"What's going on?"

Everyone stopped talking to see Kit standing in the doorway, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Miss Kit," Ben started. How was she back? "Where is your sister?"

Kit yawned. "Hoshi? Asleep still, I think. I told you we weren't feeling well. I'm a light sleeper so I woke up when I heard the yelling." She yawned again. "Why?"

Ben frowned. He didn't know how the twins were doing it, but he was sure they had left. There was no explanation to how they were doing it though.

Kit course had actually left and returned with the first piece.

It was hidden safely within her shadows were no one would be able to steal it. It was niffy to have shadow powers to go about. Hoshi of course was already aware of the situation. Hoshi was unable to return her piece and was currently pretending to be asleep.

Fly Far away
Where Ocean and Sky do meet
Hidden by Sun's glaze
Mirage of Deceit

That of course was Illusion's Palace, a place that only became visible at certain hours of the day. At sunset, (which was when Kit went) and dawn. The place was hidden by sun's rays and quite easy to get into with her shadows. That was clue number 6. Hoshi was to retrieve number 5 piece but was unable because of Ben's interference.

Number 7, Kit was worried about though. If she was translating the clue correctly, - no one- would be able to get the piece. The only possible person in the room who could, would be Hoshi at the risk of her life and existence. Still best move onto the next plan.

Knowing Ben wouldn't answer her question, Kit asked. "When does the game start?"

Before Ben could answer, something strange happened. A low hum sounded through the room and the participants looked around in curiosity. Ben knew what the hum was and it was only a matter of seconds before he'd have an even angrier crowd on his hands.

"Excuse me," he said quickly and retreated out of the room, shutting and locking the door behind him before the others could follow. "Sir," he called out to the Benefactor. "Can I quit now?"

No!, came the answer. You have good people skills. Work this mess out!

"I was afraid you'd say that!"

---

At that moment, the piece Kit had hidden in her shadows began to glow, catching everyone's eye.

"What is that?" one man asked and about five or six whispers echoed his question.

The piece, still glowing, levitated and began to float toward a platform upon which there were seven pillars standing. It hovered above the sixth pillar before landing square on it. A blue forcefield surrounded the pillar and piece and three letters etched themselves upon the pillar.

"What's it say?" someone asked.

Jay stepped forward and then whirled around, his eyes narrowed on Kit. "It says 'Kit.' You cheated and then tried to play all innocent! You should be disqualified!" he exclaimed, furious. "I doubt your sister's sleeping at all! Find Ben! This game is rigged. We don't stand a chance. I'm not playing like this!"

---

From behind the locked door, Ben slapped his hand to his forehead. He could just kick those twins for pulling this! He could just kick the Benefactor for forcing him to be in this position, pretending to be him. And he could just kick Jay Van Zandt for making such a fuss!

Unfortunately, he couldn't lie. The name of the retriever was etched on each piece's pillar as they were returned. One could not step foot on the property with the piece without the pillar claiming it. And from the sound of Jay's outburst (though he couldn't make out his exact words through the closed door), it was obvious that was exactly what had just happened.

"I'm going to have to disqualify them," he mumbled.

Don't! They can retrieve the pieces faster than the others. We're almost home!

"Correction...you're almost home. I'm almost back being a slave."

You never stopped being one, Ben, the Benefactor answered sadly in the young man's mind.

He sighed. "I'm going to disqualify them. I was put in charge of this and that's what I have to do. It's that or deal with every other person in that room walking out."

Let them just try. Their soul-beads have already been taken. They're tied to the Celestial realm. If they leave now, all the Celestials have to do is summon them and they'll no longer be in this realm. Leave things as they are, Ben. Ben!

But Ben refused to answer. He took a deep breath and opened the door. They would be disqualified.

Outside Kit was unmoved by the protest. "You know," she spoke up, her voice cutting through the crowd. "In terms of cheating I haven't done anymore then the rest of you."

Looks of shock appeared on the face of the guests. Kit cut them off before they could say anything. "For example Namina Andrade, here is a Larron. And for those who don't know what she can do, she can "steal" information from your mind just by simply shaking your hand. In other words, chances are, nearly every male in this room provided her the answers to the clues."

The attention was directed straight to Mina.

"Then there is young Saya and Sai of the Usuyuki Family," Kit continued lazily. "Both have spiked the punch and wine with a heavy knock out drug that will take effect in a few hours. So if you drank anything, expect that." All the guests paled at that thought.

At that moment Ben decided to appear again. Kit wasted no time. "And of course let's not get my started on dear Ben here. So... has the old man agreed to disqualified. Though judging from your jumbled emotions, I say no. But you're going to go ahead and do it anyways aren't you?"

Ben stared at her for a moment. "I'm not sure who you're talking about and yes, you will be disqualified."

Kit smiled. "Excellent. Will the same go for Miss Mina and the two youngest of the Usuyuki family? They are guilty of doing the same, cheating. Beside by obtaining one piece, it means no one will be able to claim the final prize. Not to mention no mortal could obtain the seventh piece. Do thank the old man for such an excellent game."

"What old man?" Ita asked. He glanced at Ben who had fallen silent and the crowd was getting restless, angered at the cheaters. Jay had a look of disbelief on his face as he stared at Mina who was looking very uncomfortable.

Kit smiled knowingly. "Yes Ben, why don't you tell them."

Ben's eyebrow raised. "I have no idea what you're talking about Miss Kit."

Kit's smile faltered into a dangerous look. "As Hoshi said, don't take me for a fool. I already have most of the pieces to this little puzzle and quite frankly, I don't like what I'm finding. I told you, I'm not a little puppet. I will not play this game to be someone's pawn, servant."

Assure them the seventh piece is obtainable. It will involve an early entry into the celestial realm, but it is certainly obtainable. The moment the other six pieces have been obtained, they'll all be summoned and a select few will be made to retrieve the seventh while the others are placed in their new employments. Ben opened his mouth to do just that, but heard the old man's urgent follow-up. But for stars sake, man, don't you dare tell them about the celestial realm! I was simply sharing that for your own benefit!

Ben sighed and tried to collect his thoughts. He knew something like this would end up happening! And he hated it! Hated being in this position. Hated condemning these people to eternal servitude. Hated that he was about to break the old man's confidence. And hated what punishment it would result in.

"Miss Kit," he said slowly. "If you do not play the game--" He could feel the Benefactor's emotions going haywire with worry. Ben, don't you dare! "If you do not play the game, you will be a slave--"

But he wasn't able to finish his sentence before the door opened and the old man limped inside. "What my son is trying to say, is if you do not play the game, you will be a slave to regret." He tried to calm the look of fright that appeared on a few faces. "Oh no, I don't mean that. I simply mean you'll have missed out on a great opportunity. It really is a pity, that in this world, people are so skeptical and believe the worst." He shuffled a few feet. "Oh, forgive me for not making my introduction earlier. It's not so easy to get around at my age and standing and playing the host for several hours is something, I'm afraid, I'm not able to do."

He turned to face Kit and said, "And no, you will not be disqualified, though I'm afraid there will be repercussions for the cheating. You too, Miss Andrade, Mr. and Miss Usuyuki." He took Kit's hand and slid a bracelet over her wrist.

"What's this?" she demanded.

The old man didn't answer, but did the same to Mina, careful not to touch her palm. And then slid one on Saya and Sai. Kit was trying to pull hers off, but it wouldn't budge. It was a Celestial object and could only be removed by Celestials.

"It won't hurt you," he said. "It'll simply keep you from accessing your special abilities that give you an upper edge on everyone else."

"That's not fair," said Kit. "The others will cheat now with theirs."

"And that's not fair because they've already cheated!" Jay exclaimed, glaring at Mina. He felt hurt by her deception.

"I can't change what has happened. All I can do is let the game begin now. You four, and your sister, Kit, when she returns, will stay here under my supervision while the others leave. They will be given a 24 hour head start."

"WHAT?" Saya and Sai protested.

"That will make up for you two already sneaking out and getting the pieces," he looked at Kit, "you two for drugging the wine," he glanced to Saya and Sai, "and you for taking others' decipherings." He leveled his gaze on Mina. "And I'm afraid I have to take back my son's offer of an airship. Forgive me for having to do this, my friends, but everyone needs to have as equal a chance as possible. That's the right thing to do."

The elder benefactor clapped his hands and the doors opened. Everyone began to shuffle out minus the four cheaters. The Benefactor had already prepared a place for them in rooms where no special abilities could be used, blocked by Celestial technology.

"Jay--" Mina said. "Listen! What they said. It's not true! I didn't--"

"Save it," he snapped. "I thought you liked me, Mina. I thought I had made a friend tonight. A Larron? Come on, you could have told me. I wouldn't have liked you any less! I do now, though."

Mina stepped back. She felt terrible as she watched Jay leave the room.

Mina turned towards Kit in anger. Kit was poking the bracelet, testing it. She glanced at Mina and before Mina open her mouth, Kit spoke up. "Interesting. I didn't think you would cut off that ability. This bracelet is kinda niffy. Can't say I like it, but it has its perks," she told the old man.

Mina closed her mouth and just stormed out of the room. She didn't want to even begin deal with this girl. Saya and Sai followed closely. That left, Ben the old man and Kit in the room.

Another pillar glowed, a piece flew into it. Kit's name appearing on the pillar. Two pieces have been obtain. "We need to talk old man," Hoshi growled appearing. The old man moved to snap the bracelet on her. Hoshi stepped back. "Don't bother. It won't attach itself to me anyways." He tried anyways and it feel through her wrist.

"Told you, old man. In fact Kit's one would be breaking right about now," Hoshi continued. Right on cue, the bracelet shattered.

Kit frowned feeling the flood of negative emotions come back. A shame, she was looking forward to a night without being bombed by negative emotions. "I wasn't aware I could do that," she said dryly.

Hoshi shrugged. "You're align with powers that are opposite of the bracelet. And given that your powers destroy everything it touches, I'm surprised it didn't happen on contact."

She turned back to the old man, her tone dropping to an ice touch. "Alright spill. I went to go grab the second piece while you guys were talking and figured out a few things. Why the hell are you after pieces of The Goblet of Aeter? The Celestial lost those pieces eons ago. The fact that the bracelet made by the Celestials that doesn't attach me, tells me you know them. Start talking old man, cause right now, I'm sorely tempted to kill you. Enough with the games."

"Miss Hoshi, go ahead and try," the old man smiled. "If you've come up with the name of the Goblet of Aeter, then you can put the rest together in no time, I'm sure, and you'll know that killing me won't be to your advantage, nor will it be easy. I may be old. I may find it hard to walk. But you'd be surprised at what I can still do." He turned his back on Hoshi and began to shuffle out of the room. He looked over his shoulder. "It makes no difference to me if your abilities are suppressed or not. Ben's the one who goes on about fairness. I simply did that for the others' benefits. Walk out this door right now. It matters not to me. Ben, are you coming?"

The young man looked incredibly disturbed. "I...ah...I'm going to get everyone settled in comfortably for the night. That is, if you are interested in resting up for a few hours," he looked to Kit and Hoshi and the twins sensed that he wanted to tell them something the old man would not. They nodded in unison.

The old man gave Ben a warning look and said. "Very well. But don't be long."

"Yes sir," Ben answered, his throat feeling dry. And then, the doors shut and the man was gone. He turned to the twins, his voice low. "Get the others. Hurry! I need to tell you before...just come on!" He ran toward the door Saya, Sai, and Mina had exited from and found them sulking in the hallway, refusing to look at each other.

"Please!" Ben said. "I don't have much time. I may not have enough at all! It's only fair you know exactly what's going on. That man," he pointed in the direction they had come. "is not my father, though he gave me a name, temporary as it is. I...I'm a servant to the Celestials. You all know about them, right?" The five nodded, frowning at him, and Ben exhaled in relief. "Good. Because it'd take too long to explain all that. This game, as you can probably already tell, is much more than a silly game. The Benefactor, as he calls himself, is a Celestial in exile. He's stuck here on earth and is aging as all humans do since he's not living in the Realm, and yet he possesses the abilities he had as a Celestial. That's why he wasn't afraid of you, Miss Hoshi.

"If you've heard the old legends of the Goblet of Aeter, you know that one of the Celestials killed my ancestor, Tiveyo, as he was trying to steal the Goblet that he himself had crafted, and when he was slain, the Goblet shattered and fell to the earth in seven pieces."

Understanding began to dawn on Mina, Saya, and Sai's faces. Hoshi and Kit had already deduced much of this. Ben continued.

"His punishment was exile. He didn't care as he really did love living among the humans. It didn't matter until he began to age and found himself coming upon the later bits of his life. The only way he can have Vita Aeterna is to reunite the Goblet and collect twenty human servants as his penance. The moment you stepped through those doors, you were claimed as one of those twenty. Your soulnames were sealed in an hourglass and are now in the Realm of the Celestials. No matter what happens with the game, you will be summoned up there and forced to serve them in whatever capacity they have laid out for you. There's no escaping this."

"What?" Sai exclaimed angrily. Mina simply whimpered.

"But that's not the end. As long as you aren't nameless, you can escape them. But the only way will be to find where the hourglass is being held up there," Ben pointed to the sky. "Retrieve your name and you retrieve your freedom." He looked down and a sad expression flooded his handsome face. "Since I have no name...no true name, which was the curse laid on Tiveyo's line, that is not an option for me."

"How do we get up there?" Saya asked.

"The only way is to reunite the Goblet. At that point, all players will be summoned and separated. The Celestials aren't so thick that they'd keep any of you together. Even you two. Especially you two," he faced the twins. "It would be too dangerous for them to keep you together."

"Like hell we'll reunite the Goblet! He'd win!" Hoshi said.

"You'll be summoned anyhow at the end of 30 days should you not complete your task. Only by then, your soulnames would be too tightly bound to the Realm. Your chances of reclaiming them would be...virtually zero. The sooner you get up there, the better chance you have. Every day that passes, your chances of escaping servitude grow less and less."

BEN!

Ben fell to the ground and clutched at his head as pain shot through it. He felt the sensation of starfire prickling against his skin and he looked up. "Find the pieces and tell the others for when you are separated up there. So you have a chance to escape. You don't want this. I'm sorry I played a part. I had no choice."

"Why'd you tell us this?" Mina asked, kneeling beside him.

"Because...this...what they're doing...it's not right. And I couldn't keep..."

Kit bumped Mina out of the way as Ben began to grow transparent. There wasn't enough time for those kinds of explanations. "Where's the hourglass in the Realm? Where do we find it?"

Ben shook his head. "If it were anywhere, it'd be--"

But he never got to finish his sentence before he had vanished, summoned back to the Realm.

"LOOK!" Saya cried, pointing out the window. The others rushed to join her. Outside, the moon had turned blood red and stars were streaking across the sky.

"Looks like someone's in big trouble up there," Sai said, glancing up and the others thought of the young man who had introduced himself as Ben and didn't envy him at all.

Kit growled, her anger growing. She didn't escape one life of service to join another. "We'll split up," she spoke harshly. "Hoshi how many people -didn't- drink whatever Sai and Saya made?"

"Jay, Ita, Seika, Ayame, the rest of us here."

"Lovely," Kit muttered. "Hoshi find Ayame, take her to clue number 2. Saya, Sai I don't care how you do it, get your cousin to clue number 1. Mina, you're coming with me, Jay and Ita to clue number 3. After I take your three there, I'll go get clue number four. That way all six pieces can be obtain and supposedly we'll be able to go up there."

------------------

"I can't believe she would lie to me!!" Jay was sobbing.

Ita rolled his eyes and wondered if he was going to get any sleep tonight. "I told you not to trust anyone."

"I wouldn't have cared if she had just told me!!"

Ita gave him a deadpanned stare. "Hello~ Larrons are like the most hated people in the world. What makes you think she would tell you willing and risk being rejected and at a disadvantage for this whole game?" he snapped. Jay was beginning to get on his nerves.

"But--"

Jay didn't have time to answer when the door flew open and Kit walked in. Both men's looks harden, displeased by one of the twin's presence. "What do you want?" Jay asked coldly.

Kit pointed towards the window. "Look outside." Ita and Jay turned towards window. "What the hell," Jay said. The moon was glowing a bright red and the stars were shaking.

"In a nutshell. Ben, young Ben, told us that we're about to become slaves to a race of Gods called the Celestials for eternity. The only way to avoid this is to obtain all seven pieces of the goblet, go up in to their realm and get an hourglass that holds all our names. The reason why the sky looks like that, is because Ben told us and is probably getting punish for that. You can decline if you like, it just means more time wasted on getting the goblet and less people to protect in the long run," Kit replied in a monotone voice. Mina appeared in the doorway as well.

--------------

Ayame hear someone enter her room. "Who's there?" she asked, her eyes opening, alert and on guard.

"Me, Hoshi. No time to explain. Actually I'll explain on the way there," Hoshi said rapidly. "We're going to retrieve a piece of the goblet. No complaining or I'll leave you here. But you're about to become a slave to a god if you don't come."

Ayame's eyebrow raised. "Alright fine. Tell me everything."

They disappeared in a flash of light.

--------------

"Seika!!"

Seika could already feel the headache coming. "What is it you two?" she asked, looking at her younger cousins. "And next time, drugged the damn shrimp instead of the punch. Grandfather would have been displeased if he knew you had been caught."

"We need to go retrieve the next piece," Sai said. "Look outside."

Seika was wondering why the moon had turned red and everything. "Ben says we're about to become slaves to a god, if we don't get the pieces and retrieve our names from an hourglass."

Seika twitched. Why was she here again? She grabbed her katanas, slicing through the window and the metal bars. "Explain everything to me after we hijack the airship."

Jay narrowed his eyes when he saw Mina standing in the doorway. "Jay," she said softly. "I wasn't trying to deceive you."

He sniffed and turned his back to her. "Ita, can you please tell Mina I'm not speaking to her and that I'd rather she leave?"

"No."

"Jay, come on!" the young woman said, walking to his side. "I can't help what I can do. I can't stop the secret gathering. What would you have me do? Never touch anyone again?"

"Ita, can you please tell Mina that it sucks when someone seems to only be playing you to their own advantage."

"No," Ita replied again, rolling his eyes at Kit.

"Jay!" Mina said, grabbing his hand. He wrenched it away. She pointed to the bracelet. "It's keeping me from using my abilities. If I had told you I was half-Larron, would you honestly have kept trying to speak to me? I admit, I was in it for myself at first. But I actually enjoyed talking to you, as strange as that is. It was nice feeling important to someone."

"Ita--"

"No!" Ita said, but Jay ignored him.

"Please tell Mina not to bother me again or I'm going to forcibly pick her up and toss her out the door." Jay turned to the others. "Well, let's find the pieces then, though I suggest we leave the Larron here. She's just dead weight."

Mina looked wounded. She threw her hands in the air and said, "Ita, please tell Jay that if he wants not to speak, we won't speak. But that if anyone's dead weight, it would be him. At least I'm clever. He's so thick-headed, he couldn't find a steak on a plate set before him!"

"Ita, please tell Mina that I have no problems finding steak. At least I--"

"NO!" thundered Ita. He leaned toward Kit and whispered, "We can't ditch them both, can we?"

Kit shook her head. "No, it's best if we stay together."

"I was afraid you'd say that. They're going to drive us absolutely insane. You do know that, right?"

Kit looked at him. 'You mean they're gonna drive you insane. I'm only taking you three to clue 3 location. I'm going to retrieve number 4.'

"What?!" Ita shouted.

Mina and Jay stopped their bickering to look at Ita.

Ita almost got on his knees and begged. "Don't leave me there with them. Take me with you!!" He didn't know how much more he could take of this. It was like the worse torture in the world!! This was more then enough to break anyone. ((Secretly he admired how well Seika could handle these situations cause from what he gathered, she goes through these kind of situations alot.))

"What are you two plotting?" Mina asked.

"Nothing," replied Kit. "I just told him what I told you before we came into the room. You three are going after clue number 3, I'll be picking up clue number 4 after I drop you two off." Jay looked like he was about to protest. Kit threw the pillow she grabbed off the bed at him. "Now will the two of you STOP bickering and let's get going? Hoshi, Ayame, Sai, Saya, and Seika have already left. And if you don't shut up, I'll make you shut up," she said dangerously. Her eyes flashed violently.

She didn't give them a chance to complain before the shadows wisked them off to location of piece number 3.

Next thing they knew they're at Aguaria. "So that's how you left and came back the first time," Ita said. He was impressed. They had traveled over thousands of miles in a mere few seconds.

Kit nodded. "Find the piece, and try not to make trouble." She handed Ita a black chain. "Hold that, call my name and I'll hear you. Should you run into trouble and need to get out of here as soon as possible. I'll be back after I get fourth piece, which should only take a few minutes. Try not to kill each other. I don't want to become some God's slave and I'll be damned if I let you screw things over because the two of you can't get along." She pointed her last sentence at Mina and Jay.

Ita wanted to go drown himself. Why couldn't he have been paired up with Seika? Why these two? They were going to drive him insane!

After Kit had left, Jay pouted. "Why'd she give you the chain? I'm sure I could keep a better grip on it."

"Ita," Mina piped up. "Tell Jay that he doesn't always need to--"

"For the love!" Ita exploded. "No! I will not tell Jay anything you say and neither will I tell Mina anything you say!" he addressed the two. "You're standing right next to each other. You have ears!"

"He may have ears, but he doesn't have a brain between them," Mina sniffed.

"Oh, I can guarantee my brain is ten times the size yours is, sweetheart!" Jay snapped.

"Yeah, filled with hot air!" Mina stood on her tiptoes and got in his face.

"Oy!" Ita rolled his eyes and began walking toward the Gates of Aquaria. He was tempted to call Kit's name, but had a feeling she'd kill him if he did that. Well, at least the two were talking again and had ceased with the whole 'tell Ita' business. "Just kiss and make up already," he said. "And if you'd like to help, umm...we have 36 acres of city to explore for a piece roughly the size of my thumbnail."

Mina pushed past Jay and walked prissily toward Ita. Jay reluctantly followed, grumbling about the red haired woman the entire way.

----

beep...beep...beep...

"Sir! Someone's approaching the gate! They look like upworlders. What would you have us do?"

A tall, thin man with bluish tinged skin and a shock of silver hair thought for a second and then said, "Separate and seal them. Bring them in for questioning." He played with the large ring on his finger, turning it over and over, a nervous habit. He didn't like upworlders. They were never up to any good.

----

The three players were about ten feet from the gate when they heard what sounded like a shot. Mina cried out when something enveloped her. It was a giant bubble of some sort, but she couldn't penetrate it. She looked and saw that Jay and Ita had been similarly captured. A dozen men with bluish skin ran forth from the gate that slowly opened up. They each brandished a strange laser-looking weapon.

Call Kit! Jay mouthed at Ita, but Ita shook his head. He'd been in worse scrapes than this one! What was a little bubble and a few fish-skinned men to worry about?

Ita waved to the fishmen. "Hi. We're not here to harm anyone or anything. We're just looking for something that belongs to the legend and we're... I guess treasure hunting for it? May we please speak to someone and get clearance to search your city to find the piece?" he asked politely.

The fishmen guards looked at each other. Since when were upworlders nice? They nodded to Ita and dragged the three bubbles away towards the main palace.

Ita let out a breath of relief. Sometimes it pays to just ask politely before going in and charging. Things can go a little bit faster if they had the permission to search. Maybe even get some help. Weave lies from truthes. The only problem would be if they didn't let them search. Then that would be a problem.

-----------

"Man I can't believe I was going to walk right into that trap the old man laid," Ayame grumbled. She and Hoshi had started to search the Cave of Swallow.

Suddenly a huge gust of wind blew and extingish the torch. Ayame growled. She had to leave her partner outside due the magnetic forces that would mess up her BITs wiring. "What do we do now?" Ayame asked. They haven't even gone in ten feet into the cave.

Hoshi didn't answer her and just snapped her fingers instead. Instantly little orbs floated, glowing softly.

Ayame took a step back in surprised. "Interesting. How did you do that?"

Hoshi smirked. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out I'm afriad. Let's get going. We're running out of time."

-------------------

"I still don't believe you two, but fine. When we get back we're going to have to a talk to those twins," Seika grumbled. The airship landed on sandy deserts. "Let's get that piece and hurry back."

Saya and Sai nodded. The three ventured out into the night desert.

Armand lowered his viewscope as the three siblings began to trek away from the airship in the hopes of discovering where the statues had been buried. He motioned to his younger brother, Kayr, and passed the viewscope to him. Kayr looked through the glass and his lips curled into a smile.

"That hair, brother!"

"I know," Armand said. "What do you suppose the Bedmas would pay?"

"For the women, five hundred gold pieces apiece, at least. For the man," Kayr shrugged. "Perhaps 350?"

Armand nodded and smiled just as Kayr had. He was the leader of the fiercest band of slavers in the Deserts of Margolin, a desolate wasteland filled with nothing but black sand. The nomads were all incredibly rough and fearsome here, having adapted to the harsh conditions and lack of water. One thing they loved, though, was beauty and Seika, Saya, and Sai all fell into their definition, with their gleaming white hair.

The region the siblings happened to land in were filled with the slavers' traps, as the space the airship had landed was actually a well traveled path. Most outsiders who entered Margolin never came out the other side. Rather, they became permanent residents, slaves to the Bedmas and other fierce tribes.

Kayr handed the viewscope back to Armand and the older brother grinned as he saw where the siblings were headed. "Get everyone ready," he said. "We're about to be rich."

----

"So where do we find the buried statues?" Saya asked, interrupting the silence. "I mean, there's not a lot here. No landmarks."

"They should be near here," Sai answered her. "This is where one of the biggest battles in Margolin took place. I'm sure if we just look around, we're bound to see something jutting up out of the sand...an old building, ruins. Find anything and with a little digging, the statues should turn up."

"Wait!" Seika said. "Stop."

"What is it?" Sai frowned at his sister.

"Something," Seika scanned the horizon and spotted a few shadowy movements off in the distance. "We're being watched."

"Yeah, it was real smart bringing an airship to this place. Real conspicuous!" Saya said, sarcasm dripping from her voice.

"Oh shut it, Saya," Sai growled. He took another step forward and looked around. Then another and then--

SNAP!

He tripped the trigger and thick nets flew up from beneath the sand, trapping the siblings. At that moment, the figures on the horizon began to ride toward their captives.

"Oh, I don't think so!" Seika muttered and with a few turns of her body, the nets fell loose. Saya and Sai did the same. "Back to the airship!" she cried.

"What? That airship?" Saya pointed to the airship flying away. Seika stared at it with her hands on her hips.

"Hijacked! How do you like that?" Sai sighed. "We have to get out of here," he said glancing back at the riders.

"Great!" Seika grumbled. "It's going to be really easy finding these buried statues and goblet piece with a few hundred desert dwellers breathing down our neck!"

"We could probably take them," Sai said, "but at this point, we'd better retreat. Their reputation is...they're not normal people!"

"Alright! Retreat it is!" said Saya. "Only one thing, dear brother. Retreat where?" She gestured around her. There was no place to go, no place to seek shelter now that the airship was gone. Dunes of black sand were the only things that surrounded them for hundreds of miles.

"You two need to think more like the shinobis we're train to be. If we can't retreat then we'll find a way to elimanate. If we can't fight, then as grandfather would so proudly say 'Fight to the death'," Seika said with heavy sarcasm. She sliced through the nets and stood up.

The riders were getting closer. She stabbed her katana into the sand, chi pulsing from her body, sending a shockwave towards them. Seika snarled to herself. Just another reason to smack grandfather when they returned. She was going to die out here.

------------

Ita, Mina and Jay got dragged to a tall thin man with silver hair. "Who are you upworlders?" The man asked.

Ita sent a quick glare at his two "companions" to shut up and let him do the talking. Then he turned back to the man and smiled. "I'm Ita, the young lady here is Mina and the other man is Jay. We come in no harm to the city. See we're on a treasure hunt for a rare legendary piece, which we think is hidden here in your city. I would like to request permission to search you city to find this treasure. Upon finding the piece, we'll leave the city post haste."

"What piece is that?" the man asked.

Ita blinked. "Believe it or not sir, it's the piece of the Goblet of Aeter. I also request that if the piece is currently in the posession of one of your people, that we be allowed to take the piece. If you would like to trade for it, be for gold or something else, I'm sure we'll be able to come to some agreement."

----------------

"I think we've reached the end," Hoshi said. That was disapppointing. The cave only went in about 30 feet.

"That can't be," said Ayame. "Look at the way the rocks have fallen. Part of it must have collapsed. Plus we still haven't found anything that even looks like the piece. I don't think we've got the wrong place either."

"We're are the right place. I sense the piece, but I don't see it. If... it does go beyond this wall, how are we going to get towards the other side? I can't move through the shadows like Kit, and without any light, I can't move us either."

Ayame tapped the rocks. "Give me a minute. I'll be able to calculate how to get through without getting the cave to collapse on us."

The silver haired man stared intently at the Upworlders as he played with his ring again. At the mention of the Goblet of Aeter, he tensed up and balled the hand with the ring in a fist. "I'll see what I can do," he said slowly. Ita's eyes bored into his and then fell on the ring. The silver haired man noticed where Ita's gaze fell and he gritted his teeth. The other two seemed oblivious.

"Please, excuse me for a moment, if you will," he said politely and he turned and walked out of the room, followed by his two advisors, leaving Ita, Mina, and Jay alone.

"He has it," Ita's voice was low.

"What are you talking about?" Jay asked.

"His ring. Didn't you notice it? It's the same material that the other pieces were made out of and couldn't you tell by his body language that he knew that was what we were wanting? I have a feeling he's not going to hand it over so readily. We need to be prepared for the worst."

Mina pulled at the bracelet on her arm, but it still wouldn't budge. "If only I didn't have this ridiculous piece on, I could easily convince him to hand it over."

Jay glared at her. "Not so charming now that you're a normal person, are you?"

"Oh will you stop it already, Jay?" she snapped. "I have far more charm in my pinkie than you have in your entire body."

"Oh I don't know about that."

Ita slapped his forehead. Here we go again!

"How about a wager then?" Jay continued and Mina glared at him, her arms crossed.

"Name it."

"You charm him into giving us the ring and I give you...umm...I do whatever you say for a week."

"A month."

"Two weeks."

"Fine," Mina said. "It'll be easy and I shall quite enjoy having you at my beck and call!"

"Ah ah ah!" Jay wagged his finger at her. "You fail and you do whatever I say for two weeks."

"Guys, don't be idiots. I'm not about to let you two screw this up," Ita said. But Mina and Jay ignored him as they shook on the bet.

Mina sauntered toward the door the silver haired man had exited from and she looked back over her shoulder, pushing her hair back, her face looking radiant and seductive. "I'll be back."

"Mina Andrade, you'll do no such thing!" Ita bellowed, but Jay grabbed his wrist, allowing the young woman to pass through the door before Ita could stop her. He punched Jay in the arm. "You idiot! Do you know what you've just done?"

"Yep," Jay nodded. "Gained myself a nice, pretty slave for the next 2 weeks. Hey! I figure if I'm going to be a slave to the gods in a few weeks, I might as well have a taste of it myself before the time comes. So what's our plan? Our real plan?"

Ita slapped his forehead again and shook his head.

Ita smacked Jay on the head. "You idiot," he whispered harshly. "This is not the time to be making silly bets like that." He muttered darkly to himself trying to think of a plan. He had a secret gather, a brute full of hot hair, and his own skills, most of which were a distadvantage underwater. ((He had to learn all the fire attacks and not bothering to learn the water attacks)). Swiping it might be easier merely at the fact that the fishmen didn't look that very strong (rather frail their bodies were) but escaping this place? It would be a loosing battle.

He secretly hoped that Mina would be able to charm it off him.

---------------

Hoshi let out a low whisper. "I'm impressed. You managed to dig us right through rubble without even getting the structure to rumble."

Ayame smirked. "I gotta put my brain to use somewhere in this game. I can't exactly have you twins do all the work."

Hoshi smirked back at her. "There it is. The Alter of Shadows. The piece should be there."

---------------

Frailness of Mind
Eternal Divine
At the highest point of sky
Were only few have tried

Last God's Mountain.

Kit looked around. The air was thin and she was thousands of miles above ground level. Last God's Mountain, was the place where they said the Last God came, gripped with insanity and wishing to gain back the very throne he had lost. This mountain was the tallest in the world and no mortal had been able to make it up here... till today.

Kit stared at the giant statue before her. She didn't sense any traps. She reached out and grabbed the piece.

Seika's shockwave knocked several of the riders off their mounts, but it didn't take long for them to regroup and remount, continuing their pursuit. The prospect of having a few "white hairs" to sell to the Bedma tribe was too strong. Armand motioned to Kayr and the two brother broke off from the other riders, Armand going to the left and Kayr, to the right, ultimately vanishing in the desert sands.

The rest of the riders caught up to the siblings and one called out, "We have you outnumbered three to one. Surrender and no harm will come to you."

"We don't fear you," Saya challenged. "Perhaps you should be the ones to surrender to us so no harm will befall you."

The rider looked down at her, amused. He nodded his approval. "I like that. Perhaps I'll keep you for myself." Saya looked indignant and Sai stepped in front of her, protectively, which made the rider laugh all the more. "Look," he said. "I don't think you realize who you're dealing with. We are the Margolin, the tribe this desert was named for. Let's just say, the sands are ours to command and with one word, we could have them gobble you up just like that." He snapped his fingers. "So what say you? Surrender?"

Seika came up behind Sai and he glanced back at her and whispered, "Forget what I said earlier. We can take them."

"There were two others. I swear it!" Seika cautioned. "Be wary because if what they say is true, who knows what they can do."

"Not a tenth of what we can," Sai shot back and before his sisters could say anything, he looked straight in the eye of the rider who had spoken and challenged, "Do your worst!"

The rider's mouth broke into a wide grin. "As you wish!" He raised his hand high and the wind began to blow, kicking up the black sand.

"How often does it rain in the desert?" Seika asked, causing everyone to pause in their attack.

"Seika! This isn't the time for questions for like!" Sai shouted!

Seika rolled her eyes and pointed to the dark clouds. "Right... then why are their those dark clouds above us?" The moments she said that it poured. The thirsty land soaked up the heaven's gift. "You know since it's raining and looks like it isn't going to let up anytime soon, I best use this to our advantage no?" Seika muttered. Her Chi flickered and expanded.

Instantly everything within a 1 mile radius froze, creating a slick ice surface. The falling rain turned into hail and the horses legs became frozen. Seika grinned. "Let's get started okay?"

-------------

Kit examined the piece carefully before wrapping it up in her shadows. Apparently whoever thought to hid this piece here didn't think anyone would make it up here and believed no traps were needed. That just made it easily for her.

Time to check on Hoshi and Ayame. She disappeared into her shadows.

-------------

"Okay. We know it's booby trapped. It screamed I'm Booby trapped, so how do we get the piece," Hoshi asked.

"What's the worse they can be? Spears, falling pit?" Ayame asked.

"Or collapsing cave or shadow creatures," Hoshi replied bluntly.

"Shadow creatures?" Ayame's eyebrow raised.

"Yeah shadow creatures. Nasty bunch. You never want to meet them."

"Oookay. I'll have to take your word on that. "