In Your Nightmares Chapter 1: Prologue, a kirby fanfic

Summery:: A Kirby/Meta Knight fanfic I've been working on off and on since 2012.

Anyways, there is swearing, gore, violence, and bad ass moments ahead, just a quick warning.

Premise: Set five years after the demise of Nightmare.

On the distant planet of Horva, lurks a powerful, half-succubus witch with the intention of bringing Holy Nightmare back from the dead. To do so, she tricks Kautounie, Neo, and Geoffrey Redsun into going on an adventure to claim an ancient scroll with powerful magic written upon it. Once they get it, the witch steals it from them, but then accidently teleports them to Pop Star, which was where she was planning on going after taking care of those brats. Realizing her mistake, she sets her pack of Hell Hounds after them, and they all end up in Dreamland. Despite a small setback, half her plan is complete, now she just needs one more thing... Kirby of the Stars.

Riley Prescott, the witch in question, will stop at nothing to take Kirby alive. But why does she want the little pink puffball so badly, and why must he be alive? Read the story, and you'll find out. Shit is going to get real!

Kirby of the Stars, curious and innocent, takes a liking to the three wayward Redsun travelers, and even his stoic and tough old mentor, Sir Meta Knight, and his adopted big sister, Tiff Ebrum, are enjoying the stories and enlightenment their wayward friends have brought with them. But still, danger is ever present and no one is truly safe from the plague of darkness to be set upon the galaxy! Epic adventures, gritty battles, and powerful bonds of friendship await in a fight against incredible evil against all odds!

(Now, if your curious and want everything that I've written out and posted, you can find this story on my DeviantArt, thesilverhyena. However, I'm updating/fixing this story as well, so if you want the cleaner, updated version, you're going to have to wait. For those of you wondering, I'm mostly going after the Anime, Kirby Right Back at Ya/Hoshi no Kaabii, however elements from the games will be included as well, along with some of my personal touches.)

In You're Nightmares, Prologue, Extra

By: TheSilverHyena

WARNING! Contains:: Strong Language, Violence, and Graphic Description of Gore, and Daring Acts of Trickery and Deception.

'True to my name, I am but a dream that lives in your heart. Therefore, I am immortal. For as long as there is fear in your heart, I will someday return. '

The last words of Nightmare

*on the distant planet of Horva*

'It's been a while since the great fiend known as Nightmare had his life force snuffed and peace has returned to the galaxy. This, we cannot allow. We've all come to far to give up the war now. One may have ended, but another will brew, by the might of we, the Chimera. The bait has already been taken, and the plan is in motion. In a dream you faded away, it is in a dream that you shall rise again, Holy Nightmare. After all, we're your biggest fans.'

Glancing away from the stained glass window in her study, a young woman turned her gaze to the large, red-eyed doberman that had entered her chambers. She was quite beautiful to look at, with long blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. She wore a short red dress with a leather vest over it. Twirling her iron staff like a baton, the woman approached the hell hound.

"Report, Alpha Balor."

"My lady... I am talking to Riley, right?" Balor asked, with a raspy voice.

He quirked his eye ridge, waiting for his mistress to respond. Riley nodded once.

"They've made it to the Under. My troops and I have done what you asked, we haven't made the trip an easy one for them, but we haven't hurt them too badly either," Balor rasped, "but your ladyship, I'm confused. How's keeping those bastards alive going to help bring Lord Nightmare back? You already let the human break into your tower and steal the Devil Claw, now you want to let them enter the Under?"

Laughing softly, Riley ran her fine hand across Balor's head. The hell hound couldn't help but shiver slightly at the sight of the three rings on his mistress' fingers, each on depicting the three heads of a powerful demon beast, the Chimera.

"Things couldn't have gone better if I planned them myself... which I did," Riley started.

Suddenly she froze, as she began having a low-mumbling conversation with herself. Riley gritted her teeth and began shouting, waving her staff and causing the contents of her study to fly about in an unorganized cast spell.

"Fine, you all helped!" she snarled.

Once things calmed down, Riley continued mumbling, something about that she'd have to do away with the little bitch if she talked to her that way again.

"Weston and Fey are getting jealous, I take it?" Balor asked.

"You have no idea," Riley grumbled, "now then, as I was saying before being so rudely interrupted!"

The sorceress paused again, taking a quick look around. Thankfully, Fey and Weston didn't have anything more to say.

"Those bastard children will do all the hard work for me. There's no way the guardian of that scroll would ever let me get near it, even if I did offer up a fair trade, such as that old sword. But, he'll allow those with "righteous hearts"," she paused, making quote motions in the air with her hands, "to fight him for the power contained in that scroll,"

Balor snorted, sending a small flicker of fire out of his mouth. All this trouble for a piece of paper. They should have been in Pop Star already. Narrowing her eyes, Riley could see the doubt throughout Balor. She knew the demon far to well.

"This is why I was able to bind you so easily, Alpha Balor," Riley growled, "The spell on that scroll is the rarest in Horva, possibly the entire galaxy. It was written by the dragons long ago, and most were destroyed during the war between Nightmare and the GSA."

"You don't mean... "Balor asked, taking a step back, eyes wide in surprise.

Riley nodded her head, a cruel smile on her face. Balor laughed softly, showing his jagged, molten fangs.

"We need that spell, however, we also need Pop Star's biggest celebrity, alive, if the plan is to succeed."

What Riley wasn't sharing was how such an adorable puffball could defeat the Great Nightmare in the first place. But it would be with the Star Warrior Kirby's assistance, willing or forced, that they shall bring Holy Nightmare back.

"Now go, Balor. Take the entire pack with you. Don't let those bastards out of your sight. I'll join you when I'm ready!" Riley ordered.

With a bow, Balor ran out of the study, sharp claws clicking on the stone floors of the tower. Already Riley was beginning to feel her heart race with anticipation of what was to come.

"We let them endure the Under and all it's horrors, and battle the guardian. If they loose, there will always be more suckers that will come our way. And if they win, we'll take what is rightfully ours, and send them to a place they should have gone long ago."

Riley's eyes burned a dark, soulless red for a moment. Then, with thoughts of victory fresh in her mind, she vanished from her study in a plume of fire and smoke. She wasn't about to miss this good of a show.

"The time of your return is nearly at hand, Holy Nightmare,"

*Deep in the Under*

Dungeon crawling. It sounds great in stories and video games. Playing the hero, finding treasure, artifacts of ultimate power, and fighting evil, but it wasn't something that was so glamorous. Like the long hours, sleepless nights, being stuck in a dark stone maze miles underground with hoards of monsters that would like nothing more then to turn you into their next smorgasbord and not having enough time to reload your gun. But still, treasure and power makes the trip worth it.

Still, that being said, the three young, wayward adventurers fighting their way through the Under wouldn't have it any other way. This is what they liked to call "fun".

Two brown-furred bipedal, wolf-like beings, zwetoocks, both female, and one human male, all standing in a triangular formation, each one protecting the other from the hoard of monstrosities that began to surround them. The sisters, Neo and Kautounie, had their spells at the ready, while Geoffrey, the human, held an exotic jewel-encrusted scimitar. Kautounie and Neo appeared quite similar in appearance, though Kautounie was much taller and more muscular. Both had bright pink manes with colorful feathers and beads in them, giving them a wild and primitive appearance, although the sisters' cute pink hoodies, short black skirts, and the shotgun on Kautounie's back was more than enough to let anyone know that they had plenty of knowledge about the modern age Horva had embraced. Geoffrey, with his messy onyx hair and long black leather armored duster appeared cool as could be, even with a swarm of hungry zombies swooping in, ready to devourer them.

With a nod, Kautounie and Neo fired their spells, two rather large and explosive fireballs, into the fray. The advancing hoard was dwindled and smoldering, but they were by no means out.

"Ah... right," Geoffrey sighed.

The blade he wielded easily sliced through his adversaries like a hot knife through butter. So kind of Riley to leave this out in the open. She may as well have just put a bow on it too. But alas, Geoffrey knew that he couldn't get too attached to the Devil Claw, as a much greater prize awaited at the end of the maze... if all these damn monsters would just get out of their way already!

Finally, the battle ended with a loud 'BANG' and Kautounie blowing the smoke from her beloved shotgun.

"Whew, did we miss anyone?." Geoffrey asked, wiping the blood from his sword on the tattered trousers of a slaughtered zombie.

Without missing a beat, Kautounie held her gun up and simply said, "Can't miss with Matilda!"

"May we continue?" piped in Neo, carefully stepping over a corpse.

There was a loud growl from one of the broken zombies. Slowly, it raised it's mangled, clawed hand and opened it's horrid mouth to prepare for an attack, only the get a swift kick in the face from the feisty cub, quieting it down in a second.

"You're learning quite well, little sister," Kautounie complemented, "you're doing very good for your first real dungeon crawl."

"You always said to keep your mind in the fight and eyes on the prize. And I want that prize." Neo gloated.

After regrouping, Geoffrey took the lead, though not before handing the Devil Claw to Kautounie and drawing a hand gun instead. It seemed that they had killed nearly every monster in this maze already, and thanks to Neo's well prepared healing spells, they were fresh and ready for more. The small party passed by a group of rotting skeletons, (which thankfully didn't get up), that appeared to have been the last people to traverse the treacherous Under.

"That better be some scroll," Geoffrey muttered, "why did I agree to this again?"

"Knowledge, experience, just to prove that you could do it." Neo shrugged, throwing out her best guess.

"That just makes it all fine and lovey, then, don't it?"

The rouge was very pleased that young Neo had started adventuring with himself and Kautounie. She had a way of bringing merriment into even the darkest places. Even with the wars over, there was still much buried treasure and power hidden in the deep places of Horva.

The three of them breathed sighs of relief as they came across the end of the maze. Pillars of stone marked the way into a magnificent cavern, filled with natural wonders and something much, much, more. Three days of dodging traps, killing monsters, and sleepless nights was about to pay off. The entire cavern was a treasure hoard, amassed over what must have been hundreds if not thousands of years. It was more gold, silver, jewelry, and gems then any of them had ever seen in their life.

"By Sundar's grace... " Kautounie whispered, still in awe.

However, the real prize was at the other end of the cavern, settled on a pedestal. An ancient scroll, neatly wrapped up with a white sash. Neo and Kautounie felt their hearts pound with anticipation. The spell written upon that scroll was one every mage dreamed of obtaining.

"Lets just hope it's the real thing and not just a bunch of hooey." Geoffrey grunted, making his way to the scroll.

"Wait!" warned Neo, "Doesn't legend warn of a great and powerful guardian that will test any of righteous heart who seek the power of this spell?"

"Yeah, so what?" Geoffrey asked.

"Well, that's the whole reason we needed the Devil Claw, right? To make a trade?" Kautounie mentioned, with a shrug.

"Just a precaution to an old tale. Besides, no one's even seen a dragon since Nightmare's little war ended." Geoffrey snorted.

He reached out to take the scroll, only to be sent backwards by a powerful invisible force. Just as he was shaking off the daze, the treasure pile suddenly began to move. Watching the three this entire time with it's sapphire blue eyes was a decent sized, magnificent gold dragon. A Golden Moon Dancer to be exact. The creature's brilliant scales camouflaged itself will in his own riches. He had graceful, muscular proportions with a long neck, triangular head, many sharp spines adorning his back, and long tapering tail. Stretching his powerful, leathery wings, the great beast looked down on the small group.

Kautounie and Neo immediately bowed their heads and got down on one knee, and Geoffrey was quick to follow.

"Well now, it's been quite a while since any worthy challengers have appeared before me," the dragon started, very politely, "but I must say, so young, only children? Hmmm, no matter, I know what it is that you have come for. Rise, young ones. I am Zodiac, Guardian of the Scroll."

Kautounie and the others rose to their feet, still feeling a little bewildered.

"It is an honor, mighty dragon," she said, before introducing herself and the others.

"So, Redsuns you say? It is indeed a pleasure. You still wish to challenge me?" Zodiac asked, flexing his spaded tail around his feet, much like the same way a cat would, "very well, I have the scroll, but what can you offer me in return?"

"Well, great and noble lord, we have this," Kautounie offered, presenting the Devil Claw.

Zodiac looked over the weapon with a critical eye. It was certainly demon made, designed to slice through just about anything, and in the wrong hands, could be devastating. One thing was for sure, he would very much like to add this horrifying and deadly weapon to his collection.

"The offer is fair. The scroll for the sword," Zodiac snorted, "now then, prepare yourselves for battle."

"Wait. What?!" Geoffrey asked.

"Battle?" Neo questioned.

Zodiac was quick to explain that he wouldn't just hand over such magic to anyone who came through the Under with a pretty sword and send them on their merry way. Nope, he wanted to test them to see if they really were worthy of the magic within that scroll.

"I admire you all for your tenacity and bravery, but you must prove your worth before me."

"Great lord, I do not wish to hurt you. The dragon is the sigil of our pack. Your kind are sacred to my people." Kautounie stated, "My sister and I serve Sundar, the Father of Dragons."

"Young Redsun, you needn't worry. This fight will not be to the death. However, I must warn you that if I am the victor, you must never seek the treasure and magic of the Under again." Zodiac explained.

"And if we win, great lord?" Neo piped up.

"If you little ones defeat me," Zodiac began with a sigh, "then the might and magic on that scroll is yours to do with whatever you wish."

Kautounie, Geoffrey, and Neo stood off to the side, making their battle plan. The great dragon waited patiently, though he would vainly check his sleek black talons every so often.

"Are you sure we're ready for this? Dragons are very powerful." Neo asked, nervously.

"I was born ready." Kautounie growled, not showing the slightest hint of fear, "and there's no way I'm running from a battle this good."

"Nice knowing you, ladies," Geoffrey sighed as he finished checking his guns, "lets get to it."

Sacred or not, this dragon stood between them and their prize. Everything was laid out on the line and both sides were prepared for battle. Kautounie wielded the Devil Claw, Geoffrey one of his many handguns, and Neo, her elegant long bow.

Zodiac tensed his muscles, then rose to his hind legs, spreading his wings to their full span. In the blink of an eye, all the treasure, save for the scroll, vanished, presumably sent to a safe place so it wouldn't get damaged during the fight.

"Let us begin."

With those words, the battle was on. The great dragon began with a huge breath of flame, sending his three challengers scattering for cover behind some stalagmites.

"Kautounie, why not shoot some of those magic fireballs out of your hand?!" Geoffrey shouted, quickly taking a shot with his pistol.

"Fire cannot harm a dragon!" Kautounie shouted back.

She took a quick peak from her cover, quietly mouthing 'but lightning can.'

Kautounie howled her battle cry, then summoned a huge bolt of lightning and sent it straight for Zodiac. Emboldened, Neo and Geoffrey came out of their hiding places, firing arrows and bullets as fast as they could.

The dragon looked surprised, and his once sleek scales were scuffed from the lightning and gunpowder, but he was by no means done. This fight was just getting started. Zodiac slammed his paw into the ground, making it quake violently, knocking Geoffrey off his feet and nearly causing the sisters to loose their balance. The dragon swiped his sharp claws at the downed human, who rolled out of the way just in time, leaving the dragon nothing to scratch but stone.

"Geoffrey!" Neo screamed.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine!" Geoffrey called back.

"That's what you think, young Redsun!" Zodiac roared, belching another blast of flames from his mouth.

Geoffrey ducked and shielded himself with his arm, (yeah, a whole lot of good that was gonna do). He was expecting the fire and heat to melt him where he stood, leaving nothing more than a smoldering corpse. He looked up, and to his surprise, there was Neo, with a protective, cooling shield of ice rising from her hand.

"Geoffrey, it's getting very hot from where I'm standing!" Neo grunted, through gritted teeth as she struggled to keep powering her spell.

The human quickly fled from the flames, firing his gun at the dragon until it clicked. He simply dropped the unloaded weapon and pulled out a different gun, this one fully loaded. While Zodiac was busy with the two Zwetoocks, Geoffrey sneaked around to the beast's rear.

Neo screamed in pain as her ice shield shattered from the heat of the dragon's flames, singing her skin and fur. She coughed from the smoke and fumes, standing in a low crouch. Before Zodiac could attack again, the young mage spread a soft, blue grow throughout her body, healing her injuries. She hissed loudly, pinning her ears against her skull as she thread another arrow in her bow.

Kautounie shouted and howled in her native tongue, stinging Zodiac with the Devil Claw and harassing him with her own spells. Blinding flashes of light, acid, and scalding water to name a few. Kautounie wasn't letting anything to chance.

"Get away from her!" she snarled, taking another slash with the Devil Claw.

Zodiac roared in pain as the thick, armored hide on his arm was flayed open. Viscous, deep red blood poured from the wound, making the rough stone surface quite slippery. His tail lashed about in a fury, nearly sending Geoffrey flying into the wall on the far side.

Kautounie snarled, showing her sharp canine fangs in a primitive display that did little to impress or frighten the dragon. Zodiac snapped his jaws at the defiant zwetoock, eventually snagging the canid in his powerful maw. Kautounie yelped in pain as the steel-like fangs crushed into her bones, then he spat her out onto the stone below. Bleeding terribly, she tried to stand, but stumbled from the pain. Snarling and cursing, Kautounie continued her fight, not just against the dragon, but herself.

"Kautounie!" Neo shouted, bounding across the battle field on all fours to her sister.

"Had enough, Redsun?!" Zodiac asked.

"No, never enough. The only way this battle ends is when I'm dragged out of this cave!" Kautounie snarled, panting heavily, keeping the Devil Claw in a death grip as she finally forced herself to her feet.

She could see Geoffrey, scaling the wall like a spider behind Zodiac, completely unnoticed by the dragon. He gave the girls a quick, curt nod.

Neo whipped another arrow from her quiver and fired.

"Acierriow!" she shouted, activating the conduit within.

The arrow transformed into a bubbling jet of acid, piercing Zodiac right in his eye. Screeching with pain, Zodiac shambled backwards, holding onto his eye with his remaining good paw. Taking this opportunity, Neo cast a quick healing spell on her sister, enough to cure the broken bones and stop some of the bleeding. But to Neo's horror, she wasn't the only one who had ideas of healing.

Zodiac's wounds began to close and heal as well, and his eye returned to normal like nothing had ever happened to it.

"You'll have to do better then that, young one!" The mighty dragon growled, readying his fiery breath once again.

"Good idea," Kautounie snorted.

Taking a daring chance, Geoffrey jumped off the wall and onto Zodiac's back. The dragon roared loudly in protest, twisting and thrashing about to force his unwanted rider to dismount. Geoffrey held on for dear life, he didn't know what else to do. He didn't actually think his plan would get this far.

"Catch, Geoffrey!" Kautounie shouted before she lobbed the Devil Claw into the air.

Whether it was skill, natural reflexes, or shear dumb luck, the rogue caught the blade, (by the hilt, mind you), and drove it deep into the dragon's back. As he slid downwards, cleaving through the spikes towards the base of the neck, Zodiac stumbled, unable to keep his balance. Neo and Kautounie shouted the words to whatever combat spells they could think of at the moment while Geoffrey twisted the knife. Exhausted but still standing, Kautounie finished Zodiac off with several rounds from her shotgun.

Seconds ticked by slowly as the dust began to settle. Still panting heavily, Kautounie approached the great creature. His golden head was scuffed with black gunpowder burns and bled from where the shotgun pellets pierced through his armor-like scales. But by far the nastiest of his wounds was the deep, unforgiving gash caused by the Devil Claw.

"We didn't actually... kill him, did we?" Neo asked.

"Oh Sundar, forgive us..." Kautounie whispered, bowing her head deeply.

Suddenly, all the blood and gore of the battle melted away. Zodiac slowly rose to his feet, his wounds closing and healing. It was then the three adventurers saw that they too were good as new, their injuries healed and stamina restored.

"Oh dear Sundar, that was a stupid move!" Geoffrey mumbled, sliding off the gold dragon's back, "I nearly had my hand chopped off with my own sword."

"I think you mean my sword," Zodiac pointed out, raising an elegant talon in the air.

At first, the three Redsuns were confused. Then it hit them over the head like an anvil. They had won the fight and defeated the Guardian. The scroll was theirs now, however, a deal was a deal, and the Devil Claw was surrendered to Zodiac.

"Well done. You fought bravely, if not entirely honorably... " the great dragon said, turning a sharp gaze to Geoffrey.

"Hey, you just said we had to beat you. You never said how and with what." Geoffrey pointed out.

The proud dragon hated to admit that Geoffrey was right, but he couldn't deny the fact. Zodiac grabbed the ancient scroll from it's resting place and presented it to the victors.

"This magic is yours now. It may only be cast once, I should warn you. Use it well and wisely, my little friends."

Neo gingerly stepped forward after some prodding from Kautounie and Geoffrey. With it being her first real adventure with the group, they felt that she deserved the prize, especially since it was a spell only she could make use of.

"Thank you, great lord." she said, accepting the prize and bowing.

Zodiac bowed back before transporting the group back to the entrance of the Under. Geoffrey hated leaving that sword behind, but it was well worth it.

"We just defeated a Golden Moon Dancer on our day off!" he stated excitedly once they were back on solid ground.

They were now in an isolated forest, and the cave that once stood behind them melded into the earth and stone cliff behind them, as though it were never there in the first place. It was currently late afternoon, turning into evening. While Kautounie and Geoffrey checked their supplies for the journey back home to the Crimson Woods, Neo unrolled the scroll. The little cub's eyes lit up brighter than a Christmas Tree.

"It is! This is Resurrection! The most powerful White Necromancy spell ever created!"

Neo and Kautounie could both feel the arcane energy pulsing through the scroll. Geoffrey on the other hand could only comprehend it as an old piece of paper with unintelligible writing scribbled on it. Nevertheless, they had all fought hard and won it, and he was proud of that, proud of his best friends, his family.

"Quick, we better put this away before someone sees it. It's never wise to show off something this valuable." Kautounie suggested.

"Kautounie, who would be out here in this part of the forest?" Neo asked, rolling the Resurrection spell back up to pack it away.

Ah, such famous last words. Suddenly, the scroll was ripped out of her hands by a powerful, invisible force. Neo and Kautounie both tried to reclaim the prize, but to no avail.

"You'd be surprised!" hissed a feminine voice from above them.

Standing on the cliff above them was none other then Riley Prescott. Just like that demoness, always showing up at the most inconvenient time. She leaped off the cliff with the grace of a cat, landing elegantly on her feet. The witch held the stolen scroll daintily in her hand in a taunting manner and the strong smell of smoke and brimstone hung heavy in the air as Riley's pack of hell hounds came from out of the shadows to join her, the two largest members at either side.

"Thank you for this."

"Riley Prescott. It hasn't been long enough!" Geoffrey snorted, pulling back the hammer of his favorite handgun.

"Likewise, thief," Riley snipped, raising her staff in a defensive battle stance, "but as repulsive as we all find you kids, we owe you a debt of thanks. "

Neo and Kautounie didn't say anything. They were going to let their weapons do the talking for them. Riley couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear grip her, hearing the very distinctive noise a shotgun makes when pumped. The two groups stood off in this manner for a minute or two.

"Listen, we went through the dungeon, dodged the traps, killed the monsters, we battled the dragon, we won the scroll. Give it back and piss off, bitch!" Geoffrey shouted.

"After you stole the Devil Claw from me - from us! Which I left out just for you, anyway." said Riley with a sneer.

"Oh, details, details – wait! WHAT? Left out for me?!" Geoffrey asked, in shock.

With a laugh, Riley proudly explained that she knew Geoffrey wouldn't be able to resist such a prize. Everything he and the girls had done went according to Riley's plan. The location of the Under, the skirmishes, the Devil Claw, the Resurrection Scroll, everything they knew was because of her.

"We played right into her hands," Neo gasped.

"Shit! It was all too easy, we should have known!" Geoffrey cursed.

"Hmhmhmhmmmmm, you were like rats to cheese. All of us thank you for doing all the hard work. Now the Resurrection spell belongs to us." purred Riley.

In a graceful flourish, Riley held the stolen scroll in the air and in a bright flash, it vanished. She turned a triumphant smile to her opponents as they took their battle positions. It only pleased her more to see the looks upon their faces. Pure horror. Now there was nothing left for them to fight over. Only she knew where it was now.

"We're nearly finished here, but there's just one more thing, Balor, Glasya," Riley began, looking to each Greater Hell Hound in turn.

Kautounie, Neo, and Geoffrey had enough of this diabolical bitch and her dogs and let her know it. There was a loud 'BOOM' as Kautounie fired her shotgun, sending small bits of shrapnel and pellets everywhere. The hell hounds yelped in pain, but they only appeared to be annoyed. Neo whipped out an elegant wand of bone and used it to amplify the power of the spells she cast.

"Damn it." Riley cursed, quickly ducking and taking cover behind her furry shields, "after them!"

Her triumph was short lived, even more so as a bullet from Geoffrey's hand gun ripped through her thigh, causing intense pain and more importantly, ruining her clothes.

"Sorry about... that! I was aiming for... where... your...brain was! I wanted to make it quick!" Geoffrey yelled, in between pistol whipping hell hounds out of his way and taking another shot at the witch.

Riley was ready for the attack this time around and deflected the bullet with a wave of her staff, still holding the previous gunshot wound. Her eyes burned with intense hatred. These kids had outlived their usefulness to her. The time had come, especially now that they had really pissed her off.

Uncharacteristically, she called off the pack, rallying them to her side.

"I hope you don't mind the heat, because it's going to be really hot where you're going!" Riley snarled.

Kautounie hissed loudly, showing her canine fangs. She put Matilda back into the sheath on her back before leaping forward, claws out, ready to get close and personal. Neo and Geoffrey followed suit, guns and spells blazing, just as Riley expected them too. Before they knew what had hit them, a portal of sorts opened beneath their feet and pinned them in place.

"What is this?!" Geoffrey demanded.

"Good bye, you f***ing bastards!" Riley growled.

Suddenly, bright stars began whirling around the three and the forest began to melt away into a rift of space. But there was something on the look of Riley's face that told them she might have cast the wrong spell. Even as their surroundings shifted and blurred in a dizzying fashion, Kautounie could see Riley struggling to cancel the spell, but to no avail. Finally, Riley and her hounds vanished from view and they were sent tumbling down the rift. It was a very odd feeling, like their bodies were being stretched and pulled in a thousand directions all at once. Just when they thought it was the end of life as they knew it, the rift opened up in the sky, dumping them into the unfamiliar place below.

*During that period back on Horva*

"My lady, are you sure you sent them to the right place? That didn't look like the Gateway of Hell to me." Balor asked, nervously.

Riley blinked for a moment. She could hear Weston and Fey taunting her deep within her subconscious, no mater how hard she tried to suppress them. 'Told ya you needed to let me out, I'd have walloped them good!' snorted Weston. 'Of course, because I'm the little sister I can't do anything right. Why'd you send them to Pop Star, sissy?! I wanted to kill them.' Fey shouted.

"All of you, just shut up!" Riley screamed, dropping her staff and putting her hands over her ears, "Balor, Glasya, get in there now! Dispose of those Redsuns and bring me that Star Warrior!"

The hell hounds didn't question their mistress' orders. All of them jumped into the rift, following after Kautounie, Neo, and Geoffrey.

Riley cursed herself for being such a fool. Such a stupid mistake, but for her bitter loss, she had an even sweeter victory. The Resurrection spell belonged to her now. She could still make this plan of theirs work.

'Are you so sure, sissy?' questioned Fey.

"No, not really," Riley answered, honestly.

Without so much as a wince, the witch extracted the bullet out of her body, letting her flesh and blood regenerate like it was good as new. She glared at the mangled projectile before crushing it in her hand and letting the dust float to the earth below.

"I guess we could use another challenge," Riley muttered as she stepped into the rift before it closed and left Horva.

Next stop, Pop Star.

*Back in Dreamland*

Kautounie was the first to recover from the shock of the teleportation. Her hand glowed with arcane energy as she rose to her feet, expecting the hell hounds to begin their assault once again. They never did. In fact, Balor and his pack were no where to be seen. The zwetoock panted heavily as she took a look around, not recognizing the surroundings at all. She wasn't even sure if she was on Horva anymore. Everything had a softer and peaceful look to it, as opposed to the rugged terrain of her home planet. To the far north, she could see a huge stone castle perched on a cliff, overlooking a large field and town in the distance. But somehow, she had this nagging feeling that this was not the place Riley had intended to send her and her companions.

Speaking of which, they hadn't landed too far away from her and were just beginning to get to their feet.

"Holy shit, where the hell are we?!" Geoffrey shouted.

"Just be grateful you're not a permanent part of the landscape, Geoffrey!" Kautounie groaned while she checked on her sister, dismissing the spell she had prepared earlier.

Neo assured Geoffrey and Kautounie that she was okay. Then she felt all over her person and checked all of their packs.

"It really is gone. The Resurrection Scroll is gone!" Neo sighed heavily, "Riley plucked it right out of our hands. Here I was hoping this was all just a bad dream we were all having, a nightmare."

"Hmph, dream or not, this is a nightmare," Geoffrey sighed, "there can't possibly be anyone or anything good Riley would want to bring back from the dead."

Kautounie cursed, both in her native and common tongue. She was angry at Riley, but more so angry at herself. How could they have been so stupid? She didn't know when, but Kautounie knew that they would pay heavily for their mistake. Oh well, there wasn't much they could do about it now.

"We may as well make the best of a bad situation. Perhaps we could get some help." Geoffrey mentioned.

"Maybe that castle up ahead?" Neo suggested, finally beginning to calm down.

What was in the past was done, and if they were to bring Riley and her 'friends' down, they needed to regroup and come up with a plan. The trio picked up their scattered supplies and headed out. It was a strange, albeit interesting place. The sort of place they wouldn't mind taking a few adventures in. One thing was for sure, their next adventure was waiting for them much sooner then they thought, for they hadn't even walked half a mile before the familiar howl of the hell hounds rang through the night.

"Riley sent her hell hounds into the rift, it seems!" Kautounie growled, picking up the pace.

Racing across the open field, following the sounds of the howls, Kautounie and Neo picked up on what was unmistakeably a fight already in progress. The three readied their weapons and spells before cresting a small hill. Not to far below were the hell hounds rushing about in a frenzy, with a lone spherical masked swordsman taking down a good number of the beasts before being eventually being overpowered, and it only became worse from there. A small pink creature, similar but smaller then the swordsman, took a swing at the largest of the hell hounds. Another of the demons held a young girl of a species they were not familiar with to the ground.

"Cowards!" Kautounie hissed, preparing a spell as she watched the fight, "they would flee before us yet they attack wounded and cubs?"

Whoever these strange creatures were, they looked like they needed help, and fast. Kautounie, Geoffrey, and Neo approached the fight, standing on the edge of the battlefield. So many battles in one day, a hero's work was never done, nor would it ever be. But this was the life they chose, and they were going to enjoy it, together. The three of them nodded simultaneously, then, unnoticed by the fiends, Geoffrey took aim and fired into the fray.

Author's Note:: I originally wrote this back in 2012, feels like a lifetime ago, but I still love it. I'm really hoping to introduce more people to my writing. This fanfic really took off. I've got at least 50+ chapters and it's not even finished, so if you like a good, long, quality read, this story will be for you. And for reference (Since this site doesn't like you posting bios/OC references,) to put things into perspective, Geoffrey is 16, Kautounie is 13, and Neo is only 8, (yet highly mature for her age.) Much, much, MUCH more to come! Also, whether you're a returning fan who followed me on DA or a new one who just found me here or anyone in between, be sure to check out my new story, Dream Weavers as well, featuring slightly older Redsun siblings tackling the wonderful world of Slashers/Horror! New talents but the same attitudes!