Hikaru: Another humor-ish Klarth-centric. Why? Because I can. That, and Klarth's awesome. Enjoy! Also, I decided to try typing out "Cless" instead of "Cress" to see how I like it.

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The Moria Gallery was impossibly dark in the lower levels. The darkness was worse in the Dwarven Temple, but with an enchanted item called the Blue Candle, the darkness was lightened enough to see, if only dimly.

The low, cruel laughter of the Lord of the Underworld met Klarth's ears. He felt the Lapis Lazuli pact ring in his pocket grow warm, indicating that is the particular ring with which the pact will be made.

"Humans?" It asked, evidently amused. Before Klarth and Cless materialized a great, colossal being, ringed with ethereal flame. It had a head, as well as arms. It seemed to be made up of only a torso. "What do human children want with we of the Daemonium?"

Ah. So it seemed the Lord of the Underworld, Pluto, knew of Klarth's pact-making with the Chameleon and Gremlin Lair. Klarth felt excitement coupled with fright. He could feel the immense power of Pluto, whose power was greater than even Origin, the King of Spirits. He felt a light sheen of sweat on his brow. Somehow, he found his voice.

"Lord of the Underworld." Klarth said, shaking a little. "You are a Spirit. Quite frankly, I would like to enter a pact-making with you."

By Cless's shocked expression, Klarth might well have asked the Spirit to marry him.

Pluto's cold laughter rang throughout the innermost chamber of the Dwarven Temple. For a moment, Klarth was frightened that Pluto would not agree to a pact, even if they had to fight him to do it ...

Cless shot a look at the bottom of the stairwell, where the others waited anxiously, hoping their business with Pluto went well. Mint's white robe was easy to spot in the dark.

When Pluto stopped laughing, Klarth's fear that Pluto would deny the pact vanished, and Klarth's fear that they would have to fight the Spirit doubled.

"You subdued Chameleon and Gremlin's Lair. Come, show the Daemonium Lord your worth!"

A great shockwave sent Klarth flying. He didn't see much, but he did see that he was falling toward the bottom of the staircase, which rose high out of the floor below. Klarth hadn't the energy to scream. He was too shocked ...

He stopped falling. Something had grabbed him by his robe--

"C'mon! You can do better than that!" Arche's voice met his ears. Klarth felt himself blush; she must've grabbed him in midair.

Arche hovered above the ground and let Klarth down. Klarth looked for Cless--the Eternal Sword would be invaluable in this battle. He saw the swordsman, trying to attack Pluto. None of his attacks were working. Cless slashed, thrust, stabbed ... but nothing worked. Klarth's mind raced. Absently he slipped on the Lapis Lazuli pact ring, and he could see.

Cless's melee attacks weren't working because Pluto had an invisible shield ... invisible to anyone except the one wearing the pact ring.

"Cless!" Klarth shouted, and Cless called back to show he was listening. "Cless, use Demon Fang!"

Cless looked confused, but nonetheless obeyed. Pluto, who had been charging for a spell, stopped, subdued by a mere basic technique. Cless stood immobile, rooted to the spot.

Klarth didn't notice; he was preparing to summon. Summoning the other Daemonium Spirits would serve no purpose against the Lord of the Underworld, so Klarth was trying for Aska. The Underworld was awash in nothing but darkness. If any Spirit could possibly subdue Pluto, it would have to be Aska.

"I call upon the light of the parent star ... " Calling Aska down here was hard work, but he would make it work.

Meanwhile, Arche was choosing a spell, too. The only light-based spell she had was Ray. Klarth hoped Arche would think to use Extension--it broke down enemies at the molecular level. It might not work on Pluto, a Spirit (and Daemonium Lord at that), but it was worth a shot.

Cless shouted in pain. Klarth couldn't pay attention; he had to concentrate on summoning Aska. Then tendrils of darkness sprouted from the ground, and Klarth stared in fear, even as the light mana built up within him. Even as the tendrils of darkness snaked their way toward him, he saw in his mind's eye the great gate that led to Aska and its kinfolk, similar to Efreet's gate.

The Mystic Symbol was working its magic--Klarth had already beckoned Aska and its kin with something similar to prayer, and the pheonixes were already on their way--

Darkness snaked up his legs, holding him down, paralyzing him--

"Pow, Pow Hammer!" Mint cried, running up the staircase, staff raised.

A giant red hammer fell from the ceiling, and hit Pluto square on the head. It stood, dazed, and Klarth felt the hands of darkness receding.

Klarth slammed his spellbook shut, shouting,

"I summon thee! Come, Aska!"

Pluto shielded his eyes as a great light, as if the sun itself had entered, shone within the darkness, and from the light came forth a flock of pheonix, led by Aska, easily the brightest and most beautiful of them all.

As they rushed Pluto, Klarth knelt, panting for breath. Summoning Aska took a lot of work, and the hands of darkness drained his strength.

In conjunction with Aska, Arche finished her magic. "Extension!" Klarth's heart leapt.

Pluto roared. Not with pain, the great Daemonium Lord would not let his enemies know he felt pain, but with immense anger. When Aska and its flock disappeared in the darkness, the darkness pressed against Klarth's eyes, and with horror he found he could no longer see.

He blinked, feeling his way blindly, wishing his eyes would hurry up and adjust to the extreme darkness.

Mint's soft voice somehow rose above Pluto's violent one.

"Recover."

Klarth's eyes sharply adjusted; he could see clear as day. He stood, and he tried to decide which Spirit to summon now. If he summoned Aska again ...

Great cracks ran through the pavement of the floor, shining a fiery neon blue, not unlike the bright neon stars Klarth heard tell of in the observatories in Alvanista.

The earth underfoot shook, and Klarth fell again. Great streams of darkness streaked free, wrapping themselves around anything and everything in their way. Klarth darted through them, and he decided to summon Origin.

He picked what looked to be a safe spot, flipping through his spell book.

"I call upon the source of heaven, earth, and everything in between! The ruler of all!"

Origin was the easiest Spirit to beckon to; Origin was a Spirit of nonbeing, essentially everything. Aided by the presence of the Eternal Sword, Origin's power was flooding Klarth fast.

He heard what was going on further away--

Chester was pelting elemental arrows at Pluto, who simply deflected them, Suzu was summoning her own guardian Jiraiya, Mint was healing Cless, who had taken the worst of Pluto's spell, and Arche was charging up another Extension.

Origin's voice filled Klarth's head. If Klarth did not release the mana now, it would destroy his body.

"I summon thee! Come, Origin!"

Origin came immediately upon his summoner's call. He appeared, all four of his lances raised. Pluto seemed amused.

"It's been a long time, Origin."

Origin nodded, not making a move. All other fighting ceased. Mint, Cless, Chester, Suzu, and Arche froze, watching.

Origin hefted his lances. "It has been a long time. I recall exactly how your Daemonium world collided with mine."

Klarth's eyes went wide. Daemonium world ... collided with Aselia!? What happened? Did two planets collide?

Pluto laughed again, its long arms folded over its massive chest. "From another dimension, we of the Daemonium were given access to your mortal world, Origin. We were intent on taking it over and making it our new home. I, a young prince at the time, was hopeful ... however, it seemed we were thwarted by a champion of yours, Origin."

Origin smirked at the Lord of the Underworld. "Yes, my champion ... that is fitting. It is I who choose upon whom to bestow the Eternal Sword."

Klarth could see that the only other person more interested in this interaction was Cless, the current wielder of the Eternal Sword. The violet blade seemed to glow in agreement with Origin.

Pluto snorted at Origin, a childish thing to do in Klarth's eyes. It seemed there was bad blood between the Daemonium Lord and the King of Spirits. "It was perfect. An evil sorcerer who had turned from the customs of Heimdall wrote the most evil of spell books--the Necronimicon."

Klarth's breath hitched. The Necronimicon? Klarth owned that very same book!

"The Necronimicon was a forbidden spell book. It absorbed hatred, misfortune, and all other manners of negative emotions, and used their energies to connect to another dimension. When the Lord of the Underwold of the time found the portal, he was elated to have found such a delectable mortal planet. We made plans to assault it."

Origin shook his head at Pluto. "Of course I would watch over my own world. At the time, Aselia was in turmoil. What was supposed to be one planet was ripped asunder ... but one person sought to use the Eternal Sword to rectify the horrible situation it had been put in. I realized that if I allowed him to use the sword, he may be able to stop the Daemonium from filling Aselia."

Pluto did not seem amused at this. He slammed a fist on the ground, and the earth shook mightily. "And that same swordsman had plans to visit Derris-Kharlan. Where the Sacred Stone was hidden. You then urged your champion to risk his life, as well as many others, to use the Soul Fire and seal off the link to the mortal world."

Pluto sighed, regaining his cool composure. "He succeeded. The previous Eternal Swordsman sealed off the link to the Daemonium." He smiled, showing off a set of jagged, wicked, ivory white teeth. They rather resembled shark's teeth. "But it was not over, you knew. That fool seeking to revive Nebilim, a champion of the Daemonium. Since he stole the Necronimicon and used its dark power in Shadow's keep, that further strengthened the link to our own world."

Origin nodded sadly. "Yes. A thousand years later, the link was strong enough ... and the Daemonium collided with Aselia via another dimension. To save Aselia, I could only fuse our worlds together."

And it jolted in Klarth's head. That was why dark spirits and monsters roamed the earth. They came from the Necronimicon, the link to the real Daemonium. He frowned. If Origin's goal was to vanquish those of the Daemonium, then shouldn't they try to do away with Pluto?

Origin seemed to read Klarth's mind. "However, now that you and your Daemonium are part of Aselia, born into this world ... I recall the words of the previous Eternal Swordsman. Humans, elves, half-elves, dwarves, and even Spirits ... everyone has a right to life!"

Arche drew in a tear-choked gasp, and even Pluto looked at Origin differently.

Origin lowered his lances. "The current Eternal Swordsman has a goal as well, to preserve this world you and I live in. Now, on behalf of the pact-maker, will you accept his vow?"

Here Pluto laughed, a high, cold sound. He shook his head. "I? The Lord of the Underworld, Lord of the Daemonium, join forces with a human? He may have tricked Chameleon and Gremlin's Lair to join him, but not I. No, my place is here, Origin ... "

Klarth, angry, stepped beside Origin. The King of Spirits paid no heed, as if he were expecting Klarth to do so. What could--should--Klarth say to convince Pluto to agree to a pact and vow? Hundreds of ideas flew through his head, each placing a mere human above the great Daemonium Lord ...

Klarth inwardly gasped, shocked. Of course!

"Well, Origin." Klarth said. "Each Aselian Spirit, including our great Daemonium Lord, has a planet of power designated to them to strengthen their power, correct?"

Origin nodded, smiling.

Klarth continued, to the bewilderment of Pluto. "The Sylph have Mercury, Volt has Jupiter, Shadow has Saturn, Gnome has Uranus, Efreet has Mars, Undine has Neptune, Luna has the Moon, Aska has the Sun, and our great Daemonium Lord has Pluto."

Here Pluto's mood seemed to have lifted, if only a little.

Klarth looked sideways at Origin, as if carrying conversation with only Origin. "But science, so they say, is a way of thought at basic level. Some people at the Alvanista Observatory had ... doubts about Pluto being a true planet."

Pluto froze. "What?" It snarled.

Klarth ignored him. "For one, Pluto's moon, Charon, is almost its own size. Too big. Second, Pluto is not exactly spherical. Third, it has a slightly irregular orbit around the Sun, thus putting into question its belonging in our solar system."

Origin tried to keep from laughing, while Pluto looked fuming. Klarth cleared his throat, turning away from Pluto. "Well, if Pluto's not really a planet, then its Spirit must not be all that powerful. Let's go, guys. Arche's magic and Origin will be enough to face Dhaos."

Klarth actually started to walk away from the stair landing when Pluto's voice boomed as a mighty quake. Klarth had to grab one of Origin's lances to steady himself.

"Make your vow!" Pluto boomed, certainly seeming all-powerful.

Klarth smiled at Origin. "I, Klarth F. Lester, vow to defeat Dhaos and save Yggdrasill, as well as its Spirit, Martel."

Pluto grunted as Klarth walked forward. "Bring forth the Lapis Lazuli ring."

Klarth held it out; it was still on his finger. "I beseech you, great Daemonium Spirit. Submit to me, as by the covenant of this ring. My name is Klarth ... "

Pluto's form dissolved into pure mana, dark and electric blue, foreboding. The atomic-like condensation of mana floated to Klarth, who held his hand out to accept the power readily. The moment it touched his hand, Pluto's great power flooded through him like a great electric shock.

Origin smiled when Klarth faced him. "Well done, pact-maker. I hope for your success."

The King of Spirits vanished, leaving them alone in the dark once more.

Cless cursed loudly. "Dammit! I wanted to ask Origin about the previous Eternal Swordsman!"

Arche hovered down by Klarth at shoulder level. She leaned toward him, a playful glee in her eye. "That was a pretty good way to get Pluto to join you." Klarth smirked at her. "I told you all it would be beneificial to research the observatory!"

From then on, even as they struggled to escape the depths of the Moria Gallery and Dwarven Temple, each one of Klarth's allies called him the Master Summoner, who forged pacts with even the great Daemonium Spirits.

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Hikaru: Heaped with Symphonia references, yes, please don't shoot me. Hope you like it! Also, I'm not entirely sure if I listed the Spirits with their planets correctly, but I only cared about Luna, Aska, and Pluto's places.