[X-Over][Fanfic] "The Aeltor Chronicles" Part 3: The Labyrinth
Cyclone
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Based on
Robotech
Bubblegum Crisis
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon
Ranma 1/2
Urusei Yatsura
and
Tenchi Muyo!
but
no matter how much it may seem
NOT
Bio-Booster Armor Guyver
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Written by Cyclone
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W H I R L W I N D P R O D U C T I O N S
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presents
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T H E A E L T O R C H R O N I C L E S
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Part Three: The Labyrinth
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Last time in The Aeltor Chronicles:
Ataru lucked into finding the Staff of Wisdom, a powerful
Artifact crafted by the ancient Mystic, Lluren. They combined their
strengths and killed a mighty dragon, Tacorah, and formed into a team
called the Outlanders with Rand as the nominated leader. After an
audience with Vorak, the king of Aeltor, they set out to cross the
Harshlands to speak with Damocles, a mighty wizard who might know of a
way to get them home. Accompanying them is Sir Torin, one of King
Vorak's best knights and wielder of Grimsword (aka Grimm's Sword), a
mighty weapon once belonging to a DragonKnight named Grimm, who fought
in the Dragon Wars.
The first stretch in the Harshlands was across lands claimed by a
necromancer named Tyven. They had been attacked by his undead servants
twice and each time defeated them. After entering Tyven's capitol city
of Crythas, the Outlanders and Sir Torin were confronted, attacked, and
defeated by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War, Pestilence,
Famine, and Death...
And now, on with the show!
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Rand groaned and opened his eyes. *Why do I have this strange
sense of deja vu?* he wondered as he got up and looked around. He was
alone in some sort of cell, and his Cyc was nowhere in sight. He
reflexively grabbed at his waist and found his H-90 holster empty,
*Great. What now?*
Elsewhere...
Rook Bartley shook herself awake, "Where on Earth am I?" Then her
memory reasserted itself, "Nevermind."
She looked around. She reached for her blaster and grasped thin
air. No Alpha. No Cyc. No H-90. No chance. No way was she gonna give up.
*Looks like I'm in for a wait.*
Nearby...
Priss Asagiri woke up, "What the hell? Where am I? Damnit, what's
goin' on?!"
She examined her surroundings and suddenly remembered she wasn't
in MegaTokyo anymore.
She settled down to wait.
Not far away...
Nene Romanova blinked and looked around, *What is this place?*
"Hello? Is anyone there?"
A short distance away...
Ranma Saotome picked himself up and stretched. He knew there was
something wrong, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what. He began some
katas to jog his memory.
"Oh, yeah. That's right. I'm on some other world," he paused,
then shrugged, "Oh, well. Nothin' better to do."
He continued his katas.
Someplace near...
Mousse meticulously examined the cell he was in. If he was
anything less than meticulous, he was likely to miss something vital.
Then he noticed something.
Since he woke up, he had felt considerably lighter and now he
realized why this was so.
For the first time in memory, he was completely unarmed.
He thought for a moment and remembered something.
*Not quite...*
With the location of that last weapon fixed in his mind, he
settled into a meditative stance.
Elsewhere...
Makoto Kino looked around, searching for any way out. She had
already both discovered her henshin rod missing and wondered how anyone
besides her could've changed her back to her normal self.
She sighed and moved into a fluid kata.
Nearby...
Ami Mizuno searched her surroundings with great care, trying to
find anything that might aid her escape. Failing that, she took a stick
and began working complicated calculations in the dirt on the floor.
Not far away...
Ataru Moroboshi got up and sighed when he found his staff
missing. He'd survived a lot without that staff, but he'd gotten used
to its weight and heft. He'd gotten pretty good at staff-fighting too.
Experience told him that the best thing to do under captivity was
nothing... for now.
A short distance away...
Lum Redet lightning bolted the walls of her cell, but to no
avail. Electricity apparently had little effect on stone walls.
She sighed and sat down, waiting.
Someplace near...
Tenchi Masaki knew that the only thing that would really help him
were the Light-Hawk Wings, and he wasn't willing to go to such drastic
measures... yet.
So he waited, wondering how anyone could've taken the Master Key
away from him.
Elsewhere...
Detective First-Class Kiyone of the Galaxy Police had only one
thing to say: "Why me?!?"
It all started, really, when she ended up rooming with Mihoshi,
grand-daughter of some big-wig in the GP and a first-class clutz. Then
her worst nightmare came true; she got partnered up with Mihoshi.
It all went downhill from there.
She sat down and waited for the next disaster to strike.
Nearby...
Sir Torin of Aeltor, humble servant to King Vorak of Aeltor,
wielder of Grimsword, hero of the Mithril Wars, and companion and guide
to the Outlanders, found himself captive for the first time.
He knew that breaking out was next to impossible without some
heavy weaponry (like those Cyclones or those hardsuits) or some really
good magic.
As it was, he was completely unarmed. Not so much as a toothpick
was available.
So he waited.
Not far away...
Tyven, necromancer and ruler of Crythas, observed his prisoners,
"Interesting. They seem unbothered by their captivity. Time to find out
who they are."
Later...
The Outlanders and Sir Torin didn't have long to wait. Somehow,
by some magic or other, they were all teleported to a large room, where
someone waited. He wore a hooded brown cloak, and had sharp features
and a pale, gaunt face. A few strands of greying-black hair were
visible through which his piercing, ice-blue eyes examined them.
Priss and Rook spoke up almost as one, "Who the hell're you?
Where are we?"
The stranger merely grinned, "My, my. Short-tempered are we? Come
now, if you think for a few moments, my identity should become obvious."
Ami blurted, "You must be... Tyven, the necromancer!"
"At least _someone_ here has an iota of reasoning power."
"Why did you imprison us?" asked Ranma.
"Is a man not allowed to deal with intruders on his own land?"
"All we sought was passage through your lands, and we saw no way
to communicate to you our request," Torin calmly explained, "If you
will but return to us our property and allow us to continue on our way,
we will bother you no more and make haste to exit your lands."
"I'm afraid that's quite impossible. You see, you have injured my
lieutenants, the Horsemen, and killed many of my servants. For such
crimes, you must die."
"They attacked us!"
"They would not have, had you obtained permission into my lands
from me."
"Torin already told you! We had no way to..."
"ENOUGH!" thunder echoed throughout the room "I will hear no more
of your pathetic excuses! I will even go so far as to give you a decent
chance. If you can successfully navigate my Labyrinth, you shall go
free with your possessions. Be warned though, there are many perils
within the Labyrinth. You shall each be given a weapon of your choice
from my armory, if you so desire."
Most of the Outlanders were furious, but Torin stopped them,
saying, "Tyven is not a truly evil man, for all he seeks is knowledge,
isolation, and freedom to practice his art. He is an honorable man and
will keep his word, and, no matter how harsh his rules and terms may
be, they are fair. Besides, we have no choice."
The Outlanders reluctantly agreed. The Cycloners and the Knight
Sabers most reluctantly.
Later, at the entrance to the Labyrinth...
The Outlanders and Torin entered the stone maze, each carrying a
bundle of supplies and his or her chosen weapon, Ataru had a staff, of
course, Tenchi and Torin had swords, Mousse had a morning-star, Rook
and Priss had knives, Ranma, Lum, Makoto, Ami, Rand, Nene, and Kiyone
forwent the weaponry, believing more in their bare-handed capabilities.
"May the Fates favor you," said Tyven, "Ones such as yourselves
may not need it, but... every little bit helps."
The light of the entrance faded as a stone door slid into place.
Thankfully, Tyven was as fair as Torin claimed he was and had provided
them with a supply of not only food and water, but flint and torches as
well.
"If Ryouga were here," muttered Ranma, "we'd be through in no
time flat, even though he might've gotten lost tryin' to find the
_entrance_ to this maze. I wish I'd taken the time learn the
Bakusaitenketsu," he paused, "Say, Mousse, since that's an Amazon
technique, and you bein' an Amazon, maybe..."
"Saotome, if I knew that technique, I would not have lost so
quickly during our first battle."
"Hmm... point taken."
The Outlanders continued on in silence until they reached a branch off to
the left.
Rand turned around, "Any suggestions?"
Ami spoke up, "It would probably be best to systematically search
the maze by taking every right turn possible."
"Good idea, Ami. Any objections?"
No one said anything. "Okay. Stick to the right then."
Later...
After a while of wearisome walking, Ranma noticed something,
<Hey... Where'd duck-boy disappear to?>
Something grabbed him, "Wha...mmffph!"
Torin spun and got a solid whack on the forehead for his
alertness...
Sometime later...
"Dead end," Rand announced.
Ataru sighed and turned, "'Nother dead end, gu-... Guys? Guys,
where are ya?" he spun, "Rand, we've got a pro-... RAND?!"
He stepped backwards looking around wildly. If he had looked down, he
might've avoided the trapdoor that opened beneath him. As it
was, though... he didn't.
After an undeterminate amount of time...
Someone shook Ataru, "Go 'way! Don' wanna go to school. Mendo's
really out fer me today..."
"'Taru! Snap out of it!"
Ataru jerked fully awake to the not-so-welcome sight of Ranma
Saotome, "Wha-...? What happened?"
"Wish I knew. At least we're all together."
"Aye. Somethin' strange is afoot. I never saw what hit me. Did
you, Ranma."
"Unfortunately, no, Torin."
Kiyone then said, "I get the feeling we're gonna find out what
hit you guys and captured the rest of us all too soon."
"RAAAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!"
"What the hell was THAT?!"
"Don't get so excited; it's been echoing like that for the past
hour or so."
"Oh, really? Then what's _that_?" Ataru pointed.
They turned. Behind them stood a large, reptilian, four-armed
monster (think Goro from Mortal Kombat... except with scales, claws,
and saber-teeth).
"Oboy," muttered Rand.
"I _think_ we got a problem..." commented Ranma.
"Let's take it down!"
"MOUKO-TAKABISHA!"
"DIVINE RETRIBUTION!"
"Hyah!"
The Outlanders attacked the creature and struck it simultaneously
with little effect. Torin, however, stood back.
"'Tis a rhakyti, it's armor plating is nearly indestructible."
"Great! So how d'we kill it!"
"Magic. Any magic can nullify its magical armor, even if the
magic used is not designed for it. Either that, or pray."
"You heard 'im, Ataru!"
"ME?! I can't _do_ anything without my staff!"
"Oh, for cryin' out loud... Get me some WATER!"
"HUH?"
"Just give it to me!"
"Here!"
Splash!
"What the...?"
"KACHU-TENSHIN-AMAGURIKEN!"
"Rrrraaaagggghhh...." the monster backed away and fell over, dead
from the massive number of surprisingly powerful punches Ranma-chan
threw.
"C'mon!"
"Wha-?"
"Oh, this? A curse I picked up in China. Y'know, the one I
mentioned back at the palace? I figured if this was a magical curse,
than the body was magical too, so, well, I made a gamble, one in which
I _really_ had nothin' to lose. Hot water changes me back," she started
walking and paused, turning, "Oh, and... Mousse there turns into a
duck." She continued walking.
Hours later, at the exit of the labyrinth...
"We made it!" cheered Makoto.
"Awright!"
Suddenly, an applause interrupted their celebrations and they
turned and saw Tyven, "Impressive. You defeated the rhakyti As per our
agreement, you may leave. The exit from my domain is down that hall,"
he gestured toward an opening, "Your possessions lie through the door
on the right."
The team got their equipment, except for one...
"Hey! Where's my staff?"
"Oh, you mean this?"
"Gimme that!" Ataru leapt for Tyven, falling right through the
suddenly insubstantial necromancer.
"I'm sorry, but this... trinket fascinates me. If you wish, I'm
sure you may find many enchanted items within my storeroom that would
quite adequately replace this."
"NO!"
"You are being unreasonable."
"You said you'd let us leave with our stuff!" Rand yelled.
"Perhaps, but I said nothing about you leaving with _all_ your
'stuff,' as you put it."
"Why you...!"
Tyven snarled, "If you wish combat, then you shall have it." He
swirled his cloak, and, suddenly, stone columns suddenly emerged from
the ground at terrifying speeds, "Behold! The power of the Cloak of the
Rising Pillar!"
"Whoa!" pretty much summed up what the team was saying.
Suddenly, Ataru gained a look of calm about him, as the crystal
globe on the staff in Tyven's hand glowed, and chanted, "Des la grate.
Immutate. Muri tempi. Et intervalia."
(Yup. Ripped off Gargoyles with the incantation. Sorry.)
The staff faded from Tyven's hands and the team faded away,
disappearing from the room with all their gear, "What? What is the
meaning of this? How...?"
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Author's Postscript:
Mecha, chi blasts, curses, pretty soldiers, aliens, dragons,
knights, kings, necromancers, monsters, this story has EVERYTHING! If
there's not in here that should be, e-mail me at cyc...@citynet.net
and tell me what I missed.
Either way, there's part three all! Doncha just LOVE these
cliffhangers I keep leaving you with?
As I said above, the incantation is from Gargoyles and I make no
claim to it.
E-mail me at cyc...@citynet.net
This is Cyclone, signing off.