Dreams Come True Anthology: When Gods Collide

by shadowlugia249

Now complete. In the final Dreams Come True chapter, Lugia, Hyozanru and Klonoa must team together with their spiritual brothers to defeat Mewtwo, the Nightmares and the King of Sorrow. But something more sinister lurks in the heart of the earth...

Dreams Come True Anthology: When Gods Collide

By shadowlugia249

Author's Note: This is it! The long-awaited sequel to the first three "Dreams Come True" stories and the War of Gods/A Mewtwo Far" web. All five stories are finally being settled here and now. Keep in mind that once this story is finished, all characters in it will cease to be included in future "Dreams Come True" stories, so make it last. Enjoy!

It's been 1000 years since I last heard their voices. I had been on the verge of global conquest when I was brought down by those miserable excuses for gods.

For over 1000 years, the anger in my heart has been growing and folding over and over again. They had the nerve to take me on 2-on-1. I have been planning their downfall all these years and soon, I will put my plan into action.

But I was not alone. There have been others that have been banished along with me. One of them has no absolute form and induces fear in those despicable humans' sleep. They were banished by a pair of creatures in league with the ones that banished me. But that's not all – a creature of pure sorrow that had once terrorized the humans like I once had had joined us not long after. It seems that he had been defeated as well and had been banished by a pair of creatures that were in league with our enemies.

Alone, none of us might have been able to break free of our interdimensional prison, but together, we formed a force so powerful that even the gods could not contain us! But even though we had finally acquired the strength to break free after 1000 years, we didn't rush it. After all, they would know if we escaped.

It's been 1000 years... and soon we would unleash our wrath upon those who imprisoned us. Anger... Fear... and Sorrow... soon the humans would learn to fear our power tenfold. And it would begin... with those who imprisoned us.

I scoured the skies of the planet looking for them. I had played this game countless times, but I still didn't like the odds. They could be anywhere on the planet and I couldn't peer into their minds since they had slammed them shut to present more of a challenge, but I could still sense where they are through my instincts.

Like I said, they could be anywhere on the planet – underwater, in the stratosphere, inside a mountain – anywhere! This was an extreme version of Hide-and-Seek that only we had the ability to play. Since peace had been constant for the last 1000 years, we had some free time on our hands.

I started looking for Hyozanryu. He and Ashura had the most radiant skin and the slightest stray sunbeam lit them up like a full moon. And from previous experiences, I knew they would hide somewhere dark and secluded. On a hunch, I plunged into the ocean and headed for a particular dark spot near the long-rusted-away remains of the Titanic.

Run, run, run as fast as you can, I called out to my competition. You can't hide from the Boogeyman! This was a ruse to get my competition to give out a wave of annoyance, signaling where they were in the world. The Boogeyman and all other nightmares had been banished by Hyozanryu and Ashura many years ago. And...

...jackpot! Someone had heard me and sent out a stab of annoyance in my direction. I'm coming for you... Ashura, I added, closing in on the Diamond Dragon.

Scouring the remains of the Titanic, I found what I was looking for – a fresh burrow in the rusted metal and woodwork. I then used my Whirlpool move to unearth the dragon.

Altair! barked Ashura, being a sore loser. You always get me with that!

So what if I do? It's not against the rules.

One of these days... you're going down!

I laughed as Ashura unlocked his mind. You've been saying that for 500 years and you have yet to find me the way I find you.

Ashura was the almost-identical twin to the Lord of the Skies, Hyozanryu. He had the body of a great white dragon comprised of super-diamond flesh that was ten times harder than diamonds themselves. His yellow-horned head had a third horn on the tip of his muzzle lined with teeth not unlike razor-sharp shards of glass. He had three sharp, pointed yellow talons on each of his claws and digitigrade feet with a fourth dewclaw on his elevated heels. He also had two large, rocky wings that seemed like they couldn't lift him off the ground... but they can, believe it or not. We gods don't need to obey the laws of reality to get around.

The only difference between Ashura and his brother, Hyozanryu, was a narrow line of blue plates running from his neck to his lower area. Hyozanryu had an orange line instead of Ashura's blue.

Why don't you give me a hand looking for the others, Ashura? I asked him, kindly.

But apparently, he was still a sore loser for falling for my "Boogeyman" trick. Gimme-gimme never gets. Hmph! He turned and swam away towards the surface... at least a little ways. He turned around and looked at me with a sharp smile. "You know I can't hold a grudge, Altair. Sure, what the heck!"

Smiling, I swam after him in search of the next player.

"Are you sure he won't find me here?"

"No, I'm not. But knowing Altair, that'll be the last place he looks."

Klonoa and I were communicating from other ends of the world. I had found a decent hiding spot inside the St. Louis Arch. The people walking around me hadn't seen me in person before, so I was being treated as a celebrity. You'd be surprised how many people still look forward to seeing a god even after 1000 years. Of course, by now there were 10.5 billion people on the planet and technology has certainly advanced since the 2000s, but the pleasure of signing autographs and posing for photographs never seems to die with me.

The future, believe it or not, does not consist of a mixed fray of humans, robots and aliens like you would see in "Futurama". Actually, if you take the aliens out of the equation, it's pretty much humans and robots walking around. Humans have been able to harness interstellar travel like you see in all those science fiction TV shows, but the reason you don't see aliens around here was because it is globally illegal to bring an alien home from another planet. Also, other species have labeled Earth as "Hazardous and Dangerous" and have forbid any traveling to our planet.

I don't blame them. Despite having finally cleaned up their ecosystem after 1000 years, humans are still listed as the universe's "Most Dangerous Creature". I won't go into depth with that, but man is just as dangerous to wildlife and the planet as ever.

So why do I feel comfortable showing myself in public? Well, there are two reasons. One, because I'm currently playing Hide-and-Seek with Klonoa and the other four gods. And two, because the humans have had the time to feel comfortable with creatures like us around. Heck, 1000 years ago, we would have been shot and killed on the spot like wild game. But over the years, we made it internationally known that we are this planet's protectors. Besides, it's extremely difficult to kill or even harm any one of us.

Back in the day, you would have been considered lucky to catch Klonoa, Lugia, Ashura, Hyozanryu, Altair or even myself on film in an out of focus shot. Now seeing any one of us was like meeting a celebrity. We watched the world grow up over the last millennium and have learned how to mix ourselves in with the crowd.

Which brings me back to our rousing game of Hide-and-Seek. It had been awhile since all six of us had had nothing to do all at the same time, so we played one of our favorite games, Global Hide-and-Seek, to pass the time. We weren't in any rush and had all the time in the world to finish it. Klonoa was currently hiding somewhere in an abandoned Cuban missile silo... somewhere in Cuba. Like I said before, I was hiding out in the old St. Louis Arch while basking in a little fame at the same time. Altair almost never looked in the middle of the United States, so I had a slight advantage.

After three hours of hiding out in St. Louis, I was contacted by Klonoa.

"He found Ashura near the remains of the Titanic. He's headed in your direction!"

The rules of the game say that once someone is found, you had a half-hour to find a new spot if you wanted to. Otherwise if you didn't get there in time, your mind was unlocked and you were disqualified. I decided to take that gamble.

Turning to my crowd, I said, "I'm sorry, folks. I have to go now. Maybe you'll see another one of us sometime in the near future."

You could hear the massive groan from the tourists as I pulled out my red-tipped ring and disappeared into the Dream World. I decided to move from St. Louis to Guam, a small island in the absolute middle of the Pacific Ocean. Altair would never find me there!

I was fuming. I couldn't believe that I had fallen for Altair's "Boogeyman" ruse! It was personal because I had banished the Boogeyman and other various nightmares back when I converted into a god. I had taken on the planet's and my own nightmares over 1000 years ago when I met Hyozanryu. So you can imagine my annoyance when Altair used my personal experiences to track me down.

Jeez, Ashura, calm down already! Altair said for the third time. I didn't mean for it to be personal.

You know how I get when you bring up my past and play games with it!

Alright, alright, just calm down. I told you I didn't mean anything personal. Can we just drop it already?

I scoffed and flew off towards Asia to literally cool off. I needed some time to chill out and collect myself. What was I getting so worked up for? I hadn't felt this angry since before I became a dragon god. And that was over 1000 years ago. Why now? What could possibly be making me this angry? I didn't get angry anymore. There had to be something going on here.

On a hunch, I took a detour to an unnamed area of the planet where the forces of Anger, Fear and Sorrow had been sealed away. Everything should be just fine, but I just wanted to be sure.

When I eventually got there, I could tell that something was very wrong here. I had a B.A.D. feeling that all was not well here. An unusual purple fog was covering the area and a feeling of foreboding hung in the air. Seeing a dark, violet aura some distance in front of me only furthered my fear.

I progressed towards where they had been sealed, but I didn't get that far. Before I knew what hit me, I saw them – all three of them – walking towards me.

No... I said in disbelief. It's not possible! You shouldn't be here!

Through the haze, I could see the lead creature smiling at me next to the others. It is... and we are. We have finally broken free of your banishment and have returned to the world. Now the world will feel Anger, Fear and Sorrow once again!

But I stood in their path. I won't let you! You'll have to go through me to get back to the planet!

They all broke out laughing. "You?!" said Fear hysterically. "You are just one god! You're not so tough now without your brother playing backup, are you?"

I gulped audibly. He was right. Hyozanryu was not here for me this time. I was on my own.

Get out of our way, slime! sneered Anger. We've got a world to destroy!

And without waiting for me to move, they launched a brutal one-sided attack on me to get through. The last thing I remember was seeing their true forms berating me relentlessly with their dark powers...

ALTAIR

So far, I had found both of the Diamond Dragon Brothers and Klonoa, who was hiding out deep in the Bermuda Triangle. The powers of nature had no effect on us, so it was a poor effort on Klonoa's part. I still had yet to find my brother, Lugia, and Arcana. Klonoa wasn't telling where his brother was, but no one had any idea where Lugia was hiding out. I had scanned over 60 of the planet and I had yet to find even a forensic clue where he had hidden.

In the meantime, Hyozanryu and Klonoa had gone out looking for Lugia while I resumed my hunt for Arcana. My instincts told me that he was hiding out somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, but I couldn't pinpoint his location. He was hiding above water – that much I knew – but there were so many islands in that ocean that he could practically be anywhere.

Just then, I felt my back plates twinge. I had grown used to the feeling, but I realized that something was not right in the world. It could have been just some quirk somewhere in the world, but the intensity of the twinge was making me feel uncomfortable.

I then realized something. Where was Ashura? I knew he had gone to cool down after the "Boogeyman" incident, but I couldn't sense him at the moment. That was a reason to worry because I had already unlocked Ashura's mind and he wasn't that difficult to hear halfway across the world.

Something was wrong here and I knew it. Granted, the only person who would know what was really wrong with Ashura would be his brother, Hyozanryu, but he was currently occupied looking for Lugia at the moment. I didn't want to cut our game short, but I soon realized that I had no choice. We had a rule that if one of us was unaccounted for, we all took it upon ourselves to find him.

Landing on a mountain in the Himalayas near where Ashura had disappeared, I lifted my head to the sky and fired a red Aeroblast into the sky. It lit up in the sky like a new star that only we gods could see. This was both the "Time-out" signal for our game and the prompt for us all to gather at the point of the first star. A few minutes later, I saw a blue, an orange, a silver and a gold beam fire one after another into the sky to meet my own light. This meant two things. One: they had seen my summons and were on their way. And Two: the lack of a green beam meant that Ashura was either missing or unable to send out his signal.

Since we were in "Time-out", I could sense that Arcana and Lugia had unlocked their minds and were on their way to the mountains to meet me along with Hyozanryu and Klonoa.

Whatever had happened to Ashura, it must have been serious for him not to respond to the Summons. I just had to wait for the others to arrive so we could hold an emergency meeting.

ARCANA

I should have been upset that I had had to give up my perfect hiding spot to attend Altair's Summons, but I hadn't seen Ashura's green beam when I had launched my silver one from my ring to join the others, so it must have been serious if he hadn't responded.

Since Klonoa and I had unlimited access to the Dream World, we were the first to arrive near our favorite gathering spot at Mount Everest. Altair wasn't at Everest this time, but you could see him at another mountain from the peak. Using our Slider Boards, we surfed the winds to meet up with him.

"What's going on, Altair?" asked Klonoa, storing his board away by firing a Wind Bullet at it from his ring.

"Yeah, what did you call us here for?" I added.

We both knew that Altair would not answer us until we were all there, but it didn't stop us from remaining concerned.

I glanced at my brother and sighed. Even after 1000 years, I still found it strange to be looking at my exact twin. I hadn't been born with a twin; I had transformed into one. Klonoa and I had the exact same short black fur on our cat/humanoid bodies except for our muzzles, tails and the tips of our long, dangling ears. We had the same vertical, narrow, yellow pupils, making us look almost cat-like. The two of us wore matching blue jackets and pants, identical blue caps sporting a "Pac-man" symbol, matching thick, yellow gloves over our five-fingered paws and similar red sneakers over our padded feet. We also had the same pitch, tone and speed in our voices.

In fact, the only physical way to tell the difference between Klonoa and myself was the color of the gemstone in our trademark rings. We always carried a large, gold band in our right paws with a different-colored gem on the tips. Klonoa's was an emerald while I had a large ruby grafted into our rings. Like I said, this was the only way for humans and robots to tell the difference between the Dream Travelers Klonoa and Arcana. The rest of us knew exactly who was who because our minds were easily accessed among us.

"Arcana?" said Klonoa, waving a paw in front of my face. "You're staring again."

I snapped out of my trance and muttered, "Sorry."

Soon enough, Lugia and Hyozanryu entered the Himalayas and reached our meeting spot. Altair looked in their direction and said, Good, you made it.

Lugia sighed and put a wing over his brother's back. When have we ever not made it to a meeting?

Altair groaned. You always have to say that, don't you?

"So... what's the emergency?" I asked once the two had gotten that off their chests. "What happened to Ashura?"

Altair explained what had happened after he had found Ashura near the Titanic. Ashura had obviously gotten angry at him for using a ruse to track him down. He had come to Mount Everest to cool down when he suddenly disappeared from our radar. Altair had tried looking for him, but was unsuccessful this time around.

That's strange, said Hyozanryu, scratching his chest plates. His mind was unlocked and yet he completely vanished from the world.

That's not the worst of it, added Lugia, turning to gaze into the horizon. From the sound of things, Ashura sounded very upset. I haven't known any one of us to lose our tempers since we returned to the planet over 1000 years ago. I thought Altair and I banished the essence of Anger before we met Hyozanryu and Ashura. Are you sure you sensed Ashura here, Altair?

No one answered that. We all knew that neither one of us were capable of deception. It was a trait Altair, Ashura and I had gained when we had joined our brothers.

I didn't think so, Lugia finished.

We thought for a moment about what could have happened to Ashura. Not one word passed among us until a loud growling sound came from... Hyozanryu's stomach?! It was rather loud and intense even for a god like him.

"Hungry, Hyozanryu?" asked Klonoa, looking curious.

The Diamond Dragon shook his head and doubled over like he was having a cramp. I don't think so. I didn't eat too long ago. I think it's coming from Ashura. But that can't be... he ate not long after me.

"What does it mean, then?" I wondered.

Hyozanryu looked off in a different direction. I think Ashura is somewhere in the world... with an unnatural insatiable hunger. Listen...

Being Ashura's brother, Hyozanryu was the most-connected to Ashura's feelings and emotions. He opened his so that we could all feel Ashura along with him.

I could see Ashura somewhere in St. Louis running amok. But that wasn't the strange part. He was currently at an ATM machine, pounding on it with his claws, yelling, I don't care if you have lemon cream! I want raspberry filling! After being pounded on for some time, the ATM machine broke down and started spitting out dollar bills. Ashura opened his mouth to devour some of them but spit them out and bellowed, No, not sprinkles!

Just then, some police officers approached Ashura and attempted to corral him, but Ashura panicked and flew off with unnatural speed. He stopped in mid-flight to snatch a stop sign and started licking it like a lollipop.

We had seen enough. Hyozanryu cut the vision and we were once again in the Himalayas.

Oh... kay... said Altair in disbelief. That was strange even by Ashura's standards.

I think he's gone insane somehow. We all looked at Lugia with interest.

"What makes you think that?" asked Klonoa.

Lugia explained. Only a powerful dark force could drive any one of us insane to the point that we can no longer tell reality from our own thoughts. He paused. You don't suppose... We all remained silent.

I was thinking it as well as the others. The only dark force that was powerful enough to crack Ashura's conscience was supposed to be locked away in Limbo. We hadn't been keeping tabs on them like we were supposed to and we were all wondering... could they have escaped?

I think we need to test this theory. We need to split up and test our theories. Hyozanryu turned to us. Lugia and I will go check on the Gate; Altair, Klonoa and Arcana... you three track down Ashura. Make sure he doesn't hurt anyone.

Altair, Klonoa and I nodded while Lugia turned to face Hyozanryu. We knew our duties and we knew better than to object.

ASHURA

FOOD!!! I had never seen so much food in my life! The cities of the planets were made of so much food that I could take my pick from anything I wanted. Miles of meat, acres of candy and lanes of leftover lollipops stretched as far as I could see. There was enough food to fill my god-like hunger for countless ages!

But where to start? It all looked so good! Houston, Texas should be renamed "Mutton and Texas Toast"! I finally started with a large hambone lying on a sidewalk made of cake. It wasn't too difficult to rip the ham off the cake and start my beautiful feast.

Oh, it tasted so good!!! It was difficult to bite into, but my glass-like teeth made short work of it. I walked casually down the cakewalk, dining on succulent pork and ignoring the looks from the locals. I didn't see why they didn't join in this magnificent feast – there was plenty for all. Oh, well... more for me!

When I finished the ham, I decided to go out for churros. The biggest damn churros you ever saw were in the park and I wasn't going to pass up this opportunity.

Pulling one up by its roots, I bit into a cherry-filled one. Hmm... a little overdone, but it had a flaky outside with a sweet cherry center. It would take time to eat this, but I wasn't in a rush. I had all the time in the world.

That taste good, Ashura?

I looked to one side and saw a beautiful stuffed chicken hovering in mid-air nearby talking to me. Next to it were two soft-shelled tacos, looking concerned.

Oh, boy! I love Mexican food!

I dropped the churro and went after the main course. However, before I could sink my fangs into them, I was thrown backwards by them as if they had punched me in the chest. I looked hurt from food attacking me, but I smiled and stood up.

Spicy, aren't ya? You're not too hot for me! Come to Papa! I dove after them again and this time they scattered. It looks like I had to work for this meal.

ALTAIR

If none of that made sense to you, allow me to translate Ashura's words. The supposed "hambone" was a poor mailbox. The "churro" was a cherry tree in the nearby park. And the "chicken" and "soft-shelled tacos"? Unfortunately, that was me, Klonoa and Arcana.

And what caused this insanity? An unknown evil force had warped Ashura's mind to the point that he saw everything as a potential meal.

When I asked him, That taste good, Ashura?, he had been working on a tall cherry tree and I guess he saw us as food and tried to take a bite out of us. Thankfully, we were able to ward him off, but just barely. In his current state, Ashura was a threat to himself and everyone else around him, so Klonoa, Arcana and I took it upon ourselves to capture him until Lugia and Hyozanryu reported back to us.

Easier said than done, I'm afraid. Ashura's glass-shard- like teeth would make short work of us, so we devised a plan to attack him from afar until he was captured.

Spicy, aren't ya? said Ashura with an ecstatic grin on his face. You're not too hot for me. Come to Papa!

He then launched himself at Klonoa and Arcana, claws outstretched. They quickly looked at me and then split up, causing Arcana to literally eat dirt.

"Altair," said Arcana, whipping out his fabled Slider Board and getting on. "I think we have to retreat on this one!"

I nodded and said, I agree. The way he's going, he's going to hurt someone before we can stop him.

"Then let's... LOOK OUT!!!" cried Klonoa.

I failed to see a static-filled blue Dragonbreath coming at me from Ashura and paid for it by taking it to the chest and creating a new crater in the park.

Roast chicken! cried Ashura happily. Here I come, my lovely!

Hyozanryu's and Ashura's Dragonbreath attacks were powerful enough to kill a full-grown male elephant if they intended it to; I was lucky that it only stunned me instead of short-circuiting my heart...

...or not. Ashura was headed in my direction with his fangs bared and his claws extended. I couldn't move or do anything to stop him from taking a bite out of me. I braced for the worst.

Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded from the other end of the park. Ashura stopped just inches from mauling me and we both looked around. Klonoa was waving a stop sign covered with mud in the air with his ring. He appeared to be trying to get Ashura's attention.

"Hey, Ashura! Is this what you want? Doesn't this look tasty?"

I failed to see what he was getting at, but Ashura seemed to get the picture. Licking his chops with a thick, blue tongue, he cried, CARAMEL APPLE!!! GIMME-GIMME-GIMME!!!

I suppose that a mud-covered stop sign could look like a caramel apple to Ashura. Regardless, I quickly Refreshed myself and was able to move again. Meanwhile, Klonoa and Arcana had taken to the air on their Slider Boards with Ashura following the stop sign behind them like a fish to a tasty worm.

"We're coming back around, Altair," said Klonoa, trying to stay ahead of the hungry dragon. "You're only going to get one shot to "Purge" him. Make it count!"

I knew what he meant by "Purging" Ashura. Granted, I haven't had to use it in over 500 years, but now was not the time to be concerned. If I didn't hit Ashura with a perfect Luster Purge when Klonoa and Arcana came my way, then Ashura would be having Dream Travelers for lunch.

I began charging for the legendary Luster Purge. I had used this power over 500 years ago along with Lugia, Hyozanryu and Ashura to purify the planet's core so that any remnants of the Nightmares would be destroyed. It had taken all four of us out for a good week to recover while Klonoa and Arcana took over our responsibilities during that time, but this Luster Purge would not be as powerful this time due to a lack of charge time, so I would not be disabled this time. Unfortunately, I have never had to Purge a moving target before, much less one of my own kin.

Ashura was gaining on the twins and it looked like he was going to take the bait a little too soon. Fortunately, Klonoa and Arcana gave it one more boost and they finally came within my range. I focused all of the energy that I had gathered into a single point in my open maw and waited for my chance. Come on... Come on...

NOW! I brought my head backward and the thrust it forward, giving the Luster Purge an extra push. Unlike the single clear beam of concentrated wind that Lugia and I called our "Aeroblast", the Luster Purge was a collection of several slower-moving rays of incandescent light that swirled through the air in a forward yet random movement. Since the beams moved at a much slower rate than our Aeroblasts and Ashura was a moving target, the timing had to be absolutely perfect. I watched the Luster Purge swirl through the air until Ashura flew directly in its path. Yes!

Ashura let out a scream of pain so intense that I had to shut my mind for a moment so it would not pierce my consciousness. Klonoa and Arcana did likewise, but the people in the area were knocked flat off their feet and/or became temporarily confused. Their robot counterparts were also affected. Some of them exploded, some went haywire and some deactivated momentarily altogether.

When Ashura hit the ground, Klonoa and I went over to retrieve him and we both carried him through a portal to the Dream World that Arcana had opened up for us to make our escape. The inhabitants of the city would be coming to momentarily and we didn't want to be around here when they did.

ARCANA

This was one of those "Good News, Bad News" moments. The good news was that Ashura was relatively unharmed and still alive after Altair's Luster Purge. The bad news was that whoever had attacked Ashura's mind did a good job of hiding their identity. He couldn't remember what he was doing moments before he went insane and all of our intense mental scans turned up nothing.

I don't get it, said Altair after another attempt to scan Ashura's mind. The Diamond Dragon was still unconscious. Ashura's a pretty tough cookie. What could have done this kind of damage to a god of his caliber?

Klonoa shrugged and tugged on one of his ears. "Whatever did it must have been an extremely powerful dark force. Lugia and Hyozanryu should have been back by now."

To make sure Ashura didn't feel uneasy while Altair scanned his mind, we kept him in a suspended sleep until he was done. When he finally gave up, Altair put a wing on the dragon's head and muttered a few quiet words.

Ashura coughed and slowly opened his eyes. Ohh... where am I? he moaned.

You're in our cave in the middle of the Indian Ocean, said Altair, sighing. You've had a rough encounter with something dark and evil.

I have? Ashura was drawing a blank. I... I can't remember what happened. One minute, I'm on top of Mount Everest in a bad mood. Then next... nothing! Suddenly, a loud growling noise sounded from somewhere. The three of us looked around for the source of the noise, but Ashura merely held his claws to his waist and groaned, Ohh... my stomach! I feel like I ate a truck tire!

Altair sighed again and said, That's a distinct possibility. You ate quite a lot of junk on your little feeding frenzy.

Ashura chuckled weekly and groaned a little. I'm off food for a month.

I then brought up the subject of the missing-in-action Lugia and Hyozanryu. "Do you think they found out what caused Ashura to lose it yet?"

None of us said anything. We couldn't detect either of them anywhere in the world, which meant that they were either in a different dimension or they had closed their minds. Because of Ashura's situation, the latter was highly unlikely. We then tried to think of what dimension they could be in, when lo and behold, a familiar pair of minds contacted us.

Can you hear us? It was Hyozanryu. We have a situation in Tetra Limbo!

It's too risky to tell you more this way, came Lugia's voice. You must get here now! We're going to need your combined help to fix this!

Brother, what's going on? asked Ashura concernedly.

Lugia? wondered Altair. You guys are scaring me.

We can't say anything without them hearing, said Altair's brother. He sounded scared, himself.

It's a Level 1 Global Emergency, said Hyozanryu. Come to Tetra Limbo as quickly as possible. Klonoa, Arcana, you two will need to see this as well. Hurry!

They broke the connection, leaving us to try to make out what they had just told us.

You must understand that Klonoa and I haven't been around as long as the Diamond Dragons or the Lugia Brothers. Even after 800 years, we were still getting used to all of their customs and rules. Klonoa and I weren't born gods – we were blessed by them. Before they came into our lives, we were simply Guardians of Dream World – our specialty was in people's dreams and nightmares. We treat all four of them as our superiors even though they consider us their equals, but we don't seem to mind. True, we may not have the mental capabilities that they have, but we do our best to work with them and follow their instructions. In fact, if you haven't noticed by now, Klonoa and I don't speak with our minds like they do; we use vocal words despite hearing their voices in our minds like most other people do. To sum it all up, we see Lugia, Altair, Hyozanryu and Ashura as our own guardians – almost like our own parents.

Yet despite over 800 years of living with each other, I had never heard Lugia or Hyozanryu as worried or as frantic as they were now. Whatever was causing this "Level 1 Global Emergency" – the highest level of planetary danger – we both needed to report to Tetra Limbo – the most evil area of the Earth – as soon as possible.

Altair and Ashura both looked at each other and nodded and then looked at the two of us. We'll meet you there, said Ashura. I have to see this for myself.

If I know Tetra Limbo... said Altair in a hard voice. Well... let's just hope this isn't what I think it is.

They both sidled over to the hole in the floor where the ocean started and dived in one after another. Since neither Klonoa or I could breathe underwater without one of them helping us, and we couldn't fly our Slider Boards as fast as they could fly, we took our usual way of getting around the planet – through the Dream World. We both fired a Wind Bullet from our rings and opened the portal to the Dream World by punching a hole in reality.

"After you," I said politely to my brother. Klonoa smiled and walked into the portal with me following close behind.

ASHURA

Even if it took another thousand years, I would never be able to remember what went on that day. All I can remember is a great, insatiable hunger and a painful feeling in my stomach. Nevertheless, I accepted the fact that something attacked me during that blank period that caused me to snap.

Now, I was going to meet my brother and Lugia in Tetra Limbo and probably find some answers. From what I knew of that evil place, I had banished the essence of Fear over 1000 years ago along with Hyozanryu's help. I hadn't visited that place since then since I was satisfied that Fear couldn't escape.

But now I had my doubts. If Lugia and Hyozanryu issued a Level 1 Global Emergency, then something terrible must have happened there. I just hoped that it wasn't what I feared the most – that Fear had been able to influence the planet even from banishment.

If a mortal being of the planet ever found the gateway to Tetra Limbo, they would immediately suffer from amnesia and either forget what they were doing or remember an important task and rush off. I worked with Hyozanryu and the Lugia Brothers to create such a powerful enchantment. However, because of some people finding a way around our spell, we have had to move the location of Tetra Limbo to a different isolated point on the map more than once. Unfortunately, I am not going to tell you where it is now for obvious reasons. There are some things that you humans do not need to know for your own safety.

Now I was headed for the gateway to Tetra Limbo with Altair flying ahead of me. Altair had visited that evil realm more than me and knew where the most recent relocation point was. I felt concerned as I flew behind him over the clouds.

Altair... do you think that they could have...?

I don't want to think about it, Ashura, he cut in. Lugia and I went through a living Hell to put one of them away; I can't imagine the world with them on the loose again.

I shuddered at the thought of them unleashed on the world.

ALTAIR

When we reached the gateway to Tetra Limbo, I was surprised to see that Klonoa and Arcana had not yet arrived. They were usually the first of us to arrive at any meeting because they could take shortcuts through the Dream World. I was grateful, however, to see Hyozanryu and Lugia standing at the front of the Gate.

Altair! Ashura! cried Lugia, a little jumpy at the moment. You made it!

Are you okay, Lugia? I asked, putting a wing around his brother's shoulders. I've never seen you this high-strung before.

It's... I'm just... I can't believe... If you could ever make a god as rock-solid as Lugia panic, you knew you were in trouble!

I sent Lugia a soothing feeling, but to my surprise, he pushed it aside, completely ignoring it. Now is not the time to be calm, Altair. Something terrible has happened! He kept walking around and shaking his head. Something was really bothering him.

Lugia and I do not normally express great unrest through our bodies. When we are angry, the powers of destruction throughout the planet such as the earthquakes, volcanoes and thunderstorms express our outrage for us. When we are sad, great rainstorms and blowing snows and winds echo throughout the planet. It was very rare for either of us to show unrest physically. When it did happen, we had told Hyozanryu, Ashura, Klonoa and Arcana to do whatever it took to try to calm us down. If our physical unrest was converted to planetary chaos, it could literally destroy all that we have worked these last 1000 years to keep intact.

Lugia, you need to calm down. You'll destroy yourself if you keep this up. Hyozanryu tried to put a clawed hand on my brother, but he was suddenly thrown backwards by a powerful force radiating from him.

Why should I calm down?! he bellowed. The planet is about to be destroyed anyway! Can't you see it?! All hell is breaking loose!

He put his wings to his head and appeared as if he was having a seizure. I could sense his fear and it was time to intervene. All three of us launched ourselves at Lugia and pinned him to the ground. He was writhing and screaming both mentally and vocally, which was rare for him since he almost always spoke with his mind. Ashura and Hyozanryu were only about half as big as Lugia or I, so it took our combined strength to keep him on the ground.

But Lugia's current state of mind had given him unnatural physical strength. He threw aside the Diamond Dragons like they were sacks of potatoes with me clinging onto his left wing, trying to get him back to the ground.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! he was screaming. Can't you see we're all in terrible danger?! We have to do something! Get off of me!

He pushed his right wing in my face, trying to push me off him while he thrashed with his tail at kicked with his short but powerful legs.

Get his head down! I called to Hyozanryu. Ashura, get his wing!

They obeyed. Hyozanryu latched onto Lugia's neck and drove his head into the ground. Ashura groped around and finally managed to pin his right wing to the ground. It was difficult to see through all this because the panic and fear coming from Lugia's mind was obstructing our view, further putting ourselves in danger. Lugia was God reincarnated; if he got loose in this state, he could destroy both us and the planet simultaneously.

Lugia was mostly restrained, but his powerful spiked tail was still thrashing around. We couldn't begin to calm him down until he couldn't move a muscle. But since there were only three of us, we would have to try to keep him submitted until either Klonoa or Arcana arrived.

Why are you hurting me?! Lugia cried, tears forming in his eyes. They're going to kill you and me if we don't do something! Please, listen to me!

Sorry, Lugia, I tried to tell him while trying to keep his wing down at the same time. But it's for your own good.

Suddenly, Lugia started backing up by digging his feet into the ground. Our grip on him was slipping and he was about to worm his way out of submission.

"Lugia, NO!" came a voice like an angel. "Hold onto him, guys!"

Arcana had come to the rescue and quickly seized Lugia's tail with a powerful beam of light from his ring. I had to hand it to him – he and Klonoa were less than five feet tall, but their strength was phenomenal!

Perfect timing, guys! Ashura said, assuming Klonoa was with him. Keep him down while we try to get through to him!

Now that all of his most-dangerous limbs had been pinned, all that Lugia could do was wriggle and sob. The fear coming from him was extremely powerful, so it took all of our combined powers to try to soothe his rage.

Slowly but surely, his resistance weakened and his struggling wore down. Pretty soon, he stopped moving altogether and just lied there, crying. We kept our pressure on him for a while to make sure that he was all worn out. Finally, we released him and allowed him to get up.

ARCANA

I was lucky that I got there when I did. Lugia was the most powerful of all of us and could have done some serious damage if he had gotten loose. I felt that I had just saved the world from the wrath of a god.

Lugia hung his head and wept. I had never seen him in this state before and it scared me. What could have happened that had made him like this?

Lugia...? said Altair, cautiously approaching him with his wing outstretched. Are you alright?

He didn't answer right away, but when he did, it was in a shaky, scared kind of voice.

W... wha... what's wrong with me? I've never been so scared in my life. It felt as if all my fears had been realized at once. I thought I was going to die from fright here and now. He looked at his counterpart. Altair... T... Thank... you. He let out a sorrowful cry and embraced his brother in a massive hug, crying into his shoulder while Altair patted his back.

It's okay, Lugia. I am here for you. Let it all out.

It was a while before he was able to look at the rest of us with a straight face. Thank you for what you've done for me. You've saved the world from a terrible fate.

But Hyozanryu was not feeling as relieved as he should have been. Unfortunately, Lugia, an even more terrible fate is about to befall the planet.

Lugia suddenly realized why he had called us there in the first place. Of course. I completely forgot.

What's going on, Lugia? said Ashura in a cautious voice. Why are we here?

Unfortunately, they were suddenly at a loss for words. They simply said, Follow us, and walked through the gate to Tetra Limbo. We quickly followed them into the heart of the planet's evil.

Oh... no... no! How on earth...?

I never thought I'd see the day...

It is truly a sad day for this world.

How could this happen? How could they...?

Since neither Ashura, Altair, Lugia or Hyozanryu could comprehend it, I'll try to fill in the blanks.

The gateway to the heart of Tetra Limbo, which was comprised of a massive stone door with every known protection spell of its kind cast on it, was destroyed. I don't mean that it was cracked or in pieces – I mean it was completely destroyed! It was just... gone! There was no door blocking the heart of Tetra Limbo anymore. Something had completely destroyed the seal from this inside, allowing them to escape.

Anger... Fear... Sorrow... said Lugia in disbelief. Mewtwo... the Nightmares... and the King of Sorrow... For over 1000 years, these creatures have been locked away from the world...

...completely removed from the lives of the humans, continued Altair, refusing to believe it as well. All the battles we went through to lock them away...

...were all for naught, Hyozanryu went on. Even an eternity of banishment...

..could not keep them from escaping, said Ashura. Now they are loose again...

"...and possibly more powerful than ever," I finished off. "This is... bad." That was the only word I could think of that described the situation. I know – lame... but true.

What now? asked Altair, his face expressionless. Three of the most dangerous creatures in the world are loose in the world and they may be even more powerful than before.

I really don't know, said Lugia, his expression also blank. All that we've worked for these past 1000 years has just gone up in smoke.

I think we should take this one step at a time, said Hyozanryu, taking time to think. First off, we should find out where Mewtwo, the Nightmares and the King of Sorrow are headed first.

Good point, said Ashura. I think so that we don't get jumped like Lugia and I did, we should go in mixed pairs to track each of them down.

We all turned to face Lugia since he was our natural leader. Normally, someone would flinch and stutter if they were suddenly confronted like that, but Lugia, like his brother, was psychic and had expected us to confront him.

I'll put us into groups, then. He turned to each of us in turn. I will go with Ashura and locate Mewtwo. Arcana will accompany Hyozanryu in the search for the Nightmares. And Altair will pair up with... He broke off suddenly. Where is Klonoa? Wasn't he with you, Arcana?

I blanched. I had expected this confrontation. "He... I..." I gulped. "We were attacked by King in the Dream World."

A normal human would have panicked, but we were beyond physical emotions... except Klonoa and me, though – we didn't communicate with our thoughts.

So, King has returned to his original haunt, said Hyozanryu in a soft tone. I think we're going to need some back-up with this.

I didn't know what he meant, but the others apparently did.

You mean... said Lugia in a hushed voice. He seemed to be fighting the inevitable. My son... Johiko.

I looked at Lugia with confusion. "Who's Johiko?"

He wasn't sure whether or not to tell me. He finally said, Change of plans. Arcana, you're coming with me. Altair and Hyozanryu will team together, and Ashura, I am trusting you with the task of finding Klonoa.

Ashura nodded his head and said, "I won't let you down this time. If anything happened to Klonoa, I'll find out what."

With that, we split up into our three groups and headed out in our global demon hunt.

ASHURA

I hadn't been to the Dream World for countless years ever since I helped Klonoa and Arcana fix the damage done by the King of Sorrow. But since it was my duty to find Klonoa, Arcana let me borrow his ring for a while. While he was with Lugia, he would be riding on Lugia's back in their search for Johiko and Mewtwo.

I had never used either ring before, so Arcana gave me a crash course before we left. With someone with my "divine ability", it wasn't too hard to figure out how to use it. The only problem with this situation was that if I had Arcana's ring, then I took away his main defense. Klonoa and Arcana rely heavily on their rings to use their powers, so it was up to Lugia to protect Arcana while I borrowed his ring. But Lugia has ways of giving them temporary powers to protect themselves with, so I had nothing to worry about.

Once I had figured out how to fire a Wind Bullet and open up the Dream World, it was relatively easy going. I practically shot a hole in reality and entered the Dream World.

Once inside, I noticed that all was not well. What was once a sparkling utopia that was more organized than reality was now dark, desolated, destroyed ruins of the place it once was. The "sun" had gone out and heavy clouds covered the skies. What's more, everything was either dead, decaying or barely standing because of highly-destructive fires breaking out in the world.

Each building in the Dream World contains anywhere from one to 100 doors that show the status of its corresponding human in the real world. The doors could either be made of wood, stone or steel, depending on how "in control" its owner is of his or her subconscious. However, people who have passed away do not take their door with them – they simply are left there for them to access in the afterlife if they wanted to. That means that the Dream World is an ever-growing dimension but with no limits as to how far it can go.

Right now, my main concern was finding Klonoa. I had a feeling that all was not well here. My reason? The Dream World is not supposed to look like the dark, decrepit dimension it is now.

While walking through the Dream World, I had a feeling that I was being watched. It wasn't a very comfortable feeling – something evil was out there.

Hello?! I called out to the Dream Traveler. Klonoa?! Can you hear me?!

I expected nothing, but instead, I heard a kind of soft weeping sound. Someone wasn't in their dream door.

Klonoa? Is that you? I carefully approached the noise. The crying continued. I could sense a feeling of great sorrow coming from that person that made my horns tingle. Whoever it was was clearly in great emotional pain. I rounded a corner and I saw someone huddled over behind the building with his back to me. Someone that looked like...

Klonoa?

It was Klonoa! I recognized those dangling ears anywhere. And since Arcana was with Lugia, it could only be him. I approached him and laid a claw on his back.

Are you okay, Klonoa?

Klonoa sniffled and looked at me with those red, cat-like eyes. "What's wrong with me, Ashura?" he said in a meek voice. "I've never felt so wretched in my life before."

I helped him to his feet and put a claw around his shoulders. It's okay now. I'm here. I let him cry into my waist for a while before I said, You've had a run-in with King, haven't you?

He flinched when he heard the name. "He's the cause of what's been happening around here. He's probably the reason I feel so terrible. His sorrow is affecting me somehow."

It's okay – I'm going to track him down and destroy him with my bare claws. I flexed my rocky talons as I thought of tearing that golden ring from his neck and getting to the soft, "nougaty" center.

But for some reason, Klonoa chuckled in disbelief. "Good luck! You'd be lucky to get anywhere near him with Mewtwo and the Nightmares at his side." He shook his head sadly. "I don't think I can even touch him with what he has done to me." He walked away for a while and then stopped. "Why don't we go find the others? I think they can do more than what I'm currently capable of."

I turned around so that we our backs were facing each other. I can't do that right now. Hyozanryu and Lugia entrusted me with finding you and King. I can't go back on my word.

Klonoa toyed with his ring and asked me a very serious question. "What if I could find King for you? I know where he's headed."

I scanned his mind on instinct and hit something. King's here? Where?

I didn't see it, but Klonoa turned around and raised his ring. "Much closer than you think!"

I realized what was happening and turned around a split-second too late. Klonoa fired a super-powerful Wind Bullet at me, blowing me backwards a good 20 feet and surrounding me in a net of... violet light?!

Damn! I swore. It was a trap!

"That's right, dragon," said Klonoa, approaching me with his ring drawn. "It was all too easy for me to lure you here where I will destroy you with my bare hands!"

I couldn't believe that I had walked into this trap! Hyozanryu would gut me alive when he found out about this! If he ever found out about this. I looked at "Klonoa" in the eyes and I finally realized – he did not have such burning red eyes.

King! You tricked me!

King smiled malevolently. "And I am going to kill you. Mortal weapons may not be able to harm you, but Klonoa's ring certainly will." He laughed darkly. "At last, one of the gods that put me away in that dark dimension will die at my hand." He pointed Klonoa's ring directly at my heart and began charging one final Wind Bullet. I couldn't move to stop him and closed my eyes against the inevitable...

...but it did not come. I suddenly heard King yell and the Wind Bullet flew off into the sky. I opened my eyes and saw that the real Klonoa had come out of nowhere and had tackled the fake Klonoa. The two of them were locked in a mini wrestling match and were trying to get control of the real Klonoa's ring. Klonoa was on top of King and was tugging on the ring, trying to rip it from his grasp. But King's grip was solid and he had his hand in Klonoa's face.

Suddenly, Klonoa rolled onto his back so that King was on top. What was he thinking?! I soon found out when he got his feet and free hand on the ground, suddenly launched himself and King into the air, spun around two or three times and slammed King into the ground, tearing his ring free and stunning him at the same time.

Just then, the real Klonoa pointed his ring me and fired. I flinched a little but then realized that he had just removed the restraints that King had put on me. He then turned back to King, who slowly got to his feet.

"You thought you could take me out of the picture by stealing my ring, Sorrow," said Klonoa in a not-so-nice tone. "You forgot how much I have learned since we last fought. I am more powerful than when we last met."

King merely chuckled and looked at us with those narrow, red pupils. He was unarmed, but he somehow managed to keep a cool tone.

"As am I, Dream Traveler. You'd be surprised how much you can learn about power, even in banishment. Mewtwo and the Nightmares have taught me many things from their experiences. Now, my power has tripled with their help." He sneered at Klonoa's ring. "You think I was powerful before? Ha! You have yet to see what I am now capable of!"

But Klonoa was adamant. "You have impersonated me long enough, Sorrow. Reveal your true self!" He fired another Wind Bullet at King and there was a powerful blast of violet energy when it hit him. When the energy cleared, I could see King in his true form.

It had been over 1000 years since I had laid eyes on him, but he still looked the same as he did then. The King of Sorrow had a coat of short, smooth, aqua-blue fur covering most of his body except for his chest, his short, nose-less muzzle, the underside of his long, dangling, elf-like ears and the palms of his hands. He had a smooth dome and his ears fluttered in a non-existent breeze just like Klonoa's and Arcana's. His feet looked more like he was wearing natural boots with blue pads underneath them. Around his neck was a large golden ring with odd markings on it and two long, trailing, gold ribbons fluttering in the same non-existent breeze.

To this day, I can not shake the uneasy feeling that I got when I looked him in the eyes. There were no irises and the "whites" were a crimson-red color with a small black pupil smack dab in the center of them. They burned with pure sorrow and sadness, but I knew better than to fall for his guise. King was just as if not more dangerous than he was over 1000 years ago. He was also smiling malevolently.

"I was hoping to deal with you two in a quick and quiet manner, but now you have forced me to show my hand."

And he did just that. He extended his right arm to one side and opened his hand despite Klonoa pointing a loaded ring at him. A dark, violet-colored aura gathered in his outstretched fingers, and with a flash, a long, narrow, curved blade that was considerably longer than he was tall appeared from the aura. He seized the hilt and held it up in the air behind his head so that the blade curved around his side.

Klonoa had faced this sword before along with Arcana in the Dream World 1000 years ago, but something about it this time spooked him.

"That's a formidable weapon, King," he said, but I noticed his gloved hand was shaking slightly. "Arcana may not be with me, but Ashura will do just fine."

I knew what he meant. A thousand years ago, it took the combined power of both his and Arcana's rings to destroy King's sword. He would have to improvise with me using Arcana's ring this time.

"We'll just see about that, Dream Traveler." He extended his other hand and signaled for us to "come get some".

Klonoa and I had engaged the King of Sorrow – one of the three evil forces plaguing the world. I could only hope that the other four gods were on their way to engage either Mewtwo or the Nightmares. Only time would tell.

ALTAIR

Since the Dream World was Klonoa and Arcana's realm and that it was cut off from the rest of the world, I did not have any way of knowing that Klonoa and Ashura had engaged King. Hyozanryu and Arcana were the only ways to tell what was going on in the Dream World.

While Hyozanryu and I were searching for the Nightmares over Russia, I suddenly felt a twinge coming from Hyozanryu's mind.

What is it? I asked him, scanning the icy land.

I can sense Ashura, he said obviously. He has found Klonoa and has engaged King. One of the evil creatures that had escaped will finally be brought to justice.

That's good. Now all we have to do is find the other two.

Hyozanryu sighed. If only it were that simple.

I was confused. Why do you say that?

He didn't answer me until we reached a cliff overlooking Moscow. When he did, he sounded skeptical.

The Nightmares do not have a concrete form. They have the ability to shapeshift into that which frightens us the most. If we were to locate them, I fear that our fear would overcome us and they would conquer us.

I knew where this was going. Like Lugia and I, if Hyozanryu gave into his fears, he would destroy himself and the world around him. I quickly walked over to him and swung my massive wing across his face several times. The force of my slaps normally felt like getting hit by a semi, but we gods were more resistant to abuse that we took. A swipe like that from me would have killed or seriously injured a human of any size. On a scale, it merely felt like getting slapped by your girlfriend.

Get it together, dragon! I yelled at him as he went reeling. Do you want to end up like Lugia and Ashura?! If you give in to your emotions, you'll be playing right into their hands! I don't know about you, but Lugia and Ashura would be severely disappointed if you gave into your fears! That's just what they want – they want to destroy us for banishing them by toying with our emotions and fighting amongst ourselves! Do you want that?!

Hyozanryu looked hurt. I could tell that he was shocked when he realized his emotions were getting the better of him. He got to his feet and put a claw to where I had slapped him.

Thank you, Altair. I was not aware that I was giving into their plans. Now...

He looked skyward in the direction of the sinking sun. Let's find the Nightmares and pay them back for this treachery.

I smiled and nodded. We both took off to resume our search for the Nightmares.

Hyozanryu had realized a very important detail in locating the Nightmares – their ability to turn into what people feared most allowed us to zero in on where the highest concentration of fear was. Since he had been the one to banish them, Hyozanryu had the natural ability to track the Nightmares anywhere in the world... almost. We still had to determine where they were in order to find them.

Against Lugia's orders, the two of us split up to cover more ground. Thankfully, I used my psychic powers to create a pair of magical Teleport Gems. If either of us found them, we could use the Teleport Gems and reach our teammate within minutes.

I scanned the jungles around Madagascar when something hit my senses like a train wreck. I could sense a great feeling of fear coming from somewhere near South Africa. People were running for their lives somewhere on the nearby continent and many of them were dying. It had to be the Nightmares! I was surprised that I had felt this and not Hyozanryu.

Nevertheless, I did an immediate 180 in the air and headed for the South African coast.

Hyozanryu, I spoke into my Teleport Gem. I got 'em! I'm headed in their direction now. I'll contact you when I reach the location.

A moment's pause... and then...

I'm on my way. Altair, do not engage the Nightmares until I get there. If they see you, fly away fast! If you see them, the sheer shock of what you will see will break you like Ashura and Lugia had. Remember, do not engage the Nightmares until I get there!

Will do.

I headed in the direction of South Africa, thinking. I had never been afraid of anything ever since I became a Lugia over 1000 years ago. If Hyozanryu had been correct, what I would see would destroy me. But what could I be afraid of to that degree?

Regardless, I was determined to keep my word and not engage the Nightmares until he arrived.

I reached the area where the Nightmares had been wreaking havoc. I didn't see them anywhere, but the damage they had already done was incredible. The bodies of humans were strewn throughout the city like dead flies. If I was still human, I would have passed out from the sheer magnitude of the carnage, but I was a god now, and what should have destroyed me now made me cringe with sadness. What I was feeling was sadness and not sorrow – that was a good thing since I had not given into King's power. The Nightmares were nearby, but I took a moment to mourn the loss of the many innocent humans that had no reason to die the way they did. Their bodies were untouched, but the fearful expressions on their faces told volumes. Absolutely no one had been spared – Men, women, children... and I even saw a helpless baby held in a mother's arms that had not escaped the Nightmares. This was wrong – just plain wrong. These humans had done nothing to deserve this death.

I shed a single tear in their memory and watched the magic of the gods work wonders. The tiny, silver tear hit the ground and was soaked up by the road. Seconds later, the ground in the area began shimmering with glitter-like stars. The stars then spread throughout the city and each one touched one of the deceased humans. The instant they touched them, the bodies seemed to dissolve into clear light and then vanish into the night sky. I smiled sadly and said a silent prayer in their honor. I may not have been able to save them, but I had allowed them to pass on to the afterlife in peace.

When the streets dimmed again, I heard a voice that made my heart stand still.

"Touching, Altair – truly touching. You gave closure to the worthless humans that once populated this city. You must be very proud."

It was the voice of the Nightmares. Even Mewtwo and King did not have such cold, dark and heartless voices. Words cannot describe the feeling that you felt when they spoke to you.

I knew where they were and turned to face the other way. Whatever they had that would frighten me would not be gazed upon by these eyes. But when the Nightmares spoke next, my true will was tested.

"You may not be one of the so-called "gods" that banished me, but I am going to love making you scream. Look at me, Altair! You think you are unafraid of anything? Why don't you see for yourself? I bet I could find something that would make you scream for all the world to hear. Hearing a Lugia scream would be music to my ears! Look at me, slime!"

I wanted to, but I knew I couldn't. Next to Lugia, Hyozanryu's word was law – I was determined to obey him.

But my curiosity was getting the better of me. I wanted to know what could possibly frighten me and the Nightmares' influence was outstanding! My free will was being pushed to the limit and I didn't know how long I could hold on.

The Nightmares were approaching slowly. "You want to look at me, Altair. I can answer your most-burning question: what could possibly scare Altair, Brother of Lugia? All you have to do is open your eyes and look at me and all your questions will be answered."

I found my concentration slipping. If Hyozanryu didn't get here fast, I would be destroyed. Even the power of the Teleport Gem was limited to a certain range. Please, Hyozanryu, I need you!

"He can't help you now! Open your eyes and see your fate."

I couldn't take it anymore. I finally opened my eyes and looked in his direction. What I saw in the Nightmares' place was something I will never forget...

ARCANA

Something that I will never forget was the feeling of riding the bare back of Lugia across the skies of the world. Lugia's figure was so pure and beautiful that no saddle would ever touch his back. All riders on the back of this God of gods would ride him bareback or not at all.

But that did not compare to the pure ecstasy of flying over the clouds. Despite using our Slider Boards to surf the clouds and dreams, Klonoa and I were considered "Earthwalkers" by the people of the planet. So we consider it an honor to ride on the backs of either Altair or Lugia. Lugia barely had to flap his flipper-like wings in order to get into the air and not at all when he reached his preferred altitude. He moved so gracefully in the skies that it felt like riding water. I could feel the hard muscles working through my gloves underneath his skin. He was hard at work even though he did not show it.

Feeling the wind through my fur and feeling my ears flapping in the breeze was something that I would never forget. Lugia was somehow able to lower the wind's speed and pressure on his passengers so that they had a relatively pleasant ride.

While I basked in the glory that was flying, I remembered that we were on a mission. We were to seek out Lugia's "son", Johiko, and ask him to help us in our quest to defeat Mewtwo.

I had never met Johiko and Lugia rarely spoke of him, even to Altair. He obviously knew him rather well, but none of us had ever seen him in person before. Whatever the big secret was, I would be the first of us to find out.

Johiko was a drifter like us, but from what I knew from Lugia is that he was an immigrant from Russia to the United States over 1000 years ago. He had come to America with the hope of getting a job at a specimen-engineering laboratory. However, he didn't count on being the specimen! It turns out that Lugia had been mistakenly captured as an "alien creature" not long before that and Johiko had been injected with some of Lugia's DNA, thus turning him into a Lugia-Human hybrid. Thankfully, they both managed to escape the lab and Johiko went into hiding. Lugia still visits Johiko from time to time but has done a very good job of keeping it quiet from the rest of us.

It is said that Johiko is just as powerful as Lugia and Altair despite him having gone through an incomplete conversion into a Lugia. I wanted to see this for myself and I was finally going to. I still don't see why Lugia chose to keep him hidden from us.

"Hey, Lugia?" I finally asked him as we headed for New York City where Johiko was rumored to be last.

Yes, Arcana?

"If Johiko was transformed into a Lugia with your DNA... wouldn't that make him...?"

My brother? Lugia shook his head. No... I have only one brother. He is my son. Do not ask me to explain the reasoning behind it – it is too complex even for you. Let me just say that Johiko was "born" of my blood, and therefore, he is my son.

"But why have you kept him secret from us all this time?"

Lugia sighed and shook his head again. I do not know. I should have told you ages ago, but fate prevented me from doing so.

"But shouldn't we have heard something about him even from the inhabitants of the planet?" I still didn't understand his logic.

That's something you'll have to ask him personally. To this day, I still don't understand why he never joined our Sacred Six. He is certainly welcome to join us, but I still do not understand why he hasn't yet.

"How long has it been since you last saw him?" Surely, Lugia has kept tabs on him... hasn't he?

It's been about 50 years since I saw him in Australia. He seemed to have taken a liking to the wilderness. Why he moved to New York City, I'm sure we'll find out.

I nodded and kept silent until we reached New York some time later. It still bothered me that there were still secrets among the Sacred Six.

Lugia tracked Johiko's life force to a large manor in the suburbs of New York city. The entire place was made of polished crystal and glass. It was obviously furbished with a lot of money and it even overlooked the ocean!

"This is classy!" I said, sliding off Lugia's back and walking down the polished driveway. "Only the finest for a god, right?"

Lugia stood on his hind legs, raised his wings in the air and spun around in a brilliant flash of white light. When it dimmed, I was looking at a much smaller, more "human-compatible" form. Lugia now stood on two digitigrade legs and his wings had shifted to his shoulders much like a dragon's. He had also grown lean, muscular arms with five fingers on them just like me and Klonoa, except that his fingers were talonless. He was well-built and sported his sky-blue color over rock-solid six-pack abs. His long, flexible tail had thinned out a little and trailed behind him, flexing with a mind of its own. Lugia's head was still the same shape but was just scaled down. His neck was still longer than a human's, but only just. His ten back-plates were somewhat smaller and lined his spine just like they had before. With one more spin, a shirt and pants made of an unknown silver material appeared on him, making him a little more decent for human interaction.

I was surprised when I saw him like this but then realized that he always used this form when he wanted to walk among the humans. It just startled me how fast and effectively he did it.

Lugia shrugged. Johiko has been a very successful gambler. He certainly uses his psychic powers effectively enough to afford this kind of luxury. He had spoken with his mind just like always.

I looked back at the crystal house. "I like it a lot. Well..." I went to grab Lugia's "hand". "Shall we?"

He nodded and we walked up to the front door. I pushed the doorbell and we were both surprised when it sounded out the first six notes of Lugia's unique song. (Author's Note: It's the song from Pokémon: The Movie 2000 that Melody plays at the end of the movie.)

"It sound's like he hasn't forgotten you," I said to Lugia, who was at a loss for words.

There was a moment's pause and then the crystal door opened. Johiko, Lugia's son, was standing in the doorway, looking at his father in silence.

Johiko's figure was similar to his father's current form. He stood on his three-toed, digitigrade feet and wore no shoes or socks. He wasn't as muscular as Lugia, but his form was lean and trim nonetheless. He was the spitting image of his father's but had some key differences. His skin was more of a cloudy-gray than silver-white. His eye mask and tail spikes were deep-gray instead of navy-blue, but his belly and back plates were a crimson-red almost like Altair's instead of the navy-and-sky-blue. And while Lugia's eyes were navy-blue as well and he had not a hair on him, Johiko's eyes were a strange gray color and he had a mat of untidy burnt-brown hair that covered the point on the tip of his skull. He also had wings just on his shoulders just like his father's despite them being colored a cloudy-gray.

Father and son stared at each other for the longest time. Johiko's eyes were drooping and unconcerned-looking while Lugia's were kind and determined at the same time. I didn't want to say anything in case I fire unnecessary sparks. I did not know the current relationship between these two and didn't want to start a fight in case there was.

Finally, Johiko smiled and nodded his head. "Welcome, Father." I noticed right away that he spoke vocally and not mentally like his father. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" He was very polite. I also noticed that he spoke perfect English but had a bass-like accent. Lugia did say that he had been born in Russia after all.

I've come for your help, son, said Lugia in a serious voice. I need your help to defeat the three that I spoke of before.

Johiko bowed his head and closed his eyes, thinking. "Ah, yes. Anger... Fear... and Sorrow. You always knew they were up to something. I would love to help, but..." He glanced over his shoulder into the house as if he was debating something. "Father... is there a way you can take time out of your quest for me?"

Lugia blinked. Why?

Johiko seemed nervous. "There's something I've been wanting to tell you for years." He motioned to the inside. "Won't you come inside and we can discuss it?"

Lugia looked at me and I shrugged. He was a very busy god, and from what we knew, Klonoa and Ashura had just engaged the King of Sorrow.

"Please, Father? I am sure you will want to see this."

Lugia finally gave in and we both walked inside. Johiko closed the door behind us and followed suit.

The inside of Johiko's house was something out of an artist's fantasy. The whole house – the walls, the floors and even the furniture – was made out of pale-blue to clear-white crystal. The floors were opaque like the shiniest rock crystal, the furniture and the appliances appeared to be carved by expert hands out of the best ice (you could see the wiring underneath the surface) and there was even a grand chandelier hanging in the main foyer that even the most respected billionaires could only dream of. I couldn't believe that someone could have even a fraction of the money it cost to build this place!

Johiko seemed to be reading my thoughts. He chuckled and said without looking at me, "You'd be surprised what immortal life, psychic powers and the American economy can deal out after 1000 years of careful planning, saving and investing."

Even Lugia was impressed. All this time, you've been investing your gambling winnings and playing the human stock market? I could sense the amazement in his voice. I see that life as an immortal has been well-rewarded.

Johiko looked smug. "But this is just the icing on the cake. Wait'll you see what I got in my bedroom!"

We followed him into his bedroom where I could see he had decorated it with various paraphernalia of his father and newspaper clippings of feats that he had accomplished.

I must say... this is quite amazing. Even Lugia, the God of gods, was having a hard time not showing his emotions.

"Oh, this?" Johiko shook his head. "I've been doing this for centuries. Check this out."

He pushed a panel on the wall and it slid up to reveal a palm print scanner. He placed his hand on it and a female computer voice said, "Welcome, Johiko, to the Tetra-Class Holo-Shed. Please name your program."

"Run Johiko Program Number 7543, please," said Johiko to the computer.

Instantly, the furniture and everything in the room vanished to reveal a black room lined with a criss-crossing green grid. After a while, the green grid changed and we found ourselves in a very realistic scenario where we were high above the clouds. I suddenly felt the floor disappear from under my feet and I was in a free-fall through the clouds! Johiko and Lugia were high above me and remained where they were since they could both fly. I instinctively pulled out my Slider Board and pulled out of my freefall.

Once I reached them again, I called out to Johiko, "A Tetra-Class Holo-Shed?! These things are too realistic and too expensive to put on the market! How did you get one?"

Johiko was hanging in the middle of the sky with his feet dangling underneath him. He simply shrugged and said, "Like I said, you'd be surprised what someone of my class and wealth can buy these days. This thing cost more than my whole house and everything in it."

"That's like..." I did the quick math in my head. "Over $6.5 trillion for this thing alone! How do you rate?!"

I am impressed that you are still as wealthy as you are despite all these... financial setbacks. Even Lugia was impressed. But what is the purpose of this program?

Johiko pointed over Lugia's shoulder. "Look yonder."

We did and I nearly freaked out. A second, similar, realistically-accurate Lugia was soaring our way. He matched the real Lugia to a "T" except that this one was in Lugia's bird form.

The second Lugia approached us and looked from Johiko to the two of us and then spoke. Hello, Johiko. I see you've brought my Real World counterpart this time. And who is this? He was looking at me.

I was having a hard time believing this. To confirm that I wasn't seeing or hearing things, I moved up to the Holo-Shed Lugia and reached out my hand. I expected it to just be a hologram, but it defied logic when I felt solid skin underneath my gloves!

"Yo... you... you're real!" I stammered in pure shock.

The second Lugia looked to one side. In a way. I am really a program created by Johiko. You could say that I am a biological robot.

I am impressed, son, said the real Lugia, also feeling his holographic counterpart. I thought that this was a top-secret government project. I certainly didn't expect you to have access to this.

Johiko grinned. "Would you like to see the rest of the program?" We both nodded. "Okay. Watch this."

Johiko drifted over to his holographic father and settled in on his back. The holographic Lugia then turned to face the stars, braced himself and then shot off like a rocket with an energy beam in his wake. He was in the stars within seconds.

We both looked at each other. "Even you can't fly that fast!" I said to Lugia.

Lugia, however, came up with a conclusion. This is Johiko's fantasy. He can do anything he wants to in here. I suggest we follow him. He is the administrator of this program and is therefore the only one who can shut it down. Besides... he added with a grin. I am interested in seeing how much the humans' technology has improved.

We took off after Johiko and Holo-Lugia. They were well beyond the planet's boundaries and they had reached Saturn by the time we caught up to them.

If this was a real scenario, Lugia and I would have suffocated from the lack of oxygen out here, but our bodies would be able to take the vacuum of space. We were bound to the planet Earth and had to rely on oxygen to stay alive.

"So, what do you think, Father?" said Johiko once we had caught up to him. "Beautiful, is it not?"

We both looked around at the endless cosmos spanning all around us and at the beautiful rings of the nearby Saturn. I had never been in space before, but I had to admit that it was truly a sight to behold, even if it was a hologram.

"I.. I'm speechless," I said, pulling on my ears like I always did when I was nervous. "This is... just... wow."

Words failed Lugia completely. He simply looked around the starry expanse with a blank expression on his face.

"This particular program took me two years of programming to finish," said Johiko, patting Holo-Lugia's back. "I wanted to impress you the next time we met. I see I did a rather nice job."

But what we saw next expelled every important thought from our minds. Our mission, our partners and our situation were just forgotten completely as we gazed upon the holographic images.

A blue-tailed comet came shooting by us with its tail sparkling in the starlight. It passed too close to one of Saturn's moons, Io, and collided with the volcanic rock. It did not fizzle out or die, but the fragments of snow and ice flew off in every direction, glittering and shimmering in the dark space.

Johiko dismounted from Holo-Lugia and allowed his holographic father to soar off in the direction of the comet. The three of us watched a marvel of the universe unfold.

Holo-Lugia flew to the center of the exploded comet and turned around to hold his wings high in a graceful pose. The lights from the comet then started to gather around him and appeared to be forming a shield of light around him. It then solidified into a ball of solid blue light with absolutely no varying shades in it. It looked like he had been encased in a cosmic cocoon. The shield then cracked and dissolved into fragments of cosmic dust, revealing an awe-inspiring sight.

Holo-Lugia's skin had changed from silver-white to the exact blue that his shell had been made out of. However, there was a series of sparkling-white, cloud-like patches on his skin. I tilted my head and the patterns shifted. I soon realized that the colors on his skin were moving on their own!

I would never forget this. Even though it may or may not ever happen, I would always remember this as if it was some kind of dream that I did not want to end. I turned and saw to my amazement, that the real Lugia was crying. He wasn't shedding only one or two tears like he normally did when he was sad – he was flat-out crying! He never cried like this! The silver tears drifted into space and shimmered on their own.

Johiko felt he had shown them enough. "End program." He said to the Holo-Shed.

ASHURA

Right now, Klonoa and I did not have time for emotions. We had a fight on our hands with the King of Sorrow and we had to defeat him before he could escape the Dream World.

King was sporting a huge, narrow, curved, steel-bladed sword that was easily longer than he was tall. But that did not hinder him whatsoever. When he swung the sword, he could cleave a solid steel pillar in twain with no trouble at all. Along with that, King also had the ability to manipulate the Dream World just like Klonoa and Arcana, thus adding a home-field advantage to his arsenal.

Since Klonoa and I were not used to tag-teaming with each other, we had to figure out our strategy on the run. Ashura was much better at this than I was and I was much more used to teaming with Hyozanryu, but this was our first time teaming with others of the Sacred Six, so we would have to improvise. I knew that Lugia would not have paired us together if he didn't think we could work together, so I had to trust his judgment.

King opened the fight by leaping really high into the air, leaving us stranded on the ground. He lifted his arms into the air and the Dream World began quaking uncontrollably.

K-K-Klonoa? I stammered while trying to keep my balance. I'm n-n-n-not used to being h-here, but d-d-do earthquakes happen often h-h-here?

Klonoa shook his head. "N-n-n-no. K-K-King's up to s-s-something! Be c-careful!"

A cracking sound like stone being torn sounded all around us. We looked around and saw that King had somehow managed to rip some of the Dream Buildings out of the ground and into the air. Many, many buildings were following the same routine and seemed to be gathering around a central point with King atop the massive collection. He seemed to be creating something to fight us with.

Suddenly, I felt my claws sinking into the ground. I looked down and saw that the ground was disappearing! The very fabric of the Dream World was being ripped apart!

Klonoa! Think fast! I fired my first Wind Bullet at Klonoa. He grabbed it in his hand and held onto it like a rope of light. I then took to the air with him holding onto the light stream like a lifeline.

The surface of the Dream World had all but vanished, leaving a dark mist in its place. I then turned to face King's creation. He had created a massive stone-and-steel golem out of the Dream World. It looked like a giant, metallic blue shark made from bits and remnants of the world. (Author's Note: To make a long story short, it is a stone-and-steel version of the Metal Overlord from Sonic Heroes.)

We were going to have our hands full with this one. King may not be able to attack us directly, but his Dream Creature could do some serious damage even to gods like us.

"Behold the Dream Demon!" called a cackling King from atop the creation. "This is my ultimate creation forged from the very fabric of the Dream World! Now, I will use the power of the Dream World to destroy its creators at my mercy! Now, die... Ashura and Klonoa!!!"

The Dream Demon took a swing at us with a huge, metal, multiple-fingered claw. It was too big for us to avoid and we paid for it dearly. It was like getting hit by a train, even by our god-like standards. Klonoa's light lifeline snapped and we were both in freefall. There was no longer any ground to hit and we were going to disappear from the Dream World entirely.

Wait a minute... If King could manipulate the Dream World like this, then what about Klonoa and Ashura... and me? It was worth a try.

As I fell, I pointed Ashura's ring at the "ground" and fired another Wind Bullet. I knew that the rings would create or manipulate reality based on our current desires. The bullet flew off and I thought hard about what I wanted it to do.

Give us some level stepping ground. I don't care how big, just keep us out of that mist!

The wind bullet exploded, and instantly, a large square column of junk shot out of the mist, slammed into us and brought us up to a level view to face the Dream Demon just outside its claw range.

"What?!" King couldn't believe that we had pulled that off.

Klonoa and I were a little winded, but we quickly recovered and faced the Dream Demon.

"Nice job, Ashura. I owe you one."

No problem.

We now turned our attention to attacking King's Dream Demon. I had played a lot of video games when I was human over 1000 years ago, so I knew that all great creations had a weakness of some kind.

There was a spot in the front of the Dream Demon that was colored green and appeared to be gathering energy. I was busy studying it and realized suddenly what was going on.

Klonoa, drop!

We both hit the surface of our column just as a powerful, multi-colored energy beam flew past our heads. The beam singed the tips of my horns, but left them intact. My super-mineral body was ten times harder than diamond, so it would take a LOT to put a dent in me. Klonoa, though, suffered a burnt cap. His favorite Pac-Man cap was reduced to ashes.

"Aw, damn it!" swore Klonoa, getting to his feet and wiping the ashes out of his fur. "I've had this cap for over 1500 years! I had it custom made and everything!"

Worry about it later, Klonoa! I called to him, getting to my haunches and resuming my search for a weak spot. We've got a demon to deal with right now!

After some more examining of the Dream Demon, I finally realized where and how we were going to take this monster down. The green spot had changed to a red color and was charging up for another attack. While it did so, several hidden compartments on the back of the Dream Demon opened up and fired off several large missiles... right at us!

Klonoa! Missiles! I called to him.

He looked up and nodded. But as the missiles got closer and closer to him, he refused to budge. The ones that approached me hit me hard, but they were defeated by a powerful light shield that I brought up at the last second.

Once I had nullified the full force of the missiles, I looked over at Klonoa and saw that he had grabbed one of them with his ring. However, the projectile was starting to blink and give off a ping-like sound.

"Ashura, I've got the way – I need the weakness!"

Right, I said, realizing that that missile was about to blow. I pointed to the red energy spot on the side of the Dream Demon and said, That spot is vulnerable when it is not firing. Go for it.

"Roger." He swung his arm around a few times before letting the missile fly on its own towards the energy spot with a green aura around it, signaling that it came from his ring.

The projectile flew straight and true and exploded on contact with the energy panel. My suspicions were confirmed when the Dream Demon flinched like something powerful had just hit it and a series of electrical bolts coursed through it. It also let out a metallic groan like it was saying, "NOOOO!!!" Apparently, we had just scored a direct hit.

"What the—?!" King couldn't believe that we had damaged his Dream Demon. "So, you want to play rough, huh?! Let's kick it up a notch!"

He thrust his sword forward as if giving his creation a direct order. The Dream Demon's giant maw opened up and an ice-blue energy beam was fired from it onto our platform. The blast was to wide for the both of us to avoid, so I ran in front of Klonoa and spread my arms and wings wide, protecting him from the blast and taking it full in the chest myself.

"Ashura!" yelled Klonoa, bracing himself.

The force of the ice blast was enough to make me stumble, but not damage me in any way. My bio-crystal skin was ten times harder than diamond, thus preventing me from suffering anything more than a blast of cold air.

When all the ice had been expended, Klonoa smiled and said, "Thanks! I owe you one."

I shook my head and said, You saved my hash already. As far as I know, we're even.

King now knew that he couldn't harm Klonoa without going through me, so he fired off a second series of missiles to try to get me away from him. However, his attack was in vain. I had blocked the full brunt of the attack and allowed Klonoa to grab another missile with his ring.

However, when he fired the missile back at the Dream Demon, there was no indication that it had taken any damage. It did not flinch or show any signs that we had damaged it.

I then noticed something – when we had damaged it before, its weak spot had been colored red and Klonoa had hit it with a green aura-colored projectile. Now it was colored green and it had showed no signs of damage.

Now I knew what was the problem. Klonoa! I told him through our mind link. That energy panel is colored either red or green. It will only take damage from one of our rings that is the opposite color! It's my turn to damage it!

Klonoa nodded. "I'll follow your lead."

The Dream Demon took another swipe at us with its massive, multi-fingered claw. Despite missing us before, this time it hit our platform hard! Thankfully, we backed up out of its reach, rendering it useless. It was powerful enough, though, to make our platform shatter under its force. Klonoa and I were in the air again and we had to do something to get some solid ground under our feet.

However, King wanted to make sure that we didn't get that chance. As we fell through the air, he fired off another barrage of missiles from the Dream Demon. These missiles were particularly nasty. They moved a lot faster and seemed to home in on us a lot faster. To add to their danger, they opened up to reveal a powerful neon cutting laser firing from each of them.

While Klonoa worked on getting us some more walking room, I flew over to protect him from the lasers. I got in front of the missiles when one of the lasers cut across my plated torso. Unbelievably, it cut into my super-mineral skin like it was butter! I felt a searing pain in my chest and was suddenly under attack by several more lasers. I was being sliced and slashed like someone taking a machete to a regular human!

"Ashura!" Klonoa had produced another platform and grabbed me with a Wind Bullet. "Hold on!"

I felt myself being yanked away from the missile lasers and soon felt myself with solid ground under my feet. I tried to walk, but soon collapsed from the pain that I was in.

How did King manage to damage my super-mineral armor? I thought that nothing on earth could harm me or Hyozanryu physically! I should have been nearly invincible! It was then that I realized that, technically, I wasn't on the earth. In the Dream World, absolutely anything was possible.

I put a claw to my torso and felt something wet between them. It was thick and silvery in color. Then it hit me: I was bleeding! I had never bled my own blood since becoming a Diamond Dragon, so it was a moment before I realized how hurt I was.

Just then, Klonoa hit me with another Wind Bullet, knocking me completely flat on the ground.

Klonoa, what—?!

I soon realized his intentions when another ray of energy flew from the Dream Demon, singeing my horns again. It was then that I also realized that if I didn't take my turn to damage the Dream Demon, we were never going to stop it. Casting my pain aside, I got gingerly to my feet and pointed Arcana's ring at King's monster.

The Dream Demon began charging up another blast of energy from its maw, a fire-based one this time, and fired it at us. I knew I couldn't block a blast like that with my bleeding body, but I could do the next best thing – absorbing it. I folded my damaged wings in front of me, protecting me like a rocky barrier. I then focused all my remaining energy into blocking the attack. The energy hit me full-force and I felt an even more excruciating pain in my damaged body. Nevertheless, I concentrated on directing all the energy into the ring in my right claw. Through the pain, I pointed Arcana's ring at the now-green-colored panel and fired. The Wind Bullet that flew from it was more like a Wind Beam as it fired straight and true into its target. I knew that I had scored another direct hit when the Dream Demon was pushed back a good 50 feet and groaned, "NOOO!!!" A similar series of electrical bolts coursed through it as if it had been struck by lightning.

This time, however, I knew that it had taken a serious amount of damage. It had started smoking heavily and groaning like worn metal. King, however, didn't seem to be concerned. He urged the Dream Demon on even more, but this time, he took a different tactic.

The ground started quaking again and the Dream Demon began undergoing a transformation. More piles of stone and scrap flew from out of the mist and began building on its back. Long, flexible steel girders built up, giving the Dream Demon a brand new set of skeletal "wings". They had nothing in-between them like I did, but that didn't hinder it whatsoever.

Once completed, there was a screech and grinding sound of metal and stone ripping and the Dream Demon tore itself free from its base and took to the air and began flying away. It stopped a little ways away, though, and began charging up one final blast to finish us off.

Klonoa and I were sitting ducks unless we could think of something fast. I was hurt and he was grounded. This was it – we were going to die here and now. I braced for the inevitable when I heard it.

"CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

ALTAIR

I thought I had died here and now, but I was sorely mistaken. The split-second before I opened my eyes, Hyozanryu had come out of nowhere and had blasted the Nightmares with a Diamond Beam, sending them flying into the horizon. I felt SO relieved when he had showed up when he did, that I was shaking visibly.

Hyozanryu... I said shakily. Th... thank you.

The Diamond Dragon looked at me in the eyes and said, "You're welcome. I would have been here sooner, but I needed to get some... assistance."

"Assistance"? I wondered. I'm confused. Who did you get?

Hyozanryu looked off in the direction where he had blasted the Nightmares before answering. Her name is Seryn. She was once human as well as you and she underwent a transformation over 1000 years ago. She is immortal just like us, but unlike us, she does not have a partner to live with. And like Johiko, she is a loner. And despite 1000 years of living alone, she seems to have no qualms about coming out of hiding and helping us defeat the Nightmares.

Oh... that's good. When, uh... should we be expecting her?

She'll be here in about ten minutes. Until then...

You're going to have me to deal with!!!

Oh, damn. The Nightmares had returned. And this time, they caught me off guard and I found myself looking at my worst fear.

They had taken the form of... Lugia? No... not Lugia. Lugia did not have such black, shadowy skin. His tail spikes, belly and back plates were not the pale-violet color they were now. His eye masks were not as long or as jagged as they looked at the moment. And those eyes... Lugia, the God of gods, did not have the burning, piercing, soulless red eyes that now glared at me and seemed to pierce my soul, the one place that no earthly force could touch me. It was as if Lugia had become... Shadow Lugia! (Author's Note: Remember, this is not the Lugia that is with Arcana, and I am just borrowing Shadow Lugia for a form for the Nightmares to use. Shadow Lugia's storyline does not apply here, so I don't want to get reviews saying that Lugia had turned evil!)

Shadow Lugia (saying "the Nightmares" is too broad a subject, so that's what I decided to call him) glared at me with those burning, soulless eyes. He seemed astonished that I had not gone insane from the sheer shock of seeing my brother turned evil.

That's funny, he said in a dark, psychic voice. I was expecting something different than the expression you're giving me.

Even though I was afraid, I did my best to conceal my fear. I know my brother like the back of my wing. And I know that Lugia would never turn on his own kin of his own accord! You're just a big, fat fake

Shadow Lugia sneered at me and turned to face Hyozanryu. It seems that fear is not enough to conquer you two. I guess I will have to take it one step further.

He reared back his head as if to charge an Aeroblast. However, Hyozanryu and I were standing stern. I knew that even with our combined powers, we could not damage the Nightmares this way. The fear coursing through the planet was powerful enough to keep him revitalized, thus thwarting any attempt to destroy him. So we did not flinch when he let loose a powerful "Shadowblast" directly at mine and Hyozanryu's hearts.

I felt as if my whole body had just disintegrated into nothing. My mind was ripped from the earth and entered a vortex of black light and everything went black. I could sense that Hyozanryu was feeling the same sensation and everything went black.

When I came to, I felt a strange sensation coursing through my body. I felt... strange somehow. I didn't feel as powerful or as confident as I once was. I couldn't feel my tail and my neck hurt as if I had just pulled it or something. I also felt strangely cold. My blubbery skin was failing to keep out the strange chilling sensation that flooded the area.

When I put a wing to my head, I felt something that I had not felt for over 1000 years – hair. I gasped and looked down at my wings – they weren't wings but human hands! I felt my body and everything came back into focus.

Shadow Lugia had turned me back into a human! It was a clearly impossible feat, but he had done it!

But wait... I could still feel my brother's life force as if he was right next to me. I looked to one side and saw him standing a ways away from me.

Lugia?

Lugia looked at me with those navy-blue eyes of his. I knew that this was not another one of Shadow Lugia's tricks and I walked over to him.

Lugia? What's wrong with me? I don't feel right. What is going on here?

Lugia did not move, but instead spoke to me vocally. Be at peace, Altair. I am here for you. The Nightmares are trying to destroy you in a way that weapons and psychic powers mean very little – they are trying to destroy your soul from the inside out.

But... why? I don't understand.

For the first time, Lugia stepped forward, his wings at his sides. The Nightmares are unable to attack a conscious person – they do their damage in the subconscious of all living things. What you are seeing right now is the last defense that your mind is assembling before the Nightmares attack your worst fears. I may be unable to be here for you in person, but my spirit will help you through this attack. I know you can win this, Altair. If you can overcome your fears, you can defeat the Nightmares and Hyozanryu and Seryn can launch an assault on their powers.

I still didn't understand something. Why am I human again? I thought that form was destroyed when I became a Lugia.

Lugia came even closer to me so that I could see the whites of his eyes and feel his breath on my face. There will always be a part of you that is still human, Alex. It is what makes you... you. This is why you are in your former human form at the moment. No amount of magic in the world will ever change that.

I almost didn't recognize the name "Alex". It sounded so... alien to me. It was like the name of a former life that I had lived but forgotten. I then realized that "Alex" was my birth-name that I had once had over 1000 years ago. It was my name before I had found the Silver Wing that had transformed my entire being. I finally realized that this chamber was the core of my entire being. I had been born a human and been transformed into a Lugia. But nothing on Earth would ever touch this area of my soul...

...but Lugia shook his head sadly. I'm afraid that this chamber is the last place that you are completely free, Alex. Once you step outside this room, you will return to your Lugia form. And you must protect this chamber with all your power. If the Nightmares get in here... He did not finish the sentence. I knew what he meant.

If they get in here, I will be completely destroyed. Don't worry, Brother – I will protect this place with all my being. I will not fail you.

Lugia nodded and back up a little. I believe in you, Altair. Good luck. He kept backing up until he vanished completely.

With Lugia's spirit at my side, I felt confident enough to take on the Nightmares full force. Once I had finished mentally preparing myself, I walked to the end of the chamber and exited it.

The instant I reached my subconscious, I felt my Lugia form return. I couldn't help thinking, It's good to be back. But I had to protect myself from the Nightmares, so I couldn't get cocky yet.

Looking around me, I saw that I was in a circular arena made out of some steel-like material. In the center of it was a large, blue, pointed crystal with a band of white light slowly rotating around it. I knew this was my subconscious core and I had to do everything I could to protect it. It did look a little fragile. Then I figured that this "arena" was the armor that was protecting it.

A loud screech sounded the approach of the Nightmares. I rotated my neck a few times, listening to the cracking sounds it gave off. I then gave my tail a good, hard flick, hearing the sharp snap it gave off. I then held my wings out and folded my feathers over each other. With one powerful push, I head them crack like shelled nuts. Once I was all greased up, I took a deep breath, folded my wings against my side again and said, It's on.

The first to appear in the arena was a small collection of odd, shadow-like creatures. They had no solid form except for two small bat-like wings on them and two sharp, yellow eyes. I scoffed and said to myself, Is this it, Fear? Is this the best you can do?

Perhaps I spoke too soon. The Shadows began to divide and multiply so that I had very little walking room around the crystal. Me and my big... mind. The Shadows started advancing on the crystal in packs. I opened up my attack by holding my wings high above my head and charging up an Aeroblast. The slow advance of the Shadows allowed me enough time to reach a critical charge point. I then threw my head forward and let loose... a Hyper Beam? I guess I don't know my own strength in here. The Hyper Beam tore through the Shadows, and by moving my head during the blast, I increased my damage tenfold.

When I was spent, there was a small congregation of Shadows left. Although, I had to take a moment to recuperate and catch my breath. Hyper Beams do that to us; we use up so much energy firing them that we need to take a short breather. I hadn't expected my Aeroblast to be converted into a Hyper Beam. Maybe I charged too much energy.

While I was recharging, the remaining Shadows started shooting the crystal with fairly-weak Shadow attacks. They weren't doing much damage, but if I didn't get to them quickly, the damage could accumulate and the crystal would crack and/or shatter and I was a goner.

Once I had Refreshed myself, I turned my attention back to the remaining Shadows. To avoid another mistake like the mis-charged Aeroblast, I switched to a slightly-weaker, but super-effective Air Blast. I knew my Psychic attack wouldn't work on Dark creatures, so I had to improvise. With a powerful swipe of my wing, I sent a blast of air powerful enough and concentrated enough to knock down a forest of redwood trees. The Shadows presented no challenge at all since they were sent flying clear out of the arena.

Round One to me.

There was an intermission when I supposed that the Nightmares were regrouping. I took the time to check on the crystal. It wasn't at 100, but a quick Recovery later, it was as good as new.

It was a while before the Nightmares launched a second attack. But as time passed, they had yet to show themselves. What was taking so long?

That question was answered when the ground started quaking and rumbling. From out of nowhere, millions and millions of black bats came flapping into the arena. I thought they would attack me directly, but they started gathering around a central point. It soon began taking shape and I could soon see a pair of three-clawed feet... then black, muscular legs... and then a torso, tail and wings in that order... next a pair of muscular three-clawed arms and hands... finally, a pointed skull. with long, ear-like appendages sticking out the back of its head, a muzzle of pointed, black incisors and a sharp, pointed, metallic spike sticking out the tip of its muzzle, just like Ashura's and Hyozanryu's. The Nightmare had taken shape. (Author's Note: For those of you who find this creature familiar, this is a BlackExVeemon from Digimon: Season 2. However, there is no storyline behind this creature, so don't expect a follow-up story!)

I looked into the burning red eyes of the Nightmare from afar and took a deep breath. This would indeed be a formidable opponent, but even with my strength, fighting it like this would certainly result in my defeat. Taking a page out of Lugia's book, I closed my eyes, spun around once in place and converted to my "human" form. I wasn't nearly as muscular as Lugia was in this form, nor was I as lean as Johiko – I was somewhere in the middle. This was going to be a solid melee fight, so I was going to find out if all those battle lessons with Lugia paid off.

I balled my fists and surrounded them with a padding of red light. The Nightmare did not flinch as I approached and even allowed me to throw the first punch. I did... and it vanished! It completely disappeared! I soon found out where it went when something hit me in the back... hard! I bowed my back and fell to the ground. The Nightmare had gotten the first shot, but that was going to change. Without looking back, I swept my leg and my tail backwards, but I ended up kicking air. The Nightmare had disappeared again. I got up and was immediately taken out at the knees by the Nightmare's clawed feet followed up by a one-two punch to my chest and chin, flooring me.

Holy God, this guy was fast! Even Lugia could never hit me that hard at that speed. Feeling a sense of desperation, I reached out with my arm and my mind at the Nightmare in psychic push. I was rewarded with the thud of a body hitting steel. Jumping to my feet again, I flung myself onto the Nightmare... and ate steel floor again. The Nightmare then took a cheap shot by kicking me in the ribs. I flew a good 20 feet over the crystal and instinctively landed on my feet.

If it wanted to play dirty, then I was going to pull out all the stops. Ignoring the crystal, the Nightmare ran at me with its claw-tipped fists barred. I did likewise and we both collided... almost. The forces radiating from us met before our fists did and we were both blown backwards onto the steel floor. Jumping to our feet again, we ran to meet each other again, this time with our psychic barriers dropped. The Nightmare's and my fists met each other and I went into a flurry of flying fists. However, it kept blocking me with its own by cupping its claws whenever and wherever I threw a punch.

I was throwing punches like those fighters you see on the classic cartoon, "Dragonball Z". Normally, no normal humans could punch and block like we were now, but we were not humans. I soon realized that I wasn't going to get through this guy with fists alone – we were too evenly-matched. I was going to have to go classic for this one.

We locked fists in a power-struggle where no one was winning at the moment. The V-shaped symbol on the Nightmare's chest then began to glow a dark violet and we were separated, although I ended up on the bad end of the blast. I got to my feet again and took to the air, egging the Nightmare to follow.

In order to get it in the air and away from the crystal, I had to goad it into taking flight. However, it seemed to consider its airborne foe to be a minimal threat. It turned to the crystal and lowered its head, aiming the metal spike on its head directly at the band circling the crystal.

Oh no, you don't! I called out to it.

I then started throwing Mist Balls at it to get it to stop or slow down. The crystal had two defenses: me and the light band surrounding it. If either of them failed, the crystal would be a sitting duck. I flew in front of the crystal and hovered in front of it, trying to defend my core against the charging demon. However, despite my best Psychic blast, it wasn't slowing down one bit. I wasn't going to stop it!

At the last possible second, I flew away, allowing it to collide with the crystal with the force of a speeding train. There was a sound of shattering crystal and it felt like I was being punched directly in my soul! I could have kicked myself, but the power of that light band shattering in my soul was enough punishment for me at the moment.

I couldn't believe what I had just done! I had allowed the Nightmare to damage my core consciousness in order to save my own hash! That shouldn't have happened; this body was being projected by my subconscious. I had to use to protect my true self. If I didn't stop the Nightmare now, I would truly be destroyed!

That's it! I said, furious at my own selfishness. Now I'm mad! If you want to get to this crystal, you'll have to throw aside my cold, dead body! Sounds lame, right? Regardless, it was the best I could come up with. I was never good at one-liners even as a god.

I flew back in front of the crystal and thrust my hand in front of me. A blinding-red light appeared and a full-metal staff appeared clutched in my palm. This was my most-powerful weapon whenever I used this form to fight my battles.

I twirled my staff around expertly and rushed at the Nightmare. Pure power was coursing through my veins and I was hell-bent on destroying this creature. The Nightmare, despite its strength, could barely block my frenzy of staff thrusts and stabs. The only way it could block my attacks was with its rock-hard claws and arms.

Normally, the force of my attacks would have broken every bone in a normal person's body, but this Nightmare was unnatural and it could take a lot more abuse than a normal person. Despite its strength, it could do no more than block my attacks as I continued my assault. I was tunnel-visioned on destroying this Nightmare once and for all. I kept up my staff-clubbing and bashing until the Nightmare tripped over its own tail and I ended up thrusting it into its throat.

I was panting heavily when I snarled at the Nightmare, You have attempted an unspeakable crime, scum! You have attempted to destroy the core consciousness of Altair, god and Brother to the God of gods, Lugia. For this, you are condemned to be terminated on contact. Banishment did not destroy you, so I will!

However, the Nightmare simply grinned, showing a set of sharp, dangerous canines. And for the first time, it spoke vocally. "You may destroy me here, but I am already preparing for the ultimate battle. Soon, Mewtwo, King and I will gather together for one final assault on this pitiful excuse for a planet. So, go ahead... kill me. But you will not destroy me completely. I look forward to seeing you again, soon."

The two of us looked at each other for a while. I knew it spoke the truth, but that didn't stop me from lifting my staff vertically above its torso and drive it into its chest with a yell. It literally exploded into wisps of violet energy on contact and I found my consciousness gripping at me from reality.

I had won the battle for my soul, but the war of the world had yet to begin.

ARCANA

"Lugia? Are you okay?"

Lugia was still in tears when the Holo-Shed deactivated and we were once again in Johiko's crystal bedroom. I wasn't sure how to interpret seeing a holographic Lugia turn into a "Cosmic Lugia" before my very eyes, but Johiko seemed to think he had given his father a real treat.

"What did you think, Father? Is it not as you predicted?"

Say what?! Lugia predicted this?!

Lugia finally got over his tears and looked his son directly in the eyes. I never expected you to understand my future to that extent. It is true that one day, I will become one with God himself, but I never told you in any detail how it would happen. I must ask you... how did you know?

Johiko put a hand on Lugia's shoulder and said, very seriously, "I do not know how it came to me, Father. One day, I woke up and... I knew. I knew your entire past, present and future. It was as if the Almighty Father had visited me in the night and told me everything. I am sorry if this does not make any sense to you."

Lugia looked into Johiko's pale-gray eyes with his navy-blue ones for a long time before saying, You are incapable of deception, just like me. I believe you completely. It just startles me how much you know about my future. I was planning on telling you about it near the date it would occur, but that seems to be irrelevant now.

None of us spoke for a while. We were all contemplating the same thing. Was Lugia's destiny really written in the computer code inside this dream house? And how could Johiko know so much about it?

Just then, the six notes from Lugia's song sounded from the doorbell. This snapped all three of us out of our trances and Johiko suddenly looked apprehensive.

"Oh... Father? There is also something that I forgot to tell you when you arrived. It's a little embarrassing..." He scratched the back of his head nervously. "I... have someone I would like you meet."

A thought bubble with a question mark appeared above my head. I was confused as to what else Johiko was hiding from his father. However, Lugia reached out with a finger and popped it as we left the bedroom.

Arcana, I want you to remain silent until you are introduced. This is going to be a very awkward meeting for Johiko and I want him to feel comfortable while he is speaking.

"Yes, sir," I said humbly.

As we entered the living room, I could hear someone calling, "Johiko? We're home!"

We rounded the corner and Lugia and I froze in place. A very beautiful young woman was standing in the doorway with a bag of groceries in her arms. She had flawless, cream-colored skin and long, rich brown hair that was neater than Johiko's own. Her eyes were a sharp, emerald-green color and she wore a matching green t-shirt and gray shorts.

But that wasn't what surprised me the most. I was nearly bowled over by two small children that had gotten inside before the woman had. They were jumping on me as if I was a climbing toy.

The children looked just like, if not identical, to Lugia in his true form. Granted, they were only about four feet tall and about five feet from head to tail, but they matched Lugia to a "T" in shape and build. However, their coloring was different. One of them was colored a blazing-orange where Lugia was navy-blue and the other was sea-green in the same places as its sibling. I couldn't believe it, but when they spoke, despite being male and female, I could have sworn that they were twins.

You're a big kitty! said the orange Lugia, trying to jump up on my chest. He also spoke with his mind like the adult Lugia did. I've never seen kitties wear clothes before.

The sea-green Lugia, however, merely rubbed my leg with its head. You've got big ears. They say that people with long ears can hear the voices of the gods. They were really adorable.

"Sol! Luna!" scolded the woman. "What did I tell you about jumping all over our guests?"

They didn't appear to hear her. They were too busy investigating me. The female sea-green Lugia had seized one of my ears and was pulling on it.

I was tearing from the pain. I didn't like people tugging on my ears like this. However, I tried to sound like I was enjoying it. "Owwie... owwie! Get 'em off. Get 'em off!"

"Children," interjected Johiko sternly. "I think the "kitty" would like to keep his body intact."

The Lugia seemed to obey their father much more than they did their mother. They detached themselves from me and walked in front of him, holding their heads low. We're sorry, Father, they said in unison.

"Honey, I don't think I've ever met your friends," said the woman. "Why don't you introduce me?"

"Of course," said Johiko, turning to us. "Gwen, this is Arcana the Dream Traveler..."

"Hi," I said simply, waving my hand.

"...and this is my father, the God of gods, Lugia himself. Lugia, Arcana, this is my wife, Gwen."

Lugia looked like he had seen a ghost. He had certainly not expected his son, Johiko, to have given his own flesh and blood to a human woman, much less marry her and give off two children.

But then he got over himself and extended his hand to shake Gwen's. Congratulations, Gwen. I expected nothing less from the person to be my son's wife.

Gwen shook his head, looked into Lugia's navy-blue eyes and suddenly giggled! "Joey, he's so polite! He's even more handsome than I originally thought."

"Joey?" I asked, forgetting my manners and quickly putting a hand to my mouth.

Johiko laughed. "It's Gwen's nickname for me. She's really quite a lovely person."

The two of them kissed briefly and both Lugia and I understood Johiko's passion for this woman. They had met one day and had fallen in love almost instantly. It did not bother either of them that they were of different species; it only mattered that they had given their sacred vows to love and protect each other. Their children, Sol and Luna, however, suddenly took interest in their "grandfather". You've been my idol for years! said Sol frantically. Can I have your autograph?!

For the first time ever, I could have sworn that I saw Lugia blush! This was the first time that anyone had ever asked for his autograph, even after 1000 years. Here was his grandson who was only about two-years-old and he was asking for his own relative's autograph.

Lugia hesitated, smiled and finally said, "I don't see the harm in it." He blinked and a pen and notepad appeared out of thin air and hovered in front of him. Using his psychic powers, he scribbled his name down and wrote a little note of encouragement to Sol as well. When he was done, he gave the notepad to his grandson and said, "Here you go, Sol. Enjoy."

Sol took the notepad in his wings and said with relish, "Never stop shooting for the stars – Lugia". Thanks, Grandfather!

Lugia reached out and tickled Sol underneath his chin and said, You can call me by my name. You are my flesh and blood after all.

You could see the spark of happiness in Sol's eye. He spoke to his Lugia with tears in his eyes, Thanks... Lugia.

Lugia nodded and turned to his sea-green-colored granddaughter, Luna and said, I would never forget my granddaughter. Is there anything I can do to help you remember this day?

But Luna merely shook her head. All my wishes have already come true. I now know my true heritage and that is all I need to remember you by... She broke off, thinking. ...unless I were to ask for a single one of your feathers as a memento. I hear that each one has its own magical properties. That's all I ask.

Lugia smiled and held his right arm to one side. It flashed a bright white and it was once again his original wing. Lugia looked over at his outstretched wing and his eyes glowed a bright blue. He didn't even flinch as he pulled out one of his own "fingers" and converted it into a small, metallic trinket called the "Silver Wing". The feather grew back almost instantly and Lugia returned his wing to its human-like arm-shaped form. The Silver Wing looked like two three-feathered wings side-by-side with a tiny, round hole near the tip for someone to thread a string through and wear like a necklace.

Here you go, Luna. This Silver Wing is only the second of its kind to exist. Treat it with respect.

Luna took the Silver Wing and said, simply, Thank you. Then, she and Sol ran off to their rooms to enjoy their new gifts.

Finally, Gwen approached Lugia with a grateful expression on her face. "You certainly live up to everything that Joey has been telling me about you. If you weren't so busy, I'd ask you to stay for dinner... but I'm not sure what you eat," she added, a little embarrassed.

I would love to, but we have a mission to accomplish first. Maybe another day, I suppose.

Just then, she turned to Johiko and said, "By the way, honey, there was someone at the grocery store that asked me if I knew you."

"Oh?" said Johiko curiously. "Who was that?"

Gwen tried to remember more details but came up short. "He didn't tell me his name; he just asked if I knew someone named Johiko. He told me that he was a friend of your father's."

Something about this "friend" didn't sit quite well with me. "What did he look like?" I asked after my period of silence.

Gwen tried to remember. "He had a white shirt... blue pants – not jeans... he also had strange, spiky, purple hair... oh! And he also had a strange ring on his hand.

Suddenly, Lugia's expression was stone-stiff. He approached Gwen and put his hands on her shoulders so that she was looking directly at him. Gwen, I need you to think harder. What was on that ring? I need to know!

She looked a little scared when she looked into Lugia's eyes. I... I can't remember. All I know is that it was a gem of some kind. It was huge, but I can't remember what it was.

Gwen tried to look away from Lugia's face but found she couldn't. Lugia's fingers were biting into her shoulders and I knew he was scanning her mind.

"Johiko? What is he doing?"

Johiko tried to step in, but he suddenly realized what his father was doing. "Don't worry, Gwen. He's not going to hurt you. He just needs to see what you saw at the store." That offered little comfort to her, but she was soon relieved when Lugia released her and looked shocked.

You are in grave danger, Johiko. That man was concealing more than you think.

"What do you mean?"

He was actually Mewtwo in disguise. He is on his way over here as we speak. If he finds Arcana and I, he will kill you and your family to get to us. Arcana... He turned to me. We must leave now. Mewtwo will not hesitate to kill everybody here in order to find us.

Just then, Gwen broke down. "Oh, Joey! I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" She ran to her husband and started crying into his chest. Johiko stroked her back and spoke in a soft voice, "It's not your fault, Gwen. There are many evil people in this world. I will do everything in my power to protect you and the kids." He then turned to us. "You asked for my help – I will help you. I will do whatever it takes to defeat Mewtwo."

"Joey..." Gwen looked her husband directly in the eyes. "Be careful."

The two of them separated after a quick kiss. Johiko approached his father and said in a serious voice, "Let's do this."

Lugia nodded and the three of us left the house. Gwen watched us leave until Lugia turned back into his true form and Johiko and I climbed on his back and flew off.

I had never had a family of my own other than the Sacred Six. Even if it took another thousand years, I would never truly understand the bonds that families shared between each other. I guess that is one of the drawbacks that being a god includes in the job.

We were flying over New York City in our search for Mewtwo. Lugia had locked onto the powerful energy that radiated from him and our plan was to locate him and draw him away from the city to keep the deaths to a minimum.

But for some reason, finding him was proving to be more of a challenge than fighting him. Lugia had suddenly lost track of Mewtwo as if he had just vanished off the face of the earth!

"What do you mean, you lost him?!" I nearly yelled when I heard this. I didn't mean to offend him – he was doing his best – but I had never known Lugia to lose track of anyone before.

I mean that Mewtwo is no longer on the planet, Lugia said, slightly offended nonetheless. Other than that, I have no idea where he is.

Johiko had his eyes closed and appeared to be deep in thought. He hadn't said anything since we started on our search.

"What's up, Johiko?" I asked him innocently. "You've been awfully quiet this whole time."

Johiko merely held up a hand to silence me and resumed his meditation. As we continued our search, Lugia had to ask.

What do you hear, Johiko?

Johiko didn't answer right away, but he eventually opened his eyes and spoke for the first time. "The voices of the planet are speaking to me." He paused, apparently still listening. "They speak of an impending doom approaching from the stars."

Lugia finally touched down on a cliff overlooking the ocean near New York City. He closed his eyes as well, apparently listening as well. A moment of silence passed, and then...

I hear them, too. They are warning me of a "star rock" approaching from the stars. I can sense... Mewtwo is behind it.

I tried to mimic what they were doing by closing my eyes and listening closely, but all I heard was the waves of the ocean below us.

"I don't hear anything, Lugia," I said, disappointed. "How can You two hear it when I can't?"

Johiko opened his eyes and turned to face me. "You and Klonoa were not born as gods, Arcana, so you must be trained in how to listen effectively."

I sighed, still disappointed. "Darn it." After some thought, I asked, "Can you two teach me?"

Lugia shook his head sadly. We can, but not now. Mewtwo's meteor is on a collision course with the Earth. We must stop him before it comes too close to the planet.

I sighed heavily. "Alright, let's do it."

Lugia spread his wings again and took off with Johiko and I holding on tightly for a direct course for outer space. I was slightly apprehensive – I had never traveled into space before, though countless humans had done it like clockwork over the past 500 years ever since the development of the first interstellar spaceship. This was, in fact, the first time that any of the Sacred Six had ever gone into space before.

However, that didn't seem to hinder Lugia at all. As we left the first layer of the atmosphere, I found it very difficult to breathe. But Lugia had a plan for that immediately. His body vibrated for a split-second and a barrier of clear, invisible light appeared around him, providing some pressure relief in my ears and allowed us to breathe pure, clean oxygen as if we were on the earth's surface.

"Lugia," I said, taking a deep, experimental breath. "Your countless talents will never cease to amaze me!"

Thank you, Arcana, he said politely. I appreciate the compliment. Maybe you can ask Altair to bring you out here sometime. I'm sure he would enjoy the experience.

"I'll make a note of that."

Normally, people traveling into space would have to fight the overwhelming forces of gravity pulling you down, but to a god like Lugia, the laws of physics didn't always apply. He was able to cut through the atmosphere like it was a diamond through glass – no problem at all. Soon, we had left the atmosphere completely and were soaring through the vast expanse that was space.

I turned to look back at the earth when I said, "Lugia, stop! Turn around!"

He stopped and did so so that we were looking down at the vast world that was Earth. Neither one of us had ever seen a spectacle like this and we took a moment to gaze upon the beauty of our planet.

"This is... amazing," said Johiko, who was at a loss for words. "Seeing it in my Holo-Shed is one thing, but seeing it for real... words fail me."

"I never thought I'd be leaving my home planet before," I said, blowing my nose on my left ear. "It's really something, isn't it?"

It is, Lugia agreed, smiling sadly. All these years and I never stopped to just look at the world we live in. It is truly spectacular.

We spent a little while gazing at the earth down below us. 1000 years ago, people would give anything to be where we are now. Now people took a sight like this for granted from all the interstellar travel that they did. It certainly showed all the hard work that Lugia, Altair, Hyozanryu, Ashura, Klonoa and I put into protecting this planet.

A starship flew by, reminding us of our mission. Johiko patted Lugia's neck and said, "Come on, Father. Let's see how fast you can really go."

Lugia gave a mischievous smirk and turned around. So, you want speed, do you? Let's just see if you two can hang on.

He twisted his tail in excitement, braced himself and took off like a streak of lightning! He reached well past light speed in just under ten seconds. Lugia and the others have always been unable to fly as fast as his on earth for several reasons – wind resistance, obstacles, flying room, etc. – but out here, there were no limits as to how fast they could fly. At these speeds, we left local starships screaming in our space dust. Absolutely nothing could stop us now. In fact, we were going so fast that space dust floating in the area hit Lugia's shield at such a velocity that the barrier became partially visible and glowed a bright white where the dust hit, making Lugia look like a passing comet with a long, streaking tail behind us. Down on Earth, people mistook us for a shooting star and made special wishes that we could hear even all the way out here. Aren't we special?

It took us less than ten minutes to reach the edge of the Solar System. At the speeds we were traveling, I was surprised we hadn't reached Alpha Centauri by now. By the time we reached the edge of the system, Lugia had to pause to take a breather. He hadn't moved a muscle during the whole charade, but he wasn't used to traveling this far this fast. I also had to take a break. True, there wasn't any wind out here, but it took all my power to keep myself attached to the speeding Lugia. Johiko, on the other hand, simply remained as calm and collected as he ever was.

"I'm used to these speeds in my Holo-Shed," he said flatly. "The reality of the programs are what made it worth the money."

"Well, whoop-dee-doo for you!" I said sarcastically. I was currently trying to get my fur to lay flat, so I didn't need any snide remarks from Mr. "I-can-get-used-to-anything" in front of me. Some gods' kids...

Lugia sighed to himself and looked off in the direction where the meteor was supposed to be coming from. Mewtwo had had more than enough time to disappear from the Solar System, hijack a meteor and steer it on a collision-course with the Earth. He had to be around here somewhere – judging from the force of the evil energy Lugia was picking up, the meteor had to be somewhere close by.

"Meteor, ho!" said Johiko, pointing off in one direction.

Sure enough, a massive, ice-covered meteor was approaching us a few million miles away from us. It was barreling along at a pretty decent speed and it would soon reach us within minutes.

Target sighted, said Lugia, now fully recovered. Let's give Mewtwo a royal welcome, shall we?

I raised my eyebrows in amazement. "Do I hint a note of ego in your voice, Lugia?"

Lugia grinned mischievously. Maybe. Perhaps I'm becoming more daring in my old age, maybe?

I laughed freely. "The day you become old is the day that the universe collapses."

Lugia shrugged and flew off in the direction of the meteor. Mewtwo was going to get the surprise of his life when we landed on the meteor. Nothing could go wrong...

...but just then, it all did. As we approached the back entrance of the meteor, we were suddenly assaulted by a barrage of black Shadow Balls from the surface of the meteor. Apparently, Mewtwo was not alone on the surface.

"He's got an army of Shadows down there!" said Johiko, finally showing concern in his voice. "If they pierce your barrier, Father, we're done for!"

No... Lugia said while dodging the Shadow balls. The air is breathable down there. If we can just get down there, I can lower my barrier and we can split up.

"If we live that long!" I added, ducking a Shadow Ball that came too close for my comfort.

The meteor was getting further and further away from us, but the barrage of Shadow Balls continued. However, they were coming at us too fast for us to approach the meteor safely. Lugia tried getting close, but the Shadows on the surface seemed to know exactly where we were and always seemed to cut us off.

Finally, he realized his only chance of getting through. I must fly through the barrage if we ever hope to get to the surface.

"Are you sure?" I asked nervously. "I'm not sure that's a wise idea."

But Lugia shook his head. It is the only way. I see a spot on the surface where the Shadows are currently not present. It will give me enough time to recover once we land.

"Johiko?" I looked to him for an alternate solution, but he sadly shook his head.

"It's going to be rough, but I trust his judgment. Lead the way, Father."

I gulped audibly. This was going to be rough. Lugia put both of his wings to his side, folded his plates into his back and dove for it. The Shadow Balls came at us like hail on glass. Lugia dove through the main barrage of them, the projectiles hammering on his shield like mini-meteors. The ride got extremely bumpy as we plowed through the defenses and soon entered the thin layer of oxygen surrounding the meteor. I wasn't sure how much longer Lugia's barrier could hold out and I soon found out how much it could take.

The barrier finally broke and we were hit by a series of Shadow Balls, causing us to hit the surface of the meteor hard! I thought that the attacks would continue, but for some thankful reason, the Shadow Balls stopped flying.

However, the force of the collision and the power of the Shadow Balls had taken their toll on Lugia. Johiko and I had flown clear off his back onto the snowy surface, but were relatively unhurt. But Lugia was in bad shape. He had hit the ground at such a speed that his right wing was broken at an odd angle and he found he couldn't move a muscle.

"Father!"

"Lugia!"

Johiko and I had recovered and ran to the fallen god. Lugia had been knocked out cold, his wings still at his side and he was lying on his side with his back plates still folded into his back. Normally, this wasn't a big deal – Lugia usually kept his plates folded and his wings at his sides when he wasn't in the air or the water – but his right wing was broken and I could feel several bones in his neck had been knocked loose. Lugia couldn't use his regenerative powers if he wasn't conscious, so if we didn't heal or revive him ourselves, he could end up being paralyzed or crippled despite being a living god.

Johiko went to his father's neck and started pushing on it with special care, trying to pop the bones back into place. He then said to me, "Arcana, you must scout ahead and secure this area. I need to revive Father before we start looking for Mewtwo."

But I didn't have any way of defending myself – Ashura still had my ring. When I told Johiko this, he held out his hand and did a quick piece of Lugia magic. A small orb of solid red light appeared in his outstretched palm and he tossed it to me.

"Use that. It's called a Blast Orb. It can be used to fire bolts of energy even more powerful than the AS2C4 Blaster on Earth. Now, go!"

The AS2C4 Blaster was a foreign but powerful blaster that the humans used for heavy-duty killing on Earth. It was THE most powerful energy blaster of the current age. Knowing that I had something much more powerful and compact than that gave me some sense of pride in knowing that I worked with a god as powerful as Lugia and his son, Johiko.

I took the Blast Orb and ran to the edge of the area, where the only entrance or exit was a cave that led deep into the meteor. However, I could hear a loud screeching sound long before I reached the cave.

I quickly ran back to Johiko, turned to face the cave and said, "Heads up! Here they come!"

ASHURA

When I heard the words "Chaos Control", I thought that King had just used a new and powerful attack on us. But then I realized that the voice did not belong to King or Klonoa and I. I was so concerned with the pain that I was in that I didn't feel the sudden lightness of being pulled through a tunnel of glowing, yellow energy. The energy blast that King had fired from the Dream Demon ended up destroying our last foothold, but we had been teleported away from the blast area just in time.

I was still bleeding silver blood when I opened my eyes after being teleported through the strange energy tunnel. Whoever had activated the "Chaos Control" was standing in front of Klonoa and I, flipping something in his hand in the air. I was in too much pain to keep them open and soon passed out.

When I came to, I saw the same figure standing over me with Klonoa missing in action. The figure was running an item surrounded by a black aura over my wounds, sealing them shut. I felt much stronger now, but the looks of that black item made me paranoid. After all, this could have been the Nightmares injecting their black evil into me!

I quickly got to my feet and confronted the figure. Some of my wounds had not yet healed and the silver blood still dripped onto the ground.

What do you think you're doing?! I roared at the figure. Who do you think you are?! For the first time, I managed to get a good look at the figure.

He was only about four feet high – about half as high as Hyozanryu and I were, minus our wings. He had jet-black skin lined with red flashes and a small tuft of white fur on his chest. He had several long, curved spikes growing from his head and a little ways down his back just above his short, curved, black tail. I noticed that the red flashes on his skin lined these spikes in particular. He had large, white, five-fingered gloves on his hands with a golden ring-shaped bracelet on each of his wrists. He was very skinny – his arms and legs were thin but looked very strong. On his feet were the most unusual shoes that I had ever seen. They looked like regular shoes that were rounded in the front and back with odd mechanisms inside them.

His face, though, gave me the most trouble looking at. He had narrow red pupils under a permanently V-shaped brow. He also had a short, flesh-colored muzzle with a pointed, black nose on the end and a thin mouth currently shaped in a frown.

The figure frowned at me and scoffed. "Hmph! If that's the thanks I get for trying to save your life, I might as well just let you die next time! Klonoa actually thanked me for saving your hashes when I did! If I didn't already owe him a favor, saving your hides would have been the last thing I cared about!"

My instincts told me that this shady character was pretty self-centered. He cared only about himself and only got his hands dirty if there was something in it for him. I couldn't believe that this jerk had the nerve to talk to me like that! I was a god, for crying out loud!

But then I noticed something. Did you say you knew Klonoa? I said, lowering my claws.

The figure scoffed again and continued flipping the black object in his hand. "I sure do. If it wasn't for him, you gods would consider ME the enemy! You're lucky that I even showed up! I could have been miles away from here if it weren't for these." He pointed to the rings around his wrists, which were glowing a pale yellow.

What are those? I asked suspiciously.

He simply shrugged, caught the black object once again, turned around and started walking away. "That's none of your business. I don't even know why I'm bothering with you. You "gods" don't need me. You can destroy King by yourself. My Black Emerald can stop King and his Dream Demon in their tracks, but you don't need me."

I could tell that he wanted to help, but he was making an effort to make me the one to ask him for it. He was doing a pretty good job of it, too.

Alright! I cried, throwing up my arms. You can help us! Just quit with the guilt games already!

I could see his mouth curve into a sneaky smile and he turned around and approached me. "I'll make a note of that. Shall we get going, then?" He pointed the black item at no place in particular just like Klonoa and Arcana pointed their rings. The black item in his hand shot a bolt of black energy and tore a hole in reality, revealing a portal to the Dream World. I blinked when I saw this. I noticed for the first time that I was in the Real World. He must have taken me out of the Dream World to help me recover. Then if I was here, Klonoa must still be in the Dream World battling King!

Before entering the portal, he turned to me and smiled. "By the way... I'm Shadow the Hedgehog. And this..." He flipped the black item in his hand once and caught it again. "...is my trusty Black Emerald."

I nodded and said just three words, Ashura – Diamond Dragon.

Shadow the Hedgehog nodded and jumped into the portal. I noticed that when he did so, he tucked into a ball and spun rapidly in the air – just like... where did I see that move before? His name and persona sounded so familiar.

Regardless, I followed him through the portal to the Dream World. I would worry about it later – my friend was in need of my help.

The surface of the Dream World was still just a dark mist when Shadow and I returned there, so I had had to take flight as soon as I stepped out of the portal. I was wondering how Shadow would stay in the air, but that was solved almost instantly.

Shadow used the power of his Black Emerald to engulf himself in a black aura. I noticed that it was black and not violet, which meant that he was not in league with Mewtwo, the Nightmares or King. The "DarkAura", as he soon told me, was powerful enough to take the full force of Lugia and Altair's Luster Purge without breaking.

"It's second only to theirs in power as well," he added, looking in my direction. "It's taken over 500 years for me to gain this kind of power. But let's worry about that later."

I agreed. Off in the distance, the massive, winged Dream Demon was attempting to blast a tiny, black dot – Klonoa – from the sky. We had a job to do.

When Shadow and I reached the foray, we found Klonoa trying to attack the Dream Demon with his ring.

Need some help, hombre? I called to the Dream Traveler.

"It would help!" he called back to me. "If Shadow doesn't mind, I could use your guys' help!"

King, who was still perched on top of the Dream Demon, realized that Klonoa's backup had arrived. "So, you think you can gang up on me, eh? Well, two can play at that game!"

He ordered the Dream Demon to change its attack. It turned in the air and began flailing its arms wildly. They weren't even coming close to hitting us!

Wassa matter, Sorrow?! I jeered at him. Can't ya hit us?!

But King's plan was clearly different. From out of nowhere, a massive chuck of steel and concrete the size of a train engine came flying through the air and slammed into me! I went flying off into the distance under the slab's weight and was about to be engulfed in the mist below us.

Thankfully, Klonoa came to my rescue. He fired a Wind Bullet at it strong enough to destroy the slab and I was able to get back in the air.

Thanks, Klonoa!

"No problem!"

I returned to the airborne battle and began trying to find some way to take the Dream Demon down. The colored panel that we had exploited before was currently black, meaning that was not an opening. There had to be a way to take this guy down.

The Dream Demon began firing a barrage of violet bursts of energy at us. It was Klonoa's turn to take the damage, but before he was hit, Shadow flew in front of him and took the full force of the attack. Against all reasonable logic, Shadow didn't even flinch as his DarkAura practically absorbed the blasts. With each hit, the DarkAura flared and grew even bigger.

What the hell do feed that thing?! I asked him in complete disbelief.

Shadow glanced at me and said, "The power of Chaos. Stand back!"

Stand back? Those words almost didn't register with me. But then I realized that he was about to do something either extremely brave or extremely dangerous or even both. I flew over to Klonoa and relayed the message. The two of us then backed off while Shadow did his business.

He looked nearly insignificant against the awesome size of King's Dream Demon. But that didn't seem to intimidate him. He stared down King from just a few dozen yards away.

"Are you kidding me?!" yelled King, scoffing at the insignificant Shadow. "Do you honestly think you can take me down solo?"

"I'm not," said Shadow in his dark, secluded voice. "And I am. You can tell your "friends" and "boss" that Shadow the Hedgehog has returned. Now..." He held out his arms and legs like an iron cross. "Behold the power of my Chaos..." Light beams started flying from the flaming DarkAura, signaling it was about to explode. "Blast!"

The DarkAura blew, engulfing Shadow, King, the Dream Demon and the surrounding area in a supernova-like explosion! The Chaos Blast was so powerful that the Dream Demon began tearing apart from the energy hitting it! King was trying to withstand the blast, but was losing badly.

"How can this be?! I was in complete control! The Dream World was mine! Damn you! Damn you all! When Giygas hears about this, he'll destroy you all like flies! I will be avenged! AAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

King took the full force of the Chaos Blast and did something I didn't even know was possible – he started to disintegrate into bits of violet light fragments. The blast was tearing him apart! Within seconds, King and the Dream Demon were nothing more than Dream Dust!

Finally, the Chaos Blast was spent and Shadow was found hovering in the middle of it, seemingly unscathed. I was completely blown away. How in the world did he pull that off?! Klonoa and I couldn't even scratch him and Shadow had completely obliterated both of them!

Suddenly, I felt something pulsing throughout the Dream World. I watched all around me as the Dream World began taking shape again. The Dream Dust left behind by the Dream Demon was drifting through the gray mist and began taking shape into the shining buildings and world that the Dream World once was.

Looking down, I saw Klonoa surfing around the surface, firing Wind Bullets and rearranging everything back to where it used to be. He must have noticed me looking up at him and waved and called to me, "Hey, Ashura! Give me a hand here! I could use some help putting this place back together!"

I looked at Arcana's ring, still clutched in my right paw. I then looked over at Shadow. He was perched on top of a building that had already taken shape and was flipping his Black Emerald in his hand again.

I could swear that I saw him wink and say to me mentally, "I'll be fine. It'll take a lot more than a measly Chaos Blast to take me down. I'll wait until you guys are done."

I nodded and flew off through the still-drifting Dream Dust and began using Arcana's ring to rebuild the Dream World. I could breathe a sigh of relief now. King and the Dream Demon were destroyed – people could sleep much easier now that the Dream Travelers were back in control.

Some time later, after we had completely rebuilt the Dream World into the sparkling utopia it once was, Klonoa and I went to check on Shadow. The black hedgehog insisted that he was okay, but that didn't stop Klonoa from checking him out.

"How on earth did you find us, Shadow?!" Klonoa was nearly beside himself with questions. "I thought you were working for the American government for the past 200 years! You never told Arcana or I where you went and now you just show up after all these years to save my hash again! Where've you been all this time? What did you do with the—?"

"If you give me a chance to explain," said Shadow, his stern expression never faltering. "I've taken to a bit of rambling these past 50 years. I heard about the Tetra Limbo break-out from my friends in the government. As for the Chaos Emeralds, I can assure you that they are safely hidden away. Neither King, the Nightmares nor Mewtwo will ever find them. Does that answer all your questions?"

Klonoa finally shut up. He merely shrugged and said, "I guess so."

I had a question. If you're so smart, what did you mean when you said King had a "boss"?

Shadow flipped his Black Emerald once, caught it and said, "Believe it or not, King and the others answer to a higher authority. It's not someone you've met..." He said as Klonoa opened his mouth to ask. "It's not even someone that Lugia and the others ever faced... because he does not exist right now."

When Klonoa and I looked at each other questioningly, Shadow explained.

"His name is Giygas. He is an entity of pure, concentrated evil that exists far into the future. He has been building up in the heart of the earth for countless years, just waiting for the chance to unleash his power on the earth. In the year 3999, he plans to unleash his full force on the world and destroy it completely."

Wait just a minute! I cut in. How come none of us have ever heard of this "Giygas" before? It's been 1000 years since I became a Diamond Dragon and I've never heard of "Giygas" until now!

Shadow merely shook his head. "You've always stopped him from rising to power, even if you didn't know it. When you defeated Mewtwo, the Nightmares and King back in 1999, you sealed away Giygas' power in Tetra Limbo, preventing him from escaping. Now, in 2999, the three of them managed to escape and tried to restore Giygas' power once again. However, since they have been destroyed again, you've prevented Giygas' rise to power once again."

"So, what's the big deal?" asked Klonoa, cracking his knuckles dully through his gloves. "In another thousand years, we'll do it again! Bring it on!"

But Shadow didn't sound convinced. "I'm sorry to say that you six won't even make it to the year 3999."

Why is that? I asked in disbelief. We're immortal, right? We'll just wait until then and do it all over again!

"You just don't get it, do you?" said Shadow, not listening to what we were saying. "Giygas has the power of time travel! He can go back into the past and stop the six of you from becoming the gods you are today. Ever since the dawn of 2000, Giygas has been secretly gaining the ability to time-travel. You may have defeated his minions, but that could all change if he decides to use his time-traveling ability to stop you from rising to immortality over 1000 years ago. All of this could be undone at any time!"

Klonoa and I looked at each other in shock. We may be gods, but none of us had the ability to change the past or the future. If what Shadow was saying was true, then the future as it was today could all be undone and none of us would ever exist!

Lugia and Hyozanryu had used two enchanted items – the Silver Wing and the Star Diamond – to return to the planet over 1000 years ago. If Giygas somehow found those items and destroyed them, then neither Lugia, Altair, Johiko, Hyozanryu or I would never have been reborn! This was not something to be ignored – Klonoa and I had to warn the others before it was too late!

There was just one question remaining: "How do you know all this, Shadow?"

Shadow held out his Black Emerald. I saw it for the first time that it was a glowing, black gem about the size of a human's fist. "Remember the Chaos Control that I used to save you two? I've been experimenting with it and have been able to do a little time-traveling myself. The rest is a secret."

"Fine with us," said Klonoa flatly. He pointed his ring at nothing in particular and fired, tearing a hole in the Dream World and opening a portal to the Real World. "Coming, Ashura?"

I nodded and followed after him. I expected Shadow to stay, but he followed right behind us and we reappeared somewhere in the city of Minneapolis. That was one thing you needed to be careful with when traveling between dimensions – you could reappear absolutely anywhere! Nevertheless, the three of us regrouped and headed towards our new meeting spot – the top of the Washington Monument in Washington D.C. Klonoa and I sent out a summons through our global mind link. If the others heard it, they would be meeting us within a matter of minutes. I can only hope that they get here before Giygas put his time-travel ability to the test.

ALTAIR

Ohh... where am I? Lugia? Did I win?

I didn't know where I was. I had defeated the Nightmare, but something told me that the battle for the earth was only beginning. My consciousness was gripping at me, but I was having a hard time focusing. I finally got my eyes open to see...

...nothing! I couldn't see a thing! Everything was completely black! I couldn't tell where I was despite the fact that I was back in my Lugia form. I was completely blind!

Now panicking slightly, I began getting to my feet to try to find out where I was. However, before I could get anywhere, I felt something soft and warm push on my chest, keeping me on the ground.

"You shouldn't rush yourself," said a sweet, slightly musical voice. I could hear it speaking vocally and it was clearly female. "You could hurt yourself. Just sit back down and I'll explain what's going on."

I didn't recognize the voice, but there was something about the creature's smell that raised a flag in my memory. It was a smooth, furry smell that had a faint fragrance of vanilla to it. Somehow, I knew I could trust this creature.

And then a name came to my head...

Seryn?

The creature put a furry, padded paw on my cheek and I figured I was looking into her eyes. I could smell her smooth, creamy breath as I felt her eyes looking into mine.

"The very one. You've gone through a lot to be where you are right now. The Nightmares sure met their match when they fought you."

I held my wing forward and felt something furry and feathery on Seryn's back. She obviously had wings... but from what I felt, she had one... two... three... four of them? I've never known any furred or feathered creature to have four wings before.

Where am I? I asked her, looking blindly around. Why can't I see anything?

You are suffering from an attack on your soul, said a different but familiar voice. Your soul needs to repair itself before you can see again.

Hyozanryu? I looked in the direction of the male voice. Is that you?

It is. I was wondering if you would ever come around.

Thank God! I thought I was destroyed a long time ago.

"You're just fine," said Seryn. "Though, how long you'll be blind is anyone's guess."

I'm sure I'll be fine, I said reassuringly. I'm not in any rush.

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I immediately felt someone calling me from across the world. I could tell that it was Klonoa and Ashura – they were calling for a meeting of a Level 1 Global Emergency.

Hyozanryu? I said simply.

Yes, I hear it. We need to find them as soon as possible. He paused. Would you like to come with us? We could use your assistance.

I assumed he was talking to Seryn, because the "Flammie" spoke up. "I'd love to. I knew you needed my help, but I never expected it to come this soon." I felt her looking at me again. "But what about Altair? He can't see where he's flying."

I'm sure he can manage, said Hyozanryu. I was about to interject when he added, You have been practicing flying on instinct, right, Altair?

I shut my mouth and thought about this. In the first few weeks of my life as a Lugia, Lugia and I had practiced our psychic powers in various situations in the event that we would ever need it. It was brutal, but we finally managed to hone our skills to perfection. Amazingly, we had practiced flying blind during that time frame. All I had to do was shift my concentration from flying visually to flying on instinct. Add that with my vast knowledge of the planet's layout and I could "see" my path before me as if I was looking through a sonar.

Once I had the technique dialed in, I could "see" the world as if it was a black dimension with everything else covered in a white, misty outline. It was like "seeing" sound!

Wow... I said, looking around. This is amazing!

"I wish I could see what you're seeing," said Seryn in a slightly disappointed tone. "Most of what I see is blue."

I looked at Seryn directly and I was able to get an idea of what she looked like. She was roughly about 15 feet from head to tail and stood about half of that on her hind legs – almost like she was squatting. Her fur rumpled in the wind, giving me something to visualize. She had heavy, padded footpaws with three thick talons sticking out of them. Her other paws, however, were padded as well, but I detected four digits and talons on these, including the fourth "dewclaw" where normal people would have a thumb. A series of ridges ran from her throat to the tip of her tail – the only area where she didn't have fur. Although, it looked more like the armor on a dragon's chest than a weak spot.

The area on Seryn's back was a little blurry, so I reached my wing forward and ran it down her side. Seryn did not object to this. In fact, I could have sworn that I heard her start purring! Seryn did, in fact, have four feathery wings, but there was a slight difference the size of the upper two and the lower two. The upper two wings were slightly larger than their lower counterparts. Strange.

I then looked Seryn in the face. She wore a simple, metal chain around her neck, at the end of which was a large, pointed fang that I assumed she wore all the time. Seryn's face was relatively flat. She didn't have a beak and not much of a muzzle. I detected a small, pointed fang sticking out of the top of her mouth at each end of the smiling maw. Her ears looked more like a deer's than anything else and she had a head full of thick, untidy hair. It was a good deal thicker than a human's but it was relatively short and untidy. I couldn't "see" Seryn's eyes, but judging from the expression she was giving me, I guessed that they were young, innocent and full of curiosity.

Wow... I said in amazement. You are beautiful.

I could feel Seryn's body heating up under my wing. I must have said something to make her blush heavily.

"You gods are too nice to me," she said, giving my face a little lick with a moist, flat tongue. "I'm honored to be with you."

I smiled as I lowered my wing. Your loyalty will not go unrewarded. But now, we must find Klonoa and Ashura. They are expecting us.

Are you sure you can handle flying blind, Altair? Hyozanryu wondered concernedly.

I nodded. It shouldn't be too difficult. It'll be just like flying on a moonless night in Alaska.

I held my wings to my side, testing the thermals radiating from the ground. I then chose my spot, unfolded my back plates and sprang into the air. Within four flaps of my wings, I was already at 500 feet. Seryn and Hyozanryu soon followed suit. They flew behind me to make sure I didn't get lost, but I was confident that I would make it there unscathed.

All the while, I wondered what had become of my brother, Lugia, and Arcana. The link between us told me that something amazing had happened to him. However, I wasn't 100 sure what it was. It would only be a matter of hours before I found out. I looked forward to seeing him when he got back from finding Mewtwo...

ARCANA

...but first, we had to find Mewtwo! Upon crash-landing on the meteor, Johiko had put me in charge of protecting him and Lugia while he tended to his father's injuries. I was doing my best to keep the Shadows at bay, but I felt like a kid holding a rock with this small Blast Orb.

The Shadows kept advancing on me, firing their Shadow Balls at either me or Lugia, but I harnessed the power of the Blast Orb and reduced their ranks substantially. True, I wasn't as experienced with this Blast Orb as I was with my own ring, but I was doing some serious damage nonetheless.

"Johiko!" I called over the screeches of the Shadows that I hit with the orb. "How much longer do you need?!"

Johiko had repaired most of Lugia's external injuries and was now working on his internal ones. "I'm almost done! Get the Shadows away from us until I can get Father revived!"

"Okay, whatever you say!"

I ran off to one side while still firing the Blast Orb in attempt to get the Shadows to follow me. Since they weren't all that bright, they fell for my plan just like a charm. They moved away from Johiko and Lugia, giving them both a little extra breathing room. I just had to keep them away from them until...

WHOOOOSH!!!

Lugia had finally been revived and immediately cleaned house with a sweeping Aeroblast. It cleared out a good number of the Shadows, allowing Johiko and I to pick off any stragglers.

However, that Aeroblast seemed to take more out of Lugia that it appeared, because just then, Lugia collapsed on the ground, extremely winded.

"Father! Are you okay?!" Johiko ran to Lugia's side and put his hand on his neck.

I'll... be fine, panted Lugia, taking deep breaths. I used up... more energy... than I intended to... but I'll be fine.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" I asked him point-blank.

But Lugia shook his head. I can handle it... but you two need to find Mewtwo... before the meteor... comes too close to Earth.

Johiko and I looked at each other to make sure we heard that correctly. "Are you sure?" said the hybrid. "Mewtwo could destroy you if he finds you like this."

But Lugia merely looked at us with determination on his face. He won't find me – I guarantee it. But seeing as I can't move right now, you two will have to go on without me. Find Mewtwo and put him out of commission before it's too late.

We both nodded. We knew better than to disobey him, but that didn't stop me from asking the obvious question: "When will we see you again?"

Lugia looked up into the starry space above us, thinking. When I recover substantially enough, I will join you. Until then, you two are on your own.

Johiko was reluctant to leave his father's side, but Lugia's word was law, so he had no choice this time. He and I left the clearing and entered a cave leading deep into the meteor.

"Brr!" I said, shivering and holding my paws under my arms. "The cold is going right through my gloves!"

"It is indeed colder here than on Earth," said Johiko, also shivering slightly. "I am surprised that Mewtwo chose this area to make his base."

"Yeah, well, that's something I guess I'll never understand myself."

The ice-covered caverns of the meteor were extremely chilly. Even Antarctica had nothing on this place. Then again, we were on a frozen piece of metal deep in the middle of space.

But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering me. "Hey, Johiko, have you noticed that there aren't any more Shadows here?"

Johiko looked around and answered, "You're right. Mewtwo certainly is lacking in the defenses for this place."

"Probably because he thinks that no one, not even us, can stop this thing."

"Your logic is commendable." With that, he and I continued into the depths of the meteor.

We didn't encounter anything hostile until we reached a point in the meteor where there was a large lookout point looking off into the stars. From what we could see, the closest thing that we could make out was the approaching planet of...

"Earth!" I yelled, pointing out the obvious. The Earth was approaching relatively fast and I was shocked to learn how far we had traveled on this thing.

Even Johiko looked a little uneasy. The distance between the Earth and us was about...

Less than 105,000,000 miles from our current position, said a cold, psychic voice nearby.

I couldn't believe my ears! Standing on a crop of rock hovering off at the edge of the lookout point was none other than...

"Mewtwo!" said Johiko and I at the same time.

The one and only, said Mewtwo in his deep, foreboding voice. You two took long enough. I was beginning to wonder if you would make it before impact. However...

Off in the distance, he turned to face us. I was expecting Lugia and Altair – the ones who sealed me away – instead. Instead of facing me mano-y-mano, they send... He sneered at the two of us. ...a feline and a human.

"Hybrid!" said Johiko, balling his fists.

Oh? I think I hit a nerve with this one. Tell me... Johiko... what makes your father think that you can stop me? It took both Lugia and Altair to defeat me last time, and now both of them are no-shows. Did they actually think that two feeble, unarmed, miserable excuses for gods could ever challenge me? Your old man must be slipping in his old age.

"Johiko..." I said, putting a paw on his arm to calm him down. His fists had ignited with red flame, signaling that he was severely antagonized and/or ready to fight. Johiko merely shrugged me off and snarled, "No one speaks ill of my father like that! He defeated you once – his son can do it again!"

For some reason, Mewtwo started laughing! He was further infuriating Johiko. His son?! HA! You've never faced any one of us in your life! I am going to enjoy destroying you. Then the whole galaxy will know of the "Lugia Who Failed"!

Against all my efforts to calm him down, Johiko suddenly snapped. He took to the air and engulfed himself in a red LifeAura. He then flew over the empty space separating Mewtwo's perch from us. Mewtwo merely took to the air as well and confronted him.

For the first time, he was close enough for me to get a good look at him. He was about seven feet tall and had a human-like form to call his own. But the rest of his body showed that he was anything but human. He had pale-violet skin covering most of his body except for his tail-and-belly area. that area was more of a dark-violet color that extended to the rounded tip of his thick, flexible tail. His feet were long and digitigrade and appeared slightly mutated with two "toes" on the tips and a third "toe" near the backs of them. A rounded pad was under his feet a little higher up than a regular animal's. His arms were long and thin but very strong. His paws only had three "fingers" on them with a rounded tip on each one.

Mewtwo's head area still scares me to this day. Behind his head was a rope-like growth connecting the back of his head to his shoulder blades. Atop his skull were two squared horns that I assumed were his "ears". His face, though, gave me the most chills. His face was slightly cat-like with long, narrow, violet pupils and a short, pointed muzzle.

Like I said before, Mewtwo did not use his vocal cords to speak (I wasn't even sure he had any). Instead, he relied on telepathic communication just like the Guardians and the Diamond Dragons.

Mewtwo and Johiko met each other in mid-air in the middle of the black expanse between the lookout points. However, Johiko was the only one who had a noticeable shield up. Mewtwo appeared completely vulnerable, but I highly doubted he was playing possum.

The two of them stared each other down for a while. Johiko's expression was rage, but Mewtwo's, believe it or not, was pleasure!

I can sense your anger, Johiko, said Mewtwo snidely. You want to destroy me so that you can avenge your father. Go ahead... do it! I am unprotected and vulnerable. Do it and your father will be most pleased.

I couldn't believe what he was saying! Mewtwo wanted him to kill him! There had to be a catch somewhere. I watched as Johiko's LifeAura flared up even more intensely as he got ready to attack Mewtwo.

Just then, I heard a frantic voice in my head. Arcana! You must not let him strike Mewtwo as he is! It was Lugia. If he destroys Mewtwo in his rage, he will be overcome by his anger and his heart will close forever! Mewtwo is trying to pass himself into Johiko! I cannot get through to him – you must get him to stay his hand!

I nodded and looked up to face the pair. "Johiko, stop! That's just what he wants you to do! If you don't get a hold of yourself, he'll use you to carry out his plans!"

Mewtwo did not break his stare with Johiko. Do not listen to him, Johiko. He is weak. He cannot hope to comprehend the power that you possess. You possess powers far stronger than those of your father and his pitiful brother. He's been holding you back. But you can overcome him. Strike me and unlock your full potential. I can give you a power unlike any you ever imagined. Just destroy me and all of your powers will be unlocked.

"Johiko, no!" I pleaded, trying to get him to change his mind. "Don't listen to him! He's manipulating you! He's done it before and he's doing it again with you! If you kill him now, you'll destroy any hope of saving the planet from your own rage!"

But Mewtwo refused to break the stare. Think about it, Johiko... Is it really worth your time to listen to your father and have him holding you back all the time? Or is it more important to unleash your full potential and show them all your true strength? You can best them, Johiko. Just strike me and prove to them all that you are superior!

Johiko was now deadlocked with the most important decision of his life: should he attack Mewtwo and obtain power beyond his wildest dreams? Or should he listen to Arcana and stay his hand? His father might be holding him back, but Lugia has a reason for all his decisions. Johiko might not learn his full potential now, but was he about to defy his friend for a power that might destroy the world?

I thought he would come around and choose the right path, but against all odds, I saw his LifeAura blaze even higher and he started to raise his hand.

Mewtwo grinned. Yes... do it. Kill me and you will know power beyond all comprehension!

No! I was losing him! Mewtwo's influence was too powerful! Think quickly, I pulled out the Blast Orb than Johiko had given me and pointed it at the pair.

"Forgive me, Johiko," I said quietly. "But this is for your own good."

Giving the orb a quick charge, I fired a blast at the pair powerful enough to separate them and break Mewtwo's eye-lock. The blast was a little stronger than I expected because Mewtwo went flying a good 30 feet with Johiko flying likewise in the opposite direction. Johiko crashed and burned on the ground next to me and Mewtwo was temporarily paralyzed.

"Johiko! Are you alright?!" I ran to his aid to find him trying to shake the cobwebs out of his head.

Johiko looked dazed and looked at me. "Arcana...? Where... where am I? I can't remember anything that just happened."

"You'll be okay. Just wait here while I deal with Mewtwo. I need to hold him off until Lugia can get here."

"Oh... okay... I'll do that." He still seemed confused.

Just then, a black Shadow Ball came flying out of nowhere and hit the ground near my feet, sending ice and dust flying at us. I scrambled to my feet and turned to face where the Ball had come from.

An absolutely furious Mewtwo was now hovering less than 30 feet away from us with a violet DarkAura surrounding him. When he spoke, his voice was full of both incomprehensible fury and the most deepest loathing.

YOU!!! You gods always take my chances for an apprentice away from me! For 1000 years, I planned every last detail to make Johiko my apprentice, but you gods took that opportunity away from me again! I've had it with you gods interfering with my plans! Now... DIE!!!

Another, more powerful Shadow Ball came screaming at me, just barely missing me as I dove to one side. I could tell that Mewtwo was not in a good mood, so I had to deal with the consequences.

I knew I could not defeat Mewtwo on my own – I just had to keep him busy until Lugia and Johiko recovered enough to help. I was at a further disadvantage when I realized that I still didn't have my ring with me. All I had was this small Blast Orb. Nevertheless, it would have to do until reinforcements arrived.

I suddenly felt the ground shake beneath me. Before I knew what was happening, Mewtwo had pulled a long, narrow chunk of rock up from underneath me and brought it level with him. I felt a little uneasy that I had such diminutive elbow room, but it would have to do.

Mewtwo started his attack from afar by sending a barrage of Shadow Balls in my direction. I easily avoided them and began looking for an opportunity to attack him. He came closer and thrust his left arm forward, sending a continuous stream of violet lightning at me. I avoided the initial blast, but was caught off guard when he moved his arm, trailing the bolt down the spit of land, resulting in my electrocution. What's more, he brought it back again, shocking me a second time!

Now barely conscious, I watched Mewtwo turn around and hover back to his initial starting point. Shaking the cobwebs out of my ears, I went back on the defense as another barrage of Shadow Balls came my way. Once again, I avoided them, but just barely this time.

After the barrage, Mewtwo sent another stream of violet lightning my way. I avoided the initial blast, but then on a hunch, I jumped over the shock point and it passed underneath me, allowing me to recover until it came flying back at me again. I just barely nicked the bolt before it dissipated, causing my right leg to go numb on me.

I watched Mewtwo fly back to where he started his attack and realized that this was my opening! Through the pain in my leg, I charged the Blast Orb in my hand and fired a shot at Mewtwo's back. The bolt went a little higher than I expected and slammed into the rope-like growth connecting his head and back together.

I expected Mewtwo to flinch, but what I didn't expect was for him to let out a mental yell so loud that the meteor around us quaked violently. He had seized up with pain and the DarkAura around him flashed rapidly for a moment. Did I really do that much damage to him?

Mewtwo spun around and glared at me. (explicit)!!! How the hell did you do that?! How could you damage me in the one spot that I feel any pain?! I said nothing. I was in utter disbelief. You're going to pay dearly for that! I'll wipe the floor with you!!!

With his back facing away from me, Mewtwo flew over and landed on the small chunk of meteor he had started on. It was way out of my reach with this Blast Orb, so I had to find some other way to hit him.

Just then, he raised his arms above his head and for a second, nothing happened. Then from out of nowhere, several large chunks of rock and ice started fluttering around him. He then threw his hand forward and they started flying at me! I did some fancy gymnastics to avoid the barrage of meteors coming at me. Thankfully, I escaped the attack unharmed.

Realizing that he couldn't hit me from a distance, Mewtwo went back on the offensive by flying within range of my Blast Orb again. This time, however, he kept sliding from one side to another in an attempt to avoid my shots. But I already knew my target. All I had to do was catch Mewtwo with his back turned and take another shot at that cord on his head.

Mewtwo added another attack to his repertoire. In addition to the Shadow Balls and the Black Volts, his eyes began glowing a bright purple before firing lightning-fast shots at me! I took a few of them to the chest and was nearly unseated from the rock platform I was on. It was a good thing that my ears could act as counter-balances, keeping me steady and bringing me back onto the platform if I started to fall.

Mewtwo's attacks kept coming full-force with no chance of me getting another shot at his back. I couldn't fire directly at him because his DarkAura kept absorbing my shots, making him faster and more nimble. I needed an opening... and fast!

And I finally got it! From out of nowhere, a shadow appeared off in the distance, blocking our view of the Earth. It was absolutely massive and its wings spread at least 20 feet wide! Mewtwo was too busy fighting me to see the creature open its mouth and charge up a beam of light. Instead, he took a moment to taunt me.

You are nothing, Dream Traveler! I am superior to you and both of those Guardians! Why don't you submit and spare yourself the pain of your inevitable defeat?

However, I merely smiled as a mental "wink" entered my head. ""Superior to the Guardians"? I don't think he would like that!"

I hit the ground seconds before he figured it out. Just then, Mewtwo realized that he had been set up. He turned around to face the creature behind him and his face went white.

No! Not you again! I destroyed you! How could...?!

POW!!!

A super-concentrated Hyper Beam tore from Lugia's open mouth and punched a hole clean through Mewtwo's torso! Mewtwo was shocked beyond belief as he looked at the burning hole in his chest. All that escaped his mind were the words: Giygas... forgive me...

He then fell over limp as his body exploded into a blast of violet light. It was like watching a star explode from being a supernova for too long.

The rock platform where I was perched soon collapsed and I fell back to the surface of the meteor. I landed cat-like on my feet and looked up at Lugia, who had just come into focus for the first time and landed on our ledge.

"Well done, Arcana," he said, bowing his head in front of me. You completed your mission and Mewtwo is destroyed. I thank you.

"But you destroyed him! All I did was—"

Arcana... he said, shaking his head and smiling. This is your moment to shine. You should be feeling a sense of accomplishment. You stalled Mewtwo long enough for me to deliver the final blow. Be thankful for your accomplishments.

"But..." I started but then gave up. I should be feeling grateful. For once, Lugia was congratulating me for something. I shouldn't question his thanks. All I did was smile and stand there for a while before Lugia spoke again.

You did great, Arcana, but the meteor threat is not over yet.

"What do you mean?" said Johiko, joining the conversation. "We beat Mewtwo, didn't we?"

Lugia sighed noticeably. We did... but we were to late. The Meteor is too close to Earth to try to stop it.

I blanched all the way down to the tips of my ears. "What are we going to do? We can't let it crash! The planet will be destroyed!"

Lugia looked off to one side, thinking. Finally, he said, There is one way. One of us must remain on the meteor and destroy it from the inside out.

What Lugia just said did not immediately register with me. I could have sworn that I heard him say one of us needed to stay behind.

And then it hit me. "But who is going to do it? The planet needs us! We can't just abandon it!"

You don't have to. You will not be staying behind.

Again, this did not compute right away. If Lugia was say what I thought he was saying...

My eyes went wide. "Lugia... no. You can't stay here! We need you! Earth needs you! If you sacrifice yourself to stop this thing, the hope of the planet will go out. You can't stay here!"

But Lugia locked eyes with me and said in a rock-solid voice, I will not argue this with you, Arcana. I have made up my decision and I will not be swayed from it. I will send you and Johiko home. When you get there, meet with the others and proceed with the plan. When Altair learns of my demise, he will understand our situation. Do you understand?

I swallowed. "Yes, sir. I understand."

Nodding, Lugia said, Good. Now go home, Arcana. The world needs you. May God grant you all speed.

I nodded sadly as Johiko took my hand. Lugia closed his eyes and I began to feel weightless and light-headed. As Johiko and I traveled through a white void towards earth, I chanted Lugia's titles out loud. It would be the last time that I would speak them in this life.

"Good-bye, Lugia... Guardian of the Sea... God Reincarnated... Lord and Master of all the Oceans... Avatar of God the Almighty... Leader of the Sacred Six... Brother to Altair the Lugia... Conqueror of all Death... and friend to all of us. May you rest in peace."

That was the last thing I remember before I blacked out again.

KLONOA

Sitting on top of the Washington Monument, Ashura, Shadow and I eagerly awaited Lugia, Altair, Hyozanryu and Arcana. We were nervous about when they would get here because now that all three demons had been destroyed, Giygas was now defenseless and could be goaded into using his time-traveling ability to undo all that we've worked for these past 1000 years.

Shadow was a little antsy, but not as much as Ashura. He was high-strung because he had not heard from Hyozanryu in some time. for the first time in several days, we would all be back together again and we could choose new teams to find and fight Giygas with. I noticed that Ashura was chewing on his claws anxiously.

"You're going to ruin your claws if you keep that up," I told him point-blank.

But Ashura merely shot me an annoyed look. I've been doing it for 1000 years, and now you choose to harp on me for it?"

I held up my mitts and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to get on your case. Please don't eat me."

Ashura chuckled falsely at this statement. Ha! I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just that I've been feeling a little strange lately. Hyozanryu must have taken quite a beating from the Nightmares to make me feel this way.

"For our sake, I hope that's all it is."

"It looks like we have company!" said Shadow suddenly, looking through his Black Emerald like a pair of binoculars. "And it doesn't look good at all!"

The two of us looked in the direction he was pointing and saw two figures flying in our direction away from the sunset. I could make out Hyozanryu from the glimmer of light off his diamond skin and a creamy-yellow flying creature, but Altair was missing in action.

That can't be good, said Ashura nervously.

When Hyozanryu and the other creature landed on top of the Carlson Monument next to us (he was the 58th president), Ashura pressed his brother for details.

What happened to Altair? he asked nervously. And who is that? He pointed to the creamy-yellow creature who was now bathing itself with its moist tongue.

Hyozanryu seemed concerned. I really can't describe what happened to Altair. One minute, we're flying behind him to meet you... and the next... he's gone! He just vanished off the face of the earth!

All three of us looked at each other apprehensively. It seemed that Altair was the first victim of Giygas' time-travel powers.

"Mind you, he didn't look too good coming here," added the furry creature perched next to Hyozanryu. "He had a bad experience with the Nightmares and he kind of deteriorated after that."

"This is not good," said a voice that I recognized as... my own?

Arcana had just appeared on his Slider Board in mid-air between the two memorials. I had expected Johiko to be with him, but he was missing in action as well.

"Arcana! It's great to see you again!" I called to my brother. "Where's Lugia and Johiko?"

Arcana said nothing. Somehow, all of us knew what Lugia had done to save the world from Mewtwo's meteor.

"I see... He did a brave act of selflessness. But what about Johiko?"

Arcana looked confused. He looked over his shoulder and in every direction behind him. "Wasn't he with me? I thought Lugia sent the two of us back here before he destroyed the meteor."

The five of us shook our heads.

I think this is more of Giygas' work, said Ashura, chewing on his claws again. First Altair... and now Johiko.

"I think I see a pattern here," said Shadow for the first time. We all looked at him for his advice. Shadow merely flipped his Black Emerald once and explained. "Giygas is targeting the gods that he feels are the most threatening to his plans. First Altair, then Johiko... It's only a matter of time before..."

Oh no! said Hyozanryu, suddenly going rigid. He found me! He found my diamond!

We all looked at Hyozanryu with concerned expressions on our faces. The Diamond Dragon, whose skin tone never varied in color, was flashing from red to green to blue and back again. He also appeared to be having a seizure. He had his head in his claws and was screaming vocally – something he almost NEVER did.

I'm done for! Something must be happening to me in the past! The pain... it's too much! I... can't... take it! AAAAAAAHHHH!!!

Brother, NO!!!

Ashura tried flying over to help his dying brother when he froze in mid-air as well. He began going through the same ordeal that Hyozanryu was going through. The four of us could only watch as light beams began to break out of their bodies. They were being destroyed in the past and there was nothing we could do to help them!

With a sound not unlike a pulse grenade going off, the two Diamond Dragons disintegrated into a blast of white light one after another. Within seconds, their diamond fragments no longer existed.

They were gone. First Altair, then Johiko and now Hyozanryu and Ashura. Four of my best friends no longer existed.

But that was not all...

"What's happening here?" said Arcana, looking as if the ground was shaking, which it was not. "It feels like time is being torn apart!"

I could feel it, too. Without the Guardians and the Diamond Dragons, our present was changing. It felt like a powerful surge of energy was coursing through the world.

"I think we'd better move! This place is not gonna be safe in a few minutes!" The creamy-yellow creature launched off the Carlson Monument and flew over to our perch. "Quick, get on!"

We needed no second bidding. Shadow, Arcana and I climbed on her back and she took off into the air. We were about 5000 feet in the air when she stopped and looked down on the world.

A wave of darkness was traveling over the planet, turning everything from clean and pure into dark and desolate. Homes were reduced to ruins, the green grass stretching over the world was converted to a powdery, gray dust and the waters below us turned into a poisonous, purple gunk. The future – our present –was changing before our very eyes!

"Heads up, guys!" said Shadow, bracing himself. "Here it comes!"

The four of us braced for the impact of the time rip. It hit all of us hard enough to knock us out of the air! The four of us crashed into the changed earth like four meteorites hitting the ground. I was in such pain when I hit that I struggled to stay awake as I saw the skies above me cloud over with impenetrable gray clouds. However, I didn't stay awake long. The pain from my broken body reached my consciousness and I blacked out from the sheer shock of it.

The world had been changed forever... all because of one creature. We would never get a chance to undo what he had done because it had happened over 1000 years ago.

The only words that went through my mind before I passed out were two that did not make any difference to our current situation: "Happy Millennium."

SHADOW

I was dreaming. I could see him watching over me like a guardian angel. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, but that didn't stop me from trying to look away.

I was scared. I had never been scared of anything in my life. Even the power of Giygas paled in comparison to the strength of the creature before me.

But it wasn't a creature that wanted to be feared. It was trying to protect me from Giygas' power and I welcomed its presence. I couldn't make it out, though. All I could see were two sapphire-blue eyes looking at me. I could sense a great warmth coming from those eyes. They radiated both a great power and a great calmness at the same time.

Even though I had never seen those eyes before, I knew who it was.

"L... u... g... i... a...?"

The face of God Reincarnated looked down at me. But unlike the real Lugia, this one had a noticeable difference. Its face was not silver-white like I had once seen... it was a shimmering blue that outdid all other blues. I could see small, shimmering lights drifting over his skin like water on the shores of the ocean. There was also a mark on his forehead that I hadn't seen before: a white mark shaped just like a star with its points broken off.

"Lugia...?" I said weakly. "Where... where am I? How did you find me?"

Shadow... said Lugia, his voice echoing in my dreams. I am here for you...

I felt a strange sense of pleasure radiating from those words. I was glad that he was here for me.

Shadow... I need your help... the world needs your help...

"Why?" I said uncertainly. "What can I do? The world is destroyed... You were destroyed! There's nothing that I can do now..."

But Lugia merely shook his head and said in a calm voice, No... there is still hope for the planet... for us...

"But how?" I didn't understand what he was saying. "How can all this be undone?"

Lugia merely looked at me. Your Black Emerald is infused with the power of Chaos, correct?

"Yes..."

You must use the power of Chaos to undo all that has been done to your future."

"You mean Chaos... Control?"

Yes... You have the power to control time with that emerald. You can take the others back 1000 years and undo what has happened in the present.

"Are you sure? I mean, I've used Chaos Control to travel faster than lightspeed... but time travel? I don't think that's even possible."

It is possible, Shadow. All you need is your faith in God and you can use the Black Emerald to accomplish anything!

I saw what he was getting at, but something still bothered me. "But what about the others? I can't stop Giygas on my own! Even with the power of Chaos, how am I supposed to undo all that's happened."

Lugia smiled sadly. Take Seryn with you. Destroy the Three Demons before they can destroy the future of the planet. Once you have... we will take the fight to Giygas himself.

"Just Seryn? What about Klonoa or Arcana? Shouldn't they come?"

Lugia closed his eyes and I could have sworn that I saw a single, silver tear fall from his left eye. I didn't need to be psychic to know what he meant.

"They're... gone... aren't they? Giygas got them, too?"

Yes... You and Seryn are our last hope. You must use Chaos Control and find the Three Demons before history can be undone. Find Altair, Ashura and Arcana in their human forms. If you do that, you will find the Demons. Destroy them and we will join you to destroy Giygas.

"Yes, sir," I nodded in response. "You can count on us!"

Lugia nodded and finally came into full view. What I saw made my eyes in danger of falling out of my head, my heart stop and my jaw hit the floor.

"Lugia... you're... you're...!"

Before I could say what he was, my dream shorted out and I found the real world tugging at my consciousness. Damn it! That had been a sight to behold and I didn't get a good look at it!

I came to in a lot of pain. I had left a good 3-foot impression on the ground after falling from Seryn's back 3000 feet in the air. But I wasn't as hurt as I should have been. That was probably partly because I was immortal and partly because I was still holding my Black Emerald in my hand. That thing sure came in handy in an extremely difficult situation!

I lied there for a while while looking up at the gray sky. While the Black Emerald's regenerative powers worked with my own, I thought about what Lugia had said. He had said that I could use the power of Chaos Control to turn back time, but I had my doubts. I had managed to slow down time before, but never turn back the clock completely! What's more, now that it was just Seryn and me left of the Nine Immortals, we faced an uphill battle if we ever engaged the Three Demons. We had to face and defeat all three if we ever stood a chance of finding and defeating Giygas. It seemed like a long shot, but I trusted Lugia's judgment and his word was law.

"Facing overwhelming odds..." I said to myself. "Possible death at every turn... slim chance for success... What am I waiting for? I like a challenge."

Those last few words seemed to give me an extra energy boost that was well-beyond that of my Black Emerald. I was finally able to get to my feet and look up at the sky, thinking to myself.

"You may be gone, Lugia, but your spirit lives on in all of us. Thank you."

I didn't feel a response, but I knew that somewhere in time, Lugia was looking down at me and smiling.

I now knew what I had to do, but first, I had to find Seryn and make sure she was okay. On instinct, I held my Black Emerald up and spoke in a quiet but clear voice.

"O Black Emerald, Master of the Seven Chaos, show me the way... show me where Seryn landed."

The black gem's aura flared up, producing an orb of black light that disconnected from the main glow. It hovered there for a moment and then took off in the direction of the National Treasury.. or what was left of it, anyway. I started running.

When I ran, I actually "slid" on the jet engines installed in my shoes, propelling me forward and reducing the amount of steps I needed to take. One step gave me a good 20 feet of propulsion before I had to take another – one of the benefits that the old Shadow gave me...

But that's not important. I quickly covered the distance between the Washington Monument and the Treasury in less than 2 minutes. Along with being extremely quick, these shoes gave me the ability to jump at incredible speeds and practically bounce off of objects like the sides of buildings, street posts and vehicles. Something that Shadow passed onto me as well...

Forget it. I'm bringing up the past. The important thing is that I found the black aura within minutes and soon located the Flammie, Seryn.

She was still unconscious and her body was pretty banged-up – two of her wings were broken and her right back leg was twisted at an odd angle.

I stroked the fur on her massive shoulders to try to wake her up. She was pretty tough for a Flammie – she finally managed to moan and wake up.

"Ohh... what happened?" she moaned. "I feel like I took on a train... and lost."

"You're okay, Seryn," I told her. "You just took a few broken limbs when you landed. I know you're immortal, but do you need my help?"

Seryn looked back at her broken body and chuckled. "Oh, this? I've had worse crashes than this. A little shift here... a tweak there..."

As she said this, one of her broken limbs shifted back into place with a dull grinding noise right after another. Pretty soon, she was as good as new. I flinched a little when she did this, but as long as she was healed, that was fine with me.

I still had to ask. "How can you do that? Doesn't that hurt?"

Seryn rotated her neck around once and crawled out of the impression she had made when she crashed. "No. Flammies are known for their regeneration, after all. It takes a lot more than a few snapped wings or a dislocated footpaw to kill me."

"What will kill you, then?" I couldn't believe the abuse this Flammie took.

Seryn sat back on her tail and gave a musical purr. "If I told you, I'd have to kill you for knowing."

The two of us looked at each other for a while. Surely, she was kidding...

But then we broke out laughing. It was a moment of joy when the worries of the world mattered nothing to us at all. It was a chance to let some of the weight of the world off our shoulders. It sure made me feel good... and I almost never laughed!

"I'm glad that there is still hope with us, Seryn. The others would certainly look up to us when all hope has failed in the world."

Seryn snorted at this comment. "And I'm Theodore Geisel. Get real, Shadow! If anyone's going to save the past, it'll be Klonoa and Arcana. They're part of the Sacred Six. And what are we? Just a couple of sidekicks as far as I see." Her expression fell along with her drooping ears. "I've been alive for 1000 years and it was always the Sacred Six that end up saving the world. Even if there were only two of them, they still managed to save each other. They only needed the two of us and Johiko because they wanted to rub it in our faces when they ended up winning anyway. I've seen it all. I've been on call for Ashura and Hyozanryu for over 1000 years and this is the first time that they needed my help. We're nothing, Shadow! We're expendable... spare tires... nothing more than a group of extra hands. That's all we ever are!"

I couldn't believe what she was saying! She had completely given up hope on the fate of the planet and was taking it out on herself. I could have sworn that she was feeling nothing but utter... sorrow.

I quickly balled up and charged up one of my Light Speed Dashes. Seryn was caught completely off-guard when I threw myself at her hard enough to knock her on her feet over 20 feet away. When Seryn looked at me like she had seen a ghost, I practically chewed her a new one.

"Look around us, Seryn! This world is the result of the gods' failure! Yes, failure! The Sacred Six failed, Seryn! They've allowed Giygas to unleash his fury upon the world and erase every last trace of them from the planet! Have you thought about why Johiko is not here with us? He was born of Lugia and therefore, he is not here! In fact, the only reason that you and I are still here is because our transformations played out differently than Johiko's. It was only by fate that we got involved with the Sacred Six at all! We would have lived these past 1000 years completely on our own if it weren't for them. Outcasts! Nobodies! Freaks! But they reached out to us and took us in as friends. They've always been there for us, Seryn, but for the first time, we need to be there for them! If you haven't noticed, Klonoa and Arcana are not here anymore We're on our own this time and you're bringing up the past! Think about it, Seryn – the fate of the future lies with us and you're giving up before you've even started! I may not be one of the Dream Travelers, but I've looked up to Klonoa and Arcana because I believed that they would be asking for my help one day. They treated me like a brother and I'm going to pay these past 1000 years of friendship by saving them from their own past! What are you going to do?!"

I gasped for breath as I let these words sink in Seryn's brain. 1000 years of frustration had just been vented from my spleen at this poor Flammie who was completely throwing away her life. Lugia and the others would be ashamed to learn that their only hope was giving up so easily.

As I recuperated, Seryn did some heavy-duty reconsidering about her position. After the royal chewing that I gave her, she finally got it through her head that she had to be the hero now. There was no getting around it.

"Thank you, Shadow," she said, tears flooding her baby-blue eyes. "I get it now. It's our turn to help them now. I just wished that I'd understood this earlier."

"So, what do you say?" I extended my hand forward to help her to her feet. "Partners?"

For the first time since regaining consciousness, Seryn smiled and took my hand in her massive, furry paw. "Partners!"

We shook momentarily and then let go. The first thing Seryn did was ask me an obvious question.

"How are we supposed to go back 1000 years in time?"

I produced my Black Emerald. "With this little beaut. I can use it to power my Chaos Control."

"Chaos what?" Seryn let out a chirp of confusion.

"Chaos Control," I said again. "I have the power to manipulate time and space with this thing. Normally, I'd need all seven Chaos Emeralds to power it (don't ask), but this one Emerald has the power of all seven and more! I can use it to send us back in time 1000 years to the year 1999 and stop Giygas before he destroys the Sacred Six."

"Neat!" Seryn seemed recharged in her enthusiasm to help save the world. "How does it work?"

I couldn't help grinning. "Take my hand and I'll show you."

Seryn blinked for a second and then did so. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. My hand didn't wrap all the way around her massive paw, but I improvised my locking my fingers with her digits. I then looked at the Black Emerald in my other hand and held it up in front of us and closed my eyes. I focused my mind on the infinite power sealed inside the black gem and soon hit a gold mine of energy.

Suddenly, the Black Emerald began to glow even brighter and Seryn and I were surrounded by a DarkAura. Seryn gripped my hand even tighter as the power built. Soon, our feet left the ground as the Emerald's power reached a breaking point.

"Shadow...!" Seryn said nervously.

"Hold on, Seryn!" I then focused my strength into letting out all the built-up power into our bodies as I said the two magic words.

"CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

The feeling was like getting sucked into a vacuum in time. Even though we were stationary, the world sped by us at an impossible speed. Voices and sounds played backwards at such a rate that they were indecipherable. My spikes were blowing in the wind and I could have sworn that Seryn's fur was standing on end. 1000 years of time played before us in just milliseconds. Since we were traveling at such a fast pace, I started to feel slightly sick – something I never felt, even at my top land speed using Chaos Control!

It took a while, but eventually, everything started to slow down to a speed that I could handle and the year 1999 soon came rushing up to meet us. And then... everything stopped.

We were here.

SERYN

If you had told me that time travel was possible, I would have laughed and called you crazy. But after the trip that Shadow the Hedgehog gave me through 1000 years of time, I began to wonder if I had been oblivious to the fact that even existed this whole time.

Nevertheless, I knew what we had just done. We had traveled to September 1999 – one thousand years and four months to the day that the Sacred Six had been destroyed. How did I know? We Flammies have a natural ability to tell time.

Shadow looked a little woozy from our trip and I didn't blame him. The rate that we had used the Chaos Control was well beyond any speed he was used to.

"Are you okay?" I crooned, licking my fur to get it to lay flat. I felt just fine. "You don't look so hot."

Shadow shook his head to shake the cobwebs out of it. "I'll be fine. That was a little fast for me even by my standards. I'll get over it."

"Whatever works for you." I looked around Washington D.C. 1000 years ago. A significant amount of monuments and buildings were missing from our time period, but what I did notice was that everything was as clear and healthy as a summer's day could be. Granted, there were now cars rolling around on four wheels again and the lack of robots was evident, but it was everything that I remembered from the time that I became a Flammie.

Flammie... A red flag flew up when I said that word. What was it? What did Flammies have to do with the year 1999?

A few passing tourists brought it all back. Oh, that's right... Flammies were extinct in this year. In fact, the only remaining Flammie in the year 2999 was actually me after I found the Flammie fang that I now wore around my neck. Also, I didn't become a Flammie until the year 2007! I shouldn't even be here right now!"

A few people were looking at Shadow and I with interest. They had never seen a 15-foot long furred-and-feathered creature like me before. I was a living, breathing reincarnation of a dragon – something that was also rumored to have never existed!

"I think we've got company," said Shadow, looking around nervously. "I think we'd better leave."

But I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to jumpstart my own legends. "Hold on, Shadow. I want to get some pictures, first."

But Shadow shook his head and sighed. "Think about that. You're the last of your species that shouldn't even exist yet. What do you think the people of 1999 did to living myths?"

I thought about that as a little girl came close to me. "Well... they..." Suddenly, my face fell.

The humans of the Year 1999 were still trying to establish contact with intelligent lifeforms not of this world. And since Shadow and I were far more intelligent than these humans and were clearly not human, they would have taken us in for tests and experimented on us to make sure we were the real deal.

"Good point," I said out of the corner of my mouth. "Time to go."

The humans were starting to get a little too close for my comfort and a woman had pulled out her camera. If they got a decent picture of us, they would hinder our mission to save the Sacred Six! Thinking quickly, I scooped Shadow up in one paw and spread my wings. Before the people knew what had happened, I was already 500 feet in the air. I had moved so fast that I surprised even myself!

"I don't think that time lag has worn off just yet," I smirked at Shadow.

"I agree. Let's just get out of here before the military arrives."

The two of us used the remaining time lag to get out of range of the cameras clicking away down below us. However, we didn't escape unnoticed. One particularly quick shot managed to capture my full image, though I would learn later that it was like one of those out-of-focus, shadowy shots that the news media would go nuts over.

"Let them be," said Shadow, climbing from my paw onto my back. "I have a feeling that what just happened will contribute to your own past."

I had to think on that. One of the things I remember about being human was that I saw the picture of me just now and became interested in Flammies. It wasn't until years later that I discovered the Flammie fang around my neck buried in a dirt pile on my property. Could this all have been triggered by my future self traveling back in time? Could I have changed my own future?

I shook my head and kept flying. I shouldn't worry about it until the time presented itself. I didn't completely get time travel, but what I did know is that it was completely impossible by normal means. It was only by the chance that Shadow could manipulate time that brought me here to begin with.

I asked Shadow a question that bothered me from the start. "Shadow, where are we going to find the Sacred Six and the Three Demons? They could be anywhere in time!"

Shadow tapped the golden rings on his wrists and appeared to be checking something. After a while, he spoke.

"We're on a strict time schedule. Each of the events leading up to the "Day of Giygas" need to be changed at exactly the right time and day that they happened. We need to be there when they happen and make sure they understand what their future holds. If it works out according to plan, we can save our future and theirs at the same time."

"Oh... that's good. What is the first one?"

Shadow checked his rings again and looked annoyed. "Lugia and Altair should be undergoing their changes right now. We need to keep an eye on them and meet them when they both return to the planet."

"How do we do that?"

"Not "we"... "you"."

"Me?!" I was shocked that he wasn't going to join me. "Why me?"

"I have another pressing matter to attend to. I have to stop Mewtwo from wreaking destruction on the area. It was that reason that he survived the past 1000 years. Drop me off over there." He pointed to a forest approaching near the plains of Minnesota. I was slightly taken aback that I had covered over 1000 miles in just 30 minutes. But then I remember that it was both the time lag that the Chaos Control had produced and my own Flammie skills that contributed to my speed.

I banked right and lowered my altitude to about 200 feet, making sure that no one saw us. I didn't want any more unwelcome attention after the photo fiasco in Washington. Shadow got ready to jump and gave me one final bit of advice.

"Look for someone named Alex Schaefer in the city of Paynesville about 300 miles from here. He should have something called the "Silver Wing" in his possession. Keep an eye on him, but don't let him see you! You'll compromise our plans. Meet me at the East Coast in three days."

"Alex Schaefer... Paynesville... Silver Wing... three days... got it. Just one more question."

"Which is...?"

"How do I find him?!"

"You should be able to "sense" the power of the Silver Wing in your mind. The rest will come to you."

"Thanks."

Shadow nodded and jumped off my back. He landed on a tall tree and began spiraling down the trunk. He disappeared from view within seconds. I quickly pulled away and headed for my destination.

I had no idea where to find the city of Paynesville, but to Shadow's word, I landed in a clearing nearby and sat, deep in thought. Even five years before I became a Flammie, I could still tune into the ways of the planet.

The life force running through the veins of the world were not as distinguishable as they were 1000 years from now, but I could still understand the voices as if they were speaking directly to me. I had forgotten how primitive this point in time was because there was hardly any magic left in the world!

But it was not lost. The planet was speaking of something called "specials" that had been lying dormant in the world for countless years. One of these "specials" was radiating from a dwelling not far from here. Apparently, a human had gotten a hold of a "special" and was on his way back to his house even as I sat there. The "special" had to be the Silver Wing! The magic force radiating from it was way beyond the planet's comprehension. At this point in time, the planet was even scared of it and had even tried to destroy it. But the "special" still existed and was now in the hands of a "noble being", according to the planet.

I opened my eyes and smiled. I now knew where the first of the Sacred Six was at and that was my next destination. Getting up, I took off towards the force of the "special" with high hopes.

The location of the Silver Wing was kind of hard to miss. The divine force radiating from it stuck out like a sore thumb when I reached the home of Alex Schaefer. He was just getting out of his truck when I reached the neighborhood. Giving him some time to get in the house, I soon touched down in his fenced-off back yard and scuttled over to a window.

Sure enough, the Silver Wing was hanging from a piece of string around his neck as he laid on the couch, watching a movie. I was quite sure that he was not aware of the power of the item that now hung around his neck. After all, he had just bought it at a Pokémon auction.

I watched him watch his movie for a while. I was surprised at how big televisions were then. Most of what you saw in my time could roll up like a poster and store in a narrow cupboard. Technology sure was primitive right now – they were still operating on super-expensive fossil fuels!

After a while, I grew bored, so I went for a short flight until the sun set. Instinct told me that I would be able to see what the Silver Wing did to Alex while he was asleep.

When I got back, it was already dark and Alex had been in bed for over an hour. Something told me that I could eavesdrop on his dreams as long as I got out of there before he woke up. Taking extreme care not to make any noise, I opened the door by rolling the knob in my paw and inched my way inside.

I may not exist yet, but this was still the Real World and I was very solid, so I needed to make sure that I didn't knock anything over with my massive size. I careful crawled down the hallway to Alex's bedroom, which was behind a closed door. Taking a deep breath, I rolled the doorknob under my pad and carefully inched the door open. I was in with minimal noise.

With my super-sensitive night vision, I could tell that Alex was a major Lugia fanatic. He had posters of him all over his room, a 1:4 scale toy Lugia next to his bed and I could see a CD case on his dresser marked: "Revelation: Lugia". I smiled a little. I could only imagine his joy when he found a actual relic of Lugia at an auction. He would probably be over the moon when he became Altair the Lugia a few days later.

"Lugia?"

I froze. I thought I had been seen or that Alex had woken up, but after a few tense minutes, I figured that he had spoken in his sleep. Whew!

Now, I was curious to see what was going on in his dreams. Taking a gamble, I stood on my haunches next to his bed and put my paws on his chest and closed my eyes. I was going to try out an ancient Flammie technique called, "Dream Watching". Hopefully, I would be able to watch Alex's dream but remain undetected by his subconscious.

After a few tense seconds, I felt my mind leave my body and enter his subconscious. I was in.

There was a fine, white mist surrounding Alex in his dream. I could see him in the middle of it, looking apprehensive. I could also detect Lugia's presence, but he wasn't as distinguishable as I was used to. I could, however, see a semi-solid misty wing caressing Alex like someone stroking a favorite pet. There were also two navy-blue eyes looking at him with satisfaction.

It was Lugia, alright, but I had never seen him take such pleasure in a human before. He appeared to be thinking over his plans for this human through touch. Alex didn't seem to mind, though. He seemed to be enjoying Lugia's presence – it was almost like he knew Lugia from another time.

Just then, one of Lugia's wings put itself on the exact center of Alex's forehead and closed his eyes. I immediately felt a sharp, burning feeling rip through my own forehead as though someone had put a white-hot iron on it. It hurt so badly! The only reason that I was feeling this was because I was currently merging my own mind with Alex's. But for some reason, I could feel it back in my body as though it were real!

And then... it stopped. I felt a gentle coolness pass through my body and I could see Alex and the misty Lugia again.

"Why?" asked Alex. We were both smarting from the burn.

I'm sorry... It is... necessary, said Lugia's voice.

"Huh?"

You may wake.

The dream shattered and I could feel my consciousness gripping at me.

Uh-oh. Alex was waking up! Time for me to go! I pulled my mind out of Alex's dream and quickly left his room before he was fully awake. I moved with such stealth that he would never know I was there.

SHADOW

While Seryn was keeping an eye on the first of the Sacred Six, I had an appointment with a demon named Mewtwo.

As I sped through the forest looking for Mewtwo, I came across a massive pit in the middle of the forest that I nearly ran straight into! I stopped myself just before I ran straight off the cliff. There was something significant about this pit and a quick survey of my surroundings produced a possible explanation.

There was a hand-painted sign nearby that said, "Hell's Hole – No Trespassing!" My instincts told me that this was where Mewtwo was, my gut told me that he wasn't here yet.

A massive explosion nearby furthered my suspicions. I looked up to see a blue light streak across the sky in the direction of the nearest city. From what I knew of Mewtwo's past, he had just destroyed a lab nearby where he had been held captive by the humans. This was probably why he hated them so much to begin with. This was my chance to wipe Mewtwo from history completely. Summoning the powers of my Black Emerald, I used its power to take to the air myself and then flew off in his direction.

Thankfully, Mewtwo did not travel far. He had stopped outside a city and was contemplating his attack when I arrived soon after.

"Hey, worthless!" I taunted him. "Why don't you take on someone who can fight back?!"

If Mewtwo didn't respond aggressively to that then nothing would... and he did! He turned around in mid-air to face me with his eyes blazing.

You have some nerve to speak to me like that! If you were human, I would kill you outright for saying that! He suddenly looked curious. And just who are you? I sense a great power coming from you, but whether you stand by these worthless scum or destroy them eludes me.

I crossed my arms and sighed. "I may not have stood by the humans as much as I did for 1000 years, but now my purpose is clear. I am Shadow the Hedgehog: Defender of the Future. I come from 1000 years in the future to destroy you and your superior, Giygas."

But Mewtwo merely broke out laughing. He had a dark, foreboding laugh that radiated some of the Anger in him towards me. However, I shrugged it off – if I gave into my emotions like the others had, they would already win and the future would be doomed.

You think you can defeat me?! You must have a death wish or something if you think you can defeat Giygas! His day of reckoning is soon approaching. All I need to do is remove every last bit of resistance against him and your "future" will be merely a myth!

I, however, was not intimidated. "Then why don't you put your powers where your big, fat mouth is and take me on yourself?"

Mewtwo grinned and spread his arms, summoning a DarkAura all around him. Gladly.

He opened by throwing a Shadow Ball at lightning-speed at me. I barely avoided it by dodging to one side and summoning my own DarkAura.

I sneered at him and pointed my Black Emerald at him. "Even in 1000 years, that's still the best you can come up with!"

(Author's Note: Shadow doesn't know what Lugia, Johiko and Arcana went through to defeat Mewtwo in the future, so he is completely unaware of Mewtwo's full potential.)

Is that so? Well, then... I'll have to change my tactics for the future.

He did just that by holding his right arm to one side and then throwing it in front of him, sending a stream of violet bolts of energy at me. I took the full force of the bolts in my DarkAura, flinching at the power he was sending through them.

However, I wasn't out of the game yet. I converted all that energy into my body. I remembered using this technique against the Dream Demon while facing King 1000 years from now. Now, I was going to use it again.

"Don't you ever learn, Mewtwo? Even your power can't break through a DarkAura like mine! Add that with my control over Chaos and you produce one hell of a Chaos..." I braced myself for the release of the almighty Chaos... "BLAST!!!"

A blast of red energy flew from me and slammed into Mewtwo, destroying his DarkAura on impact. He took the full force of the Chaos Blast and his mind screamed with enough force to level a good 100-square-yard section of the forest. When the Chaos Blast was spent, he hovered for a second in mid-air, a look of sheer shock on his face... and then he fell. I quickly flew underneath him to catch him. He may be defeated, but I wanted to make sure his body was destroyed. Getting an idea, I flew back in the direction of Hell's Hole.

How...? said Mewtwo, his lifeless body barely twitching. How could you defeat me that quickly? There's no force on Earth that could defeat me like that. How could you?

I smiled as I looked reached the edge of Hell's Hole. "There is no force yet... but the power of time can be a dangerous ally. Now that I have destroyed you, your boss is next. Farewell, Mewtwo!"

I held his body above my head and then cast him into the 200-foot shaft. He fell... and fell... and fell until I heard his body break as it hit the stone floor. Mewtwo did not have enough regenerative strength to heal himself after that ordeal.

I felt a sense of accomplishment for destroying one of the forces protecting the ultimate evil, Giygas. I looked down into the pit for some time before I turned around and sped away, thinking.

"One down, two to go..."

SERYN

I got out of Alex's house just before he came to his full consciousness. I stayed true to my word to Shadow that I wouldn't let him see me. But that didn't stop me from keeping a close eye on him through his windows. As I watched through his bathroom window, I saw him looking at something in the mirror. He didn't see me in the mirror because the window was higher up and to the right of the glass, so I could see him, but unless he turned around and looked right at me, he wouldn't see me.

Something was really bothering him, because he kept rubbing at his forehead hard enough to make it raw, but not remove it.

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to remove the item, he gave up and said to himself. "Okay... That's weird. I should get this looked at." He then left the bathroom and went to the kitchen to call the doctor's office. I decided to let him go until he got back. I would figure out what that was all about when he returned.

But that didn't stop me from doing a little snooping of my own. On a hunch, I crammed myself into his tiny bathroom and looked at myself in the mirror. I was pretty cute for a female Flammie, considering I started out as...

But that's for another time. I wanted to find out exactly what Alex saw. I took a deep breath, opened my maw and blew a gentle stream of blue Dragonbreath on the mirror. It didn't melt, but Flammie breath has many magical properties depending on what I want it to do. This time in particular, I wanted to see what Alex saw just minutes ago. I hadn't used my Dragonbreath in some time, so I crossed my talons and hoped for the best.

Joy! It was working! My own image was replaced by Alex's own as it had been when he had been here. The reflection replayed itself just like a silent movie. Alex was rubbing at a mark on his forehead with some vigor. When he lowered his hand, I could see what I was looking for.

A silver mark had appeared on his forehead that hadn't been there last night. It looked like the left half of the Silver Wing. It looked exactly like the mark on Altair's head! I then realized something: Alex Schaefer was Altair! It all made sense now!

Now that I knew what I was after, I left the house to go for a little flight while Alex was out. I had time to kill, so I flew off in no particular direction, still avoiding being seen by the people of the past.

When Alex and I returned to his house later in the day, I watched him play his "Gamecube" and order a pizza. After watching a movie and eyeing the Silver Wing for some time, he turned in for the night and fell asleep rather quickly.

I seized my chance and snuck into his room to spy on his dreams again. Repeating the steps I took last night, I separated my mind from my body and entered the Dream World again.

Lugia wasn't much more distinct than he was last night, but this time, I could make out a faint song echoing around Alex and me. I could also see the two eye masks surrounding his navy-blue eyes.

Just then, Alex cried out, "Lugia! I want to meet you!" It slightly caught me off guard.

Lugia's wing was joined by the other one and they embraced Alex and I like an embrace. I felt... comfortable despite this not being my dream.

Just then, both our bodies ignited with ice-cold blue flames. His skin – my fur – was on fire! We both tried to understand what was going on while trying to put the flames out.

Alex said it before I did. "Lugia, stop it! I'm freezing!"

Lugia ran his wings over us and the flames went out. We suddenly felt very warm like we were surrounded by a warm blanket.

You are becoming... one... with the world, said Lugia in his gentle voice.

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

Your body... is changing... to a more... suitable form.

I didn't need to look at Alex to know what he was seeing. His body had completely molted every hair on his body except for his head and was covered in Lugia's silver-white flesh. Alex was panicking and hyperventilating.

Soon... you will start to learn... everything. Wake up... my young soul mate.

That was my cue. I left the dream and fled Alex's house.

To make a long story short, Alex soon found out that this was no dream. His new body was as real as it gets and he soon figured out that it was the Silver Wing that was doing this to him. He then left his house with the Silver Wing in hand to dispose of it.

I had a bad feeling that that was a bad idea. I followed him to a cliff overlooking Lake Superior. When he threw it out to sea, I gave him a few minutes head-start before I dove in after it. Lugia would certainly not want his only relic to be lost at the bottom of a lake.

I could hold my breath for a decent amount of time, and I utilized every ounce of it to locate the Silver Wing. Amid the endless tangle of seaweed, I homed in the energy coming from the wing and located it.

But when I wrapped my talons around the tiny piece of metal, my vision suddenly went white. My mind had been torn away from my body into the heart of the Silver Wing.

"Where... am... I? Lu... gi... a...?"

You seem to be rather involved with me and Altair.

I opened my eyes and saw the ghostly apparition of Lugia looking at me while standing in a neon-blue void.

"Lugia...? Where... where am I?"

Relax... you are safe inside your mind. But... just who are you?

"What...?" I wasn't full understanding this. I had just had my mind unintentionally ripped from my body, after all.

You've been following me for the past two days. You may not have noticed, but I have been watching you eavesdrop on Altair's dreams.

"How did you..?"

You may possess special powers, but not even yours can surpass my own. But you have been keeping an eye on the two of us... Who are you?

"My name... my name...? I can't remember..."

Lugia seemed taken aback. You can't remember your own name? Oh, dear... He shook his head sadly. I think I underestimated my abilities. He turned around, thinking. Perhaps I was too rough when I entered your mind. We will have to continue this conversation when you have substantially recovered.

"When is that?"

Lugia closed his eyes, opened them again and spoke. Judging from your expression, it will take a few days before you have recovered enough to be in the waking world again. I will keep you in the Dream World until you have recovered enough for us to continue our conversation. When you awake, head to the eastern seaside. You will find the site of my resurrection when you get there.

"And then...?"

We will try this again. I can sense that you need me for a great task, but I cannot go further into your mind without causing you some slight discomfort...

He began to fade away when I remembered something. "Wait! What should I do with your Silver Wing?!"

Before he vanished completely, Lugia smiled kindly at me. Take it to the meeting with you. I will decide what to do with it when you get there.

"Okay... see you then... Lugia."

I didn't wake up, but I did not remain in the Dream World, either. Lugia seemed to put me into a state of suspended sleep where my mind could recover from his "unintentional attack" in peace.

While my mind was locked away, Lugia's spirit removed my body from the lake and placed it where I would be safe from prying eyes or wandering feet. Because of this, I would be unable to watch over Alex, aka Altair, but I knew that Lugia watch over him while I was indisposed.

SHADOW

Two days after defeating Mewtwo, I was speeding across the country to meet Seryn at the East Coast where Alex I would become Altair. After this event, it would take another three weeks before Alex II began his conversion into Ashura (yep, both of them were once called "Alex Schaefer". Isn't that the biggest coincidence you've ever seen?), so we would have more than enough time to fill Lugia and Altair in on our mission.

But for some reason, I was having a hard time getting a hold of Seryn. She wasn't answering her mind link through my golden rings and she seemed to have disappeared off the face of the planet. It was as if she had messed with her own past, resulting in her demise.

But that couldn't be. It was 1999, and Seryn didn't undergo her conversion until 2007. It didn't make any sense – there shouldn't be any reason that she wasn't answering her mind link. The Sacred Six may not be together yet, but our mind link should still be intact even thought we traveled 1000 years in the past.

Regardless, I kept up my pace towards the Atlantic Ocean. If Seryn was already there, I would soon find her waiting for me.

As I entered Virginia, my rings suddenly started going off. It had picked up Seryn's mind link again! I stopped in my quest to contact her.

"Seryn? Seryn! Where are you?! Why haven't you been responding?"

Shadow...? Where are you? I've been incapacitated for the past two days after a little... uh... "run-in" with Lugia.

"What?! I thought I told you to stay hidden from those two until tonight! What were you thinking?!"

HEY!!! It wasn't my fault! Lugia was the one who got drop on me!

"Huh?"

Seryn explained what had happened when she found the Silver Wing. I apologized for my outburst. I didn't realize that it was Lugia who was keeping tabs on us.

"So, where are you now?" I asked her.

I'm almost to the coast. Altair's just finished with his transformation and I'm tailing him to the coast. Where are you?

I blinked before answering. Despite being incapacitated for the past two days, she was closer to the coast than I was even at my best traveling speed!

"I'll be there by sundown. Remember, don't contact them until Altair finishes his oaths. If you break his concentration, you'll botch Lugia's return."

Will do. Out.

I broke the connection and sped on. I had to hand it to her – that Flammie can surprise you even when you least expected it to happen.

ALTAIR

(Author's note: Remember, this is Altair 1000 years before the events at the start of this story. Right now, he has no idea that Seryn or Shadow are following him and he has just undergone his conversion into a Lugia.)

The trip to the East Coast gave me some time to reflect on what I was leaving behind. I would no longer be able to play any of my video games or listen to any of my music. But that no longer bothered me. Listening to the waves of the ocean or controlling the elements was all the entertainment I needed nowadays.

I also thought of my family. I had finally earned the right to live on my own, but they would be worried if I didn't check in with them every so often. My great wealth of knowledge provided the answer to this situation. I could still visit as I was at anytime, but I had to put the responsibilities of the planet before the responsibilities of a single group of humans.

I had a feeling that life would be very different from now on...

...but I wasn't finished yet. I had finally reached the Eastern Coast where Lugia had told me told me to meet him. I landed on the beach mere feet from the water, tucked my wings on my sides and waited.

Lugia wasn't here yet, so I entertained myself by walking up and down the beach while occasionally looking at the sky. I noticed that there was an odd shape in the sky that looked like a four-winged bird with a long tail. It looked like a dragon of ancient times, but before I could get a decent look at it, it had turned around in mid-air and flew away from me. I couldn't make it out from the glare of the setting sun and it had vanished before I could lock onto it.

Huh.

Good... you have arrived. Lugia's echoing voice sounded in my head and I turned to a spot a ways down the beach.

A semi-opaque Lugia was standing before me with his wings tucked to his sides like mine were. I also noticed that true to my dreams, Lugia was colored navy-or-sky-blue where I was crimson-red or pale-magenta.

I have, I said, holding my head high.

I had a feeling that you couldn't resist showing off for the humans on your way here.

Uh-oh. Busted. He knew about my "accidentally-on-purpose" pose for the humans in out-of-focus shots above the baseball stadium. I had wanted to jumpstart a few legends about Lugia and I before we actually "returned" to the planet. I blushed a red that matched my belly color to a "T" and looked to one side, avoiding Lugia's gaze.

Lugia merely smiled as well as his facial features allowed and laughed. Do not worry about it. It will be the start of the new age. We cannot exist if none of the humans have face in us.

Hearing a laugh inside your head is a very different experience than hearing it vocally. Pure joy and radiance fills your mind when you hear it and it leaves a lasting impression long after. Laughter is a way of expressing happiness and humor. When you hear it in your head, it makes your heart race with pleasure and ecstasy. This was merely a hint of how great laughter feels to a being like myself.

I also noticed something odd. Why hasn't all this made you whole again, Lugia?

Your faith in me is making me whole again, Altair."

Altair... my... true name. Somehow, I knew that Altair was my true, God-given name. There were countless people named "Alex", but I was the one and only "Altair". From now on, Alex Schaefer the human became Altair the Lugia.

There is just one more step you need to do to bring me back to the planet, Lugia continued.

Please... tell me.

I need you to pledge your allegiance to the Father... and to me.

I paused. I had never been one to go to church very often as a human, but that was completely irrelevant now.

I'm ready.

Lugia nodded, raised his wings in a magnificent pose and spoke in a thunderous voice.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO GOD THE ALMIGHTY, CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND ALL THE COSMOS?!?!

I raised my wings in a similar salute and called back, I DO!!!

At these words, some of my power seemed to siphon itself from my body across the beach and enter Lugia. He glowed brightly for a moment and then seemed to become slightly more solid.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SEAR TO UPHOLD YOUR RIGHTFUL DUTY AS GUARDIAN OF AND PROTECT THIS PLANET?!?!

I took a deep breath and blew a stream of blue Dragonbreath into the skies. I DO!!!

More of my "faith" was released from my body and entered Lugia's own and his body became even more distinctive. The power of my faith was allowing him to speak even louder.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR TO LIVE FOR ALL CREATURES AND FOR GOOD AND JUST?!?!

This time, I let out a roar that echoed across the seas and the country, causing people to look up in confusion. I DO!!!

During the energy exchange, he was now barely a spirit.

DO YOU, ALTAIR, SWEAR TO PUT OTHERS' RESPONSIBILITIES BEFORE YOUR OWN AND CARE FOR THE PLANET AS IF EACH AND EVERY DAY WAS THE PLANET'S LAST?!?!

Finally, I charged up my first Aeroblast in my open maw and fired it into the sky, bellowing, I DO!!!

The final energy exchange was enough to cause Lugia to glow a white so powerful that I had to close my eyes in order to keep from going blind. It had the intensity greater than our own sun! Finally, as he became completely whole, Lugia took his first breath of air in thousands of years and collapsed on the beach. I quickly ran over to him and put my wing around him.

When he came to, I let out a mental gasp. On his forehead was the mark of the right half of the Silver Wing. I ran a feather over the mark and said just one, powerful word: Brother?

Lugia looked up at me with teary-blue eyes. The joy on his face was beyond priceless. He had just been reborn as I had and the only thing that mattered to us at the moment was that he and I were together at last.

Lugia climbed to his feet and we put our wings around each other in a massive embrace. We stood there for the longest time, two behemoths showing their affection for their long-lost soul mate.

Brother!

SERYN

I sniffed and wiped back my own tear. It was truly a heart-warming moment to see the return of God Reincarnated and his brother, Altair. True, I had nearly been deafened by Lugia's and Altair's mental shouts, but it was well worth it to witness an act of God playing out before my very eyes.

True to my word, I had not interfered with Lugia's return. Hiding atop a cliff overlooking the scene, I was lucky to escape with my sanity and my hearing intact, much less even try to get close to them during the whole ordeal.

"Touching, isn't it?"

I smiled. I knew that voice anywhere. "I don't even have to turn around... Shadow."

Sure enough, Shadow the Hedgehog came walking up next to me and sat down at my side overlooking the two Lugia.

"You kept your word; I'm impressed."

I snorted at him. "When have I not kept my word?"

Shadow merely shrugged. "Beats me. You have a record of keeping your word. I just wanted to catch you off-guard."

I smiled again and looked down at the two Lugia, who were still locked in their embrace. "Have you ever seen such a magnificent sight?"

He sighed. "Once. But that won't happen for another six years."

"Do you think we should go tell them yet?" I purred softly as he absentmindedly stroked the fur on my neck.

"I don't want to be a killjoy..." I rolled my eyes at him. "...but if we don't do it soon, they'll jump into the water and swim away. We probably won't see them again until Hyozanryu and Ashura return."

"Good point." I got up and stretched my limbs out before spreading my wings and holding out a paw. "Coming?"

Shadow climbed on my paw, which I transferred to my back, and I leapt down from the cliff and soared down the sandy beach.

Lugia and Altair finally separated and Altair was about to take off when Lugia put a wing out to stop him. When he looked confused, Lugia said, We have company.

The two of them turned and watched me soar to a spot just a few yards away from them. I landed on the dry sand and Shadow disembarked from my back. Altair tilted his head as he addressed us.

You're some odd-looking creatures. I don't think I've ever seen you before.

I have, said Lugia, smiling at me. I had a little run-in with the furry one before you got here.

Altair looked both interested and shocked. You mean... you knew they were coming?

Lugia looked at his brother. You may not have noticed, but she's the one who has been sneaking into your room at night to eavesdrop on our nighttime meetings.

Altair then looked at me with an annoyed expression. I thought someone was watching me! I smelled your furry scent in my room when I got up two days ago and I could have sworn that someone had been in my house.

"Aren't you going to ask us our names?" said Shadow, flipping his Black Emerald once again. "You seem to know a lot about us despite we've never actually met."

Lugia closed his eyes for a moment, opened them again and said, Of course. Where are our manners? He bowed his head low and spread his wings in an unmistakable bow. My name is Lugia – Guardian of the Sea.

Altair chose to hold his wings up high, palms facing us in a classic Lugia pose. And my name is Alex... er... Altair, I guess now.

I flipped onto my hind legs and bowed back just lake a gentleman. "Seryn the Flammie, at your service."

Shadow merely nodded and said simply, "Shadow the Hedgehog."

When Lugia walked forward and examined me more closely, his expression brightened as he spoke. You're the one who found my Silver Wing two days ago. The one that Altair unintentionally disposed of, correct? Do you still have it?

Altair looked nervously to one side as I produced the tiny piece of metal. Lugia, however, merely looked at the Silver Wing in my outstretched paw and smiled. He nodded and used his psychic abilities to move the piece of silver metal to touch his chest. The Silver Wing glowed brightly as the metal melted into his skin, leaving no mark that it had ever been there.

Now... I am complete. The Silver Wing has been returned to its creator and my powers have recovered completely. Now... He turned to the two of us, his face suddenly serious. Explain yourself.

Shadow and I flinched. He had confronted us so suddenly that it had caught the both of us off-guard.

"Pardon me?" I asked curiously.

Lugia shook his head and spoke in a stern voice. I have seen both of your minds and your futures and I know... you are not yet of this world.

"Huh?" Shadow and I looked at each other.

Altair chose to answer for his brother. He means that the two of you don't appear in this world until the year 2007. So, unless you can travel through time, we would like some answers.

Sheesh! Boss-y!

"Believe it or not," said Shadow, flipping his Black Emerald again. "You were right about the time travel thing. We're from the year 2999 and we came here to save our future."

Lugia and Altair said nothing but looked at each other in amazement. They seemed to be communicating silently because Lugia soon turned back to us and said, "We believe you, but you will have to explain your mission to us. I would rather not have to scan your mind for the truth – it would be most unpleasant for the both of you."

"Oh... good. Say, is there a place where we can talk in private? I'd rather no one overhear us."

Altair nodded. We can take you to our cave under the sea. We'd have all the privacy you'd need.

I wondered how Altair knew about that since he had been a full-fledged Lugia less than 24 hours, but Lugia must have told him during those few moments to themselves. Shadow and I agreed and the two Guardians took to the air.

Follow us, said Lugia, soaring over the ocean. We'll take you there ourselves.

Shadow climbed onto my back and I flew out to meet them. When we reached their position, Lugia and Altair dove into the water, leaving us hanging there. Before Shadow or I could say anything, we were suddenly engulfed by a pair of whirlpools that had shot up from the ocean, pulling us into the depths of the water.

I panicked slightly. I had barely taken a breath before they had engulfed us and I started thrashing in the confines of the whirlpools.

Don't struggle, said Altair's reassuring voice. We won't let anything happen to you.

"But I can't breathe down here!" I struggled to draw breath in the air pocket they had trapped us in.

You don't have to, Lugia spoke up, dragging the two of us even further downward. Just relax and we'll take care of it.

I was trying to calm down, but the lack of oxygen was making my Flammie instincts go wild.

Seryn, hush!

Both Lugia and Altair sent a wave of extreme calmness into my mind and I stopped struggling almost immediately. Once I had calmed down, I could feel fresh air entering my lungs despite me not taking any breaths. Shadow was feeling a similar feeling and the two of us soon passed into a sedated sleep as the Guardians escorted us into the deepest part of the ocean.

ALTAIR

Aren't they just sweet? I said, looking at the two of them sleeping on a soft, mossy bed deep in Lugia's cave under the ocean.

They are, agreed my brother, smiling at them. It almost pains me to disturb them in such a state.

Seryn was curled up on the bed with Shadow leaning back on her tail, snoring gently. They were relatively unhurt from our escort to the bottom of the ocean, so we let them sleep for a while before finally lifting the sleeping spell we had placed on them.

Seryn opened her eyes, uncurled and stretched out like a cat, yawning widely. She then looked at Lugia. "That was the best nap I've had in the next 1000 years. Thanks, guys!"

"Speak for yourself," said Shadow, yawning and stretching as well. "I could have slept all day."

We all must wake at some point. No one can sleep forever unless they have exhausted their current life span. I knew that every word Lugia spoke was the truth – something that I knew I possessed as well. Would you like to tell us why you are in our time period now?

Seryn yawned again and cracked a few of her joints before saying, "Ask Shadow; he knows more about it than I do."

Shadow gave her a look that said quite clearly, "Traitor" before he began telling us everything about what had happened in their future.

The two of them talked well into the night. Shadow was the main speaker while Seryn mainly voiced her opinions or added to what Shadow may have forgotten. Lugia and I remained silent most of the time. We were completely absorbed in their tale and were both interested in what our own future had in store for us.

According to the two of them, there was a great evil hiding deep in the world called "Giygas" that was using three creatures known as Mewtwo, the Nightmares and the King of Sorrow to destroy us in the current present and allow Giygas to wreak havoc on the world. They also said that there were four more creatures that would join Lugia and I and become the "Sacred Six". But our rise to power would be cut short by the future Three Demons traveling to our present and erasing us from history. We also needed to join up with the "Diamond Dragons" and the "Dream Travelers" and eventually confront and defeat Giygas at the turn of the millennium.

Most of this was rather confusing to me and was making my head spin since it hadn't happened yet, But Lugia appeared to be drinking in every word. I had a feeling that he already knew that this was about to happen in the near future – he was God Reincarnated, after all – he possessed the ability to see into the future.

When Seryn and Shadow mentioned the name, "Johiko", though, Lugia drew a blank. Even with his infinite wisdom, he could not see the outcome of him having a son. Even when they explained the exact circumstances involving Lugia being captured by the humans and injecting his DNA into a human test subject, Lugia merely shook his head and said sadly, I'm sorry; I cannot see that future. It may or may not happen as you said, but it eludes my gift of foresight at the moment. They did mention, though, that Johiko would appear in the world in the year 2007 just like the two of them did likewise, but Lugia denied that it was even a plausible future.

The Father may be blocking my foresight for a reason. Most of His plans he has not shared with me as of yet. I say again, it may or may not happen, but I cannot see it as of this moment.

Seryn and Shadow looked at each other rather uncomfortable for a moment and then continued on with their tale.

According to them, we were to keep an eye out for the two Diamond Dragons and two Dream Travelers that would appear sometime within the next three months and help us defeat Giygas. I was drawing a blank, but Lugia seemed to know what they were talking about.

When they finally finished, the sun had already risen on the surface and Lugia and I had already laid out our plan.

The Diamond Dragons will appear in exactly 19 days. Until then, we have time to spare. If you want to, you two can go off on your own. We will meet back up with you at the Florida Keys in 19 days and discuss our plans from then on.

"Great!" said Seryn happily. "I have some things to find out while I'm in the area. I'll see you then!"

"Just don't get carried away, Seryn," said Shadow in a concerned tone of voice. "Remember: we are not in our own time. What we do now could botch our whole mission."

"Yeah, yeah... I hear you!"

If you two are done showing your affection for each other, said Lugia, intervening gently. We can transport you back to the surface.

They stopped bickering long enough for Lugia and I to use our Teleport ability to send them to the surface in a flash of blue. Lugia then turned to me.

Now that they are on their way, would you like to learn to better understand your new form?

As a human, that would have made no sense, but as a Lugia, it said quite clearly, Would you like to start your training?

Sure, if you put it that way. I rubbed my pale-red belly with a massive wing. I haven't eaten in a few days. Do you know any good take-out places around here?

Lugia actually laughed when I said this, showing just how happy he was that I was with him. Not likely. Remember, you need to earn your food now.

I frowned slightly but figured I could handle it now. It wasn't like I had anything better to do at the moment. Fine, I'll bite. Let's go fishing!

10 days later...

SHADOW

It had been a while since I had seen Seryn or the Guardians in person, but their legacy was already starting to build. I was standing outside a newsstand in New York while scanning the local tabloids. Lugia and Altair weren't well-known enough for them to appear in the papers or become common knowledge, but the tabloids were eating them up. They kept appearing in out-of-focus shots at the most dire of situations.

They started their reign for peace near Florida. A woman inside Miami said, and I quote: "White ghost stopped my husband from murdering me!" According to the magazine, she and her husband had been involved in a divorce dispute and he had confronted and pulled a gun on her outside her house when a huge flash of white had appeared out of nowhere and incapacitated her husband long enough for her to call the police and have him arrested.

That wasn't all. People in hospitals who were on their death beds claimed to have dreams of a pair of "white ghosts". Over the next few days, they had recovered substantially enough to finally go home. People were in complete shock and disbelief when they found their stricken loved ones pulling through impossible situations. Go figure.

Like I said, Lugia and Altair hadn't built up enough faith in people for them to appear in anything other than the local tabloids. The skeptics gave them a rather fitting name: "The White Ghosts". They were more of a silver-white, but they didn't stay in shots long enough for that to make much of a difference.

To top it all off, the tabloids were offering a $250,000 reward for a decent in-focus shot of the "White Ghosts". But so far, no one had yet managed to see them and take a picture of them at the same time. I had to hand it to Lugia and Altair – they were pretty sneaky for someone of their size and strength.

And how did I access the local tabloids while avoiding becoming a living legend myself? All I needed was a cloak and my trusty Black Emerald. If you saw me walking around, you'd merely see me as a young, punk kid with jet-black-and-crimson-red-striped hair. I know... I know... Not the most casual of disguises, but I never liked to fall completely into sorts with these humans despite that fact that I...

Oh no! You got me talking about it again! That's none of your business at the moment. When I'm good and ready, I'll tell you everything! No sooner!

And what became of Seryn, you might ask? To tell you the truth, I hadn't heard from her since we split up that day. It was as if she had just vanished off the face of the earth! She hadn't updated her status in ten days and I was starting to get concerned. But she was a big girl; she could take care of herself... couldn't she?

Shadow, HELP!!!

I stand corrected.

"Seryn? What is it?"

Danger! Chaos! Murder! Destruction! Death! So much Death!

She would have kept going if I hadn't said anything. "Spit it out already! What's so terrible that you can't say it outright?!"

He... He's still alive!

I froze. I prayed to the heavens that it wasn't true.

"Who?! Who's still alive?"

M... Mewtwo!!!

My heart all but stopped. It couldn't be. I was there! I saw his body break at the bottom of Hell's Hole! There was no way he could have survived!

"Are you sure, Seryn? Are you sure it's Mewtwo?"

EVIL! EEEEVIIIILLLL!!! MEWTWO!!!

She was practically screaming in my head!

"Where is he, Seryn? Can you see him?" I ignored the people staring at me, thinking I was talking to myself.

Two... There are two of them! They're coming for me! HELP ME, SHADOW!!!

This almost didn't register with me. How could there be two Mewtwo? One was bad enough... but two?!

I suddenly realized that Seryn was in danger. Casting aside my cloak and morphing back into my true form, I grasped my Black Emerald and sped off, oblivious of the startled looks coming from the locals.

"Seryn, talk to me! Where are you? I need to warn Lugia and Altair! I need you to tell me where you are!"

I'm almost to Hou—AAAAAAHHHH!!!!

A powerful feeling of pain ripped through my body, stopping me dead cold in my path and causing me to writhe in pain. It felt like my skin was being hit with a thousand white-hot needles! DAMN, IT HURT!!!

When it finally subsided, I managed to get to my feet and look around. Whatever had attacked Seryn – and I had a good idea what – had been powerful enough to hurt everyone connected to her mind link. So if I felt it... then Lugia and Altair must have felt it, too. I realized that Seryn could be completely destroyed if I didn't find the Guardians! So without a second thought, I turned around and sped off in the direction of the Florida Keys.

I thought I would have to search up and down the East Coast to find even a trace of Lugia or Altair, but imagine my luck when I found Altair sitting on the beach near the edge of the Atlantic Ocean, feasting on several fine halibut and king salmon!

"Altair!" I called to him, speeding down the sand.

Altair hesitated when he heard me call my name, but soon realized it was one of his fellow immortals. and beckoned to me.

Hi, Shadow! Fancy running into you here! What's going on?

I stopped next to him and explained the ordeal with Seryn and the "two" Mewtwo. He was so shocked when I finished that he completely forgot about his meal.

Lugia is going to need to know about this. If what you said before is correct, then Mewtwo and his partner will try to destroy Lugia and I. He looked off in the direction of civilization and frowned. You'd better go try to find out more about Mewtwo and his mysterious partner. I'll go tell Lugia and we'll meet you at Epcot. You should know where that is, right?

I nodded. "I do, actually. I'll see you there."

I sped off toward Houston, the last place that Seryn had contacted me. I just hoped I wasn't too late...

ALTAIR

I also made to depart from the beach, my meal quite spoiled by the bad news, when I felt the presence of a human on the beach. Feeling exposed, I made to jump into the air and dive into the ocean, but something about this human told me that she was fatally wounded and would not survive her wounds. "White Ghost" status or not, this woman needed my help!

She was as well-built as most women in their mid-30s would be except that her hair was dyed a violent violet color. She also didn't seem to be able to move much except for a slow, agonizing crawl through the sand. Against my better judgment, I walked over to her so that she could barely see me with her failing eyesight.

She held her head up and tried to focus on me. She didn't believe the tabloids about the "White Ghosts", but in her situation, she ignored her beliefs.

"Help... me... please... monster!" She gave up and dropped her head into the sand.

Knowing she could suffocate if she stayed like that, I walked over to her and flipped her over with one of my toes. She was still conscious while she looked up at me with wide eyes. She whimpered slightly when she found herself at the feet of a 15-foot-high bird-like creature.

Relax... I said, sending her a sense of calmness and security. I'm not going to harm you. I'm going to heal you, but you need to stay still.

"Yes... just don't... hurt me."

I gently laid my left wing on her body and closed my eyes. Channeling my powers though my body into hers, I managed to address her wounds. She was pretty banged up – her internal injuries were severe, but nothing was outside my limited skill.

While healing her, I scanned her mind for what had attacked her. Sure enough, it was a purple-skinned creature that matched Shadow's description of Mewtwo several days earlier. However, I couldn't determine if there was a second Mewtwo as Shadow had said. If I went any further, I would hurt this woman even further.

When she was fully healed, I made to jump back in the ocean, but my conscience was getting the better of me. Knowing Lugia would chew me out for this later, I went back to the woman and put her into a sedated sleep. I then took her gently in my jaws and then jumped into the water. Since Shadow was probably halfway across the country by now and Seryn was missing in action, Lugia and I would have to rely on this woman's word to help us in our quest for peace.

SHADOW

As I sped towards Houston, Texas, I prayed to all the gods, alive and spiritual that Seryn was okay. Lugia had put me in charge of keeping her safe and I was determined to bring the two of us back to our own time. She may not look it, but she was like my little sister. Shadow may not have had any siblings, and I had never...

I'm going to just ignore that attempt on my past. The point was that I was responsible for Seryn's well-being, therefore, I needed to care for her as if she was my sister.

Some unnatural force gave me supernatural speed as I left even speeding motorcycles in my wake. They don't call it a sonicboom for nothing. Within minutes of leaving Altair in the Florida Keys, I was already in Alabama. I was tunnel-visioned on getting to Seryn as quickly as possible.

Within two hours from departing from Florida, I was already in Texas. Seryn had to be nearby. But when I reached the nearest town, I didn't need to be psychic to see that evil had been here.

The town was completely leveled. The buildings... there were no buildings! Tons of ash, dust and mortar was flying through the air like toxic snow. Cars had been driven off the road with their occupants sitting inside, dead... all dead. The bodies of countless humans littered the streets of the city like fallen flies and even more of them lay buried in the remains of the buildings. This was not good.

Ignoring my oath of secrecy, I walked around the streets, calling out for any survivors. "Hello?! Is anybody alive out here?!"

No answer.

I didn't give up. I sped from building to ruined building to check for any signs of life. However, it was all in vain. I even consulted my Black Emerald for any lifeforms, but it was unresponsive. Damn.

I didn't give up, though. Something told me that Seryn was still alive somewhere out here; I just needed to home in on her mind link. Holding my golden ring bracelets up, I expected nothing to happen. What I didn't expect was for them to emit a faint ping-like sound as I ran through the streets. Seryn was still alive!

"Seryn? Can you hear me out there?! SERYN!!! Talk to me!"

As I neared the heart of the city, the pinging sound grew louder and faster. She had to be nearby.

I was rewarded for my efforts when I spotted a massive taloned paw sticking out of what remained of a bank. My bracelets were going haywire – this had to be her!

I jumped on the building and began throwing scraps of metal and mortar away with my supernatural strength. "Seryn, talk to me! I'm coming for you!"

For the first time, I saw Seryn's paw move. The blue pads twitched and groped around blindly.

"Shadow? Are you out there? I can't see you!"

I jumped down and grabbed Seryn's purple paw and stroked it softly. "I'm right here, girl. I'm going to get you out of there! Just hold on a moment!"

Seryn, however, seemed more concerned with my mission. "Did you find Altair and Lugia? Do they know about Mewtwo?"

"Altair does. He's probably telling Lugia about it right now. They'll track him and his partner down soon enough. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"That's too bad. I was hoping my masters would confront them unnoticed."

"What are you talking about?! What masters?!"

For some reason, Seryn chuckled darkly. "They'll know soon enough. Until then, have you all to myself."

I peeled back the final piece of debris from atop the Flammie and realized that I'd been had. A rather different-looking Seryn was looking back at me with an evil grin on her face. I reacted a second too slow and paid for it when I was blasted skyward by a powerful Shadowblast. When I finally hit the ground, I struggled to get to my feet as I looked at my former friend.

Seryn had been infected by Mewtwo's evil, turning her once creamy-yellow fur into a dark, violet color. Her pads had turned blue and the feathers on her wings, along with her hair had been dyed a scarlet-red. Her eyes, though, took all the courage out of my heart. The once baby-blue spheres were now a soulless, burning-red color, further confirming that she was being possessed. The fact that she now had two fangs out of the corners of her mouth didn't help, either.

"Seryn..." I said, my courage failing as I dropped to my knees.

"...is no more!" she said in a dark voice, taking to the air. "I am now Mana, Master of Darkness and Shadow. My masters, Mewtwo and Terran, have blessed me with a power greater than that of the Guardians, and now I get to try them out... on you!"

I couldn't believe that my own friend – the one who had embarked on this mission with me 1000 years from now – had also fallen to Giygas' evil. I was so shocked that I didn't care when a second powerful Shadowblast flew from Ser... Mana's mouth and slammed into me, knocking me out cold.

When I finally came to, I found myself pinned down by Mana's massive paw, looking straight into those burning, soulless eyes. An evil, pleasurable grin was drawn across Mana's face.

"I really expected more from you, Shadow. You disappointed me in a fight. Now, you'll never get the chance to redeem yourself, because you'll be contemplating your defeat... from inside my belly!"

I had no chance to defend myself when Mana scooped me up in his mouth and swallowed me whole! I didn't care about the slippery ride down his gullet and landing in his stomach. I had failed my friends... and my future. It was all over.

ALTAIR

(Author's Note: For a detailed description of what happened between Altair, Lugia and Lauren, read Altair's sections in "War of Gods". I will jump to the part where they find some of Mewtwo and Terran's destruction.)

It wasn't long before Lugia and I found some of Mewtwo's handiwork. A medium-sized city was leveled and in flames when we arrived. Death had visited here. I could sense no living human anywhere within a two-mile radius.

This is terrible, I said, flipping over a flattened wall with my wing. This is just not right. Shadow was not kidding when he told me of this.

A family of five was found dead hiding under their dining room table. My heart was nearly ripped from my chest when I saw that they were all holding hands in a last-ditch effort to comfort one another. A single silver tear fell from my eye and landed near them.

For the first time, I watched in awe as my Lugia powers worked their magic. A trail of clear sparkles made their way through the wreckage and reached the family. I saw, to my amazement, that the five bodies seemed to dissolve into clear energy and drift away into the breeze.

Lugia…?

My brother watched the event take place and smiled. You have allowed them to move onto the afterlife in peace. Their bodies are now being returned to the planet. Well done.

I wiped my eye with the edge of my wing. At least I was able to lay them to rest peacefully. But then I remembered the countless lives that Mewtwo and his partner have taken that are still out there. I finally broke down in tears and wept. It is indeed a sorrowful day to see a god like me weep freely.

Lugia walked over to me and nuzzled my neck. It's okay, Altair. It is perfectly normal to cry; it is a sign of our sadness and sorrow. All good souls weep sometime in their life.

I looked up and saw, slightly taken aback, that his mask was lined with a silver liquid. The situation must have been serious for him to cry.

Suddenly, Lugia looked in the direction of the downtown area.

Someone is still alive. Hurry!

We flew over to the downtown area where the sound of a baby crying impacted our hearts.

Find him! He may have seen Mewtwo!

I switched to my infrared vision and looked around. There appeared to be nothing but rubble until I looked at the remains of an office building. There, under a pile of drywall, was a frightened baby boy in a collapsed carriage. I gently lifted the wall off of the baby and took him out of a cavity where he had been laying.

Carefully, I cradled the frightened child in my wings and calmed him down with a calm telepathic feeling. Soon, the baby stopped crying and looked up at me with watery-blue eyes. I let out a soft, musical note to ensure the baby that I meant him no harm. It would be difficult to communicate through his mind as babies don't think in words; it's more of a chaotic static.

Did you find him? said Lugia, walking up to me. I nodded and passed him the child. I was surprised that he had escaped the carnage with no injuries.

This is one of the very few lucky ones, Lugia told me, nuzzling the baby. Two of the softest and smoothest skins in the world met each other. But he will die soon without a parent to care for him.

What can we do about it? I asked.

Lugia thought for a while. During that time, the baby had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful cradled in my brother's wings.

Here… He handed me back the baby and gave me my instructions. Take him back to Lauren while I hunt down Mewtwo. She has no one else to care for. This child will give her a new lease on life. Report back to me when you are done.

I nodded and took the baby delicately in my jaws; I would need both wings to get to the ocean.

I'll be back before noon.

Wait! Lugia stopped me and stared at the child in my mouth. His eyes glittered as he scanned the baby's mind. He must have gone a little deeper than normal because the baby squirmed in my mouth but stayed asleep.

What do you see?

Mewtwo headed in the direction of Epcot. Meet me there when you get back.

He calmed the squirming child and flew off to the south. My path of choice was to the east. I summoned my clear force-field, folded my back plates, transferred the child from my mouth to under my wing and dove. I wasn't in the same place as when we surfaced, but it didn't bother me. Our cave is able to "move" to wherever we want it. It's just one more of the many mysteries about Lugia and I.

(Author's Note: To make a long story short and avoid copying more text from my "War of Gods" story, I am going to cut right to the part where Lugia and Altair are thrown through the dome of Epcot in their battle with Mewtwo and Terran. Seryn, aka "Mana", has yet to make an appearance.)

I moaned as I lifted a large beam off of the two of us. A slight deviation in the plan, I hope?

Yes, agreed Lugia assisting me with the shifting of the beam. We need to isolate the two of them before we can attack either of them.

I have an idea. I'll go off in one direction to see if Terran will follow me. When I get over the ocean, I can "disappear" and try a Luster Purge on him. Maybe I can turn him back to his human form.

Lugia nodded when I finished. It may be our only chance. I will follow your lead.

Great, because here they come!

Perhaps I spoke too soon. I had expected Mewtwo and Terran to come to inspect their damage, but I was caught off-guard when a colossal purple Flammie appeared in the hole in the dome.

Seryn the Flammie was only about 15 feet from head to tail and weighed about 200 pounds. This Flammie was no less than twice that size. Its body was scaled up to match its new form and it slightly scared me.

Lugia...?

I see her. That is Seryn, but her mind and body has been mutated by Mewtwo and Terran's evil powers. What's worse, I sense that she has devoured Shadow, but he is still alive and lies in despair inside her belly. He paused for a second. Forget Terran, Altair – it will take both our combined powers to purify Seryn.

But what about...?

Lugia shook his head. They will not attack us until they are certain that Mana has failed. Do not worry about them until then.

I nodded and opened my mouth to charge an Aeroblast. Will do.

Lugia did likewise and before Seryn/Mana knew what hit her/him, both our Aeroblasts hit him hard enough to send him flying on his own into the sky. This allowed the two of us to get to our feet and fly out of Space Mountain.

Due to Mana's size, he didn't fly far before he came flying back at us, yelling, "How dare you attack me! I am the Master of Shadow and Darkness! You would do well to show me respect!"

He opened his mouth and let fly a violet Shadowblast at Lugia, hitting him in the back as we tried to fly away from him. Lugia let out a vocal scream that sounded like a whale being tortured and dropped from the sky.

Lugia!!! I shouted as my brother decimated a roller coaster, not exactly softening his landing. I then turned on Mana. You! You're going to pay for that!

Mana smiled malevolently at me. "There is no way that you can touch me, Guardian. I have been infused with the powers of Darkness and Chaos. Even your pathetic "Aeroblast" cannot damage me."

But that didn't stop me from trying. I summoned a clear LifeAura and tackled Mana in mid-air. His massive body was so much bigger than my own and his power was so great that I barely budged him. I soon paid for my mistake when Mana swatted me with a colossal paw. It was like getting hit by a train as I collided painfully on a concession stand on the ground.

Now I was hurt. I felt my right wing break when I crashed and a surging pain shot through my body. I looked up at the massive Flammie, closing in on my brother and I. For the first time since becoming a Lugia, I felt cold fear course through my heart. I was outdone and Mana was closing in for the kill. Because of our failure, Mana, Mewtwo and Terran were going to destroy us and allow Giygas to rule the world. Shadow was right – first the Guardians would fall, followed by the Diamond Dragons and then the Dream Travelers. Without the Sacred Six to stand against him, Giygas' rule would go unchallenged and the new millennium would be completely obliterated. It was over...

In my state of injury and disrepair, I did not object to Mana putting his massive paw on my body as he lowered his head to bite my head off.

"Good-bye, Altair. Your flesh will make a fine meal for me for the new millennium." I sighed in despair and closed my eyes for the inevitable.

Mana's teeth were less than a foot from my neck when he froze up. I didn't understand – he had me right where he wanted me; why didn't he finish the job already?

But then he raised his head and looked at his belly in confusion. When I opened my eyes, I could hear it, too. Either Mana was having some serious indigestion problems or something was not agreeing with his stomach. The gurgling sound was moving up his throat and he started to look sick. He finally pointed his head up and started hacking and coughing.

I then realized what was happening: Shadow was still alive and he was giving Mana the Indigestion from Hell!

SHADOW

I had lost all hope. I had been devoured by my former friend and he was using the power of my Black Emerald to mutate his body and power into something that Lugia and Altair would be unable to defeat. Combined with the powers of Darkness and Shadow that Mewtwo and Terran had infused Ser... Mana with and he would be rivaled in power only to Giygas himself. And what had I done to help this situation? Nothing! I had completely given up hope of ever Seryn, much less Giygas. I was a fool to think that I could ever save the world again. I was nothing! What could I ever do to save the world a second time?

Don't talk like that. You're better than that.

I sat up in Mana's stomach and cast a nervous eye around. Because of my Black Emerald, his body had mutated to a 40-foot frame, giving him plenty of stomach room. However, I was the only living thing in here. I know for a fact that Seryn almost never ate meat – she had the natural ability to absorb the moon's light through her body and deliver nutrients to her body that way. I was the first one that Mana had eaten and remained alive for that matter, so there shouldn't be anyone else in here.

I got up and walked around Mana's relatively dry stomach. I had heard a voice inside this dimly-lit cavern, I was sure of it. I called out the name of the voice that I was positive was in this cavern with me.

"Lugia?"

One could say it is me.

Turning around, I saw a rather real-looking Lugia in his human form... but it was clearly a figment of my imagination. His skin was not silver-white like it normally was but was instead a startling sapphire-blue that out-classed any other mortal blues. Where Lugia was normally navy-or-sky blue, he was now a sterling-silver color – there was no other name for it. There were shimmering silver lights flowing across his skin of their own accord.

But this Lugia wasn't completely... solid. He seemed to be more of a spirit than a ghost, except he wasn't. He gave off a pale white aura around him as he stood there.

There was only three words that came to my mind in such an instance: "Are you God?"

Lugia chuckled to himself and shook his head. No... not quite. Although, the Father does consider me to be somewhere between Gabriel and Jesus, I'm only an avatar to him.

What came out of my mouth next, I will always regret. "This isn't going to get religious, is it?"

Lugia merely smiled and walked closer to me. No. I try to keep that to a minimum. No, I'm here on a different mission.

"What is it? I've never seen you like this before, too."

You have. I was like this the last time I contacted you, but now I've decided to show my true self.

"And what is your "true self"?"

Lugia shrugged. This is what I will become if your mission is successful, but you seemed to have given up on that already.

I sighed and sat down on the slimy floor. "I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm inside my best friend's stomach."

Since when has that ever stopped you before? Lugia seemed disappointed. The Shadow I know would never let a slight setback like being digested stop him from doing what's right. You should be ashamed of yourself.

I looked at him like he had just slapped me. He was right – I had given up too easily. I had assumed that my situation was impossible to escape from. The nerve of me!

"You've got a point," I told him, getting up and walking over to pick up my Black Emerald. "This isn't like me at all, and I feel stupid that I even considered giving up."

Lugia smiled and wrapped one of his wings around my shoulder. Even though he wasn't completely solid, I felt a sense of reassurance.

That's the Shadow that I know and trust. Now go and defeat Mewtwo and Terran. Purify Seryn and eradicate Giygas. I'll be watching you closely, Shadow – I believe in you.

I nodded and Lugia lifted his wing off my shoulder. With a brilliant flash of white light, Star Lugia vanished and I was once again in the darkness of Mana... Seryn's stomach. Now that Star Lugia was watching over me, I felt a wave of confidence fill my heart. Now all I had to do was find a way to get out of Seryn's stomach while keeping her body intact – I didn't have the heart to kill her to save my own skin.

Walking around with my Black Emerald in my hand, I began figuring out how to escape this dark, damp pit. I couldn't blast my way out of here without severely damaging Seryn's body, and the only obvious way out was... Let's... not go there.

After some more pacing, I had an idea. Since I couldn't use Chaos Control to teleport through Seryn's body, I decided to make Seryn provide my escape for me. Charging my powers of Chaos, I began to focus the powers of my Black Emerald into a focused...

"Chaos... Blast!"

ALTAIR

I managed to get Mana's paw off my throat and scramble to my feet as Mana started hacking and coughing uncontrollably. I then went to the demolished roller coaster to attend to my brother.

What are you doing, Mana?! cried Mewtwo from atop the demolished Space Mountain. You let him get away!

But Mana was now retching dryly on the ground where I had been seconds before. "Oh... Damn it! I'm burning up! Water! I need water!"

He made for the fountain in the park square but didn't make it. The extreme indigestion he was having finally conquered him. With one enormous heave, he sent a ball of black goo flying across the park followed by various digested human remains that he had ingested prior to our confrontation.

The black gob halted in mid-air and spun around, revealing a very alive...

Shadow! cried Lugia, now conscious again. He's alive!

Brother, you shouldn't rush yourself. I put my wing on his shoulder but he shrugged me off.

Now is not the time, Altair. Mana is stunned – we must purify him before he recovers.

I knew better than to argue with him, but that still didn't stop me from being concerned. No, Lugia... I'll do it. You rest.

Lugia looked at me with amazement but then agreed with me. Very well. You team with Shadow and defeat Mana. I will join you, but I need a few minutes to Recover.

I nodded and left Lugia lay. Flying up into the air, I approached a slime-covered Shadow.

Shadow! You're alive! How did you do it?

Shadow shook his quills trying to shake the digestive juices out of them.

"It's a long story. Let's just deal with Seryn first."

I nodded and turned to the stunned Mana on the park floor. He was still hunched over in pain from the severe stomach pains Shadow had given him. He glared up at us with a snarl on his face.

"You... cough You knew... OHH... Somehow or another, you found a way to get that emerald out of me! When I get off this floor... gack I'll make sure to kill you outright this time before I swallow you!"

Shadow merely looked at me and the two of us nodded silently. I then silently opened my beak and began charging a Luster Purge. Shadow began using his Black Emerald to charge up a Chaos... something.

Mana saw what we were planning at recovered enough to launch at the two of us. Unfortunately, he only made it halfway to us before I let fly my Luster Purge straight at Mana's heart! He screamed and froze in mid-air, a violet aura surrounding him. Shadow then followed up this attack by engulfing himself in a black DarkAura and yelling, "Chaos... SPEAR!!!"

When he said "Spear", he flew forward at Mana like he was moving at the speed of light. He was moving so fast that he went straight through him and came out the other side holding a globe of violet energy. Mana was unscathed, but the force of Shadow's attack was enough to make him lose his flying ability and fall to the ground, creating a rather large crater in the concrete below.

Shadow held the glowing violet orb in one hand with his Black Emerald in the other. He stared at the globe for a minute and then clenched his hand around it, reducing it to wisps of energy.

"It is done," he said quietly. "Now let's deal with the others." He looked in the direction of Mewtwo and Terran.

The twins were in shock. Not only did Mana fail to destroy him, but Shadow and I had accomplished what they had thought impossible.

Mewtwo was the first to recover. He glared at the two of us and took to the air again. You've destroyed my servant. Now allow me to return the favor!

He made to throw a black Shadow Ball at Shadow the Hedgehog but was immediately hit by an Aeroblast from nowhere. He went flying off into the distance with Terran looking shocked as he flew after him.

I knew for a fact that that Aeroblast was not mine. I quickly looked over in the direction of the demolished roller coaster to see... nothing!

Surprised to see me, Altair?

I smiled as I turned to see my brother, Lugia, hovering close to me with a grin on his face as well.

Am I ever! I said, hovering over to him. You seemed to Recover rather well, brother.

I could have sworn that I saw Lugia wink at me. You have no idea what I am capable of when I am injured.

I believe you. I then turned to where Mana had fallen into the crater below us. What about him?

Lugia shook his head. Her. Seryn will recover, but we have Mewtwo and Terran to deal with. Shadow... The black hedgehog was standing over his fallen comrade. He turned to us. I can feel your outrage for Seryn, but you must remain here until Seryn recovers while Altair and I confront Mewtwo and Terran. I trust you will stay here?

"But..." Shadow really wanted a piece of the demons who did this to his friend, but he knew the rules. He finally nodded and said, "I'll do it. Just be careful with them. We're not out of this yet."

Lugia nodded and flew off, beckoning me to follow.

SERYN

The last thing I could remember was looking into the evil faces of Mewtwo and Terran before my mind was obstructed by a never-ending darkness. I could not account for my actions while I was out, but my mind and my belly told me that I had done some terrible things.

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes were the narrow red pupils that belonged to...

"Shadow...? Is that you?"

The black hedgehog smiled as he held my head up so that he could pour some water down my throat. The clear liquid soothed the back of my throat and removed some of the bloody taste in my mouth. He rubbed the fur on my throat to encourage me to swallow and it helped a little.

I coughed weakly and looked at Shadow's eyes again. "Where... am I? I can't remember anything for the longest time."

"You need to rest, Seryn," he told me in a calm, reassuring voice. "Mewtwo and Terran cursed your mind and body. It was Altair and I that saved you. Now Altair and Lugia are going after them on their own."

I coughed again and looked up at the sky. Heavy storm clouds were swirling over the park with loud thunderclaps ripping through it. This was a sign that the forces of Light and Darkness were clashing nearby. "What are we going to do? We have to destroy them or else the future is doomed."

Shadow shook his head. "I was told by Lugia to stay here and tend to you, or else I would be right next to them in their battle."

I knew that the one thing Shadow hated more in the world than evil was being left out in a fight. Feeling his annoyance, I struggled to get to my feet. Shadow tried to keep me down, but I was considerably bigger than him and was on my feet in seconds.

"Lugia only said to watch me until I recover, right?"

"Right."

"Well I'm recovered now, so let's get going!" Even though I was not 100, I wasn't going to lay here and let the future be destroyed again! "Get on my back – we're going to help them!"

Shadow was having second thoughts about riding a wounded Flammie to certain doom, but the glare coming from my baby-blue eyes was enough to convince him otherwise. He climbed on my back and I spread all four wings and took to the air.

As we flew in the direction of the coast where Lugia, Altair, Mewtwo and Terran had gone, Shadow was looking from his Black Emerald to me. Even though I didn't see him, I felt the cold crystal press against the back of my neck and its energy flowed into my body, healing my wounds almost instantly.

I smiled and turned to face him. "Thanks Shadow. I needed that."

Shadow merely sighed and held onto my neck. "I couldn't just let you fly off to your doom at half-strength."

I chuckled and looked straight ahead. "Always looking out for others, huh?"

"Of course. Especially after my former friends..."

"Yes?"

Shadow blinked and hesitated. "Nothing."

I knew he was talking about his past when he attempted to steal...

...no. I promised I wouldn't tell and I'm not about to break a promise to a fellow Immortal. I flew ahead to meet up with the dueling gods near the coast.

SHADOW

We reached the coast just as Altair flew up out of the ocean and fired a powerful Luster Purge at Terran. Terran's mental scream was so powerful that it nearly knocked Seryn and me out of the air. Terran was surrounded by a bubble of Psychic energy and his body began to undergo changes. All the while, he was screaming for the pain to stop.

Master...! Help... me!!!

But Mewtwo was currently preoccupied with Lugia and ignored him completely. The earth down below rumbled from the mental screams that Terran was projecting.

From atop Seryn, I watched his body change as his skin bubbled and his bones gave of crunching snaps that sounded like gunshots from over here.

Within a minute, the navy-blue Mewtwo that had been Terran was now a full-grown, naked, male human. Altair gently lowered him onto the beach where he lay unconscious and then fell from the sky himself.

"Altair!"

Without thinking, I jumped off Seryn and landed on the beach below. I then took off like a rocket and sped out into the ocean where Altair had fallen. Once I reached the spot, I dropped into the water and started swimming after the fallen Guardian.

Holding my breath, I swam into the depths of the ocean, but Altair was sinking faster than I could swim. If I didn't hurry, I was going to run out of breath before I reached him.

Then I realized how to turn the tables. I grasped my Black Emerald in my hand and activated the powers of Chaos. Within seconds I had reached the required power level and I shouted in the water: "Chaos Control!"

The whole world seemed to stop and the water I was in turned into a blinding white. I was able to speed up my swimming speed and reached the sinking Altair. Unfortunately, since I had already activated Chaos Control, I couldn't warp him out of the water. Improvising, I planted the Black Emerald directly on Altair's forehead and focused it all into healing him, praying.

It took a moment to work – too long. I was running out of breath and Chaos Control was wearing out. If Altair didn't recover soon, neither of us was going to make it.

Just as the water around me became blue again, Altair's eyes snapped open and he immediately went into a spin with me hanging onto his neck for dear life.

Thanks, Shadow, he said as he turned 180 degrees upward and spun towards the surface. I owe you one.

"Later," I said, taking a deep breath of air trapped inside the whirlpool. "We need to finish the job."

The two of us sped up toward the surface at breakneck speed. Within seconds, we broke the surface – and before I realized it, Altair had tackled Mewtwo as he was about to finish off a weakened Lugia!

What...?!

Fasted than you could blink, Altair had had Mewtwo pinned under his massive wing and was staring him in the face. This was it! We were going to finish him off once and for all!

MEWTWO

I have never feared any creature before. The creatures of the Earth were inferior to me. No creature had ever been able to best me in a fight. The military of this planet was like an insignificant insect to me.

But that was before I looked my greatest fear in the eye of the Lugia known as "Altair". The rage and fury combined with the pure-heartedness of Altair quenched my own. I was stunned... powerless to do anything.

Look into my eyes, Mewtwo. How could a voice so kind be filled with so much anger and hate at once? Your reign of terror has ended. Not another human or creature alive will ever fear you again. By the power of God, I, Altair, and my brother, Lugia, hereby banish you into the gap between dimensions!

I noticed that the hedgehog on his shoulder looked worried. He quickly scrambled up Altair's shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

I smiled. Poor pathetic Altair. Even in banishment, I could still serve Giygas. Besides, he was going to break me out in a few months and his plan would destroy them and their pathetic friends. Vengeance would be mine!

But just then, Altair gave a smile that turned everything against me.

It seems that there's a change in plans, Mewtwo. Shadow has just reminded me of what you and Giygas have planned in a few months. I'm going to give him the honor of destroying you once and for all.

WHAT?! I'd been had! How did he know about that?!

Altair reared back his head and let out a cry that pierced my black heart and seemed to drain my energy! He raised a wing and an orb of violet energy seemed to build in it. It was drawing all of my powers out of me! Soon I was as powerless and as weak as the countless humans that I had killed. I couldn't believe it! I was mortal!

Altair took my powers and held them above his head and clapped his wings together. The orb exploded into nothing unlike a bomb going off.

What happened next will never leave my mind. The black hedgehog jumped off Altair's shoulder and drove the emerald in his hand straight through my heart! The energy in it ripped through my body like white-hot knives. I gasped as I felt pain for the first time in my life.

Gasping for breath, I managed to give out my last few words. Damn... you... Guardians... You'll never... defeat... Giygas... Damn... you!

The last thing I saw before I passed onto the Gateway to Hell was the pleasurable smiles of Altair and Shadow. Before I lost my life completely, I heard Lugia's voice say, Tell your boss he's next, Mewtwo.

Damn... you... all... to... HELL!!!

SHADOW

It was over. Mewtwo was dead by my hand and the future was already looking a little brighter because of it. One of the Three Demons had been defeated and we could all breathe a little easier knowing that Mewtwo would never darken our doorway again.

I looked at Lugia, Altair and Seryn, who had come to watch Mewtwo's execution and smiled.

"Well... one down, two to go."

It appears that way. Lugia crossed his wings and nodded his head humbly. Our future is safe, but according to you, Giygas' next target is the Diamond Dragons. He turned his head to face his brother. Altair...?

Altair nodded and closed his eyes, obviously deep in thought. He said nothing for a while... and then he perked up and said, You are looking for Alex Schaefer II of Houston, Texas. As of this moment, he is scoping out an abandoned diamond mine where Hyozanryu's diamond is hidden. If I'm not mistaken, he should make contact with him in... He paused. 36 hours. That should give you enough time to find him and keep him under surveillance.

He turned to Lugia. How'd I do?

Lugia grinned and nodded. Not bad for your first prophecy. I bow to your intellect. He did just that, lowering his head and bowing low with his wings spread out nobly.

Gee... thanks. I could tell that Altair was not used to being praised by a god, despite now being one himself.

Seryn let out a little purr. "So... shall we split up for now and meet back in a few days when Hyozanryu and Ashura awaken?"

I looked at her with a rare smile on my face. "You took the words right out of my mouth. Lugia...?"

Lugia nodded. I agree. Let us meet outside Houston in three days. Altair and I will clean up Mewtwo and Terran's work while Shadow and Seryn "shadow" Alex II. I ignored Seryn's chuckle at Lugia's pun.

The four of us said our good-byes and I took off towards the state of Texas with Seryn flapping behind me.

SERYN

Keeping up with Shadow was an accomplishment all in its own. Even by Flammie standards, I could barely fly as fast as those jet engines built into his shoes. But that was because he was on the ground. If Shadow used his Black Emerald to fly, I could outfly him with no problems at all.

At our pace, it took most of the night to cross half the country and reach Texas. All the while, Shadow and I were mostly silent. There wasn't much for us to talk about even though we had just prevented the destruction of the future of two of the Sacred Six.

Shadow had a good question, though. "Hey Seryn, have you ever noticed that Altair and Ashura's names used to be "Alex Schaefer"?"

I did notice this but added my suspicions as well. "Not only that, but Arcana was called "Alex Schaefer", once upon a time."

Shadow looked up at me as we sped along a freeway dotted with late-night commuters. "You don't think there's a connection between the three of them, right?"

I flipped over and flew on my back for a while. "I dunno. Maybe it's chance, maybe it's all laid out in advance. Whatever it is, the thing is that all three of them have names beginning with "A" after their conversions."

"Huh."

The two of us kept up the topic well into the state of Texas, and before we knew it, we had reached the city of Houston.

Shadow once again tapped into the magic tracers infused in his gold bracelets and soon tracked down the home of Alex Schaefer II. The two of us decided to stay together this time and it was Shadow who did the sneaking into the house while I watched from a bedroom window.

SHADOW

I saw Hyozanryu's Diamond on Alex's bedside table covered by a cloth. According to Ashura, the diamond was pure enough to capture any light source and project it all around the room. Making sure that Alex was asleep, I carefully lifted the cloth off of the diamond to make sure it was the real deal.

From the stars that were shining around the room from the moonlight, it was indeed Hyozanryu's Diamond. It was about as large as a human fist, outdoing all other mortal gems before it. However, I heard Alex shift in his sleep and quickly covered the gem again. My heart all but stopped when I heard him say, "I knew you were coming."

I made to flee the bedroom, but Seryn called to me through the window and said, "Wait! He's still asleep! See if you can eavesdrop on him and Hyozanryu!"

I turned around and saw that Alex was indeed still asleep. He was merely talking to Hyozanryu in his sleep. Whew! Taking a page out of Seryn's book, I carefully approached him and laid a hand on his head. I then pulled out my Black Emerald and whispered, "Chaos Control." Unlike Seryn's encounter, my whole body disintegrated and flowed into Alex's mind where my hand had touched him, transporting me into his subconscious and the Dream World.

I was standing at the top of Mount Everest, the Sacred Six's usual meeting spot. Nearby, Alex and Hyozanryu were deep in conversation. Moving closer, I could see that Hyozanryu was not completely "whole", but I could still make out his dragon form and his piercing-blue eyes. Alex, however, was under the impression that he was talking to a fellow human. I guess I was used to him and my mind was projecting his image as a dragon in front of me.

Since I was under the power of Chaos Control, I knew that they could not see me, so I moved closer and listened in on their conversation.

Roukavic, ajd'k ak? said Hyozanryu in the gods' ancient language. I blinked for a moment but then realized that he had just said, Beautiful, isn't it?

Alex seemed to understand him here as well, because he asked, "Beautiful?" He seemed unaware of where he was.

Of course, said Hyozanryu, translated. Look below you. What do you see?

The clouds around them parted and Alex got a good look of where he was. Unfortunately, he got the wrong impression.

"Is this Heaven?"

Hyozanryu looked at him and chuckled. No, this is Mount Everest. I like to come here when I want to feel on top of the world.

"Literally!" said Alex and all three of us broke out laughing. That was a pretty good one and the joy radiating from Hyozanryu made me feel good.

"You're unlike anyone I've ever met before," said Alex, putting a hand on his dream mate's shoulder. "I don't know you, but I feel like I've met you somewhere."

Hyozanryu shrugged. Maybe. I've only recently come back into the world. Maybe we've met somewhere before?

Alex shook his head. "It couldn't be. I've never made any friends in my life worth keeping. I've also got a sponge memory – I'd remember you from before."

So it seems. The Diamond Dragon started walking away but stopped and pointed down at something. Want to go swimming?

"Swimming?! But there's no water up here in the mountains!"

But this is your dream, he said, smiling. We could be in Florida for all I know.

"My... my dream?" Alex seemed confused.

While he thought it over, Hyozanryu looked in my direction. I felt pretty safe here, but that all changed with a look. Hyozanryu and I locked eyes and I immediately felt my world go white.

Hyozanryu's voice echoed all around my mind. INTRUDER!!! You are trespassing, Nightmare! Be gone! You will not have him!

My body then ignited with blue flames. Even though this was the Dream World, they really hurt! It felt like my quills were being burned off my head! I couldn't believe it – Hyozanryu thought I was a Nightmare! If I didn't say anything, I was going to be eradicated and our mission would fail!

"Wait! I am a friend of Lugia and Altair! I'm here to save you!"

The burning did not go away, but it did not intensify. Hyozanryu seemed to be examining me carefully. I immediately felt my mind being broken into. While he carefully examined it, I could see my fur loosing its jet-black sheen from the heat of the flames. If something didn't happen soon, I was going to be reduced to ashes!

Just as the pain reached a fever pitch, it all stopped. I gasped for breath and fell to my hands and knees, panting heavily. Hyozanryu merely looked at me and shook his head.

Forgive me. I assumed you were an intruder. Now you must pay for my error. Worry not: you will learn to accept your new form in time. I didn't know what he was talking about, but he obviously wasn't finished. If you wish to contribute to the saving of my future, meet me at the nearby lake when Alex throws my gem into its depths. And bring your Black Emerald. We will talk then. Until then, forgive me... Silver the Hedgehog.

Silver who?! Did I hear that correctly? Before I could ask any questions, I felt myself being cast from the Dream World gently but irresistibly.

"Shadow! Are you alright?! What happened in there? And... what happened to your fur?!"

I came to my senses outside Alex's house with Seryn standing over me. My entire body was aching and it felt like my brain was on fire. I couldn't think straight or remember how I had gotten here.

"Seryn? Where... am I? What... happened?"

"You tell me! You disappeared into Alex's mind and then a few minutes later, you reappeared unconscious out here. What happened in there?"

"I... I can't... remember."

Seryn looked horrorstruck. She had had a similar encounter with Lugia and Altair while eavesdropping on them, but she had come out of that unharmed.

As for me, I couldn't remember who I was or where I was for that matter. My mind was covered in a shroud of silver mist and questions without answers were flying everywhere. I couldn't remember my past or my mission. In fact, I couldn't even remember seeing Seryn before, but her name still sounded familiar.

I tried to get up, but I was a little unstable on my legs right now, so I sat back down. Seryn put a paw on my back and let out a sad wail.

"Shadow... what happened to you? I can sense your confusion... and I'm not even psychic. You had a run-in with Hyozanryu, didn't you?"

"Seryn..." I said slowly. "I honestly don't remember. All I can member is that I need to meet Hyozanryu at the nearby lake tomorrow night. Everything is just a blur to me."

Seryn nuzzled me closely. Normally, I would have objected to this, but right now I needed the comfort. I thought about my meeting with Hyozanryu and several things jumped out at me. He had called me "Silver" – was that my name? Or was my name "Shadow" like Seryn was calling me? He had said something about a "Black Emerald" – why did that sound so familiar?

I then realized that I was holding something. Looking at my right hand, I realized I was holding a large black gem surrounded by a black aura. This must be the "Black Emerald" that Hyozanryu was talking about. But what did it have to do with me? Was it something I could use or harness? It didn't make any sense.

I then realized something that Seryn had told me. "You said something about my fur... what was it?"

Seryn helped me to my feet and looked at the window outside Alex's bedroom. I couldn't believe my eyes! My fur, which had once been jet-black and lined with crimson stripes, was now stained a titanium-silver so clear and pure that I could almost see Seryn's face reflected on it!

When I looked at my hands, I also noticed that my gloves had some strange glowing symbols on the backs of them. I couldn't make them out, but something told me that Hyozanryu would know the answer to that.

"Wha... What happened to me? What happened to my fur?!"

"I'd like to know that myself." Seryn stroked my side with a paw and looked at my reflection in disbelief. "Maybe Lugia or Altair would know something bout this."

Did someone call my name?

The two of us looked around in the dark for the source of the voice. It had sounded so familiar, but I couldn't locate it.

"Altair?" said Seryn.

Up here.

The two of us looked up at the roof. Altair the Guardian was sitting on the roof with his legs dangling off the edge. Even stranger, I noticed that he now had a form similar to a human's complete with arms, legs and a full six-pack pale-red chest. I also noticed that his wings were now positioned on his shoulders just like a dragon's. He now had seven limbs instead of the usual five (counting his tail).

"Altair!" Seryn couldn't believe her eyes. "How'd you find us?"

Two reasons. One – I was in the neighborhood. And Two – you can see Shadow's silver fur in the moonlight over a mile away.

"Altair..." I said, slightly unfamiliar with his name. "What happened to me? I don't remember anything!"

Let me take a look. He slid off the roof and fluttered down to the ground. He then walked over and knelt in front of me to look me square in the eye. I couldn't feel his presence in my mind, but that was probably because it was so clouded that I could barely think for myself. I also noticed for the first time how similar his eyes looked in comparison to his brother's, despite them being crimson-red.

When Altair was finished, he stood up and sadly shook his head. I don't know what he did, but Hyozanryu really did a number on you. You're thoughts are so clouded that I doubt even Lugia could decipher them. Whatever he did, I'm afraid that this change is permanent.

"What?!" I couldn't believe my ears. "I'm supposed to be saving the Sacred Six and now my body and memory is damaged beyond repair! If this is how we get treated for trying to help you guys, then I want out!"

Altair shook his head again. You misunderstand me. I never said that your memory was permanently damaged – Hyozanryu can fix that. But your body has been touched by the Breath of God – an elemental fire that we gods use. I'm afraid that that will never be the same.

"DAMN IT!!!" I said, kicking over a trash can with a clatter. "SON-OF-A… (explicit)!!!"

Before I could make any more noise, Seryn and Altair seized my and covered my mouth and Teleported out of the back yard. In my rage, I had woken Alex II just as the sun was breaking over the horizon. I didn't know it, but Alex's expression on having his skin being turned to super-mineral crystal would trump my own (Author's Note: Read "Dreams Come True 2" for details. I won't explain it here).

SERYN

When we reappeared outside of town seconds later, I accosted Shadow for his little tantrum.

"Are you crazy?!" I yelled at him. "You nearly got us spotted! You nearly compromised our whole mission!"

Shadow broke free of our grasp and stormed a few feet away. "You don't get it, do you, Seryn? I'll never be the same again! I already gave up my life once – I can't do that again!"

Altair, meanwhile, was still calm and collected. Silver, listen to me. You don't have to give up your life for this – the only thing that's changed is your fur and your abilities.

But Shadow didn't sound convinced. "That's another thing – how do you know about this?! And where do you get off calling me "Silver"?! You had something to do with this, didn't you?!"

Altair looked hurt but kept his calm tone. I can assure you, Silver, I didn't. This had nothing to do with me.

"I don't believe you! You gods were planning this all along, weren't you?! Just like you did when I found that Black Emerald! This is all your fault!"

THAT'S ENOUGH!!!

A super-powerful psychic voice rang out in our minds, cooling Shadow's temper instantly and causing both Altair and I to flinch. We all looked around for the source of the voice and saw a large sphere of white light hovering close to us. When it hovered closer, there was a brilliant flash of white light and a figure appeared.

I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was seeing things correctly. Was it...? Could it really be...?!

"Lugia..." I was breathless.

It was Lugia in his anthro form, but there was something different about him. His skin was a glossy night-blue color covered with small white lights that seemed to be moving on their own across it. He also didn't appear completely... whole. He appeared slightly transparent and he was surrounded by a bright white aura.

"It... It's you..." Shadow looked nearly speechless. He had obviously seen Lugia in this form before.

My... brother. Altair did only one thing in the presence of such an amazing creature – he sank to his knees, bowed his head and spread his wings out in respect. How can this be? I just left you this morning. But now you've become... God... what happened?

Lugia held up a hand to silence him and then addressed Shadow directly. Silver, you have no reason to accost Altair for Hyozanryu's actions. If you must attack someone, attack me. This was all part of my plan – Altair had nothing to do with it. So... He crossed his arms and stared a hole in Shadow. What are you going to do?

Shadow would have loved to attack Lugia for planning this, but the amazement of seeing him in this form and the stone-stern expression on his face made him think twice.

"I... I'm sorry, Lugia. I was overreacting."

Lugia nodded. I thought you were. But that's no reason why I should leave you in the dark. He spread his wings wide and the light around him intensified. Within seconds, it all made sense to us.

This Lugia-like apparition was named "Star Lugia" – the result of 1000 years of absolutely no evil in the world. His powers were absolutely infinite and were rivaled only by God (if he wasn't already God). The only reason we were seeing him in this apparition-like form was that the evil-free future was still possible. The reason Altair was bowing down to him was because he felt honored to have God Reincarnated as a brother even though he may not have this form in the future.

As for Shadow's predicament, Star Lugia actually planned this 1000 years from now. He knew that Hyozanryu was going to do this to him and he had come to stop Shadow... er, Silver from attacking Altair by mistake. However, according to Star Lugia, Silver's potential would be completely unlocked when he met Hyozanryu tonight. He would fuse the power of Silver's Black Emerald with his new body to allow him to...

But that would be telling. I'm not going to spoil the outcome of this just yet. Anyway, this will allow Silver to gain a new status as an Immortal.

When all this registered in our minds, Star Lugia furled his wings again and the light around him dimmed somewhat. He then addressed Silver.

Remember that what you do in this age will affect the future. You still have to recruit the Diamond Dragons and the Dream Travelers, so do not think that the future cannot be saved.

Silver nodded and bowed. "Yes, sir. Thank you for your reassuring words."

Star Lugia then turned to me. Seryn... your future will be determined after the Day of Giygas, so do not dwell on it until that day. All will be clear soon.

I smiled. I had been thinking about how I became a Flammie by my own hand, but now I had Lugia's reassurance that it would all work out in the end. "Yes, sir. I will consider that."

He finally turned to Altair and allowed him to rise by putting his hand under his chin. Altair... do not tell my past self about this as of yet. If he hears that he is to become me, he may lose focus in our mission to destroy Giygas. Since he has just returned to the planet, his powers and focus are still slightly shaken. If he asks about me, do not answer. He will understand.

Altair smiled and nodded as well. Yes, sir. I will do as you say.

Lugia then turned to the three of us in general and spoke. I take my leave now. Do not forget your mission and do not think that the future is lost. You can pull through this – I believe in you.

The three of us instinctively raised our right arms and said as one, "Yes, sir!" Star Lugia nodded, turned... and vanished in a blast of white light.

SILVER

The three of us stood there in disbelief of what had just happened. We had been visited by an apparition of God Reincarnated and had all been touched spiritually by his words.

Altair was the first to speak. I can't believe it! My own brother is God Reincarnated! I can't believe the honor I've been shown! MY OWN BROTHER IS GOD REINCARNATED!!!

Altair, who had never been one to show emotion as a Guardian, was ecstatic. Seryn actually had to grab him by the shoulders and shake him to get his head on straight.

Thanks... I needed that.

After some discussion about what we had been told, Seryn and I decided to get back to our mission. Altair flew off, smiling, and the two of us talked about how we were going to keep an eye on Alex II – soon to become Ashura.

"I'm gonna go to the lake and track down that diamond. You keep an eye on Alex until he gets back."

Seryn purred and nodded. "Will do."

With that, I started down the road towards the lake where Hyozanryu said Alex would be.

I found him rather quickly. His new super-mineral crystal skin flashed like a star in the sunlight even though only his head was visible from a coat he was wearing to cover his body. Alex was on top of a cliff overlooking the lake, staring at the diamond in his hand. I hid in a nearby tree.

Alex sighed as he held the diamond. "$50 million or not, you're more trouble than you're worth."

He then reached back and chucked the diamond as hard as he could into the lake. I paid careful attention to where it landed as he stared out into the water. He then pulled the hood over his head and shoved his hands into his pockets and stormed off.

When he left in his truck, I climbed out of the tree and walked to the edge of the cliff. The lake wasn't that deep and I could make out a distinct sparkle off in the distance. Stowing my Black Emerald away, I jumped off the cliff and dove straight into the lake.

Coming up for a quick breath, I then dove under again and swam for the diamond lying atop some sand on the bottom of the lake. Once I laid my hand on it, something strange happened. It felt like my mind had been forcibly ripped from my body and my consciousness was being pulled into the diamond, leaving my body underwater in suspended animation. I could see a long, white tunnel with a strange wind blowing by me as my consciousness vanished from this world.

I reappeared inside a white fog. An image of Mount Everest was hovering in the background as I looked around. I could feel Hyozanryu's presence even though I couldn't see him.

"Well, Hyozanryu..." I said to the air. "I did everything you said to do. Now you owe me my life back."

Fair enough, said Hyozanryu's voice from behind me. Turning around, I could see that he was there in his full form, hovering a few inches off the ground with his wings spread wide. Did you bring your Emerald?

"Got it." I pulled out the Emerald and flipped it into the air like I normally do.

Take a good last look. This is the last time you will see it in this form.

"Huh?" I didn't understand.

As I flipped it into the air again, Hyozanryu's piercing-blue eyes flashed and the Emerald exploded into shards of crystal, sending me stumbling backwards!

"What the...?!" I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed. My main power source – my pride and joy – had just been destroyed after 1000 years of service – something I didn't even think was possible!

I was about to accost Hyozanryu for this when I saw the fragments of the Black Emerald surround me and start spinning in a circle. They spun faster and faster as they closed in on me and centered around my heart, where they formed a sphere of black light, which then turned to white and merged with my body.

Immediately, I felt the clouds flying around my mind lift and vanish. I could remember almost everything now and even more! It felt like my mind's borders had been destroyed and a great power filled the infinite void that was my mind now. I felt wise and powerful as I realized that Hyozanryu had fused the power of the Black Emerald within my body! It was as if I was the Black Emerald now!

How do you feel, Silver?

I held my hand in front of my face and clenched my fist so the symbols on the back lit up. My yellow eyes glowed brightly as I focused my powers into my fist so that it ignited with silver flame. When it reached a critical point, I thrust my hand to one side, palm open so that the silver flame was shot off like a blast of energy, leaving energy rings in its wake. The blast kept going and detonated far into the mist. I then turned to Hyozanryu and smiled.

"I... feel... great! I feel like I'm filled with the power of pure Chaos! Giygas better watch his back, 'cause Silver the Hedgehog is out to get him!"

Hyozanryu nodded and said, Let it be known that Shadow the Hedgehog and the Black Emerald are no longer of this world. In their place lies the True Ultimate Lifeform: Silver the Hedgehog!

I smiled and started laughing. It was not an evil laugh, nor was it a laugh of joy. It was a laugh of pure power and strength. Long ago, I had cast aside my human life and become Shadow. (Author's Note: Keep an eye out for a follow-up story on this!) Now I had been reawakened again and had become the True Ultimate Lifeform: Silver the Hedgehog! I was Chaos and Chaos was me. There was nothing that could control me any longer and I was proud of it.

As my laughter echoed in the white void, Hyozanryu bowed his head and said three words: It is done. After that, my consciousness left the confines of Hyozanryu's Diamond and returned to my earthly body as I whited out, still laughing.

SERYN

Deep within my mind, I could hear Silver's laughter echoing in a white void. I felt some satisfaction that he now had his life back and more. His new telekinetic powers would come in handy when we finally faced Giygas in a couple of months.

As I waited outside Alex's house for him to fall asleep, I thought about my own future. I had always thought that Flammies were once an exotic species after seeing the picture of Silver and me in Washington D.C. six years from now. But it turns out that there was only one Flammie in existence – me. By some quirk of time, I was my own future. Don't ask me to explain it, but I was created by God to bring happiness and joy to the world. When people see me flying in the moon or sunlight, they always feel a sense of hope or happiness that allows even the most depressed person in the world to continue living with new hope.

"And it's all thanks to you," I said to myself, holding the Flammie fang on the cord around my neck between my talons. "You've done so much for me, even..." (Author's Note: I'm not going to tell you what it did to her – that would ruin the surprise!) "...I wasn't expecting that at all!" I tested the tip of the fang on my flat pink tongue. It was still as sharp as ever, but I didn't put enough pressure on it to pierce my tongue.

Letting the Flammie fang fall back onto my torso, I turned my attention back to Alex II. From the looks of it, he had finally fallen asleep, but according to the clock, it was well past midnight. Whatever was preventing him from falling asleep must have been either important or divine. I seized my chance to eavesdrop on his dreams and snuck inside through the unlocked garage door.

You may have removed the beacon, but I can still find you.

The shock of Hyozanryu's words was clear on Alex's subconscious.

"I can't believe it! I got rid of that diamond! You should be gone!"

But Hyozanryu's voice was filled with disappointment and pity – the exact opposite of what he was expecting.

I have finally returned to this world. The diamond was merely a doorway.

Alex felt horrible. He was under the assumption that he had allowed an unseen demon to return to the planet and prey on unsuspecting people again. I knew better, though.

After some more uneasy conversation, Hyozanryu finally revealed his true form to Alex and told him his name for the first time. Alex actually recognized him from a picture on one of his Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

Once Alex had settled down, Hyozanryu explained his reasons for returning to the planet. Oddly enough, they sounded similar to Lugia's in terms of detail. And although Alex wasn't looking forward to becoming a Diamond Dragon, Hyozanryu managed to convince him otherwise and proceeded in the next step of his conversion. He looked Alex straight into his eyes and began expanding his mind to take in the knowledge of an Immortal. Although Lugia had slightly outdone what Alex I was capable of at the time, Hyozanryu made sure not to repeat Lugia's mistake.

When it was all done, Hyozanryu asked how he felt. Alex replied, "I... feel... fine." He had felt neither pain nor strange sensations during that time. He looked around the black void and sighed. "I wish this would clear up, though."

It will tomorrow night. By then, you will have transformed one more time before I return to the world.

Alex looked confused. "One more time? Why can't we do it tonight?"

Hyozanryu shook his head. The next transformation can only be done while you are awake. Alex gulped noticeably. Don't worry; It will be nothing like the previous incidents. You will feel no pain while it is occurring. I can tell you, though, that it will occur at noon tomorrow, so you can prepare yourself for it.

"Thank you."

Alex and Hyozanryu shook hand to claw and the dream started to fade. That was my turn to exit.

SILVER

(Author's Note: Let's just jump to where Alex/Ashura is to confront the Nightmares. If you want the details of the events in-between, read "Dreams Come True 2".)

I sat in the same tree that I had the previous day and watched Ashura jump off the cliff into the lake below. I had been instructed to leave Hyozanryu's Diamond where it was so that Ashura could confront the Nightmares without letting them know that we were onto them. Once Ashura entered his subconscious, Seryn and I could follow and enter the realm of the Nightmares. Seryn was perched on the branch next to me. I was surprised that her impressive size did not snap the limb and send her tumbling down to the ground.

"I'm lighter than you think," she said, smirking. She then turned to the cliff where Ashura had just jumped off of. "I think we've given him a decent head start, don't you think?"

I shrugged and hopped down. "I think so."

Seryn followed me to the cliff where I stood, looking down. She then put her paws around my waist and held me tight.

"Don't drop me," I said, teasing her.

"No problem."

Her chest felt warm and smooth like her fur was made up of the finest cashmere. She then spread each of her four wings and leapt from the cliff. We hovered there for a moment before she folded her wings against her side and went into a freefall. Within seconds, we were underwater and we could see Ashura's empty shell of a body hovering in a psychic bubble near the massive diamond.

Seryn then released me and we both swam for the diamond. We both touched the diamond at the same time and relived the sensation of having our minds ripped from our bodies. You'd think Hyozanryu would have taken it a little easier upon entering the diamond, but what can you do?

What the?! Who are you? Why are you inside my subconscious?!

Ashura's new psychic voice was both shocked and confused when we entered the Dream World and appeared on either side of him to confront the Nightmares.

"We're here to save you," said Seryn, holding her paws in a way that a boxer would normally do.

"Consider it a favor," I added, holding an "enguarde" pose.

I thought I had to deal with this on my own. Ashura didn't quite understand our intentions. Hyozanryu didn't say anything about any partners.

"Well, we've got a score to settle with these Nightmares," said Seryn. This way, we won't let them escape like they did last time."

Wow... Ashura was touched.

"You again?!" said a dark voice echoing around the dark void. "You weren't supposed to get past Mewtwo! How did Giygas miss that?"

"It's a long story," I said, shrugging. "Let's not bother with the details."

"I see..." said the Nightmares. "Well if it's going to be three-on-one, let's tip the odds in my favor, shall we?"

A bright flash of violet energy tore through the black void and Seryn, Ashura and I found ourselves on the top of a tower atop a city high in the sky (Author's Note: This place should sound familiar to those who have played Zelda: Twilight Princess). Several stone pillars surrounded the parameter of the tower that reached even higher than our current location. Up above, dark, violet, bolt-ridden stormclouds tore through the skies.

The sound of wingbeats made my ears twitch. The three of us stood with our backs to each other in a three-point stance and looked up at the skies. Seryn was the first to see our adversary.

The form the Nightmares had chosen to take was a massive black-and-red armored dragon of enormous proportions. Black steel armor covered most of its body, neck, torso, claws, legs and tail. Only its wings were uncovered, but they still looked strong enough to withstand any attack. Ashura looked nervous (he didn't have wings of his own... yet), but Seryn and I had already gone through worse fights than this and welcomed the challenge. The Nightmare took to the air and began spiraling up a nearby spire. I had a feeling that we would be sitting targets if we didn't move.

The three of us split up and headed for different parts of the tower as we waited for the Nightmare to attack. However, it didn't seem interested in us. I grew bored waiting for it rather quickly and decided to take matters into my own hands.

"I'm gonna get its attention," I called to Seryn and Ashura. "Cover me."

I started running and jumped from spire to spire until I was level with the Nightmare. Waving my arms, I tried to get its attention. "Hey, Flame-breath!" come and get me!" But the Nightmare didn't seem interested. Getting frustrated, I charged up an orb of Chaos energy in my hand and firing it at it. I missed but that was enough to get it to fire a ball of fire at me, missing me, but barely.

Now that I had gotten its attention, I spiraled down the spire with the Nightmare in hot pursuit. "Heads up, you guys!" I called to my partners.

When the Nightmare passed over us as if inspecting us, Seryn did something both incredibly brave and incredibly stupid at once. She launched herself at the Nightmare's tail and grappled onto its armor with her claws and teeth, trying to rip the armor off. The dragon shrieked and flailed its tail, trying to dislodge its opponent. But the determined Flammie continued tugging at the armor until she finally tore it from the dragon's tail and sent it tumbling into the air below.

"Seryn..." I told her as she landed next to me with a thump. "Don't do that again."

Seryn merely squealed and sunk her talons into the tower roof. "Ashura! Get over here! He's gonna blow... hard!"

Ashura quickly ran over to us and grabbed onto Seryn's arm. The Nightmare spread its wings and began flapping them rapidly in an attempt to blow us away in a gust of wind. Seryn's girth was too much for her to move much and her gripping pads and folded wings allowed her to remain immovable. As for me, I merely ran as fast as I could to beat the wind and stay on the tower.

But suddenly, I felt my feet leave the ground and I began to fly unintentionally. Thankfully, I slammed right into Seryn's chest, moving her about an inch and stopping my flight.

When the Nightmare found that it couldn't blow us off the tower, it then swooped down on us, talons extended. It didn't look like Seryn was going to move in time, so I took matters into my own hands by firing a blast of Chaos energy straight at the Nightmare's chest. It shrieked and veered off to one side, leaving some of its arm and leg armor on the tower roof.

Thanks, Silver, said Ashura, taking a breather. I owe you one.

"No, you don't." I didn't need to be in anyone's debt.

Yes, I do. I'm gonna get a piece of that dragon and prove to Hyozanryu that I can beat my Nightmares.

Seryn and I looked at each other. Ashura had always been known to rush in without thinking – it was a trait that made him who he was and he had kept it up for over 1000 years. However, now was not the time to let him run off on his own – even in his part-dragon state, he was still mortal and was at even greater risk of being killed by the Nightmares.

The Nightmare flew up to sit on a spire and perched itself on the top for a moment. Seryn, Ashura and I were on the alert as it then leapt from the spire, wings and talons stretched and dove straight for us.

Seryn was about to leap at the dragon again, but instead, Ashura ran up her back and latched onto the Nightmare's chest. The two of us could only watch as the Nightmare roared and clawed at the demi-dragon. Ashura took some scrapes to the back, ripping his super-mineral skin easily and spraying silver blood everywhere. But before Ashura detached from the Nightmare's chest, he managed to use his harder-than-diamond claws to tear the last of its armor from its chest and back, leaving it exposed for an attack.

I kept... my part... of the bargain, Ashura said, wincing in pain from the gashes in his back. Tell Hyozanryu... I tried.

But I refused to hear it. I wasn't going to let one of the Sacred Six die in his most vulnerable state. Looking up at Seryn, I said, "Deal with it. I'll take care of him."

Seryn growled deep in her chest, spread her wings and took flight to engage the Nightmare Dragon in mid-air combat.

SERYN

Silver and Ashura were out of the fight, so it was up to me this time to defeat the Nightmare Dragon. While Silver was healing Ashura, I had to keep the Nightmare away from them and in the air. The only problem was that I had to find a weakness to exploit and defeat it.

The Nightmare and I circled the tops of the spires high above the tower roof in a stalemate. It didn't take its burning-red eyes away from my baby-blue ones. It would occasionally feint towards the tower roof, trying to get me to fly to the others' aid and expose my back, but I wasn't fooled. It was going to take a lot more than mind games to get me to fall for that old trick.

All of a sudden, the Nightmare let out a brutal roar and charged me. It was considerably bigger than me, so I couldn't lock talons with it and hope to win. Instead, I flew at it and played a dangerous game of Chicken. Just as it was about to grab me, I took a sharp turn left and the Nightmare closed its talons on nothing. Once I was on the other side of the Nightmare, I spun around to face it again. However, the dragon was slightly too slow to avoid me seeing a possible weak spot.

In the center of the dragon's ruby-scaled back was a large, pulsating, purple welt that had been previously covered by its black body armor. I felt queasy at the thought of sinking my fangs into that, but then again, I realized that I had no choice.

Weak point noted, I flew back to confront the Nightmare again. But this time, it belched a massive fireball at me. It was even bigger than me! I folded my wings to my sides, dropping out of the air for the moment. Unfortunately, it didn't stop the fireball from singeing my thick yellow hair. Quickly spitting on my paw, I clapped my hand to my head, extinguishing the flames and leaving a black residue on my paw.

Feeling cheated of my pride, I spread my wings again and flew under the Nightmare this time. Before it knew what hit it, I had reappeared on the Nightmare's other side and latched myself onto the purple boil on the dragon's back, sinking my teeth into it.

OH, IT WAS JUST AWFUL!!! It tasted just AWFUL!!! The boil tasted like rotten eggs, slowly marinated in vomit and left to sit in a pen full of agitated skunks! I would never get this taste out of my mouth!

However, it seemed to be working. With each bite, the Nightmare shrieked in rage and pain and its wings locked up, sending the two of us plowing into the top of the tower just a couple of feet from Silver and Ashura.

I detached from the dragon's back, spitting out the vile ooze and took flight again. I hadn't completely destroyed the boil, but I had slightly ruptured it and had caused the Nightmare to bellow in rage at me when it got back in the air.

The force of its roar was powerful enough to cause a series of storm clouds to gather. Now I had massive winds to deal with along with another fireball being sent my way. I avoided the fireball this time but I was sent spinning through the air by a powerful whack of the dragon's tail out of nowhere!

I felt several bones in my left back leg break and pain seared through my body. This was a pretty good dream if the pain was this real... if this was a dream. Thankfully, there was enough height left before impact and I pulled out of the spin without leaving my face planted on the tower roof.

Now wounded, I watched the Nightmare roar and dive for me again. There was no way I was going to get in the air fast enough to avoid it, so I improvised by barrel-rolling to one side, causing the dragon to plant its own face on the tower roof.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Flammie?!" Silver yelled at me. He had nearly had his head taken off by one of the Nightmare's wings and was practically on the edge of the tower from the shockwave it had sent through the roof.

"Slight change in plans." I said, wincing from the pain shooting through my leg. "All is well."

I then pounced on the Nightmare's back and dug both my teeth and talons into the pulsating purple pustule (say that five times fast). I tried to ignore the vile taste my mouth as I did whatever it took to destroy the boil. All the while, the Nightmare bellowed and flapped its wings, trying to dislodge me from its back... but to no avail.

With the sound of skin tearing, I finally burst the boil, ending up taking a face full of the vile liquid in the process. Wiping the gunk out of my eyes, I noticed that there was now a large patch of unprotected flesh on the Nightmare's back directly over where its spine would be.

Now I knew where I could do the most damage to the Nightmare, but I was too slow in dealing it. The dragon reached back with its claw and snatched me right off its back! It held me in its claw and began squeezing the life from my body. Despite my massive size, I was nothing in comparison to this beast. I felt like a baby chick at the mercy of a cruel human. I desperately tried to squirm out of its grip, but my wings were caught in-between its claws, preventing me from slithering out.

The Nightmare looked at me like a delicious meal as it tightened its grip on my body. I gasped and tried to draw breath, but it was proving extremely difficult.

You may or may not know that the only way to kill a Flammie was to destroy both its brain and its heart simultaneously. Otherwise, our own regeneration can heal them completely. But "suffocation" is definitely on the list of possible ways to kill me and it looked like the Nightmare was about to find that out. This was the end for me... I could almost hear its voice in my head saying, "It looks like you're about to be stuck for good!"

...but not today! Suddenly, the Nightmare dropped me and arched its back in pain. I fell to the tower roof and gasped for breath. The dragon spun around in agony and I could see a lone figure on its back.

At first, I thought it was Silver, but his fur did not have the reflective properties that belonged to...

"Ashura!"

The demi-dragon had plunged his talons and muzzle-horn into the now-unprotected patch on the Nightmare's back and left them in there for a while. All the while, it was in the air again and was flailing around in a fit of pain and confusion. I could hear Ashura's voice calling out to the Nightmare in a menacing tone.

Not if I stick you first!

With a violent pull, Ashura ripped his talons and horn out of the Nightmare and backflipped onto the tower roof. He then called to Silver, "Now! Finish it for good!" As soon as he said this, he collapsed from overwhelming fatigue.

Silver had been charging his powers of Chaos for one final attack. He jumped up a nearby spire and was suddenly engulfed by a golden aura. I could hear his voice echo throughout this realm.

"CHAOS... SPEAR!!!"

Like lightning, he flung himself at the Nightmare (not exactly at his weak spot) and blasted through its body, leaving a clean hole burning in its flesh.

But he wasn't finished... not by a long shot. Silver landed on another spire and flung himself at the Nightmare once again. Delivering another Chaos Spear, he blasted through its torso and landed high up on the top of a different spire.

But the final attack came when Silver delivered one more Chaos Spear directly vertical with the tower roof, plowing through the Nightmare's skull and landed back on the roof. The Nightmare shrieked and screamed with rage, pain and defeat. It thrashed and flailed every which way in mid-air until beams of white light began shooting from its body. The beams multiplied until the Nightmare Dragon spread its arms, legs, wings and head out for one final cry of defeat. With that, the Nightmare exploded into millions of fragments of violet energy, which dissipated into thin air.

Silver looked up at the sky, which was now clearing and revealing a bright, shining sun. He then chuckled to himself and smiled.

"Two down... one to go."

ASHURA

The next thing I remember was finding myself with Seryn and Silver on the same cliff over the lake that I had chucked Hyozanryu's Diamond into. I took my first breaths of fresh air in a while and winced at the pains in my back that Silver had done his best to heal. I brought myself to my hands and knees and looked at the ground, taking deep breaths and trying to avoid the pain I was in. Looking to the side, I noticed that Seryn and Silver were still unconscious. What's more, I realized that I was holding something in my right claw.

Oh... my... god... it was Hyozanryu's Diamond! I had thought that it was still in the lake! How could this be?

You have done well. Looking up, I smiled weakly at the figure that stood in front of me.

It was Hyozanryu himself. But this time, he wasn't only an apparition or a ghost – he was really there as a flesh-and-blood god! His diamond-like skin was shining brightly in the sunlight and he looked nobly down at me.

I am very proud of you, Ashura, said Hyozanryu, kneeling down so that I could look him in the eye. You put the safety of others before yourself and defeated the Nightmares with your bare claws. Well done.

But I couldn't take all the credit. But Silver was the one who killed it. I can't take credit for his actions.

Hyozanryu smiled and closed his eyes. No, Ashura. The Nightmares could only be completely destroyed by the hands of a god. You delivered the attacks into the Nightmare's back with your own claws, thus rendering it defenseless. Silver only finished the job. This day belongs to you... my brother.

Your... brother? I could barely believe my ears. Hyozanryu, the True Diamond Dragon and God of Light, had called me his equal... no... his brother. I had never been that close with my brother or sisters as a human, and now a dragon, no... a god was calling me his "brother". The honor and respect I felt for Hyozanryu reached a new level. I was beyond words.

Hyozanryu held out his paw for me to take. Need some help... brother? Tears came to my eyes as I took it in my own.

As I was brought to my feet, I could feel something growing from my shoulders that had not been there before. I grinned and wept as I realized that I had gotten my true dragon wings. I was now an Immortal and a god.

Putting a claw to my eyes, I felt something hard chip away from them and fall into my paw. When I examined them, I noticed that they were shards of very real, very clear diamonds.

What's... this... brother?

Dragon's Weep Diamonds, said Hyozanryu, running a single talon down my new wings in turn. They are the result of the Diamond Dragons' feelings of pure joy or pure sadness. They are priceless artifacts that we leave this world in our time of joy or sadness. You should feel proud.

I sighed as I walked to the edge of the cliff with the Dragon's Weep Diamonds in my paw. I looked at the priceless gem fragments that I had brought into this world. And then with a gentle tip of my paw, I let the diamonds fall into the lake far below me and hit the water with a couple of plink-like sounds.

My first gift to this world. May they bring someone special great happiness.

Well done. Hyozanryu nodded and joined me at the cliff's edge and put an arm around my shoulders. You've conquered your first real obstacle. Greed is a dangerous enemy.

The two of us stood there as we watched the sun slowly sink into the horizon. It really was quite spectacular to watch from here.

SILVER

It was nighttime before I finally came to alongside Seryn, who was on her back, looking up at the stars. I looked around and saw that Ashura and Hyozanryu were nowhere to be seen. Yawning and stretching, I walked over to Seryn and laid down next to her.

"So... how are you coming along?" Seryn cooed and purred as she let me rub her belly plates.

"I'm just fine. My wounds have recovered from the Nightmare battle and Ashura and Hyozanryu have already departed for the heavens."

"Oh..." I was disappointed that I didn't get a chance to say good-bye to them. But then I figured that I would see them again when we fought Giygas in about six weeks.

"You know..." said Seryn, purring loudly as I scratched behind her ears. "I've forgotten how good the stars looked 1000 years ago. There's usually too much activity in the sky or I'm too busy to really stop and take a look at them."

She did have a point. They were beautiful. You could actually tell which ones weren't starships or satellites or stuff like that. I would probably never get another opportunity like this.

"So, Silver..." she said, rolling onto her side. "Do you think we should find Alex III tomorrow morning?"

I guess that I could take a night off and get back to things in the morning. "Sure, why not? Let's get some sleep."

Seryn nodded and yawned widely, making me chuckle. She was so cute like that! I waved my hands above me and a blanket of white light appeared over the two of us, keeping us warm and safe throughout the night. Within minutes, I had fallen asleep, entranced by Seryn's heartbeat and her deep, rumbling breaths.

Later the next day, I was flying on Seryn's back over the ocean. She knew the ideal path that would cover mostly ocean and stay away from civilization. Even in the past, it was still nice to get away from civilization for as long as possible. Not only that, but she knew the areas with the most cloud cover to soar above, adding to the beauty.

I guess I should explain that. Have you ever looked out of the window on an airplane over a location with heavy white cloud cover? Now imagine flying on the back of a furry hang glider 20,000 feet up in the air. That's what it looks like and feels like when the two of us do it. Besides, seeing white puffy clouds at this altitude added a whole new dimension of beauty and splendor to the flight, especially on a storm-free day.

But it wasn't just Seryn and me up here – flying on either side of us were the two Guardians and the two Diamond Dragons, Lugia, Altair, Hyozanryu and Ashura. It was certainly a sight to behold to see six of the Nine Immortals flying side-by side. Even though they had just returned to the planet and the Day of Giygas loomed ever closer, none of us could pass up this beautiful moment to enjoy the awesomeness of this planet. Everything was perfect.

...but not for long. All of a sudden, the clouds turned gray and rain began pouring down in sheets. The time that the storm had formed alarmed even Lugia and Altair. We all halted in our flight to try to figure out what was going on.

"Lugia...?" I said worriedly, looking in his direction.

This is not my doing. This has an evil air about it.

I don't get it, said Ashura, wiping the water out of his eyes. The Day of Giygas is still six weeks away.

I tried to see through the rain, but the strength of the storm was too powerful for me to see much.

But then Altair realized something. This has Giygas' evil... but it is not Giygas himself. It is...

"ME!!!"

A deep, booming voice ripped through the air like a thunderclap, striking fear in my heart. I recognized that voice almost immediately and felt like I could have kicked myself. How could we have forgotten about...

"KING!!!" The six of us called out as one.

From off in the distance, I could see that a tear had appeared in the sky like the fabric of reality had been torn open. From out of it came the form of the King of Sorrow. I knew it was too good to be true – we had completely forgotten about King and the Dream Travelers!

The aqua-blue form of King was wielding a super-long, super-intimidating curved blade known as the Masamune. Even though it outgrew him by a long shot, King could wield that thing with dangerous accuracy.

But even as intimidating as the blade was, it was still the six of us against one of him.

You're outnumbered, King! called Ashura, spreading his wings and giving himself an intimidating look.

You can't take us all on at once! Altair had changed to his anthro form, giving him a speed advantage during combat.

But King didn't seem intimidated by us. He merely hung his head and smiled darkly. He chuckled to himself and spoke to us, although the sounds of the storm all but drowned him out.

"You didn't think I would take you all on, did you? The Demon of Sorrow against the Guardians, the Diamond Dragons, a Flammie and a hedgehog? No... this time, I am prepared. For the first time, you will feel the strength of who you are really up against... my master – Giygas!"

From within the tear in the dimension behind him came an eerie purple mist. that spread throughout the sky with alarming speed. Within seconds, our entire area was completely black with the strange purple mist surrounding us.

For the first time in my heart, I felt pure evil surrounding me. Mewtwo and the Nightmares had absolutely nothing on the strength of the darkness surrounding us. At long last, I understood what we were up against. I now knew what incredible force could have destroyed every Immortal. It was only by chance that Giygas did not affect Seryn's or my future.

Uh... Lugia? said Altair, spinning in place to try and see his foe. What do we do now?

I... I don't... I don't know... I feel... weak... His voice and his confidence was fading. I cannot... see... my sight... is failing.

Giygas' power was overcoming him, making him as weak as the humans down below on the earth. I couldn't believe how influential his power was. I was even more astonished to see Lugia's wings fold against his sides and see him drop from the sky. And then against all odds, Lugia's body dissolved into bits of violet light! He was gone!

BROTHER!!! cried Altair, trying to keep his shock under control. He then turned to King. YOU!!! He started to fly off towards King but suddenly froze in place. He then started twitching involuntarily and his eyes rolled up in his head. It looked like he was having a seizure.

King merely laughed as he watched his master's power destroy him. "You fool! No one can harm my master! And when he fully awakens in six weeks, the whole world will fall under his power! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!!"

Seryn and I could only watch as Altair, Hyozanryu and Ashura were defeated by Giygas' unfathomable power. Within a minute, they were nothing but memories and it was only me and Seryn left to face King and Giygas.

"What do you think of my master's power now, scum?! Not even Lugia – God Reincarnated – could stand up to him! Any last words before you are destroyed completely?!"

There was no way that either of us could face the two of them and hope to survive. We had no choice but to try and flee. I pulled Seryn into an immediate about-face and we flew off. I was half-expecting King to follow, but a cold, dark voice echoed around us."

"...leave... them... worthless... weak..." It was the Voice of Giygas.

"But, Master!" cried King off in the distance. "They were sent to destroy you! They've already killed Mewtwo and the Nightmares! You can't just let them go!"

But Giygas seemed to have anticipated this. "...slow... painful... no more... win..."

Giygas' presence seemed to be receding and I could see light approaching up ahead. Seryn cried, "We're gonna make it!" and put on an extra burst of speed.

But just as it looked like we were going to get away, Seryn suddenly froze up and her wings became like lead. She was gasping for breath and doubled-over in pain. "Silver...!" she cried as we plummeted to the ground... "It hurts! It hurts so much! I... I can't... go... on!"

As the ground came up to meet us, I could see a light approaching rapidly. I knew what that was. Please... let me wake up... make it stop... let it end...

I woke up screaming. For a minute, I thought I had died. It had all seemed so real. The King of Sorrow... the gods' demise... it couldn't be true.

Looking up at the sky, I could see a bright sun shining down on us. We were in the same spot as we were when I had fallen asleep. There was no indication that that had been real. I could breathe a little easier now.

Looking over at Seryn, I put a hand on her head... and pulled out a tuft of her fur?!?! What the...?! I stood up and looked at Seryn from above. I could have screamed if it wasn't for the sheer shock. Seryn had been horribly disfigured by something. Her entire left arm was bare, pink and fleshy with very human-looking nails in place of her brown talons. The same thing went for her right leg – bare and only half of its original size. Also, her right arm was much thinner and looked similar to her left one except that her right paw, pad and talons were still there. I also noticed that the two wings on the right half of her back had disappeared. The rest of her body was still Flammie-ish except for a reduction in her size and half of her straw-yellow hair had thinned out and turned brown.

"Seryn! Seryn, wake up!"

Seryn opened her eyes and I could see that they were still baby-blue. She moaned as she tried to move and I could see that she was in an extreme amount of pain.

"S...Silver? Where... am I?" He clenched her teeth as something in her spine snapped. "Oh... it hurts so much. I can't... move."

"Seryn, what's happening to you?!" I couldn't believe that this was happening to her. If Seryn died, then I was on my own to stop King and Giygas!

She managed to look me in the face and whimper. "I've been poisoned. Giygas is destroying me from the inside by turning me back to my human form."

"No!" I cried. "You can't go! I won't let you!"

But Seryn merely let out a squeak and took my hand in her remaining paw. "It's... too late for me... Silver. Even if I become human... Giygas' poison... will surely kill me."

But I refused to believe it. "I won't let you die, Seryn. I can use Chaos to bring you back! It'll all be over soon."

"No, Silver! If you use Chaos now, you'll kill me for sure. Please... just let me... become human... I've forgotten... what it felt like... Besides..." She gingerly pulled off the cord around her neck that bore the Flammie fang that she had had for 1000 years. and put it in my hand. "You can... make me... whole again... Lugia always said... "What is death... but the next step... in life...?"

I was losing her and I knew it. It was all up to me to save the four gods and recruit the Dream Travelers. It was all up to me now. "I promise, Seryn..." I said, fighting back tears. "I'll save our future. Giygas... King... they'll both pay for this treachery! I promise you that!"

Seryn smiled and then groaned as her body underwent another series of detransformations. Her tail made violent grinding noises as her spine receded into her body. Her remaining wings snapped violently and shrunk into her shoulder and lower back. Her skull and her remaining paw remained intact, but she lost a good deal of fur during this process.

But that's not what startled me. For the first time, I realized that Seryn had not only had her body changed 1000 years ago, but she was a he! (Author's Note: SURPRISE!!!!!!). I quickly covered his shame with some of the molted fur and tried to make him feel comfortable during his last moments.

"Seryn... I never knew..." I said, shocked beyond all belief.

Seryn smiled as he took slow, steady breaths. "I didn't want to tell you guys unless it came to it. Being a female Flammie was much more fun than being a male human – I admit that now. But you shouldn't be ashamed – this was my choice, and you shouldn't take it to heart."

"I won't. I promise you that. By the way... what was your name?"

Seryn chuckled. "You're gonna love this – it was Sam! Weird, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess." That was a pretty good coincidence.

Sam sighed as he said his final farewells. "Good-bye, Silver. I'll put in a good word for you in the afterlife." He then looked up at the sky and shuddered. "And now... for the final adventure."

I held Sam's hand as he underwent a final transformation. He was quite handsome when he was completely human. A few minutes later, I felt his hand go rigid and then limp as he drew his final breath... and was gone.

But that was not all. A few minutes after he died, Sam's body dissolved into millions of bursts of green light. They then flew off into the air and then vanished soon after.

I said a silent prayer in his honor and then decided to at least make a memorial for him since he... she had been so suddenly taken away from me. Getting up, I went to work.

30 minutes later, I had laid "Seryn" to rest in a deep grave near the cliff's edge using my powers of chaos and had erected a large stone Flammie monument in her honor by fusing several large boulders together. I wanted to make sure that this monument would always stand in her memory, so I etched the following words into the base of the monument:

Here lies Sam Tyko, aka "Seryn the Flammie".

Our little bundle of joy taken from us before her time.

Brave. Kind. Unique.

May her wings never fail and may she soar the skies of the afterlife with pride!

That should do it. It was a memorial that would always stand for all time.

However, I had a feeling that if Giygas was ever destroyed, this memorial would vanish and Seryn would be alive and well 1000 years from now. Oh well. It would suit her memory until then.

After a silent prayer in her honor, I looked at the Flammie fang that she had given me during her last moments. It was up to me to deliver it to her past self so that it would pass on its legacy to her future self. Don't ask me to explain the logic behind it – I just have a job to do.

Taking one last look at the stone Flammie looking up at the sky with its wings spread nobly, I sped off towards the Midwest where I would find Sam and Alex Schaefer III. I only hoped that King and/or Giygas didn't find them first.

When I reached the woods behind the quiet town of Willmar, Minnesota, I could immediately tell that something was wrong. It was 2:00 in the afternoon and yet it was darker than midnight. The birds were not singing and something strange (not evil – strange) hung in the air. Even the incredible sheen of my silver fur was failing to catch any light. That's how unnaturally dark it was. Every step I made in the forest sounded like I was making a racket with power tools early in the morning. I didn't know what it was, but something supernatural was hanging around these woods.

Walking around, I noticed that the deeper I went into the woods, the colder it seemed to become. The air was becoming absolutely frigid and before long, I was shivering. And that was saying something because it had been rather warm for a November day and the cold almost never bothered me due to my fur.

But the further into the woods I walked, I had a feeling that whatever I was looking for would come to me if I just kept walking. The symbols on the backs of my hands were reacting to something supernatural in the woods and I used them to track down the source.

"A sud joo oei... Silver..."

I nearly had a heart attack. I had heard someone calling out to me in the ancient language. Looking around, I realized that I was not alone in these woods. There was someone spiritual in here.

"Semo ke mo, Silver... A mijk jfoub nakx oei."

I'm pretty sure whatever was out there had said, "Come to me, Silver... I must speak with you." I realized that this had to be the last of the Sacred Six, but I just couldn't place a name.

"Where are you?" I called to the voice. "It's too dark out here!"

"Semo, Silver... A nacc wiato eio."

That one was a little tougher. I was pretty sure it had said, "Come, Silver... I will guide you." I used my psychic abilities to narrow down the location of the voice.

After some more stumbling through the darkened woods, I eventually spotted an orb of pale green light hovering in a nearby clearing. A few blind steps later, I had reached the clearing and I could see the almost-invisible figure of...

"Klonoa..."

I recognized those dangling white-and-black ears and the blue cap along with the red shoes, black-and-white fur and yellow gloves. I also made out the distinct shape of the golden ring with its green gem molded into the gold band. His narrow yellow eyes looked at me with satisfaction.

There was just one key difference – Klonoa wasn't completely "whole". In other words, he was merely a "ghost" of his former self (no pun intended). Despite that, he had his both his feet planted on the ground – something I was sure ghosts did not normally do.

"I've been waiting for you, Silver the Hedgehog," said Klonoa, still speaking in the ancient language, but I understood him completely now. "I was wondering if you had survived the King of Sorrow's Dream World rampage."

"I haven't been to the Dream World lately," I told him, crossing my arms. "But King has done enough damage in the waking world to infuriate me to no end."

Klonoa looked alarmed. "King has been in the Real World? I thought his powers only worked in the Dream World."

I shook my head. "Not anymore. Ever since he teamed up with Giygas, he's done some unforgivable acts."

Klonoa raised an eyebrow at the name. "Giygas? Giygas... I'm not familiar with that entity. Can you explain this "Giygas" to me?"

I not only did that, but I told him my entire mission layout. I told him about the Guardians' and the Diamond Dragons' demise at the hands of King and Giygas and even about the death of my partner, Seryn. But before I told him that, I told him about my mission to save the Earth's future by defeating the Three Demons and awakening the Sacred Six. To my great surprise, Klonoa seemed unaware that Lugia or Hyozanryu had returned to the planet. Since Klonoa had usually remained in the Dream World up until now, he had paid little attention to the matters of the Real World. He was surprised that the Guardians and Diamond Dragons were considering adding him and his soon-to-be-partner, Arcana, to their ranks.

When I told him about Arcana, Klonoa appeared to have expected this.

"I have already sent word to one Alex Schaefer via the Dream World that I am in need of his assistance. He is currently in the hospital due to one of King's attacks, but when he arrives home tomorrow, I will call him here so that I can "convert" him into a form that will help me defeat King."

I had always known Klonoa to be free-spirited and easy-going, but I never expected him to be this serious in this time of crisis. The Klonoa "I" knew must have had a personality adjustment after King was defeated.

"Is there anything I can do?" I said, offering to help.

Klonoa blinked for a second and then shook his head. "Not at the moment. I have everything under control. But if you wish to help me fight King, come back to this spot with Alex in three days. I will bring you with us to the Dream World so that we can confront the King of Sorrow."

I nodded. I might as well find something to do while Klonoa went to work. I might as well find out where the soon-to-be-Flammie Sam Tyko lived and find a place to hide the Flammie fang.

I bid Klonoa farewell and he allowed me to leave the woods guided by a path of green light that led me out of the darkened woods. Unfortunately, he couldn't follow me out because his spirit was struggling to survive after a one-sided battle with King in the Dream World a few days ago. He had to stay where he was because this was the spot in the Dream World where his body was laying lifeless. It was only by luck that he found his soon-to-be-partner, Alex III (aka "Arcana") living in the area. It was more than chance that it was me who had found him and warned him about Giygas.

ALEX III

(Author's Note: I used the III to separate the three Alex's names. Please keep in mind that none of them knew at this point that they all had the same name or that Alex III knew he would become Arcana. I'm just going to pick up in his story where he just comes home from the hospital. For more details, read "Dreams Come True 3".)

A few days after the sudden attack by King, I was given a clean bill of health and returned home. By now, over 20 different people in Willmar had been brought into the hospital suffering from mysterious, unexplained injuries. Of those 20 people, about five had been dead on arrival or died on the operating table. What's more, many of the survivors were starting to turn up dead in their sleep from further attacks in the hospital even after they had been stabilized.

The local police were completely baffled. The randomness of the attack victims and their injuries suggested that multiple assailants were on the loose. But I knew better – this was all being caused by the King of Sorrow. But that didn't help in the slightest. After all, how would you explain that a creature in the "Dream World" was somehow causing the attacks in their dreams to become real? Please. The only thing I could to was to trust Klonoa and hope that the Dream Traveler could put an end to the carnage.

When I arrived home, I found a mysterious note in my doorway written in a slightly-sloppy handwriting that I did not recognize.

Alex,

Don't forget what I told you.

Klonoa

I should have asked how a creature in my dreams could write a letter and give it physical form in the Real World, but I knew better. That dream and the explanation of my injuries had been too real to consider it a coincidence.

Shortly after that, I was walking through the woods in the back of my house, looking for a sign of Klonoa. There was something unnatural about the darkness that hung in the air. Even though it was only noon, it was pitch-black and stone-silent in the woods. The birds seemed to know that a great evil was loose on the world and refused to call.

What's more, I had a feeling that something was watching me. Every few steps I took, something sounded like it was following me.

"Klonoa?" I called to the darkness. "Are you out here?"

Silence. I didn't like it – it was too quiet. I couldn't even hear the sounds of the city that I normally heard when I was out here.

For the first time in these woods, I felt scared. I had never felt scared in these woods before, but this time, my fear was genuine. I didn't like the suspense, but I kept walking. If Klonoa wanted me to find him, he would be much further on.

All of a sudden, it started to get really cold. And that was saying something, because it was rater warm for a November weekend. After countless hours of watching supernatural documentaries on TV, I had a feeling on what to expect from the supernatural should it ever occur to me.

What I was getting at was that a sudden decrease in temperature in an area meant that something abnormal was in the area. Even though I had never encountered a ghost before, I had a feeling that one was watching me. But I had learned that it helped if you did your best not to show your fear – it only adds pleasure to the spirit when it knows that you are afraid.

"Klonoa!" I called out to the darkness again. "If you're out there, show yourself."

But nothing was out there. And yet, something was out there. I reached a clearing and stopped. It was so dark here that I couldn't see any way out any longer and so cold that I was shivering visibly despite my warm jacket. I was surprised that I hadn't hit any trees so far from stumbling in the darkness."

"Oei xulo uhhalot..."

I all but stopped breathing. A voice had sounded from somewhere around me. It was more of a whisper than an actual voice. And yet... it sounded like...

"Klonoa?"

I didn't hear or see anything that confirmed it was him... until the wind started to pick up. The freezing wind bit right through my jacket and I thought I was going to pass out from the extreme cold.

And then I saw him. A faint outline of someone looking a lot like Klonoa appeared standing a few feet away from me. I was quite sure that I was sane and wasn't seeing things. I recognized his long black-and-white ears, his yellow gloves, his blue cap and his golden ring. He said nothing and we stared at each other for a while.

Finally... "Well, Klonoa... I'm here. What do I do next?"

Klonoa stared back at me, his yellow eyes boring a hole in my soul. "Ke tovouk King, no mijk rosemo edo."

"Say what?" I could understand him in my dreams, but in the Real World, I had no idea what he was saying.

Klonoa's apparition rose into the air slightly and the wind reached a pitch that I could no longer see him. The next thing I knew, I was being thrown backwards a good ten feet and came to rest on the cold hard earth.

What the hell was that?! It felt as if someone had taken a swing at me with a sledgehammer! My chest hurt and I was colder than ever.

"Ohh..." I moaned, getting up gingerly. "What did you do to me? Klonoa?"

He wasn't there. The wind had died and the sunlight had returned along with the welcoming heat of the sun, but I was still cold and I could see my breath in front of me.

I tried to comprehend what Klonoa had done to me. From the feel of things, if felt as if he had passed straight through my body like a spirit. I then realized something – could he have possessed me?! I didn't want to believe it and I called out his name to prove that it wasn't true.

"Klonoa! Where are you?! Please don't leave me hanging here!"

SILVER

I finished shaping the earth with my mind and stood back to examine my work. It was hidden pretty well if you asked me. I had buried the Flammie fang in a wooden box a good three feet down. Even though he had a dog, I was sure that Sam would not find the fang for a decent number of years when he was supposed to. I didn't want to put up with losing Seryn again in the upcoming battle on the Day of Giygas, so I made sure that the earth looked seemingly untouched. If all went well, it would not resurface until the year 2007 when Sam... (Author's Note: That's a secret, too! I don't want to blow the next story before I've written it!). From the look of things, it was all a matter of fate when this fang resurfaced and Seryn the Flammie was reborn. I also left a little something special for his troubles. I'm not going to tell you what it is – I'd ruin the surprise!

Once I had appreciated my work long enough, I took off and headed back towards Willmar. Sam was almost home and I didn't want to tip him off that I'd been here. Now it was a waiting game to see if my hard work and Seryn's sacrifice paid off.

I returned to Willmar the next day and found that the woods were once again clear and sunny. Klonoa had obviously left and "Arcana" was going through his conversion right now. I had no idea what to do until Klonoa contacted me again.

On a hunch, I meandered back up the trail to Alex's house to see at stage he was in in his conversion. Once I looked in his living room window, though, I found him fully transformed and reading a letter in a chair with his back to me.

If I had to describe his new form, I would have to say that Arcana was the spitting image of his "brother". At the moment, he didn't know that Klonoa was still out there. He was under the impression that he, himself, had become Klonoa. Just for the heck of it, I wanted to see the expression on his furry face when he saw his twin looking back at him.

Arcana put the letter down and looked up at the clock. He seemed to be expecting something because he got up, put his shoes, jacket and hat on and made for the back door. I hid in the bushes as he left the house for the woods and then followed him carefully and quietly. I had to keep in mind that Arcana now had enhanced hearing with his new form and that he could pick up the almost inaudible whine of the jets embedded in my shoes. I gave him a 30-second head start and then followed him through the woods.

I had to keep an eye on him while avoid getting seen myself. If I tipped off Arcana that I was following him now, I would blow the whole mission when I was so close to my goal.

ALEX

(Author's Note: As of right now, Arcana does not know his true name or that Silver is following him. He also doesn't have his ring with him because Klonoa hasn't given it to him yet. Read "Dreams Come True 3" for more details.)

By the time I reached the clearing where Klonoa had "possessed" me, I had just 30 seconds until 7:07 – the time Klonoa had told me to meet him at. My ears hurt from getting repeatedly snagged on stray branches and my eyes were watering from the pain. It had seemed that my ears had caught on every possible branch in my path, pulling out tuffs of fur and staining the black fur with drops of blood. Regardless, I looked around and shivered. I could feel the frigid air again even with my clothes and coat of fur on me.

"Klonoa? I'm here." I had earlier realized how similar my voice had sounded to his.

"So you are."

The Klonoa-like apparition had appeared in the same spot as last time. This time, however, I could make it out a little easier. He also appeared to be smiling.

"I'm impressed that you came despite the various... "snags" along the way."

Wait a minute... "You knew I would have trouble with my ears, didn't you?!"

"Of course. It was just the preliminaries of the mental conversion to test if you were ready to join me."

"Well, I made it, didn't I?"

Klonoa chuckled. "You did indeed. But now you must face the second part of your conversion."

"And how do I do that?" It sounded like I was talking to myself with the similarities in our voices.

"Stand perfectly still. I will administer the mental conversion."

I did so. I looked at my counterpart's yellow pupils and my ears were completely lifeless despite the blowing wind.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded.

Klonoa raised his ring and pointed the green gem directly at my head. A small burst of light fired from it and the "mental conversion" began.

(Author's Note: To make a long story short, let's just say that Arcana was in a lot of pain during this "mental conversion". Let's just skip right to the next part.)

I thought that the pain would find some way to intensify, but what I didn't expect was the pain to completely vanish, leaving me inside an endless, white, cloudy void. I got up and looked around. Was I... dead? Did I finally crack from the searing pain?

"No..." said a familiar voice. "You have just entered the Dream World."

"Klo... no... a?" I could barely speak.

A rather solid-looking Klonoa was walking towards me. In fact, he didn't look like a spirit at all. "But... how could this be? I thought...

"You have passed the mental conversion. You have taken your rightful place as a Dream Traveler."

"But... if I'm here... what happened to my body?"

"You're in it. Those who travel to the Dream World like us take their earthly bodies with them."

"Wow..." I didn't know what to say.

"I know how you feel," said a completely different voice. I looked to my side and saw that a third figure had joined us. If I had to call it by an animal's name, I guess I would have called him a "hedgehog". He certainly had the quills for it... although the silver fur was a little strange.

"Arcana," said Klonoa, introducing us. "Meet Silver the Hedgehog. He's from our future and has come to help us defeat the King of Sorrow."

Arcana... was that... my name? Was that my... true name? I knew that all people had true names. Was "Arcana"... mine?

Once I had gotten over this and had accepted this fact, I said hello to Silver. After a brief conversation between us, the three of us started walking down the streets of the Dream World, beginning our search for King.

SILVER

You're probably wondering how I managed to get into the Dream World without being seen by Arcana, right? To tell you the truth, I actually walked in on Klonoa putting him through his "mental conversion". I was slightly taken aback by the pain he was putting him through, but he reassured me that traveling to the Dream World for the first time as a god was always painful no matter who you were. I should know – I had to deal with it when I...

sigh You really thought you'd pull one over on me this time, didn't you? I told you – that's my business and I'll tell you when I'm ready!

The point is that when I walked in on Klonoa and Arcana, they were beginning to fade from this world. And since I didn't have a ride to the Dream World, I quickly stepped in the ring of light surrounding the two of them during Arcana's conversion and hitched a ride at the last moment. Thankfully, Klonoa was expecting me and did not object. Now the three of us were walking the streets of the Dream World.

"This place has changed for the worse," I said to Klonoa as we walked the ruined streets for what seemed like ages. "The future looks better than this!"

Klonoa sighed and folded his arms as he walked. "It wasn't always like this. Not too long ago, it was a shining utopia that I took pride in protecting. This state of disrepair is all because of King's evil."

"You sound like the Guardian, Lugia, Klonoa," I said, smiling for some odd reason.

"Lugia..." Klonoa was rolling the name around his mind. "That name sounds so familiar. That wouldn't be the one that calls himself "God Reincarnated", would it?"

"Calls himself?" I said, amazed at what he was saying. "He is God Reincarnated! How can you not know that?"

"My bad..." said Klonoa, blushing for the first time. "I've been under the impression that I am on my own in the divine world."

"You and me both," I said, admitting it for the first time. "When I underwent my conversion, I assumed that "I" was all-powerful. Boy, did you two prove me wrong!"

At first, Klonoa looked confused but then realized that it must have been his future self who did that.

I then looked back and noticed that Arcana was lagging behind. He appeared deep in thought. Klonoa noticed as well and we stopped walking.

"Something bothering you, Arcana?"

Arcana didn't look at us right away. He was listening to something – you could tell because his ears were twitching, although you couldn't immediately from the way they were normally fluttering. Finally, he seemed to notice us and looked surprised. "Huh? What's wrong, guys?"

Klonoa and I looked at each other and I motioned with my head towards him. Klonoa nodded and we pressed Arcana for details.

"Something's bothering you," said Klonoa. It wasn't a question.

To my great surprise, he didn't deny it. "I know. I've been hearing voices in my head for the longest time. I've been hearing them long before I met you two. I just wish I could describe it."

I knew I probably shouldn't have, but I wanted to test out my psychic powers effectively for the first time. Cracking my knuckles, I walked over to Arcana and said, "Since you can't explain it vocally, I can offer to show your brother exactly what you've been hearing. Will you let me?" I added, not wanting to sound rude.

Arcana looked apprehensive, but timidly nodded and took a deep breath.

I walked over to him and delicately put a hand on his forehead just blow his bangs. Carefully focusing the powers of Chaos within me, I carefully channeled them through my arm so I wouldn't harm him – I was still new to this anyway. As soon as the Chaos hit his mind, my eyes lit up with white light and the area around us lit up like a movie screen. Now that I knew that I could project someone's thoughts like a movie, I carefully flipped through Arcana's memories like a card catalog. Each memory I hit was briefly projected like a high-speed light show complete with sound. Within a minute, I found what I was looking for – a large stained-glass cathedral-like room somewhere in the Dream World.

Klonoa watched as I "moved" around the room, looking for anything that might have explained Arcana's actions. Just then, he pointed to a point in the room and said, "Silver, look!"

I did... and nearly let the Chaos get away from me. The image flickered slightly as I kept the Chaos under control. There were several stained-glass windows in the room. Most of the images on them were pretty normal compared to those found in a regular church, but the images painted on four particular ones made my heart stand still.

The images of the Guardians, Lugia and Altair, and the figures of the Diamond Dragons, Hyozanryu and Ashura were burned into the colored glass like a great artist had done them with expert hands. They had been painted rather nobly in poses that suited their positions. Lugia and Altair had yellow halos around their heads and their wings were spread out gracefully while Hyozanryu and Altair were standing above crowds of people with their wings spread and a large diamond cupped in their paws.

A true art lover would have stood in awe at the detail that these windows displayed in relevance to the real ones, but what I heard next told me that this was anything but spectacular.

Xocf ij... Xocf ij...

Help us... Help us...

The four gods were calling out for our help! They were obviously imprisoned within the glass, but this place could be anywhere in the Dream World. We could search for ages and never find them!

I had seen enough. I withdrew the Chaos that I had put into his body and lifted my hand from his forehead, breaking the connection and restoring our surroundings. Without the Chaos in his system, Arcana suddenly felt drained of energy and slumped to the ground.

"I didn't think you could do that," said Klonoa, checking on Arcana to make sure he was okay. "You didn't hurt him, did you?"

"I hope not. Like I said, that was my first time harnessing Chaos like that. He should recover soon."

And he did. He carefully got to his feet and shook the cobwebs out of his head before speaking.

"Who were those creatures in the windows? You looked like you knew them."

I sighed and hung my head. "Yeah, I know 'em. Those are the four gods whose futures I've been trying to save along with yours. It was my partner, Seryn, who came with me from our time to try to prevent the Day of Giygas from occurring. In order to do that, we needed to destroy the Demons of Anger, Fear and Sorrow. Just when we were about to fight King, though, Giygas revealed himself and my friends were defeated. I guess now I know what he did with them."

When I was done, Klonoa thought about what I had been through so far. He couldn't believe that I had lasted this long in my mission and still had the strength to do what I had just done to Arcana.

In return for me warning him about Giygas, Klonoa shared a bit of information about my mission. "Silver, you've done so much for us already that I want to show you something important."

He walked over to one of the battered iron doors that led into one person's dream and placed his ring in a groove that ran all the way around the handle. He turned the embedded ring like a tumbler in a safe and something within the building gave a loud clunk. Pulling his ring out, he pulled open the door and showed us something strange.

A thin, narrow path stretched beyond the door into an infinite darkness. It curved and bent and dipped and arced and even broke in some spots to reach a location far away in the void. It seemed like the Highway to Hell except for one strange detail – the road was made up of flowing movie screens! The details of the videos ran through the road and ended in some places while starting other clips in others. I couldn't believe my eyes.

"Are those really...?" I said with bated breath.

"Yep, they're people's dreams. This is the legendary Dream Highway. Traveled correctly, it can take you to anywhere in the Dream World that you want to go. Even..."

"...King's Domain!" It all made sense now. This highway could lead us straight to the location where King was hiding out and I could finally destroy the final demon!

Taking a step forward, I made to cross the threshold of the door but was suddenly yanked back by Klonoa and Arcana.

"Hey! What gives?!"

"Slow down there, Jethro! You can't just walk on the Dream Highway!" said Arcana as I ripped my arm from his grasp. "Those dream streams aren't solid, you know."

"And how do you know that?" I said a little too angrily. Arcana said nothing.

"In order to travel the Dream Highway, you need one of these."

Klonoa fired a Wind Bullet from his ring and a Slider Board appeared out of nowhere. He then handed it to me. It was just my style – It was silver with my golden hedgehog insignia on it. Neat!

"Thanks, Klonoa," I said, weighing it with one hand. It was pretty lightweight despite its size.

Before Arcana could ask, Klonoa fired his ring at another point and a ball of red light appeared. The orb intensified and a shape appeared inside it. When it finally dissolved, a large golden ring topped with a red gem was in its wake.

Arcana looked at it in disbelief. "Is that...?"

Klonoa smiled and nodded. "Yep. That's your ring. You are now officially a Dream Traveler."

Arcana was at a loss for words as he closed his fingers around the golden band. He immediately felt the power of being a true Dream Traveler course through his veins. Words could not describe the honor he felt at officially becoming a Dream Traveler and officially becoming Klonoa's brother and partner.

"Thank... you..." was all he could say.

Klonoa nodded as Arcana tried out his ring for the first time and produced a Slider Board. Klonoa soon produced his own and I could see that except for the colors of the gems on their rings, they were identical twins to the last detail (except their personality).

We then boarded our Slider Boards and entered the Dream Highway. It was a long way to King's Domain, but I felt confident that we could make it.

ARCANA

(Author's Note: Read "Dreams Come True 3" for details on the Dream Highway.)

"OOF!!!"

"UNH!!!"

"OUCH!!!"

The three of us all landed rather painfully inside King's Domain. When Klonoa and I detangled ourselves from each other's ears, we found ourselves facing a familiar sight.

We were standing inside the stained-glass window that I had seen the four gods imprisoned in! The cathedral-like area was lined with stained glass windows, but four of them contained the images of the Guardians and the Diamond Dragons. In the center of the room was a large circular platform with an infinite black abyss all around us and a 15-foot crater in the center. Was this really King's Domain?

And then I heard their voices.

Xocf ij... F... Fcoujo... Xocf ij...

Help us... P... Please... Help us...

Now all of my dreams of fleeting creatures and cries for help made sense. I was being called HERE to save these four gods from captivity.

"Klonoa! We need to break those windows and free the gods!"

Silver shared my concern. "At long last, my mission will be within spitting distance of my goal."

"Ahh... if only it were that easy."

Uh-oh. The three of us whipped around to face the opposite end of the crater.

The King of Sorrow was standing at the far end of the room with his back to us, eyeing the stained-glass windows and holding the deadly Masamune in his right hand. He matched the description of the aqua-blue-furred creature that I had been seeing in my dreams.

"You took your sweet time training the human, Klonoa," said King in his cold, menacing voice. "Now I will have the pleasure of killing you again and destroying your two protégés."

Silver and Klonoa took one step forward to confront King. "When I'm through with you, King," said Silver, his yellow eyes flaring. "You're gonna regret ever setting foot in the Real World!"

Klonoa pointed his ring at King, who did not flinch. "King! You're reign of destruction will come to an end here and now! No one will ever fear you again!"

The King of Sorrow closed his eyes and chuckled. "What makes you think you can defeat me, Klonoa? Look around you." He indicated the stained-glass windows lining the walls. "Lugia... Altair... Hyozanryu... Ashura... They all challenged me and failed. Soon, you two will join my wall of art and nightmares will continue to plague the planet. Not only that, but my master, Giygas, will rise unchallenged to conquer the world! There is nothing that you can do to stop me."

"If you think that Arcana and I battle alone, you have another thing coming! We're the Dream Travelers! We work as a team to purge the Dream World of scum like you!"

King still chuckled. "Oh, really? It looks like your "partner" is still a little uncertain."

Klonoa and Silver looked at me with concern on his face. I wasn't sure if I could work with Klonoa to defeat King, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying. I looked up at King and pointed my own ring at him.

"You haunted my dreams once, King; you won't get another chance!"

Klonoa looked at Silver and spoke very seriously. "I know you have come to help us, but I ask that you stay out of this fight until we need you."

Silver was slightly taken aback at being asked to stay out of a fight, but he trusted my brother's judgment and backed off.

Klonoa and I then turned our ring on King and both fired Wind Bullets at him, who sneered. "And so it begins."

He easily deflected our shots with a swing of his long sword. He then took to the air and held out his hand. The two of us were caught off guard and were lifted into the air. He then threw us to one side with a casual flick of his wrist.

"I think we need to show him how a tag-team works, Brother."

Turning my cap to face backwards, I grabbed Klonoa's hand and said, "Let's show him, Brother!"

We leapt into the air as one and pointed our rings at King. With our combined powers, the force of our Wind Bullets hit him hard enough to knock him out of the air and crash into the crater.

King's sword had gone flying and disappeared into the depths of the pit. However, that had only taken one weapon out of his arsenal. King got to his feet and spread his arms, sending a powerful shockwave in our direction.

We anticipated it and split before it hit us. The shockwave hit the stained-glass picture of Altair, but the glass did not shatter. This only proved the power of Giygas and King's evil magic holding it together.

Klonoa and I jumped back into the air and locked rings above king. Like in the tunnel, the two of us spun around rapidly until we were merely a blur and then came down on the King of Sorrow like a meteor strike.

This produced two results. King couldn't block our attack and the room vibrated from the damage that he took. Unfortunately, the easy part was over. King took to the air again and hovered in the middle of the room, completely unprotected...

...or not. He raised his arms and a powerful force-field lined with rings of ancient writing and orbs of concentrated energy surrounding it. To boot, two large orbs of black energy tethered to the force-field appeared.

Klonoa blanched. And I knew why. Long ago in my first dream, this shield had been his downfall. He had been unable to penetrate its defenses and damage King any further. I could sense his dismay.

"Klonoa!" I called to him. "Don't let it scare you! Remember, you're not alone this time. We're in this together and together we will dismantle it piece by piece!"

Klonoa smiled weakly. "Alright, Arcana, I trust your faith. Let's do it!" Silver cheered us on from down below.

King, however, was not impressed. He let out an evil, booming laugh. "Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Brotherly love - it will be all the sweeter when I destroy the two of you at my own hands!"

Klonoa and I had to work together to disable King's shield. First, I scoped out the black energy orbs flying around the platform, trying to hit us. On a hunch, I fired a Wind Bullet at it and I managed to seize it. However, it was starting to flash, meaning it was going to detonate. Klonoa came to the rescue by grabbing me with his own ring and launching me into the air so that I could reach King's shield. Further confirming my hunch, I fired the energy orb at one of the orbs surrounding the shield.

Success! When the two energies met, the result was a sound not unlike that of a bomb going off. A concussion wave ripped through the room, making it quake violently. The shield's field also appeared to crack in some places.

"NO!!!" bellowed King is disbelief. "How is that even possible?! How could you damage my force-field when Klonoa couldn't touch it?!"

I landed on my feet and looked up at the screaming King. "You underestimate the power of teamwork, King! Where one fails, two may triumph!"

"Let's just see if your "teamwork" can take me on in full!"

King waved his arms and two more tethered, black energy orbs appeared... but that wasn't all. Powerful blasts of energy shot from the remaining three orbs on the shield. Every time Klonoa or I tried to grab a tethered orb to throw at a shield orb, one of those blasts would send us flying.

"Any ideas, pal?" I said, holding onto the edge of the platform and hanging over the black void below us.

"Yeah... one. But one of us has to take a shot for the team."

I looked at his yellow eyes. and nodded. "I'll do it. Just get that shield down!"

We flipped back onto the platform and Klonoa hooked me onto his ring. He then leapt back at King right into the path of one of the force-field orbs. He then fired me downwards to get a jump boost at one of the tethered orbs. I could not avoid the shot of energy, but I managed to divert it from Klonoa, who managed to disable another one of King's defenses, cracking the shield further.

"Why you-!!!" screamed King. "I'm going to make you pay for that!"

King now took the offense. From behind the shield, he charged up powerful blasts of electrical energy. What's more, when they hit the platform, they sent out shockwaves of static energy coursing through the floor. This kept me and Klonoa in the air so that we could get another shot at the King of Sorrow.

I couldn't take another shot to give Klonoa an opening, so like the tag-team that we are, we switched roles. This time, the two of us didn't need to use our rings to get in the air. We used a technique that could only be pulled off in the Dream World. We literally walked sideways up into the air by using the bottoms of each other's shoes as a "wall" to climb. We were practically walking on each other's feet to climb into the air!

I was closer to King than Klonoa was, so I jumped off Klonoa's shoes and seized an energy ball while Klonoa diverted King's attack by jumping in front of me. He took a full electric shock to the chest and fell from the air, allowing me to disable another one of King's shield orbs. Sliver yelled from down below, but neither of us heard him.

The ground shook more violently than before as this concussion caused the four stained-glass windows to crack violently but not shatter. I heard a cry of surprise in my mind as one of the gods felt the force of the impact.

"You have run out of options, Dream Travelers!" cackled King as the two of us lay motionless in the middle of the crater. "You will join my collection and the dreams of the planet will be mine!"

We had nothing left. There was one more orb to break to bring down the shield, but our energy was spent. Even if we disabled the force-field, King would still be powerful enough to destroy us. We had failed the Dream World and the Waking World. If only we could free the other creatures...

No... I was down... but not out. Nothing was going to stop me from defeating this lump of pure sorrow. Against all earthly logic, I slowly got to my feet and limped over to Klonoa.

"Come... on... Klonoa. Just... one... more!"

If we had been in the Waking World, our determination would have killed the two of us. But in the Dream World, strange things have a funny way of occurring even when you least expect it.

Klonoa managed to get to his feet and we both looked up at King.

"Arcana... if we can't defeat him... we can't give him a chance to."

"I agree. Let's give it... one... more... shot!"

The two of us pointed our rings at King's force-field and joined hands. By summoning the last of our combined power, we managed to power one final shot that gathered up on our rings. When we could muster no more strength... we fired. The combined Wind Bullets flew straight and true as it destroyed the final orb surrounding King's shield. What happened next, we did not witness. We had both fainted from massive fatigue...

SILVER

I did, however. Multiple beams of light flew from the severely-cracked shield around King. King himself was yelling incoherently as the imminent explosion of the shield ripped through the room like a nuclear bomb going off. When it blew, the shockwaves from the explosion caused all the stained-glass windows, including those containing the images of the four gods, to blow out and shatter.

King, meanwhile, fell to the inside of the crater and laid there in a heap.

"How... how could you defeat me? How could you defeat me, the King of Sorrow, Lord of the Dream World?! I defeated all of them... the Guardians... the Diamond Dragons... why couldn't I defeat YOU?!"

I stood over the fallen king from the walkway and folded my arms, looking down at him. "You underestimated the power of teamwork and the Dream Travelers' abilities. You also underestimated my abilities when your "master" failed to destroy me along with Seryn. Now you are reaping what you've sewn."

Even though his body was broken, his determination was relentless. "When Giygas finds out about this, he will double his efforts to destroy your planet and your future. You will not escape his wrath!"

But I was convinced otherwise. I utilized my powers of Chaos and charged up a small Chaos Blast in my right hand. "Good-bye, King. Tell the Devil that a servant of God sent you."

With one thrust of my arm, I fired the mini-Chaos Blast directly at his heart. When it connected, King's scream was so loud and influential that it echoed throughout the Dream World, causing the people who were currently in it to turn over in their sleep. King's body suddenly had beams of colored light bursting out of his body before it finally exploded into millions of fragments of violet light. With that, my whole world went white.

I reawoke in a frigid environment. Snowflakes drifted onto my nose, tickling it and making me sneeze.

Bless you, said a familiar voice. I smiled and opened my eyes. "Hello, Lugia."

The sight of all six of the Sacred Six standing around me was enough to make my normally-firm heart leap for the stars. Lugia and Altair – the Guardians, Hyozanryu and Ashura – the Diamond Dragons, Klonoa and Arcana – the Dream Travelers – it was all worth it to see all six of them in one location again. My mission was almost complete.

I can't believe what you've done to bring us all together for the first time, Silver, said Altair, preening his wing with his beak.

I'm sure that there's nothing we can ever do to repay you for all this, said Ashura, pawing at his muzzle horn. I could tell he was still getting used to it.

"I never thought I'd ever be able to make a difference like this before," said Arcana, flipping his ring and reminding me of my former self.

If there's anything we can do to repay you... said Hyozanryu, smiling at me with his arms crossed.

"Please let us know," Klonoa finished.

"You guys..." I was amazed at the impact that I had had on the past. But there was one more thing I had left to do before I could go home. "I need you guys to help me with one more part of my mission. We need to find out where the Day of Giygas is going to be held and then defeat Giygas himself. If we do that, your futures are guaranteed safe."

The six of them looked at each other in turn, unsure whether or not they could help me with my mission. There appeared to be unspoken words flying around their minds because all I could hear in my mind was an odd ringing sound.

Finally, Lugia spoke for all of them. Let's see what we can do for you.

He turned to the other five and said, You know what to do.

The six of them nodded, turned and took flight. Lugia, Altair, Hyozanryu and Ashura flew off on their own while Klonoa used his Slider Board to take flight. Arcana, however, stayed behind for a moment. He spun around on his Slider Board for a moment and then motioned behind him.

"Room for one more, Silver."

I shrugged. "Fine with me." I climbed on board and the two of us flew off in a direction not taken by the other five.

Some time later, Arcana and I stopped at a tiny island just off the coast of Greenland. Getting off his Slider Board, I walked around the tiny spit of land, looking for something relevant. Unfortunately, all I saw was a stone statue of... Klonoa?

"What is this?" I asked curiously.

Arcana hopped off his Slider Board as well and made it disappear with a blast from his ring. "This is the North Star Island. There are five of these islands spaced around the world that when activated, produce the gateway to Tetra Limbo where Giygas is hiding out. Lugia told me to come here to make sure it still works so that we can use it to get to Giygas in four weeks."

I said nothing. It barely made sense to me, but Arcana seemed to know what he was doing despite being an Immortal for less time that I was.

Arcana went up to the statue of Lugia and pointed his ring at it. Once he fired a Wind Bullet at it, the statue started to glow a brilliant red color. I watched as an orb of red light gathered in its mouth and fired off in a diagonal-horizontal direction towards the horizon. I don't know where or how far it was going before I heard Ashura's voice.

N Star Island to SW Star Island... check! Continuing the chain!

I didn't see it, but Ashura was down near Chile at a similar island and statue and had just fired off a beam of yellow light towards another island. Seconds later, I heard Altair's voice.

SW Star Island to NE Star Island... check! Continuing the chain!

In my mind's eye, I could see Altair near the western edge of Europe on a small island just as the yellow beam hit his statue. He responded by placing his wing on the statue and channeling psychic energy into it. His Lugia statue then fired off a blue energy beam towards the next island in the chain. I soon heard Klonoa's voice.

"NE Star Island to NW Star Island... check! Continuing the chain."

Near the eastern coast of Russia, Klonoa fired a Wind Bullet into his statue and launched a green beam towards the next location. I then heard the last of the Sacred Six call out to us.

NW Star Island to SE Star Island... check! Finishing the chain!

Hyozanryu was located near New Zealand and used his Psychic power to fire off a purple beam of light back in mine and Arcana's direction. Seconds later, the Lugia statue that was still firing the red beam was hit by Hyozanryu's purple beam, finishing the chain and turning the statue a blinding white. Arcana called out to the others.

"SE Star Island to N Star Island... check! It's all you, Lugia!"

If you were look down at the network of light beams from space, you would have seen a holographic image of Lugia's insignia – a broken five-point star – hovering 20 feet above the ocean's surface. Fortunately, no one on the surface of the earth could see it.

At the exact center of the star network, Lugia was waiting in the middle of the Atlantic ocean. Even though the beams were not reaching him, I could see him charging up a super-powerful white Aeroblast. He was gathering power to release it all into a single enhanced Aeroblast.

When he was at maximum strength, he raised his head skyward and fired the Super Aeroblast directly at... the moon?! I watched in disbelief as the moon began glowing an even brighter white... and then dimmed, completely unscathed.

"Was that it?" I said to Arcana. "After all that... nothing happened?"

Arcana shook his head. "It's not supposed to happen right away. The moon has to get lined up with the Earth before it can reveal the entrance to Tetra Limbo. If it all works out, we should be able to gain entrance to Tetra Limbo just as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve."

"You mean... the Day of Giygas?"

Arcana nodded and explained. "Yep. We just created a barrier of light that should allow us enough time to defeat Giygas before he fully awakens. Without the Demons of Anger, Fear and Sorrow protecting him, Giygas' defenses are down for the moment. When he finally opens the gateway to Tetra Limbo, we'll be there to stop him and slam it shut."

It made some sense, but I still didn't see why we couldn't attack Giygas now. When I told Arcana this, he simply said, "Lugia's orders. Giygas will be at his most vulnerable on December 31st."

He then summoned his Slider Board and offered me a ride. "We've got time to kill. What do you say we go surf the Dream World with Klonoa?"

I couldn't think of anything better to do, so I climbed on board and entered the Dream World with Arcana. I still had to be careful, though. Giygas was still a threat and could reappear at almost any time before New Year's Eve.

ALTAIR

December 31st, 1999 was a time of celebration for most people around the world. It was the celebration of the second recorded millennium in the history of mankind. From New York to New Zealand, people were partying and carrying on in anticipation of the year 2000. Everyone felt confident that the millennium bug had been destroyed and were celebrating with high spirits. There was no indication that evil was about to be unleashed on the world.

That's why Lugia, myself, Hyozanryu, Ashura, Klonoa, Arcana and Silver were gathered around a central point in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Four weeks ago today, we inserted the key to gaining access to Tetra Limbo, the domain of the ultimate evil, Giygas. We had kept our mission quiet to the rest of the world because this was a matter that only creatures of our magnitude could handle. There was no point in causing global hysteria and making people think that there was no hope. They had had the millennium bug to deal with – an electronic evil in their eyes – they didn't need to know that the end of the world was almost upon them.

All this time, I thought about what could have happened if Silver and Seryn hadn't come back to our time to warn us about Giygas. We would have been unaware of Giygas' evil and would have spent the new millennium playing in both worlds with our guards down. We would have been slacking in our duties as gods and it would have cost us our futures. Although we would have faced the Three Demons anyway, we would have ended up banishing them and enabling Giygas to utilize their powers to destroy the world. Even though we were working on a holiday, it would be a small price to pay to ensure an evil-free future for everyone, immortal or otherwise.

I was hovering between Lugia and Hyozanryu, waiting for the gateway to Tetra Limbo to open. The weeks of waiting were starting to get to me. I hadn't had one decent night's sleep ever since our fiasco with the King of Sorrow and I could tell my friends were feeling the same stress. In fact, the only one who seemed unaffected by the pressure was my brother, Lugia.

I don't know how you do it, I had told him earlier in the day. But there's something even more divine than us looking out for you.

Lugia had merely sighed and had shaken his head. I do not allow the troubles of the planet to bother me. I feel confident that they can be overcome if one believes that there is hope in their heart. Remember that, Altair, and our future will be all the brighter.

I will, sir, I had said, bowing to my brother and continuing on my way.

Now as the minutes ticked down to midnight, the six of us – with Hyozanryu bearing Silver – were hovering in silence around a central point in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. You could have had to use a laser lance to cut the tension in the air around us. That was how nervous we were. Up above us, the divine-powered moon slowly approached the first phase of the lunar eclipse that would open the gateway to Tetra Limbo.

I looked nervously up at the moon just as it started glowing a bright white and the Aeroblast that Lugia had fired into it weeks ago was released and fired back to earth. The impact of the lunar Aeroblast was enough to punch a hole in the ocean's surface and channel a route to Tetra Limbo via whirlpool. The wind picked up and the whirlpool rose into the air as if Lugia or I were inside it. What's more, the entire earth began quaking as the Day of Giygas was upon us. It was felt all over the world just as the clock in New York City struck midnight.

"Looks like our ride is here!" called Klonoa over the blowing wind. "What do you say we get this over with?!"

Fine with me! called Ashura to his brother. What about you?!

Let's go! called Hyozanryu. And then he folded his wings and dove into the heart of the whirlpool. He vanished with a flash of white light.

One after another, the rest of us followed suit with Lugia bringing up the rear. I could see stars spinning around me as voices from the planet echoed everywhere. It didn't feel like I was going through water – it was more of a whirlwind of pure cold. It was so cold that my already pale skin became practically white.

Yet still we pressed on. It would all be over soon and we would be inside Tetra Limbo. Even though this was Ashura's, Arcana's and my first time entering the dark dimension, we followed the instincts passed onto us by our spiritual brothers. I felt a surge of confidence pass from Lugia's mind to my heart. Once upon a time, we were alone. But what was once two now became six (Silver excluded). There was no force in any world that could destroy the power of our combined teamwork.

I could see a black void approaching quickly and folded my back plates to gain speed. We were almost there and soon the battle for the future would begin.

SILVER

After the brutal winds of the portal, the air I felt in the black void of Tetra Limbo was practically dead. There was no sign of Giygas anywhere and every word we spoke echoed for all to hear in this dimension.

"Something's not right here," I told Hyozanryu as we waited for Klonoa and Lugia to arrive. "I was expecting something more..."

"Evil?" finished Arcana, surfing over with the Slider Board that I had used in the Dream Highway in his hand. I climbed off Hyozanryu's back and planted my feet on the board. "I don't get it, either."

As Klonoa and Lugia arrived, they shared our concern for Giygas' absence.

"It's like he was expecting us or something," said the Dream Traveler cautiously.

This is strange even by Giygas' standards. Lugia changed to his anthro form so he could maneuver freely. Be on your guard.

The seven of us looked around for a while with no results. This was too strange.

And then I heard a voice. "Silver..."

I looked around. No one else appeared to have heard it. "Silver..." the voice said again. It sounded so familiar. "Silver... where... are... you?"

"Seryn?" I said vocally, causing the others to look at me. "I hear... Seryn's voice."

"I can hear... someone," said Klonoa, looking every which way. He appeared to be hearing a voice, but obviously not Seryn's.

Soon, we were all hearing voices that only each of us could hear. I looked around for the source of Seryn's voice... and saw her. The figure of Seryn the Flammie was fluttering in the distance. Against my better judgment, I surfed over in her direction. I was completely unaware that a strange purple mist was starting to surround me.

"Seryn... you're alive!" I couldn't believe my eyes. "What happened to you?!"

"Silver... help... me... I... need... you..." As I got closer to Seryn, the mist grew more pronounced, but I was still unaware of it.

"I'm coming, Seryn! Just hold on!" I couldn't see her face, but I knew I had to save her before she was lost in this infinite darkness.

"Silver... please... help... me..." I was within reaching distance of the Flammie when I saw it.

Seryn then turned into an entity that I could not describe, nor will I ever describe again. What I felt when I saw that entity was nothing but pure fear. My heart completely stopped and my eyes became even narrower. I then let out a scream so terrible that I knew it was not of this world! Pure evil radiated from that entity and threatened to destroy me. What's more, the purple mist around me was now a purple fog.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"

SILVER!!!

Like the voice of an angel, I heard Lugia's voice echo all around me and I could see the entity before me flicker. I suddenly felt an embracing arm around my torso as I was pulled backwards away from the entity. Then my whole world went black.

ALTAIR

ARCANA!!!

I wrapped my arms around the Dream Traveler and tore him away from his worst nightmare. Just like the others, Arcana had been led away from the group by following the voice of Giygas and was being attacked by the Great Evil. Lugia and I managed to rescue them all, but their minds had been assaulted by Giygas and were currently incapacitated.

Why were Lugia and I not affected? Because of our divine power, the Voice of God had intervened and had shown us that these visions were completely false. We had had the will power to step in and save the other five from being destroyed by Giygas. Now it was just my brother and I against Giygas with the others recovering in a psychic bubble behind us.

You cannot touch us with your false images, Giygas! Lugia called to the approaching purple mist.

You cannot hope to defeat us with illusions, Satan! I said to the evil entity all around us. We are too powerful for that!

"...must... die... slow... painful... terrible..." said Giygas as he took a new approach to defeating the two strongest creatures of the Sacred Six.

The mist then began to creep around me and I suddenly felt breathless and light-headed. I also saw that my body was starting to become clear and transparent.

Lugia... help! I tried saying, but Lugia could not hear me and he had his back to me. I knew that Giygas could destroy me completely if I didn't summon any resistance. I was on my own this time. Visions of death and suffering started to enter my mind.

Oh... no... you... DON'T!!! I immediately started thinking about all the good things that Lugia and I had been through and that there would be plenty more to come in the following years.

Suddenly, Giygas started receding from my mind and I could think clearly again. To make sure that he stayed away, I kept up the positive thoughts in my mind.

"...no... don't... stop..." Giygas moaned all around us as I flew over to my brother and put my hand on his wing.

"Good job, Altair, he told me. Giygas cannot stand the power of Good and Hope when our determination kicks in.

But just then, Lugia went rigid and started twitching involuntarily.

Brother, NO!!! I tried to grab him, but my hands passed straight through him like he was a ghost!

Altair, wait! he managed to tell me. This is my fight and I must overcome it! Stand down or else he'll attack you, too.

It was extremely difficult to do, but I hovered away from him and allowed him to take Giygas on himself. But it was not looking good. Lugia screamed and thrashed wildly as his body faded even further. Yet despite his obvious state of pain, I heard him yell out, Dream Travelers... AWAKE!!!

Immediately, Klonoa and Arcana's eyes snapped open and they were on their Slider Boards within seconds.

"Lugia!!!" yelled Klonoa, trying his best to stay away. "What's happening to you?!"

Lugia was barely a spirit now and his body had gone limp. The Dream World... bring them here... hurry!

I didn't know who he was talking about, but Klonoa and Arcana faced each other and fired their wind bullets at each other, causing both of them to vanish completely.

Lugia... please hold on... I begged him to exist while the Dream Travelers went to work.

ARCANA

The two of us rocketed down the streets of the Dream World, firing off Wind Bullets at every door we passed. Each bullet contained a message to the residents of the Dream World and they all said the same thing:

"The Greatest God is in peril! We need your support to help him! Lend us your power and the world will be spared! Pray! Pray for the world! Pray for the destruction of evil and Good's triumph!"

As we left the buildings in our wake, trails of multi-colored light left the dreams and followed behind us. These were the prayers of the people of the planet coming to the aid of God Reincarnated. Even though they had never met him, people across the planet were determined to help out an avatar of God defeat the ultimate evil.

Three times we circled the Dream World, gathering prayers and dreams of everyone we could. When we had enough, Klonoa and I gathered it all in our rings and left the Dream World.

When we returned, Lugia was still hanging on by the skin of his teeth. Klonoa then called out to him and pointed his ring at him. With a tremendous effort, the two of us unloaded all of the energy into Lugia's body.

The energy flowed into him, restoring some of his form, but it wasn't enough to completely revitalize him. Altair was in tears.

Please hold on, Lugia! Help is on the way!

Lugia was still fighting brutally and the realm all around us started to fluctuate, sending waves of energy ripping through Tetra Limbo. We could also hear Giygas' moans.

"...you... quit... never... stop... hurting..."

I didn't care what he said – he wasn't going to kill my best friend and get away with it.

Lugia recovered enough to open his eyes and look at the Diamond Dragons still unconscious and lying in the psychic bubble.

Hyozanryu... Ashura... Silver... AWAKE!!!

The bubble suddenly burst and the three of them snapped awake. They then rushed to Lugia's side and awaited orders.

Bring... the... Light... Only with that... can we win!

The three of them nodded, turned and vanished in a burst of white light.

SILVER

We were determined to show Lugia our true loyalty and bring him the Light to defeat Giygas. There was just one problem – in order to achieve the amount of Light he needed, we needed to drain a good section of the earth's life force to cause a global blackout. Don't ask me to explain the logic.

Hyozanryu, Ashura and I took off towards outer space for our energy drain and split up to three parts of the atmosphere.

When we were ready, I shook my head and looked down at the celebrating cities down below. "May the creatures of Earth forgive us."

Now's not the time for regret, Silver, said Ashura, getting into position. We've got to harm the planet to heal the planet.

I nodded and ignited the powers of Chaos flowing through me. This was going to be one heck of an energy conversion, so I was going to need all the strength I could. It took a few minutes, but I was ready to go. I just hoped that Lugia was still hanging on.

Surrounded by roaring white flames, I took aim at the planet and let it all out in one massive...

"CHAOS CONTROL!!!"

Almost immediately, all the electricity around the world went out and the people were sent into a state of global panic. I absorbed the energy like nothing I had ever done before. In fact, it was so great that I couldn't contain it all and had to siphon some of it off to Ashura waiting at a point halfway around the world.

Unfortunately, not even he could take it all in and had to branch it off towards his waiting brother in another part of the planet. Once Hyozanryu was hit with a beam of the planet's energy, he sent a beam of light back in my direction and it slammed into me, completing the triangle.

Now that the energy circuit was complete, the three of us focused our powers into delivering the energy into Lugia's body deep inside Tetra Limbo. I wasn't even sure that he could take it all, but now was not the time to ask questions. I could only pray that Lugia pulled through.

LUGIA

The pain I was in from Giygas' attack was beyond words. I knew that I could not and would not survive this battle, but even though I was to die, I was going to make sure that I took Giygas down with me. My body was overflowing with energy. I had already received the prayers of the Dream World, but unless the Diamond Dragons and Silver delivered the Light to me, Giygas could still destroy me and take my friends down with me. I could only pray that they pulled through.

All the while, I was in a constant battle of wills with Giygas. It was the incredible power of God against the pure, raw hatred of the Devil.

"...lie... down... die... Lugia... win... not..." Giygas kept pressing me to just lie down and die. But I was determined to show him that Good would always prevail.

Giygas... I may not live past this day... but I will always live on in this world. You, however, will not. I can guarantee that you will not see the light of the new millennium!

Just when it looked like Giygas was about to overcome me, I felt it. The pure power of God's Light hit me like what you people refer to as "getting hit like a ton of bricks". I felt infinite strength coursing through my veins and I found that I could focus much clearer now. But despite the incredible strength I felt, I knew it was only temporary. The creatures of the earth needed this power more than me, but the Almighty Father had lent it to me for just one moment.

I looked straight at Giygas and saw his true form for the first time. However, if I was to describe him for you, you would go insane from the figure I would paint for you. Now that I could see him, I could finally attack him directly. Channeling the prayers and the Light through my body, I focused it all into one point in my open maw for one final Aeroblast.

Giygas... you are a formidable opponent... but now is the time of your defeat. Die now, Giygas, and may God forgive your evil deeds.

The Aeroblast flew from my mouth, lined by pure white energy rings and containing enough power to destroy a planet. Giygas did not stand a chance. When it hit him, the dimension of Tetra Limbo began to fluctuate violently and started to collapse. The world was on fire and it was dying in the most violent way possible.

However, I had expended all of my power and I felt my spirit leave my body. However, before I passed on, I turned to have one final word with my best friends.

Altair... my brother and fellow Guardian was in tears and kept trying to ignore the inevitable. Lugia, NO!!! I can't lose you now! We've finally won and now this happens! It's... It's just not fair!!! I won't accept this! You can't die now!

However, I merely reached out with my hand and stroked Altair's cheek. Worry not, brother. I may be passing onto the next world, but the legacy you carry on in my place will last a lifetime. When I leave this world, please do not worry about me. Like I said: "Death is only the beginning."

I turned from my weeping brother to my fellow gods, Hyozanryu and Ashura. However, they appeared to have expected my demise.

It is a sad day indeed when you see gods like us weeping, said Hyozanryu, wiping a diamond tear from his eye. The sadness that the world will feel in the hours following your demise will not go unnoticed. We will honor your death and work together for a brighter future.

Ashura said nothing whatsoever. He merely reached back his head and let loose a dragon-ish wail of sadness. Even in this collapsing world, the creatures of the earth and the Dream World heard his cry and were suddenly filled with sadness and for the first time, sorrow. I now knew that not all sorrow was bad. When someone passes on, the sorrow they felt was completely normal and was a part of all life.

Klonoa and Arcana felt this as well and Klonoa spoke for the both of them. "All my life, I've been fighting Sorrow, trying to erase it from the world. But now I know that there will always be sorrow within the world, but for the first time, it will not be intentional. May you pass on in peace, Lugia."

I smiled and turned to face the one that had made this all possible – Silver the Hedgehog. Silver was looking at me with a determined look on his face.

"I will never forget you, Lugia. When I return to my time, I will inform the future of your bravery." That was all he said.

With one last look at my friends, I closed my eyes and passed onto the next life where I would be hailed for my achievements and take back my rightful spot between the Left and Right hands of God.

As I die, I leave you these final words: "There will always be evil in the world. But do not worry. Whether you believe or not, God will always be watching over you. I promise that you will always be protected by the Spirit of God even when you have given up all hope."

SILVER

Soon after Lugia's death, the six of us managed to escape from the collapsing Tetra Limbo and returned to the world. We had won. Evil was destroyed and my mission was complete. Soon, I would be returning to my own time and all would be well again.

But before I did that, we all traveled back to the house where Altair, aka Alex Schaefer I, had transformed into a Guardian for the first time to pay homage to Lugia. Although it had been slightly trashed during his transformation, Altair managed to salvage as many of his Lugia paraphernalia as he could to bury in his back yard. None of us entered the house while Altair collected his things. However, we were suddenly taken aback when he came out of the house holding a footlong silver stone in his hands.

I found it lying on top of my broken bed while I was cleaning! I was sure that it wasn't there yesterday!

We were all wondering what it could be when it started to rattle in Altair's hands and a small, musical cry sounded from it. He then placed it on the ground and we all watched as flakes of the stone began to chip away, revealing a miracle of God...

The year is 3007 and evil is completely unheard of. We have been watching over the planet for the past 1000 years and have never been more proud of it. Although they have had their conflictions, the humans of the earth have learned to cooperate as one with us watching over it.

Our leader, Star Lugia, has been our biggest influence ever. After being reborn over 1000 years ago, he has redoubled his efforts to maintain peace throughout the planet. We have learned to follow in his example after surviving the Day of Giygas and it has never steered us wrong.

Now I was running across the plains of Russia in an effort to find a decent hiding spot. Yes, we were once again playing Global Hide-and-Seek and Seryn and I were going to find an old temple to hide in. Yes, the flow of time enabled Sam Tyko to become Seryn the Flammie in the year 2007 just like he was supposed to. After the adventures I went through 1000 years ago, please don't ask me to relive the logic behind it. Besides, some doors are better left unopened.

Seryn rolled over in the air so that she was flying on her back. "Silver... have you ever thought about what happened with the others 1000 years ago?"

I looked up at her as I continued running. "I sometimes think about if I could've changed things back then."

"And?"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't change a single detail. Look at the future we have right now. Would you give up this for anything?"

Seryn shrugged. "Not really."

"Good. I didn't think so," I added as I sped on with Seryn flying after me, smiling. "I guess dreams do come true..."

END

Coming soon from shadowlugia249:

"Son of a God 2: Hybrid Theory" – Johiko's story

"Flammie and Glory 2: Dreams Come True" – Seryn's Story

"Chaos Theory: Legend of the Black Emerald" – Shadow's Story

"Dreams Come True 4: Heart of Darkness" – ???