grabbed his katana and sheath from his side, slamming them down into the wet sand of the beach. His sorrow had been replaced, replaced by what he truly felt at that moment.

   Rage.

   He stormed away some distance before suddenly pacing back, kicking up a foot full of sand. He spun around once again, walking angrily into the distance. He paused for a moment, seemingly to catch his breath before turning and facing the ocean once again.

   "Why...?," he asked himself. The more he thought about what had just happened, the angrier it made him.

   "I should have let you die," he found himself saying. He slowly unclenched his teeth, just enough so that he could shout.

   "I SHOULD HAVE LET YOU DIE!"

   With that he dropped to his knees in the wet sand, trembling violently as he struggled to recapture his breath and to understand why this happened. Why he couldn't have stopped it. Why he couldn't have done anything to change it...

   ...why he couldn't have seen it coming...

   "Laura... why...?"

   But more importantly, he knew that he also had to ask that of himself.