Darkness enveloped the room only for a moment before a crystalline green forced it out. Logan stood in the center of the room; his hands covered in his magical glow now raised to further spread the light. Gwen also contributed by summoning a pair of mana arrows that gave off a blue glow. Lance was prepared to channel more faith energy into his papyrus to give it a holy glow but decided to conserve his energy for future use. He had less energy than Logan and wasn’t sure if Gwen’s arrows would constantly drain her mana like his papyrus did his faith energy.

“God changed the plot,” Logan stated angrily.

“Clearly” Gwen grumbled as she took a step away from the center of the room.

Hidden Bonus Mission activated. Retrieve Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem from the Room of Requirement. Rewards 2 C rank rewards and 3000 points. Leaving the Room of Requirement without the Diadem will result in a 5000-point reduction for each team member.

“Interesting” Lance mused

“Dammit” Logan cursed at the same time. God’s message sounded in their minds clearly, at the same time the sound of a bolt unlocking could be heard behind them. The door out was now free for them to use.

“Clearly we’re not leaving without the diadem” Gwen said doubtfully “Right?”

“Of course,” Logan said seriously “No one can survive that kind of point deduction”

“So, we move forward,” Lance said cheerfully, pointing towards a new door that had been illuminated by Gwen’s light.

“Don’t think I’ll forget this” Logan turned to glare at the teen “you were right about the bonus mission but way off on how difficult it would be”

“This is still well within our ability to handle” Lance assured the leader “The rewards will be well worth the struggle”

“You better hope so” Logan growled before opening the newly revealed door.

The door opened to reveal a stone staircase descending into darkness. Logan led the way down the stairs, the members fought back chills as the temperature dropped as they made their way down the stairs. At the end of the stairs was a large empty doorway, behind which the floor changed to a pitch-black stone.

As soon as the team stepped into the room lights came to life revealing a large room along with eight large creatures lined up in a row on the other side of the room. On each end of the row a nine-foot-tall stone statue had come to life, lifting the morning star they held off the ground. Next to the statues, even larger gray humanoids stood, a large wooden club in one hand and a hefty boulder in the other. Next in line came a graceful hybrid creature. The front half portrayed eagle like features with inky black wings, while the back was distinctly horse like. Between these hybrids were two distinct and fearsome creatures. On the right was a massive three headed dog. All three heads and six eyes were locked onto the team members. Directly in front of the team was another large stone statue. This one was more detailed portraying a woman’s appearance in a long flowing robe. On her head sat a beautiful silver circlet; Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem.

“Those are Mountain Trolls” Lance spoke quickly as he analyzed the gray humanoid creatures.

“And those are Hippogriffs,” Gwen said, motioning to the hybrid creatures.

“And that” Logan said, looking at the diadem “is what we came for”

With that Logan sprinted forward, leaving Lance and Gwen behind. The hippogriff to the left of the team took to the sky, flying in an arc it homed in on the dragonslayer. Gwen at the same time sprinted to the right, parallel preparing a trio of arrows. The warrior statue to the right charged straight forward as if to meet her in the corner of the room. Lance stood his ground, directing his papyrus to surround his body.

Logan paused his charge as the hippogriff approached him, with a large inhale he fired a dragon’s roar at the creature. The hybrid monster managed to swerve to avoid a direct hit but was still clipped on it’s wing. It came to a rest a few feet in front of Logan.

Gwen stopped her movement and launched her arrows at the charging statue. They struck on his arm but didn’t cause more than a few cracks in damage. The statue continued its charge forward even after Gwen stopped. Once it reached the wall, the statue turned a full 90 degrees and charged again at Gwen. The gamer jumped to the side out of the charging warrior’s path, though Lance who was a little ways behind her was still in danger.

The teen hadn’t moved since entering the room, first he had focused on the monster line up, seeing which ones would join the battle. When nothing else moved his attention was pulled to the floor which was not a pure black stone, instead the floor was a checkered pattern with black and gray tiles covering the entire room. Something about the floor design and moving stone statues tickled the back of Lance’s mind but a stone morning star flying towards him quickly pulled him from his thoughts. The papyrus moved based on Lance’s instinct and created a barrier above the teen. This did nothing to slow down the weapon but did give Lance the chance to dodge to the side. The heavy weapon crashed into the floor leaving a large crater where the teen had just been. On the left side of the room the other stone statue began charging forward. Not towards any of the members but directly parallel with the wall beside it.

Lance watched as the first statue pulled its weapon back into the air, waiting for his chance to dodge but it didn’t come. The statue stood still as if waiting for something to happen before it moved. This came when Gwen’s mana arrows crashed into the statue’s back. The attack did little damage like the last time and the statue ignored it in favor of going for another attack on Lance with its morning star. Lance jumped once more, this time to his left and further into the room. The statue did not prepare another attack on the teen, instead it turned its back to him.

Lance assumed the statue was going to charge at Gwen, but it didn’t move. On the opposite side of the room one of the trolls stepped forward. It walked at a slight angle to the right, after a couple tiles it stopped and lifted it’s massive boulder in preparation of throwing it. Lance’s attention was pulled to Gwen who conjured another trio of mana arrows.

“Wait!” he called out, but the gamer moved too quickly. She fired the arrows at the statue again, which were just as ineffective as the last two attempts. The warrior began walking forward.

“Don’t move,” Lance demanded as he saw Gwen preparing to back away. The gamer paused, one more step would’ve taken her off the tile she was on. The stone statue reached the tile besides the one Gwen was on and raised its weapon but did not attack.

“What’s going on?” Gwen asked after a few seconds.

In the center of the room Logan was still locked in combat with the hippogriff. The two were performing a flurry of attacks, Logan moving so quickly it was like he was gliding over the floor. His dragon scales were active and had protected him well from the numerous scratches and pecks he had received. The hippogriff went in for a dive, its sharp beak aiming for the dragonslayer’s heart. Logan actually jumped forward, crashing directly into the beast. The crash set off the hybrid’s flight and brought the two to the ground. Using the momentum of the fall Logan strengthen his own claws and tore open a hole in the hippogriff’s neck, ending its life. Rising from the crash Logan stood just in time for a large boulder to come barreling down on him.

“Don’t leave your tile” Lance yelled from across the room, but the dragon slayer didn’t have a choice. He jumped to the side to avoid the projectile, crossing onto a new tile. The second stone statue that had stopped directly to the side of Logan charged forward at the dragonslayer. Logan turned to face the new foe and began condensing his magic in his hands. Two blades formed over his hands, much smaller than what he used against the juvenile basilisk. The statue approached with it’s weapon ready to strike but as soon as it got in range Logan slashed twice. First removing the arm which held the warrior’s weapon and second removing it’s head. Once it’s head came off the entire statue began to crumble apart, leaving Logan covered in dust and debris. The troll that had stepped forward and had also thrown its boulder began to walk forward again. This time it’s angle was further to the right, putting it in the tile directly next to Logan.

Everyone tensed as the beast stopped it’s march, waiting to see what it would do but nothing happened. Seconds passed as the troll stared down at the dragonslayer, but it did not move.

“What’s going on?” Logan yelled to the others. He didn’t take his eyes off the creature before him.

“I think it’s a game,” Lance called out.

“A game?” Logan yelled back.

“Yes!” Gwen responded “The monsters move when we do. We’re taking turns”

“It’s our turn now” Lance picked up “As long as we don’t move, they can’t do anything”

“What constitutes a move?” Logan asked

“The tiles on the floor” Lance answered “moving to a new one is a move, so is attacking from a distance”

“So, what am I supposed to do?” the dragonslayer questioned.

“I suppose taking them out in one hit is the best option” Gwen mused but before she could give definite advice the troll in front of Logan moved. It swung its massive club down towards the dragonslayer. He sidestepped the attack and jumped, slashing the troll’s neck.

“Moving my papyrus counts as a move,” Lance said sheepishly, pulling his papyrus back around his arm. Before anyone could respond the stone statue that was besides Gwen struck out with its morning star. The gamer had a high reaction speed and managed to prepare for the strike. She wasn’t fast enough to completely dodge the attack but did manage to only get hit on her arm. The force of the attack still sent her spinning into another tile. Her copper skin spell had been in effect since she entered this room which saved her from any cuts or scratches from the impact. It did little to help the pain in her shoulder which was now dislocated. Gwen being tossed onto another tile must have counted as a move since the statue charged at her again.

“Gwen!” Logan cried out; she was now in the tile directly diagonal to him. He ran forward to grab the gamer. Behind him the second troll stepped forward, also moving with a slight angle like the earlier one. Logan grabbed the gamer off the ground and jumped out the way, narrowly missing the blow coming from the stone statue. This jump pulled both members into a new tile. The troll lumbered forward again, putting it in the tile in front of Logan and Gwen’s. The statue moved up one more tile but did not strike out. It was the members turn. Logan glared at the two who were boxing them in, there was one more tile to their side between them and the wall. Two more tiles lay behind them and the wall that held the door they first entered from. This meant they were roughly three tiles away from being in the corner of the room.

“If I take one can you hold the other?” Logan asked as the gamer finally got to her feet.

“Yeah” she said through gritted teeth, her left arm hung uselessly at her side “but Matt won’t like it”

The leader nodded at her words, knowing exactly what she meant. Matt had the second highest points and rewards from the previous movie. After spending some on usual supplies for the team and a large sum on just stat enhancements the semi-mammodo still had a large amount of points and a rank reward he could spend. With his enhancement path as far as he could get it in his current state, he decided to exchange for a small magical item in case he ever lost his spell book. Due to the magical nature of this world he gave it to Gwen as to avoid any attention it might bring. Now Matt was unavailable, so his item was up for grabs.

“Take the troll” Gwen said confidently “I’ll get this stone bastard”. Gwen wasn’t a very spiteful person, but she still had a gamer’s pride and with the game-like rules they were fighting by her instincts were to return all damage with interest. Opening her inventory Gwen pulled out the item she had been holding for Matt and turned to the Stone statue. At the same time Logan turned to the troll and reformed his jade blades.

“Let’s do this,” Logan said with a toothy smile. With a bestial battle cry Logan leapt forward at the troll. Beside him Gwen brought forth her magical weapon.

“Star Hanabi” she cried out, activating the weapon. A large ball of flames came forth from the hand sized lone star the gamer held. This was a unique magic item from the Xiaolin universe. It would absorb a person’s magical energy and transform it into a fiery attack. This was perfect for those with magic but without powerful combat spells.

As Gwen hoped her mana worked perfectly with the item, creating a beach ball sized orb of flames that struck the statue head on. Unfortunately, the gamer had gotten carried away, this wasn’t like games where all attacks do some kind of damage. Flames at these levels didn’t have any effect on a creature of stone. The statue charged through the flames and struck the gamer with his empty hand, sending her flying into the wall. Her flight had been slightly at an angle, so she had traveled diagonally across the tiles. The hippogriff on the other side of the room took to the air and began crossing the room.

Logan didn’t have any difficulties with the troll. The lumbering beast had thrown its boulder at the dragonslayer when he first moved but Logan was too fast for something like that to hit him. He dodged the attack and tackled the large beast, repeatedly stabbing through the monster’s thick skin. The monster roared in agony as Logan began to climb the beast, and with a jump removed it’s head from the rest of it.

After riding the slain creatures body to the ground Logan immediately ran to where the stone statue was looming over Gwen. Once he had stepped off his tile the statue raised it’s weapon ready to strike the prone gamer. Thankfully, Logan’s speed made the short distance between them inconsequential. Two slashes later and the warrior was crumbling apart, no longer a danger to the gamer.

A few tiles away, nearly on the opposite side of the room Lance was having his own battle. He stood in the center of one of the gray tiles as the remaining hippogriff flew high above the tile in front of him. Next to the teen a foot-wide glowing circle floated, this was God’s papyrus when in creation mode. The rune of creation glowed brightly as what looked like a thick metallic bracelet fell from it. Created from nothing.

Lance grabbed the bracelet as it fell and then lowered himself to the ground, wrapping his papyrus back around his arm as he did. This creation counted as a move on his side so now the hippogriff would be free to act. It did not charge at the teen, instead it began to flap its wings with vigor. Within seconds a large gust was pressing against the teen, trying to force him off his tile. The whirlwind lasted only a moment before the hybrid had to stop. Once it did Lance stood and allowed his papyrus to uncoil. He tossed the bracelet into the air and caught it with the papyrus. This bracelet which was made of iron had a series of sharp spikes around it and now with the papyrus would make an interesting weapon.

With a wave of his arm Lance launched his makeshift weapon at the hippogriff. The spikes struck into the creature's chest, but they were not deep enough to cause real damage. Any blood that was drawn was obscured by the creature’s mix of fur and feathers. Lance pulled back, expecting another wind assault but instead a loud howl brought his attention to the other side of the room. The three headed dog which had remained stationary this whole time was now taking its first steps. It only moved one tile forward before stopping but the feeling of danger it gave off grew as it closed in.

Lance chose not to focus on that beast for right now, instead he launched his new weapon again. This time he aimed for the hippogriff’s head, but the monster was able to dodge this blow. Lance however took this in stride, his papyrus was still his to command. With a mental tug the papyrus shifted its movements and wrapped around the large beast’s neck. Lance grabbed onto the papyrus with both hands and pulled with all his might. His muscle density had not been the stat he invested heavily in, but he was still twice the strength of an average person and had his faith energy boosting his healing. This still wasn’t enough to pull the hippogriff to the ground, but it kept it from moving as the papyrus began to wrap itself around the beast’s wings. Within a moment the hippogriff crashed into the ground. Lance did not hesitate, pouring his energy into the papyrus he had it bash the monster’s head with the iron weapon repeatedly. Lance kept feeding his energy into the attack, trying to give it as much force as possible until a sickening crunch sounded, and the hippogriff went still.

Lance began to let out a sigh of relief, but his breath caught as a menacing growl reached his ears. The three headed dog had taken advantage of the teen’s attacks and there was now only a single tile between them. The teen grimaced as he looked at the giant beast. His energy was nearly exhausted, he wouldn’t be able to command his papyrus for more than thirty seconds at this point. Not nearly long enough for Lance to put an end to the mutt. Running away wasn’t an option as the teen was already close to the corner of the room.

Lance pulled out his infinite ammo pistol, the gun looking pathetic in comparison to the massive beast, but it was all the teen had left. If he could shoot out one of the head’s eyes and blind the other one with his papyrus, he might have a chance to dodge the third head’s attack. Possibly.

Lance was saved from having to try such a desperate tactic by Logan charging across the field. He was moving so fast while having his magic activated, he appeared as a jade green blur. He reached the mutt before it had done more than turn to look at the noisy leader. Logan landed a momentum fueled punch on the beast, his arms appeared to be larger than they should’ve been. A sign he was now in the second stage of the unlocked mode. The punch was strong enough to break the jawbone of the head he hit and the pure force behind it had the beast off balance. Lance didn’t hesitate and began firing with his gun and prepared his papyrus for an attack when an opening appeared. Logan also did not hold back and released a dragon’s roar directly into the middle head, causing the beast to whine in pain.

The massive beast leapt onto Logan, bringing the dragonslayer to the ground with its weight. The middle tried to bite into the leader, but he was able to grab onto the top and bottom of his maw and hold it open. Lance jumped forward and launched his papyrus around the third head, wrapping it quickly so it couldn’t try to bite anything. The metal bracelet on its end was lodged into the beast’s skull but was no more damaging than a thumbtack. The teen braced himself as the beast began pulling on him. On the team he was physically the weakest, so he knew there was only seconds before he lost out in this match.

“Star Hanabi” a voice cried from the side of the room. Gwen stood breathing heavily, blood leaked from the corners of her mouth and her nose, but no wounds could be seen on her body. She didn’t hold the magical weapon, instead she had thrown it like a ninja star. Though this ninja star sprouted foot long streams of flame out of each point. The gamer hadn’t aimed directly at the three headed beast, instead she had thrown it so it would fly directly above the beast. As if flew overhead the flames came crashing down on the mutt, causing small groups of flames to ignite as its fur caught. This caused the beast to raise all of its heads and howl in pain. Logan took this opportunity to reform his jade blade on one hand and pierce deeply into the monster’s chest. The pain sent the dogs into a flurry, Lance was forcibly picked up by his papyrus and sent flying across the room.

Logan was still directly below the beast and weathered a multitude of hits as the dogs scratched and pawed at him. If the dragonslayer didn’t have his scales activated he would’ve been in a dangerous position. Through the attacks Logan managed his own series of hits, the two locked in a wild flurry of attacks. Gwen joined in, firing her own pistol at the beast. Lance joined in once he was back on his feet. The pressure from all three members was too much for the monster and soon it let out one last howl of agony before succumbing to its wounds and falling.

Lance ran to the corpse and helped Logan wiggle his way out from beneath the beast. Gwen was much slower to reach the pair and when she did, she immediately fell to the ground. Lance put a hand on the young woman and transferred the little faith energy he had remaining into her. The effect was not particularly impressive. Faith energy wasn’t a healing energy like most would assume. Instead it improved resilience and regeneration. It couldn’t heal a direct wound but would allow you to last longer with that wound. The little energy Lance had given the gamer seemed to be helpful though as she was able to rise again.

“That hurt” she gasped out. Based on her appearance alone one would assume she was perfectly healthy but the blood coming out her mouth revealed the damage she had sustained on the inside. Her copper skin spell truly was powerful but not perfect.

“Was well within our ability to handle though” Logan said in a mocking tone.

“We did handle it though” Lance countered, retrieving his papyrus.

“Whatever” the leader grumbled “Let’s get the diadem and get the hell out of here”

“I could really use some healing right now” Gwen groaned.

“Matt should be good to heal you by the time we get back” Logan assured and began to cross the room. The other two stayed back in case anything else went wrong. Lance was surprised at the leader’s strength; he had done the majority of the fighting and was still in the best condition. This could be Lance and Josh after a few more movies.

Logan approached the last remaining statue in the room, the elegant woman stood motionless at the end of the room. He was half certain she would be another guardian and would strike out as soon as he reached her. However even after reaching the base of the statue nothing happened. With one strong jump Logan reached the head of the statue and removed the diadem from its resting place.

Bonus mission complete, Retrieve Rowena Ravenclaw’s Diadem. Rewarded 2 C rank rewards and 3000 points. Rewards will be distributed based on contribution in mission.

Logan quickly returned to his teammates holding the diadem.

“I got a C rank reward and 1500 points” he reported

“I only got a D rank reward and 500 points” Gwen complained.

“I got the remaining points and rewards” Lance responded cheerfully. In his opinion this bonus mission had been well worth the risk.

“Let’s get out of here” Logan decided and led the way back from where they came from. Gwen still had a hard time moving quickly, Lance stood next to her and transferred his faith energy into her as often as he could. The walk back was slow but peaceful nothing happened until they exited the Room of Requirement. As soon as they exited Logan’s communicator began to ring. The leader quickly answered the phone and Matt’s voice rang out for everyone to hear.

“We have a major problem”