A dark castle…

No light…

Inside, a dark force…

Yuber and Murdock stood, watching a crystal ball. Yuber held a glass of red wine.

(Suikoden III – Circle Palace)

"Hattori." Murdock called. A gruff man teleported in front of Yuber. He wore a red bandana and ratty black thief clothing. He carried a Tsumaragi Axe on his back. The man, Hattori looked at the crystal ball, and saw the visage of Chris. Hattori smiled wickedly.

"Yuber, you DO know the secret of Chris, do you not?" The thief shook his head. "My partners have had dreams…. Dreams I'm sure you'd be interested to hear about."

"What of?" Yuber asked. A complete silence. Hattori spoke. Yuber dropped his glass in shock. Murdock threw a chip to Hattori, giving him strict instructions. Hattori nodded, and saluted the woman and the still stunned Yuber. He teleported away. Yuber still shook. Murdock shook her head.

"How long do you PLAN ON shaking?" She asked. Yuber shook his head.

"It adds to the scene."

Chapter 17: Big Trouble in Queensberg

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(Crystal Kay - Motherland)

Chris and Yuna sat together on the couch inside the palace ballroom, which was vacant except for a few armed guards of the Denigridst ball room. Chris looked over at Yuna. "Can I show you something?" He pulled out a small red ruby from his pocket. "I've had this ruby from birth… For some reason, I feel as though my real family is inside it… But there's a foreboding presence about it. I feel something dark…" Yuna stopped him.

"Real family?" She asked quizzically. Chris nodded.

"Yeah… Me and Jen were adopted by Masanori-Sensei of the Wafurai Weapon Training Center. My naginata… Used to belong to him…. Anyways… He's gone, so now I look to this jewel for support. But there's something dark about it…" Chris finished, and Yuna looked at him.

"Chris, don't rely on the jewel… We're all here for you. Me, Emily, Zell… Look to us." She moved her face to his. "And I… I… love you…" Their lips met. They began to passionately kiss. However, as they were doing so, Nina came down in a huff.

"I've had a vision… A small town near here will be in big trouble! A town where Kelli is going for a visit, and where two more allies will be! If we don't act NOW, they'll all die!" She then noticed Chris and Yuna making out. They averted their eyes to her, and she sweatdropped.

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Meanwhile… In a small city called Queensberg inside Denigridst's jurisdiction…

(One Piece – Miss Allsunday)

A young woman sped up into a hotel parking lot on her motorcycle. The tall, purple haired, fair faced woman, in a black Harley leather jacket, a white bra underneath, ripped blue jeans, and boots stepped into the hotel. This woman, Melanie Ryders, Mel for short, flashed a credit card to the hotel manager.

"Umm… do you mind getting me a small single bed room? Nothing fancy is needed." She smiled, speaking in an Australian accent. The hotel manager nodded, and ran her credit card through the scanner. "All clear." He handed back her credit card, and her room key. "Room 1450. Do you want anyone to carry your bags?" He asked, face faulting when he saw that she only had a knapsack and a small briefcase.

"Err… Never mind…" He bowed. She tilted her head, smiling.

"Don't worry about it, mate! I do that kind of stuff all the time." She walked up to her room.

(Asian Kung-Fu Generation – Rewrite)

The next afternoon…. After the area schools let out, the athletics and activities were starting.

"Hike!" A center on the local high school football team, a team with the colors of black and white, called as he passed the ball to the quarterback. The quarterback ran with it, only to be tackled by an opposing team member. The crowd showed their disapproval with a groan. The coach called out to the quarterback. "Kotobara! Take a break! I should've never sent in a sophomore…" The coach muttered the last sentence. The quarterback walked over to the bench, tired and sweaty. He knew he wasn't getting back into the game, what with there only being thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter. His team was ahead by eighteen points. He could rest easy. He took his helmet off, revealing matted brown hair on top of a pretty boy type of face. He sat and watched as his team stalled until the horn sounded, indicating the end. He left, without staying for the after party. He took off his shoulder pads, revealing a white t-shirt, stuck his helmet through the hole inside them, and stuck the items in his bag. However, he pulled one thing out in return: A black bandanna, which he tied to his head.

As he walked down the empty sidewalk, an eerie calm made itself known to the teen. Granted, a boy wearing black football pants carrying a large gym bag doesn't exactly add to the normalcy of the situation, but it was a lot more normal than the silence. At the time, cars should've been speeding down the road. However, there was nothing….

"BOOM!" The kid turned around to see what happened. He saw a giant explosion, and heard gruff laughter from behind him. He turned around, and three gruff-looking men wearing red bandit's cloth stared him down. They pulled out axes, and charged at him, laughing.

"Ha! Try me!" The boy, Awari, challenged. He dropped his bag, and swung his fist upwards, nailing one of the bandits in the jaw. He reached into the bag, and pulled out a katana. "I'm not like those stereotypical pretty boy jocks! I know the art of strategy, and not just brute force!" He unsheathed the katana. Another of the bandits swung his axe. Awari backflipped, and stuck the bandit with his blade. The bandit fell, and he faced the final one. Awari calmly set the blade in front of his face.

"Hayabusa!" He flipped forward, and sliced down the bandit's body. The bandit fell. Awari knelt down to see if he had done too much, when a female bandit began to cast Flare on him from a distance. She was quickly picked off by Mel, who was sitting on the windowsill of the hotel room she was in, holding a smoking handgun. "Kid, get in here if you want to stop this madness from getting worse!" He nodded, and leapt into the window.

Inside the room, Mel sat on the bed. "First off, change your clothes into something not as bulky. You wear those while running and you'll be very worn out, very quickly. Awari nodded, and pulled some clothes out of the bag.

"Right. You have a good point."

He went into the bathroom, and turned the shower on. Mel sweatdropped, teeth clenched, veins bulging. She went to the door. "Hurry up! We don't have time for this!" She screamed. He opened the door slightly, and stuck his head out.

"Give me a minute!" He screamed at an equal volume tone as Mel's voice. He turned the shower off, and within a minute, was dressed. He came out in a white jersey, blue jeans, white sneakers, and the same headband he had on from before. He left everything except his katana in the bathroom.

"I'm leaving it. I have a feeling I won't be coming back."

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Meanwhile, on the other part of town….

"Aiyeee! You rat!" A bandit sliced Kelli's arm. She pulled her Naginata, and charged at him. "Underlash!" She slashed at his legs. He tripped, allowing her to run. However, she was confronted by more of the same gruff bandits in red cloth. She got ready to fight, until…

"Hummingbird!" Yuna bounced her ball off of two of the bandits from behind them, knocking them out.

"Red Rose Vertigo!" Nina took out her Tanto. She charged at the enemy. There was a bright flash, and the next thing Kelli and Yuna saw was a rain of rose petals over the knocked out enemies.

"Guys! You're here! Nina, did you know this would happen?" Kelli asked. Nina nodded.

"Yes. Hattori, a minion of Yuber, is having his fun by pillaging the city like an old fashioned mountain bandit. Chris is finding two other allies of ours that I sensed to be here. Let's go meet him, and then we can all travel to the town square, where Hattori is waiting for us!" They began to run down the road, knocking out any bandits who try to stop them.

"Red Rose Vertigo!"

"Redondo!" Kelli swept her naginata around in a circle, swinging it in place while running. Any adversary who got in her way was nailed by the blade.

They finally reached the corner where Chris had met with Awari and Mel. They we're confronted by a group of Yuber's Black Armor minions.

"And that proves it. Yuber is directly involved." Chris stated to himself and his partners. Awari shook his head.

"Yuber's been mentioned in the four great wars…. All of them taking place 400 years ago… or MORE! He's involved here, too?!" He questioned quizzically as he parried a soldier's attack with his katana. Mel shot at one of the bandits with her gun.

"He's been causing trouble in the north recently! He's lived this long because he has a True Rune! And he lives for chaos! It's why he actively forces wars when tensions erupt!" Mel stated. Chris wondered how she knew this.

As the group fought, the bandits began to retreat. One by one, they began to run, until finally, all were gone. Chris began to look around. Nina felt a tingle through her mind.

"EVERYONE! MOVE!" They all jumped away from the intersection, where a large lightning bolt struck. From it emerged Hattori. He said nothing, only smiled.

"Before you fight me… I must let you know. I am not here to kill you. Those weak clones you all fought were only there to lure you to me. One of you will slaughter your friends for me." Chris looked around. He turned around, and got ready to question his friends, both old and new. Hattori saw the opportunity. He flicked the chip onto Chris's neck. Inside Yuber's castle, the demon smiled.

"NOW! DEMON SPIRIT RELAR, AWAKEN!" Yuber called out.

Chris's jewel shined. He screamed out in pain, and held his head. He grew vicious black wings, purple markings on his face, and fangs. Yuna, horrified, remembered what Chris had said the day before.

"Yeah… Me and Jen were adopted by Masanori-Sensei of the WafuraiWeaponTrainingCenter. My naginata… Used to belong to him…. Anyways… He's gone, so now I look to this jewel for support. But there's something dark about it…"

Yuna realized it. The darkness was a demon power. Chris… Could he really be a demon?

To Be Continued…

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(Bana – Half Pain)

Awari: Is this still the one I'm supposed to follow?

Yuna: Chris becomes Relar, Yuber's younger brother. In reality, he IS Relar…

Nina: Yuna…

Mel: Next Chapter:

Loss

Chris: What's happening to me?!