A nurse took a quick look at a chart at the foot of Matthias' bed to check on the treatment to be given. She stuck a syringe into a bottle of medicine and then administered it into his arm. He was still asleep, and would be for a while.

She looked up as she heard the door to the room open, and watched as Link, Kyros, and Sara walked in. Sara had the Spirit Staff, as Matthias would want her to hold on to it for safe keeping. Even though only he had the ability to unlock its power, many still sought to steal the weapon from him.

"How is he?" Sara asked as the nurse was heading out.

"Well, the impact of the landing shattered most of his bones, and to deal with the pain he's in a chemical-induced coma."

Slowly and with a worried look, Sara placed the Staff against the wall and knelt down next to the ninja's bed. Taking his hand, she absently began to stroke it as Link and Kyros stood over him. The two fighters knew that the ninja had enemies, and not only came to visit their friend and give support, but to offer protection while he was incapacitated.

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Matthias tried to blend into the shadows as he navigated the hallways of Heaven's Spire. He hid perfectly, slipping right past the creatures of darkness that Shayde employed to guard him. Everything worked perfectly, no hitches. But it was just a little to easy, even for the Wielder of the Spirit Staff.

For some reason, Matthias knew exactly where he was going. He didn't know why, but he wandered through the stone halls with a purpose. He gave a start as he came face to face with a brick wall. He turned around and saw his path back was barred. A quick look at his surroundings showed that he was in a cell.

'No!' he thought, 'Not here! Not again!'

Past the bars, he could see Xanthen and Gim, two Goblin followers of Shayde, the Dark Ninja. They stood next to a table with a cloth over it, and Xanthen grinned as he pulled the sheet back with a shriveled claw. On the table was a large man, a warrior that Matthias recognized, his half-brother Maximus.

"No! You can't!" Matthias cried as he brought up the Spirit Staff to break the bars of his cell, but the weapon shattered into splinters.

Panicking, Matthias staggered back and fell against the wall. Gim pulled a spiral screw instrument off of the table and then look at Maximus. Matthias shook his head and broke down as the screams began.

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In the medical wing of the Smasher's training area, Link, Sara, and Kyros sat around Matthias' bed. Link and Kyros kept a watch on his vitals, Sara sat perfectly still, her gaze never leaving his face as she held his hand.

"I'm going to get something to eat." Kyros said as he stood. He had been a friend and ally of Matthias since the two had been invited to the competition. Even then, Kyros knew that the ninja would be strong of both body and heart. Even then he had been quiet, obviously scarred by something that had happened in his past.

Link then stood as well, and started to follow the blind elf out, but then turned back to Sara. He put a hand on her shoulder, assuring her once more. She nodded back to him, and he left.

A tear fell as she looked at Matthias. She had seen him brave impossible dangers before, and every time he pulled through, even once through death itself. But still she worried; he had never been unconscious like this before. There was no response from him at all. Always before, he had found a way to reach her, some way to tell her that everything would be okay.

She squeezed his hand and put her forehead on his chest. Through the tears, she could hear his heartbeat. It was steady at first, almost like they were back at their home. But slowly it started to speed up. Faster and faster it beat, and she could feel his muscles tense up. She looked up at his face and saw beads of sweat form.

"Nurse! Help!" Sara screamed as the machines marking his vitals and keeping him alive went berserk.

Immediately a nurse rushed into the room, followed by Link and Kyros. The former took a quick glance at the equipment, the latter two stayed back and out of her way.

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"No!" Matthias screamed from his dreams, "No! Not again! NO!" he arched his back and tensed up, as if he were being tortured.

Kyros rushed forward and pushed the nurse out of the way. He stood at the foot of Matthias bed and leaped onto him, straddling his chest. He lay forward and pulled his blindfold off. He then placed his hands on either side of the ninja's head. Instantly, Matthias' eyes opened wide in terror, and Kyros opened his, the creamy silver-green peering into Matthias' very soul.

"If you think that this is terrible," Xanthen whispered into Matthias' ear as he twisted the screw straight through the arch of his foot, "then you have no idea."

Another scream came as Gim played with the screw, nudging it back and forth, then violently unscrewed it. Blood sprayed out and onto the floor.

"They are coming..." Xanthen said as he dug a spike into a pressure point on his arm. "They are coming and you are powerless to stop them..."

Matthias gave a tensed scream, feeling too much pain to make much noise. Suddenly, from nowhere and inside his mind, he could hear a familiar voice.

"Have no fears, Matthias, this is only a dream..."

He screamed again as Gim took a small knife and danced it over his torso.

"The pain is imagined, a shadow of the past. You need not fear it."

"Oh, but there will be much more to fear before long." replied Xanthen. "They are coming for you and your allies. They will not stop until all of you are destroyed."

Then other images came to Matthias as the torture continued. The first, he saw Link's body placed on a pedestal in front of a floating mask. The mask had a purple color to it, with tribal designs. Tentacles appeared out from behind it, and they lowered to Link's body.

The second image came, and he saw Cloud Strife on his knees, blood soaked from battle. He looked up as a warrior in a long black coat and silver hair came down at him with a six-foot katana.

The third one showed Samus, locked in combat with a pterodactyl-like creature. She took a hit that blew off a piece of her armor and staggered. The beast grabbed her in it's talons and began to pull her apart.

In the fourth, he saw his ally Remy LeBeau in battle in a swamp. He was whirling his staff to block and parry every attack possible from a man in red wielding a European rapier. Finally the defense fell, and Gambit's weapon was disarmed. He put his hands up, at his opponent's mercy.

A fifth vision yielded Kyros fighting an imagined foe, and then a figure appeared in the shadows. He raised his hand, palm towards the blind elf, and blood sprayed as a hole was ripped out of his throat.

The sixth and final vision showed Matthias in battle with the dark ninja, Shayde. He wore the same clothing as Matthias, but gray, and his long gray hair was in a ponytail. He hit Matthias with a blast of purple energy and sent him careening into the wall. Then Shayde advanced on Sara, and Matthias dove for her as two spiked walls closed in on them both.

Suddenly, the pain stopped, and Matthias was alone in the darkness, holding his knees to his chest. He rocked back and forth, feeling weak and alone. Everything had been lost to him, it felt. Even the Gods of Olympus were no longer with him. But then there was a hand on his shoulder, and he felt renewed strength. The next thing he knew, he was in his battle uniform, and Kyros was with him.

The mage nodded solemnly to him, and Matthias looked at the two goblins with a wicked grin. He rushed forward, a katana suddenly in his hands. With a powerful arc he cut Xanthen directly in half at the waist, dark blood spraying everywhere. Gim came forward to avenge his brother, but Matthias ducked under the gnarled claw that came at his face. As he spun under, he ran the tip of the katana through Gim's side, having it protrude from the rib cage on the opposite side.

As the memories of the two Goblins faded away into nothingness, Kyros gripped Matthias on the shoulder and held the Spirit Staff forward for him to take. The ninja smiled behind his face cover, and the vision was gone.

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As Matthias' struggles subsided in the material world, Kyros sat up and took his blindfold from Link. Once the cloth was in place, he dismounted the bed and put a hand on Sara's shoulder. She fought back the tears and looked at him.

"He will be fine. Someone or something was haunting him with memories long gone. But for now, he needs his rest, as do you." said Kyros as he ushered Sara out of the room. Slowly, she looked back and walked away, already planning on visiting him the next day. As Link began to leave, Kyros stopped him.

"There is something I must discuss with you, Hylean. There was something else that I saw, and if the vision is to pass, then we must prepare."

"What was the vision?" asked Link, puzzled and worried.

"Apparently, we are all in terrible danger."