Greywater

A Cave, A Bat, And A Mushroom- Three Warriors Brought Together By Fate

"Here it is. This is the place you were talking about, right? So you're paying me to go in and find one little mushroom? What's the catch?" A raise of his eyebrow reinforced the skepticism in the young man's voice. He peered through the snowfall at a lonely cave.

An elderly woman was leaning on a rather thick cane while observing the quaint scenery. "You really must forgive me, sir. It's been ages since I came this far out." In response to the relentless cold she was tightly bundled up in numerous coats, scarves, and shawls. "I'm so glad someone answered my prayers. You are an angel, sir."

The praise put a slight frown on the man's face. He tilted his head back and looked up at the darkening sky. "Yeah, thanks. It is getting late, so I'm gonna head in."

"Have you seen this lovely invention from the north?" The aged woman was trying to take something out of her coat pocket, but was having great difficulty doing so.

"Ma'am, it's really cold out here and the sun is about to go down." Unlike his elderly companion, this man was dressed in thin, comfortable clothes. All his clothing, even his oversized sleeves, was a brilliant green color. A pair of glasses hung on the edge of his nose in front of dark brown eyes. With an air of boldness and anxiety, the young man seemed both relaxed and eager, a difficult recipe to compose.

The woman smiled warmly when she found what she was searching for. "Here it is, sir." Her shaky hands held up a small red box with a tiny handle on the top. "It's called a music box. My granddaughter gave it to me before she fell ill. I treasure it as much as I treasure my little girl."

"Oh, that's right. You want me to get this mushroom because it'll lower her fever." The young man nodded, remembering the purpose of the job. "By the way, stop calling me 'sir'. My name is Jaguar, remember? I told you like four times before we got here."

The woman's wrinkly fingers were turning the handle, hardly paying attention to the man. "Listen, listen." She released the lever and immediately a soft piano-like lullaby began to play.

"That's real cute and all, but I'd like to finish this thing as quickly as possible. Frankly, you don't look like you'll last in this freezing air." Jaguar dropped his backpack on the ground and looked about. "No offense." The surroundings made him surprisingly comfortable. The snowy landscape was coupled with the rocky terrain outside a dark cavern. Jaguar could only smile when he stared at the wilderness around the valley.

"Finally! This place was hard to find. Hey there old lady!" Another young man stopped a short distance from the elderly woman and Jaguar. "Sorry I took so long, I got a little lost. Heh." His coarse black hair was laced with snowflakes, proving that he'd been out in the snowstorm for some time. He put his hands in the pockets of his grey jacket. Unlike Jaguar's penchant for green clothes, this man's preference leaned toward grey.

The woman greeted this newcomer happily. "Hello sir! No problem at all. The more the merrier." She looked up at Jaguar from her short stature. "Mr. Jaguar sir, this is one of the other young men I asked to help me."

"Other men?" Jaguar folded his arms over his chest. "I'm sorry, but I thought this was a solo thing. Why would I need some other guy's help finding a little mushroom?"

"My name is Jinn Masato; don't call me 'guy'." The newcomer took his hands from his pockets and smirked. "The old lady is more nearsighted than I thought to pick somebody like you for this job, pal. Good thing she hired me too." He carried a knapsack over his shoulder and a wrapped up object under his arm.

Jaguar couldn't help but frown again. "I can already tell this isn't going to go well." He shifted his gaze back to their 'boss'. "Gwen, just tell me why you needed to hire two men to do such a simple task."

"Well, you see... I hired the three of you because I wanted to be certain everything would run smoothly. The cave is a bit dangerous." She tapped her foot gently while listening to the end of her music box's tune. "Northerners come up with such neat inventions, don't you think?"

Jinn still had an arrogant smirk on his face while looking from the cave to Gwen's music box. "That's nothing. From what I heard, some people in the north created this new deadly weapon. They say it'll replace the sword like that." He snapped his fingers on the word 'that'.

"The rifle." The addition came from a third man; this one was leaning on the outside wall of the cavern. His eyes didn't open, but he commented further. "They haven't mass produced it yet, but they say it is a diabolical invention." His hair was a peculiar amalgamation of white and silver, peculiar because he wasn't at all an old man. The well-disciplined individual was aptly dressed in a navy blue military uniform. "Are you ready to head inside, Miss Gwen?"

The elderly woman put the music box back into her pocket and leaned on the broad cane once again. "Why yes, that would be grand." She smiled and made a slow start on reaching the cave entrance.

Now it was Jinn's turn to show some irritation. "I thought you misspoke when you mentioned hiring 'three' of us." His smirk returned rather quickly. "Then again, I'm not in this for money. I'm what you call a 'glory-seeker'. I want every person in this damn province to know my name... Jinn Masato."

"You shouldn't use such language, Mr. Jinn." Miss Gwen kept at her slow pace with a wag of her finger. "Once you start swearing, it becomes a nasty habit." She paused to take a relaxing breath.

Jaguar groaned and scooped up his backpack. "I don't get this at all. Maybe I wasn't paying attention at the beginning, but what 'glory' is there to steal from a scavenger hunt like this?"

"Come on, you don't know?" Jinn easily passed Miss Gwen with a couple of steps. "Rumors are floating around the countryside about this place. People claim there's a monster here like nothing anyone's seen before." He grinned and put his fingers around the handle of his concealed item. "Heh... I'm going to be famous for killing it."

The third man, who didn't seem interested in opening his eyes, spoke again. "Miss Gwen, I must voice my opinion on this matter. Do you think it wise to enter such an infamous place at your age? I believe it would be safer to return to your home and allow the three of us to track down your mushroom."

"Oh dear, no." Miss Gwen was already taking a break after walking about six feet. "Let's all rest before we go inside." She tugged a scarf over her chubby lips and yawned.

Jinn didn't end his stride toward the cave. "You rest, old lady, I'm heading in. I can't wait to find that beast." He tore the wrapping from the object he carried, revealing it to be a hooked sword.

"Huh?" Jaguar pushed up his glasses with a curious expression. "Nice sword, I've never seen one like that. You don't look like you have much money, so how could you afford something that expensive? Ah, I see. You must have stolen it."

"Did not!" Jinn turned around with an indignant look. "How'd a chump like you get hired for something this dangerous? Like I said, the old woman should be the one wearing glasses. She's pretty blind to miss how pathetic you look." He was about to enter the cave when he noticed Miss Gwen getting up.

Miss Gwen was on her merry way once again. "Okay boys, let's not dawdle. Everyone ready?" She looked over at the third man. "Are you ready, sir? Oh! Hmm. That's a mighty big umbrella you got there. It must come in handy when it rains."

"Relic is what you can call me." Carrying an umbrella on his back with a handle long enough to reach the ground, the third man truly was unusual. Relic stepped beside Miss Gwen and followed at her pace. "If you are certain, Miss Gwen, I am ready." Relic's eyes stayed shut, though he had no trouble walking under the condition.

Jaguar was giving Jinn a childish dirty look while rummaging through his backpack. "I'm not letting that glory-hound outdo me..." He obtained two unique pieces of equipment from his bag and hurried after Jinn. A sword and shield made of a mirror-like material were clutched in Jaguar's hands.

Jinn was ahead of the others by a good couple of yards. His hooked sword dragged across the cave floor while he intently observed his dark surroundings. "Where is that monster hiding?"

Cracks in the ceiling provided Jaguar with the necessary light to keep an eye on Jinn. His thoughts reflected the way he felt about his roguish teammate. Who does that guy think he is? He doesn't even care about the point of being here, the job! I can't count on Jinn at all. Fine, let him have his 'monster hunt'. He glanced over his shoulder at Relic and continued his thinking. How does that guy even see where he's going? Well, at least he cares about the assignment.

"Hold on a moment!" Someone was hurrying into the cave entrance with a lantern in her hand. She sped up until she was blocking Jinn's path, along with those behind him. The woman put on her most appealing smile and examined each of the three men. "How would one of you like to do a job for me?" The woman wore a heavy amount of make-up on her face, almost to the point of total fakeness.

Jinn walked by and removed the lantern from her hand. "Not interested." With the hooked sword still dragging behind him, Jinn pressed onward with the woman's light source in hand.

"Hey!" The girl stomped her foot, but didn't pursue Jinn. Now Jaguar was on the verge of passing her. "The old granny doesn't deserve that rare mushroom! She's going to waste it!" She looked away briefly before continuing. "I know where we can sell it for more than she could ever pay you! What do you say?" Her eyes appeared purple in the dim light, but they were filled with agitation.

"Nah." Jaguar went around her with a bored expression on his face. "You're kinda loud. I'd rather work for Gwen." He began to whistle while swinging his mirror-shield from left to right.

Now sweating profusely in the frosty cave, the young woman jumped up and down out of frustration. "Come on! Why would anyone want to work for that old prune?" Seeing Relic and Miss Gwen approaching, she straightened out her dress and tried to appear as attractive as possible. "Please, oh please consider it... We could split the money if you help me find it!"

Relic walked by without a word. The woman couldn't expect a second glance when she didn't receive a first from him. Gwen waved at the woman in passing in a friendly way. None of the three men were willing to change employers.

"This is an insult!" The woman scowled at Gwen. "Why would you rather work with some old hag than me? I'm offering more, we're accomplishing more, and I am more!" When her angry words were not acknowledged, she acted. She trudged after Miss Gwen and smacked away the woman's cane. The rod hit the ground with a loud 'thud'.

Miss Gwen had just tumbled forward when Jaguar was at her side. The blunt end of Relic's umbrella was pinning the female aggressor to the cave wall. Jinn was looking back in concern, but didn't make a move to halt his progress.

Try as she might, the woman couldn't push away Relic's umbrella. "What is this? A joke?" She cried out in aggravation and kicked rocks at the man. "Get this off me! Stop it!" She started coughing when her efforts proved futile.

Jaguar helped Miss Gwen to her feet and reached for the cane. "Eh?" He appeared rather surprised when he lifted it up. "This cane is pretty heavy..." Now something else had his attention. "Oh man..." The young man could see that Miss Gwen's cheek was bleeding.

"Oh dear." The elderly woman laughed softly and patted her face with one of her many scarves. "I must have scraped it on one of the rocks, no worries." After taking some time to compose herself, Gwen went back to her leisurely stroll.

Relic pulled his umbrella away and caught the young lady her throat. "Leave this cave." He spoke calmly, but with a threatening undertone. "Do not return. Do not let me see you again." Never opening his eyes, Relic released the frightened woman and cautiously followed Gwen.

"Whoa." Jaguar gave a short laugh. He walked backwards for a moment while thinking to himself. He's a scary guy when you make him mad. Unable to resist, he made a comment. "I don't think she'll have to worry about you seeing her."

Jinn pushed some rocks out of the way to free up the path. "This is starting to look like a waste of time. Where's that beast?" He was about to complain about how slow the other's were going, but a loud screech caused him to freeze. He ducked down as a wave of bats fled from the inner-sanctum of the cave.

Relic swiftly opened his umbrella and shielded Gwen from the bats. "They were alarmed by something. I doubt we did it from the way they ignored us."

Jaguar used his mirror-shield to block the winged creatures from his upper body. "Where is this mushroom supposed to be? We've gone in pretty far already." He grinned when he passed Jinn. "Nothing to keep the bats away, huh? Too bad. That makes it easier for me to take the lead!"

Another fearsome shriek echoed through the cavern. The sound was nothing a human could emit. Pebbles rained from the ceiling and splashed in partially frozen puddles. The number of bats steadily decreased until the last one sped past Relic.

The four voyagers stopped at the same time. A new sound was emanating from just ahead. Jaguar dared to keep going further in, only to pause again seconds later. "Oh man..."

The passage opened into a large gorge with light filtering down from breaks in the rocky walls. Massive mushrooms littered the ground, growing in almost every corner of the chasm. A deep water basin rested on the center floor with eyeless fish swimming inside. Smaller mushrooms and moss collected at the edges of the water source. Jinn, Gwen, and Relic came to a stop behind Jaguar. All of them marveled at what was on the ceiling, rather than the floor.

"Daaaamn..." Jinn muttered in astonishment. "Hm." With eyes shut, Relic reacted with a nod. "Cool." Jaguar rested his mirror-blade against his shoulder. "Amazing." Gwen smiled and clapped her hands quietly.

A bat of monumental size was clutching the ceiling with both its claws and feet. The beast's chest rose and fell rapidly, never resting. It was the size of a small whale, far superior to the bats from earlier. The immense creature gnawed at a large mushroom growing close by. The bat chomped at its dry meal with an expression of disgust.

Relic said nothing, but considered the sight carefully. It's too oversized to live on the normal diet of a bat. That thing would never survive on fruits and insects. It doesn't appear to like the mushrooms, but it's forced to eat them to sustain itself. We have to stay quiet, that I'm certain of. It may recognize us as an alternative food source. Hopefully Jinn and Jaguar know to be silent.

"That thing must be it!" Jinn carried his hooked sword low to the ground while running toward the gorge's core. "The name 'Jinn Masato' is gonna be known by everyone once I slay this thing!" Jinn didn't attempt to hide the enthusiasm in his voice.

Jaguar wasn't quite as loud, but he was right behind Jinn. Like his smug companion, Jaguar was excited about the prospect of fighting such a creature. "Okay, okay. We can kill the monster then find the mushroom." His eyes lit up with an idea. "Or... Relic! You find the mushroom while we fight this thing!"

Relic sighed and shook his head. "There isn't any call to fight it." Not overly interested in stopping them, he calmly walked with Gwen toward a patch of smaller mushrooms. I've fulfilled what I wanted. I saw the alleged 'monster'.

Now fully aware of the intruders, the bat ripped its fangs from the mushroom top. An upturned snout wiggled, taking in their warm scent. Great wings flapped once, freeing the bat from its upside-down position. A chest of white fur clashed with the black on its back and wings. The creature's eyeballs were clear and bulging from its skull out of rage. Another wail came from the bat now that it was in flight.

Jinn slid to a stop and looked up at the colossal beast. "That thing is pretty big. I've never seen anything like it." Rather than respond with panic, this only strengthened Jinn's resolve to conquer the animal. "So you're 'Sentinel'? That's what the rumors named him."

"I really wasn't expecting something like this when I took this job." Jaguar licked his lips while surveying the furious bat. "Sentinel, huh? This is going to cost that old woman extra." Though his tone made it hard to tell if he was joking, Jaguar was willing to fight without consulting Gwen on price change.

Relic sighed and turned to Jinn and Jaguar. "I have a feeling you two won't be enough for this." He moved away from Gwen and began to open his umbrella. "Miss Gwen, search for you mushroom while we handle this." Of course we wouldn't have to go through this if they had been quiet.

"Okay, dears. Have fun." Gwen was striping off the cloth from her cane when Relic walked away. She looked at the mushrooms with a smile, her tiny footsteps carrying her toward the other side of the cavern. "Heh." Jinn was taking off his grey jacket while looking from Sentinel to Relic. "What good are you going to be? I can't expect much help from a blind guy with an umbrella. You are blind, right?"

"Keep thinking that." Relic removed the cover of his umbrella, exposing a long blade underneath. He tossed the umbrella-top behind him and held the weapon out in front of him. Relic's uniform and pose made him appear even more like a high-ranking soldier.

Jinn kept his eyes on Sentinel, who was circling overhead. He glanced at Relic again and laughed. "So what? Big deal. You were hiding a sword with a really long handle under there, wow."

"It's coming." I've got an idea... Jaguar dropped his mirror-shield and grabbed a rock. After taking careful aim, he hurled the object into the air. He then retrieved his piece of equipment. The young man then started running to the left.

"Huh? What was the point of that? You missed him." Jinn watched all this curiously. The young rogue gasped when he saw a boulder dropping from the ceiling and falling toward the immense bat. "He did that to knock some bigger rocks loose?"

"Clever." Relic casually followed Jaguar, not rushing in the slightest. "But dangerous. We don't want to cause a cave-in."

The stone crashed down on Sentinel and brought the creature plummeting toward the ground. Before Sentinel reached the basin, it pushed the boulder off and flew straight for Jinn with a hiss.

"That thing thinks I did it? Fine." Jinn smirked and waited until the creature was near enough. He then swung his hooked sword at Sentinel's nose, digging into its flesh and causing it to rear back. Taking this opportunity, Jinn dashed forward and plunged his weapon into the bat's chest. Though tiny in comparison, Jinn's hooked sword was dealing some damage to the enormous bat.

Jaguar and Relic came to a stop on a higher level of the gorge. Jaguar threw off his backpack before making his move. "I feel kinda bad for it." He went to the edge and threw his mirror-blade at the beast's wing.

The assaults from Jinn and Jaguar both hurt and made the bat even angrier. It lashed out at Jinn with its feet while snapping at Jaguar with its jaws. A horde of smaller bats disengaged from the cavern walls and fluttered about among the madness.

In the haze of livid bats, individuals in the gorge became indistinct. A squat, elderly figure scurried toward a back duct, heading farther inside the cavern. Seconds later, a youthful female body followed the first one. The two fled in time to avoid the greater number of bats flooding into the ravine.

Relic was the first to notice that Gwen was missing. He frowned and stepped past Jaguar. "She's gone." He mumbled the words and jumped off the edge. A thirty-foot plunge awaited Relic during that moment. His fall went uninterrupted at first, but ended at the halfway point. His blade stabbed into Sentinel's side and stuck there. Relic gripped Sentinel's fur tightly for extra support, holding onto the bat without difficulty.

"He's pretty confident." Jinn was hoping back to evade the bat's claws. He smirked when he saw an opening. His hooked sword was sent soaring toward Sentinel's forehead. He cursed when a number of bats blocked the weapon. Relic ripped his blade from the bat to reenter his freefall. He remained unshaken after landing on both feet and one hand with his weapon at his side. "Someone needs to go find Miss Gwen."

"I hope the bats didn't get her." Jaguar used his shield to smack away the winged beasts flying around him. "How far could an old lady get on her own?" His eyes widened behind his lens. He could hear the faint sound of the old woman's music box playing further in the cave.

Jinn looked in the direction where the piano-like tune was playing. "She went deeper inside?" He could feel guilt swelling inside him. "The old woman just wants to help her granddaughter. She's risking her life to save that kid." He gritted his teeth and turned to Relic. "You and Jaguar go make sure she's okay. I'll hold this monster off. It's my fault the thing is after us."

"Are you crazy?" Jaguar snatched his mirror-like sword from Sentinel's wing when the beast was close enough. "So far all our efforts have hardly done anything to this monster. Without us, Sentinel would devour you." He dropped down and landed softly on a large mushroom. All three of us should go after Gwen."

Relic was concerned about something else now. "These bats..." He backed up enough to get some distance between Sentinel and himself. "The bats are protecting him." His eyebrows shot up, startled by something. "Jinn!"

"Ahh! God!" Jinn grabbed onto his shoulder and wrenched off a hefty bat. Blood splattered on the floor from a fresh wound on the rogue's shoulder. "Damn, damn, damn! That hurt!" He narrowed his eyes and ran toward his hooked sword, which was resting on the floor after missing Sentinel.

Jaguar appeared uneasy for a moment. "These bats are bigger than the ones we saw on the way here... Watch it, Jinn!" After climbing off the mushroom, Jaguar held his shield in front of him and chased after Jinn.

Eight bulky bats were targeting Jinn and swooping after the human. They revealed their saliva-coated fangs and prepared to dig into their meal. Jaguar's mirror-shield was thrown into their path, causing the group to disperse.

With his defense out of reach, Jaguar skidded to a halt next to Jinn. The two of them held their swords tightly while looking at the innumerable winged citizens of the gorge. "We're in over our heads." Jaguar was beginning to sweat in spite of the frosty air. "What can we do?"

"Jinn, Jaguar." Relic raced through the cloud of bats, slashing and thrusting his blade at them. He kicked the mirror-shield in Jaguar's direction before heading after the sound of Gwen's music box. "Clear a path to the exit. I'll get Gwen." His calm tone went unhindered by the crisis.

Jaguar and Jinn looked at each other. Neither was willing to put so much demand on Relic. They'd only been working together for a short time, but they were partners nonetheless. Seconds later, the two were pursuing Relic to aid him.

Hundreds of bats descended upon Jinn, Relic, and Jaguar with the intent to make a feast out of the interlopers. Sentinel was above the mighty wave of winged rodents, his clear eyes bugging out further. The clamor of countless bats hissing and screeching was becoming unbearable to the three men.

"Ack!" Jaguar could feel a pair of fangs plowing into his forearm. He cried out and stumbled forward, tripping on a mushroom. His glasses went flying off toward the water basin and sunk instantly. Everything was blurry and distorted, but he forced himself up. Visually helpless, Jaguar took hold of his shield and sword. With a sense of panic plaguing him, he went into an unyielding onslaught of inaccurate cuts, slashes, and swings.

"Damn." Jinn glimpsed Jaguar's blind assault before a haze of bats overcame the desperate man. Seeing the terrible situation Jaguar was in, Jinn turned around and hurried back.

Relic slid to a stop on the icy floor. He turned in time to see Jinn on the verge of risking his life to assist Jaguar. Wait... "No!" Without hesitating, Relic darted after Jinn. He jumped from mushroom to mushroom, determined to stop him. The sound of a groan made Jaguar end his sword's movement. Seconds earlier, the mirror-blade had been embedded inside a human body. Jaguar gasped at the blurred image of Jinn falling back. I stabbed him! His fears were widespread at the realization. "Jinn? Jinn!" When his ears heard no reply from Jinn's body, Jaguar snapped.

His vision worthless, Jaguar broke into a mad sprint in Sentinel's direction. He could tell right away that the epic beast was coming straight at him as well. With a fearless leap, Jaguar extended his bloody mirror-blade for the clash with Sentinel. Jaguar was screaming as he began to spin in midair. He could feel his sword slicing directly into Sentinel. He refused to end the momentum of his spin, driving the blade deeper with each rotation. When the energy left Jaguar's whirling body, the young man fell to the ground and landed on his knees.

After hopping off the last mushroom, Relic's foot used Jaguar as a vaulting point. He pushed off from Jaguar's back and thrust his umbrella-blade forward. His weapon pierced the same spot Jaguar's spin had targeted. He followed up with a vertical slash, then a horizontal one.

Relic's eyes opened for a split second to view the mutilation done to the bat fiend's belly. He spied a hooked sword soaring past him and striking Sentinel in the very same area.

A crimson storm rained down moments after Relic found footing next to Jaguar. Sentinel shrieked and ascended briefly before falling into the basin. The bat disappeared into the seemingly bottomless pool and soon turned the water red. Sentinel's winged legion exited the gorge once their leader had fallen.

"Way too messy." Wiping bat blood from his face, Relic inhaled deeply. "Now this is why we should have all stayed quiet." He turned his head down to Jaguar. "You okay?" Relic could hear the hooked sword landing in a corner of the cavern. A sound like nothing Jaguar had ever heard came from the direction of the music box's lullaby. It was like a small explosion, but far too contained to be such. Jaguar raised his mirror-blade with a paranoid expression.

"Someone just fired a rifle." The noise was not so foreign to Relic. He said nothing more when footsteps echoed through the now, otherwise, silent cavern. The person approaching them was not reliant on a cane.

Jaguar immediately understood. "That woman from before. She must have killed Gwen... for that mushroom." An uncommon sadness entered Jaguar's facade. "I guess Gwen wouldn't give it up."

There was a pause in the impending footsteps. A body was tossed out of the shadows and onto the cave floor. There on the ground was a female figure with blood staining her clothes. She tumbled down the sloped landscape and finished the roll a few feet away from Relic.

"I suspected as much." Calmly, Relic walked toward the woman and placed his hand on the side of her face, turning her over. "So why did you do it?" He stared at the victim of the gunshot through closed eyes. "Why did you lie to us?"

The young woman from the cave's entryway was clutching a bullet wound. She was struggling to breathe, but not from the injury. Her face was flushed with a powerful fever. "Y-You knew?" She weakly gazed up at Relic. "I... I thought you wouldn't help me if I couldn't pay you... The truth is... I needed the mushroom."

"What? Her?" Even without his glasses, Jaguar could see the girl's condition. "I don't understand. This doesn't make any sense!" He was growing agitated in the absence of a reasonable explanation.

Relic shook his head slowly. "Jaguar, this is the woman that tried to enlist us before. She needed the mushroom for her fever; she just couldn't pay us for retrieving it for her." He felt her forehead. "She's going to die soon, either from the fever or blood loss."

"You're perceptive, Relic." The speaker was a woman creeping from the darkness. She clutched a long, iron piece of machinery in her hand. She cackled when she saw that Jaguar was confused. "What's wrong, boy? Did you lose your glasses?"

Relic sighed and stood up straight. "So you lied to us too, Miss Gwen. I wasn't sure about your story, but I was willing to believe you had good intentions. I really should have kept a closer eye on you."

"Sorry, boys." The old woman was not nearly as helpless as previously shown. She stood while clutching the rifle in one hand. "Jaguar you had me worried .I was afraid you'd figure out what my cane really was when you picked it up." She peered over at Relic. "An old gal like me couldn't get past that bat alone. If I really had a granddaughter, I would have used her as bait for that damned monster."

"You witch..." The dying girl whispered the words after a coughing fit. She slowly slipped into a restless position and shut her eyes. The girl would suffer no longer.

Miss Gwen smiled contently at Jaguar and Relic. "Thanks boys, really. I could not have done all this without you. But I can't let you three live, you know. The mushrooms in the back of this cave are all very valuable and it wouldn't be right to let you three leave here knowing about my new garden. Thanks to you, Jaguar, I won't have to waste a bullet on Jinn."

Just as she was about to pull the trigger, someone seized her from behind. "So you tricked us into helping you, huh? You were gonna use us as pawns to make you rich, huh? No way. No old hag fools Jinn Masato." With a fresh chest wound from Jaguar, Jinn was keeping a tight hold on Miss Gwen.

"Hmm." Relic dipped down and used his long weapon to cut Gwen's rifle in half. He took the broken weapon away from the elderly woman. "Seeing as you don't need your cane..." He tossed the iron weapon into the basin. Let's go." He led Jaguar toward the exit without another word.

"I'm not done." Jinn's eyelids constricted out of resentment at Gwen. "He took the music box from her pocket and pushed her away. "I don't like being lied to and I hate being used." Though Gwen was beginning to beg Jinn for mercy, the rogue walked right past her. He scratched his chin and growled. "I also dislike killing old people."

Relic, Jaguar, and Jinn all made their way toward the exit. Gwen continued to lie on the ground, perhaps out of fear that Jinn's show of mercy was false. The old woman's greed soon became her only company.

Fresh air did wonders for the three young men. Jaguar was putting on his spare glasses while Relic helped Jinn with his injuries. The trio was seated outside the cave now. None of them had much to say at this point, but the silence was too uncomfortable to let continue.

"I'm glad that wound wasn't fatal, Jinn. I was pretty freaked out, you know?" With his vision renewed, Jaguar looked over at Jinn. "Sorry. It was just an accident, seriously." The guilt was really bothering Jaguar at this point and apologizing did little to rid himself of it.

Jinn winced when the final layer of bandages was placed over his chest wound. "Whatever, forget it. Thanks a lot for pretty much killing the bat without me." He wiped off the blood from his hooked sword and started to walk away. "See you two around. I still have glory to find."

Relic placed the umbrella-top over the blade of his weapon, concealing it once more. "I should be leaving too. I saw what I needed to." He began to head in the opposite direction of Jinn. "I just wanted to see if that creature really existed."

"Heh... I don't get how you saw anything, Relic." Jaguar laughed softly, ignoring the pain of his bleeding forearm. "The three of us made a good team. Maybe we can work together again sometime. I just wish I'd gotten paid." Jinn called back without turning around. "I did. I took the old witch's music box." He smirked and patted the trinket in his pocket. Gaining the knick-knack was hardly a consolation, but he was happy anyway. I wouldn't mind running into those two again. It might be fun.

"The money didn't matter to me." Relic spoke loud enough for the other two to hear. "I took this job for experience. Sadly, it wasn't too challenging." I'd prefer to test my skills against one of them. I'll have to wait until they recover though. I hope I receive the chance to face them someday.

Jaguar removed something from his pocket and starting walking. "I guess I could always sell this thing..." Between his fingers was a tiny glowing mushroom. After staring at the oddity for a couple of seconds, he spun around and hurled it back at the cave opening. "Screw it. Let Sentinel keep it." He smiled and shouted after his temporary companions. "Don't you two die until we all meet again!" That was pretty fun. It was worth it, even if it was all for one damn mushroom...