GAMERGIRL99: Heh, thanks a lot. This has a lot more original work in it than the first one did. And I'm actually learning how hard it is to add to originality. Heh...

someone: Thanks for the review, man. I plan on keeping up the good work, heh.

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Chapter 3: Dark Discovery

Danielle felt tears come to her eyes as she saw Devin. "Can I talk to him alone?" she asked Legrasse, who nodded and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. Danielle set down the now-empty cup, walking over to Devin's bed.

Legrasse had been right… Devin had been seriously hurt. His short black hair was messy and unkempt, and several cuts covered his face. His blue U.S. Navy shirt had been shredded, deep gashes visible on the skin beneath. His blue jeans were also cut up a lot, injuries visible beneath the tattered material. But most of the wounds had been centered around his chest and neck, like something had tried to burrow inside of him…

Danielle swallowed hard, trying not to think about it as she looked at Devin's face again. "Hey bro, can you hear me?"

Devin slowly opened his green eyes, wincing. "Danielle…?"

"Yeah, it's me." She gently gripped his hand. "How you holding up?"

"Been… better…" He frowned a bit. "You alone…?" he asked in a soft whisper. Danielle nodded. "Good…" Devin took a deep breath. "I know what happened to Mom and Dad… How they died…"

Danielle's blood ran cold, her heart skipping a beat. "Devin… I…"

He cut her off. "I know… You had no control… You would never hurt anyone…"

"I don't get it. How did you find out, Devin? I mean… I didn't think anyone knew. No one was there that night." She hesitated. She thought what she had seen in that vision was just a nightmare… Danielle had found out a few days later that it wasn't…

"A man… No, a monster… Pious Augustus… He tried to turn me against you… I went along to find out more… but I never doubted you… He told me everything… about the Ancients… about you… All of it…"

Danielle's eyes narrowed at the mention of Pious Augustus. "So, he told you about the Ancients…" She frowned slightly. "But how did you get hurt so bad? Did Pious do this to you?"

"No… I escaped… I knew Pious could find me easily… The servants of Chattur'gha… aren't exactly easy to run from…" Devin winced, and his voice was starting to sound weaker than before, as if he was straining himself to try and talk. "Something's going on… Something bad… groups working in secret… They want power… Ancients…"

Danielle gritted her teeth, once again surprised that someone would want to even summon the Ancients. Did they really think those monsters would give them power? If anything they would just kill the people or torture them for eternity… "So, they want to bring back the Ancients. Go figure… But Chattur'gha's dead, Ulyaoth bound, Xel'lotath sealed… There's no way they can be brought back, right? I mean, the Artifacts are all gone…"

Devin closed his eyes, looking exhausted. "There's a way… Be careful, though… Legrasse… I don't trust him…"

Danielle frowned a bit. That made two of them, then… "Okay. Just get some rest, Devin."

Devin opened his eyes a bit, gently touching her face, his fingers tracing the scar on her left cheek. There was a look of pity and sadness in his eyes. "Just… don't die on me, sis… Not after I've… got to see you again…"

Danielle nodded slightly. "Don't plan on it, bro." Devin closed his eyes again, lowering his hand and slipping into a light doze almost immediately. Sighing softly, Danielle walked out of the room, closing the door slowly so that it didn't make any noise.

"Did he tell you anything? Maybe who attacked him?" Legrasse asked. Danielle shook her head. "Oh well… Hopefully we'll find out soon enough. What're you going to do now?"

"Probably stay at my parents' old house. I'll come by again tomorrow."

Legrasse nodded, a strange glint in his eyes. "Farewell," he said as he walked off.

Danielle frowned as she watched him leave. He was really acting strange… She shook her head, walking back to the lobby, her hands in the pockets of her cargo pants. Elena strode over to her, but Reno and Rude were nowhere in sight. "How is he?"

"Good. He was able to talk to me at least. I'm going to come back tomorrow to see him, though." She looked around. "Hey, where's your two friends at?"

"Reno and Rude are waiting in the car for us. The storm hasn't lessened up any, though. It's good to hear Devin's doing okay. We'll probably come to see him later on, maybe a few days from now." She pause for a second. "I take it you're ready to leave? It looks like you get the creeps from being in this place."

Danielle rubbed the back of her head a bit. "I'm surprised you noticed it… I just don't like hospitals all that much, so yeah, I'd like to get out of here."

A small smile crept across Elena's face as they headed out the doors of the hospital. They ran through the rain and quickly got into the car. Rude drove off almost immediately after they were seat belted in, heading out of Newport. The buildings were soon replaced by the open country as they drove, and Danielle realized just how much she missed her old home.

Reno looked over at Danielle. "So, you live out in Highland, right? Rude knows that place like the back of his hand. Actually, he remembers his way everywhere…" When Danielle didn't reply, Reno fell silent and looked out the window.

The Ancients… I thought the trouble with them was over… And now I come to find out some idiots are trying to bring them back into this world. But… it took Pious two thousand years to summon them. I know Alex and I used the three Artifacts to summon Ulyaoth, but those went missing when we beat Pious and Chattur'gha. So just how do these guys plan on bringing them into this world?

Danielle looked up in alarm as Elena screamed something to Rude, spotting a black-cloaked figure in the distance before the car lost control.

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Danielle's head throbbed painfully as she slowly came around. She could hear frantic voices nearby, and yet they sounded so distant to her…

"Elena! She's hurt! Help me get her out of here!"

Danielle tried to open her eyes but couldn't. Something warm and wet oozed down the left side of her face. The whole left side of her body hurt badly. What had happened…?

Gentle hands undid the seatbelt around her, going along her body and gently feeling along the left side of it. The hands stopped when they touched whatever was dripping down the left side of her face.

"Her head… It's really bad. She's bleeding from it."

"Be careful with her, Reno! We can't make those injuries any worse! You know what would happen if she died!"

The hands now carefully pulled Danielle out, but even the slightest moment of her body brought fresh waves of pain. It felt like she had been hit by a truck going full speed or something…

"Careful! Keep an eye on her, Reno! I have to help Rude!"

Someone lifted her up slowly, and she felt warm droplets splatter against her face. There was a strange hiss from nearby, and it felt like something was probing her mind, testing it. Danielle opened her eyes slightly, the rain still falling in her face as she glanced to the right. She could barely make out the blurred shapes, but she could tell one was Rude. He was fighting something small with three spheres of green light in place of its head…

Bonethief, she thought to herself, panicking slightly.

The presence in her mind seemed to react to her thoughts and pushed in deeper now, as if trying to get inside… She heard a loud crack as someone fired a gun, taking down the Bonethief with a well-placed shot to the chest. The presence Danielle had felt in her mind vanished instantly, and she could hear the shouts of the others as they regrouped, Danielle still being carried in the arms of Reno.

"The Ancients! What are they doing here?"

"We need to get her somewhere safe. I'm betting they're after her!"

"Right! Let's hurry before more of them come!"

Danielle closed her eyes, trying to make sense of what happened. So it really was the Ancients that had attacked. She could recognize a Bonethief anywhere. But how had they known about the Ancients? Almost no one knew about those accursed creatures, so how did three people she had first met in a restaurant know about them…?

She couldn't think straight anymore as her head throbbed painfully. A thick fog had settled itself in her mind, distorting her thoughts. She just felt like sleeping… Maybe when she woke up she would ask them about everything they knew regarding the Ancients. Danielle released herself to the unconsciousness she had fought against, and darkness engulfed her mind.

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Reno followed Elena into the house, the rain finally having let up a bit by the time they had arrived. Rude brought up the rear, closing the door and locking it behind him. He turned on the lights, turning to look back at Reno and Elena.

They had made it to the former Sterling household. Elena had brought Danielle's bag with them from the wrecked car and managed to find a key to the house in the girl's wallet, which she kept in the bag instead of her pocket for some reason. The three knew that Danielle would be suspicious of them now, since they had found the house without her directions. Of course, she would probably be out of it long enough for them to discuss an excuse, even if it was unlikely that she would believe it.

"Find some medical supplies," Reno told Rude, a serious look on his face. There was no time for jokes or messing around now. If they didn't do something, it was possible that Danielle would die… Rude nodded silently and walked off, and Reno entered a bedroom as Elena went to grab some old towels and sheets. It didn't take her long to find them, and she put some of the sheets on the bed. Reno set the unconscious Danielle down on the bed over the sheets, blood staining the white cloth almost immediately.

"Just what happened?" Reno asked Elena.

"There was someone in a black cloak in the middle of the road. Something blew us off-course, and we crashed into that tree. I think it was a gust of wind…"

Reno looked at her in disbelief. "How can the wind get that strong in just a single instant?"

Elena frowned. "I'm not sure. It was so precise… The brunt of the damage was right where Danielle sat in the car. And did you see that Bonethief? It was one of Xel'lotath's. I think it was after her."

Rude came back in with some medical supplies he had found, ending their conversation. The three of them immediately got to work on Danielle's injuries. They all had knowledge of first-aid, and they were fortunate that Rude was able to find the supplies. Elena, the most knowledgeable in first-aid, treated the injury to Danielle's head, cleaning the wound and creating make-shift stitches for the injury. Reno and Rude worked on the lesser injuries that covered the left side of her body and her left arm, cleaning them and covering them with bandages. After what felt like hours, they managed to clean and bandage up almost all of the injuries. Danielle was still unconscious though, her skin pale, beads of sweat on her forehead.

"Concussion?" Reno suggested.

Elena nodded. "Most likely. We can't risk bringing her to the hospital with Legrasse there."

Rude spoke up now. "I don't think it's just a concussion. She's running a fever."

"Wait, didn't Legrasse give her something to drink?" Reno asked, a slight frown on his face.

Elena nodded. "This kid really is more trouble than she's worth… But how did the boss know something like this would happen?"

"How am I supposed to know? Reno muttered as Rude pulled out a small black case that Tseng had given to them. Elena had a point. How had the boss known Legrasse would try to poison the kid? Did he really give them the right antidote to use? This was all just too strange…

A knock from the front door made Reno's eyes narrow. "Reno, go get that. If the boss is right, that will be Legrasse."

With a nod to Elena Reno left the room, adjusting the leather strap on his right wrist. Cold steel pressed against his skin as he readied his weapon but kept it hidden in his sleeve. Reno opened the door, not at all surprised to see Legrasse. Something about the man just sent chills up Reno's spine and made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end…

"Is Danielle Roivas here?" Legrasse asked, the surprise of seeing Reno quickly passing.

"Afraid not," Reno replied, keeping his voice even. "She went out not too long ago and told us to stay here."

"Really? And just who are you?" Legrasse's eyes narrowed slightly. Apparently he didn't believe Reno but didn't want to show it.

"Name's Reno. I'm a friend of Danielle's. Is there something you need?"

Legrasse's eyes narrowed a bit more, as if deciding whether to force his way in or not. After a few seconds he merely nodded. "When she comes back, tell her I'm looking for her. It's important."

Reno nodded back to him, trying to keep the anger out of his voice. "Yeah, I'll tell her." As Legrasse turned and walked away, Reno shut the door, locking it before going back to the others. "It was Legrasse all right. Told him the kid wasn't here, but he didn't believe me, I think. He knows she's here, either way."

"Then we'll just have to bring her with us," Elena said.

Reno shook his head. "We can't. Besides the fact she shouldn't be moved right now, we can't just take her there without telling her anything. That would probably just make things that much worse. We'll try telling her just a small bit about us and see if she'll come."

"If she doesn't?"

"Then we'll call Tseng to find out what to do. The plan's pretty much useless. And besides, we need to tell him about that figure that attacked us. I'd bet you anything that whoever it was, they summoned that Bonethief to attack."

"Wow. Reno knows what he's talking about for once," Elena muttered dryly, causing Reno to glare at her.

"Now isn't the time for messing around, Elena. Just call Tseng now and tell him what happened," Reno said, a hard edge in his voice. Even though Elena was obviously ticked off at being ordered around like that, she left the room to make the call. No need taking any chances of Danielle overhearing the conversation on the phone…

Reno stared back down at Danielle, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You have no idea what kind of mess you're involved in, kid…"

And you probably won't be walking away from this one.