~ 0 ~ The beginning-
There was a time, quite a large amount of years ago, when I would have considered myself human, a creature of earth. My world was shattered, however, in a series of very unlikely events that lead me to tell you my story. It started that morning, on the precipice of modern society, when that day a game was released that would change the fate and destiny of our world forever. Which is to say it would meet it's own end swiftly after in a rain of fire and disaster. I sat in my room, on my computer, chatting through skype with a friend of mine. He and his friends had purchased the game for themselves and I, as a preorder. They invited me to play with them months ago. I wasn't so sure, but I accepted the invitation. The count-down on the screen, the whirring disc in the desktop pc I owned, and the hype, was very real.
However despite the excitement of my friends, I had a very deeply bad feeling of how this was going to work. I told myself: It's just a game, why should I feel this way? I know now why. But I'm not going to spoil it just yet.
3...2...1...
"Allan, Is it starting? Astrid, Are you still there?" I said, a slight grin on my face.
"You bet ya!" Allan said quickly. "Funny how they really didn't say much about the gameplay before release but, it appears to be that I can see the inside of your house..." He said as Aiden piped in.
"Astrid I can see your house too, can you see mine?"
"No I see allan's house!" She said in the high tone her voice always had.
"I can see your house, Aiden... what happens if we click things?" I said. I was Allice. Allice Duan. My grandmother Lauri walked in with a tray of sushi and set it down gently next to me, and my cat, who was sleeping on my bed, popped its eyes open and leapt up at the scent of fish, digging his claws in my leg... I don't really know what happened then but it involved clicking and dragging the cursor on my screen. Aiden squealed in fear...
"OH MY GOD, ALLICE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
My grandmother chuckled.
"Kids and their games..." As she walked out of the room.
His room was now a huge mess of chaos and part of a wall had been torn out across the room. After situating myself, I looked at the screen and was a little shocked to see him freaking out on the screen. "
"Whoah... did that just? Did that seriously happen?" I said quietly. The other two were chuckling a little at the spectacle that Aiden was making through the voice chat.
"UH YEAH. GUYS DONT CLICK ANYTHING YET..." Aiden screeched
"I'm sorry my cat is an asshole, and he dug his claws in my leg. But what kind of game lets you accidentally destroy a physical room?"
Allan chimed in "Apparently this one... hehehehe.." I got a little worried just then as I heard a thump in the next room. I got up and took my phone with me, to find that Allan had placed some strange machinery in the living room. My grandma was inspecting it with awe, an a knowing look in her eyes.
"Allan what the hell did you do now?"
"Just playing with the controls really. Dont worry, I wont wreck everything... maybe.." Allan said "You better fricking not.. my Nana will have my ass if you do." I angrily whispered into the phone.
"So uh... you look like you know what this is, Nana... Care to elaborate?" She just shook her head and headed out of the room, grabbing her coat in the hall.
"You kids have fun okay, I'll be back in a little while. OH!" She quickly walked back over to me with a box in her hands.
"You'll need this. I won't tell you why but you when the time is right you will definitely need it." She said as she kissed my forehead and then left the house. I heard a crash in the kitchen. As I went to look Allan yelped
"UH DONT GO THERE YET OK..."
I had this bewildered feeling. "Uh.. okay.. sure. Ill just go back to the computer.." I said as I returned to my room. The cat was no longer in there. I took a bite of sushi and sat down.
"Aiden from what im seeing, I need to deploy some machinery for the progression of the game..Do you have a preference as to where?"
"Yes uh.. the living room has a lot of space but be careful!" I began placing the machines. It seemed that the others had done the same.
"So what do you think the point is?" I said.
Astrid spoke "Well I guess you will just need to go find something these machines use and then go on from there?" I agreed, so did the others.
Taking from the wall of the orientally decorated home I dwelled within, I found an ancient looking bow. It was a game, right? So where were the monsters? I was, in my large amount of mmorpg experience, sure that there would be some at some point. So I took any weapons from the wall I could find. Playing with the machinery, I created myself some interesting things, once I figured out how the archaic tech worked. This stuff looked ancient, yet it was highly advanced. And seemed to be able to create combinations of things without destroying the item and in useful sequences
Combining the Bow with my phone, created a bow with gps homing abilities... who needs to be accurate anyway when you have target seeking energy arrows?
I took a kite down from the wall- one shaped like a winged beast, and created a gliding apparatus.
Then I took one of my favorite outfits and combined with with a samurai figure. The result was astoundingly nice. Donning my armored dress, My gliding apparatus, my bow, and the box my grandmother had gifted me which I still hadn't opened, I created one last item. I synthesised my glasses with my phone's technology so I would no longer need to use the phone itself. Not only that, but the phone ran on battery. Whatever this machinery did, it made the devices I created self powered. Playing with the controls, there was one more thing left I hadn't seen. It wasn't a combined item though. It had been in the list the whole time. I shrugged and created it. Just as I did, a ball of light flew through the room, hovering around me. I looked around as it seemed to be excited by the dragon figure on the shelf by the TV. I picked it up. The ball whirred angrily and seemed like it was ready to attack me, so I threw the figure and the creature consumed it. At once, the last item I had crafted – Being a rather strange stone of multiple colors, somewhat in the shape of a scale, vibrated where it sat.
I went to touch it, and pick it up. Underneath was a note scrawled with what appeared to be instructions.

'Speak aloud these words: The rise of rage, the fall of the dragons. In the haze of the moon, only I may spare them'

Things were just getting weirder. Note and Scale/Stone in hand, I ran to the window and saw an encroaching threat above. A firey meteorite bigger than the house was hurtling toward the earth. My call to my friends had disconnected on its own in the frenzy, and without a second though, I uttered the phrases from the note while clutching the stone. As my words left me, the stone disintegrated into a rather strangely colorful sand, And the entire house shook violently. I hit my head on the window sill and lost consciousness.

~ 1 ~ Deep in the Medium-

A dark figure whose skin was hard as a carapace, black as pitch, and clothed in black as well, sat at three different screens, watching the events that had unfolded. Clutched in his hand, was a journal. The front inside cover held a name: Allice Duan. In his chair, he sat hovering over several words that seemed to have been highlighted. As he looked at one of the screens, a dark grin crossed his face. It was almost time. He donned a black coat and left the room before the black queen could walk in to make her daily rounds and torture him. His reckoning would be at hand soon enough. Inside his room he had hidden something. It was a gift. Something he couldn't use until the time was right. As sure as the stone had disintegrated in Allice's hand, it's own energy had transferred. To where? A stone of his own. That had been the moment he'd been waiting for, for so very long, that he could no longer count the days.
Taking the now vibrantly colorful stone that had once been black as obsidian, and the note that had come with it, he uttered the words on with fervor.

'As sure as your destiny is twined, so is mine, as sure as you are meant to succeed, shall the dragon we feed.'

He spoke these words, and his own form seemed to be enshrouded in darkness, and then dissappear completely from the dark violet stone halls that housed him for so long.

~ 2 ~ The Land of Gems and Shadows-

Allice stirred in her minor blackout, rousing and opening her eyes to find that her friends had been through a lot of the same things she had just been through. A strange item they created had somehow transferred them to... another world? She got up and looked out the window, wiping a small amount of fresh blood from her forehead. The outside was nearly pitch dark. She could see twinkling gems in the distance, that seemed to hold their own light. But there was a dark fog all around.
She started right then, as she saw a reflection of a dark creature, or perhaps a man, behind her, and she turned around.
"My, my lady, have you become so lovely." He couldnt help himself. Her dress held her form so tantalizingly. She frowned in confusion and fear.
"Who are you, how did you get here, and what do you want?" Allice said quickly, not wavering in the slightest, her tone was dark, and she clutched her bow in her left hand, ready to aim if the stranger got any closer. He chuckled low, as dark as the fog outside, and then turned, walking a few paces away.
"Sorry to impose myself like that. I've forgotten my manners. My name is Jack, and I'm here to help. See, I know you. I know a lot about you actually. More about you than your friends, but that being said, without my help, you and all your friends will get yourselves killed... So what do you say?"
He turned back around with a sly look on his face – maybe that was just his face – and offered her his hand. His white glowing eyes, his strange sharp teeth... She didn't know if she was terrified or attracted to how odd he was. But she looked around the room for a moment, thinking.
"I had a bad feeling about this game the whole time... But you said you can help us? I guess I won't say no but I dont trust you."she said.
"It will come with time."He said briefly. "First of all, in all the ways I can help you, there is one in particular that I'd like to get out of the way first. A concise few miles from here, there is a place where you're bound to die."
Allice glared "Die? I won't be dying any time soon." She said
"To the contrary dear, your first death is the most important. For it allows you to reach godhood."
The two bantered back and forth for a while longer, and soon enough Allice had been convinced of her own death on the landmark the man spoke of. Leaving the safety of her home she followed the stranger who seemed ever quite familiar. As if she'd met him in dreams. Come to think of it she recalled some very vivid ones she had been through in earlier times, but they burned her ears thinking about them so she put it out of her mind.
They marched along. Any denizens of the land seemed to have long since dissappeared leaving minor traces. As if they had one day gotten up in the middle of what they were doing and left. There were no skeletons. As if everything had been left whole how it was in the shadowy lands they drove through on foot. A rise appeared on the horizon and soon they had reached the base of a tower, the wind howling heavily around them. They pressed upward until the summit of the tower. On it, sat a bed of stone. Or an altar, of sorts.
"I'll do the honors m'dear.."Jack said, semi breathless but doing better than Allice as far as that was concerned. He drew a blade and before she could protest, he had driven it through the middle of her chest. Everything went black then, and she felt unmeasured amounts of pain as she alse felt him lift her onto the stone altar.
"Sweet dreams.. I'll see you there soon, girl."She barely heard him speak before the curtains were drawn

~ 3 ~ The Dragon Rises-

Light suddenly flooded into Allice's eyes as she felt herself floating. How long had she been out? How had she gotten here? She sighed and looked around the earthlike surroundings and checkered langscape. As she looked around she felt something strange and different. Different about herself. She looked over her shoulder to find a pair of black and white wings on her back, and in her right hand, she noticed the box her grandmother had given her. She had still yet to open it, but an overwhelming urge filled her. She opened the box... Within was something peculiar. It looked like an egg of sorts.
As light hit the egg, it shook, and began to grow rapidly, turning pure white from its former grey color. She held it but it shook its' way out of her hands and plummeted toward the ground. She dived for it and missed as she tumbled across the ground and tripped. The egg busted on impact, leaving a worm-like creature writhing with agony on the ground, that also continued to grow rapidly until it towered above Allice... It was pale and white, but energy shook around it and clouds began to form, charged with violet static. The dragon heaved a tremendous roar and Allice screamed and ran for her life. However the creature had no interest in her and began sacking the land around it, finding nearby villages to rampage through. Allice took off in flight.
Jack had called a nearby dersite airship on it's way to Skaia. As they approached, they began to see the mass scale of devastation. Jack was fuming.
"What the hell is that? Why the hell is it on a killing spree?"
"We're not sure, sir. It appeared when the woman did."
"We need to find her quickly."Jack retorted
Allice, however, had found them. She intended on warning them to turn back before the beast attacked them too, but was grabbed and led to Jack. "Is this the girl?"
"Ah.. yes. Turn the ship around now."
"What is that thing jack? It came out of a box my grandmother gave me..." Allice said. Jack just shrugged.
"An unforseen obstacle. If I were you, I'd gather my friends and bring them with us before the monster takes over their worlds. I can help them how I helped you if you like."
"What? NO! They won't be so easy to trick like you tricked me..." Allice said with a stern look. "I may have let you kill me with no proof that anything would come of it, shame on me, but I have my doubts the others will let you sneak up like that... Why do you want to help us anyway? What's your reasoning here?"
"Just a benevolent construction of this medium, M'dear." Jack said with a sly grin. She wasn't buying it though and he knew it. His grin became a thoughtful look. "You're right. I have my reasons. May as well cut to the chase." He sat at what appeared to be a computer of strange origins. Everything in the cabin of the airship had a distinct purple hue. Seemed like some sort of theme for some. While others, she had seen on skaia when the dragon began to rampage, Apparently sported golden hues and tones. They were also pure white-carapaced creatures unlike Jack and the people aboard the violet airship speeding away from the epicenter of unleashed destruction.
"Just so you know, this ride is going to take quite some time. But I have my reasons, Allice. I want to assassinate the black queen. Hell, with your help, I can do just that, as well as the King too.. Seeming as you are the one who has officially destroyed Skaia..." He tilted the monitor into view and she saw an enormous mass of floating isles that used to be the Skaia he spoke of. "If the kings were down there preparing for battle, they're dust in the wind now..." He said as she shook her head.
"God damn, how can we stop this thing?" Allice squeaked uncertainly.
"I think your better off figuring out how to avoid getting murdered by that thing first. It seems to have a taste for eating entire planets."
"World eater..."Allice shuddered and shook her head taking in all of what had just happened and what she'd been told. She sat in a nearby chair. Jack got up and stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders and leaning to her ear.
"Don't worry, I can help keep you and your friends safe." She shook her head and leaned away, a little wierded out by his gesture.
"I'm not sure if that's.. I don't even know what I'm doing here in the first place Jack. This is too much at once and I don't know what to do. We need to find them as soon as possible, but none of them have been able to contact me since.. I died and lost my phone... and the dragon-monster arrived."She said. Jack walked around and sat in his chair again, a dangerous spark in his eyes and a somewhat dark smile natural on his face as he gazed at her.
"I'm actually ahead of you on that. However they don't trust me and the guards I have swayed to my side. I need you to use this to send them a message, so they'll trust me, and we'll get all three of them to Derse as soon as possible to hide from the dragon until we can figure out a way to stop it. Meanwhile, we'll usurp control of Derse before your friends get there." Allice looked confused but then quickly everything came together. He'd been planning this for a long time.
"Did you know the dragon would appear?" She said.
"Perhaps. Maybe i knew /something/ would happen-but not of what nature." He said, shrugging. "Now record the message, Allice. It's important." Jack handed her a strange somewhat ancient looking device, and she set it on the table. It unfolded itself and Jack made a motion for her to speak.
"Hey guys. Whatever happens stay safe. I made a friend and he has a plan, and if you don't go with his friends when they come, you might end up dead because there's a huge monster roaming this game session. So stay safe okay! They're going to help."She said and Jack reached over and folded the device up again.
"You'll thank me for that later I'm sure." Jack said.
Allice pulled down the hood on her head. Her outfit was strange. Her wings were even odder. She felt awkward, and horribly tired after hours of trekking away through the air on new wings to get away from the dragon. Her long dark brown hair swayed around her shoulders and her eyes looked heavy. Her small, short frame seemed to melt into the chair with exhaustion. Jack sat, seeming to admire her for a while before he spoke again.
"Would you like to sleep?" He asked, and she nodded. "This way, i'll find you a bed." Jack said. Allice followed him down the hall and through another door, Sitting on a cot nearby. There were no others in the cabin anyway. The ship had been designed to be piloted by two people. They'd thrown anyone who didn't join Jack's cause overboard before allice had ever gotten there, and the two left on the ship were busy driving it full speed toward Derse. Allice sighed and pulled her hair out of her face.
"I guess it would be good for me to rest since I apparently have an assassination to do in this weird ass game i'm now apparently life or death trapped in.."She grumbled. Jack looked puzzled. "This isn't a game anymore Allice. It's as serious as a heart attack and definitely a life or death situation. It's just a bit more fantastic than you thought it might be." He said, standing at the door. He took a few steps closer, arms crossed. "The thing is, now that you're deity level, you can only permanently die if you're killed justly or heroicly. I fear your friends will be a bit more vulnerable than that. Your only chance is to become my queen and take over—To rally armies to fight the dragon. The black queen here, she would never do such a thing as unite both sides to protect everyone. She is truly a villain. I'm going to help you become a true ruler, Allice. You'll be a hero. Everyone will benefit from your strength."He said, another dangerous glint in his eye as he leaned closer to her. Allice's eyes went wide as his face was so close to hers, and he placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her gently, before quickly recoiling back and taking a step toward the door. He glanced back at her, sitting there with a bewildered look, and then closed the door, returning to the main room of the cabin. She shook her head. That was the weirdest thing that had happened yet, and she had obviously not hated it.
Why though, would she find any attraction to such a strange, alien creature. What if this was just part of his plan to become the ruler himself. It probably was. But why would he need her? Why keep her? Not only that but getting killed earlier really put a damper on her mood about him. She had agreed to it, but damn it had hurt. And if he had the ability to do something like that to someone what would stop him from doing it again if it suited him. She sighed as she lay on the cot, curling her robe around her tightly and quickly falling asleep.

~ 4 ~ Awoken-

Allice stirred suddenly to a thump on the door of the room she slept in. She turned over groggily.
"Hello?"She said, and the door opened. A short, black, carapaced man stood there. He was one of the people who helped one of the others pilot the airship.
"O-oh hello uhm, Lord Jack said to wake you up and see if... you are hungry...?"He was peeking through the door timidly and Allice stood up and walked to the door, opening it.
"Thanks. Yeah i'm hungry." She followed the short man out of the room and into the main compartment. Jack sat there waiting and the short guy left the room.
"Would you like something to eat?"He asked, a smug expression natural on his face- like he knew something she didn't.
"You slept for a while, we're nearly there actually. you should be quick about it."He spoke as she sat and he handed her a plate of strange food. Steamed pumpkin bits and some odd smelling chicken. Good enough she decided and she dug into it, since she had not eaten a single thing since before this game started. As she finished, Jack stood and she felt something shake the airship.
"We've docked... now Allice, the plan... is to bring you to the queen as a prisoner. but when she is vulnerable... go for the ring. Cut her damn arm off. Or she'll destroy you quickly... That's all it's going to take to get rid of her."He said. Allice nodded but yelped as he pulled her arms rougly behind her and cuffed them. All with a dark smile. She frowned angrily, glaring.
"How do I cut her arm off with my hands tied?"She grumbled. "You have to look the part Allice. But these cuffs have a manual latch, they're just toys. Try it." He said and she found the latch, and unclipped them. "Oh. ok. why be so... you know what nevermind. Let's go."She said as he relatched her cuff and they left the ship. The place was dark, and the denizens within seemed made of shadow themselves. they gathered to each side of the rode as Allice was brought forth toward the heart of derse, the castle itself. The violet stones all around hewn the entire moon. She was struck by the beauty. She realized she didnt have a knife either and it was too late to ask for one... but she'd figure it out. her hood covered her eyes as she was jerked back a bit, a large dersite confronting Jack. Jack explained the situation-all lies- to the large dersite man, and continued with him in tow to the front of the castle. She was stopped before a large pair of doors. For some reason, with the hood over her eyes, she could feel what everything around her looked like, pure and accurately. It was a strange sensation. They continued through winding passage to the throne room ahead and many feet from the queen, she was forced to kneel. She saw her. Pointed black horns, elven ears on either side of her face. She had a long, thick tail with a strange apparatus on the end that looked a lot like the Jack of a pair of headphones. She also had huge black wings.
"Ahh what have my subjects managed to bring me here... Ooooh, the Seer..."Allice cringed with anticipation as the monstrous woman came closer, jack squeezing allice's shoulder. Within the depths of Allice mind, she felt words appearing that were not her own.
"We... depend... on... this. You mustn't... Fail.."Her resolve strengthened as the queen pulled her hood off her head, and then made her stand before the towering form that she was. First, Allice unlatched the cuffs, and with a rush of pure energy, a violet glowing dagger appeared behind her back. Before the queen could react much, Allice sprung with the dagger- But the queen flinched and only the tips of her fingers had been removed. Allice grunted as the queen threw her across the room with a kick to the chest.. And allice sat against the wall, wings quivering, as she gasped for air. The queen was on top of her in seconds, pulling her into the air, eye level with herself. The dagger had dissappeared.
"Clever child... who put you up to this? She said. Tendrils of shadow held Jack and the large one in place.
"Noone.."Allice sputtered with difficulty. "All you need to know..." She was feigning weakness at this point. "Is that your death draws near!" Allice screamed, wrenching free and flying across the room, trying to regain the concentration she had to create that blade. The queen cackled madly, and red energy poured from her hands... but she was too Haughty about her strength. Although the castle began to creak and shatter wherever the energy touched it, soon a green light poured in from the windows.. The queen stopped with wide eyes, the energy relinquishing back into the ring.
"No! It cant be!"
Allice was terrified, A deafening roar came from outside. As she tried to concentrate harder, The deafening sound of a thousand thunderstorms wreaked havoc on their ears. They had been followed by the dragon.
"You IDIOTS! You Brought it HERE?!" the queen screamed as she took to the sky through a hole in the top of the castle room above them. The shadow tendrils were gone from holding Jack and the large man. But neither were to be seen. Allice sat atop a pillar and as she couldn't find jack, she took off after the queen. She heard unintelligable screaming from the madwoman, as the huge, castle- sized dragon had perched on the castle itself. She had brought out the red energy again, trying to fight it, but failing miserably as it attempted to bite her out of the sky every few moments. Allice was shocked the monster wasn't on a rampage to destroy all of derse. But as it were... she felt a warm feeling in her head as she got closer to the dragon. When it spotted her, it let out a growl, and snapped its tail around the rampaging queen. She couldn't get free now. the tail-wrapped queen was then lowered to allice's level. As hard as she struggled, she couldnt get free, and every ounce of energy she had was being wicked away into the dragon's mouth. Allice wasn't sure what to do. However she had to take advantage of this. With a fell swipe of an energy blade, the queen's entire arm came off. As she screamed one last time, her entire body exploded into a bunch of oily grossness all over the place. Allice laughed aloud and heard a rumbling growl from the dragon, which seemed to be laughing as well. Jack appeared behind allice, and leaned down to pluck the four-orbed ring off the ground. He giggled maniacly as he equipped the ring on his finger.
"Allice, you're such a doll."He spoke as he fell to his knees and began to transform quite a bit. The dragon began to change too. He grew much smaller. To the size of a snake, and perched on Allice's shoulders. Allice began to be worried as Jack stopped glowing, and turned to her. Horns, a tail, elven ears, and so much insane power... But he seemed to keep his cool pretty well, as he walked over and hugged her tightly.
"I believed in you. And I guess the dragon is tied to you and your will... He seems to like you. Go figure, a dragon princess and the true ruler of derse and the medium..."He trailed off in thought and shook his head. "Allice i've seen what the possible future has in store. It's not going to be easy, and it will be even harder alone... I dont know how we're going to get there, you know, to what I've been given the gift of having seen.." He stopped and breathed deep as many dersites poured out onto the roof to see what had happened. "But i want to be there for you... Would you have me by your side?" He asked with a sweet look in his eyes as he pulled her closer.
Allice was utterly shocked and awed by all that had just been said and done. However, she didn't refuse his affectionate hugs. She didn't find herself actually wanting to resist in the least. He had been so careful in how he'd set this up. It seemed to be genuine. She was never expecting it either.
"Yes Jack of course I will. But now we need to save my friends..." He smiled and nodded as he stepped back. The dersites around them began to kneel around the two.
"There is one last little thing, Allice. Would you agree to become one of my own?"He said with a seriousness in his tone. She looked around.
"Well, first of all, how? I'm a human, aren't I stuck this way? But I guess I could believe it possible with everything that's happened so far, so my answer is, if it's possible, yes." Jack smiled and pulled a card out of what was left of his shirt-the pocket. As he tore the card to pieces and threw them a her, the glowed brightly. She staggered back, both hands over her face, as she felt a bit of shock and pain all over her... And then she passed out. Jack caught her in his arms as everything went dark.

~ 5 ~ The Dark Dream-

All she felt was encroaching darkness on all side. She tried to scream but everything was muffled around her. She felt like she was falling. And then, as quickly as it had happened, she was sitting up at the bottom of a dark room with light filling from under the door. She got up to investigate this door, walking close and turning the handle. The light as it opened was very blinding. But she walked through, letting her eyes adjust. The door closed behind her and she was surrounded by a bright, sunlit forest. The light was so intense, colors around her seemed either way too vibrant or damn near greyscale. The trees and the grass bore a hue of violet as well as the green you would expect. It was beautiful. She heard a voice call to her though, through the trees, and she followed the sound, soon greeted by a woman in black and white, with three pairs of wings on her back that glowed intensely violet. She spoke.
"Allice... Allice do you see me? Do you hear me?" the violet-haired woman said.
"Yes, who are you?" Allice spoke.
"I am Azith, the Violet Goddess."She spoke, but her voice faded out. Her form followed suit.
"Allice... remember the terrors of the dark. But remember they can be defeated. There is always a light at the end..." Her voice faded completely and so did the brightness in the world around her. It didnt seem that this was over.
Allice looked around as it drew dark as night around her. A huge bull-sized beast stepped cautiously toward her as three moons appeared in the sky, shedding limited light.
This beast approaching her was like nothing she'd ever seen. it had six horn-like tendrils on it's head that moved about ever so slightly, and had black and white stripes. Its six tails were the same. And its head was shaped like a spade.
"Wake up dear. Wake. You cannot stay here, so go. return."The beast hissed, it's forked tongue slithering around its sharp teeth when it spoke. She nodded, feeling drowsy within the dream, and just curling up on the ground right there. As she faded into sleep there, she felt herself struggling for awareness suddenly.

~ 6 ~ Awoken again-

Allice stirred a bit as consciousness returned to her. She felt the warmth, like a blanked over her. It was Jack though, holding his wing over her body in a rather lavish bed.
"Oh good, Allice, you're awake." he said groggily as he pulled away a bit to stretch his limbs. Allice smiled a little, very vaguely remembering what happened. Then it hit her hard. She was completely different. she looked down at her hands, her legs... they were marbled black and white with fire-like patterns.. she yawned. Her teeth were sharper. Her entire body felt different, because of course, it was.
"Jack... how do I look?" She said softly.
"Oh Allice, you're so incredibly beautiful~" He said without hesitation, pulling her closer and kissing her without a warning. She moaned a bit, leaning into it, and he pulled even harder to push her body against him passionately. When he stopped kissing her, they were both panting for air. He nibbled her neck.
"Do you realize what all of this means, Allice?" She shook her head
"Well think about it. If i'm the ruler of this medium now, and we're together, what will that make you if I marry you?"He said. Allice felt her cheeks getting hot and red at the thought.
"Jack, I dont want to get married to anyone yet.. that's just weird to think about."
"Allice, that's completely fine, we can take our time. But you're the true queen. And i'll make it happen." He said as he pushed her down against the bed, grinning darkly. Allice's eyes went wide as he touched her body with a ravenous passion. Pulling off her shirt. He leaned down and kissed her breasts and suckled on her nipples gently. She tensed and whimpered softly as he did. It's not like was her first time, but, this was monumentally different from anything she'd ever been through.
Jack unzipped his pants and pulled up her skirt, removing her underwear. He was ready for her already, his throbbing member pressing against her entrance. She closed her eyes and shook with anticipation. She really had come to care for him. This was something she had wondered about on her own too. He entered her then, thrusting gently as she writhed with pleasure, fingers clenching and relaxing. He leaned over her, smiling a bit and pushing his lips against hers. They kissed passionately and he continued within her, making her moan with mad pleasure. She wrapped her fingers around his arm, and the other hand ran along his rather defined chest. He got a bit faster and faster as he went, growling carnally as he pressed his lips against her neck. He didn't warn her as he moaned really hard and filled her with seed. She moaned passionately as well, and then he rested over her for a few moments, letting it all out within her. then he pulled away, laying close with her in his arms. He grinned.
"You're mine. Don't even think of getting away."He said as both a threat and a promise that he wouldn't let her go easily.
She laughed a little bit.
"Well you know I've had a lot of opportunities to do so and I haven't yet." She said. Worry struck her expression however.
"What about my friends? What happened to the dragon? Oh god, I had such a strange dream..."Things struck her all at once. She sat up quickly and Jack pulled her back down.
"Relax, darlin'. I've got a lot of those things taken care of."He said. "You weren't really out all that long."
She sighed and pressed her forehead against his chest.
"Okay then. Explain to me. Where are they? Are they on their way?.."She said. He smiled.
"Like I said, I have it taken care of." He said. "However, one of your friends... He resisted even with your warning. I'm not sure what his ends are, but he certainly isn't what he seems." Jack said gravely.
"What do you mean?"Allice looked worried again.
"I mean, he seems to know exactly what he's doing... and it's against every bit of what we're working for. Allan is a wildcard. Perhaps he'll need you to go directly to him to convince him to our side. We also have the other royals to exterminate...But it's going to be harder with him in our way." Jack sat up and clothed himself, and Allice followed suit with him. they wandered out of the room together. The dragon appeared from the shadows, energy crackling from it's furry and scaled white hide. It curled around Allice's shoulders. She smirked. It had been so frightened at it's birth, it had no idea what power it held- now it was as tame as a housecat, sitting on her shoulders. She wondered if it could learn to speak, as the dragons in her heritage could. She felt that it would be likely. Jack and Allice began to rally the people of derse, unaware of the terrible things happening in the medium farther within.

~ 7 ~ The Lord of Death and his encroaching battle against the The Heir of Joy, the Count of Storm, and the Seer of Space-

Distant into the medium, a battle unbeknownst to Allice was taking place. Between her friends. Allan was a heartbroken mess at the death of his father. He blamed Astrid and Aiden. As he fought his way into the depths of his medium world, he found himself despairaging at the top of a tower that held an altar atop it. In his rage, he found himself ready to end his own life. Cutting himself off from his friends completely, he had nobody to turn to. So he did. He took his scythe-like weapon he had constructed himself, and he slit his throat. But he had no idea the consequences in this game of what he had done and where he'd just done it. To his dismay... he had made himself a Godtier. And instead of the sweet rest he craved, he was alive yet again and even immortal under conditions unknown to him. His resolve for revenge had become so intense, that he intended to kill everyone else in his wake of hatred. He devised a plan and was now carrying it out step by step. The first part of his three part plan involved killing astrid. You can probably guess what step two and three were.
His newfound abilities were frightening. He knew his title now, Lord of Death. As he killed things, they reanimated before him in a frightening zombification. Soon enough, he had an army of death at his command. He set off, wings of pure black carrying him to prospit, land of the white queen, where he wreaked absolute havoc, raising armies of the undead to fight for him. The queen did her best to save as many as she could, heading for the floating wreckage in the heart of skaia. Luckily for her, the entirety of prospit becoming a hub of the Lord of Death's army, he had other plans besides destroying every one of the prospitians. He set his armies to fly the airships to Astrid's world, when the orbit was right for prospit to reach it more quickly.
Astrid was a mess of sadness. Aiden and her had found one another quickly in the start of the game. She was horrified with what had happened, how Allan thought the whole event where his dad was killed was her fault. And neither of them had heard much from allice. However, that changed. Astrid was met by a very small dersite who showed her and Aiden a message directly from allice. The small dersite led the two from Aiden's home world, the land of Ocean and Hurricanes that they were at the time stranded on, to an airship. He explained to them, that the only way they were going to survive this attack coming from Allan and even possibly the dragon, was to die on the altar-bed on each of their worlds.
Astrid and Aiden eventually, after much questioning of the small Dersite, agreed. They each died on their own worlds, First Aiden on his world of Ocean and Hurricanes, Then Astrid on the world of Night and Festivities.
The small dersite had told them when they had achieved their godtiers, they would find themselves a Prospitian envoy with the white queen in the wreckage of skaia. Regardless of Allice and Jack's intention to kill the entirety of each royalty, The small dersite knew better. He intended to get the two prospit dreamers to safety regardless of sides. Allan would never expect them to have been helped so much, he even thought they were still on their own worlds. It was a very lucky break for the two, and also for the remaining Prospitians in existance. The two could defend the rest of them, and their rightful place was to protect the last of the life in the medium. Thus, the Heir of Joy and the Count of Storm were born.
Allan bore his army deep into every reach of all the worlds around skaia in the medium in desperate search of his quarry. However, he found no trace of them. His anger grew. He soon intended his search to siege the entire medium.
In the time that had taken him however, the entirety of the remaining prospitians and dersites alike that had survived within skaia, had taken every airship left, working together, heading outward toward derse in the medium. Not only did they intend to warn the Dersites within, but they also intended to make their last stand together no matter what happened. They were the last, but they were very much alive, and they intended to stay that way.

~ 8 ~ The Arrival-

Over the course of a week or so by the measurement of dersite time, which was a bit different than it had been on earth, Jack and Allice had made their plans to take over the rest of the medium. Not only that, but Allice had been very worried about her friends. No messengers had come with them, or even bearing any news. They intended to go out into the medium soon with any luck to find out what happened as well as head to prospit and carry out their scheme. It took them so long, however, because Allice had been having really strange visions, dreams, and really bad, debilitating headaches that at times caused fainting. Jack was so concerned that he had postponed everything. Allice feared something really bad was going on deeper in the medium although they had heard little to nothing from the sentries. Then suddenly, at the beginning of the eighth day after Allice defeated the queen, it all began to happen at once. The entirety of Prospit's remaining forces and Derse's remaining army from out in the medium had gathered nearby Derse bearing the news.
Aiden and Astrid finally appeared.
"Haha Allice, it's sooo good to see you! Not that I even recognised you at first.. wow!" Astrid piped as she basically tackled her with a hug. "But you really don't look good, if i'm reading it right... what's wrong?"
Aiden sighed a bit in a moody tone and Allice looked over to him.
"Oh it's nothing, just having some really bad headaches." Allice said. "What the hell happened to you guys, and where is Allan?"
Astrid looked grim as she took a step back. Aiden gave Allice a grave look and began explaining.
"Well, something happened. Astrid and I made some mistakes, and somehow Allan's dad got killed in the process... Now he's blaming her, and wants to kill every single one of us..." Aiden said. "He's gone completely insane, and somehow he's raised entire armies of the dead to come after us." He said sadly.
Allice became lost in thought for a moment. Her dragon appeared in a flurry of energy on her shoulder out of nowhere and startled her. It started making little noises and gesturing with it's snout toward the furthest ring of the medium.
Something from out there seemed to be making a horrifying noise, and the rest of them seemed like they couldn't hear it. Her eyes went wide. "Do you hear that?"She asked
Everyone else looked puzzled. Jack came closer.
"Is it the same noise you've been hearing?"He asked and she nodded.
"Yes, but so much louder. It's like something-whatever it is-is getting closer." She said to him quietly. As quickly as the noise came, it was gone, though.
The others looked puzzled. But they continued on with their conversation for a while. Then they headed into the main part of the castle to discuss what their plans were. This changed everything. Even the white queen, who had relinquished her own ring long before coming here, wanted peace between both the dersites and prospitian. If the fighting between them continue then neither side would survive. Jack, hatreds aside, agreed to work together.
"I have a plan guys." Allice spoke.
"I've been having a lot of visions that until now have made no sense." She said. "There is a being out there somewhere with godlike abilities that has been coming to me in dreams and telling me pieces of information that are now tying together in my mind- What we have to do, is begin the reckoning. However. we need the scepter to do that. Did that make it here with you guys?" Allice said. The white queen nodded. Quite apparently, the king hadn't made it with her, but as Allice had mentioned it, she had the scepter brought out.
"Good... what we have to do to keep the undead at bay, is begin the reckoning. That's where it gets difficult. It's not going to keep them all away from us, and it's also not going to keep Allan himself away either. The next phase of this, we have to kill him before he kills us. Luckily, I think I have a plan." Allice focused on her dragon and in a matter of seconds the beast was his original size.
Everyone in the room became a bit fearful and uneasy.
"This dragon can destroy his armies with ease, i'm sure of it. And he's on our side!"Allice spoke with confidence.
"With his help, we can fight the monsters Allan has created to destroy us." she said.
Astrid and Aidan clapped a little bit, and the rest of the room followed them. The plan was set. They were ready. Jack and Allice would use their combined power to destroy Allan and his undead armies while Astrid and Aiden protected the rest of the people.