Chapter 6: Crashing The Party

      Flynn drifted in an out of consciousness, never quite knowing what time it was, or how long he'd been out. It could have been days, hours, seconds even, since he and Lily were dragged down here. His mind was not functioning right. He remembered he'd called for help but…when…and who? Was Lily okay? Why couldn't he see her? Where was she? Everything was in a thick fog and Flynn couldn't clear his mind, no matter how hard he tried.

At one point he heard the warning siren. That meant that there was Dragons in the area. Why didn't that register? Personally Flynn didn't think there was anything wrong with a few Dragons flying in the area. Then a second siren rang out. Ah, now it made sense. Warriors came with the Dragons.

Were these maybe the ones he'd called? He didn't remember calling Dragons to their aid, but maybe…Naw! He would never call Dragons, and even if he did, they wouldn't listen. Maybe these warriors would see it in their hearts to rescue him and Lily. Or, maybe they were evil wizards and their only goal was to completely destroy this place.

Well, death would at least bring release from this dreamlike state he was in. It was an old tale of the Alima…how he hated them, for all they'd done to his family! They had made up stories about such things. Forcing the Fay to disagree. Flynn paused, thinking that over. It was bad logic. Maybe the Fay had brought this down on themselves.

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"Um…Rogue, where exactly is the Fay kingdom?" Sora asked, pulling the Dragon to a stop.

"You've been there and yet you don't know?" Rogue turned his head to eye her. "Why, it's underground!"

"So, we can't get it." Link said, coming up behind them on Amiri. "Too bad! Now…let's go find those Centaurs!"

"We could always go through the ground." Rogue suggested.

"Bad idea."

"I think it's a good idea." Sora said. "Let's do it!"

"We could be killed!" Link protested meekly as Sora and Rogue turned to get a flying start.

"Don't be a wimp, Link!" Sora called over her shoulder.

Link sighed. "How come whenever I try to be reasonable, I'm told I'm a wimp? And whenever I'm being a wimp, they tell me I'm the reasonable one."

"Everybody has to have a job." Amiri laughed. "Yours is to be the…ah, Kingly Rear End…of every joke they make."

"Very funny." Link muttered. "Come on!"

Link and Amiri followed Rogue and Sora into the sky. He could hear a long, loud warning siren coming from…was it really inside the ground? In that case, it most likely meant they had been spotted and were considered and threat. Well, they were a threat to those particulars, who had done something wrong to someone, so they had that much right.

Rogue waited until Amiri reached him, and then the two Dragons hovered together in the sky as they aligned themselves. Sora pulled out the sword on her back, since her staff might break, and Link followed her example. Once Rogue and Amiri were next to each other, they reared up in the sky, and dove forward at top speed.

Link held tightly to the pommel of the Dragon saddle with one hand, and the other held his sword. The ground was fast approaching and Link had to force himself to keep his eyes open. He glanced over at Sora, only to see that her eyes were shut. Feeling relieved, Link shut his eyes and waited.

The shock of impact when they hit the ground nearly jarred Link out of the saddle. He could feel the ground collapse and feel Amiri go sliding down. Then it was total darkness and Link had a feeling that if he opened his eyes he wouldn't be able to see anyway. They were still sliding down, amidst the sounds of enraged shouting. Link opened his eyes, to see armor clad Fay coming at them from all sides. And they had stopped their erratic sliding.

Link lifted his sword to block to blow of the first of the Fay. He noted that Sora was already off of Rogue's back, and fighting her way through the warriors with her staff. Rogue turned and knocked away half a dozen with his tail. Link felt Amiri turn to do the same and jumped off to follow Sora. She was in trouble, cornered and barely able to move.

Link sliced the head off of the Fay nearest Sora. Fight now, ethics later, Link thought. He shoved his sword through another Fay and Sora was loose. Obviously they worked more with magic than with swords around here. So, where were the magic spells? Link didn't have time to think on it. Sora grabbed his hand and they were off and running.

Amiri and Rogue trundled somewhere behind, knocking down waves of oncoming Fay. Well, they weren't warriors and not all of them had magic, so that explained the living arrangements. Link gasped as he was suddenly struck in the ribs by a sharp edged sword. He turned and slashed angrily at the owner of the blade. His eyes widened in recognition and he stumbled back.

"Isannah!"

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Sora had barely noticed that Link was not with her. She kept on running down through tunnel after tunnel, with Rogue somewhere behind her. She was moving now through a dungeon, she was sure. Rogue had stopped and was crashing down doors, scooping out any of the living prisoners. Sora stopped a moment and watched him make a hole in the ceiling. If they were on the surface they would have a better chance.

Sora turned and kept running. Most of the cells she came upon now where empty. She ran into a room that was all too familiar and ducked her head. There were tortured bodies chained tot he walls in here and Sora nearly slipped in a puddle of blood. At last she came upon an underground river…with two people hanging from ropes. She was certain they weren't dead, but she couldn't be sure.

Sora grabbed the first rope and untied it from the knob on the wall. She lifted the first body with all her strength and swung it over to the bank. Sora made sure it was settled on the ground and ran over to it. She was certain she recognized that face! The body was female, barely breathing. Sora reached for her packs, which Rogue must've dumped near here at some point, and pulled out some of her own clothes. Quickly she settled them over the body. She had to get the other person down now!

This person must've been male, because Sora had a lot more trouble with the lifting. By the time she managed to get him onto the bank of the river, she feared he was dead. She grabbed the heavy cloak she had taken with her and slid to a stop next to the body. Quickly she turned him over…and gasped in surprise. Purple eyes flickered open and stared into her own.

"Flynn…" Sora jumped to her feet. "What do you?"

There was no answer. Flynn tried to say something, but nothing came out. Sora froze, poised between killing him and helping him. Someone had put him up there, and obviously not because he'd done something bad. At least, it couldn't be something bad by her own standards. Sora kneeled once more and gingerly pulled the cloak over Flynn's trembling body.

"I'm too nice for my own good." Sora thought, cradling Flynn's head in her lap.

The female had turned over on her side and was sound asleep. Sora recognized her now. It was Lily, one of the Lente, whom she had met years earlier. Someone had most likely pulled her wings off, judging by the fact that she had none. Sora knew she wouldn't have to be concerned for the fairy. Lente had their own supply of back up body warmth, which was no doubt taking care of her chills now.

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"Isannah." Link said again.

"Shut up!" Isannah hissed.

She jumped at him, stabbing with her sharp blade. Link leapt back, but got another slash across his ribs. Damn! Link thought. I'm not a wizard, but this whole thing reeks of bad magic! Link knew that with two wounds already he didn't stand that much of a chance. And he had to find Sora. So he turned and began dashing through the crowd, with Isannah on his heels. I feel like a fool, running from a little girl!

Suddenly Link was swooped up in the coils of a Dragon's tail. It was Rogue and he had a small girl riding on his head. She was thin, but she laughed with glee. Rogue ran as fast as he could in the crumbling corridors. He carried Link down through tunnels and rows of cells until they were coming out by an underground lake. Sora was there, with a figure curled up in her lap. Link tumbled to the ground as Rogue's tail uncoiled.

"Link!" Sora exclaimed. "Where have you been?"

Link groaned, rubbing his head as he climbed to his feet. "Running from my past."

"Huh?" Sora frowned.

"Nevermind. Who's this?" Link took a step forward. "It's him!"

"Now Link…" Sora said. "Don't over react…we have to-"

"We don't have to do anything!" Link growled, reaching for his sword. 'Except get rid of the bastard!"

"No! Listen to me Link, I have a feeling that this all isn't what it seems."

"Famous last words, Sora." Link muttered. "I don't care about your morals, he has to die."

"Go ahead and kill him!" Isannah said from the huge hole in wall that Rogue had made. "He's worthless to our cause now, anyway."

Suddenly it went very dark inside the room. Link felt himself being scooped up by a Dragon claw. He heard Sora yelped in surprise, and then they were heading upward, crashing through the ceiling. Outside it was already nighttime and it wasn't much easier to see out here than it had been down there.

Link was let loose once more and tumbled to the ground. Three bodies landed next to him…no four. It was Sora, Flynn, the other person who had been in the underground lake and the little girl who had been resting on Rogue's head. Link picked her up and wrapped her in his cloak. It was chilly outside and her clothes were in rags.

"Over here!"

Link spun around and felt Sora reached out for his wrist. A bright light went up, emulating from a stone the size of a grapefruit. Isannah stood just in back of it, and in back of her… Link gasped and nearly fell over. He backed up a step, then another, shaking his head. The hand the clutched the hilt of his sword trembled.

"No." Link whispered. His voice began to rise hysterically. "No, no, no! You're dead! I saw you buried! You're dead!"

"You saw empty coffins lowered into the ground!" Faylah snapped. "Our bodies were thrown carelessly into a river!"

"That can't be!" Link shook his head again. "I saw to it that-"

"That we were not even buried with honor!" Kyrissam cut him off. "You would just let out bodies rot in water. It was our people who honored us!"

"And yet you don't love your own son, the one who raised you from the dead." Sora said softly. She was standing, with Flynn leaning against her.

All eyes turned to her and Flynn. Flynn detached himself from Sora's side, despite her protests, and walked forward until he was standing before his parents. He could barely keep his feet, but he held his head up and even managed a small, wry smile. Faylah spat in his face and made a sound not unlike a growl.

"You!" Kyrissam hissed. "Just like that ungrateful twit, Marianna! We should have taken care of you when we disposed of her."

Flynn's eyes widened. "You killed Marianna?"

"Of course!" Faylah snarled. "Little brat! Trying to influence you! I see it worked too well!"

"She was my sister." Flynn said softly. "She love me, if you didn't."

Faylah shrieked in outrage and lifted on hand. There was a sudden bright light and streaks of purple lightning shot from Faylah's fingertips. Sora pushed forward, shoving Flynn out of the way before the lightning hit. It struck her instead and she fell to the ground with a loud cry of pain. The lightning was cut off abruptly.

"Finish her!"

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