The Reign of the Dranonica

Chapter 29 – Friend or foe?

“What are you? What do you want?” Mystica demanded, “Are you on Fasgo’s side?”

“I am on no one’s side except my own,” the creature replied. Mystica went to take a step forward. “Be careful where you are going,” the creature warned, “Look at what you were about to tread on.” Mystica looked down and to her horror, she saw a dead Like-like.

“Eww!” she screamed, “That’s gross!” “Most things are gross down here…” The creature sighed, “It is dangerous in the well. Dead Hand still roams around, searching for blood.”

“Huh? Dead Hand? What’s that?” Mystica asked. “No one really knows. The only thing every living being down here knows is to keep well away from it. You made a big mistake falling down here,” The creature’s eyes began to glow blue again. Mystica began to glow blue too.

“Hey! Put me down!” Mystica screamed, kicking away at thin air.

“You want to get out of here don’t you?” The creature asked. Mystica nodded. “Well, I know the safest route out of here, I just don’t want you to remember the way…”

After that, Mystica’s world went black. She went into a deep sleep and had no idea that the creature that had just been talking to her was now currently walking through the winding dungeons.

“Oni, we need to get out of here soon,” Ayra panted, “Our oxygen supply is running low…”

“I know Ayra, let’s get moving now,” Oni stood up and helped Ayra to her feet. Suddenly, the water level began to rise.

“Oni, what’s happening?” Ayra asked. Oni looked around as the water rapidly rose higher and higher.

“I don’t know, but let’s swim out of here fast!” Oni dived into the water and Ayra followed. They swam further and further down and reached the door they had entered. It was now barred up, Ayra and Oni couldn’t escape. They both rose to the surface and looked around.

“Oni! We’re trapped!” Ayra cried, “There’s no way out!” A Door behind them slid open; the two swam through it and came to a larger room. The water started leaking into that room too.

Oni spotted another door that was open right in front of them.

“Come on Ayra!” Oni beckoned. Ayra followed him and they ran into the room. As they entered the door behind them slammed shut.

They had entered a room that had a continuous platform running around the perimeter and then four platforms in the centre of the room.

Ayra walked closer, there was water flowing in and around the four centre platforms. Ayra placed a paw in it and quickly drew it back out.

“What are you doing Ayra?” Oni asked. “Making sure this water is safe…” Ayra replied. She flicked her paw around in the water a little more. She looked back at Oni and nodded, she then turned back round to the water and saw an eye looking back at her.

“WHAT IS THAT?” She screamed falling backwards. The water morphed into a snake shape and grabbed Ayra. It flung her around a bit and then threw her against a wall. Ayra fell down with a thud; she rubbed her side and seethed in pain.

Oni quickly drew out his sword. The aquatic monster’s eye looked at Oni and dived for him. Oni sliced at the monster, it just cut through the water and nothing happened. The monster picked him up to and began to fling him around. Oni drew out his sword and swiped at the eye.

The monster roared like a dinosaur and let Oni go, letting his fall into the water it self. Oni quickly jumped back out and ran to the corner of the room.

“Ayra! Are you alright?” Oni shouted. Ayra stood up and nodded.

“I’ll live,” she struggled to say. She took out her sword and prepared for battle too.

The Aquatic creature turned its head and lunged for Ayra, Ayra swung at the eye, catching it with a powerful blow. The creature roared in pain again and returned into the water from where it came from.

“It isn’t over yet Ayra, be prepared for an unsuspecting attack,” Oni shouted over to Ayra. Ayra nodded, “I HAVE battled before you know!” She laughed. Sure enough, two water tentacles emerged from the depths of the water and tried to reach Oni and Ayra. They couldn’t reach.

The eye was floating around in the centre of the pool, watching. Ayra swung at the water, it damaged the creature none.

The eye then rose from the depths in its snake like water armour and called back the tentacles.

It then dived at Oni and Ayra in turns, Oni and Ayra replied with a swing with their swords.

“This could go on for some time!” Oni shouted, swiping at the eye.

“I hope not!” Ayra shouted back, “We are needed at the battle with Fasgo! We need to get out of here as fast as we can!”

Mystica opened on eye, then the other.

“Where am I?” She asked herself. She tried to move but found she had been tied to a stake of some sort.

“Oh, I am sorry,” a voice said behind her, “But the master wants to make sure you are fit for his consumption! Here is your sword back, I think you’ll need it for this battle!”

Mystica’s sword was dropped in front of her. She tried to get her paws free and, almost like magic, the string that held her paws together had disappeared. Mystica didn’t like this one bit. She picked up her sword and prepared herself for battle. She strained to see in the dark, but couldn’t make out where she was. She then decided to use her keen sense of hearing and smell.

“Oh, I am sorry,” said the same voice again, “Maybe you would like a little light perhaps?” The lights switched of as soon as the sentence had finished, blinding Mystica.

She opened her eyes again. She screamed at what she saw next, a massive deformed creature that looked like a Like-like with a head and arms with hands and fingers. The head smiled, revealing long jagged teeth, blood stained. Mystica ran away to the opposite side of the room, and then she looked back. The creature turned around and disappeared into the depths of the darkness.

“This is our master, Dead Hand. It so happens he is hungry right now,” the same voice said somewhere to the right of Mystica. Mystica looked around and saw the two piercing blue eyes.

“You… you said you were going to help me escape from here!” Mystica growled. “Don’t believe a stranger,” the creature hissed. Mystica looked around, waiting for the creature to appear again so that she could swipe at it.

There was total silence. Mystica thought this was a little curious. She stepped forward into the centre of the room. She looked around, making sure not to let her guard down, and then made her way to the corner of the room.

Before she made it there, a massive blood stained hand sprung up from the earth and grabbed Mystica’s head. Mystica squirmed to get free, she tried swiping at the hands arm with her sword, but she couldn’t reach. Then from the depths of the shadows, Dead Hand re appeared. Mystica squirmed more, desperate to get free. The Dead Hand edged closer and closer to Mystica. Its head lowered to Mystica’s head level and opened its mouth. The mouth stretched wider and wider, showing yet more and more pointed deadly teeth. Mystica finally freed herself from the grasp of the hand and swiped at the monsters mouth.

The monster let out a groan and slunk back into the darkness.

“This battle isn’t over yet,” a menacing voice said. It echoed all around the death chamber. Mystica growled.

“I’m ready for anything you throw at me…”