Nami sighed happily as she instinctively curled against Nagi's warmth. The movie was just beginning in the darkening theater as the three way date began. Nami grabbed Nagi's drink from her purse, opening the bottle of water and taking a swig. She slipped her legs onto the empty chair beside hers. Her cheeks reddened as Nagi slipped his arm around her waist.

"I have a feeling we'll be the only ones watching the movie," Nagi remarked, motioning toward Lulu and Lucas.

"Anka might catch some of it," Nami commented.

"Doubtful," he disagreed. Nami rested her head on Nagi's chest releasing a slight sigh. "What's wrong?"

Nami sniffed the air curiously. "Are you wearing cologne?" she inquired.

"No," he answered, "I don't wear any ever." Curiously he pulled part of his shirt to his nose sniffing it and shrugging it off.

Nami blushed, averting her eyes, "Well, you smell good."

"Thank you," he smiled, wrapping his arms around her.

---

Lulu grunted, shoving Lucas away from her. "What?" Lucas demanded.

"No tongue! Jeez!" Lulu said as she wiped her lips clean with her sleeve.

"Sorry, it gets hot..." Lucas said sheepishly as he twiddled his thumbs.

"Tongue me one more time and we are watching every second of this movie," Lulu hissed.

---

"Uh...I thought you said they're just friends..." Aiden remarked as he pointed to Nagi and Nami.

"Oh, that? They do that all the time," Anka replied.

"What are they? Friends with benefits?" Aiden blinked in confusion.

"No, they're just secretly in love with one another. They're both too ignorant to notice, though," Anka answered.

"Hmm..." Aiden shrugged. "Popcorn?" he asked as he offered the bucket to Anka. Anka reached into the bucket, grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Oh, I put caramel on it. I hope you don't mind."

"Mind? I love caramel popcorn," Anka chirped.

"Awesome," Aiden grinned happily as he grabbed a handful of popcorn. "So what have you heard about the movie?" he asked curiously.

---

It had been a glorious night for Anka, who thought back to the events thathad led to her meeting Aiden the previous evening, a chace encounter in the bookstore as they'd reached for the last copy of the same book. Aiden had stepped back shyly and offered to let her take it. Touched by his generosity Anka had taken the time to speak with him and liked his company more and more as the night progressed. She'd gone home on a cloud, the book forgotten.

She felt a small smile tug at her lips as she glanced down at the blue gift bag enclosed in her figers, the very book tat had led to their meeting her gift from him. "Anka?" He glanced at her quizically now.

"Hm?" Anka shook herself from her musings.

"We're almost there." He said, giving her hand a small squeeze before disentangling their fingers.

"Oh!" Anka blushed realizing that she didn't even remember the walk the few blocks towards the restaurant.

Lulu snickered and was elbowed briefly by Nami where they stood a few feet up the block. "Sh!" Nami hissed.

"What?" Lulu muttered.

Don't interrupt, its cute." Nami cooed.

"You think he's aiming to get lucky?" Lucas asked.

"Not hardly." Nagi snorted, "he seems like he's above the average teen's lack of control with their raging hormones..."

"Maybe Anka's finally found someone..." Nami sighed happily.

"At least he's hot," Lulu drooled. "And I'm sure he knows the meaning of no..."

Lucas glared at Lulu, "Hey, you know I'm frisky."

"I don't wanna know," Nagi said firmly.

"Back to the cute couple," Nami said quickly, returning her attention to Anka and Aiden.

"I had fun tonight." Aiden said awkwardly, his gaze never straying from her own.

"Me too." Anka managed a wavery smile, her stomach fluttering nervously as he leaned towards her.Gently Aiden brushed a strand of hair from her face, lifting her hand to kiss it briefly, "I hope that tonight was only the first in a long line of dates..."

"Who does that anymore?" Lulu questioned.

"I think its sweet..." Nami replied, "Bold enough to kiss her hand but not presumptuous as to try to really kiss her and possibly have things end on a really awkward note...."

Nagi's gaze was pulled to the figure of a stranger watching them from the shadows, squinting he tried to discern their features to no avail.

That's no way to get laid," Lucas remarked, frowning.

"Yeah, and romance is not about sex," Nami growled. "Not to you, anyhow," Lulu hissed.

"Some of us do like a good lay...right, Nagi?" Lulu nudged Nagi with her elbow.

Nagi shook his head, "What?" he asked in a daze.

"Sex. Yes or no?" Lucas said as he stared at Nagi expectantly. "Depends I suppose," he shrugged before returning his gaze to the stranger who was now gone.

"What is it?" Nami inquired as she tugged Nagi's arm.

"You're worrying me..." she whispered. "Oh...sorry. I felt like we were being followed..."

"Really?" Lulu glanced over her shoulder at the empty street that was dimly lit by the street light.

Lucas spun around, looking around in a paranoid manner. "Nothing here, Nagi. You're just paranoid, so relax."

"You guys coming? We still have dinner to go to!" Anka called to the others. "She's right. Let's go," Nami started toward Anka, Nagi following immediately after her. Lucas shrugged and started after Nami and Nagi.

Lulu took a step forward stopping when a hand covered her mouth, muffling her scream as she was pulled out of sight. "Hey, Lu, I forgot my money..."

Lucas turned around and stared at the empty street. "Very funny...wait until Nagi says something creepy to act like you were kidnap-" he stopped speaking as his mouth was covered as well.

"Where'd the other two go?" Aiden asked as they stood around, waiting for the hostess.

"Probably making out," Nami sighed. "Bathroom?" Nami asked Anka, grabbing her arm and taking her to the nearest bathroom.

"Whats up?" Anka asked of Nami, taking a last glance over her shoulder at Aiden as the door closed behind her.

Nagi frowned as he looked over the crowd in search of Lulu and Lucas, a foreboding feeling swirling in the pit of his stomach.

"Nagi?" Aiden asked in a quiet tone.

"Hm?" Nagi replied distractedly.

"You've known Anka a long time, right?"

"Yeah?" Nagi tore his gaze from the crowd and focused on the other male.

"Do you think she'd be interested in being my girlfriend? She's an amazing person..." Aiden blushed, shifting from foot to foot.

"She likes you a lot. Ask her to go steady," Nagi answered frankly.

Aiden smiled, "Maybe one day she and I can be like you and Nami."

"Huh?" Nagi stared blankly at Aiden.

"Oh, nothing," Aiden said meekly.

Nami collapsed against Anka. "Why? Why...why???" she whimpered.

"Why what?" Anka asked as she patted Nami's back comfortingly.

"Why couldn't it be a real date?" Nami whispered as she collapsed to the floor against the wall.

"It can be," Anka assured her. "Just...oh...I don't know...tell Nagi that you like him?"

Nami's cheeks reddened as she hugged her knees. "That'll never work..."

"Call me crazy but I think it might," Anka replied.

Nami's cheeks went ashen as she watched Anka get grabbed from behind. Within a few seconds she was unconscious, laying limply in her captor's arms. Nami slowly stood only to be met by another masked captor. "Come peacefully and nobody will get hurt..." the second captor said firmly.

Seeing no choice Nami approached the second captor who immediately restrained her. Nami was instantly unconscious in the second captor's arms. Nagi stared toward the bathroom. "Something's wrong."

"Why? They're girls. I'm sure they're talking about us," Aiden replied as he leaned against the counter.

"Lulu and Lucas haven't shown up either," Nagi said as he started toward the restroom.

"What are you doing?" Aiden hissed as he followed Nagi.

"I am checking on Nami and Anka," he muttered as he opened the bathroom door. "I knew it..." he growled as he procured Nami's purse as well as Anka's. He held them up for Aiden to see.

"Why would they leave their purses?" Aiden asked.

"They wouldn't," Nagi answered.

There's no other way out of here though..." Aiden murmured, glancing briefly towards the empty stalls.

"Which makes this all the weirder..." Nagi felt his pulse quicken as the eerie sense that someone was watching them fell over him again. Whirling he came face to face with a tall, bulky man in a strange mask, "The hell?" he muttered just as Aiden cried out. Looking over he saw that the other male had vanished, "where is Nami!?" he demanded, then, "and the others?"

"Waiting for you, pretty boy." the man snickered.

Nagi growled and lunged, closing his fingers about the grotesque mask and pulled... With no success, "ow you little shit!" Nagi blanched as he realized the lips were moving... This was no masked figure. His last thoughts before unconsciousness was forced upon him were worries for himself and his friends... As well as the situation they seemed to have found themselves in
The man brought the chloroform covered cloth to Nagi's face. Fighting with all of his strength Nagi couldn't keep the cloth from his face. He was almost instantly unconscious as the smell reached his nostrils. Nagi was the first to stir, finding all of his friends in a small room with him. They were all asleep on sleeping bags, tucked in snugly in a rather motherly way. "Nami..." he murmured in a grog as he crawled toward her. "Nami, wake up..." he pleaded before shaking her lightly.

"Hmm?" she responded, batting her eyelashes as she eased her eyes open, trying to adjust to the dim light of the room. "Nagi?" she inquired as she stared up at him, "what the hell happened?" she scrunched her nose in response to the tingling sensation she was feeling.

"I went to check on you and Anka, found your purses and was jumped by...I don't even know what..." he answered.

"That was the worst sleep I've ever had..." she said bitterly as she pulled the blanket around herself.

"Chloroform," Nagi muttered. "I'm going to wake the others," he said quickly in an attempt to break the awkward silence. He crawled toward Anka, shaking her and calling her name. Anka sat up quickly, reacting defensively to the last thing she could remember. Anka began panting as she looked around the room at her friends who were likewise captured.

"Why do I feel hung over?" she grumbled as she rubbed her temples.

"We were drugged and kidnapped..." Nagi muttered.

Anka swallowed the lump in her throat and stood, unfortunately for them they didn't tie us up." she said in a voice braver than she felt.

"Anka?" Lulu slurred as she, Aiden, and Lucas slowly rose into a sitting position.

"Are you guys alright?" Anka asked quickly, her gaze on Aiden as he rose shakily to his feet.

"Yeah..." Lucas muttered, "the hell are we?"

"Dunno... I don't want to stick around and find out, either..." Anka stood, nearly collapsing as her tingling appendages wobbled. She walked over to the small door and without much faith, twisted the knob, "unlocked..." she said in surprise.

"Why go through all the trouble of kidnapping 6 teens and leaving them free in an unlocked room?" Nami questioned wearily.

"Who cares? Lets just get out of here..." Aiden murmured, grasping Anka's hand comfortingly in his own.

"We should take a minute to come up with a plan..." Nagi muttered. "

"This isn't making any sense...I gotta say I'm with Aiden on this one..." Lucas said, "what if they change their minds and come tie us up or lock the door? We'd be trapped..."

"I'm sure as hell not staying here..." Nami murmured as she stood. "We could have our only window of opportunity to escape right now."

"Well she presents a good argument," Nagi muttered, twiddling his thumbs anxiously.

"You're allowed to disagree with your girlfriend, Nagi," Lulu murmured.

"I agree with Nami," Nagi said firmly.

"Wait, what if you get caught? What are we going to do then?" Aiden cut in.

"Then I'm not gonna be dumb enough to breathe in the chloroform this time," Nagi replied.

"So Nagi and I are going to escape," Nami questioned her friends as she glanced around at the others. "Really? You're not eager to get out?"

"No, I don't want to be tied up or kept prisoner...but right now I can at least scratch my nose if I need to," Lucas answered.

"Look, these guys aren't exactly normal..." Nagi started.

"Kidnapping 6 teens isn't any bit normal, Nagi," Lulu said dryly. "No, I mean...they're not human...they're monsters..." he shuddered as he relived the moments before he was rendered unconscious. "And I am not one to find out what the supernatural want with us."

"Supernatural?" Anka repeated before releasing a deep sigh.

"Supernatural?!" Aiden frowned, looking around at the others for confirmation.

"You know, demons, ghosts, vampires, dragons...the whole shebang," Lulu said nonchalantly.

"You sure it wasn't just a mask?" Aiden asked, trying to see logic in the situation.

Nagi shook his head, "I wish that was the case..." he sighed.

"And that doesn't make this situation worse?" Aiden pressed.

"A... Lot of weird stuff happens in our lives." Anka managed, "Its freaky as hell..."

"But not something way out of the ordinary." Nami finished.

"I don't understand..." Aiden murmured.

"If you're going to be hanging in our crowd you will..." Lucas stood with a sigh, "we'd best get moving, I'd rather not end up as demon chow..." Quickly he helped Lulu to her feet.

"Right, so I don't have my purse," Lulu realized.

"We're going to be demon food and you're worried about your purse?" Nami hissed.

"Well I wasn't going to point out that it's designer, I was going to point out my cellphone is in it," Lulu said firmly.

"Good idea..." Anka said as she patted her sides. She glanced around the room, "No purse..."

"Me either..." Nami sighed.

Nagi patted his pockets, "Me either..." Lucas and Aiden turned out their pockets in frustration.

"They're smart enough to make sure we have nothing useful on our person..." Lulu growled. She glared at Lucas, "And don't you dare laugh at the word person..."

"Uh, well...we still have sharp pointed objects for some reason," Nami pointed to her wrist band. "So they didn't think of everything..."

"Hell if needbe I could strangle something with a shoe lace," Lucas said confidently.

"Good, you're thinking on your feet," Anka clapped her hands together.

"Shall we go?" Nagi asked as he stepped into the strange hallway.

Aiden slowly followed the group out of the room, still trying to take in the gravity of the situation. "How odd... The walls are covered in weapons..." Lucas awed, taking in the broad range of collections upon the wall.

Anka approached the wall, oddly drawn to a pair of sapphire encrusted scimitars. She pulled the blades from the wall and hefted them experimentally in her grasp, "what?" she questioned as the others gaped.

"Anka, your clothes..." Aiden managed.

Glancing down Anka realized that her clothes had been replaced by aqua leather that clung tightly to her figure. "What is this?" she frowned.


"Oh! I want an outfit like that!" Lulu exclaimed, reaching for an amethyst garnished dagger and short sword. Within seconds she wore leather similar to Anka's own in a soft violet.

"This is like some weird game..." Aiden muttered as the others glanced over the weapons and reached for a few of their own.

"Pretty..." Nami said as she grabbed a ruby encrusted whip. Her dressy goth clothing was immediately replaced by a tight red leather outfit.

Lucas' jaw dropped, "Very pretty..." he drooled. "All of you are...but she's got a whip..." he whimpered.

Nagi elbowed Lucas' stomach, "Get your mind out of the gutter..." he growled.

"Is he always like that?" Aiden asked.

"Yes, I always am," Lucas said frankly. "I am an appreciator of beautiful women in sexy costumes."

"Wow..." Nami ran her fingers over a large shield.

"These are amazing..." Lulu said with a gasp.

"They are awesome..." Nagi muttered as he grabbed a pair of brass knuckles.
Diamonds rested along the edges of Nagi's brass knuckles, and as he fitted them onto his hands brilliant white chainmail replaced his clothes, moulding
comfortably over his figure.

Lucas quickly chose a hefty double-bladed battle ax, emeralds gracing the handle. His clothes were quickly replace with deep green chainmail. Giving in to the innevitable Aiden searched the wall for something useful to defend himself. Promising himself to come to terms with the situation and get the answers he needed... Aiden chose a decent sized bastard sword encrusted with pitch black onyx. His clothes were then replaced by black chainmail.

"Very befitting..." Anka added.

"Yeah, you look hot," Lucas nodded.

"Uhhh..." Nagi stared in awe at Lucas.

"What? I appreciate hot regardless of gender," Lucas shrugged.

"I'm not gonna get used to that," Nami remarked as her cheeks reddened.

"I just ignore him," Anka said with a grin. "But you do look good, Nagi and Aiden..." Anka assured them.

"Any of you actually know how to use weapons?" Nami inquired.

"I was gonna wing it," Lulu confessed sheepishly.

"Uh...me too..." Lucas laughed in embarrassment.

"Well, no...but I wasn't going to use mine. I was only touching them out of curiousity," Aiden explained.

"We may have to defend ourselves, you know," Nagi remarked as he continued
down the hall.

"Let's get a move on before that happens," Nami agreed as she started after Nagi.

"You know... Something Aiden said back there really caught my attention..." Lulu said as they walked.

"And whats that?" Lucas asked.

"How this seems like a game..." Lulu replied, "what if we somehow got ourselves trapped in a game?"

"Its not a bad hypothesis..." Anka agreed.

"Only one way to find out..." Nagi replied as they rounded a corner... And were immediately ambushed.

Several short green creatures with elongated ears and a single horn on their forehead charged forward, waddling like ducks and making strange jibberish sounds. Each of the strange creatures were wielding a different weapon, everything from pikes, to swords, axes, hammers and their bare fists. "Mnnningningningningnin!" one shouted, thrusting its weapon into the air. The other creatures repeated what appeared to be a war cry, brandishing their weapons and fists into the air before charging forward.

"Wha?" Lulu took a ginger step backwards as her eyes darted from creature to creature. She did a quarter turn before hitting the ground. A large quake began shaking the room, dust and mites getting kicked up during the rumble.

"Lu!" Nagi grabbed Lulu's arm and yanked her into the doorway with the rest of their party.

A random ghoul pointed to the ceiling, "Ningmininin!" it cried before turning tail and retreating. After a few moments the quaking stopped.

"What the fuck...?" Lulu demanded.

"About the ghouls or the earthquake in Pennsylvania?" Nami asked as she brushed the dust from her hair.

"Both," Lulu answered.

"They're ghouls?" Aiden asked.

"Yeah, they like fighting but they don't like loud noises," Anka explained. "Probably because of the big ears..." she said as she placed a thoughtful finger to her lip.

"My question is... Why are we in such a strange place with weapons and armor... And a bunch of armed ghouls?" Nagi muttered thoughtfully.

"Who went shopping at the magic shop again?" Nami sighed, raking her fingers through her hair.

"Magic shop?" Aiden asked cautiously.

"Awesome place in the mall that we all typically visit and sometimes wind up in situations like this..." Anka explained briefly.

"So why go back if it causes stuff like this?" Aiden glanced at the doorway as a few shadowed figures scurried past.

"We get bored." Lulu shrugged.

"So who bought what?" Nami pressed.

"I haven't been there in a while." Anka replied.

"Me either." Lulu shrugged.

"I don't really shop there myself. " Nagi said, "Meaning that it has to be somebody else, we'll ask around when we get out of here."

"If we get out of here." Anka shuddered as six towering creatures entered the room, weapons similar to their own held at the ready.

"What is this, a joke?" One said with a gurgling laugh.

"Humans in the tournament? It must be..." Another laughed.

"Easy victory!" The others chorused.

"Tournament?" Nami asked nervously.

"Don't play dumb...you're our play toys!" the ogre's raspy voice answered as he slapped a large club on his palm repeatedly.

"Right...about that..." Lucas said before he made a dash for what appeared to be an exit. Lucas was stopped by a spear that careened past his nose.

"Yer not goin anywhere..." another said as he stomped forward, easily retrieving his spear with ease. He smiled with large, sharp teeth down at Lucas who was trembling in fear.

"What do we do now?" Lulu hissed as she began shaking Anka frantically.

"Sto-" Anka broke Lulu's grasp on her, "Stop shaking me and I'll call the magic shop lady," Anka said as she reached for where her purse normally was.

"Good job..." Lucas said dryly.

"None of us know weapons..." Aiden said nervously.

"I can fence," Nagi announced.

"Yeah," Nami gripped his hand tightly, "but I don't think they'll be playing by your usual rules..."

"Right... No phone." Anka leapt backwards as an axe bit into the concrete flooring where she'd been standing prior, "I... have gaming experience." She said quickly in response to Aiden's statement as she held the blades out in an awkward defensive stance.

"Might as well wing it..." Lulu said under her breath, twirling the dagger in her hand and glaring at the ogres.

"Lets just try to stay alive and figure out what's going on here?" Aiden gulped.

"That's the idea." Nami said softly.

"Come on...earthquake..." Lucas said as he rubbed his hands together rapidly.

"Move!" Lulu growled to Lucas who opened his eyes, barely missing being beheaded.

Lucas fell backwards, throwing his hands defensively in front of his face. His hands began emitting a bright white glow, immediately blinding only the ogres. "What the...?" Lucas stared down at his hands that were still emitting the pulsating beams of light.

"My eyes! Stop it!" an ogre cried as he shielded his eyes.

"Now's our chance!" Lulu said as she leapt at an ogre, cutting into his face with the tip of her dagger, slashing repeatedly. The ogre fell backwards, toppling over, Lulu landed gracefully in a crouching position.

Scimitars drawn, Anka began wildly swinging the swords, cutting into one of the ogre's legs. Anka gasped as her attention was drawn to the foot of the ogre coming straight down on her. "Anka!" Aiden cried as he blinked toward her, landing beside her, grabbing her arm and blinking again to the other side of the room in a split second.

"Whoa..." Anka gasped as she looked Aiden up and down. "Awesome..." she laughed happily.

Nagi threw his fists into the air, barely managing to keep his stance as the fist weapons took the blunt of the blow from a confused and frantic ogre's club. "I'll help," Nami volunteered, cracking her whip against Nagi's assailant's knuckles. The ogre yelped in pain as he tossed his blunt instrument against the wall.

"Thanks," Nagi scratched his cheek nervously as Nami embraced him tightly.

Lucas' illuminating flash died down, the ogres' site was returned, the remaining four staring at their downed companions.

"How dey do dat?" Asked the smaller of the four, scratching at the scraggly patch of hair on his head.

"Kill da bright light wielder!" The second pointed a thick finger at Lucas, holding out a wicked, curved blade.

"Umm... Guys?" Lucas gulped, scuttling backwards, trying to get to his feet as the ogres advanced on him.

Aiden, Nagi, Nami, and Anka leapt forward without thought and each attacked one of the advancing ogres as Lulu pulled Lucas to his feet, "Man up," She hissed, taking her sword in favor of the dagger that she had used a few minutes prior.

"They were all coming after me though!" Lucas whined, lifting his axe into the air as he and Lulu waited for an opening.

Nami snapped her whip in the air, catching one of the ogres across his bare gut, opening a long gash that oozed dark blood. He howled in pain and dropped his knife as the whip caught him next across the arm.

Anka ducked to the side as the ogre's axe came crashing towards her she lunged upwards and swallowed hard as one of her scimitars met the resistance of flesh and passed through the ogre's belly. She winced and pulled back, blood spurting from the wound.

Aiden had his ogre pinned to the wall, and as it lunged he fell to his knees and held the blade out, the ogre impaling himself up to the hilt, spilling steaming blood over his arms.

"Great...this makes me a liability..." Lucas let out a sigh of relief as he watched Aiden kill an ogre. Anka's ogre stumbled forward in its last few seconds of life, landing just before Lucas who was now ashen from the shock of almost dying yet again. "Don't do that!" he whined.

Anka stared down at her blood stained sword before glaring up at Lucas, "Sorry, next time I'll just stand here and let them hit me."

Nagi punched at the yelping ogre's injured arm as Nami swung her whip toward the ogre's ankles. Her whip caught the ogre by his ankle, and with all of her strength she used her whip to trip him. Aiden thrust his sword into the heart of the ogre Nami and Nagi managed to ground causing its immediate death. "He-ya!" Lucas brought his sword down, beheading the already dead ogre.

"Good job," Lulu said dryly as she patted Lucas' head.

"Gotta make sure they're dead..." Lucas said sheepishly.

"Step to the next room, victors..." a loud voice boomed from out of nowhere.

"Great...disembodied voices..." Nami took a ginger step backwards.

"Wonder what we're fighting now," Nagi cracked his knuckles emphatically as he made his way to the door that was slowly creeping open.

"Only one way to find out," Lulu shrugged before following Nagi.

"I'm kind of scared..." Anka admitted.

"We'll be okay..." Aiden said, wrapping a cautious arm about her waist.

"Oh... my... god..." Lulu said slowly as she saw what they were up against.

"Are they serious?" Lucas eyed up their opponents.

Anka, Aiden, Nami, and Nagi stepped into the room behind them and the door slammed closed. The dim lighting became glaringly bright and they were faced with six imp-like creatures, all stood barely over a foot tall. "They're so cute..." Anka cooed.

"I don't think they got here on cuteness alone..." Nagi said hesitantly as the imps brandished razor sharp claws.

"Doesn't seem so..." Anka paled.

The imps dove at them with lightning speed, slashing at them and gouging at their armor. "How're we supposed to fight them!?" Lulu exclaimed in frustration as she bumped into the wall, slashing at the imp that had attacked her as it came in again.

"Just like the space invader's mother ship," Nami said as she cracked her whip in the thin air. As her whip unfurled it stung one of the imp's legs, the imp falling and screeching in pain.

"I always gave up before that level," Lucas said sheepishly.

"She means to attack where they're going not where they are," Anka whispered as she eyed another, carefully studying its movements.

"My eyes don't move that fast..." Nagi muttered sheepishly.

"So swing your arms wildly," Lucas suggested as he waved his axe around the room, occasionally slapping an imp with the flat side.

Anka kept swiping at where the imp's predicted movements would take them only to come up empty-handed. "Gah! This is getting us nowhere!" she shouted in frustration. The imps were all immediately electrocuted by several bolts of lightning that filled the room.

"What the hell is with the natural phenomena today?" Aiden stared blankly at the sparks of electricity that were still on their enemies' bodies.

"Don't know..." Nagi shrugged.

"First the earthquake," Nami rattled off, attempting to recall the details before the quake.

"Because Lulu fell and she's apparently fat," Lucas stuck his tongue out a blew a raspberry at her.

"And Lucas' fairy light," Lulu said coolly.

"Teleportation," Aiden added.

"And now lightning in doors..." Nami sighed. "There is only one explanation for this."

"The item bought at the magic shop gave us powers too," Anka guessed.

"Right...too bad we can't even really know who has which power and how they use it..." Nami stroked her chin thoughtfully, her train of thought interrupted by the stomping party of orcs entering the arena.

"Wait, wait, this isn't fair!" Lucas shouted, his arms straining against the weight of the axe, he was growing tired.

"Hoomans have no place here." One of the orcs growled, "We kill you all." He hefted a crossbow into his arms and took careful aim, "Lu, down!" Anka cried as the shaft was released, Lulu threw herself to the ground, the bolt barely missing her head.

"You jerks, at least give us a fair fight!" Lulu exclaimed in frustration, the floor beneath them all began to rumble.

The orcs stood still in bewilderment for a moment, giving the group the chance to lunge forward and attack. Anka's blades bit into flesh, felling several as she ran through them. Nami's whip blinded and stung as she swung it with lighting speed, following her Nagi buried his fists into the orcs faces and chests, breaking bones and sidestepping them as they fell.

Aiden followed behind with Lucas on his right, both swinginging wildly at the remaining orcs, blood arcing through the air as bodies fell around them. Lulu rose cautiously to her feet, taking in what happened next in slow motion. Her gaze fell to one of the remaining orcs that stood back from the action, his crossbow loaded and aimed... right at Anka's back.

None of the others noticed... There wouldn't be time to act, "Anka!" She cried out in terror.

It was Aiden who turned, first towards her and then in understanding towards the orc that held the crossbow. He didn't notice the others who trailed into the room... His attention was on the beast... And then he followed the aim of the crossbow as the bolt was released... Anka was in danger. His heart thundered in his chest, the girl that he had fallen for was going to die, there was too much space between them for him to get to her before the bolt.

Swallowing hard he closed his eyes... and felt the puncture of the bolt through his back as he collapsed against Anka, "Aiden!" She cried, her voice sounded so far away as she scrambled out from beneath him, her expression held worry and pain as her fingers closed about the shaft of the bolt buried in his body, "Oh god, why?" She pleaded, tears springing to her eyes.

Aiden managed a brief smile, "I'm glad I made it in time..." He whispered, feeling the numbness spread outward from his chest.

"Y-you'll be okay..." Anka stuttered, "We just need to get you out of here... We'll get you to a doctor..."

"Mm mn..." Aiden shook his head, "Its too late, I'm sorry Anka." He winced, fighting the darkness that was spotting his vision, "Please..." He grasped her hand and tugged it to his now blood stained lips, leaving a red smear as he kissed her knuckles, "Don't die..." His eyes closed and his final breath escaped him.

"No..." Anka whispered, then, "No!" She screamed, throwing her head back, the sorrow in her words charging the air...

Orc's screams echoed hers as a brilliant light flooded the room and they fell to the floor one by one, charred beyond recognition by the crackling energy that flooded the room.

"We said a fair fight!" Nami growled as the flames swirled around her entire body. "And that was a cheap shot..." she said as she continued to slowly amble toward the searing bodies.

"N-Nami?" Nagi squeaked as he stared in disbelief at her. He swallowed hard as he watched her extinguish the flames with a simple hand gesture.

"Yes?" Nami asked happily as the flames subsided, disappearing from the room and around Nami.

"What the hell?" Lucas demanded, otherwise speechless, motioning toward Nami and the charred remains of their previous opponents.

"What?" Nami asked innocently, blinking in confusion.

"It's safe to say that Nami has the fire power," Lulu said sheepishly.

"Uh..." Nami pointed to the blackened bodies, "what did I miss?"

"Apparently as much as we did," Nagi sighed, frowning when he turned to Anka and Aiden.

"Congratulations. You have earned your rest. Proceed through the door and a healer will soothe your wounds and you will be escorted to your villa," a disembodied voice announced.

"What the...?" the group chorused, looking around in confusion.

"Anka?" Nami approached the pair on the floor as the last of the electrical energy that had killed as many orcs as her own flames faded from Anka's body, she stopped in her tracks when she saw the expression on Anka's face.

"He's dead..." She said quietly.

"W-what?" Nami managed as she dashed the last few feet to Anka's side and crouched beside the pair.

Aiden was pale, blood arced along the floor from his body, staining Anka's leather armor and bare hands, "He died to save me." Anka said shakily, tears springing to her eyes.

"Oh sweetie..." Nami managed, wrapping Anka in her arms.

"What happened?" Nagi asked as he, Lulu, and Lucas quickly approached.

"Aiden..." Nami murmured simply as she tried to soothe Anka.

Nagi knelt before the boy's prone body, touching two fingers to his bare neck and shaking his head when he realized that Aiden had died, "We... need to get moving." He said roughly, "Lucas, help me with him..."

"But-" Lucas stopped when Nagi glared at him, "Alright," He said as together he and Nagi hefted Aiden into their arms.

Nami and Lulu helped Anka to her feet and they went through the gaping doorway that supposedly would lead them to a resting point. They kept their weary gazes moving should this prove to be a trick and they be attacked again.

The group found themselves in the lobby of a hotel. A werewolf woman smiled at them, "You must be the guests," she said as she slid six room keys across the counter, "Room 302," she explained.

"Thanks?" Nami said in a ginger tone as she gathered all of the keys. They made their way to the room where a full dinner was awaiting them on several carts.

"Now they're going to poison us..." Lulu sighed, raking her fingers through her blood drenched hair.

A knock came from behind them on the ajar door. "Hello, I'm the healer you were promised," an old woman with pointed ears announced as she entered the room.

"Then heal him!" Anka exclaimed, pointing at Aiden's body where they'd covered it in the corner.

"I'm sorry miss, I'm not a necromancer, I can't raise the dead. And even if I could... Its foolish to force departed spirits back into their bodies." The woman replied crisply.

Anka sank back down onto the bed and sighed, "He shouldn't have died..." She murmured.

"Our cleanup crew will dispose of the body." The woman said as she first approached Lucas to tend his injuries.

"They will do no such thing!" Anka said fiercely, "He will be taken to his family so that they... can mourn and bury him."

"What the hell is even going on?" Lulu demanded, "What is this place, and what are we doing here?"

"You're the practice team for the army," the woman explained. "They practice on those with strong magical capability so our army can stand against the wizards from the coast..." she frowned.

"We don't have magical ability," Nami cut in. "Just the opposite...we're ordinary teens..."

"You would not have been able to see our procurers and they would not be able to see you if you were not tied to magic," she explained.

"Damn magic shop..." Lucas growled as the woman tied Lucas' arms with bandages.

"Magical items are not enough to do this," the healer explained as she moved on to Lulu, "in fact, you must be born with magic in your blood, or exchange fluids with somebody who is magical."

"Uh..." they all glanced around at their friends.

"Is there any way for us to not fight?" Anka asked between sobs.

"You could breed with our warriors so magic will run through the child's blood and magic can be in our army," the healer answered.

"Blood transfusions would be simpler and way less disgusting," Nami made a face.

"Blood transfusions?" the healer blinked.

"Nevermind." Nami shook her head.

"How do we get home otherwise?" Anka demanded, swiping at her eyes.

"Oh, there's no chance of that." The healer replied with a faint smile, "For in order for you to make it home alive you'll have to defeat an army, and frankly... That's not likely to happen." She quickly moved onto the others' injuries, "Now rest, we'll need you at full health for tomorrow. Our warriors need a challenge, not some half-ass tired kids."

Anka growled, "We'll be getting out of here tomorrow." She said coldly.

"Good luck, child." The healer chuckled as she exited the room, "Good luck."

"We need to find a way out of here." Lucas said, his expression pale, "We can't fight a whole army."

"The woman said we've got magic... Why don't we try to figure that out and use it to our advantage?" Nagi frowned.

"In such a short time with no idea what we can do?" Anka replied hopelessly.

"We can do it." Lulu said quickly, glancing at the platters of food as her stomach growled hungrily, "Lucas, darling?"

"Yes?" Lucas blinked, looking at Lulu.

"Will you be a doll and try some of that food?" Lulu said innocently.

"B-but what if its poisoned?" Lucas whimpered.

"The way I figure it, you're the most useless among us. If its poisoned we won't be any worse for wear." Lulu shrugged.

"That's cold..." Lucas said.

"We need to eat." Lulu said frankly, "Otherwise we'll all be killed tomorrow anyway."

"Ugh..." Lucas looked down at the food hesitantly, then his appetite got the better of him and he attacked a whole roasted chicken, he then moved on to other dishes ravenously.

"How long does it take for poison to work?" Nagi asked, staring at Lucas.

"Depending on the dosage anywhere from an hour to a few weeks if ingested steadily," Nami replied.

"Wash it down with water since it dilutes poison," Lulu suggested as she grabbed a tray of bread and butter.

Anka sighed, grabbing her own tray of food and digging into it ravenously. "This is so good...I don't care if it's poisoned..." she moaned happily.

"What do you think?" Nami asked, turning to Nagi. She fought with her growling stomach as she awaited her friend's response.

"Well, I'm pretty hungry...we were supposed to eat hours ago..." he glared down at his stomach, "and poisoning us wouldn't make much sense. They want us alive."

"So she said. For all we know they'll kill us tonight," Nami crossed her arms over her chest.

"Well, we had better get a plate before Lucas eats it all," Nagi said as he approached the large cart, grabbing another roasted chicken, placing the platter on the bed. "You wanna eat?" Nagi asked as he stared up at Nami.

"Yes, and I don't care if it's stupid," she said as she grabbed the tray of fruit and joined Nagi on the bed.

"Oh no..." Anka moaned twenty minutes later.

"Whats wrong?" Nami and Nagi chorused.

"I think we were drugged..." Anka fought a vicious yawn and collapsed backwards on the bed, suddenly unconscious.

Lucas drooled over his half eaten plate, slumbering deeply as well. "It figures." Lulu tossed her plate aside as a wave of exhaustion overcame her, "Anyone consider they might drug rather than poison us?" Her eyes were growing heavier by the minute.

"Unfortunately it never crossed my mind..." Nagi said as he eased his eyes closed.

Nami and Lulu followed within seconds.

---

Anka groaned, her mouth fuzzy and dry as she dragged herself into a sitting position. Blinking blearily she looked around, they were no longer sleeping in the room but on the hard, bloodstained floor of the room they'd left the previous evening. Her gaze fell upon the freshest stain near the center of the room and tears burned her eyes. "Guys..." She cleared her throat and repeated herself louder than the meager whisper she'd managed before.

"Give me five more minutes, mommy..." Lulu said sleepily as she rolled over.

"No I don't pee the bed anymore..." Lucas uttered before continuing his loud snoring.

Anka sighed, turning her attention to the soundly sleeping Nagi and Nami. "You two are pretty cozy..."

Nagi and Nami both immediately sat up, "Hmm?" they chorused.

"Where the hell are we?" Nami asked, glancing around quickly as she took in their surroundings.

"I said five more minutes!" Lulu growled as she sat up, her anger was replaced with confusion as her eyes adjusted to the battle room. "What the...?"

"They must not have wanted to chance us running off in the middle of the night..." Anka said flatly as she stretched aching muscles and rose.

"Lucas!" Lulu said, kicking him in the side.

"Wha-!" Lucas yelped, jerking upright, "Whats going on?"

"They drugged us then dragged us back out here apparently..." Nagi grumbled as the door slowly creaked open.

"Well there went the idea of mastering our powers..." Lucas grumbled, rubbing his hip.

"We can still try, right?" Nami suggested.

"I haven't even shown potential to use powers," Nagi muttered.

"Well, I'm certain it is more useful than fairy boy's flashlight," Lulu said comfortingly.

"Hey, my flashlight got us a win," Lucas pouted.

"No time for arguing. We should at least try to trigger the abilities we've shown," Anka suggested. "Seeing that we no longer have our weapons or armor..."

"Oh, I completely forgot about them," Nagi said sheepishly.

"Great, we're up a the creek without a paddle and knee deep in flooding water..." Nami sighed.

"Maybe they're going to let us go?" Lucas suggested.

"Doubtful... though maybe we're being given the option to pick new weapons?" Anka gazed at the cracked door thoughtfully.

"That or they're just tired of us." Lulu muttered, "I don't want to die down here... There's too much we haven't done..." She rubbed fiercely at her eyes.

"We're not going to die down here." Anka straightened and strode over to the door, jerking it open to reveal a darkened passageway.

"Anything?" Nagi asked stiffly as Anka peered down either direction.

"Its too dark to see anything..." Anka frowned, stepping back into the room and easing the door slightly closed, "We need light... Who knows what could be waiting for us out there..."

"Okay," Lulu drew in a deep breath. "I found solace," she announced.

"Good," Nami commented.

"I won't die a virgin," Lulu said with finality.

"And back to the problem at hand," Nami's cheeks reddened as she joined Anka in peering into the darkness.

"Hey, I won't die a virgin, either," Lucas clapped his hands happily.

"Yay, good for you. Now, use your stupid light power and light the hall," Nagi muttered, shoving Lucas forward.

"I don't know how to use it..." Lucas twiddled his thumbs.

"Yeah, none of us even have a clue how to trigger the magic," Nami reminded Nagi.

"Well we either find a light, use Lucas as a light or we walk blindly into the dark," Lulu frowned.

Anka sighed, "I'm going," she announced as she started down the darkened hall.

"No, wait!" Lucas stepped in front of Anka. "We should at least try to find a torch or something, right?"

"True, but I don't see anything we could use as a light," Anka replied.

"Damn...if we had our purses I at least have a zippo lighter and a light on my keychain..." Lulu grumbled.

"You've thought of something," Nagi noted as he turned to Nami.

Nami blushed, "Uh, I was just considering the possibility of those wizards invading and being our way out," she replied.

"Oh, that's right..." Nagi tapered off.

"What if they put us down here?" Anka asked.

"Then we're even more screwed..." Lulu sighed in defeat.

"I swear... We find out who got us into this mess and we kick their asses..." Anka muttered, stretching to relieve the ache in her shoulders.

"Ah, my axe!" Lucas exclaimed, his gaze on the ceiling where the large weapon had been embedded.

Leaping upwards he groped for the shaft of the axe, missing it by an inch or so every time, "Gah! Who would put something like that in the ceiling!?" He glowered up at it.

The ground shook beneath their feet as explosions sounded further down the path, "Are we sure we really want to be going this way?" Lulu muttered.

"It was a dead end the other way..." Nagi sighed, "The tunnel was collapsed, what other choice did we have?" His gaze, adjusted now to the darkness, fell on the darkened hall ahead, "Quit playing around already, Lucas..."

"Got it!" Lucas crowed triumphantly, dangling from the shaft as he jerked it from the ceiling.

The group walked gingerly through the dark, stopping when Lulu released a scream. The scream startled Lucas' lightbringing power, the room being illuminated, revealing a naga gripping Lulu's ankle. "Help...wiz..." he said slowly before collapsing.

"Waaah! Dead thing!" Lulu cried, kicking the naga until her foot was freed from the naga's death grip.

"Something tells me that coming this way wasn't so wise," Nami remarked.

"Well, we can see now, and the rest of this room is clear," Nagi muttered.

"Yeah, come on, fairy boy, lead the way," Anka said quickly, shoving Lucas forward.

"Wah! No fair!" Lucas whimpered as he grudgingly began to move forward.

"You're the only one of us armed right now so shut up and grow a pair." Lulu growled.

"Hey, my whip!" Nami exclaimed, catching sight of it dangling from a large hook in the wall, she grabbed it quickly as she slipped her free hand into Nagi's.

"Wish I had magic..." Nagi uttered ruefully as they made their way into the next room which was empty, save a pair of swords that were mounted on the wall.

"I'm sure your powers will be better than Lucas' power," Lulu said affectionately.

"Well, he has the worst possible power," Anka said as she grabbed the swords which had belonged to her the prior day.

"I can hear you!" Lucas hissed.

"Shut up, fairy," Lulu said as she slapped Lucas on the back of his head. "Lead the way..."

"Nami and Anka have weapons too..." he whimpered.

"And you have the fairy light!" Nagi growled. "If I had the stupid power and a weapon I'd be leading the way instead."

"But there's so many things I haven't done yet..." Lucas complained.

"Like what? You have a bucket list?" Anka asked curiously.

"Yeah, visit a wonder of the world for one," Lucas smiled.

"I never saw you as cultured," Nami admitted. "Good for you."

Lucas nodded, "Yeah, imagine having sex against the wall of a Giza pyramid!"

"Lovely," Nagi said dryly, blushing as Nami squeezed his hand more tightly.

"Ugh..." Anka muttered, rolling her eyes, "That's just peachy, Lucas..."

"Hey, I enjoy a good lay, and that would just be... amazing." Lucas drooled, shaken from his fantasies as he tripped over a pair of weapons that lay on the floor.

Lulu giggled as she picked them up, "You really ought to pay more attention..."

A few minutes later they came across a pair of gauntlets buried halfway in the wall, Nagi yanked them free and shoved them on his hands, "Now we're all armed again..." He muttered.

"Well, let's hope they're all sleeping," Nami said sadly as she dropped her hands to her sides.

"Do you regret dying as virgins?" Lucas asked.

Nagi blushed, "We're not dying!"

"Let's get off of sex and continue moving," Anka suggested as she shoved Lucas forward with a fair amount of force.

"Huh?" Nagi glanced over his shoulder.

"What is it?" Lulu asked.

"Did you hear that?" Nagi asked, glancing around the room frantically.

"Hear what?" Lucas asked, tilting his head to the side.

"It was probably nothing, then," Nagi said slowly. The others shrugged off Nagi's paranoia, stopping when Nagi spun around quickly, catching a demon's attack before it could land.

"I think I know what you heard..." Lucas said sheepishly.

"You think?" Nagi asked wryly as he planted his foot in the sandy dirt, sliding backwards slightly, holding back a sword with his hands.

Nami cracked her whip on the demon's hand in protective anger, watching a few embers escape from the end of her whip. Nagi took advantage of his aloof opponent, shoving him backwards with excessive force. He and Nami watched in awe as the sword slid across the sand and the sand entrapped the demon like cement.

"I think we found your power," Lulu said cheerfully.