COH Vigilantes

by Xury

The Vigilantes, an intergalactic jackofalltrades group who chases the Rikti invaders to Paragon City. Join the cast as they battle the many villains of Paragon City, with the many players of CoH. Chapter 10, Rough draft ready. Read Profile for Info.

7. Chapter 7 The Sacrifice

Chapter 7: The Sacrifice

"I don't like this at all," said Ken as he and Valentine walked the corridors of the Matronian battleship, 'Colossus'. "He still wears the eye patch, and that means he probably hasn't forgotten about what you did to him."

"I know that Hon," said Valentine. "But we know what he's like, and if we don't settle him down, that planet is in some serious trouble. This guy just doesn't know when to stop fighting sometimes."

"Yea. I wonder if he still has a thing for you," said Ken thoughtfully.

"Humm," she said as she raised an eyebrow. "I hope not. That would make things go a little easier… Then again I think he might be a little more spiteful to you, since he thinks you 'stole me from him'."

"He was extremely jealous," he said as they approached the door to the briefing room.

Right as the door opened, they bumped right into Commander Odo Trevorne.

He stared at both of them with his usual stern face, and said," I was about to come get you, Martinez. I wouldn't want our guests to get lost on my ship."

Valentine regarded him with discontent and said," It's almost insulting to think I'd get lost on your little ship Odo. And it's not Martinez anymore, it's Vaughn."

Odo sneered as he glanced at Ken. He folded his arms and said," Spunky as always. Come in."

Inside was many high ranking officials sitting around the oval table in the center of the room. Valentine glanced at each face to see if she recognized any of them. Her eyes fell upon an individual who sat smugly as he talked with a high ranking individual. She recognized this man as Quest, the leader of the group named Ages Sect, one of the Vigilante's most bitter rivals.

The Ages Sect is Matronia's answer for the Vigilantes. They are government funded, and were made to specifically overshadow the Vigilantes. Ages would always seem to show up at the right time in order to complete a mission, and take the credit for the hard work they did. The Patriarch's ultimate goal was to get rid of them by economic sabotage, but now Matronia seemed to win favoritism with other worlds due to the 'heroic' actions of the Ages group.

Lu Bu, Biggs, DeVall, and Kat had all once belonged to the Ages sect. But they had many problems, and each have their own reason for leaving and joining the Vigilantes. Lu Bu joined because at first he didn't realize Cherry was Rolando's daughter. Biggs was never able to unleash his full dastardly creativity and express himself properly in Ages. No one played Dungeons and Dragons for DeVall's taste, and a few other minor reasons. And Kat wasn't sure if he was in the Vigilantes or Ages, and still can't tell even to this day.

"Have a seat," said Odo as he took his position at the head of the table. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Valentine Vaughn. Second in command in the Vigilantes."

"Second in command?" asked an Admiral. "Where is Cherry, the Captain?"

"She's very busy at the moment, trying to save that world you guys are planning on overtaking."

"Please Admiral Seromas, let me finish," said Odo. "I bring you Valentine in order to explain the Rikti situation firsthand. Valentine, tell us what you know."

"Well," she said. "The situation is troubling. As some of you are aware, the Rikti who invaded Amram made a run at us Vigilantes and acquired the Vindicator weapon."

When she said this, there was murmuring all around the table.

"You may also be aware," she continued. "That the Vindicator weapon yields a tremendous amount of power to it's chosen user. This weapon already has a chosen user, so none of the Rikti can wield it's power against us. Instead, they've managed to get their hands on some magi-technology and are harnessing the vast amounts of power from the weapon."

Again there was more whispered murmuring around the table.

"We've determined the output of the weapon's power, and we've found that it's enough to power their warp field technology on a massive scale. Meaning that when they ready enough forces, they can launch another all out assault on Matronia, and devour this entire planet whole."

"All the more reason to send our troops in there and take back the weapon in Matronia's name!" said Admiral Seromas.

There was a general agreement between the officials at the table. Valentine knew that the Matronian military was not too keen on Kayain holding the Vindicator weapon, and had plotted to take it away from him by any means necessary. She held her hands out and said," No! You can't do that! First off you'd be breaking the intergalactic doctrine on underdeveloped planets, and secondly you can't even get into the place it's being held."

"What do you mean?" asked Odo.

"I mean exactly that. You can't get in at all. They're holding the weapon inside a crashed ship, that still has functioning shields. So far, they're harnessing the weapon's power to amplify the power of the shields. We've tried a focused mag 5 shield breaker, and it didn't even phase it."

"Are you quite certain it was a mag 5?" asked another Admiral.

"Absolutely. Tylar doesn't make mistakes like that. But hear me out. The shield itself now has both magical and technologic properties to it, and we've come to the conclusion that there's nothing that we can break it with on par from a mag 12 buster."

Everyone knew what a mag 12 buster was. Something that powerful could quite possibly tear the whole planet in half. Destroying a planet was a horrible atrocity in any culture. The other nations of the known galaxy signed a document saying that if any nation used a mag 12 buster on any planet, they would immediately take action and declare war on the offender.

The admirals went back to whispering to each other, and finally one said," My good lady, have you any proof whatsoever-"

"I am not your good lady, sir. You may call me Commander. And yes I have proof. Admiral Odo, I gave our technical information to your lead engineer on my way in. I believe he has analyzed it by now and has his own expert opinion."

Odo raises an eyebrow at her and says on his communicator," Odo to Alexei."

"This is Alexei, sir."

"I have Commander Valentine here who says she gave you some data to analyze a while ago."

"I do indeed Admiral. The results are very disturbing."

"Can you tell us the nature of your findings?"

"These shield readings I got are incredible! They're completely off the scale. They're nothing like I've seen before. I really have no idea how they got this much power, but it's completely astounding."

"I see," said Odo as he looked up meaningfully toward Valentine. "Bring your results to the briefing room please."

"Roger that sir."

"And in the future, Commander,I would appreciate it if you did not go behind my back and undermine my authority," said Odo. "All outside information goes through me first before you start handing out documents. You do not give the commands on my ship, I do-" Valentine resisted visibly rolling her eyes. "-However, if what you say is true, then we're all in great danger of a full scale Rikti assault. And if the Rikti know how to harness that kind of power, then our own weapons would be very ineffective against them."

"Then it's like I said," said Admiral Seromas. "We need to get on that planet before it's too late."

"You can't just go in there with guns blazing!" said Valentine. "It doesn't matter how many soldiers you use, the result is going to be the same! You will not break that shield!"

"Then what would you suggest?"

"Our captain, Cherry, is already down there working on a solution," said Valentine, followed by a few sardonic remarks. "They're allying with the locals down there who had to suffer through a Rikti invasion already. The only problem is once we break the shield, we only have a little time to get in before the shield changes frequency and it cuts off our breaker. Once my team is inside we'll extract the weapon and they won't be able to invade anymore."

"Preposterous!" said another Admiral. "You expect us to sit back while your rag-tag team blunders through this? Certainly not!"

Quest grinned smugly in the corner as he tried to stifle a giggle. Valentine said," Yes, as a matter of fact we do. You all know very well what my team is capable of, and-"

"We know," said Admiral Seromas. "That your team is responsible for more than 3 million credits worth of damage on various nations of the galaxy."

"Which was always paid back," said Valentine. "It can't be helped with the kind of work we do. We also know your people have caused even more in one go! None of which was paid for, or even apologized for-"

"Please," said Odo. "I will not have this turned into a frivolous blame game. Ladies and Gentlemen, let us take a thirty-minute recess to discuss with our crewmembers what we must do. Dismissed."

The admirals all left the area, as well as Quest, leaving Valentine, Ken, and Odo.

Odo turned to Valentine and said," You realize that you have absolutely no support on this don't you?"

"I knew that from the start," she said. "But we have more than one world to save at the moment, and I don't think that's important."

"Always trying to be the hero, just like the old days," he said, looking at her eyes.

"The old days are gone," she said, folding her arms. "I thought the eye patch would have reminded you of that."

Odo turned away and said," I chose not to heal this. Let it be a reminder for me should I ever get out of hand again like before. I suppose I have you to thank for that."

There was a silence for a minute, and Odo said to Ken," Corporal, you look well. Everything good in your married life?"

"Everything's fine Admiral," said Ken. "We've got 2 sons and 2 daughters, all grown up already."

Odo grimaced a bit and said," That's good then soldier. How about your new crew?"

"The Vigilantes are treating me very well, sir."

"Yes, yes… Very good Corporal… Look, I'm going to say it straight. These other Admirals are never going to let you continue with your operations without interfering. You're not on the best of terms with Matronia's military, nor the Patriarch. But you know as well as I, that even though your mother is the most likely heir, they will still treat you like criminals."

"I know that," said Valentine. "But these old cronies are not going to stop the Vigilantes, and you know that."

"I do. But please Valentine, if you want to prevent any unnecessary risks, show them a gesture of good faith."

"Good faith? How would you suggest we do that?"

"I brought the Ages Sect. I'm going to suggest we use them as a special ops team to extract the Vindicator weapon themselves."

"You can't be serious! Not them!"

"It's either that or they will send in troops to do the work. Your choice."

Valentine knew that Cherry was out of communication range. They had only brought along the short-range equipment, and the long range one was on the ship. The decision relied on her.

"Let me think about it for a few," she said.

"Suit yourself," said Odo. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go talk to my lead engineer."

Ken sat back down and said," The Ages Sect... Why them of all people? I hate those guys."

"Don't we all?" said Valentine as she sat next to him. "This isn't good. Cherry's going to have a fit once she finds out Ages is here."

"But are we going to do this? I mean we can't just let these dunderheads send in a massive amount of warships and troops to hang around this world."

"That's the last thing we'd want to happen. I hate to say it, but Odo's right. These people wouldn't want it any other way. I think we need to go along with his plan and have the Ages Sect go and attempt to break the shields. We're not going to help them, and I doubt any of their lousy technicians match up to Tylar. They also don't have a magic user nearly up to par with Danyel, so I doubt they'll be able to solve anything."

"I agree," said Ken as he held her hand. "Hon, don't worry so much about Ages. We'll deal with them later. For now, we'll say we agree with the plan, and we'll have dealt with the Battleship situation. And we've dealt with Ages before, so we'll deal with them like usual."

Valentine smiled at him and said," Sounds good. It's settled then. We'll go with it for now, then while we have them, we'll kick Ages where it hurts… Hey, did you see how Odo was looking at you?"

"Yea, I couldn't say anything though. Former commanders are hard to talk back to."

"For a moment, I almost felt sorry for him."

"Yea but, you'd think he'd have found another woman for himself by now wouldn't you?"

Valentine sighed and said," Perhaps. He wasn't exactly Mister popular… Come to think of it, he's a complete workaholic, and a bit of an anti-social. I'm amazed he even liked me, considering my personality."

"Really, wonder what he did see in you," said Ken. "The man's a complete sociopath. Even now I still don't trust him."

"Truth be told, I don't think he completely trusts us either."

"I really don't give a damn. I personally don't care what any of them think. So let's just get this done and hope Cherry doesn't blow her top, ok?"

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"You want me to what?!" said Cherry as Kayain towered over her like a Colossus with a very stupid grin. "Look, your idea was kind of funny at first, but seriously, you need to stop."

Kayain had convinced Cherry to join him in the lab room Tylar usually occupied in order to research. When she arrived she found that there were a few more people he had recruited in his notable cause. Some were simply bribed, and others just wanted to look at breasts.

"It's for a perfectly legitimate and worthy research effort," said Proto-man. "We needed a woman from the… oh let's call it 'opposite end', of our research."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" she said as she folded her arms covering her chest.

"What it means is we need a DNA sample from you because of your… what was the word again Kayain?" said Talley.

"Disability."

"Right, disability."

"Look," said Cherry as she got up off the bench. "I know what you're trying to do, and I don't like it. You are not going to spend all day staring at my chest, and you are definitely not getting my DNA for this silly stuff. I don't want you to end up somehow accidentally making a clone of me or something."

"That's not what we're doing babe," said Kayain.

"Exactly! I know you! I know you will somehow mess it up and come running to me with a hideously disfigured limb or something, and all you were doing was making Kool-Aid!"

"Oh, you had to bring that up again. One time! ONE lousy time and you get all pissy about it. I mean can't you just believe in some seriously bad coincidences? Over and over again…"

"Yes, I can, but I don't believe you have the know-how to do real research! Remember back in high school? You always used to schedule study sessions with me or some other girls? You only did that to flirt! I don't see how you made it back then."

"Yea but-"

"Now, wait a minute buddy," said Proto "I think what we need here is a real controlled experiment that actually works so we can prove to her that we can do research just as well, if not better, than anyone else."

"Humm… You know something, you're right! I need a real experiment, and I know just the thing… Hey Gina!"

Regina was sitting across the table equipped with a full lab coat, safety goggles, her hair pulled back into a bun and safely in a hairnet, latex gloves, and a breathing mask. She looked up from her beakers and said," Yea?"

"I need you over here, just an experiment."

"One moment."

Kayain stared for a moment and said," Uh… what are you doing?"

She added a few scoops of some crystals and said," What did you say?"

"I said what are you working on?"

Regina holds up the test tube and drinks it. Everyone winces as she says," What? It's Kool-Aid. Anyone want some?"

"Aren't those the tubes that Tylar uses?"

"They're clean. I just bought them."

"In that case, hit me sweet cheeks!" said Proto as he slapped Regina's behind.

"If you insist."

After Gina punches Proto-man, she says," What's up Kayain?"

"I need your input for an experiment. We need to show Cherry here that we mean business."

"What can I do for you?"

"Now listen up everyone. Most tests are based off of certain facts, and testing to prove another fact, am I right?"

They nod.

"Good," he continues. "First off, I'm going to state a given fact. Everyone here knows that I'm incredibly sexy, if not, the sexiest man alive- What's so funny Cherry?"

"No, no, go on."

"Ok… Anyway I'm pretty damn sexy, and it occurred to me today as I was exercising… I thought,' Damn man, I must be getting sexier every day!' And I'll prove that at this very moment. Gina, if I asked you to have sex with me, would you?"

Regina, being paid by the hour, was not likely to make any kind of fun of Kayain's work. In the most serious face she could come up with, she said," Oh Kayain, in a heartbeat."

"Gina!"

Cherry looked menacingly at Regina. Kayain merely smiled and said," Good work. Now I'd like some Kool-Aid if you please."

"What are you trying to get at here?" said Cherry continuing the stare as Regina smugly ignored it.

"Ah, this proves I'm right! You see I asked her yesterday the same thing to test my theory, and yesterday she said,' at the drop of a hat'."

She clenched her fists as Regina continued messing with stuff, pretending to look busy. She said," And what kind of conversation was this to ask that kind of question?!"

"Ah-ha… Well, anyhoo-"

"Kayain-"

"Kayain gave me a survey," said Regina from her test tubes. "It happened to be one of the choices."

"Would you like to take the survey?" asked Kayain.

Cherry sighs and says," Kayain… where are you going with this?"

"Right, the experiment… What this proves is that since today she said,' in a heartbeat', and yesterday, 'at the drop of a hat'… Well isn't it obvious that a heartbeat is like, uh,-" he counted on his fingers, "three times faster than a falling hat? This proves that every day I'm just getting sexier."

Proto-man looked impressed, Talley was still thinking about it, and Cherry rolled her eyes.

"This is ridiculous. I'm leaving."

"Wait! Can we at least get a photo?" said Proto.

"No!"

"You'll be back!" he said. "When we invent the cure for your disability, you'll be back!"

Cherry walked up to him and said," I don't have a disability! It's Teratogenic! And I'm perfectly fine with how I look, so leave me alone!"

She stormed out the door and left Proto man deep in thought.

"Hey guys," he said. "What's Tart-o, er, Tear-a, um, Tear-a-toe-jet-ick-?"

"Look it up," said Regina.

"Never mind then," he said as he scratched himself. "Well that settles it. I've made it my duty to make sure she gets help now."

"She said she didn't want it," said Regina who obviously didn't know anything about Proto-man.

"Oh well, I didn't really hear that part. She lost me sometime before the big word. The rest is a blur. But obviously she's in denial and needs help. Kayain, we need to help her!"

"Yes! That's exactly what I've been saying!"

"We'll do this not just for her, but for all women!"

"You're preaching to the choir!"

"And while your experiment may not have been inspiring to her, we all know the truth!"

"Hey, hey! My eyes are up here buddy!"

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Danyel began his reading on another book. Every book he had searched so far had been very interesting, but none could give a clue or even mentioned how the Vindicator Weapon's magic worked. It was all very complex magic. Something even he had yet to work out.

And this bothered him. He had earned his rank for his ability in handling all kinds of magical situations. But the Vindicator weapon seemed beyond him, like a rubrics cube of magic.

There was a small knock on his door, and he said," Come in."

Diana walked in and said," Dear, there's someone here to see you."

"Who is it?"

"That lady from the magic hall we met a couple of days ago. Azuira?"

Danyel nods and says," Send her in. I suspect she's bringing the equipment I requested."

"Oh you bought some equipment?"

"No, I traded for it. Lost something pretty valuable, but this will be more worth the effort."

"Oh…" she said. She added, sheepishly," So… When did you go see this woman?"

Danyel finally looked up and said," I've seen her a couple of times already. Why?"

"Eh, no reason…"

He raised an eyebrow and said," What's wrong… You've got something on your mind."

"No, really! Nothing at all."

"Diana…"

"Ok, ok! Look, it's just that you've been spending a lot of time with her and-"

"Are you worried?"

"No! No, no, no… no… A bit."

Danyel got up and put his arms around her and said," Di, there's nothing to worry about at all. Remember when I spent my time at the Galactic Arcane Youth facility?"

She laughed and said," Yes."

"Tempting as it was, you were the only woman on my mind."

"Golly."

"Yes. But why are you worried about me and Azuria all of a sudden?"

Diana thought for a moment on how to put this situation to words. She came up with," Well, you know how sometimes you can just tell, when someone is showing interest?"

Danyel knew that Diana was extremely bad at this. Ever since his hormones kicked in, he developed a crush on Diana. He was very sweet on her, and she seemed to think he was just a nice boy.

With a history like theirs though, Diana's statement was laughable. Danyel kept quiet his laughing and said," How so? What can you tell from her?"

"She just gives me this vibe I don't like. We girls can tell this you know."

Danyel nods without smiling.

"And she just seems to like you… Maybe I'm being paranoid. I mean I don't even know the woman that well. For all I know, that's just what she's like right?"

Danyel shrugs.

"She might even be married for all I know!"

Danyel raises an eyebrow.

"Heck, I probably shouldn't be judging her until I get to know her right?"

Danyel makes a face.

"And I know I trust you completely. But when it comes to other women, I don't trust them… I think I should at least give her a chance."

Danyel smiles.

"Yea, that works. Hey thanks Dannie, you always know just what to say!"

Danyel gives the thumbs up.

"I'll go get her now."

Danyel waves.

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"Send the next volunteer in!" says Kayain.

"Celeste Windbow, reporting for duty!" said Celeste as she came in with Proto-man.

"Guys," he said. "I'd like you to meet my best buddy, Celeste. My only girl who's a friend… with benefits. Heh."

"Heh, you tease," she said.

Kayain raised an eyebrow and said," Well not bad. I mean, wow, she's definitely a great example."

"Isn't she though?" said Proto-man. "Man, I tell you, can you name just one thing wrong with her figure?"

"Humm… Nope, can't say I can," said Kayain.

"Oh, I like your friend here," said Celeste. "Are you going to introduce me or not?"

"Right! This man, as you can see, is the scientifically proven, sexiest man alive today, Kayain."

"Got that right!" said Kayain.

"Mmm, hello," she said sweetly to him. "I can see what he means when he says scientifically proven. You can make even a lab coat look sexy."

"It's a gift," said Kayain.

"And this," said Proto-man. "Is Talley… He's the vampire of the team."

"Oh, ha ha ha," she said. "Wait, you were serious? He's a vampire? Naa, he doesn't even have the Transylvanian accent."

"Sometimes we prefer the term 'Mortally Challenged,' but yes, that's what I am."

She locked eyes with him, and they both stood smiling coyly at each other. Proto-man felt neglected and cleared his throat very loudly.

"Humm?" she said without looking away.

"I was also going to introduce you to Regina."

"Mmm."

"Regina, you know, is a girl's name."

"Mmm, a girl? What?" she said, finally breaking eye contact.

Regina didn't bother looking up as she said," Hello, I'm Regina. A girl obviously."

"Oh, hi," said Celeste. "Would you be interested in joining my all girl exclusive super group?"

"All girls?" she said finally looking at her. "No guys there?"

"Just a hangout for us girls!" said Celeste cheerfully.

"No boys allowed? All girl talk?"

"Yep!"

"In that case no way Jose."

"Hey come on Regina," said Proto-man. "All girls… imagine the fun you'd have. You could, you know, do, uh, girl stuff and… what the heck do girls do? Oh! You could take showers together. That would be fun right?"

"Sounds a little lesbo if you ask me," she said. "I tell you what. If you join an all male super group, I'll join hers."

"Hell no!" said Proto-man. "Talk about your sausage fest."

"Well there you go then. I don't swing that way."

A comment like this confused Proto-man. Girls weren't supposed to have opinions and feelings as far as he was concerned. They were supposed to be like in the movies he saw and all take showers together and enjoy it. Proto-man also never considered the fact that the only movies he watched were rated in an system of X's.

"I'll let you think on that one," she said.

"Anyway," said Kayain. "Can you provide us with DNA samples and all that other good stuff?"

"Proto said that this was all I needed to do," she said as she took off her shirt.

Kayain, trying miserably not to smile, said," Well, yea that's basically it… and a sample of your DNA… Heh, heh…"

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Azuria was impressed by the room which Danyel researched in. It was a place fit for a proper wizard; candles lit the room, random magical items on the tables, shelves full of dusty tombs, tubes and beakers full of bubbling substances, and to top it all off, a raven sitting on a skull.

"KAWW!" it said as she entered.

"Ah, Azuria," said Danyel. "Come in and welcome to my study."

"Thank you for having me today Wizard Danyel… But I'm afraid I don't have good news for you."

"Oh?" he said, tearing away from his book and turning to her. "Why's that?"

Azuria tosses a medallion to Danyel and says," I've come to return this to you. I know I told you I'd get you the Sands of Joule for this but…"

"To expensive?"

"My medium dealer who normally supplies all my items is not supplying that anymore."

Danyel turned back around and stared absently at his book and said," Not supplying? The Sands of Joule is only a component, and it's source is from the astral plane. That amulet I gave you is the Amulet of Eclipse, worth more than ten times the amount that a large bag of the Sands would cost… We are talking about the astral plane, yes?"

"Yes. I don't know why he would stop selling me something like that. He wouldn't do it without a good reason though."

He sighs and says," Well, fine then, back to square one."

Azuria says," Instead, how about I give you mine?"

Danyel turns back around to her and says," Give it? That stuff's expensive regardless. And hey, what do you know, there's apparently a boycott on it now. Where's the spirit realm union when you need them?"

"I realize this, but something of this nature requires our full attention. Your mission is very important, and yes I know, the Sands are hard to come by. But I feel your mission is more important than that. So please, I'll get mine and you can finish your work."

"At least," he said as she was departing. "At least let me give you the amulet in exchange?"

"Really, it's all right."

Danyel knows when not to push hospitality. Things are much better free anyway in his opinion.

"Free, eh? Well that just so happens to be my favorite price. It's a deal then."

Azuria smiled. She walks toward the door and says," If you don't mind me asking, what's this for?"

Without looking up he says," It's for a formula that acts as a general catalyst for magitechnology. Since I don't have specifics on the Rikti shield, I have to use kind of a global formula and hype that up."

"Ah, very wise."

"And then, I'll be making an anti-magic formula using Diana's help."

"Diana?"

"The lady who let you in… My wife."

"Oh, so she's your wife then?"

"Yup."

"So, how does that work?"

"She's a gifted anti-magic user. She's able to absorb magic like loofah," he said as he leaned back with a book in his hands.

Azuria thought about this. She wondered what this woman could actually be capable of.

"Is her power… Dangerous?"

"Unimaginably dangerous. The lady's a walking time-bomb," he said waving his hands dismissively. "Like how magic is in relation to life, and creation, hers is related to death, and the netherworld. As a matter of fact, her power can give easy, if not direct access to the netherworld."

Azuria could not imagine why he was so calm about this. She said," Are we talking about the same woman? The brunette who was skipping with a batch of baked cookies?"

"Cookies? Hot damn! Hope she brings me some."

"The same woman?"

"Yea? Is there a problem?"

"No… It's just that I'm not used to things looking so simple all the time."

"You probably should if you're going to hang out with me."

"Yes, you're right," she said, as she nervously rubbed her arm. "Well I suppose I should be going now. There's lots of work to be done and-"

"KAAWW!" said the raven on the skull.

Startled she turned and looked at the thing.

"KAAWW!" said the raven, followed by a small disco beat coming from the skull. "Dance! Boogie wonderland!"

"What is that? Is that fake?"

"Yes," said Danyel.

Upon closer investigation, she saw the raven on the skull was a fake Halloween prop that sung disco songs. As she examined the thing, she also realized the candles were props as well with halogen lights inside. Looking around, she noticed many other fake wizarding items.

"Wait, none of this is real?"

"Humm?" said Danyel as he looked up. "Oh, goodness no. I'm not your traditional wizard in case you haven't noticed, apart from the pointy hat I'll wear from time to time."

"Surely something here is real?"

"A few things. The books are, but Diana threw powdered sugar on them to make them look dusty. This alchemy lab here is real, but I don't have any real potions for it just yet."

"Dare I ask, but what's brewing in the tubes then?"

Danyel picks up the beaker, sniffs it, and drinks it.

"Kool-aid. Want some?"

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Kayain was trying very hard not to stare as Proto-man took a more then necessary amount of pictures of the topless Celeste.

Regina comes and sits next to him and says," Is it getting hot in here or is it just her?"

Kayain, also trying miserably not to smile, says," Ok Miss Celeste, you've done more than enough to help. You can put your shirt back on."

"We're done?" she said.

"NO!" said Proto-man as he walked up to Kayain. He whispered," Cool it buddy! I think I can convince her to get nude!"

"I don't want a nude woman in this room! You see I have this bet with Cherry-"

"Nude you say?" said Celeste. "If you think it'll help, that's fine with me."

"No I-" Kayain began, but was cut short because he had to turn around gritting his teeth.

"Shall I describe her body to you instead?" said Regina.

"No…"

"Proto has single handedly turned this lab into a dirty photo shoot."

"I know that! Geeze, this session was a disaster. The only way it could get any worse was if-" Cherry walked in at that moment. "-That happened… Shit."

Cherry froze in mid stride, followed by Tylar who also froze mid sentence.

"Hey, look who finally decided to come back! Changed your mind?" said Proto-man.

"Cherry!" said Celeste excitedly. "Oh my goodness! I didn't know you lived here!"

Cherry did not move an inch.

"Hey, I heard about your involvement with Crey. Very nice job on that. Gosh, you're looking wonderful as usual."

Cherry felt paralyzed from the head down.

"Oh, is this your brother Kayain? He looks a lot like you."

Tylar on the other hand had a hard time keeping his jaw up. "Muaahh," was all he managed to say.

"Hello," she said walking up to him. "I'm Celeste Windbow! What's your name?"

"Muaahh…"

"Excuse me?"

Hand on his face, Kayain said," This is my brother Tylar. Smartest guy I know."

"Muaahh…"

"Nice to meet you Tylar. Kayain tells me you helped big time against the Winter Lord menace. Nice job on that."

"Muaahh…"

While Celeste was busy with Tylar, Cherry snuck over to Kayain, and whispered very angrily," What the hell is this?! Why is Celeste here?!"

"I'm sorry babe! Proto brought her in- Wait, how do you know Celeste?"

This time it was Cherry's turn to be embarrassed.

She began to turn red as she said," I, eh, I met her at Atlas Park. She was extremely friendly."

"What like just running up and hugging people?"

"Sort of…"

"Oh Cherry!" said Celeste walking up to them. "You know, you never called me? Well I can understand that, since you were obviously busy with that whole Winter Lord thing, and Crey. But hey, at least I know where you live now. Would it be ok if I visited sometimes?"

Cherry once again locked up when she saw both her and Proto's expression. She wondered if Proto-man would say anything about their little encounter in Atlas Park. If that ugly rumor got out, Kayain would never let her hear the end of it. He'd make it his personal mission to never let her forget it, and with longevity, that would be a very long time.

It didn't take a Psion to know what Proto-man was thinking at the moment. It was halfway blackmail in her opinion, but she said," Err, yes… Yes, that's fine…"

"Muaahh…"

"Oh get over it!" snapped Cherry.

Regina felt a little control was needed here. "Celeste? Please put your clothes back on, you're done. I think you're going to make Tylar's pants rip out the zipper-" Tylar blushed and turned around. "-And you Proto, take those photos to the dark room and get them posted." She thought about that for a moment and said," Close the door while you're at it. Talley, get Celeste's hair sample, and Kayain, you ask Tylar what you needed to." She regarded the seat Celeste was in and said," And I'll disinfect the chair."

"Yea," said Kayain. "Tylar, I needed to ask you something."

"Err, one second," he said as he fiddled with his pants. "First, let me ask you something."

"What?"

"I say, can you explain why there a naked woman in my lab? Not that I'm complaining, but this is where I do testing, so I don't want any kind of accidents."

"That was Proto-man's fault… sort of."

"I said you could use my lab area if you would use your own equipment… I just didn't know what kind of equipment you'd be using."

"Tylar," said Cherry. "Show me what you were talking about."

"Oh, yes of course," he said. "Kayain, I think this might tickle your fancy a bit."

"You keep your hands to yourself and don't tickle my anything."

"What I mean is, you'll like this especially Kayain. Watch…"

Tylar turns on a monitor and it shows an interview with Positron in front of a very large stadium.

"And so the tech is ready to be tested at this point?" said the reporter.

"Yes," said Positron. "I've worked with a special D.A.T.A. team all year with this, and they've finally given the green light on live testing."

"I assume that's what this long line of Heroes is for?"

"Yes, it's good to have such a large community of heroes, and those willing to try out our new and one hundred percent safe Arena tech."

"Arena?" said Kayain. "Oh yea, I remember seeing ads about that."

"So what impact do you think this will have on our community?" asked the reporter.

"I think this will definitely have a positive impact. The arena will increase tourism for more city revenue, younger heroes can learn from the veterans on techniques and such, and it gives us a chance to explore in the realm of this new technology. It's really a great breakthrough-"

"I was asked," said Tylar. "By my friends at D.A.T.A. if I could provide any help in their VR simulation for the arena. I was able to help them create a VR system close to the tech that we use in our own personal VR training simulators. This is a little something I was able to provide for the community."

"So," said Kayain. "You gave them our advanced tech? Way to go on not breaking the underdeveloped planet laws."

"I was not breaking any laws… They had the tech available, and I just improved on it… a little… well maybe a lot, but the fact of the matter is, that they already had the tech in the first place."

"Uh, hua… Ok rule-breaker, whatever you say."

"Humph," said Tylar indignantly. "Well I was going to ask if you wanted to run a few arena matches against competitors…"

"Do I look like I have that kind of time?" said Kayain. "I've got things to do, women to make happy, and boobs to stare at! I'm already overworked with all the naked women around here!"

"He's got a point," said Proto-man.

"Fine, fine… since you're overworked and everything, perhaps someone else around here would love an opportunity at this."

"Maybe," said Kayain. "I'll try it out sometime later all right? Just not now. And speaking of that, I wanted to ask you…"

"Yea?"

"I wanted… ah geeze… I wanted…"

"Out with it man!"

"I need your…" Kayain hated saying this to Tylar in any instance," h-h-heelllp."

Tylar grinned," Oh so you need my help do you? Can't figure out how real science works so you come crawling to me?"

"Is that a yes or no," he said between his teeth.

"Humm, let me see now… Make Kayain happy, and completely subjugate myself to his silly and pointless research, or make him a miserable failure in all his work…"

"Tylar come on! I need some real scientists here!"

"Humm… Perhaps I could be swayed if you were to put your head between your legs, and kiss your arse."

"Screw that! I just need some help!"

"Sorry, can't help you then. I'll see you later," said Tylar as he began to walk out the door.

"MONEY!" said Kayain right as Tylar was at the door.

Tylar froze.

"You always need that don't you?"

Tylar turned around slowly.

"I've got you a salary of eighty thousand credits a month with your name on it if you just come back over here, and sign this nice little contract…"

"Eighty thousand a month you say?" said Tylar as he rubbed his chin.

"Eighty thousand, that's with all your equipment all paid for, and all the hooters you can look at."

"So, you need my help… And you'll pay for absolutely everything I need, on top of an Eighty thousand credit monthly deposit in my account?"

"Matronian credits. Standard, no checks. Only pussies pay with checks. Straight up transfer, since I'm so freaking generous."

Tylar considered this a moment and said," You've got a deal."

----------------------------------------------

Every city has a place like Kings Row. Kings Row is one of those places that most people try to avoid when they can. This was a place where a mugging was as socially acceptable as a handshake. People who were either tourists or suicidal would venture into the alleyways and never be heard from again.

Every city had a place like Kings Row because every city has a large community of folks who just don't care anymore. They live in poverty, and are content to stay that way. The few honest folks who are determined to make something of themselves don't ever stay in Kings Row, they have already moved away to bigger and better sides of town. No one with money lives in Kings Row by choice.

And every city had a place like Kings Row because every criminal, vigilante, and ne'er-do-well needed somewhere to stay.

It was because of this, the criminal group named the Warriors had organized a party in an abandoned warehouse in Kings Row to celebrate a successful series of robberies. This too was an everyday occurrence here in Kings Row. You couldn't find an abandoned warehouse in King's Row that was not full of some kind of criminal activity. Some folks have taken to the name 'not so abandoned warehouse'.

The Warriors are a gang inspired by Greek heroes and myths. They are fierce combatants, and rely on melee weapons primarily. The Warriors are a feared name in the ranks of the gangs of Paragon City. Any gang who can survive Kings Row using melee weapons only is defiantly one tough gang indeed.

The leader of the Pindus clan, King Thunder, was the gracious host for the many clans that attended. And like their typical gatherings, it was a toga party.

King Thunder spared no expense on this party. He ordered imported food, beer, wine, and mead from Greece.

All around him, was laughter, song, and people completely plastered throwing up. He sat proudly on his small throne above them, with two topless women at his side, caressing him.

Of course there was plenty of topless women to go around. They were all willing, and all wanted a cut of the rewards.

King Thunder on the other hand had other intentions at this party. He had personally stolen a book from those ancient mages, the Circle of Thorns. While looking through it, he became interested in a ritual that would summon a being that would grant the bearer great power.

Any Warrior would leap at the opportunity to gain more power. It was the entire point of being a Warrior, to be the most powerful of all.

King Thunder held his hands out and said," Friends! Come! It is time to put this ancient tomb to use!"

He stepped down to his men and the ones that were sober enough gathered around.

Another Warrior lead said," So what's this?"

"This," said King Thunder as he pointed to the book. "Will be our ticket to fame and fortune! Friends, for so long we have endured hardships. Mostly at the hands of our enemies, the heroes of Paragon City. But no more! With the knowledge in this book, we will be able to rid ourselves of the hated Heroes for good!"

"What's it say?" asked another Warrior leader.

"Roughly translated it says we can summon an entity that will grant us the secrets to ultimate power. It's been done before, and the people who used it wiped out the Ancient Mu mystics."

"Who are the Mu?"

"Exactly!" said King Thunder. "If they're not around anymore today, that's gotta count for something right? I mean mystics are hard to take down, but wiping an entire civilization of them? Come on. Imagine what we could do with that kind of power."

"Sounds fishy to me," said one.

"Come on! We could be real kings, of entire nations with this kind of power… or better than kings my friend… Gods."

"Gods eh?" said one. "Maybe it's just the alcohol talking, but that sounds like one hell of an idea man…"

"Ah-ha! That's the spirit! Anyone else with me on this?"

There was a murmur of inebriated agreement.

"Good, now clear that space over there… we're going to need some room for this."

----------------------------------------------

Akarist the mage sat quietly in his study reading ancient tombs. Unlike some of today's modern wizards and mages, he preferred to sit in a more traditional settings: Candle lit room, bubbling things in bottles, a couple magic items thrown here and there like pillows, bookshelves with dust gathered on them, and a raven sitting on a skull.

No one knew what it was about wizards that seemed to attract spiders, but they always managed to sneak in somehow and make their rooms look authentic. Akarist didn't seem to notice when the cobweb spiders had moved in, but that the room defiantly looked more cozy when they did.

All of this happened within the time span of a week, and most people would see this as odd, but Akarist just thought that's the way things should be. A mage just wasn't a mage without his very dusty and dirty study room.

One reason Akarist had this room for a short while was the fact that he used to be with the Circle of Thorns. The Circle always believed there was only one way out of the group, and that involved a very slow and elaborate death. And if that wasn't enough, they would top it off by imprisoning your soul and tormenting you.

It was for this reason he dared not show himself to his former group. They didn't like the fact he could still breathe without screaming in pain. The specialists from M.A.G.I. were keeping him hidden for the time being, and in exchange he would provide them with knowledge and magical services to aid them against the Circle of Thorns.

While he sat and wrote in his notebook, he suddenly felt a chill. These feelings had come more often now that he was out of the Circle. Akarist knew they were his heightened senses, telling him when there was some kind of demonic presence nearby.

He stopped writing, and waited. Sometimes his former demonic allies would come back and try to terrorize him. But he knew better. He knew it was all just smoke in mirrors.

Still, illusions were very scary. And sometimes they could tell truths, and lies.

The air was still, like the calm before the storm. Even the dusty grandfather clock had stopped.

3am, he thought. It's about that time again… Well whomever they send I shall banish it back to the depths.

The candle lights flickered and waved as if there had been wind nearby.

THUMP

A book fell off the shelf and startled him. He walked over to pick it up, and heard what sounded like a child laughing.

He put the book back and tried to ignore the sounds. The candles flickered again when he walked back to his chair.

When he approached his chair, he stopped.

Ready or not here we come.

It was written hundreds of times, all over the desk and his notes.

The children's laugh continued.

"Foul demon! Show yourself!" he said.

Silence followed.

THUMP

The same book fell down. Akarist sneered and walked back over to it.

He happened to glance at what page it had opened to. It was a section on a demon named Lilitu. He did remember this one. She was summoned once before, and birthed a son by the name of Infernal. However, Infernal ended up taking the hero side rather than his mother's side.

"Lilitu… They send you to haunt me? Wretched spirit, I shall send you back to the abyss from whence you came!"

He heard another laugh, but this time it sounded defiantly feminine.

Akarist began chanting a spell when he heard yelling from outside. He stopped and took off out the door.

Down the corridor, blood was oozing out of the walls. Again, he knew this was another illusion. He approached the front door, and put his hand on the door knob.

Then the world went white with pain.

Nothing could have prepared him for that. He lay on the floor, stunned from the shock he received. He opened his eyes to the same white world, and heard a voice.

"Mage Akarist?" said a voice that could freeze oceans.

"Uhg… Oh, what?"

"I need to speak with you."

"Am I dead?"

"Not exactly. You're in one of those near death experiences."

"I see a bright light at the end of the tunnel… Should I go there?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," said Death as he turned off the lamp. "My desk lamp is a bit bright."

"Is that what people see when they die?"

"Yes. When they have what they call a 'near death' experience, it just means near my office desk. Nothing more," said Death.

"My word, has it always been like that?"

"Smoke in mirrors Akarist. Now, on to business…"

"But I am not dead?"

"No. Your former mage associates made it clear that you should never see my face for a very long time. But I follow no mortal's orders."

"I suspect they have something much more dastardly in store for me."

"That they do. But I've come because of a very urgent e-mail I received. One of my informants has told me that your former associates are summoning Lilitu, but she demands a vessel worthy of her might. After some extensive search, they think they found a perfect match for one such as her."

"I guessed that much already."

"To make matters worse, there was a summoning recently… not a proper one either. Someone released an envoy from Hell to the realm of mortals. He's going to contact the demon Lilitu, and they are going to make negotiations. By the expression on your face, I don't need to explain the consequences."

"But why are you telling me this?"

"Let's just say that this will not be a good thing for me either… A matter of much unwanted overtime. You and I have a mutual understanding of how dire this situation is. The reason I tell you at this particular moment is because you came very close to an actual visit by me. Get who you can on your side and deal with this before it's too late."

"I will try what I can. What about you?"

"I am bound by many rules. You on the other hand can do many things in the mortal realm that I can not. Now wake. You must not repeat this conversation or I will suffer consequences. As far as I'm concerned, this conversation never happened."

"I understand. I will do as I can."

The world phases back in as Akarist's eyes begin to open. His vision is cloudy at first, but he looks up into the faces of the Circle of Thorns mages surrounding him.

"Akarist the traitor," said the Death Mage. "You almost got away from us, didn't you? But no matter how hard you try, you can never escape the Circle."

Akarist looked toward the Death Mage and said," I suppose you're right. But I have no regrets about my choices. Do what you came to do and be done with it!"

The Death Mage, whose eyes glowed with the malice and hate of the spirit that possessed it, laughed maniacally. He picked up Akarist by the front of his robe and said," So eager for punishment? Very well then."

----------------------------------------------

"It's working!" said King Thunder. "Can you feel it friends?! Can you feel the energy?!"

Even in their inebriated state, they could still sense something was not right.

"Yo, Thunder!" said a Warrior leader. "Maybe we should stop this… I mean we don't really know what we're doing, and even if we're doing it right."

"Almost done! A little more…"

Green lights of the netherworld glowed from within the ritual's center circle. A gust of wind flew out, and all the doors in the warehouse slammed shut, sealing everyone in.

"It's locked!" said someone who tugged at the doors. "We're trapped!"

"Thunder! Cut this out now!" said a panicked Warrior leader.

"I… can't… stop…it…" said King Thunder who couldn't move his hands from the book as it began to float in the air.

"Stop it! Stop it!"

"I… it's…"

The center circle went dark. Several ethereal, hand-like tendrils came shooting out of the dark abyss. Several Warriors and a few women were grabbed by the hands and were dragged screaming into the dark abyss.

"This ends now!" said the Warrior leader.

"No…" said King Thunder quietly. "It's all wrong…"

A large and corporeal hand crept out of the abyss.

"Last chance! Stop it or I'll kill you!" said the Warrior as he drew his sword.

A demonic shape rose from the abyss.

"DIE!"

The demonic shape grabbed the Warrior around the torso and lifted him above it's head.

"What have I done…" said King Thunder as he dropped to his knees.

The demon then grabbed his lower section.

"Dear spirits, forgive me…"

There was a bone shattering crack.

----------------------------------------------

Danyel woke up suddenly in a cold sweat. He had a horrible dream about something really bad happening to Diana.

He looked over and saw her sound asleep next to him. He laid back down and put his arms reassuring around her.

The dream was troubling. In it, Diana had been possessed by an evil spirit, and it was trying to trap Diana's soul somewhere… he couldn't remember where exactly.

He remembered the last couple times he had very realistic dreams like this one. The experts at his academy seemed to think he possessed the ability to see the future in dreams.

Danyel didn't like to think himself a prophet, but other mystics he worked with said he had the gift of prophecy. Danyel didn't like to think that way. If men knew their destiny, the knowledge would either corrupt a man or ruin him completely.

Wars were waged over prophecy and future predictions. Danyel knew exactly how dangerous this was, and only discussed these matters with people he trusted.

3am, he thought as he looked over to the clock. Not a good hour. I pray that that dream was just a stupid dream. I hate this prophecy stuff. People don't need to know their future. That kind of information always upsets them…

He pulled Diana in closer. He didn't want to believe any of his prophecy was true. But most of the time it was. Prophecy can be tricky. They tell different tales for different choices. Only one was the real path, and that was never clear.

As he held her, he thought back to what Diana's mother had told him.

----------------------------------------------

"You wanted to talk to me Misses Thomas?" said young Danyel

"Yes, Danny. Please come in," said Diana's mother. "And you don't have to call me Misses Thomas anymore. Feel free to call me 'Mom' now."

Danyel laughed nervously and said," But we're not married just yet."

"Doesn't matter… unless you're having second thoughts?"

He shook his head. He smiled and said," No. I'm absolutely sure. I love her."

She smiled and put her hand gently on his cheek as she said," That makes me happy. I'm glad my little girl found someone like you. I really am."

"Some people aren't," said Danyel looking down.

"Kayain's just being his normal protective self… A little overbearing but he's got good intentions."

"I thought he was going to rip my head off when he… you know, caught us… But him and I had a talk long ago, and he's fine with it."

"Good. Then who were you talking about?"

"A couple senior mages in my Academy. They are against the idea completely. I don't know why though. Some of them have it in their heads that Diana's like a disaster waiting to happen."

Diana's mother sighed. She knew one day or another she'd have to tell him what he was getting himself into.

"Listen Danny. Don't blame them for disapproving of her. They're very scared of her. They actually wanted her dead when she was a baby."

"No…"

"Oh yes, Indeed they did," she said which sounded a lot like the way Kayain said it. "But I had a say in it… They reluctantly agreed."

"So that's why the word had supposedly 'slipped out' that you were a necromancer?"

"They did it to upset me. I was not."

Any wizards, witches, and other magic users were naturally afraid of those who could use the dark arts. In ancient times, anyone caught practicing it was punished by death. Even onto this day, the laws were never changed. It then found that the descendants of those who practiced the dark arts were able to bear children who can naturally use it without any dark ritual.

This upset all of the magic community. Long ago there were hunts to find those born with the dark arts, and have them executed before anything could come of it. Diana's mother came from a long line of naturally born dark arts users. Her family had kept the secret well hidden, until recently.

Because of everything her mother was involved in, no one would dare try and attack her or her family because they had the protection of the Vindicator. And no one wanted to mess with him. Although when they did find out, they tried to cause much grief to Diana's family as much as they could possibly do without physically attacking them.

But with the help of the Vindicator, he showed the people that they had the right to life, just as anyone else did. It didn't matter what kind of power they wielded, but what kind of people they were at heart.

"I know," said Danyel.

"And it is on this subject that I needed to speak with you," she said.

"Is it about Diana's power? I've sensed something in her, but she's shown no overt signs of power."

"Diana has always been under my careful watch. She has a very good heart, and I'd like for her to stay that way… for if she is not, then we may very well be fulfilling a dark and demonic prophecy made back in ancient times about the end of everything."

"Wait… what?"

"There was a prophecy about Diana. I have done the research, and all the signs point to her. Key words like,' Ever consuming Mana' and 'Dark conduit' have led me to believe she is the one prophecy is speaking of."

"So, what do these prophecies say?"

"They say that she is the key to the end of all we know if she were to 'fall into the hands of darkness'. That can mean two things: One is that she has a change of heart and turns to evil. Or this can mean that she can be used for someone else's evil plan. I can only hope none of these come to pass, as we know prophecy is forked."

"Yes, that is true. Prophecy has many branches, and we'll have to make sure this doesn't come to pass."

"No, you'll have to make sure this doesn't come to pass. You are going to be her husband. We are giving her away to you, and she's going to be with you for the rest of her life. When things go wrong, we will obviously do what we can, but she's your wife, till death do you part. You will love her, cherish her, and keep her safe from evil."

Danyel smiled a bit and said," I will… keep her safe. This I promise."

"Good. I'm truly honored to have you as my son-in-law. If you have any questions, or need any help about things you are unsure of, please let me know. I will help in any way I can."

"Well I do have one question. What exactly is her power anyway?"

"Ah, a tough question. Let me see how I can answer this… You know how there are two sides to Mana?"

"Yes, Mana is life, or the essence of life. And Anti-Mana is the opposite, drawing from the essence of death."

"Well my powers are the combination of both sides. You can't have one without the other. Even your powers have a combination of both, even though your anti-Mana powers are very minuscule, it's there."

"That much I know already."

"The difference is my Anti-Mana is dominate over my regular Mana… Now I want you to imagine a person who has absolutely no Mana side to them at all. That trait is completely invisible."

"You mean Diana…"

"Yes. Have you ever felt… weak around her? And I don't mean in a romantic sense, but I mean have you felt as if you've suddenly lost all your abilities as a wizard around her?"

"There was this one time…"

"Was it when you were having sex?"

Danyel turned bright red and stuttered a bit," Well… I…"

"Tell me."

"Yes. Yes it was. I can feel the flows of Mana at all times, but that night… It was like they just weren't there anymore. It was a very unnerving feeling, but I felt it disappear from me."

"That is because her ability is not in her complete control yet. She needs to learn how to will it to happen, instead of accidentally happening from something stimulating… Especially if it was very good stimulation."

Danyel looked like a tomato now.

"Her Anti-Mana ability requires the same kind of balance that wizards do. By drawing in the Mana around her, she can harness her ability on 'borrowed' Mana."

"I see, so she uses an external source of Mana to use her abilities. I see now."

"There's more though… Because her power relies so heavily on drawing Mana, it can seriously injure anything that uses Mana to sustain itself, such as a magical creature, or even a wizard. I've seen her use her ability to draw Mana in a high magical area… The results were odd to say the least."

"What happened?"

"Her body looked different. She began to glow a strange yellowish glow, and her hair turned bleached white... She even talked differently."

"Doesn't your Grandfather, and mother have bleached white hair?"

"Yes, and her speech and attitude reminded me of them when she made the transformation," she said thoughtfully. More to herself she added," I think she inherited…"

"Inherited what?"

Waving her hand dismissively she said," Another time Danyel. Another time I will tell you about that… But listen closely Danyel, the part about her drawing her power is the most important part. The reason she is feared by all the wizards is because her power source is tied deeply in the netherworld. If she willed it, she could summon anything from the dark abyss with but a simple wish."

"How… How does that work?"

"The summoning of these vile creatures and demons requires a long list of items, and other very crude ritualistic things… Diana has the power to do this on her own without any assistance. If the wrong people knew this, they could release hell's fury using only her. And she would have complete control over every single one of them. They would be bound to her, and she could do anything with them. That's what they meant by 'Dark conduit', if she willed it, she could bring about the end of everything as we know it. We would be helpless versus the onslaught of hell's wrath. All because she summoned them as easily as drinking water."

"That's a lot to take in," he said as he thought for a moment. "You mean to say that if she wanted to, she could just summon any kind of demon and it would be bound to her? Release unspeakable horrors on us if she willed it?"

"Are you starting to see what a big responsibility this will be? Can you see the magnitude of the wizards concern with her? She is the link between this world and the netherworld. If she allows that link to be broken, then the Dark Prophecy will be fulfilled, and all life will end… Is that a little doubt I see on your face?"

Danyel was looking at the floor as he thought. He looked up and smiled as he said," It's concern. I already made up my mind long ago 'mom'. And my answer is still the same. I'm going to marry her, and that's all there is to it. Sure this may be a hurdle, but hey, what kind of marriage is perfect? Keep her happy right? That's all? Just make sure she doesn't turn into some kind of evil psychopath? I'm pretty sure I'm lovable enough not to do that to people… Well, maybe Cherry, but she gets mad at everything."

She smiled very warmly and kissed Danyel's forehead," You have a good heart Danyel. You've made me very happy. Please, make my daughter happy as well."

----------------------------------------------

"Hey babe, wake up!" said Diana as Danyel gently snoozed in his study. "Your food's getting cold."

Danyel woke up in a start. He looked up at her and said," Oh! I'm sorry. I just, lost a lot of sleep last night. Had a lot of trouble sleeping."

"Oh, did you have a bad dream?"

"Yes, a bad one. I, uh, can't recall it now though."

"I'm sorry about that, but I came to tell you that you have two visitors right now."

"Mmm, who is it then?" he said sleepily.

"Azuria and some other dude named… Cadao Kestrel I think his name was. They said it was very important."

"What time is it?"

"About 10 something ahm."

"Ahm?"

"Yea, that clock we have says 'am'. Whatever that means."

"All right, send them in."

"Okey dokey," she said as she skipped out. At the doorway she stopped and said," Humm… looks like we're going to have to spray for cobweb spiders."

Moments later Azuria came in accompanied by a tall, dark skinned man.

"Wizard Danyel," said Azuria. "This is Cadao Kestrel, a master of Voodoo arts."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," said Cadao.

"Feelings," he said as he yawned. "Mutual pal. So what's going on today? Anything I should be concerned with?"

"Yes," said Azuria grimly. "I came to consult with you on an incident that happened just last night."

Danyel yawned again and waved at her as he said," Hand me that mug over there please. I have a feeling I'm gonna need some coffee for this. Thanks. So what's this all about? What happened last night?"

"This," said Cadao as he handed Danyel a large envelope. "That's a copy of the police report that was filled out last night plus some photos I was able to obtain of the crime scene."

"You know," said Danyel taking a drink of the coffee. "Criminal investigation is my sister Regina's department. Not mine."

"Ah," said Cadao. "But we thought you might be interested in this."

Interested was not the half of it. Danyel took one look at the photos and nearly spit out his coffee.

The pictures contained a grotesque scene of bodies mutilated across the floor. Some were hung upside down on various tools on the wall, while others were strung up by their own innards.

"Thanks," said Danyel as he shook his head. "I didn't feel like eating anytime this week anyway."

"Look at the last picture Wizard," said Cadao.

The last picture contained a circle burned into the floor, etched with runes and symbols.

Danyel studied it for a moment and took a sip of coffee before he said," It's demonic, I can tell you that much. See those markings around it? They were improperly done. To me, this has summoning gone wrong written all over it. Whoever these people were, they forgot a few key elements… But the problem is that this inner circle seems to be fine, meaning that the summoning was successful. At the same time, it wasn't properly done. I think what we're looking at is an unbound summoning of some sort."

"We thought that much was true."

"Whatever it was they summoned most definitely got loose, and was very upset. I doubt it's gone back, because the emblem is still there."

"That's what we feared was true," said Azuria. "And I wondered if I might be able to use some of your books as a reference to find who this demon is."

"It's true name? That will take lots of work I'm afraid. But I will definitely share my knowledge with you."

"Thank you Wizard Danyel," said Cadao. "We need to get this force sealed back up as soon as possible."

"Any leads so far?"

"Well, there was one. But we can't use him."

"Him?"

"There was a survivor of that attack. Ambrose Reynard, a leader of a gang called the Warriors. He goes by the name King Thunder nowadays. But his current state is… unstable."

"He was an eyewitness to the entire ordeal," said Azuria grimly. "He's in a mental hospital at the moment. He's only been able to babble incoherently and scream."

"Is that so?" said Danyel as he rubbed his chin. "Then we have our summoner."

"How do you know?"

"Because he wasn't killed, only tormented. Demons are kind of mean like that, you know? They can be tricky, and like to play with their victims. Whatever he summoned kept him alive purposely to drive him to insanity. I've seen it happen plenty of times in improper summoning."

"That's awful."

"That's how they work. Now, before we start researching, take me to this King Thunder guy. I want to see what he knows."

"Oh," said Azuria, not expecting this. "Go see him? Why?"

"Because I'm going to help out. I can't just let some demon run around the city loose and unbound like that. Who knows what it'll do next?"

----------------------------------------------

Cherry took a sip of coffee as she sat at the eating breakfast and reading the Paragon Times. She was hoping to tease him again at night, but he didn't come back until after she was asleep. Also, he was up and awake much earlier than she was, making sure she wouldn't see him.

She could only guess he was doing this to keep his mind preoccupied from the sexy robe that he got her as a birthday gift. She was wearing it to tease him.

He came in shortly after, accompanied by Proto-man and Regina. He slumped in his chair, grabbed Cherry's toast and ate it.

"You look tired," she said. "There's a little thing called sleep that we're pretty keen on nowadays. I'm sure you've heard of it, because it's sooo wonderful."

"Your sarcasm is noted," said Kayain also taking her bacon. "I see you're wearing the robe I gave you… The one I told you not to wear around me."

"I decided to disobey you in order to drive you crazy. I figure sabotage will help me at winning our bet, and at the same time will help me get my bookshelves dusted quicker."

"Ah-ha. Enjoy that robe while you can. Cause soon enough you won't be wearing anything at all."

"Wait, what?" said Proto as he helped himself to stuffing his face with eggs. "Oh! That's right, your little wager you told me about. Right. Hey I'm rooting for ya man!"

"So what did you jerks do this morning?" asked Cherry.

Kayain sighed and put some various items on the table.

"Well here's today's pull… We went out to look for some more volunteers, and this is what I got so far. One used napkin, an empty box of candy, a very dirty penny, two cookies, and a death threat."

He ate a cookie and said," I just hope this wasn't the cookie from the death threat lady…"

"Well here's what I have," said Proto. "You can't see it because I'm wearing a mask, but I have a very red and sore cheek, a couple of paper clips, a phone number for a Chinese restaurant (I checked it), and apparently my e-mail is now on every spam mail list ever created."

"Anything useful?" asked Kayain.

"I did get an apple from this spooky witch woman who lived in a gingerbread house in Croatoa. Should I eat this?"

"Yes," said Cherry and Regina.

"You sounded a bit too eager on that. I'm not going to eat it now."

"Hey Gina," said Kayain. "What did you get today?"

"A slew of odd looks. The other women thought I was crazy."

"But you are."

"Yea but I don't want them to know that."

"This is no good," said Kayain as he stole Cherry's entire plate. "We can't do this without the help of the volunteers."

"Maybe you're just not asking the right heroines," said Cherry trying to be encouraging. "Try asking the ones that wear a tiny bikini as their outfit."

"No, I tried," he said. "Apparently they have standards… whatever that may be."

"How about exotic dancers?"

"Nope," said Proto-man. "That was my first stop. They want lots of cash for it."

Cherry tried to think of any other loose women that might be interested.

"Red-light district?"

"Tried it," said Proto-man. "They wanted even more money then the usual rates."

"Bars?"

"I went there last night," said Regina. "You should have seen the faces of the guys when I was asking the questions. I was invited several times to the mud wrestling competitions."

"And you said NO?!" said Proto-man scandalized.

"Well I don't know where else you'd find some loose super powered women who are willing to do things like what you're asking," said Cherry.

"Babe," said Kayain. "They don't have to be loose women, ok? They can be good… upstanding citizens…"

"Right," said Cherry. "'Cause we all know good women with high morals are the ones flashing people, like the ones in your hidden stash of movies."

"Hey, there's that cheerful sarcasm again. Maybe if-"

"I know!" said Proto-man as he turned to Kayain. "If we can't find anyone… maybe your seester will!"

"Oh God, no…" said Kayain. "No, no, no, no, no. The last thing I want is to have to stare at my own sister's-"

"Good morning everyone!" said Diana as she came skipping in. "Everyone get enough breakfast?"

"Oops," said Proto-man. "I dropped my plate… Ow, my back!"

"Oh, don't worry about it," said Diana cheerfully. "Let me pick that up for you."

Proto-man grinned.

"OK! That's enough!" said Kayain. "I'll pick it up for you," he said as he bent over slowly in for Proto-man.

Proto-man grumbled and turned away.

"Hey," said Regina. "Where did Talley go? We were supposed to all meet up today."

"I don't know," said Kayain. "Last night he walked Celeste home and I haven't heard from him since… What? What's with that face Proto?"

"Ah, heh, heh," said Proto-man. "I think he's found the wilds of Celeste by now."

While the others chatted, the Phone rang. Diana picked it up and said," Yello!"

"Hello, is this the Thomas residence?" said a raspy voice on the phone.

"Yes, but who may I ask is speaking?"

There was a pause before he said," Henry Chalmer, of D.A.T.A. I'm looking for Tylar."

"Tylar? I thought he was over there at D.A.T.A. already?"

"We are calling from the arena. We need him to… answer a few questions."

"Call him at the D.A.T.A. office. He's sure to be there."

"We will… and say, who am I speaking to right now?"

"Me? I'm Diana."

"Oh, we've heard much about you from your brother. You're quite the hero."

"Golly! I didn't know Tylar talked about me like that! Guess I should say thanks."

"Yes, and we were wondering if you would like to participate in the Arena. We would personally like to see your power in action."

"Really? Well I was planning on going there anyway because Tylar wanted me to try it out. So I probably will go sometime."

"Excellent…" he said, very oddly.

"Sir?"

"Excuse me, I've got a cold…"

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Well like I said before, go call D.A.T.A. and you'll find Tylar."

Diana hung up and rejoined the rest of them in their interesting conversation.

"And I say," said Kayain. "That we need to try more advertising at places that we wouldn't normally expect… Gina, you take the Day cares. Super Heroines are bound to have some brats that they need watchin'. Proto, you take the Church. I know someone there is praying for a miracle. And I'll take it to the newspaper. We'll get some ads going and we're sure to find someone."

Cherry's instincts told her something was needed at this point. She said," And I'll go pack my bags."

"Pack your bags?"

"For when all the Heroines run us out of town."

"Oh ye, of little faith," said Proto-man. "I'll be at the church, making sure we've got some devout hunnies for our worthy, nonprofit, and charitable cause. I'll make up some story saying we're also feeding the poor or something. And it's funny because I threw some homeless looking people into a river… One of them had a TV on his head too."

Kayain gets a message on his communicator saying," This is Danyel, someone come in."

"Dan," said Kayain. "What's goin' on dude?"

"Where is Cherry? She doesn't have her communicator on."

"Right here pal. She's completely naked by the way."

"Give me that!" said Cherry. "Danyel, what's up?"

"Hey sis, I'm going to need your help here for something."

"What is it?"

"Well, I'm investigating something very serious going on, and I need your help going into someone's mind."

"Can't this person not talk?"

"He was driven insane, so no. He's unable to stop babbling. I just really need your help for this, it's very important."

Cherry hesitated a moment. She didn't typically like to go inside someone's mind, let alone someone insane. Lesser psions, if they didn't know what they were doing could delve into someone's mind and get pulled in so to speak. If you weren't careful, you could end up taking over unintentionally. Or you could end up destroying the mind completely, along with your own mind as well.

"How important?"

"End of the world important."

"Is that all?"

"Ok, fine. End of existence as we know it."

"That's more like it. I suppose I can help out, but existence owes me a favor."

----------------------------------------------

Akarist was bound and unable to draw from his power. He walked down the long hallways shackled with chains on his arms. He knew he was headed for something extremely unpleasant, but the wait, he felt, was much worse.

They brought him to a damp and dark area, filled with many magical barriers. This was a place they stored their prisoners that they used for ritualistic torture, or sacrifices. The jail was full of the lost souls of the tormented victims, and Akarist could feel the presence of each one.

A sting of guilt hit him on his way deeper into the jail. He remembered a time where he once participated in such evil deeds.

No more though. He turned his back on the Circle of Thorns because he knew that everything they thought they knew was a lie. Akarist began to feel his humanity coming back to him, and he began to feel alive once again.

There were some things he could never forgive himself for doing, yet he works every day to redeem himself, not only in his eyes, but in humanity's eyes.

The guards brought him before a mage whom he knew the name of.

"Azmos," said Akarist. "I didn't realize you were in town again. I wish I could say it's good to see an old acquaintance, but instead it feels nauseating."

"Akarist, you old fool," said Azmos. "Did you really think we had forgotten about you?"

"I was hoping that, yes."

"You know we do not forget, and we do not forgive. What you have done against us is inexcusable, and today you will pay for your trespasses."

"So what's in store for today? Crystal of torment? Netherworld grasp? Or the old fashioned way with knives and other crude instruments?"

"Nothing of that sort today… no, no, what I had in mind was much more… fitting, for someone such as yourself."

"Yes, you always were good at this. Our old mentor Ma'valick did favor your methods of torture."

"You flatter me. But it will get you nowhere, because today you help us, oh yes! You will help us in what we need to do. Otherwise, there will be… consequences."

Akarist knew there was no negotiating with them. He knew how to negotiate with other kinds of spirits who had nothing personal against him but a contract, but these mages were usually the ones assigning the contract.

"I won't help you, no matter what. Whatever you've managed to foul up, it's your own mess," said Akarist.

"Oh I know you Akarist. No matter what we do to that feeble body of yours you won't ever do as we tell you."

"Good, then we have that out of the way. Why don't you just get my torture out of the way as well?"

"Your torture? Oh, no, no, no. I had something much more disturbing in mind."

Azmos snapped his fingers and had Akarist dragged with him to a deeper and darker holding area. They stopped in front of a room crowded with some of the filthiest looking men he'd ever seen.

Each one was big and burly, with either a visible scar on their face, or a missing body part on each. Dressed in torn rags, they looked not only burly, they also looked extremely intimidating.

"These men you see here were former prisoners. Murderers, Rapists, Thieves… very nasty lot aren't they? They were on death row before we busted them out… And now they are still destined to die, but for our glory!"

"How thoughtful…" said Akarist as he looked toward the floor.

"Oh, but that's not all! My kindness extends beyond that. You see, their happiness depends completely on you, should you help us or not."

Akarist didn't like where this was going, but he asked anyway," What are you talking about?"

"Bring in the new prisoner," said Azmos to one of the guards.

Moments later, the guard dragged in a young lady tied up by the hands and feet. Akarist recognized her to be," Sarchissia!"

"Yes," said Azmos. "We found this young one in your residence. She's somewhat of a mystic in training I believe."

"Akarist!" she said. "Please! Help!"

"I-I can't, young one… I'm unable to use my powers…"

The guards brought her right in front of the magical barrier placed on the cell to act as a door.

The criminals inside began to smile lecherously at her, some made vulgar comments, while some made vile promises to her.

"Dear spirits, no," said Akarist. "You can't! She's only fourteen! She's still a child! You-"

"My friends," said Azmos to the criminals. "This mage you see here is named Akarist. He alone will decide the fate of this young, nubile, virgin you see before you. If he chooses to resist us, then the girl is yours-" This was followed by hooting and hollering. "Should he cooperate, you will simply have to wait until our task is done."

Akarist slumped a bit. He hated this feeling of defeat, but he knew what would happen to this poor innocent girl if he refused. It was one thing to resist torture, but he had found sorrow in watching the torment of others.

"And," said Azmos. "If you do not cooperate, I will place you here to watch them commit every deed to her until you say yes. I was able to capture many more young lady apprentices, so this one is not my only one if need be. I will toss another in daily until you break. What say you?"

He looked up into the face of Sarchissia and was socked. There was tears running down her face, but in her eyes, he saw courage. She said," Don't do it. Please."

"I-I don't know," said Akarist.

"You don't know?!" said Azmos. "This girl is about to be brutalized beyond belief and all you can think about is your grudge against us? This is selfish thinking Akarist. And you call yourself a hero?"

"I said I don't know. I can't make this decision… Dear spirits, don't do this."

"You can and will make this decision! And you'll make it in five seconds or she's going in!"

The criminals laughed and jeered at Akarist.

"One…"

All he could think about is Sarchissia's safety.

"Two…"

He heard the vile words of the criminals as they pressed against the barrier.

"Three…"

He began to sweat. Nothing had prepared him for this.

"Four…"

Sarchissia had been studying with him since he first joined M.A.G.I. She was so spirited, it made him happy to see someone with that much zest for life.

"FIVE! Guards!"

She was thrown in.

Instantly he heard her screams as the wicked men tore at her. One of them broke her arm for trying to scratch him, making her cry out in pain.

Akarist had never considered himself to be as strong as most heroes. In fact he still hadn't made amends with his past. But if he could do one thing to redeem himself, saving this girl's life was one thing to help.

"NO! STOP!" said Akarist.

Azmos snapped his fingers, and she magically flew out. The criminals laughed and hissed at Akarist as he dropped to his knees.

"Don't do it… Forgive me Sarchissia. I won't be responsible for your death… I'll do what you ask, just please don't hurt her."

"Giving up so soon?" said Azmos "I've heard stories of the great Akarist resisting all kinds of tortures. But when it comes to this, well, I think I've found your Achilles Heel."

"Just tell me what needs to be done… but the girl stays with me."

"How pathetic. So be it. Guards! Take them to the summoning hall."

----------------------------------------------

"Well sis, what do you think?" said Danyel.

Cherry looked at King Thunder who was babbling," Coming. It's coming. No, no, no, no… All my fault… all my… no, no, AHHHHHH!!"

Cherry's abilities, to a degree, can help with maladies of the mind. She was able to help torture victims escape their psychosis, and lead a fairly normal life. Many things were beyond even her ability, but she spent a great deal of time trying to help as she could.

"I'm sure I can tap into his mind," said Cherry. "Not going to be easy, so be prepared to pull me back if you think anything's wrong."

"I will. Just find me information on what went on yesterday, and I'd like to see some details on what the demon looked like."

Cherry popped her fingers and said," Close the door please. I don't want anyone coming in and thinking we're trying to hurt him."

After Danyel closed the door, Cherry closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. She placed her hands on King Thunder's head, and at the same time, they both gasped.

King Thunder shuddered, and his eyes rolled back as Cherry kept her hands on his crown. He tilted his head back and opened his mouth, looking like a silent scream.

Azuria said," Danyel? Is this normal?"

"Yea, she's a pro at this. It may look disturbing, but he's not feeling a thing."

Cherry let go, and King Thunder toppled to the floor unconscious. Cherry blinked and her eyes went back to normal.

"He's asleep," said Cherry as she levitated King Thunder back to his bed.

"So?" said Danyel.

Cherry shook her head and said," See for yourself."

She put her hands on Danyel's forehead, and both of them went into a trance. Seconds later, she let go and they both returned, Danyel looking very upset.

"This is not good… not good at all," he said.

Cadao said," Can you tell us what you have seen?"

"Here's a breakdown of what I saw; First off, this guy summoned a demon. Unfortunately, like I thought, it was unbound and unnamed. Demons tend to have this little thing called immortality… so basically we can't kill it, and it's loose on our world."

"I see," said Cadao. "This is very grave news Wizard Danyel."

"Next thing, before he was inflicted with insanity by the demon, he managed to see a group of mages come in. Dressed in robes, and some had spines protruding from their bodies. They all had glowing, smoky eyes, and they looked… well dead."

"The Circle of Thorns," said Azuria. "The world's most dangerous group of dark wizards. The reason they look dead is because in fact they really did die long ago. They steal mortal bodies to remain in this world."

"Ah, yes. I have run into them a few times. Attacked me on sight. Well they learned not to mess with a High Archmage quickly."

"Is there anything else that can help?" asked Cadao.

"Yes. I studied the runes on the book from his visual memory, and he summoned an envoy, if you will. A messenger from Hell, sent to make deals and dark promises to the living."

Cherry looked at this conversation as a ping pong observer watches the ball. She felt she had no place in this and said," Ok well, anything I can do?"

"I'm getting paged," said Cadao. "Excuse me."

"That will be very dangerous for the world," said Azuria. "If this Envoy is allowed to make deals with the Circle of Thorns. I've heard of a time long ago when such an event took place. Ancient times, but Cadao may know more than I about that."

"So… anything at all?" said Cherry.

"That may be useful," said Danyel. "Anything at this point could help us banish this demon back to Hell where it belongs. I'll need to know everything about it's past and figure out who it is, and how they got rid of it back then."

"No!" said Cadao as he talked on his cell phone. He said to them," Azuria, Akarist has been kidnapped by the Circle of Thorns!"

"That isn't good right?" said Cherry.

"How? When?" said Azuria.

"Hold on," said Cadao as he continued to listen on his phone. "He said it was last night sometime. They're not exactly sure on the time yet, but Akarist was kidnapped along with several students in the Library."

"Oh, no," said Azuria. "This is horrible!"

Cadao hung up and said," Wizard Danyel, may I ask something of you?"

"Yes, I'll help you find the lost people," said Danyel.

"What about me?" said Cherry.

"Please," said Cadao as he put a hand on Danyel's shoulder. "They kidnapped the young ones, and Akarist is a well respected mage. We owe him so much for everything he's done for us. The Circle will more than likely torture him to death. And the young ones… I don't even want to think about it."

"Don't worry," said Danyel. "I'll find them, and make those bastards pay."

"So, I'll be going to get some coffee, anyone want some?" said Cherry.

"Akarist holds much knowledge, he has been alive since the times of the Oranbega and Mu."

"Anyone? Any takers?" said Cherry.

"Thank you Wizard Danyel," said Azuria. "We appreciate this."

"Well I sure don't!" said Cherry. "As a matter of fact, I don't appreciate being ignored!"

"I'll get right on it," said Danyel.

"Let me help you find him," said Cadao.

Cherry clenched her fists and yelled," MAGIC SUCKS!"

She stormed out the door and slammed it. The three of them stood in silence for a moment.

"Well," said Azuria. "That was a bit rude of her don't you think?"

----------------------------------------------

Tylar and his friends from D.A.T.A. were in the Arena's back room huddled around the table grinning like idiots.

"Oh damn," said Smith. "That is sooo hot."

"Look at the size of those…" said Bennit. "Are those for real?"

"I say," said Tylar. "This is, how does my brother say it? 'So good you'll cream yourself' I believe. Yes that's what I call this."

"Nya, I couldn't have said it better myself," said Jared.

Lilly walks in and says," Hey guys, what's up?"

"Heh, heh," said Smith. "I'd like to get me some of that…"

"Oh, nothing," said Tylar.

"Whatcha got there?" said Lilly. "Oh, I see what's going on… someone's got a new dirty magazine," she said grinning at them.

"Ha!" said Jared. "Even better than that, nya! This month's tech magazine. Nya, we got it earlier as a gift for the work on the Arena."

He flashes a picture of the latest in the top of the line processors to her, and she grins broadly.

"Oh my!" she said as she took a shot of her inhaler. "That's sooo hot!"

"And look at the size of those monitors," said Tylar. "Just thinking about them makes my glasses fog up."

"The size of those what?" said Diana as she entered the room. "Are you guys staring at pictures of naked women?"

"Even better," said Bennit still looking at the magazine. "Check out these barebones kits!"

"Oh…" said Diana. "Well I thought it smelled particularly nerdy in here."

"And what are you doing here?" said Tylar.

"You weren't at D.A.T.A., and I wanted to give your new arena a test run. So I came all the way over."

The nerds finally got a good look at Diana, and immediately went into what's called Nerd Reclusive mode. It's a natural defense mechanism in most nerds that causes profuse sweating, stuttering, forgetfulness, and at sometimes chronic shyness. This defensive mechanism was originally evolved in nerds as a ward for bullies. If the body would produce enough sweat, it would make them undesirable to touch. On the other hand, this was a double edged sword as it also prevented any chances at mating.

"Ahhh, doh, huh huh…"

"Gawrsh…"

"Nya, heh, heh."

"Oh come on!" said Tylar. "It's just my sister."

"Nya, heh, heh- Err What?! Sister?!"

"Oh!" said Smith. "Sister? How'd that happen?"

Diana was wearing the skin tight jump suit that Tylar could swear was a size too small now that he looked at it.

He also didn't want to look at it the way she wore it.

"Di… I meant to tell you but you're supposed to wear clothes over that."

"Na, these are fine."

"Gawrsh…"

"Hey! Stop drooling!" said Tylar.

"Nya, hey, Tylar… Your sister looks nothing like in the comic."

"Kayain lied. This is how she really looks."

"Ok, I think I missed something somewhere," said Diana.

"You're a lot taller than I imagined," said Lilly.

"Err, thanks I guess…" said Diana. "So, about that Arena match, can you guys hook me up instead of having to wait in line?"

"Well, the teleport system is getting worked on at the moment, so we're not issuing matches until they fix the bug out. Apparently someone was teleported to the roof this morning," said Tylar.

"Oh. Then can you get me a match when it's done?"

"I don't know, I-"

"Sure you can, Nya…" said Jared as he was fiddling with his feet, bashfully.

"Thank you sir!" she said coming closer to him. "That's so sweet of you!"

Jared stepped back, turning the color of a tomato, and dripping sweat. He kept his eyes downward with a smile on his face. He put his hands behind his back and said," Nya, heh, it's, uh, nothing really…"

Tylar rolled his eyes and said," Good Lord, what's taking those guys so long?"

----------------------------------------------

The teleport technician crew worked as fast as they could trying to get the teleport system to go to the right place.

"All right lads," said the Foreman. "I think this should do it. Get the test dummies."

An engineer brought a pair of crash dummies and placed them on the telepad. They were instantly teleported to the inside of the arena.

"Check them," said the Foreman.

Two engineers went inside the arena to see if the dummies were not disfigured. Not that that should ever be a problem, but the foreman believed in safety first.

"All good boss," said one on his radio.

"Good. Come on out then, We're going to live test it."

When the foreman turned around he nearly jumped out of his skin. A group of scientist had somehow entered the room and were just inches behind him.

"Greetings," said one with a raspy voice. "Are you the Foreman?"

"Yea, crap, you scared the bejesus out of me!"

"Mister Foreman, there has been a slight change of plans. We will need to take a look at this device."

"Whoa, whoa, wait a minute," said the Foreman. "I got orders from the bigwigs to fix this, and you ain't one of their messenger boys. In fact, I've never seen you before, so let's see some ID."

"We do not require ID sir. You will comply or face the consequences."

"Oh yea? Look poindexter, I don't need your kind coming over here and telling me and my crew what to do. So you take your sorry ass somewhere else."

"So be it."

The scientist's eyes began to glow like he was possessed. Fire accumulated in his hands and he hurled a ball of fire at the Foreman. The Foreman dodged it, only by a little.

The other possessed scientists threw fire, lightning, or ice at the other engineers. Unfortunately they were not as quick as the Foreman, and some were burned alive, and some were frozen solid.

The Foreman pulled a few tools from his belt and tossed them expertly at the scientists. A screwdriver stuck into one's head like a thrown knife would have, and a mallet cracked the skull of another.

The scientists turned their attention to him, and began to attack him. He was surprisingly good at dodging, and they were frustrated as he dodged them and sent metal pipes flying at them.

The Foreman dropped all but one scientist. The Foreman sneered and said," Circle of Thorns I presume. I remember those glowing eyes. You're going down you disgusting freak."

The scientist merely smiled and pointed behind the Foreman. But even he could sense something behind him. Something big.

He slowly turned around and looked up into the face of a frighteningly tall winged demon, snarling at him.

----------------------------------------------

"Well," said Tylar. "They just called and gave the OK on the teleport system. Live testing and everything is done. Please inform Positron to give the go ahead order at the gates."

"Oh! And me?" asked Diana.

"Yes, yes, of course. You'll get a shot right now. If Mister McCulley can focus for a few moments he can take you inside."

"Nya, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm perfectly fine-"

Diana pranced over to him, as he stared shamelessly at her bouncing boobs.

"Nya… heh, heh. T-this way…"

----------------------------------------------

If one could see Positron's face at the moment, he would look very tired and harassed. The arena concept had taken Paragon city by storm. Many a super hero came from all around Paragon City to get a chance to test out this new one hundred percent safe way to fight their fellow heroes.

Poor Positron had made the mistake in being the chaperone so to speak on who gets what kind of matches to test things out. And with the diverse amount of super powered people involved, things had been hectic to say the least.

"Here's what I want," said Positron. "You, you and you on that terminal. Next, I want the four of you to get on that one for a free for all… What? Oh, you're a team. Ok well get that one against those guys. And you! No fires in the lobby, wait till you get inside… Oh no! Please don't do that on the carpet sir, we just had it shampooed!"

A scientist approached him and said," Mister Positron, the telepads are good to go. You can start now."

"All right then," said Positron. "I want everyone on the emerald side to begin, as well as the amber side. Get me the two supergroups in ruby who are going to have the supergroup rumble, and- Damn it, I thought I told you to stop doing that on the carpet sir!"

Another scientist approaches him and says," Mister Positron? We just wanted to inform you that the teleport system is ready."

"I know, you already said that."

"Wait… we were the ones supposed to tell you. Did someone else come here?"

"Yes, and- Oh, that's just wrong sir…"

"I can see you're busy so I'll just be going now."

----------------------------------------------

"Here we are," said Jared. "Nya, this is your terminal."

"Mine? All mine?"

"Well it belongs to us really, but you get to use it."

"Oh… how do I use it?"

"Nya, it's simple. Just enter how many people are going to fight, and if it's going to be a team up. Then pick the teams, nya, and when you're ready, press go here. Everyone in your arena match will then immediately be sent to the virtual arena zone."

"What's this button do?"

"I don't know but don't press-"

When Diana pressed it Jared was instantly teleported somewhere.

"Jared? Where'd you go?"

----------------------------------------------

Jared looked around and found himself in a very large and open cavern. He looked to one side and saw about thirty to forty costume clad heroes charging at him.

To the other side he saw another equally large amount of spandex heading his way as well.

It only took him moments to realize he had somehow gotten thrown into the scheduled super group vs super group fight. And he was also standing on ground zero.

But Jared was a fast thinker. He quickly got into his defensive stance, which strongly resembled a fetal position, while sucking his thumb.

----------------------------------------------

Diana shrugged and looked for some competition.

"Excuse me! You want to join me? No? Ok, maybe next time… Oh! How about you? No? Ok… What about you guys? No? Oh… Why is it so hard to find people to do this?"

"Hello," said someone from behind. "Were you looking for a match?"

"Yes I would," she said, turning around. "Whoa, you're big, and on fire."

The man she was looking at was indeed very tall. Even she only reached up to his torso in height. He also had two very large horns on his head, which Diana couldn't tell if it was his or on some kind of helmet, because his costume was shrouded and covered what his face looked like.

"Thank you. Now would you care to join us?"

"Sure! Say, did you know you had horns on your head?"

"Yes…"

"Just making sure. I'm Diana, what's your name?"

"Horn Head."

"That's pretty straightforward. I mean naming yourself after your most prominent feature. If I did that I'd be Giga Bre-"

"Hello," said someone else. "I need another person on my team, would you be so kind?"

"Sure," said Diana. "Who's on our team?"

"So far it's me, and Horn Head. This will be a three on three match. My name is Lady Darkness, pleased to meet you."

"Hey, I remember seeing you at the Rikti Crash site!" said Diana.

"Oh, yes. I do remember you now," said Lady Darkness. "Well then since we're all acquainted, let's see the opposing team."

They see the three approaching members.

"Wolf's Fang," said one in spandex. "Damn pleased to meet you."

"Vulker," said one wearing a fedora hat. He tipped it and said," A pleasure."

"I am… The Sodomizer!" said one with a very odd polka dotted cape.

"The what?!" said Lady Darkness.

"I am The Sodomizer! I penetrate evil from it's unprotected rear!"

"Don't let them catch you saying that," said Wolf's Fang. "You know Freedom Corps. banned your name."

"Yea I know," said Sodomizer. "But Generichero118 sounds so… ARRG I hate them! How the hell is that supposed to strike fear in the asses of our enemies?"

"And clowns," added Diana.

"Yes," he said. "Finally, someone who understands me!"

Vulker smiled and said," It was a random team pick I assure you."

Lady Darkness messed with a few knobs on the terminal. She said," Ok I have this set. Everyone gather around, and we'll get started."

The countdown timer ticked to zero, and they felt a sensation over them as they were teleported to the inside of the arena.

The inside resembled a large hull area for a ship. It was not nearly as long in width as it was in length. The three of them teleported to one end of the ship, while the other team was at the other end.

Diana said," Man that was cool! That never gets old."

"I don't know," said Horn Head. "It felt very weird teleporting like that."

"I agree. It felt very odd. I have teleported before, and that was not the same."

"Well in any case there they are," said Diana.

"All right," called out Vulker. "We're ready."

"Ok," said Lady Darkness. "I can heal injuries. I believe it works out here too."

"I'll cover you Lady," said Horn Head.

"And I'll do the damage!" said Diana.

"We're ready," said Lady Darkness.

"Let's go!" said Vulker.

For those watching the event, expecting a very dramatic clash of these titans, was sorely disappointed. As they charged each other, Vulker, Wolf's Fang, and Sodomizer all saw the other three begin to fade, as they ran. Before they clashed, all three vanished without a trace.

"Did they go invisible?" said Sodomizer.

"I'm not sensing them anymore," said Wolf's Fang.

"Great," said Vulker. "Must be a teleport glitch again. We'll have to report this…"

"Yea," said Sodomizer.

"Mmm, mhm…" said Wolf's Fang.

"So, what now?"

"Well, we're here already. Seems like such a waste not to do something…"

They all smiled.

"Free for all?" said Sodomizer.

"Looser buys a round beer," said Wolf's Fang.

"In that case, I hope you boys brought your wallets," said Vulker.

----------------------------------------------

Diana felt as if some kind of hook had gotten around her midsection and violently pulled her somewhere. She knew she was standing, but she didn't know how.

She blinked her eyes open, and looked around. She found herself inside a large glass sphere, and unable to move. She was alone in some kind of lab area, with a viewing room uptop so people could see what goes on down below.

She heard voices somewhere behind her saying," And the other two?"

"Put them in the holding cell. They will be the perfect sacrifices for the Envoy."

Diana didn't like the sound of that. She tried moving, but found it very hard. She knew this feeling, and knew it was some kind of gravity effect. People who go into space have to have Zero G. and High G. training.

"Look, she's awake," she heard the voice say. "Get Azmos, and increase the gravity system slightly. She's still able to move."

Diana saw a scientist with green glowing eyes pass by her, and felt the gravity increase even more to where she fell down and stuck to the ground.

"H-hel-p…" she tried to say, but the gravity was so intense it was a struggle to breathe properly.

"Welcome Chosen," said another scientist with eyes glowing green. "You who possess the ultimate power, the conduit who will bring to us complete domination over the world."

Diana was unable to respond. She tried hard to use her power, but this gravity well was not magical, so she could not absorb its energy.

Shortly after, a tall mage entered the room. She knew he was a mage by the way he was dressed; Robe, goofy hat, glowing green eyes, and for some reason spikes protruding from his skin.

"Ah, very good. You are awake Chosen. Welcome. I assume you'd like to know why you're here, yes?"

She didn't respond.

"The reason is simple. You will serve as a host to our master Lilitu. I'm afraid you have no say in this either. It was prophesized to us of your arrival, and your unique ability. You have a gift that is beyond even your simple understanding. A power so great, only we can harness it to it's full potential."

She tried desperately to move and talk.

"Oh, it seems as though you're stuck. Gentlemen, please reverse the gravity and keep her in the center."

A scientist turned a few knobs on a panel nearby, and Diana was lifted up to the center of the sphere, floating helplessly.

"Who are you people? And where are my buddies?"

"Your friends are safe at the moment, but they will be part of a special ceremony that our special guest requires. I am Azmos, steward of the dark one Lilitu. It is my greatest honor to offer you as a sacrifice to my mistress."

"Sacrifice?! No, you can't do that! My husband will find you and beat you up good!"

"Husband?! You took a husband?"

"Yea, he's my husband and I love him! And when he gets mad, you don't wanna cross him!"

"This can't be right…" said Azmos more to himself. "The prophecy says the Chosen will be a virgin…"

"Ha! Looks like you got it all wrong. I lost my virginity on that oh so romantic night… Danyel and I were like-"

"Silence woman! No matter, we can still perform the ritual, virgin or not. Lilitu will have your body one way or another."

"That sounds gross," said Diana. "I'm not done with this body you know."

"It matters not. She will posses it. And with your powers, it will make her the most powerful being alive!"

"And another thing," said Diana as she struggled a bit. "I know a lot about my powers, and no one but me can use them. My powers only work if I want them to, so too bad for you."

A group of mages entered the room and began to gather in a circle around her.

"We will make you use them. You won't be able to fight us forever."

"Watch me!"

At that moment, a large silhouette of a humanoid figure appeared from the shadows. The figure had very long wings and glowing yellow eyes.

"Ah, you're here," said Azmos not looking up.

"As promised," it said. "I have delivered the woman to you for the revival of Lilitu. My part of the bargain was upheld, now you must complete yours."

"Yes, of course. Once Lilitu is here, we will give you the sacrifices you demand. Then the real negotiations begin."

----------------------------------------------

The hero Infernal of the group known as the Vindicators suddenly came out of a heavy meditation in a start.

His partner Numia heard his awakening and came to see him.

"Infernal, are you ok?"

"Numia," he said, turning to her. "Did you feel that just now?"

"I believe I felt something. Something of a disturbance."

Infernal stood up and overlooked the dark cellar-like room full of arcane equipment, bookshelves, and of course, cobwebs.

"I felt… A presence I have not felt in a long time. Very familiar. I hope it's not what I think it is Numia."

"Shall I look into this?"

"Please," he said. "I need to know. I need to know if this isn't what I think it is… I hope and pray it isn't though."

"What shall I look for then?"

"Mother…" he said quietly.

"Pardon?"

"Lilitu," he said to her. "A vile demon bent on reviving the elder gods."

"Lilitu you say?" said Numia. "I believe I can search for that one as long as I have the true name."

"That is her true name, but this one is different. She uses possession until she finds something that can stabilize her."

"I will look for you… Where are you going?"

"I need to know for sure. If you can get a confirmation on this, please tell me. I will do what I can to find out."

----------------------------------------------

Cherry came back home and slumped on the couch. She turned on the television and watched the news and all the super powered incidents today.

I've got nothing else better to do at the moment, she thought. Kayain and his merry band of idiots have an unhealthy career at the moment, Lu Bu and Biggs are out preaching, which in other words, getting tanked. Ami is reclusive and is probably busy reading. Solo is with Tylar helping him with the arena, and Kat is… in his own little world.

Cherry realized that everyone had taken up a hobby except her. There wasn't much to Psionics besides meditation and self-growth… Although she admitted the whole self-growth part wasn't working out so well for her.

She was bored. She wasn't as good as Tylar at technology, nor as good as Danyel at Magic, so she never bothered them. But at least she would have Kayain, Lu Bu, or Biggs to kick around when she didn't have anything to do.

But now even Kayain had a job to do, even if she thought it was just completely silly.

After a while of watching the reporters drone on about pretty much the same thing day after day, she began to doze off to sleep.

----------------------------------------------

Cherry dreamt of many strange things; an ability to fly for starters. Psychic flight was not something she studied, but she dreamed of it anyway.

Her next dream flashed to her being taller than Kayain and taking away his Vindicator weapon and pounding him on the head with the flat of the blade. She wasn't sure of what this meant, but she enjoyed bopping him on the head all the same.

This brought her to another thought that triggered a memory, the memory of the worst day in her life.

Cherry sat down on Kayain's bed clutching her necklace she made. She wondered if she could really go through with this. Sure she knew there'd be the jeers from everyone she knew about her actually caring for the big lug, but she was willing to endure that.

The question was,' Is she prepared to make a move?' Kayain would never realize it because he was dumber then a crate of anvils.

'Why this day though?' she wondered. 'Why not any other day?'

Timing, she realized. Timing was everything. You never went up to the object of your affection and said,' Hey, catch the game last night? Good stuff hua? My bet was on the Tigers, and I won a hundred credits. I love you by the way, go out with me.'

Another thought that crossed her mind was that since they've been friends for so very long, what would be his reaction? Would he freak out, or not say anything? Would he say yes, and have things get weird?

All these thoughts crossed her mind as she got up and paced. She tried to think of what exactly she would say in order for him not to freak out.

She looks at the necklace and sighs. At that moment, Kayain bursts into the room looking seriously distressed.

"Cherry!" he said as he strode towards her. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She quickly hides the necklace behind her back and blushes as she says, flustered," I was… uh… looking for you Kayain."

"Looking for me? Then you already know?"

"Well no, I just-"

"You haven't? Then what the hell are you doing in my room?"

She didn't have a response for that. He seemed so, desperate at the moment that she became curious as to what he was talking about.

"Oh look, it doesn't matter. Cherry, we have a problem! Someone's kidnapped Leda!"

"What?!"

"She's been kidnapped! Remember we heard the Quantum Syndicate was in town? I'm willing to bet money it was them."

"No… Why now?!"

"I don't know, but they did leave this ransom note."

Cherry read the note. It said for them to exchange Cherry for Leda's life. Should they not comply to meet them in the specific location in the next 3 hours, she was as good as dead.

"They want me for my bounty," said Cherry. "And they know we're all very close to Leda."

"What are we going to do?"

"Ok, don't panic. We'll-" Cherry stopped dead. She caught sight of what was dangling in his other hand.

Leda's necklace.

"Cherry?"

"W-we'll, get the team together. I'll, uh… form a plan…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just gather everyone and I'll have a plan."

Cherry remembers the plan she made, it was a good one for being so distracted at the necklace. It turned out to be quite a magic show, but like all parlor magic, it was all smoke in mirrors.

The plan was simple, it was a bait and switch using simple tricks, readily available. Cherry was good at making her enemies think they knew what she was thinking. Something they ended up regretting later.

She remembers going to a sports arena, and waiting on the grassy field in the open with Kayain.

Kayain fidgets a bit and says," This is so not right."

"But it won't fail."

"I know but-"

The stadium lights turned on, and shone brightly on them. They heard a voice on the large speakers say," I was beginning to worry that you wouldn't come Vigilantes. Have you come alone as I asked."

"Crimson," said Cherry. "I should have known. You've been after us for years… But I can't believe you'd stoop this low."

"Come now. You and your entire team are extremely difficult to catch. I just so happened to stumble across this little gem, and had to take the opportunity."

"How did you know who she was?" asked Kayain.

"Our eyes are everywhere. As I hear it, this woman is the object of your affection Mister Thomas."

Kayain sneered, and Cherry frowned.

"We've done as you've asked," said Cherry. "Now where's Leda?"

"The girl? She's right here," Crimson said, as two other thugs carried her into view. "I trust you will cooperate with us, lest this woman suffer an unnecessary end."

"Yea," said Kayain "We will, just don't hurt her!"

"Good, that's what I like to hear… only, I believe you lied to us."

"What do you mean?" said Kayain.

"Boys!" he said as he snapped his fingers.

A bunch of thugs come out from all directions. Each thug has a large gun pointed at the back of the heads of several Vigilante members.

"Trying to pull some kind of sneak attack? Rather stupid if you ask me. I've still got my men searching the area for any more surprises."

"No…" said Cherry.

"I'm afraid so. Now if you don't mind I'd like to get the show on the road. Miss Martinez, you're coming with me… but first," he said as he tossed her a tiara looking headpiece. "Put that on. I don't need you messing with my head any."

Cherry just looked at it.

"Go on now. If you don't this little vixen dies right here and now."

"Fine," said Cherry. "I'll put it on."

Cherry puts the tiara on and frowns.

"There's a good girl," says Crimson as he and his cronies walk down toward the field.

"Wait," said Cherry. "I won't go unless you let my team go. I'm the one you want, not them."

"Oh yes, of coooourse," he said as insincerely as possible. "Once you give yourself up they will be free to leave… maybe after we rough em up a bit."

Cherry grimaced.

"But rest assured, they'll still be alive after we're done."

"You're a bastard," she said.

"I know. Now I want you to walk over here, and Miss Leda will walk over there, on the count of three… One."

"You ready Kayain?" whispered Cherry.

"Ready as ever."

"Two…"

"You know what to do then."

"Three!"

The two walked toward each other in a very tense silence. When the two were about to cross paths, there was a sudden loud click noise.

Cherry and Kayain looked around, and Crimson smiled.

A trapdoor, normally used for maintenance, opened suddenly underneath both of the two women. They both fell helplessly into it as Kayain ran to the hole.

"Not so fast Vindicator!" said Crimson. "Did you really think we'd let you go that easily? We've got the lot of you here, and you're all worth plenty more together then just your leader alone. Men! Lock the doors!"

"You rotten bastard!" said Kayain. "You sealed your own men in to suffer my wrath."

"What did you say?"

The thug nearby Crimson twitched, and began to act erratically. He panicked and began to hit the guys next to him. Seconds later, it turned into a free for all brawl, with Crimson running down as fast as possible to get away.

"Kill them!" he said as he ran to the stairway that leads to the trapdoor area. "Kill them all!"

The thugs guarding the Vigilante members shot all them down to a man. Seconds later, the bodies began to turn into a dark purple gelatinous form, and melt away.

"They're not real!" said one. "It's a trick!"

The men turned to run back inside, but the doors were now locked from the other side as well.

Kayain began to run after Crimson.

Meanwhile, outside the stadium, Vigilante members were at the ready with mortars loaded with firebombs.

"I hear gunfire. That's the signal," said Danyel. "Let em have it."

Several members of the Vigilantes held the doors shut on the other side while the rest fired into the open stadium.

Danyel's magical firebombs explode with napalm, and do no damage to Kayain, Cherry, or Leda. Danyel cupped an ear as he heard the yells of the thugs from inside and said," Sounds like things are heating up in there… What? Ok so that was in bad taste."

Kayain on the other hand was inside the back area running down Crimson. Gunfire came his way as he rounded a corner.

"You may as well give up. All your men are gone," said Kayain in a rather unusual voice.

"Forget it! I have men under the stadium waiting for your Psion captain and that engineer woman! The Anti-Psionics crown is so powerful, even if she so much as touches it, she can't use her powers for the next hour."

Kayain laughed again, this time it sounded very feminine.

"You simple fool," said Kayain. "That's not the girl you're looking for."

"What the…"

Crimson looked around his cover spot to see the shadow of Kayain begin to shrink and transform into another shape.

"I am," said Cherry in a very baggy shirt that barely reached her thighs.

"You! But… But how-"

Cherry instantly mind dominated him, and left him writhing on the ground.

"Magic," she said folding her arms. "It's a known fact that I despise most magic, Crimson, so figured you wouldn't think I'd use it."

Cherry called on the radio," This is Cherry. I have Crimson, how did everyone else do?"

"Fire raid successful," said Danyel.

"Oh man!" said Kayain. "I feel weird, the only thing I have on is your panties."

"Is that so? Well I do remember telling you that you could probably wear something under my clothes."

"Uh… no comment."

Cherry laughed and said," I feel a little naked here too, I've got your shirt on, and nothing else fits."

"I know! When I grew, I tore out of all your clothes. But Leda was more freaked out when she saw you doing all the flips and kicks."

"I bet that was funny," she said. "Anyway, let's get out of here."

Cherry's mind wandered again to late that evening back at the palace. Cherry got stuck with a lot of paperwork for what happened in the stadium. She was forced to pay for damages, and it was an accounting nightmare.

Kayain comes in to her room and says," Hey Cherry, come on. Valentines Day is almost over. Let's get smashed!"

"I don't know… Lots of work to do still."

"We're having a little celebration for you…"

"For me? Why's that?"

"Leda insisted on it. She says it was because of your brilliant idea that she made it out ok."

She puts her pen down and sighs.

"All right. Count me in."

The small celebration had lots of ice cream and chocolate as Cherry remembered. Leda had also baked a cake for her as a way of saying thanks.

The food and drink were excellent, but only one thing would really make this day worthwhile… And Cherry excused herself to pick up something from her room.

Down the corridors, she went to pick up her necklace she made from the three hundred Valentines. The day in general had been bad enough, and she knew this would make it all better.

She made her way back down to the room they were partying in, and heard something in the shadows.

On high alert still, she treaded quieter and tried to get a glimpse of whoever that was in the corridor.

"You do?" she heard one say.

"Yes," she heard the other say.

"Leda… I…"

Cherry froze. It was Kayain she heard, and he was with Leda.

"It doesn't matter if you say yes or no," said Leda. "But that's how I feel."

She dared look down the hall and saw them both.

Kayain looked at her, and nothing else. He said," Yes. Yes I feel the same way about you. I just never said anything before…"

The two closed in and embraced each other. Cherry's heart beat faster.

Then they kissed.

Her heart stopped cold.

She felt betrayed, and at the same time guilty that she never said anything. She felt foolish at her own pride. But most of all, she felt lonely like never before.

The only other man she had ever felt this way for was killed for the sake of getting to her. There were many bounties on them, and he just happened to be in the crossfire.

Many people she had come to care about had been killed in the same fashion. Kayain was an exception though. Being the Vindicator, people were afraid to attack him dead on.

But she missed the opportunity, and knew she wouldn't get one like that again. On the verge of tears, she quietly as she could she ran back to her room and locked herself in.

"Ma'am?" she heard.

"Aye! Cap'n, ya allrigh'?" she heard from what sounded like Biggs. Only Biggs wasn't around then.

Startled, she woke up suddenly to the faces of Biggs and Lu Bu, surprisingly sober.

"Mmm? What time is it?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Big hand is on the three, little one is on the dot between 5 and 6," said Lu Bu.

"Oh. These twenty four hour days are killing me… What about you guys? Back so soon?"

"Yea, I figure we won' get hammered till later," said Biggs. "An' wha' about you? Ye were talkin' in yer sleep."

"Was I? I'm sorry."

"Bad dream Ma'am?" said Lu Bu. "You're a bit teary eyed."

"Oh, just eye crud, that's all."

"In that case can I have it? Gonna need more spices for 'raaaarg' stew later," he said hopefully.

Cherry smiled and said," Sure thing big guy."

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Danyel came back home late at night. He had been with Cadao and Azuria all day looking for Akarist, and any leads that could take them to his place of disappearance.

Cherry was on the couch watching the news channel, so he slumped down next to her and said," Ok, ok, I'm sorry."

"Did you know that there was a cat born with two heads? I saw it on the news," she said, not moving her eyes from the screen.

"I'm very sorry we ignored you… I only realized that recently."

"Stocks are doing well. At least the ones I invested in are."

"Oh come on… I'm trying to say sorry here."

"Proto-man was also on the news. He was the 'Pervert of Kings Row.' Apparently he was going along to every woman he met and asked if he could see their breasts."

"Please?"

"Mysterious kidnappings across the city again… no biggie there, they're probably stuffed so full of kidnapped people we just look for the bulging building."

Danyel sighs. "Please dear sister whom I love so very much, and is so much better then me in every way, and who didn't waste her time in a college with people who wear goofy hats and do parlor tricks for children's birthdays, because in reality my school was a clown college, I'm sorry."

She turns her head finally and says," Oh good, you remembered how I told you how to apologize. That'll save me trouble."

"Yea, yea, whatever… Hey did Di come home yet?"

"No, why?"

"Tylar says he has no idea where she went. No one else has seen her, and she typically comes home around this time after her usual 'Justice Patrol' thing she does now."

"She's dedicated isn't she? Our little super Heroine, Di. But you're right, she should have been home already. Heck, she didn't even stop in for lunch or dinner."

"Really? You were here all day?"

"Nothing to do but study things, and watch TV," she says as she turns back to the TV. "I was getting hungry, and she wasn't here to make me food."

"Honestly," he said as he folded his arms. "You really just sit around and wait for Diana to make something?"

"Sounds about right, yea. She makes food, and I eat it. I can hardly cook, and you know it… For that matter, you can't either."

"Hey I can cook things."

"If I could just name one thing I'm better at then you in cooking, I can say I've honestly never set my bowl of cereal on fire."

"Ouch… why is it you always have to bring up things we would prefer not to remember?" said Danyel as he scratched his head.

"Truth hurts."

"Anyway, I'm going to my study. Tell me if Diana gets back, I'm hungry too."

Cherry smiles.

At that moment, Kayain, Proto-man, Talley, and Regina come in. All of them look like they've been attacked by a mob.

Cherry, still smiling, says," Sooo… Have a good day?"

"It was going ok," said Regina. "Till this idiot-" she points to Proto-man "- Asked me to make him invisible… It took him a lot of nagging and constant badgering, but I did."

Cherry could already see where this was going.

"And he didn't realize that I could see him too… So he thought he'd be sneaky and walked into a building. Well I followed him, and everyone followed me. He walked right in to a Feminist convention…"

Cherry waited on the laugh for the end of the story.

"Well he also didn't realize that my granted invisibility suppresses temporarily when you interact with another person… Well a feminist was standing on stage talking about how men are pigs, and the usual feminist arguments, with about a hundred women looking. So then, he has the gall to go up and grope her chest."

"I was measuring!" said Proto-man.

Cherry sniggered.

"So, I tried to pull him away, and became visible… Talley and Kayain tried to pull us out before the big stampede. Unfortunately, the stampede was faster, and ultimately I was blamed for the stealthy grope, and treated the same as the rest of them."

Talley was smiling surprisingly. He said," So many women… oh all those hands all over me."

"Punching you," said Kayain. "If you're into that kind of thing."

"As an encouraging thought, imagine all that again, only this time, all of those women having huge breasts."

"Humm," said Kayain. "You know, I think I can kind of see what you're getting at. Oh, well we're beaten, tired, and hungry. Has Diana cooked already or are we eating peanut butter and jelly sammeches?"

"Bread's in the cabinet," said Cherry. "Diana, strangely enough isn't back. We can't seem to find her."

"Should we be worried?"

"I'll say," said Cherry flipping the channels. "She might have gone to the restroom and fell in."

"Hope not," said Kayain. "I'm not fishing her out again."

----------------------------------------------

Danyel sat in his study and began to magically scry, to look for Diana. For him it was a little easy to find her. He'd just have to look for the very large gap in the flow of mana. It was almost like finding a black hole in a cluster of stars.

He sat in a trance, searching all around for her, wondering where she could be. Then he found the gap, and looked into it.

Something was looking back. Startled, he came out of the trance and took a deep breath as if he was just underwater.

That has never happened before, and he became very worried.

Perhaps, he thought. It's good that I made up with Sis. She can find Diana, psionically… I just hope she doesn't mind- no, she won't, but she'll make me humble myself.

Danyel peeks out his door and sees Cherry in the living area. He says," Hey. Could you come here a moment sis?"

"Whatcha need?"

"Just a little help."

"Doing?"

"Scrying."

"I'm kinda busy right now scrying the television."

"You know perfectly well what I mean. Please, I'm asking you for help, seriously!"

Cherry turned her head and said," If you're looking for Akarist still, he's being held in an underground tunnel way off of Founder's Falls. Between the intersections of Blarney Road, and Government Road."

Danyel stared at her, astonished.

"Why didn't-"

"I tell you? Well you were so busy doing all your fancy mystical garbage, I did things my way. Psionics is a lot less complicated then you think. No remembering magic spells, no incantations, or nothing, just think and you're there."

He rounded on her and said," You could have at least said something!"

"I did, but last I remember you weren't paying any attention."

Cherry was not the kind of person you wanted a grudge against. Being a psion means having a very disciplined and trained mind. One of her most irritating qualities was never being able to forget things. She simply didn't know how to forget things.

Danyel closed his eyes and sighed. He said," Listen. I already said sorry about that, and I mean it. But right now we have another situation as well. Diana has gone missing, and when I scried for her, I found something… something disturbing."

This time, Cherry turned completely around and said," Go on."

"When I need to find her, all I do is look for the 'hole' in the mana flow, and she's there. Well I found it… but something was there with her. An entity was inside with her. I don't know what this means, but I think she's in trouble."

Cherry thought about this for a moment. She knew strange things were happening, and she could sense them. Then again, strange things happened everyday in this strange City of Heroes.

Whatever was going on with them was entirely magical. Something out of her league. That wasn't to say that she wasn't going to help though. She always looked for every opportunity to one-up magic, and she might have found one.

"So," she said, standing up and putting her arms behind her back. "You can't find out what entity this is?"

"No, I'm getting blocked out."

"Well lucky for you I can slip into minds undetected."

"I know you can. That's why I'm asking for help."

"Of course I will. This is Diana we're talking about after all. I will look for Diana here, and you take a team out and rescue Akarist. Here, let me transfer the coordinates to you."

Cherry's eyes glowed briefly as she implanted the memory in Danyel.

"Thanks sis. I'll get the team ready."

She waved a hand and said," Off you go then."

----------------------------------------------

Akarist and Sarchissia sat in a dimly lit room filled with many magical artifacts and tombs.

They both did not talk at all for the longest time. It wasn't until the guard stepped outside the doorway that Sarchissia said," You didn't have to do that for me."

Akarist did not reply.

"They're going to kill me anyway. You shouldn't have done this."

"Please," said Akarist quietly. "I could not stand the thought of your torture. How could I live with myself knowing I condemned you to that?"

"I know that…"

"No, you do not. I've long lived, and had to condemn many other people… I cannot hope to atone for what I've done, but I can at least prevent it."

"You're helping them! Whatever they have you doing is going to create a bigger problem."

"I know that, but-" Akarist looked around suddenly and said "-Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I heard a voice just now… I suppose it's the voices from those long gone already. As I was saying, I bought you more time so I can properly think of a way to escape and- There it is again!"

"Akarist I don't hear anything."

"I do… There! It sounds like it's saying…'Damn I hope this is the right one,'"

This was an odd thing to hear from the spirits.

"What?"

"Shh… I hear it… let me try and talk."

Hello? You gotta be thinking thoughts for me to hear.

"Spirits?" said Akarist.

Ok, now I'm getting a good reception. Can you hear me?

"Yes, spirits, I hear you."

Good… and I'm not a spirit.

"You're not? Then who are you?"

My name's Cherry. I'm a psion.

"A psion?"

Yes, one who's reaching out to find you. I've sent a team out to rescue you, and they should be en-route already.

"A rescue team you say?"

"Rescue team?" said Sarchissia.

Yes. And I needed to ask you a question once they rescue you if you don't mind.

"A question?"

Yes, a question… is it me or is it very redundant in your head?

"Redundant?"

Never mind. Please, make yourself visible and apparent when my team arrives.

"Wait! Listen, they have several more people captured here, and they're planning on using them for a sacrifice of some kind. You need to get them out."

I'll tell my team.

"And be careful, on the bottom level dungeon, the prisoners are not innocent victims, but real prisoners. Vicious people, so please take caution."

Right, bad prisoners, gotcha… anything else?

"Not that I can think of… besides the Thorn members outside the door.

Let us handle that. We'll be there shortly.

Akarist put his hands on his mouth and thought for a moment.

"Sarchissia, someone knows we're here, and they're coming to rescue us."

"Who?"

"That much I do not know."

"Then how do we know they're really going to rescue us and not re-kidnap us?"

"I couldn't tell you my dear. I only know that if that is true, then we've at least eluded a large disaster here."

----------------------------------------------

"It's here right?" said Kayain as he stared at a blocked off pathway in the slope of a large hill. "Behind these rocks?"

"That's what Cherry said," said Danyel. "Now to get in."

"Stand back, I'll handle this," said Kayain as he cracked his knuckles. "Gonna bust down this sucker."

"I think you'd better-"Kayain charged and slammed his fist into the rocks, making a sickening crack sound. "-Wait…"

Kayain didn't move, his fist was still on the stubbornly solid rock wall, with his expression frozen.

"Your arm's broke isn't it?" asked Danyel.

"No," he lied.

"Impressive hit," said Proto-man.

"Yea, very inspiring," said Lu Bu.

"Breaking your arm was a nice touch as well," said Talley.

Kayain gritted his teeth and said," It's not broken."

"Well it isn't anymore," said Danyel. "It's no secret you can regenerate here."

"Like I said, NOT broken."

"Here, let me try something," Danyel said as he examined the door. He put his hand on the door and ran his finger down it slightly. The Door immediately sank down into the ground, revealing the pathway.

"How'd you do that?" asked Kayain as he folded his arms.

"Magical process. Simple, efficient, and quick. In lamens terms, what I did was ask it to open."

"Just ask it?"

"That's it."

"Pft, show off…"

"Let's get a move on team."

Danyel lead the team down the cave path. It was cool, and breezy inside the cave, with the occasional drip of water into a small puddle. The pathway seemed almost man-made by the way there was no other kinds of geography that normally appears in a cave. There was no other varying pathways, and things kept doing dully forward for a few minutes.

They approached a dead end, and Kayain stepped forward and said," Ah, another door eh?"

"I believe so," said Danyel.

"Then can I open this one?"

"Be my guest."

Kayain put his hands on the rock wall and said," Hey door, would you open up before I get angry and start breaking you?"

Nothing happened.

"This door is broken, I say we start smashing!"

"Here, here!" said Lu Bu.

"Well be my guest," said Danyel. "But I believe this door is different from the rest… see the top? It's bigger then the bottom. Something's not right about that.."

"Aye," said Biggs. "Then let me take a whack a' it!"

Biggs fired off his large rifle that seemed way to big for him to carry. Bullets ricocheted of the walls, and everyone ducked.

Danyel stood calmly rubbing his chin with one hand and calmly deflecting the stray bullets with a wind spell using his other.

"Hey!" said Kayain. "Open already you stupid door! Open right now, you hear? Open!"

Lu Bu began hacking into the door with his axe. Kayain pummeled the door while yelling at it to open.

"Stand aside," said Proto-man. "Let's see how it likes a handful of energy!"

Proto charged up energy in his hands, ran up and gave a mighty thrust, sending only a very small amount of pebbles flying. He stood there exactly like Kayain did.

"Your arm isn't broken is it?" asked Regina.

He stood there for a moment quietly. He gritted his teeth and said, "Err… yes…"

"Let me see it."

Proto-man had an odd expression on his face, like he was trying to act macho by not yelling out loud, but his face clearly said he was in pain.

Regina took his arm, which hung limp. She said," Does it hurt here?"

"No."

"Here?"

"No."

"Here-"

"YAAAA… I mean yes…"

"Take this then," she said and handed him a stim pack. "That one's a good kit. Once you run out, just refill and you're good to go again."

Proto-man stared at it for a moment and injected the small hypo by his arm.

"Oh, awesome. The pain is going away."

"Yes, but never forget to see a real doctor though. That stuff can patch you up, but the doctor will make sure there are no irregularities."

"Sweet… So does this mean you like me? Can you kiss it and make it better?"

She narrowed her eyes at him and pressed her finger hard on his wound.

"OOOWWW, Ok, I'll take that as a maybe."

"I've got it," said Danyel. "Can't believe I didn't see it at first."

"Wha-" said Kayain as he stopped punching the wall. "What the hell is wrong with this door then?"

"Observe," he said putting his hand on the door. "Close please."

The door went down into the floor.

"What the hell?" said Kayain. "Ok, now how did you do that?"

"Another simple magic process… that and the door was installed upside down."

"Well now," said Regina as she glanced at Kayain. "I bet someone feels like a jackass, don't they?"

"Oh, ha ha," said Kayain sarcastically. "Laugh it up. But you won't be laughing once I start kicking ass… "

They walked into a room unlike the simple cave they walked in. The room had stone pillars, carved with runes, and faintly glowing runes at it's base. It had torches all along the walls, and many various magical symbols decorated it as well. There was a few bookshelves in the corners obviously covered in dust and cobwebs as well.

"Interesting," said Danyel taking everything in. "Proto? Talley? Any of you guys realize a giant underground magical bastion was under Paragon City?"

Talley looked around and said," Vaguely. I had heard reference to it, but never really seen it myself."

"I didn't know anything," said Proto-man.

"It shows," said Regina. "Going invisible guys, leave the scouting to me."

----------------------------------------------

Diana walked the corridors to a room full of Circle of Thorns Mages, all of them around a person chanting an incantation. The person in the middle was struggling in vain while hovering in the air, surrounded by a green light.

Diana came into the room unnoticed by the mages and smiled. A mage nearby approached her and said," My mistress, everything is according to plan."

"Excellent, Azmos," said Diana, but not in her own voice. "Where is the envoy?"

"He is preparing the gifts he has promised, and will bring it to us as soon as possible."

"Good. With the use of this body we will bring the world to it's knees."

"Yes, mistress. I was afraid at first when you took that body that it might not be suitable, because the prophecy describes the Virgin sacrifice."

"Never mind that. This body is suitable as it is. I can tap into all my powers easily from this conduit."

"And the host?"

"She still resides within. Unfortunately I still require the use of her soul to access these powers. When I am restored though, I will have no more need of her and dispose of her. Perhaps I will feed her soul to the Liches."

"Excellent-" he said and stopped. "Did you hear something?"

"I hear only the chants of the sacrifice to the envoy."

Azmos looked around a moment, and sniffed the air. He concentrated a moment on a corner that looked a little odd in the light. He walked over and put his hand out as if searching for something.

"What do you see Azmos?"

"I thought there was a presence here. Something unseen."

"Perhaps. This place is filled with spirits."

"Not a spirit. No. This one is mortal…" An underling approached him and said," We've got intruders at the front, exalted one."

"Intruders… Deal with them. Mistress Lilitu, will you be going to Severich now?"

"In time," said Lilitu in Diana's body. "I wish to see these intruders. I have not used my powers against mortals in such a long time, and I wish to see what this body is capable of."

Azmos paused and said, "Did you feel that?"

"I did this time," said Lilitu. "Something was just here. No matter. Let us be off."

----------------------------------------------

"Oh crap!" said Kayain as he rounded a corner right into a very tall winged demon.

"Behemoths!" said Talley. "Get em!"

The brawl began. The Behemoths are lesser demons summoned from the abyss to help the Circle of Thorns. But because they are lesser demons, they have very limited power.

Kayain jumped in front of Proto-man just in time to take a hit from a fire ball that was hurled at him. Proto retaliated with a barrage of his own energy at the Behemoth, knocking it off it's feet.

Danyel summoned a tornado and led it down the hallway, knocking Behemoths over like bowling pins. More fire came his way, and he threw it against the wall with wind spells. Lu Bu jumped in front of Danyel, and provoked the Behemoths into attacking him. Their claws and fire tore into Lu Bu, but he was trained better than that. He did not cry out, or flinch at all. With his Nano-Tech, it was completely bearable.

Now it was Lu Bu's turn with his axe. When a claw came his way, his axe came swift, and severed it.

One came at Biggs throwing a fireball. Biggs took a jumping sidestep and moved out of the way while at the same time shooting him with his modified flack cannon (Modified to his size).

Talley jumped in the air as he gathered negative energy in his body, and gracefully landed on the shoulders of a behemoth. The Behemoth was taken off guard, and didn't shake when Talley gripped it's head and used his power to instantly banish it back to the abyss.

The Behemoths were no match for them. The last one began to run, and Biggs said," Oh no ya don't…" Biggs threw his weapon down and pulled out a scoped pistol. He only took a second and popped it in the back of the head, dropping it.

"Vicious feckers aren't they?" he said smiling, hoping someone would compliment that shot.

"Keep going team. They know we're here. Let's push on and find Akarist quickly."

"Gina to Danyel," said Regina quietly.

"Danyel here, what's up sis?"

"I don't believe what I'm seeing, but-"

"Hold on…" said Danyel suddenly as he sees Diana coming down the corridor being held by two mages, with one in the front. "It's Di! Oh my God, they have her!"

"Yea, but wait, that's-"

"Diana! What have you done to her?!" yelled Danyel.

"Ah we were hoping to meet you Wizard Danyel," said the Mage in front. "We've heard so much about you from your dear wife."

Kayain took a step forward, and the Mage said," Na-ah. Don't want anything to happen to her now do you?"

"Bastard!" said Kayain. "When I get my hands on you-"

"What I need from you Wizard, is a potion in exchange for your wife. A very special potion as a matter of fact."

Danyel sneered at him. The mage smiled and said," We require the potion of Mak' Havat-Oran. And we hear you're very talented with alchemy, so something like this should provide you with no difficulty."

As Danyel clenched his fists, Biggs looked impatiently from one face to another and said," Ach! We don' have time fer this shite!"

In one swift motion, he fired three pistol rounds and nailed the three mages in the forehead.

"Sissies," said Biggs. "May ya burn in hell."

"Good job Biggs," said Danyel as he went over to Diana. "Di! Are you ok? What did they do to you?"

"Danyel?" said Diana as Danyel picked her up. "Oh Danyel I was so scared."

"It's ok hon, we're here now," he said, embracing her.

"Danyel, I'm so glad you're here!" she said and smiled. "Allow me to reward you my dear husband…"

"Di? This isn't the time for-" She immediately locked lips with him, and Kayain turned around making retching sounds.

Something though, was not right. Danyel felt it while she kissed him. It felt as if he was loosing himself, completely into her. He felt his mind slipping away, when a voice came and said, Hey! Wake up! Remember what we saw while scrying you fool!

Danyel blinked and with all his might, pushed her away.

"Diana! What's gotten into you?"

She smiled and said," A lot actually…"

Diana blew a kiss to him, but he felt a sting when she did, and it was cold. Danyel felt as if the temperature in his body was leaving.

"Hey, what the-" said Kayain as he looked around.

Diana continued to blow gently at them, and in an instant, ice began to entomb them.

"It's not Diana! It's an imposter!" said Danyel, who was now moving very slowly.

Within seconds, all of them were covered in a thick block of ice.

The imposter strolled up pleasantly to the block of ice that contained Danyel and said," Mmm, you are a beautiful man. I think I'll keep you the way you are and put you in my throne room."

She idly stroked the ice, while in the corner, Lu Bu's ice block shuddered. She glanced over and saw Lu Bu burst out of the ice with a mighty warcry. Lu Bu snarled and gave a quick jab to the block next to him that contained Kayain. The ice cracked, just enough for Kayain to burst out as well.

"Oh, hell no!" said Kayain. "I don't know who you are, but you aren't my sister. I'm gonna pound you into the ground!"

The imposter shrugged her shoulders and said," Oh, but I am your sister. You see, her soul resides within me. Her very safety depends on your actions."

"LIAR!" said Kayain.

"If you hurt me, you'll be destroying your dear sister's body as well. I on the other hand, can exchange bodies just like that," she said as she snapped her fingers.

"Want, I should grind her bones to make Orcish bread?" said Lu Bu with bared teeth.

Kayain thought for a moment and said," No… Maybe you are telling the truth… Maybe you're not. I'm going to find out one way or another, and when I do…"

Soon, Proto-man gathered enough energy to melt the ice around him, and he was free. Talley, and Regina followed suit soon after. Danyel's eyes glowed, and ice evaporated into steam almost instantly.

The imposter laughed as a mage came down the hall and said," Mistress Lilitu! The ceremonies are about to begin."

"Azmos," she said. "I will return shortly."

"Possession," said Danyel. "I should have guessed."

"Indeed Wizard Danyel," said Lilitu. "And as we mentioned before, if you ever want to see your wife again, we can make an exchange. We desire the potion of Mak' Havat-Oran."

Danyel knew what this was. It was a potion that was so potent that it could kill someone simply by driving their soul out of their body.

It was also an extremely difficult potion that can only be made at the full moon, and has a lifespan of ten minutes. If it is not consumed within 10 minutes, then it is useless.

"No deal," said Danyel resolutely.

"Oh? You would not do this to save your wife? Even if you knew what it meant? Let me explain the situation to you Wizard… If you do not give me what I require, then I shall feed your wife's soul to the Litch King himself!"

Danyel went pale hearing this.

"Yes, wizard, you understand that now don't you?"

Danyel slumped over and said," Please… Don't."

"Then what I require from you is the potion."

"It's only good for ten minutes. The best I can do is get you the ingredients and the book."

"It will suffice. Bring me what I desire, and you shall have your wife's soul back," she said as a large group of Mages and Behemoths came up behind her. "Kill the rest. All I need is the wizard."

With that, she vanished.

"Danyel-" started Kayain.

"I know what I'm doing," he said as he unthawed Biggs who swore loudly. "One problem at a time. Let's handle this first."

----------------------------------------------

Regina was now becoming terribly lost in these corridors. Several times she came across a teleporter that would teleport her to a random location.

She was very worried when Danyel's communicator went dead, and frantically searched around for the team.

"Gina? Are you still out there?" she finally heard on her communicator.

"Yes! Where are you? What happened?" said Regina.

"Had a bit of a run-in with Diana…"

"Aarg, I was trying to tell you she was possessed! All of these guys here are like soulless, evil, bastards!"

"Yea, I'm sorry sis. I've just been very inattentive to you guys. I've been too worried about other things, that Diana's in trouble, and I didn't even notice."

"Loosing your touch bro," said Regina. "Never mind that, what can we do?"

"Give me a while. I will think up a plan."

"I'm still going to search around here. I heard them talking about sacrifices, and I'm going to see if I can help those poor folks out."

"All right. Let us know if you find mage Akarist."

"Sure will. Gina, out," She said as she continued down the hallway.

Further down the corridor she encountered a room filled with what looked like Jail cells using force barriers as the doors.

Maybe Akarist is here, she thought. Only problem is, I don't know what he looks like.

She skimmed the halls to look for someone. She encountered a hooded guard patrolling the area. She manifested an energy knife, snuck up behind him, put her hand around his mouth, and rammed the knife in his back.

"Shhh, don't want to wake up your friends now do you?" she said sweetly as his glowing eyes faded and fell slack in her arms.

She looked further down the cell block and encountered someone pounding on the force door with fire from his whole body.

The man was very tall, muscle-bound, and had two big horns on his head.

Regina wondered why this person was in here if he looked like one of those other horned demons who use fire. She wondered if this one had become reformed, and if not, she would set him loose and let him at least fight off the Circle of Thorns for her.

She figured it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway, so she said, "Hey you! Pipe down a moment!"

The man stopped pounding on the door, looked at the Force door curiously and said," The door speaks as if it's annoyed with me."

"Maybe it's a spell," Regina heard someone say from the back of the cell.

"No," said Regina as she un-cloaked. "I'm part of a rescue crew."

Startled the man stepped back from the door and regarded her for only a moment and said," Good. Then maybe you can explain a few things going on here."

"You don't know either? Well who are you?"

"There are some who call me," he said as he flexed. "Horn Head."

"Doesn't leave much else to the imagination does it?"

"Hua?"

"Never mind."

"I am Lady Darkness, defender of justice," said the other person.

" So you're a hero then?"

"Yes," She said as she approached the door. She was a white haired lady who, like Regina, you could not really tell her age, yet looked pretty young. "We were testing out the new Arena when our teleport systems malfunctioned and sent us here. It was as if they were expecting us, so they all attacked at once."

"Ah, so you were probably with her," said Regina more to herself.

"With her? Oh, do you mean the busty brunette?" said Horn Head.

"That's the one."

"We don't know what happened to her, sorry."

"Well I do. It's not pretty…"

"Sorry we couldn't help."

"Not your fault, but we really need to get out of here."

"Yea, yer right."

"One of the guards had this on em," she said sporting a stone with runes on it. "I suppose it opens the doors."

She presses the stone against an indention on the stonework by the force shield, which immediately dissolves the force shield.

"Thanks lady," said Horn Head. "If you don't mind, we may need some help gettin' out of here."

"Yea, I will, but first we need to continue searching here. We got a tip-off that there is some sacrificial victims here."

"In that case we need to help them as well," said Lady Darkness.

As they searched the area, they came across a few other people locked in the force rooms. Regina opened the doors and showed them to the area where Lady Darkness and Horn Head were to escort the hostages out.

She came across a cell in the very far back that seemed to have a good number of people in it. When she approached, they were asleep, and she said," Hey, wake up!"

A number of them stirred, and looked over to her. One by one, they began to wake up and look at her.

"Are you guys ok?"

"We are now miss…" said one in a gruff voice. "Come to play with us have you?"

"No, I'm here to rescue you. We're all making a break for it, so everyone get up and get ready. I'm gonna open this door in a sec."

They all looked at each other and grinned. A few chuckled, and stared only at her.

"There," she said as the force shield dissolved. "Come on you guys."

"Oi, miss," said one. "Me foot's injured, an I can hardly walk. Can ya take a look at it?"

Regina looked skeptical at this guy. When she got a closer look at them, she became very uncomfortable. They were all very gruff, massive, and smelled very bad. What caught her attention was the orange outfits they were all wearing. She assumed the orange suits were for this city's prison, and did not want to get any closer then she had to.

"Err, no. I'm not a doctor. But the rest of you look strong enough to carry him."

They all complained. None of them wanted to carry his dead weight around.

"Come on miss," he said. "Give us a hand will ya?"

"No thanks. Limp out if you have to but-"

At this point, the closest two made a rush at her. She had nowhere to move in the corner she was facing, and was hit hard around her mid-section, knocking the wind out of her. The two dragged her back into the cell while the others closed in.

"This filly's mine first," said the biggest one of them. "S' been fifteen years since I had a piece of ass this good."

Regina, dazed, shakes off the stun she received, and looks at the men around her, tugging at her clothing.

She bars her teeth, and gathers energy around her and singes the hands of the person holding her hands down. As he retracts, she uses the energy in her hands to fend off the others who were grabbing at her.

For this, she receives a series of kicks while she's on the floor. Trying not to think about the pain, she rolls back as hard as she can to get on her feet. They stare at her as she staggers a bit, but still with energy in her hands. They smirk as she realizes she rolled back into the back end of the cell, while they block her only exit.

"No way out of this Miss," said one. "Just give yourself to us. We just might let you live, know what I'm sayin'?"

Regina, still in a fighting stance said," No freaking way. I'm gonna take down as many of you bastards as I can… Oh, looks like there's no need now."

"Giving up? Heh, I knew you were a-"

The man suddenly stopped talking as a dark shadow loomed over him. He turned around to see the tallest man he'd ever seen before. On top of all that, he had two very large horns on his head, and was completely on fire. But the fire wasn't burning him at all. In fact, he looked positively happy about it.

"Oh, Sh-"

The man's mouth was cauterized shut when Horn Head grabbed his face. He also pressed his fingers into the man's eyes, blinding him permanently.

While that criminal was writing on the ground, all the rest turned to see him just before he sent jets of fire right into them.

Soon after, they were all subdued on the floor, each in pain with their crippling burns.

"Thank you," said Regina. "I'm glad I let you out first…"

"Think nothing of it. You saved me as well," he said.

She followed him out, taking care to tread on their wounds, and re-sealed the door.

They walked along silently for a while, then he asked," Did they-"

"No," she said. "They came close, but my outfit can't be forcefully removed easy."

"Well as long as you're ok."

"I am, thank you."

"Is that everyone?"

"Yes, I think so. We'll have to get the authorities down here though just in case."

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Akarist was pacing nervously in the room. He was quite sure he had heard a commotion outside somewhere. The two guards were also getting nervous and told him to sit down and shut up.

As he sat in his char he said quietly to Sarchissia, "I can hear them. The rescue team is on the way… if only there was a way to get their attention…"

"Let me try something," she said.

She walked close to the door and screamed at the top of her lungs. She continued screaming until a guard punched her to the floor and pointed a crossbow at her.

"You filthy worm! You will be silent from here on, or I will have your tongue on a plate!"

As he raised his hand to strike her again, there was a commotion outside. A mage suddenly came flying through the door, startling everyone.

A man walked in, cracking his knuckles and smiling.

"Oh," he said looking at the girl on the floor, and the guards around her. "Come at a bad time?"

The one with the crossbow, turned and shot the man in the chest. Sarchissia screamed as he was hit with the bolt. But surprisingly, the man ignored it and continued smiling.

"Now you've gone and hurt my feelings," he said, advancing on them.

The other one rushed at him with a dagger. The man yawned and caught the guard's hand easily, slapped the knife out of his hand, and bent his hand so his palm was kissing his forearm.

The guard with the crossbow reloaded and fired another bolt. The man simply moved his buddy in the way and hit him in the chest. The man let him go, pulled out the crossbow bolt from his chest, and rammed it into the guard's throat.

The crossbow guard staggered back while trying to reload his crossbow. The man advanced with a smile, and they couldn't help notice that the bolt wound had healed like it was never there.

Sarchissia stuck her foot out as the guard came closer to her. The guard tripped over her, shooting a bolt into the ceiling.

The man leaned over the fallen guard and said," Mmm, stay like that a moment."

He picks up the guard from the floor and lifts him up over his head, and brings him down hard onto his outstretched knee, breaking his back.

"This is why," he said to the guard bent in half over his knee. "On wrestling shows they tell you not to try it at home. But damn I love wrestling too much to care."

He throws him aside, and helps up Sarchissia and says," I thought I heard someone scream." He adds as he looks at Akarist, "Or was it you?"

"No sir," says Sarchissia. "It was me."

"Good, good… Otherwise it would have been awkward. Name's Kayain and- Oh yea… Hey guys! In here!"

A bunch of heroes come into the room and look around.

"Akarist?" asks one.

Akarist stands up and says," Yes, that is me."

"Good. We were sent in to find you by Cadao Kestrel, and Azuria."

"Oh did they? Never misses a trick, Cadao. Azuria is also a very gifted seer from what I know too. But I'm afraid I must warn you of the many dangers that lie ahead."

"I've know about most… and I'm going to need your help with a few issues," he said.

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Danyel entered the room of M.A.G.I. followed by his group, Akarist, Horn Head, and Lady Darkness. He stopped a moment to a slight surprise already waiting for him there.

Cherry was sitting next to Cadao Kestrel and Azuria, sipping tea around a small table and exchanging pleasantries.

"Ah," she said as he came in. "Finished already? Took you long enough."

"Yea well," he said, still a bit surprised. "It was harder then it seemed…"

"I recon it was," said Cherry with a smile.

"Your sister has some incredible talents," said Azuria.

"Indeed, even I'm impressed," said Cadao.

Danyel raised an eyebrow at her and said," Oh? I was unaware she had even an ounce of magical talent-"

"Not magic talent," said Azuria. "Just talent. She was able to inform us on what was going on with the astral plane. It appears they weren't able to get what you requested because of the interference from this Envoy of Shadow, and the improper summoning."

"Yes," said Danyel thoughtfully. "That would explain a lot."

"Also," said Cherry. "I need to talk to Akarist to confirm my findings."

Akarist stepped forward and said,"Was it you whom I talked to?"

"Indeed. Everyone, please come in. We have many things to discuss."

They all came in and sat down somewhere.

"So," said Danyel feeling slightly put-out. "What did you find… without me?"

"Ah, where to start?" she said as she turned toward Akarist. "You were undoubtedly searching for the Envoy's true name yes?"

"Yes," said Akarist. "And it would have been fruitless if you had not told me where to look."

"Wait, what?!" said Danyel. "You helped find a magical book?"

"I made a few contacts and had them search for me," said Cherry with a hint of a smug smile.

"And a very good thing that your team got me out when they did. I probably could not have feigned ignorance for very long there."

"And did you find the name?"

"Yes, I did. But I dare not speak it here. We must use the name in a binding spell after we subdue the beast."

"Subdue," said Kayain as he stopped scratching himself. "Izzat the same as stomping it into pudding?"

"Yes, Kayain," said Cherry. "And I want you to help me turn the demon into ground beef."

"Oh, freaking sweet!"

"Now, that's not all," said Cherry. "About Diana."

"We saw what happened," said Danyel.

"Diana's soul still lies in her body. Lilitu is using her still to manipulate Diana's powers. Although she doesn't have full access, Diana will most certainly break at some point. Don't worry Dan, I've gotten in contact with her, and I told her to hang on, because we're coming for her."

"Is she… in pain?"

Cherry hesitated a moment and said," Yes. Lilitu's psyche is attempting to tear her forcefully from her body, the pain is excruciating… But she's still hanging on… Waiting for you."

Danyel looked down and turned away. Cherry continued,"Akarist, what do you know of the name Hequat?"

Akarist suddenly looked sick when he heard her say that. His voice trembled as he said," Hequat… Where did you hear that name?"

"From inside Lilitu's head… She is not yet at full power and I can more eaily probe her mind with most of her concentration on Diana. But what can you tell us about this?"

He was still shocked to hear that name. He had not heard the name in so long, he had almost forgotten completely about it.

Akarist hesitated a moment as he thought about it. He said,"This goes back far… very far. In the ancient times of Oranbega and Mu… if you will listen I will tell you about it…

"Though we did not know of them until the War, the Mu were our sworn enemy for hundreds of years. Within a fortress-island forged of iron and fear they had been trained to hate us and to fight against us for generations. Their Goddess demanded it, and they obeyed her in all ways. They believed that their chosen place upon this world was to serve as the righteous implement of her will, and in their deeds and customs did they enshrine this so that to do otherwise would be unthinkable. At her command they performed generations of what you would call eugenic breeding to strengthen the magic within their blood lines. At her command they attacked our peaceful Oranbega on a spring day, sewing ruin on our city and bringing war to us after it had become forgotten in our lands. The name of this Goddess was Hequat.

"Hequat was in our myths as well, for it was her followers who had hounded us from our lands and drove our forbears into the sea. In our myths she was the former lover of Ermeeth, the god who taught our people the magic he had learned from fabled Tielekku. Hequat was also Ermeeth's greatest foe, and it was from her armies we had fled under one sea and across another to the land we would call Oranbega. We thought Ermeeth and Hequat were both legends until her soldiers came to burn our world away.

"If Lilitu speaks truly and Hequat moves again I do not know if it will be to your good or ill. She hated Oranbega, and would hate that which we have become even more. However, it must be remembered that her hatred stemmed from our refusal to bow down to the gods in all things, as she though was proper for mortals. That aspect may bode ill for your people and your culture."

Cherry listened very intently to this story. She didn't speak for moments after this, and rested her head in her hands as she thought.

She looked up and said," Then I think I'm right about Lilitu. She plans on resummoning this Hequat using Diana's ability once she breaks her soul completely. She was looking for some potion called Mak' Havat-Oran, which will aid her greatly in expelling Diana's soul but leaving her powers intact."

"Yea," said Danyel quietly. "She wanted that potion in exchange for Diana's soul…"

"Yea, file that under 'not gonna happen'," said Cherry. "I'm very confident in Diana's abilities… She'll hold out until we get there."

Danyel simply nodded.

"Next thing," she said to Akarist. "What are Thorn blades?"

Akarist looked distressed at this as well. He said," Where did you hear about this?"

"The mage Azmos. He is a weak minded fool, and I can access his mind without too much trouble."

"Well that too is a bit of a story of our past, if you'll hear me out…

"When our people were pressed by the Mu, we took drastic measures. First we sank our city beneath the earth to shelter us from bombardment by Mu sky ships. Then, when we found we still were sorely pressed, we turned to other powers from darker worlds. A Prince of Demons came to us and offered us his aid. The Circle of Thorns, the ruling council of Oranbega, debated greatly, but in the end we bargained with him.

"His first gift to us was the Thorn Blades, Demon-swords that turned men into blood-frenzied monsters. Armed with these we turned the tide, and the slaughter was indescribable.

"The men of Mu found new tactics however, and blunted our attack. Again we struck bargains with the Prince of Demons, and he brought forth troops to fight on our behalf from the depths of Hell. With wraiths and specters did we march upon the Mu. With Behemoths of the land and Leviathans of the sea did we fall upon their men, their city, their very land. The fiends had bargained for the slaughter of every last man, child, and woman of Mu, and on that fine point we faltered. We still felt mercy for them, pity eve, as we saw in them what might have become of us. We let some Mu escape to far shores. When the fiends discovered this, they were both outraged and gleeful, for they had hoped for just such an outcome. In the end we had to sacrifice mortal form and were only able to escape the wrath of the fiends as bodiless spirits in our sunken city.

"A gift of Thorn Blades was the first step in our bargain then, and it will likely be the first step in a new one. We long ago gained the secrets of their making, just as we now have better methods of binding demons to our will, but the ceremonial import of the gift is still important. I have spoken before of the vanity of fiends, and love of ritual is part of it."

"Very intriguing," said Cherry. "This brings me to what we've been discussing, right Cadao?"

"Yes it certainly brings evidence to what you are talking about," said Cadao. "Allow me to explain; Miss Cherry has been saying that perhaps the Demon Lilitu, and the Circle of Thorns have two different objectives. Lilitu is trying to summon one of the old goddesses of the Mu, while the mage Azmos intends to make deals with the Envoy of Shadow once again. This combined effort could only be catastrophic for our world."

"So what we have here," continued Azuria. "Is a resurrection of something that once destroyed two civilizations, and made them what they are now. With both powers resurrected, there's no telling what kind of havoc could be unleashed on the Earth."

"Aye," said Biggs. "So wha' are we standin' aroun' here for? Les go kick some arse!"

Cherry stood up and said," He's right. There's no use talking too much about it. Most of my suspicions are confirmed, and we know what we're dealing with. But let's not rush in recklessly. We need a plan."

"I have one," said Danyel standing up as well. "Let's call Tylar as well. I need his help on this one."

"Tylar? Really? Never thought I'd hear you say that," said Cherry.

"I would like to help with what I can," said Horn Head.

"Please do," said Cherry. "We'll need all the help we can get."

"In that case I will help with what I can," said Lady Darkness.

"Excuse me-" said a gruff voice from the doorway. "May I be of any assistance?"

Everyone turned to see another person with horns on his head, and covered in armor. The man brandished a fiery axe as he strode in the room.

"Infernal," said Azuria. "What brings you here?"

"You know him?" whispered Cherry.

"He is part of the Vindicators, a prominent super group here in Paragon City."

Infernal scans the room, stopping at Cherry. He looks at her and says," You are Cherry I presume?"

"I am. What do you want?"

"You contacted my partner Numina, and she informed me about your problems with the demon Lilitu."

"She's possessing the body of my brother's Wife. We're looking for a way to get her out without killing Diana."

"Ah, in that case I believe I can help with that then."

----------------------------------------------

The 'plan' was set into motion. Cherry had laughed when she heard what Danyel had planned, but didn't contradict him in the slightest.

Finding Lilitu's lair wasn't a problem for Cherry, since all she had to look for was Diana. They found her lair to be in a tall island north of Talos Island.

Kayain bought a speedboat, in cash, to take the ones who couldn't fly to the island.

"I say," said Tylar. "We could have just used my hovercraft to get here. It's larger and faster."

"Yea well," said Kayain. "Your hovercraft has way too many science stickers on it. I'm surprised it hasn't dissolved from shame."

"There is nothing wrong with my hovercraft!"

"He's right Kayain," said Regina. Kayain raised an eyebrow at her and she said," I mean the thing we can all say that's admirable about Tylar is he obviously treasures performance over appearance."

"You see?" said Tylar. "Someone who appreciates my work for what it is. Performance makes the- Wait… was that supposed to be a jibe or a compliment?"

Regina kept a straight face, but smiled on the inside.

"We're coming up to the area now," said Cherry who was driving. "We gotta be careful out here. Tide's coming in and the weather looks like it wants to storm."

"As if it knew we were coming," said Danyel. "Well this certainly sets the stage well."

"My thoughts exactly," said Cherry as she parked by a rocky shore. "Ok, let's go over the plan. Kayain, pay attention, because I know you'll be the first one with a really dumb question."

"Question," he said automatically. "Are you wearing those pink panties today or are they the blue ones?"

"Answer; Shut up."

Kayain smiles and says quietly," Heh, the blue ones."

Proto-man whispers to Kayain," You're right, she really is cute when she's angry."

"Now, I know that they're not expecting us at this moment, so we at least have the element of surprise. Danyel, do you have the book?"

"Yup."

"The guards will be alerted within minutes, so we only have a few minutes for a pre-emptive strike. Cadao has the name, and will perform the ritual for banishment on the Envoy of Shadow. This will require the rest of us to kick the ever-living crap out of him first."

"My part!" said Kayain.

"Yes, you need to help out with that. While we keep the Envoy busy, Danyel and Infernal will invade the inner sanctum where Lilitu resides."

"Question!" said Kayain.

"The blue ones! Sheesh, that's enough already!"

"Heh, heh, I wasn't going to ask that," he said as he grinned smugly. "I was going to ask why don't we all go after the envoy at once, and then deal with Lilitu at once?"

"Because," said Danyel. "She's more then likely guarded by some very serious magical barriers. I don't want her to have a chance to either escape, or have you guys get hurt from a barrier… On top of all that, you wouldn't know what to do in there. You could permanently damage Diana's body beyond repair, then she'd be as good as dead anyway."

"Well we can do something right?" asked Kayain. "She may be your wife, but she's still my sister, and I gotta protect her somehow."

"You can keep her safe by keeping me safe. I won't fail."

Kayain folded his arms and said," Is that another way of telling me to piss off?"

"In essence, yes."

"Can I at least make a mean looking face at Lilitu?"

"If you think it will help, most defiantly."

"Harsh language?"

"Every little bit helps I guess."

"But Danyel is right Kayain," said Cherry. "We need to make sure he can make it in, or our work will be in vein."

"All right wizard boy," said Kayain grudgingly. "You get in, you do your thing, and- Heh, I said-" he stopped himself with the look Cherry threw him. "And, uh, get her safely out…"

"Everyone clear on that?" asked Cherry. "We will only move in to Danyel's position if he requires it. Otherwise we do not move in."

They nodded.

Cherry pointed to an open fissure protruding out the cliff of the island.

"It's in there," she said as she readied her Jump-Suit. "Lucky for us, the tide is low, and we can access it with a good jump over the spiked and jagged looking rocks."

"That's lucky?" asked Tylar. "This deathtrap we're riding couldn't navigate in these horrible conditions. I even said that before we came out here! We wouldn't have to have taken this unnecessary risk if we'd have just brought my hovercraft…"

"Oh, well I suggested we take it," said Cherry, hoping she sounded convincing. "But the majority voted against that, so here we are."

"That's cause you're a nerd like Tylar," said Kayain.

"Well Tylar, Kayain has volunteered to go first. Feel better?"

"Aaaw!"

Kayain took a few warm up jumps and stretched a bit to waste some time. Cherry impatiently tapped her foot and said," The others already went inside, we're waiting on you."

"I'm warming up! A man's gotta know when not to strain himself."

"You might just need the proper inspiration…" she said as she shoved him to the edge.

Kayain wobbled a bit and took a super jump to the other side. When the others saw he made it unharmed, the followed along.

"You think you're funny, but you're not," said Kayain as Cherry smiled at him.

They all continued along the path until they reached the familiar stone door that Danyel opened before.

"Ok," said Kayain. "Now I have this one. Close!"

"Open," said Danyel as the door opened.

"I was going to say that next!"

Again they were in the familiar Oranbega surroundings. Artifacts on the walls, torch lit carved stone pathways, and magic so potent in that they could literally feel it's presence.

They went down the corridors, not encountering anything. Cherry thought this was a little suspicious.

"I can sense them, but they're not here," she said as they entered a wide room with two small ponds on both sides of the room. "It's odd; it feels very cold in here."

Regina stopped and looked around. She said," Wait… I can see them."

They looked around.

"What do you see?"

"Ghosts… Lots of em."

"Spectral Daemons," said Infernal. "Not truly ghosts, still corporeal enough to hit."

"That they may be," they heard someone say from the opposite doorway. "But what they lack in true ghost form, they make up for with the ability to tear your heart out and eat it."

Azmos stepped into the room. He regarded them for a moment and said," Did you really think you could slip in here unnoticed? Did you think we didn't know you were coming? We are the Circle of Thorns, there is nothing we do not know."

"Is that so?" said Cherry. "If you're so all knowing, then why have you not stopped your mistress from re-summoning Hequat?"

Surprisingly Azmos was taken aback when she said that. "Hequat?! Where did you hear that name?"

"Your mistress, as I said… Of course, I'm sure being part of the Circle of Thorns, you already knew this?"

"Lies!" he spat. "Mistress Lilitu is devoted to the Circle and none other! I will not listen to your-"

"You should know better then to trust a demon, Azmos. Lilitu has no loyalty, and only thrives on death and chaos. And you provided her with the means to do this by giving her Diana."

"Silence woman! I will not hear another word of your lies!"

"Fine. Don't believe me. But ask yourself where was Lilitu when you attempted to make sacrifices to your precious Envoy of Shadow? What was she doing when you attempted to gain the naming ritual? I can answer that. She was attempting the summoning of Hequat using Diana. When she failed that, she used a ritual that involved the sacrifice of the wicked… unfortunately your inmates were incapacitated and arrested again."

Azmos stayed silent.

"She's played you for a fool Azmos, and now you're going to pay. Why do you think she wants the Mak' Havat-Oran? You're already making the pact with the Envoy, making your access to demon summoning virtually limitless. Why does she need her own personal summoning? Ever wondered about that?"

"She was… doing that for the Circle's sake…" he said, not bothering to hide his skepticism.

"Come off it. You know she's never been a participant in any of your ridiculous rituals. She's been scheming and plotting behind your back and you are none the wiser."

"Silence!" he yelled. He stood there, looking furious, and Cherry felt the gears were turning in his head finally. "I do not know if what you say is true, but you will never find out, because you will die here and now."

"Way to piss him off," said Kayain.

"All I needed was for him to be distracted," whispered Cherry.

"Guards!" said Azmos.

The Daemons became visible above them and began to swoop down on them. Cherry reacted quickly by putting up a large psi-barrier around everyone to keep out the Daemons making them howl in anger.

"I'm going to take down the barrier," she said. "You guys head in and find the Envoy."

"You can't take all these on alone!" said Kayain.

"If you think your fist will work on a ghost, you've got another thing coming," she said.

"I won't just leave you here!" he said angrily.

"I'll stay," said Regina. "Cherry and I can work psionically on these things, while you guys go ahead."

"I'll help out too," said Kat. "I have mental abilities too."

"Actually we just call you 'mental'," said Regina.

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"Sure," said Cherry as she moved the barrier so that the way to the door was clear. "Happy Kayain? Now get going!"

Kayain grimaced and said," Fine… Just don't get yourself hurt…"

She winked at him and said," Come on, don't be such a softie. Just leave it to me."

He nodded, and with that, they left.

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Kayain and the rest of the team continued down the long hallway and reached another room full of broken seats, and a large podium. With all the ancient runes and artifacts on the wall, it looked like some kind of pagan chapel with a sacrificial altar by the podium. Behind the podium was a portal in a large stone circle, which Kayain figured was how they were getting around so quickly.

No sooner had he though this, then a very large winged demon emerged from the portal, accompanied by several other smaller ones.

"Well, well," laughed Kayain. "Well, well, well… Look what we have here boys; looks like the circus is in town a bit early."

"You…" it growled. "Heroes of Paragon City. You will be the replacements for the sacrifices you have taken from me. The negotiations are almost complete, and you will not be able to stop me."

"Kayain," said Danyel. "Do not underestimate him. He has immense power."

"I 'ain't afraid of someone without a visible pecker," he said loudly. "These clowns couldn't take over a nursing home, let alone the world."

The Envoy of Shadow glowered at him and said," But you… you shall suffer a fate worse then a thousand deaths."

Kayain waged his fingers patronizingly and said," Oh, he's angry now. I'd better watch out!"

"Kayain, I'm serious, please be careful," said Danyel.

"And you need to shut up and get going," said Kayain as he pointed to a side door. "Get down there and save Diana, or I'll kick your ass personally."

"Are you sure you guys can take this guy?"

"Hey, I just told you to shut up and save your wife!"

"You mean your sister," he said with a slight smile.

"Really? Since when? Must have forgot, now piss off!"

"Right!"

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Danyel and Infernal proceeded down the corridor, and things began to look much more gruesome.

"This is definitely some of her work," said Infernal. "I can feel her presence."

The walls were covered in blood, and the halls were lit by candles on top of a pile of human skulls. Danyel took notice that the skulls were still very red, and were probably recently killed.

"She has a blood-lust that cannot be quenched," said Infernal grimacing at the horrid sights on the wall. "I hope we are not too late."

"No, we're not," said Danyel resolutely.

When they rounded a corner, they encountered a very large double door, with various glowing runes on it. They approached it, and Infernal stopped short and said," I can go no further."

"A barrier as I figured," said Danyel. "I could undo this, but it would take hours… I guess it's time for plan B after all."

"It would seem so," he said, folding his arms. "But do I really have to go in there?"

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When Cherry dropped her barrier, the ghosts swarmed them. Ghostly howls filled the room in a deafening calamity as they closed in.

Cherry's eyes glowed as she let out her psionic shockwave on the onslaught of Daemons. Most of them succumbed to the terrifying flashes of their former life flashing before their eyes, and began to zoom in a circle around them. The rest became confused, and could not tell friend from foe.

"What are you doing!? Get them! Get them NOW!" said Azmos furiously.

"Kat," said Cherry. "I want you to hit them with all the ice spells you have."

"No problem Captain," he said.

Cherry knew Kat very well. Well enough to know that he was marvelously incompetent at magic spells. So he did exactly as she expected him to and began to hurl balls of fire at the enemies.

The fire was very effective, and when he defeated one, it would disappear completely.

"The ice is working!" said Kat.

"Keep going, I'll hold the rest at bay!"

"You cretins! You will pay for- AHHH!" Azmos cried out as a large psi-blade protruded from his chest. In the confusion, Regina managed to sneak in and strike him.

She pulled it out slowly, and he limped.

"No… I won't be defeated… that easily…" he said, pulling out a dagger and stabbing himself with it.

"That's a thorn blade!" said Cherry.

Regina stepped back as Azmos began to emit a netherworld green glow. Azmos stood up straight and turned at her.

"Foolish woman!" he said. "You will pay!"

His eyes emitted a green fire, and suddenly a dark pool appeared under her feet. From inside, dark tendrils wrapped around her hands and ankles, binding her to that spot.

"Kat!" said Cherry. "Help Gina, I got this!"

Kat ran to them, and hurled a ball of liquid-looking fire at Azmos. The fire should have torn right through him, but instead hit him, and died out. Azmos turned and snarled at Kat.

"And you can join her!" he said making the same tendrils appear under him.

Regina struggled against the tendrils, and manifested the psi-blade again. With a little movement on her wrist she moved the blade enough to connect with the tendrils on her arm. The tendrils severed, and she cut herself free.

Azmos returned his attention to her, and she darted across to Kat, dodging something pitch black that he threw at her.

With two swipes, she cut the tendrils off him. Azmos wildly shot the dark matter at both of them. Regina swerved, narrowly dodging each blast, trying to get close enough to strike. Kat blocked these attacks with large cubes of ice, which he probably thought was his fire shield.

Regina closed in, and slashed vigorously at him. The wounds were deep, but he did not falter. He reached out to grab her, and she somersaulted over his head and slashed his back. When he turned, more fireballs hit him in the back.

Furiously, he chanted a spell, and to Regina, all the lights went out. With Regina temporarily blinded, he turned his attention to Kat again. He unleashed a Dark Torrent, in the form of a wave at Kat, and violently threw him across the room and into the wall knocking him out.

He turned back to Regina who was cautiously walking away, trying not to run into anything. Azmos casted another spell and released her from the darkness at the same time. Regina turned around, and noticed a very large skull coming at her. She put her arms up, but was not able to get her energy shield up in time, and the skull went through her like a ghost.

She instantly felt sick when it hit her. She felt like something was inside her body, draining her of energy. Azmos was smiling cruelly at her, and she understood what was happening.

Her blood was being magically drained, and being fed to him. She ran at him desperately, trying to break his concentration, but she was feeling weaker with every step. She toppled over by his feet, breathing shallowly.

"Azmos!" they heard Cherry call out. Azmos turned and shot her a furtive look.

She pointed at him and said," Kill him!"

The ghosts that were circling her, changed course and swarmed Azmos.

"No you fools! Kill her, not me! Get away!" He said, batting them off.

They ripped and tore at him, some using their ghostly chill to hurl shards of ice. Azmos flailed around, destroying as many as he could. When they began to overwhelm him, Cherry took the opportunity to get over to Kat, and check on him.

He was still breathing, and she sensed he was still alive. She heard Azmos cry out at the top of his lungs, and looked to see him let out a large nova of dark matter on all the ghosts, destroying them.

Cherry stared at him a moment. He was breathing heavily, and was slashed all over. She knew he was severely weakened from that, and could possibly beat him alone.

"Is that all you got?" she said putting her arms out. "Pretty pathetic if you ask me."

"I…" he said, breathing heavily. "Shall tear you… asunder!"

"Oh, but you seem to have forgotten something," she said as he snarled at her. "You seem to have forgotten to kill your victim. Bad news for you…"

At first he didn't know what she meant, but he took a side glance down and didn't see Regina's body on the floor.

"No, "he said. "How could she-" he tried to say, but was abruptly cut off by, Regina's blade stuck in his neck.

Regina, breathing shallowly, stays in that position for a short while. She angrily shoves the blade in deeper, making Azmos twitch. She lets go of the blade and staggers weakly for a moment before the both of them crumple over.

Cherry runs over to her and says," Gina! What happened?"

"Bastard… sucked the… blood right… out."

Cherry gives her a stim-pack and says," I'm surprised you could stand after that."

"Yea… I'm gonna need… some time…" she coughs.

"Take all the time you need. I'll go wake up Kat, and we'll check on the rest of the team."

----------------------------------------------

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" said Kayain shrugging his shoulders. "You're not that scary you know."

"Foolish human," growled the Envoy. "You have no idea of the power you are dealing with."

"First off, I'm not a full human, I'm part Q'Hagian. I'm sure an all powerful being like yourself would have known that. Second, I 'ain't afraid of you 'cause I've already vanquished plenty of demons in my time. I'm the wielder of the Vindicator weapon you know."

"Ah…" said the Envoy as if he realized something. "You speak of Covatus, and Regulis. They spoke once of the 'Vindicator' who banished them. But I can assure you, I am not the same as them."

"And I can assure you that the outcome will be no different."

"We shall see, Vindicator. Draw your weapon."

"Uh… I, uh, don't need a weapon to beat you! Ha! I'm gonna tear you a new one with my own two hands!"

"No weapon?" he laughed. "So be it, Vindicator. This will be your last mistake."

"Guys," Kayain said quietly to the group. "Demons keep popping out of that portal. Can any of us shut it down?"

"I can," said Cadao. "I will need some concentration though."

"It's risky, but we have no other choice," said Kayain. "They aren't going to stop coming out, and if we get overwhelmed, we won't be able to stop him… Proto, I want you, Biggs, Lu Bu, and Tylar to get over there and keep Cadao safe. Lady Darkness, keep us nice and healthy where you can. The rest, we got the big guy."

They all agreed. Kayain said," Now let's get in the first strike… Hey look! A distraction!"

Surprisingly a few demons turned to the direction Kayain pointed. In that moment, they charged.

"Kill them," growled the Envoy.

The two groups clashed.

Talley, the expert demon hunter, moved in fast with his own demonic speed, dodging the fire that was thrown at him from all sides. He struck fast and furiously at the demons blocking his pathway to their master.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a large group of demons pouring fire on a figure nearby. The figure turned out to be Horn Head, and he took a leap over the jet of fire, and pummeled the demons mercilessly.

Biggs changed weapons to the freeze ray that Tylar had made him. A fireball caught him in the arm, and he swore loudly and in his own language. He continued to swear as he began to chuck specialty grenades at them. Some grenades were smoke grenades, some were web grenades, and some were flash grenades. One couldn't help but notice that when Biggs fired like mad, and tossed explosives that he became more and more oily. The demons noticed this when one tried to grab him, and he slipped out like a greasy pig. He responded by jamming his combat knife into the demon's foot, and rifle butting it's shins.

"There!" said Tylar as he pointed to an opening to the Portal. "Come on!"

The five of them ran to the portal. Tylar, and Biggs, shooting a few that tried to block the way.

"We're here," said Tylar. "Cadao, do your magic…whatever."

"I'm on it," he said.

"Looks like I need to use this…" said Tylar as he tapped a button on his power armor's wrist.

From his wrist armor, a cube came out and landed on the floor. He picked it up and pressed a button on it, opening a side. He reached in and tossed a few more cubes, which instantly transformed into human size mechs.

"Whoa," said Proto. "What are those?"

"Aren't those your cleaner-bots?" said Lu Bu.

"Err," he said sheepishly. "Yes they are… only I did a little adjusting…"

The largest robot, which was the arbiter bot said," Error, error, syntax, code fruit… Processing milk, beep, beep, loading… Error, out of beef toner, please insert chicken."

None of them could really understand what any of that meant, but Tylar seemed pleased.

"Now my minions," he said. "Clean!"

The robots opened fire with laser weapons, rockets, and flamethrowers.

"Holy, moley," said Biggs. "Wha' the hell did ye do ter 'em?"

"Just a small mod chip is all."

"Mod, chip, processing," said the bot. "Code 432-Cow-99. Processing all mod potato chips."

"Aye, a small improvement," said Biggs. "Jus' do me a favor an' never ever volunteer those wretched things ter clean me room."

"We still have more coming," said Lu Bu. "Gonna have a full trophy room after this."

Kayain kicked a demon hard in the midsection, throwing him back into several others. He knocked a few more away, but they continued to flank him. Soon, they all circled him as he said," You should probably give up. As you can see, I've got you all surrounded!"

They closed in, and Kayain smiled. He was feeling good at that moment, and suddenly felt much better. He felt a surge in adrenaline, and clarity in his mind to focus completely on the task. He looked to the cause of this and saw Lady Darkness finishing a spell. He grinned widely and gave her a thumbs up.

The only kind of sensation like this that he had felt before was when he was using his weapon. It felt like the battle was going in slow motion, and he was the only one going fast.

Fireballs came at him at a snail's pace, and their claws struck at him like an old man batting a fly. He artfully dodged them and shattered bones with his bare hands.

He felt nothing was going to stop him. That was until he saw the gigantic jet of flame, shooting at him in slow motion.

The fire jet had a face at the end of it, looking as if it was in agony. Kayain had only seconds to move, but knew he was going to take the hit.

Just in time, Horn Head leapt in front of Kayain, taking the full hit of the fire, and getting knocked back into the wall.

Lady Darkness rushed to Horn Head's aid, while Kayain looked at the source of the fire.

The Envoy was standing there, gathering more fire in his hands.

He took a quick moment to look around at the situation. The demons were thinning, and there was no more coming from the portal. Kayain did not want another blast like that, or someone was going to be vaporized.

Kayain charged, dodging the incoming fireballs from his sides. He looked straight into the eyes of the beast as he took a leap towards him. The beast grinned, and released the fire already in his hands at Kayain.

Kayain was hit square in the chest by the shot, and was thrown back. Using his meditative training, he dulled the pain, and flipped back on his feet.

Looking at his wound, he noticed that the adrenaline boost he received even boosted his regeneration to a startling level. The burned skin was already gone within seconds, and Kayain knew that the fire should have torn a large hole in his torso area, but it was gone.

Smiling, he charged again, knocking away the lesser demons that stood between them.

The two exchanged hits, Kayain hitting all the vitals on it's rock hard skin, while the Envoy tore at Kayain, which healed almost as quickly as he was getting hit.

They fought such savage ferocity that one could not tell which one seemed to hate who the most. They seemed locked in a brutal trance fighting until only one would stand. However Kayain was beginning to feel the boosted adrenaline wearing off.

Completely unaware of what else was going on around them, a third fighter came in. Talley charged in with demonic speed, and began his own assault of dark energy attacks.

Kayain took a step back, and felt woozy. He knew the effects were already gone, and he had expended a lot of effort there. He took a moment to catch his breath, and heard Horn Head behind him say," We've got the rest of them. They sealed the portal, so let's all get him."

Within seconds, the Envoy had all of them teamed on him. The Envoy knew he was going to get overwhelmed, and relied on his fire. He folded his arms and stood defensively while taking hits. Fire built up all around it's body.

Kayain realized what he was doing, and said," Take cover!"

No sooner had he said that, then the Envoy released a devastating nova attack using a combination of negative energy and fire. Everyone was violently thrown out and slammed hard into the wall. Large boulders came crashing down from the ceiling, and chunks of the walls tore off.

Kayain slammed into a small pillar, knocking it over. He blinked, dazed, and looked around at the devastation. He saw the Envoy picking up an unconscious Biggs, ready to crush his skull.

He ran as fast as he could to rescue him, but the Envoy saw him coming, and tossed Biggs at him like a rag-doll.

Kayain didn't know how seriously injured Biggs was already, but he didn't want him to get hurt any more if he was still alive. He braced himself and caught Biggs, and they both toppled over.

The Envoy charged at them, and halted abruptly. It howled and reached around and pulled out Lu Bu's war axe from his back. It turned around to see Lu Bu had thrown the axe and was calling him out.

Kayain put Biggs on the ground and went to aid Lu Bu. Talley, Horn Head, and Lady Darkness had managed to avoid major injury, and were back in the fight. Lady Darkness went to heal the injured, while the others continued.

"Don't let up!" said Kayain as they continued their assault.

The Envoy was struggling now. He was loosing energy fast with this many people hitting him.

The Envoy gave a mighty swing and pushed the fighters away. Panting, he began to gather more fire. Then he was interrupted by none other then Biggs, who came flying at him like a very angry bullet, knocking him down.

"Keep him down!" said Kayain, sensing the opportunity.

All the very strong heroes held down his limbs, while the others used their powers to help keep him down.

"Cadao! Where the hell are you?!"

"Here," he said escorted by Lady Darkness. "That will do. Let us begin the banishing."

Kayain nodded and turned back to the Envoy and looked him in the eyes again and said," I told you this would be no different. Say hello to your buddies for me."

With that, the banishment began. The Envoy of Shadow would never again walk the earth.

----------------------------------------------

Somewhere in another place, another time, and another dimension, the gods dwelled.

They no longer existed in the regular planes of mortals, as they were no longer used. Yet they lingered on, as an icon of the past.

'Let the Creator handle things now,' some said. 'They seem to love Him more nowadays anyway, Jesus…'

Others would say,' Who were you talking about, the Creator or Jesus? I wasn't paying attention.'

To which they would reply,' No, no I was simply stating an annoyance.'

Some would then quip,' And how about that Buddha? How did he get more popular than me?'

Then they would retort,' It's these college kids, with their heads full of ideals and such… nonviolence my ass!'

Of course, everyone knew that one was from Odin, who reacted insanely violent to any minor annoyance.

They, of course, did not mind so much anymore as they used to. It overall meant that they were no longer having to act as middle management; pretending to have shaped the world and blaming other gods when things went wrong. It also meant that no more underlings would be reporting to them, and handing them status reports, which to them sounded like a pretty good idea.

These days, slack off time was pretty much one hundred percent of the time, and made peace with other forgotten gods of old. But sometimes they would go back to the realm of man, and check to see if man hadn't already completely destroyed themselves. And sometimes, they would meet people and bring them back as guests. Some of the gods tend to crave other company, especially having to put up with Odin all day long for eternity.

"Are you sure this is how it's done?" said Death. "It all seems rather complicated to me."

"Of course it is," said the mighty voice of War. "Didn't I tell you? I made the game 'Allies and Axis', so I think I'd know how it's done."

"This is fine," said Odin. "As long as we can get the slaughter done faster, I'm game."

"I'll take any third world country," said Famine. "I gotta show pride in my job you know… and speaking of being starved, I wouldn't say no to your roast chicken Ferimore."

The woman Ferimore was a tall, handsome, Valkyrie. She smiled and said," You're very welcome to it." She throws a nasty look at Hermes and says," At least someone likes my seared chicken."

"I get Europe," said the raspy voice of Pestilence. "Had some of my finest work there."

"Yes, we all know," said War, rolling his eyes. "Blah, blah, blah, Bubonic Plague this, and that. You've told us a thousand times."

"Well it was," said Pestilence. He whispered to Zeus," He's just jealous because I'm the leading cause of death in the world today."

"It really does seem like there's a lot of rules here… Lots of game pieces and stuff. How do I know you're just not trying to cheat?"

"Come now, Mort. Do you think that I need to cheat Death?"

"In a way, yes."

"Don't be silly, Morty," said Ferimore. "I've played this game plenty of times, and it's pretty hard to understand, but it's definitely worth playing. Isn't that right Zeus?"

"Yea, yea," he said in a less than amused voice.

"He gets moody if I beat him," she whispers to Death.

"I heard that," said Zeus.

"So," she says quickly to Death, War, Pestilence, and Famine. "Glad the whole crew could make it. How's business lately?"

"Booming," said War.

"Work's never done," said Death.

"Smallpox is making a comeback, you'll see!" said Pestilence.

"Mmm," said Famine with a full mouth of chicken. "I can never get enough of this… I'm getting pretty popular in Africa these days."

"I'm glad you boys are doing well," she said kindly.

Death's pager began to beep. He looked at the screen, and said," Ah, please forgive me everyone. Duty calls."

They all groaned and Odin said," Come on! You just got here!"

"No can do. This one is very important. I've got to carry out something that could very well be the downfall of man."

They all made dismissive remarks as if it weren't that important.

"Oh, one of those is it? Need any help?"

"Not at the moment… but if it is indeed time for us to ride out, I'll page you, or send you an e-mail. Did you get a blackberry?"

"'Course I did. Gotta keep up with the times right?"

"If there is a 'times' after this."

"Oh, Morty, can I come and see?" said Ferimore. "I'm qualified for a delivery aren't I?"

"One of my top agents, Ferimore," said Odin.

Death thought about this a moment and said," Well I guess so. It's been a long while since you delivered hasn't it?"

"Very long. They just don't make warriors like they used to."

"In that case, I shall return later with Ferimore. I'll catch up later when we play Poker."

----------------------------------------------

Danyel entered Lilitu's inner sanctum alone. The room was as wide and as tall as a Church temple… but the scenery could not be farther from a church settings.

Human bones littered the walls as decorations. Unholy symbols were carved all over the floor, and some were written in blood. A smell Danyel did not recognize was coming from a fire was burning in the back, which looked like an oversized fireplace.

But in the very center was a depression, the size of a small swimming pool. The pool was filled to the top with blood.

There were red skinned women all around Danyel, smiling hungrily at him. When he looked at one, he saw they had horns and a tail with a point at the end. He recognized them as Succubus.

They began cooing at him and beckoning him to come to them. He stood resolutely and said," Where is she? Lilitu, come out. I have what you want."

A figure began to rise from the center of the pool. It was Lilitu, still using Diana's body.

"Ah, my dear husband," she said. "You look distressed my dear. Have you not seen your wife's body before? From what I read in her mind, you have quite the sex drive."

This did not bother him as much as the kind of things she was using Diana's body for. The thought of her using Diana's body to swim in a pool of blood sickened him, but strengthened his resolve in getting Lilitu banished.

"What I do with my wife in private is really none of your business," said Danyel.

"He really is a beautiful man," said one of the Succubuses. "When do we get to play with him?"

"In time," said Lilitu. "And if you're lucky Wizard, we'll find out soon enough about your ability to please a woman."

Danyel knew their idea of pleasure was portrayed on the walls, and he had no intention of playing any games with them.

He reached in his robe and pulled out a book. "Here," he said. "The Mak' Havat-Oran is on page one sixty two. Then you will hand me her soul in a transfer crystal and I will be on my way."

"Oh?" said Lilitu. "You really think we'll let you just walk away? I will not bring harm to you, but my sisters on the other hand are quite beyond my control."

"That much I knew. I intend on killing them all."

They giggled at his comments, but he continued," And furthermore, you will not have that body for much longer. One of my friends intends to liberate it from you."

"Friends?" said Lilitu. "Unless I'm much mistaken Wizard, you are the only one here. No one but a powerful wizard could break my barrier, and the only wizard I sense nearby is standing inside the barrier."

"Then you are much mistaken," said Danyel calmly.

Suddenly a large ring of fire emerged around Danyel and formed a birdcage shape. Lilitu said," Stay put little Wizard. I want you to watch this…"

A cauldron appeared in the fireplace, and seemed to be already filled with bubbling liquid. Lilitu read the instructions, and the other Succubae around her came and went with different ingredients.

As the instructions directed, it needed time in the moonlight, and she hovered the cauldron to the area at the head of the pool. She raised her hands to the sky, and a large tile on the ceiling parted, revealing the moonlight.

The moonlight shone brightly over the cauldron, and Lilitu said, "Excellent… Now, bring forth the final ingredient."

One of the Succubae brought her an odd twisted root. Lilitu threw it in, and watched the contents turn from green to red.

She inhales the scent and says," It is done. Now Wizard Danyel, watch as your dear sweet wife is painfully expelled from her own body!"

Danyel did not move or flinch, he watched intently.

Lilitu took a goblet and scooped up the potion. "I think," she said. "That you need to be closer to see."

Danyel and the cage around him flew across the pool and landed in front of them.

Lilitu smiled and downed the entire goblet. Everyone went quiet, waiting for the transformation to begin.

Nearly a minute went by and nothing happened.

"What is this?" she said. "Why has nothing happened? I have taken more then enough needed."

"Ah, it seems you have made a mistake," said Danyel.

"I made no mistakes Wizard."

"On the contrary," he said dismissing the fire cage with a wave of his hands. "It seems you did make a mistake."

"And that would be?"

Danyel approaches the cauldron and sticks his finger inside. He licks his finger to get a taste and smiles.

"You have made a very stupid mistake," he repeated. "Your mistake was trusting I'd be dumb enough to bring my copy of the Neritombe. What you have is a very clever copy, designed to be hurtful, not helpful."

Lilitu looked livid. Danyel continued," And what you have here is not the complicated potion of Mak' Havat-Oran, but a seriously complicated way of making Kool-aid."

He stuck his finger in again and said," Mmm, I have to say, adding the Ginger at the end there added a bit of a spicy flavor. Not bad though."

"Wizard! You will pay for this!"

"Hold that thought," he said reaching into his robe. "You're missing an ingredient, and I just so happen to have it."

He pulled out a cube identical to the one Tylar used to store his robots. When Danyel pressed the button, out came Infernal, looking very upset.

"It looks a lot bigger on the inside," said Infernal.

"Ah, and here he is," said Danyel as he pointed to Infernal. "The missing ingredient. One full serving of ass-kicking."

"NO!" said Lilitu. "How is this possible?"

"Technology, bitch," said Danyel. "Ready Infernal?"

Infernal used his powers to summon a horde of his own behemoths loyal only to him.

All the other Succubuses readied themselves, and looked to Lilitu for orders. She said," Don't just stand there! Kill them!"

The clash began. Fire and dark energy flew in all directions. Danyel used his wind techniques to toss the Succubae everywhere, and his fire techniques to paralyze and immobilize them.

He threw them left and right as easy as waving his hands. But he did not watch where he was going, and turned around and was face to face with Lilitu.

He did not react. He knew if he did something to her, he would be hurting Diana greatly. So his hesitation costed him a very large gash in his face, and eye.

Danyel, temporarily blinded, staggered back, and received a freezing cold push that slammed him against the wall.

He couldn't see, but he could feel that he was stuck in ice on the wall.

The bitter cold was quickly sapping away at his energy. He concentrated hard on the need to break free, and his need to help Diana as quickly as possible. The ice around him began to melt, and he slowly broke out of the ice.

When he hit the ground, he felt his face, and knew the scratches were very bad. He resolved to use his magical gift to act temporarily as his eyes. While doing this, he spotted someone very familiar.

"Oh, Morty, he's looking at us!" said a very tall and strong looking woman.

"I expect he is Ferimore. He is a wizard after all."

"I thought he was. The pointy hat is just a dead giveaway."

Danyel looked at them a moment and said," Oh, it's you."

Death sighs and shakes his head as he says, "Why is no one ever happy to see me?"

"Gee, I can't imagine," said Danyel.

"Morty, is this our client?"

"And, you are?" asked Danyel.

"This ravishing and gentle woman is Ferimore."

Danyel doubted the gentle part, but recognized her outfit," Oh, you're a Valkyrie… Does this mean I'm going to Valhalla?"

"Err," she said looking a bit confused. "Is he?"

"It is not for me to say," said Death. "What I can say though is your options, Wizard Danyel, are very clear. You can come with me if your team fails, or you can hand me Lilitu. I don't have a problem with either, but do try and hurry. If we hurry we still have time for Texas Hold 'em."

"For what?"

"Never you mind sir… Rock."

Danyel sensed something flying fast at him, and ducked his head just in time for a large chunk of rock to pass over his head.

When he looked toward the battle scene, his senses only saw one person. Infernal. He knew Lilitu was there, but using Diana's anti-magic ability, he was unable to see her.

"Would you strike me down Infernal? Would you strike down your own mother?"

"You…" he began. "Horrible monster… I want nothing to do with you! As far as I'm concerned, I HAVE NO MOTHER!"

Infernal's axe blazed with the fury and hatred he reserved just for her. She laughed and said," You cannot change who you are my son. Just like you cannot truly change your nature. In time you will come to realize this."

"I will NEVER become like you!"

"Oh, but you are planning on killing me aren't you? And to do that, you must kill this woman first."

Danyel waited a moment to see what Infernal was going to do. But Infernal simply said," Again, you are wrong. I've become much stronger since last we met. My axe will cleave the souls of my enemies!"

Infernal charged, and Lilitu tried ice to restrain him, but Infernal tore through it as if it wasn't even there.

He swung as hard as he could into Diana's mid-section, and for Danyel, time almost seemed to stand still.

But then, the oddest thing happened. From Danyel's magical view, he saw the axe go completely through and it carried along a dark spirit.

The dark spirit, he recognized as Lilitu as it screamed in agony from being torn so violently from it's body. The spirit zoomed around the room, screaming like a banshee, until it took a form similar to the Spectral Daemons.

"My plans! Ruined!" it howled. "You will pay! I will kill the woman myself!"

Lilitu took flight toward Diana's limp form on the floor. Danyel recited an incantation as fast as he could. Infernal stepped between the two, his axe at the ready.

Lilitu descended upon Infernal, dodging his axe, clawing and biting at him. She was able to knock out the axe from his hands, and knock him to the floor. Infernal tried in vein to push her away, but he could not touch her in her ghostly form. Lilitu reached her claw inside Infernal's chest, and he began struggling frantically as she reached for his heart.

"-and I beseech thee, to bind this evil spirit back to the depths from whence it came-" said Danyel in another language.

Infernal struggled painfully as Lilitu attempted to tear his heart out from within, when suddenly, Lilitu retracted and screeched in pain.

"-I summon thee, Death!" continued Danyel. "Strike her down now!" he said in English.

Infernal didn't need telling twice. He rolled over, picked up his axe, and swung it around in one swift motion.

The axe cleaved straight through, parting the ghost in two at the stomach. With a final banshee screech, the ghost of Lilitu was dispatched from the world.

Infernal, breathing heavily, looked at Danyel and asked," Did we get her?"

Danyel stood immobile. He looked around suspiciously in case he did something wrong.

The familiar figure of Death stood silhouetted in the corner in the company of a very angry looking spirit. He flashed Danyel a shrewd looking grin, and stepped quietly into the darkness followed by the spirit.

"Yes," he said finally. "We got her for now. At least until one of those Circle of Morons resummons her- Oh, Diana!"

Danyel quickly runs to where Diana is, and lifts her gently in his arms.

"Is she-" Infernal begins, but does not finish.

Danyel is staring intently at her, as though looking at something Infernal can't see. He whispers," Diana. Di, babe, over here. I know you can hear me. Come to my voice. Please, follow my voice."

Minutes pass with nothing happening. Infernal stays quiet, wondering if his axe had taken her soul along with Lilitu's.

Danyel embraces her and says," You can come out now Di. She's gone. We took care of her."

Suddenly, Danyel's eyes began to glow as if he was in a trance, and his body emitted a blue aura.

Diana's appearance began to change as this happened. Her whole body emitted a bright white aura, and her hair changed color to a bright white color as well.

Infernal stood in awe at the sight. He had never seen anything more beautiful then this.

After what seemed like hours, Diana began to draw breath as if she were underwater a long time.

Danyel looked to her and said," Diana… Welcome back."

"Danyel," she said in an ethereal sounding voice. "My love... I cannot express, in this short time, how happy I am to see you again… It's been too long."

"Indeed it has," said Danyel in a similar ethereal sounding voice.

"Have you found anything for me yet?"

"Not yet dear, but I still search as often as I can for a cure."

"I know you've been working hard my love. I will wait till the end of time for you."

Danyel came close to kiss her. When they did, the aura shone brighter, making Infernal cover his eyes.

Then, as soon as it came, it ended. The light was gone, and both Danyel and Diana seemed to return to normal.

They both looked at each other and embraced again. Infernal cleared his throat loudly and said," I hope everything is ok?"

"I'm doing ok now," said Diana. "It sure was scary though. Thanks for your help mister, uh…"

"Infernal."

"Thanks, Mister Infernal."

"Can you stand?" asked Danyel.

"And lift you up at the same time," she said happily. "Ugh, I'm gonna need a shower. Lilitu didn't take very good care of my body, hygienically."

"Well, yes," said Danyel. "You do reek of farm animals and blood. We'll get you cleaned up. Shall I put an anti-stink barrier around you?"

"It probably wouldn't work anyway. Besides, I'd like to give Cherry a big hug all smelly like this. You know, just to say thanks for all the help."

"I'm sure she'd appreciate that."

Infernal opens the doors, and they find that the others are already waiting on the outside.

"Glad to have you back, Di," said Cherry. "And no you will not hug me until you shower."

"Guess you heard that eh?"

"Heard? I was pretty much in the room with you the whole time, remember?"

"You were?" said Danyel skeptically.

"Of course I was," she said, putting her arms out. "Didn't you wonder why Lilitu became paralyzed before she reached Diana? That was me. Infernal, didn't you hear a little voice in your head, telling you where to swing the axe? Also me."

"But how did you get past the barrier?"

"Ah, that was not a foolproof barrier. Lilitu was a bit arrogant about her barrier. She only put it so that no mortal can go past, so I was using astral projection to- Ok, now what's funny Kayain?"

"Heh, heh, you said Ass-hole Protection."

She stares at him for a moment and says," Kayain, you are so very hard to look at right now… So like I was saying, I used a few tricks to get in unnoticed and help you out."

"Really?" said Danyel. "You managed to get past barriers that way?"

"Yup," she said as a large grin grew on her face. "I totally kicked magic's ass today."

"That must make you like the greatest Wizard ever," said Proto-man.

"Witch," she corrected.

"I don't know which, just that you're probably the best Wizard out of any of them," he said as she frowned at him.

"Well, I suppose you did help a little," admitted Danyel. "Only don't let it get to your head, it was only once."

"Oh, yea, sure thing Dan."

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Several days had passed after the incident with Diana. The mystics from M.A.G.I. came in after to clean up the remains and cave in the temple for good.

They had a little party the day after, and to Danyel's annoyance Cherry was still very smug and proud of herself.

"I know you think you were in total control there," said Danyel. "But really, the witch hat has to go."

"Why?" asked Cherry. "I think I look good in this hat."

"Ga-damn straight," said Kayain. "Looks pretty sexy to me."

"But you're not a witch!" said Danyel as he threw his hands up.

"She still looks cute in that little hat," said Diana.

Cherry didn't get rid of the hat. She decided it was a souvenir for that day, so she kept it.

"You're not still upset about this hat are you?" she asked days later.

"No, something else was bothering me," said Danyel.

"What is it?"

"Are you going to read my mind?"

"No. If you don't want me to know, I won't."

"It's nothing like that, it's just… Well when we defeated Lilitu, Diana's other half came out again."

"Oh…"

This information pertained to Diana's past. Danyel recalled the memory of what her mother had told him.

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Danyel was with Diana's mother in the living room. He was pale, and sick with worry, while she looked no different.

"This is bad," she said. "I can't believe they found her this way…"

"Can you tell me what's going on? What happened to Diana, and why are there people trying to kill her?"

Diana's father came down and said," She's ok now, she's just getting some rest."

"Good," she said.

"What's going on? Who were those people who attacked us?" repeated Danyel.

Diana's parents exchanged glances and her mother said," Danyel, do you remember when I told you about how the mages wanted to kill her at birth?"

"Are you saying they're still trying to kill her?"

"Yes, they are. When they found out about her powers, they tried many spells against me to kill her inside the womb. I thwarted them, but at a heavy cost…"

Danyel didn't like where this was going. He knew her power was already feared, but Diana's not the kind of person who would go around using it for the wrong reasons. Unfortunately no one else but them knew of Diana's kindness, her gentile demeanor, and playful and almost child-like outlook on life.

"What happened," he asked solemnly.

"When they attempted to kill her, I was almost too late… Instead, her soul split into two parts."

"Soul… split… what does that mean?"

"Sometimes, do you see a change in her? A radical change in her personality that is so brief that you wonder where that came from?"

"Yea, I did."

"Her abilities and powers reside in the other half of her soul, which is why she is unable to completely control her power, but from time to time you will see her use it out of reflex."

"Which is what I saw today."

"Yes. And you also saw her transform?"

"Her hair turned white, and she had a yellowish glow again."

"She was born with white hair, you know. She inherited all my mother and grandfather's features… but above all, she gained my grandfather's power of anti-mana manipulation. Whatever they did, they altered her power to what it is today…"

"I know your grandfather used both sides of magic… Shouldn't that mean that Diana has the same power?"

"She would have, if only they didn't try to mess with her at birth. In doing so, they created the thing they feared the most."

"That's awful…"

"We had to hide her from those who would do her harm, so that's why we came here. Unfortunately they found us, and attempted to finish what they started."

"Who are they?"

"It is difficult to say for sure. I have not looked very deeply into the matter, since there is a very large group that crave her death."

"Damn it… Well what about Diana? You said her soul is split. Does this mean I'm not actually talking to the real 'Diana'?"

"Rest assured Danyel, you are talking to the 'real' Diana, but not the 'full' Diana. She still has a side of her that you've only seen a glimpse of."

"Is there anything that we can do to undo the damage?"

She shakes her head and says, "This kind of magic is beyond even me Danyel. I'm sorry."

Danyel stood and looked determinedly at her and said," If that's the case, then I'll just have to search for the answer myself. Even if it means going to the ends of the galaxy and back. I will find a cure for her."

Diana's mother smiled, a bit teary eyed, and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're going to be part of the family…"

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"So," said Cherry. "You were able to revive Diana, talked to her other half, and still have no clue on how to reunite her soul?"

"Not a clue… I've been looking from all the magic books for anything at all," said Danyel.

This was very true. He had inadvertadely gained so much wizarding knowledge that he became High Arch-Mage because of it.

Truth be told, he didn't care that much for the title. He just wanted to get Diana fixed and be done with it, and would wait till after she was better to begin to take advantage of his title.

"I see, so you're a little down because you got a glimpse, and couldn't keep it eh? To bad."

"Something like that, I suppose."

"Well, I've had lots of experiences like that."

"Yea, I suppose you have," he said thoughtfully.

"But hey, I'm still doing allright. I mean I always try and look on the bright side. Take today for example. I'm in a particularly good mood today because several things good happened."

"What happened?"

"Well, I just found out Proto-man has caught the flu, and won't be coming around for a while. Lu Bu stunk up the bathroom by Biggs room, and he cleared out for the day. In the meantime Biggs went power shoping for the team and brought a fine stash of wines, beer, and other alcohols that I like. Solo has taken to his usual Salongo nature and gone out to fight crime… And to top of this wonderful day, Kayain somehow managed to seal his lips together with Krazy Glue. I had, and I'm not kidding, five full hours of Kayain-free silence."

"Sounds like a good day for you is a misurable day for others."

"I know, it seems so wrong dosen't it?"

"Does your buttered bagel taste any less delicious?"

"Nope," she said, taking a large bite from her bagel. "In fact it tastes extra good now."

"Congratulations, you're a sociopath."

"It feels kind of nice."

They both stopped a moment and sensed someone coming toward their room through the barriers they set up. They waited for a moment, then the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," she said. "I'm on a roll here, so it's probably more good news. Maybe Kat nailed himself to the sky again."

When she answered the door, she was face to face with a grim looking DeVall.

"Ah, so, finally decide you want to come back eh?" she said disapprovingly. "You're gonna have to beg though, I don't appreciate you leaving like that without telling us."

"I will," he said. "But at the moment, I'm reporting from Valentine…"

"Ok, come in. Why didn't she come here herself?"

"She sent me ahead to tell you… Oh man…"

"Out with it," she said psionically to him.

"Yes, ma'am. Well here's how it went…"

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"Aegis…" said Cherry in a low and deadly voice.

"Valentine and Ken are trying what they can with Admiral Odo, but they sent me in to tell you to be aware of this. And yes, I'm very sorry about what I did. I just didn't expect all that happened. I thought I would be in and out for one evening, then- oh my God, please don't kill me…" he added after she shot him a look.

"Why… Why is it whenever I get a bit of happiness around here it gets shot down within minutes? And as for you! You're really in the doghouse now!"

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Tylar looked down at the little doghouse on the floor in the living room. He smiled brightly at DeVall and said," Your first mistake was of course leaving without permission. Your next mistake was assuming Cherry was speaking metaphorically."

"Do me a favor and shut up," said DeVall as he tried to get some sleep.