Last time Will and The Guardians were reunited with Naruto, Luffy and their respective groups. After everyone was introduced to each other, the plan to stop the source of the time/space distortions was discussed. Violet and Martin then reprogrammed the Krell Gateway on Ed and Al's world to take our heroes to the source of the distortions. On with the show!

Chapter 21: Living Nightmare

"Anyone who wants to stay behind," said Will, "Now is your chance to say so." There was a moment of silence before Will spoke again, "That's that then, let's do it." One by one they stepped through the gateway into the unknown, into a world of chaos.

Will and Matt were the last to emerge from the gateway, the effects of traveling from one dimension to another still hitting them. "If it's okay with you and everyone else," said Will, "I think we'll go home the normal way, with Folding." "I actually miss the Portals," said Cornelia.

"My god!" exclaimed Taranee, "Look at this place!" Everything around Will and the others had a red hue to it, like she was seeing the world through a red filter. The temperature was uncomfortably hot, but it was a dry heat at least. All around the gateway were the ruins of a huge city that looked to have been abandoned for several thousand years at least. Strange markings adored the decrepit buildings.

"So this is Hell," said D.P., "Not exactly what I thought it would be." "Hell isn't all fire and brimstone as it says in the bible," said Maria, "There are those who say that the very center of Hell is a frozen circle, one reserved for people who betrayed the trust of those who cared for them." "That may be true for some cultures," said Ed, "But I believe Hell is different for everyone, Hell is the worst things that you can imagine, only infinitely worse."

"These markings," said Martin as he examined a nearby building, "They're written in the language of the Krell." "What does it say?" asked Laura. "It says," said Martin, "'to all who have returned from the dimensional colonies, please turn back at once! We here in the home world have paid a terrible price in our efforts to better our people. By attempting to expand our empire further, we opened the door to the world of nightmares.' It's worn away from there."

"Here's more," said Sakura, for she could also read the Krell Language, "'our scientists meant only the best for the people. We had no idea that the use of the gateway system had weakened the fabric of reality on our world. We had no idea of the horrors that waited on the other side of existence, horrors that we unleashed by blindly pressing forward in science.' It's worn away here but there's more down here, 'There are only a few of us left alive. We're programming the gateway to deactivate once we've gone through. Our only hope is that the nightmare that has destroyed our home hasn't spread to the colonies. If so then our whole race is doomed. They are coming, the monsters. Please, if anyone from the colonies returns and sees this message, go back and destroy the gateway on your side. Don't let what happened to the home world happen to your homes. Please go back before it's too late…' That's all there is."

"Now we know what happened to the Krell," said Taranee, "This world was where they first came from, until the demons took over. The demons invade it, killed the people and made it their own."

"God Damn It!" exclaimed Martin as he fell to his knees, his fist pounding the ground, "It's not fair! It's not right! The Krell were people. They were men and women and children like us. Sure they must have looked different, but they were people. They deserved better than this. The Krell didn't deserve to be wiped out because they were trying to better themselves. They made a mistake in pushing the boundaries of science, but that's no excuse to wipe out their civilization. They deserved better. It's just not right."

"They did deserve better," said Irma, "But we can make a difference. We can honor their memory by defeating the ones who destroyed them." "Yes," said Martin, "We can honor them."

"Oh sh$t on a shingle!" exclaimed Violet, "I've just had a terrible revelation. By using the Krell Gateway, we've been adding to the damage to the fabric of reality. I based my dimensional transporter on alien ruins found in Antarctica. I thought I was making things better by advancing exploration, I was only making things worse."

"You didn't know," said Shawn, "How could you have known? The gateway on our Earth must have been one that the Krell destroyed when they found out what happened here." "How could any of us know?" asked Al, "My brother and I have used the gateway on our world more than everyone else here."

"Nobody is to blame," said Max, "This is one time where ignorance is an excuse. The only thing we can do is carry on with the mission: stop the machine that's generating the time/space distortions before the damage to the fabric of reality gets worse; destroy The Dadga Khan before he deflowers and impregnates Cornelia; and finally, destroy The God Hand."

"There's more," said Violet, "Even if we stop the distortion generating device, the gateways on our worlds are adding to the problem. We have to make sure that they are destroyed so at least our worlds won't add to the damage to the fabric of reality."

"I gout what might sound as a stupid question?" asked Naruto, "Once we destroy the gateway in this world, how do we get back to our individual worlds?" "That's easy," said Will as she held The Heart of Candracar in her hand, "We'll Fold everyone back to their respective dimensions."

"I've just sent a message to my brother, Klaus," said Violet her PDA in her hand, "As we speak my dimensional transporter is being deactivated. As soon as I get home I'm gonna take an axe to that thing." "I'll help you," said Jill, "Gladly."

"First thing's first," said Tyler as he opened up his backpack. Inside were several small blocks of explosives of some sort. "Are you sure you should carry that stuff on your back?" asked Nigel. "It's perfectly safe," said Tyler, "This stuff is called C6. Its 10 times more powerful an explosive than C4, and it's safer to carry around. It won't go off unless you want to go off." He then placed two blocks of C6 on each of the two pylons; one at the base and one at the middle.

"I've got a remote detonator all set up," said Tyler, "We can blow this gateway sky high any time we want." "Save it," said Jill, "We need to locate the source of the distortions first." "I'm on it," said Violet as she scanned the area with her PDA, "I'm getting a signal, it's coming from down there," she pointed towards the nearby abandoned city. "Okay people," said Will, "Let's get this over with so we can all go home."

They made their way through the ruined city, pausing every now and then while Violet took another scan to make sure they were going the right direction. "Something doesn't feel right," said Fay to Max as they stopped in the middle of a large square in the city, "We are in a world full of demons, yet I haven't seen one yet here."

"She's right," said Cornelia, "It's way too quiet here." "Call it paranoia," said Ed, "But I've got the feeling that we're being watched." "You are being watched, Fullmetal Alchemist!" Standing on top of a ruined fountain was Pai-Mey. "There you are!" shouted Saske, "There's no escape for you this time, you traitor!"

"Bold words, last of the Uchiha clan," said Pai-Mey, "Considering that you brats are all here on my territory." "So come down here and fight," said Luffy, "Or are you just going to stand there all day glaring at us." "Oh I'll move alright," said Pai-Mey as she stepped down from the fountain, "But I'm not in the mood for fighting right now, so I'll let my 'friends' do the dirty work for me. You can come out now boys!"

Suddenly, Guts cried out in pain as his hand clutched his neck. Will saw blood flowing from beneath his hand. "Aaron," said Jill, "You've got a patient." Aaron stood beside Guts and removed his hand from his neck to see blood flowing freely from the brand put there by the demons. "I've got to stop the bleeding right now," said Aaron as she opened his medical bag.

"It's nothing!" snapped Guts, "I've had worse!" "Well you're gonna bleed to death if we don't stop it soon," said Aaron as she filled a large syringe with a thick, blue liquid. "What's that?" asked Chopper. "Coagulating fluid," said Aaron as he held the needle above the brand, he pressed on the plunger and the blue liquid began to drip onto the brand. Within seconds the bleeding had stopped.

"Thanks," said Guts, "But the pain is still there." "I can so something about that," said Chopper as he pulled out a syringe filled with pain medicine. "No," said Guts, "No drugs, we're about to have a large fight and I need to have my head clear." "Oh crap," said Hay Lin, "We're surrounded!"

All around Will and the others were demons; thousands upon thousands of them in every shape, size and color imaginable. And leading them was The Dadga Khan. "Well look what we have here," said The Dadga Khan, "The famous Ramblers and their leader, Destructucs Maximus." "That's what they call me," said Max, "And you're the one responsible for disrupting the fabric of reality in my world."

"Guilty as charged," said The Dadga Khan, "You mutant scum have thwarted the master's efforts to destroy your world for far too long." "Don't call us mutants," said Steve, "And I won't call you a f#ck-faced freak show with an ass even your mother wouldn't love, you sh$t eating f#ggot bastard!"

"If you think you can make me angry with empty insults," said The Dadga Khan, "You're mistaken. Now Guardians, I shall only ask this one more time; surrender my mate at once or suffer." "Never!" exclaimed Caleb as she stood in front of Cornelia, "I'll die before I'll let you touch her!"

"You humans always chose the hard way," said The Dadga Khan, "Very well, suffering it shall be. Come forth Nosferatu Zodd!" From the ranks of the demons came a large creature that looked to be a cross between a bear and a bull. The demons stood on two hoofed legs, had razor sharp claws on its hands, brown fur, a forked tail, bat-like wings, very long horns that ended in sharp points, rows of fangs and red eyes.

"You call, my lord," rumbled the deep voice of Zodd, "I am here." "I've a job for you, Zodd," said The Dadga Khan, "Eliminate the humans, except the Elric Brothers." "Why?" asked Ed, "What's so special about Al and me?" "Let's just say that someone very powerful wants you two to be kept alive," said Pai-Mey, "However, if you continue to fight with Will and her pathetic friends, accidents do happen."

"You're a real piece of work, Pai-Mey," said Naruto. "Yeah," said Luffy, "You're nothing but a demon that only looks human." "Why thank you," said Pai-Mey, "But flattery won't get you anywhere, you stretchy freak!" "I am not a freak!" exclaimed Luffy.

"I think I can clear this up," said Will, "What Luffy and Naruto were trying to say is that you've truly crossed over to the dark side. When we first met on Metamore, I had at that time hope that there was still some goodness in you, just a sliver of humanity left. I've realized as Luffy and Naruto have; you have no heart!"

"Enough talk!" exclaimed The Dagga Khan, "Racorw, deliver my bride to the ritual chamber." "With pleasure!" hissed the demon named Racorw, it extended bat-like wings from its back, took flight, soared over our heroes and grabbed Cornelia. "No!" shouted Caleb as the demon flew away with a screaming Cornelia.

Guts aimed at the demon with his repeating crossbow while Steve, Julie and D.P. aimed with their guns. "Don't shoot!" exclaimed Jill, "You might hit Cornelia!" "Don't!" exclaimed Matt as he tried to stop Caleb from going after Cornelia, "Don't go running off alone!" "But they took Cornelia!" shouted Caleb, "They took her! I got to go after her!" "We'll get her back," said Will, "Before we got here Martin put a tracking chip on Cornelia, just in case. We'll get Cornelia back, I promise."

"I think we've got a bigger problem," said Julie, "Those demons are attacking." "Let them attack!" yelled Guts, "We're in this to the end, no surrender, kill them all!" He charged into the oncoming demons, his sword slaying at least three with every swing. "You heard the man with the big sword!" exclaimed Steve, his power-pole ready for action, "No Surrender! Do or Die! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

With that Steve and the rest of The Ramblers charged at the demons. "Come on," said Will as she held up The Heart of Candracar, "Guardians Unite!" With a flash Will, Taranee, Irma and Hay Lin transformed into their Guardian forms.

The fight seemed to drag on forever as wave after wave of demons attacked. The combined efforts of The Guardians, the boys, Ed and Al, Naruto and his Ninjas, Luffy and his crew; Max and the Rambler, and Guts seemed to hold the demons at bay, yet the creatures still kept coming, all the while Pai-Mey and The Dadga Khan watched.

Then for no apparent reason the demons stopped attacking. Will and the others looked around to see why the creatures had stopped. Right in the middle of the battlefield, surrounded by countless "Black Swordsman," rumbled Zodd, felled demon bodies stood Guts, facing off against Zodd. "So we meet again after 400 years. I'm surprised that you are still alive."

"Cut the crap, Zodd," said Guts, "You're only just a steppingstone towards my killing Griffith." At that Zodd let out a bone-chilling laugh, "You're a fool to think you can destroy master Femto. But if that truly is your goal, then you must defeat me!" The demon charged at Guts. He just stood there and fired several bolts from his crossbow at the demon. Each bolt hit its mark yet none doing any apparent damage.

Just before being impaled on Zodd's onrushing horns, Guts sidestepped and slashed at Zodd's torso with his sword, leaving a long gash on the demon's side. "Not bad," said Zodd, "You have improved since our last encounter. I commend you, now you must die!"

Zodd charged again, and Guts sidestepped again and slashed Zodd again. "He's crazy to take that thing on by himself," said Rock Lee, "I'm going to help him." "No, Lee," said Hay Lin, "This is Guts' fight, he has to do it on his own." "I never said that you couldn't help!" shouted Guts.

"In that case," said Rock Lee as he began to power up, "The First Gate: Gate of Opening, release! The Second Gate: Gate of Rest, release! The Third Gate: Gate of Life, release!" His hair began to stand up while his skin turned red. "What's he doing?" asked Max, "I can feel his energy level rising."

"He's opening his inner chakra gates," said Hay Lin, "Just give him some more time." "Then I'll give him the time," said Laura as she sent a mind blast at Zodd. The force of Laura's attack knocked Zodd to its knees, yet it got back up. "Suck on this, demon!" shouted Max as she quickly charged up a spinning energy disk above his left hand, Destructo Disk!" he threw the energy disk at Zodd and cut off it's right arm at the elbow. "Nice try, human," said Zodd as it reattached its arm and it healed almost instantly.

"Sh$t!" exclaimed Julie as she shot Zodd again and again with her rifle. "The damn thing can regenerate!" "Then we keep fighting until it can't regenerate," said Ed as he clapped his hands together. He then touched the ground, sending lines of energy racing towards Zodd, causing sharp spikes to jump out of the ground. These did little more than scratch Zodd.

Meanwhile Rock Lee had finished opening the fourth and fifth gate and was in the process of opening "The Sixth Gate: Gate of Joy, release! The Seventh Gate: Gate of Shock, Release!" "His energy readings are off the chart!" exclaimed Violet, "I think he might just be stronger than you, Max." Just then her PDA shorted out from all the energy in the air. "Good thing I have a spare," said Violet as she pulled out a spare PDA from her bag.

"He's still powering up," said Hay Lin, "I thought he couldn't go any higher than the seventh gate." "He can," said Sakura, "He's going for the Eight Inner Gate Formation." "I thought you said that would kill him," said Irma, "That to have that kind of power would be lethal."

"It would," said Saske, "But Rock Lee discovered that there's another gate beyond the eighth gate, one that enables to open all the gates and survive. He told me that he could do it because he was fighting for someone precious, someone he loves." "Me," said Hay Lin, tears of joy streaming from her eyes, "He's fighting for me. He truly is a splendid ninja."

"The Eighth and Ninth Gates!" exclaimed Rock Lee, "Gate of Death and Gate of Rebirth, RELEASE!" There was a sound that resembled an atomic bomb exploding and the air filled with dust. When the dust cleared, Will and the others could see that Rock Lee was covered in a golden aura, his eyes had turned green and his hair was slightly longer, though still black.

"So you changed your appearance," said Zodd, "That still won't defeat me!" "I can destroy you!" shouted Rock Lee, "Because I fight for the one who is precious to me. I fight for all that is precious in life. But most of all, I fight to prove that I am and always be a Shinobi!" Quicker than anyone could see, Rock Lee vanished, reappear in front of Zodd. "SRIKE OF FURY!" shouted Rock Lee as he delivered an earth-shattering kick to the demon's torso. The force of the kick was so powerful that Zodd's body fell apart into about 4,000 bloody pieces. The only part that remained intact was its head.

Hay Lin rushed over to Rock Lee, who had collapsed from the effort of his attack. The aura had faded; his hair wasn't standing up any more, his skin and eyes returning to normal. "Lee," said Hay Lin as she reached his side, "Are you alright?" "I'll live," said a very tiered sounding Rock Lee, "I just used up all my fighting energy in one shot, and I'm spent." At that Hay Lin smiled and laughed, "The only time I've ever heard you say that was when we were in bed together." "Whoa!" said Irma, "Too much information, people!"

"He did it!" exclaimed Naruto, "He opened all eight gates! Well, nine gates, but he did it! A ninja legend is born today, believe it!" "Amazing," said Garra to Temari and Kankuro, "He is stronger than all of us put together. For one minute he achieved a power greater than that of a Hokage, yet I feel no ill will towards him, only respect." "Perhaps there's hope for you after all, Garra," said Kankuro.

"We're not done just yet," said Saske, "What about the rest of the demons?" "All taken care of," said Steve as she shouldered his demon blood-soaked power pole, "Maria scared them off and I bashed the ones who didn't run fast enough." "You did?" asked Al, "How?" "They took one look at my family crucifix," said Maria, "And they all ran."

Just then there was a high-pitch yell, followed by a spattering sound. Will turned around to see Violet holding onto Shawn. Below them was a dead demon, its head split open. "What happened?" asked Irma. "One of the demons were only playing dead," said Violet as she tried to slow her breathing, "It grabbed me, then it let go, and Shawn bashed its brains out." "Why did it let you go?" asked Ed. "Because of this," said Violet, as she held out a silver pendent from around her neck that had Celtic symbols engraved onto it.

"This is a very powerful anti-demon amulet," said Will as she examined the pendent. "Shawn gave it to me," said Violet, "Read the back." Will turned the pendent over to see the words

'You are the light of my world,

I'll love you to the end of time

Shawn'

"That's so sweet," said Taranee, "You are one lucky girl." "I guess so," said Violet.

"Oh sh$t," said D.P., "Look who's still alive." The only part of Zodd that remained in one piece was his head, and the head was still gasping for air. "I got this," said Guts as he readied the canon attachment on his arm. "You fools may have defeated me," gasped the head of Zodd, "But you'll never defeat The God Hand!" "Oh shut up already," said Guts as he attached the lanyard to his cannon arm. He aimed, pulled the lanyard and shot the cannon at Zodd's head, destroying it completely.

"That takes care of that," said Luffy. "That doesn't take care of anything!" exclaimed Caleb, "The demons still have Cornelia!" "How true!" said The Dadga Kahn. "Damn!" said Will, "I forgot those two were watching." "You may have destroyed Zodd," said Pai-Mey, "But your suffering has only just begun, right my friend?"

"Indeed," said The Dadga Khan, "I shall take my leave, my bride awaits me." With a red flash The Dadga Khan vanished. Pai-Mey also disappeared as well. "I've got a signal!" exclaimed Martin as she held up his PDA for better reception, "Cornelia is about 2.6 miles to the west of here."

"The source of the distortions is 3.1 miles to the north," said Violet as she scanned with her spare PDA. "We'll split up," said Will, "Nigel, Taranee, Irma, Martin, Julie, Michael, Fay, Leon and Laura will go with Caleb, along with Garra, Temari, Kankuro, Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji. They'll save Cornelia. The rest will head to the source of the distortions and destroy it. With that out heroes split into two groups; one to save Cornelia, the other to save of all existence.

The end of chapter 21. Next chapter Caleb and his group race to save Cornelia from a fate worse than death. Please review, and I'll see you next time!