(A/N): Heheh. Gotta love that muse. I need to read a 40 page essay for a test tomorrow, but where am I? Uploading another chapter to this story, which is quite interesting and well written, and that's an opinion not biased at all.

Saturos: AHEM. Spacejoe doesn't...

Wait, not yet. First, the reviews!

GoldenSunGeek: Thank you! Sorry about the lack of updates. Wow,when you bounce, you really put your heart into it. Here, have a nice sandwich, since it seems sugar makes you go nuts.

Master of Reality:Thanks a lot! I think Saturos is the coolest of them all! Quite a good idea to give you a giant cookie, huh? But this time, here's a giant pancake for you! Complete with 3 lts of maple syrup. Yummy!

Mornie: Thank you for reviewing. Have a cookie! Yeah, I think it's original too, but now I'm lost! I'll need to check where is this story going, or it'll begin to suck, and we do not want that, do we?

ElementalSpirit1: And more you shall have! Thanks!

ZeroAXextreme: I've been improving? I didn't notice. Level upsound for me! I really like this name. Soundslike it's from F-Zero GX/AX. The best racer ever, IMO ( I'm learning Net-Lingoor L33T Talk, or N00B Language, whatever you wanna call it,in GFaqs. Quite useful, being a user.)

Ok, it's your turn Saturos! Let'em have it!

Saturos: (Sunbathing in the pool, with some shades on, and wearing some blue trunks) Spacejoe doesn't own GS, nor does He owns me. He does own this story and these characters, however, so mess with those and I'll have to see you. In the court. Yeah.

Okaay. Lights, camera, ACTION!

Episode 19: Transformations and preparations.

"Prepare to die!"

The demon's voice was full of disdain. Bril released his tornado spell, and the Demon countered with a dark beam that clashed against the current of air, dissolving the psynergy. It was Lise's turn.

"Hail Prism!" she cried. The demon created a powerful barrier with his staff, and then formed a black sphere all around himself. He began to float above their heads, and then the barrier dissipated to reveal a large and hideous monster, his true form, which then came crashing down.

It was a dark green, turtle-like creature. A thick shell covered his torso, where four heads appeared. Each head had two light green horns, and it's eyes were a very dark green, almost black. A sticky slime fell to the floor from each of it's mouths, it's strong acidic components corroding the once magnificent marble. A foul air of pure evil came from this creature, taking their strength with it.

"It's poison!" said Varla, covering his nose and leaping backwards. Bril grabbed Lise and leaped backwards too, while the creature's roars filled the room. Suddenly, two of the heads shot some of the greenish slime towards the door, sealing the exit. They had to fight.

"Quick" said Varla "rip your clothes and cover your nose. We must kill this creature quickly, or this poisonous air will finish us before the demon itself."

They followed the dragoon's advice, and soon they were ready to fight. Bril focused his powers in another spell, while Lise took a sapphire from her staff:

"Shine Plasma!"

Suddenly, several thunders struck the hard surface of the creature's shell, but it appeared to have taken no damage. It's surface appeared as rough as before.

"Hah! You fool! Do you really think that your pathetic powers are any match for the mighty Meldanex? My powers are far beyond your imagination!" And as the demon said this, one of the heads began to focus it's powers on a fireball, which soon reached a huge size, and was sent flying towards Varla and the others.

"Shade!" cried Lise. The djinni obediently put up a water barrier that blocked most of the energy in the ball, but a small bit of darkness managed to pass through the barrier and hit her, sending her crashing against the wall.

"Lise!"

Bril jumped after her, while Varla created a series of fireballs and sent them against the demon. The demon's heads retracted and it began to spin rapidly, and the tough shell reflected the fireballs which crashed against the walls, covering the floor with debris. Meanwhile, Bril tended to Lise's wounds, forcing her to eat some of the healing herbs which He carried in his belt. Lise managed to eat them, but she still fell unconscious.

Meldanex advanced towards them, rolling at high speed. Bril grabbed Lise and jumped out of the demon's way, while Varla did the same. Meldanex crashed through the wall and continued to roll ouside, destroying anything on it's path, but soon turned around and headed their way.

"Run!" cried Varla. He headed for safety quickly, but Bril had to worry about Lise, who was still unconscious. He ran towards the other exit, but very soon they found themselves trapped within the giantic building.

"I'll need to turn into a dragon" said Varla "But...If I don't kill him, we'll be destroyed."

"No!" said Bril "You won't defeat him that easily! It'll be like throwing away your life!"

"My life has already been thrown away several times before, young Bril" He replied. Bril put Lise on the floor gently, and nodded.

"Once my energy runs out, I'll turn into a dragoon again" said Varla "That'll be your chance to strike. Remember, look for it's weak point, then attack. You need to focus, Bril. Do not let your emotions take over your decisions". Bril nodded again, this time a single tear appeared on his eye, and rolled down it's face.

Suddenly, as if on cue, Meldanex entered the building, and headed for them. Varla let out a roar, and began to turn red, increasing his size to fit his new form. His eyes turned yellow, and his hands and feet turned into claws. When his wings appeared, Varla had already turned completely into a dragon. Meldanex tried to roll over them, but Varla used his claws to try and stop him. The acidic slime soon started to corrode his fingers, making him roar in pain, but Varla didn't let go. Instead, He breathed fire into the great beast, burning through it's tough shell and leaving him vulnerable to attacks. But Varla had to pay a great price for that courageous action. His left hand had been reduced to nothing, and with a great roar, the old warrior turned again to his original form.

Meldanex, meanwhile, had stopped rolling, eight eyes full of hatred looked at the dragoon. It's four heads let out a howl and sent a deadly attack against the old man. However, before they striked, Bril unleashed his djinni Zephyr, and with his blinding speed saved him.

"Attack now... Bril..." He said.

"What?"

"Unleash...your powers..."

"How?" He asked, almost crying.

"Concentrate, Bril.. Just concentrate..." And He fainted.

Bril put him on the floor gently, and faced against the mighty creature. What were his options? Meldanex had four heads, and powerful attacks that would destroy him with a single hit. But it's thick and rough shell was gone. That gave him an idea. A very dangerous - but perhaps the only - idea.

Meldanex advanced. Bril slowly changed position, and moved around him. The eight eyes were watching his every move. Bril set Zephyr again, and faced the creature, almost challenging the demon. Suddenly two of the heads Let out a roar and lunged for him, but Bril's agility enabled him to jump over them. What He didn't know was that the other two would attack him while He was in the air. The blow made him crash against the wall, and He fell to the floor, very hurt but still not defeated.

"Why do you still fight, young cub?" said the demon "You know you cannot defeat me. Embrace your own destruction, it's your only choice!"

"Never!" He snapped back. "As long as I live, I'll fight for my friends. It's the code of the werewolves."

"Code of the werewolves? Sounds like a hopeless oath for a hopeless race. Fine! Have it your way!" And with this, the Demon's four heads attacked again. But Bril was prepared this time. He jumped out of their way, and ran straight towards the creature. Suddenly, Bril's eyes turned yellow, and his face began to change. His nails began to grow into purple claws, and his whole body began to grow a black fur. A loud howl escaped his mouth as he changed into a werewolf. Bril's transformation had finished, and his powers were sealed, but He gained strength and speed, which he needed.

The demon lunged again, but the werewolf jumped over them and clawed one of them off, just to have another one replace it. Bril howled again and charged, but this time the demon made the mistake of attacking with all of his heads. Bril's claw took his ring, and unleashed the power of the djinni once more. All that Meldanex saw was the werewolf dissapearing, but Bril's speed enabled him to cut off all of the demon's heads at once. The dead heads fell to the ground, but all that remained of them was a pool of acid. However, they growed back.

"I'll never kill him this way" He thought, before realizing that Lise was waking up.

"B-Bril?" She said, confused by his transformation. The werewolf looked at her, but so did the Demon. Meldanex attacked her, but before the demon could touch her, Bril made his final attack. He focused all of his remaining energy and ran up to the demon, jumping with all of his strength towards it's body. The demon roared in pain, but before it was able to do anything else, Bril changed back to his original form, and with the acid burning all around him, concentrated all of his psynergy into one final spell. He stretched his arms, ready to die in case of failure...

"Thunder Mine!"

But Bril's spell was powerful enough. The power of lightning burned all around him, and with Meldanex's entrails destroyed, the demon's body fell heavily to the ground, before collapsing in a bloody mess. In the center, unconscious, was the body of the werewolf that gave his all to save those that He loved.

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"And here we are. Although they don't know it, we're the only ones that can help them" said a voice. A low voice. The voice of a warior who has lost a battle, and that knows that there's only one choice: To join forces with those He previously hated.

"It's not like we have any choice" said another voice. This was the voice of a wise and kind ruler, whose power was also great and terrible. But King Atlas's face was neither terrible, nor fearsome. His features, even after many years had changed little, and at the age of 150 years, He had reached that indefinate age when the Anemos stop aging on the outside, and notice the passing of years like the falling of leaves in autumn.

"Fine. I'll go. Of course they need help." said the other voice.

"They're djinn hunters after all."

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When Joe opened his eyes, He found himself back in the flying ship. What had happened to him, He didn't know, but his aching body let him know that, at least, He was still alive.

"You're awake..." said a soft voice beside him. It was Lise.

The girl's dress was full of blood and she seemed very bruised, but unhurt. She seemed very tired and sad. Joe tried to stand up, but his body just wouldn't obey, no matter how hard He tried. He turned his face away from her.

"They told me what you did" She said "You cheated death this time."

"Death left before this happened" He said. Lise smiled sadly.

"It would seem so..."

She poured some of the Water of Hermes over his body, but to no avail. "You passed out. You spent all of your energy with that summon. You could've died!"

"If I hadn't done it, we would've died anyway." He replied. Lise lowered her gaze.

"Bril is badly wounded as well, you know. And Varla too. Their wounds healed after I used the water, but you..."

"You thought you lost me..." He said.

"We all thought we lost you." said Leng.

The Jupiter adept was standing in the doorway, and although his face seemed calm, his voice was filled with happiness. Max entered after him. His face was beaming with joy.

"Glad to see you too." said Max. "And still with the same attitude, it seems. You are never gonna change, huh?"

Joe tried to stand up again, but all he could do was sit on the bed. His body still ached, although there was no physical injury. What was happening to him?

"Varla says you'll be alright. He's lost his hand, but he's still all right."

"What about Bril?" He asked.

"He's still very badly injured." said Max. "The waves of darkness he must have faced, fighting alone against such a creature. It's a miracle he's still alive."

"Not a miracle," said Lise "Someone must have been praying for us. For him. Someone must have helped him."

Bril was in the same room, although he was covered in bandages full of healing herbs, and recovering his strength. He slept peacefully, but Joe felt that this was not the same werewolf that He met in Dragon's Den. Something about him had changed. Time would tell what kind of change it was, either for the best - or for the worst.

"Worried about him? Don't be. He's a very powerful werewolf. I don't think He knows the full extent of his power."

"Varla!" said Lise.

"You're up already?" said Leng. The old dragoon smiled and sat next to Bril's bed. "My body and mind may be those of an old man, master Leng." He said "But my spirit still burns strong. The loss of an arm is nothing for a dragoon. Don't worry about me."

"What about Joe?" asked Max. But the old smith had no answer for this. Adepts can summon the gods without fear of harm of any kind, as long as they're powerful enough. But nobody in Weyard's history had managed to summon one of the Guardians of Sol and lived to tell the tale.

"What I recommend is rest and a long sleep. Your psynergy is totally spent, and you'll need your strengths for tomorrow."

"And what will we be doing tomorrow?" asked Lise.

"We're going to Gaia Rock. Quite possibly the only place where King Astart or Shinryu's son may be hiding" Varla pushed everybody out of the room, leaving Joe to rest, along with the sleeping werewolf. But before closing the door, Varla had some final words for him.

"I'm sorry for you, but we will need you out there. And hopefully Bril will aid us too. Have some rest while you can."

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"Bril..."

"Wake up, Bril..."

"Huh, who's talking to me?"

"Wake up..."

Bril opened his eyes. His body was covered in bandages, and his sight was a little blurry, but He felt better in a moment. He was in the flying ship. Joe was lying in the other bed, probably sleeping. He felt no pain, only the memories of his fight against Meldanex. He had saved everyone, or was somebody else helping him? He felt somehow...different. His movements were faster, and his senses were even more heightened than ever. And then He realized it. His transformation. He had never before turned into a full werewolf, and He hadn't realized it before, but during the fight, He wasn't fighting to protect others. He had been hunting, trying to kill the creature, trying to feed. And what would have happened if He hadn't passed out? The thought startled him.

"I'm not doing that again. Never" He said, putting on his people's clothes.

"Why?" said a voice nearby. Bril knew it was Joe's voice.

"I don't know if I'll be able to keep myself under control"

"Then you're too weak."

Bril thought it was a harsh comment, even for Joe.

"I..."

"You're not. What you did was a brave, although foolish thing. I'm sure your father would've been proud." said Joe. Bril couldn't believe that Joe would be talking like that. After all, He never seemed to care about anyone.

"I'm not so sure" He said. He quickly got up and headed for the door.

"I need some fresh air. You stayin' there?" But Joe didn't answer. His eyes had closed and an instant later, He was asleep.

Bril opened the door and walked into the corridor, strangely unlit. He heard Lise's cheerful voice upstairs, followed by Max's deep laughing and Varla's voice. He headed there to find them setting up a table, with his name in big letters carved on it.

"And here's the hero!" said Max "Come on, lil' buddy. This here feast is for you. Eat up!"

"Thanks" He said, taking a dish of roasted chicken and sitting next to him. He began to eat inmediately, since the Venus adept was known for his inmense appetite.

"We heard what you did" said Leng. "Totally unheard of! No wonder why Atlas named you a djinn-hunter!"

"Those kind of things happen when you're trying to protect your friends." said Max "Ain't that right lil' buddy?"

"Yeah" He said, blushing.

"Are you all right?" asked Lise. "You look like something's bothering you..."

"Oh, it's nothing." He lied, lowering his gaze. "It's just that... We didn't found anyone here. What are we going to do now?"

"Tomorrow we're heading for Gaia Rock." said Varla, who until now was too busy eating. "You might want to rest this night. The future will bring many perils to our team!"

Leng let go of the beef to say "Tell me about it. I feel evil all around us. Gaia Rock might just take our lives. Plus, Death is probably heading that way."

"Death?" asked Bril.

"Yes, Death" said Max, grinning "You know, The Grim Reaper, Harvester of Souls... He ran away from us."

"I might say He had other things to take care of. He seemed very powerful. And we just barely escaped that place." said Leng, frowning. Leng was always calculating reactions and consequences, motivations and thoughts. "When I tried to Mind Read him, I felt death all around me. I felt cold, like I was going down a dark corridor." Leng shriveled at the memory. "This guy is powerful enough to kill us one by one if we let him."

"Sounds like we missed a lot of stuff, huh?" said Varla, "But our tale was no less interesting, or full of dangerous situations." the old dragoon took another fish and heated it up with a little flame.

"We should never split again. At least, not until we're powerful enough." said Bril, looking worried.

"I second that" said Lise "I could've died, but you saved me just in time. Thank you, Bril."

The young werewolf blushed a little, but managed to hide it by stuffing his mouth with food. What Bril didn't notice, however, was the girl's face getting slightly pink around the cheeks.

"And...huh...where is Joe?" said Leng, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Uh...He's sleeping, I think." said Bril. "What happened to him anyway? He's acting all strange..."

"Err...well...You see that hill up there?" asked Max.

"Uh-huh".

"It used to be a mountain. He saved us by blowing it up."

"What? B-but how?"

"He summoned a giant meteor, using four djinni. I don't know if you've heard about these summons..." said Leng. "Must've taken a great amount of power, as now He can't use any psynergy."

"But, without psynergy..." said Bril.

"He may slow us down." finished Leng. "It's difficult to admit, I know."

"He'll be better when we leave for Gaia Rock." said Varla. "Right now, we need to rest. Any leftovers?"

"Umm...no" said Max hiding the rest of the chicken behind the wine.

"Then I'm going to sleep. G'night everyone."

The feast ended for everyone but Max and Leng, who decided to make a drinking competition. Lise and Bril were supposed to be the judges, but they were falling sleep before the djinn hunters even began to feel dizzy. And by the time that Max won, the two of them were already on a deep sleep, although Bril's was strangely peaceful, and devoid of dreams. Just a strange urge and a feeling of danger that wouldn't leave.