Tsugiko scowled, attempting (and failing) to ignore her complaining stomach and aching feet. Questioning the neighboring Gummi clans about food and shelter were met with polite refusals at best and threats at worst. She sighed. It only made sense, though, for the clans to watch out for their own. If what they said was true... Her eyes widened. If what they said was true, then what had happened to Snickers and the other Skittles? The temple spirit's influence couldn't reach that far. Tsugiko's grip on her jacket tightened. The Skittles had no way to defend themselves. "Tsugiko? Tsugiko, are you okay?" "Wha-?" Tsugiko shook her head as a face that looked as tired as she felt come into focus. "Yeah. I was just thinking, is all." Kyouji smiled. "That's a relief. You stopped walking." The Warrior Priestess blinked, then looked down. "Oh." With effort, she forced one foot forward, feeling Kyouji's eyes on her and trying to keep her cheeks from burning up. Stupid, stupid! Getting so wrapped up in things... there could have been an attack, and she wouldn't have been ready... Her gaze traveled farther up the trail they were on, to where a blond girl in pink walked, red bow bobbing behind her. Tsugiko sighed. Yumi didn't look cold or tired or hungry at all. In fact, she was chatting cheerfully with Kit Kat, who was scampering just ahead of her. Nothing ever bothered Yumi any longer than it should, and why not? It wasn't like *she* had any problems. She was perfect, after all. She was everything. "I'm worried about her," Kyouji murmured. "Huh?" Tsugiko started. "Who, Yumi?" "Yeah." He shrugged. "I mean, she took that whole thing with Wintergreen awfully hard back there. I bet she's feeling awful." The brown-haired Warrior Priestess rubbed the crystal on her forehead absently, feeling the fractures and chips she knew would be there. "I don't know," Tsugiko said, keeping her voice down. "I mean, she seems okay right now." "I think she's faking it." Kyouji rubbed his arms. Tsugiko bit her lip. Of course he was worried about Yumi. Everyone was always worried about her, and... Kyouji was right. The whole thing in the Black Forest had to have affected Yumi even worse than the rest of them; she was so trusting and sweet and kind... Tsugiko shivered. "When did it get so dark?" she asked, trying to make out her surroundings in the dying light. Yumi looked back at her, what little sunlight there was left glinting off the pink crystal in her forehead. "We have been traveling all day, Tsugiko-chan," she called back. Tsugiko winced; she hadn't meant to say that aloud. "Maybe we should sleep," Kyouji suggested, shrugging his pack off his shoulders and sitting on the side of the trail. "I think we have enough for one more meal somewhere in here." "Gika!" Kit Kat cried, jumping onto the pack. An irate Kyouji pushed him off. Tsugiko glanced at Yumi, then nodded. "But what about monsters?" "We should be far enough away from that forest for it not to be a problem," Yumi put in. At Tsugiko's frown, she forced a smile. "Don't worry, Tsugiko-chan! We can take turns keeping watch, or maybe Kit Kat can do it for us." "Giiiiiiiii," the cat-ferret yawned. "What, that furball?" Kyouji snorted, still rummaging through his pack. "I think we'd better keep watch." "Okay." Yumi sat next to the Knight Protector, folding her legs beneath her and watching him intently. Tsugiko bristled as the boy looked up, and his eyes lingered on Yumi just a little too long. "Find anything yet?" she asked as she dropped next to him. "Huh?" Kyouji blinked. "Oh, yeah." He withdrew three small packets and smiled weakly. "Anyone up for rations?" >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< The Starburst Crystal Started by Ardweden Legend Thirteen: Brittle Shock By Ardweden >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< "Tsugiko-chan?" "Tsugiko-chan, are you awake?" "Yeah. Why aren't you asleep?" "I couldn't. And I heard you groaning, so I was wondering if you were awake, too. Are you okay?" "I guess. Just hungry." "I can do something about that! I have some leftover rations somewhere around here..." "No! No, I'm fine. That's your food, and there's no way you'll find it in the dark, anyway." "It's okay. Just give me a-" "I'm fine!" "But no one should go hungry!" "I know, I know! But I don't want your food, okay? Now go back to sleep." "Tsugiko-chan?" "What is it *now*?" "I guess... I mean, we haven't really talked since... well, a long time, really, and-" "What?" "And... and I know I'm probably the last person you want to talk to, but I- I-" "Yumi? Are you crying?" "I don't... I mean... I'm sorry, Tsugiko-chan. This is really stupid of me. But I... I want you to know, Tsugiko-chan, that whatever happens to you or me or Kyouji, and whatever happens to Mars... I just want you to know that I'll be your friend. "Good night, Tsugiko-chan." "Yumi?" "Hmm?" "Thanks." >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< Twix and Twix looked down upon the small camp. "Look at that," the female one chuckled, brushing a strand of red hair from her eyes. "Sleeping like babies. Even the Knight Protector and his disgusting rodent." The other nodded, twisting his wrists. "They're so vulnerable." He smiled, the light of the moons giving it a malicious tint. "What do you think about summoning another tictac?" "No. Remember what Queen Wintergreen told us? Summon something that kills them in one hit or nasty enough for us to be sure it'll get the job done. I've been thinking..." "What?" "Britecrawler." Twix gaped. "Britecrawler? But that's-" "Don't you think I *know* that, brother?" female Twix hissed. "But you saw how our Queen was looking at us. If we fail..." "She'll make things a hundred times worse," he finished. "We'd be better off dead. I know. But still, summoning *that*..." "Is our only chance. We have to do it." "Still..." "Twiiiiiiiiiiiiiix." "Fine, fine," Male Twix grumbled as he pointed his palm forward, to the ground, his sister mimicking the move. "Have it your way." He cleared his throat. "We summon thee..." "Britecrawler!" the second summoner crowed. Yellow light shot from their hands and to the ground, only a few feet from where the Knight Protector slept. There was a low rumbling, and a small crack appeared, growing larger and larger as the rumbling and shaking intensified. A furry green and orange creature awoke with a "GIKA!" and jumped at the boy, clawing at his shirt. His eyes snapped open, and he scrambled to his feet, reaching for his sword and watching in terror as brilliant multicolored tentacles wormed their way to the surface. Female Twix laughed, and the Knight Protector forced his eyes from the monstrosity to her. "You're going to die this time, boy," she promised. "You've been lucky so far, but this time you and all the priestesses are going to suffer." "This isn't a time to joke around, Twix," the other Twix told her through gritted teeth. "This summoning's being awfully difficult." "Come *on*, brother, let me have a little fun," she chided. She felt a rush of air then yelped and flew to one side as a mass of writhing tentacles shot at the twins. "Attack him, not us!" she yelled, pointing down. She blinked. The Knight Protector was no longer there. "I don't think it's listening!" the male Twix called as he dodged another swipe. "Got any other bright ideas?" >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< "Tsugiko! Yumi! Wake up!" Tsugiko yawned, as she sat up, dimly noticing Kit Kat scurry under the tent flap. She yawned again as she rubbed the carret behind the ears, calming it. Yumi crawled forward and pushed the flap aside. "Is something wrong?" she asked. Kyouji peered in, his eyes wide and breathing unsteady "Yeah. We're being attacked!" Cursing under her breath, Tsugiko pushed her covers aside and scrambled out of the tent. "Fine," she muttered as she straightened what little of a skirt she had. "Let's beat this thing and get it over with." "That might be kind of tough, Tsugiko-chan," Yumi pointed out, looking towards the summoned monster. Kyouji nodded mutely. Tsugiko stretched. "This thing woke me up," she explained as she turned to face what the others were watching. "It needs to-" She stared. "Gah!" The britecrawler loomed before them: a mass of pulsing, brilliant, writhing tentacles. Tsugiko took a few steps forward for a better look and shuddered. At the end of each was a mouth, each mouth gnashing its teeth in expectation. "We have to fight that thing?" she asked in disbelief. "It hasn't noticed us yet," Yumi commented from behind Tsugiko. "That's weird." "Not really," Kyouji responded. "Look!" The girls looked up, following his gesture to the summoners overhead, who were frantically trying to avoid the monster. Every time one made the move to fly away, the monster shot a line of tentacles before it, and they had to change direction. "It looks like that... thing's going to destroy them for us," Tsugiko said. She saw Kyouji nod out of the corner of her eye. "I guess that's good," she added. "Yeah," the Knight Protector murmured. "I guess so." Female Twix dove below another line of tentacles and stopped, casting a baleful glare at the onlookers. "Britecrawler, there's your target!" she shrieked, pointing at the Warrior Priestesses (and one Knight Protector). "Them!" The tentacles retracted into the mass, and it pulsed, glowing brighter and brighter. Twix placed her hands on her hips, laughing. "Now you die!" she declared. Tsugiko tensed, hefting her hammer into a ready position. She could take this thing. She wasn't afraid. She wasn't. Tentacles shot forward. "Move!" Twix yelled. Twix screamed as they lashed around her and onto her, squirming and tearing and enveloping. "Twix!" he cried, voice cracking as he flew forward... but not too close. He dared not get too close. "Get out! Sister!" She was being pulled down, down, and Tsugiko watched, and Kyouji watched, as she was dragged, struggling, almost crying and almost laughing as she distantly said, "I thought it would listen." "Sister, sister!" Twix wailed, his voice climbing. He flew down. "Break free! Don't leave me!" She was almost there. Almost, just a little farther, and then the britecrawler would feed. The light was almost painful, and Tsugiko squinted, turning her head to one side. Gruesome, the back of her mind thought. Grisly. No one deserves this... Everything took on a pink tinge, and there was a scream, a desperate, angry scream. Light even brighter than the britecrawler's own tore into the 'arm', forcing it to release the Twix who just managed to float to the ground. The mouths hissed as one and realigned themselves, facing the group of three. "Nobody should suffer like that," a quiet voice said. Tsugiko whirled and came face to face with Yumi, whose wand was held steadily forward. Her gem shone a rosy light, and a soft aura surrounded her. A distant part of Tsugiko wondered if she could ever possibly appear that powerful. "But they were going to kill us," Kyouji protested. Yumi shook her head. "*Nobody*." "But if that thing-" He swallowed, looking into Yumi's eyes and seeing nothing but determination and compassion. "Right," he sighed, turning back to the monster and pulling a small handful of poppies out of nowhere. "Heads up!" Tentacles rushed at them, mouths open, but many were met with electrically charged poppies and bolts of pink energy. Tsugiko frowned, green flames sprouting along her hammer. Staying at the edge of the monster's reach, she swung, setting fire to tentacles unlucky enough to be touched. And she swung again and again and again... "There's too many!" Kyouji cried as he drew his sword. The blue gems in his forehead and sword sparked as one as he hacked into the britecrawler. "They just keep coming!" "I'll get the center!" Yumi held her wand forward and concentrated, her orb's light building bit by bit. Tsugiko nodded even though she knew Yumi wasn't paying attention to her. She had to keep them away from the other Priestess. She *had* to -- they were depending on it... Her jewel flared, the fire twisting around her weapon increasing in temperature and her aura brightening. She attacked, destroying one tentacle, then the next, then the next, thinking of nothing else, knowing nothing else. How long things stayed that way she didn't know, and didn't care, just that they kept coming, and she was needed. But something gave way. Everything became heavy, and Tsugiko vaguely noticed the fire dying as her hammer slammed into another tentacle. She was just barely able to lift it, pulling it in another direction, just a little too slow, a little too much effort, and she realized that it was too late and the teeth were too close and they were moving too fast and- Something bowled into her with a cry, shoving her out of the way. Tsugiko rolled a few times and stopped, pushing herself to her knees, eyes widening with horror as she watched the britecrawler's teeth sink into Kyouji's side. She screamed with Yumi, but the fire refused to return. Instead, she had to watch as they roped around Kyouji, watch as the light of Yumi's wand poured forth, watch as it vaporized some of the monster, but not enough, and Yumi was collapsing and Kyouji was bleeding and maybe even dead. Shrieking, Tsugiko flew forward in the midst of flames, hammer in hand and brilliant green light streaming through the cracks in her crystal. >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< "He's not waking up, Tsugiko-chan," Yumi said as she lowered her wand and looked to the girl kneeling across from her. "I don't know what to do. All of the bites are healed, but still..." Tsugiko nodded as she examined Kyouji. By all appearances, he was fine; none of the bites remained, aside from faint scarring. But his breathing was shallow, and there was something about him that felt wrong somehow, like stagnant air. "If only my powers didn't give out," she mumbled as she lightly brushed Kyouji's bangs from his crystal. It glinted blue in the slowly growing sunlight. "Don't be so hard on yourself, Tsugiko-chan!" Yumi replied. "You did the best you could!" The other girl sighed. Their camp was a mess, the ground was scorched, and the only thing left of the britecrawler was a pile of ashes and the fissure it crawled out of. Still, Tsugiko couldn't shake the feeling that if she had a little more control, if her powers hadn't given way, then Kyouji would be awake and healthy, talking and laughing and shooing Kit Kat away from his feet. The Warrior Priestess shook her head again, squeezing her eyes shut. "What did that thing *do* to him?" "It's a curse." Kit Kat sprang from his curled position next to Yumi and hissed. The girls looked up to see Twix standing only a few feet from them, his silver hair half-out of the ponytail it was usually neatly tied in. "The Peanut Brittle Curse, actually," he continued. "The britecrawler carries it. One bite causes the victim to become extremely vulnerable. Anything but the lightest touch can kill them." "*What*?" Tsugiko scrambled to her feet. "You mean that Kyouji-" "Is going to die, yes," he replied calmly, and Tsugiko bristled. "Unless..." "Unless what?" Tsugiko prodded, reaching for her hammer and taking a step towards the summoner. He didn't blink. "Unless you cure him." His violet eyes darted from Tsugiko to Yumi and back. "Without the Knight Protector, you're nothing." "How do we do that?" Yumi spoke, scratching behind Kit Kat's ears. The cat-ferret calmed slightly, but refused to remove its gaze from Twix. The summoner smiled. "It's a rare flower called the Crystal Ice, found only near the top of one of the Snow Cap Mountains. It's a perilous climb, filled with creatures, but it's not far from here." Tsugiko nodded, not loosening her grip on her hammer. "What's the catch?" "I want the Priestess over there-" He gestured to Yumi. "-to heal my sister's wounds and watch over her while we retrieve the cure. I'm sure she won't break her word." He chuckled, and then all traces of humor vanished from his face. "If you want to save your friend, you need me. I wish to save Twix, so I need you. Do we have a deal?" The Warrior Priestesses exchanged glances, then turned back to their enemy and made the only decision they could. "We have a deal," Yumi promised. "Where's your sister?" Twix stepped aside, revealing his unconscious twin. Her body was covered with freely bleeding cuts and numerous bruises. Yumi choked back a strangled cry as she knelt by the woman, already bathing her in a healing pink glow. "Once healed, they'll wake up, but it will take a while. And they'll still be cursed," Twix warned. Yumi bowed her head. "I understand." She looked over at the cat-ferret, who was pacing between the two Warrior Priestesses. "You'd better go with Tsugiko-chan, Kit Kat," she told it. "I'll have two people to talk to, and she'll only have one without you." Kit Kat tilted its head to one side and waggled its whiskers, giving the matter deep thought. "Gika!" it agreed, rubbing up against Tsugiko's leg. Tsugiko sighed. "I guess we'd better get going. The faster we get there, the faster Kyouji's cured." And the faster we get rid of you, she didn't add. "I agree." The Twix turned and started heading up the trail. "This way." Shaking her head, Tsugiko scooped up a lightly purring Kit Kat and followed. It was going to be a long hike. >o< >o< >o< >o< >o< Author's Notes: It's done! It's done! Wai! This was very fun, even though I couldn't spend nearly as much time as I'd have liked on it (blame school). I'll admit that I was a bit nervous about writing, as I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it again, but apparently I could. Sometimes it's so nice to be proven wrong. ^_^; Much thanks to (in alphabetical order) Brett, Jesse, Phoebe, Ravi, and Yonjuuni for prereading. You all get a hug and a cookie! And I *love* those little candy dividers. Bricky gets a hug and a cookie for that. ... Oh, all right. You get a hug and a cookie just for reading. Stop looking at me like that. Crystal Ice is a type of Mentadent toothpaste. My suitemate has it (inspiration comes from strange places). Britecrawlers are a kind of sour gummy worms. Comments and criticism are very much appreciated (encouraged, even!). Post to the message board or e-maily me at arwen@ardweden.com Thanks for reading! ^_^ Ardweden