The Dragon's Bounty IV:Nightmares

Chapter 14

            Cyfrin slapped a map down on the table that everyone stood around.
            "Alright. We need a plan. We know that Aro is keeping the Demon King from destroying the entire island if not more. Now we need a plan to take him down." Everyone nodded sternly. Cyfrin stood up. "As seen in the fight against the Demon King and the Dragon's Bounty, I feel that they all inadvertently got in each other's ways, so I propose that we take four of our strongest, myself included, to fight the Demon King. The rest of us should hold off his army, which will no doubt gather when he is attacked." Everyone nodded.
           "But who will those four be?" Grunt asked.
           Cyfrin nodded. "Well obviously three of them are Aro, Andrew and I, assuming Aro can free Andrew. Now, the fourth I would say is between Uel and Rin."
           Rin's brow raised. "Me? But I'm not that strong."
           Cyfrin smiled. "I know you think that Excalibur is split for good, but I know that you can figure out how to put it back together. And if you can't, Uel will permanently be in the spot." He turned to Uel. "Will you take this honor and fight the Demon King with us?"
          Uel stood tall and nodded. "Of course."
          Cyfrin nodded. "Then we wait for Aro and Andrew."

          Destiny took a deep breath in as she sat up. Blake and Norman jerked their heads toward her.
          "Mom!" Blake shouted, wrapping his arms around her.
           Destiny smiled. "I'm alright." She said with a smile, returning Blake's hug. "Aro and I freed Andrew, so he's on our side now." Blake smiled and nodded. Destiny looked over at Norman, who gave her a weak smile before looking back at the ground. Destiny frowned. "Andrew got him, didn't he?" She asked quietly.
            Norman nodded. "He disappeared." Norman said softly, trying not to cry.
Iris walked into Destiny's room with a smile on her face. "You did it." She said. Destiny nodded. Iris extended her hand. "Are you up for a rally? They'll need our help." Destiny smiled and nodded. She and Blake followed Iris out of their house and to the large platform where Kathrine stood, the people of the underground, a mix of every common race known to the island clustered in one spot, ready to listen.
Kathrine nodded to Iris as she and Destiny stood beside her. "Now that we're all here, I'm sure you all know that my colleagues and I were being manipulated by the Demon King since the beginning. But for some reason, our curses were lifted when Andrew, the obvious source, left. I have been informed that our team will be engaging the Demon King and we'll need to be ready to assist them as best we can." The crowd murmured their disapproval.
           "Don't we need to stay where it's safe?" Someone shouted. Kathrine opened her mouth, but Iris held up her hand and stepped forward.
           "May I?" She asked. Kathrine nodded and stepped back. Iris looked out at the people she'd lived with in captivity for so long and took a deep breath. "The Demon King has plagued this land for too long!" She shouted. "Our friend Aro had been asleep for nearly four years, and what did he do when he woke up?!" She shouted. Everyone looked around.
           Blake smiled. "He jumped right back into the fight!" He shouted.
           Iris nodded. "That's right! If he by himself was willing to face the Demon King after he himself lost all those years ago, how cowardly does that make us?! Will we let down the sacrifices of our heroes?! Will we allow the Demon King to continue his tyranny?! Or will we fight?!"
            The crowd erupted with a shout of "We will fight!" Iris nodded and stepped back. Suddenly, a massive earthquake shook the town, everyone looking to the entrance to the cave, which was now rapidly filling with large boulders.
Blake flew over to the rock wall, slamming his shoulder into one of the rocks, but nothing moved. "We're trapped!" He shouted. The shadows around the town began to writhe. Demons poured out of them, roaring and slicing with their claws and talons. The townsfolk drew up their weapons and engaged the creatures in combat. Iris, Destiny and Kathrine jumped into the fight as well.
           "So they were waiting until we didn't have what they needed anymore!" Iris shouted.
           Kathrine nodded. "They waited for us to be nearly ready, and ambushed us! The fiends!" She turned to the people. "We will fight these demons and get to our friends, if it's the last thing we do!" The townsfolk shouted their agreement and fought their hardest. Blake heard the sound of running water and turned around with a gasp.

           Aro pulled Andrew to his feet, handing him his guitar.
           Andrew breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, man." He said.
           Aro nodded. "Of course." The two climbed upward until they'd reached the entrance to the dungeon, busting through the doors into the dark landscape outside. "So, where we headed?" Aro asked. Andrew pointed off into the distance at a black floating castle. Aro nodded. Suddenly, the two looked around, finding themselves in a throne room with black brick walls and gold trim, with a blood red carpet and a massive throne against the wall, the Demon King himself sitting atop it. He smiled as the river Styx flowed back into its vile, when then he placed it back on its shelf beside his throne. Aro drew Phoenikus with one hand and held the gem in his other, which glowed and turned into his staff. Andrew strummed a tune and bulked out, his guitar shifting into his axe, which he dropped to the ground beside him.
            "This will not go the way you want it to." The Demon King said, looking square into their eyes. He smiled. "Now, let's have some fun, shall we?" He leaped out of his throne and toward the two of them, claws first. Aro jumped to the side as Andrew caught the Demon King with the flat side of his axe, holding him back. Aro jumped up behind him, Phoenikus' wings once again holding him in the air. He zoomed down, blade pointed straight towards the Demon King's back. He was swatted out of the air by the Demon King's long tail, smashing him into the ground. The Demon King looked back at him and grinned before clutching the sides of Andrew's axe and flipping him over his head, slamming him into the ground behind him. The Demon King laughed. "You didn't have a chance before with your friends, what makes you think you have a chance now?!"
             Aro looked up at him. "We fight for them! With their memory in mind!" He shouted, launching himself at the Demon King. The Demon King drew his sword and raised it above his head with both hands, bringing it down on Aro, who was still speeding toward him. Aro blocked the sword with Phoenikus and reinforced the hold with his staff, pushing as hard as he could, but he could feel his legs giving out. The ground began to crumble beneath him. Andrew jumped up with a shout and his axe raised high. The Demon King head butted Aro, allowing him to turn around and block Andrew, kicking him across the room. Aro jumped at the Demon King with a loud shout, his weapons and body glowing brighter and stronger.
            The Demon King tilted his head as he caught Aro and threw him aside. "So your gem allows you to enhance yourself repeatedly without the use of your mouth. Intriguing." Andrew swung his axe again from the side, the Demon King catching the blade in his large hand. "This again? Don't you learn?" He spun Andrew around and slammed him into Aro, both of them crashing into the wall. Andrew smashed into the ground, causing it to crumble. Aro looked through a hole in the floor, seeing the ground far below.
            He smiled. "I have a plan." He said quietly. The Demon King thundered toward them with a smile on his face.
            Andrew looked over at Aro. "Well, do it now!" He whisper yelled. Aro jumped up and used his wings to slam back into the ground, shattering it. Hidden by rubble, Aro and Andrew fell down to the ground, able to get a ways away from the castle before crashing into the ground. They helped one another to their feet and looked over to the Demon King, who smashed into the ground and looked directly at them.
            "I know we've had our ups and downs." Aro said. Andrew looked down at him. "But no matter what happens, you'll always be my best friend."
            Andrew smiled and held up his fist. "Brothers?"
            Aro smiled and touched his fist to Andrew's. "Till the end." The two stood together and faced the imminent death that stood not too far away from them.
            The Demon King smiled. "Now, give me my power back." He said, pointing at Aro.