After a night of rest, with their spirits high and all going as planned, they awoke, a letter had been slipped under their door some time in the night.
"You must return to Crystalia quickly. There is a beast that has been rampaging through the land, though Crystalis is safe the smaller villages are suffering. This is an easy request as you have to go west of the continent to get to the next dungeon anyways. Please help the people and stop the beast, Ana." They all stood around looking at the letter and then pointed out that there were small "xoxo" marks on the bottom, under her name.
"The letter must be for Art." Meekle nudged him a bit, with a silly, childish grin on.
"Not cool man, people are in danger." Art rolled his eyes but a smile still took over soon, as he looked over the page and saw the mark again. He then let out a light, fake cough before looking around, "So, we are gonna do this right?" He looked around at them all.
"Of course we are going to do it Art." Vixen rubbed her hand over his head and handed him the letter before going to get ready. This time they double checked their bags to make sure they had everything, while Art slipped the letter into his bag and through it over his shoulder. They soon set foot on land, their first steps back sense they had to run away from the Legion and things just didn't seem as magical, the sky was darker and the air had a chill in it. Last Fantasy was empty as they walked through town, no shops open, no people hanging around the beach side. They made their way up towards Peddle town, finding that there were plenty of people here, all hiding in large metal crates, only coming out to the calls of Art and the group.
"The heroes?" One of the random people said, poking their head out of the metal crate to look, others soon followed.
"Are you here to stop the beast?" A lady begged of them to help them, they were all living in fear of the monster, Crystalis had locked them all out of the capital and was not offering sanctuary to anyone. This was the Legions doing, they all started feeling like this was some kind of trap, but seeing the people in fear was much worse than falling into a trap.
"Lets get you all to Trinity, you can hide in the mountains." The people all looked away, their heads falling as one of them told the group that Trinity had been under attack, the Legion had taken over and many of the people had to flee, others are held captive, there and in the capital. They hadn't realized how bad everything was left, how much damage was done to the towns here and all the people who helped them so much.
Soon roars could be heard, the people all ran back into hiding as the group looked around, walking out of town and into the field. The sound came from the forest but before they could move any closer a large three headed dog burst forth from the trees, its head's flailed about as a smaller monster was thrown from its middle mouth and broke apart into its digital form before ever hitting the ground. Their hearts started racing, all their focus on the beast and when it noticed them its beady red eyes twitched just before it started running towards them, they had to get far away from Peddle Town, they started running towards Trinity, there was a large open field between it and Peddle Town that they knew would give them plenty of space to fight this monster.
Once they were far enough away they stopped and turned towards the monster all of them ready for an all out battle, just like when they fought Ifrit. None of them wasting any time as they started into the monster. Razah was the first, summoning forth Anubis to wrap the beast and pull it to the earth, thought it didn't do an instant death, the wraps gave of necro-damage, cutting into its health quickly. Art rushed in, slashing with two swords at Cerberus but being careful as the monster still chomped at him, not wanting to be in another monsters mouth he kept an eye on each head as he attacked the middle one.
It ripped clean through the wraps and all three of its mouths opened, with a roar black flames fell from its mouth, dark magic damage hitting Art, draining half his health and making him feel dizzy but not burning at all. He stepped back and fell on the floor, trying to regain his balance again, as the beast came in for another attack Vixen jumped onto its back and started shooting arrows at each of the heads, each one exploding on contact, the two side heads tried to reach back and bite her but were unable to. It then stood up on its hind legs, making her slip off its back and when its front legs hit the ground a shock wave went through the ground and knocked everyone back except Fenix, who jumped over it and rushed the beast, taking his Ifrit form right away. He slammed into Cerberus and put its middle head into a head lock as its flames took over its body. Not having a huge effect but still doing some damage he started punching at it till his mana was drained and he then jumped back.
Meekle and Tophuu started clawing and whipping at it, Tophuu unable to summon either of his larger monsters as they were still recovering from the battle with Gigabot and his others being to small to take something like this on. Still he whipped at it as Meekle slashed with his hands, not ready to take his full form in case his curses would come in handy. Razah let out her Osiris spell, the black hole ripping at the large beast, its health was continuing to drop.
Art finally back to his feet he rushed in to continue helping, this time with three swords, learning that it was never good to blow all his mana at once he kept a reserve till he was sure it was a good time. He hit it with a sweep, knocking it up onto its back feet again but not high enough for a large shock wave, all of them learning to jump it. Cerberus went on a rampage at this point, his jaw snapping at each of them and his large claws slashing around him, it was to hard to dodge all that he was doing. He then let out a howl and meteors quickly filled the sky and started falling around them, their health points taking big chunks over and over.
"Take turns healing." Art shouted out as he rushed in, his health points blinking so that others could heal, all of them trying to move quick to help, Razah putting down her heal over time spell helped but Art was still in danger. Meekle quickly buffed his defense with a card that he threw at him, as soon as it hit Art his defense points rose. Starting to see just how these cards came in handy, no chants needed and no time, but he did have to let go of his self curse before using them still.
Art got knocked back quickly after that, his health hitting ten points as the rest of the group told him to heal now, all of them rushing to protect him this time. This was the sort of think Art was always doing, always first into danger but it worried everyone that one day he wouldn't be so lucky. He quickly downed a potion and was back up and at it, that's when Tophuu got a notice to catch the beast. He rushed forward and used his Capture all Skill but as the nets hit it Cerberus pulled it off of him and roared, not liking the fact they just tried to catch him.
Cerberus was losing a good amount of health and was catch-able, but that is when they heard the clanking of armor coming towards them, the Legion knights from Trinity all rushing out to ambush them.
"Who called it was a trap." Meekle joked, even with how much of a bad situation they were in, Vixen raised her hand up.
"That would be me, what do I win." She joined in, all of them had known something like this would happen. Art turned and started running towards the army that was rushing them.
"Tophuu, capture it." He yelled, Fenix followed close behind Art, downing a mana potion as they were ready to take the Legion head on this time. Behind Art swords gathered in the air around him, the army laughing at first when they saw Art and Fenix approaching them but all of them stone faced when they saw all the swords and Fenix's skin turning black and cracking with flames as he grew in size. Fenix slammed through the army, leaving flaming trails, as they all tried to regroup Art's swords came raining down on them, his endless sword slash wrecking them.
The rest of the group continued on with Cerberus, but he wasn't going to be caught easily as Tophuu threw net after net at him. He just wasn't weak enough yet, all of them feeling a bit limited on what they could do. Razah got a notice and looked at it in shock, biting at her lip for a moment before shaking her head and talking to herself.
"No, this isn't the time for something like that." She swiped it away and used her Anubis again, the wraps taking Cerberus by surprise again, as if it didn't understand where they were coming from. Meekle went to his full demon mode and started grinding his claws against the beasts side and Vixen hit it with ice arrows and released a vine trap on top of the wraps.
"Tophuu now." She shouted as he got ready and used the last of his mana to try and capture it once more. It took over the beast and shook around as it tried to get out, blinking red over and over till finally it went still, all of them holding their breath as they watched. A light took over Cerberus and shank him till it was a small ball of light that floated over to Tophuu, all of them letting out a the breath they held in and smiling.
Art and Fenix were still going strong, Fenix back to his human form he moved with speed through the soldiers, punching and kneeing them about as Art dual wielded his swords, both of them staying close together as they were surrounded by the army, there were so many more knights than they first thought but they weren't giving up as they kept moving, kept attacking. No time to heal and no way out as they continued to fight on, Arts voice shouting over all the chaos.
"This is exactly how I thought it would end." He laughed a bit as his back met Fenix's.
"Odd, I had that exact thought." Fenix returned the laugh as explosions quickly went off around them. Their reinforcements had arrived, black holes and wraps filled the air with Razah's spells. They were able to heal up before coming into the fight and with that attacks falling all around them, Cerberus rushed passed, groups of knights in its maw being thrashed about. Both Art and Fenix looked nervously till Tophuu popped up on the back of it and waved.
"OH good, you both made it." He chuckled as his arms crossed on top of Cerberus's head and his chin fell to his arms.
"Great timing guys." Art said as him and Fenix continued their onslaught, taking care of as many as they could with what energy they had left. Their numbers dropped lower and lower, leaving just a handful of them left, that handful took off running towards the capital and Art and Fenix fell to the grass, their arms stretched out and a small laugh escaping them as they fist bumped one another, what they were able to do was such an impressive feet, not just to them but the rest of the group and some of the people from Peddle town who were watching the fight. Claps started to sound as more and more of them started coming out to cheer on the heroes of Eternia. Fenix and Art got to their feet to wave at those who came out to watch but now wasn't the time to celebrate, they still have to clear out Trinity, with all the soldiers gone or most of them gone they had to make sure the people were okay.
They all dashed towards Trinity, when they got there it was thrashed, garbage filled the once beautiful streets and the hero statue was busted and laying about. There were no soldiers left in town and they started searching for the people. As they got deeper into the town they could hear them, up on the second level of town, they ran all they way up the steps and looked at the far end of the second level, the knights had build a large cage that all the people were in, they looked weak and tired, as though they weren't being fed daily. That was no way to treat people, even if they were prisoners, Art was angry and slashed at the bars, they fell apart and the people came out in waves, thanking them but some not, some holding a grudge against them for this happening.
That's when they were approached by a little girl who asked if they were going to save the bird people as well. It just dawned on them they hadn't seen the harpies or maybe they just hoped that they had escaped down. The little girl pointed to the top of the mountain and they smiled at her, patting her on the head as they started up the mountain once more, all of them moving with speed as it was not a quick walk. They didn't stop to break or rest, they just kept going, forcing their feet to make one step after the other. Finally they made it to the top where they found another cage, this one shaped like a bird cage, they all started attacking it, leaving a big hole in the side of it for the harpies to get out of.
They were all weak, their feathers falling off and they were bone skinny, they could last longer without food but it really took its toll on them. They were much more thankful than the people, as they were the ones who helped them out of the city, and they knew that the group had no idea what was happening. Art and the others emptied their bags, taking all the food they had and handing it over to the harpies, who quickly ate it, every last crumb went into their mouths and they let out a sigh of relief.
"We can't just let this keep happening, we need to go and rescue the people of Crystalis as well." Art's fist clenched as they spoke, but they were quickly interrupted.
"You can't go there, that is now their base, most of the people got out, those who didn't are in the dungeon cells. But they have much more power and soldiers there." One of the harpies explained how she had caught a look at the capital before they were all captured. Art argued his point but the group agreed it wasn't the time, they needed to get the next seal first. But they promised that if they got the next seal they would come back and save the town before they got the last one.
The harpies and the people of Trinity were all happy to hear that they had most of the relic pieces, that they had been successful and that their suffering wasn't for not. The whole night the group stayed up and cleaned up the streets as much as they could, when the people woke they started to help, though they couldn't get the statue back, they could clean up the trash that was left in the streets. They had to scrub at the walls and pillars to get them to there white shine again and the garbage was burned outside of the city but it still just wasn't the same, the town had been through so much that the air itself felt different.
That night the group got a big feast together, tables lined the streets throughout the whole city from the first to the second floor. Food was prepared for the whole town to share and they all sat around before Art stood.
"We are sorry that you had to deal with such hard times, but we are close to the end, hopefully the Legion will be no more one day soon. If you could just hold on, we promise this world will know true peace." He held up a mug, filled with a tasty drink, that he liked to call slime soda. The rest of the people and his group raised a mug as well, telling him they had trust in his words. Though, it was obvious not all the town agreed, the groups heads held in shame at one had happened, but this made it all much more real for them, reminding them of home, or rather the beginning of the wars back home. They had to hold back tears till the feast was over.
They made their way to their rooms, all of them crumbling to the thoughts and their eyes started watering as they huddled together, their arms wrapping each other, only they knew what they had been through, a life they wished to forget and this new life starting to look to similar, but this time they had the power to fight back, the determination to not turn back, to look their problems in the eye and hold their heads high. Never again would they bow to the evil of the world.
Soon they all fell asleep till the chime of the morning came, after a long night they slowly moved to get ready, all of them lost in their own thoughts, most of the thoughts of anger, of wanting to do more, wanting more power. They gathered their stuff and once again left the town quietly, letting the people rest as they moved on, they had to be stealthy to get through the fields and into Kiritish, hoping that would be a safe place to stay, but when they got there it was abandoned. A large sigh from them all filled the air, there were no soldiers, it seems as though they fled just in case, of course there was also Cerberus, they thought this was for the best as they checked to see if there were any items they could take from the shops, finding some high-potions, they left the gold for it, hidden in an area they were sure the shop keep would find it.
They didn't stay long, heading straight on through the field and into the Ghost Forest, the air still clear and calm. They had an easy time going through and as they passed up the dungeon from so long ago they found themselves at a lake. Deciding to rest there for the night, they were met soon with a lovely sea nymph who emerged from the waters. She called them to her and asked one of them to give her a beautiful item, in return she would give them something great.
"Go ahead Art, we all know the virtual girls are your thing." Meekle teased and pushed at him.
"Not cool man." He turned and shook his head at Meekle.
"Oh, sorry, that's right, you already got a thing going for Ana." Meekle's taunts getting to Art as he pulled out his beautiful fire blade and handed it to the Nymph who quickly dipped into the water and swam into a tunnel. Art was confused and looked around and all of them shrugged.
"Looks like you got robbed." Vixen raised an eyebrow and covered her mouth trying not to laugh at him. Art jumped into the water and followed after the nymph and after a bit of swimming he found himself in a cavern under the ground. He got up out of the water and looked around as the nymph approached him once again, this time she was out of the water and covered in thin cloths as she held out another sword.
"Please, take this." She smiled at him and he nervously took the sword, it looked old and beat up a bit, but when he pulled it out, it shined beautifully and the stats were much hire than his other swords. He smiled and put his head down for a moment.
"Thank you for this." She then faded into the cave, Art looked back for a moment before swimming back to the group to show off his new weapon.
"Look at that and it's all thanks to me." Meekle taking credit for the new sword.
"Give it a rest Meekle." Razah shook her head and laughed at him, flicking him on the arm as they joked some more. They set up camp and in the morning made it the rest of the way through the woods, finding a small beach side that was hidden, it was beautiful and it had seven small statues on it, most of them looking familiar, the heroes of old. They took a moment to think about this, to think about how they once stood where they are now, on a similar journey as theirs.