Yashin & Jiyu's Ultimate Adventure!

Fall of Mt. Equiya [13]

Jiyu was sleeping peacefully when she was awoken by one of the palace maids. As it turns out, when Jiyu doesn't want to get up in the morning then her tail instinctively shoos away anything or anyone trying to disturb her. Alas, it was going to be a long day and her friends had already woken up and were waiting for her in the main hall so the time came where she had to get up and get dressed.

She stumbled into the main hall, still brushing her cat-ear hair as the maid chased her to grab the comb back, before rushing to put it back in an orderly fashion. ''Morning- Hope I wasn't too late!'' Jiyu blurted out, looking around at the familiar faces along with two new ones. ''Good morning!'' Akarui replied, in her excited tone again. ''It's almost the middle of the day, Jiyu... But I hope you slept well!'' Yashin added. 

Princess Alexandra cleared her throat and started to introduce the two guards who would be helping Yashin, Jiyu and Pico. ''This is Seiko Knight. He is indeed a knight in training however he's the best of his craft. And unfortunately, Lt. Longfaol, our best knight, was unable to accompany you so we have here, her son, Charlie Longfaol. He may be her heir but he is just as skilled, If not more. All I have told them about this mission is that they'll be escorting you into the forbidden Mt. Equiya. The trickiest ice mountain to get into and the place you'll be retrieving a certain stone. I would tell you how to solve the puzzles however, I wasn't the one who designed the systems awaiting you. So let's hope you have the smarts to solve them on your own.'' She finished explaining as Pico realised that Seiko looked identical to the boy he saw training the night before. 

''Hi again! It's nice to formally meet you! What're your names?'' Seiko asked, shifting his attention from Pico to the whole squad. Linette spoke for herself and Akarui, ''I'm Linette, princess of Crystopia and this is Akarui, we'll be the ones staying here.'' Yashin and Jiyu introduced themselves and then the stranger known as Seiko heard in Pico's happy tone, ''And I'm Pico! It's good to meet you too!''. 

With everyone acquainted and ready to leave for Mt. Equiya, Princess Alexandra, Linette and Akarui waved a farewell for now to the trio and their new knightly friends.

While passing the village, all kinds of people and stalls tried to get their attention for their products. It was only until Yashin took notice at a fortune stand that she noticed what had been put in her hand by the stand owner. It was a small slip of paper with the words, 'Someone will betray you on this journey.' Yashin shrugged it off and put the slip in her pocket, thinking she'd forget about it later.

Finally arriving upon the steep snowy mountain, they treaded lightly into the iced cave entrance.

It appears the first trap was already activated as there was a sound of beeping. A compartment opened up with a stopwatch set for 30 minutes. ''Huh- This must be some kind of timed trial thing!'' Seiko mentioned, sharing his first idea. ''We're being timed?! Oh god...'' Jiyu responded, clenching her shivering tail. Charlie calmed the group as he and Yashin started to lead deeper inside. ''There must be puzzles to complete within the time limit...'' He said in a tone of thought as they finally reached what looked like a small room with a platform. For investigation purposes, Pico stood on the platform and as he did, a loud mechanic screech was heard as a door opened up. ''That seems too easy.'' Yashin thinks to herself aloud as when she tells Pico to step off, the new opening slammed shut. ''So... One person is gonna have to stay behind?'' Charlie asks rhetorically as the answer was obvious. ''I volunteer.'' Charlie then says as everyone had looked at him in shock. ''But what if you have to stay there till we come back to leave?!'' Jiyu exclaims, paranoid. ''Relax, I'm sure there's some kind of lever or button to keep the door open after you go through.'' He answers as he steps on the platform after Pico hops off. ''Well, as long as someones on this side to open the door then we should be able to test that theory,'' Seiko suggests, going through the opening. Pico and Yashin follow him as they see three mysterious handprints on the walls of the next room. ''There are three sets of handprints on the walls over here!'' Yashin shouts over to Charlie and Jiyu. ''Try all putting your hands on them!'' Jiyu ordered as she had an idea. With the three's hands on the handprints, Charlie got off the platform and the door stayed open this time. ''The door stayed open! Stay there though, we need to get in still!'' Jiyu continued to shout back as she was proud of her small idea.