(During Issue 8: Will w/ dormouse stops before Futurdome)

"Flames! Ray! never knew you were this heavy!" Nigel pants with clouds of cold opaque air appear before every huff. He stops his mountain bike before the bike track in the full parking lot as Ray gets off from the bike pegs. He then proceeds to park his bike on the side of the rack and they rush to the large coliseum.

Minutes ago as they leave the restaurant, Eric instructs them to head first to the structure. Nigel pedals along the fast roads with Ray behind him who stands on the bike pegs as he leans to Nigel's back.

"I think you're just skinny Nigel." Ray says as they run toward the large structure. "Are you sure we could do this without Eric's help?"

"Well it's his fault for not having to bring his scooter." Nigel explains. "Besides, he didn't even bring his sword. And he won't have to worry because Galgheita's along with him. He'll just have to catch up." Nigel explains.

"So where should we go now?" Ray pants as they got to the front entry of the vast structure oval shape structure with large curtain glass that blends with the wavy roofs. "There are a hundred guards around the area." He says as he uses his Farsight.

"We better get to the backstage, hoping we could use our teleport there." Nigel says as they once more run directly behind to the building.

"Hey! You're not supposed to go there!" shouts a supposed guard from behind them, but they never look back as they quickly wear their hoodies on and continue to dash on.

"Guards! Deliquents!" the guard yells as the both of them hear a set of clopping and running feet as they approach them.

"We're almost there! Only a fifty meters away to the rear side of the building—" They then stop and turn when people with black suits and earphones appear from behind the building.

"We're trap!" Nigel worriedly exclaims as the guards continues to run toward them and enclose the trespassers. "Flames! I hate being in the station again!"

Ray and Nigel thinks as the seconds gets faster with only less than twenty meters apart from them. They must figure a way out or the sudden mission fails. "Nigel, I don't know how coliseums and stadiums look like but aren't we already above the basement to start with?" Ray asks.

"That's likely possible!" Nigel replies with a spark of hope in him. "Prepare teleportation and take cover!" Nigel quickly waves and extends his hands downward. "Ignition Fourth Technique: Succession Discharge." he then flips his body in a circle while his his hands extended. "Booomm! Booom! Booom!" small explosive dust blasts encircle them that create a smoke screen of dirt and snow.

"What was that?!" "Urgh!" "What's happening?!" yells the disarray guards as they hide their faces from the small firecracker like explosions that surround the deliquents. "Quick just get them!" says one of them as they charge through the smoke.

But as soon as the smoke clears out, "Where are they?" says one of them as they turn around and look for the boys.

"These delinquent street magicians can't just run away from us!" says one of the guards "I bet they're still within the vicinity. Alert all the guards and catch those boys as possible!"

"Yes sir!" says the guard in unison as they reach out to their shoulder where their radios are attached to report on the situation. "Two unidentified delinquents from the right-side lost on sight. One wearing a brown jacket and the other a turquoise one!" says the guards to one another.

Meanwhile, Nigel and Ray lands inside the basement, but crashes their bodies on the wooden packages inside some sort of storage area that creates a large echo sound. With the use of the smoke screen, they quickly manage to teleport to the undergrowth to escape from the guards, or is it what they think it is.

"Two unidentified delinquents from the right-side lost on sight. One wearing a brown jacket and the other a turquoise one! I repeat—" Meanwhile, underground the police officer stops his communication radio as he have caught the escaped delinquents in the light-dimmed storage room filled with connecting pipes and vents. "Never would I have thought that I see you boys again." He then helps the boys get up from the destroyed boxes.

"It's nice to see you too," Nigel greets and groans from the pain as the Vanguards brush the dirt off from their jackets. "Officer Lair."

"Hey Lair?" echoes the officer from far behind the halls as they see only a shadow on the wall. "Is everything alright there? Have you caught the delinquents?"

"Uhh…no, sir!" Officer Lair replies as he grins at Nigel and Ray. "Just checking the storage area."

"Alright, bring the two boys if you found them!" says the officer.

"Yes sir." Officer Lair replies as he points to their jackets and gestures them to take them off as soon the shadow of a police silhouette fades away into the light.

"Thank you sir, we owe you a ton after the carnival incident." Ray replies as he inverts his jacket in-out and wears it back again. From the turquoise colored jacket turns to gray when he wears it back on.

"Let me guess you're here to see Karmilla?" Officer Lair asks. "If you wanted, you should have asked me then. My daughter and her friends have accessed VIP ID's because of me." He chuckles.

"Sorry, but we're not here for the concert." Nigel explains as he too inverts in-out his jacket to dark green to black. "We're looking for a portal or even Meridianites in the area. Have you seen anything strange as of today?"

Officer Lair scratches his head as he tries to remember from the very start of his security duty of today. "Sorry, seems like I didn't—"

Suddenly, they sense a magical sensation nearby. A strong and powerful magical sense that is above all unique from the senses they could identify. "Did you also feel that?" Officer Lair asks.

"Was that a Guardian nearby?" Ray asks.

"In fact, it's the holder of the Heart." Nigel examines the sense. "And she's so close. I bet she's at the other side of this room. She must be following the portal as well."

"Well then let's get going partner." Ray says as he and Nigel put on their hoodies goes off quickly and exits the storage room.

"Hey wait!" Officer Lair says by the doorway as he throws two wrapped-laced ID's at them and Ray catches it. "It's supposed to be my daughter's friends ID's so just wear them to be safe." He says.

"Thank you, Sir Lair!" Nigel says as they wear their respective ID's and enter the next door by the hallway.

"Good luck saving the world kids." Officer Lair sighs and reposes as he closes the door behind him and continues to guard around the hallways.

As the boys quietly enter another silent and creepy dimmed light area with interval flickering wall lights on the bricked cracked walls. They meet a descending stairway with a ninety degree angled turn wide hallway that directs itself to the main storage room but more spacious this time. The room begins to become brighter as well as they see beyond the portal itself with a group of Meridianites before it. They once again hide behind the boxes and cleaning equipment.

"Should we stop them?" Ray quietly asks as he materializes his bow on his hand and bends his knee to the ground to hide behind the boxes.

"The Guardian is here, we can't be exposed to her as well." Nigel replies as he stands and hides behind the stack of boxes. He peeps over the boxes and observes a red cloaked figure leading the Meridianites. "We just have to listen to what those Meridianites are doing.

Meters beyond them, are the group of galhots discussing their escape from Meridian. "Isn't Meridian a mistake?" says the tall red cloaked figure. "Is it a mistake to leave hunger and misery behind? If it is a mistake well I'm happy to be wrong!"

"What you're saying is true, but Caleb—" says another galhot.

"Caleb! Caleb! You keep on saying his name! Caleb is all talk." replies irritatingly the red-cloaked figure. "While I offer you a real chance to escape!"

"Caleb is one of us!" rebukes another galhot.

"But I am a more powerful than he is!" boasts the red-cloak. "I can open passages in the great wall with my magic! I've already opened a few in the bordering regions of Meridian and now I'm here to help you join me! Leave Phobos! Nobody will notice you! Above your heads, a great number of Earth people are gathered! You can mix with them by changing your appearance!"

"But some of us can't change—" complains another galhot.

"Quiet! There's somebody here!" the red cloak hushes when he hears a thumping noise from the boxes.

Ray and Nigel freezes and stops to peep behind the boxes. They look at each other in confusion as they have been quiet all the time without a sound to make.

'Was that you?' Nigel asks Ray through telepathy.

"He hides himself well. But I can feel him!" says the red cloak as he approaches the boxes

Ray then makes a hushing gesture and whispers. "Don't use telepathy. They might hear your mind." He says as they peep once again. They are relieved when they see the red cloak as he approaches to the one of the boxes beyond them. "Must be where the Guardian is hiding, she might be the cause of the sound—"

"Giinnk!" Suddenly, out of literally nowhere a brown dormouse appears as it leaps to the red cloak figure. By surprise, he manages to jerk off from it. "Flashes of Imdhal! Where did that come from!"

The dormouse then approaches the Meridianites who are terrified by it as they jerk and leap away their bodies from it. "Stop it!" "Aaahh!" "Yikes!"

"What a group of cowards! How could you be afraid of that creature?" says the red cloak.

"B-But it was so hair!" says the Meridianite. "It was so...hairy! Have you seen anything more horrible!"

The Vanguards then feel a fading magical sensation. "You feel that?" Ray asks Nigel.

"It must be the Guardian." Nigel replies. "It seems as if she's gone. Don't you think she teleported or went through that portal."

"Well at least she's gone. We could make our move now." Ray says.

"Sure." Nigel says as he materializes his staff and discretely points at them. "I'll just have to scare them off. Fourth Technique: Succession Discharge." He says as sparks shoots out from like fireworks and the small blasts occur in the air. 'Boomm! Boom! Boom!'

"Aaahh!" "What is that?!" "Urghh!" screams the more frightened galhots as more flashes of binding light blinds them into chaos and confusion.

"No more Raven! I'm out of here!" cries a terrified galhot as he runs back to the portal. The rest soon followed him behind.

"No wait!—Urgh!" the red cloak Raven says as he covers his head by his arm as more explosions keeps on coming. "I can—urgh! Stop this!" he cries as he falls back to his feet.

"Run! Run back to the portal!" the others scream as they rush out from the scene.

As the explosion stops and the smoke clears out of the way, the Merdianites are once again sent back home to their world as they leave Raven still utterly confused on the situation. "Who's there?!" he yells, still on the ground, as he only hears a reply of his own echo. He then turns around and sees his own people left him and his plan on in ruins. "I'll be damned if Phobos hears about this!"

"So you're working for Phobos, are you, Red riding hood?" says from the shadows as Raven shockingly looks at the dimmed hallway.

Then comes out from the light is a casual wear looking figure with a gray jacket and the hood that covers his face and brown jeans and points his bow and arrow at him.

"T-The Earth legionate?!" he exclaims angrily.

"Surprise red riding? Because it is I, the big bad wolf!" Ray laughingly intimidates.

"You think a simple fairytale would make him understand? And you should stop with the jokes already." Nigel annoyingly says as he comes out from the boxes and on front of Raven.

"So you knew I was here all this time?!" Raven angrily says as he stands up. "How many times should you get in my way?!" he says as a beaming aura surrounds his hands and zaps his powers at them.

"Move!" Nigel says as he pushes Ray to the other and opposite direction as the aura blasts the wall behind them instead.

"Looks like red riding is the woodcutter himself!" Ray says as he lands on the floor and points his arrow at him. "Farsight Fifth Technique: Arrow Grenade." the arrow materializes and shoots at Raven.

"Arrghh!—" Raven cries out from the explosion as the arrow hits him. "You little!" he then begins to zap at Ray but stops when Nigel charges in, swings his staff and strikes it on his body. "Ugh!—pathetic fools!"

Nigel then quickly flips his staff around him and points it at him. "Ignition Second Technique: Dynamite Shooter—!" He chants as a spark shoots up to him.

"Oh no you don't—!" at the same time, he says as he uses his available hand and grabs his arm and zaps him as the explosion occurs as the spark shots up to him.

"Ughh!" Nigel cries as he receives the zap of lightning from Raven as they both land on the floor from the attacks.

Raven then extends is weary arm at Nigel but an arrow projectiles and thrusts on the floor on front of his hand. He sees Ray as he stands above him and points his bow at him. "Surrender now, red riding!"

"My name is not red whatever! I am Cedric! The hand of the mighty Phobos!" Cedric, aka Raven, by now composed and ready for the fight, uses his gifted speed and kicks Ray off balance to the ground.

"Ooff!" Ray says as he lands on the ground as he recalls the last time they met was when he took Elyon. "Red riding is Cedric?! And you don't look human!"

"Because this is my true self boy!" Cedric yells as he zaps Ray with his powerful lightning aura.

"Arrghh!" Ray screams in pain as the lightning continues upon him.

Then, Cedric as he tortures Ray, dodges from behind as Nigel swings his staff at him. "You're not that fast as I thought you are!" Cedric grins.

"Dynamite Shoo—!" Nigel chants quickly when his surprise attack gets dodged by Cedric

"Oh no you don't!" Cedric yells when he quickly extends his at him and continuously burst his powers upon him. "You're just weaklings! Just as Oswyn was!"

"Urrghh!" Nigel continuously yells also in pain as Ray but tries to move his staff with it. 'Flames we're toast! I can't even chant my spells anymore from the agony!'

Cedric hauntingly laughs with evil as bursts up more of his powers upon them. "Finally! I caught the legionates of the Earth! This time it's about time that you die—"

Suddenly, a loud bang echoes through the room with a small bouncing of metal from the floor as Cedric releases the boys from their anguish bewildered of a fast and small object that zips past him.

"Gunshot?" Ray pants heavily as he tries to get up once more.

"Don't know what it is!" Nigel yells as he charges up again and waves his staff at him. "But it's our chance to strike back!"

"Make him busy! I got an idea!" Ray says as maintain his composure. "Not yet! Not now! I can't give in just now! I need to get stronger!'

"Make sure that work!" Nigel replies. "Fifth Technique: Flowing Chain Reaction!" he chants as he swings rapidly his staff at him, but once again Cedric was able to escape the strikes

"You missed—Aarrggh!" Cedric laughs but suddenly explodes right on front of him as the intentional swing lines created by Nigel, becomes a looping chain of explosions that surrounds Cedric. "What kind of powers do you have?! I am Cedric and I can't be defeated by the likes of you! You're all just young weaklings!" he angrily announces from the blast as he still stands above the attacks.

"The powers we have?" Ray grits his teeth as he concentrates and breathes heavily under pressure as a powerful aura of magic surrounds his body. His mind then flashbacks and recalls the training he has done a few days back.


"Training by yourself again?" Eric ask and continues "After the trainer trains his trainees." He chuckles.

At the snowing pastures of the 'Pasture Heights' after the trainees settle around their tents, Ray and Eric were left at the target arrow fields.

"I always train at my backyard ever since you slapped the heck out of me! Also, the trainees might soon get the better of me." Ray jokes yet with a sad tone in his voice.

"I'm fine with the training for yourself, but it's almost nine and we have an exam tomorrow, you sure you want to continue?" Eric notices and feels his desperate sadness in him.

"I told you before right? I'll get stronger so when the time comes I'll get my revenge." Ray sternly continuous as he pulls his string from his bow as large electric sparks appears on his bow. "I may be the weakest link of the legion or the useless legionate, that I'm just the joker and entertainer of the legion, but I'll prove to you Eric, that I can be stronger than what you imagine!"

"Then I'm hoping I'll see it someday." Eric snickers proudly at him.


"The better to fight you off, Red Riding Hood!" Ray then pulls the string of his bow and a large electrifying body materializes.

"Farsight Ninth Technique:" he chants as a large sword materializes magical energy as it perpendiculars itself to his bow, than the usual arrow. "Sword Aim!" he yells as the sword shoots away from his fingertips leaving an electrifying tail behind it.

"Isn't that Zagan's—What the—" The fast sword pierces through the red cloak as the momentum drags and pulls Cedric's body to the portal for it was too late for him to grasp on. "This is impossible!" he cries as the cry fades as he gets deeper and deeper into the portal.

Nigel and Ray breathe heavily as they succeeded bringing down the hand of Phobos. "You should instead aim for his torso or his head, Ray." Nigel complains. "But you instead deliver him back to Meridian—Hey!"

Ray suddenly faints as he drops his bow and lands his knees to the ground. "That last one was tiring, and too much mana to cover." He pants satisfyingly as he sits on his legs.

"You alright?" Nigel says as he approaches and supports his back . "Never thought you could make such a technique! Isn't that Oswyn's last technique?"

"Yeah it is and I trained myself on how to materialize it for half a month!" Ray says as he sees the peculiar hole on the wall near the portal. "But I think you should also wonder how that gunshot hole saved our life." He wearily points out to the bullet hole that pierces through the wall.

"It must be Officer Lair's doing." Nigel grins as they turn their heads around to the dimmed hallway.

"No it's not!" says a familiar voice as the green hooded figure from the restaurant approaches them as he points his gun at them and as he walks with fear into the light. "W-Who are you people?"

"W-Wait!" Nigel shockingly gasps as his eyes widen and mouth open as he recognizes the familiar person on front of him as he recognizes his face though the shadow cover the upper half of his face.

"You know him Nigel?" Ray asks confusingly

"S-Since I got you, Nigel Ashcroft! I-I need answers now!" the green-hooded figure stutters.