Neclord slowly descended to the stone floor. “As loathe as I am to admit it, I need you two mortals to acquire what I seek in this ruin.” Neclord glanced at Yori, who was still lying in the corner. “He’s just an extra bargaining chip.”

“No way am I going to help you vampire. What do you need with me anyway?”

“I don’t need you, I need your rune. And you will help me, or you and your friend will have to join my army by force.” Neclord and Lorelai simply stared each other down for a few tense moments, but Lorelai knew it was a lost cause.

“Fine. But once we’re done here, you’ll let us go, right?” Lorelai knew the odds of this happening were astronomical, but hey, she had to buy time to make a plan.

“Alas young lady that’s not my choice. If it were,” Neclord scanned Lorelai up and down. “you would make an excellent bride.” Seeing the anger welling in the woman’s face, Neclord simply smiled. Then Zareth slowly rose from the floor. “We’ll discuss the terms of your enslavement later, lady.”

Lorelai attempted to pounce at Neclord, but Zareth grabbed her, pinning her arms behind her back. Zareth glared at Neclord. “Let’s get this over with.”

“Why the tone of disgust Zareth? After all your father would have made an excellent ally if he had anything recognizable as a backbone.” Zareth let Lorelai go, and it was now her turn to hold him back. Neclord seemed unmoved by the duo’s display of emotion. “Don’t be surprised I recognize you. Over the centuries I have learned to recognize mortals by their blood and not their face. And I must say you’ve overcome your inherent weaknesses quite well.”

Zareth shoved Lorelai aside and rushed Neclord. “Don’t you presume to know anything of me, demon. Like I said, let’s get this over with.”

Neclord turned and walked down the hall. “As you wish.”

Lorelai followed Zareth and Neclord into the hallway. She was to busy trying to figure out an escape route to care for their antics. She rummaged through her pack, feeling some scrolls and arrows. She was really unprepared for a fight. She was just planning on exploring the ruins and maybe recovering some items. She needed a plan quick.

The trio came to a dead end. Lorelai simply stared at the wall in disbelief. There was no where else to go but here. Zareth walked up to the wall and pecked on it. “Ok I know what I have to do.” Zareth clenched his fist tight and a pale glow emitted from it. He then passed through the wall! This was incredible; Lorelai had never seen such a thing. Then the wall simply split in the middle and opened like a set of double doors. Lorelai saw Zareth holding a switch in the next room. “Now what.” Zareth shot a stare at the two that could have drilled through steel.

“If I’m not mistaken, our lovely companion has the next part to deal with.” Neclord started down the passageway, then turned and gave that same evil smile back at Lorelai.

Lorelai wasn’t even paying attention though. She was still analyzing the situation at hand. There didn’t seem to be any immediate sign of exit, and they were to deep to make digging out an option. There was something strange about those columns holding up the roof. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Then she heard a loud crash as Zareth let the switch go and the stone doors shut. She simply followed the other two without saying a word. She’d figure a way out in time… She always did.

Meanwhile back at the tunnels beginning, Yori had finally managed to retrieve a dagger he kept hidden in his boot. Always be prepared his dad had always said. With the dagger in hand, freeing himself was a simple task. He quickly sprung to his feet, just in time to hear a loud crash as though two huge objects had collided. He sprinted to the end of the hall to arrive at what he saw as a dead end. Where were they?

The rune on his hand began to shine. “They are behind that wall Yori… I can sense … evil there.”

“So what do I do now! I can’t walk through walls!”

The rune replied. “Then we will have to break through. I will help you.”

Yori sighed… and began striking the wall with his hands. This rune was going to be the death of him.

Back with the other three, they had come upon another obstacle. Some kind of magical field blocked the door. Zareth simply stepped up to the barrier and attempted to walk through the energy.

And he was shocked senseless for it. Why hadn’t his wraith rune worked? Was it because the obstacle wasn’t physically there? Neclord stared down at him. “You idiot. I told you that she would handle the next part.”

“What do you mean?” Lorelai looked at the barrier. It looked like solid lightning. How was she supposed to do anything with it. Looking back at the other two, she figured she had better give it a try. She aproached the doorway and her draining rune began to gleam. The energy fluctuated and then surged at her. She instinctively blocked with her hands and closed her eyes expecting the worst. She opened them to find that she was indeed still alive. Her rune simply quit glowing, and she felt a little less weary from the day’s troubles.

“What a wonderful gimmick. Remind me to take that from you when we are done here. It’d help me deal with a certain… drawback… that was recently discovered.”

“Over my dead body.” Why did that damn vampire keep smiling at her like that?

“Haven’t you realized that’s one of the conditions of service with me?”

Lorelai simply shivered at the thought. She’d die first. Not that Neclord would care she guessed. She didn’t say a word, she simply began walking through the tunnel again. Would this tunnel just end already, she thought.

Yori was still back at the first obstacle wondering how far ahead Lorelai had gotten. He was gonna kill Zareth for this one. His whole body ached, and his hands and feet felt like they were broken. Still he was making progress on the wall. If that rune would only help like it had promised him.

Lorelai, Neclord, and Zareth had finally come to an open area, only to see a giant two headed snake asleep on the floor. Neclord grinned. “What a wonderful gift!” He slowly glided toward the snake, licking his lips. This would be his best servant yet. His Moon rune began glowing as he plunged his fist through one of the snake’s heads. The entire ruin was shaken by an unholy screech. The other head tried to snap at him, but was dismissed quickly by a discharge of lightning from Neclord’s other hand. The death was obviously a slow and horrible one for the creature as it writhed in agony, both heads spitting out blood from the internal injuries it was taking. For the first time in her life, Lorelai felt sorry for a snake. Neclord removed his hand from the monster’s skull. The creature rose from the floor, with dull eyes and a horrible moan. Lorelai and Zareth looked on in shock. Neclord had quite possibly made the worst zombie ever.

And then the room began to shake violently as a huge black stone on the opposing wall began to crack.

“I didn’t see that before, did you Zareth.”

Zareth glanced back at Lorelai. “I was too busy staring at the snake.”

Neclord simply pointed at the entrance and commanded the snake to watch it. “Obviously my use of the Moon Rune has unsealed something.” The trio watched as a black ooze poured from the stone and puddled onto the floor. It slowly rose to take a strangely feminine form, but had no kind of distuingishable characteristics. Neclord smiled. “As it was supposed to.”

The shadow looked at the trio and spoke… not that it had a mouth to speak with. “Thank you for freeing me, ally of darkness.”

Neclord approached and bowed before the lady. “As per our arrangement. Would you mind saying your name, I don’t believe you told us.”

“Names. What a silly little human concept. You have brought the receptacle, right?”

“Of course.” He set the container at the shadow’s feet. “And the power you were to bequeath me?”

“Silly little fleshling.” The darkness reached out with a hand and grasped Neclord’s face. “I have no use for you now.” With those words she slung Neclord at a wall, where he connected face first.

Neclord rose from the floor, spitting a little black blood as he did. “Ahhh… Pain. That’s something I haven’t felt in a while.” Neclord’s movement was almost instantaneous. The container was shattered by an arch of blue electricity. “I believe our deal is off m’lady.”

The entity let out a gut wrenching screech.

“Snake, make sure no one leaves this room alive.” Neclord turned into a mist form and floated toward some newly formed cracks in the ceiling. “I think you two can handle this situation without me.”

Lorelai ran to the space recently occupied by Neclord, and screamed at the roof. “Neclord!!!”

Zareth already had his sword drawn and was charging at the shadow. Taking a swing, he simply fell through, losing his balance. Looking up from the floor he saw the Obsidian stone shake even more violently.

The spectre turned and moaned pleasurably. “Yes my children. Come and be free!” A huge amount of solid black energy soared through the crack in the stone and began to circle the formless being. “Go. Destroy this world and make it our home!” The energy shimmered slightly, and began to streak toward the door.

But Lorelai was already in position. She smiled a wicked smile and rose her right hand to greet the energy. The wave of power dissapeared in a instant. The draining rune had worked! Then Lorelai began to shake violently, but it was rather pleasurable. She dropped to her knees. Maybe it had worked too well. Then she heard a hiss behind her. She felt a huge jaw clamp onto her shoulder and fling her into the center of the room. “How did I forget about that damn snake.” The wound in her shoulder closed almost instantly, but she still couldn’t stop shaking.

The shadow slid across the floor toward her. Lorelai flung Tower at it, but it simply passed through. She was out of options. She had to do something quick.

The shadow stretched out in front of her. “YOU… STUPID… LITTLE… WENCH! Did you really think that my own weapon could hurt me! Nothing can hurt me!” Lorelai watched as the shadow woman rose her arm, making it into an axe object.

Zareth activated his wraith rune and ran at the shadow, running it through. “If nothing can hurt you, then I guess you can call me nobody.” Lorelai smiled at Zareth’s little joke. “Don’t smile Lorelai. You’re next.”

Zareth twisted his sword, causing the shadow an immense pain. And Lorelai still couldn’t quit shaking.

Yori heard the screams of anguish at his end of the tunnel. He had already made a hole through the wall, he just had to make it a little bigger. The stone platform that had dropped them in had already began to break from the shaking. Yori looked at the rune on his hand. “Dammit do something!”

The rune simply glowed. “Just tackle the wall Yori.”

Yori shrugged his shoulders. Might as well try, he thought. He put a little distance between him and the stone obstacle. He rushed at it and as he leapt at the wall, he felt his body become incredibly light…

Lorelai looked up. The shaking was finally starting to subside, and she had no idea how long Zareth was going to torture the shadow by twisting and turning the blade. The snake was still at the door, and Zareth wasn’t about to let her just leave. Zareth watched as the shadow finally stopped convulsing on his sword, and lifted up with it. Lorelai started to slide away, but Zareth simply stomped down on her chest and shifted his weight to that foot. Lorelai could feel her ribs begin to snap under the pressure, but she stifled her own scream. If she was going to die, Zareth sure wasn’t going to get any pleasure from it.

The next moments seemed to play out in slow motion. She looked at Zareth who was grinning evily. Then a huge beam of light ripped through the snake. Zareth raised his sword over head, with the shadow still floating where it had “died”. The light beam crashed through the shadow’s remains and slammed into Zareth, knocking him back and to the side. The light crashed into the stone, shattering it. Lorelai clambered to her feet, and saw Yori sitting below the stone and clutching his shoulder.

“Owww. I should’ve known that wouldn’t work…” Yori’s eyes went wide as he realized he had indeed broke through the barrier.

Lorelai looked at the puddle on the floor. So that was the end of that monster. She then looked at Zareth. His chestplate was nowhere to be seen, and his helmet was a few feet away from him. He began to stir and moan slightly. Lorelai then noticed that the puddle was beginning to make some bubbles as well. She ran to Yori and helped him up. Grabbing her crossbow and loading an arrow with a scroll wrapped around it, she fired at one of the columns in the room. The arrow stuck into the column and just hung there.

“What’s that supposed to accomplish Lorelai?”

Lorelai put her hands over Yori’s ears and spoke one word. “Explosion.”

The scroll on the arrow ignited and an explosion rocked the room. The support system of the room was heavily damaged and the roof looked like it was coming down. Lorelai slung Yori onto her shoulder, ignoring the pain in her ribs. She began to dash toward the exit, but stopped when she saw the shadow reaching out for her scythe.

“Tower… come to me… We can still pass judgement on this world together.”

Lorelai glanced at the scythe. “Tower. Come.” Her scythe began to hover and spin in the air, and glided right to her hand. Lorelai looked at the formless object on the floor disdainfully. “Tower has no respect for the weak.”

She didn’t even wait for a reply, she just ran into the hallway and straight for the exit. She realized she was running at an incredible speed. She was back at the entrance in no time and made an incredible leap out of the hole she had fell in earlier. Her draining rune began to burn like liquid fire as she cleared the surface and landed on the ground, next to an obviously stunned Sheena. Before either Yori or Sheena could say something, Lorelai simply collapsed.

Sheena looked at Yori. “What happened?”

Yori looked back at Sheena. “It’s a long story we don’t have time for. We better get her to Muse.”

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"Lorelai" and "Suikoden 2" are (C) Konami, 1999. This chapter was posted on December 13, 1999 This author no longer writes for Lorelai