Auravision 

Chapter 13: Submerge

	To the south of Serrieche stands a large ominous looking tower. It is the same creepy looking castle Foxglove and Weep saw yesterday after they escaped the amazon tribe. But in fact, it is the home of none other than Lord Ganymede who on this morning is looking over the town of Serriche with his usual contempt. The green maned aristocratic lion calls in his guard who is a large heavily built automaton named Tanka. The heavily armored, spike plated hulking giant walks in.

Tanka: My lord. I hear rumors that roguish Foxglove is staying at the inn in Serrieche.

Ganymede: I have yet to figure out what Foxglove is up to. He was a total thorn in my side back in Rhodia!

Tanka: I hear he seduced Lana, the amazon queen, he's a sly one that Foxglove.

Ganymede: I know he will try to stop me from wedding the lovely Princess Camisra. He is like a bug that needs to be squashed!

Tanka: What do you propose we do about it my lord?

	The lion has a sneer in his eyes as he strokes his tan colored beard. His look of brooding contempt turns into a devious smile as he comes up with a truly sinister scheme. Lord Ganymede then hands Tanka a stack of papers. 

Ganymede: I want you to have these posted all over Serrieche!

Tanka: Consider it done my lord.

	A new day dawns in the quaint town of Serrieche. It has been three whole days since Foxglove began his adventure and today there will be more than enough adventure to go around. Foxglove, Weep and Lana walk out into the street after having a fullfilling breakfast inside the inn. A light hazy cloud covers the blue sky but the weather is nice enough.

Foxglove: We have a big day today. We have to get power stone number 4!

Weep: That's going to be tough! Remember what the Merdragon King said about the dam? He wants us to destroy the damn thing!

Lana: Whoever built that dam is a power hungry greedy scoundrel!

Weep: Hey Foxglove, take a look at this!

	Weep notices a wanted poster on a nearby lamp post with a face of a fox on it. Foxglove walks up to it and sees that it is his face posted on the bill. He angrily rips the poster off the lamp and reads the text under his mugshot.

Foxglove: Wanted by the high courtship of Rhodia for charges of kidnapping, sexual assault, witchcraft and high treason. If you see him, please alert the Rhodian army! Be careful, Foxglove will swindle you and is also believed to have access to powerful forces! This is all a lie!

Weep: Looks like you're pretty popular!

Lana: You really didn't do all that stuff?

Foxglove: No! These are gross exaggerations! How dare King Leon post this stuff about me! It's that damn chancellor! He's the one that spread these horrible lies!

	Sabrina and Seb walk down the cobblestone street together when they see the fox that was in the lounge last night. The purple skunkette runs up to them as it looks like they got a copy of the wanted poster.

Sabrina: Foxglove!

Foxglove: Sabrina? Wait a minute, are you going to behave this time?

Sabrina: Behave? You're the one that needs to behave! And to think I thought you were hot! You're just a criminal!

	Sabrina angrily shoves her copy of the wanted poster into Foxglove's red furry chest. Weep and Lana stand on the sidelines with a puzzled look on their faces. 

Foxglove: Look I barely know you! I don't know where all this is coming from!

Sabrina: I kissed you!

Foxglove: Sabrina, don't believe everything you see! This poster is nothing but lies! Besides, what do you care? You're supposed to be his boyfriend! You're probably not aware of it but you just confessed to kissing me in front of him! 

Sabrina: I want the truth to be known! I find you sexually attractive! There I said it!

Seb: That's enough Sabrina, you've embarresed me enough as it is.

Sabrina: I'm sorry Seb, I'm just fed up with a monogamic lifestyle.

Seb: It's okay Sabrina, I know I sometimes have difficulty controlling you.

	Foxglove, Weep and Lana are very confused about this strange relationship. Seb doesn't even seem to be bothered about his girlfriend kissing another guy. At the same time, Sabrina does not seem to mind being openly playful and flirtatious toward other guys.

Foxglove: Look, I'm sorry. It was an accident!

Seb: Don't be sorry. After all you should consider yourself lucky you got such high praise! My girlfriend was just experimenting. She likes you. That means more to me than you know. Listen honey, why don't you get back to your store now.

Sabrina: I'll do that.

	The seductive female skunk kisses her boyfriend on the lips and then prances away down the street, humming and giggling happily. Seb has a bit of a grin on his face as he watches his girl walk away, wearing her tight little miniskirt. The suave skunk turns his attention toward the fox that has stolen his lady's heart.

Seb: I hear you're pretty popular back in Rhodia.

Foxglove: Wrong kind of popularity. King Leon has posted nothing but lies about me.

Seb: Well you're looking at a renegade himself. I'm Seb the Titan Skunk!

Foxglove: I'm Foxglove, these are my friends Weep and Lana.

Seb: Nice to meet you. So what brings you all to Serrieche anyways?

Weep: The ginger tonic!

Lana: The hotel beds. Not that I slept on one of course. I slept on the floor.

Foxglove: Actually Seb, we came to Serrieche because we hear you guys are suffering from a water shortage.

Seb: Yeah we have to import our water now. It's because of a dam that was recently constructed by Lord Ganymede to regulate power supply.

Foxglove: Lord Ganymede huh? So he's behind this!

Seb: You know him?

Foxglove: I met him a while back, he's a real charmer!

Seb: Well he lives in a castle to the south of here. He considers himself high lord of Serrieche but he's not all that.

Foxglove: Was he aware that constructing the dam would alter the eco system? I guess not.

Seb: Lord Ganymede doesn't concern himself with stuff like that, he's a selfish person.

Lana: I don't like him already! Dragon Lake is flooding because of that dam!

Foxglove: Seb, we want to blow up the dam and drain the lake!

Seb: Blow up the dam? Are you serious?!

Foxglove: We have to! That's what he came here to do! I was hoping we could get help from someone.

Seb: You would risk your life to help people? It's people like you that inspire me to be a hero! Foxglove, I think I can help you.

Foxglove: You can? But how?

Seb: What you need is a bomb. A big one! And I think I know where you can get one. Follow me!

	Seb changes his tune and seems to be all too happy to help the group out. They wonder how there could possibly be a bomb stored in the village, let alone how Seb could know about it. But nonetheless, they follow Seb down the street wondering if they should be trusting this skunk. 

	The trio is led toward an abandoned building on the north end of town. It was an old theatre with a broken down marquee and fancy ornate designs on the exterior. The handsome skunk looks up at the theatre looking like he has a tear in his eye.

Seb: Lots of good times in here. I used to manage this old theatre until it was closed down a few months ago due to lack of funds.

Weep: Looks like a dump to me!

Foxglove: Weep!

Seb: You're right, It's become nothing but a storage space for junk now.

	Seb gets out his keys and unlocks the door to the old theatre, letting the group in. Foxglove and the others enter the musty old building and are led across an old red carpet covering the lobby floor. The skunk then leads them down a hall, peeling with old wallpaper until they get to a storage room in the back. He unlocks the door and invites the group inside the stuffy old room where they find piles of stage props, creepy clown masks, costumes and crates stockpiled on top one another.

Lana: Wow look at all this junk!

Seb: Yeah you could say I started my acting career in this place. But that's not why I brought you guys here.

	Seb finds a crowbar which he uses to open a large crate located at the back of the storage room. They watch him pop the top off the wooden crate and are a bit surprised when they see a large metal ball covered in spikes.

Foxglove: This is the bomb you were talking about?

Lana: Looks more like an ocean mine.

Foxglove: How did you come across something like this?!

Seb: Funny when that dam was first built, I found this at the bottom of the river once the water dried up. I hauled it out of the bank and wheeled it in here, mostly because I didn't want The Rhodian Army or Lord Ganymede getting their hands on it. Not to mention I would feel safer if it was locked away.

Lana: I wonder what it was doing at the bottom of the river to begin with. Did it come from the Merdragons or what?

Foxglove: Who cares! With this we can definitely blow up that dam! 

Seb: Be careful with it though, if it will blow up the dam it will level this entire building and you guys with it!

	Seb helps them load the crate containing the mine onto a dolly. Foxglove grabs onto the handle and carefully wheels the large spiked mine out into the lobby area.

Seb: Take it slow and easy, I don't know how stable that thing is! When you're ready to detonate it, just wind up this timer switch and run! When it finishes unwinding, KABOOM!

Lana: I think we got it figured out. 

Seb: Good luck, I'm sure Lord Ganymede will be none too pleased when he finds out his dam is destroyed. Oh and, once you've demolished the dam I would advise against coming back to Serrieche. Lord Ganymede will probably be looking for you.

Foxglove: It's a tough decision but we have to do it!

	They get the mine weeled out into the empty streets of Serrieche. It is inside the wooden crate as to not arouse suspicion from anyone. Seb locks up the theatre and looks around to make sure nobody is watching them. It is hard to believe they are about to demolish the dam but they must do it to continue their quest.

Lana: Thank you for helping us.

Weep: You've been a great help!

Seb: You are serious aren't you. You are actualy going to go through with this!

Foxglove: We have to. I don't like to do stuff like this but if it means doing something for the greater good, then I guess it's worth something.

Seb: Good luck, if all goes well, we should hear a massive explosion in twenty minutes and hopefully no screams.

Foxglove: Thanks Seb!

	Foxglove, Weep and Lana leave Serrieche as Seb goes back to his business, pretending he never had anything to do with them. The fox wheels the crate through the north road, the same way they came into town last night. When they get to the gorge, Foxglove carefully wheels the mine down a trail leading to the bottom of the dried up river. His heart beats with tension and nervousness as he hopes he doesn't set off the mine prematurely. After several agonizing minutes of steering the crate through the rocky uneven gorge, they get to the base of the dam. Once again, he looks up at the massive concrete structure almost sad he is about to demolish it.

Foxglove: This is it! We just wind up the detonator and run! Uhh, do you guys think I should wind it with my left hand or my right hand?

Weep: Just wind it up!

Foxglove: Okay guys, get ready to run like you've never ran before!

	Foxglove pops the top of the crate off and winds the switch, giving it three tight turns until a ticking sound is heard. The three then run like maniacs down the gorge until the mine detonates. The sound of a large blast explodes behind them, echoing throughout all of Serrieche. Foxglove, Lana and Weep are then pushed through the air by the force of the explosion's shockwave. The three land on their faces as dust and dirt fills the air, showing them in a dirt bath. Foxglove looks up and sees to his shock, the dam is still standing.

Foxglove: Did it work?

Lana: Come on! Let's get to safety!

	They continue to run as a tricke of water springs out of the cracks in the concrete dam. The concrete begins to crumble as high pressure water shoots out from the cracks. Large chunks of the dam begin to fall as the structural integrity begins to break away. Soon, the dam is collapsing on to itself as a large cascade of water forces it's way through and begins to flood the gorge. Foxglove, Weep and Lana outrun the large tidal wave of water coming their way as they make it to the trail. Foxglove's feet and pants get drenched as he just makes it out in time. They watch as the water flows down the dried up river once again.

Foxglove: I'm sure Ganymede will be less than pleased his dam got destroyed.

Weep: But at least the people of Serrieche will be happy now that they have some water!

Lana: We'd better make tracks. This will no doubt attract some unwanted attention.

	The adventureing trio hike up to the top of the now destroyed dam as they can now see a waterfall where the dam used to be. They set their sights on dragon rock and the onimous grey clouds that surround it. After a while of hiking along the rocky shore, they come across the dock where they were dropped off. The water level in the lake has sunk, revealing a second dock below as well as a ladder to climb down there. Lana notices a boat has been left for them.

Foxglove: This is convienient!

Lana: A little too convienient...

	They climb down the ladder which is covered in slime from being submerged for weeks. They carefully board the boat as Foxglove sits in the front. The fox grabs the pair of oars attached to the front of the boat and begins paddling across the murky lake back toward Dragon Rock. Once on the other side, they climb out onto the rocky shore and make their way to the entrance of the craggy spire. Monster statues and burning torches line the caverous entrance where two merdragon guards are posted. They are welcomed by the merdragons and are taken inside where the king is waiting.

Merdragon King: I'm so happy you have returned! I trust you have demolished the dam like you said you would.

Foxglove: There is no more dam. It has been wiped out!

Lana: It turns out the people of Serrieche were suffering from water deprivation the same time you people were being flooded out.

Merdragon King: We thank you three for that. Now we can colonize the lower bowels of our kingdom once again.

Foxglove: And we can get the fourth power stone at long last!

Merdragon King: You are now free to explore the underwater labyrinth which has been buried for centuries. We've hidden the power stone down there and until someone like you would be worthy of passing the test.

Foxglove: We'll get it all right! That's what we came here to do!

Merdragon King: Excellent! Your confedence pleases me! But before you attempt to travel into the underwater dungeons, you must wear diving equipment since you three cannot breathe underwater.

Lana: That would be a good idea.

Merdragon King: Also I want to give you this.

	The amphibious king hands Foxglove a small coral textured device with tunnels filled with glowing liquid. The curious fox eyes the object as he's never seen anything like it before.

Foxglove: What's this?

Merdragon King: It's a map of the underwater labyrinth. You can use it so you don't get lost.

Foxglove: Great, we're ready to go now.

	The three are escourted into the next room by the merdragon guards who are carrying trident like spears. Three insulated diving suits and oxygen tanks await them as they are forced to change out of their dry comfortable clothing and into the tight wetsuits. Foxglove drops his pants in front of his traveling companions and gets changed as Lana is forced to do the same. The ex amazon warrior takes off her leather armor and turns away from Foxglove who is kind of uncomfortable looking at Lana with no clothing on. Weep gets a good peek at both Foxglove and Lana in the nude as the bunny straps on a tank. But the curious fox can't help himself as turns his head and gets a look at Lana's brown furry butt out of the corner of his eye.

Lana: No peeking!

	Once Foxglove and Lana change into the skin tight wetsuits, they head to the entrance to the labyrinth by going down some stairs that were previously flooded. Weep elects to leave his wetsuit behind as it doesn't quite fit his short plump body. Once they reach the bottom of the torch lined rocky corridor, they meet the king who is waiting for them.

Merdragon King: The entrance is just down those steps. Be careful, there are booby traps down there.

Foxglove: We'll be careful.

Merdragon King: I look forward to your return.

	Foxglove, Weep and Lana then proceed down the steps, going further down into a dark rocky corridor. The farther down they go, the damper it seems to get as the walls drip with an unknown watery ooze. Foxglove takes one of the wall torches to light the way before ending up in an aqueduct like area. They can feel the chill and the dampness in the air as they walk through an open cavernous area with large arch shaped bridges made of rock and stone. All around them, water runs down the stone walls and into the depths below. 

Lana: That merdragon king doesn't seem to mind the fact we're taking his power stone. 

Foxglove: He wants us to take it.

Lana: That's the eeriee part!

Weep: Shouldn't we be more concerned about the booby traps we'll be facing?

Lana: I wish the king would have given us a little more info than "be careful, there are booby traps down there"!

Foxglove: Hey guys, according to this map, we need to go down five floors to get to the power stone. 

	They follow the aqueduct untill they find stairs that lead to another aqueduct below. The trio walk through the cold water with flippers attached to their feet as they head into a tunnel. Foxglove takes the lead as the red fox holds the map the king gave him. Lana and Weep walk closely behind him, prepared for danger of any kind. As they head through the dark tunnel, the water level begins to rise. It is now, Foxglove and Weep are glad they have wetsuits on as the ground seems to sink. But then, the torch Foxglove is carrying gets wet and is extinguished by the damp air, leaving them in near darkness.

Lana: Great! It's dark down here I can't see!

Foxglove: I thought you were supposed to be a rough and tumble amazon lady. Someone who isn't afraid of the dark!

Lana: I was but ever since I resigned I've felt kind of lost.

Foxglove: Luckily my glowstick will serve as a back up light source!

Weep: Wow, what a briliant idea!

Lana: This water feels cold.

	Soon the water rises up to their waist as the tunnel makes a downward turn. It gets higher and higher the farther they go into the tunnel. Weep who is shorter than Foxglove and Lana, is now upto his chest in cold water. Suddenly, the bunny steps off a drop and plunges into the cold water.

Weep: MMM!!! Help!!!

Foxglove: I got you Weep!

Weep: I think it's time we put on our diving equipment.

Foxglove: Okay, ready?

	They put on their diving goggles and oxygen tanks and dive into the depths of the water. The trio swims through the tunnel, which is now completely sunmerged. Now that they can see more clearly, they can see where the tunnel leads. Foxglove spots a hole in the side of tunnel and leads his friends through. All around them is darkness but Foxglove uses his glowstick to light the way, like a light cutting through the dark abyss.

	After a while, they begin to make out strange shapes of what appears to be structures and builidngs. Once their eyes adjust to the light, they can see the ruins of a once great civilization. Foxglove uses his map as a compass to get to the power stone while leading Weep and Lana through the watery passage. He looks around to see the magic of his surrounding as stops to look at the shell map. But he does not notice a nearby statue turning to face him. Lana notices what the statue is doing and immediately swims toward him. But then the fox is shot by an arrow which shoots through the water and strikes him right in the chest.

	Weep and Lana watch as he sinks down in a trail of blood going out of sight. The statue fires more arrows but Weep and Lana dodge them and go after Foxglove. The fallen fox sinks to the bottom of the ruins where he is sucked into a whirlpool. Weep and Lana have no choice but to follow him into the watery vortex.