Phoenix arrived at Mac Anu after he encountered the ghost boy from his previous quest. He wondered about the image that he saw during the quest and couldn't get out of his head. He decided to go to the field that the End Cypher gave him, but he gave him a flash mail first.

To: The End Cypher
From: Phoenix512

I'm back from my quest and I have to tell you some things about the ghost boy. I'll be waiting by the bridge in Mac Anu. After that, we should go to REJECTING FORBIDDEN FERTILE LAND.

End of message

He walked towards the bridge and wait for The End Cypher to show up. While he waited, the image came back into his mind but this time it show some motion as the boy look like that he playing catch. He saw the ball coming towards him, but the image stopped there as Mac Anu came back to his vision. He watched the boats and the water as he waited for the End Cypher.

Logging on….processing…Welcome back The_End_Cypher!

He remembered the last Flash Mail he got.

To: The End Cypher
From: Phoenix512

I'm back from my quest and I have to tell you some things about the ghost boy. I'll be waiting by the bridge in Mac Anu. After that, we should go to REJECTING FORBIDDEN FERTILE LAND.

End of message

Toxicity and other System of a Down blared through his speaker, those set up as custom music for his Altima music. His background images were lined with all the “The World” women he knew…ranging from his Army companions to any other he met around.

After changing the music track to Spiders, he checks his mail. “Buy this” headings were lined up and down, the down side to giving his email address away. After deleting crap emails, he stumbled onto one that interested him. As soon as he opened it, the music he was listening to stop, and transformed into an eerie high pitched sound, followed by the murmurs of voices. His screen flickered and faded; the sound stopped; the screen came back to normal.

He was returned to his desktop. He reconnected to the Altima account and everything seemed alright. As he checked his emails, he found nothing of the strange email which caused his computer to crash.

Oh well…

As more System music roared on, he went over the board to see if anything is new. After replying to some of his old topics, and imputing his thoughts into new topics, he logged into the World.

As the data numbers flared through, a spectacle of light, he soon found himself in Mac Anu. The Dope Show began to play, as he walked over to the bridge. He waved to an old friend whom he had helped before; shook hands with another one, even got a hug from. As he approached the meeting place, he observed a fellow blade master, Phoenix waiting for him.

“Well I see you beet me to it. I read you’re Flash message. Alright let’s do this. I want to give that kid a piece of my mind. Oh by the way, he isn’t the only one.”

As he continued his conversation, he imputed the keywords.

“The Reapers are present wherever the boy is present. I doubt I will see a Xander clone here; they haven’t been spotted in a while. We might get a Reaper, so be on guard.”

Just as he finished those words, what was left of his body that didn’t disappear from the data transfer was now all gone. His body disintegrated, the Manson music still playing, adding a deeper feeling to the disintegration experience.

As he approached the ground of the new field, he observed that Phoenix and his data kept flowing onward, all while he was lowered down.

He began to take whole again, seeing the dungeon out of the corner of his eye. He could see that Phoenix was grounded down on the other side of the field.

FLASH MAIL

TO: Phoneix512
FROM: Cypher

HEY I SAW YOU TOUCH DOWN ON THE OTHER SIDE. REMEMBER THIS IS A LEVEL 6 FIELD, SO WATCH OUT NOT TO TAKE ANYTHING HEAD ON, OR TO TAKE MORE THAN 2 MONSTERS ON EITHER. I WILL TRY TO GET TO YOU AS FAST AS I CAN.

End of Message.

As he began to run towards his comrade, he could hear the ever present sound of a portal opening. Before he could turn, he got hit hard, and was sent back. As he got up, he whipped his dirt lined face and brushed off his clothing. He casted Ap Do on himself to avoid getting hit. He observed a pair of boulders in the corner, so he ran towards them and hid behind them. He had yet to see his attacker, as he peered around to find a Mushroom King. Without giving it much of a chance, he casted a VAK KRUZ right on its face, leaving it blind. As the King staggered back, a new enemy lurked behind. He had seen the Cadet Valkire that snuck in around the rocks in an attempt to ambush him.

Using his speed, he sidestepped the Cadet’s attack, leaving it to puncture his own companion. Cypher made a sweep kick that knocked down the Cadet, and then he finished it with a sword stab, grabbing high and driving it hard in. As the monster twisted, turned and wiggled before it expired, his attention was turned to the King wobbling around. He rolled under it in an effort to get behind it. Knowing that the foe could not detect his enemy, Cypher skilfully applied a few sword stabs and slashes, dropping it in a few seconds, howling as it went down.

His vision before obscured from the King on what’s happening ahead of him was now free, and he observed that the little tussle with the King and Cadet unleashed two more Cadets.

They had not seen him yet, but were close to finding him. As they scanned the area, so did Cypher. He observed that are the portals were all too close. Any wrong step would set one free, leaving you’re back exposed and open for attack. Using what ever speed he had, he casted a JUK ROM on the patrolling Cadet’s catching them of guard and sending them high. Cypher waited on the bottom, slashing both of them as they fell down. Not wasting any time, he re-casted the Ap Do on himself.

FLASH MAIL

FROM: Cypher
TO: Phoenix

GO TO THE DUNGEON ENTRANCE. I HAVE PINNED IT ON YOU’RE MAP. I HAVE AN IDEA. FOR SOME REASON THIS FIELD IS DIFFERENT THAN THE OTHERS. I’M GOING TO REALEASE THE PORTALS ALL TOGETHER SO WE CAN HAVE A BETTER CHANCE. JUST BE READY TO CAST SPELLS ON THESE CRITTERS.

As he did so, he began his long circle run around the field, passing by each portal, activating it. He could hear howls from the monsters as they emerged. Seeing all portals opened, he began his sprint back to the entrance, Phoenix there waiting for him. He began casting spells at Cypher, in order to hold the monsters back. Cypher jumped and rolled down to Phoenixes position, then turns and unsheathes his sword, looking on to what was approaching them.

He turned his head toward Phoenix and whispered:

“You ready? Cause I am!”

Phoenix casted Ap Ganz on himself to enhance his earth spells. They couldn't go into the dungeon because the door was closed behind them. They saw Mushroom Kings, Cadet Valkyries, and Sword of Chaos approaching. "Cypher, I got an idea. I'm going to isolate the Mushroom Kings from the rest of the monsters since they could heal the other monsters. We take out the Mushroom Kings first then we worry about the other monsters." Phoenix said to him. "Wait, Phoenix I got an even better one. Mushroom Kings are weak against earth attacks. We can attack them with an combination attack. There's only three mushroom kings, five cadet valkyries and five sword of chaos. Once the mushroom kings are out of the way, we attacked the other monsters one at a time." Cypher said to him. "Ok, let's go with your plan." Phoenix said and they both ran towards the monsters.

Phoenix cast a Gan Don at one of the mushroom kings. The boulder appeared in mid-air and connect with the top of its head. The king was very weak from the attack and Cypher stabbed it with his blade. The king fell down and disappeared from the field. Phoenix focused on the nearest Mushroom King and began to cast another Gan Don at it. Cypher already attack it with his sword and the boulder fell on it. It also fell and disappeared from the field. Phoenix knew he that he could cast one more spell before he had to wait for SP to recharge. He casted Gan Don at the last Mushroom King. Cypher couldn't get to the as he was over come by the other monsters. Phoenix decided to kill the mushroom king before it could either heal itself or heal the other monsters. The king began to chant the healing spell and Phoenix jumped up and dove at the it with sword first. They both fell and the king disappeared from the field. Phoenix got up and still didn't have enough SP to cast a Gan Zot on the Valkyries.

He headed towards Cypher as the sword of chaos were attacking him, but he couldn't get near him as the cadet valkyries surround Phoenix. He knew that 5 to 1 odds weren't good. So he attacked the near cadet, but it blocked its attack with its lance and the other 4 were closing in on him. Phoenix tried to avoid them all at once, but he took two slashes from them. Cypher was holding his own against the Sword of Chaos he took out two of them with a Vak Rom. He went to attack a weaken Sword of Chaos and broke its shield. He then defeated it with a quick slash, but the other two attack him at the same time. Meanwhile, Phoenix managed to hit one of the cadet valkyries with his sword while waiting for his SP gauge to fill up. He moved around so they couldn't gang him up at once. but it didn't work. The valkyries just moved Phoenix towards them as they attack him. He was at near-death and used a health drink to recover his health. As he drank the potion, his SP gauge had enough to do a Gan Zot on them and the Ap Ganz was still in effect. "GAN ZOT!" The earth rose above them and began to pierce the cadet valkyries. Three of them died instantly from the enhanced Gan Zot attack while the other two were severly weaken from the attack. Phoenix charged at one of them and it still managed to block his attack. He managed to get the spear away from him long enough to slice its chest. Its body turned black and disappeared from the field. He focused on the last valkyrie and began to attack it, but he couldn't get in range from it. He slipped up due to the muddy field and fell down after it used its spear to trip him. It was about to stab him with its spear and suddenly a sword went through its chest. It was Cypher that save him from the valkyrie. Phoenix got up and was about to begin to talk to Cypher when suddenly they were interrupted by a voice.

"How do you like I done with the place? Just wait for the dungeon. It's even better than the field." It was the ghost boy. "I prepared a few dungeon guardians for you guys. They are even better than the ones I used against Kazuma. If you guys managed to defeat them, then you'll face against the reaper. Mostly likely, both of you will be dead and I'll enjoy every minute of it."

Phoenix tighten his grip on his sword and began to charge at him. He jumped towards him but he disappeared and Phoenix fell to the ground. The boy laughed at him. "That was funny. I opened the dungeon entrance now. I'll be waiting at the final floor." The boy disappeared smiling.

"What are these dungeon guardians that he talked about?" Cypher said to Phoenix. "They are monsters that become more powerful by altering their code and the result is an altered appearence. The first two that I faced suffered horrible deaths since their code became unstable, but the third one die by my hands. I guess that these guardians won't died by unstable code. Let's get out of this rain and into the dungeon. Also, I would like if the next field that I go to won't have rain." When Phoenix said that last sentence, he fell down and saw the images again. He began to remember a little bit more from the images that the boy was once his friend but couldn't remember anything else from it.

"Are you alright?" Cypher said to Phoenix with concern. "I'm fine and I think that the ghost boy was once my friend. I don't remember anything else. I been having these images just after I defeated the speed up snip snap in the last dungeon. I think they might be the key to figuring out who he is. Let's go to the dungeon now." Phoenix said and they entered the dungeon not knowing what dangers that may encountered.

Phoenix and End Cypher enter the dungeon and heard a voice. "I forgot one thing to say about the dungeon. I rearranged it so that you have a straight path to the stairs. I didn't want you to get lost. Also, I got rid most of the monster portals except for a few. Try to have fun." The voice disappeared but they knew who was the voice was. It was the boy. "At least it will be easy to navigate, but the guardians worry me though. The ones that I encountered were level 1 or 2 monsters, but the ones here are either level 5, 6, or 7. They were tough to fight and I almost died against one of them if they didn't died due to unstable code." Phoenix said with concern. "Well, you don't have fight them alone now." Cypher said to him. They were walking in the dungeon when they saw a monster portal. It revealed a Sword of Chaos and a Headhunter. They looked normal at first but suddenly they began to change. The Sword of Chaos dropped its shield and daggar and began to grow to a headhunter type of sword. The skull in the headhunter's left hand move and was put onto where its head was supposed to be. Also, it's muscle mass began to increase and pick up the transform Sword of Chaos in its left hand.

Phoenix and Cypher decided to a combination magic attack on the guardian. "GAN DON!" "VAN KRUZ!" A boulder formed above the guardian and many pieces of fire surround it. The attacks both connected at the same time, but the guardian didn't seem bother by the attacks. Instead it charged at them and swing both swords at them. They managed to avoid the swords but they were now seperated. Phoenix ran towards the guardian and leaped at it. "REVOLV..." Before Phoenix could finish saying the attack, the guardian connected its sword at his mid-section and was flown back to the floor of the dungeon.

Cypher knew that his Ani Slash wouldn't work on the guardian due to the darkness tolance it possess. He cast Ap Do on himself since it was faster than an ordinary headhunter. He went towards the guardian at fast speed. He avoid the first sword attack with ease and barely avoided the second sword as he slash at the guardian. He quickly back away from the guardian went to Phoenix. He cast another Ap Do spell on Phoenix. Phoenix got back up after the previous attack and at least didn't need healing.

They both ran towards it with their enhanced speed. Cypher was the first one to got in close. He slashed in the mid section and retreated. Before the guardian could counterattack Cypher, Phoenix got behind it and use Revolver at its back. The guardian striek in pain as the attack went into its back. Cypher took the oppurtunity to attack its arms. He managed to cut its left arm but the sword whack Cypher when he didn't expect it. The revolver attack ended and Phoenix pulled out his sword and saw the transform Sword of Chaos head towards his way. He quickly avoided the sword and saw the headhunter headed towards Cypher. He used Gan Zot to delay the headhunter long enough for Cypher to get back up. The Sword of Chaos stabbed Phoenix to the wall. He couldn't do anything as it slowly draining his life.

Cypher knew had little time before the Ap Do ended. He quickly slash at the headhunter while avoiding his sword attack. The headhunter kept trying to hit Cypher but it couldn't. Cypher saw Phoenix pinned to the wall as it was killing him. Cypher used the rest of the Ap Do and attack the Sword of Chaos with Ani Slash. A dark aura surround his blade and hit the sword. The sword pulled itself out as it targeted Cypher. Phoenix was in the red as he used Repth to heal himself. Cypher's Ap Do ran out and was surround by the headhunter and sword of chaos. They both attack Cypher at the same time and Cypher blocked the headhunter's sword. The sword of chaos was about to hit Cypher when it was blocked by Phoenix. He still had Ap Do active until now. Cypher move away from the headhunter and Phoenix move away from the sword as it was using all its forward motion. The sword couldn't stop itself as it stabbed the headhunter mid section. Cypher and Phoenix attack them as they were stuck. Phoenix attacked the headhunter while Cypher attacked the sword of chaos. "REVOLVER!" "ANI SLASH!" Their attacks were weakening the monsters. The headhunter was the first to die due to Phoenix's attacks and the Sword of Chaos. They focused on the Sword of Chaos and broke the sword. Both monsters disappeared from the dungeon floor.

Phoenix heals Cypher's injuries with Repth. They rested for a few minutes as Phoenix experience another image, but this time he remembered who the boy is. "Cypher, I know who the boy is. The boy that I'm keep seeing is my childhood friend. His name is Shindou. The last time that I saw him was 10 years ago where he moved somewhere else. What I didn't know at the time that he had split personalities. My mother told me about that a few years later. I just forgot about him and now he's in the World. Something must have happen to him while playing in the World. You must have saw his good personality and freed it while I saw the evil one. The evil one must have resented me or something like that. We going to free him by defeating the reaper." Phoenix said with a new determination of spirit. They exited the room that contain the guardians and found the stairs to the second floor. They walked down the stairs and ready to face any threat that came their way.

Split personalities….?

The diagnosis sounded strange and odd, but it was not far from the truth. As they both walked down the stairs silently, a slow humming sound could be heard from the bottom. Cypher finished hearing Phoenixes story as he continued hearing the humming. It wasn’t a threatening sound, but something was present, lurking around in the next room.

“Hold up. I want to send a Flash”

FLASH MAIL

TO: DUDE911666
FROM: Cypher

HEY I KNOW YOU’RE OUT WITH GWEN, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW PHOENIX512 AND I ARE TACKLING A DUNGEON WITH A XANDER CLONE IN IT. THIS ONE MIGHT BE TOUGHER BECAUSE THERE ARE REAPERS, GUARDIANS AND CLONES. IN CASE YOU ENCOUNTER ONE, BE CAREFUL. OH AND SAVE SOME FOR ME!

End of message.

“Alright let’s go.”

As they continued on, Cypher went over the facts in his head. Reaper facts and Xander clones filled his head. All the little trinkets of the World and the perks it provided. The power struggle between the forces stressed at least one person in you’re life. After some hard contemplation on the current events happening in The World, there trip down the stairs ended, their heels meeting with the second floor.

The humming sound continued. Cypher could observe the narrow hall lined with roots. All over the walls were long strings of roots, thick and strong. All the roots lead into the next room, were the humming grew even louder. Cypher bent down and observed the roots, feeling them and stabbing it with his sword. He could feel the root as very hard on the outside, yet not too hard to penetrate.

He tried casting a VAK KRUZ on it, observing it burned easily, yet it re-grew slowly, but back to its original shape.

“Wherever these roots come from, they are susceptible to fire. Burn them down, but they do grow back. The outer skin is hard, but your can penetrate it easily. From the looks of its weight, I don’t think it could swing these very fast. If it does swing them.”

After he finished his evaluation, he contemplated it some more. After a long stare, loosing himself in a daze, he slowly rose and turned to his partner, making sure he too is ready to go.

As they began to walk over to the door, a low voice could be heard growling different sounds, none of them understandable. Being careful not to trip on the roots, Cypher carefully walked over each root, landing his feet on what little empty space is left.

The view was of a movie. In front of the duo lied a dark entrance, low grumbling boards coming from it and humming noises, the entrance resembling the opening of a mouth. The roots that poured out of it into the hallway, warning whoever approached, making the open mouth have lots of tongues. The air was light, making the breaths a little heavier than normal. The temperature had dropped too, being evident by the white fog appearing in front of him. The cold temperature made the back of his neck prickle.

“Were no getting anything done by staying here. Let’s go”

With that said, Cypher walked silently into the room, as if being swallowed by the mouth. As he emerged into the room, new light was presented. The rumbling low voice kept at it, ranting a strange type of language, not understandable, and the humming also continued. The roots, all who were thicker, led to one dark corner of the room, no light penetrating in it. The rumbling voice came from that corner. The humming voice came from the next room, the gate falling down and closing them in.

On cue was the gate’s closing with the humming’s sudden halt. The rumbling no longer shook the room and its visitor’s ears. All of a sudden the roots began to slowly slide. They did not show any danger, all of them moving randomly. Then, all of a sudden, the rumbling began. This time the dark cornered inhabitant emerged, looking around to sniff out its prey. The group could tell it was a very deformed Mushroom King. It had the facial features, but it had the added roots, and it was grounded down like a plant in the corner.

It stopped sniffing, turning its head toward the group and produced low, long sniffs at them. After the third deep sniff, it went crazy and began to swing its roots wildly. It took some wild swings at the group, none being direct.

It can’t see…only smell and hear…

As it continued to attack wildly, swinging its roots all over, every once in a while hitting the duo, sending then flying. As soon as they were out of the range of the roots, it stopped swinging, and began to smell and sniff yet again.

The fighters split in two, each going in a different direction. Cypher began to scream and yell to distract the monster, as Phoenix tip toed and approached it slowly. Cypher casted Ap Do on himself, as he began to avoid the roots, occasionally jumping over it as it approached. As soon as Phoenix got close, she let of a REVOLVER getting in a good attack at the head. As soon as the monster got hit, it began to shake violently to get Phoenix off. She finally fell down, and the monster, detecting where she fell, swung a vine at her sending to the back of the room.

Knowing the monster was still focused on Phoenix, Cypher mad rushed it and slashed wildly, letting out an ANI SLASH every once in a while. Realizing it had low SP, he jumped and rolled back, then let out a VAK KRUZ on the monsters nose, then his ears, getting rid of its sensory organs. It shook violently, going crazy and swinging its roots even more wildly now.

“It’s almost dead. A few more blows and it’s gone!”

The duo rushed the monster as violently as it was attacking, getting in lethal blows that eventually killed it. It let out a low moan, moved its head from side to side, and then fell down. Its roots let out, and it began to swell.

“Hit the floor!”

As Cypher let out the warning, it exploded, and sent them flying down to the ground. As they recovered, each healing themselves, they examined the room once more. Seeing no more threats, they began to walk to the next room, feeling the danger grow as they penetrated the dungeon more and more.

Phoenix and Cypher continued thier adventure as they found the stairs leading down for the third floor. They walked down the stairs and found themselves in the third floor. The floor was very dim in light but enough to see their way though. They walked through room to room until they heard a breathing sound. They saw two red spots and they coming at them. It was a combined fire breathing attack. They managed to step back from the attack and saw what they were facing. It was a Hell Doberman with two heads.

They knew that it was hard to get even close the monster without getting burned. Cypher casted a Juk Rom at the Hell Doberman and it tried for another firebreathing attack. Phoenix casted Gan Zot as a wall to protect them from the firebreathing attack. The monster seem to be stunned for a moment from the Juk Rom attack. They knew it was a good time to get in close. They decided to seperate and surround the hell doberman. They were about to go in for an attack but each of the heads use its firebreathing attack at them. Cypher managed to avoid the attack completely and use Ani Slash at its body. Phoenix managed to avoid most of the attack except that his arm was caught by the flames. He rolled on the ground to get the flame out. He felt a slight pain from the burns. "GAN DON!" The boulder target the head that gave Phoenix the burns. The attack work as the head was stunned and Phoenix proceed to attack the head. He had just enough SP to use Revolver at the head. The head was in pain from the attack but it knocked Phoenix as its head move around violently.

Cypher fall back for a second to cast an Ap Do on himself. He saw a Vak Kruz converge around him. He knew that he couldn't avoided all them. So, he rolled forward and some of the embers hit Cypher. The damage was minor as he saw the heads focus on Phoenix after he use a Revolver attack. He ran quickly to the Hell Doberman and jumped onto top of its body. He targeted the head that Phoenix attack earlier. He gave it a few slashes and was forced off its body as it was shaking from the attack.

Phoenix got up and saw the Hell Doberman was about to use its firebreathing attack on him. He couldn't get out of the way, but he had an idea. His SP had recover enough for one more Revolver attack. They used their firebreathing attack at him but instead moving out of the way. He ran towards it with his sword in front. "REVOLVER!" The attack went into the middle of two heads. While it was in pain, Cypher attack the injured head and cut it off. "ANI SLASH!" The attack went for the other head and the body began to fall. Their attacks were taking their effect on the hell doberman. They continued to slash at the body with their swords. The doberman was about to do another firebreathing attack, but they inflicted enough damaged to it. The fire in its mouth disappeared and its body fell to the floor. It disappeared in the wind as data.

Phoenix used Repth on himself and Cypher to heal themselves after the battle. While they waited for their SP to recover, Phoenix thought to himself. (Cypher mentioned Xander before while he encountered Shindou. I wonder if he was the one that created the ghost Shindou's. I heard of the various Xander clones that inhabit the various fields. I wonder if one of them was here.) They continued into the dungeon but they being followed by a mysterious being.

As they kept walking on, Cypher kept thinking of his last adventure. The ghostly boy images kept recurring in his head. He remembered the Xander clone. It was the first time he actually saw one, let alone kill it. As his random thoughts continued, he got an elbow from Phoenix. He looked over and saw him trying to say something. As he lowered his head to hear he says:

“I think someone is following us.”

“Alright just keep it cool and don’t react”- said Cypher as he led Phoenix on. As they went down the stairs to the third floor, he heard a growling sound behind. A scream followed it, as Cypher turned to see a Xander clone next to where the monster’s corpse.

“Just in time for my little magic trick.” – said the clone.

As he did, he ran towards the duo quickly and slashed them so that they fell down the stairs. As the rolled and bumped down, he could hear more growling and then his face found the third floor pavement. As he struggled to get up, he noticed more growling coming from in front of him. As he steadily gets up, he notices another Hell Doberman. This one just growled at them, waiting for something.

As the two got up, Cypher scanned around for Xander. He was nowhere to be found, but as he looked up he noticed another Hell Doberman on top of the stairs. It looked like the one they just killed. A distant voice could be heard saying:

“Have fun!!!!!”

Damn you Xander…

“Uh...Cypher what do we do??? I mean there are two of them.”- asked Phoenix.

“I will take our old friend here, just handle the new one”

With that said, Cypher quickly ran up the stairs. As he got to the second floor, he found the dog waiting for him. As soon as his foot stepped on the dungeon floor, the monsters attacked. Just as his monster approached, he rolled out of the way, casting on himself an Ap Do, then kicking the Doberman down the stairs. As he walked down, he jumped high and landed on top of the monster, digging his sword inside it.

As it wailed, trembled and shook, Cypher continued to attack the monster wildly. He slashed the monsters chest randomly, no specific target in mind. As he did so, he forgot about Phoenixes Doberman, as it knocked Cypher of his prey and sent him sliding and hitting the wall. As he got up, he noticed Phoenix attacking her Doberman.

Ouch that hurt…maybe I should make them attack each other…

As he thought that he got up and ran towards his Doberman, using his Ap Do speed. As he got in range, he used the speed from his run and jumped on the back of it. He ran over to its eye, and dug one out. He got down and began attacking his hind legs.

The monster went crazy because his eye was gouged out. Cypher casted a VAK KRUZ on it to make sure that it burned. As the Doberman struggled in between finding his prey and dealing with the pain, Cypher got in behind Phoenixes Doberman and began to taunt his. As he did, the monster sort of realized were he was and flamed the area.

As Cypher dodged the attack, he observed how the fire burnt the other dog’s back. The new Doberman got mad and ran over to slash, and eventually killed the revived Doberman. As he finished the onslaught in his ally, the Doberman turned his head slowly in a menacingly fashion, blood dripping from his teeth.

“Have it injured it?”- Cypher asked

“Not much”

Knowing they had work left, they each split into different directions in an effort to confuse the monster. They were successful, as the monster looked in each direction not knowing who to attack first. It stopped in the middle of the room, looking at each direction.

“Phoenix now!!!!”

As he said that, Cypher and Phoenix hit it with a REVOLVER and ANI SLASH, each attack hitting the spot. With a couple of slashes to the face, body and hind and it dropped, slowly tumbling down, blood squirting all over. Its eyes rolled in the back of its head as it disappeared into data.

As the group got up and recovered, Cypher wiped his mouth, and panted slowly, heaved and then sat down.

“Let’s recover our SP. Take a brake.”

As he sat down, he heard an all too familiar voice:

“I see you broke through my third floor guardians. Succeed with the fourth and fifth and I will give you a crack at me. Until then, hope you die!”

As the voice disappeared, he observed the gate to the fourth floor open, revealing a new path. As they stood up silently, they both new what lied ahead of them.

Let’s survive this….

As Phoenix and Cypher walked down the stairs to the fourth floor, Phoenix thought to himslef. (Mostly likely the fifth guardian is the Reaper and who knows what the next guardian is.) They walked through the dungeon as they saw the yellow glow of the monster portal. They walked up to it and saw the yellow glow disappeared as it revealed a cadet valkyrie. It suddenly began to grow another foot and its lance grew along with it.

"We don't have time for this." Phoenix said and cast Gan Zot at the valkyrie. The earth rose above it but it didn't affect it as a white barrier surround the valkyrie. "Cypher, what's with this barrier?" Phoenix said all confused. "The monster has magical tolerance now. I guess the Xander clone didn't want the monster to die easily from earth attacks. Only physical attacks and skills can damage this monster." Cypher said as the monster headed towards them. The valkyrie swing its lance at them with quickness and power. They both move out of the way of the lance but the valkyrie focused on Phoenix. The valkyrie attacked Phoenix with its lance and he managed to block it but the attack forced him back a few feet due to the monster's power. Phoenix tried to force the lance back but instead the lance slice him and fell back.

Cypher ran towards the valkyrie as it was facing its back at him. "ANI SLASH!" When Cypher was about to connect to the valkyrie's back when it suddenly turned around with its lance blocked the Ani Slash. Phoenix saw it turned around to block Cypher's attack and use Revolver while it was preoccuptied with Cypher. The attack pierced its back but it managed to force Cypher away with its lance and turn its attention to Phoenix as if the Revolver attack wasn't causing it pain. The valkyrie knocked Phoenix away but his sword was still the monster's back. It didn't tried to pull the sword out of its back. "Cypher, I don't think this monster feels pain at all. It doesn't even noticed the sword in its back." Phoenix said as the monster headed towards him.

The valkyrie swing its lance at Phoenix but he was ready with another Gan Zot. He used the spell as a way to get the monster's lance stuck to get his sword from the monsters back. He pulled the sword from its back and notices the blood from the sword wound. Cypher went towards Phoenix's location and began to attack together at the stuck valkyrie. "Eventhough it doesn't feel pain, it can be injured." Phoenix said as the Gan Zot wore off and its lance was free now. It did a sweeping motion with its lance and they couldn't avoided as they both get slashes from each of their midsection. Phoenix was near death from the attack and pull back to heal himself. Cypher kept the valkyrie distracted from attacking Phoenix. Phoenix used Repth to heal himself while Cypher tried to keep blocking its attack. Phoenix ran towards the monster and attack its lance. Cypher broke off the defending action and use Ani Slash at the wound from earlier. The attack caused the cadet valkyrie to fall and it tried to get back up, but the wounds from the Revolver and Ani Slash caused blood loss for the monster. It didn't feel pain so it couldn't know when it was injured or even dying. The monster fell to the ground and it didn't get back up again. It disappeared from the dungeon and they fell to the ground after the battle to rest.

Phoenix cast Repth on Cypher to heal his injuries. After a few minutes, they continued on into the dungeon and felt a dark presence as they went deeper into the dungeon. They went into another room and the door shuted behind them. It was dark and could barely see. Suddenly, three things appeared. One was the Reaper, another was the ghost boy, and the third was the white knight tied up to a wall. The boy spoke to them. "Well done for surviving this far, but that's is going to end here."

"Shindou, why you doing this? Stop this and help us fight Xander." Phoenix said to him. "Xander freed me from him. He made a clone from that weak Shindou and I had this body to be thankful for. I wanted revenge for forgetting me, Kazuma. Even if you defeat me, Shindou will still be a hostage of Xander. Cypher, I know you fought a reaper before so this time I'm making this reaper even stronger." The ghost boy said and turned to the white knight. A white beam came out of the white knight's body and stuck the reaper. The white aura covered the reaper and it began to transform. It's shield disappeared and grabbed its sword with both hands. The sword grew longer and wider as the reaper's armor turned white. "Cypher, we just not facing any reaper. We facing the white knight himself. He will be the fifth guardian. I seen the white knight in action and he swings that sword with great speed and power. It destroy monsters in a swing." Phoenix said with a concerned tone. They grabbed their swords ready to fight to the white knight.

Phoenix and Cypher decided to use a combined magical attack at the reaper which was heading their way. "VAK KRUZ!" "GAN DON!" The reaper kept coming at them as the magical attacks couldn't penerate the white barrier. "The reaper has magical tolerance. So Xander wants a physical battle." Cypher said as the reaper swing its big sword at them. The attack caught them by suprised as they hoped that their magical attacks work on the reaper. They tried to avoid the attack but it was so swift that they barely had time to avoid most of it. They both went flying to opposite ends of room with big wounds on their chest. Cypher was able stand but Phoenix need to heal from the wound. Phoenix saw the reaper head towards his way and took a health drink to heal quickly. He saw the giant sword headed towards him about to slice him in half. He took his sword at a hortizonal position and blocking the giant sword with all of his strength. He tried to stand up to push the giant sword away from his body but the reaper was pressing down its sword at Phoenix. Phoenix's face was covered with sweat and was getting tired from keeping the sword away from him. When he was about to break the block, he heard Cypher's voice. "ANI SLASH!"

The dark aura from Cypher's sword pierce the back of the reaper. The reaper stopped his attack on Phoenix proceed towards Cypher. The reaper moved away from the tired Phoenix and it began attacking Cypher. Cypher quickly casted Ap Do on himself to give him a speed advantage against the reaper's attack. Cypher realize that the reaper was quick with that sword. So he avoided a hortizonal swing by taking a short jump backwards and proceed towards the reaper. The reaper saw him coming and quickly swing his sword towards him. Cypher saw the sword coming towards him and quickly avoided with his enhanced speed. Phoenix got back up after resting for a bit. He saw Cypher having a hard time to get even a hit on the reaper. Phoenix charged at the reaper hoping that Cypher could keep him distracted long enough to get an attack in. Cypher avoided another attack from the reaper but the sword headed towards Phoenix as he began his Revolver attack. His Revolver attack didn't hit the reaper but its sword instead. The force of both attacks cause Phoenix to lose his sword and was thrown back to the wall.

Cypher saw Phoenix thrown back to the wall and the reaper was not paying attention to Cypher. "ANI SLASH!" A dark aura surround his sword and the sword went into its left side. Phoenix lay on the floor and Cypher couldn't tell if he was awake or not. The reaper refocus on his attacks on Cypher as he avoided the sword attacks with the Ap Do effect still active. Cypher kept trying to look an opening to attack the reaper but its skill with the huge sword was incredible. To swing a sword that huge with fast speed was nothing short of amazing and Cypher knew it. With Phoenix laying on the floor either having little energy to get up or asleep, he knew it was a battle with the odds very much against him. His Ap Do ran out when he needed to avoid an attack with the huge sword. He blocked it with his sword but the blade was not very sharp as it touched Cypher's arm. Cypher was using most of his strength to block the blade like Phoenix did from before. "ANI SLASH!" Cypher was hoping that the Ani Slash could give him enough strength to break away from the huge sword. The attack managed to push the sword back from him and quickly backing away from the reaper. Cypher was becoming tired from the constent attacks by the reaper. The reaper seem to have a constant amount of energy to swing that sword at Cypher and Phoenix. Cypher barely avoided a sword attack as he was breathing very heavily. The next attack by the reaper caused the floor to rise and forced Cypher back to a wall as he knocked back by the force of the attack.

Phoenix got back up very slowly after his failed Revolver attack knock him to wall. He saw Cypher was back to a wall with the reaper about to attack. Cypher looked that he won't survive another attack. Phoenix didn't have time to get his sword as the reaper raised its sword about to cut Cypher in half. He quickly ran towards the reaper without thinking about the safety of his own life. The reaper began his down swing at Cypher when Phoenix grabbed the reaper's hands and the sword went into his shoulder. He screamed in pain as the sword went into his shoulder. Phoenix managed to stop the sword's motion but he was bleeding heavlily from the shoulder wound. "Cypher... attack him now while.... you got a.... chance." Phoenix said softly to him. Cypher got up and began to prepare for another Ani Slash. Phoenix was losing strength quickly as the reaper tried to get its sword out. Cypher targeted its wrists and managed to chop it off with the attack. The reaper screamed in pain as it went backwards without its hands. Blood was coming out from its arms. Cypher began to attack the reaper in order to make the sword disappeared from Phoenix. The reaper was unable to counterattack Cypher's attacks since it no other attacks to use against him. After many attacks by Cypher, the reaper finally fell to the ground. The ghost boy was losing coersion as it began to disappeared from the dungeon.

"It isn't over yet, Kazuma. Shindou is still a hostage of Xander. Eventhough I may be gone and couldn't kill you... Xander will." Those were the last words of the ghost boy as the reaper, the huge sword, and him disappeared from the dungeon. Phoenix healed himself with Repth as the blood and the wound began to disappear from his body. He got up and walked to his sword. He pick it up and saw Cypher laying on the ground. Phoenix healed Cypher's injuries with Repth and fell to the ground. They were at full HP but they were exhausted from the battle. Then they noticed the white knight still on the wall. They went over to him and cut him down from the wall. "Thank you for freeing me and I will leave this dungeon now." The white knight said before using a sprite ocarina to exit the dungeon. Phoenix and Cypher rested for 20 minutes before exiting the room. They continued deeper into the dungeon hoping to find the Xander clone and defeat him.

Phoenix and Cypher continued into the dungeon looking for the room which the Xander clone waited for them. Phoenix eventhough at full HP wasn't at 100% due to the huge sword went through his shoulder. He was still regaining his strength and Cypher was a little bit better off than Phoenix was. Phoenix couldn't move his injured shoulder that well. They entered a room which was covered by a light fog. Phoenix prepared an Ap Ganz spell for the upcoming battle with the Xander clone while Cypher cast Ap Do on himself. Suddenly, they heard a voice echoing in the room.

"So, you managed to defeat the reaper but it was for nothing. You see your friend is useless to us anymore. Your friend is now everywhere, but nowhere at the same time. Your effects were for nothing and now you will die here in this dungeon. I'm Xander Clone #9."

Phoenix and Cypher were ready to fight the Xander clone but he hasn't appeared in the room yet. Phoenix could only hold his sword with one hand as he couldn't use his other shoulder at full use. Suddenly, the fog became thicker and they couldn't see each other. Phoenix heard a piercing sound from above and it was coming closer. He looked above and couldn't see nothing until what look like a blade. The sound came closer and closer until the blade was nearly on top of him. The blade piereced through Phoenix's injured shoulder. The wound was reopened as blood began to spill onto the blade, Phoenix's body, and the floor. His face was cringled in pain and saw the a figure in the thick fog. The blade was a part of a lance that the figure had in his possession. Phoenix knew the figure was the Xander clone. He immediately cast Gan Zot at the clone before it could disappeared from his vision.

Cypher couldn't see Phoenix and the Xander clone until he saw the earth aura from the Gan Zot was barely visible from the thick fog. He went towards the direction of the aura and began to see the risen earth surrounding the Xander clone. He then saw the Xander clone and Phoenix. Phoenix was in bad shape and the Xander clone was injured by the risen earth. He attacked the Xander clone with the Ani Slash but it broke through the risen earth and blocked Ani Slash attack with its lance. Xander clone quickly disappeared into the fog.

Phoenix couldn't do much physically since his reinjured shoulder was causing him even more pain. They couldn't see where Xander was, but they knew that it could see through the fog. They heard the sound from before it was quicker than last time. They barely saw the lance as it struck Cypher and it quickly disappeared again. They tried to find the Xander clone but their vision was extremely limited. They heard the sound again and this time the lance struck Phoenix. His health at near critical and Cypher was about to attack Xander when he disappeared in the fog once again. Phoenix quickly used Repth and the wound on his shoulder disappeared but he still couldn't his shoulder. They heard the sound again but it stopped when Cypher took another hit from the lance. Before Phoenix had a chance to strike at the Xander clone, it went back into the fog. Phoenix casted Repth on Cypher as the sound began to start up again. Phoenix found the source of the sound and was able to block the lance but the clone retreated into the fog. (The clone is keeping me from recovering my SP but I have an idea to get rid of this fog. I need to send a flash mail to Cypher in case the clone hears us.)

To: End Cypher
From: Phoenix

I'm going to throw my sword when the sound comes at us once again and cast Juk Rom at my sword.

End of Message

Cypher gave Phoenix a nod to his plan. Phoenix closed his eyes and began to hear the sound. The sound was approaching them very fast. Phoenix figured out where the sound was coming from and was very close to them. He threw his sword at the sound and heard a clang of metals about where the sound was. "JUK ROM!" The green aura surround the clone and it began a wind of leaves that attack the clone with unrelentless fury. Due to the nature of the attack, some of the fog was blown away to reveal the Xander clone. Cypher immediately attack the Xander clone but his attack was blocked by its lance. Phoenix went towards his sword and grabbed it with his uninjured shoulder arm. He went towards Cypher and saw him having a hard time getting a hit on the clone. Phoenix jumped towards the clone and used Revolver at his midsection. The attack didn't really affect the clone that much as Phoenix remove his sword and was whacked by the clone at his injured shoulder. Phoenix was in pain as the shoulder hit even more without moving it. The clone blocked off Cypher and the fog was reform.

"Phoenix, you targeted the wrong body part. Aim for the neck. All the clones have this weakness." Cypher said as they waited for the clone to attack them again. Phoenix closed his eyes to find the sound but this time was sound was moving irradically. He had a hard time to find the right moment to throw his sword at it. Then, he realized a pattern to the clone's movements. He waited until the sound got very close and then he threw his sword but it wasn't at the sound. Instead, he threw it at the right spot of when the sound was going to be next. The sword hit the Xander clone in its left side. "JUK ROM!" The whirlwind of leaves surround the Xander clone causing him damage and the fog was blown away around him. The clone pulled the sword out of its side and barely blocked Cypher's attack. Phoenix didn't go for his sword as Cypher was trying to pull away from the Xander's clone lance but grabbed his lance with only one arm and tried to use his other arm to help him even more. Phoenix move his injured shoulder slowly but he was screaming in pain as he moved his arm even higher to grab the lance. He managed to grab with the other arm but he was sliently in pain. Cypher jumped up and use Ani Slash at the neck. The attack managed to slice Xander #9 neck and the headless body fell to the ground. The body , the lance, the head, and the fog all disappeared from the dungeon room.

Phoenix put his injured arm down and was still in pain but not as much from before. He picked up his sword and headed out the room. Cypher followed Phoenix soon after and they entered the Gott Statue room. Phoenix headed for the treasure chest when he was stopped by Cypher. "Wait! Why do you risk your body to save me?" Cypher said to him. Phoenix looked at Cypher with tears that were being held back and said. "I don't know but since you got involved with the ghost boy and help me throughout this dungeon. I figured this was my way of helping you. I may not be as strong as you right now, but even I could sacrifice my body and life to defeat the enemy and to save you. I have not given up hope for Shindou. I believe that he's somewhere in the World. When I was in pain from holding that lance from the Xander clone, he came to me and told me not to give up. Thank you, Cypher for everything and it's time to seperate." Phoenix said as tears were coming down his cheek. He went over the treasure chest and found...

The End Cypher +1lv. +Leather Gloves
Phoenix +1lv. +Brigandine