Matt gestured at the chain, and thorny vines burst through the floor, wrapping themselves around the handle and pulling it up.

And the prison seemed to react to the vines as they burst up from the ground and attached to the chain, because as they did, three skeletal creatures burst up from the ground with them.

"What the hell?" R.D. swore, pausing as he saw them.

Were it not for the odd shape of their skulls, they'd easily be mistaken for the skeletons of children. Each wore minimal armor and held spears in their hands--spears that they promptly used to cut at the vines.

"Hey, get yer hands off my weeds!" Matt snapped. He clenched his fingers and the thorns shot out in length to dismember any skeleton foolish enough to be in their way.

Luckily, the Stalchildren were fragile, and quickly fell under the thorny onslaught, allowing the vines to yank the chain on the wall. Something clicked within the wall, and the gates blocking off their progress opened up, revealing a short ramp with side stairwells. They proceeded up it to find another chamber with three pathways--one was a little alcove with an ornate bowl of oil off to their right, while wooden boards blocked off the passageway to the left. Ahead of them was a door, and six chains connected to a metal padlock in front of it.

"Looks like we'll need a small key," Link said. "Probably one in that room there. R.D., come with me in case there's a surprise waiting."

R.D. nodded and followed Link as he used the Master Sword to break down the wooden planks and proceed inside the chamber, leaving the others to wait.

"Well, this prison's looking better and better," Alasea commented, sighing. "Sand monsters and the undead."

"Just once I'd like to go to a world where I don't almost die," Helena said, folding her arms.

"Good luck with that," Matt remarked.

It was only a few moments later that R.D. and Link were running out of the chamber, scrambling to the door with key in hand.

"What's wrong??" Alasea asked, startled by their frantic appearance as Link jammed the key into the padlock.

"Bugs!" R.D. said as padlock fell to the ground and Link pushed the door up into the ceiling. He ran through into the darkened room ahead of them. "Carnivorous bugs! Get moving!"

"Keep 'em back!" Matt shouted at Helena, and the two blanketed the area ahead of them with fire to keep the bugs at bay. After everyone else ran into the new room, they followed, moving backwards to keep up their attack.

"Its official," Alasea said after everyone was through and the door had closed behind them, leaving them in a mostly dark room. "I hate this desert."

Link swiped his lantern out while lighting it, giving them some light to work with--R.D. also conjured up a similar flame, expanding their field of vision. It seemed the room had a sinuous path around quicksand to the door at the opposite end of the room. "Let's keep moving," he said while strapping the lantern to his belt so he could carry his weaponry freely. "There could be more in here."

"I hate bugs," Helena said, keeping her claws in front of her in case anything else attacked. "And quicksand. And getting shot out of a CANNON. I'm never going in a desert again, so help me God."

"Oh get over it," R.D. muttered upon hearing the cannon remark. "You got to ride in a bag that softened the landing, at least."

He was walking forward with Link as he continued. "It was me and Matt who--" he cut off as they heard a familiar rumble. From the sand, more Stalchildren were rising up, spears in hand. "Dammit."

"Defend yourselves!" Link shouted as he attacked, charging at the nearest four and slashing with his sword.

Hugo's energy shot crossed into the fray and shattered one of the tiny skeletons within the blast. Matt grabbed one of their spears and swung the blunt end at the wielder's face, then went to town with the rest of them.

More Stalchildren were ripping their way out of the ground as R.D. and Alasea readied their own swords, using strong blows to shatter their bodies as the group progressed. Those who made it through were quickly crushed under the invisible onslaught of Mass Effect.

"Just how many of them are there!?" R.D. demanded, growing annoyed as another spear bounced off of his armor plating. His sword quickly smashed down through the undead creature that had stabbed it at him.

"Just hold them off," Link said, spotting the door. Large bars were running down its front, naturally preventing them from opening it. Braziers were on either side of the door, though one was separated from them by the quicksand.

"Light that brazier!" Link commanded as he backed up to the other, snatching up his torch and sweeping it through the the tray at the top of the brazier, lighting the wood held within it. Alasea nodded and channeled, causing a short burst of flame to ignite in the tray of the brazier. As it did, a third torch lit above the door, and the bars slid up into the top of the doorframe, granting them passage.

"Get through!" Link shouted while opening the door as the Stalchildren approached. They quickly scrambled through, blocking off the undead from them.

"Hate this place!" R.D. growled as the door slammed shut, causing his voice to echo in the large chamber.

"Quiet," Link reprimanded. "This comes with the territory."

The room they were in was a large one. Faceless, vaguely feminine statues lined a path towards a large stairway, upon which four torches stood, lit with an eerie blue flame. Above it all was a round, metal chandelier and a pair of balconies flanking it. At either side of the room were smaller doorways, but at the far end was a massive entryway leading deeper into the Grounds.

Edited by RisingDragon on March 17, 2010 at 13:58:30.

X listened to the voice.

"OK, but you're going to need to guide me through if I get lost!"

Sheathing his sword on his back again, X decided to focus his mind on replenishing his energy. He hoped he wouldn't have to fight the elemental, but he had to be prepared for anything.

~~~~

"I feel him discharging energy like crazy. I don't know if he's in a fight or what, but it's spiked like mad over in that direction," eX yelled, pointing off into the distance.

He wasn't looking forward to getting to where X was though. Something about the place was making him feel nauseous. Hell, even X would be more useful in a fight than he was.

And that would just be embarrassing.

Now that things were calmer again, Matt rested his fists on his hips. "Hmmmm. You think these flames do something like in the previous room?"

(OOC: I made a post last night, I know I did. Why is it gone.)

"Its possible," Link said as he returned his sword to the scabbard on his back, along with his shield. "For now, leave them alone. Spread out and look around, there might be something in here that'll be useful. Then we'll head up go deeper into the grounds."

They proceeded further, meaning to go around the large stairwell in the center to look, when disaster struck. "Look!" Ileyna shouted, pointing up the stairs at the massive doorway--inside, four glowing lanterns swooped through the air as they came out of the darkness. One by one, they split off and made their way to each of the azure flames on the torches, and swiped through them, collecting the fire within their glass casing.

The prison seemed to rumble slightly as a heavy metal gate slid down over the doorway, barring further entry. "What the hell are those!?" R.D. demanded as they swooped down to them and began circling around the group.

===Love Elemental's Mindscape===

"Let's get going then," Aram said, nodding as he began heading in that direction. "Just be careful, eX. You don't look well right now."

Hugo brought up his pickaxe in a defensive position. "Don't move," he said.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Midna muttered, coming out of Link's shadow as the lanterns suddenly stopped, with three of them flying off and phasing through the walls while the fourth stopped in front of them, between them and the stairway. "Let's hurry up and finish him off."

"Finish who off?" Alasea asked, holding on to her sword tightly.

In response, Link transformed, becoming the blue-eyed wolf once more, with Midna astride his back.

The reaction was instantaneous. Everyone could feel movement in the air, and the whispering rasp of a creature long dead as the lantern moved around. And suddenly, the air glowed blue, revealing a ghost in a long white robe, its hood pulled up around its head, which showed a sunken, dead black face with rotted teeth as it slashed at them with the lantern, blue flames erupting from it.

"Whoa!" R.D. shouted as he jumped back, the ghost fading from view, leaving only the lantern as it sped through the air at them.

"What the hell was that thing?!" Matt shouted.

Up went the lantern, then back down at Helena, the specter reappearing once again. Instantly Hugo's gun rattled, emptying a whole load of plasma into the ghost's flank.

An azure beam of light lanced out alongside Hugo's shots, striking the undead creature in the face as the energy bullets tore into it. The creature fell back, collapsing onto the ground while completely visible.

Something black and pulsing was exposed, floating out above the creature's chest. With a snarl, Link suddenly jumped high into the air, gracefully flipping around as he landed on the orb, his jaws wrapped around it. He worried and tugged on it as the ghost screamed in its rasping voice before it finally tore free.

As Link backed off, bluish ectoplasm erupted from the openings of the ghost's robe as it screamed. Midna took the orb from Link's mouth and made it vanish in a burst of shadow energy as they watched its "body" disappear, leaving behind its moldy robe. The lantern shattered as it struck the ground, releasing the stolen flame.

It hovered in the air slightly before taking off, returning to the lower left torch on the stairwell. Link approached the hood of the robe and began sniffing, taking in the scent. After a moment, he backed away and reverted to his original form.

"Thanks, Hugo," Helena said, taking in a surprised breath.

"No problem." Hugo glanced at Link. "Now what?"

"What the hell was that thing?" R.D. asked, eying the discarded robe warily.

"It was a Poe," Midna replied as Link sat on his haunches. "A kind of specter... one older than any of the ones we've seen before."

"The other three have those flames we need," Alasea noted. "But how will we find them in here?"

"That's where Link's beast form comes in," Midna said. "These things left a scent, it seems, and he's already picked it up."

The imp turned her gaze to Helena and grinned, an action that made anyone who saw it extremely uncomfortable. "How good are your senses as a dragon?" she asked of the girl.

Helena's face made it quite clear to Matt that she did not agree with Midna's smile. "...pretty good," she chanced. "Do you want me to help Link track them down...?"

Midna nodded. "Transform and catch the scent of the Poe," she said, motioning over to the discarded robe. "The rest of you, look around and see if there's anything we can use, then we'll split up."

"Well, all right..." Helena looked at Matt and lifted her hand up. Matt got the idea, and as soon as Helena stepped away from the group, he rose the earth walls around her.

"What should we be looking for that we can use?" Hugo asked, his little antenna blinking as he scanned the area.

"Maps, compasses, keys, Rupees," Midna counted off lazily, waving a hand. "Just look for chests and watch out for more of the undead. We'll need everything we can get if we're gonna survive in here."

They split off and examined the room while Helena undressed and transformed, and with a little luck, came across an ancient-looking map which Alasea had to ward so they wouldn't accidentally destroy it. Soon, both Link and Helena had the scent of the Poes, and they were ready to split off, with Link and Midna, R.D., and Alasea going off after the trail to the right of the ruins, and Helena, Matt, Hugo, and Ileyna going off to the left.

"Just be careful in there, okay?" Alasea asked as Link dug away at a pit of sand, revealing a chain and handle buried. "We won't be able to rescue you if things go south."

Matt folded his arms. "I like how you're saying that after a battle where I piledrived a Heartless into the ground and sent out a shockwave that nuked all the other Heartless around me."

Helena sneezed - a rough, whooshing sound.

"You said it," Matt said.

"Still, just be careful," Alasea said with a frown. "We still haven't figured out where Malvettix is hiding."

Link grabbed a hold of the chain with his teeth and pulled, causing the ground to shudder briefly before a second of it fell away in slices, creating a stairwell to a hidden door. The wolf quickly proceeded down it, while Midna whistling at them.

"Let's get going," R.D. said, following after Link. Midna opened the door down below, her hair becoming a elongated arm and hand that quickly shoved the stone block upwards into the ceiling.

Hugo started down the left passageway, flanked by the others, his little pickaxe ready.

Several minutes later, the group had experienced more of the dangers in the Arbiter's Grounds--armored mummies armed with giant swords paralyzed them with terrifying screams to attack them in narrow hallways as tiny skeletons scrambled at them with spears. Gigantic chandeliers had to be lifted and run beneath as Moldorms leaped up from the quicksand to take bites out of them. Ghostly rats ganged up on them to slow them down. All the while, they had to hunt down the remaining three Poes.

It was a miserable time.

Soon, though, the met back up in the main hallway as the final two azure flames phased through the doors as they returned to their respective torches, and the gateway opened up. Ileyna floated down to Link and Midna, holding pulsating black orbs that she had ripped from the slain Poes using her telekinetic power, and the imp quickly tucked them away into whatever pocket of darkness she kept Link's belongings in.

"You guys okay?" R.D. asked, rubbing at his shoulder. It showed evidence of a rough healing from Alasea after a Gibdos has tried to remove his arm with its sword.

"No," Matt growled. "Shut up." He bore a display of bite marks all over his legs, visible through bits of torn jeans.