Teen TitansThe Chaos Round-Part Two Between Worlds, Against all Odds

by Inkblot24

Our heroes' plight continues as the Chosen's promised vow to a daemon of manifestation is tested -he's forced to fight his own sister to the death, an old enemy resurfaces, and a bond that could unexpectedly save his planet, is brought into question -find out the rest in part two! The chaos round continues, here!

5. Chapter 5

Teen Titans; New Generations – The Chaos Round Arc – Part Two – Against All Odds; Chapter Five: Die Hard or Die Trying – Losers Weepers – The Hidden Chamber of Ignito

/

Ami awoke to a soundless room; a completely quieted mind. She looked all around and saw a bed chamber which could have held a giant inside it.

She peaked round the corner and tip toed quieter still, closer to the figure who'd been sleeping soundly from within the airy sheets. Ami drew back a layer and who better to bat its eyes in her direction –

~Ama…. Terasu! ~ She gasped and flew into the character's lighter than normal arms. Ami looked up into the mask – less goddess of the sun's warm eyes. They were wavering. She drew in a breath and pulled back to cough into her arm.

Her eyes looked sunken in. Her breathing was almost rapid, erratic as her fits had been all throughout the year. Altogether, it was hardest for poor Ami, who had to witness her friend in such pain before her now.

~Ah...A- A- Are you hurt? What's wrong! I saw you before, but…y-you weren't like this! -

Ami wasn't smiling. Amaterasu smiled back to her pupil however, in a way by the goddess's name that had the young girl's heart sinking as slowly as a large stone into a cold, boggy marsh. The reeds preventing the stony piece from finding the water's bottom. She lay there, metaphorically as swollen as that boulder – making its way back towards the water's edge.

Slowly, her spirits did sink, for she knew what had occurred while Amaterasu had been absent from inside her young dreams.

~You, are so sick…. Is, is there a cure? ~ She wondered with her young, blue eyes longing to be that cure – the one that could save her dear teacher from disappearing too soon.

Amaterasu's robes were as summer lilies; all coiled up to avoid the burn of a late sun's set of rays upon their caps. She too looked pale and sickly in her sunny kimono. Her eyes shone, yet not at the sun. Not as a shimmer, as Ami's tears which had chosen to fall to the ground with a soft plop* plop* in front of the very ill goddess's feet, only showed vividly from beneath the child's dark lashes.

~You, you really are! Who…What did this to you?! Why are you not ok? You…you gave me my own magic; I can't do it! I…You keep telling me, but how? ~ Ami begged the goddess to explain, as she crumpled to her knees, racked with sobs. She was in the garb of her Guardian to - be self; the robes of a Solar Miko in training. Her ponytail bobbed about furiously as the fourteen-year-old shook her head like mad, refusing to call this a lasting goodbye between more than a simple teacher or student.

~I don't want it to end! I was supposed to help you! That's why I'm here, right? ~ She asked the silent goddess, who still kept her warm eyes shut with a small grin on her unblemished cheeks.

~I…I can get better at my magic, but you can't leave! I won't grow any stronger without –

Amaterasu raised a light arm to point in the direction opposite the ebony child's head. Through the mind - spoken word, she spoke to Ami directly, her eyes unwavering from the direction in which she pointed.

~The sun is not your guide, go towards the light; for that which shines, is my last gift to you. One day, you shall inherit this rite. I chose you at a tender age to help not just my kind. ~ She explained; ~Yet, the many worlds, in order to aid…. Cough! *…Cough! * ~ Amaterasu pulled away from young Amelia Grayson, acting on her own to protect her young charge while she still had time left to recover. She hoped that Bao Shi and the rest of her allies were diligently searching for a cure. She did not wish to leave this world barren and covered in an eternal winter as the enemy had wanted of her kind.

Ami was a part of her, just as her powers could raise the sun from dusk unto dawn.

Yet, like Ava; Amelia Grayson was born to human parents. Ava was reborn and brought to guide Aiden and his siblings once they had awakened to their true cause.

Ami had school, and family, and good friends all around her. She had a brother and sisters – even if one had not been related by blood, the optimistic child in her sights was one and the same. She could return that same light heartedness to the world as long as her sun - magic was properly nurtured.

Ami frowned up at the wafting, tall specter of a woman. Amaterasu just smiled back, her face paler now than the few minutes before, where Ami's bit of appraisal from her teacher had been always to lift her spirits. Yet, why did she feel so unhappy? She had to be! Amaterasu's life force was extremely weak! The earth was in ruins, and it was all up to the Titans and Young Justice, along with beings from other realms…To save it.

~I, will fight this. ~ Ami told the goddess, who blinked back, subjectively aiming to guess the child's next move.

~You are not able to, not alone. That is why I did not leave you without your own protectors. ~ Amaterasu said this, though Ami lowered her head and sniffled back with another sob. She wiped her red nose with the back of her arm; her Miko's sleeves seemed to droop as delicately as wilting petals from a dying bouquet.

She dropped that same arm after, setting it back to her side. A good cry wasn't enough. Too many of her friends had died. Haru was gone. Now, so was Amaterasu – Hime. She couldn't save them. They kept trying to protect her – she wanted to protect herself for a change.

~If that is your wish. ~ Amaterasu smiled and leaned to be at the same level as her young charge's tear – streaked face.

~What? ~ Ami strained to see by her tears as Amaterasu gave to the young pupil her last, remaining gift to give. The gift of joy, a treasure from her days as a princess of olden Japan's historic past.

~This mirror is a doorway into the heart of those you wish to connect to. ~

Ami gawked at the shining example of her rites; she'd seen it before. It had been a tool used against Amelia, her darker half (post arcs, Ami fought against her dark half that Roku released, it returned and has caused our heroes a great deal of trouble before. Similar to Anya, Amelia did not only control Ami, yet Ami gave into her dark side to save herself in the process. That is why her dark side is taboo, she refuses to call herself weak when she knows that she is in fact the youngest solar protector besides Anna.)

That face was reflected back, and Ami saw her nearly grown self as if it were to be her true self, her tomorrow. ~I…Can save my family with this…But, it's yours! You'll be even weaker without it! ~

~Such humility. ~ Amaterasu let out a soft, small laugh as if she had the strength there to protest.

~The mirror is a part of my soul. I will always be there, if you call to it. This is all that can be done. ~ Amaterasu clutched her aching heart with a sharp, hiss. Her magic was fading out, the sun had lost its light long ago. The earthen folk she'd protected, no longer had use for a relic from the ageless past days of yore.

~Take care of Kaede and Koko – chan for me…~ She breathed heavily, falling from her elevated grace. Her eyes were sinking in. Her features further growing dim as a dark night.

~Amaterasu! No! I…I'm not ready! You, you have to wake up! Amater! –

The dream had ended as Ami again, rose to face reality. Her eyes filled to the brim with the saddest goodbye she'd ever had to bare witness to.

Her mom, and dad….

~Anna…You were wrong…I could have kept fighting…But, I don't want to lose, I'm going! –

~Zakenna! ~ Kaede gripped the terrified Ami by her shoulders and tried to coax the poor child back into a calmer state. She was there, with fox ears and a tail, yet in her school uniform. Kaede looked tired out. Her eyes were full of fear, regret. That her sibling had lost her life to another force, she was all alone. A lone kitsune. And poor Ami was who she had left to guard…

Ami held the mirror on a chain round her throat. As if it had been kept to be a secret from all others the child trusted, Amaterasu's gift could weaken her life force too soon without knowing how to use it. Her older self in the last arc had used it instinctively to free the child from being brainwashed by her shadow self. However, it was a powerful item. If the kitsune knew anything, it would be about that item of her mistress's power.

~I…Ugnh…~ Ami fell into Kaede's arms as her eyes watered over. Her nose dripped profusely, while the fox guardian had little patience for the crying student.

Koko shook her head and helped Ami to lie back down for a time. ~She is still rather weak. The affliction is gone, yet the energy she used to come back to us has not yet fully –

~We don't have the time to sit idly by! ~ Kaede got up off of her knees and stomped for the door.

~I see now that Ami – Chan will not be ready to receive the goddess's full blessing –

"You're wrong…~ Ami partly used the speak as her words resonated louder than when she'd come to.

Kaede looked back at the moping fourteen-year-old and sighed. ~ You can't fight them. There are too many to face. And while there are so few of us to face that hoard outside, we cannot put our lives at risk as we recover here. ~

"I know, but I have an idea. That, and I saw her. Thank - you – very - much! ~ Ami smirked at the fox. As her mood had suddenly swapped itself out, Koko swiped a palm over her forehead in one swift movement.

~Thank the gods of good fortune that your return was an enlightening one. Eh, Kaede – kun? ~

Kaede turned back to the temple door, where now the swarm had started to knock loudly against the barrier with a force of many more 'zombified' mortal souls.

~We cannot stay, Koko. ~ Kaede looked at Ami as she'd not yet recuperated from her upset.

~Ami needs to learn that a retreat; such as moving away from danger, does not spell out weakness in a person who wishes to win the fight –

~Phhhh! So serious, Kaede -Chan! ~ Koko set off a raspberry and rolled her eyes. Eventually, she'd understood. Kaede was putting on quite a show that she herself could not even hope to know, maybe that Haru was seeing from afar of her big sister's behavior right now.

~We cannot depend on running forever. I believe there is a better way. ~ Koko smiled back with her fang of a wolf - kami showing past her lips a little. Her bushy tail wagged at the chance to change Kaede's outlook. The world was not to run and hide from, yet to use as an obstacle of puzzles and riddles, as they swam through the sphere's complex trials with the most ease. She was here to help; as Amaterasu had deemed that the little wolf had such a will about her, as to aid the chosen's siblings and to stop the onslaught with her absolute cunning and strength combined.

~What way is there that you play at, Ookami - san? ~ Kaede narrowed her gaze as Koko readied her plan to the fox – mostly being in human form.

~Firstly, ~ She started off by speaking aloud to her small group – mates.

~ Ami – Chan has returned with a gift in her hands. We can help her to use this relic she now clings to, to usurp our enemies. It is very simple. ~ The wolf beamed and bounded over to Ami's arm; the child rubbed her eyes as the spell had started to wane almost entirely.

~K…. Kaede? Who –

~Hiya! I am called Koko, Ami -Chan! Kaede is here too! ~ She pointed to the embarrassed fox in her human get - up.

~Sorry…Ami- Chan... ~ She was a might more flustered thanks to Koko's overwhelming optimism.

~Koko…~ Ami looked the wolf kami up and down, then looked to Kaede and spoke. She was now fully awake, which meant that Koko had planned for the spell to wear off once she'd used her craft to heal the child's affliction.

~Why are you two staring like that? Did something –

~No time, Ami – Chan! We have a tiny favor to ask before the zombies take your temple away –

~What? ~

~Koko! ~ Kaede growled. ~ Ami does not know about the enemy! She was unconscious before arriving in Tokyo! ~

~OH, well! Nothing you can do, but Ami – Chan? ~ Koko's big eyes had gotten even wider as she used her wolf's cunning to reach deep within Ami's heart for that mere moment of seconds. The clock was ticking away as Kaede wanted to run without a plan, yet could not. She was to stay by the vassal of Amaterasu – Hime's side. It was her sworn duty. Even without Haru here, Kaede still felt desperate and all alone. Ami was not her least favorite charge throughout the ages, just the last she'd hoped to come across. For many masters had been lost, she did not want Ami to be lost as they had as well.

~ Ami -Chan, you have a gift from the Goddess. Do you not? ~

Ami blinked up at Koko and with a wide expression. Her suspicions, piqued.

~How do you know that? Wait…Who are you, really? –

~I am the Healer known as Koko to you, yet in my land I am actually the descendant of the Great Ainu Wolf God; Horkew (pardon the translation) Kamuy - Dono. He was my grandfather! I am the last few of my kindred that remains. For I too know of a deity that called out to my clan, called Leto, from the west –

~I thought Amaterasu – Hime sent you? ~ Kaede was puzzled. Ami felt as if her eyes would pop.

~I was! Mainly, but Amaterasu is part of a pantheon that is not God - less, yet contains the oldest of allies in one great big hall. I too am of this plane due to my heritage. ~

~Then, you are not of the spirit realm, you are –

~A Universal Agent of sorts. Amaterasu is also as well as your allies Kaien, Isis, Autur. Ah, they are not really Eternal beings but Universal ones as well! ~

~Then it is true…~ As the words had been spoken, Kaede lowered herself into a kowtow. ~ Welcome, your realm's true strength will be our resolve in this fight for the earthen child's plane as well as for all of the spirit divides. ~ She said this in a composed manner as she'd been trained to for many moons.

Ami looked to both dogs and scratched her head. ~Then, you want me to help? Amaterasu gave me…Oh, yeah! I remember! ~ Ami pulled out the magical charm from below her kimono's neckline and showed the dangling trinket to her allies.

~Yes! It is quite cute for a Mahou Shoujo such as this one, Kaede -Kun. ~ Koko smiled and geared herself towards the young vassal to be.

~Will you use it to open the field that divides your realm and another? That way, we can sneak away and locate your family who is fighting for our sake –

~Who? It's my dad, isn't it! I think he was supposed to meet us at the train. Oh, boy…~ Ami slapped a hand to her cheek. ~Holy family reunion, Batman! –

~Ami…. What are you taking about? ~ Kaede asked, almost as bewildered at their new comrade from the Universal world.

Koko, still was unfamiliar with the character the younger tween tended to blurt out in situations that called for it. A man who was a bat…In her world, those were blood sucking monsters. Where was that from, then?

Kaede stood up, but then found herself smiling. Then a chuckle. Before there was time, she was laughing happily, amused; as if her charge had done something purely by magic.

No, she was able to feel again. Her f…. family, was not why. Haru would want them all to be strong and clear – headed in order to know this same happiness, all over again.

Ami grinned back. She'd not changed in the years Kaede had gotten to know the young tween – aged daughter of Earth.

And the sun, now and forever, as a child born to take on the role Lady Amaterasu had handed to her.

~Let's head out and face that enemy for good! Are you with us, Kaede – Chan?... ~ Ami smirked the elder fox's direction. Her tone was as cunning and playful as a kit's. Ami was certainly bold at her age. Kaede smiled and shrugged her fears away to move along ahead.

~As long as Ami may be protected, by all of us. Right, Haru - nee? ~ She sniffled and thought only of the happiness Amelia Grayson had shared with her family, Kaede would not lose her life. She had her divine rites and a message from the sun goddess that everything would work out until the bitter ending of this planet's existence proved them wrong.

It just had to be the case…That the sun could not set overhead before a goddess was to be reborn. An innocent soul, Ami housed it. Amaterasu's old soul.

/

Vespa had been a great addition to their fight. It seemed to ride on for hours; even though just as the Time Bubble with Trigon, this just wasn't true at all. It was very similar. Like being trapped inside a nightmare where the puppet master had not yet shown its true face or intentions.

Dick used his jujitsu to put the zombies away, pushing them into a heap. Pile by pile, they seemed to rise over and over again. Maybe, they were an illusion? Maybe Vespa knew the answer but refused to do anything but fight.

But then, why did this menace feel so far off? Where –

Where did he run off too! Ohhh! That, That! Hem. Mind us, you pathetic hooligans. ~ Momus nervously scratched the back of his neck and looked high and low, for Hypnos…That was it! He'd vanished from the fight without a trace!

~Where did he go? ~ Dick soon became anxious again, the boost of adrenaline was tested as Vespa slashed an enemy of Dick's from behind his unwatched side.

~You are getting tired, already?~ She complained. ~I thought the Titans of Earth made you once a leader, or are you losing touch with this reality? Really, Mortal? ~

A slash* from her scythe woke the cop off – duty, up. His eyes popped. He gasped from the trajectory OF THAT attack.

Are you on our side? Why don't we go after –

~You are not very strong – minded as they say, not into old age. ~ Vespa rolled her eyes, then did a flip over the last zombie's head she was about to –

KSswinnng!*

Dick looked on with his mouth agape. Just as if he'd witnessed the death of a family member.

This was wrong. Vespa was a cold - blooded machine. He'd just been defeating the zombies without spilling much – not like she did. They were being controlled, there had to be a way to reverse the hold Hypnos had over his captive soldiers.

She killed, like a trained assassin. And she was heading right now, towards Momus!

~ We've had enough of your little fun – times. ~ The daeomness retorted to the God of Blame with an angry sneer. She was a threat, and her real target wasn't that…

Either side counts. If you attack me – you'll never learn the truth. Dull – bladed, woman!... ~ He stuck out his tongue, unafraid of the scythe she still wielded high above her head. An aura of dark magicks licked at the God of Blame's sandals. She was fed up with toying with the enemy's pets.

~You, are a criminal. And according to my teacher back in the Under -realms, you should have been branded a traitor long ago. So now? ~ She swung the scythe up high and twirled it like a baton in her one hand.

~I've come to finish the job. To prove myself, that I'm no Dull -bladed, Mistress to ANY DEMON SCUM!~

She sent it forth as Dick threw himself at her back, but it was too late for that. A barrier prevented him from laying a finger on her. Momus screamed out as the blade hit his side. A scream that was more a screech of some unwise fowl; one who had been unlikely to escape a hunter's mighty axe.

Dick felt something inside him curdle. He'd seen this sort of sadism before. He didn't want to admit how wrong it felt.

She was becoming 'turned' by her own powers. Just as Sayu, just as Aria. The daeomness was now likely to become the Titans' and Young Justice's enemy. It was a being from another world who had not had a trial, not a single word uttered as he clawed at his bleeding shoulder. She had made him into a mortal with that cut alone.

It dawned on Richard that he'd seen it first hand.

Vespa, was a being who could kill a god.

As the river of the deity's blood ran red and hotter still, the reaper didn't stop to let the unlucky Momus bleed it all out slowly. She had a job to do. Any gorgon left alive was a threat. Unless it was a guardian ally who'd sworn their oath to the Universal Legion, then this clown was down for the count.

~ You'll never have your just reward, menace. ~ The daeomness said coolly to the bleeding runt beneath her boots. He was a sniveling mess; a damned disgrace to the timeless gods, all throughout history!

~Tell us, before you are cut to pieces by my 'dull - blade.'~ She coaxed the bleeding brat to talk by prodding the scythe into his face. A threat she was intent on keeping.

~Y-you are a m-monster! A…A soul – thief! ...I..I see it! OH yes…. You'll turn! Just as that bastard –

Ahh! Aggghh! Ok! OK! ~ The blade dug into his other, unmarred shoulder with a trickle of blood being the price of the god's obnoxious taunting.

~ Hypnos has found them! –

AAAAGGHHHH!~ Richard shoved himself again to fight back; to press against Vespa's hold over his actions by her dark influence.

~The …th…. caugh! *…. Agh....My…. Queen…. S…Sis…Err…Eris…. ~ He sputtered up more blood as the wound was carved deeper. The trickle became a second stream as its contents headed towards Vespa's high heeled boots of a wicked soul.

~ Where is she, then? Last chance, fool…~ The blade was brought to touch a mortal bit of bone; something that the gods would not have, even on paper. Hidden below, was his heart. Working to steady the flow as it climaxed onward. The mortal in Momus was a dead man. Richard bit his lip and felt bile rise from his throat. He was going to vomit by how much the god had bled out onto the ground of this sacred location.

Ami Can't see…~ He tried to stand, but found himself dizzied by Vespa's underworld magic. ~She'd never…be able to –

Dad! ~ Ami's voice rang out while Richard; with eyes full of fear, turned to his child and her companions with a startle to his expression.

He did not hold up well enough. Vespa was closer to her goal. Killing the rat of this 'Eris' was just a side – perk.

~The goddess of Chaos wanted you both back, safe and sound? ~ The daeomness seemed to relax her grip. She was getting the dying boy to let down his guard. Ami was forced to see it as Kaede's limbs felt weakened too by Vespa's western -style, dark - arts.

Koko pulled Ami close and in Kaede's steed, stopped the girl from having to see the fight first hand. She threw a fluffy tail over Ami's vison to mask the beat - down's presence.

Hey! ~ Ami was unable to escape as the calming aura of such an object she was encased in, took her back into a stupor. Kaede nodded to Koko, then headed towards Richard in her merely, almost - human guise.

~That…. Thank you…But…~

~That, is a Vassal of Lord Chronos's. She's frozen our time, for I sensed her aura a mile away. ~ Kaede's fur would have bristled up. Yet, her human flesh had goose – bumps all across it. She was indeed trying to decode the messenger of death's motives. Her eyes looked possessed as slits began to form. Her claws ready to defend, if need be the case.

~Ami, is she…Ok? ~ The fox turned to the doting daddy and nodded as steadily as she could, her gaze softening a bit. ~ Yes, she is no longer cursed by the bite. You can rest assured. Yet, there is something that –

Hah! A criminal…Act!? Are you a Goddess?... No, no! Eris, is…My enemy! Weak! WE were resurrected this way! Oh! The…Irony…. All of it…~

He's lost it; indefinitely as the dark aura in Vespa rose higher than any wave on the seven seas. It had tainted her quarry. Making him into a mad, shaking, barking whelp.

~But? I won't give you …. cough! *…. That satisfaction…So…JustGo get laid! Y-youstupid, Cerberus! –

Dick's eyes didn't look away as Vespa's true name had been spoken. With one last, final swing of her axe, the hunter easily beheaded the foul – mouthed jester.

His face was frozen with laughter. A divine comedy that had ended with a tragedy. It rolled as ungracefully in a barrel fall from the god's shoulders, to still itself beside the messenger's violet - black boots.

Her face read back, nothing. As if she had only eyes born to kill. Born to a master meant only to tell her what had to be done. A conscience that was strategically born from the mind of some sick for hire gun -man, not as aware of another's estranged emotions as Astarte had yet shown the heroes, she could be...

And a name; that Koko and Kaede, even Ami recognized from the three headed dog's mythos, alone.

The keeper of the gates of the Underworld. Tartarus and the Titans.

Truly a horrific way to go. And under the swinging axe of Time's lawless executioner.

/

Anna would have fumbled in the darkness for hours. She had the wings to glide by, to seek out new destinations, as long as her mind remained untouched by this harpy inside her new body.

Her body, not the bird's trophy – case. She was nobody's prize.

However, the villain Lothos had not run away into that same darkness; down a dark tunnel that went underneath the city streets.

His sing - song tune left chills to return to her feathered flesh. His eyes were closer, close by. Piercing the night with a well – attuned precision that Anna lacked by her Naval Base training, he skulked along the corridors. Anna's poor ears burned.

~How are you hiding from me, little fire child? I do not wish to see you combust with all of your, regrets…~ He let the comment go with a deep hiss – until Anna had guessed him to be another creature. A slippery one.

~ I cannot wait all night, my dear-ling. ~ His old accent had poked its head out. She remembered how his speech was just as someone from the 'old country.'

He was a dark – ages kind of spook. She could not trust his words for a happy end. She had to follow HER voice from before. Find the moment and…

Ah…HA! ~

His supposed projection of a vermin; a seven-ton snake set free into the dirty sewer waters, leapt out instantly to find Anna for his master, and to pin her against an opposing wall with its great and wicked tendrils slung around her arms and legs. The chuckle Lothos had greeted his captive with was cold, deadly. As if he were about to do the same thing to her as Ami…

~Why did you test me, child? I am always to be of a hunter's strength. You? The prize; and your feathers are proof of this! ~ He reached out to grip at her arm, the one that still could transform fully if Annie lost control again.

~You are trying to tame that savage fire -beast? Do you know why this will not do? ~ He was inches from her face as she turned to the side, furious and afraid at the same time. He could hurt her. He could make it so that she'd be a flightless bird. So, she chose to let him work out his flaws. All of them were of him gloating to her face. She could have handled him if he were, just a little less vampire and a bit more demon sorcerer.

Yet, she remembered who'd trained the old Roku. The demon was here, the second teacher to the rebirthed dragon king.

Lothos had helped in corrupting Roku, while he'd also had his way with her family before. In a way, he was like Roku and that was why Ann froze up on the spot.

That deep down, the real threat had been Lothos and Lilith betting on who could further ruin that kid Aiden had wanted to protect.

They were despicable. Worse than common criminals. They'd taken pleasure in showing no mercy.

The demon's jaw was inches from Anna's throat. She knew that waiting for the end would not solve all her problems. She had to use her power, to fight back.

~A…. Away! ~ The spark was like stone to stone; a catch of metal to metal. Lothos shrunk away from Anna's sparky disposition. She's made it appear. And no. Anna was not going crazy.

Her next target was the vicious snake that had her bound. She used her wrists and created a friction that more so, rubbed that serpent the wrong way.

It hissed out and fell back, reverting to a pile of miasma and muck as it plummeting down into the filthy rivers below. Lothos growled and summoned more muck beings to avenge his creation. Anna was ready for them. With unbound restraints, she decided to see what was really under the hood for her.

The spark was not really a true spark at all. To Ann's joyous conclusion, it was a star bolt in the color orange. Just like Arianna's amber ones, her powers as a half – Tameranean had finally been awakened.

~That…That is not your power! What treachery is this? ~ Lothos was confused, left to rile himself up in dismay as Anna used once again, the power of her mother's and grand mother's solar light.

~ I decided to let the phoenix in me take a back seat. I'm all ears if you want to keep up this charade! I'm ready to make you pay for hurting my family! RRRRAAH!~

She sent an orange bolt to slice through the miasma creations of the ancient Soul – Stealer. He fled with his cloak fluttering about his terrified figure. The miasma puppets were toast, and so was the former worst of the Spirit world. Was it a trick? Was he expecting her to go after him? She did not do so, as this would make her weak to his influence again.

"I'm a freaking half – human, half - alien! Ooh, yeah! Aiden's not the only one who can pack the hea-

"Whoa!"

She had yet to find her footing as the power of flight for her was still…A bit unpolished. She'd learn from her parents later on how to control it. For now, the feathers on her arms had almost completely fallen off. She was able to regain more control back, thanks to that sudden, power - boost of confidence.

~If mom knows that both her twins are following in her footsteps, not turning into monsters…~ She wondered; as the path to the surface had become right as rain.

The hatch was above her head all along. Ironic how puffing out your chest had its perks.

"Now, to get back to Aiden." Ann smiled and looked down into the sewer waters at her own adult reflection. Staring back was the face that had saved her before from herself.

~ I knew there was a reason to be here. They need me. I can't stop now. ~

Told you; the power was already inside. You just had to know when to let it out at the right time. ~ The reflection's voice rang true through Ann's ears and gave her the power – up she craved.

"Then, it's time to do the right thing. So? Where do we go next –

To the chamber of a very old sect. Deep underground. It will allow your brother's magic to flourish. You'll know the signs once they appear so look to the Southern Gateway –

Anna was on her knees over the pool of water below. She was confused. Now, her alter - self was giving her a quest? Was this just a joke? When did she have a chance to get back to her folks?

Patience. You'll be able to return to them once your newly – gifted light has been restored. ~

"I thought this was my new power!" Anna exclaimed. The puddle – double shook its head. ~ No, you have this power which will cement your magic as a future Elemental Vassal of the Solaris House. ~

"Say what?" Anna crawled back and into the sewer wall behind her. The cement blocks did little to cool her off. Her mother's power was partly fueled by the sun and emotions. The wall almost had Ann with ten-degree burns on her arm.

The character, Kaien? He's put your name in to become the Vassal of Apollo. You were training with Astarte, yet she is not a solar relic. She is of the masculine airs, but not of the sun's magical influence. She'd be a dual aspect to Innana from ancient –

"Sort of a love and war goddess, I know. Astarte's stash of logs was the first to dictate that. She had another life back in the past, in the spirit world." Anna recalled and let the thought distract her from her worries a moment.

"Yeah, and I don't have a lunar piece of me. I don't even know if that feathered freak was my dark side." She wondered, hoping to keep an open mind that the whole world was at stake while she contemplated the human condition.

Your sibling's dark side no longer can exist. ~ The dopple said. ~Aiden's shadow was devoured by Apep. He has what you humans consider, a weak constitution. ~ She added.

Anna nodded and remembered the double of her brother's. It had been an unrulier side to Aiden who liked to push its enemy's buttons. The snake had taken the first bite in order to stay on the human plane of existence.

Otherwise, the Titans had again cleaned up one mess. Only, to make room for another pretender; a beast without a name. One with the face of an angel, an enigmatic force to be reckoned.

After all, this comic book world had to have some drive; some adaptation and growth in its characters. Raku was an added demonstration of what stories could build, while the plot had no actual destination towards what ending it sought.

This story had more than one plot, Anna realized. The first offender was not the first, but perhaps there was more to their relationship with the boy known as the Red Lord in the first place.

Red, the color of a man's blood. Not, a dragon's. Well, maybe if it were historically accurate…

She sent a look towards her double in the water that was all but determined, her mind was bound to find and locate, and bring to justice their newest threat of the week.

Well? What are you waiting for? An invitation? ~ The grin her dual – faced self gave was energizing to her Tameranean powers. Anna had her mission back; to save Aiden and all of her allies, while this also included Raku.

She didn't hate the kid as much as she thought? Why was this such an issue?

Because he has Aiden's trust and we only made him turn away from our help. ~

Anna let her breath hitch a bit in her throat, knowing that the side – thought was a wise one she'd come across.

"I didn't try to help him…I got Raku all upset, I'm just as bad a person as Astarte was to that little kid! Now I get it! Compassion…" She'd lost it along the way.

Now, it was time to reclaim her family's trust.

We ran away to show them what we were capable of, but lost sight of what was really important. ~

That last reminder had Anna flying towards the exit of this dark, dank, location in the underground. She had to find the sun's rays. Recovering would come with time. Right now, she had a demon hoard to eradicate.

/

If Anna wouldn't be the one to find the sun -relic's haunt of the cult to Ignito, then another would invariably be certain to take her place in doing just that.

As for our protagonist?

/

Just as he'd fallen into a waking calm; the arms of another no longer tightly wrapped around him, a bright light came from the southernmost direction. It was pouring out through a door made of what looked to be prism crystal. A very array of red, orange, and golden hues danced before the young male's eyes as he awoke to more than what he'd just barely witnessed inside Hypnos's dream realm.

Aiden struggled to stand as the light grew closer. It edged by his foot as he hopped out of the way, hoping to not be burned by the laser – sized beam of sun light.

~Where, am I? ~ He looked around at the door being his ticket in, as he took the strength he had to push its walls away. The thing shattered to bits by the Chosen's untapped energies. He pulled back his hands as his eyes saw what lay behind the crystalline glass.

A goblet. And a book. Or, it was as if it were a test; two objects on a large table, the rest was a scene from the Arabian Nights. The walls dated back much farther, maybe to Egypt or to the days of Babylonian times.

The book was made of stone, as were its pages. That, or he had to drink from the oversized cup and recite an oath. Who had created this place? That was the first question that came to mind as he stood gawking.

~ It seems you've flown down my halls, but I would never have known for us to meet in person. ~

Aiden turned towards the new voice in his ear. His eyes stayed fixated on the display draped in red and grape – wine, a less than subtle violet.

Or maroon, a sign to be very, cautious.

~ I saw that door and walked in. Is there a reason you are here too? ~ Aiden tried to goad on and question the other voice's methods. Was it a friend or foe? He'd never heard its voice before. Maybe, in a dream? This figure wasn't like any character Aiden had seen in a while, except for one as it stepped out into the light from out of its safe place.

Roku?~

Aiden thought the figure was much closer in resemblance, despite one factor. He seemed, different in how his eyes held onto Aiden's hazel. As if he had lost his ability to manipulate souls with his stunning gaze of a genius – mastermind.

Not as red, but as light as dusk over the desert sands.

A mystery.

He held the sun in his eyes. His own formed a sort of reassuring comfort to the blonde, as the male in his sharply dressed magician's garb took to standing taller than Roku had even done before.

Just to his eyes alone, Aiden imagined Raku looking like male with a goatee and long, long dark hair down his back. A dragon with treasures to protect, not to hoard or to steal from others.

His features were unmarred by ugliness, despite the age and normalcy of being an Immortal soul. If this was the past or future, why had Raku not shown it to him yet?

~You have a dozen questions for me, I see it clearly…Very well. Let your words touch mine, we may speak all you wish of it, only then. ~ Raku, or this figure, had a regality from his supposed heritage. He spoke cool and calm. All while Aiden would have sputtered with his mouth full of marbles to discuss this, new plane he'd never seen before.

~Ah, so. ~ Aiden blinked back to reality. This dragon was just like a beam of light. A power – source. So, that was why Lilith was kid-crazy (ew) for her pupil! He was light to her, and she had been the moth attracted to his aura. Raven had explained that she'd not trusted Raku due to the fact that he could be persuasive if given in to by a weak mind...

Which meant, Aiden had a lot to learn about mythical figures.

The figure had an interesting comparison to any magician in hiding. His workspace was here, amid the pillars that sought out the walls as the inanimate carvings spanned along down the darkest halls. With their meanings throughout time and space engraved with every step their barer stepped past, in his boots of wayward soul, for this soul had a story to tell as well.

Raku, or Roku? Who was this being who had the face of both, or neither? Even if his aura was the only thing keeping Aiden's nerves at ease. He was not, and that was why Aiden stayed. This figure, was an illusion made by a memory that never was.

But, by whom?

~ Then, question one; ~ Aiden started off with his arms barely crossed over his chest. ~ What is this place, and who created it and summoned me here? –

~Oh, my. Aren't we picky? ~ The smile of the tall, daring figure gave was a bit too much. He was also a kidder by that smirk, his face a picture out of a fairy tale. He had such a handsome grin about him, unlike the dragon's snaking - sneer or snarls of rage.

~That was approximately three total questions, not one. And sadly, no. I'm not a genie. You don't have to try for three magical turns, I don't subdue all of my guests. Sorry. For, you know now, I have had very few...You may well be the second to have found my keep, so well lit… ~ The figure leaned casually back into the table which held the goblet and special spell book on it. As if Aiden were talking to an old friend. It was far from strange.

~Wait…. So, you aren't Raku…. ~ He pointed carefully at the genie, hoping not to stir up any trouble while he was in another dimension carefully crafted BY the dragon.

~Well…~ The figure frowned and turned his head to the sky, toying with his own dark mane a bit, then his goatee as he stroked it to think. ~ Maybe, we are connected. That was one question, the original of your first before those two more -

~Wait! Ok, ok…Cool it, Aiden…. ~ Aiden coaxed himself to stay focused. He turned to look up at the waiting figure. Its eyes as innocent as one who knew nothing at all.

~Okay…. So, then the place we are in, where is it located right now? In this time? ~

~Hmm, interesting you should ask. Well, you know of space and time, I take it? At least by what you've been taught. ~ The figure let loose its goatee and looked in Aiden's direction. ~ Don't you, child. ~

~ I'm an adult in my world. I'd rather you call me -

~A name is all you wish not of it, yet whilst here you command your host so? That, I cannot give and nor should you expect if your instincts tell; as you wander about his halls, know that my role is my own. To we Immortal beasts, you are but the last to thrive in place of all other life –

~Who's pulling the strings, already? Enough riddles! ~ Aiden was wasting time! He'd risk it. Have himself home by tomorrow at that rate!

The figure might have jumped back by the mortal born teen's abruptly – pointed demands. Sharp as pitch forks. He'd come to this space to avoid ignorant - minded sinners and soul - less apparitions from his own plane.

A sharper spear in his view, the figure decided to end the charade, on its own terms. For this was its house, its temple. Aiden was simply, a guest.

Ehen. According to my recent creator's notes…. Let's see. ~ As in a Disnere (copyright typo purposely to keep the peace) film that had attracted many followers that summer season, Aiden watched as a pile of papyrus scripts were levitated over his head and into the hands of the older, magical male. Aiden gawked at the act. This wasn't…He wasn't threatening…A god, was he? A feeling in Aiden sunk into the sea of his hidden doubts. Oh, shit. If it had been, it was like any deity. Male or female, new or old.

He was fucking cursed for life by that complaint. Holy –

Aha! Here it is…So, my creator; being the man you have met, yes…. He says here…That in the event of your arrival, interesting choice of words…Out of being outwitted by a mortal, one must seek to meet the guest's demands as long as they are pure of heart. So, mortal hero. ~ The creature put away his good reading spectacles into a small pocket on his belt. Another Disnere cliché.

Aiden gulped. Great, judgement day. Who? What did it mean, who he'd met? That was…

Was…

W…. waaait...-

He created you? Raku? You're! –

~Ah, that does ruin the shock value. But, yes! You've done it. I am… ~ The creature took to the floor as the cloak behind him fluttered around the figure a wafting fog induced cluster, its intentions still made unclear. Aiden saw how it knelt as if to call his guest a king. He hoped it would not come to that.

~ I am the face of the lone sorcerer in his heart. A being whom knew not of casting and curses. I am the soul which would have thrived had the boy that day not left his capital. He would always be in longing of a simple house to call his own...though…. Funny. ~ The character shook his head and chuckled while slowly rising to meet Aiden's eyes.

~I am the Alchemist known as both a creator in itself. A being of unknown origins. Manifesto, the cursed name is also of my alter, just as Lord Roku was to our dear Eclipsed son, your Raku. Yet, you may call of I to be none other, than the forgotten; Lord Ignito. The keeper of a sacred flame to the house of Lord Azag and to the Sorceress Lady Talia. There, they were not gods to us, yet to your kin, as it was as any other legend could be, and to my creator, they were untouched by sin in his eyes... ~ Ignito smiled off into the distance.

~ I am as you say…A, Time - lord. I control this space. As it suits me. ~ Beaming at its treasures and troves galore, the figure soon turned again to Aiden.

~And so, where then must you travel, little passenger? ~ He asked with his manner that of a noble in body and mind.

Aiden was unsure of what had just happened. Was…. So, was Ignito telling him his origin story? That was a big deal!

~And, like Raku, is your beginning like his? ~ Aiden wondered. ~ Did you end up the same way or is this, like an alternate world that he created by himself –

~Well, you seem to know your way around the divine after all. ~ Ignito nodded and turned to stare at the opposing wall that lay behind Aiden's back. He pointed to a spot on it as the glowing sandstone 'lit up' by its master's calling.

Time. It exists to you humans. It is expansive and wide as the void of ends is never – ending. ~ The creature preached softly.

~And Time also has keepers to hold its records. They are not mere mortals such as you and your kin. Nor as my own creator once seemed. ~

~Raku, was human. ~ Aiden was impressed. ~ So, he's not now. He was a kid with demi – God blood –

~ His father, was a record keeper of that same time. An Immortal born to Time's laws, itself. ~ Ignito interjected. ~ Azag was no true serpent. He engulfed the dunes, knew every death as it came to him. As well as spent his time on separate planes, knowing when his time would not yet be. ~

~So, Raku was his kid. He's said he betrayed his father, that he ended the kingdom by turning to side with Lilith. ~ Aiden shrugged and shifted his feet a bit. He was relaxing way too much. Home… Where was it again. Had he lost focus?

~Azag had numerous sired; as Zeus had his loins unmet by that same time. Time to you, exists to vary in different places. Azag was not in Raku's time. He was left in the future – world. Raku, was born to the past. Talia had her babe in a line that was not one familiar to Azag's line, there they had lived. For Jinn were not familiar to Sumer and her stories –

~Azag traveled to the past, and what? ~

Aiden had not realized that. Raku was older but younger, than his dad?

~Quick question. What About Lil? Wasn't she from the same time? Was Raku on her hit list from the beginning? –

~Lilly? She was a Mesopotamia relic or Sumerian one that fell due to a crisis and damnation on your plane. When one civilization rose, another came to claim it. Babylon was her name. Ishtar was originally the Succubi – to – be's patron saint. Yet, Lil was born by man's hatred of the women he'd sworn to leave sacred. AS a witch, an Anti – figure for men to get their pride, to toss it asunder... ~

~ Dude, feminist much? ~ Aiden blinked by how woke this version of Raku was. ~The past I though, hated anything to do with gender - equality. ~

~It was divided, and Lilu was no more than an Anti -figure of the artist's beliefs, ass I've spoken. In Judaic knowledge, a 'Lilln' (typo) was a succubus to all women who came too close. The name of a firstly branded witch – hunt. Witch of Babylon, Sheba. That was all the same in context. Could you not tell the hatred that was shared between master and pupil? Could not it have been a lover's quarrel? Lilu knew it always. In time, just as Azag, Lilu would lose her strength to a man. It was how you humans damned a goddess to such a fate. ~ He seemed angry. Aiden saw how the figure kept this grief at bay only for so long.

Aiden understood the gist. Humans had created the concept of a succubus by how much hatred had been born in the past on Earth. The spirit world though, had been matriarchal in most forms. Until Roku had taken his envy and anger out on the spirit. He'd been half human. That, and Lil had slept with…. Raku and Azag?

Gross!

~Then, Lilith was just getting rid of her competition. Ok, that's pretty easy to guess. ~

~ Yes, but you do not recall ALL of my creator's untapped magical strength. For he was none other than the same son of a dying - moon – and – solar -deity. Azag kept the sacred light of life alive, for it could bring about creation. About destruction. And about –

~Manifestation. ~ Aiden sighed. ~ But why is that such a big deal? Humans made the spirit world. So, maybe the reason why –

~Half mortal, he was a threat. Can you imagine? Between realms? He could BE the only God! Rebirth would continue, yet on Earth, none could die. A very figure in your midst, and in danger right now! ~ The figure leaned in to gaze back at Aiden, its eyes filled with a suspected worry. For its master, for its own being. It was a loyal keeper of tales. As in, stories told before their time.

~Any granted its blessing of the sun and of Raku's father's painful curse, the Phoenix shows the way - yet his true allegiance was always to ITS creator. A soul – giver, never to take. But that will not stand. You must go –

~I still don't understand! ~ Aiden blurted out as the figure stilled. Its eyes on the hero.

~Very well. Before Raku, there were others. Horus of the sky, some I cannot recall for I, was only born yesterday. ~ It wove its tale well. Strong candles burned about; the torches lit from hall to hall. Leading back towards the broken wall of glass that Aiden had smashed to pieces mercilessly on his way inside, a light would have appeared to carry him home in this scenario. Aiden held his breath a bit, hoping not to lose sight of that doorway home.

~ You are blessed by my lord. You are his savior. Be it well enough, again you shall prove that you carry his curse on your back. The Phoenix watches, for it cannot intervene. The daughters of Egyptian soil cannot touch you. For you, were born to carry his will along. Aiden; Chosen of the Golden Dawn and of the Rites to Ignito's

Fire of Sacred Creation –

~ I just, need you to tell me! ~ Aiden stopped the procession and again shocked the figure into obeying.

~What does the enemy want with Raku? Is he that important –

~Actually. ~ The figure pulled back and smoothed away its mane from its side. ~ The goddess of Grecian Romance and Chaos wishes to do as with all Power -Sources made visible to the naked eye; she wishes to steal his magical abilities. ~

Aiden cussed his luck. He had a lot to learn about playing bad -cop with Immortal men.

Manifestation as I spoke, was not born unto the life of one God. It was a gift to those who could destroy and create life. That enemy now, is called Eris. She was once bashed by my alter - self, the dragon whom you saved. ~ Ignito went on.

~She has your ally Raku held against his will. As Roku did to you, the Chosen, Eris is wiling to do the same to my Master. This space will soon become corrupted, and I may vanish if he is laid to rest so soon…~

~Raku…I need to go there. To him. Can you use your magic to do that? ~ Aiden glanced at the door, then at the book behind Ignito that was well guarded.

~I could traverse there myself, yet I would fade before I could aid my Creator. ~ Ignito leaned onto one arm as he smoothly walked around to the back of the wide table top. ~ I see you assume the book and goblet to be of a great importance. You might be –

~If it is, tell me enough; all I need to know in five minutes or less. ~ Aiden stated. ~ Your creator is keeping this place alive. ~ He said to the Immortal sorcerer. ~ If we don't do something soon, you're going to go back to being nothing but a day -dream. We'll all either do or die trying. That's why humans are such pains in your asses. We don't know when to quit. ~

~ This is true. For you fear death and pain, to suffer, and that Is why my Creator chose to remain Eternal all his days. He did have a human heart. One that saved him in the end. ~

~ I know. He's right now…Just a scared kid who needs a family. I promised him one and ended up making the biggest mistake. I didn't act like a parent. I was, too controlling because of his powers, but it was too late. Roko –

~Our self from the…~ Ignito brought a hand to his mouth as if to never speak of that day again. Roko had been born from a drug induced blood bath. A seductive romp in a brothel that he'd ben forced to take part in…Possibly, to lose his innocence as Lilith had intended to taint the young soul in her clutches.

~Sorry, but the past is then. This, is the present. You might have been a Roku or Raku that did end up a hermit or a king, even a relic who know everything! But Raku is on our turf, Earth's. He's one of us, so you have to abide by that rule. Send me to where Roko and Eris are keeping him. ~ The blonde uttered those words clearly.

~And tell me if that book and goblet can save him or not! Time's running –

The relic known as Manifesto must have been summoned just then. Aiden saw the torches flicker, his hopes shoved back in his face.

~No…You can't take over! Where is Ignito!? –

~Don't you know, child? ~ The godly being chuckled. If Roku and Raku were alters there….

Then…. Manifesto was…. Oh…

He ducked, but the arm of the annoyed villain came back out. His grip as a boa's squeeze. God – damned painful.

~So? You simply, tutted my alter - selves' good intent? Do you know what I will do to you for disturbing MY rest? Hmm? If you want to go, you have to make well of that pact to save him. It will leave him with a mortal's strength. He will be kept alive by your energy to do so. ~

The beast dragged Aiden towards the table with the spell book wide opened, and shoved the hero onto it with the force of brick to stone. Face to worn wood and agony. It had Aiden seeing stars as he tried to remember how he'd stalled Roku back during their fight –

~If you fail, both your strings shall be cut! Your world will fall apart in an instant…And my wrath for destroying my Creator? You, and all your seed will be cursed with an eternal sickness of both mind and body. If you kill our Master, your sin shall know no bounds and our rage will tempt your mind into madness! Do it; if you drink and I must read aloud from THAT tome of Manifesto, then IT shall be. ~

He motioned to the goblet with a red - eyed glance that stung Aiden to hiss very core. As venom to a snake, an Immortal's kiss of death.

~Mani…fest…to... You…. You…. Have, a deal... Agh! ~ Aiden was let free from the older male's grip. The dragon's own grin on the sorcerer's cheeks. He was no more a jinni than a monster with a dual purpose.

~I'm relieved to say our Master was right to have chosen your father to undo his work. Yet, you shall continue to harbor that life – long guilt. Drink to your sins, mortal! Your power over him is no longer; you shall have the magic to end Eris's futile attempt of stealing such a divine power! You shall have the same art and learn to house it, for WE shall help you. ~

Aiden realized what he was doing. He was going to have all of Raku's magic as his regent. His impossible knight in shining armor so that Raku could finally live as a human pre-teen on Earth. Just like Aiden had wanted…

But, it was not really going too change him. He had these goofy aspects to keep the power at bay. They were alternative selves of Raku and Roku from another existence in space time. One where Raku had not stopped himself from being as bad - ass as King Solomon. Or as reserved with a wealth of knowledge as the many philosophers and sorcerers of other time lines.

He was, good. Despite his run in with Manifesto, Aiden wanted to keep his end of the bargain. He could not go half way on this. That was why Raku wanted a contract, because Aiden had to do more than start up a safe place on Earth for the kid to go to school, or to just be a kid in the present day.

He had to take away Raku's reason for being an outcast. As long as it was safely in his power to do so, then the contract would be completed. The gods were afraid because of that? But, why? Why did Raku suddenly become such a threat to them? He wasn't the only person who'd had this power. Horus; who was basically dead. Azag, and then…

Richard Grayson, Aiden's dad. Who else? Were others out there also subject to being lights in the dark that moths like Lilith craved? If so, Aiden only had to break the cycle in HIS time.

~Please, hand me the goblet. ~ Aiden didn't wait to catch his breath. Manifesto didn't even bother to blink as he reached over from across the table, and brought the chalice closer for Aiden to see just what its contents truly were…

What –

No turning away. It has been fated. I shall begin –

~It…It's blood! What is! –

Something wasn't right. If Raku was once a power -source…Aiden had defeated Roku…So, oh –

Shit. That was why. His hands shook as he saw the error in his judgement. A pact had a price. It stole the life - force from –

Drink! ~ Manifesto drove a free hand to grip the blonde's chin. He watched as the chalice levitated up to meet his lips, held hostage by that godly grip.

Wait! This, this will kill me! –

~No, no, silly chosen…You won't die. What would be the fun in seeing you flail about? No, your humanity will simply be, snubbed out. ~

Aiden's eyes grew wide as the chanting started up. The walls glowing golden and the aura about Manifesto, made it harder to fight off that grip he had going.

It was, the end…He had to stay here and wait it out. If it were like those vampire movies, he'd be cold as ice, run a fever, then…The transformation….

But it was for Raku to have a normal life. He'd only been a miserable kid. He had, nothing, no one but Aiden to save him.

Aiden gulped, as down the vile life - blood went. It burned the inside his throat. He wanted to clear it. His organs were not used to working overtime. It was too late to identify the substance that should not have existed inside of Aiden's gastritis - prone stomach.

It was not really of his tastes, as Aiden felt about ready to vomit from the seventh gulp. He stomached the biting pain in his chest and stomach after the eighth had passed. A mantra formed in his mind.

I am the cure! I am the cure! I cannot let Raku down…

The acidic taste easily mixed with his saliva as it went. Continuing to invade his senses. A never-ending flow. Not until the chanting was completed could he call this done, forever. He counted in his head, coming to the conclusion that the chanting would go on forever. That it was a trap, no way out. That Hypnos's tricks were why there…

He didn't try to do anything but breathe through his nose, his mouth quite busy at the moment. It seemed to work as the hot - headed hero continued to give into what he had signed up for. A life for a life, that was the gist of his quest's ending.

The chanting was to its zenith. The torches rattled and some even fell from their spaces on the walls of this hidden chamber. The room rocked as if it were to fall into a crater, deep underground.

/

Have to stop! Thyroid acted up to the point where overnight I'd gone from 127 - to 113 and lower. Flare up I think from a food that was making my taste buds beg for it; a gf nightmare, really. Summer is here to brain me, for sure. It got a bit morbid there for a second, so allow me to clarify the rest:

Raku; a character who BECAME Roku by his poisoned pact with Lilith, (Succubus mother and Anti – Figure to Eve,) refused to be the ultimate, obedient female body (who is no more a feminist than a male deity is to worship a goddess in this tale I write. Don't know. Please blame my thyroid on the crazed rant.)

They say it is an epicenter for women and men alike losing their marbles, so would not surprise me. I've had this for a straight number of years so far. If a non – cancerous tumor can do to the brain what a soul - leeching version of the big C can to one's intelligence, then I was born into this world with a purpose I do pray…Sigh…It's all workable. Trying to keep up!

Ami has met Amaterasu as a little girl, and now a teenager, her smile in the goddess's presence is all the same. She's been given the relic's own magical item that was used in one of the Goddess's myths. Can Ami really become a holder of such rites? Is it wise to assume she's ready for that much responsibility?

Anna has also found her face in the back of her mind; one she'd never believed to have its own drive or pride. She was believed to have gone through a more so change of face; like when a person comes out of a war or a brainwashing facility and is completely transformed without a clue as to why, exactly. In this case, Anna left behind her old teen aged days to pursue the Goddess incognito, Astarte as her wing -women. Anna went through training regimens meant to toughen her soft exterior a bit, but Astarte instead made Anna question herself and her role elsewhere - where her family had barely seen the teen up and move in with Sara Santiago's (Astarte's) crew. She didn't write for a very long time, totally detached from her old self.

The self she's speaking to in this arc, is more so her conscious self that knows how to balance her fear and depression wisely. She is a soldier, but with a firm head on her shoulders BECAUSE she embraces her flaws so well.

Dick and Kori are now going to have two Half - Tamaranean twins to reel in. Kori knew Aiden had that ability to toss bolts, but Anna never bothered to see that she also could do the same. Her brother is technically the same age, but Anna is a minute older by birth. She worries for her brother because he tended to be irresponsible when they were all much younger. He attacked with his other energy of the Chosen's cursed power, and after that, had a very mixed set of emotions around his own well – being. His parents could only keep the truth from the kids for so long.

Before, Ava had never had the chance to know about her full past in the other world. She had believed she'd come to Dick and Kori at four or three hears old and had been at the hospital to have Isa drop her off to the two newly named parents of the Chosen twins. Afterwards, Ami had been born on a trip to see Shoji for evaluations in Japan. She was noticed by locals at a shrine event later that week, as a child touched by a powerful being of the country. Dick and Kori only found out on another trip to see Shoji once Ami had met Amaterasu in Grade school. She'd remembered and retained more information of that day, and since, has allowed it to guide her. Amaterasu before that, was like a short -lived imaginary friend. After this, the family returned home to California, where Richard had just recovered from a meltdown and the Dragon's near -return. He'd almost lost control, as this falls under the arc where Raven infected Dick and had him go a bit…Anti - hero. Trigon's daughter stuff from the nineties. It was a thing!

The rest is old news, but Isa is now a protector of the reincarnation of Concordia; the only relic who can defeat Eris single – handedly.

So? If Hypnos's claim to fame is just a ruse, then his work here is, mostly done. He is after all, death's sibling. As they say.

Could he be a double - agent for Vespa's boss, Chronos? If not, has he just completely lost it? Is he really angry at Eris for not taking the initiative?

And is Ava really going to destroy Chris in order to save him? Can she? To her, it is a Stockholm effect for living in another world with him as her shining knight. More so, he'd have died enough times to see her fall apart.

He is just that, a shadow of his former heroism. To Ava, he's still worth saving.

But as of this while, she may have to put her doggy knight officially down. That, is enough to have her fall to pieces.

As Aiden learns of the alternate side of the dragon's grief, he also has come to see Raku as human in mind, not the other way around. His alters are manifestations of his own emotions; given life by their fated creator, who also is an ultimate demi – God of space - time and creation. His alter, Roku, was of manifestation and possibly creation. While Raku falls under destruction and loss in his own mind, he failed to embrace his own hope. So much so, that Lilith took advantage of his frustrations to warp as she saw fit. A way to pay back Azag and to prevent another son of the eclipse god from rising any time too soon.

So, then Raku; why was he both older than and younger than Azag, you ask?

Djinn in lore were not creatures from Polytheistic or Animistic traditions. They were of later Monotheistic moralist story telling. They were often depicted as demons who were ugly and hard to look at. In one way, they tricked and were always tricked by the protagonist. The idea in one story I read as a kid, was the Roc terrified the beasts like being delivered a death sentence. The Roc was a big, bad eagle that was more monster than God to the people. Not a phoenix, it was inn books I've read quite big. The ho – oh in Japan was more kaijuu in how it could hurt people, or cause natural disasters. The works, unless I'm a bit rusty.

But also, the Phoenix as Manifesto and Ignito (the good alter) put it, that the fire bird was connected to the laws that Raku "rites or lineage" also housed. Is it possible that the fire – bird is wrong? That Aiden is really uniting the new Raku's powers to have it do something else, despite the gods' complaining?

I should mention. If the Universal realm is made up of old gods, then the factor of jealousy or fear could be a very big tip off once Aiden finally convinces them to let Raku's sentence come to an end.

But, will it? Eris is after that power, Hypnos, maybe. Even Roko; who's a corrupted reincarnated, failed version of Lilith, is seeking out hope in THEIR tomorrows.

As a Chosen, Aiden can only try. He's not realized that Any power - source (including himself, the author here is a bit sadistic with the throw – togethers,) are usually mentally drained by the time their role is officially filled. Aiden took on his father's role, now the next will reveal itself when that time is nigh.

So, next chapter? Pure torture to keep this a rated M for some case or another! Have to keep up with the end of the world theme! I'm burning on empty, and gluten free graham crackers. Got to look for palm oil free versions. I'm on fire – and potato-based dishes mess up my gut so, the USA's FDA approval, everybody. Got to love the toxic relationship with a capital T.

See the rest unfold. Will Concordia come out to play? Will Raku's dark side be fed again, leading to Manifesto's signature return as earth's real threat?

How will Ava know what to do about Chris's corrupted body and spirit? Can she cure it all by herself?

~ Find out, in the next chapter! Read on and stay curious! ~