The TSD Kids:

The Adventurer’s Agency

Lv. 36

Back on Solid Ground

After making it to Phoenix Towers, Tracy, Sari and I run into Lena, someone who used to work for Xylos in the past, until she vowed to me never to do so again. Thing is, right now she was doing exactly the opposite! I knew it wasn’t normal, and I wasn’t about to give up. We went through the floating ruins and confronted Lena. By besting her, we found the right hand of Xylos to be controlling her. Mission accomplished, we left Phoenix Towers the only way we knew how… jumping off!

Tracy: “Aah!”

Sari: “Stop screaming; we’ve been falling for so long, it’s lost all meaning.”

Tracy: “Yeah, my throat’s getting sore.”

The three of us were still in the middle of falling towards the ground. If you think this is nuts, don’t. I had already assured that if we were headed for the ground, I’d slow down our descent. The two girls were hanging onto me as I used the Bye-Bye Balloon trick. I was holding onto the unconscious Lena, whose strength was overtaxed from the part of Xylos that controlled her.

T: “How far up are we still?”

Sari: “I can still see the tower above us. Deflate a little.”

I let some air out, increasing our descent.

T: “Look out! Incoming clouds!”

We passed through the thick layer of clouds, and we soon saw the yellow sands of SpicyChili Desert.

Sari: “Even if it’s hot, I’ve never been so more glad to see the desert…”

T: “Here’s another thing I’m glad to see! Look down there! Look at what were directly over!”

We saw a round blue something right below us!

T: “Heh, heh, heh, heh…”

Tracy: “Oh no…”

Sari: “What?”

Tracy: “He’s got that look in his eyes…”

Sari: “What look?”

Tracy: “T, you’d better not be doing what I think you’re gonna do!”

T: “Yeah!”

I made myself deflate, so we dropped faster!

Back down in the desert…

Nadia: “This is… rather unprofessional.”

Sean: “Why? Why now…? T told me this happened when they were looking for the Water Stone, but come on! We’re wasting time!”

Unfortunately, it seems that Sean and Nadia’s protests have gone unheard. It seems that everyone, not counting them, Harold, or Usagi, had taken the liberty to try out the blue water, next to the stone bird!

Harold: “What are they doing?”

Usagi: “We have to find T and Tracy! Don’t you care at all?”

Sofia: “Of course we do; that’s why we’re out here! We’re also hot and tired! Is enjoying this oasis really so wrong?”

Sean: “If the well-being of your friends is put into question, yes!”

Eiji: “Hey, maybe it’s just as you said, Sean; they could be at that town in the distance after all!”

Sean: “Oh, I didn’t think you were all actually listening.”

Sho: “Well, I’m done.”

Nadia: “You’re done, Sho?”

Sho: “I merely needed to cool off. I don’t know about the rest of them…”

Usagi: “Ugh! Hurry up!”

T-na: “In a minute! Don’t be so impatient about it!”

Ellis: “Yeah; what, do you expect them to just fall out of the sky?"

Cotton, who also decided against taking a swim looked around, then looked skyward.

Cotton: “(W-what’s that??)”

Harold" “Say what?”

Cotton: “(Everyone! Look!!)”

Everyone, in and out of the water, looked up.

Kayin: “What is that?”

Nadia: “It is descending at an alarming rate.”

Sofia: “Strange… the more I look at it, I see a lot of green…”

Usagi: “Green??”

Rick: “There’s also a bit of blue…”

Eiji: “What is that??”

Then they heard…

“Two-Ton Drop!”

Ellis: “What?!”

“Cannonball!!”

The object got slightly bigger and fell even faster!

Harold: “Whatever that is, it’s heading straight for the water!”

Anyone who was in the water got out fast and changed as quickly as possible, to join the rest.

Rick: “It’s a downed condor!”

Ellis: “It’s a broken satellite!”

Usagi: “No, it’s…!”

SPLASH!

The object landed in the water with such force, it created a giant wave that totally swamped everybody!

T: “All right!”

I leapt out of the water as a furry (and wet) raccoon dog!

Sari: “That… was something…”

Tracy: “(Cough, cough) I thought I was gonna die…! Don’t do that again!”

T: “Sorry!”

Sari: “Oh dear…”

Sari, who was now holding Lena, looked at everyone lying on the stone ground that circled the oasis.

Sari: “Who are these people?”

T: “Well, what do you know? Someone’s been busy in our absence!”

Tracy: “We know who they are! Question is; how’d they get here, and why do that have the whole ‘drowned rat’ look going on?”

Seeing as they were all just lying there, I went to Sofia, who was lying closest to us. My raccoon ears twitched as I poked her on the shoulder.

T: “Hey… Hey! Wake up! Wakey-wakey! A desert isn’t the best place to sleep!”

Then before I knew it, a hand was wrapped tightly around my furry neck!

T: “Ack!”

Sofia: “Who the hell are you calling a ‘drowned rat’, you… you…!”

T: “My neck… my neck…!!”

Sofia: “(Gasp!) T!!”

As everyone else got up, she then realized just whom it was she was strangling!

T: “Can’t breathe…! You guys… seriously…! My neck…!”

Sofia: “I don’t believe it!”

Eiji: “T, Tracy, you’re both here!”

T: “Seeing colors…!”

Ellis: “I can’t believe you just fell out of the sky! And after what I just said too…”

T: “Seeing… spots…!”

Sean: “That kinda defies logic actually…”

T: “Seeing… letters…! G… a… m… e… O… v… e…”

Nadia: “Are you both okay?”

Tracy: “I am, but T’s face has just about gone all the colors of the rainbow! Let go of the guy, Sofia!”

Sofia: “Oh! I didn’t realize!”

I fell over after she released her iron grip.

T: “I…(huff) think I just got a…(puff…) continue…(wheeze…)”

Usagi: “Sir T!!”

Overlooking the fact that I was still a raccoon dog, something she had never seen before, Usagi ran to my side and sat me up.

Usagi: “Are you okay? Speak to me! Did that mean girl hurt you?!”

Kayin: “Which mean girl are you talking about, the blue-haired one, or the one who squeezed him like a green tube of toothpaste?”

Sofia/Tracy: “Hey!”

T: “What? I’m fine! I’m okay!”

I stood up with no trouble and reverted back to normal.

T: “Wow! What a grip! Have you been working out while we were gone?”

Sofia: “Oh, you…”

T: “Anyway, don’t be worried about me…”

Sari: “We should be more concerned with this one.”

Rick: “I can tell… just who is she? And who’re you, at that?”

Rick pointed to Lena first, then Sari. It seemed Lena’s condition wasn’t changed for better or worse when we fell in the water.

Harold: “Ah, a familiar face!”

Nadia: “It’s been a while.”

Usagi: “I was wondering if I’d see you again!”

After all introductions, we sat on the stone.

Eiji: “So, you helped T find the Suzaku Medallion.”

Sari: “That’s right. It explains why we fell from the heavens just now.”

T-na: “So it was all the way up there?”

Everyone started looking up.

T: “Ha, you can’t see it from here!”

Sofia: “Oh. So what’s her story, in the nice dress?”

T: “She’s…”

Usagi: “I remember her! She kept on getting in our way as we looked for the Medallions! And I’m not sure, but I think she had a thing for T!”

Nadia: “She is our enemy.”

Harold: “Can’t say I’m too fond of her either!”

To my surprise, they readied their weapons!

T: “What are you doing?!”

I stood between then and Lena, who was still unconscious.

“Please step aside.”

Harold: “As long as she’s here, those black creatures are sure to follow!”

Rick: “Does this scenario seem familiar?”

Ellis: “Yeah… kinda…”

T: “I can’t allow it!”

Usagi: “But why?”

T: “Tell me, how would you feel if someone turned a weapon on you when you were injured badly?”

Sari: “That is uncalled for, you know.”

Eiji: “She’s right; don’t do anything you’ll regret.”

Sofia: “We’ve realized this before.”

I could tell that Eiji and the others remember when Cutter was at our door, low on HP. They felt the same way until I intervened.

Tracy: “Besides, she made a promise to green boy not to be a bad guy again.”

Harold: “I don’t know about this promise, but you’re right…”

Nadia: “My apologies. That was out of line.”

Usagi: “Sorry, T…”

Harold and Usagi both sheathed their swords, and Nadia lowered her arm.

Nadia: “But why is she in such bad shape?”

Sari: “It’s because of this thing.”

Sari showed everyone the right hand of Xylos, still sealed by the beads of her magic necklace.

Sari: “T tells me you’ve been finding these parts of Xylos.”

Harold: “Why is that thing out in the open?! It’ll escape!”

Sari: “I sealed its magic in. For now, that is…”

Harold: “Here…”

Harold sealed it away in one of the Capture Capsules.

Harold: “Okay, much better.”

Tracy: “Now can we please see about Lena? She really looks like she needs a doctor!”

T-na: “Unless I’m mistaken, you live at that town in the distance, don’t you, Sari?”

Sari: “Yes.”

T-na: “Is there a…”

Sari: “Hospital? Yes, but I don’t think it’s good enough to treat her. Any ideas?”

We all thought for a moment, then…

T: “I know! I know a place!”

Cotton: “(Where?)”

After I got the Seiryuu Medallion, I proceeded further on and came across this city. Its main attraction was its hospital!”

Sho: “A hospital?”

Harold: “To many, even me, that isn’t one of the places I’d like to go to often…”

T: “Well, I’m just saying, that hospital is the reason the people there are in good health most of the time. The place is called Shoreside City.”

Rick: “By the sound of it, it’s by the waterfront.”

T: “Yep! You gotta see it!”

Sari: “But it’s probably quite far.”

Usagi: “It must be closer to my home than yours. I’ve heard of something like this through our intelligence system.”

Sofia: “Even so, won’t getting there take time?”

Picking up Lena, I said,

T: “That’s why I say… Train Formation!!”

Everyone just stood there, not lining up behind me, but it was Harold, Usagi, and Sari who looked the most confused…

T: “Don’t tell me you all have amnesia! I said ‘Train Formation’!”

Sari: “We don’t have amnesia…”

Harold: “We just don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m still not familiar with all of the crazy stuff you guys do.”

T: “Oh! Then please tell them. And if that’s the case, then what’re the rest of you standing around for?! We kinda have to save someone here!”

Sofia: “Well, sorry!”

After that, we lined up and dashed out the desert!

T: “There it is! Shoreside City!”

We closed in on the town gates with great speed. I was so excited about arriving here again that…

T: “All right!”

…I jumped from in front of the line of us, leaving the other to keep zooming forward uncontrollably!

CRASH!!

T: “We’re here, guys, we’re here! Uh?”

They had run straight into a wall… again.

T: “…Oh dear.”

Sofia: “What the hell was that about?!”

Kayin: “Who in their right mind would just do that, when they’re the one controlling the thing, huh?”

T: “I see that you’re all steamed…”

Sho: “(Sarcastically) No… really??”

T: “W-well if you’re gonna chase me, at least chase me to the hospital!! Ack!”

With Lena in my arms, and Cotton on my shoulder, I ran off!

T: “Here it is!”

I skidded to a stop in front of a very large building.

Cotton: “(And here they come!)”

T: “Eep!”

It seemed they had their weapons ready!

T: “H-hey now, we may be in front of a hospital, but that’s no reason to send me to the infirmary!”

Sofia: “Fine, we’ll forgive you… this time…”

T: “Phew!”

With that, we proceeded in.

Sari: “Does stuff like this always happen?”

T-na: “Um, sometimes! But he means well, you know.”

Sari: “Of course.”

T: “Um, hello? We could use a little help here…”

“Yes, may I help you?”

A woman was at the front desk.

T: “Yes, can you please help us, miss?”

“(Gasp!) You! You’re T!”

T: “Pardon?”

Ellis: “You know him?”

“The entire staff here knows him! He single-handedly saved this hospital!”

Usagi: Oh, so that’s how you know about this place! Oh, you’re such a hero!”

“What can we do for you and your friends, T?”

T: “Please, is it possible to tend to this one?”

“Oh dear! She’s badly hurt, isn’t she?”

T: “Yeah.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll see to it she’s in the best of care.”

Nadia: “That’s good. It’s for the best, even if she is our enemy.”

T: “Was our enemy…”

Nadia: “Right. Sorry.”

Soon she was put on a stretcher and wheeled off.

T: “Hmm…”

Ellis: “She’ll be okay, T; don’t worry.”

T: “All right. What do you guys want to do now?”

Sofia: “All this running around, and running into walls…!”

T: “I said I was sorry! Besides, it ain’t the first time it happened!”

Sofia: “Yeah, all of that running around has me beat. I’d like to head home now.”

T: “Well, alright then. Be safe getting back.”

Sean: “You’re staying?”

T: “Yeah.”

Tracy: “I’ll stick around too.”

Eiji: “Same here.”

Harold: “I’ve nothing better to do.”

Nadia: “The three of us will stay too.”

Sari: “That’s right.”

Usagi: “The village will be fine while I’m away.”

Ellis: “Okay.”

Sho: “If her condition improves, tell us, okay?”

T: “Sure!”

And so the others left for VG City.

That night, we went to a café, obviously because Harold insisted we should!

Harold: “Ah, this is awesome… nothin’ like a little nightlife to liven up this situation!”

Usagi: “Should we be in here? We are just kids, aren’t we?”

Eiji: “Nobody seemed to have a problem with it. Besides, isn't Harold an adult? They probably think we came with him.”

Harold: “Dont' make me sound so old! I'm only 20! But even so, just look! The gang’s all here now!”

T: “What do you mean? Half the team is at home now.”

Nadia: “I believe he means the original five of us who fought against Xylos.”

T: “Oh, right…”

Eiji: “You guys must’ve really connected as a team, huh?”

T: “You could say that. Everyone developed skills derived from the Medallions.”

Eiji: “I can tell. So what about Lena? Is she, or was she really bad news to you all back then?”

Sari: “It’s like after we got each Medallion, she ambushed T and one of us, in the hopes of subduing us.”

Harold: “Of course, she failed at every turn. So just what happened at Phoenix Towers again?”

Tracy: “Xylos’ right hand was controlling her.”

Sari: “The fact that she was in such a terrible condition was because it nearly over-exhausted her body.”

Eiji: “So it’s a worse state of affairs than the other times we found a part. The Eye of Decay was wandering around until it confronted us in a monster plant.”

Harold: “The Eye of Discord inhabited a soul that had yet to reach the afterlife.”

Usagi: “And the Left Hand of Destruction was possessing this guy who kidnapped me for a ransom, but T saved me!”

Tracy: "Uh, Ellis saved you too, y'know..."

Harold: “This current one is The Right Hand of Pestilence. So this means…”

Tracy: “We have all four! That’s great, isn’t it?”

Nadia: “Not if we don’t have a means of destroying them…”

Tracy: “Oh yeah…”

T: “It’s getting really late now. Can we leave, Harold?”

Harold: “Ah, sure, even I’m starting to feel tired.”

We exited the café. As soon as we did…

“Oh! There you are!”

A woman walked up to us. Looking at the white hat on her head, we could tell she worked at the hospital.

“I was wondering where you’d all be.”

Usagi: “You’re the nurse we talked to earlier.”

“Yes, I am. I’m done working for today, but I thought I should tell you all; your friend’s condition has improved!”

Tracy: “Lena’s okay? What a relief…”

“Yes, she’s sleeping soundly now.”

T: “Great. Can we see her in the morning?”

“Of course! They’ll let you in. Good night!”

She walked off.

Sari: “Hearing that puts my mind at ease. Let’s see how differently she acts in the morning.”

We stopped at a nearby inn and rested for the night.

The next day…

“How may I help you kids today? Oh! You, you’re T!”

We were back at the hospital.

T: “Y-yeah, that’s me…!”

Eiji: “We’re here to see Lena.”

“Oh yes, I was told there’d be visitors for her! Right this way, please.”

The doctor we spoke to led us to a door on the third floor.

“She’s right in here.”

Nadia: “Thank you.”

When we opened the door, we could see her, fully awake. She was sitting in a chair, wearing a common white hospital gown. She was looking out the window when she noticed us standing there.

Lena: “Oh!”

T: “Hi.”

Lena: “T? Is that… really you?”

T: “Yeah.”

Lena: “And the rest of you… you’ve traveled with him before… I wouldn’t be surprised if the four of you hate me.”

Harold: “We don’t… hate you.”

Lena: “You don’t?”

Tracy: “It’s hard to hate someone who looks so sad.”

Lena: “Wait… I remember you…”

Tracy: “Me?”

Sari: “You must’ve seen her at Phoenix Towers.”

Lena: “Yes. As much as I didn’t want to… that was the way I was acting. And after the promise I made to you, T…”

Harold: “I guess you were right.”

Lena: “Please, forgive me!”

T: “It’s okay, it’s okay! We know it wasn’t your fault.”

Harold: “It was because of this.”

When Harold pulled out the right hand, Lena was terrified!

Lena: “Please… take it away! Take it away!!”

Eiji: “Put it away, man!”

Harold: “Okay!”

Eiji: “Why are you so afraid of it?”

Lena: “That… that thing…”

Tracy: “Isn’t it obvious, broom-head? That thing was controlling her!”

Usagi: “How did this thing come to possess you anyway?”

Lena: “I’m sure you remember… the swamp where Xylos’ castle was located, yes?”

T: “I think I do.”

Lena: “When the five of you were split up, that’s when I fought T one last time. After that, and the promise I made, I helped you get into the castle. I stayed in hiding, because I was afraid you wouldn’t trust me.”

Sari: “I see, go on.”

Lena: “I witnessed the battle between you all and Xylos. When it finally ended, I was happy for the first time in a while. When you struck the final blow, it was like his body turned to stone…”

Eiji: “His whole body, huh? By the way, what did his whole body look like?”

T: “It was kinda fearsome to look at.”

Harold: “His eyes and hands were the same, just bigger.”

Nadia: “He was very large. His dark aura far exceeded mine.”

Usagi: “There was also this big red X on his forehead!”

Sari: “His whole body was basically round, and his vile mouth was like a zigzag.”

Tracy: “So he was basically a big black jack-o-lantern with hands?”

T/Harold/Nadia/Usagi/Sari: "Mmm...I guess you could say that..."

T: "Please continue, Lena.”

Lena: “When you all left that accursed place, I walked out in the open. I wanted to look at the vile beast that I never had to work for again. Then I too left.”

Usagi: “That place creeped me out, big time…”

Lena: “Then, a few years later, I revisited that place. I don’t know why, but I wanted to see it one last time. I was so relieved it was finally over, but then…”

Eiji: “What?”

Lena: “The entire body of Xylos just dematerialized; all that remained were those four parts of him; his eyes, and his hands… they rose up and flew off in different directions. I wanted to flee and try and find you, T, but before I knew it, the right hand fell on me and…”

T: “It took control.”

Lena: “When you mentioned the event that happened that day, I could feel its power over me weaken slightly, but… it tried it best to block it.”

Harold: “I see. It might interest you to know; we’ve actually captured all four parts of Xylos. This right hand was the last one.”

Lena: “Y-you have?! What will you do with them?”

Nadia: “We want to destroy them, but we’re still figuring that out.”

Eiji: “Can we even destroy something as evil as these things?”

Lena: “Please, be very careful around them.”

Harold: “No worries; the Capture Capsules I designed have kept them suppressed for this long, but still, how to destroy them…?”

Lena: “What if… you went to the Sanctuary?”

Tracy: “Sanctuary?”

Harold: “Hold on, you mean…?”

Nadia: “The Sanctuary of the Great Four.”

Eiji: “What’s that?”

T: “That’s where we went to place the Four Medallions.”

Nadia: “It was rather cold there.”

Harold: “Cold? It was more than cold!”

Usagi: “Freezing, even!”

Tracy: “Where is it, Fridgy Valley or something?”

Harold: “You wish… it’s in IcyChilly Plains.”

T: “Yep… I don’t know how, but we braved the cold and made it there.”

Eiji: “So what, are we gonna go to this place?”

Sari: “It sounds like a good idea. Maybe there we can find a way to destroy these accursed parts.”

Tracy: “Should we tackle this today? I’m up for it.”

T: “I think this’ll take some doing. We should try and do it later. At least with all the parts sealed, all these happenings should stop. Maybe.”

Lena: “Hm.”

T: “Listen, we shouldn’t keep you. You need all the recovery time you can get.”

Lena: “Oh, no… it’s no trouble. Thank you.”

T: “No problem.”

Lena: “So the rest of you… you actually forgive me?”

Harold: “Why not? It’s better to put the past behind us and move on.”

Nadia: “Please feel better.”

We left the room.

Lena: “I can only hope Xylos doesn’t return… I want this nightmare to end.”

We sat outside the hospital, next to a fountain. As I talked to the others on one side, Eiji and Tracy sat on the other side, talking in secret.

Eiji: “When I see the five of them like that, it reminds me of when the first five of us met after the tourney.”

Tracy: “That’s nice. Uh, Eiji?”

Eiji: “Yeah?”

Tracy: “Remember when you guys told me about what happened when T held onto one of those parts of Xylos?”

Eiji: “Yeah, I do.”

Tracy: “It happened again. It was his right arm this time.”

Eiji: “Oh man… and I thought it was weird to see his eyes look like that…”

Tracy: “I’m a little worried. You don’t think searching for these parts is hurting him somehow?”

Eiji: “You know, Ellis was just as worried. There’s something going on, I’m sure, but the sooner we get rid of these things, the better.”

Tracy: “Yeah.”

T: “So Sari, if you ever decide to visit us, how would you get there?”

Sari: “I’ll find a way. I’ve been thinking of using that Stone Launcher. But I will visit as soon as possible. I’m heading for home.”

T: “I guess we will too.”

Usagi: “I’ll leave partway, so I can head home, too.”

Tracy: “We’re leaving?”

T: “Yeah. Everything’s okay for now, right?”

Harold: “Yep. Take care, Sari.”

Sari: “Same to you!”

We parted ways and headed for home. On the way, Usagi left to go home to Cherry Blossom Village, and the rest of us went the rest of the way to VG City. But unbeknownst to us, someone was listening in on our conversation…

Marshall: “Ah… I see…”

Sally: “Hear anything good, Marshall?”

Marshall: “They were speaking about something called Xylos, and they have these four parts of it.”

K: “Xylos? Sound like a musical instrument…”

Marshall: “Not the way they’re chatting about it. Seems like those parts have lots of power.”

K: “Power, huh? If we got our hands on those babies, then we’d be packed with power! Not even those TSD dorks could handle us!”

Pete: “How do we steal em, huh?”

Sheldon: “They seem to have new friends that also fight well.”

K: “So what? We’ll find a way… we’ll find a way…”