Mystics: the Awakening {IC-Mature}

[RisingPhoenix]

Rated M for mature content including but not limited to: romantic situations, violence, blood, mild gore, and mature language.

“Blood stained the battlefield, as warriors tore each other apart. Metal clashed against metal as the warring tyrants fought. Only the screams of the doomed could be heard upon the battlefield that would forever be remembered by those who participated so long ago. After all was said and done, each faction departed, for they had wounded each other far too severely to keep going.”

Darkness shrouded the senses of a lone figure as it sat atop the tallest building in the city. It had been ages since he had last seen his fellow warriors, and the fact that those who were immortal like him were cast into a deep slumber, did not lift his spirits. Things had gone downhill since the last war. The Nobility had gained control over the government and now controlled those who were too weak minded to care. Life for a human was like that of cattle. One only knew when they’d be killed in the shadows of the night. Silence surrounded the individual as he continued to sit atop the tallest building, with his eyes closed. It was night, the time when the creatures came and feasted upon those who were too weak to defend themselves. Even those who were able to defend themselves eventually met their end. Something had to be done. The teachings of a Mystic had been forgotten. The lone warrior would see to it that the Mystics would rise up once again and take back the land from the creatures of the night.

The figure stood to his feet as he opened his eyes. The cities on planet Earth were advanced far beyond human perception. Only a single person ruled over all the land. He was called the president, and this particular president was the cause of such grief and sorrow. He was the leader of the Nobility. The Nobility is a group of vampires, werewolves, witches and demon who have taken over the government of the world secretly. They used their science combined with magic to restore the world in their image from its former state. Nearly all demons, werewolves, witches, and other dark creatures serve them freely. Despite their technology being great enough to create a blood substitute as food, they still prefer to feed on humans. They search for the destruction of the human race. The government is completely enslaved to the dark ones, yet no hero can be found. Tonight was no different. The figure watched as a pair of vampires chased a helpless human through the streets of the city. The lone figure flipped off the roof of the building and, while in mid fall, yelled a combination of words that caused his body to glow brightly.

“Ancient Mystic Power!”

The black haired man had been replaced by a blonde man dressed in all white. He landed on his feet atop an adjacent building far shorter than the one he had perched on earlier. Screams filled the air as the vampires closed in on their target. The woman fell to the ground and begged and pleaded for the creatures not to consume her, but they simply stared at her with hunger filled eyes. Stepping closer to the woman, she let out another scream.

“Scream all you want, no one will help you,” one of the vampires stated.

Both began to descend upon the helpless woman. Suddenly, they stopped in their tracks. They each stared at the man dressed in white who had magically appeared behind the woman.

“Find shelter, quickly,” the man stated as he glared at the vampires.

The woman scrambled to her feet and thanked the man before running off. He glared at the vampires and stood perfectly still. The vampires were eager to remove this slight hindrance from existence, but what they would soon find out was that this particular hindrance was more than met the eye. They dashed forward, intent on killing the man. Striking at the man, they both missed; however, when the man dressed in white extended his right hand, the vampires snarled. A odd colored orb began to form in the center of the man’s extended palm.

“What’s that? Some sort of trick?” one of the vampires asked as the other dashed forward.

“I’ll get rid of him, he’s nothing but a want to be hero.” The other stated as he closed the gap between he and the man.

The orb launched, crashing into the charging vampire, sending it spiraling backwards; landing beside its fellow blood sucker. The man in white smirked and aimed at the other vampire who at this point was sweating and snarling viciously. It used its inhuman speed to dash forth and closes the gap between them quickly. It launched a barrage of feet and claws at the man, barely missing the man’s face as he flipped back to avoid the onslaught By now the other vampire had stumbled to his feet and was snarling as well.

“KILL HIM!” it yelled causing the attacking vampire to charge.

In a flash of light, the man dressed in white was now facing away from the vampires, standing behind them. Each turned slowly, but as they turned, their bodies slowly separated. Blood and guts spilled out onto the street beneath them and their bodies burst into flames. The man in white sighed and transformed back into his previous form. He left a note for the Nobility to find. It read,

“Haakon,

You thought the Mystics gone, but now we have returned. Your reign has come to an end. I, Naja, will see to it personally that you fall, along with the rest of the Nobility.”

The man soon vanished, leaving behind the burned remains, as well as the note.

Dorián & Kurama

An alarm rang in the dorm room as two figures shifted in their beds. One eventually removed the comforter from his body and slammed his fist against the alarm clock, nearly breaking it in half. He glared over at his roommate and sighed.

“Kurama, get up, we have class in like ten minutes.”

Kurama sat up in his bed and sighed. He really didn’t care about the single class they had opted to take at night. He looked at Dorián and cursed under his breath.

“Christ sake Dorián, you could’ve went without me, I’m tired.”

“Maybe if you’d stop spending all your time flirting and shit, we wouldn’t have this problem,” Dorián replied as he stood to his feet.

Being away from Naja meant that he didn’t have to constantly train for reasons he knew nothing about. He was happy that Naja allowed him to go to college in the city; however, he was very clear about making friends.

“Tell them nothing of what you do, understand Dorián?”

He recalled the conversation they had, and Naja’s final words before Dorián departed the base. He had no clue why he couldn’t speak on his training. He had been away from the base for about a year now and loved every minute of it, still he missed Naja. After all, he was only learning martial arts, something everybody wanted to know about, or at least he thought. He walked into the bathroom and got dressed for the class they had in ten minutes. Kurama had also made it to his feet and was searching through his dresser for something to wear.

He had just taken off his shirt when a knock came at the door. Kurama glared into the bathroom at Dorián who simply shrugged. Kurama stepped up to the door and opened it slightly to peer out and see who it was.

“Hello there, is Dorián in?”

“Yea, hold on a sec,” Kurama replied, “DORIÁN, IT’S FOR YOU”

Dorián pulled his shirt back on and answered the door. To his surprise it was Naja.

“Dorián, I trust all is well?” Naja asked as he entered into the dorm room and looked at Kurama. In fact he never took his eyes off of Kurama.

Kurama looked at Naja and was rather creeped out that Naja looked very much like a female. Still, he couldn’t help but feel as if he knew this man, as if he had known him long ago. Silence filled the room as Dorián looked from Naja to Kurama, each of them not taking their eyes off the other.

“The time has come for me to reveal to you what I’ve kept all these years Dorián. I’ve tried to delay this, I’ve tried to do it myself, but it is becoming increasingly challenging. Kurama, Dorián, come closer.”

[Atrum Daemon]

“I will one day break these bonds, lich!”

“And I will be waiting to break you and cast you screaming back into the Inferno.”

“I promise you, I will find your precious phylactery when I escape! Then, when you are once more rendered mortal, I will rip you to metallic pieces and drag your soul back to my charnel house!”

The demon’s writhing stopped as the last of the bonds pacified it and it’s screaming. Haakon had bound the demon into a human body, anchoring the beast to the mortal realm to be used as a weapon if such dire circumstances called for it. He had other weapons, but none came close to giving him the power of a bound demon at his fingertips. One such abomination of metal, flesh, and magic guarded the door to the demon’s prison deep beneath the estate tower.

He returned to the main floor, servants and guards quickly moving aside to remove themselves from his way. The balefires that served as his eyes pulsed as he noticed a pair of security troopers waiting for him in the foyer. In truth, the two were werewolves and one held out a folded note to Haakon. “We found this on the ashen remains of a pair of vampires this morning, sir,” one of them said as Haakon took the note.

“That will be all,” the lich spoke, waving the pair away.

Haakon ascended the elevator to the floors restricted only to high-ranking members of the Nobility. Haakon then used a special elevator to reach the top floor of the tower and entered his private room and office. He unfolded the note and read the sparse words scrawled on the paper. “Mystics,” he said to the empty room. “My day has now become rather interesting.”

He crossed the room to his finely crafted desk and keyed a number on the wall-mounted communications unit. “Communications,” he said into the receiver.

“Yes, Lord Haakon?”

“Alert the rest of the ranking Nobility that I need to speak with them in the conference room immediately.”

“At once, sir.”

He left his office as the summons to his direct subordinates went out. A plan had to be devised quickly. If Naja found too many of the Mystics and awakened them, they would move too fast to take any action if the Nobility waited. Haakon returned to the lowest of the restricted floors and entered the conference room, taking his place at the head of a long table made from synthetic wood.

[Froggy]

Evangeline had been hunting when she heard screams. Not the usual, terror filled screams from the humans that were their prey. The screams that signaled the end of an existance, at least for a pair of Vampires that had been hunting with her. "What...?" she asked, releasing her grip on her victim and flinging the body forward, blood dripping from her fangs as she licked them.

She jumped atop a rooftop and began running in the direction of the screams. She could feel with everything inside her that there was someone out there who could challenge her, and she wasn't liking that one bit. The only creature who presented a challenge were werewolves, and the only mystic who presented a challenge was..."Naja," Evangeline whispered under her breath as she saw the man.

"Damn Naja to the eternal depths of hell!" she said, chasing silently after the figure. She wanted to see where he would go after he killed the Vampires, what he would do. She was surprised when her eyes laid upon a dorm-like setting, and she snickered a little. "You are slipping in your age old man," Evangeline spoke to herself, climbing the windows and dashing into the nearest hallway, hiding in the shadows. If a mystic resided here, Naja had led her to whomever he or she was. Now all she had to do was find Naja and wait for the old man to leave.

[Jacogos]

"Master, Lord Haakon requests your presence. All the Nobles are required to attend."

Caine looked up from his catch, growling low in his throat out of instinct. In this form, he almost grazed the wall with his head when he stood straight, but at the moment, he was bent over a corpse of a rather tasty morsel. Blood dripped from his snout in copious amounts, as he was still chewing on the remains of the victims once-beating heart. He took a moment to chew a little more, then answered the servant. "Tell him I'll be on my way soon. I assume he doesn't expect us to teleport there like he could, right?" He growled lowly, then shook himself to free his fur of the droplets of blood that coated it.

Turning away from his prize, a mutilated body that you could barely discern used to be a teenage girl-child, Caine slowly reverted to his human form. As was normal, the vest that Caine wore bared most of his chest, which was a considerable size to begin with. The werewolf Noble ascended the steps that his servant had just vacated and re-entered the dining room of his estate. Ironic that he fed in one of the many basement rooms when the dining room was right there... He would ponder that later. He strode through the room and entered his foyer, where he tapped a few buttons on the interface next to the light switch.

The pad beeped when the sequence was complete, and the entire house was armed with it its security precautions. These were only turned on when he left, as they were left to a simple detection security when he was there. He was all the defense this estate needed, so it was left to the plasma guns and turrets to defend when he was no longer there.

Stepping out of his house, Caine sniffed the air passingly. He could still smell the blood of the girl on his hair... Damn Haakon for interrupting his meal. Without another thought, Cain half-shifted into his larger, travelling wolf-form, then sped off into the night.

It took only an hour or so before Caine reverted back outside of Haakon's own expansive estate. As leader of the entire Nobility, Caine assumed the lich had the privilege of having the largest estate, though he couldn't see why the once-man needed it. As far as Caine knew, he didn't think the lich ever was actually AT his quarters. The werewolf purged those distracting thoughts from his mind and stepped into the teleporter that stood just inside the estate's entrance, which recognized him as a Noble and took him to the conference room.

"Alright, alright, I'm here. What do you have for us today, Haakon? Rebels again?" He took a seat where he normally did, half-way down the table and to Haakon's right. His seat had been modified early on to support his mass when he leaned back, which he did now, propping his feet up on the table as he regarded the lich patiently.


-------------------Meanwhile, in the frozen country of Russia-------------------

The blast of laser-fire torched the target like a marshmallow within the flames, leaving the surface blackened and smoking slightly. The guard who was watching nodded appreciatively at the marksman's skill, especially considering she was a girl barely out of her teens.

Nemine finally holstered her pistol, having had enough of her target practice for the day. She pressed a button and the target dummy withdrew into the wall, and would be repaired for the next time someone came outside to shoot. Nemine herself decided that it was time for lunch, so she returned inside her parents' massive mansion and called for her hand servant. Stanley appeared within moments, smiling cheerfully. "What can I get for you, my dear?"

"Tell Demetri that I want lunch. Tell him to make it something... different." She said with a twinkle in her eye. Testing Demetri's cooking skills was a great past-time for her, as she never knew when the cook would finally run out of ideas.

Stanley knew all about that and smirked slightly. "As you wish, my lady. Your parents were asking about you about an hour ago, they wish to speak with you."

Nemine nodded and Stanley scampered off to fetch the cook for the heiress's lunch. The banshee girl watched him for a moment, then turned to the grand stairs that would lead up to her parents combined office/library. They usually wanted to talk about something to do with their business that she would inherit, so she prepared herself for the lectures. She didn't mind the lectures. In fact, she found them quite stimulating. She LOVED learning about the weapons and how they evolved over the years. With a smile on her face, she opened the doors to the library, wondering what they'd share with her today.

[Epostle]

“Voices… they call my name.”

Anartica is a cold hell for anyone who resides there. From its frost mountains to its flat ice covered plains, this place is almost void of any life, especially that of humans. Some wild life do live their however. Some of this wildlife include polar bears, walruses, and many species of fish. All was fair when it came to hunting for food. This wasn’t just something to do in the mean time, this was all about survival of the fittest… and so far Ira is the last human survivor on Antartica that he knows of.

Ira was all alone… only himself to depend upon for shelter, food, company, and survival. It was hell, no one to help him with anything. He was constantly on the move in order to get near some kind of food and water source. He had to abandon the great Ice Castle that his family once lived in due to the fact that they all mysteriously died one night. He never knew what happened, but it was a massacre. Blood and organs were splattered amongst the walls as the remnants of their outer bodies were scattered everywhere. This had to be some kind of work from something unnatural he thought.

He and his family believed in spirits of the northern wastes. They were somewhat like archaeologists. They would go around trying to find old and ancient ice caves and tombs when they wanted to learn more about Antartica’s history. Many of the stories told about great warriors or of great evils. Little did they know what would have come of this. While Ira would be at other parts of the Castle, his family would practice incantations to try to commune with the spirits. They would never truly communicate with the spirits how Ira could. Though it was faint, Ira always sensed something around him and couldn’t grasp upon it. He understood that some things must remain dead and buried forever.

Ira was outside wondering the wastes this day. He was bundled up in his black cloak to block the horrid cold wind from frost biting him. He continued to walk as the snow crunched and would sometimes fall through underneath his feet. His vision nearly blinded by that of the continuous bombardment of snow hitting him in the face. His breath would fog up the air every breath he took. He would kind of slouch over and try to cover his arms around his chest and stomach area to keep heat generating so he could stay warm. The sad part about all of this though is that he was hungry and need to find some kind of food source. He had been searching for a couple of days trying to find anything that could be remotely edible but to no avail find anything.

“This cold… the void… is this what the world really is? Where the ones who died in my home the only one of my kind alive? How will I continue… what is my existence… why am I hear… I am alone…” He said as his teeth somewhat chattered as the wind would blow heavily and nearly take his breath away.

It had been 5 years since that massacre happened. He has always lived in Antartica with his family. Now that they are gone… it was up to him to live or die. His will would fade, but would never break. He was a fighter for his existence though questioned about it. Constantly did life beat on him mercilessly in this cold hell… but for how much longer?

[Stryker]

“Stop or I'll open fire!” Was the sentence echoing through the heavy rain and ricocheting off of walls across the small town. Instead of heeding the warning the crook darted around a corner and from the sounds of it ran into something.

All the officer heard was a grunt followed by a body hitting the wet pavement. “What the hell?”

As he crept to the corner to try and see what happened without something possibly happening to him, a figure emerged wearing mostly black with red-brown hair just past the ears and a disgusted look on his face.

The cop peered around the corner and saw the perp lying face down in a small pool of blood. He also noticed that there was a bloodstain on the wall his body was facing. “Uh, sir did you do this?” he asked, nervously.

“If I did?”

“Well I’m going to have to bring you in for what looks to be at least attempted murder.” The officer explained before slowly pointing his gun towards he man and pulling out handcuffs. “Please don’t resist and this’ll go a lot smoother.”

“You touch me with those and things will get a lot messier.” He warned.

“Listen, put your hands up and let’s get this over with, alright?” the officer pleaded before placing a hand on Renshi’s shoulder.

The instant he felt the hand, he dropped his shoulder, spun around and back-handed the poor policeman to the ground. “Hey! You son of a… what the hell?” he muttered as he looked up to see that he was the only one in the alley. “Where’d he go?”

*********************

“Tch… one more city to add to the list of ones I’m probably black-listed from…” Renshi thought to himself as he strode down the sidewalk, fists in his pockets and eyes straight-forward.

Getting into a scuffle wasn’t anything new for him, in truth it was a regular occurrence that was getting to be boring. In every city and town he wound up staying in, someone eventually wanted a fight with him and nobody had really been able to touch him. Just street trash trying to earn credibility by beating up the new guy, then being sent back on their way with various injuries.

“Hm… that smell…” he thought to himself as he froze on a street corner, the flashing signal to cross the street illuminating the nearby area. “That smells like blood… fresh blood too.”

[RisingPhoenix]

Heavy rain ricocheted off the concrete streets. People all around scrambled to find shelter in order to escape the down pour. He was in Puerto Rico, but he knew that the heirs to the Mystic power were spread out all over the world. A sigh escaped the ancient Mystic’s lips as he looked at the two boys in front of him. He sensed the presence of malevolence. He knew far too well that he had been followed. Shaking his head, he looked from Dorián to Kurama before instructing them to sit.

“You two have heard of vampires, demons, werewolves and warlocks right? Well, imagine if all the stories you heard were actually true. Vampires, werewolves, demons and warlocks ravaged the land without any single entity to stop them. One day, creatures of various races decided to stand against these evil forces and put an end to their destruction. For you see boys, there is much that you don’t know, but deep down there is a lot that you do know. Do you believe in psychics?”

Kurama and Dorián looked at one another and shrugged.

“Not really,” Kurama replied as he looked at Naja with an annoyed look. It was near 9 PM, and he was already bored and upset with being awakened at such an odd time.

“Kurama, there is more to you than meets the eye. If I told you I could read your mind would you believe me?” Naja asked with a smirk.

“That’s a bunch of bullcrap, no one can possibly read other people’s minds,” Dorián said, he too with an annoyed look on his face.

“Ah, you think so huh? Dorián, you are quite the faker. Your mind tells me that you’re thinking of meeting someone after class. You’re thinking that what I am saying is half way true. You’ve seen things; you’ve been noticing things here and there. The same goes for you Kurama. Your mind is somewhere else. You’ve thought about trying out for the football team, and your favorite color is pink. You are an only child and your mother suffered a heart attack when you were young. Or at least that is what you think.”

Dorián and Kurama looked at each other and then at Naja. They were freaked out severely and Kurama had started to twiddle his thumbs which signified his nervous state. Dorián stood to his feet and said nothing.

“How do you know all of that?” Kurama asked shocked.

Naja simply smirked and held out his hand.

“There are more like me. I can take you to them, but only if you are willing. The first is a man named Renshi. He is able to produce FIRE with his mind. I know you’re thinking of my stories as false but I assure you they are true. We must make haste, for a fear we are not alone. Simply take my hand and we shall be transported to Renshi’s location.”

Kurama looked at the outstretched hand of Naja and backed up as best he could while sitting. Dorián looked into his “father’s” eyes and had a sinking feeling that this man was telling the truth.

“If I go with you, will you promise to tell me the truth about EVERYTHING?” Dorián asked.

“Can you handle the truth?”

Dorián stepped forward and placed his hand onto Naja’s. Kurama continued to sit in one spot, too freaked out to move.

“Kurama, what do you have to lose? Don’t you want to know if all of this is true?” Dorián asked.

Kurama pondered it for a moment and finally stood to his feet. He reluctantly placed his hand on top of Dorián’s while closing his eyes. The room filled with a bright light and soon became vacant. Moments later the trio appeared in Japan. The area they appeared was down an alleyway. Naja looked around and noticed a man lying in the rain covered cement. He was clearly dead, but another man had been knocked unconscious. A police officer to be precise. Naja knew then and there that he was in the right place. This Renshi was a black sheep if anything. He was the type to try and be heroic yet it often backfired on him and it ended up with him breaking the law. A smirk once again crossed the old mystic’s face as he stood to his feet, having stooped to check them fallen men.

“Come, he is close, I can sense him,” Naja stated as they vanished once more.

They appeared shortly after directly in front of Renshi. Naja glanced at the male and stepped forward.

“Ah, so you are Renshi. It is rather nice to meet you Renshi, I am Naja. Let me ask you something. Have you noticed anything strange lately? Things such as the shadows moving, or dead bodies turning up with mysterious markings? Or perhaps you’ve noticed the government officials acting strange? Do you believe in the creatures of the night my dear boy?

[Epostle]

Breathing is getting harder as Ira kept continuing through the frozen snow covered plains of Antartica. The wind was picking up and the blizzard getting harder to see through, he needed to find some place to atleast calm the wind. Though still slightly blinded by the snow, he could make out an image of a great ice wall in front of him with an opening through the middle.

“Maybe I can find some shelter and some food through there.”

He was hungry and was needing to find a way to beat this cold. So a few minutes of walking later he finally entered the passage of the great ice wall. It was somewhat narrow, which helped break some of the wind so he could actually breath better. Walking through the passage, he noticed prints on the ground. They looked animalistic and was a sure sign of food and possible shelter nearby. He began to walk faster through the passage.

A few moments of walking later, he spotted a cave in the ice wall that looked pretty deep. So he walked to the entrance of the cave and could hear something in the back. It wasn’t too deep of a cave, but whatever was in the back of it, wasn’t visible to the naked eye. He began to squint when all of the sudden a polar bear began to charge.

“Damnit!!!”

He yelled as he pulled out a hunting knife and began to step to the side of the opening of the cave. The bear then stopped and stood up trying to intimidate Ira. Ira held his ground and kept the knife ready as the bear watched and roared at him. The bear finally got tired and dropped down to all fours and began to charge again.

“I’m not going to die by you vermin.”

He said as he began to ready himself for the right time to strike. The bear then leaped in the air with its mouth open and was heading reading towards Ira’s face. Ira with the right timing and knowledge of being a hunter for survival, took a step to the side and jammed the knife inside the bears mouth, up into it’s brain. The knife was sturdy enough that it didn’t break. The bear then fell to the ground while partially tackling Ira to the ground. It was time for him to eat at long last… and hopefully the cave had something in it to build a fire.

After many hours of cutting up the bears carcass, skinning the bear, and finding some burnable objects in the cave, Ira began to cook the bear meat with the fire he created. He would place some of the bear fur into the fire for added heat and to keep the fire going every once in a while. It stunk horribly but it was better than dying to hypothermia. He used dead animal bones to make a object to where he can cool his food. He began to turn the meat round and round until it was decently cooked. Without hesitation, he then took the meat and began to eat at it franctically. He was almost starved from not eating in days.

Another hour late he was done eating. He was filled up and somewhat relieved that he was able to live another day. All of the traveling did fatigue Ira a bit though. It had been a great while since he had rested and it was the perfect time to sleep. So he then layed back on the ground and turned to his side. His eyes were closing slowly as he said…

“Is it too much to ask for someone to be here with me? Another one of my kind to atleast have some company… it kills me to think that I’m actually the only one left of my kind. I haven’t had another human to commune with in so long.”

He said while his face was looking out of cave, watching the unrelenting blizzard show its fury to anything that stood before it. He then closed his eyes completely and began to hear voices again.

“They come back for me… what do they want of me… how do I please them… are they real… or is it an illusion from where I have been lonely for so many years… so tired… need to sleep…”

Ira then dozes off into a deep slumber…

[Echo]

"It has been a while, hasn't it?"

Scarlett's red eyes stared firmly at the ruler of the dead, her mentor. The moment was bitter, and not one of those clichéd, touching reunions. A light snowfall swirled between the two; the land around them was barren, frosted with ice and draped with snow. Only a few meters behind them was a dark cave, an entrance to Hell. Scarlett danced upon the limited memory of her past, people and places she knew centuries ago. It never occurred to her that she would have to re-encounter any of it, and she certainly didn't want to.

Scarlett's expression remained cold and emotionless as she spoke. "Four hundred years, if my timing is correct."
The dark figure nodded. He turned around, he was at a loss for words.

Scarlett reached out a pale hand from her long, sleeveless cloak, and hung it on devil's shoulder, turning him around.
"Well, nice to see you again," she lied. "I'm in a rush, so, I'll see you again in the next...century or so." Scarlett smiled and stepped back, escaping in a flurry of snow.


---------------------

The demon resurfaced back into form at a admirable estate. Haakon's estate. The building was wired with all kinds of security precautions, and lined with guards at the entrance. The guards paid no attention to Scarlett as she entered the front doors, where she was greeted by one of Haakon's servants from the communication's unit.

"Demon of the Nobility, it is great that you've arrived. Lord Haakon wishes you, as well as the other nobles, to attend an important meeting in the conference room."
Scarlett nodded. "Very well. You may go."
The man raised his head and walked away. Scarlett sighed. What does that lich want now?

Scarlett took a considerable amount of time staring at the floor before she teleported to the upper levels of the building. She pushed away the feeling coming from the basement and stepped into the conference room. The werewolf was already in his place, slumped in his seat with his feet propped up on the table as usual. Scarlett removed her hood and assumed the seat across from the wolf.

"What's the problem today Haakon?"

[Lady Celeste]

Nighttime. One of the most dangerous times of day, not including supernatural threats, but also one of the best times for a bonfire.

Marissa stoked the fire a few times more, and for a moment she gazed through the flames at the rolling waves of the shoreline. Tara would be back soon with the marshmallows; the boardwalk wasn't particularly crowded now, since most of the shops there were closing up for the night, but that was also cause for some concern. The Gayle family was no stranger to the supernatural, and Marissa herself was living proof of it, but she didn't know yet which myths were true and which ones weren't. And didn't nighttime usually mean...?

"You smell so good, baby."
"Piss off, creep."

Marissa looked up. Tara was on her way back, right on cue, but so was a certain uninvited guest: a skinny leather-clad man with an overdose of hair gel on his head. His complexion made him look sick, even in the darkness, and his attitude didn't seem to be any better. Marissa stood from her position on her beach towel and walked slowly toward the boardwalk, just as the biker guy was moving to block Tara's path back to the beach.

"You don't understand." He said, roughly gripping Tara's forearm. "You smell really good. And I haven't eaten all day."

Tara flinched. She thought she could see a sharp point to one of his teeth, but ignored it when he wouldn't stop commenting on her smell. "Is that supposed to sound romantic? Because frankly, it's disgusting."

This time the man did not say anything, but instead moved to drag Tara off somewhere, until Marissa arrived at the boardwalk. "What's up Tara?" Marissa said, feigning ignorance. She tried to look surprised upon seeing the creep up close. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?"

Now the man looked angry, and Tara and Marissa could both clearly see the deep red coloring of his eyes and the razor-sharp teeth he'd been hiding before. He was definitely not human, and everything about his appearance now seemed demonic.

"You have no idea, bitch!"

"Hey!" Tara promptly responded with a hard punch to the side of the demon's jaw. "Nobody talks to my sister like that!"

The demon responded by shoving Tara back to focus more completely on Marissa. Who did this bimbo think she was, waltzing in and interrupting a perfectly good meal? He ought to take her as an appetizer first, then focus on the blonde who punched him.

But by letting go of Tara, the demon only gave Marissa the opening she needed. The younger girl immediately ran for the side of the dock overlooking the ocean, but the demon caught up to her as she was climbing over the side. He had already expected the little bitch to try to run away from him.

But he didn't expect her to jump off of the dock. Losing his balance, the demon fell with her into the cold nightly waters below.

Both rose to the surface fairly quickly, and in a rage the demon made a grab for Marissa and slammed her against the concrete beam supporting the dock above. Baring his teeth, the demon moved to bite the front of her neck, but something suddenly pushed out of the water and whacked him on the front, pushing him under the surface. He glimpsed it again from underwater, and clearly recognized it as a large fish tail, attached to the girl herself.

"What the fuck?!" The demon sputtered as he poked his head above the surface. Marissa didn't answer him, instead sweeping her tail again to knock him against another beam head-first. He slid downward, unconscious from the impact, but Marissa just dropped him off at the edge of the shore beneath the dock, then dove to a deeper level to stay hidden.

Tara was already waiting with a towel when Marissa came up again, and used it to quickly cover Marissa's tail as she pulled herself back onto the sand.
"Where's monster-boy now?" Tara asked. Marissa's tail was already changing back into ordinary legs, so Tara backed up to let her stand.
"Unconscious, under the dock." Marissa explained as she stood up, and both girls began walking back to the bonfire. "No way the police would believe a demon-beast guy attacked us, but I doubt he'll be dumb enough to try that again."
At this Tara's eyes widened slightly. "You didn't let him see your tail, did you?"
"It was either that or let him kill me." Marissa said, but then waved it off. "Don't worry; he can't go public without having to confess to attacking you. No way would he be that stupid."

[RisingPhoenix]

IGNORE!

[Stryker]

That smell of copper still faintly tinted the air, an aroma just potent enough to gain one’s attention but not strong enough to raise alarm to any involved. Due to that fact, he didn’t pursue any further other than acknowledgement. If he had chosen to investigate it’d be just his luck that he’d get caught up in something unfortunate and be roped into something a lot bigger than he cared to think about.

As he went to walk around a street corner, three figures appeared before him, alarming him.

“The hell?!” he shouted while taking a large step back and raising his hands from his pockets, clearly on the defense.

“Ah, so you are Renshi. It is rather nice to meet you Renshi, I am Naja. Let me ask you something. Have you noticed anything strange lately? Things such as the shadows moving, or dead bodies turning up with mysterious markings? Or perhaps you’ve noticed the government officials acting strange? Do you believe in the creatures of the night my dear boy?” the man in the middle asked.

It took a few seconds for everything he said to sink in and even longer for it to make sense to him. “Where in the hell did you come from, old man?” he asked, his voice slightly quivering from the uncertainty of the situation.

Naja only smiled as he watched the young man's reaction to his questions. Who could blame the young man, after all Naja had just appeared out of thin air. It was unusual for anyone to be able to do that if they had no knowledge of myths and lores. Naja smiled and spoke into the mind of the young man.

"I assure you I mean you no harm, merely wanting to gauge your reaction. I know you've noticed things, I know you've seen things. Do you understand what is happening? If you come with me, all will be revealed in due time..."

Naja's faced remained perfectly calm, but Kurama and Dorian continued to look at the man in front of them. Naja had called him Renshi, which was a very odd name. Nothing stood out about this particular guy, and Dorian didn't know why Naja had picked this one specific person out of the millions of guys on this planet. Still, Naja always had a reason behind his actions, and he was sure that whatever the case was, Naja had something in mind. Even though he and Kurama had no idea why they were following Naja, they knew deep down that all answers would be revealed to them.

"He looks scared shitless right now Naja," Kurama stated with a slight smirk on his face as he looked the guy over. Fairly cute, and a moderate size as well. Clearly Naja knew how to pick 'em. Kurama's eyes maneuvered over the man's entire frame, taking in every detail, yet he couldn't help but feel as if he knew this man as well, or rather the energy that resonated from him was familiar. It was odd to say the least and Kurama simply shrugged off the feelings as coincidence.

Hearing the comment from one of the younger ones stirred his blood, making it reach just shy of boiling as his fists clenched and his eyes narrowed. “You care to repeat that?” he asked, teeth gritted as he took a step forward, clearly no longer in the mood for talking.

“Listen, I don’t know who you three are, what you’re doing here or why you all of a sudden expect me to just jump at the chance to go someplace with you, but it’s not happening. So go to hell and take the loudmouth bastard with you.” He ranted with a snort to Kurama before turning his back to them and walking off, not wanting to be bothered by some magician and his two assistants.

Kurama was just about to reply when Naja silenced him by holding up his hand. He looked at Renshi and listened to every word he said, nodding as if he agreed with the young man. It was perfectly acceptable for Renshi to feel the way he did. Who wouldn't? At the moment, it wasn't really a good thing. Naja had to release the blocks on their minds, and quickly before Haakon got his talons into them and ripped them to shreds. They were no match for him in their present form. Using his mind once more, he lifted Renshi off of the ground if only momentarily and turned him around to face him once more.

Closing his eyes, he stepped foward and placed a soft hand onto the man's forehead. He wasn't unlocking anything, but rather showing Renshi what he had seen. Showing him the fight he endured in Puerto Rico involving the vampires. He showed him various other things he had encountered while fighting alone in this war that had continued. Finally, he stepped back after he showed Renshi an image of the future if no one stepped in. Desolation and destruction everywhere, and not a human in sight. A metallic creatures tood atop a tower looming over the land.

"The choice is yours Renshi. I can not make you accept the gift, but I will be back," Naja spoke as Renshi was placed back on level ground.

Naja turned and began walking, leaving Dorian and Kurama to simply stand there. The two looked at each other, then at Renshi before hurriedly walking after Naja. Once they caught up with him, Kurama started talking.

"Why'd you silence me back there? I could have taken him," Kurama stated with a firm belief that he could have actually won a fight with Renshi.

"Dude, shut up. Da-Mast-Naja, are you okay?" Dorian asked as they walked.

"Yes Dorian, I am fine. We haven't much time, there are others we must seek out and find," Naja replied as he continued walking.

“…”

He didn’t know what to say, nothing in regards to what just happened could explain everything he’d seen, experienced or felt unless it was true. None of this made sense… but maybe…

“Hey!” he called out after them, “Suppose I come with you… then what?”

Master Naja stopped in his tracks and turned around. He simply smirked and opened his mouth to speak.

"All will be made clear. Do you think I am the only one who possess such abilities? There are others, some far more evil than you can imagine, and they are looking for you. I can only offer my guidance and protection, but I assure you that if you come with me, all will be made clear."

In his mind, there were arguments for both sides, like voices... like the ones he could hear at night when he slept occasionally.

"No, those were just people outside arguing and telling each other things" he thought to himself, shaking his head a bit before looking back to the three of them once more.

"I'll join you... don't make me regret this..." he replied, slowly walking towards them.

[Froggy]

Evangeline took in her surroundings and noticed Spanish on the walls. 'Puerto Rico,' she thought, smirking. She knew the Mystics were located all over, and that it would take every force the Nobility had at their possession, including hers, to destroy them. Her attention focused further ahead, where she noticed something glowing. "Hell," Evangeline said, before a bright light flashed through the halls, and she ran at full speed out of the dorms.

Only when she was at the coastline did she stop to catch her breath, she had been burned very lightly across the face and it gave her the appearance of a human having been sunburnt. "Damn Naja, he's already got whoever it was," she mumbled to herself, before an image entered her head of Haakon's residence. She scowled, knowing it would take another twenty minutes to reach Haakon's estate, and that he would be upset with her late arrival.

~~~~

Twenty minutes later, Evangeline emerged in the conference room, not the least surprised when she saw the other nobles. "Haakon," Evangeline said, stepping forward from the window she had come through. She was wet, having ran across the oceans to arrive. "Naja is gathering the Mystics, I followed him to Puerto Rico before I lost the trail," Evangeline said, looking away briefly. It had been a while since she had lost the trail of anyone, especially a Mystic.

"I assume you know about the Vampires he slaughtered earlier this evening?" Evangeline asked, her facial expressions darkening.

[Atrum Daemon]

“Well, thank you for making the announcement for me, Madam,” Haakon said in response to the Vampire’s announcement. “And, unfortunately, decisive action is not something that can be reasonably taken at this time.”

Haakon stood, clasping his metal hands behind his back. The fires that served as his eyes swept the others in the room for a quick moment. “But that does not mean I do not expect you all to do everything in your powers to find the prospective Mystics before Naja does. Whether you kill or capture the runts is up to you. What I am most interested in is why Naja thinks simply removing us will make things better. But that is neither here nor there at this time. Do what you have to do. Search worldwide if need be. If a prospective is found and cannot be…persuaded to join us, then by all means kill them how you choose. That is all for now.”

The lich swept from the conference room and took the elevator to his tower room. He figured the old psychic must know that destroying the Nobility would completely destabilize governments and economies the world over. There was very little the Nobility did not control in some fashion from their place behind the shadowed curtain. In truth, giving the other Nobles leave to do as they pleased was baiting more than anything.

Haakon needed only the barest of reasons to declare Naja and any who allied with him as little more than terrorists seeking to destroy the peace that he, Lord of Sunlight, kept for the world. If he still could, the lich would have grinned at the thought.

[Jacogos]

Mystics... Caine growled slightly at the mention of them. Apparently, what Evangeline had just informed them of was exactly what Haakon had called them here for. He gave a little bit of credit to the Mistress of Vampires, considering she had found it all out before Haakon had even told them. He figured it was because it was dead vampires, but nonetheless, he like it anyway.

"I'll contact my patrols immediately. Soon, the entire military will know Naja's face..." He smirked wickedly. "Of course, I'll have them contact the nearest Noble if they find him or anyone we find associated with him. Wouldn't want any of you to miss out on a chance to settle our old score..." He laughed menacingly and turned for the door, exiting into the teleporter that returned him to the main hall.

Pausing in front of a communications unit, Caine entered his personal passcode and waited as the communicator located the man he was looking for. A bare few moments passed before General Jonas Kraig answered.

"My Lord Caine, I wasn't expecting a call at this hour-"

"Code Six Three Two Six," Caine said shortly. The General paused before nodding and typing a few things into the computer that he was seated at. "Is that all you have for me, Lord Caine?"

The werewolf smirked and relayed the rest of his orders, causing the other man to blink in surprise at first, before his eyes widened in utter astonishment. "If... If that is what you wish, my Lord... It will be done..."

"I certainly hope so. The perks of your position would be so very wasted on a dead body... But then, a dead body is one most easily replaced..." He smiled and disconnected, turning back towards the entrance and heading off to his next personal assignment.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

The blizzard roared around them, but the troopers could barely hear it outside their helmets. While disconcerted with having a werewolf among them, these elite and privileged soldiers were far from ready to run to the hills away from the beast. Controlled by an mind-spell that some of Haakon's warlocks cooked up, the soldiers were completely loyal to the Nobility, and thus maintained their humanity while being useful tools that wouldn't freak out when one of their number suddenly went supernatural on their enemy.

While assigned to a backwater post in Antarctica, the troop was persistent and searched the icefields loyally on the off chance that someone was out there that wasn't supposed to be. They were beginning to ponder returning to their camp when their lycan leader held up a hand and bent down. He removed his helmet and his long hair fell around his shoulders, greasy black and tangled. The werewolf bent down and sniffed the ground slightly.

"There's tracks here... Small imprints now, what with all the snow, but someone has been by here... If only the smell still lingered... Come, quick march." While the blizzard would usually drown out his voice, the helmets had a built in radio that picked up his words and relayed them to his comrades. They nodded and the troop resumed march, following the lycanthrope's form as he tracked the almost covered footsteps through the snow.

Before long, the troop came across the ice wall, and continued following the now covered tracks into the wall. While possibly going completely out of their way, the troop decided that anyone who was out here would logically head towards the passage. If they hadn't, then they would seek the shelter there themselves. Once there, the lycan noticed more prints, similar to the ones before, only protected from the snow that covered the others. The troop began to move quicker as the lycan pushed them, and soon they found the cave as well.

"Form up a line, wall to wall. Nothing gets by," the wolf-man growled into his mic. They proceeded into the cave slowly, unsure of what was in there, but weapons ready for whatever they did.

[RisingPhoenix]

The four men stood in the streets of Japan as Master Naja contemplated on the right move. He had to restore their memories, but doing so now might result in casualties. Still, he was certain that Haakon was already moving against him, and if he didn’t do it now, he probably wouldn’t get the chance again. Thankful that Renshi had decided to join him, he looked at each male and smiled.

“This is where we go our separate ways. Each of you will find a specific person,” Naja began as he reached into his pocket and pulled out pieces of paper that had photographs attached to them. The paper had an address of the corresponding photographed individual inscribed neatly. He placed a piece of paper in each of their hands.

“We’ve not much time. I will unlock what has been buried for so long. Once I have done so, teleportation should come easily to you, whether it is by your own methods, or by speaking the incantation Servus Maximulus Terroterrus.”

Dorián looked at Naja with a concerned expression. He was confused. None of what Naja was saying made much sense. Kurama had the exact same expression, but he was actually a bit excited to see if Naja actually could do what he had bragged about for so long.

“It is now up to you to recruit these individuals and bring them to the other location listed on the back of the paper. Renshi, you are to bring Marissa Gayle back with you. Kurama, you are to bring Tara Gayle. Dorián I trust you will bring back Nemine Ivanov, and I shall go after the last, Ira Belzshire Coffire. Remember; use the incantation or your own method. Now, stand still, I shall do what needs to be done.”

Naja stepped up to Renshi and breathed upon him. He transformed into his Mystic form, his hair transforming slowing from its pure black color to a beautiful gold. His outfit transformed into an odd white form fitting one, and his eyes glared deeply into Renshi’s.

“Now let that which has been hidden, come forth like a flood,” Naja stated as he quickly placed his open hand onto the forehead of Renshi and unlocked the suppressed memories. Instantly Renshi would receive his memories from when the war first began to now. He would regain his abilities, and know how to use them, but he would still need training and hone them. He would recognize Naja immediately, but he would only gain full power when he learned to control his abilities. Naja stepped back and nodded before turning to Kurama.

Stepping up to Kurama, he breathed upon him and spoke an incantation before placing his palm onto the forehead of Kurama. Instantly, the mind of Kurama was fully awakened and he remembered everything that had happened. His eyes filled with anger at the fact that he had been asleep for so long, but he thanked Naja and watched as the elder stepped away from him and moved on to Dorián. Once again, Naja did as he had done with Renshi and Kurama. This time electricity sparked in every direction and Dorián fainted after being hit with enough electricity to kill an elephant. Kurama rushed to his friend’s aid and helped him to his feet.

“Kurama, Renshi, Dorián, the time has come. Meet me at the Mystic base, and do whatever it takes to bring those you have in your hands back to us. This war is only just begun. I fear this time will be far more difficult than the last.”

Naja turned on his heel, and in an instant had vanished. Dorián and Kurama looked at Renshi.

“Renshi, Kurama, let’s make Master Naja proud.”

Ðorián stepped away from the two men and spoke the incantation Naja had given them. Instantly he was transported to Nemine’s home. Kurama looked at Renshi and sighed.

“Guess it’s you and me,” he said softly as he closed his eyes and spoke the incantation. Instantly, he would be transported to the location of Tara Gayle.


Suddenly, as the men proceeded slowly into the cave, they were lifted off their feet and thrown out of the cave. One by one they each suffered the same fate, landing hard against the cold hard earth beneath their feet. There was a sparkling of energy that sparked at Naja’s fingertips. The blizzard shielded his form, as the white outfit he wore concealed him quite well. Still, with the technology the troopers possessed, they were able to make out Naja’s form without hindrance. There was a crackling of energy and an orb crashed into one of the trooper’s bodies, sending him crashing into the earth. He did not move, and another trooper quickly checked the man’s pulse.

“He’s dead.”

“Caine....,” Naja spoke as he stepped up, a newly lit fire of hope burning in his eyes, “It is a little late in the hour for Haakon’s lap dogs to be out and about, is it not?”

[Lady Celeste]

Tara turned around. For a moment she could've sworn she'd heard something behind her, and half expected monster boy to come back for a second round. But aside from the usual crowds leaving the boardwalk, she saw nothing out of the ordinary just yet.

"What is it Tara?"

Tara looked back to Marissa, who still held onto the towel wrapped around her midsection, and just shook her head. "Must be paranoia. Come on; let's find you some pants, and then we can get back to the fire." She said, comforting herself with that thought as she and Marissa entered one of the shops, just moments before they would have closed, and Marissa wasted no time buying and slipping on a set of beach shorts before they left.

[Froggy]

New York. The place where dreams were made of, the place where dreams rarely came true. They said that if you could make it in New York, you could make it anywhere. That was exactly what Halley Elizabeth Mclaine was trying to do, and she had to admit that it was hard. She had started out in tea shops and moved her way up to the theatres.

Tonight she was an extra in a musical, and was happy enough to have that role as she did at least get some words and get to be a part of it. Halley danced across the stage, the lights shining down on her like rays of sunlight striking her skin. She loved the stage and the lights and the people, and she loved to please others. The energy in the air gave her the motivation to keep singing, despite her hoarse voice due to slight exhaustion.

The music was blaring through the stage and the audience seats as her stilletos danced across the stage. She was turned this way and that, and enjoyed every moment of it. When her part was over she danced to the back behind the curtains, where she was tossed a bottle of water. "Good job," Oddette said, smiling at her friend. Halley was breathing heavily and stripping off her stage costume, boots included, and exchanging it for a more comfortable attire.

She traded it for her own boots with a smaller heel, black lace stockings, a red and black skirt, and a solid black shirt. "See you tomorrow night," Halley said, giving her best friend a hug before packing up the rest of her gear and lifting it over her shoulders.

As she stepped outside she noticed that it couldn't be even eight o'clock yet, as the sun hadn't fully set. Her long, auburn hair flowed behind her as the wind blew strong and steady, and clouds began to roll in from a distance. "Great," Halley said, shaking her head. She wanted to make it home before the rain, before it tore her stockings and forced her to replace them.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her iPOD, playing some music to help time go faster. She had about another five blocks to go, which wasn't that bad as this was her routine every night: it was why she got off so early compared to other actresses, as she didn't have a ride home and it wasn't safe to walk the streets at night anymore.

~~~~~~~~

Evangeline sniffed the night air, hiding in an alleyway as she waited for the last of the sunlight to disappear beneath the horizon. "There's a Mystic around, I can smell it," she said with disgust, and looked back to her men. There were four of them in New York that night, ready to hunt and kill as was their way of life.

When the sunlight dispersed she climbed atop a rooftop, sniffing at the air. She didn't like the feelings generated from this particular Mystic, it made the hairs stand on the back of her neck and she couldn't understand why. 'Haakon,' she reached out to the lich. She sent him a picture of her surroundings and a summary of the vibes she was getting from this Mystic. 'I need reenforcements,' Evangeline thought, looking back towards her men.

[Epostle]

Ira was in a deep slumber. He began to dream about this man reaching out to him and giving him a gift of some sort. Though it was illegible on what the man was giving Ira, he knew it was something amazing.

“You shall receive what you have worked for” the voice said faintly and it echoed throughout the area in his dream.

Suddenly Ira was awake by a loud thud. He then jumped up to his feet, wielding his dagger to find something standing in front of him… in fact there were 2 people in front of him while 2 others were dead. He was relieved at first to find out how he wasn’t the only one of his kind anymore, but a few seconds later after seeing the dead bodies, he took an offensive stance as he began to encircle Naja towards the entrance of the cave. He wasn’t about to let this newcomer do as he wishes to him.

“Who are you… why have you come…? He said with his voice getting lower and giving Naja a death stare.

He then began to dash at Naja with the dagger in hand. He then takes a swing at Naja with his knife. Hopefully he could be able to beat this newcomer if he played it smart.

[Atrum Daemon]

“Reinforcements, you say?” Haakon asked. “Very well.”

He keyed in a special code on a holographic terminal then a second code once the first was accepted. He authorized the use of the reinforcement that, in his opinion, Evangeline could use. He sat in his high-backed armchair, planning the various ways he could employ his new demon pet to destroy Naja and his Mystics.

***

A silent shape approached Evangeline and her vampires. It moved with a silent grace that only a creature such as a vampire would be able to detect. However, this thing was neither human nor vampire. Or any other creature seen in the light or dark. An abomination of flesh and machine; (http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/dark-heresy/images/WH_Goleph_HRF.jpg) a living weapon Haakon built with his technosocerery called the Stalker. That night, the monster was equipped for fast movement and deadly close-combat. It knelt before Evangeline and would follow her orders without question.

[Setsa]

Fria was still working even after the sun had set on a new double bladed sword, white as snow to match the soon owner's skills. Still, it was far from complete and the hot heat from her forge kept her warm in the cold night. She loved such nights as it was perfect to let her mind drift to thoughts of the Carribeans Vacations she sees on the tv infomercials late at night. Even though she loved the cold...a nice good, long, heat wave that allowed her to sunbath on the beach sounded great right now when she looked outside to see more snow falling down from the skies. Such fueled her to make each and every weapon as perfect as she was taught to do. The woman would get much more money than any other weapon smiths nearby and every extra bit went to her "Tropical Vacation Jar." Sleep was a joke for the determined...yes it restored strength and peace; but as an nightowl she could make do without for a good while, days if need be.

Sweat was glistening the skin of Fria as she worked the blades feverishly to make the best of the heated metal; working on it like an artist to his sculpting masterpiece. Humming softly as she sang her own melody to the single blade on her anvil, tunes that Vikings would sing around their campfire about those kids learned in school and of great tales expanded and twisted further each time...always made her smile. Such was the inspiration of her own melodies that brought life to everything she made not one thing was at all the same to anyother... Sticking the blade back into the hot, firery coals she took a large mug of cool water, pouring it over herself...letting the droplets move down her curves to give the skin some relief from the heated dry air. Filling the same mug with beer that she stockpiled; guzzling it down like a man of muscle as if it was juice. She always could hold her liquor very well.... Wiping her brow then mouth Fria rebraided her hair and continued with her singing into the night while working on another large mug of beer as she waited.

[Echo]

According to the soaking vampire that swept into the room, Mystics were awakening and getting round up by Naja. Scarlett's expression darkened. She rather not bother herself with mere Mystics for now, but rather some significant business issues regarding the weaponry industry. Caine's military is demanding after all. Ivanov Plasma Industries Inc. was the one successful business that Scarlett did not have her greedy hands on. She reached back to her hood, flipping it back on to her head and disappeared in a small blast of shadow.

Scarlett appeared on the main floor of the building, standing in front of a room. She tapped a few buttons on a mechanism on the wall and the door slid open.
"Lilith and Vance, you're coming with me," Scarlett demanded, looking at the two demons who were lazily slouched on the couch. As Scarlett stepped into the room, the two immediately straightened up.
"We're at your service, Lady Scarlett," Vance responded, flashing his razor sharp teeth in a smile.
Lilith grabbed her brother's arm and sneered. "You should be lucky that we demons even wanted to leave our home in Hell. You know demons like us hate going to the upper world."
Scarlett warningly glared at the half-demon Lilith, who slightly stepped back behind Vance. "Which is why people nowadays bind you guys to mortal bodies. This way, that won't happen right?" She paused, smiling. "Grab your jackets. You'll need it."


-----

A helicopter flew above a expansive estate who's roof was veiled in snow. The three demons jumped down from the copter and landed with a 'thud' on the home. Lilith pointed a finger on the surface beneath her feet, moving her hand in a circle. She stomped on the area and a round gap formed, peering down on a bedroom in the mansion. Scarlett, Vance and Lilith easily broke in, and proceeded to find Mr. and Mrs. Ivanov, who were conveniently in the next room, the office, along with their child.

"Hello..." Scarlett greeted, with a devious grin smeared on her face.

Gregor Ivanov turned sharply when he heard the door open, words flowing in a thick Russian accent, "Stanley, I told you we were not-" His words stopped short when he saw who was in the room. Nemine and Alexandra Ivanov also turned, but stayed quiet, Nemine's eyes wide at the sight of these intimidating people and Alexandra's face solid as a rock, nervous as well.

"I don't believe I know who you are... And I'd rather not find out, to be honest. Madame, you and your associates are going to have to leave, this is family business at the moment." His hand rested on a concealed button on his large mahogany desk. A 2x2 inch square of wood that was no different from the rest of the desk actually could be depressed to call in the guards, more well equipped than anyone else in the world, including Caine's military.

Nemine stared at the intruders and stiffened. Her sixth sense was kicking in... And by the looks of things, she didn't think that it was the intruders that were going to die soon.

"We aren't going to leave until we're done with you, just so you know," Vance said with a sneer, he took a step forward, about to pounce, but was stopped when Scarlett raised her hand in front of him.

"The name's Scarlett by the way, and, I'm not a very patient or friendly woman," Scarlett explained, "All I want is your weapon company. If by any chance, you don't give it to us, then I'll have it arranged that the last thing you'll ever see is this setting right here."
After her last sentence, a dark mass floated into the room from nowhere. The mass began moving, changing into different forms and dimming the lighting in the room.
Lilith and Vance gawked at accumulation of darkness. "A skill only the pure demons could use," Lilith whispered.
Scarlett looked back at her two accompaniments, with a flicker of excitement glowing in her red eyes. "You take out any guards if they come. I expect deaths."

The whole Ivanov family froze as the seriousness of Scarlett's words sunk in. Gregor pressed the button as his face darkened slightly, reaching into his coat for his pistol. "What the hell is that...?" The Russian man stared at Scarlett's mass of darkness, the man scared out of his mind for one of the first times in his life since childhood. Whatever it was, it had to be able to die... right?

Gregor's unasked question went unanswered as a group of six guards threw the doors open, Laser Rifles (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110503024928/spore/images/a/a3/PlasmaRifle.jpg) trained on the intruders. With the arrival of his guards, Gregor loosened his grip on his pistol, but did not take his hand off of it. "I will ask you again... Leave."

Staring at the mass, Nemine backed towards the wall behind her father's desk. The bookshelf on that wall was on a trick wall that spun around on an axis, allowing one to make a quick escape. It was only able to be activated from the book side, so you could not be followed. If the strangers got too close, Nemine could escape with her family through the shelf... She hoped.

Scarlett put on a wide, menacing grin, displaying her two rows of pointed teeth. She held her hands forward, controlling the dark matter floating in the air. The mass shifted and moved continuously, until it formed pieces of magically-enhanced armour that stuck onto Vance and Lilith's body. The rest of the mass had become large golems (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/391/finalformup1.jpg/) under Scarlett's control, and a big, semi-translucent shield that surrounded herself.

"Lilith and Vance, please proceed to killing the pesky guards." Scarlett moved her sight to the Ivanov family.

"You asked for it."

Scarlett pointed at the man, firing a sword made from dark matter aimed at Mr. Ivanov's abdomen, while the golems advanced to capture his wife and daughter.

The guards opened fire on the two vampire minions, not hesitating for an order from Gregor. They aimed for killing shots, swearing when their bullets simply did nothing to the dark mass armour. Meanwhile, Alexandra Ivanov shoved her husband out of the way of the dark matter sword. The evil weapon impaled the woman through her stomach, sending her flying backwards at the sheer force.

"MOTHER!!" Nemine wailed as she ran to her fallen parent's side. Gregor swore as tears stung his eyes, then pulled out his pistol and placed a full 'clip' of bullets directly at Scarlett's head. The owner of Ivanov Inc. then pulled a plasma weapon hilt from his coat pocket.

The sword that protruded from it was a full arms length long (imagine Halo Plasma sword but with a full blade instead of pronged), and was the greatest achievement in plasma weaponry that the Ivanovs had yet to release to the public. It was a prototype, and only held charge for about a half-hour of total use, but in that half-hour, there was no human-known substance that this plasma had yet to cut through. Roaring in anger and loss, Gregor charged at Scarlett.

But Nemine ran in front of him first. "No! Stop!" She yelled loud enough for everyone to hear. Gregor, surprised but light on his feet, stopped and lowered the weapon, watching the demon woman carefully. The guards ceased fire, but didn't lower their guns.

"Let them take the company, Father..." She said quietly. "We need to get Mother to a hospital... And I don't want you to risk your life, too." Her eyes shone slightly with tears, but her voice was steady, strong.

Gregor swore, but withdrew the plasma sword. "We can't just let these... monsters take over my corporation! All my life's work... All of your life's preparation! It will be gone, my sweet!" He looked down at his child and then back at the demon, not trusting the woman. "... If I give you the company now, will you spare us, and allow me to tend to my wife?"

"This had just gotten interesting. Vance, kill the guards interrupting this lovely moment already, won't you?"
The male demon immediately started moving, swiftly grabbing one of the guard's guns and killed the owner with it. As the guard fell, Vance grabbed the heads of two other guards, and both abruptly fell down with little physical damage. The remaining three men fired at the demon in fear, hoping that one plasma-bullet would hit him.
Vance childishly stuck out his tongue in disgust, ignoring the failing shots. "Old man souls taste horrible."
Despite his complaint, he continued to take down the guards until there was one last standing. The human quickly grabbed a sword, and severed the demon's head when he showed an opening. The guard was stricken with triumph, feeling a sense of accomplishment, but the feeling was short-lived.

Scarlett glanced at the fallen comrade, then at the human who suddenly dropped down, dead, following after the other men who had already died.
"Tres bien. All the guards are dead now." Scarlett smiled and her gaze shifted on the man begging for mercy, releasing the barrier around her and dismissing most of the dark mass.
"I accept your offer, but you must remember that you might have something I want in the future, and I shall come to take it," Scarlett announced. "By the way, even if you wish to tend to your wife over there, she cannot be saved by mere, human instruments," Scarlett explained, stepping towards Gregor. "Lets say the sword did not hit a vital point, she would still be dying like so."
Scarlett paused, taking a glimpse of the frail human who was weakening at her feet. "The dark mass is embodied with a poison that puts the victim in a long moment of torture before they ultimately die. It's a toxin I made just a century before using ingredients not found on the upper world. The cure? I know it of course."
Scarlett smirked, "But of course, what if I'm not willing to show you?"

Nemine watched in silent horror as men she had known most of her life die before her eyes. They were all strong, able men, some of the strongest she had ever known... How were they so easily bested? Bile rose up in her throat, but she kept it down through sheer willpower.

Gregor, meanwhile, had moved back to his wife's side, but he never took his eyes off Scarlett. Hatred burned in those eyes, but also fear and sadness, but those were almost drowned out by the fire of the former. "Anything... We'd do anything. We've given you the company, and I would be willing to bestow any knowledge of the workings of it upon whomever you see fit."

Nemine stepped beside her father, her eyes stinging from unshed tears as she looked at the woman who had ruthlessly wounded her mother. "If you are what I think you are... then... I'd be willing to be..." She swallowed slightly as she stumbled over the words. "To be your... slave... in exchange for my mother's life..."

Gregor's eyes widened. "No, my daughter! Anything but that! You don't know what these... things will do to you!" Nemine shook her head and kept her gaze on Scarlett. "Its for her, father... Mother deserves to live for all she's done for me..." A tear rolled down her cheek as she stood there, awaiting the demon's words.

"A slave? I find that word repulsive and atrocious," Scarlett said, applying a sense of annoyance in her words. A slave's owner, in her terms, is a label describing pathetic scum that can't find themselves loyal companions to, not serve, but assist them.

"Well, I was planning to heal your wife anyways," Scarlett explained, almost laughing at what devastation the Ivanov's displayed. "I am, at times, reasonable, bien sur," she snickered.

Scarlett walked over to the Alexadra Ivanov, hovering her hand above the wound. From it radiated a contradicting dark light which pulled out the muddy-coloured poison, then closed the injury.

Scarlett attempted to put on a genuine smile. "That should do it. Side effects include irrational or menacing personalities, aftershocks of torture, etc." She looked over to Nemine. "As for this girl, I do not want a slave," Scarlett said the last word with ridicule. "If she ever comes to respect me, let me know. Until that time comes, Lilith shall stay here, until I do not want anything to do with you any more."
Lilith bowed, "Yes, milady."


----

Nemine's eyes widened. So the woman comes in here, full bent on killing them in order to get this business, wounds one of them... Then decides she'll heal her? Nemine couldn't make heads or tails of it... She watched the procedure slightly worried, but also fearful. The woman's words bothered her... If she was what Nemine thought she was... Then why does she dislike slavery?

Alexandra's eyes opened after Scarlett was done, and she moaned slightly, then passed out again. Gregor put a hand to her neck and checked her pulse, sighing in relief. "Sleeping... I don't know whether to thank you or curse you, demon... I assume that is what you are." He stood with his wife in his arms, watching the demon leave. The other one would stay... Lilith... The two conscious Ivanovs shivered slightly. Their lives had just changed... and they didn't know whether for better or worse.

[RisingPhoenix]

Naja

After defeating the crew sent by Caine to round up Ira, Naja stood at the entrance to the cave. He knew Ira was there, his mind was like a beacon, calling out to the psychic. Something was different about this one, something that Naja couldn’t put his fingers on. Still, he had to release his mind and bring back his memories. As he got ready to enter the cave, Ira himself came out with a blade clutched in his hand. He circled Naja with intent on taking the elder’s life if Naja so much as breathed incorrectly.

“Listen to me……” Naja began, but was interrupted when Ira charged.

The young man swung the blade, but as it came close to Naja, it suddenly stopped. Ira was lifted off the ground and restricted by invisible energy. Naja had to act quickly; this boy was probably filled with both fear and adrenaline. He did as he had done with Renshi, Dorián and Kurama. He placed an open palm onto Ira’s forehead and released the boy’s memories, bringing forth all that had been locked away; however, when he had done so, he received a vision of the darkness. This was unusual, but Naja knew something was wrong. Quickly, he removed his hands from Ira and looked at the boy.

“We don’t have much time, please come with me.”

Kurama

Lightning streaked down from the heavens and struck the ground in the general area of Tara Gayle. Kurama looked around. Everything seemed to be in place, but Kurama with his newly freed mind could tell that something was brewing. He could smell death in the air. Looking around, he sniffed the air and sighed. He should have known that Haakon wouldn’t allow the Mystics to recruit their members without some sort of intervention. Lightning streaked across the black sky and illuminated the area around Kurama. He was surrounded, that much was certain. Both demon and vampires stood around him.

“TEAR HIM APART,” one of the demons yelled.

Kurama closed his eyes. He had limited abilities, and wouldn’t be able to use his Mystic powers at the moment. Still, he was able to defend himself with ease. He fended off the demon and vampire one by one, knocking them unconscious in the process; however, they had managed to land blows, and had caused lacerations. Quickly, he made his way towards the beach. If he was lucky, he’d find Tara there, for he could sense her nearby.

“Where are you?” he wondered as he dashed around looking for Tara.

“TARA!" Kurama yelled, his mind completely oblivious to the fact that he wasn't the only one searching for Tara.

Dorián

There was a crackling of lightning as it streaked from the heavens and struck the Ivanov Industries building. Dorián had appeared from the lightning bolt as he looked around. How on earth did he get on top of the building? He had no clue, but he knew that his job was to find Nemine and recruit her. He knew he wasn’t the only one here. He could smell them.

“Demons,” he said softly, “and judging by the aura’s I sense, the big mama is here too. That could only mean one thing. Nemine is here, but where?”

Quickly, he infiltrated the industry and went on a search to find Nemine.

[Setsa]

Fria was finally heading inside with her mug of honey-mead she has switched to, in attempt to shake off the feeling that the Nobility was up to something more than usual. Ofcourse in an instant all of that changed... "Naja...what in Valhalla are you doing?" Suddenly she realized exactly what was going as her blue eyes widened "oh no...Naja, the are hunting hard for them.. " Setting her mug down; a bright flash of light filled her house as the woman summoned her Ancient Mystic Powers she hadn't used for a very long time. Grabbing her ready filled, capped horn of mead and disappeared within a matter of seconds after the only other one she knew of that had remained hidden like her until the right time.

Appearing again in the Antarctic sky with her magestic wings moving to lower her down to the snow outside the cave walls. She could see Naja and one of the newly awakened Mystics about ready to depart. "Well well Naja...didn't think you made it out of battle...glad to see I'm not the only one." Not wanting to waste time as she felt her presence needed elsewhere, the Valkyrie pressed to his chest the horn of honey-mead liquor. "Let Odin grant us victory tonight.... I'll awaken as many as I can and meet you at your base soon as I can..." With wings stretching out Fria took flight and was off in another flash of light to New York where she felt an un-awakened Mystic that had strong odds against her.... A worthy fight after being dormant in this world of man.


------ ------ ------ ----- -----


Arriving in New York, Fria instantly felt the Nobility Vampires searching for the girl Halley that she needed to awaken... But first a little fun, well, what she figured would be fun...... Minutes later Fria was flying down to the roof top where Evangeline, some of her fangy followers, and some morphed creature of darkness were. Landing softly, the Ancient Metal Mystic wasted no time in making her presence known. Seeing some trashcans beside the door to the stairway down, all it took was a finger's movement and a few seconds before.....

'CRASH!!'..... Went the trash cans right on top of the heads of 2 of her men while the lids found the face of the other male and Evangeline.

"Awwww did I break your little fangs? Guess you should have known better than to try and claim Halley for yourself Evangeline." Fria had a smirk on her face as she eyed the creature before giving a nod and summoning her Whip of Justice; with the northern lights shining brilliantly as a whip like none other from her bladed-spear. In her Ancient Mystic form she had a readied stance as she waiting to see what move they'd dare try against her.

[Stryker]

Not really at one with the idea of being told what to do no matter the situation, Renshi was late to arrive to the relatively same area that Kurama had arrived. In fact, when he arrived in a flash of smoke and flames he looked in the distance to see bodies on the ground and Kurama briskly pacing through the grainy sand that made up their current terrain.

He began to walk casually across the beach, scanning his surroundings while trying to tune out the yelling in the background. If demons had already shown up then there was a good chance that the girls were running and some strange person yelling their name constantly wouldn’t do them any favors in finding them.

“Would you shut your mouth and use your eyes for one second!” he growled, not taking the time to glance at his newly-acquired “teammate”

“If those demons showed up then the two girls are more than likely scared and hiding. The last thing we need is you screaming your heart out trying to get someone to answer to a stranger yelling their name, covered in cuts and his own blood” he ranted before narrowing his eyes once they ran across two figures in the distance, one of which matched the picture he held in his hand. “There…”

After roughly two minutes of walking, Renshi caught up to both of them. “Alright, I really don’t have a ton of time to explain just what the hell is going on… but Marissa, you need to come with me or something’s going to show up pretty soon and more than likely kill you horrifically” he stated rather bluntly.

“As for you,” he pointed to the other lady, not much of an idea on her identity but obviously the one Kurama was sent for. “The loudmouth back there will be coming to say the exact same thing.” He finished as he pointed towards Kurama.

[Froggy]

Evangeline watched in the darkness as the Stalker appeared, bowing before her. She sent her thanks to Haakon and began running from rooftop to rooftop, toward the unawakened Mystic. Only when she paused did she hear movement behind her, and when she turned around there was a loud metal clang. A trashcan lid had collided with her face, though she didn't break her stance. In fact the only noticeable thing it did to her was turn her smirk into a scowl. "Fria`," she said harshly, turning to meet that damn Mystic who was almost as old as her, and Naja.

She sent a picture into the mind of the Stalker of a rooftop about a mile away, and the Stalker took off at once. She had a plan, to use the speed of the Stalker combined with that of her own. Evangeline crouched and snarled, taking off into a sprint that was faster than any human or Vampire today, and launched herself high into the air. The Stalker was there in an instant, grabbing her ankles and shooting her at faster-than-lightning speed towards the Mystic.

She turned around and aimed the heel of her boots to the woman's eyes, reaching back and grabbing her swords as a barrier should she use her whip. She had them spred out and was using them to propel her faster towards the ground, before she stuck them straight down as an additional weapon against Fria`. She would be glad to be rid of this Mystic, she was almost as annoying as Naja. "Die tonight woman!" Evangeline shouted, two feet away from her face. The other four Vampires had launched themselves at Fria` and were prepared to grab the whip of Justice themselves if it meant Evangeline getting rid of this pest-to-the-nobles.

[Lady Celeste]

Sure enough, a vast majority of those on the boardwalk were already screaming and running for cover when the lightning struck the boardwalk itself. A few of the surrounding stores caught fire, including the clothing store that Tara and Marissa were just coming out of, and the pair were among those who immediately fled to avoid the flames.

"Tara, wait!" Marissa took Tara's arm, and the other girl froze to a halt. "It's not just the lightning; something's coming. I think it WANTS us to run scared without thinking."

TARA!

Tara looked back to the beach. Running through the sand, clearly NOT dressed for a day at the beach, was a black-haired man looking around frantically. And to make matters worse, approaching the man from all sides were several others dressed in black, all looking unnaturally pale and every bit as sinister as the demon she and Marissa had encountered earlier. That the black-haired man had called her name specifically unnerved Tara, who immediately took Marissa's hand. "The rental docks. We can lose them on one of the boats; come on!"

With that, the two girls began running for the docks, which were relatively empty now because the rental office was closed. But another man stopped in front of them just before the rental docks.

Alright, I really don’t have a ton of time to explain just what the hell is going on… but Marissa, you need to come with me or something’s going to show up pretty soon and more than likely kill you horrifically.

"How do you know my name?" Marissa might have shouted the question, but stopped herself due to the fact that this man was pretty much affirming her own misgivings. But she couldn't think on this any further before the stranger then addressed Tara.

As for you, the loudmouth back there will be coming to say the exact same thing.

Tara saw that he was referring to the black-haired man who'd called her name, and immediately put herself between Marissa and the stranger. "Hold it right there, both of you! No offense, mister, but how do we know you're not the ones looking to kill us?" She said, keeping a wary eye on a few of the inhuman figures from earlier were already starting to approach the rental docks, and definitely not to rent a yacht...

[Jacogos]

Caine was perusing some maps he kept in the study of his estate when a transmission came in on one of the communication units. Growling to himself, Caine went to listen to the transmission.

"What is it now? It better be important, or-"

"Lord Caine!" Came the hasty reply, full of what was either fear or awe, he couldn't tell. The message was full of static, and he had to read between the lines in order to get the full picture. "Naj- -alone wi- -stic kid, we- -ckup! NOW! Repeat, Mys- -aja in Antar-!" Caine caught a few seconds of video of snow hitting the camera, and then silence save the static. Caine swore and shut of the communications relay.

"Gore!!!! Get your ass out here!!"


-----------------------------------------------------------
Moments later, a flat dark mass appeared in the cave in Antarctica, mere seconds after Fria had left. From the portal, two shapes stepped through, one much much larger than the other.

"Ahhh, my dear Naja... Its been far too long..." Caine growled, voice dripping with bloodlust as he stepped through the snow, his body covering with fur already in anticipation of transforming. The man next to him could only be one of Haakon's warlocks (http://www.forkparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/warwarlockwow.jpg), his appearance twisted from prolonged exposure to the dark arts. The warlock closed the portal with a wave of his hand, looking over at the boy that Naja had restrained. The warlock smirked, recognizing the energy within the child. "One of ours, Lord Caine, by his energy signature..." Caine looked over at the little man, frowning. He wasn't sure what the man meant, but he didn't honestly care at the moment.

"So Naja. You've already done the honors of releasing the boys memories. Set him down so that me and you can have a fair fight. You're gonna need all your energy, you know." He growled low as he said this last bit, his body shifting and transforming into his werewolf form, a hulking, humanoid shape that towered even more over the man at his side.


--------------------------------------------------------------------

Feasts on Hearts roared loudly at the puny human who stood before him. Finally, fresh meat... Something crunchy to chew on for a few moments, then maybe a snack on the insubstantial-smelling one. The dark one beside him was to be left unharmed, according to his lesser side... Fine... But feast he would tonight, for there was blood to spill.

With another blood-chilling howl, Feasts on Hearts charged at the Elder Mystic, full bound on pinning the smaller man to the ground if he could just get his half-foot claws on him.

[Setsa]

[Co-post of Setsa and Panda :) ]


In the right hand was her bladed spear, in the other her golden shield at the ready to block the vampire female, and the others that were fastly approaching. Seeing the two swords standing straight from the rooftop; she drew back her spear and snapped the whip to quickly wrap around the blades and sever one in two at the handle while weakening the other. Turning around... her shield collided with the other vampires to knock them off the roof. With only a second if that to lower and brace for Evangeline's heel first impact; the Stalker's assistance made the impact much harder as Fria moved to use some of the downward force to knock the female on her back beside where she stood. Whip at the ready she took a few steps back to make some distance between the women, standing still... "Now where did that creature go off too...." Using her senses to detect any signature of the beast itself...certainly it wasn't a man anymore but something else entirely....


Evangeline cursed as Fria` broke one of her blades, she'd had them for a very long time. She was slightly surprised as the woman used the force against her, promptly knocking her on her backside. Evangeline heard a loud crack and winced, and when she looked down her knee was twisted and disfigured. "Dammit Fria`," Evangeline said, using her strength to shape her knee back to the way it should be. She was immortal afterall, and things like this were only bothersome until they were returned the way they should be.

She pulled out her secret weapon, the one Fria` hadn't caught yet, and blew several paralyzation darts at the woman. The pain it would cause would be immense, and it would be just enough to defeat her if it landed. The Stalker had leapt from the nearest rooftop and lunged his blade-like arms at her from behind, and she was hoping to use the darts she fired as a distraction. Haakon would kill her if anything happened to the Stalker and not to her.

The crack of Evangeline's knee was music to her ears...a melody that brought a smile to her face until she saw the dart gun firing off the poison needles. Now she was in a hard spot so to say... The poison or the Stalker...neither was a good option but in darkness there is always a spark of growing light.

Letting her shield take on the darts while she used her power to have the metal resist against it's creature of a master to slow his blade-like arms down. Fria had to jump fast out of the way of a low aimed dart. "Ahh! Curse you Evangeline for using a Jun'ric poison dart against ME!!" Grabbing the dart from the ground she moved swiftly around to the back of the Stalker.... In the process; her right arm grazing the blade-arm enough to send sparks from her armor though showing no sign of such. Her arm not so lucky as her lower bicep was slashed into, spilling her immortal blood some though like the Vampire...it was a painful nuisance more then anything else.....

But the dart was still in her tight grasp...using it to stab into a fleshy part of the Stalker her whip followed to destroy the metal on it... Hearing the clash of metal to roof now as Fria watched the creature scream in severe pain while breaking the darts off her shield with the blade... grabbing her injured arm gritting in anger and satisfication.


Evangeline watched in satisfaction as Fria` was put in a difficult position, though much to her surprise she was able to wiggle her way out of it with minor injuries. She watched in anger and horror as Fria` used the poison dart against the Stalker, and finished the creature off with her whip. The other Vampires had climbed back up just in time to witness the defeat of the Stalker.

"You....wretch!" Evangeline shouted, taking off in the direction of the unawakened mystic. The other four Vampires launched their attack on Fria`, coming at her from every angle with weapons and fangs. Evangeline was practically flying from rooftop to rooftop until she landed in a crouch, her eyes scanning the darkness. She saw the Mystic entering an apartment complex and smirked, racing towards the door.

She was determined to cause this Mystic as much pain as she possibly could while Fria` was busy with the others. She opened the door and pulled out her dart gun again, and aimed it towards the Mystic. Halley heard the noise behind her and stopped in her tracks, turning around in fear. She laid eyes on a strange looking woman in the shadows with some sort of stick aimed at her, and glowing red eyes. "Wh...who are you?" she asked, gripping her bag tightly in fear.

"You're coming with me," Evangeline said, speeding towards the girl and grabbing her. She broke through a window, using the girl's body to do so, and climbed atop a roof. Her hand was over her mouth to prevent her screams of fright from reaching mortal ears. She knew Fria` would be there soon, and waited in the darkness for the Mystic to arrive. The girl was struggling, though it was like trying to move a strong rock...it wasn't getting her anywhere.

The Stalker was dead and destroyed but the fight was far from over... Evangeline used her fangy-minions to give her the chance to go after the mortal. Biting her lower lip she fought off the other 4 vampires; one after another. She had to end this now to still keep the odds in her favor of getting to the mortal girl so she can be awakened. With 2 vampires down on the ground with their injuries, and two comming for another attack wave. Fria gripped her bladed spear and with one quick swirling wave... beheaded the one closest to her as the other appraoching guy stopped in his tracks. "That's right....one of you died just now from a Mystic...go to your precious Leader and let him know we're still here!!"

With that Fria expanded her wings and took off in flight after Evangeline hoping to Odin she would make it in time. It wasn't long till she caught up with them...seeing the mortal fighting for her life in the grip of the Vampire Vixen. Wings hugging close to her body she swooped in at high speed.... using her spear to pierce the right shoulder of Evangeline she grabbed Halley out of her arms and landed them both on the other rooftop across the street. Using her power to warp the metal nearby around the vampire to keep her still for a few moments.

Turning to look at the mortal... "Halley..I'm Fria, an Ancient Mystic that has comed to save you from the dark Nobility and awaken your own hidden Mystic gifts.... There is not much time to explain further safely here....come with me now and discover just how truly powerful you are... With training you could even be strong enough to pay Evangeline a visit and make HER regret seeing you." She said pointing at the woman keeping a close eye on her "what do you say?..."

Evangeline screamed in pain as her shoulder was pierced, blood pouring out of it. She tried to fight against the metal, but it was too strong. Her breathing was heavy as Fria` spoke to Halley, trying to persuade the unawakened Mystic to their side. Evangeline wiggled her gun free, which was still loaded with a paralyzation poison. She aimed it for Halley and fired, watching in satisfaction as the girl screamed in pain.

"Release me now wretch and I'll allow you this victory," Evangeline spoke, snarling at Fria`. "If not I'll kill her on spot, and send armies here to defeat you," Evangeline said, glaring at the screaming mortal.

Halley was screaming in pain before she could answer the woman who had saved her from the beasts' grip. "I'll- I'll come! Just get me away from her!" Halley shouted in pain, shaking in the woman's arms. She didn't understand what was happening to her, why she couldn't move. Why she was in so much pain, what was going on between these two women. Her eyes began to glow a golden color, light shining from them. Her body was reacting to the pain caused by the poison by any means necessary, and the light from her eyes was giving her strength to continue. Evangeline's own eyes widened in fear as the light burnt her skin, though not enough to kill her...just barely enough to wound her. Damn, the light mystic. 'Haakon help!' Evangeline pleaded with the lich, sending a mental picture as to what was transpiring that very moment. She relayed everything to the lich, pleading with him for help. 'Please Haakon...the light is agonizing!' she shouted in her mind, begging now for help.

Pissed that she was poisoned by the dart, Fria had to work fast to awaken Halley to help slow down the poison until they were safe. Touching her palm to the mortal's forehead she closed her eyes....seeing nothing but pure light in it's most innocent form. Certainly explaining why she was hunted down so urgently....but alas Fria won..

Halley had been awakened and as her body was growing stiff from the poison she grabbed her firmly, looked at Evangeline still well trapped, and rose from the rooftop in flight. "Have fun getting out of there! I shall have my best mead to celebrate this victory!" Disappearing all together with Halley to the base so that she could work quickly to administer the antidote and restore control back in her own body. Letting Naja on their way on what happened and that she will be there to greet the others when they arrive.

[Atrum Daemon]

A sickly green light saw to Haakon’s arrival in response to Evangeline’s plea for aid. He arrived too late to stop Fria or the newly awakened Mystic from getting away, but he was more concerned with making sure Evangeline lived to continue to be useful and the retrieval of the Stalker’s remains. Haakon’s ancient sorcery shattered the bonds of light holding the vampire in place. “It would have been more prudent just to kill the girl when you found her,” he said. “But this little event can be turned in our favor. A shame about the Stalker. It seems the creature still needs some more work. I will send someone to retrieve the remains in due time. Clean yourself up, Evangeline. There’s still work to be done.”

The lich did not mind having to leave his estate to help his subordinate. Normally, he would have just left her to die and find a replacement. But, the current situation was not one that left him time for such a process. No, a wounded yet competent commander was more valuable than a fresh and untested one to Haakon. He returned to his estate using the same spell that had brought him to Evangeline. He sent a message to his research and development team that a reclaimer was needed for the Stalker.

Minutes later a hooded figure approached the broken form of the cybernetic monster. The soul bound to the flesh and metal still burned with life and it tried in vain to move itself in response to the footsteps. “Look at you,” spoke a soft voice with a melancholic hint to it. “Lord Haakon should have known better than to send you out like this. So unprepared. Worry not, child. I will take you back and we will repair all this damage. You will be good as knew when we are done. Perhaps better if we have the time.”

Multiple mechanical appendages extended from within the flowing robes the figure wore and picked up the remains of the Stalker, carrying them back to an unassuming vehicle.

[Froggy]

Evangeline was terrified as Haakon appeared, though a part of her was relieved as well. She was expecting punishment for the defeat of the Stalker, though she was surprised when there was none. "Thank you...thank you my lord," Evangeline bowed to Haakon, kneeling down on a knee as she shook still yet. Evangeline was weak and needed food, though was in no mood to do any hunting.

She wasn't able to run very fast due to her knee, so she would look for whatever food source she could find. She saw a couple underneath a light pole and hissed at the energy. "Damn light," Evangeline cursed, limping away to find another source of food.

Parts of her skin had blackened from the contact with the light, something she knew would only be healed by an extended sleep within the confines of her coffin. Evangeline began searching through apartments, and she was currently scaling a wall. She came upon an open window and smirked, creeping inside where she found her next victim sleeping. 'It's better than nothing,' she said, slitting the woman's throat to prevent her from screaming, and drinking her blood with hunger. It was so good she drank until she felt full, until her thirst had been sated.

She tore apart the body to hide that it had been done by a Vampire, and left a few humanly clues for detectives when someone found the body. "That was good," Evangeline muttered to herself, exiting through the window, retreating back to her estate in the plantations of Louisiana and the safety of her coffin. It would be daylight soon, and she would die if she were caught in it.

[Stryker]

Tara saw that he was referring to the black-haired man who'd called her name, and immediately put herself between Marissa and the stranger. "Hold it right there, both of you! No offense, mister, but how do we know you're not the ones looking to kill us?" She said, keeping a wary eye on a few of the inhuman figures from earlier were already starting to approach the rental docks, and definitely not to rent a yacht...

“Hold it right there, both of you! No offense, mister, hut how do we know you’re not the ones looking to kill us?” Tara asked, clearly untrusting of Renshi for a good reason too although now wasn’t the time for discussions.

“Simple, if I wanted you dead…” he began before holding up his hand, “… It would’ve happened…” he continued before snapping his fingers, a small flame igniting upon him doing so. “… Just like that.”

This wasn’t the time for discussions and conversations, this was the time for getting them out of here and explaining later.

“Now come on already, although if you want to stay I’ll be more than happy to sit back and watch how you fare against them.” He told her before folding his arms.

[RisingPhoenix]

Kurama

Kurama looked at Renshi, and already he knew this guy was going to get on his nerves. He sighed and followed suit, arriving moments after Renshi had found Tara and Marissa. He noticed Renshi snap his fingers, to which a small flame appeared.

“Dude, seriously? Don’t scare the mermaid and her sister. It reads here that Tara is the wind mystic and Marissa the water mystic, and half mermaid.” He looked at the two after folding up the paper given to him by Naja.

“We don’t have much time, I promise I’ll explain everything, but we have to get to the base.”

He quickly kicked an approaching demon in the throat sending it reeling backwards, hitting the ground hard. Another kick, and another, and another sent numerous demons to the sandy earth. Sighing, Kurama looked at Tara and Marissa.

“If you come with us, I promise to go on a date with you,” Kurama stated having knelt on both knees in a pleading manner.

His eyes kept going from the two sisters to the demons that were recovering from his kicks and attempting to make it towards them. He hoped the sisters would choose soon, else he’d have to continue fighting.

Dorián

Dorián made his way throughout the facility running into dead ends. It would have been so much better if he had a schematic of the entire place. Sighing, he kept looking, attempting to remain unseen. He hoped that the leader of the demons hadn’t caught wind of him as he attempted to hide his aura from wondering senses. As he continued searching, he ran into a group of lesse monsters that immediately attacked him. In an instant, Dorián had transformed into a great tiger and had launched himself at his attackers. He ripped out the throats of the lesser monsters and continued to fight until all of them had been defeated, then he transformed back into his normal self.

“I gotta say that was rather interesting. It was as if my body knew exactly what to do. No time to be awestruck now, I’ve gotta find Nemine.”

He continued his search and was astonished when he came across the gathered group. Silently, he made his way into the area in which they cohered. He could smell blood, which meant that someone was injured, but who?

“Heavens don’t let it be her,” Dorián whispered as he watched them.

When he caught sight of the leader, he reckonized her immediately.

“Scarlet?” He said louder than he should have.

Scarlet had already made her way out, but his voice echoed and gained the attention of lesser demon to which he disposed of rather quickly, knocking the female demon unconscious. He walked in with confidence in his stride and looked over at Nemine and her parents.

“Nemine? I’m here to help you. There is much I have to tell you, but I need you to trust me and come with me. It’s the only way to protect your family. I assure you if you come they’ll all be safe, I promise.”

He glared in the direction Scarlet had gone, and stepped into the room with Nemine and her family.

“Looks like she haven’t changed at all.”

[Lady Celeste]

Marissa gasped quietly as Stryker created fire in his hand. It was only a brief spark of flame, and in and of itself was not enough to scare her, but the fact that he was pointing out how easy it would be for him to kill her and Tara sobered Marissa's mind to any real amazement for the time being.
Tara, meanwhile, only leaned closer to Marissa, especially after the other man approached the group. The fire-guy had made a good point, and she was about to leave it at that before his partner came and gave a slightly more detailed explanation. But then the one who'd called her name mentioned something about Marissa that no one else could possibly have known.

Marissa already felt her face starting to turn red, but she stayed silent. She'd already known and accepted what she was long ago, but hearing this stranger mentioning it so casually, having himself only read it from a piece of paper undoubtedly from someone else, showed how little he knew of the full story. After a moment she dared to exchange a glance with Tara, just as another monster-man was being kicked back, and then the man with the paper asked again for them to go to some kind of base.

And then, before either girl could respond, he got on his knees in front of Tara.

“If you come with us, I promise to go on a date with you.”

In any other circumstance, Marissa might have collapsed with laughter, but right now the most she could manage was a brief giggle. Tara gave her a wry look, then immediately moved to help Kurama to his feet.

"I was going to say yes anyway, but now she'll hold us both to that promise, so deal." Tara said to Kurama, her stance easing up a bit more. "So, I take it you boys know a way out of here that doesn't involve getting eaten?"

[RisingPhoenix]

Kurama

Kurama watched carefully as Tara gave Marissa a wry look. It made him smile, if only for a brief moment before he felt her hand touch his. Sighing, he knew that he couldn’t really form a relationship with her as he didn’t know what the future held. Still, he had a job to do and his smile slowly faded as he knocked a few more of the lesser monsters unconscious.

“We are traveling by magic. Just hold on to me. Renshi, you ready?,” Kurama replied as he closed his eyes and took both Marissa and Tara’s free hands.

Tara and Marissa had already cupped their own hands together. Kurama’s voice sounded like three men talking at once as he spoke the enchantment that Naja had given them. A streak of lightning surged from the sky and struck the four of them. When Kurama opened his eyes, he was inside a very high tech room in the Amazonian Base. Naja’s picture was plastered on the wall above a giant computer screen. He let go of Tara and Marissa’s hands before pointing at the picture.

“That’s the guy who sent us to find you. This is the Amazonian Base (http://www.drugrehabcalgary.ca/Bimages/DrugRehabCenter.jpg) I believe, my memory is kinda blurry,” Kurama began as he looked around at the various beeping panels and whizzing parts of the machines that surrounded them.

There was a door that led out of the briefing room and led to a hall that split into two directions. On the right was the meeting room (http://www.lakeplacidcp.com/images/Great-Room-600.jpg), and on the left was the casual room (http://www.socketsite.com/2201%20Baker%20Great%20Room.jpg) that contained all of the rooms that the mystics would be sharing. The rooms were enhanced by magic and were like small houses. Kurama led the way, and took the left hallway. He came to another wooden door, carved from a great oak tree. Twisting the doorknob, he pushed it open and revealed a beautifully linen decorated room. Colors of black and crimson red littered the room. On the left hall adjacent to the one they had just come through was another door. He assumed this door was the one that led to the rooms. Windows that allowed views of the outside world were large enough to see an entire body. Clearly Naja spared no expense when he built this base. Fria and Halley were already here, Kurama could tell because Fria left a mug of some type of drink on the counter top within the great room. She must’ve been in the hospital area of the base. There was a panel on the wall in every room that gave a detailed description as to the location of everything, and the person’s specific location. Kurama sighed and wondered where Naja was.

“Make yourself at home I guess. Naja should be here soon…..”

[Epostle]

“Great is your power… black is your heart…. The darkness is your power…”

These words screeched and twisted Ira’s mind as if it were something else talking to him. Naja was awakening his memories but something went terribly wrong. Ira regained some of the memories on which side he was on during the old war. His mind was being ravaged by contradicting thoughts.

Ira began to feel his powers returning as he was being unlocked by the mystic. There was only one thing on Ira’s mind at this time, and that was to devour… he was hungry. He then unlocked what he truly was, a Wraith. He couldn’t even begin to imagine why he was turned into something like this. His previous ancestors had been humans, demons, werewolves, and even vampires, but to be a wraith and a mystic of shadow has never happened before. This was contradictory to what the shadow mystic was to be because most shadow mystics knew some necromancy to control these things. What was going on… was he a new breed to the mystics? It was supposed to be impossible.

“My existence… it’s impossible… why am I here in this form… what am I to become out of this?”

Ira was filled with confusion and anger at the same time. Naja’s hold was still upon him. Naja said something to Ira but Ira didn’t hear due to the voices running in his head, but he remembered who Naja was. Ira was filled with rage because his mystic was the first to die in the war. He couldn’t remember why he was the first to die or how it occurred, but it was apparent that Naja was part of it.

“You bastard Naja…”

Ira’s energy was heavily flowing through him. He was completely enraged by the thought as to even why Naja even bothered to try and unlock his powers. The only thoughts running through Ira’s mind now were of mockery…

“HOW DARE YOU MOCK ME YOU MURDEROUS BASTARD” Ira said with a partial wailing voice.

Ira began to let out a ghastly wail as he began to surge the energy through his body and surging around him as an aura. The aura was slightly powerful for some odd reason, even though his powers were just awakened. He then began to move his hands very slightly, trying to power out of Naja’s spell that was casted upon him as he cried out in vengeance.

Then when Ira's power grew, Naja had vanished. Surprised that Naja was so powerful, he began to think of how he was going to fulfill his vengeance he so desires. He then turns to Cain trying to remember who the werewolf was. Only certain traces of his memory had been recovered and some of them will have to be rediscovered.

[Setsa]

As soon as Fria and Halley arrived at the Amazonian base, she carried the nearly paralyzed Halley to the hospital wing. Setting to referse the effects the first thing to do was find the antidote.... But seeing as this base hasn't been used since the last battle all that time past, Fria had no idea if the antidote would be available of if she have to make it. Trying to make the new mystic as comfortable as possible she began her search in the anitidote closet. "Nope..no...need the other one...no...argh! Come on making it would take hours we don't have!" Slamming her fist on a wall in frustration a few bottles came down as a result. Quickly catching the few with ease, Fria was putting them back in the mess of unorganized bottles when she grinned in excitement. "There you are!!" It was just the right amount left, which meant she have to make more but that was easy enough. Warming up the liquid she wrapped her free arm underneath Halley's head...tilting her up slowly pouring the liquid down her throat with ease, glad they got there in enough time. "Alright Halley....the antidote will begin to work soon....just relax and don't move until you can comepletely move your legs and sit up. I'll be around the base...take your time."

Covering her up with a warm blanket she set to the great room where her drink was left last. Hearing some voices the valkyrie crossed her arm and leaned against the door frame seeing the others.

“Make yourself at home I guess. Naja should be here soon…..”


"Until he arrives welcome, I'm Fria....ancient metal mystic." Grabbing her mug of mead she smiles "well well Kurama, seems you been busy. Been long enough since the mystics were together." Stepping towards them she looked dead into his eyes "if you burn things all over while mastering your skills. I'll be the one first in line to kill you.." Taking a large gulp of her liquor she smiled at the others "Well, how about waking you two up now.."

Touching Tara's forehead first she closed her own eyes to concentrate; unlocking her memories and mystic abilities completely in minutes. Fria can be strong minded and tough but her powers for such was gentle and kind to make sure she was awakened fully. Giving Tara an approving nod seeing her in the Mystic state. She touched Marissa's forehead now doing the same process of awakening her mind and powers, until she transformed into her mystic state as well. With a smiling nod and few steps back "alright....girls, you're set to go...there is still much training to master your full capabilites for all of you newly awakens." Fria grinned.."mystic power!" Transforming into the Metal mystic, wings stretching out far she smirked.

"Figure out your room arrangements in the living wing and once everyone is here we'll celebrate. Now I got a light mystic to check on, and my spear here to clean and sharpen up." The spear itself still had ample amounts of blood on it still from her fight in New York which needed to be tended to promptly as was her way. "I'm in the hospital wing till she can move again..." Transforming to her Valkyrie self but with the spear still present she gave a wink to them and waved while heading out with mug in the other hand; singing smoothly an old Vikings tune.

[Froggy]

Halley was in pain. "Damn her to hell," Halley said, cursing the Vampire responsible for her suffering. She'd spent a majority of the flight withering in pain and screaming until she couldn't scream anymore. Then, her body began to stiffen until she could barely move. She couldn't even lift her own head to see where Fria` was, or what she was doing. She could hear the ancient Mystic searching for the antidote, and a feeling of hopelessness came over her when she said she might have to make one...which would take hours.

Halley closed her eyes and even her jaws began to stiffen, until Fria` was able to locate the antidote. Once the medicine was administered, it was an entirely different level of pain. The antidote was fighting the poison, but the poison wasn't giving up easily. The poison burned with a firey intensity unlike before, and Halley began screaming again when her jaw was able to move. She'd been told not to move and was having a difficult time fighting through the pain and remaining still, but she was able to do so by clutching onto the bed as though her life depended on it.

Slowly but surely the poison was going away, and her screams had died down into whimpers. Her body slipped into a state of unconsciousness to fight off the pain, and it began to glow a golden hue. Her body, newly awakened, was fighting for survival and to end the pain. The light that surrounded her was soothing to her skin, and reminded her of being back on the stage in New York. Halley smiled softly in her slumber, dreaming of dancing across the stage and cheering crowds. Evangeline had ruined all of that for her, she wouldn't be able to return until the damn war was over and it was safe again. Her friends, Oddette, and her family would worry. They wouldn't know what'd happened to her and would assume she'd gone missing like the others.

Her eyes opened and she was able to move, the glowing had stopped. Her breathing was heavy as she forced herself up, and she closed her eyes to register everything that had happened. How her life had been turned from that of an actress, into that of a Mystic in a matter of hours. "Damn her," Halley said again, slowly bringing her legs to the side of the bed. She wanted revenge, but even she knew she had to harvest the power within and learn to control it before that would happen. A brief wave of pain made her body shake, but she stood anyway. She was pissed and wasn't going to stand being made a weakling like that. "Fria`," she called for the Valkrye, wanting to begin her training as soon as possible.

The sooner she started, the closer she was to her revenge. She looked over her shoulders when something caught her attention, and smiled when she saw her silvery wings stretched out, ready for flight. She flapped them once to test them, before she took off in the air, circling the infirmary. "This is great," she said, looking back at her wings until she felt something collide with her face. "Dammit!" she cursed, falling back to the ground. She'd hit a light hanging from the ceiling, which made her blush and hope that nobody else saw that.

[Jacogos]

Naja

When Fria had come, Naja had nodded and sent her the image of the newly located mystic, Halley. He was sure that Fria, out of all the ancient mystics, would surely find the girl and bring her back. She was, after all, a Valkyrie, and they were known for finding individuals. Sighing, his attention settled on Ira whose eyes were still closed after being awakened. Suddenly, Naja’s nose filled with the scent of dog.

“The lap dog of Haakon has come,” Naja stated as he lowered the now awakened shadow mystic.

He didn’t know what Ira’s motives were, nor did he know if he would come with him or help Caine, but he had more pressing issues. Caine was closing in fast and unless he did something, he’d surely be ripped to shreds. He glared at Caine, the man fully transforming into a devilish looking creature. A werewolf so tall, Naja had to look up just to see his face. A smirk made its way onto the elder mystics face as he quickly transformed; his hair and outfit changing immediately. Naja side stepped in order to avoid the full impact of the werewolf, and quickly slid to a halt after thrusting an open palm at the shoulder of the beast. The beast was so strong that the attack that he had launched had caused him to reel back a bit.

Naja looked up at Caine and smirked. He enjoyed a challenge, and Caine would surely give him one. The snow around them quickly began to levitate. It compressed together to form a large quantity of needle like ice daggers. He quickly launched them at Caine using his mind’s energy.

Feasts on Hearts snarled in fury when his prey slipped so easily out of his grasp. He realized now that his dinner would come with a pit of fun beforehand, which made his snout twist into a gruesome representation of a smile. Turning towards Naja again, Caine watched as a plume of fire engulfed the space between the Mystic and the werewolf, consuming most of the ice needles. What was left, Caine caught on the palm of his front left paw, crushing them with a low growl. The blood stung a little, but it was nothing really.

The fire itself had come from the warlock, who was muttering incantations whilst he gave off a faint black aura. Inspired by his companions aid, Feasts on Hearts roared loudly and closed the gap between him and Naja, swiping at the man with a fierce, clawed uppercut

The sudden fire had caught Naja off guard, but he knew from whence it came. The warlock whom had accompanied Caine was using his mystical wordly powers to assist the great beast. This was uncalled for, and Naja would make sure to rid the field of battle of one less contestant. His attention had been on the warlock, but when he felt a sudden rush of air, he knew it was far too late to dodge. The claw struck his chest cutting him. Luckily, he wasn't deathly injured and quickly landed on his feet away from the beast.

He began speaking incantations that set the area around him ablaze with sparks of electricity. He had to deal with the warlock and deal with him fast. He wasn't sure how long it would be before the scent of his blood caused Caine to go into a frenzy. His eyes locked on the warlock, the electric barrier his only protection against Caine at the moment. The warlock's eyes expressed shock as he was lifted off of the ground. He attempted to mutter spells and incantations, but his mouth was sealed shut by the great psychic force that Naja was exuding at the moment. A sudden snap was heard as the warlock's neck was broken in several placed. His body was twisted and contorted before being tossed a great distance.

Feasts on Hearts felt a morbid hint of satisfaction as skin gave way under his claws. Lifting his claw to his muzzle, Caine inhaled deeply and that pseudo-grin graced his face again. When he spoke, his malformed tongue butchered the language.

"Your blawd is nice end warm, Naya.... Pray I don speel any moar!" He roared a laugh that ended in a snarl as he realized what the Mystic was doing. A resounding snap angered him further as he realized that his pet warlock was now no more. He had actually LIKED that pawn! Using his large paws like miniature shovels, Caine scooped up a pile of snow and dirt in each claw and flung it at Naja, planning on breaking his focus for a moment. Then, Caine launched himself to Naja's left, attempting to come from behind and deliver a lateral blow across the back.

The electricity would sting Caine and slow him down slightly by interfereing with his own body's electrical signals, but it would be unable to do much lasting damage to the huge beast.

Little did Caine know that the electricity around Naja was a trap. It was no mere electricity, but Naja had conjured up a spell in order to escape. It was then that he heard Ira's ghostly wail. He knew very well that Ira was a part of the Nobility in his last life, but he had hoped that the spirit of the Shadow Mystic had changed over time. Obviously he was wrong. One other he knew would more than likely betray the Mystics. Nemine, the banshee. He wondered if she would attack Dorián. He began to worry, and knew that he had to get to the base immediately.

When Caine attempted to distract him with snow, he went along with it, but when Caine's body came in contact with the electric spell, the current surrounded the great beast and ensnared him, if only for a moment, enough time for Naja to make his escape.

"I must be on my way, I trust you understand the importance of training your enemies," Naja stated as his eyes glowed brightly and his form vanished.

The energy that held Ira in place vanished and the spell that held the great beast Caine vanished. Naja had escaped, and now he had to put in plans what he'd do next, having lost one of the mystics.

Feasts on Hearts roared in displeasure at the trap he had so foolishly fell into. He swore in his bestial butchery of the English language and watched as Naja disappeared, slipping out of his grasp without much more than a scratch. Suddenly, the net was gone and Caine was left to howl in defeat.

Sighing, the werewolf shifted back to his human form, bloodlust seeping away from him. Still much taller than the Mystic child, Caine turned to the wraith and looked over him.

"So. That's what Gore meant when he said you're one of ours... A traitor Mystic." He smirked slightly and went over to the body of the warlock. "Well, I was wondering when one of you would show up. I can only hope that one of the other Nobles found another Mystic traitor. That would even the odds considerably." Rummaging through the warlock's clothes, Caine found the late conjurer's spellbook and flipped through it, finding the spell he needed.

"If you'll follow me, then... I'll take you to Haakon so we can formally induct- or should I say re-induct you. Táar Shöm Relók!" Black aura surrounded then ebbed from his hand, flowing into a portal similar to the one that had brought the two Nobility here. Caine waited for the Shadow Mystic to step through, then stepped through himself, cutting the portal off and transporting them to Haakon's estate.


------------------------------

At Ivanov Inc., Nemine looked up when another person entered the room. The banshee girl blinked in confusion when the man knew her name, and what's more, he was asking her to come with him, someone she didn't even know! Nemine shook her head and moved closer to her father.

"I'm sorry, but I need to stay here and help my fath-" She was stopped when Gregor's hand rested on her shoulder, and she looked up at the Russian with wondering eyes.

"It's okay, my daughter... I feel like you can trust this man..." He gave a level look at Dorián, a look that swore vengeance if anything bad happened to his daughter. "Go on. I will look after your mother and the house. It will take more than those monsters to put us down." He gave her a smile that she figured was supposed to be reassuring, but turned out to be grim and almost hopeless. Nemine gave her father a hug and kissed her mother's brow, whispering, "Okay... I love you two... Be safe... Get well, Mother." She sniffled once, then turned to Dorián, walking up to him.

"Okay... I'll trust you for now... Let us go." She watched him, waiting for him to make a move before she did. She wasn't quite sure how he intended to get them where they were going, but she figured there was going to be some sort of magic involved. She expected nothing less after they day she had had...

[Stryker]

All involved were conversing, filling each other in on what was going on and where everyone came from and whatnot except for Renshi.

He understood what was going on and the need to possibly work together, but there wasn’t one word in that statement that meant he had to like it and be involved in the group pow-wow sessions that was occurring in front of him. Bottom line, Kurama still made his blood boil and Naja, while being much stronger than the rest of them as well as the sage of the group, still annoyed him with his all-knowing attitude.

Instead of joining the others, he stood, leaning against a wall with his arms folded before his chest, eyes closed and ears tuned out. His powers would return soon enough, and when that happened he didn’t plan on sticking around. He’d do better on his own than flying around with a modern day superhero squad. To hell with relying on them for any kind of support or help, he wouldn’t need it once his powers returned.

“Naja… taking his time and making us wait.” He mused under his breath. “Rushed us here only to have us wait all this time for him to show himself again.”

He raised his head and adjusted his eyes to the light, noticing Kurama talking with the others, enjoying himself for this small moment. Not caring that they all were in danger from being grouped together even though they were supposed to be safe. Standing around and talking got you nowhere in battle.

“…”

[RisingPhoenix]

There was a spark of light that filled the room of the great Amazonian base. A portal appeared, static shooting from the edges of the swirling vortex. A rush of wind filled the common room and just as Renshi had begun to wonder where Naja was, a figured stepped out of the vortex. Naja looked upon those assembled and was pleased. He looked at each face before him and smile softly.

“I’m afraid the shadow mystic is lost to us yet again. It seems history is attempting to repeat itself. Nonetheless, we have to hope that the ice mystic will be different. I can only hope that this is the case.”

Just as Naja began to speak of Dorián, another portal appeared in the same place as the other. This time, two figures emerged from the great vortex of swirling color and static. Dorián stumbled forth with Nemine clutched in his arms. Quickly, he released her from his grip and looked at everyone.

“Sorry I’m late, things were kinda……….blah,” Dorián stated as he made his way over to Kurama.

Naja looked around at the assembled. He looked at Nemine and approached her with caution. Slowly he moved his hand towards her forehead, hesitant at first, but awakening her in the end. As with Ira, he felt the same malevolence that Ira had contained when he was awakened. Naja kept it to himself, and hoped that if he trained the girl, she’d help the mystics this time around. He looked around at everyone and began to speak.

“I thank you all for your efforts in rounding up the sleeping mystics, but our job is not done. Haakon, the great leader of the Nobility, is planning something terrible. This is the reason I awakened you. As to what he is planning is unknown at the moment, but I believe he is attempting to combine things that should not be. I do believe he means no good to the humans of Earth, and if we allow him to stay in the position he is in, he will bring about another war. Our jobs as protectors is to keep the humans safe, at all costs. We swore to this oath many centuries ago, and we shall continue to uphold it…..”

Naja paused and allowed them all to take in what he had just said. After a few moments passed, he continued,

“I trust you all have received most of your memory by now; however, as you go on, your memory will come in flashes. Everything will become clear, as I told you, as time goes on. Your training will begin tomorrow. This is in hopes that you gain your mystic abilities back. Remember, there are three levels a mystic can obtain. There is your mystic form, your ancient mystic form and your supreme mystic form. Each form will require great sacrifice and great training, but I believe you all will be able to do so. Now I need you to rest. You’ve done much for the mystics, and I thank you, but rest is an important part of the process, for while you rest, your memories return more quickly. Down that hall you will find amble provisions for sleeping. I know this is a lot to put on you at one time, but Haakon knew of your identities and if I did not act soon, you’d all be dead. Until tomorrow my mystics, I bid you farewell for now. Dream dreams.”

Naja looked at everyone, their minds revealing their thoughts as he closed his eyes and cleared his own mind. He soon walked out of the common room and headed towards his own study, deep within the base, far from prying eyes. Everyone was left to discover what the other knew and how they had come to be. Dorián broke the silence.

“Is everyone alright?” He asked, his memories of past events flooding his mind.

Kurama nodded and looked over at Renshi who he had quite a distaste for, but he was a fellow mystic and knew that suffering his presence was something he’d have to deal with.

[Setsa]

After getting a few things in the armory to clean and sharpen her bladed spear; Fria made herself comfortable in a chair against the wall of the room where Halley was slowly on the mend. Able to figure out how far along she was by the sounds of pain and discomfort all she could do was wait it out. Carrying on with a different, more soothing, song from Valhalla. She poured some specially made cocktail of her own creation, onto a rag and began to clean the blood and grime off while polishing it back into pristine condition. While working on such, Fria couldn't help but smile at the thought of what tomorrow would bring. Newly awakened mystics would have to train alot....but it took pure time and a trained eye to know when they're weapon was fully prepared. That she got to train them on with her being a high expert of weapons considering she would make each mystic, in time. Their own that would be a perfect match and like hell would they not treat it right!

When Halley had finally sat up the Valkyrie was using a black wetstone to sharpen her blade for the finishing touch of perfection. Not wanting to break her concentration she watched the light mystic eye her own wings. A strong pair they were for a faerie allowing for quickness and finese once they were built up. Watching her movements in the air she couldn't help but crack up laughing when the light fixture met her face. "That's new wings for you...no strength for such turns like that without a free fall!" Helping Halley back up on her own two feet, she took her things after allowing the spear to disappear to her summoned Mystic state; and led the one of light out to the commons area where the rest were. "Well one more to the group...everyone this is the Light Mystic Halley." Turning to face her... "make yourself at home..as I'm sure Naja has already explained. A good amount of your memories have returned but the rest will come in flashes...if you or anyone need help Naja and I are always around. I suggest Halley, that you rest for tomorrow is well...going to begin your training..and for you will include flight with me, don't worry..no light fixtures to hit into where we'll be."

With a grin excused herself from the room, dropping off what belongs in the armory before heading down to the study. Lightly knocking on Naja's door she gave him the image, mind to mind, of who was asking to be let in. "Naja my friend...it's time we talk about tomorrow..."

[Atrum Daemon]

Haakon was in his vault, a treasure trove of science and magic. He stood before a series of humanoid machines, his skeletal hand hovering over the switch that would end their slumber. The machines generated a null void about them when active. A true feeling of soullessness that froze mere humans in place with paralyzing fear and made inhuman creatures cringe at their approach. “They must be used,” Haakon said to himself and pressed the switch.

An eerie blue light emanated from the machines as they awoke. They each had a single bright green eye that they stared out from and a multitude of strange energy weapons developed specifically for them. They lined up in formation before Haakon, silently awaiting their orders. “My enemies, the Mystics, have awakened,” Haakon said to the assembled machines. “You will hunt them down until you have killed them or they have destroyed you.”

***

“So, what change will you be making, Doctor Shake?” Haakon asked the hooded scientist as they both stood over the table the Stalker was strapped to.

“We will be improving his armor and reaction time. As well as making him more durable while still trying to keep him agile. The blades here will be integrated into the forearms so he can flip them out at any time if no other weapon is available.”

“Very good,” Haakon said with a nod. “I have the utmost confidence in you, Doctor.”

[Lady Celeste]

Tara and Marissa remained somewhat distant from the other mystics after Naja dismissed them all. Ever since that Fria woman "unlocked their memories", as she had called it, nothing felt the same anymore. Each girl realized that she knew things about the others here: things that they shouldn't have known about people who were total strangers less than five minutes ago. And on top of that, Naja's mention of a war and whatnot made a lot more sense to them than it should have, and if what he said was any indication, it was only going to get weirder from here.

It was a small comfort that the girls were both given the same room, but at least it was something, especially after all that had happened today. What had started as a fun night at the beach quickly became a race for their lives, and the longer they stayed here, the more they came to realize that going back home would be impossible until the Nobility were gone.

Both girls were wearing the same clothes they had arrived in when they went to bed; having arrived in the heat of the moment, neither of them were packed for an overnight stay, and had to make do with what they had on hand. But even then this place was actually pretty comfortable, and felt almost too much like home to them.

"Tara?" Marissa asked, looking down from the top bunk to see if the older girl was still awake.
"Yeah?" Tara lay on her back to face Marissa.
"You think Mom and Dad know yet? About the beach thing?"
Tara hesitated to answer. "I'm sure they'll hear about it sooner or later; a disaster like that is bound to make headlines."
"What do you suppose they're thinking right now?" Marissa asked soon after.
"I don't know." Tara trailed off. "But there's nothing we can do about it now. Just try to get some sleep; looks like we're both going to need it."
"Okay. Good night."

With that, the two sisters resettled on their respective bunks, pulled the covers over themselves once again, and let themselves eventually fall asleep.

[Stryker]

After hearing Kurama’s question, Renshi simply snorted before turning and heading out the door without saying a word.

“Nothing but a waste of time and effort, all of them catching up with each other like some damned reunion.” He thought to himself as he walked down the hallway, passing open room doors.

The thought of staying in that congested room with a group of people he either didn’t know and/or didn’t WANT to know was unappealing enough to the point of nausea.

By now he’d found a balcony of sorts, still closed in but away from the others and had a feeling of solitude about it that he preferred. If he’d wanted to stand in a room full of people not knowing what’s going on or why they’re here for the most part he would’ve gone to an AA meeting instead of this “pow-wow” as he preferred to think of it.

“Honestly, I’d probably do a hell of a lot better on my own than traveling along with them. That’s more than likely the reason I was halfway across the planet when Naja and his two pets found me. If only I could remember why I was in Japan…” he wondered aloud as he leaned against a wall, trying desperately to remember things that hadn’t returned to him just yet.

[SikstaSlathalin]

Awakened from his self-made tomb in a crater on the dark side of the moon Marzarex's eyes flared to life and his body moved like one accustomed to no gravity only pushing off the rocky surface with his fingers letting the natural motion of his body remove him from the crater and drift slowly out into space. His body was languid and still but only because no Space Dragon worth their scales wasted energy when the slightest motion would suffice. He felt his mind waken from a millennium of sleep and his memories rushed back. Naja and Fria were bringing about a new army of Mystics and the Nobility were scratching their ways to ruling the world. He let out a silent growl and transformed into his natural form a long silver dragon with gray horns and wide wings. With a powerful flap he rocketed to the earth's surface.

As he burned through the atmosphere he could sense the presence of the awakened Mystics it looked like they were all in the base nestled deep in the Amazon that was good and bad. It was good because everyone was in one place but it was bad because it means he woke up too late and couldn't cast the first stone at the Nobility in rescuing a new Mystic. He leaned his body toward the Amazon flying at the speed of a meteor toward the Mystic Base. It took him about two hours before he saw the base guiding his sleek body towards it he knew the other Ancients would know of his presense and he was sure at least one of the newcomers would see a Dragon flying towards them. He actually saw one of the new ones on the balcony a young man with brown hair or rather a young Demon.
"Greetings young Demon, I take it Naja is inside?" He says his voice echoing around the jungle like a cannon shot. He descends to the ground kicking up leaves and dirt as his wings slowed and hovered few a few seconds before he dropped onto the moist ground with a slight thud.

[Froggy]

"That's new wings for you...no strength for such turns like that without a free fall!"

Halley blushed a deep shade of red as she heard Fria`'s voice from the other side of the room...she didn't realize there was anyone with her. "Could've warned me," Halley mumbled grumpily, rubbing her face a little as Fria` helped her stand. She was glad that the pain from the poison had gone away, and a few of her memories were returning as well. That only made her hatred for Evangeline increase, as she was starting to remember the past with Evangeline in it.

"make yourself at home..as I'm sure Naja has already explained. A good amount of your memories have returned but the rest will come in flashes...if you or anyone need help Naja and I are always around. I suggest Halley, that you rest for tomorrow is well...going to begin your training..and for you will include flight with me, don't worry..no light fixtures to hit into where we'll be."

"Good," Halley said, ready to begin her training. The sooner she was able to control her abilities and her mystic form, the sooner she could return to kicking the Vampire's ass...especially since she was the mystic of Light. She wasn't really in the mood to stand around and talk to everyone, she was still tired from the day's events and needed to sleep for training in the morning. "Good night everyone," Halley said, waving softly before she made her way to the dorms.

She realized that she didn't have any night clothes with her and sighed, getting into bed with her skirt and shirt. "Damn the nobles," she said, shaking her head and drifting off into a not-so-peaceful sleep.

Several of her memories were coming in flashes, memories of war and pain. Memories of close calls, for both sides. She woke sometime into the night with a loud scream, her body jolting upright in bed. She looked around and noticed that she was safe, in bed and not on the streets like in her nightmares. She was shaking with fear and breathing heavily. "Oh thank goodness," she whispered to herself, wrapping her arms around herself and walking out to a balcony, trying to clear her mind with the night air.

[Stryker]

While he stood, contemplating his next move with or without the rest of them… Preferably without, he noticed something in the sky that seemed to be hurtling towards their location.

“A meteor?” he wondered aloud, walking to the railing while keeping his eyes trained on the object that was growing in size as the distance between he and it closed. “No, not a meteor… Is… is that a dragon?” he thought as the object had gotten close enough to make out certain aspects of its features.

“What the hell is this?” he once again muttered under his breath as the large dragon descended on the ground just shy of the balcony he was standing on. Though it was large in scale, its movements were precise and very elegant, not what he was expecting from such a large creature.

“Greetings young demon, I take it Naja is inside?” the dragon asked, his voice resonating within the surroundings, passing through the trees as if amplified by some unknown contraption. When it finally landed the ground shook as it embraced the heavy burden of carrying the beast that had recently arrived.

Some of the aw had worn off by now and the fact that he knew old man Naja made the wide-eyed look fade away into a sideways-glance. “Naja… the old man’s in there.” He responded, jerking a thumb in the direction of the door he had recently used to get here. “So are all the rest of them.” He added before sitting down and using the railing as a brace for his back.

[RisingPhoenix]

Naja stood over the bleeding mystic as he begged and pleaded for his life. The great warrior had not expected such betrayal from his own brother, but Naja had become corrupt, he had become jealous.

“Please Naja, I beg you, help me,” the bleeding mystic stated as he reached out his hand to Naja.

“I’m sorry, but there is only room for one Psychic Mystic,” Naja replied as he stretched out his hand and blasted his own brother with psionic energy so strong, it completely obliterated him.

Naja walked away from the scene and rejoined the battle. None knew of his treachery, none but his brother who had suffered a fate worse than death. He had been betrayed by his own brother, and killed. Naja never shed a tear, and never spoke of what he had done. Time went on and the battle reached a dynamic cliff hanger. He was constantly haunted by the image of his brother.

Silently, he sat in his study, his eyes closed and tears streaming down his face. He slowly opened his mouth and began to speak.

“If only I knew then what I know now. I’m sorry my brother, I never meant for it to destroy you, my own family,” Naja said softly as he inhaled deeply.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Fria had come to see him, and the door opened upon her knock.

“Come in my dear sister,” Naja stated as he stood to his feet.

He sensed the arrival of Marzarex, his marvelous space dragon of a brother. Quickly he stood to his feet.

“Fria, do you sense him? He has arrived, let us go greet him. We shall speak soon about the things of tomorrow, but right now we go greet him.”

Naja and Fria headed towards the balcony where Marzarex had landed. It was there that they found Renshi.

“Ahh, my dear brother, how long it has been. I trust your descent was a good one? Please, come inside. Renshi, please get some rest. The longer you stay away the longer it will take for your memories to come back. Trust me, you’ll have your revenge when the time is right.”

Dorián

Dorián watched as Tara and Marissa went off in the direction of the rooms and smiled. They were obviously shaken by the whole thing, but Dorián had lived in this place his entire life, only having left a year ago. He looked around at Kurama and Renshi and watched as Renshi left. He had no clue where the guy was going, but he felt that he needed to be alone. Everyone needed time to let what had just happened sink in. It was a lot to realize that one wouldn’t be able to see their family and friends for a while. It was indeed a lot, but Dorián knew that protecting innocent life was more important. He looked slyly at Nemine. For some reason, when Naja had touched her, a frown had appeared on his face, but he had not said anything. Was there something different about this girl? Dorián sighed and decided to make conversation.

“Hey Nemine, how are you holding up? I know you miss your parents, but think about how you’ll be able to protect them once you’ve learned to control your powers and abilities. It’s better to have known your parents than never to have met them. Naja is the only father figure I have. My parents never visit, and I’ve never seen them before. So, I know how hard it can be.”

Kurama

Kurama watched as Dorián conversed with Nemine, Renshi went about his own way, and Tara and Marissa departed to the room/houses that each Mystic had. Kurama decided to go to the training hall and do something with his time. He stays in there the entire time, attempting to gather the memories that had been locked away.

As the night came, and the darkness settled in around the base, everyone had found their respective houses except Kurama, Naja, Fria, and Marzarex. No one had seen Renshi, but everyone assumed he was in his house. Kurama was still in the training hall regaining memories with every move he attempted to teach himself. Eventually, he had fallen asleep on the floor of the training room. Those memories that had been locked away had begun to flood back to those who had found sleep. To some it would disturb them, and to others it would reveal their true purpose. Tomorrow they’d be ready to train and harness the power of a true Mystic.

Naja, Fria and Marzarex sat in the meeting room, catching up on old times.

“Have there been any interstellar threats lately Marzarex? Fria, my dear sister, how is Valhalla? I trust Oden is treating you right?”

[Setsa]

Fria stood up straight when the door opened to Naja's study; which was good considering she was standing there reminding herself the work that was awaiting her own study here. “Fria, do you sense him? He has arrived, let us go greet him. We shall speak soon about the things of tomorrow, but right now we go greet him.” She certainly, like Naja, sensed the oncomming presence of their fellow Ancient Marzarex. "Ofcourse I sense him brother...you've been working too hard to remember such now. Besides, rest is for the weak and weary..tonight we relish our rejoining and then yes, talk about between the three of us. How are we going to really train the awakens to their powers" with a grin she walked briskly with Naja to see how the space dragon was fairing since last either of them saw eachother in the last battle.

Seeing the dragon in his glory made the valkyrie smile, there were many memories made and to know one more of them survived made her heart glad. "It truly has been too long Rex..." not hesitating to bring up her nickname that was given to him. When he transformed to the more human form, Fria walked over and gave his a soft kiss on the cheek, as was there way. "Welcome home...your timing is a bit off though as we both have already crossed paths with the Nobility. Most victorious I was against this new creation known as the Stalker...but come; let us talk elsewhere." Following Naja to the meeting room where they could talk more as the others worked on dealing with memories and rest.

“Have there been any interstellar threats lately Marzarex? Fria, my dear sister, how is Valhalla? I trust Oden is treating you right?”

Leaning back some in the large chair she gave a nod, "Valhalla is just as busy as was I creating the weapons. A few skirmishes here and there but nothing too alarming though it seems elsewhere is awakening too... Oden has been most gracious King of Kings and he already knows of this recent awakening and will see what news he can gather for me in relation to current events... As well as send over a shipment of honey-mead liquor to last us awhile for the most joyous occasions. As for now...I'm hoping to start some up within the week and don't frown at the sound of it..both of you have drank like Kings yourself from it!" Winking as she for once, drank some water as the blasted Amazon was not to her cold-climate liking.

Hearing the screams of Halley after a while she shook her head "sounds like the memories are comming back alright..." Keeping a watchful ear out for more sounds as they talked throughout the night on many things, wonderful memories to the more serious plans of what would be done tomorrow.

[Epostle]

Ira was filled with rage. The fact that Naja got away got under his skin, though he didn’t fully understand the reasoning as to why his death had to deal with Naja. It was ok though because now he could get his long waited revenge.

As Ira arrived at the estate, he could sense great power about it. When Caine reminded Ira of Haakon, Ira began to get irritated again due to the fact that Ira was weakened due to his previous death.

“HAAKON!!!”

He screeched through the halls of the estate, filling it with a ghastly sense of hate. Ira began to walk around the estate, looking at what all it had to offer. Things looked a bit differently that what his memories would allow him to. Then again, he was just recently re-awakened.

“Where is Haakon, Caine?”
He looked at the werewolf trying to recollect the memories he had of him. The only thing he remembered of Caine was his name and the fact that he served the nobility as a werewolf.

Ira was trying to remember what had happened in the past, but he couldn’t remember hardly anything. It’s as if though he was there, but his memories were somewhat blocked. Could it have been due to his death? Why was he the first to die? How did he die? So many unanswered questions but then again he wasn’t about to sit there and playing the guessing game all day.

“Where are the others? There were others, Caine… where are they at? Did they die to?”

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Early in the day of his arrival*

Rex nodded to the young Demon noting his obvious disdain for groups and surprisingly his brother Naja as well but he caulked it all up to youthful rebellion and changed into his human form actually standing in one of his footprints in the soft ground. That always amused him a bit when he saw it but what amused him even more warranting a large smile on his face, seeing both his dear brother Naja and his beautiful Sister Fria.
"Far too long brother Naja, I see we have all new Mystics to teach now that's good. As Fria approached and kissed him on the cheek his heart spun a little at seeing her as graceful and strong as ever. He remembered the arts of metal working that she taught him ages ago and lifted her hand kissing the back of it. He knew it was too prissy a thing to do to a Valkyrie, one of the warrior daughters of Odin but he knew she wouldn't hold it against him.
"I know dear arytiss myvish (warrior sister in Draconic), even my senses are dulled by eons of sleep sometimes I just hope I'll be able to offer my skills later on in our battle." He said his voice still deep and hollow but quieter now that he was in his human form. He soon followed Fria and Naja into the base and to the meeting room to discuss their battle plans and training of the younglings.


*later that night*

Seated in the old familiar meeting room Rex with his fellow Ancients the Dragon was slowly going over all the spells and tricks he had up his sleeves to use against their long time enemy while listening to the other talk. As Naja adressed him asking about cosmic threats he nodded going over the list for that in his head he nodded answering his brother.
"Not as many as in past years biggest threat was an invasion of insectoid like aliens. They intended to wipe out everyone on earth and harvest our resources and while they'd get destroyed upon setting foot on our planet thanks to the Fae and such other defenders of nature my rookery brothers and I gave them good reasons to rethink their plans let's say." He chuckled leaning back in the chair crossing his arms. He heard the scream and agree with Fria's assumption but stood up. You're probably right Arytiss but I'll check on her anyway. Excuse me you two." He bowed to them exiting the meeting room heading toward the sound of the young girl's panicked breathing, he knocked on the door and asked.
"Young Fae are you alright?"

[Echo]

Scarlett gazed upon the sky that was dancing with snow. Time to go back I guess, Scarlett thought. I'm pretty sure Lilith will regain consciousness soon enough. Now that I have Ivanov Inc and, Nemine left to follow that loathsome Mystic, there's no more need for Lilith. Scarlett spread out her ebony wings and dashed back to Haakon's estate at a super-human speed.

After going through all the safety precautions, Scarlett headed to the backyard, which was built like a training ground. Since there were no more important tasks that she needed to do, Scarlett decided to train. In other words, she would join the big death match held in one area of the vast field. Though many deaths would be involved, the prize money for the last one standing was extravagant. For Scarlett, her skills became noticed and was given the title of a Noble.

Upon setting her foot in the arena, Scarlett could feel the satisfying shivers and fright of the other six participants. It was too late to retreat now; once registered, there was no way out; unless you won the fight of course. Scarlett glanced around the competitors, most were vampire or wizard. Well, I guess I could use this time to develop and sharpen some new techniques, Scarlett considered. Or...have some fun.

Once the audience was seated and the players were spread across the field, the referee initiated the match with a blow of his whistle. Some charged, some anticipated in stance. Scarlett set up her attack while the players fought each other instead of her. Formed at the tips of Scarlett's index fingers were three orbs of dark matter in the size of golf balls, pointed at the opponents. Though it was too quiet to hear, the demon launched the bullets with the trigger word, "Shoot."

The bullets hit each of the six foes, but didn't strike their vital points. The match had become a live target practice for the old champion, right at the moment the dark matter encountered the enemy. Live targets are able to move and dodge, making it more challenging and amusing in contrast to still, lifeless figures. As for Scarlett, hitting foes with dark matter also gave her the ability to temporarily control them, as long as they weren't dead.

The dark mass within the victim's bodies spread, eventually brainwashing them into being Scarlett's minions. Under her control, the woman forced all the her pawns to oppose each other until they died. Scarlett giggled in delight, amusing herself with their deaths as they dropped like flies, one by one. Part of the crowed roared happily, some stayed absolutely silent, and mortified. In only a few minutes, the last one standing was in the middle of the field, grinning at the corpses on the ground with contempt.

"Send the prize money to my office," Scarlett said, walking out of the arena. She glanced at the host, "Asap."
The host nodded, snapped his fingers and ordered a servant to prepare the winning. Meanwhile, Scarlett teleported to the section of the building she managed, travelling through a near, outstretched shadow.

[Froggy]

Halley looked up to the stars, a few tears in her eyes. She was still getting over her nightmares, and the consistant flashing of memories popping into her head wasn't helping. She didn't even hear the knocking on the door, though she felt a presence on the balcony with her and it made her tense.

"Young Fae are you alright?"

Halley turned and saw someone standing there with her, she knew he must be a Mystic but she could not remember his name. A few flashes came into her memory, and all she could think of was 'Rex'. Halley nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes, not wanting to appear weak on her first night. "Just...memories," Halley said, shifting her gaze as hatred for the Nobles entered her eyes.

"If I'm the Mystic of Light, why are these memories such nightmares?" Halley asked, turning and looking at him sadly. She couldn't understand it, and it was making her bitter. She had better memories as a simple human, but now that she had returned as a Mystic it was almost nothing but pure hatred and confusion. A few more flashes of memories entered her mind, almost like old-timey movie clips moving across a screen. She wished she could shut it off and make them stop, but she knew they would stop over time and that there was no point in fighting it.

[Jacogos]

~~Nemine Ivanov~~

Suddenly, the world began to spin until, when it finally settled out, she was no longer in the Ivanov building, but in a room that was rather expensively furnished. She blinked a few times, barely even realizing that Dorián let her go, and looked around at the other people who were there, each of them different and no one that looked remotely like she did. In fact, most of them looked... warm. It was at that moment that the temperature difference settled on her, and she immediately stripped off her black fur jacket. The black blouse she had on underneath would be warm in this area as well, but she wasn't about to remove THAT too...

Without the chance for a break, Nemine was approached by another man, whom exuded an aura of command that none of the others could compete with, much less match. There was a pause, then she realized his hand was upon her head and something clicked... Or so she thought. Memories came in a rush, her mind spinning as suddenly things that she had known but had not known were all at once... known. She recoiled, a movement barely perceptible, and blinked when it all settled out. She barely realized that the commanding man was speaking, and before she knew it, everyone was heading off to... somewhere...

The memories, though 'settled', stirred ceaselessly in the back of her mind, refusing her access. She knew that she was... something... A Mystic? But... She was.. a banshee... That was a word she knew, something she knew. She felt her body seem to fade... The weight of her body that she was so used to seemed to vanish as her being phased into partial existence. It was almost like being a ghost... Without the 'dead' part. She had to pinch herself to realize that she was still there... Just not here. She shook her head to clear the thoughts. It was all too jumbled...

Then, someone else was talking to her:

“Hey Nemine, how are you holding up? I know you miss your parents, but think about how you’ll be able to protect them once you’ve learned to control your powers and abilities. It’s better to have known your parents than never to have met them. Naja is the only father figure I have. My parents never visit, and I’ve never seen them before. So, I know how hard it can be.”

She looked at this Dorián guy and tilted her head slightly. "I..."

There was a pause, then a rush of memory, and suddenly, Nemine found herself in the Amazonian jungle. She blinked, feeling woozy, feeling like...

"... Did... Did I leave the stove on...?" She muttered, not sure why she felt like she was forgetting something important like that... Why should she worry about that? She was in the middle of nowhere... Damn, if only she knew where the nearest Nobility base was... She sighed and started to keen as she walked, an eerie wailing sort of song that was a banshee's trademark song. It wasn't long before a scout group of Nobility vampires found her and called in transportation for her.



--Caine Immori--

Caine had stepped out of the portal to find that the child-Mystic was screeching at an irritatingly high pitch, calling out for Haakon. Caine was tempted to slap the pup, but he restrained himself, knowing that he was just newly awakened and had to settle before things returned to him completely. At least, that was the nonsense that Haakon fed him.

"The Lich doesn't tell me everything he does, pup." He growled lowly. How should he know where Haakon was? Usually the Lich didn't show himself to the lesser Nobles unless it was something important. He was... mysterious like that. It annoyed Caine to no end, but it was something he had gotten used to.

"The others? If you mean the Nobles, they're out and about somewhere. Scarlett is probably..." He heard a faint roar as the crowd in the arena behind the estate grew to a frenzy. "Having fun somewhere..." He said with a smirk. She was one of the only ones who could get the crowd that riled up. Little bitch... "Evangeline I couldn't care less where she is. She's alive, though, don't worry your little head about it." He looked at the wraith for a moment. "If you mean Mystics, so far you're the only one we've found..." He stopped when he heard a transmission on the com-relay. The soldier spat the numbers through his mic, but it came through loud and clear to Caine.

"Well, speak of the Devil... Sounds like we found the other one. The Ice Mystic is still alive and well, pup, so don't ruffle your black feathers at me." He turned to the com-relay and spoke to the soldier. The vampire described the 'new recruit', making Caine frown.

"Odd, I expected her to be older... No matter, everything else fits. Come, you want to great the new arrival?" He gestured towards the nearest elevator and pushed the button that would take them to the air-pad, whether the wraith came with him or not. Nemine would be arriving by helicopter within the hour.

[SikstaSlathalin]

The happy sounds of young girls' laughter echoed out the open window on the second floor of a cute white painted house with navy colored shudders and a healthy green lawn in both the front and the back. The clear night sky glittered with thousands of sparks from the stars with the white moon residing over it all like a Lady of the Court. In the brightly lighted with posters of every boy band in Scotland stuck up with tacks to every available location on the wall and some on the ceiling. Pop music played in the background, one of the girls, a petite blond still dressed in her school uniform but with the white shirt pulled out of their dress and unbuttoned to the top of her undershirt and her legs free of stockings was seated at a computer searching up music videos of a band called Tin-Tin bopping her head along with the tunes letting her long ponytail swish back and forth as she moved.

The other girl was a black headed young lady dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt, she was laying on her stomach on the bed leafing through a fashion magazine mumbling the words to the song playing to herself.

"Och can ye beli've the shite they're puttin' girls our age in these days Mary?" The black headed girl says getting to her knees handing the magazine to her friend showing her a page of skimpy skirts and half not there blouses. Mary laughed handing the magazine back getting up to her closest pulling out one of the skirts on the page smiling.

"Oh Kana, yer too much of a prude sometimes, look how hot this is! The lads at school fall o'er them'elves when they see a girl in this."

Kana rolled her eyes shaking her head at her friend.
"And when yer a teenage mother dun't come ta me askin' for a bigger bra. She laughed getting off the bed checking her watch. Well ah gotta head on home now, mum will be makin' dinner soon. Ah'll see ye in school in the morn bye!" She walks over and hugs her friend before exiting her room and walking down the stairs just outside her door. Stepping lightly down the red carpeted floor she reached the door and slipped into her high-top blue sneakers. Mary's parents were seated in the living room while their family's dinner cooked.

"Bye Mrs. and Mr. Collin, ah'm headin' home now." Mrs. Collin got up looking at the young lady.
"Och ye dun't have ta leave if ye dun't want to Kana, we'll have enough for four of us." She was a middle-aged and rather queenly looking woman with the nicest eyes the young girl had ever seen.
"Ah'd love ta but mum and da wanted me home so they could spend their nights off with me. Maybe next time." The woman nodded handing Kana her coat opening the door for her.
"Bye Kana send yer parents our love ay?" Mr. Collin said joining his wife at the door waving at the young girl as she walked down their drive-way waving back. She didn't live more then five minutes away from her friend Mary so she walked most of the time. As she walked in between the streetlights her spine got a chill but she shrugged it off along with the rumors and warnings of young girls getting snatched off the streets by the Nobility. She was too unassuming to draw that kind of attention at least in her eyes she was, plus Kana always felt safe as long as her black stone charm was around her neck and tucked between her cleavage.


* Back in the Amazon*

Rex watched the young girl his eyes noting the hate and anger in hers. He made a quiet sound in his throat but knew not to jump to conclusions about everything he sees. It could just be normal anger and hatred and the Nobility earned all the negative feelings in the world for everything they've done but he nodded visibly at her question.

"The light is always in direct conflict with the dark dear child. You are often the beacon the other Mystics look to to light their path through the night. You faced the night head-on many times, and think of this a man or woman that doesn't have darker thoughts is a person blind to the world we live in." He said leaning on the balcony smiling down at the young girl he hoped he had helped her without bringing too many horrible memories back.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Drax*

"Sir, spies confirm reports. All but one Mystic have been awakened, the Earth Mystic is left. Presently she's in Stirling, Scotland and sir she's a Rock Fae." Shadow Xerses says saluting the much larger Fearstalker who was leaning over a table of maps and reports. His short curved spikes glisten in the low candlelight he let's out a slight growl before answering keeping his back to his subordinate.
"Catch her now, if we know, I know the Mystics know, and be quick about it. I have more reports from our spies, they saw a Space Dragon enter our atmosphere today. That's means our dear cousin Marzarex is awake again. I know he'll go after this girl, send our fastest Nightclaws to grab her but instruct them to vanish if they sense the Space Dragon, let the other Generals kill off their soldiers fighting the Mystics." The younger Officer saluted the Wraith then turned and walked quickly out of the war room Draxer commandeered as his personal chambers.

*Kana*

She could see her houselights from here she was almost home and she could already taste the homemade pizza and mozzarella sticks. She loved it when her mom went on ethnic food kicks last month was all Mexican food this month is all Italian. She could feel it all going to her thighs and ass already but she didn't care she loved her mom's cooking. But what she did care about was the chill that has been on her spine since she left Mary's. At first she brushed it off as just her daft imagination, but with each step it got stronger she could feel the fear coursing through her body making her breath come a little quicker and her steps crawling more toward a run.

She was passing the last patch of small forest between her house and her next door neighbor's when she couldn't take it anymore she spun around toward the direction she felt the fear coming from and held up her charm hoping it would scare away the fear.
"Leave me alone whoever or whatever ye are!" She heard a laughing hiss from the direction she was facing but also five more all around her. Soon in the pale moonlight what she assumed were six devils had seemed to materialize out of thin air, it looks like they have come to dance. The one she was facing walked up, he was well over six foot and towered over the young lass. He smacked her numb hand down licking his fangs.
"Oh no little morsel you're coming with us." The monster's hand moved like lightning and grabbed Kana by her long hair lifting her up off the ground the other monsters laughed seeing her squirm in their leader's grip. She let out one long high pitched scream into the night calling for help she wasn't sure would come.


*Rex*

The Elder Mystic was about to give Halley some more advice when he sense erupted a warning and his greatly enchanced ears picked up a scream half a world away. The only way he'd hear that scream would be if it came from one of his fellow Mystics he growled in his throat nodding to the young Fae.
"Please excuse me Halley one of your sister Mystics is in danger, I think she's also one of your sister Fae or my ears are mixing up their signals. He ran out of her room but only stopped in the hall and shouted to Naja and Fria. Our last Mystic has awoken our sister of the earth is back." He ran back into Halley's room and leaped from the balcony changing into his half-form and with a might flap of his wings he blasts off into the sky towards Scotland.

*The rescue*
Kana was squirming and kicking with all her might to break free of the monster's grip but he was too strong even for a girl who was stronger then she looks. One of the monsters a lime green colored one she heard was called Bretl laughed.

"She's a feisty one isn't she Clater?" The one carrying Kana, Clater laughed bumping her up onto his shoulder more and laughed as she squeaked.

"I know, too bad she isn't a little bigger then we might actually have some physical fun with her." The other males laughed and even the one the young Scot assumed was a female by her smaller build and barbs on her elbows. Kana screamed at the lewd comment and kicked and hit even harder at her captor. It was then some unexpected happened the ground seemed to shake for a brief second then a rock the size of a baseball yanked from the dirt and smashed into Clater's head making him snarl and drop Kana on the ground, she uffed as she hit the forest floor and not taking time to wonder what happened she just ran for all her worth. She had actually managed to get back to the street before they overtook her again the six monsters surrounded her Clater snarling while a big purple bruise began showing on his scales.

"Looks like she really is a Rock Fae, the Wraith didn't say we needed to bring her back alive so the Nobility could kill her did he?" The female shook her head hissing as she glares at Kana. "Good!" Clater growled leaping at Kana intent on ripping her to pieces.

But he stopped mid-swing hearing the deep earth shaking roar of the Space Dragon Mystic. Rex thundered to the ground behind the Fearstalkers and didn't even give them time to run. In his eons of experience he's fought the black sheep of his reptilian family many times and he knew you had to be quick and you had to be ruthless. First thing he did was cast a dome of silence over Kana who was curled up on the ground covering her head then with a clap and swing of his hands threw two wide blades of Concussive Wave ripping up the ground and smashing the Fearstalkers off their clawed feet and down the sidewalk. Obeying their Wraith's order they turned invisible and used their black magic to open portals back to the Nobilities base. At first Rex wanted to after them and floss his teeth with them but he saw Kana was still on the ground waiting to die.

Once he was sure the Stalkers were gone he changed to his human form and repelled the Dome of Silence. He knelt down by the young shaking girl and placed and soft hand on her back patting it gently.

"Young Fae it's alright you're safe." Kana at first flinched at his hand but once she felt it pat her back and not rip her to pieces she uncurled and looked around before looking at Rex.

"Thank you... wut were those thin's, wut did they want, why are ye calling me Fae? Who are ye!" She blurted out staring at the man who laughed before responding.

"I am Marzarex the Ancient Sound Mystic, those creatures are called Fearstalkers, the black ops of the Nobility they wanted to find and kill the Earth Mystic which is you Kana the Rock Fae." The girl stared at the man blankly before falling forward against him fainting. He chuckled scooping the small girl up into his arms before changing to his half-form again and taking back to the skies. He flew at a slowly pace not wanting to wind-whip the poor girl who was still passed out in his arms. It was passed midnight when he arrived back at the base. Kana was still out and he didn't have the heart to wake her, moving to the Earth Mystic's old room he placed the girl on the soft bed before exiting the room.

[RisingPhoenix]

Heavy footsteps could be heard throughout the base as Naja made his way towards the new arrival’s room. Marzarex had just recently returned after leaving abruptly, and thankfully he had made it in time. Naja sighed a sigh of relief as he slowly entered the girls chambers. He could feel her memories still locked away and looked at Marzarex.

“You’ve not awakened her?” Naja asked as he stepped closer to her, “the Earth Mystic. Imagine having the power to control land masses. Dear child, sleep well this night, but know that your old memories shall return as you slumber.”

Naja took and placed a single finger upon the forehead of the sleeping fae and uttered ancient words that caused an eeriness to fill the room. Something clicked within the Kana’s mind, allowing old locked away memories to flow back. Naja stood to his feet and looked at Marzarex.

“By morning their memories should have returned, until then, it is best we all find solitude in some way. Come, drink of Odin’s best for Fria awaits us.”

While the mystics slept, their memories would slowly return and when they awoke, they’d know all they needed to know in order to begin their training. Faces that seemed unfamiliar to them would be quite familiar, and things that seemed so odd and out of the natural, would seem normal to them. Naja, Fria, and Marzarex continued to talk late into the night, but eventually found solstice in their old chambers. When morning came, so too did new hope. Naja was the first to awake, and quickly made his way throughout the base. He found Kurama asleep in the training room and shook his head.

“Young one, awake from your slumber and join us in the common room,” Naja stated awakening Kurama from his light slumber.

Naja continued throughout the base, awakening each and every mystic with a psychic pulse that would speak into their mind’s ear and awaken them softly. Naja was sitting in the common room with his legs crossed looking out a window at the large lake in the front of the base.

“Nemine, Ira, two great warriors lost. I wonder if there is any way to save them before it is too late….”

Kurama entered into the common room rubbing his eyes. He noticed Naja looking out a window and sighed.

“Master Naja, you seem bothered,” Kurama stated as he knelt to show respect to his leader.

Just then, Dorián walked into the common room and knelt down to show respect.

“Master Lotus, is everything alright?”

“Yes young ones, everything is fine. Once Marzarex and Fria awaken from their slumber, we shall begin your training.”

Dorián’s thoughts filled with images of Nemine, the ice banshee. He couldn’t help but feel as if he could have done something to prevent her departure.

“Master Lotus, is there any way to save Nemine?”

“No my dear boy, I’m afraid she has chosen her path. I’m afraid when you two cross paths again, you’ll be enemies. She will show no restraint and you should not as well.”

Kurama looked at Dorián and sighed.

“Don’t worry dude, I thought she was cute too,” he said in hopes of cheering his best friend up.

Dorián smirked and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat before the training began. Kurama looked at his hands. Everything he once knew, he knew now, and the feeling was great. A fox demon of nature was what he was, and it caused him to laugh a bit at the sight of his hand producing a seed out of thin air.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Rex awoke at the sound of Naja walking by himself in the morning light he was always a light sleeper even without his super hearing the drop of a pin would wake him from a deep sleep. With ease and grace he rose from his bed and planted his feet on the floor. He room was big enough to accommodate him in his dragon form but he couldn't help but enjoy sleeping on a good bed aside from rocks at zero gravity. When he was in human form he slept in just his pants and barefooted his clothes were folded neatly on his table and his boots were tucked under the foot of his bed. He let out a quiet yawn for him but loud enough to be heard by anyone in the base. He rubbed his face and eyes looking at the few trace rays of light creeping into his window
"Let the sounds of youth stretch their arms toward the heavens and welcome the wonder of a new day." He said to himself as he dressed in his black leather body, armor potion shoulder straps, and spiked leather gloves the last thing he pulled on were his boots before he headed to his closest and opened it pulling out a couple of his oldest friends. Two claymores one of Pure Silver and the other of Asgard steel both were handmade by his warrior sister Fria.

They were both beautiful and perfectly made very much like the maiden that made them. It was after a battle many millennium ago in fact it was around the time of Naja's blood brother's death. That day had always felt strange to the Dragon, something just didn't sit right about the whole thing but so is life he figured and while he did dwell on more unpleasant reasons for their old leader's death he didn't pay them much mind. He slung the double sheath over his shoulder and walked out into the common room stretching his limbs out giving another loud yawn.

"Greetings, brother Naja, good morning vraktor." He said to the young Mystics nodding to them adjusting his blades across his back leaning against the wall near Naja waiting for the rest to wake up.


*Kana*

The young Scot's night was full of horrible images of death and battle. She tossed and turned through the silent blackness of her room. It seemed to last forever she had no clue where they came from and why she was having them she heard a kind voice speaking but she couldn't totally hear what it said and it only barely helped her feel better. Soon the nightmares and dreams ended and she heard that same soft voice only this time telling her to wake up. And she did, slowly but assuredly she woke up and rubbed her cute face gently making little mumbling sounds. She jumped up hearing the loud yawn and thought she was back in the clutches of those lizard monsters again but she felt the soft bed under her and felt the safe homely aura the room was giving her and shook off the dread.

She was still in the clothes she wore last night even her shoes so it was a matter of seconds until she was fully awake and rolled out of her bed heading toward the sounds of another loud yawn and voices. She wrapped her arms around herself as she walked out. There was only four people in the room, the man that saved her last night, two young looking guys and a man or a woman seated in the chair. She made her way to the man that saved her kind of inching into his side the other men didn't seem bad but she felt safest around the man with swords.

"Good morning everyone." She said in a quiet voice keeping her eyes downcast. Rex smiled softly at the young girl and wrapped an arm around her comfortingly.

"It's ok Kana, we're all friends and siblings here." The girl nodded leaning against the big man's side keeping her eyes down.


*Drax*

The Wraith was furious at the reports that he'd lost the last Mystic to the Space Dragon Marzarex, but he couldn't properly punish his Fearstalkers for running when he ordered them to if faced with by the Dragon. He'd have to do some damage control if it got out to the other Generals but with any luck it wouldn't come to that. He fumed inward as he stalked along the Nobility HQ he figured he should be in the area if a meeting was called. But until then he needed to clear his head which took him to the air pad he could tell by the smell in the air two of his fellow Generals were near as was another Mystic. Stalking to the shadows he leaned against the wall waiting.

[Setsa]

Fria had woken up at the crack of dawn; not long after Naja had awakened in the Amazonian base. Getting dressed in her usual attire that only covered her core person she took a good long look at her sword in the morning light of her balcony before shaking her head. "Going to need a good sharpening and little hammering sometime today my friend, must keep in top shape to train the others...." It was while she was putting her last boot on that she felt the pulse from Naja. "I'm already up brother, may the skies of Valhalla smile upon us today."

Taking a little extra time to loosely braid back her long golden hair, Fria emerged from her quarters full of energy and inner strength. Sensing not everyone was up at at it, the ancient balled her hands into tight fists and upon passing the other doors... Gave one loud knock to each which belonged to slumbering or slow moving Mystics. She wanted them to get a fair warning that they'd best be on their way before she would go in there herself if they weren't in the common room by time she had her first cup of coffee. Especially on training day!

"Naja, Rex, ....Kurama, and Dorian. Morning to you all..coffee ready?" Seeing that it was she gave a smile while pouring it onto what looked like very large coffee mug intricatley designed that she spent hours designing and etching in herself. Taking her time to savor the colombian bean roast; her eyes started to relax some as the smooth hot liquid warmed her very core as if the coffee herself cooled her off in what she decided to call "the Jungle heated Sanctuary." Setting the mug down the woman began to stretch in front of them all in preparation for the day. "So the girl is gone huh?" Asking as she continued on as if it was nothing... " A shame....we'll have to be on our guard when we meet her once again then." Standing up then bending over backwards until her hands touched the floor she noticed something of Rex's that made her gleem with joy. "Glad to see the twins are treating you well....after all the time in space you really should have me work them into top shape...you know metal and deadly curves puts a smile on my face." Winking before she pushed off with her long legs to complete the circle, standing back up and turning around to grab her mug again.

[Setsa]

Upon hearing the sorrowful sounds of the banshee Mystic's cry to them. Trinity sighed as with a snap of her fingers....the men that were massaging her feet and painting her toenails stopped and took a few steps back to kneel. "Hmmm good...I was starting to get bored around here." She quietly said while zipping up her thigh high, black leather boots. Standing up she looked at pair of men standing guard at the doorway to her lavish office. The two guards immediatley stood up straight and tall to keep to her satisfaction.

"Take the helicopter my submissive mortal men, to the find and collect the Mystic Nemine immediatley. Follow the banshee's cries to get a pin point location as she's in South American for the moment. I will be waiting for her arrival at the heli-pad; if you don't bring her back so that she may re-join us.... Well, there are far worse things that tragedy can cause than servitude." Leaning over her desk she scribbled down the location of Nemine to maybe send some scouts at a later time to see what they can find. Knowing their base is very well protected; any hint is better than none.

"Yes my lady" the men in her office said with a bow before one made a call to alert the pilot to ready the helicopter, the other rushing to a side room to put up the lotion and nail polish.. Thankful that they least got her nails done before their mistress had to send them off. While the current guards opened the doors for Trinity and their fellow man...quickly running off to complete the mission."

Walking to the elevators that would lead to the pad after her team went off. Rising to the pad level, the fallen angel could already sense another General pacing back and forth above her. Knowing the past day was full of events and missions that went less than perfect, her curiousity sneeked in as she wondered what could get him so worked up in his mind. Tragedy was great for her..she nearly fed off it! But if it effected the Nobility then is was a hollow victory and that didn't taste nearly so satisfying. When the doors opened up to the morning sun; Trixi first glared towards the horizon. Reminding her of what she came from and still glad that she was thrown out of that cloudy goody-too-shoes harmony blah place.

The echoing sounds of heeled boots on pavement was easy enough for anyone there to hear unless they were deaf or not paying attention enough. A breeze passing by allowed for her deep blood red wings to fully expand and enjoy the feeling as it passed through her feathers and her long hair. "Mmmmm come now Drax, I know you're there." Stopping along the shaded wall to rest against it "so what has you so bothered that you're out here all by your sweet fearstalking self?"

[Stryker]

It’d been a short and eventful night for Renshi, between constantly being bothered by the others to greeting a large dragon from the sky, sleep eluded him longer than he wished. Eventually, he was able to be embraced by the warm touch of slumber.

What awaited him once his eyes shut were visions. Some very vivid and intense while others were mere flashes of information yet he somehow managed to take in memories and experiences through each. His identity, powers and his past came back to him, flooding his mind as if a levee had collapsed. Experiences long gone and well into the distant past burned into his mind, some would bring a slight twitch of a smile to his lips. Most memories, however, caused a few grunts of anguish to escape into the night air. Transgressions that made him remember why he is who he is and how he got to this point in his life. His life was being molded right before his eyes, the good and the bad whether he liked it or not.

**************************

To his own surprise, he wasn’t forced awake by chatter or loud noises considering his present company. Memories or not, he didn’t like working in large groups or associating with others he figured would slow him down and both of those situations were forced upon him this morning. Yes they were all Mystics and they were in a battle jointly against the Nobles, but he took a different stance than the others regarding the dire circumstances.

Unless you’re proven to be worth the time, then you aren’t. So far, nobody had proved it.

After stirring himself out of his restless slumber, he strode down the hallway leading from the balcony and towards the main hall. “Heh, silence… for once…” he thought to himself while making his way to a courtyard of sorts.

Objects of varying purposes littered the grounds, surrounded by unchecked damage to the grounds ranging from small divets to moderate sized craters. Obviously this area had served as a training area in the past.

His observations continued to go by unchecked until he stumbled upon freshly made marks across certain training equipment as well as fresh holes in the ground.

“One of them had a late-night session…” he mused, lightly kicking at a bit of loose soil as he strode through.

He knew the others were probably all in one room conversing about their next step and he was fine with that, as far as he was concerned it just meant he had more freedom in regards to where he could go without running into that clown, Kurama.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Drax*

The Wraith could smell the Fallen Angel from here, how can one woman load her body with so many cosmetics and still expect to be a General. He knew she would know he was there. Angels have an annoying good/bad radar and he was practically breathing evil form the day he was born. The sun was coming up and that meant he'd have to retreat to a dark room for the day soon. He stepped from the shadows his arms crossed over his chest, he first looked at the creeping sun then down at the Fallen one.
"All the Ancient Mystics are back and we only have two Mystics on our side Trixi. I needed to think things over and I can't think with the stink of our fellow Nobles ripping into my nose." With nothing more we nodded to her growling a little before leaving the light of the new day.

[Jacogos]

As the helicopter drew nearer to Haakon's estate, Nemine took the chance to lean out of the cargo area and watch as the massive building loomed ever closer. Her hair flew behind her, a stark contrast to the ebony jacket she once again wore. She pulled said jacket close about her, though this was more from sheer comfort than from the cold. She couldn't feel the cold anymore, really. It might as well have been room temperature, though the wind chill should have made it much colder.

As the helipad came into view, Nemine noticed two figures standing in wait for the air vehicle to land. They gave it enough birth to land, but that was about it, so she assumed the pilot could land the chopper without lopping their heads off. She smirked slightly at the mental image, which surprised her slightly. She didn't even know these people... did she? Trying to search the memories she had recently obtained had been a lost cause, but she was certain that with enough stimulus, she'd be able to remember something.

The pilot landed the helicopter with relative ease, and Nemine lightly hopped down from the aircraft, eyeing the two beings in front of her. They struck a very imposing first impression upon her, and she had trouble deciding which one stood out more.

First was a huge man in a rather exposing vest. Her memory told her that this was the Werewolf Noble, though her memories couldn't place his name. No doubt he had been placed into the Nobility during the time that she had been asleep. Wait, had she been asleep? She shook her head mentally. Her mind was having trouble separating the past from her current self... It was an odd feeling. Nevertheless, the werewolf was indeed impressive, though she was drawn to his eyes, which matched hers in all but the depth that his had. Shaking herself visibly, she moved on to the other.

She decided then that this was indeed the more striking figure. The woman who stood before Nemine was beautiful without a doubt. Her memories named her as Trinity, the leader of the Fallen Angel Nobility. There was still the Vampire, Demon, and Fearstalker Nobles to meet... She shivered, yet again a reaction that could be mistaken to be from the cold.

Caine eyed the girl and smirked at her apparent discomfort. "I think the pup is a little intimidated, Trixi." He chuckled a little and spoke to Nemine directly. "Well, girl, it seems as if you have chose the winning side in this little war. Your memories might be familiar with this bitch-" He gestured to Trinity with a smile that could only be described as 'wolfish'. "- however you probably don't know me. You'll call me Caine. I'm told that you're already familiar with Scarlett." That grin only increased in wickedness as time elapsed.

Nemine's blood seemed to chill slightly rather than boil at the mention of Scarlett, and it was obvious that the temperature dropped a few degrees around them. "Yes... We've met. Pleasure to meet you both..." She kept the formalities short and to the point.

[Atrum Daemon]

Haakon had shut himself away from the rest of the Nobility; he wanted to use the solitude to devise a way to quickly deal with the Mystics. He had a plan, but it involved letting the Mystics continue on their way for a bit longer. Since his Hunters had not found any of them, he reasoned that they were one of their hidden safe houses training the newly discovered children.

However, he did get a recent report from his Hunters in their strange alien tongue that said they were following a Banshee’s cry. This raised his hopes slightly. He was certain that in their untrained state, most of the Mystics would not stand a chance against the soulless Hunters and their weapons. Naja and any other ancients were a different story entirely.

He needed a way to draw the Mystics back into a highly populated area. If his forces could engage them in the open, he could use the aftermath to turn the entire world against them. With the public against them, the Mystics would have a harder time moving against the Nobility.

Haakon also wondered, as he left his room for the first time in months to check on the status of his generals, if the Mystic leaders truly understood just how much the world depended on the Nobility. Without the Nobility’s structure and control, the human race would turn on itself to try to fill the power vacuum left by them. It was amusing to think about how the Mystics would deal with that.

His course changed several times as he wove is way around to find the Mystics who had come to his side. He wanted to make sure they were fully adjusted to their memories and powers.

[Echo]

The sound of a helicopter's wings rumbled loudly as it descended on the roof of the building. Scarlett let the gold coins in her hand fall slowly with a clink, back into a case where the rest of the coins were. She closed the container, stood up and approached the exit.
"It seem's like the little ice mystic has arrived..." Scarlett let a smirk crawl upon her face. "She could use a little greeting."


---

Nemine, Caine, and Trinity were conversing when Scarlett arrived; the first few rays of sunrise hitting her body. Scarlett held an arm in front of her to block some of the stinging light as she walked towards the trio. Scarlett's gaze turned cold as it hit the image of Trinity, the fallen angel. The demon rolled her eyes in disgust, she hated the fact that something as revoltingly holy and loving as an angel tried to become as malicious as a demon. Once an angel, always an angel - partially or not.

"Nemine, I see you've decided to come here..." There was a slight curve to Scarlett's words. "Welcome. But I assume now that you have some of your memories returned to you, you're not shaken anymore about what happened earlier?" The demon's expression turned surprisingly serious and bleak. "Unless of course, you still have a bit of human left in you. Freeze that part all in ice, for all I care."

Scarlett's attention turned to her two colleagues. "Hello there, Caine, Trinity."

[Froggy]

Halley had listened to Rex speak of how she would always be in direct conflict with the dark, how the others would look to her to light the way. It was becoming clearer now, her memories. She said nothing as the Space Dragon left, for she was remembering her death so many centuries ago. It had been a dark night, one of the darkest nights plagued by more monsters than the Mystics had seen in a long time. In the darkness they had control, but they also feared the light.

"I'll get you out if it's the last thing I do," Halley spoke to a group of children, her body glowing with light. It was a dark night filled with more monsters than she had ever seen, and she was alone. The others would be there soon, but the monsters and nightcrawlers were closing in and she had to get the children out. The children had gotten lost in the woods during the day, and Halley had sensed their fear on her way back to the base.

She couldn't just leave them there to die, they were so young and had no part in this war. She held all five close to her body and allowed the glowing, golden light to consume all of them. She could feel their shivers ease as their fears were temporarily soothed by her light. In the darkness she could hear screeches from those she fought against, and cries of disgust. The light would kill them if they stepped too close, and it provided a safety net for her and the children.

Halley sighed, she could see the front of her was an entire hoard of monsters. 'There's so many,' she told the others, though she was not afraid. 'Do not come, I fear this may be a trap. I will get these children to safety and do my best to arrive at the base by morning,' Halley spoke to the others using her mind. Halley blasted balls of light into the air, and sent a shower of sparks around, lighting up the entire forest. "Run with me!" she told the children, they were almost out of the woods and in the safety of city-light. All of them took off running, the monsters chasing behind her.

Once they reached the city she found shelter in a well-lit hospital and left the children with a clerk, who appeared frightened. 'The children are safe...' Halley spoke to the others, knowing that if she stayed it would draw the monsters to the hospital. She exited the building and flew high into the air, into the moonlight. Several of the monsters dared face the moonlight and grabbed her wings, practically ripping them off. She screamed in pain and fell back to the ground, where she was surrounded by the monsters. She fought as many as she could, but they kept attacking her from behind.

A small tear fell from Halley's eyes as the memory was over, until she couldn't see it anymore. Halley broke into sobs and fell to the ground on her knees, shaking in fear. Was that her same fate this war? To be led into a trap and surrounded by monsters? "I won't let that happen again," Halley said to herself, standing up strongly and making her way back into her room, where she fell asleep on the bed. Her memories were returning slowly after that, and she knew they will have all returned by the time she woke.

~~~~~~~~

She felt something softly waking her from her slumber. She stretched and yawned, her face stoic as she rose from the bed. She had circles under her eyes, she hadn't slept a very peaceful sleep the night before. She made her way into the Commons area, ready to greet the others andbegin her training. "Good morning Master Naja," Halley bowed in respect to the psychic mystic. She noticed Kurama there as well as Dorian, though Dorian was leaving to the kitchens area.

Halley isolated herself in a corner of the Commons room, where she curled up into a ball on a chair. She was still troubled by her memories of the night before, and it showed on her face. She yawned once again and drifted off into a soft slumber as she waited on the others to join them.

[RisingPhoenix]

Kurama walked over to Halley when she entered into the common room. He knelt down and smiled while touching Halley’s hand rather softly as if he were supposed to.

“Are you okay?” He asked as he produced a beautiful mixed color rose and handed it to her. The rose was a mix of black and red swirled together on each petal; a very odd mix for an earthly flower. Kurama in his past life filled fields of flowers with beautiful creations, and would often give Halley flowers then. Of course he couldn’t remember the fact that they were once married in their past life, and it was probably best they he didn’t remember.

They entered into the common room one by one. Naja never turned to welcome them, and simply continued sitting, looking out the window as he listened to them converse. After all had arrived, Naja stood to his feet and turned around. Dorián was eating cereal in the kitchen, while Kurama was talking with Halley. It was rather interesting to see how Kurama and Halley got along. It was probably more to do with the fact that in their past lives they were married. Naja remembered exactly how Halley had died during the first war. If memory served, Halley died in her past life by walking into a trap, but Kurama had went off against Naja’s orders to save her. By the time he had gotten to Halley, she was gone, and Kurama unleashed so much power that he destroyed nearly everything in a 20 mile radius. It was like a miniature atomic bomb like explosion. Kurama went off to find the one responsible for the trap, and when he found them all hell broke loose. Naja smirked as he pushed the memory to the back of his mind. Kurama and Halley was such an amazing pair. Their combinations on the battlefield were extraordinary, but Naja knew that the two would probably never regain those memories.

He sighed, for he realized that not every single memory of the life they once lived would return. They’d have to stimulate their minds in some way to bring forth emotional memories like those of past marriages, relationships and such. If memory served, Dorián was also in a relationship in his past life. Nemine was his girlfriend of many years, but when the war broke out, he and Nemine took opposite sides. To say that Dorián changed was an understatement. He could never find it in his heart to ever harm Nemine, and whenever they were bound to fight one another, Dorián would hold back, that is until Naja stepped in and killed Nemine. Ira was also on the list of Mystics Naja killed. Ira and Dorián were the best of friends, but again the war came between yet another relationship. Ira was killed off because Naja felt that Dorián would not put forth the effort to do it, and he felt that if anyone else tried to kill Ira, Dorián would step in and attempt to stop them.

Haakon failed to realize that once he was gone, the world would return to its peaceful state. There was no peace no while he ruled. Crime levels and deaths seemed to increase every year. There was talk of international wars breaking out, and those citizens of the world looked to Haakon, their president, for answers, he often times had none. Naja felt that once he was removed, the natural order of things would return. Once the balance is restored, the world would know peace. Haakon and his twisted nobility must be stopped at all costs. Naja had a feeling something was looming out there, something that Haakon was cooking up, but what in particular he could not say. He hoped the training the mystics endured would be enough to push them to the next level. Not to mention he wanted to take Haakon’s place and be the epitome of power. The thought was a dark one that he kept to himself.

“This time, things shall be different.”

Naja looked at those in the room.

“We will move to the training room. Once there, Marzarex will teach you various fighting techniques, and Fria will teach you how to fly and fight in the air as well as wield weaponry. I will teach you how to access your mystic abilities and reach the level of Ancient, but be warned. Reaching the next level will take extreme practice, but I believe that you all will be able to reach levels beyond that of an Ancient. For you see, the level beyond an Ancient is quite marvelous indeed. I have reached it, Marzarex has reached it, and Fria has reached it. It is known as the Supreme Mystic form. We only access this form when we have no other choice as the power needed to reach this level is vast. I know this is a lot to take in, but you must know that there is yet another form that you can reach. This final form takes so many years of training, and so much power that none have reached it, none except…..” Naja paused and looked at Marzarex and Fria before continuing, “…..Remember, after your training, you will be allowed to return home, but you must be on your guard. Keep the streets of your cities safe, and keep your identities a secret. I cannot guarantee that you will have reached the level of Ancient by the end of this training; however, continue training after we have finished. Hard work and perseverance will yield amazing results.”

Naja led the way to the training area, and once there, the training began immediately. He noticed that Renshi was already there and he couldn’t help but look at the young man with a wry look. Memories of Renshi’s past life filled Naja. He knew all too well that Renshi was more of a solo act. Perhaps if he didn’t pressure him, he’d attempt to befriend the other mystics. He sighed and began to speak.

“I want you to get into groups of two. Kurama, you will team with Renshi. Dorián, you will team with Tara. Marissa, you will team with Halley. Kurama and Renshi, you will train with Marzarex. Marissa and Halley, you will train with Fria. Dorián and Tara, you will train with me. Now come, we’ve much to do. Kana my dear, you have the option to choose whom you will train with first. I suggest Marzarex seeing as you’ve formed a bond with him already.”

The training area split into three areas. Large walls separated each group from viewing the other. Fria had her mystics to train, Marzarex had his mystics to train, and Naja had his mystics to train.

[Froggy]

“Are you okay?”

Halley's eyes opened when she heard footsteps nearing her, and was surprised when she saw Kurama kneeling down next to her. She yawned lightly and nodded her head. "Just..." memories? nightmares? She didn't know how to describe it. "Just a rough night," Halley summed it up the best she could. She smiled gratefully as he produced a beautiful black and red rose, and she smelled it.

It smelled wonderful and made her smile widen as she took in the colors. "Thank you," Halley told Kurama, squeezing his hand gently to show her appreciation. For some reason he made her feel better, he made her feel happier...she couldn't quiet place it though.

She listened as Naja placed them in pairs, and while she was slightly disappointed that she hadn't been paired with Kurama, she was a little thrilled that she had been paired with Fria`. If it hadn't been for Fria`, she would have been Vampire bait again. Halley smiled at Fria` and stood close to her, more than ready to begin her training so that she could quickly obtain her revenge.

[Atrum Daemon]

Haakon’s interests had grown far beyond being concerned about the state of the world he currently ruled. Other dimensions and universes had grabbed his attention and gleaned to him minor insights and glimpses of amazing power. He had dictated orders to his generals to ensure that the Mystics returned to them received the proper training.

Haakon arrived on the helipad in short order, pleased to see that most of his generals as well as one of the Mystics were gathered there. “Gentlemen, ladies,” he greeted as he approached. “I trust everything has been going well.”

He had enough time on his hands to check on the status of his generals and make sure everything was going on without interruption. The current status of the human race was nothing he concerned himself with. They could burn themselves to ashes for all he cared. When the survivors began rebuilding, the Nobility would be there still in some form or another.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

The Sound Mystic noted and eyed up every new Mystic that arrived gaging their present skills and noticing any old flames re-introducing themselves so far the only one he saw was the one between Halley and Kumara that's good. But he hoped it would end better then last time nothing kills the spirit like love lost. He realized a long time ago looking for love outside of his race was pointless and would only lead to heartache, his wished his brother was that wise. Many years ago Rex' brother Jaelk was smitten with a human woman in South America, Rex could see why she was very beautiful, clear tan skin, luscious curves, long black hair, and smoldering black eyes.

At first the family didn't care because he still did his job of defending the planet but as the months went along he started watching her night and day even using his magic to help her. He made her rich, he made her always have a youthful appearance, and once he even killed someone who had harmed her but that was the last thing he ever did. The woman was at a bar in Brazil and because of all of Jaelk's magic she had grown very arrogant and conceited she thought she could just walk into someplace and get what she wants without having to pay for it. But this day wasn't that day when the barkeep gave her the bill she laughed and threw it into his face, needless to say the man didn't take to kindly to this, he pulled a knife on the woman actually managing to cut her arm before a meteor came crashing through the ceiling of his bar killing him. Not a second after that the Will of Draco struck...then Jaelk was just gone, no blood, no noise, not even an ash he was just gone. It was a day of mourning for his family and the Northern Lights were blue that night, Jaelk had succumb to the oldest and most dangerous of Dragon curses, greed. Just like in those stories of old where the Dragon guarded a mound of treasure killing anyone that came close to it. Even modern Dragons can suffer from this sickness and it is a sickness for Dragons, it distorts their minds and turns them into a demented beasts of wrath and destruction. And it's actually what kills Space Dragons the most, they get greedy and the Will takes them, in fact the only thing to Rex's knowledge that hasn't killed a Space Dragon is old age. Every other manner of death has happened to them but never the most peaceful one. That's why Rex knew to never fall in love outside his people or at least make sure the other is near Immortal. It's a good thing there are a lot of Space Dragon females cruising around the Solar System and even a few non-dragons he could pursue but that was for later.

Right now he had to eye up and plan how to train his Mystics Kurama, Renshi and Kana. Interesting choices Kurama and Renshi were heavy hitters and both Demons, their elements were both more about raw power then finesse. Fire was the most lively not live thing Rex could think about in the universe and he's seen most of the universe's powers, and while Nature was slow it always won in the end and it's hard to contain it because it always finds ways to get through. And Kana was a Rock Fae and from the personal experience Fae had the potential to be extremely powerful if you want to destroy a world real quick, piss off a Fae Queen and she'll do it for you and being a Rock Fae gave her a bit of an edge because the whole planet is rock so she'll usually always be on the top of her game. The boys were both skilled fighters lots of flashy moves and stuff and Kana knew just basic self defense, good thing he knew of all Martial Arts and he knew Opportunity the style that can take on any other Martial Art but takes a long time to get perfectly right. As Naja sent them to train he motioned for the Mystics to follow him.
"Ok vraktor we'll start this portion of the training with some stretches."


*Kana*

Kana stuck close to the Dragon that had saved her she felt safest with him nearby. It wasn't that anyone was particularly scary or dangerous looking but from the jumbled slide-show of memories she had last night she picked up a Fae's sense of mistrust to other beings of a magical nature Demons, Mermaids and such she didn't know why but something told her not to trust every resident of the Never.

She listened to Master Naja talk following his words closely another thing she picked up was to follow the words of other to the most minuscule period or pause. Look for loopholes, little quirks in facial muscles and tones of voice. She guessed Fae didn't trust anyone that's why they watched everything closely, she was given the chance to pick who she trained with first and obviously she would choose to be the Master Marzarex he was the only one she felt safe with right now but she was sure she'd gain more trust for her fellow Mystics. She already felt some kind of sisterly awe for Dorian and it wasn't because she was the youngest Mystic something told her there was more then that. As for romantic feelings she felt none right now not even in her tossing and turning last night she didn't see anything with the other boys.

Maybe it was because all the boys looked like those pretty Anime boys that could pass off as a girl if you stick them in a skirt, heels and padded bra even Master Naja, the only man in this base that even looked like a man was Master Marzarex and he wasn't even a man he was Dragon. Maybe Kana was a lesbian or something in her past lives looking around she saw that might've been closer to the truth but right now she had no such feelings like that toward anyone. They were broken up into their groups and the young girl stuck close to her Master's side as they went to their part of the area to train. She noticed hims call them something that sounded like raptor.
"Master Marzarex why are ye callin' us raptors?" She asks looking up at the white haired man.

Rex laughed looking down at Kana.
"I said vraktor not raptor, it's Draconic for children."



*Drax*

The Wraith growled seeing Haakon come down and exit for the helipad to do one of his inspections that means he'd have to go back out there to hear what he had to say. He snarled seeing the sun pretty much over the horizon which means he'd need cover. With a wave of his claw he summoned of cloak of dark magic and wrapped it about his shoulders. He didn't exit the building until he was totally covered from the sun pushing open the door his nose is assaulted by the stench of Demon, Werewolf, Banshee and Metal Warlock, the only one that didn't smell was the Fallen, the scent of heavenly things was still about her even though it was very faint. Luckily the clock was heavy enough that the wind on the helipad didn't blow it about. He gazed down at everyone on the pad every day he was reminded that he was the largest Noble in the organization, the closest was Caine in his wolf form and the mutt was still two and a half feet shorter and about one hundred pounds lighter then the giant lizard he was actually close to being the biggest Stalker on record.

The largest Fearstalker that had even been in their kingdom was the Great King Giggaz Kerosnye who was 12'11 and weighed 697lbs. If it wasn't for the Sun Fighter attack on their kingdom in the great war Giggaz would still be King. The Dark King never steps down unless he's killed or willingly passes it onto his heir. And no one in the Fearstalker gene-pool has ever been crazy enough to kill the Dark King. He crossed his arms under cloak and looked the Banshee over she was a good example of her race pale, small, long hair and deep-blue eyes. He could smell the cold and Fae magic on her. From what he's gathered they only have two Mystics and Naja, Marzarex, and Fria all had the elements that could counter and destroy these two if they didn't train them hard and make them reach Ancient level before the others reached it. That meant beating the hell out of these two scratches for days on end. This would be fun.

[Setsa]

Fria

"....Marissa and Halley, you will train with Fria.."

The Valkyrie gave a nod of acknowledgement, transforming into her Ancient Mystic state she resting her spear on the shoulder while motioning Marissa and Halley over to one of the training areas. This one had an empty cement basin about 6 ft in diameter and 3 feet deep. Both girls were strong in their elements in the past so she was determined to bring their skills up again. Turning around to face the two, Fria gave a wide grin...the look of she definetly had something in mind for them. "Alright...first thing first, transform into your mystic selves. Consentrate on bringing out your inner powers for such with great caution.... For now never rush this as I don't want to spend the rest of my day in the medic wing cause an explosion of powers or such occured. But don't hesitate too much or it won't happen... You'll need what power from that you can summon for today's training."

Once all three of them were together in mystic form she walked to the cement basin "Marissa, you know that water is all around us...even in ourselves. With such, no water means your powers are almost useless. You have to be able to summon and collect it for your desires as fast as possible. Seeing we're in the Amazon... use the humidity from the air to gather, and make it rain into the basin here. Then alternate with collecting moisture from underground to deposit in the same basin. I want it full before our time ends and you two work with Naja or Rex." Letting the half-mermaid get started she took a moment to think... "Like Marissa, if there is darkness then you are weakened as well...but light is everywhere around us. Evangeline will try to use this against you so you need to keep 3 steps ahead of her at all times. Water is a great reflecter of light....so when Marissa starts to fill the basin pool I want you to take the reflected light and aim it at the target 8 feet to the right." Pointing to mentioned target the red center had a small, black dot in the very center unlike most. "Concentrate on aiming for the small black dot to work on accuracy as well."

Trinity

Bidding the Fearstalker a good day of rest, she was soon kept company with the presence of Cain. Leave it to his werewolf senses to know where everyone was at. He certainly seemed to be in a "wolffish" mood which was soon revealed with the sight of Ira. "Ahh that explains things now.... A new mystic to train always does seem to put you in a good mood Cain." Giving Ira a smile following with her deep, mysterious eyes; showed she knew exactly what was to come for the newly awankens. It definetely wasn't going to be a walk through the darkness.

The fallen angel soon had her attention on Scarlett who seemed to have her own strong opinions about her and others. So be it, long as they could co-exist for the time being.... She could worry about dealing with the nosy bitch at a different time and day. "Morning Scarlett, you look as.... Vindictive as ever." Yea, that was as nice as it was going to get with those two for now..... Gritted teeth formal dark politeness if you could call such that.

Luckily the helicopter was descending to the pad.... Glad that she too could be succesful in contributing to the collection of mystics for the Nobility. Even though it was only 2, it was better than nothing... She didn't even want to think how furious Hakkon would be if they all were standing there with nothing to show. "Welcome to the nobility.... Here's hoping you both learn your skills in good time."

It was then that Hakkon's voice came out in it's unique way. "Things do seem to be going well here sir. Our banshee just arrived as you can see and my men will soon be exploring the area where she was collected in South America for any signs of the ancients and their little lamb followers." Seeing Drax rejoin them she smiled even though we was rather faceless within the dark cloak that protected him from the rising sun. The tall lizard creature deserved his own earned respect from her. The two always did get along well even during this time of mystic hunts and plotting to keep their high place in the world.

[Jacogos]

Caine took Scarlett's, Haakon's, and the Fearstalker's appearances all in stride, though Nemine seemed to be intimidated by each new arrival, with the exception of the demoness, which caused her fists to clench slightly. Caine noticed the tension and comment before anyone else. "A word of warning... Try not to piss the Mystics off. Far be it from me to tell you what to do, but I'd rather not have us lose them again, by death or otherwise." He growled that last part, then nodded towards the boss and the lizard.

Nemine opened her mouth to say something to Scarlett, but decided against it. Though the wolfman seemed to try and help her, if you could call it that, she wasn't about to tell the demoness off in front of the rest of the Nobility. As much as she wanted to... It would have to wait. Maybe then she could see her family again, tell them she was alright... She shook her head slightly and then nodded to the Fallen Angel. "Thank you..."

Nemine's memories told her that the metal-clad man who had joined them was Haakon, head warlock and leader of the Nobles, thus leader of them all. He was exceptionally powerful, she could tell that without her memories. Formality took over in her mind and she dipped her head slightly towards the lich. "I am yours to command, Lord Haakon... I expect my training will begin without delay?"

Caine smirked slightly. The girl was eager. He liked that, but also wondered if that would undo her when the rigors of the training finally settled in. He believed that one of the women would start off with the Banshee while either he or the lizard would be stuck with the Wraith boy. He figured it might be him since he had found the boy, but then, Drax WAS a Wraith himself... Oh the choices. Caine wondered for a moment if Haakon himself would ever participate in the training, but he highly doubted it unless it was to unlock their Mystic Forms.

[Lady Celeste]

Tara and Marissa

Marissa lagged slightly behind Tara as they answered Naja's summons, but both girls realized as they surveyed the gathered Mystics that this wasn't as awkward as it should have been, and neither of them felt truly out of place anymore. This was just as relieving as it was disturbing to them, because it only served to confirm that something had changed in each of them, though neither had much time to dwell on this before Naja split most of the Mystics into pairs.

"Well... good luck out there..." Marissa said, Tara nodding her acknowledgement before the two separated, Tara following behind Dorián and awaiting Naja's instructions, and Marissa running to catch up with Halley and Fria.

Marissa

Marissa's first training exercise took her and Halley to a beautiful outdoor garden, the centerpiece of which was a small, in-ground cement basin. Having barely begun to admire it when she was told to assume her mystic form, Marissa was caught off guard briefly, but closed her eyes to focus. "Mystic waters, come to me... mystic..." She recited the phrase quietly to herself, allowing the long-forgotten memories to guide her now. A soft blue glow came over Marissa, though she did not notice, allowing the magic to gather into her at its own pace. When she felt it strongly enough, she then spoke the phrase aloud:

"Mystic Waters, come to me."

The blue glow intensified, the energy flowing through and around Marissa like water. Thankfully, water is a very tranquil element when not provoked, so the transformation to Mystic form was relatively easy for Marissa, but the scales she then saw on her skin were a mild shock to say the least.

As soon as Halley was in Mystic form as well, the training began, and Marissa was instructed to collect water into the basin from humidity in the air first, and then likewise for moisture in the soil beneath them. Marissa hesitated, but subconsciously her hands had begun to sway slightly in front of her, as though part of her already knew what to do. Feeling the humidity by itself, Marissa stepped in front of the basin and focused, sweeping her hands through the air over the basin. The water appeared slowly, first in small droplets, but extended use of this power caused a translucent miniature cloud to condense over the basin, and as Marissa still continued to pull water in the same area, the small cloud began to produce a steady rain into the basin. Content with that, Marissa moved on to the next step, which proved noticeably easier in comparison because the soil was actually quite moist. Distracted from alternating between maintaining the mini-cloud and drawing moisture from the ground, Marissa barely even noticed when the basin was completely filled, and waited to see how Halley would do for her part.

[Echo]

Scarlett wasn't surprised as the other nobles and Haakon strode onto the sunlit roof, welcoming the newly arrived Mystic, Nemine.

"Why thank you, Trinity," Scarlett responded sarcastically to the fallen's greeting after the arrival of Haakon and the heavily draped Drax. Scarlett shifted her gaze to Caine. "Nah, I won't piss the Mystics off. Unless they piss me off. I secured you and your army some more weapons by the way - Ivanov Inc. Nemine's family's company. Just go to the place, grab some stuff if you need it."

Scarlett glanced at Nemine's fists after feeling a slight tremble. The demon uttered a faint giggle behind her hand, since it seems like Nemine still won't forgive her for what happened at her home.

"Not to worry deary," Scarlett had an amused smile on her face as she placed her hand under the Mystic's chin, tilting Nemine's head up slightly. "I'll tell Lilith to tell your parents that you're perfectly okay, and that you left the man your father trusted and joined the Nobility instead. He'll be overjoyed to know that at least you're safe." Scarlett's smile widened. "Hmm, maybe not so happy, you know. But it's the truth."

Scarlett removed her hand, and walked toward the lich. "Mind if I take her," Scarlett pointed over at the banshee, "as my, hmm, what word shall I use? Underling?" Scarlett shrugged, coming to the conclusion that the choice of word didn't matter to her. "My forte and main skill isn't normal magic, but I can do a little ice tricks," the demon gathered the moisture in the air on the tip of her index finger, and let a freezing temperature run within it. The spinning sphere froze up and formed sharp points around it, which made it look like a mace ball for a few seconds before the object shattered.
"Simple spatial composition, though for me it only works if there's a minimum amount of water and cold near by. I think it's a bit different if it's the Ice Mystic though, since her power is genuinely ice and not spatial composition."

Scarlett smiled and turned her head, looking at Nemine. "Is that okay with you?"

[RisingPhoenix]

As Naja informed everyone of who they would be partnering with, he couldn't help but feel annoyed that Naja chose for him and Renshi to partner up and be taught by Marzarex. He glared thinking that he would do so much better without having to compete with Renshi. He knew this guy was the loner type and he already didn't like him, still in order to please Master Naja, he would go along with it and train. He looked at Master Marzarex and began to stretch, ignoring Renshi for the most part. He already had in his mind that if Renshi had anything smart to say, he'd handle it himself, quick, fast and in a hurry. He watched Kana as she began to stretch.

Kurama sighed as he popped his knuckles and neck. At least once while he stretched his eyes fell on Renshi.

Renshi stayed seated on the stone block he had been on for a while now. As Kurama stretched and the two groups gathered together amongst themselves, he didn’t move. He didn’t want to and figured “why bother?” when it came to being forced to train with this fox clown mystic.

“I’d go out on a limb by saying that I’d be better off on my own if he’s what I have to work with…” he spoke aloud with one finger lazily motioning towards Kurama.

There it was, just as plain as day. He truly was a snob and Kurama wasn't going to just sit there and take Renshi's attitude when he didn't have to. He glared at the demon and smirked.

"Pay attention kid, you might learn something," Kurama stated with every bit of insult laced in his words, "if you don't want to be here, there is the door."

Kurama looked at Renshi as if he were one of Haakon's generals. The glare in Kurama's eyes proved that he wasn't kidding around. He had stopped stretching and was glaring directly at Renshi as if he wanted to fight him then and there.

“I don’t have either the time or interest to waste effort in fighting or even arguing with you, Kurama…” Renshi answered before rising to his feet and dusting his pants off. “You’re lacking both in physical skill and in the mental aspect of that, shame too…”

As he strode towards Marzarex and stopped before him, “Ready whenever you feel like getting this over and done with.” Rex shook his head knowing this was going to be the norm throughout the training. But from their pasts and the fact that Demons are always rather tense around each other Rex would roll on, he just hoped their fighting wouldn’t inhibit Kana’s training. He pulled off his swords and leaned them against a pile of boulders nearby. As Renshi approached Rex the old Master gave the boy a flat look, his black eyes steady and strong.

“Play nice children, there are four of us doing this training. If you two don’t think you can spar with each other without blood being shed one of you can fight Kana, the 14 year old Rock Fae or me the100,000 year old Space Dragon your choice.” Kana watched the obvious competition between the two boys as she stretched out.

Ay they’re just like all other boys. She thought doing the same stretches she did before she went rock climbing with her parents or rather her caretakers since her parents are actually Rock Fae. She hoped she’d get to see them someday; she had so many questions to ask them, why did she never see them? What can she expect being one of the Little People now? And most importantly why did they leave her in the human world? She finished up her stretching as Renshi walked up and spoke to Master Rex. The girl couldn’t help but wonder if Master Marzarex would smack Renshi for his insolence and attitude she knew Teachers in her school who given the legal go-ahead would break rulers over everyone’s hands for talking back. But she figured the Dragon was too old and in control to let a whipper-snapper Demon bother him. She was caught off guard when the Master said she’d be sparring with one of those two, this made the young girl worry. She knew some basic self-defense things stuff that would get her away from an attacker and let her run for help. But actual Martial Arts she knew none, and she guessed both of the boys knew a lot more then her. Maybe being a Fae would give her a little bit of an edge.

He knew just what to say to get under Kurama's skin, and the fact that they were on the same side was the only reason Kurama hadn't jumped on him. He looked at Renshi with an interesting smirk.

"Don't underestimate me Renshi. You may be a street fighter, but you know nothing of my past. None of you do, so it would be wise to keep your comments to yourself. Master Marzarex, let's get this over with. I'll spar with him safely," Kurama stated, though he knew Marzarex knew well to keep his attention on them, as they'd probably end up going farther than they should in a sparring lesson.

Kurama rotated his neck and took a defensive stance in front of Renshi. He looked over at Kana and nodded, letting her know that if she wanted to she could safely get into the sparring. No matter how upset Kurama got, he didn't let it cloud his head, and if he were to be in the heat of the moment while fighting, or rather sparring with Renshi, he'd be able to safely spar with Kana as well. A rose grew in his hair as he touched it slightly. If memory served this simple rose could do great and marvelous things. Cut through steel, resist fire, marvelous things indeed. He pulled the rose from his hair and looked at it.

"Rose................WHIP!"

The words came from his mouth as if natural, but Kurama looked in awe as a rather long sentient whip appeared where the once thorny rose was. As if his body was acting on its own, the whip in his hands suddenly surged towards Renshi. Kurama was both shocked, but decided to go with it. This would be a way of learning his old techniques and mastering them once again. Suddenly, the whip divided and surged towards the Kana and Marzarex as well. This was going to be a four way sparring match and Kurama had an interesting smirk on his face. If Marzarex paid close attention, he could very well see that it was the same smirk the original nature/wood mystic often had on his face.

“Put your little weed away, fox. I’ll train on my own before wasting both my time and effort with the likes of you and your flower garden attacks.” Renshi responded before turning away and making his way towards the door. “Your skills would be better suited to give the little one someone to beat on anyways, fox.”

Kurama snatched the whip back at the last second. Renshi had a really bad attitude and it wasn't going to do him any good. Wasn't he listening to Naja. If they aren't trained, their powers won't be as strong. He can train by himself all he wants, but unless a master trains him, he's a lost cause. Kurama watched as the whip turned back into a rose and he placed it back into his hair. It soon vanished and became its dormant form. Kurama stood there shaking his head. He often hated the "loner" type, they always wanted to play the tough guy role and it annoyed him to no end. Still, Renshi was a part of the mystics, and if keeping away from one another was the way to keep Kurama from ripping Renshi a new ass, then he had no objection to it.

"I've no objection to it just being me and Kana. If Renshi wants to go off on his own that's fine with me, but I am not going to go look for him when he is attacked by the Nobility and he can't fully utilize his powers," Kurama stated as he looked at Renshi, "that's right Renshi, our powers are still dormant for the most part and without proper training we can't do shit. I overheard master Naja speaking with Dorian about it. So go if you want, have fun surviving." Rex shook his head growling a little using his sounds power he spoke softly but it came across as a bellow to his students eyes as well as everyone else in the area.

"Get the fuck over yourselves. Renshi get back in here and train and Kurama drop the you don't know me attitude! You forget that I do know you even better then you know yourself sometimes." He stalked around their little area glaring at the two boys while Kana stood idly by wondering if she'd eve get to train with these two Prima Donnas. Rex kept talking letting his soft voice be amplified still.

"I don't care how you may feel about each other I never have, but what I do care about is beating the Nobility before they beat us and kill the world. As should you two. And we can't beat them if we don't all work together and stop with these pissing contests. Do you think any of your fellow Mystics are this petty, you will need each other some day so you might as well learn to work together without being such little bitches. But we've wasted enough time here so Kana train with Kurama, Renshi it's your lucky day because you get to try to use fire on a Dragon. Now take your positions and get ready and remember we're just going over normal hand-to-hand fighting right now so no powers." He said watching Kurama stretching out quickly before turning to watch Renshi.

Kana nodded to Master Marzrex standing across from Kurama eyeing him up and down. She'd never been in any kind of fight before she wasn't sure how to fight she could stomp feet and do cheap shots but an actual punch for punch fight she was totally out of her depths.

Kurama was shocked, he had nothing to say. Instead he did as he was told and took his stance. He looked at Kana, the rock fae, and smiled.

"Don't worry, I'll go easy on ya," he said softly with a kind and caring smirk.

He started off by showing Kana how to block a punch and a kick, and then the two went on to sparring softly. Hopefully, as time went on Kana's memories on how to fight would return and she'd be ready to kick some major butt.

As he looked over, Renshi and Master Marzarex were deep in their sparring, which made him a little more at ease. For a minute, he thought that Master Marzarex was going to transform and eat them both. Then again, what was stopping him? Kurama shook off the thought and focused on Kana who was catching on to the moves he was showing her rather quickly.

============================================

Naja looked at Dorian and Tara. He nodded and began to speak.

"To access your Mystic form, you must be one with your element. Dorian, your element is electricity and lightning. Be as one with it. Tara, your element is the wind, the very air around us. Focus on your element, and be one with it. Allow it to flow through you and allow it to take you to a place of power. Dorian, close your eyes and focus. Gather your energy..............................Now.....TRANSF ORM!"

Dorian did as he was told. He closed his eyes and felt the energy around him. He felt a sudden spark of electricity surge through him as he stood before Master Naja. He did not open his eyes, but he breathed in and out and followed directions carefully. Silenly he stood as he listened to Naja's faint voice coexing he and Tara to reach the Mystic form. When Naja yelled "TRANSFORM," Dorian opened his eyes and felt a sudden rush of energy. Electricity sparks off of him and lightning shot down from the sky, striking him dead on.

Naja covered his eyes as he watched Dorian's transformation. When the dust cleared, where Dorian once stood was now an individual who looked nothing like Dorian. His hair was longer, his eyes sparkled with power, and his clothing fit his zappy personality. Dorian looked down at his hands and at his clothing.

"Wow, how did I? This is................wow, I can't believe this power, it is AMAZING," Dorian excitedly stated as he lifted up a pointer finger and watched an orb of electricity form above it.

A huge smile was plastered on his face, and Naja simply smiled.

"Excellent Dorian, excellent. Now, your turn Tara....."



FOUR AND A HALF MONTHS LATER

Naja stood in the training area. The mystics had been training for four and a half months. Their powers were reaching levels that intrigued even Naja. The sleep that they did get was brief, but they did manage to keep their energy up by feasting regularly. Naja stood before all of the Mystics, and simply smiled.

"I am pleased to call you all Mystics. Sadly, we have reached the end of our training, as there is nothing left for me, Fria, or Marzarex to teach you, the rest you must learn on your own. Before you leave and return to your lives, you must first enter into the Amazonian Forest ALONE, and you must face that which is within. There will be challenges, and puzzles to test your new found skills and abilities. Do not underestimate what you face within the jungle. Remember, everything is not as it seems. You have ten minutes before your test begins. Once you enter, there is no turning back. Remember, you must do this alone. I, nor any of the other Mystics are allowed to assist you in any way. Trust in yourself, and trust in the power of the ancient mystics that reside within you. Keep your guard up and........"

Naja sighed as he turned and began to walk. He turned back around and sighed, "follow me."

As they came upon an ancient looking gate, Naja spoke words in an ancient tongue. The gate sparked with energy and pillars grew from the ground. Naja looked over the mystics once more.

"This is the Mage Gate. Once you enter, you must complete the test. After you complete the test, you will be returned back to your normal lives. Do your world a justice and keep it safe. Marzarex, Fria, I leave you to say your goodbyes to the mystics, and your wishes of luck. I shall be in the common room."

Naja walked over to Dorian. He couldn't make eye contact with him. The Mage Gate was always the hardest part of any mystic training. It was always the most dangerous as well. He could remember his first time in the Mage Gate, it was something he'd hope to never face again, yet he feared for the safety of these gathered mystics. As long as they trusted in themselves and the ancient mystics within, they'd survive. Naja only hoped the training they had endured for the past four months was sufficient. This test was the only way to seal the power that the mystics had. This was the only way for them to become true mystics. Naja softly touched Dorian's shoulder and walked away, vanishing in mid-stride, leaving the mystics to face the gate alone.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Four months of hard work, four month of sending the Mystics through every level of training he and his fellow Ancients knew once again training another force of the World's defenders. Training them to work together, training them in the way of their powers, and training them in the way of good most importantly. He was sure only Ira and Nemine would change sides but his long life has taught him nothing is assured and anything could change to him Murphy's Law was the one of the universe's most wide-spread and undeniable truths. He was proud of everyone for all the progress they've made in their training.

They looked very much like what they did the last time he saw them way back when. They were all strong and close to being Ancients themselves but while he'd never praise anyone more than the others in the open he had a feeling Kana and Marissa would reach that goal first which was interesting considering their elements are the most widely powerful and most essential for life anywhere. But it might've just been the old Dragon thinking too much. As Naja said his bit Rex walked in front of the new Mystics to say his bit.

"You've all done beautifully these past few months and like Naja I'm proud to call you Mystics, you all sport new control, new powers, and even new scars for some of you he looked at Kana who very proudly wore a long red scar across her right cheek before turning back to the group as a whole. While your bodies may be new your mission is not, it's a mission older then all of us even us Ancients. We are good and the Nobility is bad, they want to destroy the world and we will die before we let that happen we must defend the world from the Nobility and from themselves. Our job just isn't fighting the bad guys it's helping the humans and saving them from everything. You are the frontliners now and while we won't be able to help you when you walk through those gates once you pass this final test expect to see and hear from us often. Remember these words as you trudge through there. Be strong, be smart, and keep your spirit strong. Good luck to you all my vraktor." He bowed to them before turning and following Naja back. Like the Psychic Mystic the Sound Mystic vanished mid-stride leaving Fria to say her final words to them.


*Kana*

These had been the toughest but also the most empowering four months of the young woman's life. Since day one she's felt herself going more powerful and more in tune with the earth even forgoing shoes just so she'd never be out of contact with it. It also seemed more natural for a Rock Fae to wear no shoes so she was all fine with it. Everyday she worked with the rocks learning their language and learning everything about South America and even a little bit about Central America when veins of a rock she was talking to stretched that far north. She also noticed the presence of her parents around her the more she dug into her Rock Fae blood like random rocks smacking down anything she didn't notice was there and wanted to kill her and rocks she was laying on or talking to being particularly nice or warm. And while it made her feel safe and not alone she still wished she could see and talk to them but something told her that was still impossible at least for now.

She looked over the other Mystics she felt taller then some of them and she already knew she was stronger but she was still the youngest. But that didn't bother her it just pushed her to be on their level. As she scanned the group she smiled at Dorian who had become like a brother to her like she thought he would when they started their training. He helped her with some of the training that she couldn't really grasp but felt stupid bugging the Ancients about it. As Master Naja and Master Marzarex said their final words and left Kana changed into her Mystic form feeling it would be smart to do now. Now she really was taller then the other Mystics, she looked down at her gray moss covered stony armor and saw that her hair was the same color same went for her skin. She looked like an ancient Mayan statue and she could feel the voices of the earth under her feet and it made her smile. Four months ago she could barely bother listening to her math teacher now she was listening to the oldest and most powerful things on Earth.

[Froggy]

Four months later, Halley was looking back. Looking back to the weak girl she had been when she started, looking back to where she had begun. Aiming light at a dot on the wall from a mere reflection in water. Now, in her Mystic form, she was practically glowing with a light source coming from within. She was still filled with hatred, the same hatred she had entered the base with: towards the Nobility. Hatred towards Evangeline, whom had poisoned her those many months ago.

Halley listened as Naja spoke of entering the Amazonian forest, and suddenly became very nervous. This was her last step to becoming a true Mystic, this was do or die. "Maybe I'll see you around New York sometime," Halley asked Kurama, smiling a little at him. Now that she had unlocked her Mystic abilities, her eyes were always glowing a golden color...at least while in her Mystic form.

She eyed the Mage gate skeptically, and the darkness hidden in the Amazonian forest. She remembered what Rex had said many months ago, how the others would look to her for light whether they knew it or not. 'Might as well go first,' Halley thought to herself, taking a deep breath and entering the darkness of the forest. The glowing around her body became brighter, and soon was enough to light a ten-foot perimeter and allowed her to see around her. She shot a jet of light in the air and used it as a lantern to light ahead, all the while scanning the forest.

It was so loud with the chirping of birds and humming of bugs that the noise alone was starting to freak her out a little. She focused on her energy and looked, noticing a large, black wall coming towards her. She shot it with a jet of light and the wall shimmered into nothingness. "I can do this," Halley said to herself, pushing her way further into the forest.

[Setsa]

Four months later

Fria gave a nod to Naja and Rex as they heading to the common room. Giving a final scan over the mystics she uncrossed her arms to speak. "Remember this...to have a little hatred towards the nobility is normal. It's what will drive you to protect the human race.. But never let your negative emotions get the best of you...especially durring this last test. Keep the love and good beating strong within all your hearts and you will do well."

She couldn't help but grin at Halley who was the first to go through the gate and into the jungle. "Good luck everyone...we shall see eachother soon enough." Giving a final wave to them all, she left them to return back to the common room. Seeing Naja and Rex there she was glad they've made it this far. Fria and Rex were growing much closer together but still had some hints of reserves... if he went to far his existance would be gone; and if she was to claim a mate. Fria would be forever bound to earth as an immortal...never to return to Vallhala. But such thoughts were for later, sitting down on the armrest of the couch she settled in for what was still left to be informed and discussed about. "Alright they're off....now what news of the Nobility and Hakkon? It's been far to quiet durring the training and that's never good. I need to get to my place in Norway to bring a few things here to work with but even such will have to be done without getting noticed."

[Stryker]

Four Months Later...

The moment that Renshi heard that he would be alone on his trials through the forested area, his eyes gleamed with satisfaction and wonderment. All this time he’d been cooped up with the rest of these loud and uncoordinated people and now he was finally going to test himself alone with nobody else to tend to and worry about injuring.

He saw that he wouldn’t be the first to enter through the gate after noticing Halley go waltzing in first, no matter, it didn’t matter who went in first as long as he wasn’t lied to and was able to go about doing things his way once inside and alone. Once he noticed that nobody else was stepping forward and that Rex, Fria and Naja had chosen to leave to more than likely overlook their progress from somewhere else he decided he’d step forward and be the next one through the gate.


“A little hatred… get over it…” he muttered under his breath while walking past Kurama and Kana, both of which seemed more interested in other things than with this task from his vantage point, but as always he could care less in regards to what was rattling around in that black hole Kurama called a skull.

In truth, Renshi felt that he’d gotten ahold of powers that had eluded his abilities for too long. Flames billowed beneath the surface of his skin, begging and pleading to be released and sent out after anything flammable be it foe or friend. The thought was tempting, but there was no point in wasting his talents to get a few laughs from watching a fox and a fae run around on fire, that and he felt Rex was beyond any sort of power he could hope to achieve and would snuff him out if need be… For now at least…

As he entered the gate, he felt a slight jerk and closed his eyes as if someone had pulled him by the chest and it took a split second for the rest of him to catch up along with his senses. Once he opened his eyes he saw foliage and plants as far as the eye could see. Everywhere he looked he saw dense vegetation. It was almost as if he were looking at a wall of plant-life that dared him to walk through.

The birds chirped loudly as if taunting him and daring him to do something about the awful racket they were distributing and that thought was starting to sound like a good idea.

“Heh, trees and bushes…” he thought to himself as his arms raised from his sides and his palms turned upwards. Upon doing so, numerous sparks began to emit from his fingertips, embers popping up and falling away as if teasing the ground, showing the wildlife what was bound to happen if he chose to do so…

[SikstaSlathalin]

Kana rolled her eyes seeing Renshi saunter into the Mage Gate. She shook her head but couldn't but laugh at the times she put him in his much needed place by making the ground cave in around him while he was trying to show-off or was acting like he was better. She enjoyed those times almost as much as she enjoyed the training itself.

With two people gone before her she followed after Renshi. Just before she entered the gate she turned and smiled at the other Mystics.
"See ye all on the o'her side." With that she entered the gate and felt herself split and pulled apart for a few seconds then she reappeared ironically atop a mountain that let her look over the whole jungle and feel where her fellow students were, at least get a sense of where they are all. The other info was given to her by the rocks beneath them could tell where a lot of dangers were right now that's good. Whatever great test she'll have to face will have to be airborne to get the drop on her. She grunted pulled a decently sized boulder from the ground about twice her body length and jumped on top of it sitting with her legs crossed she rode the rock down from the mountain and decided to try and find some food and shelter she had no clue how long she'd be here and she wanted to get the basics covered for the night.

[Lady Celeste]

Tara, First Day of Training

Tara was already concentrating since Naja had first told her and Dorian to transform. Her element was the wind, Naja had said, and indeed she realized how strongly she could sense even the slightest changes in the air around her. Slowing her breathing, Tara put all her focus into these changes, and by the time Naja said it was her turn, the phrase slipped out almost automatically.

"Breath of life, I summon you."

She could feel the winds swirl around her as her form changed, becoming her Mystic form, and the training began almost immediately after...

Tara, Mage Gate Trial

The Gayle sisters walked together toward the Mage Gate, but stopped just short once Naja had made it clear that each Mystic would have to face their respective trial alone. This much disheartened Tara, and she could see that Marissa was feeling down about the prospect as well. It had been only four months since their training had started, but already the girls had grown closer to the other Mystics, enough so to even name most of them among some of the best friends they'd known. Naturally there were a few exceptions; Renshi, for instance, proved to be a habitual loner and seemed not to care in the least about his fellow Mystics or their mission in general, which greatly annoyed both girls, especially Marissa, who had made a point to stay on good terms with all of the Mystics as much as possible.

On that note, as Tara glanced to her side at Marissa, she couldn't help noticing a change in Marissa's composure as she stood face to face with the massive gate. Marissa's mermaid heritage had been made common knowledge among the Mystics since Day One, and had even been heavily integrated into her training sessions. It had been a closely kept family secret, which Marissa herself never revealed unless absolutely necessary, but among the Mystics it was treated like yet another gift to be cultivated, which gave Marissa a renewed acceptance of what she was.

"Listen, Riss..." Tara began. Marissa turned her head to face her, listening intently as Tara continued. "I don't know what's behind that gate, but you can do this. Just don't forget why we came this far. There's a reason why we didn't go running home after the first day."

"I know." Marissa placed a hand on Tara's shoulder. "Just imagine if Mom and Dad could see you now. They never would have expected both of us to have superpowers. I bet they'd be proud."

Tara gave Marissa a slight smile as they embraced. "Thanks."

Realizing it was time, the two let go. Marissa went in first, waving to Tara. "I'm still holding Kurama to his promise!" She called to Tara just before vanishing through the gate, leaving Tara to laugh to herself as she entered the Mage Gate as well.

Tara emerged at the top of a high peak overlooking the wild forests outside of the training grounds. The view was beautiful, but Tara reminded herself that she was here for some kind of test, and began the transformation. Her voice echoed over the vast jungles surrounding the peak.

"Breath of life, I summon you!"

Marissa, Mage Gate Trial

Just moments after passing through the Mage Gate, Marissa found herself falling front-first into the waters of the Amazon. She could feel her mermaid's tail instantly starting to grow, and quickly resurfaced so she could transform before the tail could ruin yet another pair of pants.

"Mystic waters, come to me!"

Luckily for her, Marissa had assumed her Mystic form just before the tail finished growing, so she turned her focus more completely onto figuring out the test Naja mentioned. "An underwater test? Makes sense. Bring it on, Mr. Gate." She said to herself, and then proceeded to dive deeper into the water to await the start of her trial. A few of the native creatures were already swimming toward the source of the splash she'd made, including a school of piranha, but she casually warded them off with a quick telepathic message as she began to explore the waters she'd landed in.

[RisingPhoenix]

He had not thought about the tests that lay ahead. He had joined this group to help protect the world, but never had he imagined that he’d be tested before he could do so. Dorián stood beside Kurama, standing in front of the Mage Gate. He listened to his masters speak and before he realized it, that had left them all alone. Renshi, Tara, Marissa, Kurama, Kana, Halley, they had all grown closer, all of them except Renshi who seemed to had grown more independent and cocky. Silently Dorián stood as he watched Kurama exchange good luck pleasantries with Halley.

Kurama stood there, more confident than ever before. He looked at the gate and smiled. This was it; this was the last thing they had to do before becoming full mystics. The power he felt when he first arrived paled in comparison to his power now. He was stronger, quicker, and more agile than ever. He was a wild force of nature, much like his element. Kurama looked at Dorián then the others and watched as one by one they all entered. Soon, it was only Dorián and Kurama left.

“Good luck man, be safe,” Dorián stated as he took a step forward.

One step became many as he entered into the mage gate, vanishing from sight. Kurama was the last to enter, and did so with confidence. He felt a tug, as if his body were being torn apart before he slammed hard against the ground and found himself within the jungle. The area around him was filled with foliage of different kinds, but something wasn’t right and Kurama quickly got to his feet. Everything was so tall; he could not see over the foliage. He could hear distant growling, and knew something was on its way.

A roar split the silence around Dorián who had appeared on a mountain top within the forest. The fog blocked any vision he could’ve obtained. He wondered what the source of the roar was, but he calmed his nerves and readied for what lay ahead.

Kurama shifted in his stance as he began to walk, not knowing if he would run into anything dangerous or not.

As Tara and Marissa began, they were met by opposition almost immediately. A swarm of dangerous, poisonous creatures, which had the head of a snake, the body of a bumble bee, and the tail of a scorpion descended upon Tara. These beasts were quite resistant to any type of wind element. To defeat them, she’d have to figure out their weak spots and attack, but she’d also have to avoid being poisoned in the process. The weak spot for the creatures was their tail. Once the tail was removed, the creature would turn to dust. Marissa had quite the opposite to face. When she dove into the water, a vicious group of giant piranha surged towards her. Their bodies were like that of an eel, their mouths contained rows of sharp canine like teeth, and their eyes could shoot paralyzing energy beams. To defeat these creatures, one would simply have to overcome the odds, and strike them where oxygen flows. (Gills) When struck in that place, the creatures become paralyzed.

Renshi arrived in his area of the forest, but by displaying his power over fire, he was met by something far more vicious than he could have imagined. The chirping quickly turned to growling and roaring as a massive dragon landed in front of Renshi.

“Your fire is of no use here,” it growled as it opened its maw.

A condensed beam of water, strong enough to slice through rock, shot towards Renshi. Another dragon appeared, though this one was humanoid shaped and simply watched from a distance, gauging Renshi. He was out of sight, a wicked toothy grin covering the humanoid dragon’s face as it stood there in its hiding spot observing Renshi.

Kana, earth fae of beauty and wiles, was no luckier than the rest of them. As she entered into the mage gate, she appeared on a mountainous region. Using her terrakinesis, she unearthed a chunk of rock and floated upon it. Suddenly, a rather large beast flew passed, and struck the boulder she rode on, shattering it completely. When the creature circled around, it dove for the falling fae. The creature resembled a giant eagle, only it was a skeleton. It cawed loudly as it dove to devour the fae. To defeat this foe, one would have to strike it where its life organ once was.

Halley walked with confidence through the mage gate. Suddenly, darkness began to surround her. A cloud of immense darkness floated above her, while the area around her became pitch black.

“Halley,”

A voice rang out from the dark. A pair of red eyes could be seen peering at her. The individual stepped forward and to Halley’s dismay, it was her.

“It has been a while hasn’t it Halley,” Evangeline stated with a smirk.

Halley would soon realize that her light would not affect the conjured Evangeline. This was not the true Evangeline, but her actions and attacks would be completely identical. To defeat Evangeline, Halley must overcome her anger, and work on a solution. The anger that Halley has for Evangeline will either destroy her, or make her stronger. Either way, she must gain control of it.

Naja stopped walking and softly sat down in one of the comfy chairs that surrounded the large table. He waved his hand over the table and could instantly see all of the mystics, even those who had chosen to follow Haakon. They were each partaking in their own challenges, and Naja would certainly be on his toes the entire time he watched them. As he watched, Fria arrived then Marzarex. He listened to Fria speak and simply smirked.

"There will be time for that my sister, but first we must observe what our students, and what our enemies are up to. Haakon has many things planned I am sure, and if my sources are correct, he has sprouted plans to attack the mystics. When is not available to me, but we must be on our guard. If he attacks them while they are in the Mage Gate, there is nothing we can do but watch."

[Froggy]

Halley's fast pace slowed to a dead hault as darkness began surrounding her. Soon, the darkness had engulfed even the sun and her light, which frightened her. She looked around and prepared herself for what was to come, her eyes seeing something that she hadn't been expecting. "It can't be..." Halley spoke, her voice filled with fear and disbelief as the glowing red eyes became clearer. She could never forget those eyes.

“It has been a while hasn’t it Hally,”

Halley backed up as the figure of Evangeline stepped out of the blackness, and she shot several beams of light towards the Vampiress. Soon though the blackness engulfed those too, and the glowing redness of her eyes were visible again. "Remember this dear?" Evangeline spoke, stepping close. Halley squinted into the darkness and saw her poison dart pointed directly at her.

Chills ran down Halley's spine and she backed up, her breathing becoming rigid. How could she forget? Halley shot more beams of light at the advancing Evangeline, though they seemed to do no good as an echo of mad laughter pierced the darkness. I thought Light was her weakness? Halley thought to herself, remembering how she had shyed away from the glowing in her eyes the first night they had met.

'Unless...' an arrow barely missed her neck and stuck into the tree behind her. The spot began to wither and turn a nasty green and yellow color. "Crap," Halley said, taking flight to avoid another arrow.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Evangeline appeared to have an endless supply of arrows to use at her will, while Halley had a limited supply of energy. It was almost like playing cat and mouse, no matter how high she flew, Evangeline and her arrows could jump twice as high. The darkness completely surrounded her, and occasionally she would find herself bumping into branches.

Currently she resided on the top of a branch, breathing heavily and attempting to rest for a moment. When an arrow missed her by mere centimeters and struck the tree instead, Halley did a nose dive off the tree and stabilized herself in mid-air. Why aren't any of my attacks working? Halley thought to herself. By now she had figured out that this was not the real Evangeline, but a creation of the Mage Gate to make her face her fears and hatred.

Evangeline is in her element and has an endless supply of weapons. I'm just me, all I have is my power and my flight...what can I do? Halley asked herself, avoiding another close call with an arrow. Her blood was boiling, Evangeline was taunting her in all aspects of her life now and it was getting on her nerves. Finally Halley had enough and smirked as an idea came to mind. She braced herself against a tree branch and shot beams of light into the darkness to allow her to see better.

Then she saw it, an arrow coming straight for her head. 'Yes,' she thought, reaching out abruptly and catching the arrow, where she flew forward at full force and caught Evangeline off guard. The arrow pierced Evangeline's chest, which caused the Vampiress to scream in agony. "How does that feel huh?" Halley asked, grabbing an arrow from Evangeline's belt and piercing her neck with it. Halley stepped back and watched as the Vampire began to shrivle, a look of horror on her face. Soon Evangeline was nothing more than a pile of dust, blowing away with the wind.

Soon the darkness faded along with the dust, and Halley collapsed against a tree, panting from exhaustion. "It's over..." Halley spoke to herself, not yet aware that she still had more challenges to face.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

Caught off guard and free-falling with a giant skeletor of a bird dive bombing her Kana forgot she could fly. She crashed through the tree canopies breaking every branch and bird's nest on the way down. She landed with a heavy thud and swallowed part of an anthill he landed on. The little bugs were furious and began crawling over her trying to bite through her rock hard skin and armor. She growled and clambered back to her feet hearing the skeleton eagle cawing angrily not being able to break through the thick leaf cover. With a moment to gather her plans she shook the ants off and kicked off the ground using her large strong wings to flutter up to the tree tops to try and find the bird.

"Where are ye, ya damn great fossil?" She said to herself just poking her head up through the leaves. She didn't see it, maybe it was a fly by mishap and the eagle was on it's way to some kind of Avians Anonymous meeting and didn't want to kill her. But she was wrong and kind of knew she was especially when the shrill screech of the bird hit her from above as did the eagle's talons. They grabbed her by the shoulders and ripped her from the trees she found herself somersaulting from the bird's claws over it's head then staring down it's impossibly black throat, but as her caretakers always told her a Highlander never dies without reaping a lot of hell first.

"Eat this!" She balled up her fist and just before she could feel the sharp beak around her she punched her attacked right where it's lower jaw attached to it's skull using her wings again she flew backwards away from the screeching monster. The jaw was cracked and unhinged and here she thought she had one but the skull glared ti's eyeless sockets at her and using it's talon like a hand it reattached the jaw.

"Aw fuck." She said as the monster attacked her the Fae had just enough time to draw her stone sword to fend off the rusty razor like talons, it was a chaotic mid-air battle. Attack for attack they countered each other broke the melee these times Kana used to try and smash the bird before it got to her. The ground under them was pock-marked and caved in where she he ripped the rocks and boulders out of. But each time she scored ah it it never phased the seemingly invincible Skeleton Eagle. She just hoped all her tests wouldn't be this much trouble she was starting to feel the strain of so much Terrakinesis so soon after her training. Her head was hurting as were her arms and wings she needed to end this but how? The bird was stunned for a few seconds from the last attack. The young lass used this time to scan over the monster's body trying to find some weakness. She found none until she got to it's chest, the air where the heart would be seemed to be pulsing and looking closer she was sure it was pulsing now maybe that was the weakness. She thought up a quick plan and charged the bird before it could fly away.

"AHHHHHH! She screamed driving the tip of her sword into the center of the pulsing air it hit something that wasn't bone and she laughed scornfully as the eagle screeched it's death peal and crumbled to the ground as lifeless mass of bones and dust. She panted sheathing her sword and called up another stone to fly her safely to the ground. Ah...hate...skeletons." She said closing her eyes hoping her headache goes away soon.

[Atrum Daemon]

Four and a half months had passed since Haakon had set his generals to the task of training the Mystics who had joined them. The lich himself had not been part of the training as he had been overseeing the construction of an underground reservoir beneath his estate. His drones and slaves had worked tirelessly to build the space to his specifications and then fill it with a strange, glistening, black liquid.

The Mystics had grown well in power in the course of their training, the Nobles working them to their limits and beyond to make them ready. The daily reports of their progress pleased the lich greatly. He called the Mystics and his generals to the grand hall of his estate for a final test.

“You Mystics have progressed well beyond what I was expecting,” Haakon said to the Mystics. “There is but one final test you must complete to cement the progress you have made.”

He unveiled a circular machine with what looked like a small landing platform at the bottom. “I had my wizards and technomancers construct this Meta Gate after the Mystic Mage Gate. This will put you to the final test. The machine will delve into your minds for a moment and construct a test based on your strengths and weaknesses. The gate will then form and you will step into a pocket dimension. Once you complete the test, you will appear on the opposite side of the gate. These tests will not be easy and will try you in ways my generals were not able. But, I have faith that you will all succeed. Good luck.”

With a short nod to the Mystics, Haakon powered on the Meta Gate with a small hum and then took his leave. He had something very important to do.

***

“Are you sure about this, my lord?” asked a warlock as he took Haakon’s purple and gold robe from the mechanical lich.

“I am positive, Franz,” Haakon replied. “If I did not understand the basics of this oil, I would not have bargained for it. You will await my emergence from this pool no matter how long it takes.”

“Of course, my lord,” Franz said. “I would wait until my body turned to dust if need be.”

Haakon nodded and stepped into the glistening oil. Despite his body not normally being able to feel sensation, he could tell the oil was both scalding hot and bitterly cold at the same time. Not deterred by the non-existent pain, Haakon waded out into the reservoir and soon vanished beneath the surface. Moments after he went under, a light began to pulse at the center of the pool.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Drax*

The Fearstalker watched as the wizard said his piece and left much like everything had been these past four months it was all business. The training, the plots, and the Mystics. It reminded him slightly of the way the Stalker training camps were set up. And he even harbored the idea of putting the Mystics into a Stalker training camp back in the Dark Kingdom. Then they'd be truly ready to take on the good Mystics but it would never fly with the wizard or the other rabble of the Nobility so he brought as much of the Dark Kingdom training here as he could. Manuals, courses, and even a few Stalker training machines that created dark magic copies of the Mystics to spar with. He didn't know what the other Nobles did with them nor did he really care, he just wanted to get these young Creepers as he called them just like any other young Stalker that joined his army.

They trained at all hours and on all levels, he was surprised these two survived it to be honest. Must be the luck of the Universe or something that kept them alive. He still didn't think they'd survive when pitted against a veteran Fearstalker but was sure they could handle anything his cousin Marzarex and his band of the gender ubiquitous and young girls could dish out. If they survived Haakon's contraption the war would finally start in it's fullest. Not much caring to wish the two young Mystics luck when he had war plans to arrange with his army but he figured it should be done simply as a courtesy.
"Don't die Creepers the war has just begun." With that he turned and walked to his rooms to begin making plans.

[Jacogos]

The past four months... It was an understatement to call them grueling. Her mind, body, spirit, patience, EVERYTHING had been stretched far beyond what she had thought was possibly within her limits. Between the magic studies with Trinity and Scarlett, the strength and fighting courses with Drax and Caine, and the Mystic Form training with Scylla and Evangeline... Well, they had all been pretty general with their training, but those were the parts that stuck out in her mind with each Noble... All of them had pushed her... All had beat her black and blue more than once.

And she had come out stronger for it. She was confident that she could hold her own if not best each of them in a one on one... Well, as far as besting went, she would never say that to any of their faces, especially the Fearstalker's. He scared her the most... She shivered, her memories of the past months fading away as Haakon addressed them.

So it was down to this... A final test... In this so called 'Meta Gate'.


---------------------------

So this was what Alpha had been up to all this time... Caine snorted slightly as a piece of dust flew into his nose. The two Noble Mystics were finally done with their time under the tutelage of the other Nobles, and thus were here for a final test. Caine had heard nothing about a final test until recently before he unveiled the contraption to the boy and girl. It would be restricted to them for the moment, so the Lich had said, which irked Caine a little. He wished he had the chance to test himself against something worthwhile... Sparring with the Fearstalker was no fun when he always lost.

In any case, the past few months had been... interesting to say the least. He was pretty sure he had spent the least time in total with the two Mystics, as he didn't have much to teach them other than fighting, which he usually preferred to teach through example. Eye ee, beating the shit out of them until they could beat the shit out of him. Even now, though, they only lasted long enough to wear him out instead of actual beating him to dust. Better than before, he supposed.

The demon boy showed a lot of potential. He was dark, which he liked. Scarlett had of course been the one to show him a lot more than the other Nobles, considering she was a demon like him. Caine didn't complain. He preferred the attitude of Nemine, though she was a little too weak for his taste. She had finally gotten a hold of her powers only recently, though the final acceptance of it had allowed her to push through as much training as the demon had in the first few weeks within her last few. They were equally matched now, as far as Caine could see, though he had a feeling Scarlett had taught him something that the others might not know about until later.

After Haakon had said his piece, it was time for the Nobles to leave the Mystics to their workings and continue their work. Drax was blunt and careless as usual. Caine smirked slightly and spoke to the two. "I doubt Alpha would rig up something like this without considering the fact that you could die. On the chance that he doesn't care as much as you might think, follow his advice," Caine jerked his finger towards the retreating Stalker, "and don't die. We trained you too damn hard for you to fail on us now." With that he nodded and took his leave. He had stuff to do, though he wished they could watch the Mystics face their tests. He believed it would be entertaining.


---------------------------

After the Nobles had said what they wished, Nemine huffed and approached the Gate. Turning back to Ira, she smiled slightly. "Well... here we are. Don't do anything stupid, okay? We're going to show them up." She laughed lightly, then turned and stepped into the Meta Gate

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Rex rubbed his chin looking over the table noting the whole lay-out of the jungle and the little figures that marked Mystics and challenges. Even the ones that weren't theres'.
"Well he's used his Meta Gate before, even if he improves it every time, if I remember right the doors work two ways. But Haakon also knows this, he may be old but I don't think he'll want to risk us getting a chance to find his HQ." The Dragon sat down in an unoccupied chair his eye never leaving the table and their students. So far two of them have beaten down their first challenges and he couldn't help but be proud of how well they did it.

[Setsa]

Trinity

Nemine and Ira had certainly came along into their powers the past few months. Trinity, like the other generals, had played a crucial part in this. Providing daily reports to Haakon on such progress and future lesson plans. At times she felt as if all these lesson plans were too much of an "evil teacher" planning how to destroy her young pupils. But for the Nobility that's how they got things done and it worked.

"Your mind powers your will and determination...so if you fail I'll make sure personally to destroy every last bit of it. Good luck." Taking her leave quickly as there was still much to do she caught up to Drax before he entered into the section that he and other fearstalkers mostly resided at. "Well a bet is a bet, if they survive the meta-gate still able to talk you get your what mortals call "a date." Trinity was true to her word; even though she was surprised when Drax approached her with such an offer a week ago after her training session with Ira.

"Well can't be thinking of such things...for now we still need to go over the war plans so I can get you what bodies you need to feed your fearstalkers and increase my own subjects for what's to come." Unlike most...she had no problem mixing amongst the fearstalkers. It never did bother her which helped when they had to spend so many days and nights figuring out things to the satisfaction of Haakon. Even though his plans had not been fully revealed to his generals; it was still up to them to make things work no matter what.


Fria

"I agree, right now it's not the time to get into Haakon's HQ. The mystics need to complete what is going on right now and then recover some. Trinity and Caine's followers have been seen in the amazon but not close enough to the base. With luck they don't find the meta-gate or our mystics...." Fria was worried as she watched what unfolded in front of their eyes. They were on their guard and so far doing well...and yea she felt they could defeat the Nobility if they must. But who knows how it would effect this last challenge of theirs.....she wanted them to grow stronger from this..not weaker.

[Stryker]

“Dammit!” Renshi yelled out, diving to the right and narrowly avoiding the water blast. “A dragon? How cliché can this damn place be?” he shouted while rising back to his feet only to be met by a pair of claws ripping his shirt open across the chest and smattering blood across the fabric.

“If I’m cliché, then rid the world of me. That is your people’s way of doing things, correct?” the dragon answered in a mocking tone, smirking as he circled Renshi who held a hand to his chest.

Renshi slid his open palm across his chest swiftly and the smell of burnt flesh permeated throughout the nearby area as a small flame ignited across his chest. He did this to close the wound even though the pain was immense for those few seconds, it’d stop the bleeding.

“How cute, now I’ll have to see how often you can do that…” it growled as it slowly licked the small traces of blood from its claws before charging him once more.

The pain from his seared wound still throbbed, he knew the coming battle wouldn’t do him any favors considering his current condition and figured that Naja said they’d all be challenged, then this wound on his chest would be the least of his worries. He leant to the right and nimbly pivoted out of the incoming dragon’s path, narrowly avoiding another laceration on his shoulder this time.

“The mighty Fire Mystic, reduced to running?” he taunted once more, his laughter causing ice-cold steam to erupt from his nostrils before his wings fanned out and he took flight.

“If this is all to test me, then I’m sure that bastard already knows that the majority of my current abilities rely on bodily contact…” Renshi deduced while putting his back up against a large tree, using it for hopeful cover while trying to think up a tactic while his foe was unseen and unheard. “… I’m missing something here…” he thought, trying to remember his distant past. He could feel it in his mind that there was something he would take advantage of in instances such as these.

“Too slow…” a voice echoed from the up above. Renshi glanced up just in time to see a tail make a beeline for his abdomen, catching him flush and sending him flying into a smaller tree, snapping the trunk in half upon contact.

“Son… of a bitch…” he wheezed in between deep breaths, one cough later and the taste of copper filled his mouth, “Dammit, have to think”

Before he could do so, the dragon reappeared and grabbed the back of his head.

“Pitiful, this is what all your brash nature hid?” the dragon asked sarcastically as he held Renshi up, turning him so that his back was to him.

“Let me go, bastard…”

“Or what?” he asked before placing a forceful punch to Renshi’s kidney.

“Agh!” he yelled, a small trickle of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth as he did so.

“You’re nothing but a frail human… No armor or anything, it’s rather pathetic”

“Wait a minute… That’s it!” he thought in his head. “Armor!”

Before he could think further, the beast flung his body across the ground, the only reason he came to a stop was due to a stump lying in his way, his body making contact with it causing a rousing thud noise to echo through the area.

“What was it….” He frantically began to wonder, trying to remember the words, he could picture a few letters in his head but he couldn’t finish it, like the words taunted him and mocked him for forgetting to begin with.

“I think I’ll just freeze you where you sit, Fire Mystic” the dragon shouted before inhaling deeply and exhaling a large blast of frost. It wasn’t meant for a quick death, but rather to slowly freeze it’s target before killing it over time.

“That’s it!” Renshi shouted before standing up with the help of the stump.

He then lowered his head and raised his arms at his sides as the attack neared him, freezing the ground as it did so.

“Flames of War, Fires of Hell, Keep all at bay, Burn all comers so that I may Dwell!” he shouted.

Upon uttering that sentence, his body became engulfed in a circle of flames that obscured view of his body. An eruption of fire exploded forth, causing the dragon to halt his attack and stare at the spectacle before him.

“What is this?”

“Your ego has cost you dearly, dragon…” a familiar voice sounded off from behind the veil of fire. “Your need to establish dominance has become your undoing…”

As the fires cleared out, Renshi became visible again, although he looked different than before. His frame was now covered in a long, red trenchcoat unlike before and in his hand there was a unique-looking sword. The hilt appeared to be black while the blade was a fiery red color and seemed to emit the tiniest amount of steam from the blade.

“All this time I had been fighting without this…” he started before motioning to the coat which had the appearance of being made from a hardened type of leather. “And this…” he continued as he raised the hand his sword rested in, the blade shimmering in the patches of sunlight that were able to make it down to the floor through the trees.

“Care to try again, dragon?”

“A coat and sword will make no difference!” the dragon roared before lunging once more, straight at Renshi with a claw extended and malice on the mind.

Renshi widened his stance and allowed the claw to make contact with his shoulder, leaving a heavy scar on the coat but not really breaking through to do any damage to his arm, much to the dragon’s surprise. However, as the dragon’s momentum carried him by, Renshi swung the sword around and plunged it deep into the dragon’s side and let its own centrifugal force carry him by, lengthening the laceration from just behind its front leg to just in front of its back leg. The roar was almost deafening as the dragon slumped to the ground, bleeding heavily from the gaping cut in its side.

“You… you…” he stammered out, clearly at death’s door and awaiting an answer.

Renshi simply walked up to the dragon’s side and rested his hand on the wound. “My how the tables have turned…” he mocked before tracing a finger along the cut, smearing blood along the way. “I would stand here and mock you in the way you did me, but I have better things to do than to waste time talking to the dead…”

With that, he jabbed his hand inside of the wound, closed his eyes and at once, a fire erupted from the wound of the dragon. He had reached in and grabbed ahold of a bone long enough to ignite a flame to burn his enemy inside-out.

The dragon said no more as it swiftly became engulfed in the flames and soon enough was nothing but charred remains.

“…Dragons…” he muttered under his breath as he sheathed his sword in its newly acquired place at his hip. “Be more original, Naja.” He spoke aloud, knowing that the Ancients were watching somewhere.

[RisingPhoenix]

The Trials Begin


Dorián

The air around Dorián was filled with moisture. He wasn’t sure as to what he was supposed to do, but he decided that getting down from the mountain top was his first priority, and then making his way out of this puzzle of a landscape would suffice. As he looked for a route down, he couldn’t help but feel as if something were watching him. He looked around quickly but saw nothing. Sighing, he decided that a descent down the mountain would consist of flying, something he had only recently learned how to do. A month of flying and still he hadn’t fully mastered it. The electromagnetic waves that he created around him allowed him to fly. He smirked deviously and jumped off the side of the mountain top. The fall was lovely. The air rushing passed him was exhilarating, his adrenaline rushing as he free fell for quite a while before stopping himself just before hitting the ground.

“So far so good,” Dorián said as he landed with a soft thud on the ground.

He looked up at the mountain he had just jumped from and sighed. This wasn’t anything like he had expected. He still could feel eyes upon him, and he quickly turned around to find nothing. Silently he walked, though unsure as to what to expect. Suddenly, the earth beneath him shook violently. Dorián nearly fell over, but he kept his footing and took a defensive stance. Something was coming. The ground stopped shaking; there was a moment of silence. Dorián stood up straight and looked around.

“What the hell…..”

The ground spewed forth a creature that resembled a giant mole. It roared and glared at Dorián. To make matters worse, another creature descended from the skies and landed beside the mole. This creature was humanoid in shape, but had wings of an eagle, eyes as red as fire, and skin as black as leather. Its face resembled that of a raven, and its hands were claws that gleamed. Dorián looked at the two creatures. How in the hell was he going to proceed with these two in the way. The raven creature laughed and began to speak.

“Look at him Razor; he doesn’t know what to do. Let us make this quick,” the Raven creature stated, its voice rather metallic and high, almost like a screech.

“Yes Mondra, quick and painful,” the mole creature, whose name was Razor, stated as it lifted itself upon its hind legs and began to transform into a humanoid shape.

Dorián looked at the two and wondered what to expect, but just as he was about to say something, the two charged towards him, their claws extended. First Razor attacked with several claw strikes while Mondra attacked with a flurry of kicks. Dorián dodged most of them, but when he felt Razor’s claws rip into his flesh and felt Mondra’s kick against his torso, he let out a soft painful cry before landing roughly against the cold jagged ground. To defeat these two, Dorián would have to find a way over overpowering them; separating them somehow. Slowly he stood to his feet and glared at the two creatures.

“Bring it,” he said as he clapped his hands together as if praying, and closed his eyes.

His form began to glow as he began to transform into his mystic form. Electricity sparked in all directions, and lightning surged through the clouds in the sky. Dorián opened his eyes and began to pull his hands apart. Sparks filled the gap in between as an orb formed. Dorián glared at Mondra and Razor who seemed to have been stunned by the sudden transformation. When the orb surged forth from Dorián’s hands, Razor quickly took the defensive and held up its large hands. The electricity bounced off of Razor; the creature was nonetheless unaffected. Dorián was surprised, but he didn’t wait around to see what would happen. He quickly made his way into the forest. He had a plan, and he hoped it would work. He moved through the forest with relative ease, though Mondra and Razor were right behind him.

“Give it up little man,” Razor stated its voice very deep and dry.

Dorián continued to move, weaving in and out of the large trees. Razor and Mondra were getting angry. Whenever they thought they’d catch Dorián, Dorián would slip from their grasp. It became a frustrating game of cat and mouse rather quickly until they lost sight of Dorián.

“Ye lost sight of him Razor, damn it all, where could he be?” Mondra stated the anger laced in his tone.

“Don’t blame me ye twit, ye should know a mole’s eyes sight isn’t the best, perhaps the great Mondra should’ve kept watch,” Razor retorted with a solid grunt.

“Shut your hole Razor, we shall split up and find him,” Mondra replied as he turned to leave.

“Fine by me, I don’t need your help anyway,” Razor replied as he rushed off in the opposite direction.

As each went their opposite way, Dorián stood on the branch of a tree that towered over Mondra and Razor. He watched them and smirked. His plan had worked. Quickly he went in Razor’s direction. He figured Razor would be the easiest to get rid of first. He jumped from tree branch to tree branch following Razor as quietly as he could, but when jumping from tree to tree, there is only a certain level of silence one can maintain. Before Dorián realized what was happening, a boulder came hurtling towards him, or rather his vicinity. Dorián jumped from the tree and landed on the ground beneath.

“Gotcha’.”

Dorián swirled around to see another boulder heading towards him. Quickly he jumped into the sky, the boulder barely missing him as he landed with one leg outstretched, both hands clutching the ground. Razor formed a smirk on his disgusting mole face and charged at Dorián.

“I’ll tear you to shreds.”

Dorián closed his eyes and concentrated. Lightning began to crackle in the sky, but Razor continued to charge towards Dorián. When Dorián opened his eyes, multiple streaks of lightning barreled down from the heavens and struck Razor just as he was raising his claws to deal a deathly blow to Dorián. The lightning didn’t harm, but instead it ensnared. Another bolt of lightning shot from the sky and struck Dorián’s awaiting hand. A bow appeared, one that was rather odd in form. It was extremely streamlined and lightweight, though it was able to shoot arrows that broke the sound barrier. It could even withstand heavy sword strikes. Dorián quickly took aim at Razor.

“Any last words?”

“You don’t have the guts. You’re as weak as your parents were,” Razor stated.

Dorián had a surprised look on his face. He glared at Razor.

“How do you know my parents?”

“Let’s just say ye are in for a rude awakening. Not everyone is as they seem,” Razor replied as it began to laugh maniacally.

Dorián’s facial expression changed as he pulled the string of the bow. An arrow of condensed lightning formed, energy sparking from the tip.

“I’d talk if I were you,” Dorián stated.

“Ask ye master boy,” Razor stated as Dorián glared and released the arrow.

It surged forth, breaking the sound barrier and releasing a sound similar to a loud thunder clap. The arrow pierced the heart of Razor and sent thousands of volts of electricity into the creatures form. Razor let out a pain filled shriek as it shook violently before its entire body blackened and turned to ash. Dorián exhaled and placed the bow around his form. He had to get rid of the other one, he was sure Mondra had heard the commotion and was no doubt on its way towards the battlefield. Dorián quickly jumped back into the nearest tree and waited. He couldn’t help but wonder about Razor’s words. What was really going on here? He would definitely have questions when these trials were over, if he lived through them. Just as he had thought, Mondra soon arrived on the scene and approached the pile of ash that was once his ally. He let out a vicious caw as it looked around for Dorián, finding him within a tree, an arrow pointed at it.

“Ye will pay, YE WILL PAY!”

Mondra surged forth with such speed that Dorián’s lightning arrow surged right pass Mondra and struck the ground. Quickly, Dorián took the defensive and began ducking and dodging Mondra’s swift kicks. The two began exchanging blow after blow after blow before Dorián collapsed to one knee. He was scarred heavily across his chest, the blood oozing slowly, but it wasn’t life threatening. He looked up at Mondra who had a vicious smile on its face.

“Wipe that smile off your face,” Dorián stated as he pulled himself to his feet and took a fighting stance.

“What is with ye humans, always something to prove,” Mondra stated its cockiness ever present.

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not human; I’m the unholiest of creations. I’m your worst nightmare. I’m an angel, but I’m also a demon. I’m the carrier of chaos, and the walker between worlds.”

Mondra’s eyes looked at Dorián, an expression of shock plastered on its face.

“Ye aren’t. Ye can’t be. That is a lie, ye cannot be,” Mondra stated fear gripping its spine as it began to back away.

“Oh, but I am, and your time is up.”

Mondra turned to run, but as he turned around, Dorián grabbed the plumage on the back of Mondra’s head and yanked it back. He delivered quick jabs and several kicks before knocking Mondra several feet. Mondra landed with a loud thud as its body slid against the hard ground.

“No, don’t…………”

It was too late. Dorián had laced another arrow in the bow and had sent it streaking towards Mondra. The arrow pierced the creature and shot straight through it. Electricity crackled from the poor creature’s body as ash soon replaced it. Dorián turned around and exhaled. He was not looking forward to the rest of these trials, but he was determined to finish. He had to finish. There were so many questions that were yet answered, and he would find the answers one way or another.

The ground shook as a portal appeared before Dorián. He quickly stepped through and found himself in a dessert.

“Odd,” he said softly as he looked around for any shelter. “Where am I?”

As he spoke these words, the ground around him began to sink. Dorián attempted to move, but his feet were stuck. Soon, he was swallowed by the large sink hole. He landed against a hard surface and grunted as he slowly picked himself up.

“What…….the…..hell,” Dorián grunted as he looked around.

Silence filtered into the area around him as he observed the various pathways presented to him. He could hear echoing steps, seemingly coming from every direction. The way he had gotten into the labyrinth quickly closed up leaving him in complete darkness. Torches lit up along the walls on each pathway, illuminating the labyrinth. Dorián looked down and noticed skeletal remains. He swallowed hard and moved down the nearest path, not sure where he was going. As he moved along, down different corridors, he could hear growling and talking. This disturbed him. Something wasn’t right and he had to find out what it was. As he neared a distant light, the voices and growling grew louder and louder. Dorián peered around a corner. His jaw dropped as he witnessed what was happening.

“Lord Haakon will be pleased. The portals are in place, and once he activates them, the mechanical masters will be able to step through and enter into the mage gate without being destroyed. Naja and his mystics won’t know what hit them. Come Diabora, let us go, there is still much work to be done.”

One of Haakon’s warlocks opened a portal and stepped through with Diabora following behind. The portal closed leaving Dorián alone.

“Oh no, I got to warn the others, but how?”

As he pondered solutions to the problem, he heard heavy footsteps approaching. He turned around felt a large hand grasp his throat and thrust him against a nearby wall, causing pain to flood through his body. He gasped.

“What are you doing? Let me go,” Dorián commanded as he struggled.

“Struggle all you want little man, NO ONE has ever escaped the might minotaur.”

Dorián looked at the vicious creature before him. The head of a bull, body of a man, feet of a bovine and a stubby tail. Its voice was very monotone and came out distorted and deep. He struggled against the minotaur’s grip, but the more he struggled, the tighter the minotaur’s grip became.

“I said LET ME GO!”

Dorián’s eyes began to glow as electricity sparked from them. There was a loud crackling sound and a sudden pulse of electricity. The minotaur stumbled back and growled as Dorián dropped to his feet, holding his neck and gasping for air. The minotaur charged, horns intent on skewering Dorián. Still gasping for air, Dorián wasn’t really in tune with his surroundings, but he was able to barely roll out of the way in time to hear the minotaur crash through the wall with great force. After gathering some air, Dorián stumbled to his feet and rushed off in some direction. He had no clue which way he was going, but he had to escape this labyrinth, ALIVE. He could hear the minotaur growling in anger, and could hear it yell.

“NO ONE ESCAPES THE MINOTAUR!”

Kurama

He felt in tune with nature, he felt that nothing could possibly happen that would deter him from making it out of these trials alive. He had to see Halley again. Still, what Marissa had said the moment she walked into the gate made him swallow hard. He had promised Tara that he’d go on a date with her. Given the circumstances, he would have said anything to get them to agree. Sighing, he realized that when he saw Halley again, he’d have to inform her. Stepped further onto the alien plane, he watched the many friendly creatures run around and play. If this was all that he had to do, he’d breeze through these trials with ease. As he walked, the sky shifted from day to night. Kurama was surprised, but he kept on walking. There was a loud howl that filled the air. Kurama looked around, but saw nothing.

“Strange, it is extremely quiet.”

As he walked, he stumbled upon a rose. This rose was white in color, and it seemed to radiate light. Kurama approached the plant cautiously. Every step he took was calculated and planned, but what happened next was very much unexpected. As Kurama touched the white rose, a cut appeared on his finger. He quickly yanked his hand away from the flower and watched as it twisted and contorted until it became a monstrous creature. It roared, its roar filling the silent night sending chills down the spine of any creature near, but Kurama simply stood there, staring at the beast. Its body was formed from twisted vines and roots. Its hands were clawed extensions that gleamed in the night. Its feet were seemingly rooted to the ground, but as it roared and stepped forward, Kurama knew instantly that it was not rooted. Its face was the rose, but it now had eyes as green as grass, and its mouth was filled with razor sharp spikes.

“Wasn’t expecting that,” Kurama stated as he reached into his hair and pulled out a rose.

The rose suddenly wilted to which Kurama looked in awe. This wasn’t good. Apparently this creature had some type of nullification abilities on plant matter. He’d have to figure out a way to defeat it without the rose whip to assist him. Dodging the thorny claw of the plant beast, Kurama flipped backwards and landed on his feet. Instantly he began calculating ways to destroy the creature.

“Without my rose whip this is going to be difficult, but it is possible,” he said softly as he dodged yet another of the creatures extending claws.

“Must not see my enemy with my eyes, must feel them in my heart. Concentrate and think. Everything has a weakness, and this creature is no exception.”

Kurama’s luck at dodging had run out. The creature’s claw cut into his chest and knocked him off his feet. He landed hard against the ground and coughed, the wind being knocked out of him for a moment. It took him a moment to recover, but he did and stood to his feet. The creature opened its gaping maw and shot a barrage of petals that sliced through anything Kurama hid behind. Truly this challenge was going to be tough. He looked down at his bleed chest and trailed a finger along the cuts. Slowly, they began to close as he chanted softly. He was currently hiding behind a stone, but he knew the creature would soon find him and he had to come up with some way of defeating this thing without getting killed. There was a rushing wind, and a petal that slices straight through the stone and nicked Kurama’s arm. He rolled from behind the stone and glared up at the creature.

“Alright, that’s it. It’s game time,” Kurama exclaimed as he charged towards the creature.

He ducked, dodged, and weaved his way towards the creature as it launched its various attacks. Just as Kurama launched into the air, a stray claw launched towards him in mid-air, but he quickly dodged it by using the momentum from the claw to swing himself onto the creature’s arm. Quickly making his way up the creature’s arm, he found himself on its shoulder. The creature roared and bucked, attempting to get Kurama off, but Kurama hung on for dear life. Kurama placed a firm hand against the creature’s head and concentrated. He closed his eyes and allowed everything around him to vanish. His body began to glow, and the creature began to roar as if it were in great pain. Kurama’s eyes opened. There was a bright flash of light. Everything went silent again. The creature slowly stepped back and allowed its arms to fall limply at its side. Kurama quickly flipped off of the creature and landed in front of it. His eyes still glowing as he held out his hand towards the creature.

“That a’ boy, now rest.”

The creature obeyed Kurama’s command and transformed back into the beautiful white rose. Kurama watched the transformation intrigued by what he had just done. He exhaled and placed both hands on his knees. He was mentally exhausted. The creature took a lot out of him to control, but he had done it, he had enhanced his affinity with nature to the point of controlling things. There was a howl that resonated behind Kurama. When he turned, he saw a wolf, a lone wolf that nodded as if acknowledging Kurama’s presence. A portal appeared. Kurama looked at it and then at the wolf. The wolf ran over to Kurama and licked his extended hand. A soft pat was all Kurama had time to give before he walked through the portal.

“We will meet again my friend,” the wolf stated as it watched the portal close.

Kurama appeared in a field of nothing but dried wheat grass as far as the eye could see, though it was only knee high in height.

“Hmmm…..”

Halley

As Halley defeated the copy of Evangeline, a portal appears before her. If she steps through, she will be transported to a garden filled with foliage of various kinds. All around her are walls. She must solve the puzzle. A rock not far from her holds a parchment. The parchment reads.

“When is a door not a door?”

There were three doors on three walls, but the final wall had writing on it. The ground was littered with gardening tools. Jars, buckets, shovels, etc. were all over the place. A pedestal stood in the middle of the garden, as if waiting for something to be placed upon it. A small water hole could be seen adjacent to the final wall.

“When there is no light, and darkness seems to prevail, a glimmer of hope is all that is needed, and a light to shine the way.”

An orb was placed directly below the writing and shimmered slightly.

Kana

After Kana defeats the skeletal creature, and floats off on a boulder, a portal appears in her path and she is transported to a location void of rock. The ground was made of plastic as far as the eye could see. It resembles rock in every way shape and form, but it is not, it is plastic. Kana lands softly on the plastic, her boulder vanishing. The sky is beautiful, yet there is no sun and no moon. It is neither dark nor extremely sunny, but more resembling the middle of the day. Clouds fill the sky and thunder can be heard in the distance. As Kana looks around, she sees trees in the distance, but how are trees growing without earth? A sign is plastered in front of the trees that read.

“Those who enter the maze of despair, enter at their own risk. To find ones way through, one must be at peace within themselves.”

Kana reads the sign, but enters anyway, feeling that she has nothing to fear, and is at peace with herself. Truth is she has never met her birth parents, and in order to be one with herself, she must understand that she has much to learn, and much to find. She quickly loses her way, yet it is up to her to find what she is missing within herself.

Renshi

After Renshi defeats the large reptile, the other hidden dragon smiles. He speaks Renshi’s name in the softness of the air, and Renshi hears this. He looks around, but sees nothing as a portal appears and he steps through.

He appears on a beach. A wall of pure stone prohibits him from turning around and heading back into the forest. There is movement in the water, movement that indicates something big is underneath. Suddenly, a great beast (http://pgwebdesign.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/water-sea-dragon-serpent.jpg) bursts out of the water and glares at Renshi.

“Your next test is one of endurance. Your sword cannot be used here.”

Renshi’s sword is ripped from his hand and vanished.

“Your challenge is to defeat me Fire Mystic, but you should be warned, holding back will get you killed.”

The great beast laughed menacingly before speaking again.

“To think that one so cocky as yourself was not prepared for what the Mage Gate presents. I shall swallow you whole, or rip your flesh from your skin little man. Tear him apart minions.”

Several large human shaped fish creatures (http://images.wikia.com/forgottenrealms/images/5/56/Locathah.jpg) emerged from the ocean and stepped onto the land.

The humanoid dragon that had watched Renshi’s first battle was standing close, though not close enough to be seen by either the beast of Renshi, but close enough to observe. He was atop the great wall of stone and was observing Renshi with eager eyes.

Naja

Naja watches and hears Renshi’s comment. He points to Renshi on the screen and smirks. Suddenly, Dorián screen goes blank and Naja’s eye brow arches slightly.

“Renshi is cocky. I fear his overconfidence will halt his growth. I hope they do not think that I created any of these challenges. This gate has existed since time began to test those who are worthy. What happens next is unbeknown to me. Still, I fear for Dorián. I just saw him get sucked into the sand trap and now his screen has gone blank. I wonder what has happened.”

When the great beast burst forth from the ocean to confront Renshi, Naja’s eyes widened.

“It can’t be…………the great beast of the sea. Now this is something I didn’t expect.”

[Lady Celeste]

Queen Scylla

Scylla watched in silence as the Noble Mystics were brought to the Meta Gate. Unlike the other Nobles, the mermaid queen had no parting words for them. Either they would succeed or they would fail; it was really that simple. But though she did not voice this to the other Nobles, Scylla would have preferred if at least Nemine managed to pass her test. There had been no sign whatsoever of Amphitrite since Scylla had become queen, and Nemine's power over ice could prove useful if the former queen or her loyalist allies ever came out of hiding.

Keeping these thoughts to herself, Scylla found herself required to leave shortly behind Haakon as the gate was powered up and its heat radiated through the room. A spell taught to the mermaid by Haakon gave her a temporary set of legs so she could walk on land when summoned, but water was still a necessity, especially for extended periods of time, and the heat that now warmed the room housing the Meta Gate had threatened to dry her out if she stayed. Making her way to the naval docks just outside of the Meta Gate room, Scylla dove into the water to rehydrate herself and rose back to the surface. It would still take time for the spell to wear off and change Scylla's legs back into her tail, and the proud mermaid would sooner cut the legs off herself than let her subjects see her with such a human trait.

That, and part of her was still curious to see if Haakon's little protégés would pass the trials of the Meta Gate.

Tara

Bugs. Why did it have to be bugs?

And not just any bugs, but giant mutated bugs with visibly sharp teeth and the biggest stingers Tara had ever seen. Instinctively she jumped off the cliffside and tried to fly to avoid them, but they were not so easily shaken off. Even the occasional blasts of wind she sent at them seemed to do nothing against them. For the moment, it seemed as though this test were nothing but a game of cat and mouse, until a few of the mutant insects broke off from the group and intercepted Tara at a narrow clearing. Now the insects approached her from all sides, until one finally dared to fly at full speed toward Tara, its stinger poised to strike.

It was pure luck that Tara had noticed the charging bug and caught its stinger before it could get her, but now she had no intention of letting it go, and she took the bug's body in her other hand. The struggle lasted only for a few seconds before the stinger broke off, and with a final shriek the bug disintegrated.

Tara watched, stunned, as the insect dissolved into dust in her hands. But her confusion was short-lived as the bug's friends began to buzz with rage. "Okay, go for the tails. Got it." Tara flew up into the air again, and the bugs immediately gave chase, but this time Tara was going on the offensive. Slipping unseen into the trees, Tara took hold of another bug and broke off its tail, watching as it too disintegrated and blew away with the breeze. Flying off again, she repeated the process, until only three of the insects remained.

By then, the remaining three were noticeably wiser to Tara's strategy, and wasted no time cornering Tara in the forest canopy and attacking from all sides. There would be no chance for a sneak attack now, not as long as the three were attacking her constantly. Removing her chain-belt, Tara whacked each of the bugs aside with the belt and quickly broke off one bug's tail before it could attack again. The other two recovered soon after and aimed their stingers again, but as Tara ducked to avoid them, one got its stinger stuck in a tree behind her, while Tara got up and took out the other bug. The last bug was quick to get its tail out of the tree, but too late for it to avoid Tara as she took hold of its tail and broke it off, reducing it to dust as well.

"That was too easy." Tara commented to herself, creating a small breeze to scatter the bugs' remains. But none of the other Mystics appeared, which meant that apparently the challenge wasn't over, so Tara found a nearby stream and washed the dust from her hands as she waited for the next part of the trial.

Marissa

For the most part, the native creatures were content to leave Marissa be, passing her by as she idly explored the area. But it wasn't long before something fired some kind of laser at her; Marissa barely avoided the blast, which hit a passing fish instead and immediately paralyzed it. Looking toward the source of the shot, Marissa saw a school of sharp-toothed eels rapidly approaching her, and quickly contacted them.

"I mean you no harm." She said to them mentally. "You can go on your way."

But the leading fish quickly replied back. "This is your first test, Water Mystic. If you cannot defeat us, we will gladly feast on your half-breed flesh."

Marissa narrowly dodged another paralyzing blast from the leader and swam to the side of the creatures. "Fine by me." She told the leader, bracing herself for battle. A few of the eel-piranha advanced toward Marissa, who leaned back to swipe her tail at them and knock them aside before swimming way. But this did little to slow down the little beasts, and the eel-piranha proved durable enough to survive even the lowest depths of this part of the river.

"Boo."

The leader intercepted Marissa alone near the entrance to an underwater cave, ready to fire another paralytic blast at her, which Marissa dodged by quickly swimming to the side. She caught a glimpse of the leader's gills as she did this, which gave her an idea. The leader turned toward Marissa again, but Marissa gripped it tightly and briefly pushed her fingers down on its gills before releasing it. This time the leader did not retaliate, and simply lay floating in the water, a few small twitches betraying any hint that he was still alive. At the very least this was enough to create a small distraction, and Marissa immediately used the opportunity to start swimming away.

Emerging on the edge of a riverbank, Marissa took hold of the shore and rested herself there, half-submerged in the warm, shallow water. It looked like she had lost those eels after paralyzing their leader, and the scenery above was beautiful, the river leading up to a massive waterfall just a few miles downstream. But less than a minute after Marissa had started to relax, a familiar voice echoed in her mind.

"Stupid mutt. You really think you'll be rid of us so easily?"

Marissa looked down and barely swallowed a curse. The eels were swimming toward her on all sides now, all ready to attack at her. But her mind went back to the scenery around her, including the waterfall. It was a long shot, but it was still worth trying.

Diving back into the water, Marissa immediately swam under the eels to avoid them and began swimming downstream. The current easily helped Marissa to gain speed, but it was equally helpful to the eels who, being smaller and lighter than Marissa, quickly managed to catch up with her. When the current became strong enough, Marissa took hold of the leader again and briefly squeezed his gills, paralyzing him again.

"This is for calling me mutt!" Marissa said telepathically before releasing the leader, who was swept off helplessly by the current and over the waterfall. Now swimming against the current, Marissa quickly caught the other eels as they came, paralyzing them before they could shoot at her, and then releasing them to the waterfall's mercy. Before long all of the eels were thus dispatched, but the current was quickly catching Marissa as well and pulling her toward the waterfall with increasing speed. Swimming to the side toward the nearest shoreline, Marissa nearly went over the waterfall as well, but managed to grab onto the edge of the cliff just as she would have gone over. Dangling from the edge of the cliff, Marissa felt as her tail changed back into her human legs, and she climbed over the edge and lay herself onto the soft grass to rest.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*


The Dragon's brow furrowed and his 6th sense for trouble was spiking. First Dorian's sudden disappearance and the appearance of the sea beast that even surprised Naja. This wasn't right something reeked of Haakon, he did a quick scan of the other Mystics making sure the rest of them were fine, they were for now but this set the old Dragon on high alert. He connected the dots they knew Haakon was working on a way to corrupt their gate, and they know he'd been trying few a millennium to do so. Now one of their Mystics were gone and there's only one thing that could both get through the magic and want to mess with their Mystics.
"It's begun my brother and sister, prepare the defenses I need to make some calls." He quickly turned and left the Common Room heading for one of the balconies. If Haakon took this to the next level they'd need help and fast, if he remembered the last census there were at least four other older Dragons that made the various reaches of the Amazon their home. A Swamp Dragon named Casteil, a River Dragon named Belisa, and two Jungle Dragons named L'achia and Boto. A grab bag of skills and experiences but better then nothing and five Dragons should be able to hold most bad guys at bay.

Marzarex took a deep breath and said in the Dragon tongue loud enough to be heard across the land but only Dragons would hear it.
"Confn sia isthasyi vur myvishi, wer tairais tepohaic confn vur wux vers ui rigluina."(Come my brothers and sisters the time has come and your power is needed). His words would echo in the ears of every Dragon within one hundred miles of this location. More might hear it then the four depending on if any more of his brothers and sisters are in the area. Hopefully they'll get here before Haakon's plan comes to fruition.


*Kana*

When Kana first saw the strange area she was transported to her heart sunk. A land of plastic with trees in the distance, first she tried to push her senses out and find some earth around her like maybe the plastic was just a cover over the real earth and she could rip the material apart to get to the earth but he heart sunk even lower when after pushing her sense out to their limits five miles around and under her she saw no hope, she did feel something at the very edge of her senses but she didn't know if she'd be able call them to her. She was already extremely weak being this cut off from the earth and wasn't sure if she could summon up the strength on her own to bring them to her. She sighed and pulled off her sword dropping it to the squeaky ground before changing out of her Mystic form wanting to keep her strength for whatever this maze has in mind for her.

So there stood Kana MacCloud, Lassie Black Stone the fourteen Year Old Rock Fae without any access to her natural earth powers. She picked up the sword which was about as tall as she was now and tightened the scabbarded around her body luckily she still had the natural strength and endurance of her people otherwise she'd have to leave her wonderful blade hear in the middle of a plastic maze of Despair. Having only a general sense that going forward would lead her out. That's all she had to go on that was until she heard a voice up ahead. She quietly drew the sword and crept along keeping close to the wall. She didn't know what to expect in this place and as she peeked around the corner and found out exactly how much she didn't know.

Standing against the wall of the maze was a young man dressed in clothes that belonged on a dark skinned gypsy not a lightly tanned boy with red hair. A long tattered coat, torn black jeans, old scuffed boots, oversized white shirt, and a ripped black hat with a Magpie feather tucked into the band. He was talking to himself as he was writing in a small black journal, the girl crouched down and listened to him babble.

"I tell ya, sleep with one of the Summer Court Princess's hand maidens and kinda get her pregnant and you get black listed, demoted, and forced to act as a seeing eye dog for a lost Rock Fae engaged in some big dumb cosmic battle that hasn't ever bothered the Courts before when it happened." He shook his head scribbling in the book more.

Sensing no danger Kana sheathed her sword and walked around the corner and crossed her arms looking the boy over.
"Who are ye?"

The boy jumped at the girl's sudden appearance stuffing the book into one of his wide pockets but his surprise melted away into a grin that was half flirty half lustful he spoke in a smooth charming voice. "Well heeelllloooo there pretty lady. What brings you here? I've got a meeting with some craggy Rock Fae soon but. He walks slowly up to Kana not even bothering to hide his eye movements over her body. I'm sure I could spare a few minutes or an hour to get to know you better." He moved his hand to her waist and tried pulling her close to him but instead he found himself hanging by his neck in the air with the Fae's hand clenched on the collar of his shirt.

"Ye've two seconds ta start talkin' a'fore I break yer neck." The young man stammered realizing he had just met the craggy Rock Fae he was waiting for and almost felt her up.

"I'm Dut the Magpie Trickster, I've been sent by the Summer Court to act as a guide through your past." Kana dropped Dut feeling strange about what he just said.

"What do you mean?" She asked looking a little hurt but also surprised like she had been that badly tricked that she was in her past or her mind or something.

Dut filled in the unspoken question with answers to everything he said. I'm a Magpie Trickster aside from our namesake tasks we also work as messengers and such for the more powerful beings the Never Realm. Right now I'm working for the Summer Court, your parents have been trying to get whatever Court that's in power to send someone like me out to you for 14 years. They finally got someone's ear and here I am. And I've been tasked with guiding you." He said trying his damnedest to keep his eyes at Kana's face even though the tight top and jeans she was wearing made it hard.

"But Master Naja said we have to do these tests by ourselves, no help from each other or the Masters. There's also some kind of spell that supposed to keep us from seeing and going to the others." She said actually not noticing his efforts to not roam his eyes now.

Dut nodded pulling his hat off to wipe some sweat from his brow.
"But I'm not one of you Mystics or one of your Masters, the Mage Gate from what I've been told is a powerful magical item but also a simple one. It restricts those with Mystic blood but the rest of us are either unaware of it's restrictions and don't notices or can over come them, and trust me when you have the Fae Queen as well as the Fae Mother working on something you get results. And you'll still be doing this by yourself I'm just here to explain things and hint at things."

Kana nodded still lost but shook it off and cleared her throat.
"Ok then let's go." She said walking past Dut her mind cloudy with more questions but also with all the rules and such she learned about Fae and other creatures of the Realm.



*Drax*

Draxer looked over the Angel his train of thought stopping when she brought up the date. He had totally forgotten about the bet he posed to Trinity last week, it wasn't that he planned to side-step it but he never expected her to take him seriously. His kind rarely mixed with other races unless it furthered their own kingdoms goal or to feed off them. And never had any Stalker outside of myth and fool legends gone out on a date or something with a non-stalker.

Fearstalkers didn't even "date" amongst themselves, the courting process consisted of following your sense of smell to a female or male that smelt right then you went to the Couple Ring and after a few secret rituals then they did what was called the Claws of Destiny. With their enhanced senses and powers nullified they were cast into darkness and slashed at each other a total of three times. This could take hours because they couldn't see in the dark or use any of their magic to find their enemy. After each had slashed the other three times they exit the tomb. Then the Gray Scales would read the marks and depending on what they read they'd learn how many younglings the couple would have, how long the mating would last, and who would be the dominate one in the relationship. Wraith Rippinger had never found the right smelling female so he didn't have the distinct slash marks other males would have but like the rest of his life it seems he was an oddity he had actually mated with a non-stalker.

It was the shame of his life really, he was still a Creeper and he'd been sent on a mission to eliminate some fools calling themselves after his people to commit various murders this could not be tolerated. The mission went well enough but as he was checking their hide-out for any stragglers he came across a young Dunmer female, he was young and still hyped out on the blood rush from his first large killing he wasn't himself and the Dunmer little more than a girl was half-naked and waiting to kill whoever was causing all the blood and screaming and while she didn't have the raw dangerous sex appeal a Stalker female would have his blood rushed head liked her taut young body and wild determined eyes. She was actually the leader of this raggle-taggle group from what she told him after the fact. Some how they went from trying to kill each other to coupling throughout the night. But what was a worst shame was the fact that after the Blood Rush left him he allowed her to continue the coupling. When it finally stopped he had to get back to his kingdom and he had to leave the only being to ever survive coupling with a Fearstalker. Before he left he found out her name was Mrita and she would never forget him. He said he would never forget her either and he hasn't to this day. He broke the memory and looked back at the Angel nodding.

"Very well Lady Trinity please follow me to my chambers, we'll discuss things when I'm sure we won't be interrupted." He gave her a Stalker smile which looked equal parts pissed off and amused. He opened the door and motioned for her to go into the blackness of the Stalker's wing.

[Setsa]

** Fria**

Preparing the defenses as Rex said in his words; wasn't as easy as one may think. Mainly because there weren't many Ancient Mystics anymore except for the three of them in the same room before the space dragon went out to call for help from his own kind. Dragons were so intelligent and each with their own strengths that it would certainly be helpfull if they agreed to assist to make sure the Nobility didn't tip the scales anymore in their favor. "Oden is not pleased with this at all.... But being a god he cannot interfere just yet unless it gets worse... I'll head out now to the gate to greet our comming winged friend and hold our defenses until further orders." With a quick bow she ran to the Meta-Gate; only changing into her mystic form once she arrived. Driving her staff into the ground she closed her eyes....wings wrapping around her kneeling form for protection and to help cloak her appearance so that she would appear as a swan with no staff visible. Fria used the natural metals in the ground... summoning them to bring about walls of protection around the metagate so nothing could come in or out. If the Nobility managed to cross gates they'd have to deal with her trap and walls first.....

**Trinity**

Walking into the Fearstalker's wing she breathed in the darkness until few amount of dimmed lights appeared down the halls. Enough to see but also to hide those others in the shadows... But she had been here enough and this area didn't bother her much at all, such emotions being fed off of innocent mortals from others seemed to be now a welcomed feeling of a familiar place. She couldn't call it home...but it did feel good as if she was welcomed there by those like Drax. With such, the fallen angel followed him to his chambers to discuss the war plans as others took care of their own things as they waited for Haakon per his orders.

[RisingPhoenix]

Nemine

As Nemine stepped into the meta-gate, everything around her vanished and was replaced by volcanic rock and spewing cauldrons of smoke and ash. She looks around and notices that she’s at the bottom of a volcano, inside the hellish crater. The lava is only a few feet away from her, but for some reason she isn’t affected by the nauseatingly deadly gasses. A trail leads up and out of the volcano, but three gates appear at certain points along the path. Nemine looked around once more and determines that her best bet is to follow the trail out of the volcano, but as she heads towards the first gate, and walks through, she is immediately transported to a volcanic battle ground.

From the lava bursts forth a great beast (http://attachments.conceptart.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=703391&d=1245533608) that roars and glares at Nemine.

“Ice Banshee, PREPARE TO DIE!”

The beast spewed magma from its maw directly at Nemine. She’d have to find a weakness in the beast in order to overcome it, but judging by the size of the beast, this was going to be a tough battle to overcome.

Tara & Marissa

As Tara finishes off the last of the creatures, she sees a portal appear and she steps through. There was a loud cracking sound as a serpent made of stone slithered up to Tara.

“Your next task is to find your way through the maze without getting lost in its secrets. This maze often shifts and changes, but there is a secret to making it out alive. For this challenge, your powers will be of no use. Be careful Wind Mystic and trust in your element.”

Tara is led to the entrance of the maze and the stone serpent dives back into the earth from which it came leaving Tara alone. To find her way through, she must become one with herself as well as her element, reaching the next level of mastery.

Marissa is transported to a large vast desert with no life for miles in every direction. Marissa steps onto the sandy soil of the desert and looks up at the sun. It was hot, that much was certain, but what was her challenge? As she continued to walk in an attempt to find her way out of this situation, she hears a roar in the distance. There is a large rumbling of the earth beneath her feet, and a large worm like creature (http://i476.photobucket.com/albums/rr128/drawer3000/PZO9204-WormMonster.jpg) bursts forth from the ground and strikes Marissa, cutting her arm slightly. The worm roared again as it readied for another attack. To defeat this creature, Marissa will have to learn how to manipulate the fluids within the creature and command them.

Naja

He watches as Fria and Marzarex take steps to counteract any type of plan Haakon may have in force, but he knew all too well that it would be useless at this point. None could help the mystics now, this was their task to finish alone and if any of them interfered, they’d be cast out of the gate and temporarily drained of energy.

“Go my brother and sister, but await my orders, I shall continue to watch and see what happens.”

Just then, the beast bursts forth on Nemine’s screen. Naja’s eyebrows arch a bit, but this was his chance to see how well Haakon had trained his mystic. He looked over the others and noticed that Tara and Marissa were facing new challenges.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Upon hearing the responses from five individuals instead of four the old master smiled and changed into his Dragon form to engage in the usual peacetime Dragon greetings of headbutts and wing hugs. Walking smoothly to the front gate of the Amazon compound he sat on the ground wrapping his wings around his body and his tail around part way in the front of him. It was a few minutes before he saw the first arrival the wings were non existent but the tail was amazingly long and looked like a flipper a glint of aqua blue scales running down a long serpentine body and green teeth shined off the sun. It was his old friend Belisa the River Dragon age 60,000 expertise healing and obviously enough all forms of Aquatic warfare. She flew in wave like motion like she was still swimming through the water. He let out a roar of greeting and he saw the River Dragon smile broadly upon seeing Rex. She quickened her flight and landed a few feet before Rex bowing her head low in respect to the older Dragon. Rex bowed back then approached Belisa speaking in their tongue butting his head with her's lightly.
"Ava'yorn sia myvish, Si mi lotoc ekess ocuir wux tenpiswo." (Hi my sister, I am happy to see you here.) The female returned the head butt and spoke.
"Ava'yorn sia isthasy, Si tiliw ti shartleg vhira wer relgr di vin Tilabil tiliw Si?" (Hi my brother, I couldn't turn down the call of an Elder could I?) She smiled winking at Rex. Moving within the compound to submerge herself in the pond near the gates River Dragons hate being out of water for very long. Shortly there after a pungent smell reached Marzrex's nose and he gagged a little the smell of a Swamp Dragon always precedes it's arrival by a few miles. He laughed knowing that could only be the craggy and generally grumpy Casteil age 75,000, expertise poisons and raw claw to claw fighting. The smell only grew more powerful the closer Casteil got soon the Space Dragon saw the dull glint of mud green scales and the flap of short, jagged but powerful wings. The blunt tail swished aiming the great camouflaged Dragon toward the other two. He landed heavily folding his wings around his body, his long tendril like horns bounced slightly as he walked up to Rex and bowed his head low but his face was stuck in a constant sneer but rarely did he really mean it. He growled a greeting to Rex.
"Si tepoha confn isthasy, zyak svaust tir wux rigluin riliwa?" (I have come brother, so who do you need crushed?) Rex laughed butting heads with the stinky old veteran.
"Wer juanth irlymi di wer treskri isthasy, wer Nobility." (The old enemies of the world brother, the Nobility.) Castiel snarled rubbing a claw along a particularly nasty scare going down his squat neck from one of Haakon's machines. Rex could already tell Cas was thinking up a battle plan for the battle, the grizzled old lizard was very good at that.

The Ancient Mystic soon heard what sounded like chirping coming from the trees and he caught glimpses of blue-green colored scales and spotted feathered wings with rainbow colored feathers insides but the same blue-green color on the outside as they bounced between the branches. Bursting from the foliage two dragons roughly the size of horses landed in rolls on the ground before Rex. He smirked at the two Jungle Dragons as they shook leaves from their bodies. L'achia and Boto, mated pair ages 45,000 and 45,050 expertise for both of them is ambush and guerrilla warfare. The pair bowed to Rex who bowed back before engulfing them with his wings they were two small for him to headbutt.
"Aldoer moxt isthasy vur myvish, Si mi lotoc wux tepoha confn ekess letoclo udoka." (Welcome little brother and sister, I am happy you have come to help us.)
L'achia chirped out her response smiling. "Vur yth re lotoc ekess letoclo wux turalisj isthasy." (And we are happy to help you big brother.) The brightly colored Dragons ran to a tree within the compound and clawed their ways into the branches laying down sunning themselves chirping out a little Jungle Dragon song.

There were the four he knew was here but who was the mysterious fifth Dragon that had answered his call it was far away but he could've sworn he felt the air charge when the response came to him, that could mean a Lightning or Storm Dragon was in the area or just a normal thunderstorm was on the way. Ten minutes passed before the gathered Dragons felt the air pressure increase like a big storm was actually on the way but their keen noses told them another more promising reason for the change in pressure. Storm Dragon... among the most powerful races of Dragons, Storm Dragons are close to the top seven right behind Space Dragons and the base elemental Dragons. They were usually bad omens for trouble as well but you were always lucky to have a Stormer on your side. Rex soon saw the clouds darken and a form crashed through them making a bee-line for the group, he could see the dark emerald colored scales, the three black horns, one on it's nose and the other two just behind it's ears. It was another serpentine body but with clouds acting as wings. The dark sky followed the great master of storm as it approached them the closer it got the more Rex started to recognize them. It was Fenirex age 2,500 barely going into Adolescence in Dragon terms. If the old Mystic remembered right Fenirex hadn't made his notch in any field of expertise yet but like all Stormers he was a powder keg of power and force, he'd dub him the Dark Horse.

Upon seeing it was in fact a Space Dragon that had called him, Fenirex's dark clouds dissipated and the air pressure returned to normal. He landed a little clumsily on the ground and bowed his head down like he had been taught to do. Marzarex smiled bowing back it wasn't often you see the young so scared into respect like this.
"Vinxa ihk anyuir wer relgr ghergo ir." (Thank you for answering the call young one.) Rex said to Fenirex who nodded lifting his head before speaking a voice almost as deep as the Master's.
"Si mi tiichia ekess anyui coi Tilabil, Si filki charis si shilta qe di creol letoclo ekess wux." (I am honored to answer it Elder, I just hope I can be of some help to you.) Since the greeting rules were different for Dragons of this age gap Rex lifted his claw and placed it on Fenirex's head and ruffled the cloudy spikes gently. Feni bowed his head and tapped his muzzle with his claw in gratitude. With everyone gathered Marzarex motioned for Feni to join the others which the young Dragon did. And now with the pleasantness and traditions of Dragon greetings observed Rex spoke in English to them.
"My friends we must retire inside and speak with Master Naja who I'm sure most of you remember. He looked around the the other Elders nodded only Fenirex shook his head being too young to know. For that we must shed our scales." The others nodded and were soon changed into their human forms the Eldest Dragon was always the last the change forms. He did so and after setting his clothes right he walked back into the ground and looked around at the humans that now surrounded him. Belisa was tall, elegant and queenly dressed in a light blue knee length skirt, sandals, and an aqua colored t-shirt with a picture of a dolphin on the front. Her hair was the same color as her scales and it was long put in place with a seashell, she had lightly tanned skin and bright blue eyes. Casteil was built like a rocky stump short, squat, covered in scars and muscular. His hair was muddy brown with green high-lights and in a crew cut, his clothes were that of an old farmer, blue jean overalls, black boots, and a green sleeveless shirt. His skin was a deeper tan than Belisa's and his eyes were brown green the two colors mixing like a muddy pool.

L'achia and Boto were straight out of the Brazilian Carnival, bright colors and flowing clothes both decked out with shiny little charms and tools. L'achia was in a white skirt with the sides cut way up to her rear and a bikini style rainbow top her feet were bare. Boto was in black pants that look like he robbed a genie and a vest with every shade of green around it he wore no shirt under it, his feet were also bare. Their skin was a deep copper color from living in the jungle all their lives and their eyes changed in the sunlight. Feni was dressed like he just came from a rave. Florescent green shirt, baggy black pants and hi-top sneakers with little lighting bolts drawn on them. His skin was fair but not pale his hair deep green with black and yellow streaks and his eyes were a cloudy gray. Rex smiled seeing how diverse they must look in the middle of the Amazon but they'd all work.
"Very good now follow me and we'll get plans underway." He turned and led them into the Mystic's HQ.

[Atrum Daemon]

They were inside the Mage Gate. The portals set up by Haakon’s warlocks had worked like a charm. Soulless and relentless hunters stalked the Mystics. The Hunters were all linked by a special network that allowed them to perfectly coordinate either as a group or individually. For their mission, they had split up so each could go after one Mystic.

In their hands, the Hunters held sleek, smooth rifles that pulsed ominously at their core. Each Hunter had a skeletal body and moved with more grace and stealth that one would expect of machines. The Hunters had moved to the best positions to get clear shots at the Mystics they had chosen. The strange null field generated by each Hunter would ensure that magical attacks would fizzle uselessly if used against them.

The sleek weapons all trained on their prey as internal targeting sensors locked on and followed their movements. As one, the Hunters squeezed triggers and fired their alien weapons. The rifles, called Synaptic Disrupters by the Hunters, were terrible weapons. Once struck, the target is immediately aware of horrendous pain as it feels as though one’s synapses are being eaten by fire ants.

***

The light as the center of the reservoir pulsed brightly before dying down to a simple light. The light moved from the center in the direction of where Franz stood with his lord’s robe. Haakon emerged from the oil completely changed. He had gained a strange, porcelain-like metal as a substitute for skin. Underneath the strange, bone-white metal was his metal endoskeleton covered with strange, synthetic sinew. This could only be seen through cracks as the white metal covered his whole body.

Haakon’s now clawed fingers swiped across Franz’s face. The Warlock’s head split open and he fell face first into the oil pool. Haakon picked up his purple and gold robe as the corpse was consumed by the liquid. “The conversion will soon begin,” Haakon said to himself as he left the reservoir chamber for his estate above.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

Time dragged on in the Maze of Despair and the heavy feeling began weighing down the young Fae as she trudged on in silence with the annoyingly chipper Dut at her side she sighed meeting another dead end.
"Ye know fer a Guide, yer really useless at Guidin'." Dut had been humming to himself the whole time going over what he'd do once he finally got out of this place. He hadn't really been listening to the girl that almost killed him but caught this question.
"I'm your Guide Kana not your babysitter, I offer you alternate solutions to things you've just been choosing the wrong ones. And while your Mage Gate doesn't have much effect on me I'm still bound by it's expulsion rule as well as the normal rules of being Fae Guide if I take your hand and lead you I'll be launched out of here like a cannonball." Kana huffed walking back the way they came taking the opposite passageway then the one she did all the way until she reached the large pillar she was going to use as a guide of her own. She scratched an circle and an arrow pointing down the other way and just an X one the side closest to the wrong way. Dut smiled nodding following Kana and since they were now going the right way clips from the girl's past will begin playing on the white walls each would have a clue in it but it was up to Kana to find them.

The first one wasn't from her babyhood but from when she was a young girl. She'd been out exploring the woods in the back of her house one warm summer night but go turned around after trying to follow rabbit tracks as they weaved in and out of the brush. She was sure she'd find his home soon but she bumped into a tree she didn't know was there and with her concentration broke she looked around and found herself in a part of the woods she didn't recognize in the least. At first she tried to back-trace but everything was too dark for her to see the chill of the night began creeping through her light shirt and jeans. The young lass shivered and began walking in the general direction she thought she came from.

Kana stared at the clip playing like a movie on the wall then asked.
"Wha's the point o this?" She crossed her arms watching her little girl self stumble over the brambles and rocks slowly growing more panicked.
"You're supposed to see something aside from what you see." Dut said leaning against the other wall he pulled his little book out knowing this could take awhile. Kana gave the Trickster a slightly disgusted look before turning back to the wall this must be what her whole test will be like, no fighting, no running just thinking and look for something she had no clue what she was supposed to see. The clip kept playing right up until she ran into her caretakers' arms who had been looking for her all night. She did notice something though when her adopted mother grabbed the cold little girl she looked up into the foliage and nodded what looked like a thank you and a I'm sorry to someone or something hidden in the branches. Then the wall went black and stayed like that for a few seconds before restarting the clip and playing it over again. Kana took a step back so she could get the whole wall into her vision. This time she focused her eyes into the trees scouring them for any clue but despite watching the clip 3 times over all she got was some constant movement in the leaves that could have too easily been birds or something to really consider. But on the fourth time she felt a small spark in her heart and she noticed a wing that didn't look like a normal bird's wing.

As if reading her mind the wall went black once she saw the clue and wouldn't play anymore. The girl looked back at Dut confused the young man smiled nodding to her.
"Good work now let's move on we've got a lot more memories to look through before we both can get out of here." The dead end that marked the end of the clip wall disappeared revealing another section of the Maze. Kana smiled inwardly walking bravely into this new section. Followed closely by the Magpie Trickster, with the momentum of this accomplishment still glowing her mind she soon found a sequence to the maze three left turns then three right then a right then a left. Following this sequence she came to the next clip wall, it was the time right after her 7th birthday. She was staying at her friend Mary's house doing a sleepover, they were trying on her mother's make-up and clothes pretending to be famous movie stars even quoting their favorite movies. Mary's mum wouldn't mind she did the same thing when she was young so she actually gave them some of her older stuff to play with. They were just about to put on another shade of lipstick after wiping the other shade off when Mary's mother called up the stairs.
"Ok you lassies be good Da and need to do some errands in town we won't be more than an hour."
"Ok ma!" Both girls say Kana having no problem calling Mary's parents Ma and Da sometimes. They heard the door shut and the two little girl took the chance to sneak into Mary's parents' room and tried on some of her mother's clean underwear. They didn't have what was needed to fill it but they wanted to try it on anyway. They were having loads of fun when they heard someone at the door, fearing it was Ma they quickly pulled the underwear off and stuffed it back in the drawer before quickly pulling the big dresses back on scrambling from the room. They giggled thinking they were top-notch tricky but then a loud crash made them jump and a man's grunt came up the stairs to their ears.
"I hate when they fuckin' lock the doors, come on grab some of this stuff before anyone calls the bobbies!" Another man nodded and soon the girls heard heavy foot steps coming up the stairs.

Kana and Mary huddled in the cloest in the spare room trying to be quiet so the men wouldn't find them but luck wasn't on the little girls' side tonight the Burglar came right into the room and ripped open the closet making the girls cry and scream as he glared evilly at them. He reached for them but as Kana jumped away from his hand she hit the back of the closet and a heavy trunk fell on top of the man's head knocking him out cold. At the time Kana thought it was because she hit the back so hard it just fell but now she wasn't so sure. The memory rolled on showing her and Mary running from the house and getting help from the neighbors that where it ended then restarted. Taking the step back so she could watch the whole scene piecing it apart as best as she could.

As Kana went over this memory the Trickster was gazing around the land and felt a strange sense of being watched from somewhere. His powers weren't limied in this place so he could sense the watcher somewhere and while he couldn't directly help Kana he put himself between where the sense was strongest and Kana. Anything attacking him would violate the Never's rule about never attacking messengers or guides. They attacker would be destroyed by a Fae Warrior's wrath, but he played it off like he was just watching her watch the clip. The girl didn't even notice Dut's movements her focus was totally on the wall trying to find the clue. It ran five times before she caught it from the edge of her little girl vision she saw and streak of brown dart into the closest as the man opened it and then before she hit the back the trunk moved on it's own and dropped on the man after it was moved to teetering and let gravity take over. Just as before the wall wnet white and another dead end opened to them. The sequences held throughout the maze and with each step the spakr in Kana's heart grew stronger and brighter. The other clues came quicker after the first two, a glint of eyes in the shadows, a strangely colored rock popping out to keep her from falling, a shadow falling over her making her turn just in time to dodge speeding car various strange things like that she felt like she had finally found her parents again and it made her heart sing knowing they had be watching her from the day the MacClouds found her but she still didn't know how or why they found her. Even without Dut saying so she knew she was drawing nearer and nearer to the end of the maze. They pair soon reached a gate that marked the end and beyond it was the trees she saw at the beginning still growing out of plastic from what she could tell.

"So where's the last clip wall?" She asked looking around the little area they were in seeing nothing popping up. Dut simply placed his hand on her head and using the magic given him by the Queen he momentarily pulled them out of the Maze but only deeper into Kana's repressed memories that had been locked away by the acient magic when she was taken from the Never Realm so technically they hadn't broken any rules since Kana had never actually left the maze only fell against the wall slumping down until she was totally covered by the plastic walls. Dut and Kana were dropped into the scene of Kana's kidnap from the Never Realm. Though it was in Kana's mind it felt like that had actually gone back in time to that night fourteen years ago. At first this was all new to Kana but as they walked closer to the sounds of voices it slowly trickled back into the Rock Fae's mind her smile grew with each step. Soon she thought she'd get to actually meet and see her parents the girl wanted to dance with joy but the solem look on Dut's face quietd her dancing urges.
"Can ye tell me anythin' about this one?" Dut thought for a few seconds then simply said.
"Look before you leap." She took it to memory but didn't see why she would have to look before rushing to her parents and embracing them both.

They soon reached a construction site piled stones were stacked in neat rows and masonry tools were ready for the rough hands of the Stone Mason to wield them. But instead of a crew of rock workers all Kana saw were two broad muscular beings though it was hard to tell form this distance you could see one had the graceful curves of a woman while the other had the box like shape of a man. Gray wings were folded across their backs and they stared at an imposing mountain. These were her parents she wanted to scream for them but Dut's words reverberated around her mind and she stood still nearby she heard the soft cooing of a baby. Following the sounds she spotted a clay cradle carved with beautiful designs rocking gently in the shadow of a granite boulder. That must be Kana when she was little inching around she could see that it was in fact her only dressed in small smock made of silk and playing with her black stone charm. More voices these ones sounding anxious and excited got to her ears and she found a large family of Vampires gathered in a small grove of tree watching her parents intently but also taking little glances at her cradle. The girl ignored these looks know her parents would never simply allow the Vampires near their daughter. Her parents discussed things in the language of Fae before nodding to each other and the Vampires. Squaring their feet her parents held their hands out toward the mountain and bowed their heads in concentration. The ground shook and rumbled and the mountain slowly began taking on the shape of a castle. Kana was amazed at her parents power even as a Mystic she didn't have the power or skill to make a castle right out of a mountain. But like her parents she didn't notice the Vampires creeping over to her cradle and snatch her out and through a portal into the human world. The charm necklace went off and her parents spun to find the Vampires just sneaking the rest of their numbers into the human world. They didn't get far the earth rumbled and roared it's rage the fortress collapsed on the Vampires inside it and like a couple of raging bulls her parents tore through the group crushing the vile creatures under huge stone weapons. The slaughter only lasted a few seconds and as they rushed to grabbed a wailing Kana the relieved smiles on their faces turned to pure anguish. Kana couldn't see from where she was standing but her baby hand had actually touched the Human World. She was slowly turning human and humans can't live in the Never Realm, he skin lost if gray color as did her eyes and her wings shrunk to nothing. Kana was unaware of all this and as they placed little Kana what looked like willingly into the human portal leaving a small note on her chest along with the black stone charm they then closed the portal and the memory ended.

They returned to the Maze and Dut slumped down besides Kana that spell taking a lot out of him but Kana was far worse off, the parents she had just begun to trust and love abandoned her here in this horrible world where young people are forced into fighting some undying darkness just because of their blood. Tears dripped from her eyes and she curled her knees to her chest wrapping her arms aroudn them weeping into her pant legs. Dut wanted to comfort her, tell her the answer but he just couldn't do it she had to figure it out for herself to truly pass on to the last test. So in general silence aside from Kana's weeps they sat, many minutes passed maybe even an hour before Kana sniffed out her last sob and whiped her eyes. How could they abanond her like that? Parents were meant to fight tooth and nail for their children, and from what she discussed with Dut through the course of this maze that was even more true for Fae. Whole wars were fought over stolen children no matter the cost or sacrifice, parents just wouldn't leave their only child like that when she was safely back in their arms. It just didn't make sense the spark was still in her heart but it felt incomplete she had pegged it up to being abandoned like that but another part of her being argued this. She was conflicted she needed an answer.
"Dut what are the rules for Fae children again?" The Trickster nodded hoping this was going where he hoped it would.
"Never be seen in the Court unless called upon fear of dishonor. Never leave your court's homeland upon fear of death. Never take a mortal into the Never for fear of losing them forever. And... He said cutting it off letting her complete it... "Never go into the Human world yourself not even a finger unless inside a fairy ring for fear of never coming back." He hid a small smile seeing the light bulb go on in Kana's eyes there was her answer and she got it by herself.
"My parents never abandoned me! I touched the human world when the Vampires grabbed me! The Ancient Magic made them leave me! That's why they've been trying to get me back! They still love me!" She shouts bouncing to her feet feeling the spark ignite her heart in joy. And just like that the gate opened and she saw her parents there waiting for her. Kana looked exactly like her mother even down the shape of thier faces, she hsd her father's strong steady eyes though. She ran to them and they to her the embrace was powerful and ripe with joy and tears. Dut the Magpie Trickster smiled stepping back from the reunion the whole thing made him want to talk to his parents but that would have to wait until the final test was passed. Right now he was happy to let the family see each other for the first time in fourteen years. Once the crying finally stopped Kana smiled into the broad chiseled faces of her parents, her father spoke first.
"Mi lovely wee boon, Ah'm so proud ye've gotten this far." His voice was rough and deep but the emotions was right on the surface. Next to speak was her moth who's voice was still deep but sounded more gentle.
"We knew ye could do it Kana but there's till a ways tae go. One challenge awaits we cannae help we the rules of this place apply tae us as well, but Dut will stick with ye tae the end ina that right wee Trickster?" Dut simply nodded to Amyareya but motioned his eyes in the direction of the presence he had been sense and was sure they'd be sensing as well. The woman caught the hint and nodded but she didn't want to scare Kana anymore.
"We must go now mi bonny daughter, ye'll make it out of here alive ah know ye will. We might even have a wee surprise for you at the end. Now good luck." She leaned down and kisses Kana's head before eying the direction of the presence letting Haskin say his good-byes.
"Ye have done the Folk proud Kana, from the day ye were bern tae now, just remember we are more powerful than Lycans, more vicious than Vampires, more devious then Fearstalkers, and have more magic in our pinkies then every Warlock in the world. A Fae in tune with the Never has no equal. We love ye now go face yer destiny." He kissed her head too then taking Amyareya's hand they opened a portal and left for the Never. Leaving an ecstatic Kana at the gate to the maze with a wary Dut.

[Froggy]

Halley looked as a door appeared before her and raised an eyebrow as she stepped through, wondering where it would take her to. She was surprised when she was taken to a garden, filled with many various kinds of folliage. She looked around cautiously for any signs of danger, light glowing from her body. "Hmmm...." she whispered to herself, looking at the gardens before her with caution. She noticed three walls, each containing a door on it. She noticed a pedestal in the middle of the garden, surrounded by various gardening tools: a shovel, a jar, ect., and then she noticed writing on one of the doors.

Looking around she noticed a wall with no door off in the distance, and a small pond as well. She noticed a rock with parchment not far from her, and decided that it was safe enough to read the parchment. Nothing had jumped out at her yet. "When is a door not a door?" Halley asked herself aloud, turning to face the door. She thought about the ingredients that had been set before her. This was a puzzle, not a battle. She was an actress and a Mystic, not a puzzle solver. She read the writing on the final door and sighed, it wasn't making sense.

So the first thing she did was fill the empty space on the pedestal by sitting on it to think. "When is a door not a door?" Halley looked around as she repeated the question to herself. She looked at the wall with no door, but a gem on it. "When it is ajar?" Halley wondered, chuckling at her own sense of humor. "A light to shine the way..." she repeated, looking at the jar and looking at the gem. She stood up and looked at the pedestal, looking thrilled at the crazed, insane idea she had just come up with. "It's worth a shot..." Halley thought to herself, placing the jar on the pedestal she had been occupying moments ago.

She aimed the jar to the gem and shot a beam of light through the jar, striking the gem with a surprising amount of precision. The gem began to glow, and the next thing she knew, one of the doors opened. "AHA!" Halley said, bursting into a fit of giggles. "Funny Naja," Halley said, looking up and smiling lightly. She knew the Mage gate wasn't supposed to be funny, but this one was, it had a certain dry sense of humor to it.

Halley walked through the door, expecting to meet her next challenge. Instead she was greeted by what appeared to be some sort of weapon coming straight at her. "What the hell!" she shouted, taking flight and barely avoiding being struck by the strange weapon. Her heart began racing, wondering if this was another trick of the Mage Gate, or if something was going on. If Haakon's forced had managed to find her while she was still inside the Mage Gate. "He couldn't..." she said to herself, though she wasn't so certain of that.

[Stryker]

“After hearing the declaration from the sea beast as well as observing his minions springing forth from the depths, a wry smile crept to his face as he dusted his hands off and closed his eyes.

“A sword would only slow me down when it comes to finishing you and your hair-brained lackeys off…” he replied before widening his stance, placing his hands at his side and narrowing his eyes, viewing the nearest monstrosity as it approached him, growling fiendishly as it flailed towards him, followed by the rest of them.

“Blind optimism will kill the best of all comers, runt!” the beast roared.

“Optimism?” Renshi questioned before breaking into a fit of laughter. “Optimism is for the weak to give others hope of survival. I live in a world where only realism remains.” He explained before noticing that he’d become surrounded by the little goons.

“In my world… you realistically don’t exist!” he roared before springing to life, striking the first monster ferociously with a backhand that landed squarely on the left side of its jaw, an audible grunt could be heard escaping it’s now-battered mouth as well as spit that found its way to the next creature which hesitated at first, not expecting Renshi to throw himself at them recklessly.

After the initial strike, he spun to the right, extending his foot in front of him as he did so and swept the second goon’s feet from underneath it while jerking his knee forward and catching the monster in its eye with the strike which sent it to the ground with a yelp of pain.

Another one of the monsters stepped in and delivered a hammer-like shot to the back of Renshi’s neck, sending him down to one knee before he felt a kick being delivered to his ribs which sent him rolling across the dampened sand. He eventually braced himself on the ground a few feet from the group of monsters before rising back to his feet, still holding his ribs while a grin began to spread across his features.

The creatures charged him once more as he dusted his hands off, creating a noticeable spark each time his palms grazed each other.

The first one threw a punch that missed its mark only to have Renshi grasp its forearm and continue smile. It struggled to free itself before an explosion erupted, engulfing its entire body in the flames until all that remained was a plume of smoke, the smell of burnt flesh and a pile of ashes.

“You may have taken care of one, but more remain and now know of that trick, human.” The beast bellowed.

“By the time I’m done, you’ll know all my tricks and still be dead, freak.” Renshi mocked before widening his stance one more, his coat lightly grazing the ground as he crouched, his center of gravity now lowered, he eyed the remaining five as they closed in.

Over the next twenty minutes, Renshi’s fight became tougher and tougher much to his dismay thanks to the creatures learning his techniques as he used them as the monster told him they would. Whatever attack or special technique he used on one would fail to be effective on the next and that would continue on down the line to where they were now. All of the beast’s minions had been taken care of and lay between it and Renshi who physically showed the toll the battle took.

The right sleeve of both his undershirt and trench coat had been ripped off and a trail of blood trickled from his shoulder to his fingertips, staining the sand a crimson coloring. A gash had been opened above his left eye and a second trail of blood found its way down his face which he had to occasionally had to wipe from his vision. A third trail of blood started from his ribs and a slash that had been made while he fought both the second and third creature. Truth be told, his injured arm was fine except for a searing pain that would shoot up from the elbow to the shoulder when he’d over exert it.

“You should find something to observe yourself in, Mystic. In your current state you are no match for me.” The beast explained before lowering his head in front of Renshi, “Even when you were without a scratch you stood no chance.”

Before the monster could react, Renshi didn’t bother with any special technique. He did something that he knew would piss off anyone with a heartbeat…

He spit on the beast’s face, the bile landing square in its right eye. “Here’s an observation, you’ve got something in your eye.” Renshi responded before forcing a smirk. “Now if you’re done with declarations and observations, I’ll kill you now and let you rot away in your sea.”

“Wrong answer, mystic.” The beast roared to life before simply using its forehead to slam Renshi against the wall that separated the forest from the beach, the impact nearly separated Renshi’s life from his body too.

“You’re… predictable…” Renshi gasped before slamming his left fist into the beast’s right eye, lodging his hand in its retina before hearing a loud screech followed by the monster slinging it’s head about, trying desperately to shake him off.

“You bastard, you scrawny bastard! Ahh!” it roared, slamming the side of its head against a rock causing Renshi’s body to crash into it as well.

Before it could do anymore damage to him, however, the few seconds Renshi needed had passed and the creature’s eye erupted in a shower of both flame and blood. With nothing to hang onto anymore, Renshi fell to the ground, an audible crack accompanying the impact with the ground. He had fallen at an awkward angle and landed on his previously injured arm, the crack more than likely confirming something had broken in the fall as he clutched it gingerly, grimacing in pain while rising back to his feet albeit slower than before.

The giant sea serpent wasn’t faring much better as one eye had been blown apart and the fluids streamed down the right side of its face. The explosion had also blurred its remaining vision.

“Where are you, mystic?!” it roared, scanning the ground, its highly impaired vision making it nearly impossible to find Renshi who stood off to the left, holding his arm, breathing heavily and using a lot of his remaining strength just to stay upright.

“What's wrong?…” Renshi spoke up, having to concentrate to keep his voice steady. “You don't expect me to wait until your sight returns to finish things, do you?” he bluffed.

“Grr...” was its response as it tried to track him from just the sound of his voice, it more than likely would’ve worked if its ears hadn’t still been ringing from the explosion.

With a mighty roar and a heave of its tail, the beast turned back to the ocean. “You may have survived this time, mystic, but I will return and will finish what I started when we meet again!” it bellowed before ducking beneath the surface of the ocean, all that remained of its appearance was blood stains in the sand and Renshi’s beaten and battered body.

“I’ll… I’ll be waiting…” Renshi stammered out before dropping to one knee. Truth be told, there would’ve been no way that he could’ve withstood another attack from that monster… The only thing that saved him was his mind, bluffing the creature into thinking he had more left for it and it’s failing eyesight helping with the bluff.

[Stryker]

Sorry, internet made me double post.

[Jacogos]

Nemine was only slightly caught off guard by the sudden transportation, but she quickly regained her composure whilst a large magma beast crawled out of the lava. She smirked as the beast spoke, hopping to the side with a slight twirl, as if she was dancing and easily avoiding the magma spew. Without hesitation, she changed into her Mystic Form. A fog appeared around her as her body radiated a faint glow, her hair spilling out and freezing at the tips. Her eyes took on an icy blue that glowed even brighter than the rest of her body. The fog dissipated in the heat, but Nemine didn't mind. She stepped back a few feet and gestured at the beast.

"Ну поймите меня, то*," she spoke in Russian. The beast roared and more lava spewed from its gullet, enveloping the area that Nemine had been standing in. She had dodged to the side again, as easily as the first time, and shot a few volleys of Ice Shards at the beast, at which the beast snorted. The steam that escaped its nostrils melted the simple projectiles before they could even touch it. Not deterred in the slightest, Nemine waited for another spew of lava, then went the opposite direction, summoning up an Ice Wall in front of her as she went. The monster waited to figure out where she would be, then spewed another ball of lava into her path, at which point Nemine went the opposite direction again. This time, though, her Wall was still there and the monster had no idea where she was.

Roaring in annoyance, the monster left its bowl of lava, which was just what Nemine hoped for.

Knocking through the wall, the beast looked around for Nemine, unaware that the girl had quietly snuck down her path and gone around, towards the rear of the beast. However, the beast picked up on her scheme and whirled suddenly, swiping at her with its foreleg. Nemine was suddenly reminded of her most recent match with the Fearstalker and flipped backwards. As she did, her Ice Spear formed in her hands and she slammed the weapon down onto her opponent's claw. The frozen blade impaled the beast's limb, causing it to roar in pain, though the weapon still melted after its work was done. Nemine smirked and hopped backwards some more, keeping distance between herself and it, as she had learned to do with the Fearstalker and Werewolf. Unlike Ira, she was not a melee fighter. She preferred long range combat.

Roaring some more, the monster launched more lava at her as it charged. Nemine quickly threw up an Ice Wall, then bolted to the right, attempting to flank the beast again. Though the Wall held for a few moments against the lava, the beast still easily bowled through the thick wall, though Nemine's plan to flank it worked wondrously. Per her training with the demoness, Scarlett, she had learned to look for her opponents weakness simply through its appearance. If that had failed, she would've began talking to it, but of course, this beast's weakness was obvious.

Focusing for a moment, Nemine's hand shot out, then dipped and rose, summoning her Iceberg technique. A pillar of ice, a good 5 feet in diameter, shot from the ground directly under the beast, impaling its glowing red underbelly. The monster screeched, lava flowing from its wound and melting the pillar. However, the damage had been done. Roaring in agony, the monster turned and launched a stream of lava at her. She dodged to the side again, but this time the monster kept spewing as it turned its head. Swearing, Nemine put up an Ice Wall, but some of the lava got over it and burned her shoulder and arm. Swearing again, this time in Russian, Nemine jumped back, turning her arm into her Ice Form. The lava melted through her now ice-based form, but she could reform her lost limb in this form, with a lot of effort. It would have to wait, she thought, returning her gaze to the beast.

"I'll have your head on a plate, Banshee bitch!" the lava beast roared, pain obvious in its voice. The thing appeared over the Ice Wall and slammed down on where Nemine had be standing before she dodge rolled out of the way. The beast inhaled, and Nemine prepared to throw up another Wall, but instead of lava, the monster spewed out thick black smoke.

Coughing, Nemine tried to exit the smoke, but she backpedaled for quite a few steps without getting anywhere. She could only assume the smoke covered the field, so she did what she could. Shooting a high pitched scream in front of her, Nemine listened for an echo. Nothing. Widening the range, Nemine shot more screams out where she thought the beast had been, eventually receiving an echo towards her right. She shot to her left, feeling the heat of the monsters lava moments before it hit where she had been standing, then launched another Ice Spear at the monster. She heard it hit, based on the monster's roar, which made her smirk though it probably was nowhere near a lethal shot.

Tired of smoke and near to coughing her lungs out, Nemine summoned up her Blizzard. The smoke disappeared in its wake, leaving Nemine with the familiar cold that she oh so loved. While not oppressive, the heat had been more than an annoyance to her. Breathing in the clean air again, Nemine rushed forward, a plan forming in her head.

With a few more screeches, Nemine plotted out where her enemy was, then shot to flank him again. He caught sight of her somehow and launched a lava projectile at her, which forced her to back track. "You won't escape me with your petty tricks, child!" the monster exclaimed, rushing her down. Bingo. Waiting for the right moment, Nemine launched herself upwards and formed another Ice Spear. She landed on the monster's head and shoved the spear down into its skull, which gave way with a pleasing crunch. Smirked, she waited for the monster to stumble, then caught it with another Iceberg into the bottom of its head. Iceberg met Spear and the monster's head was turned into mush.

Hopping down from the defeated beast, Nemine stumbled slightly on the dismount. She had used far too much energy for that battle, and it was only her first... Evangeline would be displeased. She had been very adamant about conserving energy... Figuring she needed to get it over with, Nemine reformed her melted arm, the returned the limb to its natural fleshy state. It would have pained some lesser beings greatly to have to regrow a limb, but for her, it just tingled. Shivering from the lack of energy, Nemine was teleported back to the path in the volcano. The first gate was down, now for the next two... She paused for moment, to catch her breath and regain some energy, then continued into the second gate.

---------

*Come get me, then.

[RisingPhoenix]

Nemine

The gate that she had overcome glowed slightly as if lighting the way. Suddenly, it became encased in ice, and the next gate was activated. Nemine stepped through the gate and was instantly transported to a desert. This desert was extremely hot and no wind blew. There were no clouds anywhere in sight and no life, or so it seemed. As Nemine walked onto the sandy earth, skeletal warriors with a flame in guts broke their way through the sandy ground and began to surround Nemine. There were four of them, each a different color. One was blue, one was red, one was white and one was brown. Each represented an element, and they would utilize these elements in combating Nemine. Each withdrew a weapon and pointed them at Nemine. The red skeleton had a sword, the white skeleton had two bladed fans, the brown skeleton had a scythe and the blue skeleton had a trident.

“Your next task is to defeat us, the elementals, if you can,” the red skeletal warrior stated as it swung the sword it had within its grasp and readied for battle.

These particular skeletons would not break apart upon impact as normal skeletons would. Nemine would have to defeat them one by one with the best of her abilities. There was no rest for the weary.

Renshi

As Renshi defeated the great beast of the sea, the humanoid dragon watched in amazement. It identified itself as male because of its muscular build, but it never allowed itself to be seen by Renshi, nor sensed. Just as it was about to jump down and challenge Renshi, a shot was fired. The humanoid dragon sat back down and decided to continue watching to see if Renshi could overcome this new threat, and then and only then would Renshi face the final challenge. All three were transported to an area of the jungle that had more room for Renshi to battle the Hunter while the humanoid dragon watched.

Halley

Halley and the Hunter as transported to a new location within the jungle to give them both a chance at survival.

[Echo]

After the Mystics were thrown in the Meta Gate, Scarlet had absolutely nothing to do. So, Scarlet sat in her big, wheeled, leather chair, with her feet propped up on the desk in front. In her hands were dull, muddy coloured darts, swirling around. Across the room hung a dart board, a small one with small targets. The center of it was no bigger than a pea, and four darts sprouted from it. Though that wasn't all. Scarlet kept on throwing and throwing as the number of darts on the center of the board grew. Four, five...six, seven...eight, nine, ten. Then she would walk up to remove darts, and repeat.

After a wasted hour of useless dart throwing, Scarlet got up and stomped in frustration and knocked over a few things while she was at it; an uncommon feat. Okay, so the Mystics are gone, and big attacks against the goody-goody Mystics aren't exactly smart unless they're back. The arena in the backyard is choked full of powerless shit-cakes that die in less than a second. Haakon's off doing his own thing - again, but it's really no surprise. That guy just comes and goes as he pleases. And lastly, killing a bunch of the human race seems too easy and un-entertaining right now.

Let's see, Scarlet thought. Maybe I'll try out some human entertainment. Who knows, maybe I'll like it. Scarlet walked out of her office, and went out to search for a T.V. First room to the left, nope. All rooms down the hall, nope. In a vacant room used to house underlings - bingo. Well, let's see how good a human's acting is. Scarlet grabbed the remote from the 'throne' for the flat screen, and turned the thing on. After pressing three random digits on the remote, the screen flickered to some cop show that solved homicides. Boring. Next channel, was some kiddie cartoon about a living sponge who lives in a surprisingly not-rotten pineapple. Scarlet snickered mockingly and punched in another set of digits. Little babies that can barely walk caked in make-up and bombarded with the frills of their tutus.

"Hell no," Scarlet said, rolling her eyes. "Che." She threw the remote on the couch and aimed a dark, black spear at the screen. After the job was done, the spear disappeared into the air.

Scarlet grabbed that door and pushed it open rashly, almost cracking the door in her grip. "Gotta find something interesting to do or I'll seriously lose it."

[SikstaSlathalin]

(Setsa & Siksta co-op post with Drax and Trinity.)


The trip to his chambers took longer then he had hoped it seemed everything that could hold them up did. Supply requisitions, Training reports, Unit placement orders looks like this would be a long and tedious day but first he had to make plans with Trinity. His Stalkers were getting angry with the lame subjects the Nobility had gathered to feed his people thirst for fear. They were all usually some kind of drug addict or homeless person. And while those offered meager fears to work with a healthy Stalker needs a clean undamaged brain to be well fed and work at their top level of power.

While Stalkers can eat and get by on normal human food and such that only keeps their bodies strong for their minds and powers they need fear to absorb good tangible fear. And the Fallen Angel of Tragedy would be a perfect supplier of despairing and fearful people. Gathering all the reports and paperwork under his arm he led the way to his grand and brooding chambers. Opening the door he walked in and dropped the papers in a pile on his long black-wood table.
"Feel free to settle yourself in Lady Trinity, I just need to get out of this cloak and armor. He turned to a polished wood closet he ripped the black cloak off letting it disperse into the air, without bothering to waste any time on modesty he pulled off the black breastplate and leg armor. He stood for a few seconds in just what could be called black briefs his tail twitched idly scanning the few bits of clothing he had. He selected dark gray pants and a black and gold vest slipping them on he turned back to the table and unrolled a map marking where they both had agents to utilize.

Trinity sat down in his lavish chair that was on the other side of his long table. Allowing her eyes to watch his changing as, for her, it was something to always enjoy with Drax. "Seems like your Fearstalkers are looking a little lean, I take it that food supply isn't prime cuts of mortals?" Considering that she herself fed off of emotions, the fallen angel knew exactly what he was going through. Definitely not something that would allow the generals to be at the top of their game which worried her slightly considering the meta gate events were well underway. Licking her lips as he was in just 'briefs' she not as willingly grabbed the appropriate map of many that were needing their attention. Tossing it to him she got out of his chair, standing up straight in her own glory as it was time to get to the business at hand.

The map was of the Congo in Africa, with such dense jungle the Fearstalkers and her subjects could be well hidden and feed off of the superstitious residents nearby. Some of the best, untainted emotions and fears resided there. Which produced some of the best fighters either of them have... "Well, from what updates I have my troops there are growing strong enough there and preparing for the upcoming wars. But with upcoming tourist season we need to move them out for better availability and to make sure their strength keeps steady. But where? Pickings grow slim with the Mystics out after their challenges.... I can collect enough subjects to provide fresh fear as you'll require...but it'll have to come from the far north which means Alaska/Canada or Upper Russian and surrounding countries. Either way depends on where we'll move the troops for me to get them collected and delivered; I'll need a few of the stalkers for to increase success ...." Trinity looked up into his eyes to see where his thoughts were with this.

Drax focused on the maps scanning them with his quick dark eyes they needed someplace feared that not many would go and above all large and with lots of cover. While up north would be good for the Angel's subjects, Fearstalkers are reptiles and while they can move well enough in short periods of cold prolonged exposure stiffens their limbs like any normal reptile. That's why the Stalker's wing of the castle was far warmer then the rest of the building they needed to be surrounded by warmth as long as they could. He nodded to her then spoke looking up right back into her eyes holding her gaze but speaking softly.

"The meat we get I'm guessing is whatever the damned mutts don't eat, and the fears we're given for our magic and minds is like a cheap wine, our galvanized leader only supplies my people with minds loaded up with drugs of every kind or a mental illness. Some of my people have developed an addiction to the drugged minds and I won't even talk about what a mind with a sex addiction did to one of the females in this wing. Needless to say they had to be sent to the Grand Abyss before their time. A fear starved Stalker is unpredictable and even more dangerous then a well-fed one, picture a Pitbull trained from a pup to fight and kill then add scales, claws, and all the powers of my people. Sometimes I think that's Haakon's plan." He said moving his eyes down catching a glimpse of the Angel's cleavage but moves on focusing his eyes to a part of Eastern Europe a particularly barren and unpopulated one.
"Why not have a two step process? We continue to feed our subjects in the Congo since Indigenous humans always have supple fears to prey on, then move them up to this area of Europe, I have an elite unit of Night Blades there, they are second only to the Abyssal Guards that protect the Dark King and his brood in skill and efficiency. And they've told me any humans that go into that part of the world often go missing with no trace so it's generally avoided by all but the dumbest humans. I think we can use that as a rallying point for at least this part of the globe, we have similar areas in Asia and South America. Not sure where we can create coinciding rallying points for those feeding ground though." He said this never breaking the Fallen Angel's gaze none of her mental powers would work on him but he still felt a strange feeling when he looked into her eyes.


The Fallen Angel took a moment to think about the two step process that Drax had proposed. Looking down to the area in Europe where he was suggesting as well as the two other places in different parts of the world. "Well I can work with the area of your Night Blades as you're right, tragedy does follow those who enter that region. A most delicious of hunting grounds indeed. This way we can use the mortal's tourist season to our advantage after all." Trinity couldn't help but notice the Fearstalker's lusting gaze on here chest. She had to admit to herself that he wasn't to bad either on the eyes.

"My thoughts exactly Lady Trinity, we won't be able to keep it secret from the wizard very long but as long as we don't mess with his plans for the Mystics I'm sure he won't care." He made a note on a small black notebook he kept around for such occasions. Now what about making rally points for the Asia section and South America section?" He asked keeping his eyes up on her again. Can't let any kind of lust get the better of him right now.

It took some brainstorming for a good while but the two Generals finally figured out that the Jungles of Vietnam and Northern Border of Bolivia would do well to help span out and prepare their troops for any upcoming missions and battles. Standing up to stretch out what muscles were tired of just sitting still. Trinity walked around the desk and smiled at the FearStalker. "Well seems we were rather productive so far for the Nobility, and I for one think a good drink is needed. With luck Haakon and the others are doing well in their own respects today." The Wraith nodded to the Fallen Angel walking around to his end table. He pulled the drawer open and extracted a black bottle of something called Night's Repose, a Stalker brew that most non Stalkers can't drink because various poisons and hallucinogens make up it's sharp burning flavor. Grabbing two glasses he pours the black liquid in and smoke seems to rise from the drink once it came in contact with the air.
"Swallow it straight down Lady Trinity otherwise you may be flat on your back in seconds." He hands the glass to her clinking them before shooting his drink right down.
Following his advise, Trinity took back the brew straight down and in one swallow. Shaking her head looking as if she was going to be another victim of the drink before giving a devilish grin. "Now that's a drink! I must say I can definitely see where it can really pack a wallop of a spell on someone not prepared or sips it down like a wimp." Setting down the glass she licked her plump lips before giving a wink and another grin. "Well shall we see how everything is going in the confines of the Meta-gate? If nothing else it will prove to be some entertainment to watch."

The Fearstalker nodded pouring himself another glass before slamming it back and placing both the glasses and the bottle back into his end table. He wiped any excess drink from his lips and headed for the door of his chambers opening them wide the heat of the wing rolling over his body making him smile pleasurably at the wave of warmth.
"Come then Lady Trinity, we might not even have to endure the presence of the other Generals for now." Feeling a little more friendly after getting the drink in him he offered his large scaly arm to Trinity as they walked from his chambers and back into the main castle

"Have I ever told you I love this heat? It's like basking in the sun itself...." Looking over the Fearstalker and his raised arm... "Always a pleasure." The Fallen Angel took his arm that she had never seen him offer before. Giving him a smile and wink in thanks, yes the drink was making her loosen up a bit more too. But considering how hard they all been working the past months it was well needed.

[Lady Celeste]

Queen Scylla

"Did you find it?"

Scylla was thankful that she only needed to wait a couple of minutes before her tail was restored, allowing her to return to her gathered armies free of shame. General Kai (http://www.arkhamhaus.com/images/merman72.jpg) was already waiting just outside a cave entrance so deep within the Atlantic Ocean that he, Scylla, and the others present had to use their bioluminescence to see each other, let alone the cave.

"Yes, my queen." Kai reported. "The chamber is inside this cave, just like you said. But some of the men have felt a frightful rumbling coming from within. With all due respect, my queen..." He hesitated as Scylla gave him a warning glare. "... I fear that the creature may turn his wrath on us all the moment he's released."

"The kraken's hatred is for the Mystics, not for us." Scylla casually reassured him. "Lord Haakon wants the full wrath of the seas ready to strike on his behalf. And that's precisely what I intend to give him." With that, Scylla addressed all of the soldiers present before she entered the cave. "Hold steady your weapons and follow me. Any coward who dares to flee may find refuge in the kraken's belly."

With that, Scylla all but plunged into the cave with the soldiers not far behind her, until they came to a massive stone wall with ornate runes in the ancient Atlantean language carved into the front. The warning it spelled out caused some of the younger recruits to tremble:


May this gate stand for all time
to guard the innocent from the Kraken's hunger.
He who creates naught but grief and destruction
shall never again stain the seas with blood.

"Until now..." Scylla mused. Kai tried to protest as she boldly made her way to a small, barred opening just above the inscription, but he dreaded her response to such a gesture and restrained himself. "Kraken! Show yourself!"

The response from behind the wall was a deep growl that shook the cave. "What arrogant fool dares to speak of the kraken?" From behind the bars, an eye large enough to cover the entire opening peeked through the opening and looked at the mermaid waiting there. "Princess Scylla... how quaint. I might have known a royal would come to taunt me one day."

"It's Queen now, beast." Scylla asserted, but then got straight to the point. "I've come to free you, if you agree to my terms."

"And why should I bargain with the likes of you?!" The kraken roared, his massive eye narrowing into a slit. "Your wretched ancestor had me sealed in this prison. For thousands of years I've rotted in darkness, starved within this hell-hole, while you sit on your throne without a care in the world!"

"You blame my ancestor, but I know whose blood you crave above all else." Scylla stated firmly. "The merfolk wanted you locked away, that is true. But don't forget who it was that imprisoned you in the first place. Was it not the Mystics, and not the merfolk, who came at my ancestor's request to defeat you? Was it not they who bound you to this crypt and sealed the exit with their power?"

The response was a loud, furious roar from the kraken, which shook the cave with such force that the roof of the cave was beginning to collapse. Scylla merely smiled as she continued. "I will grant you your freedom, kraken. And all I ask in return is for you to destroy the Mystics... to take the vengeance you seek, and fulfill my own purposes in doing so. Do we have a deal?"

"I care not for your purposes, mermaid. But to crush those accursed mystics in my claws, to pay them tenfold for the agony I've suffered... I accept your terms."

Smiling contently to herself, Scylla then turned to General Kai. "Erase the binding spells on the wall, and then destroy it. Our new ally has been caged long enough."

Scylla and the soldiers promptly went to work, destroying the binding spells first, after which the wall quickly followed. Scylla was at the forefront when she and her fleet then returned to Haakon's base, but this time the newly-freed kraken (http://th00.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2010/152/8/f/Release_the_Kraken_by_GENZOMAN.jpg) was swimming closely behind them, his very presence frightening away any and all sea life that they passed.

[Atrum Daemon]

Haakon stood in his private quarters, looking over a number of documents while considering a multitude of things. He wondered if he should share the powers of the oil with his generals or keep it a secret until he had a better understanding of it’s nature and exactly what it was capable of. “I failed with this substance once before,” the lich said to himself. “I cannot afford to make those mistakes again with the Mystics around. For the time being, this will be a secret I keep to myself. After all, I don’t expect my generals to tell me EVERYTHING they do with themselves.”

He flexed the fingers of his hands, still getting used to the feel of his new body. He knew he would have to mention the oil to his generals sooner or later and would rather it be sooner. They were a narrow-minded bunch with no thought to the larger picture beyond the petty squabbles of Earth. But, everything had it’s use and the generals certainly had great uses.

Haakon turned from his desk after going over a few reports and left his quarters. He had decided to return to the Meta Gate and check on the progress of the Nobility’s Mystics. Upon his arrival, he noticed that the Fearstalker and the Fallen Angel were there as well. Haakon approached after noting that there was little change to the state of the Gate, meaning that neither Mystic had died and that neither had completed their trial yet.

He had many plans to set into motion, but had to wait until the appropriate time to do so.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

Kana and Dut walked through the gate and thankfully they found themselves on a rocky slope in some icy mountain range somewhere. She shuddered at first but it was more from the sudden transportation again then the cold but at long last she felt honest rock beneath her and in a flash she changed into her Mystics form again using her power to send out her senses but as they stretched out she came across something that seemed to nullify her sense and almost before she could register the anomaly a laser exploded the ground by her feet. Calling back her senses she jumped behind a boulder as more lasers fired and the boulder she was behind cracked and split under the blasts Dut was already behind the rock covering his head.
"I thought we were being watched, didn't know we were being watched by something that shoots fucking lasers!" Kana looked at the Trickster her eye twitching a little.
"You knew we were being watched! Why didn't you do anything?" Dut ducked as another chunk of rock crumbled off the slowly disintegrating boulder.
"I'm still bound by the laws of the Court! I can't help you still. I'm actually surprised why I'm still here, I was told just to help you in the maze. I should have been zipped away back to the Summer Court for my walking papers or something." Kana sighed making another large rock appear to replace the one the shooter's pretty much gotten through.
"Then stay here I'll deal with this." He climbed from behind the rock and sent a Ridge Surge in the direction of the shooter but 30 feet from it the attack sputtered and halted dead in it's tracks. She threw up more high rocks to protect her from the next barrage of laser shots.
Ok so my Mystics powers don't work, what does that leave me? She thought listening to the rock cracking like a big egg behind her. Maybe my Fae powers? She nodded picking up a small rock and whispered slowly to it in it's language.

The protecting rock was nearly destroyed by the time she got the little rock's help. The shooter was recharging it's weapon when the the ground began to rumble and shake. It was unworried at first knowing it's protective field would stop the Earth Mystic's attacks but still the ground rumbled and soon a rock the size of a basketball came bouncing down the slope and crashed into it's leg knocking it off it's shooting base. Surprised the Hunter got back to it's feet and stared at the rock. As the danger slowly worked itself into the machine's gears another rock this one the size the Hunter's itself smashed into it. The rifle flew from it's grip as a full fledge avalanche washed over the machine. Not even a wizard can always win against Mother Nature, Kana poked her head out from behind the rock and laughed watching the rocks storm down the slope and off a nearby ravine. The rifle landed with a metallic clatter by her feet, she picked it up and inspected it closely. Dut came from behind the first rock barrier with wide eyes as the avalanche thundered to it's rest at the bottom of the deep ravine.
"Wow." He says walking up to Kana looking at the weapon as they were admiring the weapon a dinged up metal claw grabbed onto a protruding root and slowly the Hunter pulled itself back to the lip of the ravine. Following it's programming the Hunter initiated it's retreat returning to it's master taking it's gun with it. Kana blinked a few times then shook her head.
"Ah cannae wait tae get out o'here." She says walking down the mountain to whatever comes next with Dut following closely behind.

[Stryker]

“Well… I guess the good news is…” he began before standing up and walking to a rock and settling down on it. “… is that my arm isn’t broke, just dislocated…”

With a grit of his teeth, an audible pop could be heard as his arm went back into place followed by a long sigh. “That’ll do for now…”

Before he could get up and stretch his worn limbs a shot was fired. He caught it just in time and ducked to the right, narrowly avoiding the shot as it zoomed by, taking a few loose strands of hair with it.

“What the hell was that?”

No sooner had he asked, he got his answer. A mechanical-looking being stepped out from behind some shrubs and made its presence known before stopping roughly twenty feet from him, gun aimed at his chest still.

“What… are you?” Renshi asked before extending his arm out, concentrating and feeling the weight of his sword find its way to his hand again. Instead of the verbal answer he was looking for, the machine fired another shot, this one missing his abdomen thanks to a well-timed lean.

“Try this then…” he muttered under his breath before throwing his hand forward, palm facing the machine and a pillar of fire blasted forth. Before the shot could travel twenty feet, a barrier shot forth and neutralized the attack, stopping it dead. “Damn shielding… guess this means it’s up close and personal again.” He surmised before twirling his sword in his hand.

As he strode forward, his adversary did the same before firing off five more shots the first two missed, the third grazed Renshi’s cheek and the last two found their way into his trench coat. One leaving a nasty burn mark in it and the other burning a hole through it altogether. He once again tried a ranged attack only to see it thwarted by the enemy’s barrier that seemed to have quite the large radius.

“So any kind of ranged attack is pointless… Fine by me.” He muttered to himself before narrowly avoiding another laser shot and then feeling a searing pain in his right shoulder, “Dammit, grazed me…”

Upon reaching the machine, he pivoted from his left foot, using his right hand as a spring and vaulted over his enemy as it fired off another round. Just as he was over its head he extended his arm downward and caught its shoulder within his grasp. He held onto that spot until he landed before tightening his grip as an explosion erupted from the machine’s shoulder where his hand resided.

It’s arm fell limp to the ground as did the gun while pieces of its shoulder littered the area around both of them. As the explosion occurred, an unexpected flash of light filled his eyes, blinding Renshi as if it were a failsafe for the machine’s survival or something.

“Dammit, I can’t see a thing!” he yelled, both hands covering his eyes while he frantically tried to spot anything that wasn’t a blinding shade of white.

Before too long, the light began to fade and his eyesight slowly returned. What awaited he and his sight was nothing. The machine had seemingly vanished, busted shoulder, gun and all.

“…For god’s sake…” he complained before rubbing his eyes once more and looking around for anything else that might want to kill him.

[RisingPhoenix]

Dorián

Dorián had taken every corridor he could think of, but every one of them led to a dead end and with the Minotaur closing in on him, it was only a matter of time before he’d literally have to fight for his life. He stood at the dead end of the corridor he had recently turned down. He could hear footsteps approaching, or rather the hooves of the Minotaur slowly closing in. Dorián looked around for some sort of leverage, but found nothing. This was it, either he’d walk out of this alive, or the Minotaur would feast upon him like others before him. He took a fighting stance and glared down the corridor he had come. A grunt could be heard, followed by a loud growl to which the Minotaur burst through the wall and charged directly at Dorián.

Thinking quickly, Dorián did a full split, dropping out of range of the Minotaur’s horns. He followed up with a rather electric punch to the Minotaur’s groin. A yelp filled the air around the two, as Dorián continued his onslaught with a well-placed electric kick to the temple of the Minotaur, sending it stumbling backwards. It looked up at Dorián with a rage that would only be sated if Dorián ceased to breath. Dorián stood to his feet and took an offensive stance. The Minotaur charged, but Dorián once again attempted to dodge the Minotaur by dropped to the ground; however, the Minotaur had expected this and tilted its head at an angle so that its horn pierced Dorián’s shoulder.

Dorián screamed in agony as he was lifted and thrust into the wall behind him. The horn piercing his left shoulder caused blood to pour from the fresh wound. He would’ve gone into shock if his adrenaline wasn’t counteracting the will to pass out. He grabbed ahold of the right horn of the Minotaur and glared into its eyes.

“You’ll die down here little man,” the Minotaur stated with assurance.

“If I go, YOU GO!” Dorián stated as his eyes filled with sparkling electricity.

There was a sickening sound that filled the air around them, the sound of a grape being popped; only it was the Minotaur’s eyes that had been gauged. It let out a roar of discomfort before Dorián placed an open palm on the chest of the beast. There was a sudden arch of lightning that surged from Dorián’s body and filled the great Minotaur. Every inch of the Minotaur’s body was filled with electric volts strong enough to kill seven whales. The intense heat had caused the Minotaur’s skin to melt along with its heart, which had burst. Dorián was released from the horn, only to see more blood gush from the wound. He placed his hand over the wound and heated his hand up with electricity in order to cauterize the wound. The pain the he felt was so intense that he fell to his knees, spitting up blood. He was near exhaustion, but he had to keep going. He hadn’t come this far to give up now. He slowly stood to his feet, ripped his shirt and made a tourniquet for his wounded shoulder. With one arm out of commission, this was going to be tough. A portal appeared before Dorián, and with a deep breath, he stepped through a little light headed as he did so. There was a spark of light and Dorián found himself within the jungle. He looked around and thought he’d have time enough to get some rest, but apparently the gate had other plans. A shot was fired and the lazar grazed the same wounded shoulder causing more pain to fill Dorián’s body. Dorián fell to one knee and glared in the direction the lazar had come.

“Who’s there?”

The sound of mechanical clinking could be heard as a skeletal machine stepped out with a weird looking weapon pointed at Dorián. This was awkward, this mechanical being seemed so out of place, but Dorián was sure it was just another obstacle in his path to reach the end of these trials. Dorián stood to his feet, but the mechanical hunter fired five shots, each one grazing a part of Dorián’s body, pain filling Dorián to his core. He dropped to his knees and coughed. He was exhausted, but he wasn’t going to let this thing stand in his way. He stood to his feet and looked at the obstacle in his way. His right hand hung loosely to his side. He took a step forward, but was deterred from his present course by a barrage of lazar shots from the hunter’s gun. He quickly dodged and attempted to short-circuit the thing. His electricity arched and shot straight towards the mechanical hunter, but fizzled to nothing before even reaching the hunter. Dorián glared, and realized that he’d have to do this the old fashioned way.

Dashing forward, he ducked and dodged the hunter’s shots, getting nicks and cuts from close encounters with the lazars. As he neared the hunter, he jumped into the air and watched as the hunter took aim, but before the hunter could shoot, Dorián transformed into a swarm of butterflies. It seemed that the mechanized hunter was able to negate his mystic abilities but not his racial ones. Dorián would use this to his advantage. The swarm of butterflies caused the hunter’s attention to be separate. It could not focus as there were too many focal points. There was a loud beeping sound, and a spark or two that came from the hunter before smoke soon filtered from it’s cavities. Dorián took this chance as an opening and transformed into a bear, swinging his great clawed arms and slashing the hunter causing more sparks to shoot from it. There was a explosion, and Dorián quickly covered his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, the hunter was gone, and it was as if everything was back to normal. Dorián looked around and transformed back into his normal form. A portal appeared before him, and he looked around once more before taking steps towards it. He was bleeding heavily, but he wasn’t dead. As he entered the portal, he was transported. He appeared in front of the Mage Gate, and noticed a swan positioned there. Had he done it? Had he passed the test. A hologram of an interesting looking man (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/thedorkulator/vvj-elder-mage.jpg) appeared from the stone on the Mage Gate and began speaking.

“Congratulations Dorián, with the storms at your command, you are hereby henceforth and forever known as the Mystic of Electricity and Lightning. Carry your title well young one and keep the universe safe.”

Dorián’s eyes opened in shock. He had done it; he had passed the test, and was the first to do so. This was odd indeed. He would’ve thought that Renshi would have completed the trials first, but now was not the time. He had to inform the others of what he had seen within the labyrinth. Dorián wavered a bit as he stood there, and before he knew it, he had collapsed onto the ground. He was alive, but the trials had taken a lot out of him and he lay on the ground motionless. Truth be told, any who had not experienced devilish hardships were not victors of the trials. Every mystic either collapsed after the trials or were extremely drained and needed rest and healing. Naja, Marzarex, Fria and every other Mystic before them had all experienced it, and now it was their turn, the new Mystics.

Renshi

As Renshi defeated the hunter, the world around him vanished and he was placed in a world within his own element. The earth breathed fire, and it seemed that there wasn’t any other element around. Truly this was the place where he’d be strongest. The humanoid dragon that had been following him for so long made his presence known. He looked up at Renshi having been kneeling and praying to his gods. He turned and looked at Renshi.

“You’ve made it to your final test Renshi. I, Ihsner, am your final test. You’ll be tested in more ways than one, and trust me when I say this, I am your final test for a reason. Come at me with what you got left, and don’t hold back. If you expect to make it out of this alive, then you’ll need to dive into that pool of fire over there. It will restore you to full health and we can get this thing started.”

Ihsner took a step back, folded his arms and waited for Renshi. Once Renshi took a bathe in the fire, and once he regained his full strength, Renshi and Ihsner would fight.

Kana

After Kana defeated the metallic hunter, a portal appeared before her. This time, when she stepped through, she looked around and noticed that everything around her looked familiar. She looked at Dut and noticed that he was standing in front of her, a smile on his face.

“Tis be the final test Kana. Ye are to defeat me in a match. If ye can do so, ye will have passed your final test, but I warn ye, I am not going to hold back.”

Naja

Naja watched Dorián screen as he was transported back to the entrance. He smiled.

“Alas, he has done it. One of the Mystics has done it, now I await the others,” Naja stated softly as he turned upon hearing Marzarex and his brethren enter into the base.

Naja approached them regally with a gentle smile. He looked at each of them and nodded.

“So kind of you all to come. I'm afraid we are awaiting the results of the Mage Trials. At the moment Haakon has implemented a devastating blow to the Mystics, but as I've watched them, I've noticed how well they've handled it. Marzarex, Dorián has finished the trials, but he has passed out at the entrance of the gate. Would you mind fetching him? He will need medical treatment.”

Naja waved his hand and a buffet of the dragon’s favorite foods appeared.

“We will have a feast to celebrate the Mage Gate trials.”

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

Lassie Blackstone's mind and body was getting weary even with the joy of finally meeting her parents propelling her on. She wanted to get out of this gate, get back home, and see her caretakers again and tell them all that she's been through and done they must be worried sick about her. She chuckled thinking about all of Stirling or at least her whole neighborhood searching for her with the MacClouds blazing the trail through the moors and forests. She was deep in thought not noticing the portal she was stepping through. But as the ground changed from snow and stone to soft green grass and leaf litter. Looking around she's in the woods by her house while it did looked familiar something wasn't right, it was too quiet and still, like they'd been transported to a still life photo of the woods around her home. She heard Dut speak in a voice that sounded like he took it from Shakespeare.

"What are ye talkin' about?" Dut took off his hat and bowed changing his shape from the red headed young man into a full grown Celtic Warrior (http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Siks/Celtic-warrior.jpg) complete with kilt, war paint, Magpie feathers tied to his arms, and a glittering steel claymore across his back. He was about as tall as Kana in her mystic form now though wider now. His voice deepened and he spoke slowly.
"Yes I am your last challenge, Your Master Naja arranged things with my Queen and your parents for me to be placed here as guide and final test." He stretched out his limbs getting ready but Kana was still in shock at it all.
"So this was all a set up? My parents werenae lookin' fer me, they werenae watchin' over me?" She asked feeling her heart sink to her stomach.
Dut shook his head smiling rather benignly.
"No that's all true, in fact only lie there was floating around here was that I'm just a guide and couldn't help you. And even that was strange because I'm meant to help you now but I couldn't in the Maze or against that metal thing that no one expected... well can't say that, I'm sure at least one of the parties involved expected it but they couldn't tell you or me for that matter. Ah the world of Mystical politics." Kana shook her head rubbing the bridge of her nose with clay colored fingers her heart climbed back into her chest.
"Well that's good tae know, but this seems like a lot 'o' bother fer just me." Dut smirked ignoring her questions drawing the silver claymore off his back and tossing it between his hands.
"Now seeing as we're both of the Never we have a special procedure for duels like this. We each need to choose a second of equal power to keep things fair." He snaps his fingers and another Trickster this one a female (http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Siks/Celt_Warrior_Woman_by_lanista8.jpg) in the same basic Celtic form as Dut but with raccoon's tail hanging from her waist band. Kana drew her sword but didn't have any idea what kind of second to choose Dut saw this and smiled.
"This is one of my many lovers Illia she will be my second." The woman rolls her eyes looking at Kana smirking.
"Don't let him fool ya girly I'm his wife and he's monogamous as they come." Kana shouldered her blade nodding to Illia.
"That's all and good but, Ah dun't have a second, or even an idea where tae get one from."
Dut laughed again. "You're the Earth Mystic and a Rock Fae make one."
Kana quirked her eyebrow."How?"
The Magpie Trickster laughed more."I guess Master Naja didn't think to have the two piggy back each other. Summon up some rocks like you'd do normally only will them into the shape of a warrior." Kana nodded and did as the Trickster suggested. The ground rumbled and soon a figure of stone (http://i821.photobucket.com/albums/zz139/Siks/stonegolem.jpg) climbed from the ground and stood by Kana's side.
The young girl looked surprised at the stone warrior but nodded looking at Dut. "Ok now what?"
"We choose the means of battle, powers or no?" Dut says shrugging.
The lass thinks then says spinning her sword around her hand. "No powers just our bodies and weapons all agreed?"
"Agreed." He says.
"Agreed." Illia says.
The Stone warrior simply nods pulling a stone war hammer from the ground Kana was about to ask what's next but remembered something she read about Fae.
"Agreed no powers only our weapons?" The other three agreed again.
"Positively agreed?" The Tricksters smiled and agreed again.
"Good job Kana, we'll have to teach you how to deal with members of the Never who aren't as nice as us. Now let's begin."

He swung his claymore up then charged Kana going for a wide horizontal slash but she swung her blade to block and counter into a vertical slash that the Trickster back peddled to avoid. It was game of back and forth with nether gaining nor losing ground. Their seconds watched on arms crossed and bodies itching to jump into the action. What was strange was that Kana's body seemed rejuvenated with each second like she could fight on like this forever. Dut seemed to be feeling the same thing, they fought like they had just come from a week long vacation on the beach. Never tiring, never stopping, never even breathing heavily. Kana knew she had enhanced stamina and everything but after 6 hours of solid fighting she was just as fresh as when she started. There was something here something below the surface of an all out duel between her and Dut. Her trails so far had duel meaning and various levels she had go through to reach the end this was no different she just had to look.
Ok, each second we fight we don't lose any energy or strength. Obviously this is either a test of will or perception. I either have to keep fighting until Dut gives up on his own will or I see the hidden goal here. Their fighting continued as all manners of ideas ran around the young Fae's head taking glances when she could to the world around them nothing was different the trees were in one place, the leaves didn't even move under their feet everything was....still and calm. Was that it? I have to be calm and still like this forest? She about to parry Dut attack when she reached the realization she sheathed her sword and sat cross-legged on the ground speaking softly pushing Dut oncoming attack from her mind going into a trance and speaking in a voice that wasn't hers the voice was deep like the bottom of a cave and rich like a fall harvest on fertile ground.

"I am mother earth, I am the rock that holds up the sea, I am the foundation of all that is loved by both the world of man and the Never. I am calm unless pushed, I am still unless I wish to move, I am that which you love but also that which you should fear and respect!" She opened her eye and felt different taller, heavier, she felt like she was in a shell of rock. Dut was standing there back in his young man form with Illia beside him in the form of a curvy young girl with auburn colored hair dressed in a simple blue dress with the sleeve hanging off her slime white shoulders, leather shoes, and a face full of freckles. They were holding hands smiling wide at the girl, she looked at her second and he was larger, and smooth black stone replaced the gray and he was a lot spikier then before.
"Congratulations Kana MacCloud, you have passed your final test and attained the rank of Ancient Mystic. While not as experienced yet as your Masters you are more than a few steps ahead of you fellow students right now. You are the Earth Mystic the base of the whole group, without you to support them in desperate times the other Mystics will crumble under the wrath of the Nobility. Remember the words you spoke just moments ago that was the mantra of every Earth Mystic since all this started at least that's what Master Naja told my Queen." He smiles kissing Illia's head looking at the black stone warrior.
"He's the charm what was hidden in your necklace. Your parents bound him to it the day they made that for you. Now that you've passed you trial you can summon him whenever you need help."

Kana reverted back to her human form and sighed looking at the warrior standing stoically by her.
"Um..thank ye...go back tae sleep?" With a nod the warrior crumbled to the ground and Kana felt her pendent warm instantly against her chest. She looked back at Dut and Illia who were still smiling at her.
"Well it was fun Kana but it's time for you to return to your HQ and begin the fight against evil. You have the whole world of Fae in your corner now Kana you are one of us and we always take care of our own. You'll have to learn all the ins and outs of Fae politics first but we can show you. Go now Earth Mystic and so the Nobility why the Fae have always been and will always be." He gave her a wink and the gate opened for her the Tricksters watched both of them sporting Fox tails, one in his hat and one on her waist band. She blinked and they were gone, all she saw were two orange tails swish into the bushes. She took a breath and walked through the gate, feeling the same pulling sensation she felt at the beginning. She found herself standing in front of the Mage Gate, and noticed a swan positioned there. A hologram of an interesting looking man (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/thedorkulator/vvj-elder-mage.jpg) appeared from the stone on the Mage Gate and began speaking.

“Congratulations Kana, with the earth at your command, you are hereby henceforth and forever known as the Mystic of Earth. Carry your title well young one and keep the universe safe.” Next thing she knew she was in the compound with Dorian who was passed out on the ground before her.
"Someone beat the hell outta him." She said feeling her head rush and she fell over landing on Dorian.

*Rex*

Marzarex nodded to Naja and got up to fetch him when Fenirex jumped up bowing to the Space Dragon.
"Please Elder One, let me go you have more important things to do and be then some Messenger." Rex bows back to the young Dragon and goes to sit back down but hears Kana's voice laughing feeling a new power underlying her words.
"We have a new Ancient to welcome as well Naja her, I will go fetch." He followed Feni to the gate and laughed upon seeing Kana passed out over Dorian's back. "I'll get the girl you grab the guy in the dirt." He smiles picking Kana up gently into his arms as Feni bends down picking up Dorian the same way carrying him into the compound behind Rex.

[Jacogos]

Nemine took in her opponents in turn. Fire, Water, Earth, and Air... This would be interesting. Whereas the previous had been a single large opponent, this was multiple small, most likely fast opponents... However, if she played her shots right, each could be dispatched easily, she figured.... She thought moment, realizing that each was an element on the Mystics side... She smirked. Delicious...

"Поверьте мне. Я могу,*" she said quietly, the smirk widening as her form glowed, revealing her Mystic Form yet again. Without warning, she screamed, her banshee vocal chords resonating against the fibers of the skeletons beings. Though reanimated by some unknown means, they still were affected by the wail, if only slowed rather than stunned. As it stood, Earth and Fire began charging at her while Water and Air backed up, all at a rather lethargic pace. Snapping her mouth closed with a slight click, Nemine pounced towards the gap between the closing warriors, putting a little bit of a distance between her and their weapons. So long as Fire was around, though, she could not use her Ice Form without putting herself in extreme danger, so she focused on him first. As the two skeletons turned towards her new position, she fired off a salvo of Ice Shards, which the undead being dispersed with a flick of its bony wrist, fire billowing out from the gesture.

Swearing slightly, Nemine summoned an Ice Spear, then took a blast of wind to the side, Air sending volleys of it at her in force. Using its fans as mediums, the skeleton of the Air sent wave after wave of wind at her with every chance it got. Nemine managed to begin dodging the volleys, but that took her mind off of the other two skeletons. She was sent flying as a ball of stone hit her square in the head, dizzying her. With that done, another blast of wind knocked her flat as well. If this kept up, she was done for... In fury, she shot up to her feet and whacked another stone projectile away with her spear, straight towards Air. Even with the wind trying to deter it, the rock struck the skeleton square in the head. It went down, if not out quite yet.

Dimly, she was aware of the pain that seared up her body as Nemine's left leg was torn open, Fire's sword ripping tendons. However, she got the opening she needed and slammed the spear straight into the skeleton's belly, where the red fire burned bright. The flame was snuffed and the skeleton fell apart as the spear melted inside it, its sword disappearing. The bones sifted into the sand, and Nemine lost sight of them within moments. One down, three to go... However, she couldn't take another hit like that, even though it barely pained her banshee body. Changing into her Ice Form, Nemine turned towards Earth, her next most imminent threat. The skeleton, enraged at the death of its comrade, sliced the sand with its scythe, causing a fissure to open up in front of it.

In a moment of panic, Nemine lept to the side, only to get a face full of water forcing her back towards the fissure. Water had joined the fight, taking Air's place as the ranged harasser. Using the trident as a sort of gun, the skeleton shot a torrent of water at Nemine, pressurized enough to push her back even while she was on her feet. Nemine was forced to through up an Ice Wall, stopping the flood just before she slid another inch back into the large hole in the ground. Sand still trickled into the would-be gorge as Nemine's feet once again found purchase in the muddy sand. However, now she had to worry about Earth attacking again. Keeping the wall between her and Water, Nemine shot a few Ice Shards at Earth, who brought up his own wall of stone in defense.

She would have taken that moment to move around his wall and strike, but she heard a roaring sound. Confused, Nemine looked towards the other skeleton, only to see a huge tidal wave ripping across the sand towards her. It would crash over the wall and take her straight into that fissure if she got caught in it. Swearing again, Nemine turned and bounded over the fissure, just barely getting her icy fingers into the ledge. Pulling herself up, Nemine put a little but of distance between her and the fissure, but still the wave crashed down. It flooded over the fissure, filled it up, and kept going, splashing over her and sending her reeling in a rush of water. It lasted only a few moments as the sun evaporated the water almost as quickly as the sandy earth sucked it up. Nemine gasped for breath, the wave having knocked it out of her and almost drowning her with lack of air. Her body shimmered wetly, the ice trying to melt from the warm water, but her power keeping her form below freezing.

Standing slowly, Nemine barely dodged a slice from Earth's scythe, retaliating with a burst of ice from the ground in front of her. She blinked. That was new... It burst forth in a rather straightforward way, almost like a... cone? Yeah, that'd work. Cone of Ice. In any case, Earth shot backwards from the force, icicles sticking from various joints in its body. It methodically ripped them out from itself, then proceeded to move towards her again, picking up another rock and sending it flying at her. At about that time, Water was charging at her, its trident bared for impaling.

Without pause for further thought, Nemine launched herself forward and sent an Ice Shard to intercept the projectile. Summoning another Spear, and noticing how much energy it was starting to drain from her now, Nemine swiped at the brown-bellied skeleton, causing it to dodge. However, it dodged just the way she wanted it to, and she returned by pulling up Frostbite around its feet. With that, Nemine turned to Water, then maneuvered ever so delicately to place Earth between the trident's tip and herself. With only a split second to try and shout for Water to stop, the earth skeleton was impaled on its ally's weapon. The brown fire snuffed out and a death similar to Fire's followed soon.

Enraged, Water smacked Nemine upside the head with a rush of water pouring from its trident's point, then attempted to slammed the weapon down into the Banshee. Nemine brought up another Cone of Ice, though, flinging the skeleton away from her at the last second. At that moment, a gale picked up as Air finally regained consciousness, bringing a tornado to the field. The desert sand picked up into the tornado, turning the raging wind into a dust devil multiplied by a million. Nemine could only huddle down as the storm blew over her, sand pinging off her ice body a hundred times every second. At the middle, Air spiraled slowly, channeling the energy into the unnatural phenomena. Before long, the wind picked up enough to pull Nemine from gravity's grasp, spinning her around the demonic whirlwind. However, Nemine had had enough, and began sending wave after wave of Ice Shard any which way, hoping to hit something. Most of the Nobility would disapprove, wasting energy like that and losing your cool, but Nemine couldn't help it at that moment.

To her credit, though, the 'plan' worked. A shard nicked Air in the chest, disturbing its spell and causing the tornado to slowly fade away. Nemine dropped to the ground, though she managed to conjure up a small slanted ice wall to help ease her fall. She slid into the sand and laid there for a moment before getting back to her feet, only to find Water shoving its trident at her.

There wasn't much she could do, so the blow caught her full in the chest, ice cracking and shattering as the weapon struck her. Luckily, Ice form replaced her bodily organs and blood, so the damage was rather... superficial at the moment. Later, though... She shuddered and shoved her own spear into the skeleton's fire. Like the two before it, Water's blue fire snuffed out and the body collapsed. It was at THAT moment that Air rammed Nemine with a ball of wind surrounding it.

"I just can't win, can I?" she muttered as she felt the trident no longer penetrate her chest. She lost the spear upon flying back, and she could just barely get up fast enough to dodge another attempt at her balance by the Air skeleton. She felt her energy waning now and she just barely had enough to keep the Ice Form going... She sword once again and, instead of dodging the next tackle, leaped forward into the air ball, almost getting pushed back, but not quite. She got close enough to grab Air, then, hand around its spinal chord, began to Frostbite it. There was little it could do beyond push her away, but she had a death grip on that bone. The skeleton was an icicle within moments, and Nemine backhanded the pesky bag of bones hard enough to shatter it once she took a moment to breath.

Turning back into regular old Nemine, the banshee mystic fell to her knees and sighed heavily. There was no way she would be able to take on another test... Her heart sunk as the desert disappeared and the volcano was once again her setting, the oppressive heat searing her face. She turned from the lava, wishing she could rest for a moment. There would be no rest against the Mystics, though... Waiting for as long as she could before a tingling feeling told her she could procrastinate no longer, Nemine stepped forward into the third and final gate.

---------

*Believe me. I can.

[Setsa]

"I'll get the girl you grab the guy in the dirt." Looking at Rex in her swan form she then transformed back into her mystic state; smiling at both of the dragons. "They'll be alright after some rest and time to restore their strengths....the hunters have been trying hard to hurt our mystics but alas our training has proven to be the mystic's best way to face them head on." Looking at the meta-gate for several moments then back to the dragons she stood up taller "I will stay here to keep guarding this side of the gate until they all return to us. See to our worn mystics..I'll bring the next two over myself to base." Moving to stand facing right into the meta-gate, Fria was ready just incase the hunters figured out how to come through this way....though she didn't think they were that smart. Most importantly she was ready to receive the others who she hoped, would not be in worse shape than Kana and Dorian. The valkyrie began to sing an old tune to help keep the meta gate strong and welcome the others back in the glorious way they deserve... Her soft voice filling every ear in the base.

[Jacogos]

Nemine, after resting for a bit, looks up at the final gate. She knew not what to expect, but she stepped towards it anyway. There was a pause, a moment of silence that would send chills down the spine of the greatest of warriors. Nemine gulped and stepped into the final gate. She was pulled through and transported to an area that was very alien to her. She was surrounded by clouds as far as the eyes could see. There was a crackling of lightning and the sound of thunder echoed through the area. She stepped carefully onto the clouded plain, her feet supported by the unknown. Upon her stepping onto the plane, lightning descended from the sky very sporadically.

The banshee Mystic felt her hair standing on end. Why was she here? Her past two challenges had put her in disadvantageous plains, a desert and a volcano. Now, she was in the clouds, apparently about to face something either of water or electrical decent... For some reason that tugged at her memory, but she didn't know why. Nemine peered around her warily. Was not this the last challenge? Her blood chilled, a feeling that never happened to a Banshee from the temperature of her surroundings. What was with all this waiting?

"Whatever my next challenge is... Show yourself!" She demanded of the clouds.


"Are you sure about that Nemine," a voice that would sound familiar to the banshee filled the air around her, "are you sure you're ready for your final challenge?"

Lightning surged through the clouds around Nemine slightly heating up the air around her. A swirling tornado like cloud burst from the ground up and there stood Nemine's next challenge. Eye's filled with electricity, and form sparking with lightning. It glared at Nemine, a wicked smile on its face.

"Hello again."

Nemine's eyes widened in horror. Not sheer terror, no... Flabbergasted horror, uncomprehending horror. Horror at why the fates had made THIS her final challenge. She stepped back once, memories flooding her head. Her previous life was coming to the forefront as Nemine was faced with the literal ghosts of her past...

"D-... Dorián..." She gasped lightly, her ice blue eyes staining with tears. More memories. A rose appearing on her bed one day. Another a week later, this time with a note. Her surprise when it was Dorián that showed up at midnight in the garden she frequented every day. So that's how he knew... She managed to break free of the flowing river of memories, returning to the present.

"I can't..." She mumbled, backing away another few steps, her eyes dropping to the cloud-ground. "I..." Her heart shuddered from emotion. Why was this happening? She could fight... She could fight any Mystic, she could best any foe the Gate threw at her, but it had decided on him... once her lover, now her foe, both in the real world and especially here.

"I... have to... don't I?" She looked back up at the man who stood before her. Her form glowed, then ice swirled around her once as she changed into her Mystic Form. Her eyes glowed passionately. "I am your enemy now... And I cannot hold back..."

Dorián watched as Nemine stepped back a few steps upon seeing him. He popped his neck and took a stance that was rather odd. His right arm was extended and his fingers were arched, while his legs were spread apart slightly. His left arm was tucked to his side and his hand was balled up into a fist.

"Yes, you do," were his words as lightning arched from the sky and struck him. His form began to change.

Where once stood a man with spiky blue hair and street clothes, now stood a man with long blue and white hair with glowing white eyes and clothes that resembled a mage. His garments flowed in the wind that had suddenly whipped up around the two. A smirk was on his face as his extended right hand began to spark with electricity.

"NOW!"

The electricity sparking from his extended hand began to charge. Lightning sporadically struck all around them and the sound of thunder would definitely prove a challenge for Nemine. One could not hear their enemies because of it. Dorián pulled back the right arm and thrust it forth, an orb of intense electricity barreled forth like a cannon shot. Another, and then another, and another, and another. A barrage of electric orbs shot forth while Dorián charged towards Nemine, his arms at his side and electricity sparking from his form.

Nemine felt a tear well up as she felt her magic come to her. "Пусть будет так ...*" She whispered in her native tongue, the tear trailing down her cheek. Thunder roared in her ears, and she knew she wouldn't be able to hear very well during this fight. It was a disadvantage, but surely he would not be able to hear as well... Reacting to his first attack, Nemine summoned up an Ice Wall in front of her.

The wall was concaved towards her foe, so that whether the orbs exploded or bounced back, they would do so back towards her enemy and not endanger her much. It would also prevent him from coming straight at her, as he would have to go over the 6 foot wall or around its cocave, which made it a bit longer walk from his side. As this came together, Nemine moved to the left and fired a barrage of Ice Shards at Dorián as soon as she saw him. Hopefully she would be able to end this quickly and not have to bare the torture of watching him die...

The orbs bounced back and struck Dorián, but instead of deterring him, they energized him and only caused him to move that much faster. He was like a blur as he dodged the icicles that Nemine cast, and shot another barrage of electric orbs towards her. When he was only a few feet away from her, Dorián jumped into the air. A javelin made of pure lightning appeared in front of Dorián. He grabbed it and launched it at Nemine.

Realizing the flaw in her plan, Nemine resolved to not make that mistake twice, if she got that far. Summoning more Ice Shards, Nemine placed her projectiles right into the path of the electricity orbs, dispersing them even if it was costing her precious energy.

The javelin Nemine dealt with with her Ice Spear. Her own weapon appeared in her hands and she deftly parried Dorián's javelin with a flick of the spear's tip. Thankfully for Nemine, the ice did not conduct electricity, so even if the javelin dispersed on contact, the lightning would simply diffuse into the air and clouds. She felt her hair begin to frizz from the sheer amount of electricity in the air and she huffed a little. Insult to injury.

Predicting where Dorián was going to land, Nemine forced an Iceberg from the ground at that point, then sprayed another volley of Ice Shards at him.

Dorián was still in the air when the iceberg erupted from the "ground" and struck him. Ice shards struck him in his shoulder sending him barreling backwards hitting the ground hard. His back was to Nemine as he stood back up.

"You're going to have to do better than that Nemine," Dorián stated as he pulled the icicle out of his shoulder, blood seeping from the wound. He turned around and looked at Nemine, "a lot better."

Lightning streaked from the sky and struck him causing heat to fill the area. The amount of electricity already in the air around them intensified causing the heat level to rise. His form was now pure electricity as he charged Nemine sending arches of lightning in her direction.

"You'll have to think outside of the box Nemine. DON'T HOLD BACK!"

He appeared behind Nemine and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, "remember those good times we had? They will not save you, they will not protect you. They are restricting you."

She winced slightly. She hurt him... No, now is not the time for weakness! She hopped back a little as she felt the heat fill the area, searing her skin a little purely from its clashing nature with her. She wasn't fast enough to pull up another Ice Wall for the arches, and took one straight to the chest. She curled up from the pain a little, then stood back up, losing track of where Dorián was. Using the moment's lull, she turned into her Ice Form and breathed.

That breath caught in her throat when she felt a hand on her shoulder, her entire body tensing as best as it could in this form. She whirled on Dorián and shook her head, not making eye contact. "Stop it! I am not here to fight Dorián, I am here to finish my test. If this is what that test it, then that is what I'll do, but..." She trailed off and sent a Cone of Ice off in front of her, right at the Lightning Mystic. Icicles burst from the clouds at their feet and threatened to impale the man.

Just as the cone of ice was extended out in front of Nemine, lightning came surging down from the sky. The intense heat from the bolt of lightning melted the ice before it could make contact with Dorián. Dorián glared at Nemine with a smile on his face as he let out a loud roar, almost animal like. Lightning exploded from his form, as did the heat that came with it. The icicles that burst forth from the ground collided with a barrier of swirling electricity that now engulfed Dorián.

"NEMINE, FOCUS. YOU ARE LETTING YOUR EMOTIONS HINDER YOU. YOU ARE NOT WORTHY TO WEAR THE TITLE OF ICE MYSTIC, YOU ARE WEAK!!"

He stepped towards her, his eyes ablaze with electricity. Either she would kill him or she would die.

"DO WHAT MUST BE DONE!"

He lifted his right hand as a bolt of lightning appeared between his awaiting fingers. He grasped it and swung down at Nemine.

"Не называй меня слабый!!**" Came a voice that no longer sounded like Nemine's. There was a flash as her arm shot up and around, knocking Dorián's attacking arm aside. Her body glowed as ice shot up around her, deadly Icebergs that pushed through the sheer heat of Dorián's lightning. Three icebergs shot up around Nemine at angles, obscuring her from view in a makeshift hut. There was a pause as the Icebergs halted their skyward momentum.

Silence. Thunder rolled.

There was a flash and ice suddenly sprayed everywhere outwards from Nemine, everything turning into deadly projectiles, some big, some small, some long, short, blunt, or sharp. A Blizzard whipped up from the sheer force of it all, snow pelting in from the clouds, and Nemine stood in the middle. Or rather, she floated, as no longer did she appear to have legs. Her visage was no longer that of a girl, but a fierce woman, clothed in wispy strands of ice that just barely kept her modesty. Her entire form seemed ethereal as she glided forward, her right arm extending slowly.

"Die," she whispered, firing a beam of ice almost as thin as her finger. It traveled at ridiculous speeds towards Dorián, aimed right towards his heart. Pity no longer graced the woman's eyes as her Ancient form unleashed itself in the icy storm around her.

There was an explosion of power, of which caught Dorián off guard and injured him greatly. He was thrust back and landed hard against the clouds that they stood upon. He looked up at Nemine as the projectiles fired at him, each striking the electric barrier, weakening the force behind the barrier until it broke. Electricity sprayed in every direction as Dorián stood to his feet, blood seeping from various places on his body. He looked up at Nemine as she pointed her ghostly finger.

"Die," she exclaimed as a thin beam of ice shot from her finger.

"Yes,"

As the beam of ice made contact with Dorián, ice instantly began to encase him. He looked at her with a smile on his face as he began to shatter. With one last breath, he spoke.

"REMEMBER!"

He burst into a million shimmering pieces of ice. Everything vanished and there stood Nemine in front of the Meta Gate.

-------------

*So be it...

**Do not call me weak!!

[Froggy]

Halley was breathing heavily, hiding behind a tree. She could hear sounds of fire crackling through the jungle, and even worse, the sounds of metal clashing against wood, and treetops falling to the ground. She knew it was only a matter of time before the hunter found her again...it was built to hunt, to find, to kill. It hadn't taken her long to figure that out. Halley screamed when the tree next to her was slashed to pieces, the tops falling to the ground and missing her by mere inches. The metalic head of the hunter turned and dove for her, and she dropped off the treetop (she had become oddly use to doing that during the trials).

The hunter dove in a downward spiral after her, and Halley knew she was running out of options. She'd already completed two of her challenges and her energy was running short...she knew that this wasn't a part of the mage gate, and that she still had a third challenge to face. At the last few feet, Halley spread her wings out wide and floated to the ground, before she took off into a sprint. She could hear whispers of magical words throughout the trees, as though they were speaking to her. Looking back, the hunter appeared unaffected by these words or as though he couldn't tell them.

Little did she know that the trees were not the ones whispering, but the loud whispering (if there was such a thing), was memories of spells she'd created centuries ago returning to her. "Argorl Infle` demoe!" Halley shouted, repeating one of the things she kept hearing. All of a sudden everything became big, huge, larger in scale. Looking down she realized that in fact she had just shrunk to the size of an actual faerie, and that she was small. Looking up she saw the hunter stop and start looking around again, she'd clearly managed to confuse him in her sudden departure. The words were still surrounding her every train of thought, new ones and new combinations.

Halley could feel a surge of energy coming through her, and her body began to glow like a thousand fireflies trapped in the same jar. The hunter saw the light, and made to squish her with its foot. "Incoendium Balizma!" Halley shouted, and all of a sudden a ray of light burst from the sky, piercing through the treetops and landing on the ground between the hunter and Halley. Within that ray of light, a sword (http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTVTF6heFhs1gez-bMxJ561LFJzfo2CqBLHrb3rwjuyDJ2Hd71J7w) that seemed custom designed just for her appeared, and she took it without hesitation. She switched the words "Demoe Infle` Argorl!" as if by sheer instinct, and immediately she was returned to her proper size. She slashed the blade of metalic light through the hunter in one swift motion, and a terrible sound consumed the forest.

The hunter lost its right arm, almost its entire right side. "We're finished." was all Halley said before she sliced through the rest of the hunter, the pieces falling to the ground. Halley struck the sword into the ground, collapsing on her knees as her forehead rest against the sword. She was panting heavily, and exhaustion was winning over. "Come on Naja! This is supposed to be the Mage Gate, not a place filled with Haakon's hunters!" Halley shouted in frustration. The magic had taken a lot out of her, and beads of sweat rolled down her face. How many more challenges must she face before she was released?

[RisingPhoenix]

Kurama

There was a loud clicking sound as Kurama stepped onto the sandy earth. He looked out over the desert and was pleasantly surprised that there were no trees or plants of any kind. He heard a clanking sound. Something was out there, watching him, he could feel it. Suddenly, a shot was fired. The beam of odd colored light surged towards Kurama.

“Rose Whip,” Kurama stated quickly as the rose within his hair transformed into a whip and created a barrier around him to absorb the blast.

The whip recoiled back into Kurama’s hair as Kurama looked in the direction the shot had been fired. As he turned in the direction of his assailant, what he saw made him sneer. A metallic skeleton stomped towards him with a gun like weapon extended. There was a lot of mechanized parts whirling and beeping as the thing before him fired another shot without warning. The shot zipped past him, cutting into his left arm, blood seeping from the wound as pain surged through his body. Kurama gasped, his right hand quickly shooting up to grasp the wound. He hadn’t time to collect his thoughts for more shots were fire, and Kurama had to quickly dodge. His poor dodging cause more wounds to appear on his body. His legs were cut and his left side was bleeding. Kurama didn’t know what this thing was, but it wasn’t going to stand in his way. He had promised Halley he’d see her again, and damn it, he was going to keep his promise.

Kurama used his right hand to pull the rose from his hair and transform it into the rose whip. He transformed into his mystic form and charged at the metallic mess of a hunter. Shots were fire and more blood was shed, but the hunter never could get a direct hit on Kurama. There was a rushing of wind as the whip ensnared the hunter causing the gun to drop to the ground. With this opening, Kurama delivered some heavy kicks and punches to the body of the hunter. With a flip kick, he kicked the chin of the hunter while flipping away and grabbing the whip’s handle. There was more beeping and more rustling of mechanical parts as the hunter stood to its feet. Kurama charged again, and though he delivered some hits, the hunter delivered more and sent him reeling backwards, blood seeping from his new wounds.

He fell to one knee and looked up.

“I’m not going to let you stop me. I’m not going to let you stop me. YOU WILL NOT STOP ME!” Kurama yelled as his energy spiked.

The hunter stepped back as it observed this new energy. Kurama glared at the hunter as his aura became dangerous and wild. He flung the whip in the hunter’s direction, but it flipped away. It’s gun was behind Kurama and the only way for it to get it was to go through Kurama. There was a stare down moment before the two charged one another. Sparks flew as Kurama’s rose whip tore through the metal frame of the hunter. An explosion of blinding light filled the area as Kurama dropped to both knees panting. He watched as a portal appeared in front of him.

[Stryker]

“So, now a smaller, more streamlined dragon shows his face and demands a battle… Claiming to be my final test.” Renshi thought to himself after hearing its speech.

Jumping into fire didn’t sound like any sort of a good idea, even if his specialty was with fire.

“You want me to just jump into this pit of fire… Not knowing if you’re lying and thinking I’m some kind of idiot, right?”

“If I were inclined to play a trick and win by under-handed tactics then you would already be dead, mystic.” The dragon responded before pointing once again toward the pit. “If you’re fond of a chance of survival… then jump… in the pit.” He repeated, a hint of annoyance lacing his words.

For some strange reason, Renshi had a feeling that the dragon was telling the truth. There was something to the tone of his voice that made him believe that maybe he had been watching Renshi this whole time since he entered the Mage Gate. If that was the case then he undoubtedly would be well prepared for all of his tactics and abilities.

With one last deep breath to invoke the last bits of reservations up from their hiding spots, deep in the back pockets of his mind. He nodded once, looked into the fire and jumped in, ready to feel the fires grip his body and rend him of all feeling in his extremities before burning him alive. Instead, the fires seemingly healed him, mending his wounds and tending to the sharp pains shooting down his injured arm. After roughly a minute had passed, the only evidence of his injures were faint marks across his face and upper body that would more than likely disappear over time by themselves.

After a few minutes, the dragon began to wonder what was taking so long before an explosion erupted from the pool of flames. Renshi shot out of the flames in a pillar of fire straight into the sky before pulling a 180 and barreling down towards Ihsner.

“You were right, dragon. Now die!” Renshi roared before extending his right arm down to his side, building up energy in his palm as he closed in on his target. As he reached Ihsner who still had yet to move, he threw his hand forward and hurled a large ball of fire toward the humanoid dragon to which Ihsner bounded off to the right and avoided easily enough.

“I know you and your tactics better than you’d like to believe, Renshi. You’ll have to try something outside of your normal tactics to find yourself victorious…” Ihsner revealed before his hand opened momentarily, only to be filled by a sword that looked identical to Renshi’s own weapon.

“Bastard!” Renshi yelled before using his hands to brace himself against the ground, still carrying a tremendous amount of speed and using the momentum to launch himself towards the dragon once more with the tail-like pillar of fire still trailing him. When the same attack came, Ishner once again, moved to Renshi’s left to avoid the blow, this time using his sword-arm to cut a sizeable gash into Renshi’s side as he sped by.

“This will not last long like this, Renshi… Try something new or I’ll be forced to put you out of your misery…”

“Shutup!” he roared before jabbing his own sword into the ground and using it as a slingshot to launch himself one more time towards Ihsner, he had to aim this right…

As he reached Ihsner’s position he fired off another shot, aiming for his left side. As he had hoped, Ihsner sprung once again to the right and this time took a stab at the raging Mystic, this time missing narrowly but catching the trench coat and leaving a long tear in it.

“You won’t last long, expending all of this energy and not hitting a single time…”

“I’ve hit my target, dragon.” Renshi revealed before pushing himself up from the ground using a bit of his attack to propel himself from the ground.

“What are you-… You damn Mystic!” Ihsner yelled out, understanding what he meant now that he looked around.

The times that Renshi had attacked him and missed had all been aimed at his left shoulder which prompted him to move to the right to avoid the strike, due to the continued attempts like this, Ihsner now found himself completely surrounded by the pillars of flame that Renshi had left in his wake. A style of attack that was not his usual style which would explain how it caught the dragon off guard.

“You think this is over?!” Ihsner roared as his gaze turned upwards and spotted a seemingly red-eyed Renshi barreling towards him, both arms outstretched with intense flames boiling in both palms. Ihsner threw his sword aside and into the flames, it disintegrated upon touching the fires.

“You expect this to finish me? A mere head-on attack, surely you can’t be serious!”

“Enough talk!” was the last words spoken before Renshi and Ihsner collided.

The collision sparked an epic explosion of flames that shook the ground as well as turned the grass a charred black color.

Once the flames and light subsided though, Renshi and Ihsner both lay face down on the ground, Ihsner covered in singe marks from head to toe while Renshi was both covered in burns, cuts and his clothing was torn horribly. His shirt lay in shambles across his upper body while his trench coat had burnt up in the attack.

“The outcome… wasn’t as I planned it to be…” A voice quietly echoed over the silenced plains. “How…?”

After the question was asked, Renshi slowly and unsteadily forced himself off the ground, his arms shaking and straining to hold his weight up. “The… pool of flames…” he forced from his lips before making it to his feet.

“The flames that still… engulfed my lower body were trailing me… from there.” He revealed.

“So, you were expending so much energy… only to have it restored instantly?”

“That’s right… while healing I took the time to actually think… about what I could do and I decided to try that…”

After the revelation, Ihsner gingerly began to laugh as his body began to take on a black tint, starting from his tail and feet and moving upwards.

“You surprised me, Renshi… I am a part of you, so cockiness was my downfall as it possibly could be yours down the road… Do not let this moment elude your mind as a reminder.” Ihsner explained as he slowly began to disintegrate, seemingly becoming one with the ground.

“I’ll give it my best, Ihsner.”

Before his body completely faded, Ihsner picked up his sword and handed it to Renshi, the hilt was no longer red and straight, it had become a darker shade of red with black mixed in as well as having a dragon-like tail at the bottom, ending in a small, sharp blade.

“Use it well, it is a part of us…” he revealed before completely fading away just as Renshi took the sword.

Before he could really take a few seconds to breath, he felt funny for a few seconds, like when he passed through the Mage Gate before. At first he felt like he was being pulled to some unknown destination, and before he realized it, everything looked different. Before him, a hologram fazed into view and before him stood man stood. Renshi noticed the hologram seemed to protrude from the stone in the Mage Gate.

“What in the hell is this?” he wondered, grasping his ribs as they ached from his collision with Ihsner just a few short minutes ago.

“Congratulations, Renshi. The passion that burns within you like a fire which holds no equal have propelled you as well as your will to survive and win, due to that you are hereby, henceforth and forever known as the Mystic of Fire. Carry this title well into the future, young man and keep the universe safe.”

“So that’s that… these tests are over and done with…” he thought to himself before everything became visible to him. One of the first things he noticed though was Dorian and Kana laying on the ground, motionless.

“So… you two were the first…” he spoke up before grimacing. “What a sight… and a laugh…” he continued before noticing another figure out of the corner of his eye, Fria.

“An Ancient…” he began before leaning against a nearby wall for support before sliding down it into a seated position. “Was this up to par for you and the others?” he asked. “Have we… satisfied you?”

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

The Space Dragon nodded to his sister smiling at her.
"No problem there Fria, all our Mystics will get their well earned rest and rewards for pushing the world just a few more inches away from destruction by surviving. Follow me Feni." He says to the Stormer nodding toward the door of the base adjusting the Fae girl in his arms.
"Of course Elder." He nods moving the limp body of Dorian in his arms feeling very strange carrying the Lighting Mystic. It felt like the young man was absorbing some of the Storm Dragon's electrical power it made him uncomfortable so with an urge of will he cut off the electricity coursing through his body and the absorbing sensation stopped but it brought up a question after he laid Dorian on the other couch.
"Elder Marzarex, does this guy have some kind of absorbing power? Felt like he was sucking electricity out of my body until I cut off the power." Rex nodded walking to the common room placing Kana on one of the couches.
"Actually yes, he uses it to heal himself. If you have enough to spare you may be able to speed up his healing. Kana is just tired from her Trial, the body of a Rock Fae has served this girl well. No real bodily injury that I can see, just exhaustion catching up on her. Come on young one let them rest for now." They walked from the common room and returned to where they left the other Dragons.

Castiel and Belisa were discussing the upcoming battle while sipping their species' drink making plans and figuring out what kinds of string they'll need to pull to get things rolling while the two Jungle Dragons L'achia and Boto were sunning themselves discussing their own plans. Taking his seat at the table he picked through the food taking a long drought of his species drink, Black Hole and Feni just sat down next to Rex waiting for someone to tell him what to do. Rex heard someone else come through the gate and say this time it was Renshi he looked worse for the wear but at least he wasn't passed out.
"Ah the Fire Mystic joins us now."


*Drax*

Drax was watching their Mystic's journey through the Meta Gate, she was doing quite good. He wasn't that surprised the Banshee were a strong race and giving one the powers of ice just adds to that. He only wished they had another Mystic to work with particularly one that didn't have such strong weakness on the other side Ice is strong but when pitted against the Fire Mystic and maybe the Lighting Mystic it will falter and eventually lose. She'd have to be escorted or at least shadowed by some of the Generals' minions to back her up when the goody good Mystics team up on her. He looked at Trinity nodding toward the gate.
"Nemine is doing very good, she'll be a great asset to our endeavorers. We'll have to send some minions to aid her though I'm sure."

His lips curled and his nose was filled with the scent of magic and oil. Turning his head toward the scent confirmed his thoughts upon seeing Haakon approaching sporting a new skin. Drax watched studying the new skin as closely as he could making notes to send back to his King in his next progress report.
"Greetings Lord Haakon, our little Ice Mystic is doing very well. If my studies are right I think she'll be at the Ancient level by the time she gets out." He said not looking at the Wizard. The Gate hummed and Nemine arrived as if on cue.
"Welcome back Mystic of Ice. Hope you found that educational."

[Froggy]

Halley & Kurama- co-post between myself and Rising.


Upon the end of the battle, Halley was exhausted and spent. She found it hard to even stand as fatigue set in. She had overextended herself with the mechanical Hunter. A portal appeared before her and with what little energy she has left, she steps through. She appears in front of Kurama. It was the first time in the history of the Mage Gate that it had allowed two mystics to run into one another. Kurama stood to his feet and looked at Halley.

“What now?” he asked as he wiped blood from his lip and placed the now neutral flower back into his hair. Halley was confused as she stood in front of Kurama...she was told that they would have to endure these trials alone, yet here Kurama stood before her. Suddenly she became warry of his presence, wondering if this was just a trick of the Mage Gate. Before she had time to consider, the ground began to rumble, and there was a flash of light. Suddenly they found themselves transported to another part of the jungle. Halley looked warily at Kurama. "How do I know that you're you, and not a part of this damn gate?" Halley asked, taking out her sword and pointing it at him. She took on a defensive stance, her body still tired from the fight with the hunter.

The bushes around them rustled with life. Suddenly, vampires emerged, their fangs gleaming in the night light of the moon.

She heard a voice and her face paled. “You thought you’d gotten rid of me didn’t you Halley,” a voice stated as Evangeline once again walked out from the shadows, “how pathetic, two lovers who shall die together again.” "It...can't be..." Halley spoke softly, lowering her sword and looking at the Vampires. "Well I guess now I know," Halley said, looking at Kurama apologetically.

Caine emerged from the opposite side of Evangline. The gate had played so many tricks with her mind that she wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't anymore. She took a few steps back, and for a moment it looked like she wanted to run.

“Werewolves, attack.”

“Vampires, attack.”

Werewolves and vampires emerged from various places around them. There fangs and canine gleaming in the moonlight. There was snarling and hissing, but Kurama never took his eyes off of Evangeline and Caine. Halley's heart began to racing and she felt as though she could pass out from the sheer shock alone. Suddenly she felt so... hopeless, wondering how she and Kurama would get out of this alive. Part of her flashed back to the girl she'd been six months ago, and she wanted to just curl up into a ball and let the gate claim a victory- but she couldn't do that. Not now, not with Kurama there. She couldn't leave him alone, she wouldn't be the cause of his death.

“Halley, control your emotions. If we are going to make it out of this alive I need you to concentrate and control your anger,” he said softly as he kissed her forehead and took an offensive stance. She felt a glimmer of hope as Kurama began to speak, and much to her surprise he kissed her forehead. She stood up straight, her sword slicing through the nearest Vampire's head. Several Vampires began to rush her, and she felt a set of claws slice across her backside, which caused her to scream in pain. She stumbled forward, swirling around and stabbing the werewolf responsible through its heart. Spells were coming to mind, but she didn't want to use them just yet- she knew she would have to save her energy until the end of the fight.

“Who dies first?” Kurama asked, looking at the pair of monsters before them. Halley on the other hand was breathing heavily as she looked at the mass of monsters before her. It reminded her oddly of how she had died during the first war, and that sent a trail of shivers snaking down her spine. Her hatred for Evangeline was boiling over, the damn Vampiress seemed to show in every aspect of her life now that she was a Mystic. Still, she wasn't the same girl she was six months ago. No, she was a Mystic who would have to overcome this anger if she and Kurama were to survive. His words were true, they rang in her ears

Claws and fangs, the very essence of each made Kurama uneasy. It wasn't that he was afraid of these creatures because he wasn't, but the fact that he had to look out for Halley, it was a new challenge and he would have to figure out a way to overcome all of these challenges that had presented themselves to him. His right hand retreated to his hair and as a vampire and werewolf charged towards him, the rose whip came surging out of his hair, slicing through the two opposing creatures and recoiled back to Kurama. He looked over at Halley when she let out a scream of pain. That moment of uncertainty cost him dearly. He felt claws grip his shoulder and the bite that followed sent pain through his body. He quickly reacted by punching the werewolf in between its eyes. His actions caused the werewolf to let go of him, but the damage was done, blood was seeping out of the fresh wound which only caused more lycan and vampire to want to attack him.

Halley looked to her left, just in time to see the werewolf biting Kurama. "Kurama!" Halley shouted, rushing to him. But something stopped her, Evangeline was in the middle. "Get out of my way!" Halley said, slicing her sword towards the Vampire. She laughed manically and sped away, sending one of her Vampires in instead.

Kurama fell to one knee, having disposed of quite a few of the vampire and lycan that came too close. The rose whip was drenched with blood, and the ground was littered with death. He panted and looked up at Halley, noticing just in time that a vampire was sneaking up behind her as she was dealing with two others in front of her.

The Vampire in front of her tackled her to the ground and gripped her with the long claw-like nails, and Halley choked back sounds of pain that were wanting to come out. She hit the Vampire in the head with the hilt of her blade, before stabbing it in its heart.

"Halley," Kurama stated weakly as he sent forth the whip. It screamed through the air, slashing the vampire, cutting through it's spinal cord and decapitating it in one swoop. The whip recoiled back to Kurama as he attempted to stand to his feed. As he did so, he felt the cold breath of something against his neck. He spun around to find Caine standing there. The great lycan grasped his neck and lifted him up. Kurama kicked the werewolf several times, but the man was built like a tank. With what energy he had left, Kurama flicked his wrist and the whip slashed the back Caine causing him to release Kurama. Flipping backwards, Kurama came to a halt and held his neck softly. He slowly stood to his feet as he noticed Caine charging towards him..............

She heard Kurama saying her name as she stood, and when she looked over she saw the rose-whip flying right behind her, killing another Vampire before it had gotten to her. She turned back to thank Kurama, but she watched in horror as Caine held him by his neck. Only when he slashed Caine with the whip was he released, and Halley fought through the seemingly sea of Vampires towards Kurama. Kurama was losing steam, his body fighting off exhaustion as he fought Caine. It was a certainty almost that he would die here, but he wasn't going to give up. As Caine approached Kurama who was kneeling on one knee, there came an explosion of light, must be due to the intensity of the sun.

'If this Gate shall overcome me, so be it. But I won't let it overcome him,' Halley thought to herself, charging the advancing werewolf with her sword raised high. The werewolf stood on both feet and reached its claws out towards her, and she jumped high into the air, flinging her feet up and spinning in a downward manner. The werewolf barely had time to react as she pierced its face with her sword, her body flinging itself onto the werewolf.

Soon both were but a heap on the ground, and Halley was breathing irratically. "Kurama...." she whispered, forcing herself to stand. There were three Vampires left, including Evangeline. They were all ready to attack Kurama, to take him away from her as they had taken her away from him before. "Hold on Kurama, hold on," Halley said, her voice weak as she focused her energy.

She thought of Kurama, how he would need medical attention once they were finished. She knew she would as well, if she made it out of here. Her eyes started glowing a bright, golden color, as did the rest of her body. "DIE!" Halley shouted, and upon whispering ancient magical words of light, the area around her glowed with the brightness of the sun. Several daggers of light rained from the treetops, pumbling their way towards the Vampires who were helpless against the attack. Caine backed off and retreated as he watched the remaining vampire singe and burst into flames. Evangeline vanished and the werewolves retreated back into the forest.

When the killing was done, the entrance of the gate was revealed and Halley collapsed to her knees. Her sword dropped to the ground and she crawled to Kurama, her body limp next to his as she gave him a kiss on his cheek. Kurama looked to the Portal that he knew would take them back to the entrance. He looked over and noticed Halley as she made her way towards him. She was exhausted, that much he could see as she collapsed to her knees, her sword clanging against the hard rocky earth. "Thank you," was all she was able to muster before her body gave into the exhaustion, into the pain of her trials and collapsed, unconscious next to Kurama.

Kurama smiled and forced himself to stand as he scooped Halley up in his arms and passed through the portal. They appeared on the outskirts of the Mage Gate and a hologram appeared before them.

"Congratulations Halley and Kurama, much like your past lives, you two can overcome any odds. Mystic of Light and Mystic of Nature and Wood, carry your titles well young ones and protect the universe. Keep each other safe and remember, there is no I in TEAM."

The same hologram that everyone else had received vanished and Kurama smiled as he looked down at Halley. He held her gently in his arms and turned to Fria who he had just noticed.

"Thanks for everything," He said as he proceeded to trek towards the base.

He was weak, that much was certain, but he was going to make sure Halley got some rest. She had proven herself and overcome her anger. With his last bit of strength, he vanished in mid-stride and appeared in the base's infirmary. He laid Halley onto a medical table, and once he was sure that she was alright, he too collapsed from exhaustion landing on the floor of the infirmary.

[Setsa]

**Fria**

It was just when the dragons left that the Meta-Gate delivered back the Mystic of Fire from it's trials. "We are only glad that you survived the trial Renshi... When Marzarex and I went through the Meta-Gate trials he nearly lost an arm and my back was ripped open so much I couldn't lay on it comfortably for a long time." With the gate illuminating again to announce the return of not one, but two mystics. The ancient mystic only got a glimmer of their state before Kurama took them in a flash to the base's infirmary. Their wounds the worst yet and thinking she saw a bite; the woman transformed back to her valkyrie form and helped Renshi stand up before draping the exhausted body over her shoulder. Carrying him quickly to the base so that she could get to the other two in enough time, the woman helped the mystic to sit down in the common room with the other resting mystics. "Marzarex! I know you saw what happened and I need your help in the infirmary please now!"

When Fria arrived she saw Halley bleeding on the table and Kurama on the floor out cold. Lifting him to the table beside Halley she over looked them both quickly. They were losing blood fast...Kurama worse off with the bite on his shoulder. "Shit....I need dragons here NOW!!!" She called out before jumping up on the table herself to pin the bitten body by the legs and shoulders. Lycan bites worked very fast and she had to react just as quickly to administer the specially created liquid silver she created decades ago after the last war. To destroy the virus...but not kill the victim the only down side to this only real known cure was that he'd need lots of healing sessions, time to recover, and lingering after effects like alpha traits and rare meat enjoyment could stay behind. But the was strong..it would depend on him on what happens to himself. Looking over to Halley she bit her lip seeing the one that she worked so much with to train. Teaching her to control her emotions and battling in flight to now see her like this was bitter-sweet. She would survive fine...but she did take a beating alright. "Hang in there Halley....I got to save the one you love first....."

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Rex had been watching the gate and upon seeing Kurama and Halley coming through it looking like five miles of bad road each he was all ready to go down there and help them but Kurama used the last of his power to teleport them somewhere, the Infirmary he'd guessed. The other Dragons either weren't paying attention or weren't in a position to see the gate, but upon hearing Fria's urgent call for aid it was a rather comical scene that unfurled. Rex jumped up knocking both his chair over and a tray of food he was picking at, Feni jumped up and smacked his head off the underside of the table flipping it bodily over still holding the pencil he went under the table to get, the flipping table surprised the old Swamper Castiel who jumped out of it's way to save his knees from getting smashed but he wasn't watching where he was jumping and crashed in Belisa causing the smaller woman to topple out of her chair with Castiel landing on top of her. The two little Jungle Dragons were asleep in the tree they were sunning themselves in and the commotion caused them to jump from the branches and fall out of the tree rapidly changing color like panicked chameleons before landing in a heap on the ground both of them cursing in Draconic.

Despite the urge to laugh Rex quickly took control of his motley militia.
"Feni, Castiel, take over Fria's position as the gate guard choose whichever forms you want just take care of any other Mystics and non-Mystics that come through. L'achia, Boto, and Belisa come with me to the Infirmary we may need all the knowledge of healing that we can get!" With their positions assigned the Dragon took off, the new gate guards leapt from the railing morphing into their half forms gliding over to the gate. Rex ran down the stairs with the River Dragon close on his heels and the brightly colored little Dragons flying up to the patio and down the stairs with them.

The smell of blood was strong in the hallway he just hoped they weren't too late to help the young Mystics. Upon entering the Infirmary Rex saw the extent of the damage. Tore up with claw marks and covered with bruises and lots of blood.
"L'achia, Boto take care of Halley, Belisa attend to Kurama with me." Once again split up, they went to their Mystic. The two little lizards gently inspected Halley before beginning to work on cleaning her wounds of infections. Kurama was much more worse off Rex went up and rested his hand gently on Fria shoulder.
"Let Belisha take over Fria." The Dragoness nodded to the Valkyrie and pulled out her bag of medicine and with a calm manner began treating the Nature Mystic's wounds. Dripping the Wererwolf cure into the bite with one hand while her other hand cast magic and applied various potions and salves into the others. This would be a long process but Belisa was highly skilled in patience.

[Setsa]

**Trinity**

Agreeing with Drax that Nemine would be accompanied by minions for her protection, to keep what numbers they had stronger. The smell of oil made her stop the search for the other mystic that seemed to have entered a part of the meta gate realm that was undetectable. "Lord Haakon....a new look for you I see. Even the fallen angel couldn't help but to see how this new layer of body and/or skin worked on him. Is this new suit fairing better than the last one?"

As the Ice Mystic came through the portal she gave her a once over before hitting a button beside the main door to summon the medic unit down to them. "Don't move....you're exhausted and it would be foolish to do more harm to a victorious body. Guess you win the bet afterall Drax." Giving the Fearstalker a wink and very rare smile she helped Nemine to sit down and catch her breath. Touching her forehead she put the girl into a simple trance only to slow down her racing heart and mind. Once the medical unit arrived she stood up and looked back at the meta gate in search once again for the other nobility mystic. Briefly a flash of him alive showed up before he disappeared once again. "Well...he's alive for now at least...."

[RisingPhoenix]

Naja

Naja, as the commotion occurred around him, was very pleased with the results. No one was dead, and that was a good sign indeed. Far be it from him to question the methods of the Mage Gate. Sighing, he looked at the three in the resting area, and closed his eyes. He would need to move quickly to heal the three, but he would need the help of Fenirex in order to heal Dorián. Quickly moving as if he were floating, he approached the balcony that overlooked the forest.

“FENIREX, YOUR ASSISTANCE IS REQUESTED!”

There was a mighty roar in response to Naja’s request.

“Ancient Mystic, I have been set to guard the Mage Gate by my elder, what is it that you need?” Fenirex replied.

“Can you whip up a storm atop this building? Make it a vicious lightning storm, but not too vicious,” Naja replied with a smirk on his face.

“Will do sir,” Fenirex replied as he looked up at the sky and focused his power above the base.

Storm clouds quickly rolled in, and thunder roared within the heavens. Lightning streaked across the bosom of the clouds and the wind whipped the side of the base. Naja quickly moved and scooped up Dorián in his arms. Placing a psychic barrier around him, Naja stepped out onto the balcony and was lifted up into the midst of the storm. Lightning surged pass him as he held Dorián. Thunder clapped within the black clouds.

“Come on……….”

Suddenly, several streaks of lightning shot from the heavens and struck Dorián. Naja quickly looked away in order to keep from being blinded, but his psychic shield protected him so long as he maintained concentration. He watched as Dorián’s body absorbed the lightning and began to glow. Naja would not risk an explosion of power, and quickly retreated back into the base when he felt that Dorián had absorbed enough. Laying his “son” onto the chair within the common area, Naja quickly moved to Renshi.

“My word you’ve taken quite the beating haven’t you, but you’ve proved to me that you are more than meets the eye. As such, I have a request for you to think about. I know you are the loner type, the lone wolf as some to say, but one day YOU will have to stand up and take leadership over this new group of Mystics. I feel my time on this planet is coming to a close, but …………..”

Naja trailed off and shook his head, “we shall discuss this more soon, but for now, you are healed. Go about your normal life and protect the innocent Renshi.”

Naja had completely healed Renshi in the time it took him to deliver his message. He smiled and nodded as he moved on to Kana. Sighing, he closed his eyes and placed a firm hand on her forehead, healing magic flowing from his hand into her body.

“The very foundation of this group of Mystics will fall upon you small fae. Rest assured that you have proved yourself a solid foundation. Go about your life, visit your family and friends, but remember that those who seek to harm you will try to do so by attacking those you love. The gift of the Never is with you my dear.”

Naja stood up straight and quickly exited the area. He appeared in his office, sitting in the great chair and thinking about all that had happened. His plans were slowly coming to fruition, and by the looks of it everything would fall into place. He would gain the power he so wanted and thrived for, even if it meant the death of a few mystics and nobility to do it.

[Froggy]

A little while later, Halley's eyes began to twitch. Soon they fluttered open, gasping for air as she did so. The pain radiating from her backside was immense, she didn't know how much she could take. Her vision was blurry and sweat was dripping down her face, and her throat was sore and dry. "Kurama?" she asked weakly, trying her best to lift her head up so she could see. Even that hurt, so she settled for moving her hand around, trying to find his. Instead she found the edge of the bed and sighed, but that hurt too.

She finally mustered the strength to lift her head and looked around, noting that she was once again within the confines of the infirmary. She noticed Kurama lying on the bed next to her and gasped in shock at his condition, tears welling up in her eyes. "Kur...ama," Halley said weakly, reaching her hand out for him, except he was too far away. "Fria`!" she shouted for the Ancient Mystic whom she had come to love as a mother over these past few months. Surely Fria` would know Kurama's condition, and she would be able to help make the pain go away. She felt so weak and helpless, she couldn't even help the tears that were now falling freely down her cheeks. "Fria`!" she called again, coughing again as her head rested on the bed once more.

[Atrum Daemon]

“It is,” Haakon answered, noting the state of the two Mystics as they returned from the Gate. “I believe it will be much more adaptable than it’s predecessor.”

One of his Warlocks entered the chamber and hurried over to Haakon to report the state of the returned Hunters. “Is the doctor making repairs?”

“Yes, my lord. He will provide their collected data once repairs are complete.”

“Very good. Oh and give the go-ahead for plan Annex.”

“Right away, my lord.”

“It seems the Mystics have completed their Gate trials as well,” Haakon announced. “But I suspect their recovery will take some time.”

***

Plan Annex was set into motion minutes after Haakon gave the go ahead. From the sky rained fire from newly completed orbital cannons. Bright, blue-green lasers struck China repeatedly, rendering cities to dust and sundering mountains to pebbles. The bombardment created massive craters and destroyed all plant and animal life, reducing living organisms to cinders. The attack lasted for five minutes and when the lasers stopped firing and the dust clouds cleared, all life in the main Chinese territory had been wiped out and the land reduced to a barren wasteland that would be unable to support life for decades to come.

Haakon had set an example with China, an area that his spies reported was gathering strength for a global revolution. His statement was that there was no place in the world behind his sight or safe from his swift and brutal wrath.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

Kana felt her tired body carried in Master's Rex's strong arms to the Common Room she guessed then she felt the cool cushions of the couch under her body. It felt good and she didn't want it to end. It felt like years since she'd actually relaxed and let her stress chip away like dried mud. And so that's what she did, falling into her first restful sleep in days. She was dreaming of being home with her human family and also maybe now that she had met her real parents she could spend personal time with them and get to know about her people and the Courts Dut talked about. A whole world she thought was just a story was opened to her now and she wanted to know everything about it.

Her dreams were interrupted by Naja's voice and all her pains and woes went away she opened her eyes looking around at the Common Room Renshi and Dorian were in the room with her she began talking but she felt her heart sink in her chest and her eyes well up with tears. She suddenly felt like a huge piece of her was destroyed in an instant.
"The mother weeps for her children as they are wiped from existence." She put her face in her hands and wept.

*Rex*

Belisa and Rex were gathering up more healing supplies when they heard Halley wake up and begin calling for Fria. They quickly hurried back to the Infirmary Belisa leading the way.
"Halley please calm down he's fine and healing but so are you." The River Dragoness smiled at the Mysitc. "You're both in good hands." Rex was about to comment on what his old friend said when he felt the spell his family developed to call on him when they needed his help and they only needed his help when something really wrong was going bad.
"I must go Belisa, I'm being summoned. I'll try to be back before too long you and Cas keep the other dragons in line until I get back." Something didn't smell right around here and he needed to find out what.
"Very well Rex be careful." The woman said watching the Space Dragon leap from the Infirmary window taking wing for the atmosphere.

*Drax*

The Fearstalker nodded to Trinity as she began treating Nemine for her injuries and called the Medics down to give the girl a full once over. He looked at the wizard and his cronies as they talked about some Plan Annex, and if he knew the Wizard then there would probably be some kind of mass destruction in the world. This fact was further established by the sound of his Shadow's voice in his mind.
"My Wraith, an envoy from the Dragon Triangle just arrived in our wings. A Darkwalker named Saxtea Maskel, she says she has urgent news from the Dark Queen."
"Great an ink swimmer, just what I need. I'll be right there Xerses." He thought back to his Captain before turning away from the Angel and Wizard after a short nod he went to his chambers to deal with this Darkwalker.

[Lost Goddess]

The Meta Gate that Maria had entered unseen, by the nobility glowed as she emerged from it bruised and sweating from exhaustion. Her wings were beating, but she wasn't going anywhere. Her wings were badly crushed, and they hurt with a pain that she had never felt before. Every time her wings moved a jolt of pain would shoot threw her body and cause her vision to fade in and out. Her solid white eyes searched and she saw the forms of people around and heard people talking, but she was to weak to move or speak.

She fainted onto the ground and her wings were wet with a liquid that smelled of copper and was tinged red. Her blood seeped from a bone protruding from the area where her wings connect to her back. She moaned in pain and her wings fluttered restlessly, trying to go back inside her skin to the secret pocket hidden within her skeletal structure. Her angelic gifts were allowing her to heal slowly, but it wasn't near enough to help her recover fully.

At the rate she was healing, she wouldnt be able to fight for the nobility for close to five years. But, she had a feeling that the nobility wouldnt allow her to recover on her own. She then did the only thing she knew to do, and withdrew within herself to allow her healing process to take over and heal her faster. She began to dream vivid and bright colors, and none of it made any sense really, twas just a bunch of mess and random things.

[Setsa]

**Fria**

Fria was mixing some ingredients for a cream to help with Kurama and Halley's wounds when she heard her name being called in a somewhat frantic manner. Soon after Rex and Belisa responded to the mystic, Fria came to her side and helped Halley to fully sit up. "Easy now Halley, I haven't gone anywhere and Kurama is healing well enough. Both of you took quite a heavy beating out there." Applying the cream on the faerie's back... Letting the concoction cool down the angry red skin around the wounds. The Valkyrie couldn't shake off the feeling that something horrible happened and many heroes dies a far too early of a death into Valhalla. "Well looks like your wings are alright....tonight you'll go on a drink regimen of mine that will speed everyones recovery time." Smiling softly to the young faerie, she gave her a gentle hug before assisting her to lay on her side so the ointment could soak into the back.

"Balisa will tend to you both while I go to check something out.... I promise when we are all out in the world you and I will spend sometime together that doesn't involve bloodshed. I'll be back tonight I promise." Giving Belisa a nod of thanks and appreciation. Fria went to Naja's office, quickly informing him of updates from the infirmary and her departure to China.

It wasn't too long before Fria landed back down on solid ground; more exactly on the crested edge of a newly formed crater. Everywhere around her was barren much like the badlands and desserts elsewhere in the world. But there was suppose to be a thriving city where'd she stood.....though now no life form could be detected by the Valkyrie. "Haakon....what have you done?!...." Such a devastating tragedy would be attracting one of his generals soon and for the time being... The less she was dectected while the others were healing, the better. Besides, there now is much to report back to as it was obvious the mystics would be eventually preparing for a battle far greater than the one before.

Returning to the base in ancient mystic form, she gave thanks to the dragons that she passed while on a straight line to find Naja. By now it was dark and her feathers were unfurled in agitation to what she saw. "Naja! Where are you?! We got to talk now! " Fria figured that Rex had left for the same concerned reason and hoped he was back by now to talk with their leader too.... In a case of such devastation....two reports would be far mor effective than one.


**Trinity**

When the Meta-gate glowed once more to have an angel emerge from within. Trinity was definetely surprised.... But seeing as their mystic numbers were low enough she wasn't going to complain. Recognizing her self healing taken over, she picked up the very injured Maria and carried her to their infirmary. Not far behind the medic team that was carrying Nemine on a stretcher. The only thing the fallen angel could figure was that Haakon had kept this Maria hidden from them until this time.... Why she had no idea but her wings expanded out quickly in an irritated manner. Secrets were apart of the nobilitys' ways but still...what were et to do with one at just finished the meta-gate by surprised?

Laying the angel down on an empty bed she only gave a nod to the attendants to begin their process of mending together this...female. Once back in the elevator, Trinity rubbed her temples. This day was definetely something....the only thing good having come from it was just as Haakon said. The mystics would need time to heal their own gate graduates...hopefully longer than what nobility would need for their own. Stepping into her wing of operations.... She walked quickly to her personal suite, giving those who came to close a piece of her mind...literally. Oh to see them wither on the floor in pain was a good energy boost. After taking sometime to enjoy a hot shower and change of clothes....she went into her office to see one of her male mind minions waiting. "Good evening my lady of tragedy... I bring news that should please you. It seems Lord Haakon has destroyed the more populated areas of China recently as a message for those who decided to turn against him in that region."

Trinity knew what this meant....her own specialty as the Angel of Tragedy was requested to visit the dead zone to see how the people of China were mourning their dead and to collect more troops for the Nobility...ones that would not think of betraying Haakon. "Very well my loyal servant, gather my fighters and some Fearstalkers and make haste!" The man took a deep breath as if inhaling her power of control over him bowing low and running off to carry out the orders. By the time they arrived in China through portals it was well into the night. Perfect time for them to do what they must and for the fearstalkers to have a feast from the nation. Trinity to in a deep breath....absorbing all the tragedy that was around them. It was a spreading plague sweeping the nation before extending its reach to the rest of the world. Suddenly though the fallen angel opened her eyes..... A mystic, an ancient mystic, was here not too long ago....not more than a few hours ago if that. Doing the same thing she was sent out here to do... Looking at a Fearstalker who had just returned from eating she approached him with a look to her face that meant business. "Go back and tell your leader that an ancient mystic has already been here....then inform the same to Haakon. Be quick with this."

Turning her back to the portal as it appeared and disappeared she looked for more clues as to which one. There were no dragon prints....and the power in the air wasn't like that of Naja's........ It was more out of this world...ancient and mythical. There was only one she knew like that...."Fria....so you're the one who's been here to see what we've done. What you going to do now you feathered freak?"

[Jacogos]

Caine entered the Meta Gate room just as the Fearstalker was leaving. Caine nodded to the larger being, wondering where the Wraith would be heading off so quickly. No matter. He had heard congratulations were in order. Noticing the Lich's change in clothing, though, Caine put the Alpha as priority.

"Lord Haakon... Your new coat suits you. I pray there wasn't too much loss of valuable life in order to gain such a ravishing look?" He smirked slightly and returned his attention to the Ice Mystic, who was being treated on the spot by the Angel and a few medics that had just showed up. Caine growled slightly and waved the medics off.

"As much as we love taking care of our own here in the Nobility, give the girl some damn room. Banshees are a little sturdier than you might think, especially this one." The medics looked skeptical at first, but acknowledged his superior status and relinquished the girl. Caine gave Trinity and Nemine a quick look-over, then nodded.

"Rest should be all she needs. I see you've taken the liberty of inducing that on her, at least. Here," he motioned to the medics and gestured to their stretcher. "Just take her to her temporary quarters here and lay her out." He waited for the medics to act, then snarled when they didn't jump on it. They did then, and Nemine was on her way to a soft bed in no time. Turning to Trinity and the Lich again, Caine snorted.

"I swear it gets harder to find competent help these days... I don't understand how you stand it, Lord Haakon." With another nod to the Angel, Caine left the room.

As he walked the halls of Haakon's estate, Caine reminisced on the days events...



After Nemine had entered the Meta Gate, Caine had gone off to busy himself with a little... homework. As soon as the werewolf lord exited Haakon's manor, he howled loudly, a cry that echoed on the wind and reverberated far beyond natural sound limits. Within minutes, Feasts on Hearts was traveling side by side with a pack of at least fifty werewolves, all transformed, with Caine at the forefront, towering over all but the oldest of them.

Their goal was simple. Raid any town, city, house, ANYTHING inhabited in their path and infect or butcher those who defied them. The prime meat they would turn. The rest would feed the younglings or themselves. Feasts on Hearts also had something else planned, but that would come later.

The first settlement they came across was a small town, well populated, with a few suburban areas for them to ravage. The werewolves spilled across the concrete like a swarm of giant ants, only far more deadly. Each house only needed a single werewolf to infiltrate, take stock, then pounce the humans. If there was a good candidate, they were scratched, then incapacitated so they would do no harm. Others were marked and taken down and thrown into the streets or hung from the trees. As the attacks went on, the number of werewolves slowly grew larger, not only from the newly turned wolves, but also from the slow trickle of werewolves from elsewhere in the States found the pack.

Feasts on Hearts was pleased with the growth of his pack. Many more would be adding to it thanks to today's hunt, which made him ever more pleased. His numbers were most likely coming close to the blood suckers again. This would irritate Evangeline, no doubt... she did ever so like her size superiority. No matter that for now, though. He had matters to attend to...

As the huge pack swept across Tennessee, Kentucky, and lower Illinois, Caine brought the entire army to a halt at the base of a rather large plateau. The werewolf bounded up the loose rocks and perched himself on the top, gesturing for the one he had picked out preceding the hunt.

A large female, easily as tall as Caine himself, lept up to the plateau's 'peak' as well, kneeling before him and lowering her eyes. In another life, this one would have been his mate... Feasts on Hearts looked at the female, then studied the pool at the base of the plateau. The stream that flowed into it fell from the plateau, making a rather puny waterfall, but one that fed the pool nonetheless. The pool was large enough to allow at least five or six of the wolves drink at a time, so it would be a long night...

"Rise, Sehrah..." Came his grotesque voice, rumbling from the bottom of his throat. The female rose, now meeting his gaze. She was maybe an inch or two off of his height, quite impressive for his species... Just what he needed. Caine looked up at the sky. Mere moments, now... Moving over to the stream, Feasts on hearts brought the female with him and instructed her to kneel in the middle of it.

As she did so, her back was turned as the full moon finally came out from behind the clouds.

Feasts on Hearts's eyes flashed as the beams of moon hit him. No other werewolf would be affected, as Caine was the sole inheritor of the lunar power this night. His already huge form grew even more, another two feet added on to finish out at a whopping ten feet tall. Tendrils of black fog seemed to seep off of his body as splotches of red scars cracked open across his body, giving it a rather tribal tattoo-ish look. His fangs elongated past his mouth, giving him vampiresque fangs. (http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20101204052308/castlevania/images/f/f7/Lycanthrope_Dark_Lord.png) As the transformation completed, Feasts on Hearts roared a howl that rocked the plateau, causing the female to turn quickly, shock filling her eyes. She tried to flee.

Too late.

Caine's claw ripped her open before she had the time to react. Blood spurted wildly as her throat, chest, and stomach were all torn apart in a single motion. With his other claw, the werewolf lord jabbed into her chest and ripped her heart from its cavity, holding it above him for a moment before dropping it into his gullet. As her lifeblood seeped into the stream, Caine swallowed that which had once given her that very blood. The scars glowed brightly, shearing red as if on fire and Caine roared once again, this time actually causing a few rocks to fall from the plateau's face. With a swipe of his claw, Feasts on Hearts drew a gash on his leg, allowing his own blood to mix with the female's in the pool at the bottom of the plateau.

"Go, mai pets. Dreenk of the blawd and be endfinitely moar powafall!" he yelled, enticing an echoing roar from the werewolves at the foot of the cliff. They all rushed forward to have a drink of the blood pool, some even getting violent about it. As each took a drink, they would grasp at their throat as the blood burned its way into their system. Then, slowly, they would become like Caine, though without the height gain and with much smaller fangs and less obvious scars. Feasts on Hearts grinned his wolfish smile as he watched his followers gain the power of the moon. With this sacrifice, his power would forever be at this peak. Their would still wax and wane with the moon. Even during the new moon, though, they would still be far stronger than before.

Yes... Today was a good day... The wolves were still drinking when the Betrayer got caught up in a blood curdling howl along with his followers.

[Froggy]

Louisiana

For several months now, Evangeline had kept herself locked away in her estate, only appearing momentarily to answer Haakon's calls. She'd had little to do with the training of the Mystics, far too busy with her new creations to put as much time as the others. Only Haakon knew of her plans, and she was eager to please him, especially after her encounter with the Light Mystic....he'd had to rescue her from the burning light, and she knew she was on unstable grounds with Haakon. That was a place she dreaded being, and therefore she'd been working her hardest to find a solution to defeating the Light Mystic before she'd become too powerful. To withstand the light as no other Vampire had done before.

It was a metalic suit of armor (http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT7uu-EdNh2EnUwlYRoFV5_Hvdo4yRHJsTiMjP2u-QxLeG8vOCZTw), designed specifically to form around her body with the push of a buttom. The concept was simple- a suit of armor that could always be worn, though without holding back the wearer. It had taken her a while, but she'd devised a series of metal skin wraps (http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSsIrh-fJDWt-M7p7lRZNfYtvWwfN8YFMrb-d5CxfiJJQ9Mh5UT) that were disguised as bracelts, ankle bracelets, and a rather large necklace. No one would have guess that with a push of a button, metal would quickly disperse in one swift motion to cover her entire body and allow normal, Vampiric movements as well. Even her head was covered and allowed plenty of room for eyesight, and had protective shades to keep the light from getting bright.

This new ability to absorb light was not the only advantage she had gained. It now had a built-in place for her poison vials around her waist, which were likewise stored in the masked bracelets, but also a dart gun she'd custom built to be small in size, to match the outfit, and to deliver up to five darts at once with speed and accuracy. In short, it looked like a war outfit that would never tire out for so long as it was taken care of.

Now, now she could go out into the daylight. Now her destruction wasn't limited to the nightlife.

Albany, New York

The place where her mad desire to escape the light had started, the state of New York. It was the late afternoon, and Evangeline was standing atop the tallest building she could find, surveying the streets bellow. "Where to start?" she asked, aiming her newly designed gun at a nearby crowd. News of the destruction had reached New York....China, and three separate states inside the United States. Ravaged, destroyed without mercy. By next morning, the entirety of New York would make the fourth state.

She fired the gun at a woman, the crowd not even noticing what'd happened until she began screaming in pain. They didn't find anything wrong with her, until one man plucked a finger-sized dart out of her neck. The poison seeped onto his skin, spreading across his hand. He screamed in agony, and Evangeline opened fire on the city of Albany. People were running, scared to death. Something unknown was attacking the citizens on the street without rhyme or reason, and the Police couldn't figure it out. All they could do was try to stop people from stampeeding each other, though several had been killed by that means already. An evil glint crossed her eye, and her smirk grew. "This will be fun," she said, swinging down from the rooftop and launching poison darts in every direction.

It was nightfall now, and her fellow Vampires had come to join her. Sixty total, including her. They drank from anyone they pleased, and killed anyone who tried to stop them. Anyone who begged for their life was mercilessly slaughtered, and those with any potential were bitten.

~~~~~~~~

By morning, the killing was done. The streets had turned into a battlefield the night before, and now Evangeline walked alone, relishing the freedom. The light did not affect her as she walked through the streets that were littered with blood and bodies. Not even animals roamed these streets, not a soul remained. Evangeline raised an eyebrow when she heard a noise coming from the alleyway, it sounded like whimpering. Raising a curious eyebrow, she turned the corner and stopped. A woman kneeled there, shivering and crying. She was bruised and bloody and looked as though she'd just come too. When she caught sight of Evangeline, she looked like a rabbit having been caught by a lion.

Upon further inspection, Evangeline found a small dart located just feet away from her. She noticed a small whole in her neck that had dried blood next to it. Evangeline smirked and pushed a button, the armor from her head vanishing. She could feel the breeze in the shaded alleyway and it blew her hair dramatically. "If you can survive that, you've got potential," Evangeline told the woman. The woman tried to flee, but it was too late. Evangeline grabbed her by the shoulders and bit her, drinking her blood as she did so. It was warm and soothed the thirst in her throat. The woman was unconscious now, and Evangeline pushed the button again, the armor returning to secure her head. "Aaaah, haven't had blood that fresh in a while," she said to herself, rushing back to her estate in Louisiana, carrying the woman over her shoulders. She would come too again over the next day or two, and Evangeline planned on keeping a close eye on all her new recruits.

Halley

Halley let out a sigh of relief when Belisa told her that Kurama was fine and resting. How the hell they survived that, she didn't have a clue. She creased her brow with worry when the Dragon Rex was summoned and left, a feeling of unease spreading through her senses. She wondered if it had anything to do with Faerie powers, or if she was just paranoid because he'd been summoned.

She winced when Fria` came and helped her sit up, it hurt her back more than laying down. She felt a little better when she reassured her that Kurama was fine, that they had both just taken a beating. "It feels like more than a beating Fria`....it hurts so much," Halley said, closing her eyes and forcing back the tears. She winced when Fria` placed a cream on the back, and instantly she could feel it soothing her skin. "Oh please tell me this regimine of yours will at least taste decent," Halley begged. She remembered all the times she'd had medicine that'd tasted horrible, and she didn't know that she could take much more for the day. Halley laid back gently on the bed when Fria` left as well, the same feeling of unease returning to her. She closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep, her body still exhausted from her trials.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Moving as fast as both his wings and magic could move him the Sound Mystic returned to space seeing more Space Dragons joining his rapid ascent to the calling of the Space Dragon Elder Gelez rumored to be the oldest living Dragon aside from King Roanoke himself. He never spoke of his age and no one asked even ancient lizards have some secrets they like to keep. As he broke from blazing ozone he ceased exerting himself and let the natural forces of the universe drift him toward his destination, the moon where he already saw his people gathered around a small mountain where he could see Gelez already, seated on a boulder his long white bearded chin resting in his hands his pure black eyes staring off either looking into the future, thinking up a plan for all of this, or just waiting for everyone to arrive.

Looking around he could see half destroyed satellites hovering around the planet he already had an idea why they were called up here.
Haakon has thrown the first stone, now it's time to throw some back. He growled with his eyes knowing his voice would do nothing in space. Propelling himself along quicker to the moon's surface he found his family changing into his human form he nodded to them and began speaking through their minds like they had always done.
"I take it, we're here because of those hunks of space crap?" He asks his younger brother Exter.

The younger dragon scratched his short cut silver hair then answered.
"You got it Rex, apparently you're old friend Haakon put those monstrosities together. And wiped out half of China and made pretty much the rest of it a wasteland. And it seems that was the go-ahead his Generals were waiting for. The blood suckers took out the capital of the state of New York, and the mutts got upgrades and ripped through three states in the central US. And our dear cousins have teamed up with the Fallen Angel of Tragedy and are sucking those that survived the attacks dry of their minds and souls." Rex's brow was furrowed at all this horror that had been reaped on the world in so short a time. How could they get away with all of this? And untold number of beings should've had these all planned for including his own people. As they waited for the rest of the Dragon to arrive he began going over the numbers of enemies the Nobility has made in one day. The Fae already irked toward war with the inclusion of a Rock Fae in the Mystic ranks would now be totally against the wizard and his group for this blatant destruction of not only their subjects but of a lot of their business interests, that right there would be enough to wipe out the Nobility's ranks given free reign but as is the hitch with pretty much every being of great power the Laws of all Universes apply even Haakon would fall to their justice if he went too far. But the Fae have been around about as long as the Dragons all the loopholes were known to them.

Next on the list were obviously the other Dragons you don't nuke part of a country and go unnoticed by the beings that are born from the dust of Draco great sacrifice. Elementals would join the fight, then the other Werebeasts not under Caine's thumb and the list rolled on down to the lowly sentential animals. He could practically see the other races meeting in tribunal right now like he was doing to begin the counter offensive. After the racial tribunals things would quickly move to the Elder Council Tribunal then a representative of every race concerned about this would meet and then the Mystics would be able to call on an army that would crush anything Haakon could muster up never in all his memory could he recall had this many outside forces joined the side of the Mystics but he was too old to think they had this won. Plus all the Space Dragons had now found their way to the moon and Elder Gelez was now standing his wrinkled hands clasped behind his back his long gray face hagged with age and his body was hunched and shaking as if infirm but upon looking into his black eyes was like looking into the center of the very universe the white flecks were the stars and even Naja would in a hushed sort of awe if he ever met the old Dragon. He spoke in their minds while it was quiet, his voice held great power.
"My people, the Wizard Haakon has managed to unleash a great disaster right under our muzzles, the people we are sworn to protect have suffered for our mistake once again. We must bring down these insults to humanity's innovation. They are self-defended and have some kind of artificial intelligence but so did every greedy bug and slimly slugbeast we've destroyed before break up into family groups and bring these things down and obliterate every nut and bolt on them. We mustn't let these things kill again." With a wave of his hand the other Dragons changed into their full forms and a battle worthy of Stars Wars meets Star Trek began. Lasers blasted from mounted turrets magic spells shot out and countered the blasts. All these flashing lights and powerful spells were in total silence which is something you didn't see in the movies. All and all the battle only took a matter of two hours before the Dragons stood victorious but not a flawless victory.

There was ten wounded and one dead, Rex was one of them. He was dodging the blasts of a particularly smart machine his family was doing the distract and attack method they developed keeping all the turrets busy while one Dragon dove for the center of the machine effectively killing it by ripping it apart with their claws sending the piece out to be completely destroyed by the out-skirting Dragons. But it appears these things learned as they went it was one of the last ones left to destroy and it's cameras had witnessed the way it's fellow machines were brought down and adapted it's own tactics for when it's turn came. It was a strafing mass of metal dodging spells with surprising speed and shooting out it's lasers grazing and nicking the surprised Dragons gathered around it. But like the machine they adapted quickly flying in fast circles around it confusing the sensors. This seemed to work but it began shooting out it's photon bombs in every direction like a top, more wounds were made and the one death was a young Spacer taking the photon full in the chest as it was powering up a light spell. The two forces reacted very poorly and the youngster was disinterested leaving just ash to show he even existed, while it was a horrible loss we found a new type of death to add to our history books we also learned not to use any light spells while dodging these bombs. with each pass of the machine's attack the Dragons drew closer lancing spells of every type at their metal opponent. Marzarex was closest to the machine when he was wounded, it's frantic shots became desperate trying to keep the Dragons at bay. Rex was one top of the satellite and began ripping it apart with his claws throwing pieces off to the others, but while he was bust he didn't see one of the turrets swing around and blast him fully in the face blinding him and nearly sending him off the metal caucus but digging his claws in he finished the enemy and used a black hole spell to destroy it before floating off his eyes still blinded. He knew it would pass in time but right now he was a blind old Dragon.

[Stryker]

“Now that things are finally settled and Naja got what he wanted… I see no reason to stay and keep myself here with the others…” Renshi spoke aloud to himself before trekking to the balcony.

Once there he peered up at the sky and closed his eyes before sighing deeply. “Where should I… yes, I think that will do nicely. I’ve heard the scenery is pretty worthwhile. Maybe I’ll see better sights than what I’ve been dealing with here…”

He spoke softly, speaking the incantation Naja taught he, Kurama and Dorian before a soft light began to envelop his body, starting with his feet and slowly moving upwards until a flash erupted and his body disappeared only to reappear a few seconds later atop a one of the lower peaks of the Rocky Mountains overlooking a sleepy town.

Flurries lazily dropped from the sky, some landing in his hair and melting upon contact as he looked out over his surroundings. The rocky outcroppings caught his eye as he marveled at the sheer vastness of it all. The mountain range seemed to stretch out across the horizon from what he could tell which wasn’t a lot considering the inclement weather hindered his vision a bit and chilled him slightly. He knew that if he really wanted to he could simply heat himself up by exerting a small amount of energy continuously, but then again, that’d drain him after a while and leave him vulnerable to something attacking him whether it be another one of those mechanical things that went after him in the Mage Gate trails or anything else for that matter.

“Should’ve thought about this earlier…” he muttered under his breath before exerting a bit of energy, the result was his trench coat was now wrapped around his form and making a vast difference in his comfort level now that the snow wasn’t landing directly onto his body. “If anything, this is the type of seclusion and solitude I wanted while I was forced to share space with those idiots…” he thought before turning to face the mountain’s peak.

“Now, to get onto real business.” He yelled with a smile creeping across his face.

Without any further distractions, Renshi began to train himself amongst the rocks and falling snow. Now that he felt nobody would get in his way or interrupt things, he relished the opportunity to tune himself up on his own terms without having to hold back for fear of hurting his sparring partner.


************************************

All in all, the rocks were withstanding quite a bit of punishment that was being dealt out. The mountainous terrain was also serving a purpose when it came to knowing your surroundings and dealing with inclement conditions. Truth be told, he couldn’t have found a better training area if he had actually tried, but after a few hours of strenuous work he had taken to an outcropping near the peak and sat to observe the world below. He had never been to America in his life and yet now he sat in a place he had taken a liking to. With a bit of work maybe he would stay here, and maybe none of the Mystics would bother him either…

“Like either of those will happen…” he scoffed before glancing at his hands, they were noticeably scraped up from the training he had just recently completed. A smirk formed across his face as he thought back to the few rocks that weren’t as lucky as his hands to still be in one piece. Soon enough though, his thoughts crept back to the Mystics and their battle against the Nobles and Haakon. Foes he hadn’t run across aside from the few enemies he and Kurama ran into when finding the two women on the beach.

“Hmph…” he snorted before standing up again atop the rock he previously was seated on. “As far as I’m concerned… they can fight amongst themselves and I’ll sit back and watch them kill each other…” he continued before walking back amongst the mountain path. “They can look somewhere else for a flame to ignite their war…”

[Lost Goddess]

Maria awoke from her semi-coma, and sat up slightly dizzy at the moment because of her sudden motion to sit up. She placed her feet on the floor, and her wings beat a little, and they were still sore from where she had fought...well....she couldn't remember what she had done, nor how she got here. All she knew is that she was supposed to be here. Still her curiosity won out, and she strode out of the infirmary not noticing two other people lying on beds similar to her.

She took in the smells of this place, and she could slightly smell the hint of another angel somewhere, or at least had been here at one point in time. She sat cross-legged on the floor and retracted her wings back into the pockets hidden within her skeletal structure, and she closed her eyes allowing her minds eye to search the place she was in. Her minds eye saw many things, but half of it she couldnt make up her mind about what it was. She could however see Vampires and Werewolves were once here. She began to draw deeper within herself and began to feel as if she was floating.

A bright flash occured, and her stomach went in knots, and then she felt the night air on her skin, and smelt the freshness of the darkness that was rolling in. She stood and said happily 'Now this is my element' She closed her eyes once again and with a slight wave of her hand the darkness seemed to bend to her will and flooded over the estate and blocked out all light below her. Her startling white eyes, were seemingly glowing like the moon, and the darkness was reacting to her will. More and more darkness poured in and around the estate she was at, and she was enjoying seeing what she could do.

For once, Maria feeled as if she was in control, and not subject to rules or laws set in place by teachers, or parents. She could control the darkness itself, maybe not darkness in its entirety, but she could control it nonetheless, and that in itself pleased her. She smiled and let out a child-like giggle, and continued to draw the darkness into the grounds of the estate until it was a thick black sheet of pure abysmal black.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

The young Scotswoman watching the ever moody and cocky Renshi run away from the base eager to get away from them. Even still feeling the pain of Mother Earth being injured she managed to shake her head in disappointment at his departure. They were a team weather he liked it or not but even then she couldn't help but think leaving would be best there's nothing more they could do hear and if that horrible pain from earlier was any indication of what was going on the world needed them out on the lines not back at HQ. Though she was sure Renshi's reason for leaving was purely self-centered he had the right idea get out of the Amazon and back to civilization though Kana would do what they were destined to do.

Getting up from the couch she stretched out and looked toward the balcony Renshi just vacated.
"Time tae save the world." She sighed giving one last look around the base it might be the last time she'd ever see this place or these people. She'd miss them all, even Renshi a little bit, maybe they'd fight side by side in the future. She wrote a little note and put it by Dorian he was kind of like a brother to her so she felt he should get word to where she's going and he could tell the others.

Dear Dorian,

Heading out to start kicking some Nobility ass, I'll be checking in on Stirling first but then it's on!

Love Kana.

She placed the note on his chest then went to the balcony she used the spell Naja taught her and it carried her actually right to the woods from her memories. Taking a deep breath of the cool Scottish air thankful to be out of the humid Amazon. She felt her body adjust to the new ground beneath her. The chill she felt at first vanished as her blood thickened and skin took on a grayer look as did her eyes. After getting her bearings she began walking to her long missed home.

[RisingPhoenix]

Kurama & Dorián

He wasn’t aware of anything that happened as the dragons and Fria rushed to save his life. His mind was swirling with information, voices and pain. He would gain consciousness then lose it a few minutes later. Finally, after about an hour or two of being fixed up by the river dragon and Fria, Kurama’s eyes sprang open and he coughed. He tried to move, but he was still very sore and pain surged through his being. He let out a groan, but still managed to sit up and look over at Halley who seemed extremely distraught.

"Oh please tell me this regimen of yours will at least taste decent.” Halley begged causing Kurama to smile.

He looked over at Halley, and smirked, shaking his head slightly.

“When is medication ever good? Kurama asked as he popped his neck in order to relieve it from becoming stiff.

All in all, he was feeling better than he had. He could move his arms and hands, but when he attempted to move his body, pain would surge through him and cause him to whence or groan, but he knew he’d be fine. It would take him a few days to heal completely, but the scars would be there for many years to come. He was happy to be done with the Mage Gate trials, and he felt stronger because of it. His body had been beaten, battered and torn, but he still survived and his power had increased. His affinity with nature and wood was something that was on a biological level, and when Haakon used the great beams from the sky to destroy parts of China, he could feel Mother Nature’s wale. He felt pain within his own body, though it wasn’t anything debilitating, it was still noticeable and he looked away.

“Something is wrong,” he said softly as he forced himself to stand. He was in pain, but he forced himself to continue standing as he made his way into the common area.

“I gotta check on Dorián,” he said as he left the infirmary. Each step he took, he grew stronger and by the time he reached Dorián he was able to stand without feeling pain surge through him with every step.

He looked down at the note scribbled by Kana. Closing his eyes, he looked down at Dorián, his shoulder blood stained, and a permanent scar representing a previous wound. As he reached out to touch Dorián, Dorián’s eyes sprang open and he looked up at Kurama.

“Where am I?” Dorián asked.

“We’re at the base,” Kurama replied as he pointed to the note on Dorián’s chest.

Dorián picked up the note and read it as he sat up on the couch. He smiled and closed his eyes.

“No rest for the weary,” Dorián said as he stretched and looked closely at Kurama. He noticed the bite mark and sighed, “how you holdin’ up man?”

“Fairly well, the more I do, the stronger I become. For a moment, I didn’t think I was going to make it, but Halley came through in the end. I guess when we heal up here we can leave, but I don’t see how things are ever going to be the same.” Kurama stated as he moved to sit down next to Dorián.

“Yea, I feel ya bro, but as long as we look out for each other, and stay in contact, we can make the best of it. The Nobility is out there, and they won’t stop hurting the innocent until we stop them. We were chosen for a reason Kurama,” Dorián replied as he stood to his feet with little trouble.

Kurama smiled and nodded, “I hope to see you around man.”

“You will, we live in the same dorm, though I’m trying to figure out how exactly we’re going to explain being missing for so many months. I suppose manipulating the headmaster won’t get us into too much trouble,” Dorián replied as he pulled on his button up shirt, it having been removed to get to his shoulder wound.

Kurama gave Dorián a brotherly hug and watched as Dorián walked towards Naja’s office. Kurama turned around and headed back into the infirmary. He would stay here until Halley was fully healed. He walked into the infirmary and immediately embraced Halley.

“When we get out of here, we definitely are going on our date.”

Dorián knocked on Naja’s office door and entered in when he heard Naja’s voice.

“Ahhh, Dorián, you’re awake, what may I ask do you need?” Naja asked as he stood to his feet and stepped in front of his desk.

“I just wanted to see you before I left,” Dorián stated.

“You’re leaving so soon? Well I suppose it is best to try and get back into the swing of things at the University you attend. I already called ahead and explained everything to the headmaster, and he’ll be waiting for you and Kurama when you arrive,” Naja replied as he placed a soft yet firm hand on Dorián’s shoulder, “you’ve made me proud Dorián, but be careful out there, the Nobility is still running rampant. They’ve attacked China, New York and other places. We have to be on our guard now more than ever. Keep the innocent safe, and know that I’ll be watching over you.”

Dorián smiled and gave Naja a firm hug before turning, and leaving out of the office. On his way to the balcony, he felt the storm above. It gave him strength. Kana and Renshi were already gone, he being the third to leave. He spoke the enchantment Naja had taught each of them, and found himself being pulled to the location he chose. When he opened his eyes, he saw the campus of the university he was attending with Kurama. He saw the world from a different view, and knew that because of this, he’d never be the same, but it was all in a good way. Making his way towards the Dean’s office, he passed a few people who looked in utter shock as he passed them. They had thought he was dead, but he yet lived. Things were going to be interesting, that much was certain; he just hoped he could fulfill his duties. He walked into the dean’s office and closed the door behind him.

UPDATE: THREE DAYS HAVE PASSED.

Naja

Naja stands in the common room, Fria and Marzarex as well as the other dragons sitting in the comfortable seats.

“Three days ago Haakon struck a deadly blow on China, his henchman Caine savaged through two or more states and his female concubine Evangeline unleashed a vampiric horde upon New York. We must be prepared to protect the innocent and put an end to Haakon and the Nobility. Remember, be vigilant and remain hidden from the humans, but keep them safe and protect them. Check on our mystics and make sure they are coming along well. That is all, you are dismissed.”

Kurama

Kurama was on scout in New York after the vampiric assault. He hadn’t told anyone that he was in New York, but he wanted to help clean up after such a devastating blow from Evangeline and her vampires. Sighing, he consoled the miserable humans as they cried and buried their dead. It was saddening to say the least, but the attack on China was by far the worst. They still had no clue what had happened, and those in China had to evacuate the uninhabitable area. They migrated to other countries, though Kurama knew all too well that things would never be the same for them. Walking down a dark alley, Kurama looked at his watch. He hadn’t seen Halley in over two days, and hadn’t seen Dorián since Dorián left HQ. Silently, he patrolled the streets of New York, blending in with his surroundings.

Dorián

Dorián panted, his fist bruised from the constant training. He was honing his skills, his control over the storms proving to be his greatest challenge. He looked up at the mountain he was on, the rocks splitting after contact with his fist. He glared up at the skies, and watched as storm clouds rolled in. His thunder bow appeared in his hand and as he pulled the string, a arrow of pure lightning appear in the arrow rest. When he released the string, a shot of lightning surged down upon the ground and struck with such intensity, that it created a small crater. Dorián had been training ever since he had left HQ. He had kept up with his school work, but he hadn’t seen Kurama or any of the other mystics since. His mind was often clouded with images of Nemine, but she had chosen her side. He only wished he had gotten to know her the way he had gotten to know the other mystics as she seemed like a pretty cool girl. Sighing, he continued his training.

[Lost Goddess]

Maria did not wait for the nobility to release her to go back to her life before she had became a mystic, instead she left the estate without their permission and traveled to new york to see her mother, whom lived in lower Manhattan. She closed her eyes again as she had done before, and with a bright flash she was gone from the estate and appeared in her mothers' apartment in the city. When she left the sheet of darkness lifted from the estate and light began to flood back in.

Maria froze as she saw the damage that the Vampires had done to her state. Though, she was a nobility mystic she still was furious when she saw the destruction outside of her mothers apartment. Her mind ran through the possibilities and then a though came to her. Her mother hadn't greeted her when she appeared in the apartment, and she had no food on the stove which was unusual for her. Maria called out with a hint of fear in her voice 'Mom, are you here?' She strode swiftly into her mothers room and fell to her knees tears falling from her eyes.

On the bed in her room lay maria's mother in a sheet that had now turned red. Her mother was dead because of the vampires that had attacked here. She let her mother die, because she had joined the nobility, and now she had caused her mothers death. She cried and began to glow a dark black and the shadows in the apartment appeared to be drawn to her.

Maria closed her eyes again, and reappeared on top of the highest building in New york. When she opened her eyes they were a pure black and her entire form glowed with a powerful and dark aura. She yelled in rage, and the darkness responded blanketing the entire city in a thick sheet of black. She continued drawing the darkness from every shady spot and corner, and covered the city in it. She would destroy the vampires for killing her mother. Yes, she was nobility, but her mother always came first.

She waved her hand, and something shot from the darkness and into her hand. She caught it and pulled back the string. Her bow was of pure darkness and malice. The arrow was red like blood, and had black runic symbols on it. She pulled back the bow string, and sent the arrow flying towards the statue of liberty. As the arrow soared through the darkness it appeared only as a red streak, and when it came in contact with the statue of liberty, an explosion resulted that echoed across the whole city, and the torch that still burned bright quit shining and fell from the womans hand. The beacon of hope and freedom in new york was now gone, and the light source was destroyed. She would now free the darkness to do its work.

The darkness shifted and began to change into vague forms of humanoids, and she smiled slighty. They would not harm the humans, only any vampires left in the city, and any other member of the vampiric race. They had killed her mother, and that she could not allow to happen, she would not... The shadow humanoids began searching the entire city. If they encountered a mystic or some other being of power, they too would be attacked, but not because Maria hated them, but because her anger was powerful and un-contained. That was one thing that she had never been taught, how to control her anger.

[Echo]

The Meta Gate stuff really wasn't favoured by Scarlet. Well, there's been a lot of work and focus being put on the trial and the mystics, so Scarlet was extremely... unoccupied, you could say. So, during the Meta Gate stuff, Scarlet travelled quite a lot, creating havoc here and there, updating herself on any important news happening back at Haakon's. For example, China was pretty much already destroyed when Scarlet got back to base. Something entertaining that she missed.

"Lady Evangeline and Lord Caine had already made their move, quite awhile ago. New York state and the towns around base," one of Scarlet's demons reported, somewhere above the mountains.

"Very well. Leave." Scarlet was disappointed in herself for not doing work at all. She rubbed her temples and sighed, blaming the laziness on the lack of orders. Two black wings then sprouted from Scarlet's back, carrying her away from the estate. "Guess I'll check on what they did... starting with the little vampire."


---------------------

The damage originates from Albany and stretches out, all over New York state. Each street was covered in gore, crafted perfectly into a battlefield. Nice work, Scarlet silently applauded her colleague in her head. But she also noticed something else, how dark the city seemed to be. Each nook and cranny was completely sheathed in enticing darkness. This ability was almost identical to one of her own, and thus, the ability peaked her interest.

Scarlet trailed the darkness, following the path that was getting increasingly darker until it reached the caster. A female - in an all to familiar mystic form - with white eyes, black hair, and the aura of death, stood on the tallest building within miles of here. An arrow crafted from darkness formed at her fingertips and soared across the sky to extinguish all light. Darkness with a human-like form emerged, scrambling through the city. Scarlet saw the pained expression on the girl's face. Anger, hatred, malice, grief. Pure murder intent, and Scarlet loved it. Using her own technique of shadow, Scarlet sunk into the darkness beneath her, and resurfaced beside the angry girl.

"Bonjour! I'm Scarlet, Demon of the Nobility," the demoness greeted with a devious air. "You must be a mystic and part of the nobility. New member, I assume." At that time, Scarlet's detector was still running, and immediately alerted her of the humanoid darkness scrummaging around her. Almost subconsciously, Scarlet created her own golems, made of dark matter in a large, grotesque form to destroy the pesky insects that dared to interrupt the conversation.

"Don't let your anger get in the way. That just annoys me," Scarlet said warningly, looking at the girl with a slight glare, but instantly a smirk crawled back onto her face. The demon crossed her legs, floating in mid-air with her black wings out, her chin resting on her linked hands. "Now tell me, who are you, and what are you doing to a state that's already vacant, in ashes?"

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

With a nod Rex looked at the other Dragons.
"L'achia, Boto, Belisa, and Cas you all know what to do, keep in touch." The four in question nodded then scattered, Belisa flew off to rally the Dragons of the Water Element. Castiel went to gather any help he could from the monsters of the bogs to watch the HQ and the two little Jungle Dragons took to the trees to find allies among the Weres and normal animals. Only Feni and Rex were still standing at HQ.
"What do you wish me to do Elder?" The Stormer asked looking at Marzarex who nodded toward the skies.
"Take to the skies and work as our Long Range Recon you can fly a lot faster then the rest of us. Help anyone who needs it and if you see one of our Mystics tag up with them got it?" Fenirex nods leaping into the sky changing into his Dragon form then with a crack of thunder and a flash of lighting he was gone. With the orders sent Rex looked at Naja a slight apprehension gripped the back of his mind again. He'd been experiencing it ever since he spoke with Gelez when he was blind from that Satellite's laser. The Elder had been using his immense knowledge to heal Rex's eyes. They'd been discussing the new crisis and Gelez spoke quietly when they got to talking about how deep this war goes.
"You are strong Marzarex and wise but remember this. In all my years this scenario has been proven right time and again. Keep your enemies close but your friends closer, many great leaders have been brought down by those they called friend." Rex nodded at first not paying much mind to Gelez's words he's heard this proverb many times he was even around when it was recorded by the humans for the first time. But upon returning to the base he thought on it more and more. The Elder's advice was never one to be taken lightly or cast aside because you thought you knew better, Rex wasn't sure if Gelez actually had the gift of foresight or was just very wise but the ancient lizard was rarely wrong.

"I'll be doing my own recon I'm sure you and Fria can take care of things here brother, I'll be just a call away if you two need anything." He nods to Naja before taking off into the sky.


*Kana*

Her return home was joyous to say the least Master Naja had told them and explained where she'd been and that she had met her birth parents in that time. They were ecstatic and the three of them stayed up the whole night catching up and the young lass showing them all her new powers. During the night she'd found out her school plus three others got shut down, from what her caretakers had gathered from the news and everything they were shut down because the teachers seemed to all be insane they ranted and raved about lizards sneaking into their homes and tormenting them for hours on end before dispersing before the sun came up. It all seemed to be a nightmare because there was no sign of anything being in the room even the Teachers' spouses didn't see or hear anything. The conspiracy theorists said it was all just a scam to get their paychecks increased, but Kana knew what it really was. The Fearstalkers were taking full advantage of the all the fear the Nobility attacks had made in the world she didn't have to go to school until they opened up again but she couldn't act like it was Summer Break she had to do her job and protect the world.

After resting from her all night talk she dove right into being a Mystic defender of humanity. Foregoing all the invites to hang out with friends or go on shopping sprees she patrolled all of Stirling and a good chunk of greater Scotland taking out anyone who even remotely looked like they worked for the Nobility both human and not human. She didn't know what the others were doing she even wanted to try and get in touch with some of them but her work kept her focused on the jobs. She had brought in a task force much like what Master Marzarex had done with his Dragons, to help her, she had Tricksters like Dut working as spies, Fae both of Air and Earth working as striker teams pinpointing and sniping enemies and even the odd Troll working as shock troopers for larger nests of enemies. But even with this solid net of help more always seemed to be popping up in areas they had just cleared. It was unending but Kana took pride in her work when she heard Scotland had become one of safest places left in the world.


*Drax before the time skip*

Wraith Ripinger hated dealing anyone not immediately under his command in Combat Arms, granted he ultimately was in charge of Support Units as well as Combat Units but aside from the reports he received from the Specters and Shadows in charge of them he didn't directly deal with them himself unless he was doing his monthly inspections or if he really needed to deal with them personally he never relished those times. Some Stalkers weren't destined to be warriors so they either joined the civilian ranks as workers or joined Support to fulfill their four year obligation to the Army. The Logistics and paper work gave Drax a headache and it seemed every Stalker in Support was pissy and angry all the time even by the normally surly Stalker standards even down to the lowest ranked Creepers and Ghouls but they keep their mouths shut when around the higher-ups, the Darkwalkers aren't so smart sometimes.

They were the lowest Officer rank so they got slapped with most of the paper work for training and orders coming down from the Wraith, the Shadows, Specters, Senior Nighteyes, Nighteyes first class, Nighteyes second class, and First Darkwalkers. They were also responsible for handing down the orders and such to the Senior Horrors(highest non officer rank). One could argue that Darkwalkers are the hardest working members of the Fearstalker Army but they're sometimes dangerously loose tongues are what keep them from that title in Drax's eyes. A young Darkwalker once had the gall to freak out at him for accidentally knocking some papers off their desk, The Wraith could commend such courage which he did just before smashing said Darkwalker's head through that desk needless to say they watched their tongue from then on.

He approached the door to the Fearstalker wings and Xerses met him at the door throwing up a salute to Drax.
"She's in our study sir, cute little unmarked bit of scale she is too. She's even got Gamilla beat in the perfect curves department. Though Gamilla is a big strong female I think Darkwalker Maskel could bend into all sorts of shapes." Drax closed the door only Xerses could babble like this in front of Drax without getting clocked. He was a 7'8, 396 lbs, light green willow of a Stalker with long thin spikes. He had a patch over his left eye and as usual he wore his bronze colored cloak of rank draped over his narrow shoulders on the back and on the bronze badge that held it around him was the same red pitchforks as Drax but without the crown.
"Then you have my permission to pursue her if she smells right Shadow Arsantic." Xerses salutes Drax before handing him the folded up cloak and badge of his office.
"Here you are my Wraith."
Drax takes the cloak and slings it over his shoulders.
"Thank you Shadow dismissed." They trade salutes then Xerses walks off to the barracks and Drax goes to the study.

It was a short walk to the study pushing open the large rough wood doors he looked into a squat gray bricked room with built in shelves made of the same type of wood as the doors. They were filled with various scrolls and hard backed books some written in Stalker hand some not but all of them held secrets Drax’s people knew intimately. The other things that made up the room’s furnishings was a pair of long tables and sixteen chairs. It was in one of these chairs he saw Saxtea Maskel she really was a cute little bit of scale. He guessed she was 6’9 maybe 300 pounds with short straight spikes dressed in a dark red battle dress and her blue cloak with the white shadowed moon on the back and on the steel badge.

She stood and saluted Drax who saluted back.
“Hello, Wraith Ripinger, I’m glad you could join me.”
He nodded motioning for her to take her seat again.
“Hello, to you as well Darkwalker Maskel what is it that you’ve come to see me about?”

[Lost Goddess]

Maria turned to the demon woman and said " My name is Maria, and you would do well not to threaten me in my mystic form. You may be of the nobility, but i will still destroy you." She said those words with such malice that the darkness around her seemed to boil in anger itself and the humanoids disappeared, leaving only a group of them on the top of the building with her and the demoness' minions of shadow.

Once she had calmed the darkness slowly faded and her mystic form seemed to fade away leaving her in her true form. The angel form, her wings 14 ft in wingspan, and they were extremely strong. She retracted her wings into their hidden slot, and then spoke again to the demon woman " My mother was murdered by the vampires" Her anger flared again and her mystic form returned, only stronger this time. And, the darkness began to flood the state again thicker than before, but it didnt form into single humanoid beings. This time it stayed as a thick sheet of darkness, allowing no light to penetrate the ground below it.

((sorry about the shortness. I promise this will be the shortest post of mine in here))

[Froggy]

The healing had been a fairly lengthy process that had taken two days, and as promised by Kurama, the medication had tasted dreadful. Now Halley was back on the streets, fully recovered with scars to show her victory at the trials. She hadn't seen Kurama in a couple of days and wondered where he was, how he was doing, and more importantly, she couldn't stop thinking about the date he promised her...she couldn't wait. When she had arrived back home, her parents had been so angry and so happy that Halley was frightened by their reactions. Out of all the Vampires and Nobility crap she had been through, her parents had managed to scare her the most. She'd had to come up with a rather elaborate story that a man had been stalking her (not too outrageous, considering her previous job as an actress), and that she'd moved without warning or contact because she didn't want him to find her.

They still weren't sure what to make of it, and they'd been pressuring her since she'd gotten back to go to the Police over the matter- but Halley told them that she'd ditched him in Miami and that he didn't know where she was.

Now, however, Halley walked along the streets of Albany. She lived in Buffalo and the news had been saying that more attacks were accuring on a nightly basis, the bodies of victims being burned beyond recognition. Ever since the attack on Albany, any Vampire left in the state of New York was taking that as their cue to destroy the humans in it without mercy, and feast to their heart's content. Halley was sickened by the madness, she knew Evangeline was responsible for Albany. The other attacks appeared to be random, as they weren't as organized or structured as the one in Albany.

She had been fighting Vampires every night since she'd gotten back, doing her best to protect the humans- as well as her family. During the day she had been helping victims and killing those who remained with bite marks, and helping to clean the cities. She'd contacted Police Departments in every city affected and had volunteered to help with the clean-up process in any way that she could, and they were all grateful to her. Now however, she was exhausted.

She felt her energy draining and looked up, only to see something that made her eyes widen. "What. The. Hell?" Halley asked herself aloud as a thick sheet of darkness engulfed the city, spreading for miles out. She had a feeling it was spreading further than her city, probably across the state. Humans were screaming and running for cover, and she heard several vehicle crashes taking place in the streets. "Damn the Nobility!" Halley shouted, taking advantage of the temporary darkness and transforming into her Mystic form. 'Kurama, I need you. Please, something is wrong,' Halley flew high into the sky, high enough to pass off as the sun. 'Come to Albany, look for the light,' Halley spoke through her mind, fear in her words.

She focused her energy and floated in the sky, her body glowing. Her eyes began glowing a bright, golden color and light shot out of them toward the streets. The darkness around her was beginning to fade, though the skin was still tingling on the back of her neck- something was not right, and she knew a member of the Nobility was behind this.

[Atrum Daemon]

In three days, Haakon’s entire staff of warlocks had undergone a change similar to the one he had. They had all been submerged in the strange oil and come out fusions of flesh and machine. The oil was ready to be shared with the rest of the population and the reservoir had been opened. The oil mingled with the water as it got into the rivers both above and below ground. Over time, as the water was drunk, people would begin to change as well. At that time, Haakon would be able to institute the next stage of his plan.

Haakon stood at the top of the tower of his estate. He had a grand view from such a high point, but he had more things than just taking in the scenery on his mind. He had to speed up the process of getting the oil flowing down the rivers. He raised his arms and turned his face to the sky, speaking in a long forgotten tongue. When his spell was cast, a mass of storm clouds gathered and rain began to fall in great torrents. It was the spell that had earned in the name Storm King.

All across America, rain fell in heavy sheets and lightning struck the ground. Wind howled while the great storm raged and winged machines made to imitate the form of angels flew from the mountain to gather information for their master. Haakon’s gilded eyes closed as the rain washed over him. It was strange to rediscover the feeling of cool rainwater after being in an unfeeling metal body for so many years.

The oil would change the face of the world. This was something Haakon was sure of.

[Setsa]

**Fria** At the meeting with Naja, Rex, and the other dragons. It was made clear that Haakon's thirst for bloodshed had grown by leaps and creepy bounds. They all had their tasks as Rex left to find out what he could, being blinded for a while took a blow to him she had noticed for those days. Though spending the quiet time... helping him around the base arm in arm was very nice; something she wouldn't forget. "Be careful Mazarex... don't be afraid of stopping by Norway for a visit hmmm?" Smiling to the dragon she turned to face Naja after Rex's departure, "I am needed to go back to my homeland here on Earth.... Oden is expected to arrive so that we may talk about Haakon's actions, don't expect him to fight with us yet. But they are more involved to assure the protection of mortals so we can prepare for battle when it comes time. This is a good thing non-the-less... I'll as well see to checking on the mystics after such." Taking her leave after giving respect to those still in the room; Fria went outside via the front entrance of the base. Whistling very loudly the skies gave a cloudless thunder to follow with a white valkyrie stallion emerging from the jungle edge. Softly stroking his head she gave his nose a kiss "hey boy...how about we go up north and visit our great King hmmm?" Low nickers were his response as the Valkyrie mounted his bareback and grip the reins with an expert's handling. Clicking her tongue they ran off to the river and disappeared in mid-air only leaving ripples in the water to give any sign they were once there.

That night Fria was in her armory with the large double doors open and forge blazing hot as ever before. The sound of metal being shaped on her anvil resonated as music to her ears. The valkyrie hadn't had time to realize how much she missed doing this with the past months keeping her so busy, but each thing has their own rewards. Sticking the metal piece back into the hot coals to heat up some more...a smile grew on her face as it started to sound like a storm was building quickly outside. Wiping her brow Fria finished off her large mug of ale before going to the huge barrel resting on a table in the back. Refilling it for the third time that night she also grabbed another large mug and filled it up. Even though she could outdrink most creatures on this planet...the second mug wasn't for her this time. Turning around a smile grew on her face as an older man dressed in a style that was literally out of this world; appeared from thin air with a very warm smile on his face. "Ahhh Fria...." hugging the Valkyrie with one arm while taking the offered mead with the other hand before stepping back to take in her appearance. "You are as strong and beautiful as last time if not more now..... We in Asgard have been watching you and the other mystics with great interest." Odin took a healthy gulp from his mug as she gave a nod; standing up tall Fria was glad to see the great King in a grand mood. "Thank you my lord.... Naja, Rex and I have worked hard in their training to assure victory in battles that are sure to come." The powerfull god's eyes looked to her directly when the mention of battles came to "aye there be no escaping that. What Haakon and his generals have done is by far the worst I've seen in a very very long time. They must be punished for their ill actions before this entire world is destroyed." Drinking the mug dry Fria turned to refill it as he continued to speak.."right now Asgard cannot get involved just yet.... Earth's protectors are the mystics and as such, you all need to do whatever it takes to make sure he is stopped. Don't worry though, we starting to make preparations if it comes to us fighting along side. You are never alone in this Fria..." Smiling the valkyrie gave a look of understanding "ofcourse Odin, my King, right now they have returned to their respected homelands to take hold of the land and fight on their own. Naja, Mazarex and I are preparing for anything that may arise, Haakon is strong but we beat him once before...and we can do it again." A grin came to Odin's lips before clapping a huge hand on her back with pride "that's what I like to hear Fria! As for Naja, he has his mind set on things that have yet to come. With Mazarex....well, let's just say he is a very worthy warrior in his own rights. I for one would be sad as well as overpowered with pride and a beaming god if you and he were to FINALLY join and you remain here on earth. You may not be able to return to Asgard without me but you know we can all still see you down here. Love is the most powerful weapon ever Fria...remember that." Crossing her arms she only shook her head "in my own time Odin... If the gods mean it to be then it will happen... That doesn't mean you take it as your own personal mission though." She looked straight at the god as he bellowed a great laugh. "For now Fria...for now.. but I must return to our realm you know how to reach me if you need to. We'll keep watching and prepare for the worst.." With that the norse god finished the mug in one swallow, handed the mug to her followed by a hug as a father would give to a daughter. Then disappeared with the now passing storm to let the stars shine once more in a clear sky.

The next several days she worked hard, keeping tabs on the mystics at all times as if it was second nature to her. There were some reports of werewolves and other creatures causing havoc in the Russia and surrounding northern lands. Each time Fria was there to fight off anything that threatened human kind, keeping an warrior's eye out for the nobility that she knew would appear sooner than later... The last fight, a hellhound pack managed to give her a run for her money....even injuring her right leg enough that at the moment. She had the leg elevated on her table while cleaning the deep slash wounds. Hissing sharply as the washcloth rubbed one on her thigh to clean off the gravel so she could extract the hound's large broken claw. "Cursed dam hounds.... whoever sent them is going to pay for this!"

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

Operating the world defense from the sky suited Rex perfectly, he hasn't landed on a spit of ground in a few days he'd recruited more Dragons and other creatures to help out apparently the Councils had unanimous votes to help fight the Nobility. But he couldn't help but notice not every being was represented in the world defense. Centaurs were staying out of it as were a few others and it was insulting when he found out the Smoke, Shadow, and Dark Dragons were actually fighting for the Nobility it was sad but so is life Draco would punish them in due time.

Right now he was scanning the Mississippi river watching the beings of water both of Dragon and Fae cleansing the pollutants Haakon was poisoned the waters of the world with. While they couldn't save those that were infected already they were making headway in saving the rest of the world. The great storms were being worked on by the Stormers and Air Fae they were stopping things from getting destroyed but until the Elder Storm Dragons find a way to turn their fury away it was a holding game. The rest of the defenses were going well enough though he could tell this was going to be hard and they'd lose many in this battle.

He heard about Fria fighting off some hellhounds and receiving an injury he knew how those little bastards could give even a great warrior like Fria trouble. Hell if he wasn't covered in tough scales they'd give him trouble stirring his wings toward her home on Midgard, he landed on the balcony and made his way to where he heard her voice from. He saw the woman cleaning her wound and walked over helping her clean it.
Look like we'll have to get you a rolled up newspaper dear sister." He laughed lightly still cleaning her wound.

*Drax before the time skip*

Not wasting any more time on pleasantries Saxtea pulled out a report with the Queen's royal seal on the cover with two daggers in place of the eyes.
"I'm sure you've heard about the attack Haakon did on China yes sir?" Drax nodded taking the report breaking the magic seal and scanning it quickly. "Well it turns out sir that along with the humans and other creatures killed in that blast was a training area of the Abyss guards, they too were killed. Now we don't know if Haakon knew about this before the attack..."
He growls thumbing through the pictures."He knew I guarantee it."
The female nods looking at the giant Fearstalker before continuing. "Yes sir that's what her Majesty thinks and that's why I've been sent here. She wants you to keep a close leash on our troops and make sure no one but you tells them where to go. And keep yourself as far from the other generals as possible." He drops the file and sighs looking at the female who turns her eyes down out of respect.

"What of the Fallen Angel? She's been helping me properly feed our people all the time I've been with the Nobility, she's a very useful individual." The Darkwalker pulled out a page from the back of the file and reads it over before handing it to the Wraith.
"Her Majesty ran it by the King and they both agree that you can keep in contact with her but likewise keep a close watch on her as you would the others sir."
Drax nods replacing the paper she pulled out after looking it over then closed the file.
"Tell our most gracious rulers I will follow their orders to the T like usual. Is that all that needed to be said?" She shakes her head pulling out a small letter with the Queen's seal on it.
"No sir, her Majesty wishes to meet and find out what's going on personally." He takes the letter opening it reading it over this surprised him greatly never was he called before the King and Queen unless something was threatening the Dark Kingdom's safety. His well-trained mind was already guessing why Queen Hestian mate of King Terrid would want to see him.
"She wants me to go directly to the Dragon Triangle to meet her I assume?"
Saxtea nods.
"Yes sir, as soon as possible she told me."
"Very well you are dismissed Darkwalker. Feel free to hang around here if you wish just check in with Shadow Arsantic before you go anywhere." He said grabbing the file nodding her off she stood and saluted Wraith who saluted back.
"Yes sir, thank you sir." Drax nods walking from the study to his room to go over this more in-depth.

[RisingPhoenix]

Naja

There was a storm brewing, one that was not natural in its origin. Quickly Naja made his way to the balcony and looked up into the sky.

“Haakon,” he said softly as he rushed back into the base, grabbing a spell book and returning back to the balcony.

He began searching for a counter to this storm, and as he read, it became evident to him that the storm was concealing something more sinister, but what he could not say. Closing his eyes, he began the enchantment. He opened his arms and allowed his magic to flow forth, countering that of Haakon’s. It took about twenty minutes for the storm to subside as Naja’s voice reverberated in the wind. At last, the sun shined through as the clouds dissipated. Naja smirked and simply closed the ancient book.

“Haakon, I shall soon destroy you and feast on your power. This world shall be mine, not yours, and any who stand in my way shall perish. Too bad none know of the dangers, but they shall soon see,” Naja stated, as his eyes flashed red for a few moments then went completely black before returning to their natural hue.

He turned and reentered the base, sure that whatever threat Haakon would send, his mystics would deal with. The poor saps didn’t even know that the one they followed was the greatest threat this world had ever seen. They thought Haakon was bad, was evil, but Naja broke the mold. The great Angel of Destruction was wise to father such a being as Naja to follow in his footsteps. A wicked smirk fell onto Naja’s face as he placed the book back onto his desk.

Kurama

As he patrolled the great state of New York, he couldn’t help but allow his mind to drift onto Halley. He wondered what she was doing and how she was feeling. Sighing, he looked up at the sky and noticed that something was different. A storm had appeared, but had disappeared nearly twenty or so minutes later. Closing his eyes, he turned to make his way towards Halley’s parent’s home. It was in Buffalo, but he’d make it there just to see if she was alright. Suddenly, there was a loud voice that filled the air. As if that weren’t strange enough, the entire state of New York was blanketed in a intense sheet of darkness. When he had thought he had seen it all, a red line shot towards the statue of liberty and cause an explosion. Kurama glared and felt that the power was coming from the tallest building in New York. When he made a step to go confront it, shadow minions appeared and launched themselves at him. Quick to react, his whip slashed through the shadows dispersing them to the normal state. He looked into the sky and noticed a bright light hovering over Albany. Kurama nodded and knew it was Halley. He could hear her voice in his head and quickly reacted. The whip wrapped around him and he vanished. When he reappeared, he was atop the highest building in New York standing in front of Maria and Scarlet.

“I should have known. Nobility is up to it again, but not on my watch,” Kurama stated as he pulled the beautiful rose from his hair. He just hoped that Halley would hurry up and get there.

Dorián

As Dorián trained in the mountains, he felt his power level increase. He was now sitting on the edge of a cliff looking up at the sky. A storm had sprung up and had lasted for about twenty or so minutes before dispersing. Something wasn’t right, but Dorián couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He looked up at the sky and noticed some type of winged machine descend from the mountain.

“Haakon.”

The name spilled from his mouth as if it were natural to do so, as if Dorián had known Haakon for quite some time. He jumped from the cliff and landed atop the winged machine. Instantly the machine went into defense mode and started lashing out at Dorián, but Dorián was quick to react. Lightning surged into the machine, causing it to overheat and explode. Dorián quickly transformed into his Mystic form just in time, landing safely on his feet on the ground beneath while the winged machine fell to the ground, continually exploding. When he looked up, more of the mechanized threats were descending. This made Dorián worry. What was Haakon up to? He quickly went on the offensive and took aim with his bow at the closest machine.

His aim was dead on, and the lightning arrow struck the machine. An explosion occurred just as the other did. Dorián took aim once again, but by this time the flying machines had already made it out of his range.

“Damn, this is bad,” he said softly as he took off behind the machines eager to bring them down.

[Atrum Daemon]

The cleansing of the waters removed every toxin and groundwater poison Haakon and his minions had ever introduced as part of their sinister experiments. However, all the magical cleansing could not stem the flow of the oil. With the waters clean, it was easier for the oil to bond with it, becoming part of the water’s basic structure. Small changes occurred within people who drank the water, unnoticed by anyone. Small doses of the oil would not lead to an immediate change, but rather a change over time.

Exactly what Haakon had intended.

The machine angels reported all this to Haakon. The lich grinned, synthetic flesh pulling back to reveal sharpened teeth that gleamed like polished iron. He sent out one final order to the last of his minions not already underway. The warlock Franz, who had undergone a change thanks to the oil, took off in a helicopter headed for New York.

***

“…A great change is coming, friends! The Lord of Sunlight has shown me the light and truth of this! You all witnessed that massive and unnatural storm that raged not long ago? It was he who dispelled it and brought the sun shining back! I know you all have your doubts. I know you all fear for the state of the world. I am here to tell you to fear not. The Lord of Sunlight is making preparations to deliver us from these dark times! Do not turn your backs on him, friends. He still holds the best interests of the planet in his mind.”

Franz (http://dailydesigninspiration.com/diverse/di/bradrigney/mtg__apostle__s_blessing_by_cryptcrawler-d3ewr20.jpg) stood at the base of the steps of an old and decaying church. Beside him stood a diminutive machine carrying his books as he spoke to the gathered crowd. Once, Franz had been a weak man, but the oil had made his body tall and strong and an even greater conduit of magical power. Haakon had sent him out to speak to the masses in preparation for what Haakon believed to be the first true confrontation with the Mystics.

Franz’s eyes turned to the sky, taking note of the surveillance angel perched atop the arch of the church.

[Stryker]

As his training wore on, Renshi took a slight break and sat atop a rock for the duration of the breather. By now the rain had started where he was and was beginning to annoy him. Due to his affinity with flames, water was a hindering element while he was outdoors or in any other situation involving it. It wouldn’t put him in any pain, it just mostly meant that conjuring up any sort of flame would be that much harder to do while his hands were wet, his only resort would be to simply wipe them off, but after a while his clothes became damp and do away with that idea almost completely.

“The hell… It’s raining in sheets as far as I can see.” He muttered under his breath while opening his hand, letting a few droplets pool in his palm. “This isn’t natural… I don’t need Naja here to know the Nobility is behind this, although what they plan on doing involving the rain…” he continued before thinking for a few seconds. “No matter… If anything this will actually help in my training… Get me used to fighting in detrimental conditions. I’ll have to thank the Nobility when I run across them eventually.”

He laughed at his last thought before rising from his seat and extending his arms in front of him, palms to the cloud-filled skies before small pockets of steam began to form pillars leading from his hands and to the sky. “Damn rain…” he cursed before exerting himself further until fire erupted from his hands, flames stretching a few feet high from each hand as the downpour seemingly did its best to quell them.

After finally evening out the flames he turned his palms inward until they faced each other and closed them in together until they were roughly a foot apart. Due to the weather Renshi was having to exert himself more than normal which caused the flames to give off a brighter glow that was, by now, visible from a few miles away if you knew where to look exactly. The thought had crossed his mind and he fought with himself over the idea of possibly putting on a “light show” as he thought of it.

“Ah to hell with it!” he yelled before noticing that the rain was beginning to slack off and then completely stop. “…Strange…” he thought before noticing that the sky was clearing up and long-range visibility was returning.

“There goes that tho-“ he began before noticing a few small flashes off to his right. “The hell’s that?”

He went over and hopped on top of a rock to get a better look and saw that it was a host of mechanical-looking things being dismantled as they descended from the mountains by someone behind them using a bow.

“…Dorian…” he muttered under his breath before clenching his fists, a light trail of smoke escaping through the gaps between his fingers. “One of Naja’s boy scouts… I wondered if he followed me…” he wondered before a smirk crossed his face. Suddenly, Renshi’s body disappeared from atop of the rock and all that remained was a slight odor of smoke.

Dorian had aimed and struck another of the mechanical monstrosities and was getting rather fed up with the number of machines pouring from the mountain. It seemed that they were attempting to scout as if they were gathering information to take back to Haakon. Dorian scanned them for a moment, attempting to figure out why they weren't really attacking him, but rather attempting to go off in different directions, scanning from what he could see.

"Haakon has something planned and these machines are just gathering data on whatever it is he has done to see if it was successful. No matter, they are Nobility and the Nobility must be destroyed."

Dorian nocked another arrow and sent it surging towards another machine, an explosion occurring soon after. This time, when he destroyed one, the others turned around and examined him.

"THREAT LEVEL: HIGH. DESTROY HOSTILE THREAT."

The sound of the mechanical voice coming from the machines in unison creeped Dorian out, but he was ready for them. Electricity sparked from his form as he quickly seemingly snapped the bow in two, but in fact the bow was designed to break apart and become twin swords. He was surrounded by the mechanical things, but he was going to give them something to take back to Haakon. As if writing in the sky, electric orbs appeared and shot forth crashing into the machines, but doing minimal damage.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a pillar of fire erupted from the ground between Dorian and the machines which sent a few of the closer ones flying in burned-out heaps.

“Both of you are getting in the way of my training!” Renshi roared, glancing both at the machines and Dorian before drawing his sword and nimbly slashing the head off of the nearest mechanical menace.

Unlike Kurama though, Dorian wasn’t the type to argue with Renshi and the fact that no attempt at a witty retort came back at him, a smile crept across Renshi’s face. “So one of the boy scouts actually knows when to shut up…” he continued before slashing another machine across its chest, revealing its inner-workings before he stuck his hand inside the gash. “Get out of my way!” he yelled before fire erupted inside the machine and blew it up soon afterwards.

For the next few moments, Renshi and Dorian worked in perfect unison even though it’d been the first time either had seen the other in action. Dorian kept to the ranged attacks while Renshi was taking on a more head-on approach with his sword and hands. Soon enough the entire group of machines lay in a heap down the side of the mountain range, smoke spewing from each unit as both Mystics stood above them on the mountain, Renshi’s sword and Dorian’s bow still in hand as they caught their breath.

“…Did you follow me, or is this just some sort of coincidence that we both chose the same mountain range to train at?” Renshi asked, not really caring the answer that was given because he had a feeling what it’d be, whether or not it was truth didn’t matter.

"Nice to see you too man," Dorian replied with a slight smirk, "...you aren't the only one who has been training. Thanks for the help though, I appreciate it. Have you heard or seen any of the others since?"

Dorian stood a few feet away from Renshi, examining his bow. He hadn't looked up at Renshi the entire time he spoke, he was simply thinking of how in tune the two were when the fought off the machines. Was this what it felt like to be on a team? For the longest Dorian had been alone, he had been training with Naja ever since he was able to do so, but then Naja goes off and recruits all of these different individuals and instructs him to treat them as his sisters and brothers, as a team. Sighing, Dorian looked up at Renshi finally and noticed how much the male had changed since they last met.

"Well, it's easy to see what you've been doing since you left, but what I wonder is has any of that training done you any good?"

A smirk made its way onto Dorian's face as he gripped his bow tightly in his hands.

Renshi glanced over, unlike Dorian though, a smirk didn’t cross his face. “We aren’t friends, don’t approach me like we are, boy scout.” He responded before sighing as his sword slowly faded away in a haze of black smoke.

“Let me ask you something though…” he began while turning to face him, “Does anything strike you as out of place with the Ancients? Rex has plenty of dragons to take arms with him, more than I’d care to waste time counting… Yet they claim to need a small group of mystics to throw at Haakon…”

He took time out to dust his hands off before finishing his statement, although he had a feeling that Dorian knew where he was going with this, “There’s something Naja isn’t telling us, and I plan on finding out soon enough…”

"Are you suggesting that Naja is hiding the truth from us? I trust Naja with all that I have, and I've no doubt he'd tell me anything and everything. Haakon isn't the top without reason. You try going up against him by yourself. In the last war Naja barely escaped with his life. What you're speaking of is dangerous territory Renshi, and............" Dorian stood there for a moment contemplating what he was about to say, "if you choose this path Renshi, I won't be able to hold back the storms that rage so willingly to devour you."

He turned fully to face Renshi, his bow still held tightly in his hand.

"What you speak of is treason Renshi, and I'm afraid I'd have to extinguish your flame," Dorian stated his tone very serious and his form steady, "have you not been listening? The Mystics are the only ones who can stop Haakon. Don't you think that if the dragons and such could stop Haakon they would've by now? They don't have the power we possess. Haakon could kill them with a snap of his fingers if he wanted. The training we endured, and the reason we were chosen is precise and far from a mistake or a coincidence. Within each Mystic is an inner power that allows them to reach heights of power no one has ever fathomed, that is why Haakon sought to destroy us before we were awakened, that is why he seeks ways to destroy us now. We are the only threat he has, and he knows it, and with us out of the way he can rule supreme. I wouldn't expect someone of your stature to understand the value of being a team or working together. I don't expect you to jump on board and be a team player, but I do expect you to live up to your duties Renshi. I could care less about your current state of mind or your need to be a loner, but when the innocent need you will you be there for them?"

“I die for no one but myself, boy scout and you’d be better off with remembering that.” Renshi answered, “And only someone that’s looking to die for someone else’s cause would follow someone so blindly like you follow Naja… Like his pathetic little pup begging and whining to be told ‘Good Boy”… pathetic, you and Kurama…”

“But…” he began before clenching his fists and finally grinning, “I’m not one to turn down a tune up before I go and have a word with Naja…” he finished, his glare meeting Dorian’s and matching it in intensity. “Unlike you, I don’t need storms, just my bare hands…” he explained before smoke began to seep from between his fingers again.

They stood now, face to face, tension reaching an all-time high as there was no cooler head around to clear the air and separate them.

[Jacogos]

Three days after the sky fell on China, Nemie awoke to almost complete darkness. Blinking, the Russian woman sat up slowly, turning to let her legs hang over the side of the bed she was on. These were her quarters in the estate... She recognized the feel of bed from her months of living there. Why was she-

A wave of memories hit her like a sack of bricks as she fell back on the bed, her hair spilling out around her. Her breath caught as she remembered fighting a demon of lava, undead elementals, and...

"Dorián..." She whispered lightly. She knew it was not the real Dorián she had killed, and yet it still shook her to the core that she had so casually murdered him... Shivering not from the cold, Nemine rose slowly and turned on the light. The room was rather barren, only the bed and a chest of drawers for her limited amount of clothing. She missed having the extensive black and white wardrobe she had at her home in Russia. Sighing, she quickly changed her worn outfit with a new set of black clothing.

Sticking to informal capris and a tank-top, Nemine slipped her ebony fur jacket over her shoulders and exited the room, peering down the hallways cautiously. She wasn't quite ready to face any of the Generals quite yet. She was sure that at least Evangeline, Scarlett, and Caine would have a few choice words about her actions in the Meta Gate... They were always so critical... But then, they had to be. With only her and the angel as Mystics, able to unlock levels of power the Generals could only dream of, the Nobles had little choice with how hard they could be on them.

At least, that was how she saw it.

As Nemine walked, she pondered over her newfound level of power... Without even realizing what she had been doing, Nemine had unlocked the Ancient Mystic level, defeating Dorián (or at least this shadow version) without breaking a sweat... It was rather intimidating, having that much power. Of course, she doubted the real Dorián would be that easy, if she even had the guts to face him... She sighed at herself audibly. She hadn't learned a thing from that battle... She was still letting her emotions rule her. Briefly, Nemine realized that part of her still was unsure why she thought of this Dorián guy as a lover... However the rest of her mind overrode the thought.

Down the hall, one of the communication relays was receiving a warning signal. Drones in the Rocky Mountains were being eliminated, a little too quickly for a single Mystic. Either two or three or an Ancient were in the Rockies, then... Nemine peered at the other information in the relay and dialed a number.


-------------

It had been three days since the change of the wolves. Caine bounded through the woods nearly silently, the only noise the dull thud of his limbs striking the earth every lunge. He was quiet, lost in thought as he pondered his next move. His thoughts were interrupted when a chip in his brain told him that his communicator was ringing. Growling in irritation, Caine quickly reverted to human form to take the call.

One of the best things about magic was the rather simple spell that allowed him to store everything on his person in a sort of dimensional rift in between form switches, allowing him to shift back into his clothes and still have all the items he was carrying with him before the change. He had to recast the spell prior to every human-to-werewolf switch, but it was well worth it. Got rid of the irritating need to find clothes every reversion. Regardless, Caine picked up his communicator.

"What?" was his brief reply.

"Caine. Nemine. Reports put a medial Mystic presence in your area, about ten clicks to the west and three north. Maybe two or three or one of the stronger ones." She paused.

"Sounds fun... Let me guess. You want a taste?"

"Please?"

"Use the spell we taught you, get as close as you can," Caine told her and shut off the communicator. Well, at least he'd get to see the little lady in action. So, a few Mystics were getting ballsy in the Rocky Mountains... They would soon learn the error of their ways...

With a howl of anticipation, Caine reverted back to his greater werewolf form, his sheer weight leaving indentations in the ground where he stood for but a split second before taking off in the direction the Ice Mystic had indicated. Nemine would appear about a mile from Renshi and Dorián while Caine would be there in a matter of minutes.

[RisingPhoenix]

Dorián

Standing in front of the man whom was his team mate, Dorián did not falter in his stance and held the bow tightly.

“Weapons?” Dorián asked in a stern voice as his eyes sparked with electricity, the image of a storm raging replacing his pupil.

The sky above had already begun to shift and change in tandem with Dorián. He could sense someone not far from them, but his attention was on Renshi. Dealing with the traitor was his main concern at the moment, he just hoped that it wasn’t one of the Nobility headed their way.

Naja

Standing on the balcony of the base, Naja waved his hand and the image of Renshi and Dorián appeared before him as if he were watching a television screen.

“This is interesting. Those two were the last I’d thought to have any sort of disagreement, but then again with Renshi’s loner attitude and Dorián’s short temper, the two were bound to clash eventually. Unlike Kurama, Dorián will let his actions speak for him. Let me see what you’ve learned boys.”

He called forth his chair, which came screeching towards him, stopping just shy of him as he sat down and continued to watch. He waved once more and another image, this one of Kurama and Halley appeared.

“Very interesting, this will allow me to gauge how much they’ve learned since leaving here.

[RisingPhoenix]

Halley had managed to push back a majority of the darkness and she was still glowing bright as the sun. She could hear screeches around her, and it gave her an eerie feeling. Creatures were trying to get past her light and too her, though she couldn't tell what due to the intensity of her light. Finally she could see the sun again, and it gave her strength to keep going. She directed her light towards the sun to help it push through the darkness, and soon there was nothing but a puff of smoke before the darkness vanished.

She noticed three figures atop the tallest building and glared. She could see Kurama with two members of the Nobility. "I'm coming Kurama," Halley said, whispering the spell that would shrink her to her faerie size....she hoped to gain the element of surprise if she could fly up unseen. She flew around behind Kurama and hovered behind him briefly before transforming to her full mystic form, stepping out beside him. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the two members of Nobility, a demon and a Mystic. "Get out of my city," Halley stated, surging a large jet of light out of her hands and aiming it directly at the two women.

This was just a smoke screen, for she took the sword off her back and charged the two, continuously projecting light out of her hands until she was a mere few feet away. She leapt into the air and dived at the mystic, similar to how she had attacked Caine in the trial gate, her sword of light sticking down with light jetting out of it.

Maria smiled and turned on the Mystic girl who had just thrown a smoke screen up. She pulled out a single red object from the darkness and spoke in a voice that was filled with malice... and yet still contained anguish “Your city? This is not your city foolish mystics. This is MY city and every single vampire that is not Lady Evangeline’s will die, and if it means you must die too then so be it." As she was talking she noticed the light mystic jump into the air and conjures a sword to attempt an attack on her. She threw the little red object, and Halley’s sword managed to cut her arm and she growled, but when the little red object came in touch with Halley it exploded and sent a large burst of dark energy into Halley knocking her against the floor not to softly.

Maria then turned to Kurama and spoke with her tone no longer full of malice, but anguish “The darkness here does not seek to destroy you, so please leave. I am only after the foolish vampires who killed my mother. I will not fight you boy, as long as you leave peacefully." She spoke with such anguish that the darkness roiled and came back sucking all light, but Halley’s form out of the area around them and her form glowed a slight blue.

"Your city, my city, who cares? It’s just a piece of land that will be obliterated in a few," Scarlet spoke after dodging the attacks from the newly arrived guests. "I guess you sort of stand a chance now Maria. But I'm just saying, if you destroy all the vamps here, Evangeline won't be so pleased."

Scarlet crafted several of golems with drills and swords and other weapons for hands, about as tall as a lamppost. They were made of dark matter, felt and looked like rock, but with the agility of a trained hunter. Their eyes glowed an eerie red, moving but with no life or soul. The demon whispered something in an ancient language, and immediately the golems faced the shadow mystic, bowing.

Scarlet flew up into the darkened sky after placing her soldiers with Maria, flying at least seventy meters above the building. She held out her hands as if to grab something, when a glass of wine materialized at her fingertips. She took a sip, peering down at the mystics. "I'll be watching the little brawl from here. D'accord?" Another sip. "I suppose you guys can fly up here, but don't bother me unless you're asking for a death sentence. Scream in pain when you need me Maria!" The demoness waved her fingers as a goodbye, "Bon chance!"

Kurama's rose transformed into the eternal whip and he watched as Halley appeared beside him. He didn't say much, which was strange, but instead watched as Halley initiated an attack against Maria, the shadow mystic. There was an exchange of blows, then an exchange of words before Maria's form glowed. Apparently, she was getting ready to attack them, but before she did, she spoke directly to Kurama.

"Sorry, I can't do that," Kurama replied, "as long as you fight for the Nobility, I have to stop you at all costs."

He noticed Scarlett take flight into the air and hover about 40 meters into the sky, spouting her warning before taking a sip of her glass. Shaking his head, Kurama sent the whip screaming through the air, shattering the glass in Scarlett's hand before recoiling back to him.

"Typical Nobility, using others to do your dirty work," he stated as he addressed the problem at hand.

The Golems were rather tall, but Kurama had faced taller foes and come out on top. Focusing his energy, Kurama moved through the ranks of the golems, slashing them with the whip, utterly destroying them. He had grown a lot stronger since leaving the base, and it showed in his actions. His form glowed slightly as he looked up at Scarlett. Twirling the whip, he sent a jet of razor sharp rose petal her way.

Halley saw the red object, but it was too late to avoid. It collided with her shoulder and exploded, tossing her back to the ground. Halley landed with a thud and glared at the Mystic, holding her shoulder and wincing. She raised an eyebrow in confusion and momentary sadness as the Mystic told her story to Kurama, about how the Vampires had killed her mother. "Hmmm. Seems as though that is one thing we have in common...our hatred for Vampires," Halley said dryly, standing up as she watched the demoness rise in the air. She smirked when Kurama sent a whip into the air and broke her wine glass, and Halley chuckled before returning to the Dark Mystic and crossing her arms.

"You say the Vampires killed your mother, but do you realize the damage your little tantrum caused the humans down there?" Halley asked, pointing over the ledge at the many wrecks that had occurred on the streets. "You may be Nobility, but you are part human. I guess I shouldn't have expected you to have thought rationally about that," Halley glared at the Mystic. She noticed several golems appear around them, and was proud when Kurama went to work destroying them. She could tell that he had gotten stronger since they had left the base, and she had too.

"So long as you continue to fight for the Nobility, those who wish to destroy humans and use Mystics as pawns, we will be enemies. Your buddy up there-" Halley sent several daggers of light racing towards Scarlett when she mentioned the demoness- "will only continue to use you as a pawn while she destroys humans for fun. Just like Evangeline." Halley said, raising her sword again and eying the Mystic skeptically. She flew at the Mystic, preparing herself for any counter-attacks the girl might conjure, be it shadow forms or more of those red objects. Halley aimed a well-aimed kick at Maria's chest, flipping in the air and launching her foot for her chest, preparing her sword to attack immediately after.

As Maria saw Scarlet summon shadow golems and then left her to her own devices against two mystics, her mind was racing. Why would Scarlet leave her alone against two mystics? What if she was being used as a toy for the destruction of Humanity? They had promised her that if she joined them her mother and family would be safe. They lied and she didn't like being lied to. These were troubling thoughts to her, and they practically showed in her facial features, as indecision crossed her face. Had she really chosen the right side to be on?

Maria looked to Kurama as he spoke to her and nodded at his words. " I do not seek to destroy the humans, my shadow spawn do not attack humans if you noticed they only attack vampires that are not Evangeline’s. I do not yet have mastery over them, and therefore can't control what all they do." She jumped out of the way as Kurama began destroying the golems and she wanted to avoid that whip that was seemingly dangerous to her life. She saw thorns shoot towards Scarlet, so she made no attempt to stop them. She hadn't forgotten her words a moment ago about the destruction of this place. She wouldn't allow anymore destruction if she could help it.

Maria then turned to Halley and said " Aye, we both hate vampires. I do not wish to fight you daughter of light. Do not make me fight, i just wanted to avenge my mother, i meant no harm to the humans below. Only to the vampires who murdered her." As she finished her words she saw that Halley was aiming a kick at her chest, but she wasn't quick enough this time to stop it. She grunted as the kick hit her square in the chest and she fell to the ground, and grimaced as her breath rushed back into her, and she stood up. A red arrow in her hand and she conjured a bow of darkness and pulled back the string and released letting the arrow fly nearly inches from Halley’s face, and then it faded before it hit her.

Maria gave up, the darkness disappearing and light once again reclaiming the city. She would not fight these mystics, not when they have given her so much to think about. If she could, she would avoid the fight, but if they insisted she knew she would have to clear her mind to fight them both. Scarlet would be no help in this fight. She had made that clear when she flew up into the darkness to avoid the fight.

Scarlett was quite surprised when the two mystics broke her glass and sent an attack at her. They were straight attacks, aiming in one direction. Scarlett opened her palm, letting the shards of glass fall down on the platform below her. Unfortunately for them, aerial combat was her forte, and she easily dodged the streaks of light and rose whip.

After watching for a little longer, Scarlett realized that her Mystic underling was having doubts about the side she was on. It certainly was troubling for Maria to still be part human, riddled with affection.
"My, my, can't have that happening can we?" Scarlet sighed, rubbing her temples. "Can't believe I have to go back down for this."

A tap was heard when Scarlett's feet hit the roof of the building. Instantly, the clumps of destroyed golem started regenerating, but this time, Scarlett made it so that they were stronger than before, bigger than before, with more abilities than before. To be destroyed so easily by a mere mystic was a shame, really. With some magical reinforcements, the golems were able to shoot fire and ice from their fingertips. Following their master's orders, they created a wall between the two sides.

Scarlett stood behind Maria, and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Maria, you're becoming weak," the demoness whispered with deceit. "I can give you a better deal than before, if you would just destroy those two in front of you for me, no, for the Nobility. Raising the dead nothing more than tying a knot," Scarlett said, not exactly lying or telling the truth. "Your mother can come back, and you won't have to needlessly discard the lives of our little vampire coven. My origin is the land of the dead, after all."

Scarlett removed her hands from Maria, knowing that her human side would be tempted by the offer. But while she takes the time to think about it, Scarlett summons an array of dark, long swords, all of them hovering neatly in an organized fashion in front of her. The weapons make a great, offensive shield as well as a long-range attack; all pros, no cons. The demon smiles for a split second, before ordering the golems to charge.

Kurama was focused on Scarlett and Scarlett alone. She was the strongest and would be the biggest challenge to overcome. With a smirk he watched as she landed and reconstructed her golems.

"Why do that when I'll just smash them to bits again?" Kurama asked as he put his entire focus on Scarlett.

His grip tightened around the handle of the rose whip, and the thorns seemed to gleam as the whip flailed in the wind. Kurama stood, sure that Halley could fend off Maria if she needed to, but judging from what he was hearing, and Maria seemed to be contemplating on if she was on the right side. This could work to their advantage if she were to join Naja's cause. Before Kurama could say a word, a wall appeared and blocked the two sides from each other. Gritting his teeth, Kurama closed his eyes and concentrated.

"Prepare yourself Halley, and stay calm," Kurama stated loud enough for Halley to here. His tone was calm and collected, something he had learned since his training so long ago.

"Spirit of Mother Nature, here my beckoning call, let evil feel thy wrath, let evil know thy strength, let evil tremble at thy very sight. Spirit of Mother Nature I summon thee, to fill this area with your presence," Kurama chanted causing the wind around them to pick up and blow intensely.

Suddenly, grass began to sprout on the rooftop, and then bamboo trees shot up from the new ground that was forming beneath them. Before anyone realized what was happened, they were surrounded by a miniature forest atop the building they were on. This was Kurama's terrain.

When Scarlett instructed her golems to charge, Kurama's eyes glowed brightly and several tree like warriors emerged, matching the number of golems Scarlett had conjured. They were quicker than the golem, and possessed weaponry; however, they did not possess any mystical powers like the golems and would have to be careful as not to become victims. They charged the golems head on while Kurama took steps towards Scarlett.

"Let's finish this demoness."

Halley flipped back after she had kicked Maria in the chest, pleased that her blow had struck this time. She could practically see the indecision on her features, and in a way it surprised her. Especially when she strung her bow again and the arrow nearly hit her face, before fading inches away. Halley breathed a gentle sigh of relief, those things hurt like hell. She stepped forward when the darkness disappeared from the city and light returned again.

Halley made to approach Maria (cautiously of course), though she backed up when she noticed Scarlett coming back down. ’Dammit!’ Halley thought to herself, knowing that the demoness would do her best to win Maria back to the Nobility. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists when the golems began regenerating themselves, though she could tell they were different. Stronger. “Leave her alone!” Halley shouted at Scarlett, raising her sword as she prepared to strike down the golems.

She heard Kurama chanting something, though she didn’t look back. At least not until she saw grass appear on the rooftop, along with trees. Then tree-like warriors appeared from the newly-created forest and charged the golems. ‘I’m going after Maria. She may be convinced,’ Halley spoke to Kurama in her mind. ‘Please. Be careful,’ Halley said, watching as he challenged the demoness.

Halley flew into the air, above the chaos below. She landed beside Maria, her posture cautious as she approached the Mystic.

“Listen to me. The Nobility does not care whether you live or die, you are merely a pawn to do their dirty work. They care naught for human lives, Evangeline did not care whom she harmed. Her Vampires would have killed your mother upon her orders if she’d told them to. You saw it now when Scarlett flew into the air and left you to face us,” Halley told Maria, taking a cautious step forward. She placed a gentle hand on Maria’s shoulder and looked her in the eyes. “The Nobility seeks to destroy humans. We seek to protect them. Why would you fight for those who want to destroy the innocent?” Halley asked, looking confused. Hopefully, hopefully Maria could see that she had made the wrong choice. Hopefully Scarlett hadn’t gotten to her yet.

Maria looked to scarlet as she spoke and then she saw her summon the golems again regenerating them merely by having her presence near them. She smiled ruefully and said “Scarlet, do not try to fool me, I too am a part of the darkness and can sense the evil inside of you… and that you are not telling the whole truth. Demons are masters of deceit and trickery, and I will not fall for them so easily.” She smiled slightly and stepped away from the group of two mystics, and a demoness.

She looked to Kurama as she spoke and called upon Mother Nature herself to aid him in this struggle. She nodded her head decidedly; she would not allow these two mystics to come to harm by Scarlett or any member of the nobility at this time. She stood back as the nature warriors came from the forest that had grown on the roof and she looked sideways as she felt a hand on her shoulder.

Maria looked to Halley and her eyes showing neither deceit nor anger “If it were only that easy, I will do what I can to help you escape, but you must leave quickly. My power will not hold her minions off for long, I am risking a lot to help you mystic, do not die and make my help useless.” She smiled sadly and turned towards Kurama and Scarlett who were battling as well as their minions.

Maria closed her eyes and when she opened them an eerie blue seemed to tint them. She saw the golems of shadow and warriors of nature fighting and she was tired of the fighting. She spoke and her voice seemed to echo with a thousand voices “Darkness and Shadow hear my cry, Come to my aid and do my bidding. Help to shield those that would try to fight the evil, and give them a chance to escape. Darkness and Shadow come to your mistress fight for me as you would fight for the Mistress of night.” The darkness exploded around the battle going on the building’s roof and a thick sheet of darkness as dark as the pits of hell itself separated the two sides. Maria turned to scarlet and said “No more demoness, let them go, they will live to fight another day.” She looked at the shadow golems and summoned her own creatures directly in the form of the darkness. No features could be seen in the creatures, but they were larger than the golems. They began attacking the golems and seemed to provide an even match for Scarlett’s minions.

Whilst her minions were fighting she looked across the sheet of darkness and said to the two mystics “Leave quickly, to fight another day. You must regroup and prepare. This is the only help I can offer you, and at great risk to the safety of myself.” She turned back to Scarlett preparing for whatever would be the outcome of her interference in the battle and stopping the Demoness from harming the two mystics. She showed no emotion on her face as she faced one of the more dangerous generals of Haakon. But her mind was racing with d

"Heh, smarter than I thought huh, but I prefer the words... manipulative and alluring," Scarlet said slowly, trying to examine the lush forest bursting through the roof.

She cautiously returned to the sky, watching as the warriors of earth sprouted from the landscape and blocked the golems' attacks. Though was really surprised her was Maria's actions. To let a foe escape, to counter her own spells was like betraying the nobility. As Maria fashioned beings of shadow twice the size of mine, yet only with equal power, Scarlett chuckled. She stood still as Maria continued to flow the roof with shadow, creating a massive wall between the two sides. She was giving a chance for them to flee, and her actions would lead to some severe punishment.

"Let me put it this way. Yes, your mother can definitely return. Can you sense the malice in those words? It's the truth. Half of it anyway, but still the truth." Scarlet placed two pale hands on two swords, refining them, increasing the power as the sword shimmered and glowed faintly with a black hue. The demoness smirked, "Which side will you follow? The nobility's goal is not to eliminate the humans. It is to control. They follow a few laws, the nobility's happy and they can go on living their naive and foolish lives for all I care. A little slip up, and well, it's bye-bye old country, and hello to a new and improved one." Scarlett's hands moved from the sword's blade to the hilt, hovering. "Simple things, but humans are just too damn naive, you know? As for the mystics, well what can they do? They certainly didn't save your mother, and her death was simply a mistake that can be resolved so easily... Well, I hope you find this little lesson helpful..." Her hands flickered, changing into another form instantly. Two index fingers pointed at the almost exact position of the two mystics behind the dark wall - since demons see better in the dark of course.

Scarlett faced the mystics in front of her and spoke loud enough for them to hear.

"This...thing you're about to see... contains a poison, a hallucinogen that causes you to feel extreme pain for five days, and see your worst fears. However, you will not die from the poison. You might from blood loss though," Scarlett said, followed by a menacing giggle. "I was also able to mix some of my spells together with training, and what do you know. The dark matter also contains the ability of stealing your souls. But being mystics, I can only take half. It might not cause death, but you'll be drained and for a while until you regenerate your lost half. Have fun.” With a quiet command, the swords pierced through Maria's wall.

"As I thought. Weak." The noble looked back at the shadow mystic. It was an obvious look of disappointment, seeing that the wall instantly lost ten feet after it was pierced with the extra-powered swords.

Kurama watched as golem, shadow, and nature clashed atop the roof of the building. There was a flash of movement and a sudden spike of power that flooded the area with shadows and darkness, spilling over the edge of the building like water. Kurama did not falter in his stance as his eyes continued to glow. The wall that now stood between the Mystics and the Nobility was conjured by Maria to help Kurama and Halley escape. This was interesting to Kurama, but he was going to take this chance in order to keep Halley safe. Jogging over to Halley, he grabbed her lightly by the arm and tugged.

"Come on, let's go," he said softly as he turned to transport them to safety, but just as he was turning, he heard Scarlett speak.

After she finished speaking, twin swords came crashing through the shadow wall, obliterating the wall and causing it to crash into a heap on the rooftop. The swords surged towards Halley and Kurama, and Kurama's eyes widened in surprise, but just as the swords came within inches of them they were deflected with a powerful lash from the sentient rose whip. It had become a shield revolving around Halley and Kurama to protect them from Scarlett's treacherous techniques. When the swords were deflected, they were knocked off of the building and plummeted to the ground beneath.

Kurama had stepped in front of Halley to protect her, but after seeing his whip act on its own, he looked back at Halley to make sure she was alright. When he looked at Scarlett something clicked within him. He was glaring at her, all the hatred he had for her and the Nobility swelling up within him. His mind was racing, filling him with memories of his past death. How he had went to rescue Halley and suffered in the end. How he remembered Scarlett standing over his semi-dead body, mocking him, as well as Evangeline, the sight of them both made him vow vengeance before he died. Now he stood in front of one of the ones responsible and all of this hate, malice, pain, fear, and courage came rushing back.

Kurama dropped to his knees, holding his head as he screamed. His form began to glow, and his eyes shinned brighter than Halley's light. He looked up towards the heavens and let out an inhuman scream as power surged through him. There was a loud cracking sound as the building was giving away underneath the power being displayed. There was an explosion of energy that surged forth knocking everyone off their feet. Kurama, still on his knee, had transformed. His body shimmered, his upper body covered with a light green fabric that was rather transparent. His lower body was covered in black leather pants. His hair was a beautiful green in color and his eyes matched.

His eyes opened as he stood to his feet. The rose whip had also transformed into something more deadly. It had become a scythe, the Rose Scythe of myth and legend. Kurama grasped it as it appeared before him. He glared at Scarlett and Maria, before looking back at Halley. Just as Kurama stepped towards Scarlett, the building began to crumble beneath them.

Kurama turned, grabbed Halley by the arm, and with a mighty swipe of the scythe, both vanished into thin air.

[Froggy]

Halley looked to Maria, confused by what the Mystic was doing. She was....helping them escape, but staying with the Nobility? "Please Maria. Come with us, the Nobility will only punish you for this-" Halley said desperately, but the girl put up a large wall of darkness between the two forces. Halley took to Kurama's side at once, looking back to Maria. She heard Scarlett speaking to them, though through the darkness she couldn't see the demon. Then suddenly the wall began to weaken and collapse, and she knew that Scarlett was behind this. "Damn her," Halley said under her breath, wishing there was something she could do to save Maria from the demon.

The next thing she saw surprised her, two twin swords filled with darkness and evil came racing towards both herself and Kurama, and Halley hardly had any time to react. Kurama had stepped in front of her and she was preparing to tackle them both to the ground when the swords were deflected to the ground below. "Kurama?" Halley asked, watching as he dropped to his knees and began to scream. His eyes were glowing brighter than that of her own, and Halley could barely see him. "Kurama!" she shouted, rushing towards the center of that light, where she knew he would be.

Then everything stopped, and Kurama rose to his feet, a changed Mystic. "What the hell?" Halley asked, for he too had changed. She didn't have time to question as Kurama had taken hold of her just as the building began to crumble, and the two disappeared in air. "Kurama go back!" Halley begged when they landed in a random alleyway. "Please, we can still save her," Halley said, thinking back to Maria....how she had risked her own life to save them. Halley threw her arms around him, her body trembling.

Halley felt as though she wanted to hit something, though preferably someone by the name of Scarlett or Evangeline. "Damn the Nobility!" Halley shouted, her body glowing a bright, golden color as hatred surged through her body. "Damn them all to the darkest depths of hell!" Halley shouted, the light growing ever brighter. The wind picked up as the hatred surged through her body, and a massive explosion of light occured. Halley was kneeling on the ground, her fingers clenched in fists by her sides. She felt as though she had lost one of their own today, and that hatred and anger had caused a surge of power to unleash in her body.

Her form had changed, and her hair was longer. It was golden in color and draped to the back of her knees. Her wings were larger, barely able to fit in the alley. Her skin was a pale, porceline color. Her shoes were weaving up her legs, almost one with her feet. She wore a golden gown that was richer than her eyes and hair put together, and flowed with elegance as though it were made of the light itself. Her sword had changed into a staff of light, and she could feel power coming from it. "I'm going back for her," Halley spoke calmly, though her voice was filled with hatred. She stood, a determined look on her face.

[Setsa]

***Fria***

"I'm going to need more that a rolled-up newspaper Rex...metal collar around their necks would be a better start." Breathing in sharply as he cleaned her wound, she was reminded how gentle his touch was with her. Always welcomed, the valkyrie gripped a pair of very large tonges handing it over to him; and braced herself as he pulled out the large tooth. "AHHHHH! By the gods Haakon is going to pay for this!" Applying pressure to the wound as more blood left her thigh, she kept her mind distracted by making sure her herb paste was well mixed and heavily applied to some guaze. Timing it just right they switched out the guaze before wrapping her thigh up to keep it there and safe.

Leaning back in her chair she tossed the tooth in the pot of bloody dressings before looking at Rex. "Always here when I need you huh? Well I can't say that I'm complaining.... at all. Now I hear your dragon allies and the Fae are doing well to try and keep ahead of the plagueing oil. But as that's one problem, Haakon has decided to set us up with another one as there are now invading metal angels all over. Why exactly I don't know but they do have a mission and soon as I can I'm going to try and find out what. Ofcourse you are more than welcome to come with me.." Giving a wink she slowly gets up and tries to bear weight on the injured leg while moving to wash out the bloody pot and boil the dressings till sanitized. Haakon was definetly going to pay for this..she absolutely HATED being injured like this...least she had wings, and Rex.


***Trinity***

Trinity was gathering her men that had proven to be strong warriors. The Mystics were finally fighting against whatever Haakon set out. Turning off the news that was airing as "special update" the events in New York with Franz, she got up from her office chair and went out on the balcony to wait for Drax. She recieved word that he wanted to speak with her, and out of respect she would wait for him.

"My lady.." a armored man kneeled, addressing the fallen angel to grab her attention. "We are ready to move out." Turning around she gave a nod, allowing him to rise...the kneeling was a nice touch that she enjoyed. Give respect to those who are your surperiors...simple enough really. "Good then go with the fearstalkers to Africa...we must keep our armies protected and ready for battle. Like hell am I going to have our troops suffer through another's blinding urge for power." Yes she is, or least was the angel of tragedy. As such she fed off such dispare but when it came to her and Drax's troops that they monitored and cared for to the best of their abilities. Even Haakon would royaly pay if anything of his destroyed them. But one thing at a time...she would wait for Drax as the others moved foward.

[Stryker]

“This is all too funny, you calling me the traitor when it’s Naja that is more than likely the right target for that word…” Renshi laughed before feeling a presense as well coming towards them, one was much stronger than the other and they would be here within minutes.

His gaze turned back towards Dorian and the smile faded, “I know you sense that coming towards us, if you ache for a beating as much as you look like you do I’ll provide that for you… Or we can wait and see who this is coming this way.” He suggested, curious as to what Dorian’s answer would be.

“Your call, boyscout.”

Dorian looked at Renshi, and as much as he wanted to put him in his place once and for all, he had to admit that he was right. There was something approaching their location and at the moment he'd rather have Renshi fighting with him then against him. Sighing, he looked to the ground and then back to Renshi.

"What do you plan on finding out from your little escapade? It will only get you killed Renshi, but right now we have more pressing matters. I smell one of Haakon's generals and that can't be good."

Dorian turned in the direction Caine was approaching and his eyes lit ablaze with lightning. He was prepared as he gripped his bow tighter, ready to strike, but then he felt a familiar presence approaching, one that he knew. It confused him, but he did not falter.

“My plans don’t concern you and they’ll stay that way, boy scout.” Renshi replied before turning in the same direction as Dorian and began to wait for the arrival of their adversary.

“Huh, a second…” he thought to himself before a smile crept across his face as an idea sprang to mind.

Caine, reverting back to human form momentarily, approached the two Mystics with a wolfish grin splitting his lips. Nemine was only a few moments behind him, topping the rise as she pulled her coat a little closer around her. Though she couldn't feel it, the thin air was made cooler by the elevation they were at. Her reaction was more nerves as she realized who it was she was facing.

"Oh don't stop on my account..." Caine growled at the two. "I always enjoy seeing demons and angels beat each other up over ideals." Laughing lightly to himself, the large man crossed his arms over his chest, seeming to lean back slightly with an air of complete relaxation. Behind him Nemine was watching the two cautiously, her eyes focusing on Dorián though. The ice in those blue eyes softened ever so slightly as they rested on him, but somehow the rest of her gave no sign that she remembered him.

Dorián sneered as he watched Caine approach, but when Nemine came shortly after, his grip on his bow softened slightly and he looked at her with emotion filled eyes. She had changed, there was something different about her then he remembered. She wasn't the girl he had come to find in the factory, no something had made her harder, more rigid. Realizing that his emotions might be showing, Dorián straightened up and allowed a blank slate to replace his once emotion filled face.

"You're wrong on one account Caine, what you see here isn't just an Angel, but a Demon as well, mixed into one form and standing before you. Yes, the most forbidden of creations ready to beat the hell out of you."

His grip tightened once more around his bow and he raised it, nocking an arrow that crackled in his hands.

"Your move dog."

The clouds above clapped with thunderous applause as lightning flickered, giving bright flashes of light to the dark black clouds.

Before Dorian could do anything rash, though, Renshi stepped up. “So it’s the Nobility’s mutt… sent to track down undesirables for his master for a simple pet on the head I’m assuming?” Renshi replied, placing his hands on his hips as a smirk spread across his face as well. “And I’m guessing this is your… bitch, right?” He continued.

“This might work… greatly…” he thought as he glanced toward Dorian and then back towards the werewolf.

Caine growled slightly, eyes flashing red. Nemine looked a little startled that the demon-man had spoken about her, but otherwise brushed off the comment. It was Caine who spoke first though.

"Since we're all about making the dog jokes, I hope your bites are as bad as your barks, runts. I'm about to neuter you both." Snarling, his form blurred as it transformed into his new werewolf body. His sheer size would almost double theirs. Crouching down on all fours for a moment, Caine howled his bloodlust to the sky, and then fixed the closest one in his shearing gaze. Without another word, Caine launched himself at the Nephilim, intent on rending him in two with a single blow.

“Fire and Ice at it again, eh Renshi? Дорогой, when will you learn?” Her words flowed through the air like water, her accent and tone leaving it with a cool chill that was almost tangible. Trying to distract herself from the imminent doom of her once-lover, the Banshee let loose a volley of ice spears without warning.

"Renshi, cool it down man," Dorián stated after Renshi had called Nemine the ultimate disrespectful word for a woman.

Before he could react, Caine had transformed into a great beast, but this transformation was different than his old one and Dorián quickly released a spray of three electric arrows towards the great beast, but it did nothing to deter Caine. Quickly, Dorián attempted to flip over Caine, and landed softly, twirling around and launching a few more powerful arrows at Caine.

When Nemine launched the attack at him, Renshi scoffed before slamming his fists together, creating a spark that erupted into an explosion of flames, disintegrating the attacks all at once and left only a fine mist to spread across his face to which was met with a sarcastic smile.

“Boy scout, handle the mutt and leave me to call this one what I feel like she deserves to be called…” he taunted before extending his right hand until his sword appeared out of a cloud of smoke and into his palm. “Now, bitch… where were we?”

Feasts on Hearts whirled around as soon as he lost sight of his prey, his scarred right arm whipping around faster. His senses picked up on the arrows being fired and he easily batted the projectiles aside with his arm, the magical scarring protecting him from the prickly electricity in them.

“That all you gawt, haibreed?” Feasts snarled, his mouth still unable to grasp language easily. Pulling his arm across his body, Caine swung it through the air front of him, creating a shockwave of dark energy that rushed at Dorián. Then, like a soccer player predicting where the goalie would jump, he rushed forward where Dorián dodged to (assuming he did) and attempted to smash him into the ground.

Nemine huffing slightly at the Japanese demon, the Banshee summoned her Ice spear into her hand and twirled it around a little. “Rude… Learn your place, before I decide that running you through isn’t the only way I can end this.” Rushing towards him, Nemine breathed out, a fine mist of icy fog appearing as she did. She took a swipe at him, then despite the outcome, hopped backward into the now growing mist, which began to engulf the area.

Dorián looked in shock as his projectiles were smacked to the ground, dispersing once they hit the solid earth. He wasn’t sure how, but he was going to get out of this alive. As he stood there readying more arrows, a shockwave came rushing towards him. He released the arrows in an attempt to stop it, but it didn’t work and the wave came close to taking him down, luckily he jumped out of the way, or so he thought. Suddenly, he was hit by what felt like a two ton bus. He was knocked to the ground hard. He gulped for air as he realized what just happened.

He attempted to get to his feet as quickly as possible, but that hit had hurt him. Looking up at the sky he began to contemplate a plan. His power alone wouldn’t be enough to defeat Caine, but maybe calling on Mother Nature’s limitless power would assist him.

Lightning cracked in the sky as Dorián glared at Caine.

“Is that all you got pup?” he teased smiling afterwards.

A smirk slowly crossed Renshi’s features as he realized a mistake the inexperienced woman made. He kept his eyes trained on her eyes which he noticed shined slightly, as if made of ice themselves in the mist until the time was right. He used the spell Naja taught them for teleportation and disappeared from sight for a brief moment.

Before she could react, he had appeared behind her and wrapped his arm around her waistline and gripped her tightly before sliding the blade of his sword against her neck, the heat of his blade burning her skin as he did so.

“You move a single inch and I will watch how far your head rolls down this mountain…” he threatened, his eyes watching her.

Feasts was mildly impressed when the Nephilim got to his feet. A lesser being would still be dazed by that hit. However, the eternal one still had some lip to him, which Caine was ready to tear off by now. He heard thunder overhead, but ignored it. A little lightning storm wouldn’t scare him. Even if this was the Lightning Mystic, he had not the power to use it against him.
“No,” was Caine’s simple reply as darkness surrounded his clawed fists. The shadows crept up his scarred right arm the most, engulfing it in burning power. Blitzing to the Nephilim’s side with inhuman speed the belied his size, Caine swung at him with intent of knocking him flat again.

Nemine flinched as she realized that she had been outmaneuvered. She could almost feel that the blade burning, though it only mildly tingled to her dulled pain receptors. She swore quietly in Russian and waited for a moment as the weight of Renshi’s words hit her. He was ready to kill her… but wasn’t. Accepting her situation, Nemine answered him.

“And what’s stopping you from doing so right now?” she asked defiantly.

“Your eyes betray your intentions… I can see it that you don’t believe in the side you fight on unconditionally, our thoughts… they don’t differ as much as you’d think.” He began, getting her attention undoubtedly.

“I move to find the truth behind this war from our… leader… if you stay out of my path, you’re free to do as you please with the rest of the Mystics and Nobility. I suggest you keep your ears open and nose clean, nothing is what it seems on either side in my eyes…” he explained, the gears spinning wildly in his head as his mind relayed his thoughts to his captive, knowing that even if a speck of doubt entered her mind then his job was done.

Everything around him was pointless at the moment, and he hadn’t even noticed that Renshi had Nemine in a deadly hold. He kept his eyes on Caine and gripped his bow that he still held in his hand. As he was about to take a step, Caine moved with such speed that it was hard for Dorián to keep up, but when the beast appeared to his side, Dorián quickly turned, used his inhuman strength to maneuver his bow to block the swing and just as he blocked the swing, Dorián jumped onto Caine’s back.

Lightning roared in the sky before surging from the heavens with intensity unmatched. It struck Dorián, but would shoot straight from him into Caine giving the beast a shocking of his life. It wouldn’t kill the great beast, but it would show him that Dorián meant business.

The Nephilim showed strength in his blocking of the attack, but what was more infuriating was the sudden rush of pain that flowed through the werewolf lord now. He was aware that he had been struck by lightning, channeled through the Mystic’s body upon his own. However, he felt dark magic at work as the electricity flowed through him. Fighting through the pain, Feasts on Heart reached up and grabbed the Mystic, claws digging, then flung him away, careless of where he went.

Now Caine was aware that electricity had flowed through his body and now resided in his right hand claw, a ball of energy fused with the dark taint that empowered his form to new heights. Fixing his gaze on the new location of the Mystic, Caine fired the super-charged bolt at Dorián, the electricity coupled with dark magic to make sure the Mystic didn’t absorb it all.

Flung off the great beast like a flea off a house dog, Dorián landed roughly on his feet, stumbling a bit, but regaining his composure he looked at Caine and smirked. He watched as the werewolf lord formed some sort of energy ball that crackled with electricity.

It was the residue from the lightning surge and Dorián couldn’t do anything but smile as the orb was launched at him. He didn’t move, but merely let the ball crash into him. The dark magic that was fused with the electricity hurt like hell, but the electricity surged through him and healed him, as well as empowered him.

He looked up at Caine now, a twisted smirk replacing his smile. There was a sudden boom and lightning surged from the heavens again, striking around them. The strikes were sporadic, but Dorián watched Caine carefully. His bow was no longer in his possession; it had landed on the ground and had dispersed.

“Have you ever fought a Nephilim? One who is both angelic and demonic at the same time? It is quite a lot to take in,” Dorián stated as he panted slightly.

He held his hand out in front of him and let the chaos magic flow through him. It sparked and crackled, as Dorián whispered a silent spell. Arrows of light and dark magic began to appear on the field around Dorián as he took aim at the werewolf lord. With a quick swipe of his hand, the arrows shot forth.
Jacob Williams: Caine was not as surprised as he should have been when the bolt barely did anything to the Mystic. He should have known that would happen, but he had to get rid of the energy as soon as he could, and didn’t think about the repercussions. Regardless, the huge werewolf was not fazed by the lightning strikes, focused as he was on the prey before him.

“I’ve keeled angels and deemawns alike, boy. I don’t theenk one bastard haibreed will be that mawch dif’rent,” he snarled lowly, watching as arrows appeared from nowhere. Some dark, some light… Caine let loose another shockwave of dark magic as well, making sure it was wide and tall enough to engulf all the light arrows. The two opposing forces clashed and wherever there was a light arrow, both shockwave and arrow disappeared. The dark arrows, he allowed to come at him, as even if they hit, they would do next to nothing, his form emanating dark magic itself.

“Pointless!” He snarled again, bringing his right arm up and slamming it into the ground, energy building up as it rose and exiting upon impact. At first, there seemed like nothing happened more than a bit of splitting of the ground, but after a delay, dark magic burst from where Dorián was standing, an explosion of sorts.

The shockwave struck the opposing force and caused them to disperse. Now Dorián and Caine stood on the field of battle. He eyed Caine as the wolf struck the ground with his diseased arm and caused it to split. At first Dorián was confused, because nothing seemed to happen, but then, before he could react, an explosion occurred directly beneath him sending him reeling back, hitting the ground hard. He could feel something warm on his arm and when he looked down, a cut was seeping blood. Grasping it, he looked up at Caine. Nothing he did seem to be working, and if it weren’t for his inner drive he would’ve given up then. He attempted to stand, but he stumbled and fell down to his knees. He glared at Caine.

“I…..won’t………….let………..you…………win,” Dorián replied. He had been abandoned by his teammate and he was on his own. He didn’t know how, but he had faith that he was going to get out of this somehow.

Lightning streaked from the sky and struck sporadically as Dorián dropped his head, his strength fading as the blood seeped from his wound. He was panting, attempting to catch his breath but it seemed to be no use. He collapsed to the ground on his knees and hands and watched as sweat dripped from his brow. He was exhausted.

“I WON’T LET YOU WIN!”

Dorián glared at Caine, his eyes completely black as a gigantic bolt of lightning surged from the heavens and struck Dorián. The massive size of the bolt singed nearby trees and melted rock, but within the blaze of lightning stood Dorián. When the dust and lightning subsided, Dorián stood his form changed.

He now looked more like a Nephilim than ever before. Two wings sprouted from his back, one black and one pure white. His eyes swirled with a mix of black and white, and his clothing was black with white angel wing symbols on the edges. The wind had picked up and was blowing his hair dramatically. He opened his eyes and looked at Caine. The beast would know that there was a spike in his power, and a change in his demeanor.

“Shall we continue?” Dorián asked, his voice sounding as if two people were speaking at once.

So the little hybrid got a bit stronger… This was the Ancient Mystic form, if he remembered right. Still not strong enough, he thought with a guttural chuckle.

“Even so, you are steell nawt enawf, boy,” Caine growled as he walked towards the Ancient mystic calmly, dark aura spilling off of his body. It caught the wind and blew as well, appearing to steam off of him like lava cooling. Feasts on Hearts had been growing bored of this trifle, but now the hybrid seemed to want to make it interesting for him. Without hesitation, Caine inhaled and suddenly the dark aura flowed into his mouth, forming a sort of orb. With a howl, he shot it at the Nephilim, a sphere of pure evil racing at him.

Dorián smirked. Truly the werewolf lord was underestimating him. He did not know the extent of an Ancient Mystic's power, but he'd know soon enough. Yes, the beast was still stronger than him, but only by a level, and certainly not as strong as he was when they had begun fighting. Dorián's bow appeared just as the ball of evil came racing towards him, and with a slash of the energized bow, the orb sliced in two and crashed into the ground on either side of Dorián, exploding as it did so..........

When Dorián looked up at Caine, he held the bow out in front of him, pointing it at Caine, "you're going to have to do better than that. What's the matter? Old dog need some new tricks?"

Nemine said nothing for a moment, trying to think about what he was saying. Apparently, this man had gone rogue… As interesting as that was, she had chosen her side, and she knew what Haakon was planning, if only vaguely. If this man had doubts about Naja… Well, that was his problem. But she wasn’t about to be killed by some reckless renegade.

“I… What are you going to do, then?” She asked quietly, body still tense, waiting for him to move the sword.

“… I’m wondering… would Dorian strike you down if you were to stand between he and the mutt over there?” Renshi asked, the smile spreading as he spoke.

"How am I sup... Wait." She attempted to look around at him. "You aren't REALLY going to...?"

“Let’s see if those puppy dog eyes were meant for you or the chance to kill the Nobility’s mutt and bitch at the same time!” he yelled before removing the sword from her throat and placing his other hand at the small of her back. With one hard push he shoved her towards the ongoing fight between Caine and Dorian.

Dorián's wings flapped in unison and he charged at Caine, his bow sparking with power, but just as he was about to attack, Nemine was thrust in the middle of their battle. Dorián screeched to a halt after seeing who it was and backed up slightly. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her, for some odd reason he couldn't. He looked at her and waited.

“Hey, Boy Scout!” Renshi called out, getting Dorian’s attention as his sword faded away and he folded his arms across his chest.

“Your hands looked like they were full, you know with those two and myself included so I’ll do you a favor…” he continued before an all-knowing smile crossed his face, he knew that Dorian would guess what was coming next.

Dorián glared at Renshi as he spoke. The was silence for Nemine had been thrust into the battle between Dorián and Caine and Renshi stood as if he had accomplished some great feat. Dorián glared at Renshi, knowing that the only team mate he had he couldn’t trust.

“Damnit Renshi, this is suicide,” he proclaimed as he placed his attention back on the two individuals in front of him.

“I’ll tell Naja you said hello after getting my answers, have fun…” he responded before vanishing from sight.

[Jacogos]

Nemine managed to regain her footing only to realize that she was now in the middle of the battle between Dorián and Caine. Renshi had vanished. She looked around just in time to see Ancient Mystic Dorián come to a halt in front of her, back pedaling a little afterwards. She blinked. He could have attacked her. She didn’t have much time to think about it as she was shoved out of the way by Caine, who launched himself at the Nephilim then, roaring as his claws reached for his flesh. Nemine made a split second decision then.

Still in her Mystic form, she stomped on the ground and a pillar of ice shot up to intercept Caine, launching him upwards as he was caught completely off guard. While he was still stunned from shock, she swept her arm and brought a single solid chunk of ice around to nail him directly on the temple, knocking him out cold. There was no way she would have been able to do that without total surprise on her side. She stared for a moment, realizing what she had just done, took a split second to look at Dorián, then fled towards the mountains, exiting Mystic form.

Before he could react, Caine had come hurdling towards him, pushing Nemine aside as he did so, and attempted to claw him in two. There was an odd sound of ice cracking and Dorián realized that a pillar of ice had struck Caine before he could attack fully. Nemine then followed up with a KO shot to Caine’s temple. Dorián stood in shock realizing what had just happened and watched for a minute as Nemine rushed off into the mountain. He walked over to Caine and looked down at him for a few moments still attempting to put together exactly what had just happened before looking up in the direction Nemine had went.

“NEMINE!” He yelled taking off in a high sprint.

He rushed past rocks, trees and the like in order to get to her. He wanted answers as he zoomed, a mere blur. Finally he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, swirling her around so that their eyes met.

The Banshee vaguely felt something grab her shoulder. She didn’t think, simply reacted. There was a flash as Nemine re-entered Mystic form, an Ice Spear in her hands and at his throat. The Russian lady breathed heavily for a moment, staring at him.

“I shouldn’t have done that…” She whispered, eyes shining from emotional stress. Her hands shook, the spear shivering slightly against his neck, cooler even than the mountain air that chilled bone. “I shouldn’t have… Have…” She shook her head, closing her eyes and looking down before the spear melted in her hands and she backed up a few paces, reverting once again to regular form.

Ice spear at his neck, Dorián looked at Nemine and could tell she was emotionally stressed at that moment. He watched as her hand shook and she allowed the spear of ice to melt away in her hands. Dorián exhaled softly and took a step forward as Nemine took a step back.

“What happened back there? What is going on Nemine?” Dorián asked, “you know you can trust me. I’ve never given you any reason not to.”

Nemine’s ice-blue eyes took him in coolly, her memories swirling as they flashed back to a time long past…

A battlefield long gone, scorched earth all that is left. Two combatants stare each other down. Nemine… and Dorián… They charge at each other, but at the last second, Dorián pulls away, cutting off his attack. They land not facing each other.

“What, are you scared to fight me, lover?” Nemine calls out, turning back to the man she once called more than a friend. Dorián looks at her for a moment, then shakes his head, looking down slightly.

“What happened, Nemine? Why are we fighting against each other?” His eyes flashed slightly, and he did not back down from the stance he was in, though his words belied his willingness to fight. On the opposite side of the field, Nemine stayed silent for a moment.

“You chose the wrong side, Dorián… what more can I say?” She lunged, and for a moment, Dorián did not look as if he was going to block the attack… Until a streak of blinding light stopped the Banshee in her tracks. Nemine’s world went black moments before she saw the shining form of Naja standing over her.

Tears flooded her eyes for a brief moment, obscuring her vision. The little salt water droplets skid down her cheeks for a brief moment before freezing and falling off.

“Why did you choose to fight against me, Dorián…?” She asked quietly, her eyes turning away slightly. “To fight against the Nobility?”

Dorián stood there for a few moments and watched Nemine’s movements. She had asked him the question he had asked her when they first fought one another.

“I didn’t choose to fight against you Nemine, I chose to fight against the Nobility because of what they stand for. I’m here to protect the innocent not destroy them. Can I ask you the same question Nemine? Why do you fight against me?”

Dorián tossed his bow into the air and it zipped away in a flash of lightning. He was unarmed now, but he felt safe with Nemine at this moment.

Nemine sighed lightly. She knew he would answer that way. He had not changed a bit even after all those years…

“The Nobility keeps everything in check. So long we rule, there is no war. There is no starvation beyond that we can’t control. There is order, and peace. However, this battle with the Mystics takes away from that. You may see an evil dictator vying for power, but do you truly know what Haakon wants? He is a man of questionable ethics for the simple fact that he does not care if people die to achieve peace.” Nemine paused and looked at Dorián for a moment.

“Have not many a leader in our world’s history done a similar thing and have been praised as heroes? American Presidents, Russian czars, English monarchy, et cetera. Some still praise Lenin for liberating us from the czars, though it was one of the bloodiest massacres of our history.” Nemine shook her head slightly, eyes distant now.

“However, all you see is the faults,” she whispered, looking back up at him.

"Peace? Draining innocent humans of their life, poisoning them unknowingly and not caring. Haakon does not seek peace, if you knew the truth you'd not fight for him. There are some things in this world better left unsaid Nemine." Dorián replied as he looked at her with intense eyes.

"The Nobility only destroy. The only reason there is peace is because Naja hides all that the Nobility does in order to keep everyone safe. We have to protect those who can not defend themselves. I understand your point of view Nemine, trust me I do, but I can't be willing to fight for a side that harms rather than protect. Nemine, I told you long ago that I'd never hurt you and I've kept my promise thus far."

“You exaggerate, Dorián. Vampires, Werewolves… they’d still be here without Haakon. Under Haakon, they are controlled. They take only what they must. During war, drastic measures must be taken.” Nemine met his gaze with a cool intensity of her own. “If the Nobility only destroyed, the world would be long gone… The Nobility have been here for years while the Mystics were underground… And yet we are still here to speak to each other, no?”

Nemine sighed a little and her gaze softened slightly, ice-blue becoming the deep waters of her mind. “*Моя любовь… Do you still remember my language?” She paused for a moment, as if expecting an answer, then decided not she didn’t want one. “No matter… You made that promise; do you still intend to keep it now, when we still meet each other as foes?”

"Have you taken a trip to China lately? Oh wait I forgot, Haakon destroyed it...." Dorián retored, but then softly gazed at Nemine, "Yes, I will keep that promise Nemine, I told you I'd never hurt you and I won't. **Моя королева."

He took a step towards Nemine and touch her shoulder softly before kissing her softly on the forehead.

"Why can't we just drop this Nemine? Why can't we just get away from it all?" Dorián asked as he rested his forehead against hers.

There was a small intake of breath as Nemine heard him speak Russian back to her. The faintest trace of a smile graced her lips, but it was barely there for a moment before the ice tried to replace it again. However, Dorián had moved close to her and there was a fleeting moment where she tried to pull back. Her frozen core gave way, though, and she moved into his touch, closing her eyes slightly.

“We both have a job to do, no…?” She said quietly, eyes opening to look down, her mind deep in thought. “If we… Would you really betray Naja like that? Give up on all you worked for…?”

Dorián stood there for a moment and contemplated what Nemine had just asked him. He sighed and backed up a few steps before smiling.

"I lost you once Nemine, and I'm not losing you again. Whatever happens, promise me you'll stay safe."

Nemine looked up at him as he backed up a little, suddenly missing the closeness they used to share. She thought for a moment about what he was asking her, and then nodded slightly. “I promise… What are you planning?” She watched him, a feeling in her gut telling her that something was about to happen.

“Nemine, trust me when I say this. Whatever happens, know that I love you and that I’ll always be there for you, regardless of what side we are on. I wish we could just stay up here forever, but I have to stop Renshi before he gets himself killed. Promise me you’ll stay safe and I’ll promise to come back to you.”

Dorián smiled, grabbed Nemine and embraced her in a loving hug before departing, leaving her with many thoughts to work out as well as a fierce blush on her cheeks. He decided it was best to stop Renshi before he got himself killed. He looked back at Nemine, placed a hand on his heart and then pointed to her before a flash of lightning took him away.

Standing there in the cold mountain air, the Banshee sighed lightly, hold her hand over her heart for a moment before turning to go and see how Caine was faring.

----------

*My love

**My Queen

[Atrum Daemon]

“And where, friends, are those who claim themselves as protectors of the innocent? There are many who say they fight for freedom and the protection of the people. But where are they? Have any of them truly come out from their hiding places and tried to do what they claim they wish to?”

Franz had amassed an impressive following over the course of his speeches. The church on whose steps he stood was gradually being repaired and improved by his own machines to reflect the mechanical perfection Franz now believed in thanks to the “lesson” Haakon had taught him in the Reservoir.

“I know you are all hesitant to believe my words. Yes, the Lord of Sunlight did strike a wrathful blow against the Chinese Territories. But, this was only because they aligned with terrorists and conspirators. They threw their lot in with people who would see the world turned on it’s head. And I tell you that he regrets deeply the drastic action he took in smiting his would-be enemies. A great change is coming, friends! I can offer those of you willing to take the chance a look at that change. A look at the future. Follow me, dear friends. Completion is at hand.”

Franz motioned for people to follow him as he turned and walked into the church. Hesitantly, a young man took a step. He then took a deep breath and ascended the steps after Franz. Many others followed behind them, following the beacon of hope they saw in Franz and the change he promised.

“Come to the font, friends,” Franz said, beckoning the people to a basin filled with glistening black liquid. “Don’t be afraid. This is the change that is coming. All you have to do is drink. It won’t harm you, I promise.”

The crowd drank from the basin. One by one, they ingested the glistening oil and forever bound themselves to Franz. They did not know how their bodies would change and Franz would be sure to be there when the changes did happen. Behind the strange mask, a malicious grin spread across Franz’s partly mechanical face.

[RisingPhoenix]

Marissa stirred from her near-sleep as the moist jungle soil and the waterfall disappeared suddenly became dry, scalding hot sand. Pushing herself up, she took a look at her surroundings and groaned. "A desert... oh that's fair! Put the mermaid water mystic in the middle of the desert! Who designed these tests anyway?"

Walking idly through the desert, Marissa kept a close eye out for an oasis or some other water source. The tests were supposed to be hard, Naja had made that much clear, but for the Mage Gate to leave her completely powerless made no sense. There had to be an oasis or some other water source nearby that she could use. Otherwise, there was only one power Marissa knew of that she could use without an external water supply, but in this heat, she would evaporate in a matter of seconds if she tried.

She only managed to walk a few yards at the most before the ground began to rumble, knocking her off her feet in the quake, and then something easily at least ten times her height rose from the sand and struck at her. Marissa barely dodged in time to avoid more than a cut on her arm, and as the beast roared, she finally managed to get a good enough look at the massive worm beast.

"You got to be kidding me!" Marissa shouted, hoping that whoever had thought up this challenge could hear her. The worm tried to attack again, but this time Marissa could anticipate the strike early enough to dive out of the way. The wound on her arm made contact with the sand and stung horribly, but as Marissa was getting up, a small part of her took notice as the injury bled down her arm. As she bled, the blood poured down in narrow, veiny streams over her forearm and hand, before finally dripping from her fingers onto the sand.

And then the test made sense. In this desert, Marissa had access to only two sources of water. Herself...

... and the worm.

The worm reared himself again, ready to strike, but now Marissa assumed the stance she was taught. It took all of her focus to pull off this move, but as the worm lashed forward to attack Marissa again, she pushed all her focus forward and stepped forward, forcefully pushing her hands in front of her. And sure enough, the natural fluid inside the worm responded, pushing him backwards and knocking him onto his back.

Now Marissa wasted no time, and climbed over the many small legs lining the side of the beast and clung to the worm's back as it rose. The monster's first reaction was to rear back, trying to shake Marissa off, but Marissa held tightly to one of the legs and stayed on. In response, the worm rose even further out of the ground and began to extend some sort of tentacles at Marissa, but this just made her smirk to herself as an idea began to form. Reaching with her free hand and concentrating, Marissa guided each tentacle to her hands and took hold of them like the reins of a horse, and as the worm doubled back yet again to try to shake her off, she then concentrated on lowering him belly-down onto the sand.

"Now this I like!" She said, keeping her focus on the worm, whose struggles seemed to last several minutes, if not hours. But before long, the creature's energy was spent and he could no longer fight against Marissa, who needed only to give him a slight nudge with her power in order to urge him forward. Riding on the worm, Marissa proceeded down her original path in search of a way out of this desert, or at least to an oasis where she could find a drink and stock up on water if need be.

The sound of mechanical parts whirring and beeping could be heard as Marissa rides the worm looking for a way out. The Mechanical Hunter takes aim at the riding mermaid and when he is locked on, takes the shot.

The worm heard the mechanical whirs of the Hunter before Marissa even took notice. Instinctively the beast came to a stop and turned his head toward to noise, allowing Marissa to glimpse the Hunter and its weapon just barely in time to duck. The shot grazed over her back, and she cried out in pain as the raw energy burned her, but she knew it would only be a matter of time before the robot fired his next shot.

"You still hungry?" She said sweetly to the worm, as though she were talking to any other family pet, and pointed the Hunter out to him. "Check out that little morsel over there. Plenty of iron, that's for sure."

The worm only vaguely understood what Marissa was saying, and was already angry enough at the creature that had just fired something at him, that he gladly obliged when Marissa told him to go for the Hunter. Beginning his charge toward the Hunter, the worm reared back and extended his tentacles in an attempt to wrap around the Hunter and throw him back.

Quick to react, the hunter jumps back and fires off a multitude of lazers slicing through the giant worm's extending tentacles. Beeping, the hunter jumps into the air and fires off another round of shots at Marissa atop the great beast.

Roaring in pain, the worm beast reared back too quickly for Marissa to hang on, and she easily fell off of the worm and back onto the desert sand. now she was knocked off her horse - so to speak - and the mechanical killer focused its efforts more completely on her, and on top of it all, the heat was already starting to wear her down slightly.

But she hadn't missed when the worm's severed tentacle began to bleed massive amounts of blood, at least relative to Marissa's own body size. It was ironic to pity the creature that just minutes ago was going to eat her alive, but her only chance now was to give some meaning to the worm's suffering and make use of the liquid that was pouring over the sand. Fortunately, the desert sands were quite loose compared to the heavily packed soils and sponges she was used to training with, and some of the finer grains of sand even remained suspended in the worm's spilled blood as she pulled a stream of it out of the sand and stretched it in front of her, allowing it to evaporate as it was hit by the Hunter's blast.

Marissa pulled stream after stream of worm blood out of the sand in this manner, and blasted them as strong jets of water at the Hunter. But apparently the Hunter was watertight enough to continue advancing, and the sandy grains suspended in the water did little more than grind away at its exterior surface with each blast. And then, just when Marissa was at enough of a disadvantage, the Hunter came sufficiently close to Marissa for its nullifying field to reach her; the stream she had been pulling out at that moment abruptly faltered and gracelessly plopped back into the sand.

"Seriously, whose idea was this?!?" Marissa shouted at the sky to whoever was listening, all the while running back to try to gain more distance from the Hunter so her powers wouldn't be totally useless. The worm, more enraged than ever at having lost an appendage, roared once again and descended on the Hunter, this time aiming to catch the Hunter in its powerful jaws.

With it's attention solely on Marissa, the hunter hadn't expected the worm to advance upon it. When the creature descended upon the Hunter, it's jaws open wide, there was no time to escape. The hunter was swallowed whole, but just as it was being swallowed and crunched up, it's defense mechanism activated and there was an explosion that killed the worm allowing the hunter time to escape. When the dust subsided from the explosion, the worm was dead, and the Hunter was nowhere to be seen. A portal appeared in front of Marissa.

Marissa had to close her eyes and shield her nose and mouth as some form of explosion kicked up a powerful dust storm. Something had happened to the worm after it swallowed the Hunter. The sudden gush of blood and sand that splashed onto Marissa was proof enough of that, but only after the dust finally cleared did she see the full extent of the damage. The husk of the worm's body lay on its side, and in place of its head was a pool of blood and parts of internal organs that easily spread at least 30 ft wide.

When the portal appeared, Marissa paused only to kneel briefly at the worm's side. "Thanks for all your help." She said softly. The worm had done most of the heavy lifting in this challenge, but at least his sacrifice had served a purpose in this trial. Without any further delay, Marissa entered the portal, more eager than ever to see this through to the end.

Upon entering the portal, Marissa is transported to her final challenge. She is within a cave, bones littering the ground. Line filtered into the cave through a hole, and illuminated a skeleton half submerged in the dirt. Malevolent wind flowed through the cave as Marissa arrived on the scene.

Adjusting her eyes to the darkness, Marissa set her sights on the only illuminated area of this new place. The skeleton lying there was lying on its chest, arms extended upward toward Marissa. In their last moments, this poor soul had been trying to escape something or someone, and the mere thought unnerved Marissa, who forced herself to look away so she could move on.

But that one skeleton was not the only one of its kind in this place. As Marissa progressed deeper into the cave, making sure to collect as much moisture from the damp soil and humid air as she could carry with her, she could find several other skeletons, some similarly frozen in their feeble escape attempt while others lay kilter by the edge of the pool of water near the end of the cave...

Pool?

Finding a discarded flashlight in the hand of one skeleton, Marissa turned it on and shined the light in front of her. Sure enough, water pooled over the floor of the cave, leading up to a submerged tunnel that, Marissa now remembered, led directly into the ocean. Treading knee-deep into the water, Marissa numbly observed every detail and realized how familiar the skeletons really were. Those were the victims of the mermaid who lived here... The ones Marissa's own mother brought here to eventually die. And if one Joanna Gayle hadn't come her to save her husband Philip... Marissa's father... no doubt the mermaid would have continued to add more bodies to her collection.

It wasn't long before Marissa realized she'd approached the ledge where the mermaid's own remains had been, and she jumped away in revulsion. For that moment, the trial of the Mage Gate was practically forgotten as the memories came flooding back.

There was a low rumbling within the cave as a skeletal fist burst forth from the ground. The skeleton of Marissa's mermaid parent emerged, its eye holes glowing a melodic blue in color. The skeleton looked at Marissa and held out a skinny bony finger.

"YOU LEFT ME. YOU THREW ME INTO THE WATER TO ROT. YOU SHALL SUFFER FOR LEAVING ME LIKE THIS," the skeleton stated as it started crawling towards Marissa.

Marissa instinctively jumped away from the skeleton, but otherwise did not respond. So many emotions rushed through her all at once: confusion, anger, horror... and even a hint of pity. The skeleton's words made it clear who she truly was: Marissa's mother, and the death of every other skeleton in this place.

"You did even worse to all these men, didn't you?" Marissa seethed, backing away to the edges of the pool. Being only part mermaid, Marissa could walk freely on land without magical aid, while the fully-mermaid skeleton could only crawl on land. But on the other hand, there was only a narrow strip of dry land on the side of the pool, so Marissa still had to push back the water in small waves to keep the dead mermaid a safe distance away.

"I know what you did working for the Nobility. What you almost did to my father! My whole life, he and his family made sure I wouldn't forget!" As Marissa maintained her distance from the mermaid, her glare softened somewhat. "Did his life mean anything at all to you? Did any of them mean anything to you?"

"Stubborn child, I gave birth to you, they will NEVER love you like[ I did. I was your mother, and your father and your so called family are full of lies and deceit, they never told you the truth did they?" the harsh voice of the skeleton reverberated against the cave walls adding to the creep factor.

Marissa could only look back at her with confusion, the hostile edges leaving her expression. "What do you mean?" She asked. All she knew was what she had been told her entire life, but here the mermaid implied that the story was untrue. But to what extent?

"Let me ask you something darling daughter. Has your father ever explained his true reason for being here? He came to me out of lust. I did not need to brainwash him, he came and we fell in love, but when I informed him of my pregnancy, he became unsure if he wanted his daughter to be a part of my world. I informed him that you were my daughter, and that I would raise you to take the throne as Queen one day. That is right Marissa, you are royalty, but I bet he didn't tell you that either did he? Your father is deceitful, and my business with the Nobility was my own."

The Skeleton dipped into the water, but when it emerged, it was a beautiful mermaid that sat in front of Marissa.

"My darling daughter, all I've ever wanted was for you to grow up knowing about your mermaid half instead of suppressing it. I wanted you to become Queen and rule, but your father thought others. When I had informed him of my plans he stormed off and vowed that he'd return and take you from me. Unfortunately, prior to his return I had been kicked out of the Nobility and injured by Scylla, she had stolen my place in the Nobility............."

The Mermaid paused and smiled at her beautiful daughter, "you have my eyes dear, and your father's temper. Never forget where you come from."[/QUOTE]
"We were all told he'd been kidnapped. That night on the cruise ship." Marissa said not so much to her mother as to herself. "His wife... my stepmom... She was so convinced it was true that she would always repeat that same story to me and Tara." Her mind was numb as she stepped into the pool and let herself wade into the water. This time she made no attempt to conceal her tail, but found herself idly staring at it. "When we were kids, Tara couldn't stand to look at me when I went swimming. She was only three years old; whatever really happened, she couldn't have remembered that much on her own."

A small part of her mind reminded her that this was somehow connected to the Mage Gate trials. But what was she supposed to do now? "All this, just because he couldn't admit he was having an affair? Nobody had to die if this had all come out sooner..."

"The hearts of man is a corrupted place. Yes your father had an affair, but to take you from me was the lowest thing he had ever done to me. My dear, the royal line ends with you and Scylla. I tell you this from beyond the grave in hopes that you will come to the realization that in order to change anything in this world you'll have to put forth the effort to change it. Oh how I miss you," the mermaid said as she swam over to her daughter and gave her a loving hug.

"Remember my dear, if you ever need to consult me, I am always here," she said pointing to Marissa's heart, "but I"m afraid I can not stay any longer and must leave. Remember what I've told you this day and go forth accepting who you are, ALL of who you are. Be safe."

The mermaid smiled, swam a bit and dived deep, disappearing into the misty blue. Suddenly there was a rumbling and the cave shook violently before a portal appeared before Marissa in the water. Diving down, Marissa swam towards the portal and when she entered it, she was transported to the outskirts of the Mage Gate. There perched was Fenirex who looked upon her and smiled.

Before he could say a word, the hollogram of the Mystic Elder appeared and began to speak.

"Congratulations Mystic of the Sea, you have passed your trials and have come forth with information not once held. You will drown evil in the submerge of your waves. Now go my dear, protect the innocent and be the guardian you were meant to be."

The hologram vanished and there stood Fenirex who escorted a seemingly shaken Marissa to the base where Naja awaited her.

"Well, this is where I leave you," Fenirex stated as he took flight back to guard the Mage Gate.

Marissa now stood in front of the base looking up at the gigantic palace sized building. Naja came walking out a smile on his face.

"Yes, you've done it my dear, but where is your sister? It has been three days since you entered and you had me worried. No matter I am sure she will make it out in time. Now the choice is up to you, you can rest here or leave, either is fine, but remember, protect the innocent and protect yourself for the Nobility will be after you and your sister even more now. The Nobility has dealt a deadly blow on China, New York and other places. We must keep the innocent safe and stop them at all costs. Be safe young mystic as you go forth and protect."

Naja touched her softly on the shoulder and allowed his healing magic to flow into her, closing all the wounds on her body and allowing her natural mermaid magic to flow forth even stronger than it had been. With that done, Naja retired to his office inside the base, leaving Marissa to think on what she'd do.

[Stryker]

Naja stood in his office glaring at the monitor, disgusted with what he had just seen. Renshi had just abandoned his teammate and that was unacceptable. He knew Renshi was coming to pay him a visit and he would make sure they were outside when he came. Naja walked onto the balcony and jumped off the edge, landing softly on the ground before trekking over towards the edge of the forest. There he waited for Renshi to come.

“So this is where you are…” a voice rang out from behind him, he didn’t have to turn around to see who it was, the voice belonged to Renshi.

“Tracing your power was a little difficult since I hadn’t really done it before, but here we are…”

“And what brings you to me Renshi?” Naja mocked, already knowing what Renshi wanted.

“You know what I’m here for, don’t play coy with me…”

“Oh, someone needs to know their place. What questions do you have for me Renshi?” Naja asked as he turned to face the male with a stern look on his face.

“I’m actually debating on whether or not I should bother asking you since you may just lie… But unlike the other sheep, I’m not blind… I know something is happening here that you aren’t telling us and I plan on finding out whether you feel like sharing or not…”

“Oh, and how exactly are you going to do that Renshi? Whatever question you have for me I’ll answer truthfully. I have no reason to lie to you Renshi......” Naja smirked and tossed his hands playfully.

“Fine… what are your true motives for this war, why did you bring us all back only for you to sit on the sidelines and watch?” he asked, his tone unchanging as he awaited the answer he was about to be given.

“You already know the answer to that question Renshi. My motives are my own, but you will never know. Now, any other questions?” Naja retorted as his expression remained the same.

"Do you still hold true that you won't lie about any question I ask, Naja?"

“Yes,” Naja replied with a sly smirk.

"Then tell me what you're hiding, or should I perhaps go to the Nobility?" Renshi asked, matching Naja's facial expression. "I'm sure that they wouldn't have any issue with telling me your secret..."

“You want answers Renshi, you want to crawl further down the rabbit hole then fine. Obviously you’ve learned nothing, but today suffering shall be your teacher,” Naja replied his expression showing how irritated he was with Renshi, “but let me ask you some questions Renshi. You abandoned your team mate, you left him to die, and that is unacceptable. I hide from no one.”

Naja was clearly irritated and it showed in his voice.

“But the question stands, do you WANT to be a part of this team? Trust me, you can be replaced.”

“You ask me the exact question that I was planning on ask you, you demand that I be a part of a team that I don’t think you have any wishes to remain with.” Renshi’s response came, his voice sounding a little more firm.

“Tell me the truth, dammit!” he roared, arm extending as a pillar of smoke began to form in his palm. “You’re using us to further yourself and yourself only!”

Naja looked at Renshi, a sick twisted smile plastered on his face.

“Well, you’ve figured it all out haven’t you?”

Naja looked him up and down and shook his head. He stood straight in his stance.

“Tell ya what little man, why don’t you come take the truth.”

Naja crossed his arms elegantly with his right pointer finger resting on his temple, “or are you too much of a coward to do so?”

“You think so Renshi? Well do show me what I don’t know, I’d love to learn something new,” Naja replied.

With a wave of his hand, his weapon appeared and floated by his side, “whenever you feel like getting the truth, let me know Renshi.”

"Teach you something?" Renshi asked as laughter escaped his lips, his hand grasping his forehead in mock-exasperation.

"What could I teach you exactly, Naja?" he asked, "You already best my knowledge on all topics I plan on discussing... Treachery... treason... betrayal..."

After saying that last word, Renshi's eyes shifted and met the Ancient's gaze before uttering the last word, "... and cowardice..."

“Such a wicked tongue, allow me to clip it for you,” Naja stated as he sent his weapon straight at Renshi.

As the weapon came at him, he ducked to the right, narrowly avoiding it before charging in, arm extended. "You're mine, coward!"

Naja did not move, but simply stood there as Renshi charged him. He still had that sick twisted smile on his face and watched as the weapon changed direction and came surging behind Renshi.

As he got closer, his arm came flying forward with the blade of his sword making a beeline straight for Naja's throat, "I'll sho-" he began before being cut off as the weapon, unknown to him, had changed direction and struck him on his right shoulder, leaving a very bad gash as blood began to pour out of the newly formed wound.

Renshi's body crumpled to the ground, pain and rage flooded his mind as he was angry with himself for not expecting something like this from Naja, a mistake that would undoubtedly cost him dearly.

Naja looked down at the damaged Renshi, shaking his head in disapproval. “Are you going to get up or do you want this ‘accident’ to get rougher?”

After hearing Naja's mocking of his careless mistake, Renshi began to grit his teeth as he slowly but surely pushed himself to his feet. Once reaching his feet however, the blood loss began to show its effects. His legs were shaky and his shoulder ached almost to no end as he stood in front of the traitor.

"I'll... be damned if... if some traitor thinks he can toss me aside..." he growled, raising his sword arm once more as blood continued to trickle down to his fingers.

“Well then, the damned await you Renshi,” Naja replied as his weapon rose back to his side once more. With the same twisted smile he possessed from the start, he looked at Renshi, noticing the spirit within him not wanting to give up even though he was injured.

“I must say you’ve more strength than I originally thought, nonetheless this won’t take long.”

Naja raised his right hand and pointed at Renshi. An orb the size of a baseball appeared and shot forth. First one, and then another. The sound was like gunfire as more and more of the orbs were shot towards Renshi.

“Either obey me or die Renshi. It will be easy to cover up your death, blaming it on Haakon is oh so easy.”

At first, even though he was dangerously close to falling over on his own accord Renshi deflected the first orb before the second one struck him in the bicep of his already wounded arm. "Gah!"

Immediately following the initial strike, the following ones struck him one by one, each one causing him to back pedal slightly. By the time the fourth one hit him, his sword had fallen to the ground. When the barrage finally stopped, blood had started trailing down the middle of his face, over his left eye as well as from a few newly-formed wounds that had been made to his right thigh, left arm and stomach.

"You..." he muttered out before dropping to one knee, using his throbbing arms to hold his upper body from falling to the floor. "An...Answer me... one question... You ... owe me that much..." he managed to stammer out.

“I suppose since it is your final wish,” Naja replied waiting on the question the unstable Renshi would soon ask.

Slowly, Renshi reached up towards Naja's form. His hand weakly grasped Naja's clothing and he used it to slowly pull himself back up to one knee. "How... does it... does it feel?" he slowly asked, stopping suddenly after the last word as he began to cough, blood staining his lips as the taste of copper tainted his mouth.

Naja glared down at Renshi and watched him closely. The male’s blood stained hands were upon his clothing and his face twisted in disgust as he lifted Renshi up using his mind so that they were eye level.

“How does what feel my dear boy?” Naja asked his face expression resembling one of calm.

As Naja calmly looked at the battered Renshi, a surge of power swept through the room as Renshi's body flashed a bright red. "This!" he roared back to life, his body having undergone a radical change as he had finally ascended to the next level.

Not wanting to give him time to think, Renshi thrusted both of his arms into Naja's face, "Flare!" he shouted as a pillar of fire shot out of the space between his hands and straight into Naja's face, causing the elder of the two to lose his mental grip on Renshi and allowing the latter to skip back a couple feet in the process.

Naja had not expected this to happen, but he’d have to deal with it. He was blasted back by Renshi’s flare attack three feet before he skidding to a halt. His left hand covered his face as he glared at Renshi. As he pulled his hand away, a gash flowed up the left side of his face. He smirked and simply glared at the young man in front of him.

“Ahhh, you’ve scared me. Not many have ever had the chance to do such a thing, but trust me when I say this Renshi, you will pay for this.”

“Now let the fun begin.”

As the fight between Naja and Renshi continued, the two seemed evenly matched, but only because Naja had not revealed to Renshi that he could ascend further. Meanwhile, Dorián was looking everywhere for Renshi and Naja within the base, but when he heard Renshi’s voice in his head, he closed his eyes and focused following Renshi’s power. Sighing, he quickly exited the base and made his way in Renshi’s direction.

Naja looked at Renshi, “Oh do I not? Well show me what I’ve unleashed.”

A wicked grin crossed Renshi's face as he began powering up, his arms began to steam before catching fire.

He wanted to challenge Naja, badly, but even he knew that for Naja to be the leader... he had to be alot more powerful than he let on, so he chose to either stall until Dorian showed himself or Naja charged at him. "Show you? How about you come see for yourself, old man."

“Enough of this, it is clear that you want power, so I shall show you something NO ONE has ever seen.”

Naja smirked and closed his eyes as he concentrated and allowed energy to spark from his form. The world around the two seemed to shake violently, as well as twist and distort. Naja, eyes still closed, took an open stance and pulled his fist in flush against his sides. His form glowed brightly and everything around them began to lift in response to the power being displayed. There was a display of lightning in the sky as it darkened in response.

“NOW!” He yelled as an explosion of power errupted from him that knocked over all in a 360 degree radius. As the dust cleared, Naja stood in a new form. He was completely white, wings of what seemed to be metal protruding from his back, his head covered in some type of gear. His hair flowed down his back nearly touching the ground. He opened his eyes and looked at Renshi as a psychic pulse shot forth with great intensity.

“You should be grateful I allowed you to see such a form. None have ever seen this form. I suppose you should be thanking me. Get on your knees and beg for your forgiveness,” Naja spoke, his voice distorted with hints of evil laced in it.

As Dorián made his way towards Renshi’s energy signature, he was knocked off his feet as a power far greater than anything he had ever felt exploded from the direction Renshi’s power was. This was impossible; no one could be that powerful. Dorián sped up and took flight as he surged through the air.

Finally, as he came unto the scene, he looked between Renshi and Naja and slowly descended upon the two. “Master Naja, what is going on?” Dorián asked awe struck at the form his “father” was in.

“Master Naja, what is going on?” Dorián asked awe struck at the form his “father” was in.

“Dorián, it is nothing to concern yourself with, I am punishing Renshi for abandoning you and speaking traitorous words from his forked tongue,” Naja stated as he stepped towards Renshi.

“Master please,” Dorián stated.

“Silence Dorián, this must be done. He must learn his lesson.”

"Yes, old man. Teach me the lesson you will eventually teach the rest of the Mystics!" Renshi yelled, the fires that had engulfed his arms raging with each word. "Teach me what you will soon enough teach the boy scout!"

“Silence you insolent little worm,” Naja replied

“Master, what is he talking about?” Dorián interrupted

“It is none of your concern Dorián, now go check on the others while I deal with the traitor.”

Naja began to walk towards Renshi, his eyes shimmering with hunger for Renshi’s soul.

As he closed the gap between he and Renshi, Dorián stepped between them.

“Master, I want answers. What is really going on here?”

Naja looked at Dorián and let out a inhuman growl.

“Dorián you are testing me, leave now or..............”

“Or what......” Dorián began before an energy blast sent him soaring, landing hard against the ground behind Renshi.

He let out a painfilled grunt as he looked up at Naja, a hint of terror in his eyes

"Hah, now you see boy scout... You see what I told you was the truth..." Renshi gloated, still concentrating as the flames grew larger over his arms.

He had a plan set in place for what was to come, he just hoped that he'd have the time to execute it before Naja struck.

“Silence yourself child,” Naja stated as he held out his hands, orbs of psionic energy floating above them. He popped his neck and with a thrust of his hands, he launched them at Renshi. The sound resembled a cannon shot as the orbs barrelled towards Renshi.

Just as they got close, Dorián jumped up and took the shot head on. The pain that surged through him knocked him out cold and sent him crashing back against the ground. Naja shook his head.

“I told him to leave, but now I have to deal with erasing his memory as well as erasing your flame,” Naja stated as he produced two more orbs and shot them towards Renshi.

As the two orbs reached him, Renshi's arms moved to meet them and he seemingly caught them in the palms of his hands. The time spent focusing all of his energy was having to now be used to defend against this attack. Nearly all of his energy had been focused into his hands and now it stood to be wasted in his eyes on defending this damned boy scout.

"You... old... son of a bitch!" he roared before launching the orbs upward and firing two fire bombs at them, causing them to explode and a blinding light to envelope the room.

In that time, he closed his eyes, felt around the floor until he found Dorian's arm and grabbed onto it.

"Damned waste of time calling you here..." he thought to himself before reciting the very spell the man that had just recently tried to kill him had taught him, and with one breath, he and Dorian vanished.

Naja’s wings covered his face to keep the blinding light at bay, and as it subsided, Renshi and Dorián were gone.

“Damn, oh well, now I must make plans for the next step.”

Naja slapped his hands towards and transformed back into his normal form as he made his way back to the base. As he entered, he made his way to his office and opened the spell book that still rested on his desk. He had much work to do if he was going to assume absolute power.

**************************

On a beach somewhere far away, Renshi appeared with Dorian in tow before dropping him in the sand and looking around to make sure Naja hadn’t followed or if there was anyone nearby.

“Good… nobody’s here…” he thought to himself before exhaling. Upon doing so his form reverted back to normal in a matter of moments as flames engulfed his body before revealing his old self.

After doing so though, he fell to the ground, only held up by his hands and knees. While the wounds had physically healed, the damage he took was still ravaging his insides.

“Damn old bastard…”

[Setsa]

**Ignore double posting evil..look away!**

[Setsa]

[Co-Post of Siks and Sets's]


*Rex and Fria*

Rex smiled at Fria helping her to sit down in a comfy chair.
"Hey, what are friends for if they can't help each other when hellhounds leave teeth in their legs? And yes we've managed to cleanse them totally even after the oil blended on a base level but what Haakon didn't take into account was that those cleaning the water are water they heal themselves and just let the clean water flow through them but the damage is done we've estimated about half of the world is infected and half we managed to save."

He sighed crouching down by Fria's side his joint clicking lightly looks like old age is gonna catch up soon. "But half of the world will be enough for Haakon to build his oil infused zealot army. And I think the Angels are working in a recon sense. They buzz around look at stuff then buzz back." He looked out the window of Fria's home watching the specks he knew to be angels zooming across the sky, the words of Elder Gelez still burning through his mind.
There's no way Fria could betray me, but then again I wouldn't expect if from Naja but between the two he definitely seems more likely to do that then Fria. He shook the ideas from his mind still watching the skies.

Fria noticed that Rex was deep in thought...such worried her as she did care for him though how deeply had yet to be revealed. Cupping his face in her hands her eyes met with his " Rex what troubles you so? Even I can tell something is weighing heavily in your mind and such concerns even a Valkyrie like me." Her thumbs brushing his strong cheek bones as she waited for his answer. So much had been occurring and after the ages apart after the last battle she was determined not to lose him again..she couldn't explain it really why... Perhaps Oden was right after all about them.

Rex sighed stroking her hands gently before standing up moving to the window to stare out until the right words came to him. Five minutes passed before he had his words set and he turned back to his sister and said speaking quietly which with his powers was quiet enough that only Fria could hear him.

"High Elder Gelez told me to keep my enemies close but my friends closer, I think he was hinting that betrayal is in our futures danthe myvish (dear sister). But I don't know if he means Naja, or you, or our young Mystics, or our allies against Haakon. I've been trying to sort it out and disprove any thoughts I can but with little success." He rubbed is eyes slowly stress always made him feel his age quicker than time itself did. And you know we can't directly say what's going to happen to someone even if we can. The High Elder is no different, it's rumored Gelez can actually see into the future but there's no way to know for sure unless he wishes the Will of Draco to take him."

Fria rubbed his back with one hand as she stared out of the window as well...watching Haakon's angels. "I feel a large deciphering battle is soon approaching, one that will make things more clear. But do you remember what I told you that night in Central America where we were resting under the stars? I told you my loyalty was to you and Oden above all others... We both saved each other's lives many times that battle ages ago..." She looked down remembering that bloody battle in which many died..many. "My word is my bond...that has not changed in the slightest since then Rex even with the shared uncertainty of Naja, even with the battles to come. My care for you will always be at your side" Knowing he had much to think about she turned to face his side.

"We must go and fight what angels we can until we're called to the base for battle. But if you so wish I will give you some alone time to think over the words of your Elder. " Kissing his cheek softly she turned to leave him be and prepare the now clean dressing to dry so the smell of her blood would be safe with them.

Rex smiled softly at her kiss feeling her warm lips sending feeling to his usually cold cheek helping to melt down some of the stress he'd been feeling these past few days his mind cleared and he began working a plan together for the future.

"No let's get going, every second we waste sitting around here is another mile the Nobility gets on us." He changed to his half form and stood on balcony waiting for Fria to join him.

Transforming into her Super Mystic for she gave a single nod, now at his side. She didn't have need to her highest reached form often, but to deal with Haakon's Angels, Fria wasn't going to take any chances as she opened the face of her helmet. "Alright let's see what these creatures got shall we?" With that, the two flew into the sky after the nearest group of angels returning to wherever they came from.

It didn't take long until they were in a middle of a fight in the highlands of Scotland. Fria could only control so much of the metal within their enemies as they were a mix of many compoments it seemed. The main objective was to control them enough for Mazarex to destroy them; but they were learning....not necessarily using it against them. But more of absorbing the information in some sort of memory bank... It was more important than ever they capture one to see what they knew. Dodging any danger the best she could in the air, the battle itself was not going to last long it seemed. High in the air, Fria used her whip to trap a flying angel.. Pinning its arms to the body her whip struggled to tighten around the oily epidermis. Knowing this may not end well the Valkyrie pounced on the thing from behind.

Wrapping her legs around the pinned arms as an add measure while her wings fought to keep them both in the air durring the struggle. The sound of creaking distressed metal resonated in the open sky as she tore one of the wings off with some difficulty. The result was the two going down in a death spiral towards the ground as the injured angel beat on her legs..especially the injured one, in attempt to break free. Screaming in pain and determination.. Fria had no choice but let go of her shield so it may hit the ground before she did...it increased her range of motion now. Releasing the whip but not her legs...she used the blade to take off the other wing.Letting out a scream of intense pain as the angel jabbed the jagged tip of it's destroyed wing into her injured thigh. Looking down if she didn't do something soon she would be unable to release hold in time and suffer the impact.

"Curse you in the name of Odin!!!" grabbing the oil slicked metal enough to steady it as it moved all over her leg she used her weapon to sever it from her leg and release her grip. The large white wings stained in oil expanded to catch more air as she watched the impact of the angel before Rex's feet. Her feathers were stuck together in places making her descent very difficult.... Closing her eyes, the Valkyrie managed to land on the surface on her good side. Very slowly trying to get up, cursing at her current state but thankful for her immortality. "Mazarex...please tell me we can least salvage whatever that beast was storing his information into..." Fria said in heavy breaths before grabbing the metal from her thigh and pulling it out. "AAAARRGGHH!!"

Rex fought side-by-side with Fria all across the world and they've gone up against worse enemies then these things but caution still had to be taken not even the old Dragon was sure about the capabilities of these new abominations. He was busy with a pair of particularly vivacious creatures when Fria was injured fighting the angel. Seeing his friend in distress he ripped the two apart with his claws and dive-bombed after Fria planning to catch her but it wasn't totally necessary the tough warrior woman had it all under control even when the creature hurt her. He landed by her side and with a yank of what looked like wires he stopped the creature’s frantic flailing and screeching.
“I don’t know Fria we’ll try to gather what we can but right now we need to work on you, hold still.” He knelt down by her side and held his hands over the bleed new wound and with a slight grunt light shined from his hands and Fria’s leg began to warm and heal.

“This will burn like a forge in a few seconds brace yourself.” The light intensified and the burning was prominent and sudden as he slowly seared and cleansed the woman’s soft pale flesh. But as soon as it arrived the burning ceased and Fria’s leg was healed though it was scarred.

“There, now lets see what we can gather from this thing.”

The pain was truly unpleasant, she gripped her weapon in both hands as she knew it would be the only thing around that would be unharmed when she braced. It didn't take long for the healing process to restore her once injured leg. Looking at the scar on her right upper thigh only made the Valkyrie stand up and smirk. "Well that will go away on its own soon enough and if not... Battle scars are always the best." Winking as she hugged Rex giving her thanks, Fria looked to the skies watching the ones that survived fly off in the far distance. "Well they weren't all destroyed...but we have one to find out what we can, and they will deliver a clear message to Haakon. A good enough day really." Walking over to the destroyed creature the oily substance was like paste on her wings...leaving her flightless for the moment. Picking up the chest and head she took it apart carefully until she saw a flicker of light deep in the mechanical skull...pulling the small black box out as wires sparked with what power was left.

"Well now...what say you to heading back to my place and figuring this box out hmmm? Something tells me things just got more interesting..." Wrapping her arm around his neck..feeling his arm around her waist and stuffing the small box in her cleavage. The two took to the skies back to the Norway...claiming a victorious battle with their own rewards.



*Drax and Trixi*



After reading over all the information Darkwalker Maskel brought him over and over until he had it all perfectly memorized, he sent the papers along with a Senior Horror going on his leave back to the Dark Kingdom with explicit instructions to deliver them to his younger brother to store in the family safe.

He set Xerxes in charge after pulling him away from the visiting Darkwalker. With the arrival of one of Trinity's followers he had an idea for this date. Quickly dressing in his armor of office complete with swords and a cloak made of silver silk he quickly polished up his armor and blades before pulling the ornamental pitchfork of his office. He hated all this pomp and ceremony that came with seeing the royals but as Wraith he had to set the example for everyone under his command. Following the Knight of Tragedy he arrived at Trinity's chambers and entered her rooms.
"Greetings Lady Trinity, are you ready?" He asked shouldering the ruby encrusted pitchfork.

Hearing such a formal address towards her the fallen angel turned around having dressed in more formal attire of a full length gown beautifully embroidered in silver. The gown itself, a soft rose color, that complimented her wings. Hair curled and styled some in an elegant up-do yet still showing its alluring length. A silver band around her head etched with intricate designs. "Well Lord Drax...you are a vision of power and honor." Approaching him she bowed before him, I take it this visit has it's own intentions? It's not often you ask me to wait for you so importantly...though I am not complaining either." Her words were spoken softly as she stood up and smiled. A rare sight no one but him had ever seen much of.

Drax bowed back to her nodding.
"Thank you, and you look lovely Lady Trinity and yes, I have been called to the Dragon Triangle to meet with my Queen about recent events. It could take me many days to accomplish what she wants of me if it's the same thing I'm thinking she wants. And I also have a deal with you to go on a date so I figured combine the two. Aside from making all parties happy I'm sure my Queen would like to meet the woman I've spoken of in my reports as a skilled and highly useful ally to my mission here." He produced a small package from under his cloak and handed it to her it was a blank badge only with a deep circle scratched around the rim and in the center was a striking resemblance to Trinty's wings folded around the Stalker seal of red eyes in a purple outlined triangle.
"This will allow you to travel with me to the Triangle and not be ripped apart atom by atom. It was created by the Grayscales on my order from a feather that fell from your wings. This is unique only to you and will only work for you when you're with me." He unwrapped the badge and pinned it to the Angel's shoulder strap of her dress and with a quick spell activated it for her.

"It will only work when you're traveling with me not even another Stalker can activate it. It may seem over the top cautious but Fearstalkers haven't existed for so long by being careless. The only reason Sunfighters can get into our Kingdom is because they share the same dimension as we do." He said this with a slight sneer unconsciously rubbing a long scar along his arm. The badge hummed gently and he nodded offering his arm to the angel.

Understanding such entirely, Trinity patted his chest softly...her way of saying thanks. Before wrapping her arm around his.
"A wonderful item that shall be protected. Now, shall we go to your world? For that is something I've been wanting to see for a while now... I have confidence we will be back before missing too much excitement. A few days together are sure to revitalize us for what's to come."

With that the Fearstalker and fallen angel went through a summoned portal he brought forth into a world even Haakon could never enter.

In a manner of seconds Drax and Trinity arrived in the black dimension that is the Dark Kingdom. The sky is a perpetual swirling mass of gray storm clouds and stark white plain that peeked through the clouds. The ground was a mix of dark green grass and black rich soil despite the lack of any kind of sun vegetation and animal life was numerous and thriving all seemed to be creating their own light from their bodies. Drax took a deep breath of the rich humid air and soon his body too began to glow it was dull red and it seemed to be coming from his badge of office.

"Welcome to the Fearstalker kingdom on the dark side of the Night Sky River." He pointed to the center of the sky it seemed and a glowing dark blue band crossed it as far as the eye could see. "You are the first and probably last being aside from Stalkers and the fucking Sunfighters to ever see this place. If you wish to get out of her alive and not sapped of all your strength and lifeforce you'd do best to stick with me. Do not touch anything, and do not try to use your powers. There are forces present in the realm of the Night Sky River that even we Stalkers can't control. Luckily most of the problems we could have are eliminated when you're with me, come we must travel to the palace before her Majesty worries." Opening another portal they stepped into it and went to the palace.

"Only touch you...and no powers got it...well this should be interesting then." Trinity smiled up to Drax after they went through the summoned portal. Looking around the interior of the palace she had to admire the craftsmanship that went into it. She's seen note worthy architectural feats throughout many eras of human civilization. But this easily surpassed all of them by immense bounds. When they reached the throne chamber Trinity did what she knew and bowed low to the Queen in a respectable manner.

Drax saluted his Queen as Trinity bowed, the Queen smiled at the Angel then tapped her head spikes as a royal sign of greeting. Queen Hestian was small by Stalker standards standing just under 6 foot tall weighing barely over 160 lbs, but it wasn’t her size that made her the most powerful female in the Stalker kingdom and it’s Queen her affinity for magic and psychology knew know equal it was whispered among the commoners she was even more powerful in those fields than the King Terrid though no one was dumb enough to say that out loud even bold children refrained from saying it was joke in the playfields. She was dressed in a dark purple gown with golden hems and belt, like all Stalkers she was barefoot but an onyx anklets dangled daintily from her gently swinging legs. She worse and thing silver tiara with a purple gemstones of exquisite make adorning it. She was without cloak so the pair could see her mating marks peeking out from her under the neck line of her gown she spoke her voice sweet but with a line of authority under it her skin was a dark green not as dark as Drax‘s but dark enough to be called Deep Jade as is her pet name by the King her eyes were small and round but very focused.

“Greetings my Wraith and to you as well Lady Trinity Drax has told me much about you in his reports, it’s not often we come across the Fallen especially one as beautiful and helpful as you.” Drax saluted again then spoke keeping his arm wrapped with Trixi’s.
“Greetings your Majesty, I came as soon as I received Darkwalker Maskal’s word of your wishes, I apologize for my lateness.” The Queen chuckled lightly waving a taloned hand dismissively at his formal demeanor.
“Relax dear brother, I may be your Queen but I’m also your baby sister and I called you hear as a sister asking her brother for help.” Drax nodded and leth is body visibly relax even his tail began twitching idly again.
“Very well Hes, what’s up then?” The Queen smiled and sat forward looking very much like a baby sister impressed by her mighty older brother.
“Well as you two know, Haakon’s attack on China has killed a training facilitate of the Abyss Guard. Normally the Abyss Guard all train within our kingdom but the recent events in the human world have prompted us to train our soldiers within the human world since we have a stake in this war that’s going on give them more hands on training basically.” Drax nodded following his sister’s line of thought.

“And now that the wizard has killed them you want me to pull my men back and remove ourselves from the fight all together?” Hestian shook her head smiling still.
“Kinda Drax, the King and I agree that pulling totally from this war would be unwise both from a strategic stand point and diplomatic one we’ll lose a lot of ground to the other races of the world and they might try attacking our strongholds while we can easily hold them off it’ll be a waste of resources and time to have a war within this war plus much like your friend here we’ll lose allies. No what we propose is doing one of the things we Stalkers do best.” She leaves the statement hanging for him to finish.
“Deception, you want me to deceive the Nobility? How so?” The Queen laughs a little bouncing a little in her throne.
“The whole nine yards to use a human phrase. Undercut plans or sabotage them entirely, gather intel on the Nobility and send all you know to us much like what you have been doing but in more depth if you can. Maybe even help our dear cousins the Dragons in fighting them but covertly if you can.” Drax nodded logging this all away for later.
“No problem there I never really trusted the Nobility aside from Lady Trinity here, the usual plans and countermeasures against detection and capture?” Her Majesty nodded still smiling broadly it seemed much more natural for her then it did for Drax.

“You are the Wraith dear brother, all you need me for is to sign the orders. I’ll get right on that you can take Lady Trinity out into the town and show her around if you want. Bye bye Drax and Trixi.” She says giving him one more smile before changing back into a Queen’s personality bowing to them.
“You are dismissed.” She gets up from her throne and walks into the study to get the paperwork going. Drax nodded after her and turned to Trinity.
“It shouldn’t take her too long to get the ball rolling, I guess we can go on that date now if you want Lady Trinity.”

"Now that sounds like a good idea Lord Drax" she said in a teasing tone having recently finding out about his royal status. "Besides...it seems now we have much to talk about if we are to decieve Haakon enough to make sure those we lead and ourselves survive this..."

[Epostle]

It had been quite a long time since Haakon had revived an undead being that was more than a mindless thrall. The tomb of the so-named Skull King was buried under ice. Haakon had expended many resources in locating the cave that the creature was buried in. The hard part was over and restoring the Skull King to the realm of the living would be easy.

Haakon’s cohorts stood at the entrance to the sarcophagus chamber, guarding the door from any unexpected visitors. “Time to awaken,” Haakon said, raising his arms and letting the necromantic power flow from him and seep into the sarcophagus.

The power leaking into the sarcophagus was enough to restore the Skull King’s spirit and return him to life. “Sometimes a little extra spice is needed,” Haakon murmured to himself as he waited for the Skull King to rise.

As the power seeped into the sarcophagus, the energy of the Skull King began to become restored. "I... shall... serve... again... for Lord Haakon!!!" The sarcophagus lid was pushed to the side slowly, then arose the Skull King himself. Slowly did the Skull King climb out of his resting place, bringing along the sword and shield that had been buried with him. He then knelt to Haakon with the swords tip to the ground and the shield in front of him. "My obedience... is yours Lord Haakon." He said with a deep and raspy voice along with his head tilted down. "What will you have me do for such a one as you?"

“I have recently struck a massive blow against human kind,” Haakon said, bidding the Skull King to raise his head. “I want you to go to the Chinese Territories and begin building an undead host from the recently dead. And any other dead you can call to your will. I feel the first of many true battles with the Mystics looms and I want us to be prepared. One of my minions will guide you to the Chinese Territories if you need.”

Haakon could go and raise the dead himself, but he needed his full attention of a number of matters in quick succession. Having another veteran necromancer on hand would be helpful. Plus, once the Skull King was fully recovered he would be a powerful ally to use against the Mystics and their allies.

The Skull King did indeed raise his head. "Send me this... minion... Let him show me my path. None will stop your will. I'll be your sword, your shield, and your will. I'll show them to fear death... for death itself is coming."

The Skull King then rose up and stood tall with his sword and his shield. He realized with the control of the Chinese territories, they'll have a not a great army, but the most obedient army to ever exist. There is no greater soldier than one who doesn't have to eat, sleep, rest, or disobey certain orders.

Haakon beckoned and one of his witches came forward from the cohorts. She was a tall, slender, and rather attractive woman with metallic arms and legs from her interaction with the Reservoir. “Take the Skull King to the Chinese Territories and assist him however he needs.”

“Of course, my lord,” the woman said with a small bow.

She approached the Skull King without hesitation and placed a hand on his arm. “Try not to move,” she advised him.

In a flash of blue-white light, the pair had moved from the tomb to the ruins of the Chinese Territories. The woman removed her hand from the Skull King’s arm and stepped back from him.

As the witch backed up, the Skull King turned around and looked around the ruins. "It's time to build what we have lost long ago." The Skull King then took his sword and put the tip of it through the ground. The ground then cracked and started releasing energies throughout the ruins they were in. Every undead broke free of their burial ground in the ruin and began to walk towards the Skull King. The Skull King then raised his sword in the air and the dead began to glow and shout our their way-cries.

"And so it begins... they will know great suffering... there will be no escape from me. I will succeed where the others have failed. I will not fail you Haakon." He began to draw power... he felt their presence... the undead wanted to wage war for not only in Haakon's name, but for their own power as well. "Too long have you all been dead... too long have you all been put down for your losses in battle... it's time to show the true meaning of the dead... how powerful we are... how strong we can become... come my warriors of the damned... we have work to be done!!!"

He began to walk throughout the ruin along with the rest of his undead. The age of the dead was soon to arise once more. They will know the power of the dead... for his name is the Skull King!!!

[Froggy]

co-post between myself and our lovely Rising :)


He said nothing as Halley's emotions allowed her to ascend to the Ancient Mystic Level. Maintaining the level of power took concentration, and at the moment, Kurama couldn't really concentrate, thus he had transformed back into his normal form.

"I'm going back for her," he heard Halley say as he looked out in the distance watching the building crumble to the ground.

"No you aren't. You're staying here Halley. I'm not going to let you throw yourself into danger again, and I'm pretty sure Scarlett and Maria are long gone by now. Don't worry if she takes in what we said, we will see her soon eough," Kurama stated as he grabbed Halley's arm and pulled her close to him.

Halley looked to Kurama as he spoke, suddenly feeling weak and spent. "They're going to punish her Kurama," Halley whispered, allowing Kurama to pull her close to him. She leaned her head against his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist. Her concentration was fading, and she returned to her human form. Despite her worry for Maria, she couldn't help but think how nice it was to see him again. How good it felt to be in his arms, to be close to him. She looked up at him and smiled gently, knowing that it was up to Maria to listen to them and that the decision was hers, and hers alone.

"It's good to see you again," Halley said, her smile growing as she looked at him. She wanted to know what he'd been doing, where he'd been, and more importantly what he planned on doing. She figured she would save those questions for later, assuming he didn't have any plans to rush off now that the danger was gone. "I've missed you," she said, burrying her face in his shoulder. Oh spirits, she knew she sounded desperate but it was true- she had missed him, he'd plagued her thoughts constantly since they'd seen each other last.

Kurama held Halley tightly. He had missed her so much, her touch, her skin, her smell, all of it he had missed and at that moment, as he held her, he knew he wouldn't want to be anywhere else. Sighing, he listened to Halley speak with concern about Maria.

"Maria will be fine Halley, we have to have faith that there is still some good in her that will surpass the darkness that shrouds her from the truth."

He felt her breath against his shoulder and he kissed her softly on the forehead as she began to inform him of how much she missed him. It had occurred to him that he had not informed her as to why he hadn't seen.

"Halley, I want you to know that whatever happens, promise you'll keep yourself safe. I've been doing a lot of research on things and I've been training like crazy to reach levels beyond Ancient. Let's get out of here so that we can talk more privately," He said softly, "there is something about Naja that I just don't trust, but like I said let's find a more secluded spot to speak."

Halley nodded when he said that Maria would be fine. Hopefully their words had gotten to her, hopefully she would be able to see the truth about the Nobility and rejoin them.

Halley's smile widened as he kissed her softly on the forehead, and she nuzzled her nose into his neck. It was good to be with him again, it made her the happiest she'd been since they'd separated. She listened to Kurama as he spoke of training to reach levels beyond Ancient, of doubting Naja. Halley looked at him curiously for a moment, trying to understand what he was talking about. "I promise to keep safe....so long as you keep safe as well," Halley said, taking a step back and looking at him sternly. She was giving him one of those 'or else' looks to let him know she was being serious.

She was trying to think of a place they could go for more privacy, and she knew it wasn't her home. Her parents didn't even know about Kurama, not after the stalking story she'd given them to cover up her absence. Halley bit her lip, there was one place she knew of that nobody would be there this time of day...but she was a little nervous to show him about her history. "I know a place we could go," Halley said, looking away from him and to the back of the alley. She sighed and grabbed his hand gently. "C'mon," Halley said, using an incantation to teleport them to downtown Buffalo.

They were on a small stage, with tables that had chairs on the top and a bar in the back. The room was empty, it was the combination of an acting studio, a dance studio (for later in the night), and a bar. This was where she had spent so many years as an actress, and it honestly gave her the creeps being back here. "Let's get this over with. We have a few hours before anybody stumbles in that door," Halley said quietly, choosing a corner in the back of the stage to sit at.

As he looked around the studio, he smirked and walked over to the entrance. He waved his hand over the door and produced a seed that he held in between his pointer finger and thumb. He placed the seed on the ground in front of the door and watched as it sprouted and dug it's roots through the floor of the bar and into the earth beneath. The seed bloomed into vines and wrapped around the door to keep anyone from entering. When that was done, Kurama followed Halley to a secluded corner and sat down.

"Halley, have you ever wondered if Naja was keeping secrets from us? Everytime I ask him if he knows who my father is he shies away from the question. I wonder what he's hiding," Kurama began as he took her hand into his own.

Halley watched as Kurama sealed the door, a little curious as to what he thought now that he knew about the place. She smiled softly when he followed her to the corner and held her hand softly. She squeezed it and leaned against his shoulder, tilting her head to look at him as he spoke. She contemplated his words and thought of Naja. "Maybe...he's trying to protect you," Halley spoke softly. There were endless possibilities to who his father could be.

"I mean...everyone has secrets, and I'm certain that Naja has his own fair share of them. He's lived longer than all of us have existed," Halley looked at Kurama with worry. He'd said before that he'd been training to reach levels beyond ancient, and that he didn't trust Naja. Was he planning on going against Naja? "Kurama...you're not planning on going against Naja are you?" Halley asked, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder.

Kurama sighed heavily and simply looked down at Halley's hand. He wasn't sure about much, but he really wanted to find out who his father was. He just hoped his search wouldn't put Halley in danger.

"Well you asked what I had been doing and trying to find my birth father was one of the things along with training. I figure if I trained myself above the Ancient level, then maybe I could gain more knowledge of my past memories or something that would hint as to who he is. I wish my mother was alive, she would tell me," Kurama said softly as he rubbed Halley's hand, "I wonder how good of a father I'd be."

He smiled at the thought and simply looked at Halley.

"No I don't plan on going against Naja, if it weren't for him I'd not be in the place I am now, but I just feel something off about him. I don't know, maybe I'm being a little too irrational about things lately."

Halley frowned as she listened to Kurama, and it made her think as to how lucky she was to have both of her parents with her. "I'll help you find your father," Halley said, looking up at him as he rubbed her hand, enjoying his gentle carress. She smiled softly when he wondered how good of a father he would be. "Please, you have the perfect tools to discipline any child. If they don't behave you can just wrap them up in time out," Halley joked, nodding towards the vines on the door and smirking. She smiled wider, butterflies filling her stomach. "I think you would be a great father," Halley said, blushing a little. Did she really just say that?

She sighed in relief when he said he didn't plan on going against Naja, that had worried her. "I'm certain Naja has reasons for his secrets, though I don't doubt that he's on our side. He is the one who woke us after all," Halley said, leaning against Kurama and resting her head on his shoulder. She was so comfortable on the stage with him, being in his arms and relaxing at his touch. The thought made her blush even more and she allowed her hair to cover her face, hiding the blush.

"Sometimes I wish this war wasn't going on ya know? So that we could have more moments like these. Sometimes I wish I could start my own family and be the father my dad didn't want to be" Kurama stated as he smiled softly and allowed his head to rest atop of Halley's.

He could spend eternity with her, she was his soul mate and the thought of losing her is one thought he hated the most. This war put her in constant danger, and sometimes he wish he could just take on all of her battles for her so that she would be safe. Sighing, he lifted his head and looked around. This moment was perfect.

"Halley, we've been together for over five months and I don't want to spend my life with anyone else. Would you......" He paused catching his breath as he pulled out a beautiful ring (http://fauxfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/pruleafring.jpg) and got down on one knee in front of Halley, "Would you do me the honor of being Mrs. Fox?"

Halley snuggled up close as Kurama rested his head atop of hers. She was so comfortable with him, wishing the same things he was wishing. Wishing that the war was over, so that they could truly be together. So that they could spend every day together, be with each other without worry.

She tilted her head when he sighed and lifted his head up, wondering what was going on. She listened to him and her heart began racing, and her face flushed as he pulled out the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. Was he...really? Halley's face lit up in shock when he got down on one knee and asked her to be Mrs. Fox. Halley was shocked, and that much showed on her face. She squealed and threw her arms around him, tackling him to the ground and embraced him. "Yes!" Halley said enthusiastically, holding him in a tight embrace. "Yes, yes, yes," Halley said over and over, still holding him in an embrace. She kissed his lips and blushed when she finally noticed that she'd tackled them over, having forgotten that part in her moment of shock. "Oops?" she said, blushing and smiling widely at him.

Kurama laughed after being tackled, though he held onto the ring and held Halley's waste. She had fallen on top of him as she kissed him and embraced him tightly. When she realized what she had done, Kurama simply shook his head and smiled, happy that she had said yes. He took her ring hand and placed the ring on her engagement finger. He lifted her up, and stood to his feet as he placed a loving kiss on her lips. At that moment, the door that he had "locked" shook as if someone was trying to get in. Kurama grinned and looked at Halley.

"Let's get out of here," He said as he waved his hand and removed the plant that held the door. It returned to its seed form and shot back into Kurama's grasp. He and Halley stepped behind a curtain so as not to be seen and he looked at her whispering, "where to?"

Halley smiled widely as Kurama held onto her waste and placed the ring on her finger, it made more butterflies swarm in her stomach. Her heart began to race as he kissed her lips, and she made to return the kiss but the door began to shake. Halley rolled her eyes at this, though grinned when Kurama took the seed off the door and they hid behind a curtain. Halley thought briefly when he asked where they could go. Halley sighed, knowing that she should introduce him to her parents. It was only right that they met him, she just wondered how they would react. Naja would not be pleased, but her heart couldn't take lying to her parents anymore- not after having been gone for so long, not after she had become engaged. Not when she was in so much danger on a daily, nightly, basis and knowing that at any moment her parents could cease to have a daughter.

"You should meet my parents," Halley said, looking at him seriously. She was deep in thought...what would Naja do if he found out she'd told her parents about her, about the Mystics? They were her parents, the ones who loved her and raised her from birth. They had a right to know, and she was tired of keeping secrets from them. "Come on," Halley whispered when she heard footsteps. Halley held Kurama's hand and whispered the incantation that would lead them to her bedroom in the three bedroom penthouse they stayed in.

Her room was gray with bursts of orange and teal and yellow throughout the accessories- the lamps, the sheets, the comfortor- even the rugs had bursts of color to contrast the gray walls. She smiled at him, glad that she could share this part of her life with him.

Kurama looked around the room and smirked.

"You naughty dog, you bring me to meet your parents in your bedroom? Uh huh," Kurama teased as he walked around the room taking in his surroundings.

He smiled as he looked over to her every so often before jumping onto her bed. It was soft and comforting. He looked up at her and winked before standing back onto his feet.

"I can feel your parent's presence, and I can smell them," he said softly as he waited for Halley to take him to her parents.

Halley raised an eyebrow as he smirked, unaware as to where his thoughts had led him. She blushed when he teased her and started walking around, not having expected that. She smirked and crossed her arms, looking at him pointedly. "How dare you call a foxy lady such as myself a naughty dog," Halley grinned at this. "I'm just engaged to one-" at this Halley stuck out her tongue playfully. "Besides, I can't very well just randomly appear in the living room," she said, shrugging as she watched him jump on her bed.

Halley sighed when he said that he could feel her parents presence, and that he could smell them. She held his hands in hers and kissed his lips softly. "I'm going to tell them everything," she warned him, taking in a deep breath. She was scared. Not of her parents, more of Naja. If....when...he found out, she didn't know what the consequences would be. "Wait here..." Halley told him softly, placing a hand on his shoulder before leaving the room.

Her parents looked confused when they saw her, as they hadn't seen her come in. "Mom, dad....I have something to tell you," Halley said, looking at her parents. Her father looked skeptical and crossed his arms. "You're not pregnant are you?" he asked, and her mother gasped. Halley blushed and backed up. "Hell no! Why do I have to be pregnant if I have to tell you something?" Halley asked, still blushing as she thought of Kurama, feet away in her room...listening. "I have someone...for you to meet," Halley said, smiling widely. "And I'm going to tell you the real reason why I was gone for so many months," Halley said, opening her door and allowing Kurama to come out. Her father tensed and her mother backed away. This was promising to be a very, very long day. "Mom...dad...this is Kurama. He's asked for my hand in marraige, and I've accepted," Halley said, walking over and holding his hand gently. She smiled at him, trying her best not to look completely terrified of her parents' reactions.

Kurama nodded to Halley after she informed him to stay in her room. He waited for a while, listening to her parents talk and simply shaking his head. He wondered how they would feel if Halley was actually pregnant. Smirking, he listened to the door open and walked out.

As he was introduced to Halley's parents, he stood confident and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. and Mrs. Mclaine, it's nice to finally meet you both," Kurama said with confidence in his voice as he reached out and gave Mrs. Mclaine a hug and shook Mr. Mclaine's hand before backing up next to Halley, "I love your daughter and it would mean the world to me if you'd approve of this union."

Kurama leaned down and whispered into Halley's ear.

"Whatever you want to tell them I am here for you Halley. Doesn't matter, I will protect you."

Halley's father eyed Kurama skeptically. "Perhaps we should go to the family room?" Halley asked, and her mother, Elizabeth, tugged on her father's arm. Halley pulled Kurama through the hall- the walls were lined with photographs of their family, including pictures of her infant and toddler days. The floor was a prestine, off-white carpet that was fuzzy and comfortable, and always clean. The paint was a neutral shade of beige, and the railings on the staircase was a dark mohagony. All of this to upkeep their home, to give off a perfect image. Her mother worked so hard on this, having ladies from the church over for Sunday lunches and volunteering within the Community. Her father, Alexander, was a lawyer in a high-class law firm. Ironically enough, considering Halley's past.

Kurama was led to the living room, which was a grand room with the same, off-white carpet and a light, gray-blue paint on the wall that matched perfectly with the cool, teal-blue accessories and the black furniture. There was a large TV off to the corner, on top of a massive entertainment system. The open concept kitchen stared the group down, and her mother smiled- she spent almost every minute of every day within the kitchen, utilizing the dark wood cabinetry and the granite countertops to their fullest potential. The floors were a dark wood, similar to the shade of the cabinetry. She could tell her mother was just itching to go in the kitchen, and she shook her head when she mentioned something about drinks. "Would you like a drink Kurama?" Elizabeth asked, making a sophisticated dash towards the refridgerator. In no time at all she had the glasses down and was rummaging through the fridge, naming off sodas and teas and even coffee at this hour as she inquired as to what he wanted.

When she finally settled down and brought the drinks back, her father was resting comfortably on a large, leather chair in front of the TV. Halley had led Kurama to the black sofa opposite of the TV, and Halley's mother had taken a spot on the cushiony loveseat in between. "So, do you mind telling your parents what you've really been doing these past....six months?" he asked, crossing his arms and giving her a cool look.

Halley sighed and leaned against Kurama's arm, squeezing his hand gently for comfort. She thus began telling her parents of the psychotic Vampire named Evangeline, how she had been attacked the day she had disappeared. How an amazingly gifted and wonderful Valkrye by the name of Fria` had rescued her, and healed her at a base located in the Amazon forest. She told her parents of Naja, the Ancient Mystic whom had awakened them and had been responsible for their training. She told them of the five months they had spent training to face the battles to come, and eventually of the war to come with the leader Haakon. She explained everything, never taking her eyes off of her parents. Her father sat there, absorbing it all. He looked as though he were torn between truth and reality, and considering taking his daughter to a mental health facility. But Kurama was proof, for she told them of the time she had spent with Kurama, of how the trials at the Mage Gate had allowed them both to save each other.

She showed them the scars on her back, and her mother embraced her deeply and began sobbing. Halley returned the hug and smiled lightly, joking even. "Don't worry mom, I'm not a Vampire, nor is he a Werewolf," Halley spoke, chuckling a little at Kurama and smiling. It had taken quiet some time to explain all of this to them, and by the time she finished, it was dark outside. Halley sighed and looked at Kurama, knowing she would have to make a choice soon- whether to go back out and protect the innocent against the creatures of the night, or whether she would stay and be with her fiancee` and her family. It was a difficult choice that even thinking about it made her tired.

"I'm sorry I lied to you when I came back. Master Naja has forbidden any of us to divuldge who we truly are, and I was afraid of the consequences...for both myself and you," Halley said softly, holding her arm around Kurama's waste and yawning. "What exactly are the consequences?" Halley's father asked, looking concerned for his daughter. "I'm...not sure," Halley said, looking to Kurama. "Whatever they are, I know I can count on Kurama to be there for me. For us, as a family," Halley said, smiling at Kurama and hugging him gently.

Halley's father smiled at Kurama, the first time he'd smiled all night. "Consider yourself lucky son, I have never seen my daughter so happy before," Alexander said, standing up and walking over to Kurama. "For that, you have my blessing," Alexander said, shaking Kurama's hand and hugging his daughter. "Congratulations Halley," Alexander spoke, looking over to his wife. Elizabeth stood, tears of joy streaming down her face. "I can't believe my daughter is getting married!" Elizabeth hugged Kurama tightly, crying on his shoulder. She pulled Halley into a tight hug, and Halley was squirming to get a breath. "Ow. Mom. Can't. Breathe-" Halley said between gasps, looking shocked at her mother's strength. Her mother grinned and hugged her father, sobbing into his arms. "I'm so happy!" she said, and Alexander winked at Kurama and Halley. "So what are your plans for tonight?" Alexander asked Halley, knowing that she was out fighting the creatures of the night. He was hoping she might take a night off to be with her family, so that they could spend time with her and Kurama.

Halley simply looked to Kurama and held his hand. "I suppose that's up to you," Halley said. She was tired of thinking and wanted to leave the choice up to him. She rubbed her forehead gently with her fingers, a slight headache forming from having explained the past six months in full to her parents. She simply grinned and continued holding his hand, leaning against his shoulder happily.

Kurama allowed himself to be led by Halley and as she divulged all the information of the past months, Kurama sat still and quiet. This was bad, but he was happy she felt safe enough with him to be able to tell her parents. After she finished and after the hugs and the blessings were given, they were asked what they'd be doing tonight. Kurama sighed, knowing that Halley wanted to stay the night with her family.

"Alright, we'll stay in tonight Halley," Kurama replied with a smile, "but first, your parents should know what I am. Mr. and Mrs. Mclaine, I want to make sure you all know what I am. I'm not human, I'm a fox demon infused into the essence of a human, so it is possible that if you have any grandchildren, they may pick up on my genetics, and I hope that's okay."

After he spoke, Kurama transformed into his mystic form and smirked as he pulled out twelve seeds and placed them on the floor. He muttered some indistinguishable words and watched as the twelve seeds transformed into a dozen wooden poisonous spider creatures, the size of small dogs. They turned to face Kurama and he spoke to them in their language, ordering them to protect New York. With a screech from each of them, the spider creatures fled out the nearby window and descended into the shadows of New York.

"They'll protect New York while we rest here," Kurama stated as he transformed back into his normal human form and sighed as he looked from Halley to her parents. He was pretty sure they were both shocked and amazed at what just happened before their very eyes. This would seal in the fact that Halley was telling the truth about everything.

Halley smiled softly when Kurama said they would stay there. She was glad that he had made the decision, though was surprised when he decided to show her parents what he truly was. "I don't think our children stand a chance at being fully human, with you being a fox demon and my being part faerie," Halley said, glancing at her parents before looking back at Kurama. She watched as he produced spider-like creatures and as they dashed out of the windows. "Thank you for that," Halley said, wrapping her arms around him and sighing comfortably.

"So....you two are....not human?" Halley's father looked confused by the display, and by Halley's statement that she was part Faerie. It was clear he was still having difficulty deciding if this was real, or if he was hallucinating. "We're only part human, and part Mystic. Our Mystic forms take shape of something entirely different, and as such when we have children, they too will probably share the characteristics..." Halley said, mumbling an incantation and concentrating. She turned into a pint-sized faerie and flew over to her mother, circling her head before landing on her shoulder. She gasped in shock, and Halley giggled a little. Then she transformed into her Ancient Mystic form, standing tall and holding her staff. This level took much concentration, and at the moment she was finding that difficult.

"We were born to protect the innocent, and as such at any moment either of us could cease to exist. Hopefully that won't happen, but there is always that risk," Halley told her parents, her Ancient voice filling the room. She transformed back into her human state, looking rather spent as she walked back to Kurama, holding him tightly. "You know I'm paying you back later, right?" she whispered in his ear, smirking mischivously at him. "For calling me a dog," Halley whispered, shaking her head and pinching the back of his neck. She smirked at him, looking rather smug as she leaned against his side.

Kurama looked at Halley's father and listened as she explained everything to him. He watched her transform into a tiny little creature and fly over to her mother, holding his laughter upon her mother's shriek and watching her transform into her Ancient form and back into her normal human form. When she whispered into his ear, he smiled, and when she pinched his neck he laughed softly before grabbing her and tickling her.

"Say you're sorry," he teased as he tickled and laughed along with her. Then he realized how awkward it must've been for her parents and he stopped and released Halley from his tickling hold.

"Sorry about that," he said, "but I am open for any questions you have for me."

Halley squealed in shock when he grabbed her and started tickling her, she hadn't expected that. "For. What?" Halley teased in between gasping for air. She couldn't stop laughing, because she knew full well what he was referring to, and the thought made her smirk mischivously at him again. She was still chuckling when he released her from his hold and stopped tickling her, apologizing to her parents. She gave them a sheepish grin and kissed Kurama on his cheek as he opened himself up for questions.

Alexander watched the two, glad that his daughter had found someone she could love and trust. "I trust you to look after my daughter Kurama, to take care of her. Treat her well and keep her safe," he said, placing a hand on Kurama's shoulder and looking at him in the eyes. Alexander raised an eyebrow, giving him one of those 'if you so much as let her down your life is mine' looks, before returning to his own wife and wrapping his arms around her. "Perhaps it's time for bed dear?-" he looked pointedly at Kurama next- "You're welcome to take the guest bedroom tonight," Alexander said, giving a stern look to his daughter before walking his wife up the stairs. Halley smirked and poked Kurama in the stomach the second the coast was clear. "Ha!" she whispered, taking off running up the stairs to avoid any payback in the form of tickling.

Nodding at Alexander's words, he listened and knew the man meant every word he spoke. As Halley's parents retired to their room, he couldn't help but wonder exactly where the guest room was. He would've much rather spent the night with Halley in his arms, but he respected her parents and knew that it was only for the night. When the coast was clear, he was about to tickle Halley some more, but she poked him and ran up the stairs. Glaring, he vanished and appeared directly in front of her, grabbing her and tickling her.

"Come on baby, say you're sorry and I'll stop," he said laughing softly so as not to disturb her parents. When he finished tickling her, he smiled and kissed her softly on the lips, "I love you Halley Mclaine, but I have no clue where the guest room is."

Halley let out a yelp of surprise as she reached her room and Kurama appeared directly in front of her. She started laughing as he grabbed her and tickled her, giggling too much to say anything. "Sorry!" she finally breathed, looking red in the face from laughter. She leaned into his soft kiss, enjoying the closeness. Halley looked to the door, not really wanting Kurama to have to sleep in the guest room. "Think we can wake up before they do?" Halley asked, smirking a little at him. So long as they woke up before her parents did, he should be safe to stay the night in her room. She held him tightly and gave him a loving kiss on his lips, looking at him with one of those love-drunk expressions on her face and grinning.

"Hold on," he said as he produced another seed. It bloomed into a beautiful flower than began to move on its own, using its roots as feet. It scurried down the hall and slipped into Halley's parent's room, taking a perch in a hidden place. It was a small flower, but it wasn't visible to humans.

"It will alert me when your parents wake up and give me chance to teleport into the guest room," Kurama said as he sighed and realized he was still in his heavy clothing. Layer upon layer came off until he was in a tank and his pants. He had even taken off his shoes.

"I'll be right back," He said scurrying off to find the guest room. When he did he dropped off his excess clothing in the room and proceeded back to Halley's room. When he entered her room he closed the door softly and smirked.

"It's been a long day," he said crawling into her bed.

Halley grinned as he produced a seed that turned into a flower and scurried into the hall. "I love you," Halley said, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his lips. She smiled and leaned against him, one hand still wrapped around his waste. Halley smirked when he started taking layer after layer off, leaving nothing but his tank and pants. She watched him disappear to find the guest bedroom, and while he was gone she had changed into a white nightgown (https://encrypted-tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSKWBCCIPjds41lNgZDGMsb-ai6_aj-VoK3QEaIXanXWZdDEUVM) with lace at the top. She crawled into bed and grabbed the fuzziest pillow before Kurama could come in and take it.

Halley smiled when he came back into the room and crawled into bed, and she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled up close. "It has. But it was a good day," Halley said, kissing his lips lovingly. Despite the hurt and anger that had happened today, Kurama had asked for her hand in marraige and she had accepted. She couldn't wait to tell Fria`, she knew the Valkrye would support them and be happy for them. Halley smirked as an idea came to mind, and a playful glint flashed across her eyes for a brief moment. "You still owe me an apology for calling me a dog," Halley said, chuckling as she kissed him again and bit his lip, hard. She looked at him smugly as though challenging him to question her. All she knew was that she didn't plan on letting go until he apologized, and the thought made her smirk a little at him.

Kurama let out a groan as his lip was trapped in between Halley's teeth. He looked at her pleadingly and simply nodded.

"Okay, I'm sorry," he tried to say but because his lip was being help captive, it sounded muffled and contorted. Still, she had let go and that was the best thing as he grabbed her and held her close, taking in her scent and feeling her heartbeat.

He sighed heavily, a million things on his mind, but he would be able to handle it. He would start searching for his father soon, he just hoped he could find out before it was too late.

Halley released his lips as he looked at her pleadingly and nodded, grinning as he apologized. "I love you. So, so much," Halley said, snuggling up to his chest as he grabbed her and held her close. Her breaths were coming out short and soft, a clear sign that she was drifting off to sleep. Her heartbeat was beginning to slow as she relaxed into his arms, and she heard him sigh. "Good night Kurama," Halley mumbled, tilting her head to give him one last kiss before she snuggled back up to his chest and drifted off into a deep, peaceful sleep.

[Echo]

"Tch."

Scarlett grabbed onto Maria's arm and flew up into the sky, watching the building crumble into ruins. She swiftly landed on an adjacent building as the Mystics escaped. By that time, the infrastructure had broken into pieces, onto the roads below. Scarlett laughed when the damage done by the goody-two-shoes mystics caused accidents on the road.

"And they say we're the only bad ones. Destroyed building, possible deaths due to parts of a building falling onto the streets..." The demoness turned to send a hateful glare in Maria's direction. "And you. What will I do with you?" Scarlett was pretty pissed off. Well, it's only natural that she would be; any other members of the nobility would be angry too. Scarlett had discovered a little traitor.

"Maybe watching your mother's death in front of you, replaying a hundred times, will be torture enough, seeing that you love her so much," Scarlett said with certainty, implying that she might actually do that. But her words were smooth, showing no proof of actual anger. "I wasn't lying when I said that I could bring your mother back." Scarlett's back was now facing Maria. She was examining her last spell she used on the mystics as she spoke. "And I still can. But-" Scarlett's sword disappeared, and she turned her eyes back on shadow mystic. "-because of your actions, I will simply bring her back from the dead to use as a soldier, a toy." A menacing, Cheshire-like grin from ear to ear laid on the demon's face.

Maria stood up defiantly and said with her nostril flared in defiance " You may bring back my mother back to use as your toy, but you will never hold leverage over me demon. I trusted the nobility, and they let my mother die, they did nothing to stop the vampires from killing my mother. And for that i will never forgive any of you." She had tears of anger and hate falling from her eyes, but they were tinted with an eerie blue color. Shadow began to surround her and thicken into a thick shield and within that shield a single blue ray could be seen expanding right in front of the demons eyes.

The blue light intensified and shone with the power of the sun, and once it faded in Maria's place stood a woman crowned with blue stars seeming to float abover her head. Her eyes a brilliant white color with blue specs, and a long blue flowing gown. She was hovering above the building where Scarlett had taken her. She turned her eyes on the demoness and spoke in what seemed like a thousand voices at one time " You foolish demoness, you may have taken my mothers soul, but when the time comes i will fight you, and if the need shall arise, I will destroy you." She began floating higher into the air and was speaking in the language of the shadows. Soon after she finished speaking she was gone from Scarlett's view.

Maria in her ancient mystic form traveled through the abysmal darkness and emerged outside of a grand palace like structure. She didn't know who owned this palace, but she felt a pull to come here, she followed her instincts and this is where it had taken her. She pushed her thoughts out calling for help from the master of the house, she had a feeling that this would be the home of a man named Naja. She called out with her mind Naja, I am Maria mystic of Shadow/Darkness. I request an audience with you immediately. Please Her plea sounded genuine as she could make it, so Naja would know that she meant know harm.

Naja, having just finished his bout with Renshi and Dorián, stood in his office reading through ancient tomes and scripts and reading the spells and incantations. He was deep in his study when he heard a voice call out to him. Naja walked out onto the terrace and looked down upon the shadow mystic. It was interesting to see one who had fought for the Nobility at his door step. He jumped down and landed softly in front of her.

"What is it you need my child?" He asked as he motions for her to stand to her feet, "this base is for all mystics, and all is forgiven child."
Once again, Naja had put on a false persona to appease the young mystics and keep his true intentions safe until the time was right. He would have to send one of his henchmen to get rid of Renshi and bring Dorián back to him, but in due time. At the moment he had to deal with the new arriving of the shadow mystic. He looked at her and smiled.

Maria stood and faced Naja a look of sadness evident on her face. "Lord, I have chosen the wrong side in the past, and now I wish to rectify that choice. I wish to join with you and fight alonside the other mystics. The Nobility have betrayed me and have turned out to be something that i hadnt expected." She reached out and rested her hand on his arm and instantly her mind wandered into his very soul.

She jerked her hand back quickly and looked at Naja with an emotionless look in her face. "Forgive me lord, i hadn't meant to touch you." In her subconcious her mind was racing He is tainted thickly with a darkness that he hides very well. It is deeply concealed, but me being from the nobility, no one would likely believe me... I will keep it a secret... For now

Naja glared at Maria when she touched him, but he kept up his persona and smiled."Not to worry my child, go and help the others, I fear Haakon is preparing something that will shake the very foundation of this world. We will need all the help we can get."

He looked at Maria and continued to smile before motioning for her to enter into the base.
"We have everything one could need here, but I trust you have your own home and things to tend to. At the moment all I can ask you to do is train and train hard for what is coming will push you to the very limit. Do not let Haakon win my dear, at all costs must you remove him from power, or more will die. You may rest and restore yourself here, but remember protect and serve Maria, protect and serve."

By now they had reached the inner parts of the base and Naja had shown her every room except his own and his office, those were off limits. He turned to her after the tour and sighed.By now they had reached the inner parts of the base and Naja had shown her every room except his own and his office, those were off limits. He turned to her after the tour and sighed. "Alas, keep an eye out for one named Renshi. He has been blinded by Haakon and has been brainwashed. He has come and attacked me and I fear he will attack the others. He also captured my son and I fear he isn't safe. Do not worry, I will find them."

Maria nodded and followed Naja easily keeping up with him, but also keeping her distance. She did not trust this man fully , but she hid it very well from unwanted eyes. She smiled at him gratefully and said " No, i have no home to return to, it was destroyed when Kurama, Halley, Myself, and Scarlett battled on the rooftop." She said scarletts name with an untamed fury, but she was already back in her angelic form. She bowed slightly to Naja, and set off exploring the Mansion like place and looking for Halley and Kurama.. The only two who would seem to be her friends most likely.

She turned away from Naja and wondered down the hall, she trusted the shadows to warn her should Naja attempt an attack behind her back, which she doubted he would do. He just didnt seem that type of person. She hummed whilst gracefully walking down the halls, feeling as if she had finally found a home to call her own.


~~~

Scarlett was pretty pissed. Well, it certainly wasn't uncommon for her to be mad at a mystic. Whether they switched sides or not, they're still part weak. Maria for example, can't even put up with a single human death out of six billion others. It was sincerely an accident too, but it's not like she cares what the nobility says anymore.

Once Maria left, probably to consult Naja, Scarlett sneered in disgust. "Wait until the final battle Maria. You won't like what you see." The greatest weakness of basically all the mystics - family. Unfortunately, they could be their greatest strengths too, but not unless they're captured as hostages, or put into some bad situation. In Maria's case, her parents were already dead, so it's easier. Put them back in a rotting body, or some other object, and toy with them.

Well damn, Haakon's not going to like this, Scarlett though as she entered the lich's estate. As usual, he was nowhere to be seen - not that Scarlett bothered to look, but chances were that he was holed up in a laboratory conducting experiments. So instead, Scarlett sent a mental message to him about the events from earlier.

Hey, Haakon, just to let you know, the useless shadow mystic got mad at Evangeline's vampires for killing her mother in New York, so she switched sides. We also bumped into some Mystics, who were probably a contributing factor to her switch. I assume she's with Naja right now. The demoness sent a small report, one that would give her least blame. In Scarlett's perspective, it wasn't her that started Maria's childish rage, but she did admit to angering her a bit. Of course, she didn't tell Haakon that, details should be kept to a minimum to prevent an angry lich.

[Froggy]

Evangeline roamed the streets of New Orleans, enjoying the nightlife. For the most part she was able to blend in with the human population, if it hadn't been for her red eyes. At first glance, she appeared to be just like everyone else- a young woman, dressed to impress, who was looking for some fun. In reality, she was looking for a meal. She stood atop a roof and scanned the streets below, looking for any sign of movement. She saw a party and smirked, looking back to her other Vampires. "Wait until they turn off the main street," Evangeline growled, hunching up like a cat as she prepared to strike the unsuspecting humans.

Her group for the evening consisted of a woman she had changed in New York so many months ago, whom had proven to have potential when she had survived one of her poison arrows, a man she had changed in Chicago, and twins she had gotten in Los Vegas. They were all still pretty pissed about being changed, but she knew the one thing to keep them by her side- blood. So long as she taught them the most efficient way to hunt, and allow them to continue hunting, they would be by her side. However...if one so much as disobeyed her smallest order, they would be used as an example to the others.

Evangeline smirked and twitched in her position as the group of partiers turned a corner. "Now-" she growled, flinging herself from the building and to the crowd in a matter of seconds. Upon her immediate arrival, she had grabbed one of the women and had taken her into the shadows. A few of the others started looking confused, wondering where she had gone. Then all chaos broke loose as the others followed, grabbing one human after another. Evangeline was already feasting on the woman she had grabbed, her eyes glowing a bright shade of maroon. She smirked, blood dripping from her fangs after having consumed the last drop of blood in her victim. "Take them into the alley and burn the bodies," Evangeline said, tossing her victim into the back of the alley where she began to dispose of the others. "This way they can't come back. We don't need uncontrolled Vampires running the street, Lord Haakon would be most displeased with us..." Evangeline said, glancing back at the others. They were standing at attention, and Evangeline saluted. "That's enough for tonight. I'm going to Haakon's estate before morning hits. You return to my Estate," Evangeline hissed at them. They all took off in the same direction and Evangeline smirked.

She turned towards the direction of Haakon's estate and teleported into a hall. She looked around and noticed the demonness, Scarlett feet away from her. "Scarlett," Evangeline said, nodding her head in respect. Evangeline was unawares as to the event earlier, as she had been too busy hunting new recruits and training them. "Long time no see. What have you been doing?" Evangeline asked, leaning against the wall and smirking a little. She wondered what the demonness had been up too, as it had been a while since they'd seen each other.

[RisingPhoenix]

Hey, you there, yes you, listen. So much had happened since we last visited the Mystics and the Nobility. A month had passed and as you may very well know, the truth about Naja had been discovered by one of the mystics fighting for him. Renshi, mystic of fire, had a gut wrenching feeling that Naja wasn’t all he claimed to be. When he confronted Naja, he nearly met his end, but he escaped enlightened with the help of Dorián, a fellow mystic who considers Naja his father. The poor man is torn between what is right and the person he considers family. Renshi, immediately went back into his training, wanting to access levels beyond that of Ancient and surpass Naja, while Dorián, not wanting to be left behind, did the same. Sometimes the two sparred, but most of the time the two separately trained, not speaking much to each other. If that weren’t enough to tear apart any team, Dorián is falling back in love with Nemine who is, as we last saw, a member of the Nobility. Does she have plans of leaving? Well after attacking Caine, thus saving Dorián, one might think so. One of the mystics of the Nobility already made that choice. Maria, mystic of darkness and shadows, made her choice and decided after a heated battle atop a tall skyscraper in New York, that her place was with Naja and the good mystics. If only she knew the truth about Naja, but a slight touch revealed a little of what Renshi already experienced. Silent and ever watchful, Maria decides to stay in the base until she can finally leave and find a place to stay.

What of Naja? He has been concocting evil within the base, though hidden from Maria and the others. He has been silent the entire time. Week after week he hasn’t been seen. After his fight with Renshi and upon their escape, he had made plans for a creature known as Arai to find Renshi and bring Dorián back to him. Upon summoning the creature, Naja trained the beast to kill Renshi. All of Renshi’s weaknesses were divulged to the creature and this made it more lethal. Finally the time had come for the creature to assassinate Renshi and bring Dorián back, but what the creature did not expect was for Dorián to attack it and step in the way. After a heated battle, Renshi barely escaped with his life, and with the aid of Dorián was able to defeat the summoned creature. Renshi, heavily bruised, bloodied, and wounded attempted to leave Dorián, wanting to continue with his “lone wolf” brigade, but Dorián, fed up with Renshi’s attitude, gave him an alternate. Either he let him help, or he’d kill him himself. Well of course Renshi thought this was a joke until Dorián summoned his bow and shot an arrow into Renshi’s arm. After such a threatening display, Renshi gave in and allowed Dorián to help him.

The two went into hiding, the only two mystics who knew the true Naja, but neither willing to say what they knew. Naja, having found out that his creature was destroyed, sought a new plan, but first he needed to confront Haakon. More on that later, but now let us seek out the other mystics to see what they were up to. Kana, mystic of the earth, had been defending Scotland and the rest of the UK with the best of her abilities. She has become a force to be reckoned with. She had not seen, nor had heard from any of the other mystics. It is as if she took on a similar role to good ol’ Renshi, but she means well. Scotland was under constant attack by what seemed like zombified monstrosities, something was going on, that much was certain. Poor girl hardly gained any rest, but she never faltered in her duties.

What of the love birds Kurama and Halley you ask? Well, those two have been quite busy. It should be noted that during this time, Halley has become pregnant. No, she is not showing, she doesn’t even know it yet, but the seed within her is growing. Kurama has been delving deeper into things he shouldn’t. He has been working endlessly to protect as well as find his birth father. Poor guy doesn’t even know which way to turn. Kurama and Halley have been protecting the USA, with the help of their new friend Maria. Yes, Maria joined the duo making it a trio. They have been training, gaining more power, thus becoming stronger. They shrouded the US protecting and stopping any and all of the Nobilities plots and plans. They nearly exhausted themselves, but they continued on, keeping the US safe from harm. Maria finally found a place to stay outside of the base, a home in New York of all places. It seems that New York was the place to destroy and or attack ferociously; at least that is what seemed to be the habit of the Nobility. Caine you ask? Well Caine, after awakening from being knocked out by Nemine, punished the poor girl with a whipping. Not one of those over your knee slap on the behind, no no, this was a heated fire whip that lashed across the poor girls back tearing deeply into her skin. Of course the girl would heal over a month’s period, but she would never forget what Caine had done to her. Because of this, Nemine kept to herself afterwards, only doing tasks that came from Haakon himself. As far as free time goes, she spends it at the weapons facility at her parent's company. Caine, in the meantime, was always working on some top secret business that he did not divulge to his fellow generals.

Fria and Marzarex, the next couple to be, have been planning over the past month. Planning what you ask? Well I am not sure. From what I can tell they’ve been helping protect and serve, but have been planning against Haakon and Haakon’s generals. They’ve been investigating the chip they took from the mechanical angels Haakon had sent to retrieve information. One can only wonder why these two don’t just go ahead and get together, make love and have dragon Valkyrie offspring, but I suppose they have their reasons. Still, it would be good to see them actually admit their love for one another, much like Kurama and Halley have.

What? Who you ask? Oh Haakon, well he and Naja met on the battlefield. It was a glorious display of power. Neither of them getting the upper hand, but dealing damage to each other. After the battle, neither winning nor losing, they both went back into their lairs and have not been heard from since. What were they fighting for? Naja wants power, while Haakon wants the same or so it seems. There can only be one, and Naja wants it. This fight was merely a fight to gauge Haakon, and see what the other possessed. Now that they had fought one another for the first time one on one, the two will surely make plans to gain the upper hand. Haakon’s plan to spread the oil and cause transformation in humans has begun in some. Franz, Haakon’s perfectly picked henchman, has started a cult, and those involved in the cult have become a twisted vision of machine and flesh. Trust me, it ain’t pretty.

Well I do believe that sums up what has happened over the last month. What’s that you say? Oh, you want news on the other generals of Haakon’s army as well as Marissa and Tara. Hmm, well I suppose I could tell you. After Tara finished her mage gate trials, she left the base immediately, wanting to find her sister. Marissa wanted answers and so she went on a mission to find out the truth. Tara, feeling that her sister needed to stay home, later went to find her, but she was not ready for what was to come. Queen Scylla, a vicious mermaid bent on serving Haakon as his naval expert, captured Tara and tortured her with the truth about her father and family. Marissa does not know of this, but will soon for one of her fellow mermaids is seeking her out in order to inform her of what has happened. Yes, those two sisters are like two peas in a pod, yet the truth will always bring about what one does not wish to hear.

Scarlett, and Evangeline, the last to generals that we haven’t spoken on, have been busy. Evangeline has been attempting to enlarge her vampiric army, while Scarlett has been training and seething over her loss of the dark mystic. Trinity and Drax have been working together on something devious, but what I cannot say.

Yes, much has happened since we last tuned in.

What happens next you ask? Well, why don’t you stay tuned and find out. Judging by the gigantic creature surfacing in New York, I’d say a grand battle is about to take place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The great Kraken and the great Sea Beast erupt from the water way in New York. With a slash of his mighty claw, the Kraken slices the Statue of Liberty in two. The great Sea Beast begins his assault on the state, destroying building and killing many. Both let out a roar that could be heard around the world. The news blared on every television in the world. Everyone would see the creatures. Scylla, with her head held high, smiled most mischievously as she left the Kraken to lay waste to New York, the great Sea Beast being a bonus.

[Stryker]

After another session between the two of them had ended, Renshi took a glance at Dorian and sneered. The memory of his arrow piercing his arm plagued his thoughts ever since the day it happened, a moment of weakness that Dorian took advantage of in his eyes and a moment that was going to be re-paid eventually.

“You realize that there’s nothing keeping me here to baby sit you and your emotions now, boy scout?” Renshi asked while stretching out his right arm and walking towards Dorian.

Dorián looked over at Renshi who had just started talking. He hated when Renshi would talk for no reason, and calling him boy scout was something Dorián despised, still he was right. There was nothing keeping Renshi here and coincidentally there was nothing keeping Dorián here. He looked at Renshi watching him as he stretched his right arm.

"Yea I know that, so why are you still here?" Dorián asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

He knew Renshi was still fuming from the arrow that saved his life, but it had to be done, otherwise Renshi wouldn't have agreed to let him help him. Dorián had never seen such a pride filled individual. He just hoped it wouldn't be Renshi's downfall.

A slight smirk slowly found it’s way onto Renshi’s face as he stopped right in front of Dorian. He looked at him once more and tilted his head to the left before a scowl replaced the smirk.

“This!” he roared before sending a right hook across Dorian’s cheek, a small spark of fire igniting upon contact as the blow connected and sent the Mystic to the ground as Renshi stood above him, the snarl still on full display.

“Now there’s nothing keeping me here…” he informed him before beginning to walk off, a slight chuckle accompanying him.

Dorián landed hard on the ground and checked his jaw to make sure it wasn't broken. He looked up at Renshi and sighed, knowing that this was payback for the arrow incident. Spitting up the blood that clouded his mouth, Dorián made his way back to his feet and looked at Renshi. As much as he despised the guy, he had to admit that he had a level of respect for him.

"Yo Renshi, be careful out there man," Dorián stated as he looked up at the clouds. Something was going on somewhere. The clouds only got like this when trouble was brewing.

Sighing, he sat down on the earth and began to scour his mind. Something wasn't right, he could feel it in gut.

"Renshi, do you feel that?" He called after the male, "something isn't right."

Just then, a streak of lightning flashed down in front of Dorián nearly knocking him off his feet, but what he saw in the lightning showed him exactly what was going on.

"Renshi, the Nobility.............." Dorián began.

Months ago, the lightning strike would've probably spooked him. But if training with Dorian had done anything aside from make both of them much stronger, it'd made Renshi almost used to seeing nearby lightning strikes and this one was no different except for Dorian exclaiming something about the Nobility afterwards which bothered Renshi.

"The Nobility... then why don't you do us both a favor and go play hero wherever they are?" he replied to him, not really caring about the whole war Naja foresaw a long time ago. "You know by now that I hold no allegiances to anyone but myself, boy scout." he continued.

"As far as I'm concerned, it'd be a joy to see Naja and Haakon both kill each other and be done with it."

"Keep your hatred towards Naja to yourself Renshi, this is about something different," Dorián replied as another strike of lightning flashed down in front of him revealing the true threat.

"The Kraken?" Dorián said softly, mostly to himself but he knew Renshi would hear.

As Dorián turned in Renshi's direction, he watched as yet another bolt of lightning streamed down in front of Renshi allowing him to view his old nemesis, the great Sea Beast. Dorián glared at Renshi and shook his head.

"This is bigger than your ego Renshi, people are getting hurt. I'm going."

Dorián turned and started walking off in the opposite direction. It was the first time in a long time that his mind settled on Kurama. He couldn't help but feel that Kurama was in danger.

"My feelings toward anyone, including you are mine to voice and you'd be better off taking the bass out of your voice before I knock you on your ass a second time..." Renshi threatened before the next bolt of lightning stopped him in his tracks and flashed an image for him to see. The monster of the sea that he fought in the mage gate was the threat Dorian spoke of.

"People are getting hurt... people are getting hurt... Like I give two shits about anyone in that god-forsaken city or anyone else in this damned country" he yelled, turning back around only to see that Dorian had started off in the other direction.

The wry smile crossed his facial features once more as he sarcastically waved goodbye to Dorian, "Tell the other boy scout I said good luck." he instructed the Lightning Mystic before vanishing in a cloud of ash-filled smoke.

Finding a cliff, Dorián looked out over the beautiful island and sighed. With a snap of his fingers, lightning streaked from the sky and took him away.

[Setsa]

**Fria**

Fria had spent many restless nights durring the past month. Either working on the recovered memory chip, some of the info. recorded was useful in various degrees, some wasn't at all. There was only so much endless landscape and sky one could look at durring a sitting. Everything had to be viewed many times just to make sure nothing of importance was missed. Luckily Mazarex was there to help, having him take over when she needed to work in the armory or was about ready to throw the laptop he brought over into the path of her weapon. Probably kept her going at the demanding pace without losing complete comtrol of her temper.

Ofcourse, having both of them at her place nearly everyday seemed to allow their withheld feelings grow... Nights apart when Fria personally delivered customized weapons to the mystics on their side, and Rex doing his own agendas. Made her miss him more than when they spend many years apart, neither one of them fully sure if the other was alive. So much so, that she greeted him with a kiss on the lips towards the end of the month's time. Taking Oden's words under consideration, and to heart as deep down... She didn't want to have a repeat of the last epic battle. Having ended in victory but spending many ages with hidden regret.

When the great roar occured, announcing the arrival of Haakon's "beastly allies." The Valkyrie let a grin come out. Even though she was happy... Fria's need for a good fight had been getting to her. Turning the news on her suspisions were soon confirmed; the Krackon and great sea beast were released. She knew Queen Scylla had to be around to see her pets play, if there was time she'd see about speaking with the mermaid with the nasty disposition. "Rex it seems we are needed elsewhere and this is the one we've been waiting for... I'll see you there soon? I don't want the others getting all the fun and glory from this." Turning into her highest mystic state reached she kissed the Space Dragon before flying off on clean, fully healed wings to New York as fast as possible...wondering how long it'd take for him to catch up.


**Trinity**

The few days with Drax was indeed wonderful...their relationship on a professional and private level both stronger in their own ways. Ever since returning to the planet Earth, they were rarely at the Haakon estate...having their own agendas in strengthening the troops all over the world as was the original plan and top priority. Such a reason seemed solid enough by Haakon that they were left alone for the most part.... After talking to the Fearstalker Queen and his sister, the instinct to make sure her Tragedy Knights thrived after all of this ended was stronger than ever. Which worked well as both the knights and fearstalkers worked together at the same bases to blend fear and feast all in one.

Trinity was over-seeing drills in Australia while standing against a shaded wall, a small smirk on her face. It didn't take long for Drax to convince her to join him in a more neutral party dealing with the fight for Earth's humans. Haakon and Naja were both very greedy for power...each with their reasons and after a large base of theirs destroyed in China. They were determined to see that it didn't happen again without consequences. When the roar of beasts rippled all over the world she stood up straight.... "Drax...." she called to him, knowing he was around, feeling his presence but not knowing exactly where. "Seems like Haakon has just started this escapade of events...your thoughts?"

[Jacogos]

Nemine stared out over the city of New York as the great and terrible beasts ravaged it. From her perch atop a floating piece of solid ice about 500 feet in the air, it was a rather terrifying sight, though one that hardly made her flinch, much less look away. Hundreds were being slaughtered, more would be before these titans fell. Shaking her head, the Ice Mystic wondered what the point was. She was a Noble, through and through, but this was pointless. Though perhaps it was a way to get the Mystics out of hiding... Even after a month, she still couldn't find head nor hair of Dorián...

Memories rushed back to her of that meeting a month ago. Her back still prickled from the lashes Caine had given her. Even Scarlett, who the Banshee thought liked her best, hadn't objected to the punishment. She winced when she remembered the first cuts. Banishing the thought from her mind, Nemine allowed the ice platform to whisk her away, towards the ground and away from New York.

She had gotten a little more control over her powers over the month. It was hardly her focus, though. She had been developing a weapon for herself, using her parent's facility and the Nobility funding. No one had questioned her close enough to realize that she would not be producing the weapon for others. A staff that would direct energy to its core and, when planted into the ground, out through its end like a lightning rod directs electricity. Fire, lightning, Light, Darkness, so long as it was a form of energy...

It was still very much a prototype, and barely covered more than the area of the staff itself. There was about a half-foot margin of absorption away from the staff itself, and even then only directed about enough electricity to paralyze someone, with the leftover still hurting. She had overloaded more than one prototype, setting her back at least two hundred thousand American dollars for each one. So far, the staves had not paid for even one of their broken brethren, but as soon as she got a working model, she was sure that would change.

Nemine suddenly began paying attention to her surroundings in time to avoid being hit by a piece of debris that had flown nearly a mile from the city towards her. Talk about luck, she thought to herself grimly. She needed her mind for the moment to avoid another mishap like that, so she melted her platform upon touching down to the ground and reverted to her regular form, tapping a few buttons on the mobile transceiver she had been given by the Nobility. Soon, a private plane landed nearby, on a strip of road that was just barely wide enough to support it as a runway. The plane would be taking her back to Russia so she could continue work on the staff.

As Nemine began to board the jet, however, something tingled on the back of her neck. She looked back towards New York, shivering slightly. "Dorián..." She whispered to herself. Why would he even bother going to fight those beasts...? Foolish man...

Transforming back into her Mystic Form, Nemine used her ice make a 'highway' for her to slide on towards New York, traveling at a good 30 miles per hour (give or take) towards the city in hopes that she would be able to stop him before he got himself killed.




------------------

On a rather familiar plateau a few hundred miles away from New York, Caine stood before six creatures, each as monstrous as he himself was. The first was a huge man-beast with golden fur and a fiery mane about his neck, easily coming to Caine's size and just barely topping it. He bore a large scar across his left eye, which was blind, and another across his chest in a row of three. King Gregorias was a proud man, but he bent his knee easily when bested.

The next was about a foot shorter than Caine and wiry where the other two were pure muscle. This one had orangish fur and spots of black, though some of his tribe were pitch black. Yellow eyes peered out from his drooping lids, which were piercing despite their apparent lack of interest. Lord Jabura was a simple beat-down, though one that took a while to catch.

Next in line was a female that split the middle between the last two, in muscle as well as height. Black stripes adorned her white fur, which was speckled with red flecks from the tussle she had recently had with Caine. Her teeth were longer and sharper, but Queen Tigrassa still went down when her back was against the wall.

Another female was a sharp contrast to the rest there. She stood barely three feet tall, and was actually the only one there that had not sparred with Caine for dominance. Good for her, too, as she would have been crushed. Tawny fur was matted in places from her journey, but otherwise well kept, with tufts of white on her long ears and tail, as well as a fluff near the crotch and neck. Her tribe sported four claws and sharp red eyes, but were all lethal to even some of the larger beasts there, should the bigger ones underestimate them. Queen Teera simply didn't want to strain herself against the wolf.

Next in the group of leaders was also different, though his girth and height topped all present. Sporting pitch black fur and wicked claws, deep brown eyes stared out around a muzzle fit for tearing foes in half alone. Though his tribe was a mish-mash of dark red, black, brown, and white, he alone had their prophesied white mark across his forehead. A crescent moon, spanning from eye to eye about where his eyebrows would be. King Iofur was perhaps the greatest challenge there, but even he had broken after thirty minutes against Caine.

The final leader amongst the group stood out like a sore thumb. The only one there without fur, his skin was covered in dark green scales instead. A jaw that spouted a good foot or two from his face was the most concerning thing about him, as it could chop steel in two, if he wanted. Ridges along his back gave him a Godzilla-esque look, but they were mostly for show. He stood just above Jabura, but like the latter was wiry muscle instead of built. Boss Dorkaln was a slippery one, but fell just the same.

Werelion, werejaguar, weretiger, werecat, werebear, and weregator (yes, that is in order)... It had been quite an ordeal, but Caine had finally managed to bend them all to his will. They were his now. The Werebeasts would rise again to fight for the Nobility, under the black banner of Haakon and his trusted general, Caine Immori. And soon, Caine thought, my TRUE plan will unfurl...

But that, he thought as he began to howl, the roars, cries, and snarls of the other beasts joining him as he did so, was a worry for another time. For now, he would sit back and allow the titans of the water to ravage New York. He could rest for a little, then begin...

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

When news got to the Defenders of the Realms as the young lass had begun to call her Fae forces operating in UK and slowly stretching to the the rest of Europe. New tales of the Little People were being spun with each passing day. And as her mentor Dut had told her the power of their people is only strengthened by this new found respect and awe for the Fae, both of the main Courts, Summer and Winter had passed new laws and deals allowing Kana to pull any Fae she wished from the Realms and basically appointed her to the ancient but rarely used position of Equinox Knight basically like a US 5 Star General. She was the prime defender and general of the Realm but this new position of power was still bloated with Fae politics. Bribery, threats of violence to her human family and friends, gifts and numerous Deals of a Lifetime to try and get her to appoint so-and-so of the family so-and-so to a position of power.

She turned them all down but it still sickened her at how many petty human sins were common among the supposed Fair People of the world but as her parents and Dut explained it was in their nature to be like this and by rights they were the Faes' petty sins before they were the humans'. She couldn't argue with the logic but that doesn't mean she had to like it, after much wheeling and dealing with the Courts she managed to gather a small squad of eight Fae to join her in New York this may be a global threat but it would be utterly foolish to send a whole army of Fae to battle this early in the Mystic's War as it had begun to be called around the world. The Realm must be closed and sealed off until the Queen judged it safe, if one of the more powerful Nobility got into the Realm... well it would make the whole Mystic's war seem like a paint-ball skirmish by comparison. Obviously Dut and his wife Illia the Fox Tricksters would come along next were both her parents, there was no way they were going to miss a chance to fight alongside their daughter the Equinox Knight. These first four made her feel worlds safer while she wasn't as familiar with the last four they all came highly recommend by the Queens. A Fire Spirit and Nymph brother/sister duo they both were dressed like modern day Mercs complete with black enchanted Kevlar armor and long rifles that shot balls of molten lead as well as regular fireballs. While they were elementally nullified by the two great water beasts they could cover the rest of the squad from any number of high buildings. And last in her little militia were Wildes or Beast Trolls they weren't all that magical but having two tall mountains of muscle, claws, teeth, and metal clubs on your side could prove useful. And of course she had her stone guardian whom she's taken to calling Sir Blackstone to fight by her side until all the rock in the earth was gone. As the monsters' thunderous roar shook the ground under them Kana knew it was time. Changing to her Ancient form letting the sun glisten off the new merged red and blue armor her new mantle gave her she tore a large slab of rock from the ground and with a nod to her group they all climbed onto the slab and zoomed off to fight alongside her fellow Mystics.

*Rex*

Rex heard the roars of the monsters and his teeth clenched in rage. This past month has been one long headache even with Fria being around the progress the global defenders was making was being ground against a wall while they kept bulk of the Nobilities plans in check they weren't making any headway in repelling them. The Weres that weren't fighting for Caine were dwindling in numbers against the new super powered freaks he had under his command most of them had retreated to count their dead and avoid pitched battle as much as they could working in Guerrilla style units. A lot of the Fae had been called back to defend the key Waypoints into the NeverRealm and even after asking for help he only had about half of them back to fight and that was only as long as the Waypoints weren't in immediate danger. The other units he tapped were holding strong but with the Weres and Fae gone he had lost a lot of skill and power to use against the teeming evil around them.

He had personally put requests into every group he could think of that would have a stake in this war and he had some to bolster his numbers which made his headache lessen but it was still paltry amount to what they should have in the last battle he had promises and warriors from almost every creature that makes up the Elder Council but the casualties of the last war had probably dampened the zeal of those same groups this time. Maybe after this battle they see the Mystics have a good chance to win this once and for all and they'd help him. But he had to admit this month had it's share of pleasant surprises most notably the Shadow Mystic Maria joining his side over the Nobility he would've bet dollars to doritos Nemine would switch sides before Maria but the war was still young if she kept thinking about Dorian maybe they'd have every Mystic on their side by the the end of the war that would a first as far as he knew. The bigger surprise was he'd noticed the Fearstalkers and Tragic Knights fighting against the Nobility at least on the small scale for now. From what they gathered from the metal angel they captured the Knights and Stalkers all seemed to be acting independently from the rest of the Nobility this wasn't uncommon in past battles but now it seemed more prevalent they seemed to be the only two groups in this little drama actually fighting for the normal humans and not hunting down the enemy and foiling their plans.

This would not go unnoticed for long especially know that Haakon was extra paranoid since his fight with Naja which the Elder Dragon heard along the grapevine. The feeling that Naja was the one High Elder Gelez warned him about was with very little doubt now but he couldn't for the life of him figure out how to bring the Psychic Mystic down, Rex was strong but he couldn't actually defeat Naja at his current level without calling the Will of Draco down upon his horned head he would have to get the Will removed to actually bring the man down. That would make Rex a god near enough and he could end this war himself but if the legends were true the infinite power would make Rex go mad and he'd have to be killed by King Roanoke himself before he destroyed the universe and even an unleashed Space Dragon is no match for the last of the Diamond Dragons. Why does everything have to be a double edged sword for Space Dragons? Fria's voice and whoosh of her wings brought Rex back from his thoughts. Going to the window he changed into Super Mystic Form as he leapt from the window tilting his head back he roared to his dragon friends who have been helping him throughout this ordeal using his Mystics powers to amplify his words to that of the monsters.
"Confn sia Isthasyi vur Myvishi, wer tairais tepohaic confn ihk udoka ekess vargach ihk wer Wreskri!" (Come my brothers and sisters, the time has come for us to battle for the world.) He received five responses from the original five but also a chorous of other Dragon calls from the rest of his species that had joined the battle.

*Drax*

Draxer materialized from a portal besides Trinity the unyielding Australian sun had forced the Stalkers to either stay in the shade or don cloaks of living darkness to keep the sun from turning them all to dust. Thankfully the looming clouds from Haakon's storms were still hanging about so they could extend their working hours longer than from dusk to dawn. But that was the good thing about working with humans like the Tragic Knights they could operate easily in the daylight and the Stalkers weren't required to take dangerous risks like that. And while the Knights rested at night the Fearstalkers did what they did best, hunt down and destroy whatever they were thrown up against. And since the new secession the rules had changed they were defending a food source and there is no greater motivation in nature to fight for than that. They were defending the human race while the good guys hunted down the other bad guys.

It was strange irony when you looked at it, the Stalkers have defended humans for the same reasons before but they still somehow managed to be seen as Bogeymen and evil creatures while the Sun Fighters were hailed as heroes and gods at some points in history more irony but then again the Sun Fighter saved humans simply for the sake of saving them rather than for food. Drax looked in the direction of the monsters' yells as another one like the rumbling of a hurricane about to strike, both the voice and the words were familiar. A grim smile crossed his face, Elder Marzarex was going to attack the monsters that means most of the Nobility would be too distracted to notice the Knights and Stalkers working against them. Raising his hands he called the Drills to a close and spoke in the Stalker tongue(Think a mix of Parselmouth and the Dragon tongue.) while he sent the same words to the Knights via telepathy he taught Trinity enough of the ancient language so she could follow.
"Comrades, brothers and sisters in arms! Today we strike out at the bastards that killed our kinsmen! Haakon cast the first stone and in return we will bring down a whole mountain upon his head and the heads of his minions. Go now, become one with the shadows and do your best to hamstring the Nobility while still leading them to believe we are loyal. They will soon rue the day they dared to test our wrath!" Fierce cheers erupted in the hot sunny air the battle rally continued as Drax turned and asked Trinity the glint of battle in his eye.
"Anything you would like to add Lady Trinity?"

[Lady Celeste]

The Kraken was playing his role quite well, as was Diamonus. Too well for Scylla's taste, though, because their one-sided assault on New York sent the populace fleeing away from the coast, leaving no one for her to play with personally. It didn't take long for the queen to grow bored and begin swimming away, her ladies-in-waiting following her toward the navy ships that dared to approach the great beasts. Warfare to the merfolk was never a matter exclusively for males, not even in times when human warfare was thusly restricted. There were, however, traditional roles on the battlefield for which one sex proved to be better-suited than the other.

The stronger, more ferocious males were perfect for direct assaults on the enemy. But the cunning, beautiful females could slay unsuspecting foes without the mess of bloodshed.

Diving across the shallows, Scylla surfaced a few yards in front of an approaching ship and floated there, watching the ship intently. The queen knew that her charm was working when a young ensign froze in awe at the sight of her; the poor fool tried to sputter out an alert of some kind to his comrades, but before anything intelligible could be heard, the young man stumbled over the guard rails and fell overboard. Beneath the surface, some of Scylla's ladies prepared to seize the boy as he fell into the water, but their queen signaled them to stay where they were.

"Man overboard!" Cried a voice onboard the ship as more of the sailors began to gather around the spot where the ensign had fallen. One of them ran for a lifebuoy and threw it to the ensign, who wasted no time reaching to grasp it, but Scylla quickly advanced through the cold waters and easily pried the lifebuoy out of his hands.

Confused, the ensign tried to reach for the lifebuoy again, but Scylla took hold of his waist with one arm and moved the lifebuoy out of reach with the other arm. "What are you doing?!" He asked, horrified.

"Don't be afraid." Scylla told him, reaching one arm under his knees while the other remained around his waist, pinning his arms at his sides and effectively cradling him like a small child. He and his comrades could only watch, unsure what to make of what was happening, when Scylla then proceeded to sing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlXEgVZ2yZY).

"A luz do seu olhar
É uma estrela a me guiar..."

The other mermaids looked up smiling; this was their signal to emerge. And emerge they did, with dozens of mermaids rising from the surface and surrounding the ship on all sides.

"Iluminando o caminho
trazendo a esperança de um belo amanhã..."

A palpable calm came over the sailors as the song continued and the mermaids, whom the crew could only assume to be beautiful human women, came close enough to touch the ship. A few of them began tearing small but surely-growing holes in the sides of the hull, while one took hold of the lifebuoy and began playfully tugging at the rope, daring the man holding the rope to jump in after her. But the young ensign could clearly see these attacks from his position in the water, his rational mind fighting against the mermaids' spell as he fidgeted once more in Scylla's grasp.

"O amor é a flor mais bonita
Que nasce do brilho do seu olhar..."

Scylla noticed the ensign's struggles quite quickly, but didn't miss a beat even as she turned her focus more fully onto him. Her gaze caught his eyes and began moving over his body, but this only made him fight harder. "No... Don't listen to her! Fight it!"

In a brief panic, Scylla released the man's legs so she could press the free hand over his mouth. If any of the others heard him, their resistance was short-lived as the other mermaids resumed their flirting. Scylla's eyes flashed with anger at the ensign, but her voice remained as eerily soft and sweet as before.

"A fonte que brota da terra
Que rega os lírios
E deságua no mar..."

Beneath Scylla and the other mermaids, a group of shadowy figures darted across the water, but Scylla ignored them as she slowly descended into the water. Inhaling as much air as his lungs could hold, the ensign braced himself as they sank beneath the surface.

"A fonte que brota da terra
Que rega os lírios
E me faz sonhar..."

[RisingPhoenix]

Maria had seen the Kraken rise from the waters around New York and smashes the Statue of Liberty to pieces. Her eyes flared in anger and she had shifted into her ancient mystic form, and had summoned her bow of darkness with that dangerous red arrow. She pulled back the bowstring and released the arrow.

A loud and piercing whistle could be heard as the arrow zoomed through the sky leaving a thin trail of darkness behind it, and then an explosion as the arrow met the Krakens chest. A dark cloud erupted from the arrow and surrounded the Kraken, shrouding it in the darkness and preventing anyone from seeing the damage done or from it doing any more damage. Maria prepared another arrow to be fired at the Kraken, not noticing the other beast near her.

The tentacles of the great Kraken struck nearby buildings causing them to explode violently sending shrapnel in all directions. Some humans were lucky to escape while others perished. As it continued its rampage, there came a screaming arrow that struck it directly in the chest. The Kraken waved its clawed hand in order to remove the dark cloud from shrouding its vision. Its eyes shimmered as it roared and lashed out at buildings in its path.

The great Sea Beast having noticed the direction in which the arrow had come, quickly turned its attention to Maria.

"Defiant little bitch," it roared as it spewed pressurized water in her direction followed by a large tail whip.

The Kraken chuckled slightly and shot a clawed tentacle in Maria's vicinity.

Maria turned in the direction of the other best and the darkness roiled in anger and seeped up from the ground and every dark space. She formed it by sheer force of her will into a large harpoon and told the creature with a dark and menacing voice that seemed to give power to the harpoon, because it glowed with a blue aura. She was speaking now in the language of shadows, and it shot towards the beasts great arm bursting through the water stream and whip, seemingly nothing could stop it from reaching its target.

Then, Maria turned too late to face a giant tentacle coming straight at her and she was hit knocking her through the air and into a building none too lightly and leaving a large crater in the side. The building began to fall on top of her, but she quickly put herself in a cocoon of darkness and protected herself from the falling debris. The debris quickly buried her beneath a large mound of rocks and she opened her mind to Halley's Halley, help me. I’m fighting the creatures that came in the waters of New York. I’m not doing much damage, and had to distract them. the link between her mind and Halley’s vanished as Maria had to keep the cocoon of darkness around her to protect her from being crushed..

All the while her energy was slowly being drained away.

"Need some help with the dishes mom?" Halley asked her mother, who smiled back. "No thank you dear, why don't you call Kurama and invite him over tonight?" Elizabeth asked her daughter, and Halley smiled widely at her. Her parents had really taken a liking to Kurama over the past month, despite the fact that he mainly wasn't human. Then again, she was only part human come to find out many months ago, so they really couldn't be prejudiced against that...of which she was thankful for.

She picked up her phone to dial his number, when all of a sudden she heard Maria's voice in her head. Over the past month Maria had switched from the Nobility to the Mystics, and she had become rather close with her...which was odd, considering their natures were complete, polar opposites. "Maria?" Halley asked with her mind, rushing to her window to look outside. "Oh hell," Halley said aloud. She could see darkness and a cloud of dust, indicating Maria's presence and a fallen building. "Mom, dad...get as far away from New York as you can. Now," Halley told them sternly, and her mother looked out the window and screamed in fright. "What the hell is that?!" Her father shouted, wrapping an arm around his wife.

"NOW!" Halley shouted, pointing at the door. "Things are about to get very, very bad and I don't want a building to topple over on you. Go to New Jersey if you have to, just GET OUT!" Halley shouted, rushing over to hug them before she disappeared. "Maria, where are you?" Halley asked, scanning the ground at all of the debris. She'd transformed into her Mystic form, reserving her strength for later when it came to using her Ancient form. 'Kurama...come to New York. The Nobility is here, they have a...pet....' Halley told him, sending him a mental image of whatever that was.

She noticed a building still crumbling and a small cocoon of darkness within it. "MARIA!" Halley shouted, flying down and transforming into her Ancient Mystic form. She'd been toying around with spells for the past month, and while she didn't have the ability to use telekinesis and teleport objects, she had created a spell for that instead.

"Ah shit, Kurama is going to kill me for this..." Halley said, shaking her head as she teleported inside the falling building, next to Maria. "Get out of here!" Halley shouted, spreading her hands out and focusing as she spoke in Ancient words of Latin. The building itself shook and the rocks began to slow, and Halley was doing her best to catch them all. 'Kurama...I need your help...' Halley said, sending him a mental picture as to where they were. Halley spoke another incantation, which seemed to provide a shield of sorts around both her and Maria. Halley sprinted forward towards Maria in that brief moment in which objects began falling around them, and grabbed Maria's arm. "Come on!" Halley shouted, teleporting them to another building, away from the debris.

'Oh shit Kurama. It's a Kraken,' Halley spoke.

As soon as she thought those words, the Kraken seemed to turn and notice Halley and Maria on another rooftop. "What's this?" the Kraken asked, grabbing for Halley with one of the tentacles. She flew into the air to avoid the tentacle, but he seemed to think of her as some sort of toy and kept trying to get her. "Hahahahaha! Little bug trying to stop me! SQUISH THE BUG!" the Kraken roared in laughter at her, now focusing all of its tentacles on her and making large movements with them.

It was like a minefield, an ever-changing maze. Halley was having a hard time avoiding the large tentacles, much less get near the beast. "Ah hell, Kurama's going to kill me for this," Halley said aloud as an idea came to her mind. The tentacles were getting too close and it was becoming too difficult for her to dodge them, so she simply grabbed onto one of the tentacles. The instant the Kraken felt her grip, he screamed in fury. "Get off you stupid bug!" he roared at her, flinging his tentacle in every direction as an attempt to get her off. Halley shrieked in terror as she was flung around at top speeds, suddenly finding herself rather queasy.

She sent a jet of light directly to the creature's eyes, and he roared in frustration. "You cheat!" the creature shouted, and the flinging became even more furious. 'KURAMA!' Halley shrieked his name in her mind, fear etched in her voice. 'Kurama hurry!' Halley said frantically, sending him a mental picture of the Kraken as it kept trying to fling her off.

An idea popped into her mind and she shook her head, knowing that it probably wasn't a good one. She was having a hard time keeping her large wings down, but fewer moves in her giant form with her eight foot wingspan. So, she transformed back into her human form. The Kraken looked confused. "Where's your wings bug?" it asked, lifting her in the air as he lifted the tentacle to get a better look. Halley decided this would probably be her only opportunity to get close, so she jumped from the tentacle and landed on the Kraken's face. It roared in fury and stumbled back, and Halley transformed back into her Mystic form. 'Hahahahaha! I'm on its face!' Halley said in shock, climbing around on the creature's face.

"Hey big guy, you gonna try to squish the bug?" Halley asked it, chuckling as she knew what would happen

The great Sea Beast looked over at the Kraken as it seemed to be having a tough time with the two little power chicks. Smiling as only a giant sea creature could.

"The little sluts have you on a run don't they Kraken?" the great Sea Beast stated with a booming cackle, "allow me."

The Sea Beast opened its maw and out shot a vicious sonic wave that struck Halley and Maria sending them soaring through the sky.

Kurama was deep in his study looking through different articles and books. He was in his home in North Carolina trying to figure out who his father was. He had dove head first into his search, and hadn't seen Halley is two days. He was coming to a breakthrough, he just knew it. He was so close, so very close. Just as he was reading through the birth records in North Carolina, he heard a sudden voice in his head.

"Halley?" he said softly, "oh no."

Standing to his feet, he quickly made his way out of his house. As he ran, he uttered a teleportation spell which transported him to New York. When he arrived, he stood atop a building in New York. The great beasts were visible from where he perched but he couldn't see Maria or Halley. According to the images he had received from Halley, they had been fighting the beasts.

"Why would they fight them alone? Shit I hope they're alright," Kurama stated as he transformed into his mystic form and jumped from building to building with ease, closing in on the monsters.

Just as he made it to their location, he witnessed Halley and Maria gliding through the air. Quick in summoning his whip, he thrust it in their direction and the whip shot forward, wrapping around Halley and Maria, stopping them dead in mid-air before bringing them down to Kurama who stood atop a building head level with the Kraken and the great Sea Beast.

"KRAKEN, DIAMONUS, OVER HERE!!!" Kurama yelled getting the Kraken and the great Sea Beast's attention.

"Who dares to call me by my name," Diamonus roared as he looked in Kurama's direction. Moving closer to the mystic, Diamonus's mouth bore his sharp razor like teeth, "well, if it isn't the fox demon himself. How is your father brave one?"

"You know my father?" Kurama asked, letting his defenses down slightly.

"Ahh, so the great Naja has not informed his lap dogs of the truth?" the Kraken bellowed, "how interesting it is that the mighty fox demon does not know his own father is the one he fights so hard against. You do not belong with them boy, you belong with us, the Nobility."

Kurama's eyes widened in pure shock. He couldn't move, he was completely and utterly caught off guard.

"Look at him Kraken, he truly did not know. Fox Demon, your father is none other than the one we serve, the great and mighty Haakon," Diamonus bellowed as he chuckled at the sight of Kurama.

One tear fell, followed by another as Kurama dropped to his knees, his hands pressed against the rooftop.

"All this time Naja knew and he didn't tell me?" Kurama said softly.

The two beasts laughed and glared down at Kurama as he broke down.

"What is this? The great and mighty Fox Demon breaking down like a mere human? Do you not remember all of the deaths you caused? All of the chaos you spread? All before you even thought of joining such an idiotic cause. Join us Fox Demon, join us and lay waste to New York."

Kurama had to get himself together. Now was not the time to break down especially when these creatures threatened the wellbeing of the innocent. Kurama dried his eyes, and stood tall in the presence of the Kraken and Diamonus.

"Not anymore, I protect the weak and defenseless, now leave," Kurama stated, his voice loud enough for the beasts to hear.

"Leave? Now? I'm afraid we can't do that, our orders are to lay waste to this place and we're going to do just that," the Kraken replied as he glared down at Kurama.

"Are you going to do something if we don't leave Fox Demon?" Diamonus added with a sly chuckle.

Kurama glared at the two beasts and called forth his whip.

"Oh look Kraken, he's going to attack," Diamonus teased.

Kurama grinned and jumped into the air before sending his whip screaming towards the Kraken. The Kraken lifted up its arm and watched the whip wrap around its claws. Kurama flung himself onto the shoulder of the Kraken and began to run towards the head of the great beast, but suddenly, a sonic wave struck him sending him shooting off the Kraken hitting a building behind him. The rose whip wrapped around Kurama to keep him safe from falling debris. As the building toppled, Kurama looked out towards the two beasts. He wasn't focusing, the new information he had just received both bothered and pleased him. He was happy that his search had come to an end, but to be told that his father was Haakon was not something he wanted to hear.

Standing to his feet in the midst of the rubble, he looked in the direction Halley and Maria were.

"You two alright?" he asked as he jumped onto the nearest building. He needed a plan and had to think of something before the beasts did what they had been assigned to do.

Maria felt Kurama's whip save her and Halley, and she took in a deep breath as she realized she had been holding her breath. She however, didn’t like the fact that these beasts were threatening her city, and her friends. Her eyes grew a solid white no hint of blue could be seen in them, and her aura flared with intensity as it she willed the darkness to rise and do her bidding once more. She held both of her hands out evenly spaced in front of her, and two thick shafts of darkness rose up to meet them. The darkness had faces seemingly inside of them, and the faces looked angry.

She turned and looked down to Kurama and Halley and said " You may want to shield yourselves from this." Once the darkness had gathered the shafts stood taller than the kraken, and had gathered sharp and blue points on them.. The entire shaft of darkness had grown a solid blue coat around it, and they had begun lifting into the air and each aiming at two eyes of the kraken. She launched the shafts and they zoomed through the sky creating a sound close to a bomb being dropped.
Halley had been casting light into the Kraken’s eyes, trying to get him to attack his own head. That was not the case however, when the great sea beast Diamonus came over to lend the kraken some help. The next thing she knew, she felt a large sonic boom blasting her off the face of the Kraken. She let out a shrill scream of fright, not having expected that. Her ears were still hurting from the blast, and more importantly, she noticed that both she and Maria were flying uncontrollably at top speeds through the sky.

Then she noticed something wrapping around her, and for a moment she screamed in belief that it was one of the beasts...only to notice that Kurama was pulling both herself and Maria towards him, and she sighed in relief. She stood shakily to her feet and leaned her hands against her knees, suddenly feeling spent. This wasn't good, this was only the start of the battle and she was already getting exhausted. "What the hell is wrong with me?" Halley asked Maria as her breathing became shallow.

She looked up and noticed that Kurama was on his knees. "Kurama?" Halley asked, her voice filled with panic. What was wrong with him? "Kurama are you okay?" Halley asked, placing a soothing hand on his shoulder as she glared up at the beasts. What had they done to him? She watched as he suddenly attacked the Kraken, only to be met with the same sonic boom she'd been hit with before. "Kurama!" Halley shouted, flying into the air after him. She flew by him as he landed on a rooftop and asked if they were okay. Halley threw her arms around him and embraced him tightly, glad that he was okay. "Kurama, what happened?" Halley asked him, still holding him tightly.

The sea beasts began to roar in laughter at the display. "Little fox demon letting a whore hold him like that," Diamonus said, roaring in laughter. "Haakon would be so disappointed in his son," the Kraken roared in laughter. Halley stepped back and looked shocked. "Haakon is...your father?" Halley asked, her mind racing back to over a month ago. Back to when he hadn't trusted Naja because of secrets being kept, what if Naja had been trying to protect him from this? Kurama wasn't a bad person, he was loving and kind and the polar opposite of his father. Halley smiled gently at Kurama and rested a hand on his shoulder, placing a gentle kiss on his lips. "Doesn't matter. You're still you and that's all that counts," Halley whispered in his ear, so the beasts couldn't hear. She turned and glared at the beasts, knowing that it was only a matter of time before they destroyed New York. "Burn in hell," Halley said, her body suddenly glowed an intense bright golden color that was brighter than the sun.

"You're going to kill me for this Kurama, but I have an idea-" Halley said, staring directly at the Kraken. The beast was too large for the three of them to destroy on the outside. They would have a better chance if one of them was on the inside of the beast, destroying the internal organs and the things that was necessary for the creature to function. "We have to destroy the inside of the beast. It's too big to do any damage on the outside," she told him, taking a step back in fear of his reactions. Whatever they would be, she knew he wouldn't like it.

The Kraken, noticing two large pillars of darkness hurtling towards, him lifted his arm and felt a sting course through him. He stumbled back a bit as he roared at the discomfort.

"You little bitch," he roared as he launched a tentacle onslaught at Maria.

As Halley caressed him and kissed him, Kurama continued to look down at the ground. What he had found out through the talk of the beasts, was something he had been fighting to find for as long as he can remember, but to know that the very person he was fighting against was the one who he had been searching for was a low blow, one that would change his life forever. Snapping back to reality, he looked at Halley when she informed him of her plan.

"NO, Halley NO, you can't expect me to just sit here and let you get swallowed by those things. We just have to hold out for the others........"

There was a crackling in the sky, and lightning etched its name across the dark clouds above. Kurama looked up at the sky and smirked, "speaking of the others."

Suddenly, lightning began to strike Diamonus and the Kraken sending them back trekking as the pain from Mother Nature was a nuisance.

"What is this?" the Kraken bellowed as he grunted upon being struck by lightning. Diamonus roared in discomfort but watched as a single streak of lightning came down atop a building close to Kurama, Maria and Halley. Dorian stepped out, his bow in hand as he glared at the great beasts.

Diamonus and the Kraken looked at Dorian and glared.

"Ah, the Nephilim is responsible for this inconvenient storm," Diamonus stated with a certainty.

Dorian lifted his bow and nocked an arrow.

"You expect that little arrow to hurt me? I am the mighty Kraken."

Dorian glared, "and I'm your worst nightmare."

He released the arrows that shimmered in the sky. As they traveled lightning struck them over and over and over causing them to grow in power. By the time they hit the Kraken, they had been infused with so much power that it sent the Kraken back peddling as it screamed in a bit of agony.

"DAMN YOU," Diamonus stated as he released a sonic blast directed at Dorian.

Dorian quickly dodged the sonic attack, jumping from building and building until he landed by Kurama and Halley. He looked at them, and Kurama looked at him.

"Nice to see you again," Dorian said.

"Damn I've missed you," Kurama stated as he gave him an emotional hug. Dorian smiled and turned to Halley.

"Halley, are you okay? Are you the only two here?" Dorian asked.

"No, Maria is up there," Kurama replied.

Dorian looked in the direction Kurama had pointed and noticed the dark mystic, her aura pulsing with power. He quickly nodded to Kurama and Halley before making his way towards Maria. Once he got to her, he noticed that Diamonus was opening his maw again. The sonic blast shot towards Maria and Dorian. Acting quickly, Dorian produced a large wall of electricity. The sonic blast struck the wall with an intensity Dorian had not seen before and was fearful that any moment the wall would crumble.

"Maria? Come on, let's move," he said sternly as he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along with him. They ended up back with Halley and Kurama, just in time as the wall crumbled and the sonic blast struck the building they had been on, causing immense damage.

"COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!" the Kraken and Diamonus said tauntingly.

"We need a plan," Dorian stated to Kurama, Halley, and Maria.

Maria had a dark look in her eyes as she was pulled into hiding by Dorian. She looked to him and said " Thank you, mystic, but i could have handled that stupid beast." She looked to Kurama and says " You cannot change who your father is, you can only change the legacy that you have. Do not feel bad for your father, you are not him, only his son, but not by choice." She had tried to comfort him and was unsure whether it succeeded or not. But, she turned to Halley and said " You don't need to be here, you were easily exhausted from fighting the kraken. Why?" She did not say it mean or rude, she said it with care layered in her voice.

Still she did not await a reply and turned to Dorian " If i can get inside that monster, i can do what Halley planned. I don't have anyone to stay here for, so if i die nothing is lost. But, Halley has much to stay alive for, as well as you Dorian and Kurama." She stepped onto the buildings ledge, but still hidden from the view of the creatures. " Mother, help me to do this." She let loose her wings, and spoke in the language of the shadows once more, but this melding her presence into the darkness on the buildings ledge. She was however not hidden completely still able to be seen by the keen eyes of any mystic.

Halley stood up straight as Kurama became defensive towards her plan. She knew this would happen, but it was the only solution. Besides, the easy part would be getting inside...it was just getting out that mattered. She watched as lightning streaked the skies and attacked the beasts, knowing who it was. "Well, I suppose we've waited long enough," Halley smirked slightly.

She watched Dorian run to retrieve Maria, and watched as they came back. "I have a plan," Halley said, side glancing at Kurama and taking a step away. She half expected him to tie her down if it came right to it, but this seemed to be the only way to take out the giant beasts. She frowned when Maria asked why Halley had tried out so easily earlier...she didn't know, and in truth it did concern her. What would happen once she was inside the beast?

"Maria wait!" Halley said as the Mystic of darkness disappeared into the side of a building, though still in sight. "Maria, we can do this together," Halley begged, glancing at Kurama before chasing after Maria. She flew into the air after her and yelled at the beasts. "Hey! Jackasses! Over here!" Halley said, taking in a deep breath as she prepared herself for a blast of sonic energy from Diamonus. "Look Kraken, it's the bug again," Diamonus roared with laughter and began to open its jaw. Halley took out her large sword and she could feel herself changing, her powers combining.

"Hey Diamonus, want a free meal?" Halley asked, looking from Diamonus to the Kraken. 'You take on the Kraken. Dorian, attack the stomachs with lightning. Kurama, work on keeping them together. Diamonus has to go, we have to get rid of that sonic boom...' Halley instructed the others, smirking as Diamonus rushed her with his mouth wide open. "Come and get it!" Halley yelled at the beast, flying sword first into its mouth. She about gagged at the smell, which caught her off guard. 'EEEEEEEEEEEW IT STINKS!' Halley shouted in her mind, holding in her vomit. On her way down she sliced the tonsils with her sword, cutting it in half. Diamonus roared in pain and began coughing, and she sliced his large tongue. 'Hurry Dorian, began striking the stomach....' Halley told him, keeping her sword firmly lodged in the beast as she made her way down.

She came to some internal organs and began her attack, though she was quickly being covered by saliva and bodily fluids from the Diamonus. She could barely settle her stomach, for each time she sliced at something, something always spewed back on her. Her wings were becoming coated with this, so she was forced to transform back into her normal mystic form. On the outside, the Diamonus was coughing and had doubled over in pain. "Damn bitch! She's tearing my insides apart!" He roared in pain and began coughing. Halley had finally made it to the beast's stomach and gagged the moment she had gotten there.

It smelled of acid and fish and garbage, and it wasn't a great smell. There was stuff dripping everywhere and she had to work in double-time to avoid getting splashed by the acid. 'I'm in the-...stomach,' Halley told the others, her voice sounding short on breath. She began to slice at the walls of the stomach and more specifically, towards the wall that was in the front- or at least the direction she thought was the front. Diamonus was roaring in pain and was lying on the ground as he rolled in every direction, trying to flush out the bitch inside him. Finally an idea came to mind, though he didn't like it much. He stuck his finger and jammed it into his throat, which caused him to vomit almost instantly.

Halley hadn't been expecting for the creature to suddenly vomit, nor had she been expecting for the acid to rise rapidly around her. She screamed as the acid burned her, shooting her back up the way she had come and out of his mouth. She felt the fresh air as she fell, too much goo on her wings to spread them apart. She landed on a rooftop away from the others and collapsed instantly as the acid left on her skin continued to burn her. 'Kur...ama...' Halley muttered weakly, before she collapsed into unconsciousness, the goo and acid still covering her body.

Dorian had done as Halley had asked him. He had begun attacking the beasts with lightning and Kurama, though reluctant, had begun his onslaught, but it seemed that the only thing they were doing was pissing off the Kraken and Diamonus. Suddenly, Halley was spewed from the Diamonus and Kurama looked over in the direction she had fallen.

"DAMNIT," he shouted as he rushed over to her and knelt down looking at the burn marks, "I told you not to do it, damnit Halley, DAMNIT!"

He concentrated his energy and began muttering in an ancient language. He waved his hands over and over her body, concentrating and allowing healing magic to pour from him. If Haakon was his father, than he possessed what Haakon possessed and he was going to tap into that inner power and hopefully save Halley's life.

"MOTHER NATURE, GIVE ME THE STRENGTH............"

As he muttered and shrouded Halley in healing magic, he still felt that it wasn't enough. The wounds weren't healing properly and he could feel Halley getting weaker.

"DAMNIT HALLEY.........." Kurama looked away for a moment and concentrated.

There was a shimmering light that appeared in front of Halley and Kurama. Kurama looked up and saw a woman (http://www.freewebs.com/ishtaria/Lauren.jpg) standing in front of him.

Tears were falling down her cheeks as Kurama began yelling at her. It wasn't so much the pain of her injuries, more of the emotional pain. Knowing that Kurama was angry with her, knowing that he was doing everything in his power to heal her, but it wasn't working. For him to see her like this, for him to not be able to do anything about it. "I'm...sorry...Kurama," Halley told him desperately, reaching out for him as he called upon the spirit of Mother Nature to help him. She could feel her energy slipping away as she weakened, and it scared her. She didn't want to lose him again, not now, not so early in their relationship.

"Hello, my son, you call and I come," the woman said.

"Wh-who are you?" Kurama asked.

"I am your mother, you called for me and I have come. The girl will live, I assure you, but you must focus on the task at hand. Do not worry my child, let the past go and focus on the future. You are who you are, and nothing can change that, but you have the power to shape your destiny. Go, I will take care of the girl."

Kurama was speechless, but he trusted this woman and he stood to his feet and left, heading back into the battle to help Dorian and Maria.

Halley noticed a shimmering light, and all of a sudden a woman was standing before them. Who was this woman? She wondered, stunned by the display. Then she announced herself as his mother, and Halley smiled weakly at her. She stretched her hand out as Kurama left to rejoin the battle, looking back down.

As Kurama, Dorian and Maria fought against the two beasts, Kurama's mother stood over Halley with a smile.

"My dear, behold the power of Mother Nature," she said as she unleashed healing magic that instantly healed Halley. She knelt down and softly touched Halley's stomach.

"Hmmm, my dear you must be careful, for not only are you putting your life in danger, but you are also putting my grandchild's life in danger. Be careful and think before you act. I must go, I cannot hold on to this world much longer, but let Kurama know that I love him and shall be watching over him. Tell him that though he thought I was dead, the truth will be revealed when he visits his father."

She felt so weak, and was barely able to lift her head as the woman approached and shrouded her with healing magic. Instantly she felt the injuries healing, and the goo was even vanishing. She could move, and she could stand. "Thank you," Halley spoke softly to the woman, bowing her head in respect. "I will tell him everything Mother," Halley whispered, looking stunned as she sat back down on the rooftop. She was...pregnant? How far along was she? Kurama had to go see Haakon?

A small tear fell from her cheek and she looked up at the battle. The others weren't doing much damage, and the beasts seemed more enraged than they were hurt. Her little stunt had only slowed Diamonus, for it was still raging through the city. "I'm sorry Kurama," she muttered, though she knew he couldn't hear. She wouldn't have done that had she known she was pregnant. Another tear fell, and another until she broke down into tears.

The female figure vanished leaving Halley with words to think about.

After seeing the display, the Kraken growled and looked over at Diamonus.

"Any permanent injuries?" it asked in its low bellowing voice.

"The little bitch did a number on me, but I shall recover, nothing my internal creatures can't handle," Diamonus replied as he glared over at the three mystics.

Maria growled and raised a wall of darkness up and turned to the others and said softly “We have to leave here us four alone do not stand a chance against these two. She turned and spoke one last time in the language of shadows a solid sphere of darkness forming around Dorian, Kurama, and Halley. She waved her hand and the spheres were teleported into a parking garage nearly ½ mile away. She made an attempt to follow her friends and was hit with a sonic boom resulting being flung through the air and slamming roughly into a building the entire building crumbling on top of her before she could put up her defenses. Her wings were broken and her blood was pouring from her wounds. She was weakening instantly and could feel her energy being trained in an attempt for her to heal herself. All the while the rubble kept falling on her.

Halley, Dorián and Kurama were all stunned as a sphere of darkness surrounded them. Halley wondered what Maria was doing. "Maria?" she asked weakly, standing up once more and drying her eyes. "Maria!" Halley shouted as she was teleported to a garage apartment less than a mile away, with Kurama and Dorian landing next to her. She'd seen the last little bit, the sonic boom striking Maria and she'd watched as she'd crashed into a building. "Kurama you have to save her! You can come back and yell at me later, but please...." Halley begged, breaking down into tears again. He still didn't know what she knew, and because of that knowledge she wasn't going near those beasts again. "I promise not to do anything stupid, and I'm not going near those...things again...but please, you have to save her," she begged Kurama, sobbing as she fell to her knees and held her face in her hands. Her upper body was shaking as she sat there and cried, and she knew she had to calm down before she stressed her baby.
Kurama looked down at Halley. Why was she so overly emotional? He hadn't a clue and he knelt down and lifted her head. Something was going on and he was going to find out what.

"Halley, calm down and tell me why you're being like this."

Dorian stood off to the side watching Kurama and Halley. He hadn't seen anyone so emotional before. He sat down on a crate and waited for Halley to answer but then he noticed Kurama glaring at him.

"Dude, go get Maria please, I need to talk to Halley alone."

Dorian sighed and stood up, "alright."

In a flash of electricity, Dorian was gone.

Halley looked up at Kurama, tears falling from her eyes. "I'm sorry Kurama," Halley tried to look away, but he held her chin in his hand. "I wouldn't have..." she didn't know that she could get the words out. "I wouldn't have done that if I'd known..." Halley broke down into tears again and gripped at his shirt, holding it to her face. "She told me that I was...that I'm...I'm...PREGNANT!" Halley finally shouted, sobbing into his shirt. She was afraid. Afraid that Kurama would be pissed that she had risked her life while being pregnant. Still, she hadn't known she was pregnant. If she'd known she was pregnant, she wouldn't have even fought the beasts. "I'm sorry. I didn't know," Halley said through her gasps for air.

She was becoming hysterical, and she certainly wasn't calming down by any means. She'd just found out that she was pregnant after she'd allowed herself to be swallowed by a giant, smelly beast and had been covered in acid. Halley racked her brain to the words that his mother had told her. "She also told me to tell you...that she loved you," at this Halley smiled weakly, "and... that even though you thought she was dead, all would be revealed when you visited your father..." Halley was reluctant to say this last part, as she didn't want Kurama anywhere near Haakon. What kind of things would he say to Kurama to persuade him to join the Nobility? What kind of emotional damage could he do to Kurama? She was scared for him, but he had a right to go as Haakon was his father.

Halley embraced him tightly, wrapping her arms around his waist and burrying her face into his chest. She had calmed down considerably, though she was still noticably upset. "I don't know how far I am. It could be weeks, it could be a month. I didn't even know I was pregnant," Halley mumbled, mainly to clarify things. She held herself close to Kurama, almost afraid that if she let go he wouldn't be there. That he would be angry with her. "Please don't leave me. Please don't be mad, I'll be more careful now that...I know..." Halley begged, looking up at him with watery eyes.

Kurama just knelt there in complete shock at the news that was just delivered to him. He was a father, he had met his mother, and she loved him, and he had to visit Haakon. All of this was overwhelming to say the least, but Kurama simply embraced Halley and kissed her softly on the forehead. This was his chance to prove that he was a better man than his father would ever be. He'd be there for his wife and kid and he'd make sure that his family had everything they needed. He'd protect them and he would shroud them in love.

Smiling, he rubbed Halley's arms and sent a bit of soothing magic into her to calm her down.

"Calm down, I'm not upset. I'm not going anywhere Halley. During this battle, I need for you to take it easy and stay safe. I know I'm not going to be able to keep you from being who you are, but if I could get you to promise me that you won't do anything as stupid as you did before, it will soothe my worries," Kurama said softly as he continued to hold her.

Halley was a little shocked as Kurama held her and kissed her forehead, she hadn't been expecting that. It made her smile slightly, and she looked up at him with one of those love-drunk expressions on her face. She could feel herself getting calmer and smiled gently at him, knowing that he was responsible for the feeling. She didn't mind, it was helping her calm down considerably, and she was even smiling at him. Halley smiled as he said he wasn't going anywhere, and she held him close and burried her face into his shirt. "I promise. But I need you to stay safe too. I don't want to be out of the fight because I'm pregnant, and then end up having to worry about you all the time," Halley said, looking at him sadly and with worry.

Halley smirked a little as she held one of his hands in hers. "Besides, that wasn't completely stupid, at least it wouldn't have been if I hadn't been pregnant. I did a number on Diamonus and you have to admit that," Halley smirked, looking rather proud of herself. She looked out the window and sighed deeply, watching the creatures destroy buildings. "Something has to be done to stop them. We aren't enough, especially now that I'm out of the fight," Halley said, placing a gentle hand on her belly and rubbing it lovingly, before looking back at him sadly.

Dorián appeared beside Maria and scooped her up in his hands. He sighed looking at her battered body and kissed her softly on the cheek. By doing this, he allowed his healing magic to flow into her. Though it was nowhere near as strong as Mother Nature, it would ease the pain and enhance her angelic healing.

“We have to regroup Maria, hopefully the others are on their way, but we have to regroup in order to even be a threat to those things.”

Just then, he felt a presence he knew all too well. There was another here, another mystic.

“Nemine,” he said softly his attention scanning the area, though he did not pick up on her location, “where are you?”

[Lost Goddess]

Maria awoke to find herself in Dorians arms and she stood wearily and said " Gather Halley and Kurama then meet me atop the Empire State building. She teleported and reappeared atop the Empire State building and leaned against it for support. She was weak, but there was more more thing she still had to do before she could rest. Her form began glowing blue, and her eyes flashed a piercing white. Her air was being blown wildly by wind that was not their and she spoke "Itric a noth Nyx neiat". As soon as she finished those words tendrils of darkness seemed to burst from her very essence and shot upwards towards the sky in a grand display. Imagine Old Faithful erupting in Yellow stone national park, this was ten times that size and seemed to reach into the very fabric of space.

Above the clouds a massive darkball was forming unable to be seen by any below the clouds. It kept growing bigger and seemed to hold the appearance of elastic, but still it was solid in form, and transparent slightly. Then an explosion occured briefly blotting out the sun, and causing a loud echo to sound upon the earth. When the black haze cleared the ball was no longer there, instead it was a great band of darkness that stretched but still remained firm and it continued stretching across the sky and once it reached the spot between the navy ships and the forces of the nobility it curved downward at an incredible speed and plunged deep beneath the ocean and solid ground.. cutting off all human interactions with this battle soon to occur. The shield extended across the entire state and sealed it off from the outside world. Maria couldn't risk others getting hurt because of the display of power about to occur. However, the shield was meant to only keep the nobility and its allies as well as the mystics and its allies, It let humans out, but kept all others in. It also allowed all the elements in and the use of all powers, but the effects of those powers could reach outside of the shield. It was solely for protecting and closing off the outside world from the battle of new york.

Maria collapsed on the building top thoroughly drained of energy. She was sweating with exhaustion and struggled to keep her eyes open. She wasn't going to die of course because her angelic side was working tirelessly to refuel her body and give her the strength for the coming battle. She had over extended her abilities, and she knew it was dangerous, but she had a duty to protect the humans. She breathed in the air as the shield finally closed off the state of new york.. The sun still shining through as if there was no shield there.

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Rex*

As Maria's orb of darkness took effect on the state of New York, Rex knew the time was now they had to end this before anyone else got hurt. Picking up his speed he soon found himself in epicenter of the battle, the younger Mystics were holding their own valiantly his heart swelled with pride at how well they were doing against the two monsters of myth they deserved a rest he cast Domes of Silence around his allies and unleashed the Sound Mystic's fury.
"Prepare yourselves foul creatures!" He roared amplifying his voice to the maximum of his power windows shattered and using his magic he hurled them full bore into the eyes of his foes the beasts roared as a few spears of glass hit their marks before the they closed their eyes and warded off the rest but Rex didn't give them a chance to recover next up were his Concussive Waves.

Using his wings he sent volley after volley into the great bulks of the monsters sending them into roaring cascades of pain and confusion. Then the top of his three prong attack using his claws he created concentrated cones of Feedback to assail and destroy the ears of the beasts. This was a risky venture sure he'd destroy the hearing of these monsters though unless one of the Nobility were dumb enough to get caught in his cross-fire their hearing would be safe, but if any of his allies got caught between him and the monsters their heads would explode since he was augmenting his power to take into account the sheer size of the monsters. While an Earth Dragon or Behemoth were larger, compared to Rex even in his Super Mystic form they were huge and overkill was never bad things with enemies this big. He was slowly driving them back from the shore but in their screaming rages they were flinging out their attacks at this new assailant, most of them were wild and missed but one well placed tentacle by the Kraken caught Rex squarely in the scaly chest and hurled him through a building and crash into the reinforced walls of another. While the after math of his attacks still wailed they had lost their focus and quickly dissipated like a howling winter wind through the moors.

"It's that fucking Sound Dragon!" Roared the Kraken it's ears whistling and unable to hear it's own words the Sea Beast simply snarled and smashed it's attack unto the still form of Rex who had managed to throw up a defensive barrier against them but the three-pronged attack took more out of him then he intended he was gravely out of practice and it would take him a few seconds to get it back up and at his enemies. But he wasn't on his own for long soon he heard the defiant roars of the Dragons he had pulled into his service. The sky darkened and with the crash of thunder and blast of intense light Feni commandeered the skies over New York and began blasting wild and blinding blue bolts of lighting into the ground making the Sea Beast recall it's relentless attacks upon Rex's shield then commenced peppering the monsters with the lances of electricity giving the old Space Dragon time to gather his wits for another attack. Joining Feni were some of the few other allies they had Air Fae, Werebirds, riding on Feni's back were the Jungle Dragons along with a small group of their speices all armed with posion tipped arrows and spears useless in the greater scheme of the battle but if they got them into opens wounds, eyes, our mouths they would take some effect. Even a few more Stormers but they looked younger than even Feni. If only they could've garnered support from the Wind Dragon or any of the base element Dragon, even a small of army of those would've put a quick end to this battle but like Space Dragons they have restrictions placed on their immense power by their timeless King.

The sky was blazing with lightning strikes and bleeding wounds were appearing on the monsters' skin as the Werebirds tore and pecked at them. Rex was now on his feet as he heard the ground shake and the air was polluted with the stink of the Swamplands of the world. Castiel and a number of other Swamp Dragons rumbled down the street towards battle like a stampede of elephants. Seeing these monsters face to face cast doubts about their battle plan into Rex's mind, history has shown that all out rushes against a much bigger enemy often result in great losses on the smaller side. Jumping to his feet he shouted at Cas and his swamp monsters.
"Casteil, guerrilla warfare, they're to strong for a full frontal attack!" Not even changing his path the Swamp Elder growled to his followers and they broke off down side streets and clawed their ways to the tops of buildings and began lobing nasty green globs of highly potent acid at the monsters aiming for their open wounds and much like Rex's glass attacks a few attacks hit home but they didn't slow down the mighty beasts terrorizing New York. Arms and tentacle shot out and scored sudden deaths on both the Swamp fighters and the Storm Fighters. But his keens eyes saw the poisons slowly seeping in and taking effect it probably wouldn't be more then bee stings to these giants but enough bee stings can kill. The insensate attacks were beginning to greatly annoy the great monsters and hurt them. They'd given up taunting and screaming their ears dulled by Rex's first attack they turned all their energy toward bringing down the Dragons and their fighters.

While Rex and his group were fighting on land Belisa and the other Dragons of water were swimming with blinding speed toward Queen Scylla and her Mermaids as they were dragging men to their watery graves. Now in peace times Dragons of the Water and Mermaids lived quite peacefully side by side even helping each other from time to time but during times of war old friendships are often cast aside for the greater good and Dragons could never stand by watching innocent die in the clutches of Sirens such as these. The sea surged and roiled as Belisa and her Dragons both of Sea and River followed by sea predators they had convinced to fight besides them sharks, whales, squid and others while the Mermaids could turn these reinforcements against them they'd work to distract the Merfolk. The Elder River Dragon roared her defiance at the Merqueen and like a tidal wave her forces collided with the underwater forces of the enemy ripping and slashing chunks of flesh away.

After the initial shock of the charge the Merfolk left off killing the men they had dragged overboard and tore wholeheartedly into Belisa's forces while the animals of the sea put up spectacular fights most of their numbers were reduced and they fled back to the deeps leaving the Dragons to fight on their own at least until more help arrived.

*Kana*

Kana and her Fae arrived in time to see the sea become a bloody writhing cauldron as Belisa's under sea army went after the Mermaid Queen. She wanted to help them but her group was built for ground combat not aquatic warfare.Turning her eyes toward land they saw the Dragons already slowly chipping away at the great monsters of the sea. The Sea Beast besides the Kraken was suffering more than it's comrade it was closer to Castiel's acid hurling Swamp fighters so it was receiving the brunt of the attacks it's skin was discoloring from all the acid and poisons that were being driving through it's gaping wounds. And upon seeing it's weakness the Jungle Dragons were swarming it driving more poisons homes via their arrows, spears, and claws. The monster was going down it just needed one final push into it's grave and Kana intended to deliver it. Flying quickly above the monster the Trolls jumped off the sides of the Equinox Knight's rock and and smashed their heavy bodies and clubs into their target's mushy flesh getting loud cracks and breaks in response. It screamed and faltered back seeing this as his chance Cas told his group to continue the acid attacks while he went to put the final touches on the kill.
"Kana give me a rock to punch through it's teeth with!" He shouted to the young girl looking quickly at her. Understanding his meaning she ripped a rock from the the decimated ground and brought it up to him. The Elder Dragon jumped onto the rock and like a giant bullet Kana hurled the rock and Dragon right into the side of the Sea Beast's clenched maw shattering a few teeth and giving Cas a free shot into it's mouth to inject his acid and poison orally.

It howled as it's teeth shattered snapping it's head aside from the force slinging anyone that wasn't holding on tight enough to a messy death against a building. Boto was one of them along with four other Jungle Dragons and a few Werebirds. L'achia held on but seeing her mate's death was horrible enough for her to follow Cas's suicidal attack into the broken mouth besides two potent poisons would put the monster to it's end all the quicker. Their claws and teeth tore apart the monster's mouth sending all the acid and poison they could into it's body. The other attackers with the help of Kana and her parents were pulled from the dying creature before they would be killed by it's massive bulk crushing them. Cas and L'achia couldn't be saved though Diamonus had clenched his mouth tightly shut trapping them. The seizure like effect the multiple poisons were having on it made it lose all of his body control whipping and churning in the see as it was seemingly eaten from the inside out. Castiel had locked in the poisons so they couldn't seep out and kill the rest of the world.

*Rex cont.*

Rex had been watching the serpent's horrendous death as had the other that weren't readily fighting the Kraken who was still death to the other's horrible death. Gathering up his power the Space Dragon slung a spell of pure force at Diamonus it's rotted flesh gave under the attack and it was taken aback a hole through it's core while it wasn't enough to hurl the carcass far it was enough to start it in a forward fall like an earthquake the monster smashed into the ruined street leaving a long furrow in the pavement and collapse part o the city into the subway and sewers under the street. With one threat dealt with Rex and the Dragons joined Kana and the Fae in bringing down the Kraken. No rest for the just.

[Atrum Daemon]

The initial effects of the oil Franz’s followers ingested did have horrible outcomes at first. But, with regular doses and Franz’s therapy, the people quickly became seamless marriages of flesh and machine just like Franz. When the giant battle between the great serpents, Mystics, and Nobility began, Franz and his new friends immediately started ushering people off the streets and out of danger. They tried their best to get people to the safety of places like the cult’s church or other such buildings, but the effects of the battle resulted in a lot of collateral damage.

When the majority of the population was evacuated, only those ushered into Franz’s church, along with Franz and his followers, remained. The followers tended to the injured while Franz put up multiple protective barriers.

“What is all that?” asked one of the cultists.

“The work of Mystics,” Franz answered. “They fancy themselves protectors of the innocent.”

“Protectors?” one of the men asked. “That just killed dozens of people!”

“I know,” Franz said with a nod. “And you also saw the Lord of Sunlight fighting with the Mystic’s power-mad leader. The Lord of Sunlight was trying to intervene before the devastation got too bad.”

“What should we do?”

“We shall remain here and help these injured people,” Franz said. “Just remember what the Mystics did here today, friends.”

Franz looked out of one of the windows while his people continued to dress wounds and help the people they saved. The Mystics themselves were making it rather easy for him to turn people against them. Word of mouth would quickly spread about the events here and the people Franz and his followers saved would add just the right spin to it.

[Setsa]

Fria watched the shield around the state go up, it wouldn't last long with everyone weakening. Summoning her own strength she casted out her own shield under Maria's to make sure the mortals would be kept safe. Flying like a bullet avoiding tentacles that were all over to get to the Empire State building. Up there she would be sought out and found too easily.... Seeing Rex weakened for a few minutes she gritted her teeth and pushed harder. Descending right when she collapsed the valkyrie gatherered her up and summoning the elevator doors to open she placed her inside for Kurama and Halley to find... Leaving it open just a gap for air and solidifying the shaft so there was no way it could free fall.

There was one thing wrong with all of this...she didn't see the nobility or much of them around. And that was very dangerous..... trying to keep an watchful eye out she joined in destroying the drakon. Using the chain created from her axe staff she wrapped it around two tentacles flying backwards to straighten them out. It was a fight of brute strength as her wings flapped frantically to keep still; her biceps rippling and straining as she pulled back. Suddenly the Kracken turned to look at the winged bitch that was immobilizing him partially. Pulling back with a roar as she was fulng in the air like the end of a whip. Back and forth, this way and that she was flung like a rag doll holding tightly to her weapon for dear life. Not wanting her arm sockets ripped out she pulled up slowly...climbing the chain to go directly for the wrapped tentacles. "Arrrrghhhh !!!!" Using her strength to climb more and more as he whipped her around angrily she lost grip in mid advancment and was now dangling to the chain by one hand. Knuckles white as snow her wings provided little use as she slowly grabbed the chain with her other hand and climb up on the tentacle. Seeing the beasts chest heaving in weakness she looked to the others. "I have one good shot so brace!!" Retracting the chain she ran up the tentacle and launched herself towards a weak spot... The Kracken's neck... All veins go through the neck the only bad thing is that how deep they were she had no idea. Summoning the Aurorialis Whip she made it stiff as steel and stabbed it into the right side of its neck as it screamed in agony and hit her hard. The Valkyrie tumbled head over heels into a building, through the window as the glass cut into her skin deep the only thing that stopped her was a steel beam as it bent from the impact leaving an injured knocked out momentarily valkyrie stained with blood.

Breathing shallowly as her body regained her strength and awareness slowly... Hearing the frightened screams of mortals and the battle cries of others.

"Get...up Fria, can't be here lying her to be caught...get..Up..."

[Jacogos]

Caine was vaguely aware of something wrong. His communicator, the only thing that stayed with him between transformations clarified the feeling by ringing. The Sea Beast was destroyed. All Generals report to New York and assist the Kraken with decimating the Mystics. Snarling to himself, Caine muted the communicator and spoke to his new underlings.

"We have a jawb to do naow, so it seems. To the easht we rawn, to the aid of the great beast, the mighty Kraken! Go, naow!"

With that command, the nearly two thousand werebeasts gathered there that day sprinted off towards New York. Within the hour, they would be upon the Mystics in all their primal fury.



Nemine watched from a distance as Dorián and three other Mystics battled the Beasts. The battle was rather one sided, as there was only so much the weaker Mystics could do against the titanic monsters. Eventually, one Mystic went down, though Nemine was not sure where she went. Then two more Mystics joined the fray, one the Sound Mystic Marzarex. He alone was a turning tide to the battle, though the aid of his Dragon allies and some Fae were also enough to favor the Mystics. The Sea Beast went down under their combined attacks.

Sighing at the loss, Nemine calmly entered her Mystic Form. She was perched lightly atop a building that had yet to feel the wrath of the beasts, and still stood tall. She could still sense that Dorián was around, though her oath to the Nobility pushed him out of her thoughts momentarily. Now was not the time for sentiments...

She extended her hand and a Beam of Ice shot from it, piercing an Earth Fae directly through its stomach. Nemine was unsure if the thing was dead, but it certainly fell like it was. Oh well, no time to check. Now that she had the attention of a few of the Fae, Nemine threw up an Ice Wall to protect herself from the volley of poison projectiles. Dancing away onto her platform of ice, Nemine floated towards the Fae, surrounded by a cocoon of Ice to protect her. One she was close enough, the Ice exploded outward from her, slicing through a Sniper and severely wounding two more. With that momentary window of opportunity, the Banshee girl screamed a piercing wail that rattled against one's very soul.

The Fae were effectively stunned. One was trying to advance on her, stubbornly resisting to the best of its ability, but all of a sudden, a shadow appeared over it. In the blink of an eye, the Troll was ripped apart by a huge Werelion, though by those standards, the two were about the same size. Nemine's jaw snapped shut as she stopped the wail, though the others wouldn't have the time to recover. Werebeasts were pouring into New York's war-torn streets, and Nemine felt the chill on her back that told her that Caine was nearby. She also felt something else, but the rest drowned it out. Stepping back onto her platform of Ice, Nemine retreated from her small battlefield and went back to surveying the larger one, nursing a gash she had from a stray arrow. The poison would not do much against a Banshee, but it did irritate her senses.

[Setsa]

Trinity

Not having anything else to say she smiled at Drax...words not having to be said as they knew what they must do. Taking the Tragedy Knights over via fearstalker portals into New York the battle was well underway by the time they got there. A being a joint-neutral party their main priority was protecting the people....that meant keeping them away from Franz and his oily hybrids. Shield bubbles helped the state however the people were in a panick frenzy running like mice from I hungry cat. "Quickly! Get the people to safety! Avoid unstable buildings as much as possible...dismissed!" With several brigades spreading out taking people and trying to herd them to safety, Trinity took flight in search for Franz... With the battle his efforts may be slowed down but that doesn't mean his snake-twisting tongue would rest. Those he converted may have false powers and strength but it was only temporary... Soon as Franz or Haakon was done with them they would most likely end up dead and gone ...the option they chose was only delaying the the fates of those minions of the one she and Drax use to follow.

Finding Franz was easy enough...his aura radiated pure unharnessed blackness, those that were in the building with him were different. Though black..light of hidden good still was there in a good few being muffled for the moment as inner battles were in many as the oil took over their physical being. She could use this for her advantage....landing ontop of a building she went down the staircase, down each floor until she found an access point where she was hidden but could see what was going on. Taking a deep breath she looked for the right few..those with weak minds but enough strength to be noticed by the others as leaders... Using the sway of emotions technique to bring them out...let them voice their opinions to the mass.

A strong man, dressed in a sharp business suit that was mildly effected from the oil as it spread suddenly took a sharp breath in, eyes growing wide as suddenly the oil stopped or at the least slowed down. His body awakened to what was going on now fought the parasitic invasion. Standing up on an empty table he started to call out loudly over the commotion around him. "Hey!!! Hey wait! Open your eyes people! Those Mystics are trying to fight off the Kracken LOOK! If they were true evil why would those guys try to save the others?" Pointing out to the streets where the TK were ushering people out of streets, picking up the injured and helping them to safety. Looking at Franz he takes a deep breath as a few others started to voice their questionable loyalties to Franz... "He is pulling the wool over our eyes!! Look at those that are here with us! Injured and some dying cause this oil..this blackness is slowly being our deaths! What are you doing with us Franz?! Trying to kill us? I don't want to be a follower! I want freedom! Freedom we all earned here! We're not sheep! We're NOT sheep! We're NOT SHEEP!!" The business man chanted as the chant started to grow louder and louder as others chimed in staring Franz down... "WE'RE NOT SHEEP! WE'RE NOT SHEEP!...." Whispers in corners as people discussed who to side with...if there even was a side to choose or would they be better off alone as they always thought they were...

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Drax*

As their coalition forces left the blazing sun of Australia Drax was already sending orders to his Stalkers. The Knights were meant to work as disguised warriors the metal armor would allow the not totally lost humans to think the knights belonged to the Valkyrie so the people would associate the Knights helping people with Fria and it seemed to be working. But while his people could pass for small Dragons they were better at war than babysitting so their mission was simple, assassinate the followers of the Nobility using every covert tact in their large books. The Weres made it easy running around with wild abandon following the powerful scent of blood down shadowed alleys, through abandoned buildings and right into the waiting clutches of the Stalkers each one armed with a slender silver dagger and of course all their inherit killing skills.

Most of the deaths were quick and silent but those that weren't quite so quiet were lost among the chaotic sounds of the battle with the Kraken. Trained from chickhood in the ways of fear and battle the Stalkers suffered few loses and most of those were young Creepers trying to bring down an older more powerful Were. Never being one to lead from the rear, Drax was in the heart of this contest while he took down his share of young Were his targets were the Leaders of this rabble. Drax had brought down Caine time and again during the Mystic's training so killing these sub-creatures he called followers were like breaking the necks of baby birds especially the smaller ones he was half tempted to feast on the flesh of a few of them but didn't want the mutt blood to stain his lips.
The first to die was an insulting knock-off of his people wereiguna king or something he took particular pleasure in snuffing the life out of that one. He was following the scent of what he assumed was the Werebear King this might prove a fun warm-up for the Wraith's centuries of experiences and skill his ultimate goal would be to bring down the Big Mutt himself but he didn't foresee that happening this battle so he'd have to make due with just killing his grunts he found the massive beast that was the closest nondragon opponent he's seen that could match the Stalker's size this would be a fun fight. Some of his warriors had already found the bear's group and it seemed they were evenly matched in strength but the blades of the Fearstalkers were chipping quickly away at the bears' hides even scoring critical kills a few times. But he couldn't say the battle was that one sided, the mutts were racking up their own kills even with Death Counters working their best to send the dead back to the Kingdom for proper burial the ground was not absent of dead Fearstalkers. As the bear king dispatched of a Horror First Class Drax jumped into the fray and slashed the bears chest with his silver dagger leaping back as the Manimal swiped his massive paw in the direction of the attack. Luckily the darkness cloaks his people wore hide their identities from anyone who doesn't know their fighting styles so the bear didn't know who it was that just attacked him he roared squaring off with Drax.
"Who the hell are you!" The Wraith smiled under his cloak and lied in a dangerous voice.
"A little insurance policy devised by your master's owner Haakon, we can't have you mutts getting delusions of grandeur." The bear roared enraged and lunged at Drax swiping and slashing with his huge claws trying to get hold of his assailant but Drax had speed on his side and in a battle the faster side usually wins.

He danced around the bear's lumbering attacks biting at the vulnerable hide with his dagger leaving long nasty cuts. Drax was beginning to think this would be another easy battle but the bear was learning, he spun mid attack and managed to smack the dagger from Drax's claw sending it spinning down the alley. The bear swung his right paw as a follow-up attack and while it sliced off a piece of his cloak Drax managed to back-peddle before his skull got crushed. The big manimal laughed increasing his attacks seeing his opponent disarmed.
"Let's see how well you do without your little toy now coward!" Drax snarled under his cloak keeping the bear's attacks at bay looking for a chance to kill him with his claws in way that wouldn't expose him to the sun, or a chance to place a killing blow with magic it was quick but he still needed a few seconds to cast the spell. And that was difficult to do dodging giant bear paws, but like most large melee fighters he was using up all his energy trying to get his prey before killing it, Drax could use that. Waiting for the very second when the bear slowed Drax shot a black pulsing ball of darkness into the Were's chest launching him back off his legs and into a great furry panting pile on the ground, the Wraith snarled pushing the ball through the mutt's chest boaring a hole to his heart and with a clench of his claw the ball exploded in the bear king's heart killing him.

Looking around for the first time since he started fighting the Were he saw his troops had already finished their skirmishes and dealt with their dead before moving back on the hunt of the Weres. Taking to the shadows he retrieved his dagger and followed suit.


*Kana*

Nemine's sudden attack followed by the literal flood of Weres did indeed catch Kana and her Fae by surprise two died right off and the rest were injured to some degree and it would've been curtains for all of them had the young lass not acted quickly after the Banshee's Wail wore off throwing up her hands she created a dome of pure stone around her group protecting them from the frenzied attacks of the Weres it would buy them the time they needed to recover and make a plan of attack. The Were howls and roars of rage at their being denied prey was almost deafening but raising their voices allowed them to talk Kana shouted first.
"Who did we lose?" Amyareya, her mother answered sitting next to her daughter pushing her healing skill into the gaping stomach wound.
"The Fire Spirit Heydon an' the Wilde Grognak the rest o' us are injured though!" Kana looked around the dark dome frowning, Dut was nursing a huge cut across his face and chest but he and Illia had brought various healing potions for just such an occasion. Her father Haskin was actually the best off injury wise he only had some long thin cuts along his arms where he blocked the ice shards. The Fire Nymph Aeish was searing closed all the bleeding red welts from her exposed skin and the remaining Wilde, Gronan was licking the long cuts along his arm from a Weretiger's claws.
Even the Equinox Knight was sporting a diagonal cut across her cheek. They fell for a surprise attack it was insulting to say the least all but Kana were old and experienced Fae that had seen more battle then most of the Nobility put together... goes to show that Murphey's Law is in effect even for residents of the Never. They needed a plan and they needed it now the Weres were digging at the ground trying to get in the dome.

"Ok any idea how we'll get out o' this?" She asked not being bothered by the fact she was both the leader of the group and it's least experienced member. Haskin spoke now licking the blood that had dripped over his mouth.
"Wha' about an explosion o' rocks? You, yer mother, and me all focus our powers and turn this dome into a rock bomb!" Kana and her mother both nodded but Dut spoke up with a concern.
"What about the rest of us?" Kana tapped her chin then answered.
"Aeish dinnae ya not grab yer brither's gun?" The Nymph raised an eyebrow still focusing on searing closed her wounds then looked down and nodded picking up the sleek black weapon.
"Yeah I did, why?" The young Fae smiled nodding to Dut.
"Give it tae Dut, you two and Illia can use yer ranged weapons to bring down anyone not crushed by the rock bomb! And you Gronan, after Aeish, Illia and Dut bring down the first wave ye can join my parents an' ah in mopping up anyone still kickin' then we take back tae the sky an' punish our enemies from above so they won't get the drop on us again! Try an' stick close tae Dragons after we fight our ways out, Master Rex can give us hearing protection from the Banshee's Wail next time!" The Troll growled gripping his club tightly.
"I demand the cat that killed my brother before we do anything else!" Kana nodded getting a grim smile in response.
"Ok let's do this! Everyone take yer positions!" The others did as they were bid and readied for the mad dash out of this horde of Were.

The Earth Fae closed their eyes and focused on getting the rocks' attention telling them what will happen and how sorry they were to have to hurt the rocks like this but as is the way of rock they took this news stoically and said they were prepared to die to save the world. With final mutters of thanks Kana and her parents took a deep breath in unison and the earth began to quake as they summoned up the power needed. The land stilled for a few seconds before like a nuclear bomb they exhalded the pent up breath causing the rock dome to explode up and out so fast many of the Were were still standing seeminly unaware of the rocks that had crushed their bones and shattered their skulls but soon like dominos they fell, dead before they even hit the ground. The close ranks were decimated but they couldn't let the shock go to waste taking up 360 degree positions Dut, Illia, and Aeish let their weapons bark out death around them. More Were's dropped and as they spent up one round of ammo the rest of the party ripped into anyone that was still standing which wasn't many. Gronan did manage to avenge his brother though even though the Werelion left his mark even on the Wilde's tough hide but the cat man died as he would've had Grognak not been attacked from behind, the lion's head was smashed to a red paste. They were intent on showing the Nobility you only get one chance to surprise a squad of Fae. But the surprise was wearing off and the Weres were regaining their composure Kana, her parents and Gronan ran back to the others as the enemy swarmed again their claws and teeth snapping at Kana's long hair as she ripped up another large slab of earth rocketing them into the sky and away from the earth bound Weres. The Earth Mystics's eyes never left the dot she knew to be Nemine that bitch was next on Kana's list after she thined out the ranks of Weres some more. Hoving above the howling beasts they dropped chunks of rocks and Fae explosives among the Were ranks but they only got a few kills this way Weres, no matter the species were fast when they had to be.

[Echo]

Scarlett happily watched the sea beasts fight and completely overrun the mystic trio while carefully hiding her presence. It wasn't hard, the mystics were much more focused on the wild beasts that swatted them down like flies. One by one, they fell to the ground; bloody and battered, like insects. It wasn't before long that they needed to escape, to take cover. And when they did, Scarlett witnessed a large black dome encase New York state. Guess I'm trapped.

"Looks like your weren't needed, Orc," Scarlett spoke in a strange device, a dark crystal with the face- or faces - of a monster peeking from the inside.
A deep, metallic voice bellowed from the crystal, creating a huge echo in the deserted streets of a city, completely vacant and un-populated. "Unfortunately not. I want to crush the mystics! They're saving humans, the food! And I only like humans dead and miserable!"

Scarlett sighed at his remark. "Millions of years old, and still all you care about is food." Scarlett wrapped her fingers around the crystal, which disappeared into thin air with a touch. "But speaking of food... a power-up for the upcoming fight would be nice..."


----

The demoness walked around some more, but only saw tons of cars on the roads, especially near the borders. The highways were flooded and jammed and the cars' toxic fumes released into the sky, adding on to the polluted air that Earth already has enough of. Most of the cars were running, yet they were empty, without a driver.

"Damn, just great, now what do I eat? ...Maybe I'll eat a vampire. Now where can I find those?" Scarlett concentrated on her detector skill, and found an area densely populated with the species. Probably Eva, huh. I'll check what's she up to.

Evangeline watched the destruction and devastation from the top of a large building. She watched as the mystics were slowly being defeated, one by one, until they had to fall back and regroup. She witnessed the Light Mystic allow herself to get swallowed by the beast and her jaw dropped in anger. "that's one less mystic I have to deal with," she muttered to herself. She was about to close in on the remaining mystics when she noticed diamonus spewing something from his mouth and smirked.

"things are about to get interesting," she said aloud, her smirk growing as she raced towards the battle. She then noticed a familiar presence in the area. "Scarlett," Evangeline said, stopping and turning. "Things are about to get interesting. Would you care to join?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and pointing to the garage the mystics were hiding in.

Scarlett smiled in a crooked delight. "I would be honoured. Is Maria in there? I can't feel her presence in that garage... well damn, that means I can't use that nifty new weapon I made just for her."

The demoness paid little attention to the garage and Evangeline after that, and took on a new focus at the vampire army Evangeline had gathered. If she her body were more human, her stomach would've growled. A hand wrapped around one of the vampire's pale necks, much to its surprise. Scarlett's hand clenched tighter, and the vampire's body spontaneously exploded into a blast of ghostly dust, that eventually was caught and carried away by the wind. The only thing left of him was a wispy, compacted, and glowing white sphere the size of a golf ball.

"You don't mind one comrade lost, do you?" Scarlett asked Evangeline as she popped the soul in her mouth. "I was hungry, and I couldn't find a large number of humans, so the vamp'll do. Hmm, I think that my demon subordinates are placed around New York too, and they'll serve as back-up." Scarlett pressed one palm on the hideout's door. "Ready?"

Evangeline scowled as she watched Scarlett kill one of her Vampires and consume the soul. "You could have waited. I have a long awaited appointment with the Light Mystic, and you can have her soul after," Evangeline scowled and crossed her arms at Scarlett. "Just remember- comrade for comrade," Evangeline said, her eyes narrowed. She slowly opened the door to the garage and peered her head in, only to spot two mystics. "Lovebirds," Evangeline shook her head. "Let us wait for her mate to take leave and rejoin the others," Evangeline told Scarlett, closing the door again and smirking. "I don't want any interference," Evangeline explained, glaring at the door. She still had a personal score to settle with the girl, and she had every intentions of making her suffer as much as possible.

Scarlett raised an eyebrow at the vampire. "I've waited long enough. Take one of my demon's blood if you want. A demon crossed with vampire would be interesting..."

The demon stood still and silent as Evangeline peered inside the garage. The mystics in there letting their guard down in their 'safe haven', in each others' arms. They couldn't even hear Scarlett and Evangeline outside, talking aloof and carelessly. So simple-minded; but Scarlett knew not to underestimate anyone.

"Hmm, well, it would be a lot easier fighting her alone. Let's see if that prince charming over there will save her in time if he leaves..." Scarlett flew to the roof of the apartment so that she was hidden, but lying in wait, ready to pounce.

Kurama watched as Halley caressed her stomach and spoke about stopping the creatures. Just as she did, a sudden uproar could be heard outside the garage. Something was going on, and Kurama had to find out. He could feel others approaching.

"The others are here, and just in time," he stated as he rushed to the window seeing Fria, Marzarex as well as Kana appear on the scene. He watched as Diamonus was taken down by Marzarex and his dragons, but at the cost of some of his allies.

"I have to go help the others. Don't worry, you won't hurt the baby, it is supernatural after all," Kurama stated with a smile as he kissed Halley's head softly and quickly left the garage in order to assist them in destroying the Kraken.

She looked up as he said the others were there. Fria`? It had been many months since she had seen the Valkrye, and her heart swelled with joy upon spotting her out the window. She watched with Kurama as the dragons finished off Diamonus, her heart swelling with both pride and sorrow for the lost comrades. That was one less threat they had to deal with, though Halley could sense more coming. She wasn't sure what though, and she wasn't able to voice her concerns as Kurama kissed her head and left. "Kurama wait!" Halley said, looking around the garage.

She sighed and was about to teleport outside of the garage and to the streets when she heard a noise that sent chills down her very core. She heard the creak and then slam of a large door and turned at once, transforming into her Ancient Mystic form immediately. It did no good though as she saw a flash, and before she knew it her body was pulled half way across the garage, away from the windows. She let out a scream of fright as she struggled, only to look up and see none other than Evangeline sneering at her. "It has been too long," Evangeline stated.

Except she was different. She wasn't afraid of the light, and the light did not affect her. This was due to her new protective armor, and Halley glared at the metal encasing her skin. "Coward," was all she said, glaring at the Vampire and struggling. "I'm just leveling the playing field a little," Evangeline stated in her defense, slamming Halley into the nearest car, before flinging her into a wall back-first. 'KURAMA!' Halley screamed in her mind, her breathing short as pain seared through her backside.

"Bitch," Halley spat at the Vampiress and struggled against her hold, though it was useless as she held both of her hands in one of hers. "Why are you holding me?" Halley asked, knowing there had to be motives behind it. She knew that normally Evangeline would have just killed her, given the opportunity, but she was reserving for something...and the speculation of what that something was unnerved and frightened her. Her face softened and she looked scared. "Please...I'm pregnant....please don't hurt my baby," Halley begged, struggling desperately to get away.

As Kurama was helping the Mystics slay beasts that he hadn't seen before, he couldn't help but hear Halley screaming in his head. He wondered what had happened to her so quickly as he had just left the garage where Halley and he had been transported by Maria, still it was better to be safe than sorry.

Slicing through a nearby werebeast with his whip, he quickly made his way back to the garage. When he got there, he was quiet and moved with stealth like a ninja. He had to make sure if push came to shove he'd be able to get both of them out alive. He produced those same seeds he had produced that night he had stayed with Halley and watched as they transformed into humanoid tree like creatures with swords. At first there were only three, but then they started to multiply faster than one could blink. Unlike their slower larger counterparts dubbed Ents, these Huorn were fairly smaller, and slimmer and could move with the agility of a ninja, though they could not talk to humans.

"Go mighty Huorn. Slay those that oppose the Mystics," Kurama stated as his Huorn army roared and went off to help the others; however, four stayed behind with him.

"You four, wait here and prepare for battle, if I don't come back out in ten minutes, attack whatever binds me and my wife, got it?"

The Huorns looked at Kurama and then looked at each other before nodded. They took a stand as trees and would look exactly like trees as they stood a few feet off from the garage. Kurama made his way over to the garage silently. He looked in through the window and noticed Halley being restricted by none other than Evangeline. He was happy he had backup, though no one would know it considering his back up were trees.

"EVANGELINE!" Kurama growled as he entered the garage, breaking down the door with a swipe of his whip, "let her go."

Evangeline pulled back on Halley's arm when she heard her name being called and looked to the left. 'Damn I was hoping to avoid him,' she thought to herself, growling as she put her teeth dangerously close to the girl's neck. "So sorry, but I can't do that," Evangeline taunted, throwing the girl against the nearest wall again and pushing her up against it. Halley let out a cry of fright and a whimper of pain when she was tossed against the wall.

"You see, I'm rather hungry and she would make a most delicious meal for me," Evangeline sneered at the male as she pulled Halley close to her again. Halley glared at Evangeline with pure hatred in her eyes. She hadn't wanted to do this, but if it was the difference between survival and death....hopefully it would work. "I wonder how Haakon would feel if you killed his grandchild," Halley growled under her breath, glaring at Evangeline. That made her stop and think for a second, and look at Kurama. She looked between the two and snarled like a wild animal, one that would come close to matching Caine's growl.

"Let's find out," Evangeline said, glaring at the Light Mystic. This was news to her, that the male that stood before her was Haakon's own son. Evangeline ran out the door Scarlett was waiting at at top speeds, pausing only for a moment. "Complications. We have to continue this elsewhere," Evangeline stated, giving the demonness a knowing look as she swung Halley around like a rag doll. "She's pregnant with Haakon's grandchild, and her mate is in there," Evangeline explained briefly before she took off in a dash toward's Haakon's estate, girl in tote. 'Kur...ama,' Halley whimpered in fear, wondering where Evangeline was taking her. This was not good.

Scarlett's eyes brightened in a dark way when Evangeline came rushing out of the garage apartment; swinging Halley around like a doll, while Halley was obviously scared. Evangeline gave her a verbal note, and started running again. Scarlett instinctively followed and caught up to the vampire within a brief moment, also noticing the direction they were heading to, Haakon's estate.

"Haakon's grandchild? If he or she is influenced by her disgustingly goody-two-shoe parents, I'm pretty sure Haakon wouldn't mind if that child burned and scummed in the deepest levels of hell," Scarlett expressed her thoughts with malice, completely disregarding the fact that the mother of that child was right beside her. "Expectations must be met, or the person is worthless."

Scarlett glanced at the whimpering mystic in Evangeline's arms in a smirk. "As a parent, you must have expectations, am I right?" A small giggle escaped Scarlett's lips.

Evangeline nodded to Scarlett when the Demoness appeared behind her and began following her. The Mystic was still struggling against her hold, though she had her firmly wrapped around her back and had no intentions of letting go. "She would make a rather...delicious meal, however, I would rather wait for his approval before I dig in," Evangeline smirked in agreement with Scarlett. She was certain that Haakon could care less of the girl, but she was already treading in deep water with her Lord, and she didn't want to drown so to speak.

Halley glared at Scarlett despite her fear, she was wanting her child to burn in hell and he or she wasn't even born yet. "My expectations are for my baby to be happy and healthy, and to be a good person. I would rather die than let Haakon take my baby," Halley spat at Scarlett's face, a scowl on her own face. She felt something stirring within her stomach and moaned, knowing that she was queasy. The feeling of unease grew, and she was concerned that she might have been stressing her baby- at least that was until her body began to glow a white color, something that she wasn't doing. 'What?' Halley thought to herself, looking down at her stomach as the glowing brightened. "What are you doing?" she heard Evangeline growl in the back of her mind.

The strange white light began to glow with a sudden intensity that was similar to her own, only it was a little darker than her own- a black hue surrounded the edges, until she felt the light begin to harden somewhat. "What are you doing?!" Evangeline growled louder, stopping in mid step and flinging Halley to the ground. "I don't want to kill you now but if you make me I will," Evangeline said, stepping on her arm while pulling at the other. She heard a crack and only pulled harder.

Halley was screaming in pain, too tired to struggle anymore. "I'm not doing anything," Halley pleaded, looking terrified as pain seared through her arm. Evangeline had broken her shoulder, and was only doing more damage to it by pulling harder. An idea came to mind and she wondered if she had the energy left for it. She concentrated as hard as she could and muttered an incantation, and the glowing intensified, though it was more of a golden color now. She transformed into a tiny, pint sized faerie and was instantly released from Evangeline's grip, until the white glowing encased her body and suddenly froze. She understood what was happening now, her child was trying to protect itself by protecting her. She knew at that point that he or she could sense what was happening, and was simply trying to survive. This surprised her, as she was at most only a month along in her pregnancy- how fast was her child developing?

Queasyness, exhaustion, elated emotions...and now this? She was snapped out of her thoughts when Evangeline grabbed the orb that encased her and picked her up, glaring at her. "I may not be able to make a meal out of this morsel yet, but she can still survive without a soul," Evangeline told Scarlett, glaring at the little fae in her hands. "Haakon can have his grandchild without worry of interference from the mother," Evangeline sneered at the pint sized twit in her hands, holding out the orb to Scarlett. Besides, with her soul gone, she wouldn't put up a struggle and it would be quicker getting to Haakon's estate.

"Excellent idea," Scarlett praised her colleague. "But I'm the kind of person who likes to play with food before eating." A laugh escaped Scarlett's mouth. "C'est plus amusant."

The demoness's hand wrapped around the orb protecting Halley. She had long noticed the vivid darkness beaming from within the light; the edges of the orb. It's only natural that the baby would produce such light, his/her father is a fox demon after all, even if that demon has betrayed his own kind.

"Hey Halley, you need some higher expectations for your baby. Right now, that child is way too weak," Scarlett insulted, as she manipulated the shadows at the edge of the light. Gradually, the light dimmed and faded, leaving Halley trapped in a darkness so static it hurt. Scarlett's hands left the surface of the sphere, but ropes of shadows twirled around it instead, holding it in place.

"Hmm. I haven't used this spell in a long time. So, I'll use it on you. Sweet dreams. Or should I say... Nightmare?" The ropes of shadow connected to the sphere seemed to surge with dark energy, channelling it to Halley. The spell was meant for torture, showing the receiver's deepest and darkest fears and worries in front of them but only for a few minutes. However, it could feel like forever trapped in the spell. Only when the time limit is up, you realize it was nothing more than a few moments.

"I'm hoping to eat a tasty little despaired soul. So scream for me, Halley."

Halley was terrified- they were going to steal her soul, and then take her to Haakon? She started struggling, her heart rate increasing. 'Kurama!' Halley shouted, wondering where he was. She was whimpering in pain and agony from her broken arm, despite her tiny size. She was having difficulty even concentrating, much less maintaining her small size. She glared at the demoness as she insulted her baby. "I'm not even a month pregnant!" Halley defended her child, struggling as she felt the light disappearing from her child's shield. And then darkness surrounded her with such an intense static that it hurt.

She was trapped in the pain as she was dangled in the air from Scarlett's ropes, hanging there helplessly. 'Kur...ama...it...hurts...' Halley whimpered to him, fighting to stay alive, to keep her baby alive. Then the ropes seemed to channel dark energy, and it seemed as though the shield her baby had created to protect her, was being used against her as the darkness poured into the shield. She could see Kurama off in the distance, fighting Evangeline. She reached her arm out for him, tears rolling down her cheeks as he seemed to be loosing. "Kurama no!" Halley shouted as Evangeline grabbed him and took a well aimed bite for his jugular, tearing his flesh apart. Blood poured from his neck and he laid there in Evangeline's arms as she drank his blood, his body lifeless. "KURAMA!" Halley cried and sobbed, struggling desperately to get out of the orb.

Then everything was back to the way it was before. Evangeline was standing next to them, and Kurama wasn't there. It had all been a part of the darkness Scarlett had flooded her with, and the realization made her sob. Sob for her child, who was going to die before they even had a chance. Sob for Kurama, who would as before, come before it was to late. Sob for herself, for being unable to protect her child and letting Kurama down. To sob for her parents, who would never see her again, or even know that she had been pregnant.

And then a little light flickered on the inside of her, a light that seemed to give her strength from within. "No. I'm not going to let you kill me," Halley growled, fighting the darkness with her own light. The light was weak at first, and every time she moved, pain seared through her body. The dark orb around her was fading, and soon it vanished and the light shined through, ripping the ropes in half as they released their hold on her. She teleported several feet away, too exhausted to teleport much further. She took out her sword, though she was only able to hold it with her left hand, due to her broken shoulder. 'Please Kurama...hurry...it hurts so bad...' Halley pleaded to him, raising her sword as she prepared to defend herself.

As Halley teleported several feet away, the ground around her began to quake. The demoness and the vampiress would be most shocked to feel the quiver of the earth beneath their feet. In the blink of an eye, one Huorn burst from the ground behind Evangeline, while two more burst from the ground beneath Scarlett. The last Huorn burst forth from the earth beside Halley. A flower emerged from the ground in between Halley and those that wanted to harm her. The flower bloomed and out popped Kurama, a smirk on his face.

"You didn't think it would be that easily did you? You take my wife, you attempt to hurt my child, I'll feast on your pathetic souls," Kurama spoke in a voice unfamiliar to Halley or anyone. An inhuman growl ripped from his throat, his eyes transforming into pitch black orbs. This side of Kurama had never been seen and it frightened even him as he stood there, his demonic aura shimmering. The rose whip levitated around him and seemed to want to attack Scarlett and Evangeline.

"WHO DIES FIRST?"

Evangeline was surprised when the little twit had managed to teleport several feet away, and she glared at Scarlett. "This is what happens when you play with your food," Evangeline growled, looking irritated. Still, the Mystic did not have much energy left and it would be easy to capture her again. She let out a brief chuckle as the girl held her sword in her left hand, it was clear she wasn't experienced in using her left hand. Evangeline pulled out her poison dart and smirked as she inserted one of the poisons, a paralyzation poison to be exact.

"Give up now and she won't play with-" the ground began to shake beneath her feet, and she stumbled forward a little. "What the hell?" Evangeline asked Scarlett. Out of the ground came four creatures that she had never seen before, but she had a feeling as to where they came from. "You took to long, and he's caught up with us," Evangeline accused Scarlett, glaring at the demoness as a creature burst forth behind her.

Halley also was shocked when the ground began to shake, and when four creatures burst from the ground. Two under Scarlett, and one beside her and Evangeline. "Kurama?" Halley asked weakly when she saw a flower pop and bloom, and all of a sudden Kurama came from the flower. Halley collapsed to her knees, knowing that her captivity was over. Knowing that he had made it in time, knowing that both her and her child would live to see another day. Halley wanted to hug him and throw her arms around him, but she didn't want to distract him in front of Scarlett and Evangeline.

The creature that had appeared beside her was holding her up, for she had little energy left and was fighting to even stay awake. She could see his demonic aura shimmering around him, and it made her a little uneasy. She'd never seen this side of Kurama before, but she was proud that he was able to stay true to himself. She looked up at him and smiled gently. "I love you...Kurama," Halley spoke weakly, before exhaustion won over and she collapsed into the arms of the creature holding her.

Scarlett stayed calm and cool despite the events going on around her; Halley managing to defeat her darkness, and Kurama bursting from a girly flower with a deadly aura around him, an aura so dark it matched a demon's. Then came the walking trees. They looked so fragile from Scarlett's point of view, but of course, looks can be deceiving.

"Oh, hey Kurama. Finally using dark arts? It's a shame your enemy is me, since I am superior in that area. And because of that, you will die first," Scarlett boasted, ignoring Evangeline's words. "Darkness will exploit you. I've been through that phase too, but I've learned to control it, and not let it control me. Well, this is going to be a fun battle."

Finally noticing the Huorns around her, Scarlett took out the black crystal she had used earlier. In her hands, it glowed, and the floor rumbled again. A black pool opened in the ground, and from it came an ancient monster; Orc.

"We have nothing to worry about Evangeline. We'll get our meal. The only one fighting is Kurama anyways," Scarlett reassured the vampire as the black pool disappeared.

"Trees? You want me to smash a tree?" Orc's voice bellowed, dumbfounded at the odd request. "It's a tree! Do it yourself."
Scarlett rubbed her temples, sick of the monster's stupidity. "They're Huorns, Orc, Huorns. Look closer. Hell. I have other things to do, so keep them busy."

The monster took a closer look at the wood and leaves, nodding his head. "Okay. I smash Huorns then. I want a thousand human souls in return!" From Orc's many, grotesque hands glowed a black energy, that shot and the Huorns.

As Scarlett boasted, Kurama simply smirked. It would be wise of the demoness not to underestimate the son of Haakon. Not only had Kurama accessed a part of him that he hadn't before, but this part of him would prove to be a far bigger threat to Scarlett and Evangeline than they realize.

"Are you going to stand there and talk or are we going to get this over with? I've got a Kraken to help kill," Kurama stated as he nodded to the Huorn who was holding Halley. The Huorn's thick armor would protect it from nearly all offensive attacks and it quickly placed Halley in it's safest parts for her to rest while it stood back and kept her safe.

The other three Huorn grumbled and pulled out some type of weapon that resembled a sword.

As things were about to get heated, Scarlett produced a gem and Kurama watched as the demon orc came from the black pool that had appeared. Kurama still stood there as if bored by the entire thing.

As the creature spoke, the Huorn lined up beside Kurama. They were ready to bring the orc down at all costs. When the orc shot the dark energy at the Huorn, they simply dodged it. They were faster than they looked. Two charged the orc while Kurama and the other Huorn looked at Evangeline and Scarlett.

"Shall we?"

The rose whip cracked sending a loud pop through the air as Kurama took a stance.

Evangeline watched the demoness with a curious gaze as she produced a glowing orb. Of course, she should have known she would take him along with her. She turned her attention back to Kurama as his whip cracked in the air, creating a loud popping noise.

'Your wife is weak, fox-demon. She was mine the moment I first saw her all those months ago, and I regret ever having shared her. Why do you fight for a cause so weak? Why do you fight for a cause so...simple and pathetic, and shroud who you truly are? Look at you, in your true form. The Nobility do not wish to kill humans, Vampires have no choice...we merely wish to control them. Humans are simple really, and do not need to die. Join us and you won't have to hide who you truly are just to please her.'

Evangeline was looking at Kurama in the eyes. She was speaking to him through his mind, trying to persuade him with her powers to join the Nobility. 'I can take you to your father. You have lived your whole life without him, and now that you've tapped into his abilities and can use them...he would be most proud. Join us, and I can take you to him...' Evangeline said, pouring more of her magic into her words and thoughts, drowning him with the ideas of joining the Nobility.

She showed him images of how it was before the war. How Vampires were controlled, how werebeasts were kept in check. How the Nobility was involved in every aspect of the government, simply controlling humans rather than killing them needlessly. 'You can be as great as your father ever was...you just have to join us,' Evangeline's words were like the finest silk that had ever been woven. Her voice was alluring, all trace of manipulation had vanished from her features. She was telling as much truth as a Vampire was ever able to tell. 'Join the Nobility and take place with your father as rightful ruler of the humans, fox-demon,' Evangeline told him, all the while her conversation being kept between the two of them.

At that point she noticed Halley transforming back into her human form, still unconscious in the arms of the Huorn. She was so weak, so frail...and Evangeline herself was hungry. She didn't know if she would wait for Scarlett to take part in her share, or even for the fox-demon to make his decision. 'Join us,' Evangeline spoke again, her words as alluring and silky as the ballad of the windfish (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnTnhmwwUYs&feature=BFa&list=PL77DDAE3112B657E3).

Kurama listened to Evangeline, listening to her words as they sounded so alluring and true. He stood up straight, abandoning his fighting stance as her words mellowed him out slightly. Was she right? Did his father really want to see him? It was then that the Huorn poked Kurama and glared into Kurama's eyes. Kurama shook his head, trying to clear his mind, but Evangeline's words were like the sweetest cake, and Kurama had a big sweet tooth.

He took a step towards Evangeline, as if his body was no longer his to control, and when the Huorn saw this, it quickly stepped in the way and touched the center of Kurama's forehead. A bright light filled the area and Kurama's mind became a clear as the sky. The Huorn showed him what was going on, showed him all that had been happening and showed him the many creatures of Mother Nature that had been killed because of Haakon and his generals. Kurama glared at Evangeline.

"NO, keep your lies to yourself vampire. Human are not cattle that we can round up and control. They have free will. Why can't the world live in harmony with one another? Why can't you see that we are fighting for equality and I will not stand by while you and your fellow generals attempt to strip the world and mold it to your corrupt order. I will fight with every fiber of my being. Halley is my family now, and I'll kill anyone who threatens her and my unborn child. I don't care if you're a general, you have a weakness as do you Scarlett, and I intend to show you the true power of a legendary FOX DEMON!"

Kurama's eyes, still pitch black, shimmered and the rose whip transformed. The entire whip went from a lavish green to a pitch black and the bud at the end popped suddenly, though it did not open. The whip had special powers, and a story that when the bud at the end opened, something happened. What happened is a mystery to even Kurama, but he was going to find out this day.

The Huorn standing beside Kurama charged at Scarlett to keep her busy while Kurama stood in between Evangeline and Halley.

"Your move blood sucker."

Evangeline watched Kurama almost with anxiety. She could see him stepping forward, see that he was torn. She could see that her woven words were working. Then the Huorn stepped in between them and touched his forehead, snapping him back to reality. 'Damn creature,' she thought to herself, glaring at the Huorn. Evangeline chuckled as Kurama questioned her, questioned why the humans can't live and have their own free will. He even compared them to cattle. "Do you know what would happen if these simple creatures were left to their own," Evangeline asked, shaking her hand and glaring at his fiancee`. Evangeline had a pure hatred of humans, and she stepped forward towards the fox-demon.

Then she decided to show him something. Something she had never shown anyone, what happened to her while she was human. She showed him how they had accused her of witchery, how those idiots had tried to kill her because of the poison in their minds. Poison that she had nothing to do with. How humans would be controlled by this or that one way or another, and that this mod-like mentality of those she knew was the proof. She showed him images of them taking her to the gallows. Of her escape, because a Vampire saw potential. Saw that she was something more than what they believed, saw who she really was. And then she showed him her hatred for humans, for the pain she had experienced in transforming into a Vampiric state. How it was their fault, how humans were cattle. How they had to be controlled, or instances like this would happen again. How it was proof because of all the other riots and killings humans had taken part of throughout the world, throughout the time periods. And she had been there to witness them all.

She watched as the Huorn charged Scarlett and smirked. "Good. We don't need her anyway. My words are not lies fox-demon, my words are the truth and I have just shown you proof. The Kraken is over-rated. Something sent by Haakon as a means of squashing rebellion...literally speaking. Join us and we can make a statement to your father. A statement that you are his true son, that you plan on making change. We can do this by defeating the Kraken and her little pet," Evangeline's words were still silky smoothe.

She watched in curiosity asthe rose whip transformed into a pitch black whip, rather than the lavish green it had once been. She heard the pop of the bud at the end and sighed. "What I speak is the truth, you do not have to hide who you are- who you clearly are- to please those around you. The human are weak, frail, and it has been proven that throughout time there will always be someone to control them. What is so wrong with you, and your father being the ones to control them?" Evangeline asked, taking another step forth as he said it was her move. Her eyes began to shift, part of the magic that she was filling into his mind. They changed from their bright, glowing red, monstrous form into that of something less demonic....they changed to a bright purple color, with a hint of pink in the centers. Through this he could see all of her stories she had just told him replaying like a large screen. All the hatred she felt for humans, all the things they had done.

Then Halley began to stir. Then she started whimpering in pain from her broken shoulder, from the darkness that Scarlett had flooded her with. "Kur...ama?" Halley spoke weakly, almost sensing that something was wrong. "Kurama it hurts...so much," Halley whimpered and pleaded with him, her upper body shaking. "Everything. Everything hurts," Halley whimpered in pain as her upper body shook uncontrollably. "Please help Kurama....please..." Halley begged, the pain spreading through her muscles now. Her eyes opened and she could feel the pain in her shoulder radiating like a hot skillet had been branded onto her arm. She could still feel the darkness stinging every fiber of her being. Her stomach was even hurting, her child having exhausted itself trying to help his or her mother fight Scarlett. Halley began sobbing and she curled up into a little ball of pain, trying to control her upper body.

'Damn,' Evangeline cursed his fiancee`. She had the worst timing to wake up and start complaining about how bad it hurt. She knew it would snap Kurama out of whatever mental conflicts he was having, and she decided to make her move. In the blink of an eye she sped off and up a tree, flinging herself high into the air. From there came down a hailstorm of poison bullets, all of which were directed towards the fox-demon, and none of them paralyzation. All meant to cause the worst pain one had ever experienced, all meant to kill slowly and painfully. The very same poison she had injected Halley with all those months ago.

Once again she was weaving her magic, trying to encapsulate his senses. He watched the images in his head, but because he had already been snapped out of the effects before he wasn't as susceptible to them this time. He glared at her, watching her eyes shift in color. It was interesting all that she was sharing with him, and he was listening, stowing away the information, but he wasn't going to allow it to change his mind. Evangeline was poison, and the longer she existed the more debilitating her effects on this world would become. Sighing, he briefly lowered his eyes to the ground.

It was then that he heard Halley speaking. She was so weak that it pained him to see her like that. There was a way to increase her strength, but the Huorn might not like it. Kurama glanced over at the Huorn that was holding Halley and nodded. The Huorn shook its head, but after an intense stare from Kurama, the Huorn opened its mouth and opened Halley's mouth. A sweet honey like sap dropped from the Huorn's mouth into Halley's. This sap was made of energy, energy that would surely give Halley a boost and help her fight whatever was causing her pain.

In that time, Evangeline had proceeded with her attack, and Kurama barely had time to react, though his whip was able to knock a few of the needles away. Still, one struck him in the shoulder. At first he was shocked, waiting for the poison to take hold, but when nothing happened, he pulled the needle out of his arm and watched as the fluids flowed from the open wound. That was fairly new to him, but he wouldn't complain.

While Evangeline was in the air, Kurama grabbed the whip and swung it at Evangeline. She was covered in armor, but he was hoping to at least slice it open. After all, a cracked armor was no good to anyone.

Halley was too weak to care as the Huorn opened ber mouth and dripped a honey-like substance into her mouth. She was starting to feel a little better after a few moments and was able to lift her head. "Kurama?" she asked, her voice a little stronger than it had been before. Scarletts magic was fading and she was able to fight past the numbing sensation it brought her.

She looked up and saw Kurama engaged in battle with Evangeline, and to her horror a dart stuck him in his shoulder. "Kurama!" Halley shouted, fearing that he would feel the same pain she had all those months ago. Then there was nothing, and Kurama took the dart out of his shoulder, the fluids pouring out. "Thank you mother nature," Halley whispered a prayer of thanks to his mother.

She felt stronger, she could stand. She picked up her sword and struggled to keep it in her hand. She watched the rose whip connect with Evangeline's armor and smirked. "that should even the playing field a little," Halley said to Evangeline, stepping up to give Kurama a brief kiss. 'keep her distracted. Open as much of her armor as you can and ill create a blast if light to finish her off,' Halley told kurama through his mind, looking at him with a love-drunk expression on her face and smiling softly.

Nodding Kurama began his assault. Evangeline was a quick vampire, but the two began battling, their movements a blur. Evangeline clearly had the upper hand, but Kurama's wasn't fighting her to kill her, he was fighting her to damage her armor. When she thrust an open palm into his chest, Kurama went flying backwards hitting the ground hard, but not staying there. He quickly flipped upright and landed on his feet glaring at Evangeline. She had a sick smirk on her face as she charged at the same moment Kurama charged.

Another blaze of movement came from both of them, but once again Evangeline knocked Kurama back, but this time Kurama was able to do more damage to her armor, causing deeper larger cracks to form. Evangeline growled and continued fighting Kurama. Kurama was not one to give up and he quickly engaged Evangeline again, keeping in mind the plan he and Halley had concocted. When Evangeline got the upper hand and held Kurama by his throat, his feet dangling, Kurama had no choice but to access his Ancient Mystic level. The power surged knocked Evangeline off her feet, but she quickly got to her feet and growled.

"Damn!" she stated as she took to the offensive again.

Kurama's whip had transformed into its beautiful scythe form and he had clearly been practicing with this scythe over the past month. As she neared, Kurama ducked low missing a kick and sliced deep into the armor. He then unleashed a barrage of slashes at her armor slicing it open, nearly destroying it before jumping back and landing next to Halley.

Scarlett watched the next scenes of the fight with silence, observing them with interest. She was surprised at the Huorn's strength, but it wasn't too much for Orc to handle. Unfortunately for her, Orc wasn't the only person the Huorns were targeting. The trees rushed towards Scarlett on Kurama's command, splitting her up from the group, far enough so that she couldn't hear their conversations.

"Damn."

Scarlett swiped her arm through the air, as if tearing it apart. The air rippled and darkened, the space around her turned into swords; a sphere of swords. Unluckily for one of the Huorns, it charged without thinking (well, they don't really have brains anyway) and got caught in the wall.

"Oh how I love my sharp shield."

Instantly the creature was affected by the poison that the weapons were dyed with, and disintegrated into dust. The demoness laughed, bathed in amusement. However, she didn't plan to stay with the tree-monsters for very long.

"Hey Orc, KEEP THE DAMN HUORNS BUSY," Scarlett shouted, completely annoyed at Orc's inability to destroy a couple of personified trees. "It's like you said; trees right? Nothing else but trees. So hurry up and smash 'em."
The Orc seemed to have been in a daze before, but as Scarlett rose her voice the monster quickly regained his senses.
"Ah. You're right. I mustn't be lazy." Orc scratched his head, and immediately created a wall, trapping all the trees so that they were away from the main fight. The Huorns would be surprised, once the Orc starts fighting for real.

"Good. Now, I can get back, and maybe pull a surprise attack."

Scarlett returned to where Kurama and Halley were, silent. After all, staying silent was her best feature. Her presence can stay undetected as long as she willed it. Carefully, the demon crept up to the Huorn guarding Halley. It didn't feel Scarlett behind it at all, despite it being a part of nature. Using her signature, dark sword, she swung it multiple times, chopping the Huorn into pieces of fire wood. Instantly, she grabbed hold of Halley as a dark, pulsing wave exploded from Scarlett's feet. Vines of shadow bound her, stronger and thicker than the ropes from before. Dark matter erupted from nowhere, promptly turning into spears that glowed a ghostly white, spears that circled Halley. If she took a step, a spear would plunge into her.

"I'll be taking your soul now. For food. And your baby's, I don't care what the hell Haakon says. Let's hope I get some temporary light power too. Heh. Oh and watch out for the spears too. If you they cut you at all, it's good-bye to your soul."

Halley watched Kurama fighting Evangeline, her face twitching with anxiety as Evangeline would occasionally gain the upper hand. Then Kurama destroyed the armor and Halley breathed a sigh of relief, she would be able to produce a blast of light just strong enough to finish off Evangeline for good. Then she felt something. Something was holding her arm, and to her terror Scarlett had hold of her again. She felt vines of darkness wrapping around her, and they were holding her tighter than the ropes had before. She struggled to get out, though cautious not to touch the spears that surrounded her.

"Kurama!" Halley screamed in fright, her shrill voice tearing through the evening air. "Kurama help!" Halley shouted, panic filling her voice as Scarlett said she would take hers and her baby's soul. Halley tried to struggle, tried to teleport- but the vines did their job and kept hold of her. "Kurama," Halley was sobbing now, she couldn't do anything and she knew that this was it- that she was going to die while Evangeline was fighting Kurama. She'd thought that when Kurama had first come, had saved her- that she would make it. That she would live to see her child, that her child would live and be born.

She hadn't been expecting this. Halley glared up at the demoness and spat at her. "Witch. I won't go down without taking one of you with me," Halley's voice was filled with anger and hatred. Suddenly, her body began glowing. Pulsing with light, a light stronger than she had ever produced before. "Burn in hell Evangeline," Halley said to the Vampiress, before she released her light. It didn't take long for her light to consume the entire area and spread several yards out. It was brighter than the sun and the moon and the stars put together, and filled with such passion and hatred that she had never produced before.

She heard Evangeline screaming in pain for a few moments, and then...nothing. When the light dimmed it was just Kurama, her, and Scarlett. Evangeline was gone, all that remained was a pile of dust where she once stood, and the remnants of her battered armor. "Bitch," Halley said harshly towards Scarlett, glaring at her with pure hatred. "I'm sorry Kurama. I'm sorry," Halley said softly, looking away from him in shame. "I love you so, so much," she told him, looking at him with one of those love-drunk expressions. As though she wasn't about to die. As though Scarlett wasn't about to steal her soul, along with her child's. Halley looked at Scarlett again with pure hatred and spit in her face. "I hope Haakon has your miserable soul and keeps it. Toys with it. Tortures it. Feasts on it whenever he so pleases. I hope you burn in hell with Evangeline," Halley said, spitting at Scarlett again and glaring at her.

Kurama had turned just in time to see Scarlett chop the Huorn up into firewood. This would prove most interesting. He was one step below Scarlett and Evangeline, and with Halley slowly growing weaker, he didn't know how he'd pull this off. Just as he was about to drop his whip and forfeit, he felt the warmth of light surround him. He barely had time to cover his eyes before a beautiful intense light filled the entire area. Evangeline's screams hit his ears and then there was nothing. Kurama gasped as the light faded and looked over at Halley as she apologized and spit in the face of Scarlett.

This was bad, if Halley so much as touched one of the blades her soul would be ripped from her body, at least that is what he heard Scarlett say with his keen fox hearing. She had even threatened his unborn baby and he wasn't going for that. Glaring at Scarlet, his face twisted and contorted.

"You........threaten............my............famil y," He said out as his voice was more primal, growls escaping between his words, "I'll........rip.......your..............fucking... ..........heart............out."

Now he was breathing heavily, his body shivering as his eyes glowed brightly. He dropped to his knees and grunted as the sound of bones cracking and twisting could be heard. Kurama's body glowed and an aura filtered out of him with intense malice. He was already exhausted from fighting Evangeline, but now that she was gone, Scarlett would feel his wrath and know forever that it was unwise to underestimate anyone.

As his form shifted, barking filled the air around them, and growling could be heard as an explosion of power sent debris up into the area shrouding Kurama. When the dust cleared, Kurama had transformed. Little did Evangeline or Scarlett know that what they had done was unleashed the once caged Fox Demon (http://api.ning.com/files/l*6p3cLOK9aN8sNlDGUW54HMxsDydPtCu1AKt60O6iceGakpR-ELQ*F1ZUOTgN3MWoAGBPLSMlIBtSI4hNJsNgUydyX4bOec/Demon_Fox_Comission.jpg) simply by threatening and hurting his wife and unborn child. The creature that stood before Scarlett and Halley was not Kurama.

"Scarlett," it growled, "let's play."

Before Scarlett could move, tendrils of plant matter burst from the ground and wrapped around her. The Fox Demon unleashed two powerful beam from it's maw. One directed towards Scarlett and one striking the darkness that encased Halley. When the debris settled from the attack, the Fox Demon charged towards Halley grasping her up in its maw and running off into the distance with great speed.

They had escaped, but the Fox Demon was not Kurama, and when it released Halley it growled and snapped at her. Kurama would have to take control if he wished to keep from injuring his own wife and kid. He could hear Halley's voice deep within the Fox Demon and could see her as she begged and pleaded. Kurama's eyes filled with tears. He didn't want to experience this part of him, but it was a part of him that he'd soon learn he had to come to terms with.

Concentrating, he pushed hard to gain control and before long the Fox Demon had reverted back to Kurama. Because it had been locked away for so long it was much weaker than its fully released form. Still, it took a lot out of Kurama to free himself from its hold. Kurama looked up at Halley panting.

"Get out of here Halley. Go to Naja and stay there until I come for you."

Kurama knew Scarlett would be free soon, but he had done his part. He had rescued Halley and the two of them had killed one of Haakon's generals. It was a victory they'd relish later, right now they had an Orc and a Kraken to destroy. He needed to rest as well.

Halley shivered as barking and growling filled the air. She shivered as she heard bones cracking, and looked to see Kurama turning into the fox demon. She watched as he wrapped a beam around Scarlett, and tossed a beam directly at her- disintegrating Scarlett's hold on her and destroying the spears that had surrounded her. Halley breathed and collapsed to her knees, her upper body shaking in fear of what had almost happened. What could still happen.

Halley hadn't been expecting Kurama to charge her and grasp her in his maw, though it shocked her it didn't hurt much. They had both escaped, and once they were free of Scarlett, Kurama set her down. Much to her surprise he snapped at her, and Halley whimpered and pleaded with him. She could see what the fox demon was doing to him, and she knew that it was controlling part of him. She hoped that Kurama could see this, that the true Kurama hadn't been completely taken over by this fox demon that was snapping at her.

She watched as Kurama was able to release himself from the fox demon, and watched him panting. At last she threw her arms around him and embraced him tightly, sobbing into his arms. Sobbing like she had never sobbed before, holding him like she had never held him before. She hesitated when Kurama told her to go to Naja and stay there until he came for her. That would be the safest place for her, as she had already almost died...three times in the past few hours? Still, she didn't want to leave Kurama behind- what if she never saw him again? "Please. Please be careful Kurama. Get some rest before you rejoin the fight," Halley pleaded with him, kissing his lips softly. She loved him so much and didn't want him to get hurt, or worse. "I love you. So much. Now and forever," Halley said gently, raising her hand and gently carressing his cheek. She stood and concentrated, teleporting herself far away from New York.

She teleported to the Mystic's base located deep within the Amazon and into the infirmary. 'Master...Naja...' Halley thought weakly to him, to let him know she was there. Instantly she collapsed onto a bed and became unconscious almost immediately, exhaustion and fear winning over. She was battered and bruised, and had marks on her skin where she had been encased in the stinging darkness. When she had drifted off, she had curled up into a little ball of pain, her hands wrapping around her stomach as though to protect her child. As though she were still fighting.

Scarlett cursed. A vine of Kurama's magic wrapped around her, restricting her of taking the rest of Halley's soul. She was mad, losing her composure fast.

"Damn it!" Scarlett struggled with the plant that bound her, that tightened with each time she moved. The answer was simple; don't move. Scarlett stayed as still as a statue, watching the plant rip into shreds with the spears that had trapped Halley, before she escaped. The demoness instantly blazed a black fire of anger as she escaped the tendrils.

"You've really done it now. Only half of Halley, and an eighth of the baby. It's not enough to satiate one's hunger. You killed Evangeline as well." Scarlett rose her arms to the sky as the ground shook. Bursting from the soil and pavement were five of the un-dead, just five. A zombie, skeletons, even a nicely preserved body were under Scarlett's command.

"Famous warriors of the past... Hercules, Dracula, Merlin, Achilles, and Circe. Payback for not giving my my full meal. But at least it does a lot of damage... Healing might take ten times longer, depression, despair and temporary loss of powers can be some side effects... as for the baby... maybe it'll be in the stomach for an extra three months and be born with a little less humanity," Scarlett explained, pondering on what could happen to the two. "But that's not enough. They should have been sent to hell!"

The fire around Scarlett dulled as she gradually calmed down. She took out her hands, beginning to spin magic; a power-up for the un-dead. But what was really surprising was that the magic she produced wasn't like its usual dark tone, but instead glowed a bright, warm light.

"Oh. Seems like I must have taken all of Evangeline's luck and added it to mine. Because apparently, I can use light magic. With half a soul, the chances are about five percent..." A smirk danced on Scarlett's face. "Hey look, I can use dark and light magic." Well, for the next 24 hours, Scarlett admitted in her head. She struck the un-dead through their heads with the light and dark magic swirling around her hand. As the magic instantly spread throughout the zombies, they shook as if they were electrocuted or tasered.

After the power-up, Scarlett felt a sudden pull in her muscles. She felt heavy, drained, as if an extra weight of gravity pushed down on her, with an extra soreness stinging through her body. No way... I'm tired? Scarlett thought, surprised. She hadn't felt drained of energy in centuries, so she had a hard time putting up with it. Heh, it's that light magic, isn't it? I'm a dark arts user... it's only natural that light magic doesn't want to collaborate with me.

"Fine," Scarlett said, trying to hide the fact that she was tired. "You're beat up enough from Evangeline. I'll have to thank her for that. The un-dead can take care of you."

As the warriors charged, Scarlett retreated, teleporting back to base.

[Lost Goddess]

Maria had awoken to find herself sitting in an elevator wondering how she had gotten here, she hadn't the time as she sensed a disturbance in the darkness below. She gathered her newly replenished energy and she burst from the elevator shaft and through the side of the building darkness surrounding her like a comet as she shot across the sky towards Kurama fighting the creatures Scarlett left for him. She dove and slammed into the ground leaving a crater and causing a slight ripple in the pavement knocking the undead off balance. She smiled and looked to Kurama who seemed to have changed while she was knocked out. "Go to your wife Kurama, i will deal with these creatures." She waved her hand and a thick shield of darkness erupted between Kurama, and the monsters, leaving Maria to deal with them alone. But, she wouldn't be alone.

She waved her hands and three shadow warriors (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2010/222/e/5/Warriors_Of_Darkness_by_Lord_Memorath.jpg) emerged from the shadows, and drew their swords standing next to Maria. She nodded to them and turned to the undead and said softly " Meet the warriors of Nyx herself" With that the warriors attacked the undead leaving Maria to finish the one remaining. She smiled and whipped her hand out straight ahead and a dark red beam zoomed from her hand and hit the undead knocking it 4 feet away and flat on its back.

She stood and watched as Nyx's warriors fought the undead with seemingly little trouble. They were extremely skilled with swords as they were immortal warriors, not immune to death, but death often did not meet them. Death often avoided these warriors, and would gladly take any that they killed. Nyx's warriors fought as a team making it easier to dispatch the undead warriors, who seemed to be of no match to the warriors.

Maria would have to be careful to not use all her strength again like before, she had done something out of haste and desperation, so she wouldn't fight needlessly.

[RisingPhoenix]

The battle raged on. Werebeast, fae, and dragons alike suffering heavy casualties as they continued to battle. The Kraken was beginning to grow more and more irritated as he was attacked on several sides at once. It seemed that neither side was gaining the upper hand. Everyone was putting forth an effort to dwindle the opposing forces.

Caine and his werebeast proved to be quite the surprise force.

Kana and her earth fae war team proved to be just the support the Mystics needed.

Marzarex and his war hungry dragons were warriors of the sky, land and sea, and provided much backup for the four Mystics who had been battling before their arrival.

Though one titan was down, the Kraken still remained and he was unleashing his full fury on those who had destroyed his brethren.

“ENOUGH!” the Kraken bellowed in a booming voice as he unleashed a frenzy of deadly tentacles and claws.

The attack knocked down those opposing forces that had been attacking him. There were many casualties and everyone had to take cover from the frenzying titan. The larger beast were cleaved in two by the sheer might of the swinging tentacles and claws. Marzarex suffered a cut down his side due to the claws, and Fenirex was knocked down to earth by a wild tentacle. Many of Kana’s forces were trampled under the sheer weight of the tentacles. Even vampires affixed with armor, demons and werebeast suffered from the onslaught of the Kraken.

In a matter of moments, the Kraken had cleared a path to the Empire State Building, all those who opposed him lay on the sidelines, either dead or knocked down. The Kraken wasn’t invincible, for he had many deep lashes and wounds that continued to bleed out as he readied to end those who opposed Haakon. Just when things looked bleak for the Kraken, a great demon orc arose in the distance and the Kraken produced a toothy grin; however, it was not to last.

After Kurama had taken his leave to save his beloved, everything went crazy. Those who had been knocked to the side by the Kraken resumed their onslaught, attacking the Kraken with more charisma than before.

Meanwhile, Naja was watching the entire thing and was growing rather tiresome of it. He was becoming irritated, and it showed on his demeanor. As he looked on, he noticed Kurama and Evangeline fighting and he must admit that Kurama and the rest of the mystics had grown in power since their Mage Gate trials. It made him grin, a toothy grin, as he stood to his feet.

Dorián with the help of Fenirex and Marzarex were able to greatly injure the great Kraken by using a sort of kamikaze lightning attack that left Dorián temporarily weakened, but it had worked. The Kraken fell to its hands as it was bleeding from multiple places. Marzarex and Fria delivered the final blow to the Kraken, slicing its head off, blood spewing in all direction. There was a moment of silence as everyone noticed the death of one of their greatest threats/allies, but then the Orc came into play and before long they had to deal with it and the undead heroes that Scarlett had summoned.

Kurama had found a safe haven and was resting. He was exhausted and everything hurt, but at least they had defeated Evangline, and ran Scarlett back to the base she had come from. It was a small victory but a victory nonetheless.

Naja walked into the room that Halley had appeared in and sighed. He put on his fake guise and picked the girl up, but when his hand touched her stomach he grew angry. The child within her stomach would have to be destroyed, that much was certain, for it could prove to be trouble in the future, especially being Haakon’s grandson. Naja closed his eyes and continued to produce the fake guise as he cared for Halley’s wounds and set her to rest in one of the chambers that would speed up her healing.

When he was alone, Naja cursed under his breath. With all of this commotion, surely the higher ups would be coming and he had worked too hard on his plan to have them interfere. He had to disappear for a few days, let things calm down before returning. He would have his time to shine in glory after killing Haakon and gaining power beyond his current level.

Meanwhile on the battlefield, Fria and Marzarex had turned their attention to the great Orc while the rest of the mystics had continued to battle Caine and his werebeast army as well as Scarlett’s undead heroes. They had proved to be a great nuisance slaying many of the creatures who had come to the aid of the mystics. Death was everywhere, and the body count continued to pile up. It was a mini war in New York, but thankfully the spirit shield would keep all humans safe from this catastrophe. Hours past and still they fought. The sun was slowly beginning to set, but it was at this moment that Marzerex, Fria and some of the creatures Marzarex had gathered, got the upper hand against the Orc and put him down once and for good, but not without suffering great injuries, all of the creatures who had come to assist Marzarex and Fria lay on the ground dead.

Everyone was exhausted, but the fighting continued. Eventually Kurama had gathered enough strength to emerge and help fight again, but he had to be careful, he was no ways ready to fight one of Haakon’s generals again.

And so the battle continued with the titanic terrors gone and only Haakon’s generals to deal with.

[Stryker]

Dorián looked at the sky as Maria shrouded the entire state of New York with a spirit shield. It pleased him to know she still had that ability. Sighing, he wondered where Nemine was, but was stopped in his thinking when he heard the onslaught of dragons, fae, and various beasts clashing on the field of battle. As he jumped from rooftop to rooftop, he took in the sight of the battle, lending his lightning whenever he could. That is when he noticed Nemine on top of the building fighting against Kana and her troops.

“What is she doing?” he questioned as he looked up into the sky and noticed Fenirex.

“FENI!” he shouted getting the dragons attention as it lowered down to face him, “I need a ride, over there.”

Dorián pointed to Nemine’s location and the dragon nodded, “sure, hop on.”

Dorián hopped onto the back of the dragon and flew towards Nemine dodging tentacles and blasts of varying elements before he jumped from Fenirex’s back and landed beside Nemine. He grabbed her by the arm and tugged her to a safe place.

“What are you doing trying to get yourself killed?”

Slipping from his grip, Nemine spun to face Dorián and stood there for a moment, holding the gash in her side. It wasn’t major, but any bleeding wound could take its toll after a while. After a moment, the Ice Banshee realized that she should answer him. Damn him and those eyes…

“Hardly… If you haven’t noticed, I can handle myself.” Her tone was cool, but there was a slight undertone in there that was unheard when she spoke to anyone else. She regretted that she had to sound so harsh with him, but that was how she was, and in her Mystic form it was even harder to keep the ice from her voice.

“As to what I AM doing, I am supporting my master, just as you are yours.” Her gaze held no room for denials. She spoke plain what she saw was the truth. “Why suddenly worried, Dorián…?” A realization struck her as she noticed that mist was being produced from her body. Not a thick mist, mind you, but a small noticeable cloud of cool air was surrounding her, as her body chilled the air around her quite noticeably.

Dorián stood there for a moment and sighed. She was right, he didn’t know why he worried so much about her, but it sickened him to think of anything bad happening to her.

“Trust me, I’m not fighting for any ‘master’, at least not the one you’re thinking of, but you have to admit a Kraken is overkill,” Dorián replied, “I just-I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you hurt?”

There was care laced in his voice, such care that would sicken Naja if he knew.

Nemine caught the tone as well and it softened her voice a little, which apparently had an effect on how much mist was coming off of her.

“I agree about the Kraken… But I will not argue with Haakon. Whether this is meant to scare or if it truly is a slaughter, I do not know nor care. My place is with the Nobility.” She sounded like she was arguing with herself, and she knew it. Without a second thought, she moved on to the more personal question. Moving her hand slightly, she drew it away from the wound, blood staining her pale white skin.

“Only a scratch… At least by my standards…” She looked up at him and realized that he was much closer than she had thought. The smell of him filled her nose and she stepped back. “I’ll be fine, though…” She vaguely noticed that the battle was continuing below them, on the streets of New York. Her eyebrows drew together at a certain fight, just barely within her sight… Something tickled her memory, but she couldn’t put a name to it. Blinking, she returned her attention to Dorián.

Dorián listened to Nemine as she spoke. It seemed she was talking more to herself than him, but he simply sighed and stepped closer when she stepped back.

“You’re hurt, let me help you,” Dorián said as he looked at her blood stained pale skin. His heart sank to know that she had been injured, but this was the price for war.

“I’m not here to make you turn on the person you call master Nemine, I’m here to make sure you’re okay, now hold still.”

Dorián examined Nemine’s wound, though he knew she didn’t want him to. He licked his finger and placed it softly on the wound while uttering something in an angelic language. Apparently it worked for the wound was gone when he removed his finger.

“That should help you, but pro…” Dorián stopped talking as he heard a voice in his head, a very familiar voice.

“What are you doing Dorián? Did not I say to fight the Nobility?”

“Naja, Naja is that you?” Dorián asked as he looked around him but saw no one.

“I can’t Naja, I can’t fight her, I love her.”

“Either you fight her or I will kill her.”

Dorián stood there looking at Nemine, his eyes full of confusion.

Nemine was slightly taken aback by him healing her, yet also touched, an odd combination. She drew back again when he was done, but her eyes softened. Then he began to speak, apparently talking with Naja, who was not present. Nemine wondered what the man said, but was painfully aware that it had something to do with Dorián fighting her.

“Dorián, what is-“

Nemine! Your absence from this battle has not gone unnoticed. You will find that lightning mystic and end him, you understand? I am NOT in a forgiving mood at this time. Refuse and I will teach you the full measure of agony!" a voice boomed into her ears, a familiar voice.

“Haakon…” Nemine breathed, about to say something, but something told her that there was no point. It seemed that their superiors were determined to end this little… charade. Nemine felt tears sting her eyes.

“… It seems we are truly doomed to be enemies, Моя любовь…” She whispered, the mist surrounding her thickening again as her eyes became distant. Maybe if she could just seal her thoughts away, she wouldn’t betray herself and go easy…

“Приготовьтесь ...” She said as a spear of Ice appeared in her hands.

Dorián looked down at the ground and watched as his bow appeared in his grasp, thunder booming and lightning flashing across the sky.

"I wish we could just get away from all of this, but he won't stop unless I fight you. Very well, let's give them a show!" Dorián stated as he held up his bladed bow. His eyes shimmered with electricity as he prepared for what was to come.

As Kurama cleaved through werebeast with his eternal rose whip, he couldn't help but feel a sudden chill fill the area, not to mention the clouds above were acting strangely. He looked around, doing his best to help the Mystics win this war. His eyes caught sight of Nemine and Dorián and he witnessed Dorián heal Nemine. His eyes filled with anger. What the hell was his "brother" doing?

He made his way towards the building, fighting and killing those beasts that attacked him. The only trouble he had was with the Werekings. The great beasts easily towered over him, but he was determined to make it to Dorián. He wanted to know what was going on, he wanted to know why Dorián was doing what he was doing. When he looked up again in their direction, he noticed that the two looked to be readying to fight.

Jumping to the nearest building, Kurama watched, keeping low and out of sight to see exactly what would happen.

Nemine rushed forward, pain obvious in her eyes as she swung her ice spear at Dorián. She doubted he would simply let her hit him, despite it all, so she already prepared her follow up, which was a cone of icicles spraying in front of her as soon as her slash was done.

Dorián watched Nemine as she rushed forward. He too had pain in his eyes as he watched her. They were being forced to do this, and it hurt him. He blocked the ice spear with his bladed bow, but the icicles hit him square in the chest and sent him back a bit. He wasn't focusing. Looking up at her, he waved his bow and three arrows show at Nemine.

Nemine didn’t expect her attack to land, and it hurt her even more so to see it strike home. A shiver went up her spine and she quickly lined up three ice shards to intercept the arrows, though she miscalculated and ended up with another score across her right arm, barely more than a centimeter deep. Trying to keep the pressure on, Nemine followed Dorián and executed a series of swipes at him. Uppercut, come back and side-swipe, then lower-left-to-upper-right diagonal slash, followed by a jab with the butt and a downward slash.

He had grazed her, but he had to keep his emotions out of this. Still, he looked away momentarily when the arrow grazed her. When he turned back to her, Nemine was advancing again. She started swiping at him with her ice spear, and while Dorián was able to block the attacks with his bow, he wasn't focusing and allowed the butt end of the spear to struck him; however, he unleashed his own onslaught with his bow following the same movements Nemine had done.

This wasn’t the true Dorián fighting… He was holding back, just as she was. Tears stung her eyes again, but she blinked them away. Dorián was returning her attacks with similar ones of his own… In fact, she realized as she deflected them with her spear, they were exactly like hers. She misjudged the last slash, though, and ended up with bruised as well as bleeding fingers. She couldn’t quite move her ring finger on her right hand now, which caused her a little bit of surprise. She wasn’t focusing either. All she could think about was what they used to be, those many years ago. The lack of pain made her miss that her ring finger was cut nearly in half, but she returned the attack anyway. This time she simply jabbed the spearhead at Dorián, her powers shaping the spearhead into a larger, deadlier blade.

Dorián didn't want to do this, and he wasn't going to do this anymore. He watched as his bladed bow struck the ring finger causing blood to ooze from the wound. He winced when he saw it, but looked at Nemine as she readied to attack again. He was done, if this attack killed him, then she would be safe and he wouldn't have to answer to Naja. As the spear was thrust, Dorián dashed forward. The spearhead pierced his shoulder, but that didn't stop him, he pulled Nemine into an embrace and allowed the blood that was pooling in his mouth to spill free.

As they embraced, time seeming to stand still around them as everything else was tuned out for a time...

“How Sweet…” A voice spoke up from behind Nemine.

It all happened too fast for Nemine. There was barely any resistance as her spear slid into Dorián’s flesh. There was blood spilling from his mouth. He was pulling her close and… Nemine felt the ice spear melt away, leaving the hole where it had once occupied his body. There wasn’t much else she could do. Nemine just let herself be pulled into his arms and ceased to think. There was no ‘this is wrong’, no ‘why are we doing this?’

And yet…

A voice pulled her out of it all, causing her to turn completely around. Renshi.

The pain that rushed through his body upon impact with the ice spear was quickly blanketed by the love he had for Nemine. As he held her, a million things went through his head. He’d have to face Naja, he’d have to protect Nemine, and he’d have to explain to his comrades why he did what he did. It frustrated him to know that he and Nemine would never truly be able to have a relationship unless he left the mystics. Could he do it? Could he muster up the will power to completely branch off from Naja and the mystics? He could see Kurama’s face scowling at him for even thinking about leaving. At the moment, as he held Nemine, all of that didn’t matter, she only mattered and he’d go through hell and high waters to be with her.

As he was about to release Nemine from the loving caress, he heard a familiar voice. He turned slowly and noticed Renshi standing there.

“Oh great he’s here,” Dorián would think to himself as he glared and prepared to open his mouth to say something to Renshi.

Before they could react Renshi struck.

He rotated slightly to the left before disappearing in a cloud of smoke and reappearing behind them both with both of his hands equipped with his trademark swords, one held normally while the other was inverted with the blade pointed downward and lunged towards the woman, swiftly bring his inverted sword upward and to the left in a diagonal movement. The tip of his sword caught her on her right hip and leave a trail from there upward and ending at her shoulder. Instantly the cut began to bleed out and cover both her lower body and his sword in a crimson mask, the visceral scene was only matched with the sinister look in Renshi’s eyes as he pulled his sword back and watched her slowly begin to fall, leaving only the Lightning Mystic who was already badly wounded.

The sword he used to attack Nemine vanished in the same smoke he vanished into earlier as he gripped his remaining sword with both hands and slashed at Dorian.

The sword’s blade caught him on his chest, just below his shoulder and stopped while blood began to drip from the stab wound as their eyes met again.

“You thought a punch would even things…” Renshi began, the smile leaving his face as a scowl replaced it. “Your bitch just now evened us… this is just because I can…” he finished before gripping the hilt of his sword tightly and finishing the cut, trailing it across his chest as blood began to fill the gash his sword left and trickle down his body, staining his clothing just as Nemine before him.

It happened so fast, so fast that Dorián wasn’t able to defend neither Nemine nor himself. He watched as Nemine was struck down and then he felt the hot blade of Renshi’s sword pierce his flesh and cut across his chest leaving a deep gash that allowed the crimson liquid to flow forth as he fell to the ground hard. He let out a pain filled gasp as his body hit the ground and the pain from the cut and puncture wound combined and filled his body. Blood had clouded his mouth and was seeping from his lip as he looked up at Renshi with a deadly glare and spit the blood onto the feet of Renshi.

“Coward!” he managed to spit out.

“DORIÁN!” he called out as he and Renshi locked eyes for a few moments. They eyed one another, Kurama’s eyes filled with hatred for Renshi. He wanted to tear the bastard apart, but Dorián and Nemine needed his help now.

Quickly Kurama jumped from building to building attempting to make it to Dorián, Nemine and Renshi and when he arrived atop the same building, he noticed Renshi smirk and vanish in a wisp of black smoke. Kurama cursed under his breath and rushed over to Dorián and Nemine. By now his earlier outburst had caught the attention of everyone on the battlefield.

“FRIA, MARZAREX, I NEED YOUR HELP!”

[SikstaSlathalin]

*Kana*

If war is hell, a war involving cosmic beings and super powered animals must be where the really bad people of hell go. That was Kana's thoughts as the battle raged on around her Fae, they were holding their own very well and even began fighting back the Nobility's cannon fodder but that edge ended as the Krakan went into a mad frenzy. Aeish and Gronan died first, the girl was thankful it was painless A tear fell from her eyes as their essence evaporated from their crushed bodies and returned to the Never leaving the flattened husks of their psychical bodies behind. It was a small comfort knowing her allies would never really die just return home to recover. But their suffering was over she still had to worry about her parents and the Tricksters it was a mad dash dodging the flailing tentacles and minions of the Nobility.

Her parents had taken to underground creating pitfalls and crushing traps for the enemies while avoiding the Krakan's mad attacks. Kana and the Tricksters were playing games of bait and smash luring Vampires, Demons, and Weres into the paths of the tentacles to die instead of them. For Dut and Illia this was easy and they even managed to make a real game of it which made Kana smile as she did her bit, after all it was in their natures. But the fun was short lived, the enemies caught on to the game and used it to take Illia out distracting her long enough for the tentacle to smash her flat. Before her essence could vanish Dut called it to him adding her powers to his. If they were going to die the Fox Trickster would be damned if he was going to let them die apart dropping the game an enraged Dut transformed into a kind of tank like lizard and ignored the tentacles as he ripped through the ranks opposing him but as Kana kept up the game of bait and dodge she could see he was losing steam. Smashing her opponents herself she rushed to assist her mentor.
"Dut we need tae get out o' the Krakan's way let it smash the enemy more 'an us!" Dut snarled ripping a Demon in half with his teeth.
"No I'm going to die here might as well go down fighting!" He steam-rolled over another line of enemies listening to their bodies pop and snap under his weight. Kana was a top Dut's back keeping them from swarming him from behind.
"No yer nae! Dun't say that we'll get out o' this!" Dut dodged another tentacle shaking his great head.
"I can't live without Illia Kana, nor do I wish to now go help you par... AHHHHH! *cokes*" He was cut off by the last of the Werekings the tigress slashing his exposed throat. Kana was hurled from his back and summoned up a boulder for her to land on. Tank lizard Dut snarled smashing the Tigress under his claws before falling back changing into his Celtic warrior form. Before the Were swarmed him Kana sprung into action she summoned up another stone dome but it wouldn't last even with her superpowered stamina she was wearing down fast. Tears were flowing uncontrolled down her dirty and bloodied face now in the heat of battle it's hard to remember Kana is the youngest Mystic and possibly the youngest one fighting in this war. Normal 14 year olds should be worried about passing their classes, who's dating who and who she'll take to the school dance not watching her friends die around her and fighting every level of hell. Dut coughed his hand soaked in sparkling blood weakly he pulled his sword off his back and handed it to Kana.
"Here Kana take my blade, it's an essence absorber." She took the beautifully engraved sword.
"Why do I...?" Before she could finish her question she felt the Trickster's body sag and begin to glow with essence before her very eyes the dull orange essence of Dut and the more flaming red of Illia's entered the blade. She was amazed at the change what was once heavy steel now felt like a feather in her hand and the battle scars and chips melted away leaving the blade whole and looking like brand new. While at first she was amazed by it the wonder soon fled when she looked down at the bloody white husk in her arms then the tears begin anew. It was then she heard her dome crack and the howls and screams of the enemy reached her ears. Wiping her smudged face the 14 year old Scotsgirl became the cold and battle ready Equinox Knight once more clutching the blade she changed back into her Ancient Form not needing it for dodging tentacle and such. As her full rock shell clicked into place she swung the sword and exploded the rock dome out sending another shock wave into the battlefield bringing down more of the seemingly endless horde. She was all ready to take them all down but a cry from Kurama brought her attention to them. With a signal to her parents they converged on the group fending off the horde until Masters Marzarex and Fria joined them.

[Froggy]

As Halley was taken into the chamber, she curled up into a little ball of pain and let out a small whimper. She wondered what Kurama was doing, and if he was okay...if he had rested before rejoining the battle. She made a soft prayer to his mother to watch over him during this battle, to keep him safe so that he could return to her. After that her body once again slipped into unconsciousness, exhaustion winning over. A soft, glowing light was starting to appear around her body, that was a little more than a couple of centimeters around her form. The light was similar to that in which had been produced on the battlefield, a soft, white light with dimmed black edges around it. It covered her entire body and unlike the orb before, this would simply shock anyone aside from Kurama who got to close to Halley. Her baby was still trying to protect her, having sensed the most recent anger around her and the pain she was still experiencing.

Halley and Kurama were walking along a shoreside, white sand beneath their feet. There was a dense forest off to their right, and the beach was deserted. It appeared as though it were just Halley and Kurama, and Halley's stomach was rather large by this point. Halley looked up at Kurama and kissed him softly, despite the pains from her extended pregnancy. It was clear in this dream that she was still healing from when Scarlett had taken half of her soul, the results showed as much with her stomach being so big and the weakness she felt from it.

Still, she had gotten better than she was before...she was a little happier, and more protective of her family. At that moment, a shimmering light appeared before them and Halley smiled softly, holding Kurama's hand as they looked forward. Kurama's mother appeared before them, and Halley bowed (or attempted to at least) with respect for her. "My dear...things are no longer safe for you here," she said softly, and Halley looked confused. "Nobody knows where we are," Halley spoke up, her voice shaky as she looked at Kurama with fear. He wasn't there anymore, and her belly was back to the way it was now.

"You must wake up, my child," Mother Nature told her, placing a finger to her forehead as she produced a soft light. Then she remembered that she was still at the base, and that this was just a dream. "But...I'm at the base. It should be safe here, the battle is in New York..." Halley tried to reason with his mother. She was starting to feel a little stronger as the light faded, and the pain had somewhat subsided. "Nothing is ever as it seems my dear. Wake up, leave the Amazon. Stay away from the United States, for it is no longer safe for you in that country. Tell no one but Kurama where you are going," his mother warned, before she vanished.

Halley's eyes opened softly, wincing as the light hit them. Her breathing was shallow from the pain in her arm, but her strength was returning slowly. Where would she go? Why couldn't she tell Master Naja where she was going? Why couldn't she tell anyone but Kurama where she was going? Halley wrapped her good arm around her stomach and stood slowly, trying to think. "Where, where, where?" she whispered to herself. And then she had an idea, and the thought made her chuckle bitterly. 'Kurama...' Halley thought to him, her voice sounding bitter. 'Kurama, I'm going to L'Aquila, Italy...' Halley spoke to him, chuckling slightly after. It was ironic in a way, because she would be completely cut off from the rest of the world- surrounded by hills and mountains and a river, it was the perfect geographic place to hide. Surely Kurama would question her, question why she would leave when she was so weak...but she wanted him to focus on the battle.

Halley teleported in front of a little inn she had seen upon traveling with her parents, and she smiled bitterly when she saw that it was still open. She sent a mental picture of the image to Kurama, that way he would know where to go when he came back from the battle. She was able to get a room and told Kurama the room number. Opening the door she looked around and sighed, wondering where she would go from here. She sat on the bed and sighed, before she laid down and fell asleep. She knew that she would probably wake up to a shouting session from Kurama about her stupidity, but she would tell him to piss off and blame his mother for it if it came down to it. If she wasn't pregnant she wouldn't be in this damned situation in the first place.

[Setsa]

*Fria and Rex*

Kraken, Orcs, and everything else they fought off while watching their allies die at their feet took their own toll on the pair. Fria the Metal Mystic had a deep gash from just under her left chest armor to the back of her pelvis on the same side. Receiving it from the Orc in a battle of strength with his weapon at that attempt she suffered the blow along with many others starting to bruise. Blood was rubbing slowly down her side and hip, having taken a sip from a tiny green vial while Marzarex covered for her. Made to slow down the bleeding it did the job, a small ray of hope in the blood bath battle. Watching the creature take his last breath as she stood on its chest her attention turned to where she heard Kurama:

“FRIA, MARZAREX, I NEED YOUR HELP!”

Something wasn't right...motioning that she'd follow Rex to where sound came from they moved as fast as they could fly in their conditions. Both battered before countless times never meant it got any easier. Rex was blind in one eye from the blood caused by a gash the Kraken left on his head almost scalping him in the process. He was very much in need of a hot bath and a vacation but that would have to be later. Right now they had to get back to base and recover this first battle was insane he was just glad he didn't bring everyone that joined his side for the fight.

Killing off that many Dragons and Fae would really cost them in the popularity polls. Three giant monsters lay dead in the streets of New York and the numbers of the Nobility grunts were dwindled greatly. Now looks like as good a time as any to retreat back to base and recover. Following Fria he watched Kana and her parents fight their way to the other Mystics.

"Looks like our youngest Mystic is the last one still ready to fight." He laughed lumbering closer feeling his battered body creak and groan with each step.

"Yes her spirit and quick thinking is proving to save her life here.. Come Rex, lets.." Winching as she took in a sharp breath it hurting her so much to take deep breaths; "Lets gather those who can't fight and live to continue another day, you and I both know we took out enough of them to grant us some valuable time."

The two flying down to the other Mystics, Fria couldn't help but notice Nemine was present. Whistling sharply for Kana to get her Fae lovin butt over to them now; the Valkyrie took a good look at Dorian and Kurama. "The battle is at a draw Mystics..." giving a sharp glance at Nemine obviously not entirely happy about what Haakon released just to try and end them once and for all. "It's time for us to go home, no questions..there's no time for that.. Renshi we will deal with soon enough." Taking dorian, helping him to stand against her good side draping his arm around her shoulders she groaned in pain. Seeing the look Rex was giving her she just shook her head "I could say the same to you with that head..."

Not trusting Nemine at all she was about to deal with her when she caught the movement of Drax and Trinity approaching to gather their own mystic "Looks like you won't be left for dead after all."

Rex growled changing into his Dragon form to fend off any attack Drax might try on the good Mystics. He knew about the Stalker's deception but Rex wasn't going to leave it to chance the level of counter deception Drax would go to, to keep up the ruse. As the Wraith grabbed Nemine, Rex jumped between him and the others roaring full in Draxer's face keeping his teeth bared he only relaxed when Drax and Nemine were gone. He was glad Drax decided to run the last thing the Space Dragon wanted was to spar with the Wraith. Staying in his Dragon form he moved Dorian to his back with Fria's help and shouted to Kurama, Kana, and her parents.

"Come on you four get over here and we can teleport out of here before any reinforcements arrive!" Kana shook her head still wielding Dut's sword.

"No you lot go we can hold off the reinforcements while you all get to safety, go please!" She called up a massive wall of rock in a crescent around the group while her parents and her began launching rocks at the approaching horde.

"Fine but you need to leave as soon as you get the chance! Don't even try to win this you HEAR?!" Getting onto Marzarex's back...making sure their injured commrade wouldn't fall off, Feni quickly landed by the group guarding the rear. The four of them being teleported as one unit which made it easier for Elders to manage; to the Amazon base into the infirmary.

"Alright now..." Slowly removing Dorian from her shoulder and onto a table so she can get a better look at him. " Well, you'll survive alright... I'll be as quick as I can here so you can be training again." With the help of others who were able to tend to the wounded, Dorian was bandaged up and allowed to hobble off within minutes. Leaving Fria to herself as she looked to Mazarex breathing heavier now as she still slowly bled, the only one she trusted to tend to such wounds was him ....and with more at the base than usual there was a shortage of beds around. Making sure everything was well handled and informing the medical team that Kana's parents could make use of her room, she gathered everything needed for their wounds and with his help. Fria and Marzarex slowly made there way into his bedroom to tend to each other and give the free space needed for those still to come in.

With the Water Dragons and human Healers unable to join in the combat tending to the wounded, Rex helped Fria to his room using the sheer size of his Dragon form and some magic to propel them beyond the door and close it behind them but that was a far as he could keep it up as soon as the door closed he changed to his human form and let his shredded leather armor fall off leaving him quite shirtless and his pants in tatters. Fria wasn't in much better shape the long cut on her side was bleeding slowly but steadily.

"Come my dear myvish let's get you out of that armor and see what we can do about those wounds." He smiled limping over to her slowly untying her armor revealing the beautiful but bruised skin beneath it he dropped the dented metal to the ground leaving her bare cheasted. Next he worked on her trashed leg armor dropping them besides her chest armor, by the end of that slow and almost painful looking exercise Fria was standing in just a pair of tight leather shorts cut to her upper thigh revealing a majority of her wounds.

"I'd say the same for you but your armor is already gone." He gave her a weak laugh as she worked his torn pants down and boots leaving the old Dragon in rather modern underwear...slowly sitting on the edge of his bed. Rex opened a jar of healing salve dipping his fingers in and pulling out a generous gob he begins rubbing it along the huge gash from the woman's breast, down her side and around to the back of her hip. Fria hissed in air through her teeth as the salve burned and cleaned out her cut, it was only with Rex she could really show pain to and she did as the salve did it's work she gripped his strong arms tightly. It was a slow process but it was more Rex was sore as all hell that this went slow, the Valkiyre saw this and refused to just stand by and watch. Taking up another jar of healing salve and treated the man's head wound, it stung horribly but Rex endured. With the huge gash properly treated Rex slowly began moving up to work on her other wounds but Fria was still working on the long slashes down the Dragon's back, as he came up she was leaning over him slightly their heads met and their lips locked.

At first it was a surprise and they just looked at each other, their tired minds wouldn't register the new sensation but soon their brains caught up with their bodies and they melt into each other arms holding the kiss pouring all their pent up stress and worries into it. For many seconds they didn't move or even breath but their wounds ruined the illusions causing Rex to break it first.

"Wow." Says he.
"Wow indeed." Says she.... Shaking her head Fria took up the salve and began smearing it over Rex's chest the passion of the kiss still bright on her cheeks, Rex’s darker skin hide his blush but the blond knew it was there nonetheless. The salve’s burn was forgotten by both Mystics as they just relished the feeling of the other’s body under their hands and reacting to the faintest poke or rub. Soon all their wounds were treated but they continued to touch further their long burning love with tiny kisses on exposed flesh or full lips. Hours seemed to pass before either of them spoke, it was Fria who broke the silence.

“We should rest my Rex, we still have a war to fight.” The Space Dragon nodded and in silence they moved to his bed still dressed in their under garments and clean white bandages. Slowly but with far less pain they laid down and were both soon fast asleep in each other’s arms.
______

*Trinity and Drax*

Trinity had called back her TKs to the location her and Drax agreed to meet up when they felt enough damage had been done by their own hands. Sending their troops back via portals they stayed in a readied stance to fight anyone of to make sure they all made it through. Hearing the loud call of Kurama the Fallen Angel looked at Drax.

"Lets see how many Mystics have fallen shall we? This may be luck on our side." Waiting until the portal to their Australian base was closed the two started speeding towards the mystics with inner hope one was dead or close to that would show their neutral attempts would have not gone in vain.

Upon reaching the scene Drax saw Renshi's attack and then his retreat before Rex and Fria got there. He gave a toothy grin at the young Mystic's actions. The plan was working perfectly Drax even thought Renshi was enjoying himself a little too much. But as long as he just wounded them and not kill it'll work out. Drax and Trinity rush to Nemine's aid thusly establishing their loyalty still and it gives Renshi a chance to stick a thumb right in Naja's eye with any luck they can carry on this ruse for a few more months before Haakon acts against them. The Fae arrived and Drax was already running toward Nemine running on all fours but some how he didn't arrive until after the old Mystics. But he knew them enough to know they won't fight him as long as he doesn't attack them scooping up the Banshee he rips open a portal and leaps into it hissing back at Rex's roar. He reappeared to the Fallen's side and handed the unconscious girl to her.

"Take her back to the Helipad Lady Trinity then make a bee line for Australia our little Fire Mystis should be by there shortly be sure not to let him try and fight our minions. I want to see how well the little Earth Fae does" Trinity nods taking Nemine gently into her arms looking at Drax placing her free hand on his scaly shoulder.

"Do be careful Lord Drax we can't fight this war without you. "He nods to her before she opens a portal and vanishes leaving Drax and the Earth Fae to watch the oncoming enemies.

A portal opened on the Nobility helipad it was deserted which worked perfectly for the Angel's purposes she treated Nemine's wounds as best she could then sent an emergency signal to the Medics to pick the Ice Mystic up and treat her before opening another portal to Australia.

The horde was soon upon Kana, Kurama and her parents there weren’t many but the worn out Fae were soon frantically fighting. Kana was beginning to think this wasn’t the best idea but as these thoughts crossed her mind Dut’s sword flared in her hands sending courage surging through her body and spurring her on to fight harder. Drax watched amazed at the young girl’s skill he half wanted to go help her but that would ruin his plans he’d have to wait until the Nobility’s grunts got the best of her as well as Kurama before he nabbed her away. Luckily he wouldn’t have to wait long a wave of very large demons were rolling toward the trio of defenders. Amyareya panted watching the oncoming enemies with what could be called worry boarding on fear.

“Any plan family?” Kana shook her head staring wide-eyed at the Demons. Haskin looked over his shoulder at his wife who caught his eyes seeing the idea in her mate’s eyes, at first she shook her head no they couldn’t trick Kana like that but the hard choice was plain in his eyes and she agreed with a slight shake of her head..

“Kana can ye teleports us to yer base now. Ah think we’re in o’er our heads.” Still watching the quickly approaching monster she nods and begins the chant waiting for just the right second her mother grabs the girl holding her hands in place as Haskin roars out at the monsters and unleashes a wave of rocks pouring the last of his energy into it. It was enough for Kana and her mother to teleport to safety but not enough to save him from the horde. But he stood strong and took down two enemies before they got him. The last thing a horrified Kana saw was her father going down under a mound of Demons his sword still hacking and hewing at limbs. She said nothing as her mother hauled her away and they arrived at the base shortly behind Rex and Fria. She said nothing as her fathers rich brown essence flowed into her blade, she didn’t even speak when her mother laid her in Fria’s bed. The Healers quickly arrived and began treating the two Fae of their wounds or at least their physical ones.

Drax watched the Fae die valiantly and developed a whole new respect for the Fae, but with Kana gone his plan to kidnap her went out the window ,, choosing not to stay around for Kurama and with his eyes locked on the spot where Haskin died he tore open a portal and returned to Australia.

[Jacogos]

Nemine awoke in Haakon's estate, in the same room as she had regained consciousness in not so long ago. Her mind hazed over for a moment, as she sat up rigid far to quickly for her mind to follow. The room spun, but her brain spun faster. Everything came back in a rush...

"Dorián..." All she could see was his blood. Thought the Healers had fixed her up rather nicely, they had protected her decency enough that her clothes were the same all-white garb that she had been wearing to the battlefield. White, save for the stains of red that marked her a murderer... Her sight blurred as tears stung her eyes, pooling and then dripping slowly down her cheeks. There was nothing she could do for him now but hope that his allies had gotten to him in time to save him...

Standing slowly in a smooth motion, the Ice Banshee removed her clothes and changed into the black outift she had worn upon her arrival to the estate, jacket and all. She still noticed, even out of her Mystic form, that she exuded a chill that brought the room temperature down a good twenty degrees. The whole time her thoughts were plagued with the image of Dorián impaled on her spear of ice, blood flowing from his mouth as the weapon stole his life away. Eventually it was too much. In a flash of rage, Nemine flew into her Mystic form and ice shot out in a row of spikes all around her, trashing the room and blowing the door open. A Healer, which had had the misfortune to be attempting to check on her at that moment, was impaled on the opposite wall, hanging by a single spike through the throat.

Exiting the estate, Nemine didn't bother leaving her Mystic form. Her mind went to Dorián immediately, but her gut told her that she'd never find him at the moment. She'd have to wait... For the moment, though, she couldn't be near Haakon... She pulled out her telecommunicator and paused as she contemplated tossing it away.

No...

She was still a Noble. She was still Nobility. As much as she hated fighting Dorián, she would have to until he gave up his siding with the Mystics. This fighting had to stop, and the Nobility needed to be the victors. The only alternative would be a world of chaos and warfare that the planet and the human race would never survive. Sighing, Nemine pocketed the communicator again and chose her destination. The portal opened and Nemine stepped inside without a further thought of the matter.



Feasts on Hearts surveyed the destruction that was not very much destruction with a faint hint of a snarl on his malformed lips. All the Werelords dead, save one. He knew there was a reason why Queen Teera was the only survivor, but he wasn't about to call her out on it. Werecats were notoriously testy when it came to questioning their motives. She, of course, had the right to an even GREATER share of that notoriety. Regardless, she still lived, and the rest would be needing to pick their new leaders.

The battle had left most of the werepacks in shambles. The gators were all but obliterated, tigers, jaguars and lions were running rampant without their leaders, and the werecats had been equally decimated. The bears had not lost very many, but the loss of their foretold leader brought much confusion into their ranks. They didn't know what to do now, and there was no heir to be found.

It was all disgraceful, though he admitted grudgingly that his own pack had been just as wounded as the others, though those that had not died outright would be back in shape within the week. Still, when it was clear that they were fighting a pointless battle, he withdrew his horde and allowed them to regroup and elect their new kings and queens. They would have to be fast, though. He would allow no delays.

Caine was currently striding amongst the streets of New York, the dirty city only slightly marred by the cataclysmic battle that had taken place not even an hour past. Cracks here and there in the streets, buildings crumbling, some minor sewer damage, nothing horrible. It pissed him off radically, but he could do nothing about it other than send a burst of dark energy here and there to try and add to the minor damage.

What was disconcerting was the body count. While the spirit shield had been up, Caine had managed to pay attention to the bodies strew across the streets when he wasn't engaged in trivial slaughter. Too many weres had fallen where there was no other enemy body in sight. There was also something about the bodies that concerned him... Strikes too dirty to be Fae, too bloody to be dragon-fire, and not quite the same as a dragon claw... Something did strike him as familiar about it though, especially the body of Iofur, the werebear king. He just couldn't place his finger on it...

He didn't have much of a chance to think on it though. The Kraken's flailing arms and the Mystics themselves had kept him busy, not to mention the Fae and Dragons. Despite it all, it seemed the whole thing ended in a big stalemate, no clear victor. That also pissed him off. A small store imploded from the spike of rage that sent a ball of dark energy out from Caine's forelimb.

The whole thing had been a pointless waste of resources. What did they have to show for it? A few less Fae and dragons, a few cracks in New York, and some wounded Mystics that would be on their feet again soon enough. Pointless!

Rage tore through him again and Caine launched himself at a skyscraper, clearing through the entire building in a shower of glass and concrete. He landed on a different street and howled his frustration.

"Next time... You Mystics weel pay..." Feasts on Hearts growled to no one in particular. His eyes flashed.

"And you shall pay in BLAWD!!!"

[RisingPhoenix]

He watched them leave, certain that Kana and her parents would be enough to hold the horde off so that everyone could get to safety. Nemine had been taken by her side, and Dorián had been taken by Fria and Rex. He had noticed how injured they were and it pained him to see them in such terrible condition. Thus were the effects of war, injury and death. This was really solved nothing, but only made things worse. As he, Kana and her parents battled the horde, Kurama stood beside Kana as watched her father unleash a wave of deadly rock towards the demon horde. They were still werebeasts and cloaked vampire assisting, but Kurama was holding his own. When Kana and her mother vanished, Kurama was knocked to the ground. By the time he got to his feet, Kana’s father had met his end, but those responsible had met their end, their throats ripped from their bodies. He was exhausted and he was sure this wasn’t the end of the horde, but he kept fighting, kept expanding his energy and slaying the creatures that faced him. When all seemed lost, a bright light filled the battlefield and Kurama quickly covered his eyes.

Slowly he opened them to see death everywhere. He was the only one on the battlefield aside from Caine, though he couldn’t see the werewolf, he could feel him. Kurama exhaled and inhaled before stumbling. There was no sign of life, no sign of anything in New York, but as the spirit shield faded, the bodies and carcasses erupted in flames and the ashes vanished. Everything seemed to return to normal, although a few buildings were damaged. Kurama gasped and slid into a sitting position on the side walk. He was greatly injured and in much pain, but he leaned back and rested his head against a brick wall. His mind was going a million miles a minute, putting together pieces of information. When he had gathered enough strength, he stood up and was bombarded with images of a hotel and a room number. He instantly begins to worry, especially when he heard Caine howl a great and mighty howl. Halley had sent him images and he was wondering why she hadn’t stayed at the base. She must’ve been in danger and he quickly made his way towards Italy.

As he reached the hotel in Italy, one could tell that he was extremely pissed. What the hell was she thinking? He had asked her to go to the base, and yet she ends up going to some damned hotel in the middle of nowhere in Italy. He was angry, that much could be seen, and even the hotel receptionist could see he was upset.

"C-c-can I help you sir?"

Kurama glared at the young woman and she seemed to retract and sit down in her chair as Kurama moved on looking for the room number Halley had given him through their mind link. When he arrived, the poor door stood no chance as he knocked it down, a loud crash echoing throughout the hotel.

"HALLEY!"

Halley practically fell off the bed as she heard a loud crashing noise, light pulsing from her body as she prepared to defend herself. She heard someone shouting her name, only to realize what had happened. She looked up and saw that Kurama was very much alive, and pissed. Halley glared at Kurama and stood from her bed, holding her arm as she marched over to him. "What the hell is your fucking problem?" Halley shouted at Kurama, her own expressions darkening.

"Yeah, I'm not at the fucking base. Piss off asshole, it's not my fucking fault I'm here in the first place," Halley shouted, her face turning red with anger. Who did he think he was to come marching here, knocking down doors and waking her up by yelling at her like that? "Who in the hell do you think you are to just come knocking down fucking doors and yelling at your fucking pregnant fucking wife like that, while she's trying to sleep with a broken arm?" Halley asked her tone cold as she reached for her arm, which had started throbbing. Halley wanted to hit something, though she didn't know what.

"You can blame your damn fertility for me being here, your mother didn't seem to think it was safe for her grandchild to be in the base, much less the United States," Halley glared at Kurama again before she returned to the bed and sat down, grabbing the pillow with her good arm. She took one look at Kurama and huffed, throwing the pillow as hard as she could at him. "I may be your fucking wife but I'm not your damn bitch to treat like that," Halley told him after she threw the pillow, glaring at him with daggers in her eyes.

"Oh really? Is that how you fucking feel Halley? I asked you to do one simple thing and you blame my fertility and my mother for your stupidity. If you can't even follow a simple request from your fiancé then I don't even know why we are getting married in the first place. Honestly Halley I don't understand you."

Kurama watched as Halley flung the pillow at him and he knocked it to the side. She acted as if she wanted to hit him and that made him even angrier.

"I'm starting to wonder about that wife part," Kurama retorted, "I am only trying to help. I am trying to make sure you don't do anything that will get you killed and what do I get in return? Your snappy attitude and your fucking accusations. You know what Halley, FUCK YOU! I'M DONE!"

Kurama stormed out of the room in a fury of anger. He didn't know why they were even arguing over something so petty. He was angry, she was angry and he knew this was not good for their unborn child, yet he couldn't help it. He rounded the corner and made his way towards the bathroom in the hotel lobby. People stared at him, but he ignored them. When he entered the bathroom, he yelled for everyone to get out and they looked at him as if he were crazy. His eyes shimmered and he grabbed two of the men by the throat and tossed them against the wall.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Kurama yelled, the men scurrying away like rodents as Kurama fumed and struck the wall several times with his fist, causing large dents to form, "DAMNIT!"

Halley's jaw dropped as Kurama unloaded on her, and she practically fell over when he shouted that he was done. He...didn't believe her? He was going to leave her when she was only a month pregnant, with Haakon's grandchild? Tears stung in her eyes as she wondered what sort of mistakes she had made, especially if he was willing to leave her so easily. When she was hurting and in pain, and still only a month pregnant. When she'd had half of her soul taken by a demon, and a portion of her baby's soul taken as well.

"LIKE HELL YOU FUCKING ARE DONE!" Halley shouted after Kurama, running out of the room and chasing after him. By the time she made it to the lobby she was short on breath and already exhausted again. She glared at the receptionist who seemed rather terrified and simply pointed to the men's restroom. Halley could hear Kurama shouted and she saw men leaving the room in fear, and she marched straight towards it, slamming the door open in fury.

She saw Kurama hitting the wall and creating dents in it. Halley stood in front of the door to block his escape, she wanted to tear him apart limb from limb, eyeball by eyeball. She quickly marched up to him and grabbed him by the shirt, and using all of her strength, she pushed him into the wall. She was breathing heavily from exhaustion and anger, and had tears streaming down her cheeks. "Let's get a few things straight asshole," Halley said her tone cold as she glared at him in the eyes.

"First of all, you already did fuck me. That's how we got in this fucking situation in the first place," Halley smirked a little at the irony of her statement. "Second, you're the one coming at me with accusations about my supposed stupidity without even bothering to treat me like you should," Halley's eyes were like daggers wanting to stab him in the head. "Third, your mother told me that the base wasn't safe anymore. I'd teleported to the infirmary and Naja was the only one there, and he'd taken me to a healing chamber. I'd fallen asleep and your mother told me to leave the base, she said it wasn't safe...even though Naja was there. She said that I had to get out of the United States, and to tell no one but you where I was. I trusted you enough to tell you where I was and you go and fucking blow it by starting a fucking shouting match in the middle of a fucking hotel, and now I have to figure out some other place where Haakon won't find me," Halley was pissed at this point, though her anger was starting to subside to her exhaustion.

"Fourth, I just got taken hostage by a Vampire and demoness, who happened to take half of my soul and an eighth of my baby's soul for fucking lunch. My arm is broken and hurts like hell, and I'm pregnant and exhausted. Of course I'm going to have a fucking attitude, especially when the person who supposedly loves me comes bursting through the door yelling at me!" Tears were rolling down her cheeks and she looked away from Kurama, even going so far as to walking to the other side of the bathroom. She left the path to the door open; she didn't care if he left at this point or not.

"Finally...you're supposed to love me. We've just been through hell and back and we should be celebrating Evangeline's death. I just lost part of my soul and it hurts like hell to feel like this, and you're going to fucking leave me because I'm yelling and pissed, while I'm only a fucking month pregnant with your damn child?!" Halley was back to shouting again, though her voice was weak from exhaustion.

"I'm starting to wonder if you ever loved me, if you would be so willing to walk away before even bothering to ask me what was going on and yelling and accusing me of stuff. I'm starting to think this marriage isn't worth it," Halley said coldly, turning around and marching out the door. She was on her own from now on, Kurama having abandoned her over something stupid without having asked her. She felt incredibly weak, drained, and miserable on top of the pain she was experiencing. She didn't know where she would go next from here, what she would do on her own- but she knew that she had to rest before she made any lengthy trips.

So, doing the only thing that she could, she made her way back up the stairs (with all eyes watching her to make sure she was gone) and back to her room, where she grabbed the pillow and threw it on the bed. She didn't even make it to the bed before she broke down in tears, her body collapsing into the bed. She was worried for her child, she knew this stress wasn't good for her baby. She wouldn't allow Kurama anywhere near her child after the way he treated her, abandoning her so soon in their relationship and giving up hope on her over something so petty. Halley started sobbing into the pillow, curling up on the bed in a little ball of pain, pulling the covers over her head as she tried to block the light and any sounds from reaching her. Her stomach was starting to get queasy and she groaned, knowing that she had to get a grip on herself before she ended up stressing the baby.

His body was covered in injuries. He was bleeding, he was stressed out and he was trying to protect her and yet she came marching into the bathroom, grabbing him roughly by the collar of his shirt and pushing him weakly against the wall. Kurama looked into her eyes and listened to every word she spoke. If this was how she truly felt then maybe they shouldn't be together, maybe they had made a mistake. One thing was certain though; he'd be there for his child regardless of what Halley said or did. As he watched her march out of the bathroom, he collapsed onto the floor, having lost a great deal of blood. He looked up at the light fixtures in the bathroom and shrugged his shoulders.

"Kurama."

Kurama looked around the bathroom only to see a shimmering light transform into his mother.

"Kurama my son, it is imperative that you listen to what I have to say. I informed Halley to leave the base because it is NOT safe for your child. I cannot say why, but I would ask that you confront Naja before accusing Halley. She makes you happy, that much I can see, and you make her happy. No one said this relationship you two share wouldn't be without its complications. You two are sworn protectors, and your lives will constantly be in danger, but as long as you stay true to one another, you can do great things. Be wary of those around you Kurama, and go to her. She needs you now more than ever. I'm not saying she is completely right, but she isn't completely wrong."

Kurama glared at his mother, tears streaming down his face. He was so tired, so very tired, and it showed. He was stressed beyond belief and has worried constantly for Halley's safety, but what his mother said was right. They were sworn protectors; their lives would always be in peril. He sighed and exhaled deeply before standing to his feet.

"Thank you mom," Kurama said weakly.

He gave his glowing mother a hug and felt a sudden increase in strength. A feeling washed over him and he watched as his wounds began to vanish.

"Go to her my son; I will be there to help."

Kurama sighed and made his way out of the bathroom. By now their fight had gathered many observers who quickly scurried away as Kurama made his way back to Halley's room. He picked up the door upon entering and looked over at her lying on the bed. Resting the door against the wall, he stood his distance and closed his eyes.

"Halley........" His tone was soft, accepting, and had a hint of care in it.

Halley was surprised when she heard someone lifting the door up, and for a moment she thought that it might have been a member of the hotel staff. She heard Kurama say her name and curled up tighter into her blanket, bitterness forming in her heart. What did he want to yell at her again? Halley was still sobbing, trying her best to control her emotions, but at the moment she was finding it difficult.

"Everything hurts Kurama, and you made it worse..." Halley said in between sobs. "You should have...asked me...why I wasn't at the base. Why did you yell at me like that?" Halley asked weakly, the queasiness in her stomach growing stronger, almost unbearable. She dashed from the bed as quickly as she could into the restroom and vomited into the toilet, looking absolutely miserable as tears rolled down her cheeks. She was so angry and upset and in pain that she didn't know what to do anymore. Halley curled up against the toilet with her arms wrapped around it, looking away from Kurama. She couldn't bear to face him again, not after the pain he had caused her.

As Kurama watched Halley rush into the bathroom, he couldn't help but sigh and walked after her, but the door suddenly slammed in his face and he backed away. He could hear his mother's voice in his head and she informed him to wait.

Appearing before Halley, Kurama's mother knelt down and touched the girl filling her with energy and healing her wounds.

"Child, lean back quickly," she ordered Halley. When Halley had leaned back, she placed a firm hand onto Halley's belly.

"In the name of Mother Nature, I restore that which was taken."

A beautiful rainbow light filled the bathroom and poured into Halley. Her baby's soul would be restored and most of Halley's would be as well, but she would still have the effects. Sadly, Mother Nature could not take those away. She ran a soft hand through Halley's hair and smiled.

"You are being too hard on him Halley. He has only wanted to help in any way he could. He has always wanted to protect you, and it only irritates him when you ignore his attempts and go off putting your life in danger. Yes, I understand the circumstances my dear, but I know he loves you, there is no doubt in my mind that you love him. Therefore, you two will have to pull this together, for the sake of your love and most important for the sake of your child. Remember, it is so easy to blame others, but it takes courage to admit one's faults. I will be watching over you and Kurama and the baby. Everything will be alright, but you must go to him. I cannot stay much longer, I am only allowed to roam in this realm for short periods of time, but you two will make it. I have faith in you two. Be there for each other and let your love shine brighter than the light within you."

She kissed Halley softly on the forehead and in a blink of an eye was gone.

Kurama sat on the bed. He was looking down at the flowers that had grown in his hands. Each of them contained a swirl of color. They were indeed beautiful and he simply trailed his finger along each to make sure they were perfect. He looked over at the door and sighed.

Halley was beginning to feel stronger as Kurama's mother healed her wounds, though she was still bitter on the inside. "Thank you mother," Halley told her when she restored her baby's soul. It had worried her so, what would happen to her baby with part of his or her soul missing. She too felt a little lighter, a little less angry. The bitterness and hatred was still there, though she was a little less angry.

Halley began sobbing at her words, knowing that they were true. She couldn't help her feelings though, it was like a whirlwind of emotions were running through every fiber of her being. She sighed when Mother Nature kissed her forehead, and stood when she left. She wanted to hide in there forever, to get as far away from Kurama as she could- but she knew that wasn't the right thing to do, to be a coward.

She opened the door and wrapped her good arm around her broken shoulder, shifting her gaze from his eyes. She made her way over to him and sat down on the bed next to him, leaning against him and allowing her hair to fall on his neck. "I'm sorry," Halley said weakly, her voice a mere whisper.

Watching her walk over towards the bed, he shifted to the side to allow her room and when she sat down, a look of surprise covered his face. She had rested her head against his shoulder and he had kissed her softly on the forehead.

"I'm sorry too babe, I don't know why I acted like that," Kurama said as he wrapped an arm around her, "by the way you're sitting on your flowers."

He attempted to smile, but the broken arm that Halley was suffering from became apparent to him when he noticed her holding it.

"I can fix your arm, but it is going to hurt like hell. Try not to scream and relax. The baby will be fine, and if you have to punch me, do it," Kurama said softly as he took her broken arm into his hands.

First he popped the dislocated arm back into the socket and that alone would be very painful, but then he started mending. Any healer could tell you that mending bone was an extremely painful process. As the mending continued, the pain would increase. When it seemed that Halley couldn't take it much longer, Kurama release her arm and took her hand in his.

"It's done," he said softly, still exhausted and injured from the battle, "now get some rest please. I'll try to get the hotel lobby receptionist to forget this ever happened. They've probably called the police on us by now."

He grinned and kissed Halley on the cheek before departing, "please take it easy. I'm here forever Halley, remember that. I love you Halley, I love you so much, and I know I hurt you but I just don't want to lose you. I'll be back in a minute."

Kurama traveled to the hotel lobby and greeted the receptionist who was on the phone with the police.

"Don't hurt me," she screamed, but Kurama simply smiled.

"I'm not going to hurt you; I want to talk to you. Can you put the phone down please?"

She looked at Kurama, and for a moment it seemed that she wasn't going to do as he asked, but after a moment, she put the phone back on the receiver and looked at him.

"If you hurt her I'm going to call the police and report you," she said.

Kurama nodded and looked into her eyes. For a moment he said nothing, but as they continued to look into each other's eyes, the receptionist began to grow drowsy. Kurama's eyes were working magic as he stared into the receptionist's eyes.

"When you awake, you will remember nothing of this day. You will only remember checking in those you checked in, and that is all. Now rest."

The receptionist's head fell against the reception desk and she was out cold. Using a spell Naja had taught him, Kurama had made sure to wipe the memory of the entire hotel occupants. When he was done, he walked back to Halley's room and fixed the door. He closed it behind him took every precaution to make sure Halley was safe.

Halley smiled weakly when he kissed her forehead, snuggling a little closer to him as he did so. She winced when he wrapped his arm around her; the extra weight on her shoulder was uncomfortable. "Flowers?" Halley asked, looking around and weakly getting up. She smiled weakly, her eyes becoming watery as she saw the squished, beautiful flowers where she had been sitting. "They're beautiful," Halley said, picking them up gently (as though they weren't squished) and looking at him with a soft smile. "Thank you," she said, leaning against him once more.

Halley whimpered when Kurama said that it would hurt when he fixed her arm, and indeed it did. She bit her tongue and pressed her lips together, letting out whimpers of pain as he worked on her arm. She was so exhausted, and it showed in the little struggle she put against him. She had a few tears rolling down her cheeks and looked up when he held her hands in his. She buried her face into his chest, sobbing from the pain and exhaustion.

Halley frowned when he stood and said that he was going to make the receptionist forget everything that had happened. "I love you too Kurama," Halley said weakly, curling back up into the bed. She felt better knowing that he would always be there for her, knowing that he really did love her. Those words helped mend some of her scars from their prior fight, and that helped ease the pain in her heart. Soon though she was out like a light, having stolen nearly all of the blankets, and had curled up in a ball on the edge of the bed. She didn't even hear Kurama come back in the room, for she was too exhausted and out of it.

****************************

Naja, feeling that it was time for him to leave, gathered his things and made his way out of the base. There was still much he needed to do, but he’d return to reclaim what was his, it was only a matter of time. Smiling, he vanished, leaving behind no trace of his whereabouts.

****************************

Dorián grunted upon landing on the cold examining table. It didn’t take long before he had been stripped and bandaged. All the while, he was semi-conscious of the things going on around him. He grunted when one of the male’s lifted him and took him to the healing chambers. He was going to get his revenge. He was going to make Renshi feel pain far beyond what he was feeling now. He’d rip the fucking demon’s throat out and feast on it. All in due time, right now he needed to rest and regain his strength. He was laid onto a bed in the healing chamber and checked on periodically throughout the rest of the day. He would live and that was the mistake Renshi had made. He should’ve killed him when he had the chance. The male who had carried Dorián into the healing chamber stood watch and made sure everything ran smoothly while Dorián healed and rested.

He awoke to the sound of clambering as the one who had been put in charge of watching him had dropped a pan onto the floor. Moving and grunting, Dorián sat up in the bed and looked around the room. He sighed remembering everything that had happened. He was worried about her. Removing the sheets that covered his semi-nude body, he made his way over to a window, although his “nurse” attempted to talk him out of it. When he reached the window, he closed his eyes and attempted to reach out to Nemine, but it was far too much strain to do so, and he nearly collapsed in trying. As he was helped back to his bed, he looked at his male nurse and nodded.

“Thank you,” he said softly.

“No problem Dorián, just take it easy. You’ll be up and training again in no time.”

“Did they bring in a girl? One that gives off a slight chill?” Dorián asked worry laced in his voice.

“I believe her side retrieved her from the battlefield sir, we don’t know where she is. I’m sorry.”

"What about Kana, is she alright? Are her folks okay?" Dorián asked more worry laced in his voice.

"Kana will be fine, but her father didn't make it. I'm sorry, but you need to rest Dorián, your wounds won't heal properly if you do not."

Dorián sighed heavily and turned his head. The male took this sign as his cue to leave and he did so quietly but not before patting Dorián softly on the back telling him everything would be fine.

Would everything truly be fine? He missed her every moment he was away from her.