Sweet Possession
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Part III
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Hi, everybody. As indicated above, this is the third part of "Sweet Possession", and things will get flashy here. There will be magic, battles, displays of utter demonic power, and Taichi successfully casting a spell. I hope you all enjoy this story; please give me feedback.
* * *
All characters used are property, in one way or another, of Toei and Saban. These two fine examples of animation companies (snort!) have copyrights on all characters, and a Mr. Pete Abrams has a copyright on many of the major plot devices. Neither, I hope, will find it advantageous to sue me, especially as I am writing this story entirely for my (and hopefully, yours) amusement. Now, you may continue.
* * *
"Listen, Iori, we've got a situation," Taichi snapped, carefully making sure that Daisuke was still huddled under window height in the van. Hikari shook her head.
"It's too late for anyone to do anything. The demon-she's incredibly powerful; one of the best, I'm told." Yamato glanced at her, growling.
"We don't even know who this demon is!"
"Her name is R'K'M, and she is also known as 'The Soul Collector'. She holds the ability to bind the dead to her will-she calls them the Spiral-Bound."
"Couldn't they be called something cooler?" Taichi asked. "Like...well, something cooler!"
"Deadites, or how about...Undead! Or even The Alternately Alive!" Daisuke poked his head into view long enough to make his comment. Taichi shoved him down, and Rosa responded.
"Listen; R'K'M ruled our world for 25 years. She's a nearly omnipotent demon, and she had the power to RAISE THE DEAD! If she wants to call her undead minions the 'Spiral Bound', WE CALL THEM FREAKING *SPIRAL BOUND*!"
"Hey, cool down," Yamato said placidly. "We were just wondering." Rosa sat back, frowning.
"But right now, we have to focus on the problem at hand. Where could R'K'M be taking Ken? He obviously doesn't have enough control to guide himself..."
"He'll be looking for Daisuke," Yamato pointed out. "After all, R'K'M needs to pay the price to be set free from his body."
"Why the hell did Ken have to cast a spell like that?" Daisuke asked from his hiding place.
"He was very upset with you," Hikari murmured. "After all, you dumped him."
"I didn't-it's really difficult to explain," Daisuke stammered.
"Listen, we don't have time to argue," Rosa snapped. "Zero Hour is fast approaching, and we have to act fast!"
"Wait a minute; I've got an idea!" Daisuke said brightly. "If what Rosa's explained is right, and that us facing the demon is what frees it, shouldn't we just avoid her?" There was a pause. "You know, talking about Ken would be much easier if he'd been possessed by a male demon." Suddenly, the radio crackled to life.
*Hello; this is Elizabeth Doyle for WACB with a late-breaking story. I'm here live at the WACB studio, where a tense hostage situation is unfolding. A young man...who appears to be part spider, has taken the host of 'Talk to Me', Motomiya Jun, hostage. Holding the woman on the roof of the building, the...erm, JACK! WHAT THE HELL DO I REFER TO THE-THE-Oh, to the hell with it. Wait...I'm being informed that the young man is in fact the demon R'K'M. Okay. Well, the demon R'K'M, who apparently, is a female-okay, that's it! I give up! Here's the story: the demon thing is holding Jun over the edge of the building, and is asking for her brother, Daisuke. I'm going to go get a drink.* Daisuke's head shot up, and he leapt to the front of the mini-van.
"Okay; Rosa, get the book and get in the van. Everyone else: if you're not in the car in one minute, I'm going downtown withut you."
* * *
**WHAT'S WRONG, JUN? AFRAID OF A LITTLE HEIGHTS?** Jun, nearly paralyzed with fear, glared at the arachnid form of her little brother's friend.
"You are not Ken, you are something else inhabiting his body, and I order you to get OUT!" Ken, or, rather, R'K'M, laughed.
**DID YOU THINK I'D JUST LEAVE IF YOU ASKED? WHAT SORT OF-OW!** Jun was hitting R'K'M on the arm repeatedly, and he/she was flinching. **WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!** Jun smiled grimly, and continued hitting the demon. **OW!! DAMNIT! STOP IT, YOU LITTLE-**
"Drop my sister!" The demon turned to face Taichi, Yamato, Hikari, Rosa, Iori, and Daisuke, the latter of whom had spoken. "Er...well, you know what I mean!"
**WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO IF I DO NOT?** R'K'M asked, amused. Daisuke reached over and grabbed the "Liber Urbis Diabolorum" from Rosa, and turned to the demon.
"First, I must cause you pain."
**HA! FAT CHANCE OF-OW! DAMNIT! STOP IT-OOOOUUUCCHHHH!** Daisuke smiled, and flipped the book open.
"Then, by the power of the Book, %R'K'M Bcjsf Uijt Cpez!%" The air shimmered, and Ken fell to the roof surface, Jun falling next to him.
* * *
"Miyako? Where's the others?" Osamu looked frantically around the apartment. Miyako glanced up from the television at him.
"They're fighting the demon." Osamu swore.
"According to the news, they're trying to exorcise the demon."
"Well, what's wrong with that?"
"The demon was imprisoned in the book; now, it's imprisoned in Ken. The demon was trying to free itself. An exorcism will do the same thing." Miyako glanced back at the television.
"Uh oh."
* * *
"They did *what*?!" The red-haired doctor swore under his breath. "Don't they realize-"
"Izumi-hakase, Rosa still has her weapon. She can-"
"But it is untested. We are unsure how it will affect R'K'M. We cannot rely on her to save us. We have to finish the DimenFlux."
"Right!"
* * *
**HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH...DIDN'T YOU FOOLS REALIZE? AN EXORCISM ONLY FREES ME TO THE WORLD! NOW, I AM FREE TO CONQUER THIS UNIVERSE. GO, MY CHILDREN; DO MY BIDDING!** R'K'M, a huge, eight-limbed being colored red, laughed as she stepped to the edge of the roof. **I REVEL IN THIS MOMENT OF PURE TRIUMPH! BOW DOWN TO ME!**
"You forgot something, Rikim." Rosa's cold voice, although soft, was heard clearly over all the area. "I was sent here to stop you; I have the means to do so." She raised her left arm, which was clad in a metal glove. "I believe you know about this: a Temporal Inhibitor. It stops *everything* affected by the four demensions." R'K'M screamed, and tried to leap out of the way, but the flash engulfed her. When the light cleared, the spiderlike demon, face frozen in horror, stood on the roof. Rosa dropped the gun, and smiled. "Well, that's the end of that." There was silence. Finally, Yamato spoke.
"What was that?" Rosa grinned.
"It's a one-shot weapon intended to freeze one sentinent being in time for a thousand years. You see, by the year 2020, we discovered a method to render matter completely inaccessible to the rest of the universe, and, with R'K'M out of service until then, we can trap her there until the end of time."
"Well, whatever it was, it was great!" Taichi cried. "Especially that look on her face when you shot the Time-thingie. That was classic."
"Um, guys? Where'd she go?" Six pairs of eyes traveled to the empty spot where R'K'M had stood a moment ago.
"Okay, there's a slight problem. The Temporal Inhibitor was based off of a device known as a DimenFlux."
"Which is...?" Daisuke prompted.
"A gateway to other dimensions. Therefore, it is a definite possibility that R'K'M, in the freezing process, was sent to another world." Silence fell over the group.
"Well, then what can we do?"
"There is nothing we *can* do...R'K'M is in another world, and we cannot trace her." And so, the procession down to the earth again, even with the freed Ken, was a somber one. R'K'M was defeated, but at what cost?
* * *
"Lord Joe, why do you not fight against the new threat to our land?" The blue-haired king looked up at his advisor.
"Stephen, there is no threat. Merlin's talk of demons and the legendary 'Storm-Breaker' is nothing that concerns us." Stephen nodded, but as he left the room, he took a long glance into his king's eyes. He nodded, and vanished into the hallways of the castle. Joe, after seeing him leave, relaxed in the throne. His shape shifted into that of a /Corps/, an undead creature wrapped in cloth.
##R'K'M, I hope you know what you're doing. If they suspect, this body will be destroyed. And you know that the people will be guarded against possession. I was lucky this man was mourning the loss of his lover.## The air before him shimmered, and R'K'M appeared, frowning.
**HONESTLY, MUM'M, YOU WORRY TOO MUCH. THERE IS NO ONE WHO COULD STOP US. EVEN THE 'STORM BREAKER' IS STILL WITHIN ANOTHER WORLD. WE ARE SAFE.**
* * *
"Why hasn't he woken up?" Daisuke asked, his actions displaying his nervousness. He paced the waiting room in the hospital, and it was Rosa who answered him.
"Rikim was known as the 'Soul Collector' for a reason, Daisuke. It is in her nature not only to control the souls of the dead, but to also devour the souls of the living. It is from these souls that she derives her power." Daisuke turned to her, incredulous.
"So he might never wake up?" Rosa shook her head.
"Our only hope would be to find Rikim and destroy her. Only then would the souls be released."
"But how could we follow her? You said that she was in another dimension!"
"I don't know."
* * *
Miyako handed a glass of lemonade to Osamu, and sat next to him.
"Frankly, we shouldn't worry until we hear news from them. We don't know where they would have taken any wounded, or how to reach them." She lounged back in a chair, watching the bluenette with half a mind.
"I suppose your right; but it's hard waiting around to know Ken could be hurt-or worse."
"Hello? Is...Taichi here?" Miyako stood up and walked to the front door, where she found a red-haired man attempting to get into the apartment.
"May I help you?" she asked acidly. He frowned.
"I'm sorry; I'm looking for Yagami Taichi. It's very important. You see, I know how to help destroy R'K'M."
* * *
"Daisuke, there's nothing we can do for Ken right now." Rosa looked sympathetically at him. "My family was taken by Rikim as well...it's why I joined the resistance. So many people were killed by the Spiral Bound, or taken by Rikim, that the human race died out. There were only two of us left, when..." She trailed off. The mini-van was silent.
"Wait; Rosa, you said that the Temporal Inhibitor worked off of the same principles as a dimension-jumping device," Yamato said brightly. "Couldn't you just 'freeze' us, and we'd end up in the same-"
"NO!" Rosa blushed, and sat back. "I'm sorry; no, it's not possible. On one hand, the device had only one charge. On the other, there's no guarantee you'd be sent into another diension; you might simply be frozen. On another...there's no way to trace something in the dimensional flux without having traced it from its launching point onward. Rikim could be anywhere." There was another lull of silence, and then Daisuke spoke up.
"So it's hopeless." It was then that Hikari spoke up.
"It's not hopeless. There are...ways to shift the balance to our favor." The attention of the passengers turned to her. "I never shared this, but...when I arrived here, on Earth, I had, and still have, a book. It is known as the 'Sciens Liber'; and it is a sentinent being." She took a deep breath. "It is prophetic, and it can tell us of any ways we may find R'K'M, and destroy her." After her short speech, the atmosphere in the car was noticeably brighter. However, in a few moments, the mini-van turned into the parking lot of the apartment building. And a red-haired man stood there with both Osamu and Miyako. Rosa inhaled in a sharp moment, and said, in awe,
"That's Izumi-hakase!" The red-haired man approached the car slowly, and waited patiently as the passengers ejected themselves onto the sidewalk. The red-haired doctor smiled at Rosa.
"Hello, Rosa. I hope you are well. I've got good news and bad news." They all looked to him expectantly. "The good news is that I have traced the demon R'K'M to her target dimension, and that I have a DimenFlux for your use."
"It sounds too good to be true," Yamato muttered.
"It is. The bad news is, in order to destroy R'K'M, you must use the antithesis to the 'Liber Urbis Diabolorum': the 'Annj ne Zmfdk'r Oqhcd'." There was silence.
"The Book of Angel's Pride?" Iori asked uncertainly. The man nodded.
"The Book alone is able to destroy a demon of the 'Diabolorum'. While the force of R'K'M's book is that of the devil, the Annj is powered by angels."
"Wait a minute," Taichi protested. "I've never heard that language before, yet I understood the title of the book. Why?" Izumi-hakase chuckled.
"The Annj is written in Proto-IndoEuropean, the most basic of all languages. One cannot *help* but to understand it."
"So, how do we find the Annj?" Hikari asked.
"The Annj exists in every dimension. In ours, the Annj was destroyed in the Catashtrophe, when R'K'M came to power. Right now, though, it is under the ownership of William Gates. Therefore, we must find it in the world R'K'M has landed in."
"Which is the problem?" Daisuke ventured. Izumi-hakase nodded.
"She has arrived in a place I call the Dungeon Dimension."
"I don't like the sound of that," Daisuke added. Then, a pink head poked from the door of the apartment, and Mimi spoke.
"I've heard about that!" Nine heads turned to her in shhock. "What?! It's a nice place." Izumi-hakase bowed his head.
"She's half-right. The Dungeon Dimension is a beautiful land, sprinkled with temples, churches, and sprawling palaces. But...it seems to have changed. I believe another demonic influence there attracted R'K'M's spirit. So...I'm sending you to the Dungeon Dimension to find the Annj, but not unprepared. Come, we must go to my lab!"
* * *
"Awesome!" Daisuke shouted, twirling his oak staff. He was now clothed in red-brown robes, and felt very important. Taichi, standing next to him, was clad mostly in leather, and brandished a broadsword. Hikari was dressed in loose brown robes, and seemed to be armed with a light mace. Jun was dressed in green and armed with a longbow, and Osamu was carrying a large variety of tools, he himself dressed in a motley-colored suit. Rosa had been told that she must stay behind, and was sulking. Yamato was dressed in black and carried several long daggers. Mimi was dressed in a pink dress and had armed herself with a dart gun. Miyako, dressed in brown slacks and a loose tunic, had a dozen throwing kives attatched to her belt. Iori refused to show himself.
"I am not going out there. I look ridiculous."
"These disguises are in the style of the people of the Dungeon Dimension, and each of your disguises have been chosen in respect to your personality and appearance." Izumi-hakase glanced at the group. "Several of you will find an unusual phenomenon occur when you arrive: all scientific knowledge and skill is converted into a like knowledge in magic. This means that most of you will have a grasp of simple spells while in the Dungeon Dimension. Hikari; your...unique position has been translated into the most approximate representation in the Dungeon Dimension: you will be a cleric. I've done all I can do for you; good luck."
"I look absolutely-"
"Oh, suck it up!" Miyako snapped. She pulled aside the changing curtain, to reveal Iori dressed in heavy leather armor, a metal helmet, and an axe. "You're a dwarf?" The giggle nearly escaped her, but she kept it under control.
"Now, please go to the lighted area over there," Izumi-hakase ordered. He wandered over to a bank of controls, and, when the adventurers were assembled, he flipped a switch. The flash of light blinded him, and when it faded, he was left alone in the room. He nodded, and then walked back to the changing area. In a few moments, he was clothed in pure black robes, and armed with an ashwood staff. He turned to the lab's entrance, and the brunette appeared, her long hair+ braided into two long strands, she clothed in an elaborate costume of leather, armor, shields, and several light swords. "Sora, are you ready to go?" She nodded.
"Izumi-hakase, why are we going?" He sighed.
"I need to ensure their safety, and without my expertise, they'll be in danger. But I'll be helping them from behind the scenes. You must help protect them." He brightened suddenly. "There's only one way we can ensure you'll do your best." He approached his control bank again, and spoke into a microphone. "Sora, until you have learned enough to be free from my control, you will be in love with Yagami Taichi. Above all, you must protect him from everything that threatens him. But after that, you are madly, truly, deeply in love with him. Now, let's go." He pushed a few buttons, and then led Sora to the pad. He gestured, and the machine roared to life. With a flash and a roar, they were gone. Rosa sat down against the wall, groaning. It was going to be a long wait, but for now, she'd hang around the lab. If something went wrong, she should be able to help them.
* * *
They landed, and the army awaited them. The land was crawling with the corps of the Dilex army. At their head was a blue-haired general, who charged for Yamato. Taichi shoved him aside as the warlord's sword sliced through the air, and then chaos fell. The earth erupted as shadowed warriors leapt from pits, and they surrounded Daisuke. The party was separated. The blue-haired lord turned to one of the travelers.
"Who are you?" The dwarf answered him, defiant yet desperate.
"We are the Storm Breaker's guardians." He glared at the being, and snorted.
"All of you, we will take you to the castle. There, we will decide your fate." He gestured, and the members of the party who had not been taken by the wraiths were dragged away, towards a castle of green stone.
* * *
~Who are you~ The voices echoed in unison through the dark caverns. ~One of the Spee-rall?~ Daisuke cowered from the voices, raising his staff in defense. Suddenly, the voices died away, and a shadowy figure flitted from the darkness.
"He traveled with the Storm Breaker." The voices rose in a murmur, then fell away. "He knows of the Plight. He seeks...the Annj." The voices grew in chorus. "Silence!" The figure engulfed Daisuke, and he felt himself suffocating. Then, it was gone. "He is the Lightning Bearer. He must be tested."
~The test~ the voices cried. ~He must know...~ The shadow bowed, and turned to the darkness. The faint light by which Daisuke had seen grew. He stared as his captors became visible. They were no more than black cloaks, and the leader was distinguished only by a silver lining. Suddenly, the cloaks flashed, and pale-skinned people appeared within the clothing. They back away from him, and the leader, a tall man with wandering eyes, held out his hand.
"Welcome, Lightning-Bearer. I am Owikawa, leader of the Tibepx clan. We will take you to the Test, and, if you survive, we will guide you to that which you seek."
"*If* I survive?"
"Have you ever heard of a basilisk?"
* * *
Yeah, sorry about this. I just had to end here. And there's the good possibility there won't be another part for a month (If I don't get a part finished by the end of the week, I will enter a three-week period without computer contact). Anyway, please give feedback!
+I frankly believe Sora would look a lot better without that stupid haircut; therefore, meet long-haired Sora!
* * *
Part III
* * *
Hi, everybody. As indicated above, this is the third part of "Sweet Possession", and things will get flashy here. There will be magic, battles, displays of utter demonic power, and Taichi successfully casting a spell. I hope you all enjoy this story; please give me feedback.
* * *
All characters used are property, in one way or another, of Toei and Saban. These two fine examples of animation companies (snort!) have copyrights on all characters, and a Mr. Pete Abrams has a copyright on many of the major plot devices. Neither, I hope, will find it advantageous to sue me, especially as I am writing this story entirely for my (and hopefully, yours) amusement. Now, you may continue.
* * *
"Listen, Iori, we've got a situation," Taichi snapped, carefully making sure that Daisuke was still huddled under window height in the van. Hikari shook her head.
"It's too late for anyone to do anything. The demon-she's incredibly powerful; one of the best, I'm told." Yamato glanced at her, growling.
"We don't even know who this demon is!"
"Her name is R'K'M, and she is also known as 'The Soul Collector'. She holds the ability to bind the dead to her will-she calls them the Spiral-Bound."
"Couldn't they be called something cooler?" Taichi asked. "Like...well, something cooler!"
"Deadites, or how about...Undead! Or even The Alternately Alive!" Daisuke poked his head into view long enough to make his comment. Taichi shoved him down, and Rosa responded.
"Listen; R'K'M ruled our world for 25 years. She's a nearly omnipotent demon, and she had the power to RAISE THE DEAD! If she wants to call her undead minions the 'Spiral Bound', WE CALL THEM FREAKING *SPIRAL BOUND*!"
"Hey, cool down," Yamato said placidly. "We were just wondering." Rosa sat back, frowning.
"But right now, we have to focus on the problem at hand. Where could R'K'M be taking Ken? He obviously doesn't have enough control to guide himself..."
"He'll be looking for Daisuke," Yamato pointed out. "After all, R'K'M needs to pay the price to be set free from his body."
"Why the hell did Ken have to cast a spell like that?" Daisuke asked from his hiding place.
"He was very upset with you," Hikari murmured. "After all, you dumped him."
"I didn't-it's really difficult to explain," Daisuke stammered.
"Listen, we don't have time to argue," Rosa snapped. "Zero Hour is fast approaching, and we have to act fast!"
"Wait a minute; I've got an idea!" Daisuke said brightly. "If what Rosa's explained is right, and that us facing the demon is what frees it, shouldn't we just avoid her?" There was a pause. "You know, talking about Ken would be much easier if he'd been possessed by a male demon." Suddenly, the radio crackled to life.
*Hello; this is Elizabeth Doyle for WACB with a late-breaking story. I'm here live at the WACB studio, where a tense hostage situation is unfolding. A young man...who appears to be part spider, has taken the host of 'Talk to Me', Motomiya Jun, hostage. Holding the woman on the roof of the building, the...erm, JACK! WHAT THE HELL DO I REFER TO THE-THE-Oh, to the hell with it. Wait...I'm being informed that the young man is in fact the demon R'K'M. Okay. Well, the demon R'K'M, who apparently, is a female-okay, that's it! I give up! Here's the story: the demon thing is holding Jun over the edge of the building, and is asking for her brother, Daisuke. I'm going to go get a drink.* Daisuke's head shot up, and he leapt to the front of the mini-van.
"Okay; Rosa, get the book and get in the van. Everyone else: if you're not in the car in one minute, I'm going downtown withut you."
* * *
**WHAT'S WRONG, JUN? AFRAID OF A LITTLE HEIGHTS?** Jun, nearly paralyzed with fear, glared at the arachnid form of her little brother's friend.
"You are not Ken, you are something else inhabiting his body, and I order you to get OUT!" Ken, or, rather, R'K'M, laughed.
**DID YOU THINK I'D JUST LEAVE IF YOU ASKED? WHAT SORT OF-OW!** Jun was hitting R'K'M on the arm repeatedly, and he/she was flinching. **WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!** Jun smiled grimly, and continued hitting the demon. **OW!! DAMNIT! STOP IT, YOU LITTLE-**
"Drop my sister!" The demon turned to face Taichi, Yamato, Hikari, Rosa, Iori, and Daisuke, the latter of whom had spoken. "Er...well, you know what I mean!"
**WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO DO IF I DO NOT?** R'K'M asked, amused. Daisuke reached over and grabbed the "Liber Urbis Diabolorum" from Rosa, and turned to the demon.
"First, I must cause you pain."
**HA! FAT CHANCE OF-OW! DAMNIT! STOP IT-OOOOUUUCCHHHH!** Daisuke smiled, and flipped the book open.
"Then, by the power of the Book, %R'K'M Bcjsf Uijt Cpez!%" The air shimmered, and Ken fell to the roof surface, Jun falling next to him.
* * *
"Miyako? Where's the others?" Osamu looked frantically around the apartment. Miyako glanced up from the television at him.
"They're fighting the demon." Osamu swore.
"According to the news, they're trying to exorcise the demon."
"Well, what's wrong with that?"
"The demon was imprisoned in the book; now, it's imprisoned in Ken. The demon was trying to free itself. An exorcism will do the same thing." Miyako glanced back at the television.
"Uh oh."
* * *
"They did *what*?!" The red-haired doctor swore under his breath. "Don't they realize-"
"Izumi-hakase, Rosa still has her weapon. She can-"
"But it is untested. We are unsure how it will affect R'K'M. We cannot rely on her to save us. We have to finish the DimenFlux."
"Right!"
* * *
**HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH, HEH...DIDN'T YOU FOOLS REALIZE? AN EXORCISM ONLY FREES ME TO THE WORLD! NOW, I AM FREE TO CONQUER THIS UNIVERSE. GO, MY CHILDREN; DO MY BIDDING!** R'K'M, a huge, eight-limbed being colored red, laughed as she stepped to the edge of the roof. **I REVEL IN THIS MOMENT OF PURE TRIUMPH! BOW DOWN TO ME!**
"You forgot something, Rikim." Rosa's cold voice, although soft, was heard clearly over all the area. "I was sent here to stop you; I have the means to do so." She raised her left arm, which was clad in a metal glove. "I believe you know about this: a Temporal Inhibitor. It stops *everything* affected by the four demensions." R'K'M screamed, and tried to leap out of the way, but the flash engulfed her. When the light cleared, the spiderlike demon, face frozen in horror, stood on the roof. Rosa dropped the gun, and smiled. "Well, that's the end of that." There was silence. Finally, Yamato spoke.
"What was that?" Rosa grinned.
"It's a one-shot weapon intended to freeze one sentinent being in time for a thousand years. You see, by the year 2020, we discovered a method to render matter completely inaccessible to the rest of the universe, and, with R'K'M out of service until then, we can trap her there until the end of time."
"Well, whatever it was, it was great!" Taichi cried. "Especially that look on her face when you shot the Time-thingie. That was classic."
"Um, guys? Where'd she go?" Six pairs of eyes traveled to the empty spot where R'K'M had stood a moment ago.
"Okay, there's a slight problem. The Temporal Inhibitor was based off of a device known as a DimenFlux."
"Which is...?" Daisuke prompted.
"A gateway to other dimensions. Therefore, it is a definite possibility that R'K'M, in the freezing process, was sent to another world." Silence fell over the group.
"Well, then what can we do?"
"There is nothing we *can* do...R'K'M is in another world, and we cannot trace her." And so, the procession down to the earth again, even with the freed Ken, was a somber one. R'K'M was defeated, but at what cost?
* * *
"Lord Joe, why do you not fight against the new threat to our land?" The blue-haired king looked up at his advisor.
"Stephen, there is no threat. Merlin's talk of demons and the legendary 'Storm-Breaker' is nothing that concerns us." Stephen nodded, but as he left the room, he took a long glance into his king's eyes. He nodded, and vanished into the hallways of the castle. Joe, after seeing him leave, relaxed in the throne. His shape shifted into that of a /Corps/, an undead creature wrapped in cloth.
##R'K'M, I hope you know what you're doing. If they suspect, this body will be destroyed. And you know that the people will be guarded against possession. I was lucky this man was mourning the loss of his lover.## The air before him shimmered, and R'K'M appeared, frowning.
**HONESTLY, MUM'M, YOU WORRY TOO MUCH. THERE IS NO ONE WHO COULD STOP US. EVEN THE 'STORM BREAKER' IS STILL WITHIN ANOTHER WORLD. WE ARE SAFE.**
* * *
"Why hasn't he woken up?" Daisuke asked, his actions displaying his nervousness. He paced the waiting room in the hospital, and it was Rosa who answered him.
"Rikim was known as the 'Soul Collector' for a reason, Daisuke. It is in her nature not only to control the souls of the dead, but to also devour the souls of the living. It is from these souls that she derives her power." Daisuke turned to her, incredulous.
"So he might never wake up?" Rosa shook her head.
"Our only hope would be to find Rikim and destroy her. Only then would the souls be released."
"But how could we follow her? You said that she was in another dimension!"
"I don't know."
* * *
Miyako handed a glass of lemonade to Osamu, and sat next to him.
"Frankly, we shouldn't worry until we hear news from them. We don't know where they would have taken any wounded, or how to reach them." She lounged back in a chair, watching the bluenette with half a mind.
"I suppose your right; but it's hard waiting around to know Ken could be hurt-or worse."
"Hello? Is...Taichi here?" Miyako stood up and walked to the front door, where she found a red-haired man attempting to get into the apartment.
"May I help you?" she asked acidly. He frowned.
"I'm sorry; I'm looking for Yagami Taichi. It's very important. You see, I know how to help destroy R'K'M."
* * *
"Daisuke, there's nothing we can do for Ken right now." Rosa looked sympathetically at him. "My family was taken by Rikim as well...it's why I joined the resistance. So many people were killed by the Spiral Bound, or taken by Rikim, that the human race died out. There were only two of us left, when..." She trailed off. The mini-van was silent.
"Wait; Rosa, you said that the Temporal Inhibitor worked off of the same principles as a dimension-jumping device," Yamato said brightly. "Couldn't you just 'freeze' us, and we'd end up in the same-"
"NO!" Rosa blushed, and sat back. "I'm sorry; no, it's not possible. On one hand, the device had only one charge. On the other, there's no guarantee you'd be sent into another diension; you might simply be frozen. On another...there's no way to trace something in the dimensional flux without having traced it from its launching point onward. Rikim could be anywhere." There was another lull of silence, and then Daisuke spoke up.
"So it's hopeless." It was then that Hikari spoke up.
"It's not hopeless. There are...ways to shift the balance to our favor." The attention of the passengers turned to her. "I never shared this, but...when I arrived here, on Earth, I had, and still have, a book. It is known as the 'Sciens Liber'; and it is a sentinent being." She took a deep breath. "It is prophetic, and it can tell us of any ways we may find R'K'M, and destroy her." After her short speech, the atmosphere in the car was noticeably brighter. However, in a few moments, the mini-van turned into the parking lot of the apartment building. And a red-haired man stood there with both Osamu and Miyako. Rosa inhaled in a sharp moment, and said, in awe,
"That's Izumi-hakase!" The red-haired man approached the car slowly, and waited patiently as the passengers ejected themselves onto the sidewalk. The red-haired doctor smiled at Rosa.
"Hello, Rosa. I hope you are well. I've got good news and bad news." They all looked to him expectantly. "The good news is that I have traced the demon R'K'M to her target dimension, and that I have a DimenFlux for your use."
"It sounds too good to be true," Yamato muttered.
"It is. The bad news is, in order to destroy R'K'M, you must use the antithesis to the 'Liber Urbis Diabolorum': the 'Annj ne Zmfdk'r Oqhcd'." There was silence.
"The Book of Angel's Pride?" Iori asked uncertainly. The man nodded.
"The Book alone is able to destroy a demon of the 'Diabolorum'. While the force of R'K'M's book is that of the devil, the Annj is powered by angels."
"Wait a minute," Taichi protested. "I've never heard that language before, yet I understood the title of the book. Why?" Izumi-hakase chuckled.
"The Annj is written in Proto-IndoEuropean, the most basic of all languages. One cannot *help* but to understand it."
"So, how do we find the Annj?" Hikari asked.
"The Annj exists in every dimension. In ours, the Annj was destroyed in the Catashtrophe, when R'K'M came to power. Right now, though, it is under the ownership of William Gates. Therefore, we must find it in the world R'K'M has landed in."
"Which is the problem?" Daisuke ventured. Izumi-hakase nodded.
"She has arrived in a place I call the Dungeon Dimension."
"I don't like the sound of that," Daisuke added. Then, a pink head poked from the door of the apartment, and Mimi spoke.
"I've heard about that!" Nine heads turned to her in shhock. "What?! It's a nice place." Izumi-hakase bowed his head.
"She's half-right. The Dungeon Dimension is a beautiful land, sprinkled with temples, churches, and sprawling palaces. But...it seems to have changed. I believe another demonic influence there attracted R'K'M's spirit. So...I'm sending you to the Dungeon Dimension to find the Annj, but not unprepared. Come, we must go to my lab!"
* * *
"Awesome!" Daisuke shouted, twirling his oak staff. He was now clothed in red-brown robes, and felt very important. Taichi, standing next to him, was clad mostly in leather, and brandished a broadsword. Hikari was dressed in loose brown robes, and seemed to be armed with a light mace. Jun was dressed in green and armed with a longbow, and Osamu was carrying a large variety of tools, he himself dressed in a motley-colored suit. Rosa had been told that she must stay behind, and was sulking. Yamato was dressed in black and carried several long daggers. Mimi was dressed in a pink dress and had armed herself with a dart gun. Miyako, dressed in brown slacks and a loose tunic, had a dozen throwing kives attatched to her belt. Iori refused to show himself.
"I am not going out there. I look ridiculous."
"These disguises are in the style of the people of the Dungeon Dimension, and each of your disguises have been chosen in respect to your personality and appearance." Izumi-hakase glanced at the group. "Several of you will find an unusual phenomenon occur when you arrive: all scientific knowledge and skill is converted into a like knowledge in magic. This means that most of you will have a grasp of simple spells while in the Dungeon Dimension. Hikari; your...unique position has been translated into the most approximate representation in the Dungeon Dimension: you will be a cleric. I've done all I can do for you; good luck."
"I look absolutely-"
"Oh, suck it up!" Miyako snapped. She pulled aside the changing curtain, to reveal Iori dressed in heavy leather armor, a metal helmet, and an axe. "You're a dwarf?" The giggle nearly escaped her, but she kept it under control.
"Now, please go to the lighted area over there," Izumi-hakase ordered. He wandered over to a bank of controls, and, when the adventurers were assembled, he flipped a switch. The flash of light blinded him, and when it faded, he was left alone in the room. He nodded, and then walked back to the changing area. In a few moments, he was clothed in pure black robes, and armed with an ashwood staff. He turned to the lab's entrance, and the brunette appeared, her long hair+ braided into two long strands, she clothed in an elaborate costume of leather, armor, shields, and several light swords. "Sora, are you ready to go?" She nodded.
"Izumi-hakase, why are we going?" He sighed.
"I need to ensure their safety, and without my expertise, they'll be in danger. But I'll be helping them from behind the scenes. You must help protect them." He brightened suddenly. "There's only one way we can ensure you'll do your best." He approached his control bank again, and spoke into a microphone. "Sora, until you have learned enough to be free from my control, you will be in love with Yagami Taichi. Above all, you must protect him from everything that threatens him. But after that, you are madly, truly, deeply in love with him. Now, let's go." He pushed a few buttons, and then led Sora to the pad. He gestured, and the machine roared to life. With a flash and a roar, they were gone. Rosa sat down against the wall, groaning. It was going to be a long wait, but for now, she'd hang around the lab. If something went wrong, she should be able to help them.
* * *
They landed, and the army awaited them. The land was crawling with the corps of the Dilex army. At their head was a blue-haired general, who charged for Yamato. Taichi shoved him aside as the warlord's sword sliced through the air, and then chaos fell. The earth erupted as shadowed warriors leapt from pits, and they surrounded Daisuke. The party was separated. The blue-haired lord turned to one of the travelers.
"Who are you?" The dwarf answered him, defiant yet desperate.
"We are the Storm Breaker's guardians." He glared at the being, and snorted.
"All of you, we will take you to the castle. There, we will decide your fate." He gestured, and the members of the party who had not been taken by the wraiths were dragged away, towards a castle of green stone.
* * *
~Who are you~ The voices echoed in unison through the dark caverns. ~One of the Spee-rall?~ Daisuke cowered from the voices, raising his staff in defense. Suddenly, the voices died away, and a shadowy figure flitted from the darkness.
"He traveled with the Storm Breaker." The voices rose in a murmur, then fell away. "He knows of the Plight. He seeks...the Annj." The voices grew in chorus. "Silence!" The figure engulfed Daisuke, and he felt himself suffocating. Then, it was gone. "He is the Lightning Bearer. He must be tested."
~The test~ the voices cried. ~He must know...~ The shadow bowed, and turned to the darkness. The faint light by which Daisuke had seen grew. He stared as his captors became visible. They were no more than black cloaks, and the leader was distinguished only by a silver lining. Suddenly, the cloaks flashed, and pale-skinned people appeared within the clothing. They back away from him, and the leader, a tall man with wandering eyes, held out his hand.
"Welcome, Lightning-Bearer. I am Owikawa, leader of the Tibepx clan. We will take you to the Test, and, if you survive, we will guide you to that which you seek."
"*If* I survive?"
"Have you ever heard of a basilisk?"
* * *
Yeah, sorry about this. I just had to end here. And there's the good possibility there won't be another part for a month (If I don't get a part finished by the end of the week, I will enter a three-week period without computer contact). Anyway, please give feedback!
+I frankly believe Sora would look a lot better without that stupid haircut; therefore, meet long-haired Sora!