Six Months Later

Wyvern continued to sweat and strain, but determined not to give up. He would not let Lich or Kary get away with how they had humiliated him. Indeed, that had been all that had been on his mind over the past six months as he lay with Bahamut down in their black prison. Having a shortage of things to work with, he had relied on everything that he could use, including stones at the bottom that he used for weights, seeing how long he could keep himself in the air, pushups, pulls ups against cracks on the side, and even punching at the rock walls. His added strength enabled him to do so without hurting himself, and in the past months he had bashed out a considerable section of the wall. He kept training himself harder, however, doing whatever physical activity he could devise morning, noon, and night. He also strained to make his Pyrin stronger, fortifying it with as much power as possible and blasting the walls of his prison. That had expanded the area a bit as well, and nearly brought it down on him and his brother more than once.

Right now, Wyvern was laying on the ground and lifting a huge boulder over his head with his legs. It had started off hard, but progressively he had to do more and more lifts in order for it to tire him out. He was up to an amazingly high number now, pushing close to two thousand. His limbs were aching all over, and he felt sore and wiped out. But he continued to raise it. With each time he pushed himself to the limit, he felt his strength growing. He grinned at the thought of it. Soon, they would be let out, and Odin would be totally overwhelmed at the strength he had managed to attain, when he had little else to do but eat, sleep, and practice.

Gasping, Wyvern buckled, and then let his rock fall to the ground. He sweat and wiped away at his forehead. This was hard work, but it was worth every moment of it to him. He'd be so strong that he'd finish the job on Lich's jaw that Odin had started. He'd run that pretty little head of Kary's into a few rocks. Yet even as he gasped, he turned his head over to his brother.

He couldn't seen him in the darkness, but his Pyrin had revealed him more than once. Bahamut had barely moved or said a word in months. He spent almost all of his time calmly seated on the ground, focusing and meditating. He was obviously trying to work on his mind, just like Jadea had advised him. Wyvern merely frowned at the idea. He didn't want to waste six months trying to expand his mental abilities, especially when he had no guarantee of success. It made more sense for him just to train himself physically. Bahamut could meditate all he wanted, but Wyvern would do the physical half. He only wished he was up and about so that he could spar with him.

Wyvern still continued to grin. In just a few more days…perhaps less. Then he'd be out, and be increasing his strength even more dramatically than ever. And in six more months…Lich and Kary better watch out. He would be a totally new esper then…

Unknown to the two espers, their brothers and sisters had been hard at work as well.

Odin had taken it upon himself to be the new leader of his siblings, and had drilled them almost endlessly. He engaged in combat with them, forced them to do grueling exercises, and demanded that they all try for at least three hours each day to evoke their own inner powers. Needless to say, that had been largely ineffectual in the last portion. Leviathan was struggling trying to reach even the same status of Bahamut, and he was the furthest along out of all of them. The others only managed to gain a vague sensation of relative strength. Still, the group knew that time was not on their side, and pushed themselves as hard as possible to keep moving onward. As a result of their efforts, they had made gains.

Odin himself had increased dramatically in power and speed. He was brutally lethal with his blade. Where before he could only nick rocks and stones with his sword, he now had the power to slice right through them. The others actually took turns throwing huge stones at them, and Odin was able to not only slash them in half, but had ascended to quarters…and eventually eighths. His endurance likewise increased, and he soon was able to take an amazing amount of punishment, with his armor or without it. However, he usually left it on, and even tied more rocks to it when he could, giving himself more weight to endure under while he trained. Yet he was never satisfied, and always struggled to do better.

Starlet, amazingly, had proven herself exceptional as well. She shed her kind, controlled demeanor and became a furious warrior. The fact that Palad and his race was now in danger had evoked a new side of her all together. She was always the first to engage Odin, and matched his blows with a stone rapier she had made herself. This one was far less crude and more sleek than Palad's weapon which had been crafted by Odin. More than once, her surge in power enabled her to get a few blows on her brother. She trained constantly to try and increase her mental fortitude, and her nimbleness and agility increased as dramatically as her strength did. Phoenix was right beside her. While she increased in the lowest amount of power out of everyone, she too had a great drive to increase her own strength, and also struggled to expand her own mental ability. She also had the virtue of being able to fly, which if nothing else would provide a diversion or sneak attack from another angle. Both of them Odin watched closely, for they seemed to be something of an enigma. At times…they both appeared to be hiding something… But he ignored it largely. He had himself to worry about, and only hoped they didn't hold back in the main battles.

Leviathan and Ogopogo had come the closest to unlocking one of their dormant abilities. Leviathan had discovered during one meditation that he had the ability to dramatically lengthen his body by stretching and breathing just right. Not only that, but he had a great amount of muscular control with it. He demonstrated this most keenly in a sparring match with Odin, in which he abruptly quadrupled his length and managed to wind around and completely bind the esper, regardless of his far weaker strength. Ogopogo lagged behind a little more, but Leviathan worked with his twin very closely, and a month later Ogopogo also managed to extend his body and wrap around the opposition. Odin was considerably impressed with this performance, and knew that it would come in rather useful in battle.

Then…there was Palad. Once he had recovered, the young man had been determined to help. Odin feared it, knowing the boy would be nothing more than a hindrance in battle. However, inside…Odin knew that Jadea had to have told him or given him something great before he died. And indeed…if the espers did fail, then he would be the last hope for humanity. He couldn't do much alone, but perhaps he could at least allign the humans against the Four Fiends. And so, Odin began to train him as well. Needless to say, the small human's confidence as well as power shot up rather dramatically. Of course, he would still be a pushover compared to the other espers, but at least he'd be able to survive collateral a bit better…with any luck…

Odin, at the moment, was sparring with his two sisters. His sword was off, as was his armor. Starlet faced off against him on one side, with Phoenix on the other. Both of them cried out, and shot forward a moment later. The former swung for his head, causing him to quickly react and block. The other clawed at his face, and he had to shield that quickly. However, his dual reaction gave Starlet enough time to bring up her knee and smash it into his stomach. Odin dipped forward and formed a look of shock as he stumbled back, and Phoenix swept down to give him a blow from her sharp beak as he did so. Quickly, the dark esper ducked, dodging the blow, and then answered back with an uppercut to nail his sister in the ribs. He straightened again and swept a backhand at Starlet. The female esper quickly swept her head back, dodging the blow, and brought her other leg up to kick him in the side.

As Odin and his two sisters continued the battle, Palad nearby furiously hacked away at a stone with his own axe. The boy had begun to hit a growth spurt. He was taller now, and the last of his flab had turned into muscle. He had grown faster and stronger…far faster and stronger than any human alive. He swung his axe mostly as if it weighed nothing, while any other member of his race would have had trouble lifting it over their heads and swinging it even with both hands. A bit farther away, Leviathan and Ogopogo were at it. They had formed a great ball of coils and fins as they swirled around each other. Like furious serpants, they hissed and bit at each other, each one darting and out around that ball of flesh, nearly dodging the other or occasionally getting a surprise blow. In short, just another day typical of the last six months.

Odin sneered and swung two fists, one at either esper. Phoenix caught hers in the face, but Starlet managed to dodge. "How much longer until Crusader comes back again?" He called out.

"Another day." Leviathan answered, darting around inside the ball, and moments later getting a mouthful of Ogopogo as he sank his teeth into him.

"Good." Odin answered as he began to dodge the two pronged attack of Starlet and Phoenix. "We'll have Bahamut and Wyvern out. Maybe they can help us unleash our inner powers. I just hope they have been training too."

"We still have six more months." Starlet panted in reply, turning and swinging to kick Odin in the head.

"That's also good." Odin answered as he swung at Starlet. "We'll need them."

"Hmm…I'm bored. Time to kill the espers."

"Huh?"

"I've had enough with this waiting game. I'm going to end this."

"Uh…are you sure that's such a good idea…sir?"

"Don't be a coward, Kary. You're lucky that Griever didn't kill you right then…or that I didn't. I have about as much tolerance for cowards as she does."

"He's speaking my language, Kary. I'm going to tear them into tiny pieces…"

"Shut up, fool. Keep your damn head screwed on straight this time. You already look like something smashed under a rock."

"Grr…"

"What was that?"

"Uh…nothing. Nothing sir."

"This won't be a problem, sir. Suppose I just go alone and wring the life out of him."

"Hmm…no, Kraken. The boasting fool wanted to see all of us, that's what he'll get. And it will be the last thing he ever sees."

"Should we tell the master?"

"But of course. I'm not going to throw aside such a great opportunity to impress upon the boss. And also…we're going to need his help in sending out for the little weaklings."

Odin panted and gulped down another bowl of water. He was incredibly thirsty from that workout. The others were as well, gulping down water and craming honeycomb into their mouths as well. It was a good thing the food in Ultima Nexus rejuvinated one so totally. After just an hour to pause and eat, they'd be ready and raring to go at it once again. His eyes gazed coldly out on the horizon, trying to concentrate on his next combat manuevers. Leviathan and Ogopogo sunned themselves on the shore as they lapped up nectar. Phoenix ate some out of the flowers as well, and Palad was at her feet munching on honeycomb. The espers always had to get it for him. His tender body seemed vulnerable to bee stings. Starlet was leaning back and looking to the sky, gulping down water and covered with sweat herself.

"Another morning workout…" She spoke with a sigh. "I hope we're getting somewhere…"

"Don't worry, we are." Odin confidently replied. "All of our powers have increased dramatically. I'd bet that all of us could beat Bahamut or Wyvern like they were six months ago."

Leviathan looked up from his nectar. "Yeah…but there's something else. After we beat the Four Fiends and get that Crystal, what do we do with it?"

"Bringing it here would be the best bet." Odin answered. "Griever obviously can't come here. As long as the Crystal lies up here he won't be able to use its power."

"And what about the humans below? Without Griever, they're going to have a hard time adjusting. Whether he was more oppressive than anything, he still is what is mostly keeping them alive."

Odin sighed in response to that, and hesitated a moment. But in the end, he could merely shrug. "We'll just have to teach the humans ourselves. I don't think we want to leave the task only in Palad's hands."

"That'll take time." Leviathan answered. "We'll have to risk telling Crusader. Also, if we bring that Crystal thing up here, she's bound to see that as well."

Odin groaned in response, and frowned slightly. "That is a problem…" He murmured aloud. "But if we can beat the Four Fiends and take the Crystal from Griever, and show Crusader what was making the planet below evil the whole time, then perhaps we can convince her to change her mind about the world below. Who knows? Maybe with her help, we could kill Griever as well."

"I hope so." Starlet answered, her own look turning to one side and going a bit grim. "I don't think the humans will ever be truly safe unless Griever is stopped as well, especially if he's so much stronger than the Four Fiends."

"Well, we can worry about thatford when we have to cross it." Leviathan stated. "For now, let's just try to beat the Fiends and get the Crystal. We'll worry about their leader afterward."

"Hmph…first you plead with me desperately to get an extra year, and now you want me to get them here so you can finish them now?"

"You misunderstand me, my lord… I wanted the time not for my benefit, but for theirs. After I saw what that one did to Lich, I was eager for them to get more powerful so that I could battle them at full strength."

"You are rather cocky and arrogant."

"I am the strongest being on the Planet, other than you, master. I could destroy them all the moment I saw them, but I wanted there to be a slight challenge."

"Very well. But I will tolerate no more delays. I want them all destroyed, and I want it fast. And as for you, Lich…if you dare come back to me one more time without the head of at least one esper, you'll wish you had died last time. Understood?"

"Understood clearly…master."

"What if they don't come, master?"

"Oh they will, Kraken. I'm calling their little bluff. I want all four of you to carry out a task for me…"

"Alright, let's get back to it." Odin announced.

The espers immediately began to rise, getting ready to work again at beefing themselves up. However, they didn't get far. No sooner had they risen to their feet than every one of them froze. Images suddenly projected themselves into their minds, as if a great shard of mental power was suddenly piercing their brains. All of them, no matter how big or small, cried out at the sudden attack, and bent their heads over. Then…the image began to come…

"Ugh-"

Wyvern dropped the rock abruptly and clutched his head in pain. Something was bursting into his mind. He clenched his teeth and tried to push it away, but it was impossible. Bahamut at his side also groaned and tipped over, remarking in pain as he felt the same message get projected into his mind. Wyvern hissed as it came. It was Griever. The bastard was invading his head, not satisfied with the kid alone this time. He struggled to push him out, but it was no use. The thoughts began to come…

He saw a forest… No, the forest. The forest that they had seen back on the dark world. And down below on it, there were villages. Several of them. Each one of them had a fire pit in the center, each one had a statue, and each one had naked humans gathered around it as best as they could. But now…something was happening. A shadow swooped in…something large and menacing…Wyvern couldn't make out the shape. It halted right in front of his vision. There, it paused for a moment…before huge balls of light erupted from it. Each one went hurtling toward one of the small villages and connected right in the center. Immediately, a huge eruption of fire and smoke exploded from each one, and as it did all of the humans were instantly consumed by a fiery blast. They were all annihilated within seconds, leaving nothing but black pillars where all of them had been before. The black form vanished away again, leaving only the destruction in its wake. But over it all…Wyvern heard a single voice.

We're calling you out, fools. We're ready now. Now come out and fight before we destroy every last human village on this planet. We'll be waiting…

With that, the mental image faded, and Wyvern was released again. He quickly snapped his head up and gasped. So…apparantly Griever didn't care so much about preservation of his slaves anymore. He had realized the threat that they posed, and was willing to decimate all of the humans in order to bring them out to fight. And Odin's bluff had failed. It had only been six months. They weren't ready yet.

Well…I guess we'll have to be ready enough.

Wyvern scowled. If it had just been one more day he could have been out. As it was, he was stuck in this miserable hole. He turned to Bahamut, hoping that his brother would be willing to get out a bit sooner now. However, though he had reacted to the mental image, Bahamut was now back in meditation. Wyvern frowned. How could he possibly still be doing it after he had gotten that message? That was a challenge, and one that needed to be answered, and soon.

At last, the red esper frowned and picked up his rock to lift some more. One more day, Fiends…one more day and all of you perish…

The five espers snapped out of it, and looked to each other in tension. Palad's look had become fearful again, though he was much stronger this time and wasn't crying or looking terrified. As for Odin, he began to sweat himself, and looked to the ground with an uneasy glare. His bluff had been called…possibly with another bluff. He thought that Crusader wouldn't destroy his own subjects. However…there was no telling what could happen. The image that he saw looked real enough…and if it was then the people on the dark world had little time left. Odin didn't know what to do.

"I thought you said we had a year!" Ogopogo suddenly outburst.

"Not anymore." Odin simply answered, still looking to the ground.

The other espers hesitated a moment, looking nervously to one another. However, after a moment of hesitation, Starlet finally frowned. "Well, I for one say we go and get them! We're stronger now! Much stronger!"

"Tell us the truth, Odin." Leviathan asked, ignoring Starlet for the moment. "Do you actually think we can win?"

Odin sighed in response, turning his head up to his brother. "I honestly don't know. All four of them are going to be coming out for certain. I've only really seen the power of one of them. I can't even make an estimate of success."

"Well, we can't leave the humans to just be slaughtered." Phoenix sternly answered. "We've been preparing for this for a while, let's do it. Let's end it today."

"End what? Our own lives?" Ogopogo asked incredulously. "We aren't ready!"

"Guys! You have to!"

All of the espers halted their debate at this, and turned to the single one who had spoken. They all were soon staring at Palad, looking eager on the ground and his eyes pleading toward them. His hands were balled into fists as he gazed up at them.

"People are being killed down there! You're the only ones who can save them!" He called back. "You're our only hope! There won't be any of us left in six more months! We need you right now! Everyone down there needs you! You said you would save us months ago! You have to save us now!"

The other espers hesitated at this, staring at the small human. The pet phase was gone. Now, they were the sole supporters of the boy's entire race. They were the only ones who could come to his aide now, and they had begun to learn the terrible price of having more knowledge. With it came a responsibility, and a great one. It was a responsibility that now, for the first time ever, they began to realize might cost them their lives. And yet, Palad was right. Griever was far too evil to be trusted to anything. He had slaughtered the humans freely and for his own amusement until now. There was nothing stopping him from killing all the others. And even if he didn't, the Four Fiends of the Elements would. They didn't have six months. They didn't even have six minutes. Every moment that went by was another death. And in the end…they knew there could be only one choice.

At last, Odin slowly exhaled, and turned his head toward the others. "Get everything together. We're leaving in five minutes."

The six, five espers and one human, shot over the dark world with amazing speed. Most of them were stunned, having seen it only for the first time now. However, Odin led them on strongly ahead. Slepnir carried not only him, but also Starlet and the twins Leviathan and Ogopogo. It was quite a stuffy arrangement, but Slepnir was strong enough to bear the load. Phoenix flew closely at their side, Palad resting on her back as they rushed forward. Odin had definitely decided to bring the boy this time. One reason was that he might have something useful that Jadea told him. But the main reason was because he knew Palad wanted to fight for his own race, and that if they didn't come back from this he couldn't trust Bahamut and Wyvern to bring him back to his home world. Odin likewise didn't like it when he left…how he felt he wasn't coming back again. He wondered what Crusader would think, if they were all gone… Would she look for them down here? Finding them dead…would she destroy herself in anguish? He didn't know, but he couldn't worry about Crusader now. He had to worry about his own immediate family and the humans.

They had been shooting over the landscape for some time now, and Odin was relieved that Phoenix was keeping up. Descending the portal and arriving there was a big enough surprise for everyone, and now that they were finally seeing everything that the stories of Bahamut, Wyvern, and Palad had told them was amazing. However, it didn't take them long to all form grim expressions. This wasn't a casual excursion. This was a battle.

Odin exhaled nervously as he began to sense them. They were up ahead by some distance, but already he could feel their immense power and their wickedness. Apparently, he wasn't alone. The other espers began to bristle as well. They looked to each other nervously, and finally looked to Odin themselves. He showed no emotion. He had to be the strong one. A true warrior never showed fear. Of course…a true warrior also didn't get into a fight he knew he would lose. But it was a bit late for that…

"Sense them yet?" Odin asked the obvious.

"Oh yeah…" Leviathan answered with a gulp. "Uh…wow… I, er…didn't know they'd be that strong…or evil…"

"Exactly how are we supposed to beat these monsters?" Ogopogo cried, a little nervous about flying as well as the battle.

"Using our brains and what we've learned." Odin coldly answered. "We'll keep this battle far from the forests and human settlements. There's a large clearing ahead. We'll make our stand there."

"No place to hide…" Ogopogo moaned.

"No place to have our skulls bashed into." Odin responded.

The espers shot onward for a few more minutes. It didn't take long at all. Odin marveled at how fast they were able to cross the distance, given their increase of power. However, he grew tense as well. He had only slightly improved his mental ability, and wasn't able to get accurate understandings of other foes… But he still feared that the enemy was dramatically stronger than they were. Again, Odin had the feeling that they had made a big mistake. But this time there was no way to remedy it. This was either going to be their finest moment or their abrupt end.

At length, the trees faded below, and a long plain stretched out below the six. As they continued to shoot onward, the trees that they passed over gradually vanished, and far ahead on the horizon all they could see were more plains. This was the clearing. Odin inhaled deeply and sighed, then motioned for Slepnir to lower. The horse obeyed, and dove for the ground. Phoenix noticed this, and then began to drop down as well. Both of them slowly moved out of the sky, and at last touched down. The moment they did so, Starlet hopped off, and both Leviathan and Ogopogo uncoiled and spread to the sides. Phoenix took her position on Odin's opposite side, and Palad on her own side. Slepnir snorted, and pawed at the ground for a while. However, Odin turned to him and whispered something into his ear. The horse whined a bit after hearing it, but then turned and began to run off. With that…the six were soon left all alone in the middle of the clearing. The wind blew slowly around them, and all was silent for a few moments. Here they were. All of them had arrived on the dark world, and already they were about to see the worst aspects of it, personified into four terrible monsters.

"Are they coming?" Starlet finally asked.

"They'll be here." Odin answered, reaching up to undo his cape. "They want us more than they want the humans."

Phoenix looked down to her side. "You better get back, Palad. It's going to get dangerous."

But Palad was indignant. "I want to help! I can! Odin taught me how to fight!"

"Sorry kid, but you're still too weak." Odin answered, throwing his cape off. "You better listen to us."

Leviathan stretched the coils of his body, snapping and popping his bones to prepare for the fight. "Well, I suppose we should be thankful that at least we're all together. Too bad this just couldn't have come one day later. Then Bahamut and Wyvern would be with us."

"We'll just have to make do without them." Starlet answered, drawing her own blade of stone.

"Great…" Ogopogo whined.

The espers went silent after that for a moment, waiting for action to come to them. But right off the bat, it remained silent. Only the wind blew gently, producing only a small amount of noise. But Odin knew better. He could sense the enemy coming already. They were a long way off, but they'd be there soon enough. Their speed was just as fast as the espers', perhaps even more so. He breathed slow and tried to relax, prepared to give the battle everything he had. All of the espers braced themselves, struggling to adjust to not only the strange dark world they had entered, but also their coming enemies.

But then, it began to happen. The sky began to swirl and rumble overhead. The clouds mixed and waved together, turning and churning. As they did so, the ground started to shake, starting off as a small tremor, but quickly growing larger and larger. A bright light appeared on the plains far ahead of them, and began to rush right for the five espers. If that wasn't enough, water was rushing underneath the light, surging forward in a powerful wave. It seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, just as everything else had. The espers stabilized themselves and waited, holding their ground. Everything began to grow more intense as they did. The ground rumbled faster and harder. The sky grew darker and thundered. The flames and water both rushed closer and closer, making sounds of burning and rushing as they did so. The other espers grew nervous, having never seen a fire before, and especially not in the dark world. They began to shiver slightly in fear. Odin alone held strong.

Then, they appeared.

Abruptly, the rumbling fractured the ground. Out of it hopped the troll-like deformed hulk of Lich. Despite her intentions, Phoenix let out a mild cry of fear when he appeared. Odin likewise grit his teeth at the thing. It looked just as horrible as last time. One of its eyes was still a crater, its jaw still hung loosely around an area of scarred flesh, and the thing still bore all the marks of everything that had been done to it. He grinned wickedly at his opponents, still glaring through his one good eye at them.

The fire condensed, and the heat waved over the espers. As it did, the rush of flame swirled in tightly until it formed a vaguely humanoid shape. Then, it erupted, and the flames were shed off, revealing the pale, insidious-looking creature that was beneath. Kary hadn't changed at all, and grinned at them with her pointed teeth menacingly. Odin, for the first time, noticed something on her back, something he had missed in the last battle. She appeared to have a sheath there, and a place for a sword of her own. That made the esper nervous. If Zantetsuken gave him such power, then what could Kary's sword do for her? She definitely didn't feel any weaker than last time…

The water likewise condensed, forming a great orb offluid pressed against the ground. Like Kary before it, the water suddenly erupted and shed gallons of it in all directions, leaving the source of it inside. When the creature within appeared, Odin had to struggle not to gasp himself, though the others did. A hideous monstrosity was within. It had a huge soft head, one that was as large as Bahamut or Wyvern and shaped like a great piece of flint. Two pale blue-green eyes glared out from it, pulsing with the evil of their owner. Stretching out from the giant monster were seven huge tentacles. Each one of them was as long as Leviathan or Ogopogo. Odin already began to foresee the problems this one would give.

But the worst was still to come.

The sky continued to swirl, until it formed a center right over the battlefield. At that point, a huge black form suddenly dropped from the sky. The espers all looked up to it and watched it fall, diving right for the position behind the other three fiends. It dove and dove for a long time, and the espers began to think, as it drew nearer, it would smash right into the ground. But such was not the case. At the last possible second, a second that even Odin thought the creature did not have, it suddenly unfurled a pair of monstrous wings and halted its descent. The six now saw the full creature, and Odin once again had to struggle not to gasp in amazement.

It was like Bahamut and Wyvern…and yet not. Rather than being blue or red, it was completely black save for its chest armor, which was yellow scaled instead. It's body was fairly the same as Bahamut and Wyvern, as was its long tail that had a dangerous spike mounted on the end. Its wings were leathery, but rather than be separate from the body, the creature looked as if two of its limbs had become enlonged and deformed with time, and had grown leather between them to form the thing's wings. The creature had a frill coming from the sides of its head rather than a crest, and its mouth looked to be filled with more than one row of teeth. It grinned menacingly at the six that were before it, and gently flapped its wings to maintain a hovering position right in front of them. At last, it stopped flying and landed on the ground. Its tail curled around its feet, but its wings didn't tuck in. They stayed unfurled, emphasizing the power of the monster.

The six were overwhelmed. Palad had never seen such horrible monsters. However, the other espers had a new dimension. They could feel the sheer power radiating off the creatures. They were pulsing with evil and overwhelming strength. None of them, not even Odin, had suspected this much power to be in the Four Fiends of the Elements. But most of all…the last one, the winged one, scared Odin and Leviathan the most. They were able to separate individual energies…and found that the winged one's power and evil far outstripped the other three. Odin didn't want to admit it…but that one could probably kill all six of them without even trying.

"Uh…" Leviathan stammered with a gulp.

"We're doomed…" Ogopogo whined gently.

The winged one smiled evily. "You came." He spoke in a voice as sinister and malicious as venom. "I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised. After all, you are the one who idly boasted that you would destroy all four of us if we hurt another human within one year's time. I'm sorry to tell you that I'm not frightened." The thing hesitated a moment, then grinned wider. "And who are the little weaklings you've brought along?"

"My other brothers and sisters." Odin coldly answered. "They were eager to get a piece of your rotting carcass too." He didn't dare show weakness now. It would be suicide.

The winged one merely snickered. The other three joined him, now not showing a hint of fear toward the espers. "Very well… Allow me to introduce the rest of our little band…" With that, he gestured toward the monstrous water creature. "This is Kraken, Fiend of Water." After that, he crossed his arms in front of himself grandly, and performed a small bow. "And I am Tiamat, Fiend of Air. I am also the strongest of the Four Fiends, and therefore their leader." He raised his head afterward, and glared darkly at Odin with a sinister smile. "Here, we rule by power, you see. That's why the humans are our subjects."

"You must mean slaves." Odin darkly answered. "But no more. You're reign ends today."

The one called Kraken sneered at that and laughed, seeming to think the whole challenge quite amusing. "You imbecile…do you think you can even scratch us with your pathetic levels of power? I've strangled and eaten things with one tentacle that were stronger than you."

Starlet scowled at all of them. "You're all nothing more than a group of bullies! You constantly hurt people just to make you feel better about yourselves! You're the pathetic ones!"

All Four Fiends chuckled at this, making Starlet shake with anger when they did so. "Oh, stop." Kary spoke with a laugh. "You may hurt my feelings."

Phoenix frowned at all of them. "You aught to be ashamed of yourselves. You have no regard for any other form of life. Can't you see at all what you're doing is wrong? Can't you understand that these people are just like you?"

Lich merely sneered. "Then I must taste pretty good too…" He chortled, licking his lips.

"Humans are pathetic." Tiamat simply replied. "Weak…stupid…ineffective… This is the law in our world, espers. The strong survive, and the weak die. That is the only thing to be respected. And whoever's the strongest is right. I couldn't care any more for a human than I could a bug. Their lives are meaningless. And they're so weak and fragile the only thing they're good for is watching them squrim when you torture them. You see…killing them straight out is kind of dull. I prefer starving them, or making them throw up their guts and suck them back in, or burning their body parts off one at a time."

The espers were horrifed at that, but even more Palad.

"They have no real value." Tiamat calmly went on. "The only reason their even alive is because we let them live. And why can't we do anything we want with them? We're strong enough."

"Whether or not you can do something or not isn't based simply on being strong enough." Odin sternly answered.

"Spoken like a true weakling, struggling to defend his own miserable life." Kraken laughed.

"We own this world." Tiamat answered. "We own everything on it. We can make the rules. We decide what's right and what's wrong. Not only do I think killing humans by the dozen, eating them, or mutilating them nice and slow and listening to them scream is right…it's fun and hilarious. Griever and us will say what's right and wrong. If you have something wrong with that, then perhaps it's you who needs to change your opinion. Because otherwise…you had better give me some reason to think that what I have done is wrong in the least."

By now, all of the six were quite enraged at the Four Fiends. Even Ogopogo was, though he feared the power they had to back up their arrogance more than that. Odin merely frowned at them all, feeling his own loathing growing for the heartless beasts as he stared at them. "You know…I entertained a small notion that I might be able to reason with you." He spoke with a scowl. "But now that I see that you're the most slimy, worthless creatures that have ever walked the surface of any planet, I'm going to enjoy ripping you into tiny pieces and listening to you scream, Tiamat. I stand by what I said. You all die today. You'll pay for your crimes and every last human that you've ever killed."

Tiamat kept his arms grinned, not looking the slightest bit miffed. He merely snorted at Odin with a smile, and leaned his head back. "Give me a break, little nothing." He sneered. "I wouldn't even bother dirtying my hands ripping your head off with my first blow. Lich, Kary, and Kraken could destroy you all within thirty minutes. I'm going to just stand back and enjoy watching them beat you slowly to death. If you had any sense, you'd tell your other family members to run and never come back. They're even more worthless than you."

With that, Lich grinned menacingly and stepped forward. Kary also grinned wickedly and walked up as well. Kraken slithered forward, looking joyful and menacing the whole time. The espers tensed up, and backed a little. They felt the immense powers of even the sole three. Safe behind them, Tiamat glared confidently at them all. Odin swallowed. This was it. It was time to really show their stuff.

"Alright…" He spoke out loud, cold and fast. "Here's the breakdown. We'll take out these three, then we'll get together on the flying one. Starlet, Phoenix…you take Lich. Leviathan, Ogopogo…go after Kraken. I'll go head to head with Kary."

"Are you going to be ok on your own?" Starlet quickly asked.

However, Odin didn't answer. He couldn't answer without saying a lie or something that would help the opposition. He knew right from the start of the battle that he far surpassed the other espers. Right now…he even supposed that he could kill Lich all on his own. But the other ridiculously high powers of the other Fiends made that impossible. He'd have to go for Kary. Kraken's own power was too high for him to even have a hope of victory. He largely hoped that Leviathan and Ogopogo could hold him off long enough for him to join in on the fight. He also hoped Starlet and Phoenix could hold out. That settled mentally, he reached for his side and pulled out the Zantetsuken. "Palad!" He called out behind him. "Get back and stay out of the fight!"

Palad might have protested, but it was already too late. Odin surged forward for Kary, while the other four cried out and went for their respective opponents. Soon, the human and Tiamat were the sole spectators of the fight…the fight that would decide the future of the Planet and all of its residents perhaps for all time.

To be continued...

NOTE: For those of you who are Final Fantasy sticklers, you're probably thinking something along the lines of, "Why isn't Lich a skeleton?" "Why does Kary (or Maralith for the non-old schoolers) have legs?" "Why does Tiamat have wings and only one head?" Rest assured, I'm well aware of what they look like when they are in Final Fantasy. But that part is still a long way away in the timeline, isn't it...