Xantos stared up at the dark stormy sky, rain driven by the wind splashing against his face. It had been a while since he'd been on a normal quest with friends. Lately it was all running from the Knights of War, and trying to stay off the radar. He'd recieved a flash mail earlier from Light inviting him out to the field. Aiko was also coming from the sounds of things. Deciding it would be good to get away from all of the madness, he'd agreed.

"Heh. It's always rain, isn't it Ranji?"

When his spirit didn't respond, he turned his attention to the rest of the field. Ruins of old buildings were scattered about, traces of a long forgotten people. Or, more likely, just random debris scattered about by the programmers to give the field a little personality. Large trees shot skywards between the ruins, attesting to their age. It made him wonder sometimes, just how many of the fields were based on actual places.

Not wanting to plow through the field without the other two, Xantos settled down against a tree and closed his eyes. They'd be here soon enough.

"Crap, crap, crap...! I'm gonna be so late!"

'My goodness, Light. Your english has become atrocious as of late.'

"Bite me, pussy cat! I can't be near perfect all the damn time."

'Oh, my! What would your father think if he heard you say such words?'

Gil's stabbing words of realization caused Light to immediately hault in his tracks, nearly throwing himself forward onto the stone sidewalk of Mac Anu as a result. His anima couldn't have been more right in his words. The young man sighed deeply, his shoulders sagging downward. However, before long, he remembered that the Knights were still prowling the city and that he had a field to get to. Aiko and Xantos were probably already waiting for him.

"I'll worry about that later, okay? Assuming we don't get caught by the Knights because I'm standing around talking to myself again..."

With that said, the Wavemaster picked up his jog towards the Chaos Gate. The constant clack clack clack of his heels drew some attention to him as he passed by the other characters in the town. Fortunately, his brown fluffy ears were hidden beneath his hat and the long fluffy tail was concealed beneath his cloak. He had no need to worry about being discovered just yet. Before long, he made it to the Gate, standing in front of the spinning portal.

"Bursting Corrupted Twin Hills."

Three swirling golden rings enveloped the boy, teleporting him to his destination. When Light next opened his eyes, he found himself standing in a grassy field that was littered with stone ruins and dotted with large trees. It appeared to be around the time of evening. Dark clouds had gathered in the sky, raining down full droplets of water on everything that could be reached. Even the soil beneath his feet was starting to become soggy. Despite this, the Wavemaster found that he really liked this type of field a lot. Though his anima was a bit uncomfortable.

'You had to pick a field with rain, didn't you...', whined Gil childishly.

"Just deal with it. You aren't the one actually getting wet, anyway."

Light started walking across the field in search of his companions. To tell the truth, he wasn't really sure they were here yet but he still assumed it was best to search for them nonetheless. He slowly trudged his way up a small hill, the heels of his boots digging into the ground and making it harder for him. But he perservered, eventually reaching the top, beginning the easier treck down the other side. Along the way, he passed by many ruins and structures. The waterless wells caught his eye but he never bothered to examine them closely or anything.

Eventually, the neko spotted something in the distance. A cloaked figure laying back against the sturdy trunk of one of the trees. His lips curled into a grin as he recognized his adopted big brother. Immense happiness swelled within him and he forgot himself once again, running toward the figure as fast as he could. It seemed Gil's childishness and hyperactivity had infused itself into him over time for the normal Light would never do something like this around anyone else.

Just as he was nearing Xantos, he threw himself into a diving leap at the fox hound and caught him in an excited glomp that flung both of them onto the muddy earth in a tangle of limbs and cloaks and weapons. The younger Wavemaster ended up on top of the elder, their lips brushing unintentionally for a brief second as the two squirmed around to free themselves. Light blushed softly before finally flopping down on the ground beside his sibling. Then a bout of carefree laughter and giggling escaped his mouth as he looked at Xantos again.

"Hi there, Niichan! I'm oh so happy to see you after all this time!", he announced. "Sorry 'bout that kiss, though. It was like, totally unintentional, I swear."

Aiko knew she was running late as the yellow rings once again left her standing in Mac Anu. She just hoped that Xantos and Light would understand. As much as she'd love to spend much of her time immersed in games and her books, the demands of work and the need to run tedious errands had to come first. Relieved to finally have some time to herself, Aiko took a moment to recall the keywords that were going to bring her to questing companions, "Bursting Corrupted Twin Hills."

Aiko started as a crack of thunder welcomed her to the field. As much as she loved storms, she normally enjoyed them from someplace safe and dry. "Well," she said quietly to herself, "This is an interesting choice. Now... where is everyone..?" She didn't have to go far before she heard laughter. "At least their in high spirits," she thought to herself. She rounded the corner of one of the many ruins scattered throughout the field and smiled, watching them for a few seconds, glad they didn't seem upset at her tardiness.

"Hey guys," she called to them as she hurried forward, "Sorry I'm late!"

Xantos snapped awake abruptly as something knocked him away from his resting spot, head over heels in a big hodge podge of limbs. While he was rolling his screen froze as he was upside down for a moment, but after some persuasive kicking and a bit of colorful language, it started back up again just in time to knock him into a tree. Dazed, he tried to disentangle himself from whatever was pinning him, which apparently made it giggle. "Oh hi Light. I shoulda known it was you."

He rolled over to push himself up only to be reminded by the world that this field was quite muddy from the rain. "Shut up, you," he snapped in response to the gruff snicker from his spirit. He stood up and shook himself off like a dog would, sending mud and rain in all directions, and causing his hair to look even wilder than it did normally. "Blaaaaugh. What a mess."

Suddenly an idea made him grin. "Yeah, well... Hello to you too!" he shouted as he flung himself at Light. If he was gonna be muddy, he may as well not be alone.

After they'd been rolling around for a few minutes he heard someone shouting out a greeting. "Oi, over here!"

Light was just sitting up to make sure he hadn't broken anything when he was suddenly glomped by his own previous glomp victim. The force of impact flung them both back into the muddy slush. This time, the younger found himself on bottom, sinking deeper into the muck. Fortunately, he was laying on his back and wasn't in any danger of being drowned or suffocated. He laughed softly, nuzzling his older brother's chest with affection.

The two of them didn't remain stationary for long as Xantos got them started in a tumbling session. Light knew he was getting covered with mud and debree but he didn't seem to mind at all, even though he would have been having a fit over it in the real world. But here, the boy just wanted to have fun and enjoy his time with his siblings and clan mates. Somewhere amidst all the tossing and turning and laughing, the neko kitten felt his hat leave his hair. His furry brown ears felt the cool sensation of air and rain.

'Mmm... that feels kind of good.', Gil purred inside of his mind.

After a few minutes, the boy stopped trying to move and splashed down in the mud beside the fox hound, laughing cheerfully. He didn't have to worry if his ears and tail were showing now. Instead, he flicked his tail and twitched his ears, happy to have a little freedom. A moment later, a voice called out to them and both sat up to see Aiko hurrying towards them. Light smiled, happy to see another member of their clan arriving.

"Hi, Aiko-san! I'd give you a hug, but we're both covered in mud and who knows what else.", he said, laughing a bit more.

[OOC: I'm assuming it would be okay for Light to continue this thread alone. I just felt the urge to start writing for him again. But unfortunately, his clan mates are inactive right now.]

Just as the mud-covered youth was standing up from the ground, a loud crack of thunder split the air around him, accompanied by a flash of bright lightning overhead, both of which sent the boy scurrying towards the nearest tree in a panicked frenzy. It was only after his dirty hands had touched the rough bark that he realized it was always a very bad idea to hide underneath a tree during a lightning storm. However, here in the World, things such as that probably didn't apply. Light knew he was in no real danger but the experience was seemingly real to him through his FMD and speakers.

“Maybe I've been playing a little too long today or something... That really rattled me.”, he said to no one in particular, mainly just himself.

'A loud noise like that would frighten anyone, especially a soaking wet and muddy kitten. It's nothing to be worried about, Light-kun.' A familiar voice chimed in his mind.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

The boy smiled before slowly, languidly, moving away from the tree to go retrieve his hat and staff from where he had lost them on the ground. He slid his weapon across his back and held his hat in his hands. In his mind, he considered not wearing it since it had been soiled by the rain and mud, and just leaving it to fate as to whether or not someone else might catch a fleeting glimpse of his animal ears, thus endangering him further. But there was always the equal chance that no one would see him here.

'I would put it on, if I were you. Even if the chances are slim to none that you'll be found out, it's always best to play it safe. Besides, what would your big brother say if he knew you were risking it? What if you get caught? You'd be deleted and unable to see him again...'

“You're right... Leaving it off isn't worth it.”, answered the Wavemaster aloud as he carefully slipped the hat on over his ears and hair, hiding the offending appendages from view. “I really wish I wasn't all by myself right now... I miss them all so much. Centrus, Xantos, even Viva...”

'You'll see them again. You are part of the clan. Don't be sad, Light-kun. Let's go finish this field, and I'm sure you'll feel better as soon as you get stronger.'

Light smiled once more, nodding softly in agreement. He started to leave the cluster of trees, taking careful steps as his heels slid in and out of the slushy terrain, all the while glancing about for the signs that there were roaming monsters about. Being a solo Wavemaster wasn't as easy as some people might assume, but this particular child had done quite well with it thus far.

Even when pitted against the Knights who served under the system administration, the kitten had not backed down and had taken it upon himself to leap into the fray, using what few skills he possessed to spare his fellow clan mates from being captured and/or killed during the battle. That had undoubtedly been one of his proudest moments. As small as he was, he had still won the affection of Xantos and the others, as well as a bit of fond praise from his adopted big brother, who was their clan's leader. These were things he did not take lightly, but instead treated like very precious treasures.

The rain continued to pour. Every so often, more thunder and lightning would flash across the dark gray sky overhead, illuminating the surrounding hills and structures for a few brief seconds. He kept his deep brown eyes focused on everything around him, his other senses on alert. If there was anything to be found, he could not see it yet. After a while of walking in a straight path, the boy began to question if he had headed off in a profitable direction at all. But before he could make adjustments and search elsewhere, a soft glowing light caught his attention and pulled him from his thoughts.

There was a swirling golden monster portal sitting just yards away from where he had stopped. A small confident grin blossomed on Light's expression as he drew his staff from off of his back and grasped it tightly in his hands. Gil had indeed been correct in his assumption that his counterpart would feel much better at fighting some monsters. Already, he could feel the minor surge of adrenaline swimming through his body while his hands rubbed the controller, fingers rubbing the staff's surface affectionately. Laughing softly once, he began to approach the portal with his head held high, eager and ready to face whatever might be spawned from the portal after his arrival.

“Alright, here we go.”

The slowly spinning monster portal broke apart into several thousand glowing particles of light which scattered and disappeared soon after, releasing what appeared to be a duet of two Deadly Moths for the kitten to face. Each of the moths fluttered around in the air, neither of them daring to get too close to Light just yet. That was fine by him. He had no problem being the first to approach and engage them in a battle for life or death. Circling around to the side of the monsters so that they couldn't shoot their tongues out at him directly, he raised his staff to cast a spell.

“Juk Rom!”, he cried, lifting his staff horizontally above his head.

From out of thin air there appeared several trees branches all seemingly caught in some sort of whirlwind that couldn't be seen by the eye, only felt by the flesh. The tree branches swung around and firmly smacked into the moths. Given their close proximity to one another, it was inevitable that they couldn't escape the attack altogether. Light grinned, watching as the insects staggered backward through the air for a few moments, nearly falling out of the sky entirely before recovering themselves enough to fly semi-straight again. He laughed softly to himself at their current predicament.

“Sorry, fellas. It was just your rotten luck to run into little ol' me today.”, he said, knowing full well that the monsters were incapable of understanding him or even responding to him in any way except to try and attack him.

'Nyaa, nya. You should keep your focus about you, Light-kun. Don't let your ego become too over-inflated or it will burst and you'll be sorry.'

“I know, I know. Dumb cat. I'm only having a little bit of fun at their expense, that's all. You know me, I'm always careful when it counts.”, the young wavemaster answered the voice inside his mind.

'How rude. I am not a dumb cat. You're being quite the brat today, aren't you? Well, fine then. Go and get yourself smacked around some. Maybe it'll bring you down a notch or two.'

“Oh, come on, Gil. You know I didn't mean it like that. We're partners, you're the other half of my soul, my anima. So let's be on friendly terms then, shall we?”

'Well... okay, I suppose. But you might want to watch out. They're coming at you.'

Dark brown eyes looked up to see that the two moths had apparently regained themselves after being hit with the spell and now they were quite angry at having been hit in the first place. He couldn't help but laugh again. One moth launched itself at him, long whip-like tongue lashing out in front of it like it meant to clobber him with its tongue alone. But Light was too smart to let himself be struck by something so obviously silly. The kitten threw his body forward and rolled along the ground underneath his attacker, coming up behind it. Before the creature could turn on him, he struck its lower body with his staff, sending it careening hard into the ground.

“Take that!”, Light cried in triumph, grinning.

Then another idea struck him as he watched the insect struggling around in the mud. It was probably a mean idea but he honestly didn't mind that so much. At the very least it would effectively end the monster's life and allow him to move on to dealing with its partner. He slid his staff across his back and crouched down. With a shout, he leaped up into the air, landing on the moth with the heels of his boots digging into it. It gave one last forlorn cry as the last of its health vanished and it began to fade into nothing, dropping the wavemaster back to the ground below. Distantly, Light could hear the angry noises being made by the other moth. He turned around to face it.

“Yeah, yeah, I was getting to you. Sheesh, didn't know monsters were that impatient to die.”

'You must really be on your game today.'

“Sure am.”, he answered, smiling energetically. “Gan Zot!”

A large boulder seemingly fell from the sky to land on top of the moth, crushing it against the ground. But that single spell wasn't enough to kill it. The boulder vanished shortly after, allowing the moth to pick itself up once more. However, Light could see that it had been injured and it wasn't able to fly very well, almost as if it had trouble staying in the air. Rather than feeling pity for it, he knew it was better to simply ends its life and put it out of its misery instead. He charged forward, drawing his staff from his back while running, swiftly cutting through the air to strike it on its head before it could lash out with its long tongue.

The moth fell backward, dropping out of the sky from the force of the blow. It landed on its back in the mud, twitching gently as the last of its life disappeared. When it stopped and remained motionless, it too disappeared and the battle ended, with Light as its victor. He smiled, throwing both of his arms up into the air as he shouted joyously, hopping up and down once or twice. Even the rain that continued to fall around the field and soak him through to the bone couldn't possibly dampen his spirits now or so he felt. Slowly, he lowered his hands back to his sides and began to walk again, this time in search of the elusive dungeon entrance.

“That was so fun. I want to fight some more.”

'Don't worry. You will have that chance, I'm sure.'

Half an hour later found the young Wavemaster engaged in another monster battle. A Snip Snap, an immensely large mutated crab, was lashing out at him with its pincers in an attempt to crush him or cut him in two. It skittered along the stone floors as easily as it would on the floor of the ocean that was supposed to be its home. Light was having a little bit of trouble with it since he had never faced a beast of this size and weight before.

'It's so big, but it moves so fast... Guess that's the magic of being a fantasy monster,' he thought, ducking as a claw swung past overhead.

'It smells like the sea... and food. Hey, Light. Fry this crab up and let's eat it.' Gil's pleased voice sang through his mind.

'I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it doesn't work that way... These monsters disappear after they're defeated. Even if I did use my fire to cook it, you still wouldn't get to eat it, Gil. Besides, I thought characters couldn't actually eat food here or even pretend to.'

'Such a silly boy you are. There are still things in this world that you can't possibly begin to understand. Be that as it may, I'll stop talking so that you can finish this fight without any more distractions. Just be careful, Light-kun.'

'Right. Will do.'

Light kept his brown eyes firmly fixed on the massive creature in front of him, ready to react to any attack that came his way. The crab crawled forward once more and lashed out with its claw, swinging it upward from the ground to catch the boy on the side of his head. He tried to throw himself backwards in time to avoid the strike, but it caught him along the top of his head, knocking his hat off and sending him sprawling to the hard floor below. Two furry brown kitten ears were revealed atop his head, sprouting up from his mass of brown hair. Luckily, there had been no one else around to see them or he would have been in even more trouble than he was now.

“Ouch... that really hurt...”, he said, his voice muffled due to his face being pressed against the stone. A small portion of his own health was now missing from the meter.

Unwilling to give the crab another chance to attack him, he slowly peeled himself off of the floor and stood up, tightening his hold on his staff. The beast roared at him. He considered roaring back at it. However, there were more pressing matters at hand than returning the sound, which probably wouldn't have been all that impressive coming from a kitten anyway. Leaping back, he put a good measure of distance between himself and the monster before casting a spell at it.

“Gan Zot!”, he cried, pointing his staff out in front of him at the crab. From above dropped a massive boulder that fell on top of the crab's shell, crushing its body to the ground. Without hesitation, Light cast a second spell to finish it off. “Vak Rom!” Before the monster could recover from the boulder, it was engulfed in a storm of flames and it cried out in agony. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud as the last of its life was stolen away. Light watched it vanish into the shimmering gray particles that immediately faded away into nothing. He sighed softly, moving his body over to the nearby wall so that he could lean against it.

“I think that was one of the tougher enemies I've faced so far and I've faced off against the Knights before...”, he said, laughing softly as he slid down the wall into a kneeling position.

'Heal yourself and rest for a few minutes. We're not exactly in a hurry here.'

Light sat down and laid his staff across his lap, nodding his head in agreement. He waited until there was enough magic in his meter to perform a healing spell and then cast it on himself. The soft green glow enveloped his body, soothing the pain away while healing and mending his injuries, restoring his life to full health. Smiling, he closed his eyes and rested his head against the cool stone. It was then that he realized he wasn't wearing his hat anymore. His kitty ears were showing.

“Oh... right...”, he sighed, raising a hand to touch the edge of one ear. “Damn it all... I really wish I didn't have to hide them. But then those stupid knights would come along and delete me, and you... I guess I'd better find my hat and put it back on.”

'That would probably be best. I'm sorry, Light-kun.'

“You don't have to apologize for anything. Having you as my anima might have made playing here in the World a bit more difficult, but I wouldn't want to play without you. After all, you're the other half of my soul, we complete each other, watch out for each other. You're my friend when I have no one else around. So you don't need to apologize for giving me these ears. In fact, I really like them, honest.”

'Aww, Light-kun... You're being awfully sweet right now. I would almost be suspicious of it, if I couldn't tell that every word you've spoken is nothing but the truth. Well, since we're exchanging pleasantries, I must say that I am very proud to be your anima and your friend. We do happen to make an excellent team, after all. Why question a good thing?' Gil finished, laughing softly inside Light's mind.

Light could feel his kitty counterpart grinning; a happy grin, not a sinister one. His own lips curled softly upward into a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, but showed that he was in a much better mood than a few moments ago. He placed his free hand on the stone wall beside him and carefully stood up, his heels scraping against the stone floor as he sought to find his balance once more. He still felt a tad bit shaky despite having healed himself of all the damage.

“Now, where did my hat go...?” he said, chocolate brown eyes searching the room for the missing hat.

His hat was laying along the edge of a pit that was filled with glowing hot lava. He blinked, because he had completely missed the lava pit being in the corner of the room until just that moment. The battle with the mutated crab had prevented him from taking notice of much of anything so it wasn't a big mystery as to how he had missed it. But even so, he wanted to face-palm himself for his carelessness. If the crab had driven him backwards toward the pit, he would have fallen in without even knowing what was happening and that would have been the end of his adventure. He sighed softly.

“I really need to try to be more observant while I'm fighting. It would have been really embarrassing to have died like that. Cent-nii would have probably laughed at me.”

'Don't say that. You should be ashamed for even thinking such things. You are still on a learning curve. You might have gained a few levels and done some pretty cool things with your clan, but you are still in the category of newbie. The more you branch out on your own, the more you learn through personal experience and triumph. But don't let a little bit of power go to your head or you will wind up regretting it in the future. Just stay sharp, and do the best that you can.'

Light sighed again. “Yeah, you're right. I'll try to keep that in mind. For now, I guess I'd better get my hat before it burns up and I'm royally screwed.” He slid his staff across his back and began to walk away from the wall toward the lava pit. Steam rose from the lava, carrying fiery embers up with it. The embers seemed to dance in the air before him, as if offering him a show. But he was still very much aware that there was a danger to that heat. It would not end well if he slipped and fell in. Slowly, carefully, he knelt down on one knee near the pit, reaching a tentative hand out to retrieve his hat. His fingertips gently grasped the edge of it and he pulled it away from the edge, panting softly.

“Well, that certainly speeds up your pulse a bit,” he said, fixing his hat on top of his head so that it concealed his kitty-cat ears from view.

'I would imagine so. I can't even feel the heat, but I'm sweating from the tension.'

“I'm not even going to ask how that's possible because I really don't think I want to know. I also don't want to think about you sweating inside my head. Eww,” Light shook his head gently to clear it upon finishing his words. The cat chuckled softly in his mind but remained quiet afterward. The wavemaster stood up once more, casting one more look at the pit of lava in front of him. To most, it should have been a captivating sight; to see lava outside of a volcano and contained inside a castle. But the only thing that he could think about was a much darker place.

“I hope Mother is enjoying her time in Hell... burning to death day after day... for all that she did...” he said softly, his expression utterly blank as he turned on his heel to continue further into the dungeon.

'Hey, Light-kun... Why do you hate your mother so much? I thought that all children loved their mothers a lot. But all you ever do is curse her.'

Light kept his eyes forward while he ventured down the long corridor, looking from side to side as they passed by cells that contained the skeletal remains of warriors and vacant suits of armor, some of which had fallen to pieces on the carpet that ran down the center of the hall. Some of the skeletons had large swords piercing their skulls which he assumed had been the way they met their ends. Strangely enough, there were wooden barrels inside some of the cells, almost as if they were in a storage area rather than a dungeon. He stopped in front of one of the cells, reaching out to touch the cold iron bars that formed the cage.

“If you don't mind, I would really rather not talk about my mother any more than I already have. She was a very cruel woman and she never loved me from the first day that I was born. In her eyes, I was a mistake that she hadn't meant to make with my father. One day, she tried to hurt me by throwing me down on some broken glass that would have left me cut up and scarred, but my father saved me. Mother left... and to this day has never come back, and I'm fine with that. I want it that way. I don't love her, I hate her. End of story.”

'But... that's so... sad... Light...'

“Don't worry about it. My father loves me and takes very good care of me. I'm happy and content living with him, and without my mother... It doesn't bother me so it shouldn't bother you either.”

'But it does bother you. It's eating you up inside, to know that she didn't want you, didn't love you as you should have been loved... There's no hiding from me. I can tell... because I am a part of you. You should really talk to someone about this, you need help to overcome it.'

“No, absolutely not. I am not going to a therapist or a psychiatrist. I don't need to speak to anyone about this. I'm happy with my father, and... Cent-nii... and the clan... even though I haven't seen them all in such a long time. I miss them all a lot, but I know I'll see them again. I have to believe that,” he said, tightening his grip on the cold steel bar.

Gil sighed softly, a gentle whispering sound through his mind, but the spirit said no more after that. In truth, he wasn't sure what else to say that wouldn't end up making the situation worse.

Light sighed as well, the tension draining from his body and causing his shoulders to slump forward. He knew that his friend had only been trying to help him. He just wasn't ready to accept any help yet. His mother's cruelty had been tormenting him almost all of his life and he thought he had a handle on how to deal with all the stress and emotions connected to her. But now he was beginning to realize that maybe he did have problems; ones that were too big for him to solve all by himself. He shook his head gently to clear it and raised a hand from his side.

His fingertips brushed against the smooth surface of the cat collar that he was wearing. It had been a gift from Centrus himself. Now it was one of Light's most precious treasures, a physical object that linked him to his brother. He then lowered his hand, rummaging around in his pocket until he pulled out a ball of green yarn. As silly as it sounded, Xantos had given this to him so that he would have something to play with as the kitten that he was. A genuine smile graced his lips as he stared at the yarn ball in his hand, memories of a happier time washing into his mind.

“You guys... all of you... Cent-nii, Xan-nii, Aiko-san, Viva-san, Teishu-kun... I haven't given up. I won't give up. I'll keep moving forward until I see you all again. Thank you... for giving me strength,” he said, tossing the ball up and catching it once more before putting it back into his pocket. “Well, I guess it's time we got back to work and started clearing out this dungeon again, eh, Gil?”

'Hm. Yeah. Let's get to it then,' Gil answered, his tone slightly more cheerful than before.

“Can do,” Light grinned, laughing softly as he broke into a run toward the exit at the end of the hall. “You'd better watch out, monsters, because here I come.”

The kitten continued running right into the next room only to almost fall straight into a small square-shaped pit filled with clear blue water. He barely managed to see it in time to make an abrupt stop right at the edge of the pool, stumbling uncertainly as he waved his arms to keep from falling in. Finally, he fell backwards away from the pool and landed on his butt on the hard stone floor. But at least it was better than falling into the water or so he thought.

“Ouch... damn it. Why is it that I always seem to be falling on my ass when I'm adventuring? At least no one was here to see that,” he grumbled, rubbing his hind end gently.

'No one but me, you mean,' Gil corrected him. 'And maybe you wouldn't fall so often if you caved in and changed your foot wear already. Those boots have a heel on them. Heels make everything more difficult. Oh, and you're a boy. Why did you even choose those in the first place?'

“Hey, leave my boots out of this. They're stylish and I like them, okay? I don't need to have any better reason than that,” the wavemaster said, carefully standing up while keeping his distance from the pool.

'I suppose so. But you can't really blame me for questioning them. Ah well. In this game... gender really doesn't matter so much. Everyone can simply masquerade as something else and no one would be any the wiser about it.'

Light sighed, hanging his head forward. “Look, not to be rude, you understand, but I really don't care right now. I just want to finish this dungeon successfully before midnight rolls around. I have school in the morning after all. Dad would be mad if he found me staying up so late to play this game, and I really don't want him to take it away from me.” He finished speaking and walked around the pool to the door on the other side of the room.

'Alright, fine. Have it your way. I was only trying to make some conversation. I don't see anyone else around here who you can talk to.' Gil seemed to have taken some offense to his words, which he hadn't intended.

However, rather than taking care of that problem first, he chose to walk into the next room of the castle and see what lay ahead of them. There were no more lava pits or pools of water or other such strange things. Instead, there was a swirling golden monster portal in the center of the room. He couldn't help but grin as he draw his staff from his back and clenched it in a two-handed grip. The monster portal hadn't activated yet which meant that he had to start walking closer to it. He did so, keeping his senses on the alert so that he would be ready for whatever materialized.

“Don't take everything so personally. You'll only stress yourself out and wear yourself down. Just a piece of advice,” he said to the spirit that lay inside his mind. He didn't receive a response.

He let it go and focused on the monster portal. When he was within a reasonable distance, it shattered into a thousand glimmering particles that faded away to reveal a heavily armored knight wielding a large sword; a Swordmanoid. Light's eyes widened considerably as he looked upon the monster. It was one that he had never faced before and something about its promise of fierce strength frightened him a little. Only a little. Taking a breath to steady himself, he set aside his fear, raising his staff into a defensive position to shield his body.

The swordmanoid didn't hesitate. It charged toward him and its sword cut through the air in a side-ways arc at him. Light quickly thrust his staff to the side to block the blade. As their weapons connected, the force of the swordsman's blow sent him stumbling backward. He regained his balance in time to avoid falling once more and managed to keep the monster within his sights so that he couldn't be caught off-guard. The swordsman charged him again, relentless in its pursuit of him. He pointed the head of his staff toward the ceiling above them.

“Vak Rom!” he shouted the name of the spell, watching as a swirling torrent of flames temporarily engulfed the knight. “That's right. Burn... Burn!” A sharp spill of laughter fell from his lips as he watched the poor creature writhing in the heat of the fire. But their battle had only just started. It would not be over so quickly.

As the last of the flames faded away, Light stood at the ready to continue the fight. He tightened his grip on his staff. Even in the world outside of the game, his blood felt as though it were coursing with pure adrenaline. If he won this battle, then he would be one step closer to becoming a warrior worthy of standing at Centrus' side, rather than tagging along in his shadow. That was what was truly driving him now; the promise that he would meet his brother once more.

“Come on... I'll kick your ass, you stupid knight,” said the wavemaster, grinning with confidence.

The swordsman in question was just starting to recover from the burn damage it had been dealt. It shook its helmeted head a few times before finally setting its sights on the young neko. Sword in hand, it charged at its target, intent on taking revenge. It reared back before swinging forward with a massive amount of force. Light brought his staff up to defend himself, but was surprised when the blow sent him flying backward. He slammed into the stone wall with a loud cry. His body dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, leaving him cringing in discomfort.

'Light!' Gil shouted his other half's name. 'Hurry, get up! It's coming!'

Light lifted his head, slowly opening his eyes part way. His vision was still slightly blurry. He shook his head gently, hoping it would clear up. After a moment, he was able to see the swordmanoid. It was coming for him again just as Gil had said. The boy forced his body to move into a more upright position as he caught another strike on his staff. He gritted his teeth upon feeling his back being pressed against the wall. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his forehead only to fall onto the sword that rested a mere inch from his neck.

“I'm not... going... to lose to you!” he roared. “Juk Rom!”

A flurry of flailing branches and leaves burst into life around the swordsman. It stumbled backward in surprise, desperately trying to bat the offending foliage away. But as hard as it tried, its life continued to drain away and it was left in a highly vulnerable position. Light seized his opportunity, lunging to his feet, charging the monster with every ounce of strength that remained in his body. He reared back, slamming his staff into the swordmanoid's head. The metal helmet caved in under the powerful blow and was thrown off its wearer's head from the force. The swordsman fell after it, crashing on the ground in a heap of metal. Then it slowly dissolved into the fading gray particles. He was left standing, panting hard from all the effort he had exerted.

'Light? Are you okay?'

“Yeah... no,” the boy replied, sinking to his knees, holding his staff gingerly across his legs. “But I survived... I did it. Repth...”

Light closed his eyes as a warm glowing green light enveloped him. He stayed still, allowing the healing spell to work its magic on his body. In a way, he was fortunate that there were no more monsters or he would have been in a really bad situation. Even now, he couldn't allow himself to relax. The adrenaline was still surging through his veins, urging him to keep going. And he would answer that call. As soon as he was done healing, of course. He was eager for battle, not stupid. Eventually, the light faded and he felt as though he could stand without his body shaking.

'You did very well. I'm quite proud of you.' Gil purred, smiling softly in his mind.

“Thanks... So I take it you forgive me? Because I am sorry about getting into that tiff with you earlier,” said Light, while standing up. He carefully set his staff across his back before looking around. “Let's see... the next door to take is... that one.” Smiling, he made his way toward the last door.

'Of course. I never really intended to stay mad over something so small.'

The brunette-haired wavemaster laughed softly. He crossed the threshold into the next room, and discovered that it was the chamber containing the final treasure chest for the entire dungeon. His brown eyes widened as he took in the sight laid out before him. The chest itself was placed under a large golden stand which seemed to be supporting a massive sky warrior that was holding a sword of its own. Another smile blossomed in Light's expression. He couldn't help it; he'd finally made it all the way to the final goal on his own strength and no one else's.

“I did it... I'll come find you, brother. I swear...” he whispered softly, moving forward so that he could open the treasure chest with his own hands.

Light: +1250 EXP, Electric Wand, Health Drink, Mage's Soul

Just a little something I noticed: Zot spells rise from the ground. It's the Don spells that drop from the Sky. Other than that, it was a joy to read. Thank you, Light.