Raphael and Wayne leave Lady Slambrawn’s mansion and arrive an hour later at the Lysts Palace city Blade Port where King Abbot and the other Blade Masters wait for them. “Here comes, Wayne!” yelled Haiku as the others get up off their feet to get a look through the glass. Jarody and Zealot were playing a game of dice with money on the floor. “Ha! Two o’ one AM, I win,” gloated Jarody as Zealot hands him some money. The two enter the Blade Port and are met by a crowd of people. “Where have you been? We expected you back hours ago,” said King Abbot. Raphael bowed down low, “My apologies my King, we had a bit of trouble leaving the Slambrawn Manor.” “The bloody bitch tried to have us killed,” said Wayne. “Killed?” asked Selene. “I tried to arrest her, however she was able to escape,” said Raphael. “Escape? I’ve never known anyone ever being able to escape from you before, Raphael,” said King Abbot. “She had help, someone I never got to see,” replied Raphael. “I want a dragnet across the entire city. Every home suspected in aiding Lady Slambrawn’s escape is to be searched and wanted posters made up to…, what was the total amount she won at the race?” asked the King. “I believe it was eleven million collons, Sire,” said Raphael. “Eleven million collons on the head of Lady Slambrawn!” yelled King Abbot. Collon signs practically appeared on Jarody’s face as he heard this. “We need to get going to Hellion,” said Selene. “Why so soon? Thanksgiving is only three days away and I’m sure you’ll want to be around when we capture Lady Slambrawn for her trial.” “We are sorry, Abbot, but as we told you before, we need to get this done as quickly as possible,” said Salem. “I promise there’ll be food there fit enough for a king,” said King Abbot in an enticing way. “Thanks for all your help, Abbot,” said Selene. “Very well then, one last thing, Pixie Dust and her BoltBlade will come along with you. I just had fresh track built at Cragorus and I want Pixie Dust to test it out,” said King Abbot. “Very well,” said Selene.

The Blade Masters began boarding the BoltBlade, ready to take them to Hellion. The MobilBlade was already stored inside and Mal was enjoying a late night snack on his tray table. “Bye King!!” yelled Haiku waving goodbye. The group found their seats with Salem and Selene on the left with Christina and Vivien behind them and Rook on the headrest of Selene and the GullBlade on Christina’s headrest. Wayne sits with Mal across the aisle from the twins with Jarody and Zealot behind them, and finally Emhril and Haiku in the next pair of seats. The compartment’s P.A. system clicked on with Pixie Dust’s voice, “Welcome to the Blade Master Express to the prison port city of Hellion. Travel time will be 45 minutes, so sit back and relax.” Mal feels a knock on the back of his seat and turns as Zealot asks, “Where’s Sturmer?” “The big guy’s sleeping like a baby in the MobilBlade,” said Mal. Outside, the safety locks clicked with a hiss of air pressure escaping and the BoltBlade was free to move down the track. Gravity starts it moving as the BoltBlade begins to coast downhill then the Blade powers up and hits level ground at sixty miles per hour and then builds up to 80 were it is able to lift off the ground and the wheels rise into the body. The BoltBlade increases its speed in short bursts until it reaches three hundred miles per hour and disappears into the horizon.

The Palace City Police Department had started the dragnet for Lady Slambrawn with patrols moving all over the city in carriages and passing wanted posters out. Everyone in town began to gossip about the whole thing like the latest scandal. Some felt that Lady Slambrawn must have made Queen Samantha so jealous she must have demanded her husband make Lady Slambrawn a wanted woman. Others know that both the Queen and King would never do that but have suggested that the Monarchy as a whole felt threatened by the Slambrawn family line and invented a story about Lady Slambrawn attacking a Royal Guard. A good percentage of the city did believe that Lady Slambrawn attacked the Head of Security at her place. Lady Slambrawn did have the reputation of leaving the city to compete in barbaric contests only for the trophies. The Slambrawn family was the only aristocratic family without any awards to their name. The Slambrawns were only known for their parties and contributions to the fashion of Colloquy. Everyone knew that Lady Slambrawn was out to correct that by winning and earning more prizes and trophies than any other house in Lysts. There was nothing she was not willing to conquer. Most felt that Lady Slambrawn may even have had the crown in sight.

At the Slambrawn Mansion, police, detectives, and officials moved throughout the building and questioned the staff. “We confiscated most of the weapons and devices used against Agent Raphael, Capt. Waller,” said an officer. “Good work officer, now where is Detective Lagan?” asked Waller. Detective Lagan comes up behind the police captain. She was a very tall woman who towered over all the men in the room, but had a body like a pole, this was obscured by the long flowing brown overcoat she always wore, even in warm weather. “I interviewed most of the staff heads but there is one missing,” said Detective Lagan. “Who is it?” asked Capt. Waller. “The Head of the Household, a Mr. Dalton,” replied Lagan. “You think he may have left to rejoin his Lady?” asked a man entering the room. “Detective Pacer, I thought I assigned you to find the current whereabouts of Lady Slambrawn, not investigate the attack,” said Capt. Waller. “I am looking for the woman,” said Detective Pacer, “this is where the trail begins, so naturally…” “Naturally you wanted to be here to make sure I’m not outshining you,” said Lagan. “People, the King is putting pressure on us to catch Lady Slambrawn and bring her in to be tried. Detective Lagan, find that butler. Detective Pacer, find Lady Slambrawn. Now GO PEOPLE, GO!” ordered Capt. Waller.

At the Tyrann Mansion, Arian stood under a street lamp, talking to an officer at the gates as he hands her the wanted poster. “Mr. Rex Tyrann never did any business with Lady Slambrawn or her, (a hum), Pussy Foot Fashions Company,” said Arian. “We know this, the P.C.P.D. only asks that you keep an eye out for this woman. She may take refuge with The Eltons, The Gaylords, or The Bushs,” said the police officer. “We will be vigilant,” said Arian before turning away from the officer as the gates closed shut. Inside, the Mysterious Master sits at a desk, rifling through parchments and books as well as written notes. Next to the Mysterious Master, Stanza sits at the door as Arian enters and approaches the Master. “General Carcass is on his way to Monicure where the fleet is waiting and the police are looking for Lady Slambrawn,” informed Arian. “Yes,” said the Mysterious Master, “we should deal with that problem now. Have the C’Tan bring in his catch.” Arian walked over to a bookcase and pulls out three books in a random place and order. The bookcase opened and the C’Tan flies into the room with his cloak leaving a ten root trail behind him. The C’Tan’s cloak acts very much like smoke as he walks over to a chair and covers it. When the C’Tan’s cloak vanishes, an injured Lady Slambrawn and Nuclear-Chipmunk are on the chair.

“Where am I, Who the Hell are you?” asked Lady Slambrawn as Nuclear-Chipmunk jumps off her lap and growls at Arian, who was the closest. “I’m the one who has given you your salvation,” said the Mysterious Master. “Salvation? What are you talking about?” asked Lady Slambrawn. Arian rolled open the wanted poster and showed it to Lady Slambrawn. “Your freedom and your life are in danger, it was a very risky move trying to kill Raphael,” said the Mysterious Master. Lady Slambrawn just sits on the chair looking down with her hair blocking her face. “I have a way to not only regain your freedom, but have you in more power then ever before,” said the Mysterious Master. Lady Slambrawn still sits there and begins to laugh. “Power? There is no power that will fix this. Abbot’s been looking for a reason to stop me because I was showing them all that I was better then anyone of them! The way I see it, I have more power then they can ever have. That scared them. You say you can give me more power, I have all the power in the world!” said Lady Slambrawn before she begins to laugh like a mad woman. Even Nuclear-Chipmunk was wondering about the sanity of his owner. “How about owning a Blade that will give you the power to control all Blade Masters?” asked the Mysterious Master. “You talk of the KingBlade,” said Lady Slambrawn, “No one knows where the people of the Sacred Blade Temple are keeping it.” “You mean this,” said the Mysterious Master as he removes a cloth from what looked to be a birdcage. Lady Slambrawn could not believe her eyes. The KingBlade was right there in a glass dome hanging on a hook. “Help me gain the power I seek and I will give this to you when I am done. This Blade will control any Blade Master, like King Abbot,” said the Mysterious Master. “Why are you not using it now?” asked a now skeptical Lady Slambrawn. “Because, my dear Lady Slambrawn, using the KingBlade now will disrupt the plan I have made to gain the power I seek. Now that the Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters know of its disappearance,” said the Mysterious Master “they will be waiting for it to be worn. The Blade Animals they have with them are more then just pets, they will feel the KingBlade’s power being used and will lead their masters to us. I was able to fool them without their animals, but to use the KingBlade now would be foolish.” “This power you speak of,” said Lady Slambrawn. “Is nothing concerning you or your future as Queen Slambrawn,” said the Mysterious Master, “After I gain my power and hand the KingBlade over to you, we will never see each other ever again.” Lady Slambrawn thinks for a short while, “What do you want me to do?”

It was almost 3 AM when the BoltBlade pulls into the Blade Port at Hellion and slowly rolls through the station. “Where are we going? Wasn’t that the Blade Port we just passed?” asked Christina. “It was, but we are going to get off at the seaport where the TidusBlade is docked,” said Selene. The BoltBlade rolls along the track and is switched to a separate track leading past the prison and out to the seaport where the track ends abruptly four stories in the air. The BoltBlade slows to a stop and locks into place. On the left was a boarding platform that was clearly still in the middle of being finished. It was good enough to use but the extra touches were not done yet as there were tools, paint cans with brushes and rollers, and sawdust all over the platform. The windows on the platform were covered with brown paper glowing by the lights behind them. The Blade Masters gathered on the platform with Pixie Dust. “Your MobilBlade and horses will have to stay on the BoltBlade. We’ll be able to get them out after the BoltBlade is in the TidusBlade,” said Pixie. “Lets get down to the loading dock,” said Selene as she released Rook into the air. “What a smell they have here,” said Jarody.

The Port City of Hellion was the only port where things from other countries where shipping is necessary, are allowed to go through. From the ships, the items are inspected and catalogued then released to merchants or cargo companies to be taken into the country. This was very evident by the many types of ships at the docks and the different flags from faraway places. Nothing goes through without being inspected. Hellion is also where the federal prison of Lysts is. Hellion also had electric lights all over the place bathing the docks and walkways in bright noonday light in the dark of night however it was more a security measure then a convenience for the residents. A close look at the dock workers revealed that they were all prisoners and were doing things from moving cargo to sorting fish. Guards were everywhere, supervising the prisoners and making sure that the cargo was being moved properly. Most of the prisoners working the docks were very happy however. The job on the docks gave them luxuries not found in any other prison. They were earning a paycheck and had a choice of buying things like rich foods and entertainment in their cell or using the money towards their release. Most of the prisoners are sentenced for life so they mostly buy things for their cells. Quite a few prisoners have even bought larger cells to live in with looser security. The real hardened prisoners never see sunlight, much less the fresh outdoor air.

The Blade Masters arrive at the entrance gate where they meet a pair of guards standing under bright spotlights. Selene pulls out a rolled piece of parchment. “I am Salem, and these are Blade Masters from the Temple of the Blades here on official business to see Capt. Koror,” said Salem. “Very well Ma’am,” said a guard looking at the parchment and moving his table lamp to get a better look at the print on it. When the guard was satisfied with the document, he waved for another guard who walked to a gate and opened it with a key. The group walked into a small pen of high fences and gates. Then a guard at the station unlocked the main gate after the guard locked them in the pen. The main gate opened, letting the Blade Masters into yet another holding pen where a guard is waiting for the main gate to close before he unlocked the gate leading onto the port. The main gate closed and the guard in the station locked it. “And now the surprise,” said Jarody, “We were really here to put you in jail Wayne.” “What for?!” asked Wayne. “Well you are a PIRATE! PIRATE OVER HERE!!” yelled Jarody. “Shut up or I will turn this group around,” said Selene. Two guards escorted the group to the dock and they exited the checkpoint and outside to finally see the TidusBlade. The Blade was huge, they were at the back of the Blade and the front was too far to see, The Blade rose five stories in the air. “This, my friends is the TidusBlade,” said Salem.

“The TidusBlade is a Tech Blade class Sword Blade, 1016 feet 5 inches long, 85 feet 4 inches in breadth. Surface waterline 54 feet, 7 inches above the bottom edge. At that waterline the TidusBlade weighed 58,587 tons or 117,174,400 pounds. The TidusBlade’s hull and superstructure contained 4,632,800 cubic feet (46,328 gross tons) of space. Largest of all the sword Blades, it can travel 189 knots (216 miles per hour) in the water and can dive to the depth of 5 to 10 miles under the surface.” Informed Selene. “This is a ship?!!” asked Emhril. “I think Selene just said that,” said Jarody. Wayne looked at the enormous sword acting as a ship and a lump grew in his throat. The group moved further down the loading dock to see some prisoners and uniformed shipmen taking cargo through a door. Only thing is, the doorway was not connected to anything. It was next to the TidusBlade but it was not connected to the Blade or anything else for that matter. It was a door hanging in space at dock level and going into a brightly lit ship’s hold. “What is up with the strange door?” asked Zealot. “That is how cargo is loaded onto the TidusBlade. What you see is a door created by one of Captain Koror’s Mirror Blades. It creates a passage from the cargo hold to anywhere nearby,” said Selene. “I wonder if James still insists that his Mirror Blades should be their own type,” said Salem. “He hates it that they fit so perfectly in the Accessory Blade types,” said Selene.

The group waited by the magical door until a man in a tight fitting uniform shirt and long black pants exited. The man looked to be in his mid forties. “Is that a wig on his head?” observed Christina. “Captain!” both Salem and Selene called. “Selene and Salem, you do not know how wonderful it is to see you two outside Koror village!’ said the approaching man. Selene, “We are sorry for any inconvenience…” “No inconvenience at all. We have been waiting for you ever since Knight delivered the letter from King Abbot telling us to stay at port a little longer to take you to Cragorus. Always a pleasure, I met you both thirty years ago and here you are again, not aged a day.” The twins hug the Captain. “See that being loaded? That is Thanksgiving dinner. We’re going to have a big celebration this year,” said James. “I am sure you will,” said Selene. “The King wanted us to stay for his dinner,” said Salem. “Before we forget, we would like you to meet the other Blade Masters traveling with us,” said Selene. Captain Koror looked up from the twins and he saw the one person he never expected to see. “David? David Koror!” yelled the captain as he closed in on Wayne and the other Blade Masters moved aside. The captain grabbed Wayne and gave him a big hug. “David, my son, I didn’t know if you were dead or hurt…” said the Captain. “I’m alright dad.” said Wayne.

The Blade Masters watched as the two men were held in time in a loving embrace of a father and his long lost son. Jarody just started to mimic as if he was gagging. “David? But his name is Wayne, is it not?” asked Christina. “We had a feeling,” said Selene. “This will be an even bigger celebration than I anticipated,” said Captain Koror as he led his son into the magical doorway going into the TidusBlade’s lit cargo hold. “The prodigal son has returned!” announced the captain. The other Blade Masters followed the two through the door and to a smaller door at the other end of the large hold. “The BoltBlade is waiting to be loaded into the TidusBlade,” said Selene as they moved into the tight hallways that were also lit to the point that would lead a person to believe it was daytime. “Sure! I’ll have my crew get on that right away,” said the captain, “You have to see your mother, David. She’ll be very happy to see you!” Crewmembers met them in the hallways. “You take the twins and their friends up to the observation deck to watch the BoltBlade get loaded, I’m going to get reacquainted with my son.” ordered the captain. The crewmembers led the group where there were large mirrors on the walls of a semicircular room. “Does he think we want to comb our hair first?” asked Jarody. “The TidusBlade does not have any windows, so the mirrors are used to see through the hull,” said Selene as images flashed on the mirrors. They could see either side of the ship as well as the back and a large circular mirror above them showed the night sky. “There are three other rooms like this,” continued Selene, “One at the front and another complete circular room below the water line with a mirror on the floor to see what is below us, as well as the bridge.” “We’ll go to the bridge after the BoltBlade is loaded,” replied the crewmember. “I need to unload the horses inside the BoltBlade,” said Mal. “I’ll go with Mal,” said Zealot.

A clicking sound was heard at one side of the TidusBlade and a door began to separate from the hull with a burst of light around the edge. At the other side of the door was a crewmember at a lit panel of controls next to a track just long enough for the Bolt Blade to fit on. The group noticed that the track that ended four stories in the air and the platform they left the BoltBlade on was just behind the TidusBlade, and was at the same level the crewmember’s track was. The crewmember stopped the track when lined up with the help of two spot lights directed at the concrete track and hit a few switches to extend extra track out. The extra extending track connected with the track the BoltBlade was on and locked into place. “You mean they had this for the BoltBlade to be loaded all this time?” asked Christina. “Yes, all Blades have a way to connect with other Blades,” said Salem. The crewmember on the track platform used a green light that was just above a yellow and a red light to signal Pixie Dust. The locks on the BoltBlade released and the bumper that kept the Bolt Blade from rolling off the track folded down. The BoltBlade slowly rolled down the rest of the concrete track and on to the metal extended track. The Blade slowly moved off the concrete when the yellow light lit and came to a stop at the red light. The BoltBlade’s safety locks hissed into place keeping the Blade from going anywhere. The extended track folded back in and the platform moved back into the body of the TidusBlade.

The crewmember started to hand them all small mirrors. “Hand mirrors?” asked Jarody. “These are the new ComBlades. You punch in the three digit code of the person you want,” said the crewmember as he pulls out his ComBlade and pushes four, six, and nine. Salem’s ComBlade began to make a noise like a wine glass being played like an instrument. Salem pushes a clear button and the tone stopped and the crewmember appeared in the mirror. “To end communicating, just press the clear button again,” said the crewmember as they both pressed the clear button on each of their ComBlades. Your number is on the back of your ComBlades. “Look at the ass hole you poor fucker!” yelled Jarody. The group turned to see that Jarody had dropped his pants and dialed a random number to show whoever was at the other side his ass. “I am such an ass hole!! Ha ha ha ha ha,” continued Jarody. “Jarody!” yelled Selene, “Enough!” Emhril quickly put his hand over Haiku’s eyes. “Alright, mother,” said Jarody as he pulled his underwear and pants back up. “The children on this ship have ComBlades too,” said the shocked crewmember. “Don’t worry. I made sure it was a guy before show and tell,” said Jarody. “It’s time to take you to the bridge,” said the crewmember. “I’ll take you to where the BoltBlade is stored,” said another crewmember to Mal and Zealot.

“Selene, Mal is 476 and I’m 477,” said Zealot as they went their separate ways. Zealot took an extra ComBlade for Sturmer. Selene, Salem, Jarody, Christina, Emhril, Haiku, and Vivien followed the crewmember down more lit shoulder crunching hallways to a very small room. The doors behind them slid shut. “What are we doing in here?” asked Emhril. A very strange feeling washed over the entire group. “An elevator,” said Jarody. “A what?” asked a very scared Christina. Vivien has been trying to find reason to pull out her PDA to ask questions or say something, however someone else always seemed to read her mind and ask the question before she could write it or say just what she was thinking. The feeling stopped and the door that was at the end of a hallway before was now a room. “I get it! You go into this room and the whole outside world gets changed around while you wait!” guessed Emhril. The room was circular with the same window mirrors on every wall and ceiling. There were also buttons and switches on panels everywhere with crewmembers moving from one panel to another. There were few crewmembers standing in place and in the center were three chairs, with the center chair being the largest. This chair too had a switch panel on the armrest and the smaller two on either side with smaller switch panels and black mirrors. Up until now, the group had only seen crewmembers in black turtleneck shirts with the silver TB symbol on the left and the same black pants James was wearing. Only James had on a golden turtleneck shirt with black stripes from the shoulders and down the sleeves with the same silver TB symbol in the same place and captain’s bars on the right side of the turtleneck. In the room were more crew members with black but also some with blue, red, yellow, and green. There was a crewmember in a yellow color turtleneck sitting at one of two chairs in front of the three chairs. The two chairs were very similar with a very large control panels in front of them.

The doors behind the group opened again letting Captain James Koror and David into the room. “I was hoping to find you all here by now,” said James. “I think we need to complete the introductions,” said Selene. “Yes, but I see two of you are already missing,” said James. “The lizard man is Zealot and the scruffy guy is our horse caretaker, Malodor Regis,” said Salem. “This young lady is Christina,” said Selene. “If only I was still single,” said James as his eyes went wide when he saw Christina. “Behind her is Jarody,” said Salem. “We met before,” said Jarody. “We have?” asked James. Jarody pulled out his curved blade dagger and held it up. “Death?!” said James. “He took on a human form to cut down on the gawkers,” said Salem. “I’d say you are not very successful with this woman with you,” said James looking back at Christina. “Here we have Emhril and his very smart daughter, Haiku,” said Selene. “I welcome you to the TidusBlade sir and your cute as a button daughter. We have lots of children on the ship your age,” said James, “I’m sure you’ll find friends here.” “And last but not least, Vivien Leblanc,” said Salem. “What’s wrong with your eyes? They are really blood shot,” said James. “First of all, she is mute, so she cannot talk. Secondly, she is a vampire,” said Salem. “A wha…A VAMPIRE!! Get that off my ship now!” yelled James.

“James, she is OK. She is a friend,” said Selene as Vivien made a friendly smile. Unfortunately, Vivien’s friendly smile showed her long fangs. “I won’t have it! This ship is occupied by generations of Korors and I don’t want this creature onboard killing any of my family members or any crewmember for that matter,” said James. “I’m sure she can keep herself from preying on anybody until we get to Cragorus,” said Salem. “Ensign John, how long will it take us to get to Cragorus?” asked James. “If we travel at full speed twenty-four seven, we should arrive in five days,” said Ensign John. “I don’t plan on pushing the engines that hard,” said James. “How long can you go without feeding Vivien?” asked Salem. “Being honest, three days.” wrote Vivien. “When was the last time you fed?” asked Selene. Vivien wrote, “It has already been three days.” “See! I want her off my ship, NOW.” commanded James. “She can have my blood,” said Jarody. “What?” asked James. “I don’t really need it. She can have it,” said Jarody. “I want to see her do it now, I want to be sure she’s fed,” said James. Vivien looked at Haiku and writes, “It’s not for children to see.” “Ensign Markus, take Haiku and her father to my Captain’s Office,” ordered James. Vivien waited for Emhril and Haiku to be taken into the next room then looked at Jarody. Vivien’s skin on her face became dry and sunk in to take the shape of her skull. Her eyes became slits as they too sunk in. Her mouth opened unnaturally wide as her fangs extended a full inch. Vivien’s hands also became skeleton like with her fingernails becoming dangerously long. Vivien’s long red flowing hair thinned out and became almost grayish on top of the red. Vivien pounces on Jarody wrapping her legs and arms around him and bit into Jarody’s neck. Tapping into Jarody’s carotid artery, Vivien began to drain him of his blood. Jarody becomes short of breath and falls to his knees as Vivien unwraps her legs to pick him up and get a better hold of him. Jarody skin becomes pail and starts to dry out. Jarody’s eyes roll back into his head as his body begins to thin and become as skeletal as Vivien was. Vivien released Jarody who falls back on the floor. Vivien returns to normal as her lips turn red as if she had just applied make-up to them. Jarody, barely able to speak, reaches up only to have his hand fall on his crotch and say, “I still have something for you to drink, baby.” Jarody becomes silent as the group looks down at him. Selene was about to check him for life when he bursts into a cloud of black smoke and emerges out in his true form. “What a rush!” said Death, “I just found something better then sex.” “Having the life sucked out of you?” asked Salem. “Hell yes.” replied Death. Death steps back into the black smoke. The smoke swirls around him until it dissipates and the human Jarody returns, looking as fit as ever. “I’m hungry, how about you?” asked Jarody.

“Very well, I will let her stay, but she’s not to go anywhere on the ship without a security escort,” said James. Vivien writes, “I understand and will comply.” A crewmember nearby the Captain’s Office opened the door to tell Emhril and Haiku it was ok to reenter the bridge. “I guess it’s my turn to introduce my people now,” said James, “First off, My Chief of Security. Ishmael, ishmael!” “Cannot find your Security Chief?” asked Salem. “No. I was sneezing,” replied James, “Harke!” “You found him?” asked Selene. “No, that IS his name. My Chief of Security, Lieutenant Wayne Harke,” said James. A man in his mid forties walked up to them. He was bald but had a great beard of a true warrior covering the turtleneck of his blue uniform. “Wayne? Are we sure that’s his real name?” asked Jarody looking at David. “I’m Wayne. Pleased to meet you.” said the Security Chief. Salem was struck silent. She could not move and found it hard to even speak. “I’m Selene and this is my sister Salem. You’re new here,” said Selene. “Yes, I joined the crew a year ago after my tour of duty in the Army of Lysts,” said Security Chief Harke. “He’s a true pro when it comes to security,” said James,” and the man over here in green is our Ship’s Head Philosopher Commander Ajax.” Jarody begins to laugh and goes over to Ajax, puts his hand on the man’s shoulder and says, “You’re named after a toilet bowl cleaner and you don’t even know it.” Jarody turns to walk away still laughing. “Are the uniforms colored for a reason?” asked Christina. “Yes they are,” replied James, “Mine is the only golden one for I am the captain, then the black are enlisted crewmembers who are only here for the job. The officers are colored like my eldest son at the helm there in yellow.” “Your big brother, David?” asked Haiku. “Yes he is,” said David. “And the future captain of the TidusBlade when I retire from this chair,” said James.

“The blue is worn by the members of our security. They are the ship’s police,” continued James, “Green…” “Is for the ship’s philosophers and engineers,” said Selene. “That’s correct Selene, but you already know that. This color system has been around long before I became captain,” said James, “and last but not least is the red, for our medical staff.” “And where is Bones now?” asked Jarody. “Bones?” asked James looking at the others. No one knew what Jarody was talking about. “Such primitives, I mean the head of your medics, the lead doctor,” said Jarody. “OH, you mean Dr. Billing. We call her legs,” said James. “Yes? Did I just hear my name” said Dr. Billing as she walked up to the group. Dr. Billing was dressed in a red sleeveless turtleneck with commander’s bars on it and a black miniskirt and red slippers. The woman looked to be in her early thirties and had long brown hair. “Well named,” said Jarody. “My second in command, Lieutenant Commander Pike,” said James as a man in yellow walked up to them. “The ship is almost loaded and we are three hours from casting off for Cragorus,” said Mr. Pike. “Very good, Chris,” said James, “Harke, assign guards to escort the vampire.” “Very well sir. Ensign Carn and Ensign Bally, you’ve been asking for a quiet assignment, Ensign Carn. So here you go, escort this mute vampire. Both of you are to stay behind her at all times, making sure she is always in your sight,” said Harke. “Yes sir,” said Carn and Bally. “I will have a male and a female guard take eight hour sifts to guard her twenty-four seven, Captain,” said Hark. “Very good, I’m happy,” said James. Vivien did not know how to feel being watched wherever she went and even as she sleeps. What hurt a little was being called “The Vampire” as if it was a bad thing. “Now to take you to your quarters,” said James.

The Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix had ended and the crowd of rich and aristocratic filed out of the Equestrian Arena. Salem and Selene wait outside with the other Blade Masters. Pawn sleeps soundly on Salem’s shoulders reliving his experience in his dreams and enjoying the warm feeling of being with his master once again. The King joined them along with Arian and Raphael. Lady Slambrawn with her faithful servant Dalton met them not long after. Lady Slambrawn had a feeling that something was wrong when she saw Zealot, a competitor from the Tagi Challenge. “My King,” said Lady Slambrawn, how may I help you?” “I understand that you have in custody a Wayne Marcus,” said King Abbot. “Indeed I do my King,” said Lady Slambrawn, “He owes me some money. He told me that he had friends waiting for him at the Blade Port. I sent them a letter but have not heard from them.” “Well, I am answering now,” said the King, “You see, Wayne Marcus’s friends are very close friends of mine. So to make this official, I have the Equestrian Society President’s representative here with me to make things official.” “Lady Slambrawn,” said Arian, “King Abbot wants to turn over his cash winnings to you, provided that you will return Mr. Wayne Marcus to his friends.” “What? She gets all ten million collons!” asked Jarody. “I am giving you the full amount of the winnings in good faith, and in this form, the money was never in my possession. The Monarchy of Lysts nor the Shrine of the Blades did not pay a ransom and with the one million collons you won from winning second and this ten million, I say the debt is more then paid. Would you agree, Lady Slambrawn?” asked the King. “I agree with that your Majesty,” said Lady Slambrawn bowing low. “My head of security, Raphael, will go with you to pick up Mr. Wayne Marcus and deliver him safely to the Blade port where his friends will be waiting.” With that, Lady Slambrawn left with her servant and Raphael. “Good thinking King Abbot. I would not have done any better,” said Selene. “But she got all ten million collons!” yelled Jarody. “The amount she would have won if we did not enter the race,” said Salem. “But!!” continued Jarody as they started to make their way to the Blade port.

Raphael rode with Lady Slambrawn in her carriage as she mumbled to herself about how unfair the whole day was. She did not want money and was hoping that the little scab’s friends were pirates like him and could not pay allowing her to kill him. But now not only did her horse give her a second place trophy, but she has to let the scab go. Raphael could tell Lady Slambrawn was in a foul mood and was enjoying the sight. The carriage arrived at Lady Slambrawn’s mansion and stopped at the front doors where a line of servants were waiting to greet her return. Lady Slambrawn storms out of her carriage and quickly walks past the line of servants with Raphael rushing to keep up. Dalton slowly exits the carriage carrying the second place trophy into the mansion. Lady Slambrawn enters the grand stateroom of the mansion and drops down onto the largest chair in the room. Servants moved in and started to wait on her. “All of this is so unfair,” said Lady Slambrawn as a young teenage girl starts to redo Lady Slambrawn’s nails. Raphael stands in the middle of the grand stateroom as Dalton enters and makes his way to the twenty foot tall trophy case almost completely filled with champion and first place trophies and medals. “Dalton! Does that look like a first place trophy?” yelled Lady Slambrawn. “No Ma,am,” said Dalton. “Then destroy it!” yelled Lady Slambrawn. “Lady Slambrawn,” called Raphael. “You’re still here? The scab’s in the holding pen below. Now get out and leave me alone,” said Lady Slambrawn.

Raphael left the room and made way to the holding pen. Lady Slambrawn listened as Raphael’s steps died away, “get my hunting cloths, Dalton, my parasol and fans please.” “What is madam about to do?” asked Dalton. “There are intruders in the mansion. We must find them and kill them both,” said Lady Slambrawn. “But my Lady, Raphael is a Royal Guard,” said Dalton. “Just a servant of the King, It, whatever sex it is, will fall easy by my skill.” said Lady Slambrawn as she dressed into her hunting gown, the same fancy dress she wore at the Tagi Challenge. “Where is my pet, Nuclear-Chipmunk?” called Lady Slambrawn. Two large doors leading out to the back yard opened with Nuclear-Chipmunk standing between them and a bolt of lightning from the LightningBlade strikes behind him giving his entrance an added flair. “There is my precious pet,” said Lady Slambrawn, “You stay outside and if you see intruders trying to leave or enter, fry them.” Nuclear-Chipmunk gave an evil little smirk and scampered into the yard to find anyone to use his Blade on. Dalton handed Lady Slambrawn her umbrella and a purse with several folded fans inside. Lady Slambrawn looked at her faithful servant and said, “Dalton, I want all the gates and doors…” suddenly, the sounds of a powerful lightning bolt hitting the ground and a scream of a man was heard. “I think Master Nuclear-Chipmunk just killed the gardener,” said Dalton. “He makes me so proud. I want all doors leading outside and all gates locked,” ordered Lady Slambrawn.

Raphael had to get a chamber maid to lead the way to the holding pen that turned out to be farther below than Lady Slambrawn had indicated. Raphael walked up to the bars to find a sleeping man on a poor looking bed, only he was not moving. Raphael looked around the pen and noted the low rafters inside the cell. “I know you’re up there and ready to attack with one of the bed legs you sawed off. There’s no use in trying to get away. Your friends paid your ransom and I’m here to take you to the Blade Port to rejoin them,” said Raphael. Wayne jumps down from the low rafter with the bed leg in his hand, “How do I know you’re not lying?” “They gave me this to give to you. I think a ferret named Pawn was holding it for you,” said Raphael pulling out the TsunamiBlade. Wayne drops the bed leg and takes the TsunamiBlade as Raphael puts it through the bars. “OK then, let me out,” said Wayne. Raphael looked around and found some keys on a large ring on a hook. “What a cliché,” said Raphael taking the keys and going back to the pen to find the right one. “How did they get Lady Slambrawn to let me go?” asked Wayne. “I told you, they paid a ransom. One million collons,” said Raphael. “How did they get that much?!” asked Wayne as Raphael let him out. “They won a horse race,” said Raphael leading Wayne to the stairs. “A horse race?!” said a shocked Wayne.

Raphael and Wayne make it up to the main level of the mansion to find it deserted. “Did they take a vacation?” asked Wayne. “I do not like this. You better find a fast way out of here and to the Blade port, I’m going back to see Lady Slambrawn,” said Raphael. Wayne and Raphael split as Wayne headed for the nearest door and Raphael headed back up to the grand stateroom. Wayne got to the door but found it locked. He decided to find another door. Raphael enters the grand stateroom but Lady Slambrawn was not there. Outside in the yard, a dark figure runs from a tree to the gate and over to land on the street on the other side to a waiting carriage. Arian, covered in black enters the carriage and removes her mask. Sitting in the carriage were the Mysterious Master, General Carcass, Stanza, and the nameless C’Tan. “Report, Shadow Arian,” ordered the Mysterious Master. “Lady Slambrawn locked up her mansion and is now hunting Wayne Marcus to kill him,’ said Arian. “If she kills him, your plan will not work,” said Stanza, “All eight Elemental Blade Masters must be together when they see Terra in Cragorus.” “What if the TsunamiBlade chooses a new master before they get to Cragorus?” asked General Carcass. “It will not,” said Stanza. “That spoiled brat. After the trouble I went through to make sure that stupid ferret won,” said the Mysterious Master, “General Carcass, you go in there and make sure that Wayne Marcus makes it out alive, but don’t let him know you were there.” “Understood my Master,” said General Carcass as he left the carriage. “Master,” called the C’Tan, “This Lady Slambrawn is quite a foe. Why not make a deal with her, she could prove valuable to us.” “Indeed, you are right my nameless friend,” said the Mysterious Master, “You go collect Lady Slambrawn and bring her to me so we may talk.” The C’Tan opens a window at the top of the carriage and disappears through it. “Take us home Shadow Arian,” ordered the Mysterious Master. Arian left the carriage to climb to the driver’s seat and ordered the horses to go. “Are you sure we should leave now without seeing if Wayne Marcus is safe?” asked Stanza. “I have faith in the skills of the good General and our new friend. In any case, I don’t want Mr. Rex Tyrann’s carriage seen near the Slambrawn Mansion at this time,” said the Mysterious Master, “The Blades created by our own Arian, the PanzerBlade and the MimicBlade, being used by General Carcass and the C’Tan are powerful Blades. Come to think of it, the Blade that has been the most useful to us, the one blade that has made this plan possible, is the one created by the Gemini Twin HexBlade Masters. Your SoothsayersBlade has been and will continue to be very valuable to us, Stanza.”

Wayne finds another door near the kitchen but it was locked as well, Wayne thinks to himself that if the next door is locked, he will use his TsunamiBlade on the door. Raphael had left the grand stateroom and headed up to the second level where the servant sleeping quarters were located. Raphael hoped to find a servant somewhere in the quarters but could not find one. The place was empty. A folding fan came flying out of the darkness, nicking Raphael on the ear and landed halfway into a wooden door. “How did I know you would be on the servants’ floor, I guess rats love the smell of others like them,” said Lady Slambrawn. Raphael moved around to try and keep from being in a clear shot of another attack and to get a fix on Lady Slambrawn’s position by using her voice. “Surprised you left that little scab on his own. I thought the King sent you to protect him. How would you feel if I told you that I gave my pet instructions to kill anyone unfamiliar to him?” asked Lady Slambrawn, “Makes you want to run and find the unsuspecting fool. Well, you will not even leave this floor.” “How would you explain my death to the King?” asked Raphael. “The pirate did it,” said Lady Slambrawn as another fan came flying out of the darkness. Raphael saw it and turned to avoid it only to be hit on the right arm by another fan flying low. Raphael pulled the fan from the arm and also took the first fan from the wall. The buzz of another approaching fan could be heard and Raphael quickly deflects it with the first bloody fan. “Apparently, you can see me in this darkness. I would like to know why,” said Raphael. Lady Slambrawn replies “And lose my edge…” Raphael throws the bloody fan in the direction of the voice. Raphael hears the fan hit something and runs to it staying low. “…I think not. You see I learned from the best money can buy,” said Lady Slambrawn. Raphael found where the voice was coming from. The fan had hit the opened end of a home tube phone system, the kind used to call servants from the other side of the mansion from anywhere or to anywhere. Raphael took cover and started looking for something that could be used as a weapon.

Wayne had found the grand stateroom and the large glass doors that led outside to the back where the garden could be seen. Wayne held his TsunamiBlade high and tried to open the door. The door opened and Wayne breathed a sigh of relief. Wayne made his way out into the garden and started looking for a path that led around to the front when he stepped into something crispy. He looked down to find what was left of a person. Warning bells rang in his head telling him that he just went from the pan, into the fire. Wayne hears the sound of running and takes a dive into a bush. He sees a man running across the lawn with something very small just behind him. What ever it was behind the man just tapped the guy and flew straight up into the air very quickly. The man was still running when a bolt of lightning strikes him and brings him down. A small animal scampers up to the downed man and the small object returned as well. The animal stands still as the object taps the downed man again and flies back into the sky at a high speed, shooting another lightning bolt back down. The object does this a few more times until the man was completely burned. Then both the animal and the object left. “Of all the ways to die,” Wayne thought to himself, “I would have to find myself in a place where people are being killed by a sadistic animal with a Blade.”

Inside, Raphael found the washroom where the servants bathe. Raphael looked for a towel rack or an exposed pipe, anything to help. “No use trying to clean up your act now. You, just like any other servant, will die like the filthy rat you are,” said Lady Slambrawn, still using the tube P.A. system. Raphael finds nothing to help and decides to leave the washroom when attacked again by three fans. Raphael reflects two of the fans with the one from the wall but the third one gets by and cuts Raphael’s left leg. “A right arm and a left leg. Things are getting bad for you. You haven’t even stopped to lick your wounds,” said Lady Slambrawn. Raphael makes it out of the washroom and down the hall to the stairs. Raphael heads up the stairs to the guest and master rooms hoping that one of the rooms could be the room where Lady Slambrawn could be holding her weapons. In the middle of making it up the stairs, Raphael hears a clanging sound. The stairs he was going up tilt and fall down back to the second floor, then tilt again and fall down to the main floor. Raphael jumps off the stairs before they tilted again and fell to the basement. The buzzing is heard again and Raphael jumps out of the way as four fans come from above to land half way into the floor where Raphael had landed before. Raphael quickly moved from the collapsed stairs, down the halls with fans randomly being fired from all directions, and coming very dangerously close to their target. From the halls, Raphael found a locked door. Raphael stood at the door for a few seconds then ducked with a roll as ten more fans came and shredded the door. Raphael broke through the door and entered the den to find Lady Slambrawn sitting back at a desk. “Was beginning to wonder if you would find me,” said Lady Slambrawn. “Not to say it was difficult when you have every one of your servants on the third floor looking through holes in the floor and pulling triggers to pre set fan launchers when I came into view,” said Raphael. “They have become quite talented in doing that; a few shots did make the target,” said Lady Slambrawn as she got up and unsheathed her sword from the body of the umbrella she was holding. “Find a weapon to use?” asked Lady Slambrawn. “Not what I wanted but I guess this fan will have to do,” said Raphael. “You know, if you throw that, I could simply block it with my parasol sword,” said Lady Slambrawn. “I know you could, that’s why I’ll just hold onto it and use it’s close combat ability,” said Raphael. The pair moved around the room to get a better position and a clear path of attack. “Before we fight, I would like to know, are you female of male?” asked Lady Slambrawn. “You’re welcome to look in my pants if you kill me,” said Raphael as the pair charge each other.

Wayne decided that the faster he gets out, the safer he would be, so he made a plan, “One: I crawl like worm under bushes until find gate. Two: Climb gate if life depended on it, because it does. Three: Run like the devil to the Blade Port.”  Wayne was on the worm part of his plan now. Wayne searches shrub after shrub for a way out as Nuclear-Chipmunk continues his killing rampage. Nuclear-Chipmunk hears something near the fountain in the front and runs around the mansion with the LightningBlade following close behind. Nuclear-Chipmunk rounds the corner to find a fully armored General Carcass with helmet and gauntlets standing next to the elaborate fountain with a twelve foot tall Lady Slambrawn standing in the middle holding trophy cups in each hand as a continuous stream of water pours out of each one and goes into larger trophy cups that are overflowing into even larger trophy cups. Nuclear-Chipmunk stayed by the corner wall of the mansion as the LightningBlade flew in to get a better look and into striking position. General Carcass unsheathed his sword, “This is what Lady Slambrawn calls security, a chipmunk and a hummingbird?” The LightningBlade taps General Carcass and takes off straight up into the night sky sending a bolt of lightning down to the General. General Carcass is surrounded in an explosion of light as Nuclear-Chipmunk smiles at another victim being taken down. The light fades away and General Carcass still stands. “It’s called armor, the energy of your attack just goes around me and heads to the ground,’ said General Carcass, “Now let me show you a real attack.” General Carcass lifts his sword and launches a sweeping attack making Nuclear-Chipmunk leap into the air and start doing a series of somersaults and spins to avoid every slash and sweep of the sword. Nuclear-Chipmunk lands on General Carcass’ hand and runs up his arm and leaps to General Carcass’ face. The general was caught off guard as Nuclear-Chipmunk landed on his head and bit his nose. General Carcass yells out in pain and knocks the small animal off his face so hard, the flying fur ball crashes through a second story window, and is not seen again. The LightningBlade also flies through the hole in the window.

Lady Slambrawn and Raphael charge at each other in Lady Slambrawn’s den. Raphael has one of Lady Slambrawn’s fans. Folded, it is as strong as a solid piece of metal and its shape is very much that of a billy club. Lady Slambrawn does a right side slash with Raphael blocking it with the folded fan. Lady Slambrawn disappears from Raphael’s view but Raphael already knew where she was and blocked her next attack from behind and kicks back to knock her left leg out from under her. Lady Slambrawn stumbles but was able to follow up her rear attack with another one to his left side. Raphael blocks this attack with the fan too and spins to grab Lady Slambrawn’s wrist and pulls her in for a few quick rabbit punches to the head and a powerful punch to the midsection, knocking Lady Slambrawn back a few feet as Raphael back flips to avoid two fans coming from above, launched by more of Lady Slambrawn’s servants. Lady Slambrawn feels her face and the pain caused by Raphael’s counterattack, Raphael could get a better look at the dark room from here and makes a note of everything as Lady Slambrawn comes again for a fresh attack. This time, Lady Slambrawn forgets her proper demeanor and hacks away with her sword with Raphael blocking each one of her anger filled slashes. Raphael drops to the floor and sweeps the floor with a right leg knocking Lady Slambrawn off her feet and gives her a few quick hits and a kick before she hits the floor. Raphael fades back again to put some floor between them. Lady Slambrawn stands again and does some wild moves to get to him, not knowing from where the attack will come, Lady Slambrawn runs to Raphael’s left and then slides to the right and spins around to get to Raphael and stabs with her sword, Raphael makes a jump, avoiding the sword and over the crazed woman. The sword finds an electrical outlet and Lady Slambrawn is electrocuted as her hand involuntarily tightens around the metal handle of her sword. Raphael makes another jump and kicks Lady Slambrawn in the side, knocking the woman to the floor.

“As much as I personally would like to see you die, you must answer to King’s Law,” says Raphael as Lady Slambrawn lays on the floor recovering from almost being electrocuted to death. “You are charged with Breaking King’s orders, Treason, attempted murder, and striking a Royal Guard,” continued Raphael, “You are under arrest, Lady Slambrawn.” Suddenly, the door from the hallway is blasted to pieces and a flood of green light fills the room. A dark figure moves through the room at blinding speed and knocks Raphael to the side. The figure quickly reaches Lady Slambrawn. On the woman is Nuclear-Chipmunk who also just got to her through a small hole in the wall. The small animal growls at the shadowy figure, but the cloaked being picks up Lady Slambrawn, chipmunk and all, and crashes out of the window and through the yard to leap over the tall wall surrounding the property and vanishes. “My Lady!” yelled Dalton as he ran into the room and turned on the light. Raphael got back up, not sure at what just happened. Dalton turned and held his arms out, ready to be taken under arrest. “You’re free to go, I only want your Lady. You and all the other servants were just following orders,” said Raphael making for the door and running down the hall now thinking about Wayne. Raphael returned to the grand stateroom to find the open doors and went out to the garden. Wayne was still crawling along the wall still looking for a gate to climb over when a hand grabs him on the shoulder. Wayne turns, holding the TsunamiBlade up as a shield. “You mean to tell me that you are a Blade Master, and yet, the best escape plan you came up with is to crawl on the ground?” asked Raphael. “What would you have done?” asked Wayne. “I would have walked up to the wall and blasted through with my Blade, if I were a Blade Master,” said Raphael. “Well… Well, I’m new to this,” said Wayne. “Come, your friends are waiting,” said Raphael as the two made their way to the nearest gate. “There was this animal with a need to fry people,” said Wayne as they made their way out.

The stables were full of activity, trainers and animals everywhere. Pawn stands on a table next to Need A Smoke and Brother In-law. Pawn had been here since Salem put him there and gave him a kiss on the head to wish him luck. Rook was twisting her head left and right trying to see all of the action at once. Pawn knew that he will be riding a horse in a race, he had to ride Blackfrost many times in the past, but that was never in any race, and he was familiar with Blackfrost. Suddenly, Mal entered the busy stable and was making his way to them when he bumped into a blonde woman who was walking to her horse and rider. Pawn had seen this woman before. It was Arian, and she was taking a soaked cloth to a black horse and a very cute looking female ferret. Arian continued on her way as Mal stepped back to let her pass then continued to walk to them. “Your masters wanted I to wish ye two luck, and now to get ye guys strapped in for the race,” said Mal as he lifted Pawn and placed him on the back of Need A Smoke. Mal began to tie a small leather strap to Pawn’s rear left ankle. “This be incase you fall off, but a word of caution I be giving ye little one,” said Mal as he looked down to the floor, “It is a long way down for ye.” Pawn looks down and gives a big swallow when he saw where the ground was.

Mal walked over to Brother In-law. “Rook, get down here,” called Mal. Rook flinched as she always did before jumping off of anywhere. She glided down to land on Brother In-law’s saddle. The voices of the announcers could be heard echoing outside as they talked about the history of the race. “Ye be holding onto this leather bar and peck at these three pads to tell Brother In-law where ye want him to go.” instructed Mal, “Ye will not need a strap since ye can fly. A word of caution, I not being sure ye understands but ye can leave the saddle from time to time, but ye must return to the saddle before too much time passes or else Brother In-law will be disqualified or he will fall for an obstacle.” Pawn was very interested in what Arian was doing. She was talking to the horse and strange yet, the horse was responding like a human. No one else seamed to notice this. Mal returned to Pawn and Need A Smoke and handed Pawn the reins, “Hold on real tight when Need A Smoke makes those long jumps.” Pawn gave a squeak as Mal pulled a soft strap over his rear paws to help him stay on the saddle. A brown horse with a spider monkey on his back started to make his way to the exit that led to the track. An official stood at the door and was waiting for the cue to let them through.

“Look there little one,” said Mal as he pointed to a red horse with a silver like streak of fur on his sides with a strange looking chipmunk on his back. “That is the one ye have to beat, they are your rivals,” said Mal. There was something glinting over the chipmunk’s left side. Pawn took a good look at it and realized that it was a Blade. Pawn had seen this Blade before when he was on his master’s shoulders and she was busy adding the finishing touches to it. It was the LightningBlade. Of all the Blades for a rival to have, it had to be the one not only made by his master but one that could shoot powerful bolts of lightning down a long wire. Rook knew what it was as well. What was on Pawn’s mind more then the LightningBlade was the falling. The thought of falling that far and landing on the hard ground was not something Pawn wanted to do. Pawn jumped off of Salem’s shoulders many times before, but she is not this tall. Rook gave a call letting Pawn know if he did fall, she would be there to catch him. The official at the door let the first horse out as another horse with a dachshund on his back makes for the door. “They are letting the racers out to the track, ye guys are last to leave since ye are the guests of honor,” said Mal as he fixed the blinders on both Need A Smoke and Brother In-law, “Good luck.” Mal turned and left with the rest of the trainers so they would be at their seats when the race begins.

Race officials came up to Need A Smoke and Pawn to lead them to the exit. Pawn was still looking at Arian who was standing at the door watching the red horse and chipmunk being lead to the exit ahead of them. Arian was leaning back on the door jam when another Arian came through the door and began to talk to the first one. Pawn was use to seeing people who look alike, there have been days he had mistaken Selene for his master. Two Arians was nothing big for him. Pawn turned to the exit his horse was being lead to and began to watch the one Mal said he had to beat. The red silver streaked horse entered the light of the suns as the announcers could be heard. “Out comes Dominator with his chipmunk rider named Nuclear-Chipmunk owned by Lady Slambrawn. Dominator is the odds on favorite to win,” Pawn heard Ed say. “So his name is Nuclear-Chipmunk and the horse is Dominator,” thought Pawn. “Last but definitely not least, the Lost Champions. Need A Smoke and his ferret rider Pawn followed by Brother In-law and his falcon rider Rook,” announced Joe. Pawn looked up at the people who were there to see the race but could not find his master. The stadium was huge, even more so to his small eyes. The race official let them out on to the walkway that let to the starting gate. Pawn could see that they were starting three fourths the way on a long stretch of track meaning that the end of the race was to be here. It is going to be a race of speed to win. Suddenly, Pawn sees the LightningBlade land on the ground in front of them then shoots up into the sky. Although the wire was too thin to be seen, Pawn knew that it was there and it was about to become a lightning bolt. Pawn pulled on the left rein to get Need A Smoke to turn his head. Rook had also seen the LightningBlade and had jumped on top of Brother In-law’s head and covered his eyes with her wings. A lightning bolt hit the ground before them. “Whoa, that was a direct challenge is if I ever saw one!” yelled Joe. Pawn knew that they would have lost the race before it had started if they were blinded by the light from the lightning bolt.

Pawn was now passing the full slots of the starting gate until he found an empty one and Need A Smoke instinctively entered and waited for the starting bell. “The horses are moving into the gates and we are ready to start this ten million collon race!” said Ed. Brother In-law found the empty slot on Need A Smoke’s left side and entered, ready to start the race. “Twelve horses, one and a half miles of pro class track, Ladies and Gentlemen, this IS the Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix!” yelled Joe. The bell rang and the gate in front of Need A Smoke fell to the ground. Pawn grabbed his saddle with every inch of claw on his feet as Need A Smoke took off. Pawn found himself facing a torrent of wind as the deafening sound of hooves hitting the dirt track covered him like a cloth. The horses began to pull out of a side-by-side formation and into a line with Dominator and Need A Smoke leading the way. Brother In-law had other plans, he was to conserve his energy and go at full speed at the end. Brother In-law fades back between Patriot with and eagle rider named Freedom and Scooby Fun Forever with a parrot rider named Darkhood. “Looks like it’s true what they say, Ed,” said Joe. “What is that, Joe?” asked Ed. “Birds of a feather do flock together,” said Joe. “We have Dominator and Need A Smoke fighting for first with S & M and Bad Boy competing for third.” said Ed, “The three amigos Scooby Fun Forever, Brother In-law, and Patriot hanging back in fifth, sixth, and seventh, leaving Dungaree, Silent-Alarm, I’m A Winner, and The Master behind.” “Wait! Feeling Lucky hasn’t even left the gate!” said Joe. Feeling Lucky’s rider, a cat named Felix, climbed down to find a small rope tied to the rear right leg of Feeling Lucky. The Master’s rider, the ferret named Miss Behave, squeaked with laughter.

“The horses are making the first turn off the starting straight-away and into the first obstacle in the race,” said Ed. “A series of blind sharp turns will keep them guessing,” said Joe. Dominator and Need A Smoke both make the turn into a maze. The horses bump together with Pawn and Nuclear-Chipmunk using all of their strength to hold on at the turns and gave each other the stare down. The LightningBlade was flying just behind Nuclear-Chipmunk and doing a very good job staying in place at the turns. Nuclear-Chipmunk seemed to threaten Pawn with the LightningBlade. S & M’s rider, an iguana named Whip, was living up to his name as he took a few shots with his tail at Bad Boy’s rider, a chimpanzee named Player whenever their horses bumped into each other. Brother In-law and Rook were being sandwiched by Scooby Fun Forever and Patriot, however they were not attacking each other. They knew that anything done now would be almost pointless. The three started to take the turns almost looking like a fast moving army doing some quick formations. The last four were going all out, Dungaree’s rider, the spider monkey named Razgriz, had jumped on the back of I’m A Winner and started to slap the rat named Zippers around. Silent-Alarm’s rider, the dachshund named Dementia was barking at the two.

The Master started to pull ahead of them. Seeing this, Razgriz jumped from I’m A Winner to his own horse and then onto The Master. The Master’s ferret rider, Miss Behave, turned to face the spider monkey. Razgriz was two times taller then Miss Behave. Razgriz was about to strike Miss Behave when he noticed that she was holding a cord with a hook tied to the end. Razgriz turned his head to see where the other end was and saw it ended at another hook now dragging on the track. The horses made a sharp turn and the hook snagged on a bush. Razgriz looked back at Miss Behave as she gave him a smile and let go of the hook. The hook got flung back by the cord and snagged on Razgriz’s leg pulling him off of The Master and slamming him down on the track. Dungaree stopped to allow Razgriz to get back up to the saddle but Razgriz was knocked out when he hit the ground.

“Dominator and Need A Smoke have left the sharp turns and are on the first full straightaway,” said Joe. Need A Smoke and Dominator were still neck and neck going into the straightaway until Nuclear-Chipmunk had his LightningBlade fly into Pawn’s side knocking Pawn back. Pawn let go of the reins as his paws slid out from under the strap that was holding him down. Pawn rolled off of the saddle and fell to the track. Pawn found himself being dragged on the ground right next to Need A Smoke’s pounding hooves. Behind him were the eight hooves of S & M and Bad Boy, hitting the ground very hard. If it was not for the strap, Pawn would have been trampled and killed. But right now, it was Need A Smoke’s hooves he was worried about. He needed to get back up on the saddle. Need A Smoke was starting to slow down, worried he might step on Pawn. S & M and Bad Boy were starting to catch up as Dominator was pulling away. Pawn opened his ThievesBlade’s void and out came a Necron wraith. The wraith hit the ground and began to tumble when Pawn grabbed the wraith’s tail and was catapulted straight up. Pawn used the strap to steer himself in the air and landed safely on Need A Smoke’s saddle.

The wraith continued to tumble to a stop on the track but both S & M and Bad Boy did not expect it and ran right into the wraith causing them both to trip and land hard onto the ground. Whip the iguana and Player the chimpanzee went flying off of their horses to land face first onto the track. Brother In-law was still being sandwiched by Scooby Fun Forever and Patriot. The track was cluttered with the newly fallen horses and their riders in the middle blocking Brother In-law’s path and leaving clear track for the other two horses. Jumping was not an option either for they would clear the horses but they may still land on the riders. The stepped on wraith was still on the track ready to trip them before they got to the fallen horses. Rook activated her TalonBlade and began to lift Brother In-law by his saddle. The pair had cleared the wraith, horses and fighting riders and made a landing with Brother In-law not breaking his stride. “I think I just saw a flying horse, Joe!” yelled Ed. “That is what I call some quick bird brained thinking,” said Joe, “They are now making the turn to the jump walls.”

“Dominator has the lead with Need A Smoke closing the gap,” said Ed, “S & M and Bad Boy are out of the race and now Brother In-law, Patriot, and Scooby Fun Forever move up to third, fourth, and fifth respectively.” “The Master is in sixth and closing in on Scooby Fun Forever while Silent-Alarm and I’m A Winner are bringing up the rear,” said Joe. Dominator jumps over the first wall, making it look very easy. Need A Smoke was now approaching the wall at a high gallop when Pawn remembered that his paws were not under the strap and quickly dived to grab it and held on. Need A Smoke made a perfect jump with Pawn holding on tight. They were coming up to the next jump as Pawn slid his feet back under the strap and he dug his claws in the soft material as he reached for the reins that had been caught by a pair of hooks made to prevent the reins from moving out of his reach. Need A Smoke made the next jump and a third one that came immediately after that one. The Master was moving up on Scooby Fun Forever as they made the first wall. Miss Behave took out another cord with small lead balls attached to the ends. The ferret gave one of the balls a spin and let go as the cord went flying in the air and started to wrap around Scooby Fun Forever’s legs. As they came up to the second jump, The Master made a large leap clearing both the second and third walls, however Scooby Fun Forever had difficulty making the jump and hit the top of the wall and landed in the pool of water at the other side. Scooby Fun Forever was in shock as he just laid in the water as his parrot rider, Darkhood, began to cuss like a sailor who had just breathed in helium.

The last wall was a very high jump and it looked as if it took a great deal of strength on Dominator’s part to clear. Need A Smoke saw this and poured on the power to get a good speed and flew over the wall. They had landed on the other side with Pawn being very happy that the jumping part was over. His little heart was pounding in his chest. They had entered the second to the last straightaway. This was the time to catch up with Dominator, but the LightningBlade was on the ground and then shot up. Pawn did not have time to think, he closed his eyes as the lightning bolt strikes the ground. The light blinded Need A Smoke but Pawn had escaped the affects. Pawn knew that he would have to be Need A Smoke’s eyes until he could see again. Pawn held on to the reins and was correcting Need A Smoke’s path as they closed in on Dominator and Nuclear-Chipmunk.

The LightningBlade came up behind Pawn and attached a wire to his back before shooting skyward again. Pawn looked up and opened his ThievesBlade’s void. Rook on Brother In-law was also closing in and saw what the LightningBlade did. Rook left Brother In-law’s saddle and flew to the opened end of the ThievesBlade’s void in time to catch the GunBlade. Rook used the GunBlade to cut the wire as a lightning bolt travels the wire and into the ThievesBlade’s void. Pawn closes the void as rook lays the GunBlade on the side of Pawn’s saddle, then returns to Brother In-law. Freedom the eagle blocks Rook and knocks her out of the air. Rook quickly twisted in the air and returned to the air before hitting the track. Freedom turned to attack Rook again but a loud bang was heard and Freedom’s wing caught fire. Pawn had fired his master’s GunBlade before pulling on the reins to get Need A Smoke to turn into another maze of blind corners. Freedom landed on Brother In-law and put his wing out on Brother In-law’s saddle. He was determined not to let Rook land before they too got to the sharp turns. Rook was about to use her TalonBlade when a lead ball with a cord attached to it flew past Freedom and a hook at the other end pulled him off the saddle and wrapped around him causing the eagle to fall on the track and struggle to get free from the cord. Rook landed in time before they got to the turns as The Master slowly joined them.

Pawn opened the ThievesBlade’s void just next to Need A Smoke and let his master’s GunBlade fall in before closing it. They were just behind Dominator, however Need A Smoke still could not see as Pawn pulled left then right and right again then a hard turn to the left. Turn after turn was making Pawn’s arms very tired and he hoped they would be out of the maze of turns soon. “I’m A Winner and Silent-Alarm are closing in on Brother In-law and The Master,” said Ed. “Need A Smoke is in second and Dominator is taking the lead with the last obstacle coming up before the final stretch,” said Joe. Dominator and Need A Smoke clear the maze to find a 45 degree climb before them. It went up as far as Pawn could see and the other end was steep enough to almost be straight down.

Dominator and Need A Smoke were making the climb up when Brother In-law and The Master exited the maze immediately followed by I’m A Winner and Silent-Alarm. Miss Behave pulls out another cord with two hooks attached. Dominator is almost at the top when Miss Behave throws the hooked cord to his leg. Pawn opened the ThievesBlade’s void and sucks up the cord. Dominator starts to slide down the other end just as Need A Smoke gets to the top and slides down after him. Brother In-law and The Master begin to slide down at the same time with I’m A Winner sliding down and Silent-Alarm running down the steep side. Silent-Alarm passed everyone and was heading down at a high speed with the dachshund, Dementia, holding on. Silent-Alarm was going too fast. He hit the ground like a ton of bricks and was a pile of flesh with Dementia barking angrily. “Looks like that dog has found his dog food,” said Joe. Both Dominator and Need A Smoke make it to the bottom at the same time and begin to race the last straightaway to the finish line.

Just as it was at the start of the race, Dominator and Need A Smoke were neck and neck and were now going at full speed. Need A Smoke regained his vision and could see the end was near. Brother In-law was right behind them now giving the track everything he had and slowly moving up to the lead horses. The Master faded back to block I’m A Winner and keep him from gaining speed. “And here it is folks! In a matter of seconds, we will have the winner of the ten million collon prize!” yelled Ed. “We have Dominator, Need A Smoke, and Brother In-law even with each other making this an extremely close race!” yelled Joe. This may be one for the image catcher!” yelled Ed. The horses cross the finish line and slowly gallop to a halt. The Master and I’m A Winner cross the line with I’m A Winner being last. “Well there is something to be said about finishing in this race, Joe.” said Ed. The crowd was up on their feet waiting for the results of the image capture. Ed and Joe were recapping the race while judges gathered around the small room next to the finish line. Pawn was just glad the race was over. Race officials began to walk onto the track. An hour had passed and everyone was holding their breath. King Abbot and the twins with Mal had made their way down to the track along with Lady Slambrawn and Duke Vander. They were led to the infield where the prize was to be presented. Only thing now was to hear the results from the officials at the small booth. A piece of paper was handed to an official waiting outside who then walks to the infield. Arian was also waiting at the stands at the infield. Pawn wanted to return to his master’s shoulders but knew he had to wait until a winner was announced. The official walked up to Arian as other officials gathered around them.

Arian walked up to a cone connected to the sound system, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am Arian, official representative of Rex Tyrann, President of the Equestrian Society. First of all, Mr. Tyrann regrets not being able to attend this event; important business has him traveling out of the country. So I will present the awards.” The crowd became so silent; a quill could be heard hitting the floor. “In third place,” said Arian as she looked at the paper, “Brother In-law owned by King Abbot, wins the five hundred thousand collons.” The crowd cheered for a very short time and became silent again. I will now announce the winner of the 2005 Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix and the winner of the tem minion collon prize,” said Arian as she looked at the paper once again. “The winner is, The Lost Champion owned by King Abbot, Need A Smoke by a nose.” announced Arian as the crowd cheered. Need A Smoke was moved to the winners circle as flowers were placed on him and Arian handed the 2005 Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix trophy to King Abbot and a legal note made out for ten million collons. Lady Slambrawn was given the second Place trophy and a legal note for one million collons Dominator coming in at second place. King Abbot walked up to Lady Slambrawn and said, “We have to talk. Meet me and my people outside of the Equestrian Arena.” “Yes, my King,” said Lady Slambrawn, trying to be ever courteous to a royal. Pawn was finally able to return to his master’s shoulders and fall to sleep. “You did well Pawn,” said Salem to her beloved pet.

The gates to the Royal Palace opened wide to let out the horses and carriages of the Royal convoy headed to the Palace City Blade port. The convoy passed the main Blade Port terminal and went to the garage where the BoltBlade is stored when not running. King Abbot with the MonarchBlade, Salem with Pawn, and Selene exit a carriage and are led by guards to the large garage. “A man had visited the Palace asking for time in the Royal Library,” said Abbot. “Your library has books not found anywhere else,” said Selene. “Correct. I told the guy that he could look in the library if he liked but no book is to be removed or damaged, I also asked the guy what he would give in return.” said Abbot. “What did the guy do?” asked Salem. “The man had a Blade. It was a very strange Blade, it was short and any use as a weapon did not look possible. He asked me, “What was the most valuable thing in the city.” I told him it was the BoltBlade,” said King Abbot. “What did he do?” asked Selene. “He asked to see the BoltBlade. I took him here,” continued King Abbot, “He then used his Blade.” The group entered the main storage room of the building where the twins were met with an all striking sight. “He used his Blade to make copies of the BoltBlade. We now have eight new BoltBlades, except for color, each one is exactly as the original,” said King Abbot as the Twins looked at the white BoltBlades with blue trim, lined up next to each other.

Selene was being led up and down one of the BoltBlade copies named BoltBlade Two by philosophers as they explained that they did not think the new Blades could repair themselves like BoltBlade One could, but they had figured out how to replace parts for the new Blades. “What we want to know from you is about the power core,” said a philosopher. “Do the new Blades work?” asked Salem. “They work, we had Pixie test each one of them on a long route. They work just as well as the original. Our concern lies in the power cores. I see that we will have to replace parts as they wear down but the power cores are beyond our ability to repair or replace.” said another philosopher. Selene went into the main engine core that powers the Blade and took a good long look at it. “I am going to have to see the original BoltBlade,” said Selene. A minute later, the original BoltBlade slowly entered the garage. Selene climbed into the main engine core. After a while, Selene exited the black BoltBlade and climbed into the other eight. Hours passed before Selene felt she was ready to voice her opinion. “You are right. The other Blades do not have the ability to repair themselves, however the power cores are self renewing no matter how they were made. You should have no trouble with that.” said Selene. “Great! We can start finding pilots for the new BoltBlades and get new schedules written up. I want the original as my personal BoltBlade when I need to travel,” said Abbot. “Personally, I do not think these could be called Blades. They are not made of Blade metal and since that is, anyone can operate them,” said Salem. “Even better!” said Abbot, “Pixie, hire BoltBlade pilots and train them.” Abbot starts to walk out of the building with the twins behind him, “I want the new BoltBlades ready to go in two days!”

After a long dinner with the King, they were dropped off in front of the Blade Port to meet with the other Blade Masters. “I wonder what Blade had the power to make permanent copies of a blade the size of the BoltBlade,” said Salem. “Not sure sister, such a Blade could be dangerous. I am more interested in what books that man was looking for in the Royal Library. There are books in that collection deemed as heresy and have been banned from public libraries.” said Selene. “I would like to know that as well,” said Salem. “Too bad we just do not have the time to investigate,” said Selene as Christina and Vivien appeared around a corner heading back to the Blade Port. Behind them were Emhril and Haiku with fresh food. Coming from another street was Jarody sitting with Mal on the MobilBlade. Zealot and Sturmer come up from behind some trees. “The horses are watered,” said Mal “And we have a MobilBlade full of beer,” said Jarody. “Church was very enlightening,” said Christina. “And restful.” signed Vivien even though only Selene knew what she said. The HealthBlade jumped from the MobilBlade and on the small back of Haiku. “Carber killed all of the lice,” said Haiku. “You be lucky you’re only a little girl,” said Mal under his breath. “We just have to wait for Wayne,” said Salem. Hours had past and the BoltBlade had already entered the station and locks into place ready to take the Blade Masters to Hellion. Mal drives the MobilBlade around the building and onto the loading ramp to be stored inside the BoltBlade. The rest wait for Wayne in the main lobby of the Blade Port. More time had passed as they waited for Wayne to show. The monotony of waiting was broken as a man in a servant uniform arrives and walks to Salem holding out a letter. “This is for you ma’am,” said the man as he handed the letter over and then left. Salem opened the letter and read it out loud.

For whom it may concern:

Wayne has been taken into my custody and will be held until I receive compensation for the money I lost at the Tagi Challenge. You have 48 hours from the time this note is delivered to pay a total of…

“Well?” asked Christina, “How much do they want?” “Pay a total of one million collons or Wayne will be executed. Personally, Lady Slambrawn.” read Salem.

The MobilBlade was unloaded and the group checked into a hotel for the night as Salem and Selene returned to the Palace to ask King Abbot for help. Abbot listened to the twins and even saw the note that was handed to them. “I see your problem,” said the King, “I can’t help you. Lady Slambrawn is within her right to demand compensation for her injury and loss.” “But it was a contest for warriors! Do not tell me that she could simply ransom the prize money if she lost,” said Selene. “Everyone here knows what happened to Lady Slambrawn at the Tagi Challenge. It was a shock to us when she arrived in bad shape and was rushed to the Royal Hospital. If I knew this Wayne guy was one of your people, I would have warned you and had him in hiding until you left, but now she has him and the law is on her side in this case.” said King Abbot. “Why do we not storm her home and take Wayne back by force?” suggested Salem. “Then you would be breaking the law and I would have to have you arrested and if anyone died in the attack, you would get the death penalty.” said King Abbot, “I can’t simply set the law aside just because it’s inconvenient for my friends. What kind of leader would I be?” “We understand, Abbot. We would not ask you to do that for us,” said Selene.

“How about simply paying the ransom with Temple money?” asked Abbot. “We can not do that. It is against Temple Policy to pay ransoms and yield to terrorist demands,” said Salem. “Yes, If word got out that we paid a ransom, kidnappers would start taking people who are connected to the Temple to demand money,” said Selene. “How about you, Abbot? You should have enough to pay,” said Salem. “We have the same policy here,” said Abbot. “Then Wayne is as good as dead,” said Salem. “Wait, I have an idea. The Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix is tomorrow. The prize money is ten million collons,” said King Abbot. “A horse race? Should we gamble Wayne’s life on a horse race?” said Selene. “I see no other answer. But the Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix? Do we not have to be rich or aristocrats to enter a horse in that race?” asked Selene. “Too bad we don’t know someone like a king to enter the horses for us,” said King Abbot. Salem and Selene look at him, knowing what he meant. “Ok King, would you enter horses for us in the Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix?” asked Selene. The King starts to scratch his chin, “I would, but…” “We are not going to show you our breasts,” said Salem. “I wasn’t going to say that.” said Abbot, red in the face, “I was going to tell you that I don’t have race horses to enter. I never participated in that race at all before this.” “Actually,” said Selene, “we have two race horses with us,” “Are they any good?” asked Abbot. “Ever hear of the names Need A Smoke and Brother In-law?” asked Salem. “What? You found the Lost Champions?!! Need A Smoke is a Lysts Downs Champion and Brother In-law would have been in the race had it not been for that bad fall in the last face of the tour just before the Annual Ten Million Collon race. There is only one problem,” said King Abbot. “What would that be?” asked Selene.  “I do not own a jockey, let a lone two of them,” said King Abbot. “Oh,” said Salem as she scratched Pawn on the back of the neck, “We have that already covered as well.”

It took the twins some time to find the hotel the others checked into. Someone had neglected to tell them where they were staying. When they found the MobilBlade without horses, they knew they found the place. The twins entered the small hotel lobby to find Jarody sitting on a large chair staring at the ass of a young teen girl playing a piano and filling the empty lobby with soft relaxing music. “Jarody?” called Salem. “Oh! There you guys are. They sent me to tell you we’re staying at the Celtic Falls Inn. I’ve forgotten the room numbers,” said Jarody. “Thanks for the message,” said Selene. A quick look at the check-in desk gave the twins the room numbers and they gathered the others for a quick meeting. “Wait, you mean you woke us up to tell us that we have to be up early in the morning?” asked Jarody. “First of all, you were not sleeping and secondly, we are letting everyone know the plan but only Mal is needed for this race,” said Salem. “Cool! Horse Racing!” said Haiku. “This is the Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix, it is not like the racing you have seen anywhere else. The Grand Prix is a pure animal sport,” said Selene. “Selene and I have seen a few races in the past, it is always different and you can bet there is an element of danger,” said Salem. “Then I say we get rest, and it is off to the races in the morning,” said Zealot.

The twins and Mal had left before suns-up and had taken Need A Smoke and Brother In-law with them to the Lysts Downs Equestrian Arena. “I still be concerned of your plan. These horses have not seen a race track in two years,” said Mal, “They were in a poorly lit underground stable and have just hit the road as part of a carriage team…” “Are you saying that you did not do a good job when caring for these horses?” asked Selene. “I gave them the care they deserved as champion horses,” said Mal. “Then stop doubting your hard work,” said Salem. The other Blade Masters had woken long after suns-up and had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. Raphael and a few other royal servants found them and handed them tickets to the races. “What are you expecting will happen?” asked Christina to Jarody. “Well I hope the horses lose and we have to raid this Lady Slambrawn’s place to get Wayne out only to find that he was killed and the TsunamiBlade had chosen another young sexy girl,” said Jarody. Then Jarody remembered who he was talking to then said, “But I am very sure the horses will win and we will be nine million collons richer.” The group found themselves in a long line however it was a line none of them had been in before. The Blade Masters were sticking out like a sore thumb in the middle of very fancy dressed people. “If I knew this was a black tie affair, I would have changed my cloths,” said Jarody. The group entered the arena to find that they were seated in a private box. “Wow, I feel so lucky to have a private box for this,” said Zealot. “Zealot,” called Emhril, “Look around the arena, they are all private boxes. This is a rich person’s arena.” Far below was the race track. The Blade Masters had a great view and could see most of the large track. “Wait, how long is this track? I thought it was suppose to be a quarter mile,” said Christina. “The track is one and a half miles long with straight-aways and obstacles throughout. The main challenge is completing the race,” said Jarody. “Wow,” said Zealot, “You almost sound like Selene.” Then Zealot turned to look at Jarody to see he was only reading the program, provided for them.

Vivien begins to point up at a section of the arena. The others looked to see Salem, Selene, Mal, and the King in the royal box high above them. “Lucky them, they get a ‘royal’ box,” said Jarody. “Which twin is that?” asked Emhril. “I think that’s Selene,” said Zealot. “How can you tell?” asked Emhril. “Because she doesn’t have Pawn on her shoulders,” said Zealot. Then the other twin came back into view talking to the first one. “Wait, the other one doesn’t have Pawn either,” said Emhril. “Don’t know what to say. Pawn must be eating something out of our view,” said Zealot. “Is there a way to tell them apart if they’re naked?” asked Jarody. Vivien nodded her head and wrote in her PDA, “Selene has a deep scar on her left shoulder.” “Wait, I grew up with them. I know for a fact that it is Salem who has the deep scar on her shoulder,” said Christina, “Salem got it when she first got the GunBlade and she cut herself there by accident when she was trying to learn how to use it.” Vivien wrote, “But the last time we took a bath together, I saw that Selene had the scar, not Salem.” “People, are we forgetting, there’s someone else who’s seen at least one of the twins naked,” said Jarody “Zealot, does Selene have the scar?” “I don’t know. It’s not her shoulder I’m usually looking at,” said Zealot. “Want me to get Carber to check?” asked Haiku. “No, we will just ask. Not like it is something personal,” said Christina. Up in the royal box, the twins were discussing what to do if they win the money and how to get to Hellion in time. “I better go down below and make the last minute arrangements,” said Mal. “Wish our jockeys luck,” said Salem. “That I will,” said Mal as he left.

The sound system crackled on as a voice began to speak. “Ladies and Gentlemen,” announced the voice, “We welcome you to the Annual Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix!” “That is right Ed, your roving announcers Ed and Joe here to help you keep track of the racers in this fast pace action of an event.” “Ed and Joe?!” said Christina, “Is announcing their day job?” “We are very lucky today, Joe,” said Ed. “How so, Ed?” asked Joe. “King Abbot is attending the races for the first time ever,’ said Ed. “That is right, Joe. Not only is he here in the crowd, but he has entered not one, but two horses in the race,” said Joe. “Not just any horses, King Abbot has found and entered the Lost Champions Need A Smoke and Brother In-law,” said Ed. “Wow, Ed” said Joe, “This is going to be a great race. Now normally, these horses would have to have been in the tour to qualify for tonight, but THIS IS THE KING! The Equestrian Society isn’t going to say no to the King.” “It’s good to be the King,” said Ed.

“Now if you are like the King and are new to this event, Ed and I will explain and even give you a brief history of the Lysts Downs Equestrian Tour,” said Joe. “It all started back in the nineteen hundreds when horse racing became popular among Lysts elite and most prominent members of society,” said Ed. “That was when they organized the Equestrian Society and started having races for large collon amounts,” said Joe. “By 1924, the Equestrian Society was well established and Grand Prix racing was here to stay, Joe.” said Ed. “Very good, Ed, but that was not the end of this ever evolving sport.” said Joe, “In 1935, an owner named Sir Charles Howard had bought a horse with a promising future however he was very unhappy with the fees the human jockeys were charging just to ride the horse and not get a full performance out of the horse.” “That’s correct, Joe. It was in the 1937 season when Charles Howard uttered those famous words, ‘A monkey can do better then these jockeys.’” said Ed. “And that is exactly what he did,” said Joe, “Sir Charles Howard had his trainer train a monkey to ride his horse.” “I bet that was quite a sight back then, Joe,” said Ed. “It sure was, Ed.” said Joe, “However, what started out as a joke quickly turned into the greatest idea in the history of the Equestrian Society.” “Sir Charles Howard enjoyed the longest winning streak ever,” said Ed, “And so the Legend of Seabiscuit and Mr. Peepers was born. It was not long after when more and more owners began to use trained monkeys until there were just no more human jockeys.” “Like the winged banana tree, human jockeys in the Lysts Downs Equestrian Tour were gone.” said Joe, “Monkeys were the favorite until Duchess J. D. Hertz used her beloved ferret, Chipper to ride Count Fleet to an undefeated season in 1943.” “Since then, almost every small animal in the animal kingdom has been used in the Grand Prix,” said Ed, “and that’s how it’s been to this very day.” “Rules have been changed and since 1976, the tradition was established that no human is allowed on the track or the infield.” explained Joe, “These animals have been so expertly trained, no human intervention is needed at all.” “That is correct, Joe.” said Ed, “This sport is now and will continue to be a pure animal sport. The horse to provide the speed and endurance and the small pilot on the back to provide the strategy and quick thinking required in this grueling race.”

“And out come our animal competitors now, Ed. They are making the ride of honor from the stable to the starting gate,” said Joe. “From here on, these animals are alone,” said Ed, “What happens in this race is completely up to them.” “First out of the stable is Dungaree and his spider monkey rider Razgriz, owned by Earl Jason of Oski,” said Joe. “Just behind him is Silent-Alarm with his dachshund rider Dementia owned by Lady Lara,” said Ed. “Close behind them is Scooby Fun Forever and his parrot rider Darkhood owned by Lord Calypso,” said Joe. “Out of the gate next is I’m A Winner with his rat rider Zippers owned by Duke Vander,” said Ed. “Next out of the stable is The Master with his ferret rider Miss Behave owned by business owner and current Equestrian Society President, Rex Tyrann,” said Joe. “Rex Tyrann… Where have we heard that name before?” asked Salem. “He is the Equestrian Society President, but he’s new to the position. I don’t know how you would’ve heard of him,” said King Abbot. While the rest of the horses were coming out, the Blade Masters all get into their seats and grabbed the metal Magna Glasses provided for them. Look at that silly wiener dog. “The saddles look to be made especially for each animal,” said Christina. A few more horses were announced as the group changed their attention from the track to the royal box above them. “I’m A Winner? Silent-Alarm? Who comes up with these horses’ names?” asked Jarody. “The last horses are coming out!” yelled Haiku.

“Out comes Dominator with his chipmunk rider named Nuclear-Chipmunk owned by Lady Slambrawn. Dominator is the odds on favorite to win,” said Ed. “Last but definitely not least, the Lost Champions. Need A Smoke and his ferret rider Pawn followed by Brother In-law and his falcon rider Rook,” announced Joe. “All the King’s horses are here,” said Ed. “Very funny, Ed. Pawn and Rook are Blade Animals from the sacred Temple of the Blades,” said Joe. “I bet they know how to use their Blades well, however as we all know, Nuclear-Chipmunk is also a Blade Animal and we’ve seen him use his LightningBlade many times before,” said Ed. “LightningBlade?” asked King Abbot. “We know about that Blade,” said Selene, “The LightningBlade is a Tech Blade Class Companion Blade in the form of a hummingbird. Too small and fast to be seen, the LightningBlade attaches an endless metal wire to a target then shoots up so fast, the wire gains a negative charge causing a lightning bolt to travel down the wire to strike the target the wire is attached to.” “Let us hope that chipmunk is to busy riding to even think of using his Blade,” said Salem. As soon as Salem had said that, a bolt of lightning strikes the ground just in front of Need A Smoke. “Whoa, that was a direct challenge is I ever saw one!” yelled Joe. “The horses are moving into the gates and we are ready to start this ten million collon race!” said Ed. “Twelve horses, one and a half miles of pro class track, Ladies and Gentlemen, this IS the Lysts Downs Equestrian Grand Prix!” yelled Joe as a loud bell rang, “There is the bell and down goes the starting gate!”

After an hour or two on the black paved road the MobilBlade turns a corner from behind a large pile of rocks to find themselves only a few hundred yards away from the capitol city of Boneham. The city is one of five in the country of Lysts. The cities where the Governors live and maintain the laws of each province, Boneham is at the crossroads of the Trade city of Barter, the Academic city of Terrigas, and the State Prison city of Hardack. From here, people can travel the Palace Road to the Palace City of Lysts. The laws are made at the Palace City but are enforced in the five capitols. It is also here where a Blade named the BoltBlade makes a regular stop. The BoltBlade travels from the Palace City to each of the five capitols and to the Lysts Government Prison/Seaport city of Hellion.

From a window, a blonde-haired woman watches the MobilBlade enter the city and make its way to the Blade Port. “They are here,” said Arian to her master who is sitting at a desk piled with parchment and old books. “What took them long? They should have been here minutes ago,” said the Mysterious Master from behind his thick copperplate mask. “Want me to go get Stanza?” asked Arian. “No need to,” said a large booming voice at the door. General Carcass without his helmet and gauntlets stood at the door. “My dear Carcass, what do you have to report?” asked the Mysterious Master. General Carcass enters the room, walks to the Mysterious Master and bows down on one knee and puts his head down, “My Master, I was victorious at the Tagi Challenge.” “Excellent, my General, you may not see the reason why right now, but it will become clear to you in time,” said the Mysterious Master. “Master,” said General Carcass, “I found someone who was planning on ambushing the twins before they entered the city.” “Bring this person in,” ordered the Mysterious Master.

General Carcass stood up and turned to the door to give a soldier standing at the door a hand signal. The soldier then turned and repeated the hand signal to be seen by other soldiers. “I used my Hyper Velocity Cannon on him,” explained General Carcass, “If he had been human, he would have burned from the inside out. However this one is a C’Tan. They are beings of energy that inhabit machines. My pulse only overloaded him and caused him to pass out.” Soldiers enter the room with the C’Tan, stripped down without his weapons and in chains with a yellow stone tied to his head. “The stone is keeping him trapped in his body, sir!” said the soldiers. “Speak C’Tan!” ordered General Carcass. “If you knew who I am, then you wouldn’t treat me this way.” said the C’Tan. The Mysterious Master stands up and walks around his desk. “Then by all means, tell us who you are and what your business is with the Gemini twin HexBlade Masters?” asked the Mysterious Master as he stood in front of his desk. “I am the one you will call Death! Death travels with the twins, and once I kill him and take his scythe, I will have all the power I want!” said the C’Tan. “I see, in that case, we can help each other,” said the Mysterious Master, “Release this C’Tan. We have things to talk about.” “You don’t have anything I want,” said the C’Tan as the soldiers removed the chains and untied the stone. “By simply ambushing them and killing Death’s physical body, the steps necessary to become Death are far more astronomical then that. However, I know of a way you can become Death in only a few easy steps,” said the Mysterious Master.

“I suppose I will have to help you,” said the C’Tan. “What award comes without work?” asked the Mysterious Master, “I have something that will help out our little partnership. That is if you agree with my deal. Arian, go get the quarterstaff you just completed.” “And what is this deal?” asked the C’Tan. “If you help me gain the power I seek, I will give you the power you want,” said the Mysterious Master. “And if I decide to take this power you want and use it myself to gain what I want?” asked the C’Tan.” “I invite you to try, however you will find that only one may have this power and any other who tries will simply be destroyed by it,” said the Mysterious Master. Arian reenters the room holding a black quarterstaff and says, “The MimicBlade my master.” “This Blade was made by our own Arian and it is one of a kind. This Blade will be yours to use,” said the Mysterious Master. “The MimicBlade can become and act just like any nearby weapon,” said Arian as she hands the Blade to the C’Tan. In the hands of the C’Tan, the Blades transforms into his Staff of Light. “So, what do you need me to do?” asked the C’Tan.

The MobilBlade travels down the street between the tall buildings of the city. “So what is this BoltBlade you mentioned?” asked Zealot. “You will see when we arrive.” said Salem. “You think the MobilBlade is the biggest Blade you have seen?” asked Selene. The MobilBlade passes the Capital Building where a large group of mostly women were in front with large hand painted signs. “Birthing Termination is murder! Birthing Termination is murder!” chanted the group. “Ever notice the only women you see at Birthing Termination protests are too old or very homely looking? What man would want to have sex with them?” asked Salem as she rested her chin on the pane of a window. “I bet if they had a very attractive daughter who kept getting pregnant, they would not be asking to outlaw Birthing Termination,” said Christina. What is wrong with allowing a baby to be born? If you do not want it, just give it to a family who can not have one of their own,” said Wayne. Salem, Selene, Christina, and Vivien give Wayne an evil look. “What did I say wrong?” asked Wayne. “You try squeezing a baby out of your groin then give it away to someone who did not have to go through the pain,” said Salem.

The MobilBlade arrives at the Blade port and the Blade Masters gathered at the steps leaving Mal on the driver’s seat. A man comes down from the Blade Port building to meet the Blade Masters. “Hello there! Welcome everyone. Wow, real Blade Masters,” said the uniformed man. The group stood at the bottom of the steps for awhile until Selene said, “You came down here to tell us something, Mr…” “Oh sorry, my name’s Tom Roland. I’m the director of the Boneham Blade Port. The BoltBlade will be here shortly. We’ve been expecting you.” said Mr. Roland. The group starts to walk up the steps. “OH!! Tell your carriage driver to take your carriage around the back following the yellow arrows,” said Mr. Roland. Mal had heard him and started to follow the arrows with the MobilBlade. Under the MobilBlade, Sturmer could almost be seen still building and repairing the tank tracks that fold out when the MobilBlade goes into its battle mode. The group arrives at the top of the steps and enters the building.

There was a vast lobby with seats and a high ceiling. The floor was so shiny, it was reflective. “Fuck!” yelled Jarody. “What’s wrong?” asked Zealot. “Here is a great floor but none of the girls are wearing dresses,” said Jarody. The large windows on the other side showed some kind of long waterway with no water in it and blue sky. “Pixie is delivering more prisoners to Hellion,” said Mr. Roland. “When was this place built, last time we were here there was just a small ticket booth and a bench,” said Salem. “We are expanding our operations,” said Mr. Roland. Suddenly, where was a strange sound growing louder and louder, outside around the concrete waterway, red lights begin to flash and an alarm was sounding. “Ah! Here she comes now,” said Mr. Roland as some long black object with a gold trim arrives in the dry waterway and slows to a complete stop. A strange sound of what could only be the object locking itself into place was heard them the alarms turned off. “It’s now safe to enter the boarding area,” said Mr. Roland. The Blade Masters exit the building onto the boarding area where the large vehicle was. “My friends, this is the BoltBlade,” said Salem.

“The BoltBlade is a Tech Blade class Accessory Blade in the form of a segmented staff. Its length, width, and height in meters, front and back section: 28.0 x 2.90 x 3.32, middle car: 21.6 x 2.90 x 3.32, giving it a total length of 77.90 meters. The BoltBlade uses electromagnetic propulsion to travel at speeds of more than 310 miles per hour or 500 Kilometers per hour as it levitates nearly 4 inches or 10 centimeters above a guideway track,” informed Selene as the Blade Masters jaws dropped as they looked at the long black Blade. “A thing that long would have to be black,” said Jarody, “I know what this is! This is a Maglev! Other worlds are trying to improve the technology to make these things and here is a working one on this back water of a planet!” “Blades are a technology that is far beyond our own, Jarody, you know that,” said Salem. “I know, I just thought it had to be said,” replied Jarody. A door on the side of the front of the BoltBlade opened up and out came a woman covered from head to toe in a gold and black skintight uniform and a very bright pink scarf. “Selene! And Salem,” said the woman. “You cannot still be angry Pixie,” said Salem “That sandwich was mine and you knew it!” yelled Pixie as she turned to look at the others. “Oh my Gin,” said Pixie when she saw Christina, “Do me a favor and warn me if you’re going to turn, I don’t want to be knocked off of my feet by your chest.” Salem taps Pixie on the shoulder, “Pixie, we are in a hurry, can you…” “Get going? Yes we should, why is everyone still standing here? Get in!” said Pixie. At the back of the BoltBlade, a large hatch had opened and a ramp came out to allow Mal to drive the MobilBlade into a storage bay inside the BoltBlade. As soon as the MobilBlade was inside, straps started to come from the walls and automatically secure the MobilBlade and horses. Mal jumped down and followed painted arrows into a door leading to the passenger compartment.

The Blade Masters enter into the passenger compartment. Two rows of a pair of very comfortable looking chairs were waiting for them. As the group took their seats, Selene stood at the door. Selene blows her whistle and kept looking around in the sky. “What are you doing?” asked Zealot as he took his seat. Rook will not be able to keep up with the BoltBlade, so I am calling him so he can ride with us. There he comes,” said Selene. Rook landed on Selene’s arm. Selene turned from the door and the GullBlade enters the door and lands on the headrest over Christina. Selene takes a seat next to Zealot, Salem is sitting with Christina, Emhril sits with his daughter Haiku as the HealthBlade starts to climb allover the ceiling of the compartment, Jarody and Vivien go all the way to the back and take a seat, Wayne sits with Mal. Pixie’s voice could be heard through a speaker, “Welcome aboard BoltBlade One. I’m your pilot, Pixie Dust. We will be traveling at 300 miles per hour and arrive at the Palace City of Lysts in thirty-two minutes.” “Wait! We are supposed to go to Hellion!” said Selene. The BoltBlade’s safety locks unlock, freeing the BoltBlade from the boarding platform. The alarms begin to sound again as the platform is cleared from all personnel. The BoltBlade begins to roll slowly then with a BOOM, the BoltBlade takes off from the platform and starts building speed. After a minute, the BoltBlade reaches 80 miles per hour and begins to lift into the air. After the BoltBlade had left the ground, it begins to speed even faster. An indicator on the wall is showing the Blade Masters the speed. Christina reads the indicator, “100, 105, 115, 130, 150, 175, 210, 250, and there is 300.” Everyone else just looks out the windows at the fast moving ground under them and they are all amazed into silence.