Dragonboy:  Well, I did it again.  I promised a fic
would be out by a 
certain deadline, and we missed it.  My most sincere
apologies to our 
faithful waiting public.

Stiel:  All seven of you, if we're going by the
reviewers. ;)

Dragonboy:  And while we have every intention of
committing seppuku for 
our crimes of misleading and decieving you all, we'll
just work on 
finishing the 
fic first, as that would be the most honorable thing
to do.  But no 
more 
promised deadlines from now on, because we can't be
trusted with them.

Stiel:  We're like children with an unlocked cupboard
under the sink.

Dragonboy:  But on a high note, it's a slightly longer
piece than the 
rest 
this time around.  So with that being said, on to the
fic.


Dragon-Stiel Inc. Presents:
A True Champion Is...
A Rune Soldier fic


--
Standard Disclaimer:  The setting and characters of
Rune Soldier are 
the 
property of Ryo Mizuno, ADV Films, and anyone else who
might have 
somehow 
gained ownership over it at some point.  They are used
without 
permission 
and without prospect of making money.  Please enjoy!
--


Chapter 6:  When A Plan Comes Together...Mostly


Not far from the Magician's Guild, news of the state
of the Guild had 
spread 
like wildfire throughout the city of Ohfun.  While a
large portion of 
its 
citizens were more than willing to pack up and make a
swift exit, there 
were 
a certain few who had other intentions.
-----

At the Temple of Mylee...

"Demons in Ohfun?  Are you certain?"

The three teenage girls before her all nodded
together.  "We're certain 
of it, Miss Isabel." Anna answered.  "We were passing
through the town and 
we saw Miss Melissa with her adventure friends and
heard them talking 
about it."

try adventurer

"And then they all went off in the direction of the
Magician's Guild," 
Joan continued.  "That's where the demons are."

"But Miss Melissa didn't look like she wanted to go,
so we think that 
maybe that stupid hero of hers forced her to do it,"
Gannet finished.

Louie force Melissa?  Impossible!!  More like the

other way around! Heh


"You'll help her, won't you, Miss Isabel?" they all
asked together.

How about replacing 'all asked' with 'chimed in'?

Isabel let the information sink in before assuring the
young disciples 
that everything would be fine and dismissed them.

'So Melissa, you think you're going to get all of the
glory by going 
there without me, huh?' she thought to herself.  'I
can't believe you would 
be so selfish as to put yourself into mortal danger
like this just to try to 
one-up me and my champion, who's a hundred times
braver, smarter, and 
more heroic than yours, I might add!  You've got some
nerve!  You-'

Isn't it supposed to be an evil female who rants? :D
Smarter, sure?  Braver, probably not.  Heroic... who

was the one who saved Lenard's life? :D


"Miss Isabel?"

The priestess snapped out of her mental tirade and
turned to the voice.  
"Yes, Mr. Lenard?"

The young unknown prince-turned-adventuring Champion
scratched his 
head.  "Don't you think it would be in everyone's best
interest if we went to 
aid Melissa and her team?  I'll admit that I've never
actually fought a 
demon before, but it would be ignoble of us to simple
let the situation 
remain like this, right?"

Well said!

Isabel beamed at her champion.  "That's just what I
was about to 
suggest myself, Mr. Lenard!  You're so thoughtful,
always putting other 
people's lives before your own, even in the face of
such danger."

Lenard grinned modestly.  "Well, it's what any real
champion would do, 
isn't it?  Of course, I'd hate for you to be put in a
situation-"

(Darksoar rolls his eyes)

"Think no further of it, Mr. Lenard," she assured him.
 "We're a team, 
and as your follower I shall follow you anywhere."

Heh, how about adding in 'as your faithful

follower...' 

"Well, if you're sure..."  He turned to the other two
members of his 
team.  "What do you two think?"

"While I applaud your valor, Master, I must also point
out just how big 
a risk we will be taking in going," Jakinson informed
him.

The voice of caution!  Let's hear it for age and

experience! 

"It's not like we'll just be going to rescue an old
man from a cave 
like last time," Lily agreed in her soft, stoic voice.

Lenard nodded.  "That may be true, but think about it;
If we do 
nothing, those demons could start making their way
into the rest of the city at 
any time.  It would be much better to attack them when
they're all in one 
place like this, wouldn't it?"

Both were silent for a second before the old swordsman
nodded 
resignedly.  
"Yes, Master, I suppose it would."  Lily remained
silent but didn't 
look to object in any way.

"Then it's settled," Isabel stated.  "Let's be off,
team!"

'Now, Melissa, I'll show you who has the better
champion.  Just you 
wait!  ...Oh, and you'd better stay alive, too.  You
need to be here so I can 
rub your face in my success.'

Ya know, one of these days, Isabel is going to go

overboard trying to show up Melissa and probably get
her 'valiant champion' killed.  

-----

In a random pub...

"WHAAAAT?"

The trembling young man didn't have a chance to run
before he was 
lifted off the ground by a blonde-haired man in full
knight's armor, who proceeded 
to shake him violently.

Hide!! It's that gaijin version of Kunou in armor!!

"Are you telling me that bonehead Louie is at the
Magician's Guild?" he 
roared.  "The very same Magician's Guild that you say
is currently 
overrun by thousands of demons?  That would mean
Melissa is there with him!  Is 
that what you're saying!?"

The victim of his rage could do nothing but allow his
body to flail 
around like a rag doll, but the knight correctly took
his rolling head as a 
nod and dropped him to the floor.

"Curse you, Louie!" he fumed, eyes blazing and fist
shaking in 
righteous fury. "How dare you put my darling fianc� in
such a dangerous 
predicament for your own selfish gains!  Well fear
not, my dear Melissa, for I, 
Conrad, the mighty, handsome and debonair champion of
Ramliearth, shall save 
you!  Hold on for me, my love!"  And with that, he ran
swiftly out the door, 
leaving an uncomfortable silence in his absence. 
-----

>From the window, and still under the safely of the
fairy's cape, 
Merrill let out a sharp breath that she had
unknowingly been holding since she 
first noticed the demons that were approaching her. 
It seemed she actually 
owed Louie her thanks for getting them away.  And even
better, he'd managed 
to get rid of those two money-grubbing associates of
hers at the same 
time.  She'd have to do something nice for him
later...

Of course, it _was_ his fault that she was up here in
the first place, 
so she reckoned she could rightfully call them even
now instead.

Once she could no longer see the fleeing thieves from
her vantage 
point, Merrill pulled the cape from her head, leaving
her body from the neck 
down still hidden, and looked behind her into the
Guild.  It was quite a 
long way down from the window, almost as far as it was
from the outside.  She'd 
just have to wait where she was for the others.  She
turned back to the 
trees, where the rest of her party had been hidden,
only they weren't hiding 
anymore.  The three adventurers and one magical item
collector were now 
making a mad dash toward the rope that she had lowered
moments ago.

She glanced around nervously.  So far they were in the
clear. No other 
demons seemed to have noticed the disturbance from
before, but her 
friends still had a lot of ground to cover, and
anything could happen in that 
short period.

Seconds seemed to pass as minutes as Genie was the
first to reach the 
rope and, using her powerful body, began hauling
herself up without even 
pausing. Within seconds, the warrior reached the
window sill, and just as 
Merrill was about to let out another sigh of relief,
they both happened to look 
up.

"Oh shit!" they cursed as one, as at that very moment
four large 
humanoid bird creatures made an appearance from behind
the others, diving out of 
the sky directly toward their backs.  They frantically
turned back to the 
ground, where Ila was just beginning her climb up the
rope.  Louie or 
Melissa both seemed to have their focus on the ground
level for demons 
and had yet to notice the danger from above.

"We are so dead," Merrill whimpered.

Genie held a little more composure than her smaller
partner.  The harpy 

Try 'Genie reacted with more composure...'

demons were headed for Louie and the other two and
didn't seem to have 
acknowledged her or Merrill yet.  She had to get
Louie's attention 
without attracting the demons, because if they came
after her and Merrill, 

Throw a dagger at his feet!

there wouldn't be any way for her to defend against
them from her position in 
the small window.

Her plight was solved on its own when Melissa spotted
their shadows on 
the ground and looked up.  Her terrified shriek caused
Louie to look up as 
well, who immediately began to panic.

"Ila, kick it in the ass!" he called up to her.

Now that's definitely Louie.

Ila, who unlike the others, was not used to such
strenuous activity and 
was only a little less than three-quarters of the way
up the rope when she 
heard Louie shout at her.

"Stop rushing me, Louie," she yelled as she turned to
glare down at 
him.  "I'm going as fast as-" She stopped when she
noticed he was pointing at 
something above them.  She looked up in the direction
he was pointing-

And fainted.

Yes, quite a predictable response from Ila. 

"OH MY GOD!!" four different voices screamed in
unison.  Somehow, 
despite being out cold, Ila had managed to keep one
hand firmly gripped on the 
rope, and was now dangling several meters above the
ground.

Louie was the first to react.  His staff was out in a
flash and glowing 
at the tip before he'd even raised it.

"Melissa, I need some cover!"

Melissa had recovered by that point and began chanting
a spell of her 
own.

"Merrill, daggers!" Genie commanded, holding out her
hand.  Merrill 
nodded, fished out half a dozen daggers and handed
them to the warrior, then 
pulled out several more for herself.

Just as Ila completely lost her grip on the rope,
Louie finished his 
spell.

"LEVITATE!"

The staff grew brighter, and Ila froze in midair. 
Louie let out a 
grunt of exertion.  "Damn...heavy."

And then Ila's eyes flew open.  "DID YOU JUST CALL

ME FAT, YOU BIG, STUPID LUG?"

A split second later, Melissa fired off a beam of
light at the harpies, 
catching one of them dead-on.  The other three
screeched in anger and 
pulled back as the fourth dropped to the ground.

What kind of spell was that?  A stun spell or

something?

The temporary distraction was enough for Genie and
Merrill, who let fly 
close to two dozen daggers towards the remaining
three.  One of harpies 
took the majority of the hits and joined its brethren
lifelessly on the 
ground.  The other two were stunned, but not enough to
fall like the other.  

Try replacing stunned with wounded.

Both veered off in a different direction and prepared
to come in again for 
another strike.

"We need more daggers, Merrill," Genie said.

"I've only got a couple left," Merrill informed her.

"Genie!  For God's sake, grab her!"

Genie blinked and looked down, having forgotten that
Ila was still 
hovering a couple feet below her.  On the ground,
Louie was sweating, trembling 
and turning purple in the face from the amount of
mental effort he was 
putting in to keeping Ila from falling.  She carefully
knelt down on the ledge 
and just barely managed to grab the hem of Ila's
shirt.

"I've got her, Louie!" she called down.  Before she
even finished 
saying it, Ila's weight returned and Louie collapsed
to the ground.

"Hurry Genie!  One of them is coming back!" Merrill
said urgently.

Genie glanced up, spotting the returning harpy.  She
quickly judged 
that by the angle it was descending that it was
targeting Ila this time.  She 
looked back down at the unconscious girl hanging from
her hand, then grinned.

"Genie, what are you waiting for?  Pull her up!  It's
almost here!" 
Merrill continued, growing more frantic with each
sentence.

The winged demon was twenty feet away and still Genie
didn't budge.  
Then fifteen.  Twelve.  Ten.

"GENIE!"

With the harpy only five feet away, Genie pulled Ila
up as hard as she 
could.  Ila's prone body landed firmly on the sill of
the window as the 
harpy continued forward, slamming with a sickening
crack face first 
into the stone wall.  Merrill quickly helped Genie
stable herself as the 
unconscious demon fell to the ground next to Melissa,
who was busy helping Louie 
back to his feet.

"Louie, are you okay?  We need to hurry, more demons
could show up any 
second now!"

Louie dragged himself back to his feet, looking only
slightly wobbly.  
"No sw...sweat, Merrill.  Jus' a little...dizzy's
all," he slurred.

Melissa grabbed the front of his shirt and began
shaking violently.  
"Pull yourself together Louie!  We're still in danger
here in case you've 
forgotten.  Against my will, Louie!  Do you hear me? 
Completely and 
utterly against my will!"

Hush woman!  This is no time to whine and complain!

"Okay, okay Melissa!  I'm better now, stop the
shaking!"

The priestess and her champion looked up, watching
Genie and Merrill 
signaling that they needed to hurry up.

"Your turn, I guess," Louie stated.

Melissa sighed.  "Great, I've always hated climbing
like this."

Louie glanced at her for a moment, then up to the
window, then back 
again.  
"Hey Melissa?"

"What, Louie?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Honestly no, not really.  Why ask me that now?"

He moved behind her and placed his hands on her hips. 
"Because you're 
gonna have to," he whispered.

"Wha-?"

"HEY GENIE!"

"Louie, what are you-?"

"CATCH!"

Melissa's eyes widened.  "Don't your dare,
Loui-EEEEEE!!"

With a heavy heave, Louie lifted Melissa and hurled
her as high as he 
could toward the window and his waiting teammates.

"YOU MORON!" Genie shouted as she bent down and
reached out to grab the 
rapidly ascending Melissa.  She easily grabbed her arm
just as Melissa 
was beginning to fall back down, leaving them in the
same position that 
Genie had been in with Ila a few moments ago.

"Merrill," Genie grunted.  "Brace me, I'm slipping!"

Merrill complied by wrapping her arms around the
warrior's waist and 
pulling 
back.  "Dumb dumb dumb...dumbass!" she muttered.

>From the ground, Louie smiled.  "Well that worked well
enough."  Then 
something else caught his eye.  "Uh-oh."

Genie gave one last grunt as she and Merrill succeeded
in hoisting 
Melissa up into the sill with them and Ila, who was
just beginning to regain 
consciousness.

"Wha' happened?" she mumbled.

"We just have to wait for Louie now," Genie stated.

"And when he gets here I might just knock him back
down, the reckless, 
stupid...gah, there's just not even a proper word for
him!" Merrill 
growled.

Melissa was too busy trying to slow her racing heart
to add her own 
comments.  But as she looked back out she let out a
loud shriek.  The 
others turned to see the last of the harpies
approaching them once again.

"Damnit!" Genie cursed.  With all four of them now in
the small space 
of the window, there was no was of moving to defend
anyone.  Not even enough 
room for Merrill to use her knives.  There was nothing
they could do but 
watch on as the large bird demon dove down upon them,
screeching its angry 
cry...

Only to explode and fall to the ground a lifeless,
fiery heap seconds 
before it reached its prey.

The girls all stared in shock at the spot where the
harpy had been a 
mere moment before, then they all looked down at the
ground, where Louie 
stood, wand raised and a wide grin etched across his
face.

"BULLS-EYE!" he shouted triumphantly as he did a small
celebratory 
dance.  

The Final Fantasy victory fanfare played in the

background....  

He stopped and pointed accusingly up at Merrill. 
"That's two of my 
spells that you made fun of that have come in handy
today, Merrill!  I'll 
expect an apology later, and don't think I'll forget,
either!"

You tell her Louie!

Merrill began fuming while Genie just shook her head. 
"Gloat later, 
Greenhorn!  Get up here now so we can keep moving!"

Louie, who was now laughing like a maniac, didn't seem
to hear her.  He 
did, however, hear the howls and roars of a pack of
approaching demons, 
though.  He let out a low 'eep!' and scrambled up the
rope.  The second he 
reached the window, Merrill quickly cut the rope,
keeping any demons from 
trying to follow them up it.

Louie glanced back down at the swarming mass of demons
below and 
breathed a sigh of relief.  "Well, hard part's over,
huh?" he said to the others.

Genie just shook her head again, while Merrill and
Melissa both looked 
ready to knock him out of the window.  Fortunately for
him, Ila was giving 
him a rather impressed gaze.

"That was great, Louie," she told him.  "I knew fire
magic would be 
perfect for you."

Louie positively glowed at the praise.  "Hell yeah it
was!  And you 
should have seen the way I levitated you when you
passed out!"

Her eyes widened.  "You performed levitation?  That's
amazing!  
Levitation is a pretty high level spell."

"Yeah, but I have to admit it was pretty hard.  You're
a lot heavier 
than the rocks and sticks that I've been using it on."

Mouth in foot syndrome strikes!  

Now he had three women looking like they wanted to
knock him out the 
window.

Run, Louie, run!

"What do you say we get out of here?" Genie suggested.
 "We have to 
keep going."

So saying, Louie, Genie and Merrill jumped into the
Guild.  Melissa and 
Ila jumped after them, being caught by Genie and
Louie, respectively.

"So we're in.  What do we do now?" Merrill asked.

"We need to go to my room so I can get my Mage Staff,"
Ila instructed.  
"I need it to unlock the basement that the students
should be in."

"You can't just use Louie's staff?" Melissa asked.

Ila shook her head.  "I'm afraid Mage Staffs work only
for their owner.  
And since Louie doesn't know the spell and I don't
have time to try to 
teach it to him, we'll need mine."

"All right then," Genie said, unsheathing her giant
sword.  "Then we 
make our way to Ila's room, get the staff, then head
to the main chamber.  
We get the students and find a way out of the Guild
until more help comes."

As they were making their way to the door of the room
they were in, 
Louie chimed in.  "Is it just me, or is there
something really important that 
we're forgetting?"  He pulled open the door, and was
greeted to the 
sight of a hundred pairs of eyes staring back at him
from the corridor beyond.  
Everyone paled.

"Oh, that's right," he said in a far-too-calm voice. 
"There's still 
over one thousand demons in this place."

Slowly, the Rune Soldier shut the door again and
turned the lock on the 
knob.

One second later, the door was ripped off its hinges
by a particularly 
large yellow-skinned troll.

Louie and the girls pressed themselves against the
wall as demons began 
pushing into the room.

"Well, I'm open to any more suggestions you girls
might have."

Cast my boy, like you've never casted before!

End Part 6
--

Well, hope it was worth the wait.  As always and of
course, thanks much 
to all of our reviewers, and sorry if we didn't
respond to you personally.  
Next part will be out soon, and we hope you continue
to enjoy it. ^_^

Well worth the wait in my opinion! 

--
Dragon-Stiel Inc.



Dave Wong

a.k.a. DarkWing
"Let's get dangerous"

Website: www.geocities.com/darksoar/start.html

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