(Eraklyon)

The blonde headed King stood on the steps leading from the palace courtyard. He looked towards the sky in a trance-like state, the only movement visible on his body was the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in the surrounding air that smelled of: black powder, gasoline, and the slightest twinge of magic.

A large bomb detonated within a few feet from the king, yet he remained there; un-moving, silent, and relentless in his quest of universal domination. Behind his back and in front of him, the air shuttered with the shear force of the noise. The sounds of war exploded in his ears as if the grenades were a part of him. The accursed screams of Tides' dying soldiers surrounded him on all sides. But the King did not flinch, his eyelids did not blink, and not a noise did he make... His shoulder length hair tousled in the wind as the sound of nearly silent footsteps came up behind him and halted a yard away.

"Good, darling, good." The old queen said slowly, then placed a silk clad arm around her son's shoulders. "We shall have universal domination soon, oh so very soon." A mischievous light lit the old queen's eyes as she went on. "Yes, you shall make a good king after I pass on, and with this win under our belts, no one will dare challenge us. Not even that girl, not that she'd even dare; what with you having broken her heart after the spell I placed on you took hold."

"Yes, my beloved Mother." The King said in the voice that wasn't exactly his.

The Queen squeezed his shoulders, then let go. King Sky stayed there, stiff as a thousand year old statue. And that way he waited, until his mother had disappeared from the battle grounds and he was left alone again to collect his thoughts for the next move he would make on the chess board he liked to call War.

Eraklyon's warriors fought around him, they were almost completely blinded by the idea of near victory and the blood that gushed around them in large flows as their swords pierced the flesh of those they thought enemies. They were so blind in fact, that they hadn't even noticed in the seven month span since the first promise of war had come. That their own King, the very person that stood in front of them every day. Was not himself. Hadn't even noticed that he was never really there, not really what he should be… Or used to be.

As the general came up to his King and told him that the war on Tides had been won. The King just stood there. The only sign that he had heard the old general, being the slight smile that crossed his lips. The general stood there for a second, thinking that the Prince he used to know was never like this. But like all the others; he passed it as normal and walked on. Leaving the King to decide the next planet that would feel Eraklyon's wrath.

"Hmph, this was too easy!" The King shouted over the sounds of battle, his voice sharpened with the twang of evil. The combat suddenly stopped, all of the warriors turned to the King. There was dead silence, then the hills rang with the sound of Eraklyon's cheering soldiers.

King Sky sneered then threw up his arms in victory.

"Long-live the Warlord!" The soldiers chanted over and over again.

"The universe will crumble in our hands." The King whispered to himself. He then swung around and walked off towards the hover ships, to set off on the track to their next blood-spattered victory.

(Vitalion)

"Julian!" Bloom yelled, her scream for him pierced through the air like a freshly sharpened spear. As the cry of panic hit his ears, he ran out of the library that wasacross the hall from the throne room and started in the general direction of the panicked cry.

"Bloom!" Julian bellowed, the sound of it echoing into every crevices of the palace. He was about to yell out again but was cut off as Bloom's friendly bunny Kiko rounded the corner, his ears spinning like helicopter blades as he flew towards the prince. With that the small rabbit rammed into Julian's chest and made him stumble a few steps to catch his balance. "Whoa, WHOA! Little guy, where's Bloom!" The prince asked, trying to keep his calm so he wouldn't squish the fuzzy creature that he now held in his arms.

Kiko then started to chitter frantically, pointing every which way until the only thing Julian could make out of the situation was that he was totally and outright confused. "Stop it ya little fuzz ball!" Julian screeched, the fuse of his temper burning dangerously low. "Stop giving me a headache and take me to her." He continued, silently counting to ten in his mind.

The gray and white bunny nodded, then flew out of the prince's arms in the direction of Bloom. Julian stood there motionless until the fed up bunny came shooting back at him and grabbed his shirt's sleeve and started to forcibly tug him in the right direction.

As the funny pair shot across halls and stairways, amazed bystanders stopped and stared at the sight. Julian didn't care though, all he cared about was getting to the Queen of his heart.

Finally they ran around the last bend to the south-eastern tower,Julian groaned then as he bent his head up and up until the end of the spiraling staircase was in his view.

"She's up there?" Julian asked dumbly and looked at the rabbit (as if Kiko could answer).

In turn Kiko nodded furiously and started pushing the prince towards the landing.

"How ironic, prince having to go up 500 steps to get to his one true love." Julian muttered and started deftly up the stone stair case knowing that at some point he would have to stop and look down; he stopped half-way up to look down at the ground. His vision spun, and he felt the better part of his lunch start coming up in his throat… For the prince, was scared to death of heights.

Julian shuddered and gasped frantically to keep from vomiting and continued on his way, each step he took felt like he was lifting an anvil, the fact that it got colder as he went up did not help one bit.

As he collapsed on the last step he looked towards the door that entered into the tower's only chamber and let the nausea swim out of his vision. The nausea gone,he got to his feet and yanked the heavy, solid cherry wood door open.

The prince looked warily (and gratefully) inside and saw Bloom leaning three feet out of the tower's only window. "Bloom!" He yelled for the second time that day, his vision finally fullycleared as he ran towards the window and rapped his arms tightly around her waist; fiercely dragging her fully into the room. They fell onto the floor with a loud thud, Bloom glaring at him the entire way down.

"What in the world were you thinking?" He questioned, his voice dangerously low.

"Not now!" Bloom shouted in his ears and went on. "You've got to see this!"

The Queen of Sparx then dragged him over to the window and placed her hands on both sides of his head in the beginning of a seeing spell. "Avonlay decetion yavoclray," Bloom said and kept her long fingers planted firmly on his temples.

"Ah, Bloom..." Julian said, trying to tell her that he was afraid of heights. But was cut off as his vision spiraled out of control for a second, then came back as if he had been turned into a hawk.

Bloom (knowing the signs of aworking seer's spell)then thrust his head further out the window and aimed his eyes in the right direction.

What he saw was amazing at first, but slowly, almost gently the spectacle became a little less exciting, and a little more frightening... It was as if he were living the thing that was -in truth- thousands of miles away... Bombs exploded around him, once beautiful houses, were charred black with fire… Musical instruments lay strewn across the black valley. The Harmonic Nebula was now in tatters, not a soul could be seen for miles… Besides the soldiers that had done this ghastly, disgusting task. Julian let his eyes wonder slowly around the planet's surface; everything was much like what he had already seen. And much to his dismay atear formed in the corner of his left eye for those who had lost their lives to this unforgiving warlord... With that, a thought hit him like a freight train. He couldn't stop himself from asking it, though he feared that if he voiced this question. The people on the Harmonic Nebula would actually hear him, but he said it any way... He had to know; "Bloom," the prince asked like a ghost.

Yes Julian? Bloom replied through magic, so only he could hear.

"Who's doing this?" Julian whispered.

I'm afraid to tell you Julian, for it is horrific beyond compare with even the vilest of people.

"A person who would do this is the vilest, I must know Bloom." He replied.

You won't like it.

"I know," Julian said with loathing.

This is your choice. Bloom said, then gave up on trying to convince him otherwise, and so, with that Bloom tilted Julian's head a little to the left and upward a bit until the destructive maniac was in his view. Julian's vision blurred for a split second, as he saw wisps of shoulder length blonde hair whipping in the wind, it then focused as Bloom chanted a word to make it do so... Then he saw him.

"No!" Julian said, finally giving up and shouting. His arms flailed out as he tried to grasp the King's neck and throttle him.

Bloom, afraid that Julian would fall out of the window and take her with him; pulled him inside and took her fingers off of his temples.

The prince's eyes stayed clamped shut as if he were reliving the horrible moment when he realized who the warlord was. (Which he probably was)

Bloom, seeing this rapped her arms around his shoulders and rocked him like a child… Until she was totally fed up, thus giving him a rather firm shake. "Julian, you weren't really there, wake up! You're ok, nothing can hurt you now." Bloom said somewhat gently.

The Prince then gasped frenetically for air and calmed down. He turned to her and started babbling like an idiot. "What are we going to do Bloom? We can't let him do this to all of the planets."

"Julian, my Prince, I have no intention of involving myself with that pig's rampages of destruction. If he gets as far as our planets I'll be forced to do something… But I made a vow to myself that I would never have anything to do with that heartless monkey… I don't take to breaking promises, especially to myself." Bloom remarked quietly and looked off into the distance.

"You're going to do nothing?" Julian said, silently understanding her pain, yet still hoping she would do something.

"Nothing," she repeated.

Thanks for all of the reviews for those last two chapters! I'm now going to go and redo the first chapter, so I wouldn't mind if you guys took a look at it too, it was simply just no up to my standards... Oh well!

-Crystal Hauntress