Episode 34: Exploring the Demonland [part two].
Arc: "Forgotten Princes"
Opening: Soul Eater – Opening (1).

. . .

As soon as Keehnesi's hand was a few centimeters above the golden knob, Dipper's mind practically exploded with possibilities; what would he want them to see? Maybe it was a test for them to begin their practices, or maybe not. Whatever it was, he had better show it soon. Daniel tried his best to control his breathing and focused on what was really important, suppressing his own feelings and putting the excitement of a new discovery ahead over it. Perhaps he could forget Asaph existed for a while; perhaps they could still be friends…? What if those feelings weren't real? Why, then, did they feel so real? Why did he feel like that?

Was it because of how Asaph considered him his boyfriend earlier? Daniel knew it was just to scare the demon girl away, but he couldn't forget about it. The words still echoed in the depths of his mind and bounced in his skull. Love was an agonizing yet vicious feeling. Could he consider this love?

Daniel was sure he only knew Asaph for a few months and even then he noticed a few things about his friend, but nothing he'd drool over like a teenage anime yaoi fangirl. Why did he begin to then develop these strange feelings? Why did he feel so attached to them, willing to embrace that new revelation? Daniel knew he was one strange being, and needed to be studied as soon as possible. Even being dissected would be less embarrassing than admit having a crush on his male friend.

After a few seconds of pure tension set around the room, Keehnesi opened the door slowly. Danna lost her cool immediately. "C'mon! Can we stop pretending this is some kind of suspense fan-fiction and just open the fucking door already?!" She yelled. Everybody turned to stare at her and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. "Ah, don't tell me you weren't thinking about this either. You're all guilty!" She yells dramatically. The children, though, had to admit they did think about this, but secretly. What would be the use, though, if their mentors could read minds? Keehnesi's lips curved into a small smirk as he opened the door faster and entered, making room for the other ones to repeat his action.

That's when the apprentices saw what was going on.

Sharp blades clashing against each other as sparks flew in the sky; the air was heavy with tension as the demons prepared their attacks against their foes in the other side of the arena; beams of multicolored energy stole all of the attention with their glorious light. The place was not only a complete hell, but also could be considered a heaven. Above them there was a delicate glass ceiling, exposing the moonlight to every demon present in the room. The attackers saluted each other before making their first move and seeing who would win the round: demon against demon; beast against beast; metal against metal. Attack, retreat, attack, retreat – rinse and repeat; it was almost mechanical. During the chaos, Dipper questioned himself: what exactly am I seeing?

"I think you're wondering what's going on" Beatrice guessed.

Oh, wait, they can read minds. Never mind, then. Dipper thought while biting his lower lip, patiently waiting for the answer. It felt like an eternity when it was in fact only a few seconds. They all looked around one more time, musing the meaning of all that.

"This—" Bea said, while motioning to the arena. "—is a battlefield, and you'd better get used to it right now, because from tomorrow on, you shall train on it exactly how these guards are training." She explained. Dipper felt a bittersweet feeling; he was thrilled to be able to have so much space to move on and practice new movements and abilities, but at the same time was anxious and scared for what would come next. Would he survive to see his loved ones again? It was only a month; maybe he could make it through that. He had battled Lucifer, king of demons: he would surely survive.

But seeing how cruel and merciless some of these demons were with their enemies, suddenly he wasn't so sure of that.

"Oh, man, I can't wait until then!" Danna jumped excitedly.

"But before we go to bed, I must present you to someone." Bill said. He walked through the utter chaos of the battlefield and, without being hit by one single blow, reached the other side of it. He came back – via teleportation – with another demon in its human form. Dipper analyzed him well: waist-long, straight, pure white hair; dazzling, hypnotizing triple green eyes – two of them in their normal places and one above, in the middle – and a dark-toned skin. He was wearing a battle suit to prevent himself from being harmed. "Kids, this is Archimicarus, and he is the captain of the main demon army."

"Whoa…" Asaph murmured as he stared at the other demon. He looked like he came from a mythological book with his shiny armor and long sword.

"Hello, apprentices" Archimicarus spoke. "Before we go any further, I will assist your mentors in your training. As a professional battler, I will assure no harm falls upon you while you're on my watch. However, before I dismiss you—" He clapped twice as all of the demons present in the room stopped what they were doing – it didn't matter if they were winning or not, they stopped completely. Dipper wondered how they were able to hear that minimum sound from such a great length. They were demons, though, and one does not simply doubt a demon's capability. "—I'd like to have a battle with one of you. Just a small demonstration of what I am capable of."

Everybody stared at Dipper.

"Oh, no, I just healed from a cat fight with the kind of demons. I'm not having a battle with another one!" He protested. Asaph bit his lip as he stepped forward – he was willing to have a battle, suddenly. He could feel the adrenaline rushed through his veins.

"I will" He announced. Archimicarus smiled and, in a snap of fingers, conjured two swords. He gave one of them to Asaph, who eyes it impressed. Never in his life would have he imagined he would hold a sword. The shiny blade and sharp tip were what most stood out from the weapon itself. The handle was colored in a beautiful navy blue, and seemed to be made from the finest leather. The captain went to the right side of the arena, ready for a battle. Asaph noticed this and headed to the left side, with his muscles tensing up, ready for a battle. As soon as they reached the middle of the field, all warriors stopped what they were doing and opened space for their leader; murmurs arose all around.

"Don't worry, kiddo, I'll go easy on you!" Archimicarus said. Asaph sneered.

"What?" He asked. "I thought this was a battle. Would you spare your real life enemy?" The question echoed through the hall. Archimicarus raised an eyebrow. The kid did have a good point; would he spare an attacker? Would he? The room fell silent; the jittery that once before filled the room dissipated completely. "Don't hold anything back. I came here for a battle, and that's what I'm going to get! Be cruel, merciless, soulless, I don't care; just don't pretend I'm a delicate flower! I won't succumb to your touch!" The captain stared at Asaph with a serious face before smirking. He had never received such an answer; whenever he had a light battle with one of his soldiers, they never reacted – they just let it happen, since it would be better than having a serious fight.

"You know, kid…" Archimicarus' smirk never left his lips as he pieced his sword's blade to the floor and used it as a cane, leaning against it. Dipper tried to find out how he defied physics by not allowing the sword not to fall with his weight, but it was useless. "I like your spirit. Most of my men accept my mercy because they know it will be less painful for them, but you won't allow me to treat you as garbage, as if you were under me, less powerful. Just like your animal form: you have a tiger's spirit and courage. Never backs down during a challenge." He drew the sword back and prepared himself. "Get ready. I won't hold it back." Asaph smirked as well.

"That's what I hope!" He yelled.

It was a pause of three seconds before Archimicarus did the first move. He ran across the field with an impressive speed, and raised the sword above his head, ready to push it down. Asaph's first reflex was to use his own sword as a shield. The blades clashed against each other and sparks flew in the air. Asaph used all his muscles and will to hold against Archimicarus and avoid being beheaded, but he had half the captain's strength. He realized the demon's true potential: he would be dead in a few seconds. Asaph tried to think of an escape plan, and then one thing rang through his mind. He retracted the weapon and used it as a boost to slide in between Archimicarus' legs. Then he stood up and pointed the sword to his back; touché, he thought.

However, the battle wasn't over; in fact, it was just starting.

Archimicarus spun on his heels and once again their blades clashed against each other as the two fought for control and domination. Asaph was already starting to lose energy and determination to keep fighting, for his opponent was too strong to be defeated. He, though, would not surrender and vowed to keep fighting until his fall. Asaph narrowed his eyes defiantly and once again used his sword as a shield and then pushed it up, forcing Archimicarus to step back. He decided to use Dipper's tactic; it was the perfect plan.

"Art thou ready to give up yet, hybrid?" The captain asked formally. Perhaps he was just trying to be dramatic like Danna. Asaph grinned tiredly.

"Not yet" He responded.

Asaph ran around as fast as he could to confuse his opponent. Every move was unpredictable and unplanned – he was zipping around and going at every possible direction. Being smaller and leaner than Archimicarus, he was faster and had a good chance of avoiding another attack. The captain gritted his teeth, not exactly content with his new challenge, and charged at Asaph with full energy. The black-haired boy was surprised to see how fast his opponent was, but that would be a lesson to never underestimate anyone. "Be faster!" Archimicarus yelled as he attempted to attack Asaph, who dodged the blow skillfully.

I have to steal his sword, Asaph thought. Archimicarus smirked as he could read minds, but let the child carry on with his plan. Let's see how this goes on… He wondered.

Asaph then continued his previous plan – his goal was to tire Archimicarus mentally and physically, but, being a demon, his plan perhaps wasn't the brightest one. Just like the soldiers earlier, Archimicarus attacked and retreated whenever he felt threatened. Asaph tried his best to run at every possible direction, but being just half-demon it was a difficult task. However, his plan immediately failed after Archimicarus bumped into him purposefully, making Asaph fall to the floor and let go of his sword, which flew a few centimeters away from him. Noticing his vulnerability without a weapon, and how the captain was charging against him again, Asaph used his psychic powers to bring his weapon to his hand.

"Using your psychic powers, huh? Clever, but not fast enough" Archimicarus explained as Asaph jumped into another fighting position. The sound of metal banging against metal was becoming repetitive as each opponent was trying to gain control of their situation. The battle was reaching its end. Daniel eyed Asaph's movements in awe, as he knew he would never be able to reproduce them. He then blushed slightly at other thoughts than he tried to pry away from his mind, but was unable to.

Then, Archimicarus and Asaph's swords collided once more before the captain forced his sword upwards causing Asaph's to be pried away from his hand and far from his reach. Before the boy could use his psychic powers again, Archimicarus swept his feet over Asaph's and made him fall on his back, before pointing his sword a few inches to his neck, dangerously close to it. "As I said, kid, you are smart and have good plans, but you're not fast enough to make them happen." He said. Asaph sighed, but then smiled.

"Well, that was a good battle" He extended his hand to Archimicarus, who was confused for a minute before realizing what was going on and shaking it.

"Whenever you feel like fighting me and showing your new tactics, I'll always be here." He explained. Asaph nodded before going to his group.

"Well, now that we've had our little show, let's go." Beatrice said. They all nodded before exiting the arena. Archimicarus sighed and smiled, inhaling deeply, as he once again used his sword as a cane to lean against it, but his joy ended quickly when he spotted something sparkling at the corner of his eye. Archimicarus raised an eyebrow and bowed down to grab the object. It was a golden necklace with a cross on the tip, carefully made with every little detail possible. Maybe it's that boy's… He thought, before going after him. He had to return it to Asaph before it was too late. Just then, while walking towards the door, another thing caught his eye. At the back of the cross, there was a small writing on it.

He analyzed it deeply before he stopped walking completely. Archimicarus paled.

Written at the back of the cross was the name of his long lost lover, Alma Horth.

A/N: I'm back, and I have nothing else to say other than I'm on vacations and motivated af to write, so let's just read this author's note and go to sleep because I've got nothing to say. JK, here are the questions:

(1) What did you think of the battle? Who did you think would win?
(2) What would your tactic be?
(3) Archimicarus? STEVEN UNIVERSE?
(4) Alma Horth is Archimicarus' lover? Does that mean...?

And that's all for today, folks. Bye bye!

Awakened Niwana, off.