Apocalypse

by Silas112

An innocent adventure? Or a plot to control the world? Join Joe as he travels through multiple realms with familiar faces of the Fire Emblem series. A plot bigger than anything they could imagine unfolds in this five part installment. Please review.

4. Apocalypse IV: Blade of Memory

Apocalypse IV:

Blade of Memory

"It was in that moment that I knew it would work, but Fate had other plans…"

If the cold whipped their faces any harder, visible cuts would show, bleeding and freezing instantly in the Alaskan tundra air. They were wearing makeshift snow shoes on their feet, in attempt to lessen the slowing of the huge mounds of snow, though their footprints were still more like small ravines in the 3 foot deep snow. Vance's face was a deep hue of pink as he pushed forward through the pummeling winds and snowfall. Trailing him shone a faint purple light, guarding the rest of the group from the harsh winds, which helped them all move a little faster.

Vance's spiked hair was tipped with frost, and frozen solid, due to melted snow on his head. His eyes glowed dimly white as he marched, giving him a little light to walk by. They marched through a giant open valley, darkened by nightfall, but lit slightly by the white of the snow. In the distance, they could make out a rocky pass ahead, surrounded by 2 white, rock walls on either side.

"Be on guard, guys. Narrow pass coming up, good place for an ambush!" Vance called back, his voice slightly hoarse and cold. As they entered the pass, the wind died down dramatically, so Vance let the barrier fade into nothing, and they began walking at a normal pace once again.

It had been a month since the day Joe and Hakalahs died, and the world had steadily been regaining its composure since. The sky was still deep green during the day, but at night, the black star-dotted sky had returned on that fateful day. Countries were beginning to rebuild their cities, putting back up buildings, schools, stores, and other things. The capital was rebuilt, and a new president elected. Demons were still running amok in the world, but militaries have been able to set up suitable defenses against them, leaving the new Apocalyptic Elect to their biggest task at hand; finding Apocalypse and the last 2 keys.

All of the bodies of the old Apocalyptic Elect were collected and buried together in a memorial cemetery in Washington D.C., finally letting them get the peace and rest that they so greatly deserved.

A strange howling noise echoed down the pass, an echoing that was too monotonous to be the wind. They all readied their weapons and advanced more cautiously, not knowing what creature or creatures they would come in contact with. They walked for a few minutes, but encountered nothing, so they let their guard down a little bit.

"How long has it been now?" Pat asked Vance, walking next to him.

"We've been in Alaska for 3 days now." Vance answered, letting his eyes dim.

"And we've found what so far?" Pat asked, this time sounding pushy.

"Absolutely nothing" Vance answered, ignoring his tone.

"Exactly, so why in the hell are we still here?" Pat asked violently.

"I can feel the tomb, it's emitting a great power, and it's near, I just don't know where. We can't leave until we're 100 positive that it's not in this region." Vance answered, a little more annoyed.

"Then use your 'mind stuff' and look around for it, so that we don't have to be out here in the freezing cold." Pat suggested angrily.

"It's not that simple, Pat! My mind doesn't just simply look around like eyes; it has to have a pattern to look for, such as a thought pattern, or a trail of power. That's what I'm detecting right now, there's a faint hint of power in the air, but so far there's nothing as far as I can see." Vance answered, losing his temper. Pat's composure seemed to lessen a little, and he fell back in line to walk with the rest.

Suddenly, the low howling sounded again, and dim green lights began approaching them through the fog and snow ahead of them. As they neared closer, they saw that they weren't just lights; they were enemies. They looked like old women, but they were translucent and glowed dimly green, garbed in beads, tattered rags, wrinkled skin, and long dark hair in thin braids. Their mouths hung extremely low, making it look like they didn't have lower jaws, and they emitted the howling noise they had heard before.

The group readied their weapons; all swords, excluding Erk and Kristine, who preferred the use of magick and a bow respectively.

"Hm, new enemies..." Sain said, advancing slowly. The ghouls reached them and began swiping madly, fast for their appearances. Vance swiped his sword through the middle of one of them, slicing the green ghostly enemy in half, causing it to dissipate.

"Easy targets guys! Just be careful! We don't know any of their abilities!" Vance called out, dissipating another ghoul. One of the enemies swiped towards Erk as his back was turned, but Sain pushed him out of the way, and the thing ended up hitting one of its own.

Green steaming liquid oozed from the translucent wound, and the creature started melting into the ground, shrieking in agony. When all the ghouls were dead, the group gathered around the melted ghost. The glowing green puddle was still steaming as it lay there on top of the snow.

Suddenly, a dark green hand protruded from the melted corpse, and began pulling itself out further and further. Erk quickly waved his arm down at the pile, and it burst into flame, forcing everyone to move back quite a few paces.

"So, summoners, are they?" Vance said to himself, watching the flames. "I've never seen these enemies before. This isn't good." he finished. Vance waved his arm and flames went out abruptly, leaving an area of melted snow and blackened ash.

"Could we head back now? I don't think we're going to find anything else here except more enemies." Anna suggested, sheathing her sword.

"That sounds good to me. Everyone huddle up." Vance said, sheathing his own sword. They formed a circle, and Vance closed his eyes. They started to glow purple, then were off in a flash of bright white light.

They reemerged in front of an old fashioned log cabin in the middle of the wilderness, with 2 windows on each side of the house, a great oak door, and a stone chimney spewing white smoke. They walked into the cabin and Vance closed the door behind him, keeping as much warmth inside as they could. As they entered, they absorbed the features of the cabin they had stayed in only once before now.

In the middle of the room there was a big hardwood table surrounded by leather chairs and a big couch. To the right of the furniture there was a crackling fireplace, and on the opposite side of the room, there was a kitchen. At the far end of the room from the door, there was a set of stairs that lead from the first story to the second, where there were 2 bedrooms. There were animal heads mounted all around the room; trophies of death.

They filed in and unloaded their cargo in different places around the room, and settled down on the chairs to warm up. Vance took a seat on a stool to the right of the fireplace, and laid his head back on the mantelpiece. Nobody spoke; they all sat reflecting, thinking; hoping. Vance's eyes moved from left to right, as if he was reading an invisible book in front of his face.

"Sain, Erk, you guys traveled with Joe, right?" he asked, not lifting his head.

"Yeah, for a month or so" Sain answered.

"What kind of person was he? I mean, I know I was with him just a month ago, but, it seemed like I didn't really get to know that much about him…" Vance explained absent-mindedly.

"Your brother was a really good guy. Hell of a warrior, that's for sure. Nobody else who traveled with us back then is still alive, but I could tell you some things about our adventure against your father the first time, if you wanted." Sain said.

"I'd like that." Vance said softly.

"Well, let me think…Oh yeah. There was this time in our other world, while we were traveling; we came to this huge clearing where the sky was half red, and half blue. I mean, it was so beautiful. And Nate, being the idiot that he is, yelled out your father's demon name, which attracted all of his stupid guards to us. Well, that field was massive, so we had no choice but to fight it out, and your brother was crazy. He didn't want Nate to be taken away, so he would hew down 3 or 4 guards in a single sword swipe. Unfortunately, Nate was taken anyway, but your brother was the most valiant fighter that day. He may just be the most valiant fighter to have ever lived, in my opinion. It's probably why Lyn was so smitten with him." Sain explained.

"He really was a great person then…" Vance said, a little sullen.

"He was, and it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if he was back one day. God knows I'd love to sit down and have a good long chat with him. Catch up on things, I guess." Erk said, staring at the ceiling. Silent tears began to streak down Vance's face, as floods of forgotten memories invaded his mind once again.

He was only 5 at the time, and a bunch of big older kids from down the street had taken his shoes from him while he was playing soccer, after accidentally kicking them off. They taunted them over his head, and he was just about to leave, when Joe showed up. Joe punched the oldest kid in the face, breaking his nose, and then swung the shoes by the laces into one of the other kids' faces. They ran home in tears, faces covered in blood, as Joe handed back Vance his shoes and took him home.

He then realized someone was talking to him and snapped back to reality.

"Hey, Vance, I think we've looked here long enough, don't you think it's about time we headed home?" Anna suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. Everyone huddle up." Vance said as he wiped the moisture from his face. They glowed purple for a few moments, then flashed away and were gone.

They appeared in the front yard of Vance's old house. The green sky still reminded them of the task they eventually had to complete, but life wasn't all bad at the moment. The neighborhood had begun to regain its composure. People were rebuilding homes, funding projects to get stores rebuilt, and were slowly coping with the losses of friends and family. The residents of Vance's home town didn't fear the demons that ran about, for they knew that the Apocalyptic Elect could handle most any problem that reared its face in the city.

The 6 of them walked up the stone path towards the house, no one speaking. They entered the front door and unloaded all of their traveling equipment. Sain and Anna went into the kitchen to make some food, Erk and Kristine flipped on the TV and got lost in its depths, and Pat stomped up the stairs angrily to his room. Vance unloaded his sword and pack, and then made for the door again.

"Where're you off to?" Erk asked, keeping his gaze on the television.

"I have an appointment that I have to take" Vance answered oddly, and walked out of the house. It was a little brisk outside at first, causing his skin to prickle with goose bumps at first. He closed his eyes, and faded away in a slight flash of light.

He reappeared again in a small gated field in the middle of a semi-busy city. 6 headstones stood before him, each engraved with a name and a small saying on the face. He walked to the first one on the very left, engraved with his brother's name at the top.

"It was in that moment that I knew it would work, but Fate had other plans…" it stated, right underneath the name.

"And it couldn't suit you more…" Vance stated to himself. He closed his eyes and began concentrating on his brother, trying to make some kind of contact with him. The area over the grave began to glow a faint shade of red, then began to take physical form. Where there was only air before, now floated a translucent visage of Joe, exactly the same as the day he died.

"Come on man, we're playing poker and I've got Eli on the ropes!" Joe complained sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, but I needed to talk to you. I'm all dried on ideas" Vance apologized.

"It's okay, but try and keep the visits to about once a week, alright?" Joe teased. Ignoring it, Vance went on.

"I've looked everywhere I can think of; going out in the wilderness and looking, reading books, asking people, and I've come up with nothing. I don't know what to do now." Vance explained.

"Well, I'm not allowed to tell you anything that may change the path of time, but all I can say is, sometimes the most complex answer can be found with a little cheating, and a bit of technology." Joe said mysteriously.

"That doesn't make sense, but thanks, I guess." Vance said, pondering.

"Just mull it over a bit. In the meantime I have to go. I'll see you later, bro." Joe said.

"Thanks." Vance said again, and then Joe's image dissipated. Vance stood for a moment, staring down at the grave. He then dug in his pocket, pulled out a coin, and flicked it in front of the headstone.

"A penny for your thoughts…" he said, then walked away slowly, and disappeared in a flash of light. When Vance had gone, the coin slowly began to pull into the ground, until it had been completely pulled under the soft earth.

He appeared outside the house again, and walked up to the front door, being greeted by the smell of a hot meal. He opened the front door, closed it behind him, kicked his shoes off, and flopped down on the couch next to Kristine, and laid his head back.

"Where'd you go?" Erk asked, not breaking his gaze from the TV.

"I had to speak to a man about a cow." Vance answered stupidly.

"Oh, went to talk to Joe again?" Erk asked, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, I needed to see him again…" Vance said, not lifting his head.

"Come get some food you guys." Sain called from the kitchen. Erk and Kristine got up and moved to the kitchen, and Pat came down the stairs and followed, but Vance stayed where he was. He didn't have any appetite, and had no desire to force it. He began thinking about what Joe had said, trying to crack the riddle.

"If it's technology, then apparently the cheating would be hacking, but hack into what? Maybe, some sort of national site, but that tomb is apparently nowhere in the U.S., so would that mean…" Vance thought to himself. His mind then suddenly clicked, and he shot up off the couch. He grabbed his trench coat, seeing as how the sun was going down and it was getting a little nippier outside, and pulled his shoes back on his feet. He then made for the door.

"Where are you going now?" Sain asked with a mouthful of food.

"Library. I have some research I need to do." Vance answered, opening the door. He then wretched it open, walked out, and slammed it behind him.

"I'm worried about him; he's not eating as much, he's always so quiet all the time, plus I think he might be coming down with something because he doesn't always look the best." Sain said, looking down at his plate.

"Who cares, he can handle himself." Pat said ignorantly, staring at the ceiling. Anna simply stared at the closed door that Vance had exited from.

As Vance walked down the sidewalk, the darkening green sky loomed over him, taunting him with thoughts of the destruction that may soon come. He walked like a slow breeze, hands in his pockets, making no noise at all. People out finishing their gardening and chores waved at him as he passed, but got no response. He bowed his head as he walked, deep in his own thought.

'Is this how Joe felt? Did he have to deal with this day in and day out?' he thought to himself. His mind suddenly gave a slight twinge, alerting him to nearby danger; and him without a sword. He looked up quickly, seeing nothing but the sidewalk and houses before him. He continued, more slowly than he had before, picking his guard up slightly.

He rounded the corner, only to come nose-to-nose with Anna. He jumped slightly and had to restrain himself from swinging at her out of shock.

"Holy wow, please don't do that…" Vance said breathlessly.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to frighten you." Anna said apologetically.

"It's okay. What are you doing here anyway?" Vance asked, standing up straight again, having fully caught his breath.

"Whatever you're doing appeared to be more interesting than eating, so I decided to go with you." she said.

"Oh, alright. I was just on my way to the library for some quick research." Vance explained, starting to walk again, Anna at his side.

"Oh, what kind of research?" she asked curiously.

"Northern myths, that kind of research" he replied. They made the rest of the journey in silence, thinking the whole way there.

The library was a red stone building with many windows and two sets of doors; one in back and one in front. They walked around the side of the building, knowing that the front entrance would be locked as always.

"I still don't understand why you're coming here. What good will looking up urban legends do?" Anna asked curiously.

"You'll see. If my hunch is correct, this could be the break we've been waiting for…" Vance replied. They entered the stone building and were almost deafened by silence.

Due to recent events, very few people were in the library, and the ones who were were all surrounding separate tables, reading dead silently to themselves. Vance walked over to a nearby computer and sat down, and Anna grabbed a chair and sat down next to him.

Vance logged onto the internet and began flying through pages almost at light speed. Even though his right hand was clawed like a dragon's, he'd adapted to typing with the long nails.

"Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing!" Vance whispered loudly to himself.

"Well, what do you suppose we do?" Anna asked him.

"This is where Joe's plan comes into play…" he said devilishly. He logged out of the internet, pulled a disk out of his back pocket and inserted it into the computer's CPU. The internet automatically logged back on, but loaded to a different page than it had before, this one containing nothing but a page full of zeros and ones.

"Hacking is a wonderful thing when used correctly, and you don't get caught." Vance explained, snickering to himself slightly. He inserted a long number into the address bar and loaded a page encrypted in a strange foreign language. He clicked on multiple links, flashing past page after page. He finally came to a page that was in an understandable language and didn't have numbers everywhere.

"Confidential Canadian Articles. What's that mean?" Anna asked.

"It's basically the CIA of the Canadian newspaper business." Vance explained, not breaking his gaze from the screen. Old newspaper articles began to appear on the screen, all in black and white or an off-white and black.

"These are what you need?" Anna asked.

"Exactly what I need, yes." Vance answered, reading intently. There were stories about Bigfoot type creatures, monsters, ghosts, paranormal activity, and alien sightings. He then scrolled to a section about natural formations and forgotten legends.

"This is it…" he said quietly to himself. There was one article in particular that caught his attention. He read it to himself:

'Stories of a strange, demonic cave located on an icy island have been steadily increasing in occurrence. Sailors and explorers report that the cave can be seen from sea, emitting a red eerie light, and making strange growling noises late in the night. Many ships and fleets have been reported missing after sailing past this general region, which leaves the concern that the entire area may be haunted by some sort of angry spirits. Any who wish to venture into the tundra of the northern arctic seas, use extreme caution.'

Vance sat back in the chair slightly, thinking to himself.

"That sounds about right." Anna said to him, finishing the article.

"It is, now all we need to do is get there. It says here it's an island north of the Canadian mainland. So that's where we're headed." Vance finished, shutting down the computer and replacing the disk in his pocket. Adrenaline was coursing through his veins like fast water in a small spout. They put the chairs back where they had been before, and exited the library.

"So, according to the article, this chamber is demonic in some way, I'm just not sure how." Vance explained.

"But, if it's supposed to help us defeat Satan, then how could it be demonic?" Anna asked.

"Good point, I'm not sure though. I guess it's just one of those things you're not supposed to fully understand." he said.

As they walked down the street, Vance suddenly began hearing echoic screams and growls in the back of his mind, followed by a loud explosion and more screams.

"Something's happening." he declared desperately.

"Where?" Anna asked.

"I think back at the house, that seems most likely to me, but I can't be sure." he responded. He grabbed her hand and began running down the street, back towards the house.

'That power, how could it possibly be here…?' Vance thought to himself. They ran as fast as they could towards the house, hopping fences, weaving in and out of houses, and cutting through alleys. When they reached the house, they gasped in utter terror.

The roof of the house was covered in a black shadowy substance that seemed to be seeping into the roof, infesting the house. Vance stood in awe, watching the manifestation as if he was dreaming. He suddenly glimpsed for a moment, a pair of red eyes in the mass of black, and his mind reeled wildly with memories; just none of his own.

He was up in a high place, possibly some sort of air vent, and was trying to fix a light nearby. A shadow protruded from the corner and came at him, claws bared. He snapped out of it just as the claws reached his neck.

"That wasn't me…" he thought to himself. He had no time to ponder, though, because Anna started pulling him towards the house. Vance forced the front door open, and he and Anna stumbled in, almost tripping over the couch.

The first thing he saw was Sain and Erk fighting off some shadowy tentacles that were fiercely swiping at them from the corner between the wall and the ceiling. Kristine was behind the couch, firing arrows at the blackness on the other side of the room, and Pat was obviously still upstairs. Vance grabbed his sword from next to the couch, threw Anna's to her, and jumped into the fray.

He hacked off one of the black tentacles, and it fell to the floor. It writhed in pain for a moment, and then dissipated completely. The shadow retreated a little into the wall, but continued attacking as well. Erk swung his arm backwards, and wheeled it forward, it now being engulfed in flames, and shot raging fire at the shadow. It didn't catch ablaze, but the flames made it retreat completely into the wall.

They then suddenly heard a small shriek of pain from upstairs, and they rushed to the stairs. Pat's bedroom door was locked, so Vance made a swift kick and knocked it down. When they ran inside, their stomachs' lurched with disgust.

The room had been completely infested with demonic growths and shadows. The bed was now made of blood and flesh, and was pulsing as if it was breathing. The small circular carpet that used to be in the middle of the floor now had eyes and was inching it's way across the floor, leaving a streak of green blood behind it on the black, shadowy floor. The walls were black with blood splattered all over them, shadows and figures moving in the blackness.

They heard muffled cries from above and looked up. Pat was almost completely engulfed in the blackness, only his hands, forehead, eyes, and feet were visible through the shadow. Vance ran forward, leapt into the air, and slashed next to where Pat was held. The shadow split open, blood pouring from the wound, splashing on the floor and all over Vance. Pat's body vanished for a second, then dropped from the open wound, thudding loudly as he landed on the floor.

The shadow began retreating into the walls again, this time taking all of itself with it. The shadows disappeared from the walls and the floor, and the objects in the room stopped moving and took their usual shapes again. The blood remained where it was though, leaving a small reminder of the infestation. Pat got up slowly, apparently in pain. Vance ran over to help him up, but Pat took a swing at him as he approached.

"Who the hell do you think you are, Vance? God?" Pat screamed angrily, getting fully off of the floor.

"I'm just trying to help you, Pat. Don't get all angry with me." Vance said defensively. Pat continued to scream.

"No, you're not helping. It's your brother's and his stupid friend's faults that we're in this situation in the first place! If they had just minded their own business and not concerned themselves with things that they didn't know about, none of this would be happening! Fate as you say it wouldn't have had an opportunity to let this happen! And now there's no hope at all for our survival. You can't find that place like your stupid, useless brother wanted you to, and-" Pat screamed, but wasn't able to finish.

Vance advanced forward as Pat yelled, and laid a fist right into Pat's jaw, sending him flying into a wall.

"Don't you DARE speak badly of my brother. It's thanks to him that we're still alive, if you hadn't noticed. If he hadn't come along, Sloth would have killed us where we stood. And now you have the nerve to sit there and insult him after he's already died? You've got some nerve, you bastard." Vance screamed. Pat stood up, holding the side of his face in pain. His jaw had already started to swell.

"That's it Vance, I'm done. You're on your own. All I've experienced since this started is pain, and I'm done. I'm removing myself from the Apocalyptic Elect." Pat stated. Vance was about to protest, but was suddenly forced backwards into a wall by an invisible force. His head smacked against the wall, causing him to shut his eyes in pain. When he opened them, he gasped at what he was seeing.

Pat was being engulfed in shadow from the floor, pulling him into the floor of the house itself. Vance got up quickly and ran forward to help him, but it was too late. The shadow quickly pulled Pat the rest of the way down until he was out of sight, and then dissipated. Vance dove for the dissipating shadow, and landed with a hard thud on the wood floor, further jarring his head and increasing the pain. He pounded on the floor in frustration, knowing that Pat was now gone. Kristine rushed up and helped him back to his feet.

"…He's gone, and it's all my fault." he said, walking towards the bedroom door.

"It wasn't your fault, it was his. He was the one that wanted to leave the group, and I guess that shadow took that as an opportunity. You had nothing to do with it." Sain said, trying to comfort him.

"Don't give me that crap, Sain. If I had been able to find the tomb quicker, none of this would have happened, and you know it." Vance proclaimed angrily.

"Vance, Pat was right, you're not God, and you can't control everything that happens in the world. Sometimes, some things are going to happens that you aren't going to like. You just have to accept it and get over it. Fate is with no one." Sain snapped back. At this, Vance's determination seemed extinguished and he walked back down the stairs to the living room.

He heaved his blade across the room like a javelin as hard as he could, and it sunk a few inches into the opposing wall, sticking like an oversized dart. He then angrily flopped on the couch, looking up at the ceiling with his arms sprawled at his sides. As soon as Sain reached the bottom of the stairs and saw the sword across the room, he simply turned on his heel and made his way back up the stairs, figuring it was the safer decision.

"Letting Pat get taken is the biggest mistake I've ever made. I know we'll meet again, and it won't be a happy reunion…" Vance said to himself. Exhausted, he closed his eyes and drifted into dream.

He was falling through a void of black, flipping and twisting in the fast currents of air around him. Pat felt like he wanted to vomit, but his insides seemed to be frozen from the emanating cold of the blackness. He finally hit solid ground, jarring his head hard, yet he maintained consciousness. As he tried to get to his feet, he heard a small cackle of laughter around him. Realizing he had just fallen through the floor of his room, he took in his surroundings, but was disappointed at what little there was.

It looked like he was floating in space, stars and darkness surrounding him; above him, below him, and on all sides of him. The cackling grew louder, and Pat realized he was being watched. He got fully to his feet and turned around, gasping. In front of him, in the middle of the void where he was standing was a giant shadow, shaped like an elliptical stone. A shadowy figure looked to be bonded to the stone by restraints of pure shadow; the same substance the figure was made of. The figure seemed to be furiously straining against its restraints, but continued to laugh in a maniac tone, chilling Pat to the bone.

"So, you've come at last, my dear puppet." the figure proclaimed. Pat couldn't visibly see a mouth on the man, but could tell he was grinning from ear to ear.

"Who are you? And why are you calling me a puppet?" Pat asked frantically. He had just realized his sword was still at the house.

"I'm the one on top of it all; Satan's release, Joe's death, Hakalahs' death, your being brought here, the attack on Earth…everything" the man said, a bit too cheerful, Pat thought. "And tonight, my puppet, I've brought you here to bring forth the turning point in this war" the man finished.

"Why do you keep calling me a puppet?" Pat asked, angrier this time.

"Everyone is my puppet. The world is my puppet. I had a certain interest in you, Pat, for the hatred in you had been growing ever since that thorn Joe brought his brother Vance into all this. You felt forgotten, left out, shunned away. It was like Vance had taken everyone else under his wing and left you to fend for yourself, and you finally broke. I'm proud to call you one of my followers, Dark One." the man said, attempting a bow, but being restrained further by the bonds.

"What is that thing behind you, and why are you trapped to it?" Pat asked, suddenly curious. The man chuckled for a second before responding.

"I was imprisoned here about 13 years ago, after being considered a threat to the universe. I found the lair of the impossible, the holding cell of Creation's law, the one truth to everything; and I took it over" the man announced dramatically. "I, in my infinite mortal power, had found the lair of Fate itself" he finished, raising his tone as he finished.

Pat stood in awe. He was in the lair of Fate, the workings of the universe, the laws of creation…but did that mean that this man was…

"I am not God, if that it what you're thinking, Pat" the man said, seemingly reading his mind. "I only lay out the plans for the world He created" he finished. It took a second for the revelation to hit him, but it did. Pat gasped, breathless.

"You…you're…" Pat started, awe-struck.

"Yes, Pat, I am Fate." he announced, finality in his voice. Pat took a few steps back, purely out of instinct of the shock.

"Do not fear, Dark One, I mean no harm to you. In fact, I wish for you to do me a favor…" Fate said mysteriously. Pat stared for a second.

"Go on…" he said, eyeing him strangely.

"You see, 13 years bonded to a rock of shadow can take a toll on a person. I simply want you to release me from this prison, and I promise you ultimate power, enough to get your revenge on that maggot, Vance." Fate said cunningly.

"How am I supposed to free you? And why should I? You look to be made of the same stuff that attacked my home a little while ago. It nearly killed me." Pat responded.

"Despite what you may see, Pat, I am human, just like you. I'm simply an immortal. Fate doesn't die. But it can apparently be contained." Fate said, indicating with his head to the stone behind him.

"Those shadows that attacked you were not me, although I did command them to bring you here." Fate continued, honesty riddled in his voice. Pat still wasn't fully convinced, but bought it for the time being.

"Okay, but I still don't know how I'm going to free you." he said, crossing his arms.

"It's simple. This shadow is actually a real substance, it's just opposite to what your world is composed of. All you have to do is touch the back of the stone with both hands, transferring some energy to it. The energy from your world will dissipate the shadow, letting me free." Fate explained.

"And what will you do once you're free?" Pat asked, staring Fate down.

"I honestly haven't pondered that yet; I assumed I'd be here for eternity. But as with all good deeds, you will have a reward." Fate said, his voice eerily soothing. Pat considered it for a moment.

His mind was telling him to go for it, but something seemed to be making him hesitate. He barely knew this man, so why should he trust him? Apparently there was something bad about this man, if he was entrapped in shadow for so long. Pat's thoughts flashed back Vance, his smug expression always slapped on his face when he defeated an enemy, the admiration everyone gave him. Was Pat not his best friend? Who had been there from the very beginning? Who had helped him kill Sloth? He had, and now it seemed as if all that didn't matter. Pat was simply another pawn to Vance, and he was officially sick of it.

With his mind made up, Pat advanced towards the rock of shadow, circling around the back and stopping a few inches from it. He raised his hands towards it, and stopped momentarily.

"Last chance to change your mind…" he said to himself in his mind. But his heart was set. He pushed his hands forward and connected with the stone.

Suddenly, empty space began to radiate from the point of connection, dissipating the rock all from where he had touched. The tendrils holding Fate in place began to retreat into the stone as it slowly dissipated from existence, along with the layer of shadow covering the man's flesh. His features were now distinguishable as the shadowy substance ebbed away from his body.

He had medium length brown hair that slicked back over his head and ended in spikes around the base of his neck. He had piercing yellow irises and mildly tanned skin. He was garbed in an open black robe with a slack red sash, open and revealing scarred and burned skin on his chest. Despite being trapped out in a void for so many years, he was still clean-shaven, radiating a certain youth that had long past, though he retained his young looks.

The man fell to the ground once all the shadow had dissipated, landing on his hands and knees, staring into the void below. Pat suddenly heard a soft audible chuckle coming from the man. Fate rose to his feet, now bellowing into the void with maniacal laughter, looking into his hands.

"Who…who ever thought that getting free would be so…so easy…" Fate panted, apparently worn out from laughing. Pat watched on it awe as Fate lifted his arm above his head, a small dark purple dot hovering in his hand. In the blink of an eye, the dot had grown to the size of a large boulder, swimming like an enigma with purple and black color. Fate threw it forward into the void, at an orbiting asteroid nearby. The energy made contact, sucking the asteroid inside, losing the rock in its dark depths. The energy then dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, leaving no visible trace of the asteroid.

"But…how…did…" Pat stammered, lost for words.

"Aha…still with all my powers…" Fate said. He held a hand forth to where the asteroid once was. Something small zoomed into his hand, and he caught it in a tight fist.

"Here, examine." Fate said, tossing the small object to Pat. It was so miniscule that Pat had to strain to see where it was. When he caught it, he gasped at what he was looking at.

The energy hadn't destroyed the asteroid; it had compressed it, into a rock no larger than a playground pebble. It retained it's shaped and condition, but was now about 200 times smaller than it had been before.

"No wonder this guy was locked up…he's insane!" Pat thought to himself in horror. He dropped the pebble and looked back at Fate, who was now gazing at him intently.

"So, would you like your reward now?" Fate asked, somewhat sadistically.

"What, are you gonna turn me into a chew toy for a mouse or something?" Pat asked aggressively.

"Oh of course not, that was just a simple test, to see if my minor abilities were still functioning correctly; apparently they are." Fate explained, grinning a little.

"Apparently…" Pat thought. He weighed the consequences in his head: take the reward, and risk being used, or even killed…but refuse the reward, and go back to being Vance's shadow again, and also get killed. His mind clicked a decision immediately.

"I'll take a reward. It has to be better than playing second fiddle to the insolent little ant." Pat said angrily.

"Then so be it." Fate said. He held his arms to the side, his hands starting to glow a shade of bright yellow. He then threw his arms forward, towards Pat.

Pat immediately felt the impact of power, and was lifted into the air; levitating. His body glowed brightly yellow, like a newborn star. He writhed and shook as the power soaked into his body, changing his skin and clothing in the process.

"…So…this is power, REAL power…" he thought to himself, and then all went black.

Now the dead of night, Vance lay sprawled across the couch, tossing and turning in his sleep. His clothes were almost soaked through with sweat as he rolled from side to side, disturbed by his mental images. He was having nightmares, but they felt real, only they weren't his own memories. He was looking into the life of a very disturbed individual.

'Vance was standing on some kind of cliff edge, but it was underground, in a giant cavern with red-reflected walls. He had a hunch of where he might be, but wasn't sure of it yet. A small group of people stood not too far away, shrouded slightly in newly formed clouds of dust, maybe from an explosion of some sort. He immediately recognized them as most of the original Apocalyptic Elect; Joe, Lyn, Jesse, Hector, Mike, and Alicia, but there was also another man, one with bright crimson red hair garbed in blue-ish armor, his long rapier wielded in hand.

Mike walked forward to a collapsed tunnel, apparently the source of the floating dust, and kicked a nearby stone, muttering something inaudibly to himself. Suddenly, the tunnel burst open as the rocks cleared, and a giant demon stood in the doorway to the tunnel, bloody mouth and claws bared.

"These things just don't give up, do they?" Mike yelled angrily, being blasted back from the entrance. Vance's suspicions were confirmed; he was standing in Hell.

The man with the red hair stepped forward, his sword arm outstretched.

"Run…" he said to the group. Joe's face seemed to contort with understanding as the red-haired man prepared to charge.

"Eli, no…you can't do this!" Joe yelled to him.

"I said RUN!" Eli snapped back, turning to them angrily. He then faced back to the demon, which was now advancing on him.

"This is for you, Marcus!" Eli yelled as he charged at the demon. Vance watched as Eli sank his rapier in the fiend's gut, splashing blood everywhere, forcing the beast to fall backwards to the ground, supposedly dead. Vance could sense life still in its body, though; it was still living.

Eli turned to the others, apparently relieved that his idea had worked; but his relief was short-lived. Suddenly, the demons arm flew up and caught Eli around the waist, its hand easily wrapping all the way around him. It then slowly got to its feet, let out a deafening roar, and flung Eli into a nearby wall, next to the tunnel entrance. Eli smashed into the wall, a sickening and bone-shattering crack following, and he slumped to the ground.

"These things are ruthless!" Mike yelled in frustration. Suddenly, a beam of light shot from under Joe's shirt, colliding with the enormous beast, and sent it flying over the cliff edge, into the magma below. It was quickly engulfed in flame and was disintegrated. The group ran quickly over to Eli's body, and Lyn brought an ear to his head, listening.

"He's still breathing!" she yelled. Vance moved forward a few paces to get a better view. Eli's spine was apparently broken; his legs weren't moving, and blood was spurting up from his mouth.

"One down…" he said sarcastically, and then Vance felt the last of the life in him leave. The world began to contort and change, swirling to blackness all around. Suddenly, two shining giant yellow eyes pierced the darkness in front of him, and he awoke with a start.'

Vance shot straight up, drenched in cold sweat, eyes bloodshot. A faint glow lit the room slightly and he turned to find the source. His sword was still stuck in the wall, and was slowly pulsing a deep blue, fading as the pulsing slowed, and eventually stopped. He pondered it for a moment.

"Eli…" he thought to himself. It was the man that Joe had mentioned before. A great warrior; it had been a huge blow to Joe's esteem after he died, apparently. He then focused on the sword again.

"That was no dream…that was one of Joe's memories. That's why it was so vivid." Vance thought. The sword was apparently bridging Joe's old memories into Vance's mind subconsciously.

Vance lifted himself off of the couch slowly, being sure not to make himself light headed, and walked over to the now dim sword. He clutched the hilt and swiftly removed it from the wall, throwing it across the room, next to the couch. It landed with a loud clang on the floor.

With the sudden moment of clarity, he realized that his clawed hand throbbed in agony. He massaged it at the wrist joint, hoping for any kind of relief. He made his way over to the stairs, slowly climbing up to the others' rooms to tell them what had just happened.

Pat didn't know how long he'd been out for; all he knew was blackness. The only thing he could hear was a rhythmic moving of air, in and out.

"Someone breathing…" he thought to himself, "Guess that means I'm awake." He slowly tried to move, pushing himself up with his hands, getting to his feet and maintaining balance.

Fate was sitting a few feet away, his legs curled underneath him in indian-style sitting.

"Hard to remember, hard to forget…That is what you will become, Dark One" Fate said as Pat's head cleared.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Pat asked, holding his head. He gasped as he heard his voice; it sounded like him, but it also sounded as if there was another voice talking as he spoke, mutating his voice into a demonic drone.

"You will do the bidding of the righteous. Sinners must be eliminated. Only then will I be completely released from this prison. A favor, if you will, for the reward I have just bestowed upon you" Fate replied, staring intently. Pat stared for a moment in thought; he knew there was more to this plan than what Fate was telling him, but something in his head told him to listen.

"Yes, master. I will do so…" Pat said, bowing slightly.

"Sounds to me like Joe gave you a little gift before he died" Sain said to Vance.

"Yeah, a gift that seems to be determined to drive me to insanity" Vance replied, staring out the cracked window. A cool night-time breeze was blowing in through it, sending small shivers down Vance's spine, but he enjoyed it.

He explained to them the dream, the vividness, the glowing sword, and his throbbing hand. They were trying to piece together a plausible explanation.

"It sounds to me like he was trying to give you a slight advantage over our enemy. Instead of having to wonder about what they've done, you now know it like you lived it" Kristine suggested.

"Actually, I don't think he purposely meant to give you his memories. Remember, when he gave up his power, he said that he relinquished the power of the Bloodline, not his memories. I think the memories were just a little add-on to what you received" Erk explained. Vance simply stared out of the window at the moon, deep in thought.

Why would Joe drop this kind of burden on him? Was it not what got him killed in the fight against Hakalahs? He was snapped out of it by a shake on the shoulder by Anna.

"You okay?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah, my claw's stopped throbbing, so I think I'm ready to get some sleep now. I'll see you all in the morning" Vance said, getting up. They all said their departures and went back to bed. Although everyone else slept peacefully through the rest of the night, Vance kept awaking with the feeling that something in the world was off balance, and that the worst of their fears had only just begun.

Everyone got up first thing in the morning, ready to continue their persistent quest. The autumn breeze passed in through the window and washed over Vance's face as he lay awake on the couch, staring at the ceiling. The chill was enough to make him finally sit up fully and rub the sleep out of his eyes.

He looked around for a moment and took in everything in the room. There was a giant slit out of the wall where his sword had stuck, which was now lying next to the couch where he threw it. Everyone else was still upstairs; showering and getting ready for the day, which left him down in the living room all by himself. He flipped on the television and sat back a little in the couch, watching the screen lazily.

He flipped through the channels until one caught his eye, and he stopped and turned up the volume.

"…Over the past night, there have been a number of brutal murders, fires, and assaults all over the tri-county area, sending whole neighborhoods into raging panics as citizens cry for some kind of help. It is believed that the ones responsible are an organized crime group with a definite vendetta in mind for each crime they commit. More news on this tonight at ten" the reporter on the television said, and then faded away to a commercial.

Vance's hand lowered to the couch, the remote still clutched in it. He didn't want to know who this person was, although a part of him already knew it. He shut the television off quickly and raced up the stairs. He banged on Sain's and Erk's bedroom door violently, thinking they might still be asleep. The door opened to a surprised looking Sain, half dressed.

"Whoa, where's the fire, buddy?" Sain joked.

"We have to go. Soon. There have been killings and burnings. We need to find that chamber, and soon" Vance demanded shortly. Sain stared at him for a moment, apparently considering Vance's words in his head. He then silently walked away from the door and pulled a shirt over his head, nudging Erk's motionless leg on the bed in the process.

"Hey, super lump, get up, we gotta move" Sain said to Erk as he gathered his sword. Erk's head poked out from under the cover and he looked at the alarm clock on the end table.

"Oh come on, it's only 9 o'clock…" Erk complained, slamming the pillow over his head.

"There's trouble, we gotta go" Sain persisted, taking the pillow off Erk's head and throwing it onto his own bed. Erk grumbled something inaudibly, grabbed an armful of clothes and slumped off into the bathroom.

20 minutes later, Vance had informed and assembled everyone downstairs in the living room. They were sitting on the sofa, waiting for Vance to come downstairs with his gear. He came downstairs looking as if he had lost something. He then noticed his sword lying next to the couch and realization hit him like a wave.

"I wondered where that went to…" he said, picking it up and sheathing it. "Everyone ready to go?" he asked, looking to everyone. They all nodded consent, and headed for the door. They congregated into a circle in front of the house, and then were gone a flash of bright purple light.

When the light faded, they were engulfed in darkness and cold. Snow slapped against their faces like whips, melting as it touched their flesh.

"Vance, do you know where we're going this time?" Anna called over the billowing of the winds.

"Almost one hundred percent sure" Vance replied, starting to walk. They trekked through the knee-deep snow for about an hour when they came to a giant cliff-face, sheeted with ice.

"Dead end" Kristine said.

"Don't be so quick to react…" Vance said softly. He walked up to the wall of ice and began knocking on the ice systematically, doing one spot, then moving a few paces and trying the next spot. After five minutes, he finally stopped, staring at the ice wall for a moment. He then unsheathed his sword and shoved it into the ice wall. Nothing happened at first, but then Vance closed his eyes, and his sword began to glow purple.

"Get down!" he yelled to the others. They all ducked and covered their heads just as a hole exploded in the wall, sending ice shrapnel flying in all directions.

"…Good going" Erk said awestruck, brushing pieces of ice out of his hair.

"Definitely took us long enough" Vance said, sheathing his sword again. They approached the new opening cautiously; not knowing what would be awaiting them inside. After a foot or two of ice covering, the cave gave way to stone, erected carefully in giant, grand arches, embedded with bright jewels and hand-carved runes. Erk held his hand up and a small flame appeared, lighting the tunnel in front of them with light.

They made their way down the stairs, trekking deeper and deeper into the cold earth. They finally came to a stone door, encrusted with the same jewels and runes as the archways; rubies, sapphires, and emeralds. Vance put both hands on the door and gave a swift push. The stone hinges creaked and cracked but opened almost effortlessly into the main chamber.

The first thing they noticed walking in was the coating of ice over everything, making the chamber glow eerily blue. Erk threw a small fireball into a brazier hanging from the ceiling, and the chamber burst with light, reflecting off of the icy walls and gemmed floor. Every surface in the room except the giant main door on the other side of the chamber and the floor were covered in ice. The floor was a faded grey stone, and the giant door was a brilliant, glowing gold.

"Exactly as he saw it…" Vance said exasperated. There were four stone columns in the room, two on either side, all sheeted in ice like the rest of the chamber, and a pedestal in the center of the room, raised to about waist-height. Through the ice sheet on the wall, they could see blurred markings and runes on the walls, obscured by the ice. Vance made his way alone towards the door while the others investigated the chamber.

There were three hexagonal slots on the door, formed into the shape of a right-side-up triangle. He pulled Hakalahs' pendent out of his pocket and looked at it for a moment. Black blood was still smeared over the face of it, hindering its golden shine. He raised it to the door, and slid it into one of the slots.

It fit perfectly into place with a small click. The seams around the edges of the pendent glowed brightly yellow for a moment, and then dimmed, leaving no traces of the open seams. The room began to tremble slightly, and the ice began to dimly glow red, casting an eerie, bloody glow around the room. It then settled back to normal, and the blue glow restored back to the room.

"I take it that it worked?" Anna asked, walking towards the door.

"Yeah, now we need to find my father, and we're good to go" Vance said, turning from the giant doors.

"But, aren't there three slots on the door? What about the third pendant?" Kristine asked, joining Anna and Vance.

"You guys aren't very attentive, are you?" he asked, pulling out a twine necklace from under his shirt. On the end of the necklace dangled a gold pendant, glowing dimly blue in the reflection of the ice.

"Where'd you get that from?" Sain asked curiously.

"I've had it for ages, since this whole ordeal began. I don't really remember the details at the moment" Vance said, tucking it back into his shirt. They stood in silence for a moment, when suddenly, Vance's head exploded in pain and he clutched his fists to his forehead, his knuckles white with pressure. He screamed in agony as fiery visions raced through his head.

"Vance! What is it?" Erk yelled, trying to help him stand up straight again.

"Something's…about to happen…" Vance said weakly, the pain slowly subsiding. Just as he stood up straight, there was another tremble that shook the entire cave around them.

"Good timing" Sain said, unsheathing his sword. They ran towards the stairs of the chamber, and up and out into the freezing tundra once again.

The air above them was circling in a giant typhoon of flame, reflecting orange and yellow off of the snow around them. In the center of the storm was a small black dot, presumably the one responsible for the mayhem. As it lowered towards the ground, Vance gasped as he realized who it was.

Pat was now floating towards them, surrounded by flame and shadow. His skin had turned a dark, midnight blue and his eyes glowed brightly yellow. His clothes were black and slightly torn, and he had a giant sword strapped to his back, about three quarters of the size of his body. His hair was now much longer and swiped back flat over his head, and it was no longer brown; but dark navy blue, like his skin, only a tint darker.

"I'm glad to have found you, Vance. There is much that needs to be said before the end" Pat announced as he touched down on the soft snow. His voice was a demonic drone, a strange, cold voice mixed with his regular voice, giving the impression that two people were talking as he spoke. The flames subsided around him as he stood, but the shadows and flame typhoon stayed as strong as they had been before, if not stronger.

Vance clutched his clawed hand tightly; it throbbed worse than the previous night by a tenfold.

"I've been appointed by a higher power to cleanse this world of people like you, people who sin without shame" Pat said, advancing towards them.

"You think he's bluffing?" Sain asked, unsheathing his sword.

"No, his power is immense. At least twice what Nate's was when he died" Vance said, unsheathing his own sword and clutching it firmly in his good hand. Pat reached over his left shoulder and pulled the sword off of his back, still advancing.

"You have no idea of who you're dealing with here, maggot" Pat said cruelly, his voice even colder. He suddenly burst forward with speed, his sword poised over his shoulder.

Vance only had enough time to put his blade up in defense before Pat slammed into it, the cling of metal on metal ringing through the billowing winds. Vance was forced back a few yards before Pat pushed off with his blade and flew backwards again, away from Vance. Vance readied his sword and charged towards Pat, poised to attack.

Clanging rang out again as slashes were made back and forth. Both of them made a very powerful swipe at each other, which resulted in a momentary deadlock between the swords. Vance looked straight into Pat's eyes as he forced his sword towards Pat's. He saw nothing but the yellow glow and emptiness; Pat was truly gone.

Vance broke the lock and jumped back immediately, avoiding Pat's slash. Vance closed his eyes for a moment and began to glow purple, channeling energy through his body from his mind. When he opened his eyes, they were glowing purple, along with his sword. Vance then charged again at Pat, starting another attack.

They exchanged overpowering glances at each other, each parried by the sword of the other, followed by another attack. Vance made a quick mistake, which resulted in a bash in the side of the head by the flat of Pat's blade. He flew backwards a few feet and landed in the freezing snow, blood trickling down his temple.

"Vance!" Anna screamed, starting to run towards him, but Kristine caught her arm.

"Pat'll kill you, he's too strong" she said, holding Anna back.

"She's right, Anna, he'll rip you apart" Sain said, staring at Vance attempting to get back up. Vance struggled to steady himself, but eventually he got his sword back into position and began a slow advance towards Pat, clearing his head along the way. As he reached Pat, he made a quick swipe, but hit nothing but air. He turned around quickly, but not fast enough to prevent another hit from Pat, sending him flying back another ten feet.

"We have to do something! He's going to get killed!" Anna yelled, still being restrained by Kristine. Vance got up again slowly, blood steadily trickling from his nose. He then suddenly dropped to the ground again, dropping his sword and clutching his clawed hand, screaming in agony.

His eyes began to glow brightly white, and the scaly skin from his hand began to grow up his arm and spread over his body. Wings began to sprout from his shoulder blades and horns from his head, black as the sky above him. Claws sprouted from the fingertips on his good hand, and his joints twisted and grew thick and bulky. Vance's transformation was complete, and he gave out a huge deafening roar into the night sky.

He flew blindingly fast at Pat and started swiping and clawing furiously at his face and arms. Pat deflected every swipe except for the last attempt at his arm, resulting in huge claw-shaped gashes on his arm. Blood poured from the wound and stained the snow red. Vance jumped and drop kicked Pat backwards, sending him flying. Pat did a few aerial flips and landed on his feet.

"Hm, an unforeseen complication. This will definitely be taken into account next time. Until then, farewell, young sinner" Pat said, lifting off of the ground. He then flew up into the flaming typhoon in the sky, and disappeared, along with the flame and shadow. Vance then turned his gaze on the others standing nearby, blinded by rage and bloodlust.

"Vance? It's us, buddy; your friends" Erk said, slowly backing up. Vance advanced towards them, slowly lifting into the air as he came closer. Just as he reached them and his claw was fully raised, his eyes began to dim, and he lowered to the ground again. His skin began to change back, along with his wings, horns, claw, and joints. Soon, Vance was kneeling in front of them, completely winded.

"Sorry guys, I could see what I was doing but I couldn't stop it" he said, getting to his feet. Blood now covered the right side of his head and the lower half of his face from his nose. He turned and quickly got his sword from where it had fallen. He lifted his head and took a step back in shock.

A hooded figure was standing about 20 feet away from him, standing stationary in the billowing gales. Vance poised his sword quickly, on his guard.

"Who are you?" he called over the winds, as the others ran up behind him.

"No one important" the figure said. It had a hoarse, woman's voice, and was hunched over slightly.

"Then what do you want?" Vance asked, dropping his guard slightly; this woman didn't seem to be any threat.

"To help you" she said, taking a small step forward.

"How can you help us?" Vance asked.

"I know where you must go" she said simply. At these words, Vance sheathed his sword.

"How do you know?" he asked curiously, not breaking his gaze from her.

"That's not important. What is is that this world is in mortal danger again, and only you five can stop it" she said, slowly walking towards them. She radiated a certain power, despite her age.

"That sword you carry, Vance, is the key to the next and last pendant. Its powers of memory will serve you quite well in the hours to come" she continued, still walking.

"Powers of memory?" Vance asked, baffled.

"Those visions in your sleep were conjured by the sword, Vance, and it has powers beyond that as well. You just simply need to learn to hone them, and fast" the woman explained, almost right in front of him now.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" he asked, almost in a whisper now. She stopped in front of him, staring intently at him. He couldn't see a face, but knew she was looking at him.

"Your father has powers beyond your own. He can travel through time with ease. I know where he's gone, and that's where you need to go, what you need to know" she explained, also softly.

"And how will I learn?" he asked curiously.

"I will help you" she said. She raised a hand, and placed it on the side of his face.

"Look how you've grown. Don't let me down" she said quietly. She then started glowing softly, and disappeared into Vance where her hand had been placed. Vance glowed red for a moment, then faded back dim once again. Vance stood shocked for a moment, mentally going over what had just happened.

"Vance! Who was that?" Erk called as they all ran towards him.

"Mom…" Vance whispered inaudibly to himself.

"What?" Sain asked.

"No one, just a crazy prophet" he said quickly.

"Okay then, where to now?" Anna asked.

"Not where, but when" Vance said mysteriously, looking at his hands. They all huddled up and teleported back to the house.

"He has escaped, master" Pat said shortly. He was back in Fate's lair, kneeling in front of Fate himself.

"No need to fret, Dark One, there will be other opportunities. Though I have a feeling that transformed state of his will come in handy for us at one point or another" Fate said, more to himself than to Pat.

"What is the plan now?" Pat asked, getting to his feet.

"There is one I must find, one who will make me stronger than any God could wish to be" Fate said, looking up into the void above him.

"What will you have me do, master?" Pat asked.

"I would have you bring him to me, but unfortunately, he's dead, and his remains do me no good. I need his soul, but that is locked away in the depths of Tartarus as of now" Fate explained, pacing back and forth.

"But I thought Tartarus was simply to lock away the Titans?" Pat asked.

"It was, but this being rivals the power of the Titans by a tenfold" Fate explained, "His power is simply…incomplete at the moment. But his power combined with mine would complete the utmost feared power in the universe" Fate finished, looking at Pat with a crazed malice in his eyes. Pat understood right away.

"What will you have me do, master?"

They all sat in the living room, quiet as the night.

"So we have to time travel to find your father?" Erk asked.

"Yeah. And according to the old lady's thoughts, he's in the last place any of us would have thought him to be at" Vance said, staring at the ground.

"Where is he at?" Sain asked curiously.

"Your world" he replied, looking up into Sain's face. His jaw dropped at Vance's words.

"But…how could he be? When we left the world about two years ago, it was covered in lava!" Erk protested, getting to his feet.

"It was a ploy, Erk. Do you really think just the volcanic region could have covered the earth in that much magma? True, volcanoes did erupt, but the world was only covered in about two feet of lava, just enough to kill most of the civilization and foliage on the planet, according to the prophet" Vance explained, "Apocalypse used another of his powers to make the illusion when you guys supposedly 'killed' him, though in my opinion I think you guys just injured him" Vance finished.

"So we were duped into leaving our own world?" Erk asked.

"Basically, yeah" Vance finished.

"So, where to now? To our world, right?" Sain asked, stretching his legs out in front of him.

"It would seem that way, but I have to make a stop first, and it looks like you guys have to come with me this time" Vance said, standing up and checking that all his gear was on him.

"A stop where?" Kristine asked.

"Let's just call it the 'library'" Vance replied, walking towards the door. They gathered out in front and teleported away once more.

They reappeared in the cemetery that Vance visited only mere days beforehand.

"Why are we here?" Anna asked, looking around the area. They all had attended the service when the 6 were buried here.

"For guidance" Vance replied simply. He walked with the rest of them up to the normal grave, and Vance closed his eyes in concentration, seeing nothing but his brother in his mind. A glowing visage appeared over Joe's grave, and everyone gasped as the form of Joe appeared in the air in front of Vance, not a day older than when he was buried.

"Oh look, the whole gang's here this time…except one, where's Pat?" Joe asked curiously.

"He's gone, Joe, he joined the other side, so we're down to five of us" Vance explained. He then launched into the story about the chamber and the fight with Pat and the old woman. He then told Joe about the sword's powers, and how it was to help them next.

"Well, sounds like you got a handful on this one, buddy. I had no idea about the sword though, even though I knew there was something special about it" Joe said.

"Yeah, it's giving me all of your old memories. I saw Eli die last night in my sleep…" Vance said softly. Joe looked intently at his brother.

"I'm sorry you had to see that, but I had to live through it which was probably just as bad. But anyway, so you guys have to go back to Lyn and Eli's world to find dad?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, and it looks like the sword helps us with that, and according to the old lady, your headstone is the portal key" Vance said.

"Well, have a look if you want; I was dead when they made it so I have no idea what it may do" Joe joked. Vance walked forward and looked around the face of the headstone. He noticed nothing at first and was about to give up when something caught his eye.

He looked over "Joe" on the headstone and noticed something odd. In the 'O', there was a cross inside it with four equal arms, extending from the middle to each edge of the letter, and where each arm met, was a small ruby embedded into the stone.

"I think I've got it" Vance announced, stepping back from the headstone.

"Well, if it works, good luck to you guys, you'll need it. Don't underestimate Apocalypse, he's so much stronger than he looks" Joe advised.

"Thanks, bro" Vance said.

"It was good to see you again, Joe" Sain said, looking up into his face.

"You too, guys. Maybe it'll happen again…" Joe said, and then the image dissipated. Vance reached into his pocket and pulled out another coin, which he flipped into the soft dirt in front of Joe's grave.

"What was that for?" Erk asked.

"A penny for his thoughts" Vance said mysteriously. No one noticed the coin absorb into the dirt once again. Vance then unsheathed his sword and turned towards the grave.

"I'm not quite sure what's going to happen, guys, so you might want to stand back a little" Vance said, pointing his sword to the headstone. They backed away a little from Vance, leaving him standing about eight feet from the headstone. He then closed his eyes and thought to himself.

'What am I supposed to do now?' he thought to himself.

"I'll take care of that…" the woman said in his head. Vance's eyes then shot open, and he began chanting an unknown language, in the voice of the old lady. His sword began to glow red, just as the ruby on the grave did. A small pink beam shot from the end of his blade and connected with the ruby on the grave, sending lines of pink light out that etched into the lines on the grave.

First, the arms of the cross lit up along with the 'O'. Then, other markings began to appear on the grave; symbols and letters of a language Vance didn't understand. They were as beautiful as they were mysterious. The light finally stopped spreading as the last symbol was formed. The headstone was now covered in pink glowing runes and letters that pulsed brighter and brighter. The rest of the grave then began glowing a light green that also pulsed brighter and brighter, like a heart beating.

A dark green beam then shot from the grave into the green sky above, making a chain from the vast sky to the grave. Vance raised the sword and the giant beam stayed in place, confirming that the chain was complete.

"This is it, the portal stands open…" Vance whispered to himself. The others walked up behind him, transfixed by the glow of the portal.

"Is this it? The portal to the other world?" Anna asked curiously.

"Yeah, let's get going before it closes or something" Vance said, sheathing his sword. They all ran forward and stepped into the brilliant green light.

"Master, I've lost traces of all five of them on Earth; they've left that realm" Pat said, opening his eyes.

"Good, then all goes according to plan" Fate said, staring off into the void. The stars moved slowly against the black backdrop.

"What are we to do next?" Pat asked.

"We wait until they have the pendant, then we make a few adjustments of our own" Fate explained, not looking away. Pat stared at Fate for a moment. What was he planning and how did he work into it all? Surely he knew what he was doing.

"Does Vance have anything to do with your plan, master?" Pat asked curiously.

"Of course, he's the king in this little chess game. The soul I need can't be gathered by anyone but him. And believe me, this is one piece that will never checkmate…" Fate finished.

They were spinning in circles in midair, brilliant green and blue light blinding them from all sides. Vance's stomach began churning and he wanted nothing more than for it to stop. He was just about to lose his breakfast when he hit solid ground, smacking the side of his head against the ground. The wounds Pat had left were still sore, and the bandages didn't offer much padding between the wounds and the hard ground.

After clearing his head from the shock, he got to his feet and brushed himself off. He looked around and gasped at his surroundings.

The world around him was an extremely sad sight to behold; the ground everywhere was black and ashy, apparently dried magma. Burned and charred trees and plants stood everywhere, some almost buried to their tops in ash. The wind mixed the air with ash and sulfur, making areas of the world inhabitable from inhalants. Skeletons of animals lay everywhere, charred and burned from magma.

"This place isn't a home anymore…" Sain said, taking in everything. Not even the blowing winds made a sound. Everything was dead silent.

"Judging by the size of this place and the absence of a lot of trees, I'd say we're in that giant field I told you about before" Sain said.

"Alright, so where would you suggest going?" Vance asked.

"I'd say his old tower would be the most likely place to find him" Erk suggested.

"Sounds about right to me" Sain agreed.

"Okay, then let's go" Vance said, walking forward. They started across the barren wastes, taking in the grey sky and black land around them.

"So you guys actually lived here?" Kristine asked Erk and Sain, her brown hair being blown around in the winds.

"We didn't live here exactly, we lived quite a few miles west of here, in a city that looked quite similar to Vance's at the time" Sain explained, "But then Joe and Nate showed up, and, well, things definitely changed" he finished, a little depressed.

"It looks like we've already gone passed the mountainous area, so we have some forest to trek through, then the volcanic, desert, forested and costal regions until we get to his island, though I doubt we'll be able to distinguish the areas from each other by the looks of this place…" Erk said, indicating around.

They made their way over the massive slab of land until they reached a very depressing sight. They found the forest area, but all that remained was a bunch of burned trees with mangled branches; no green anywhere. They trekked through the ghostly visage, passing under low-hanging branches and over stray roots. They then came to a gigantic ditch in the ground, about 10 feet deep, filled with what looked like dried magma.

"I remember this place…" Sain said, staring into the ditch.

"Yeah, Lyn almost got killed here. Someone cut down the bridge while we were crossing. This used to be a bottomless pit, that's why we needed a bridge to get across" Erk explained. They could still see the posts at either end of the ditch, supposedly where the rope bridge would have connected at.

The sword began to glow blue in its sheath at Vance's side, and Vance stopped dead in his tracks, a new memory soaking into his mind.

'He could see the group crossing towards him over a rickety rope bridge, connected over a giant hole in the ground. They conversed to themselves as the crossed.

"Are you doing okay?" Joe asked to Lyn. Vance could see from the look on his face that he was uncomfortable with the situation.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've always enjoyed being up high. It's always made me feel, I don't know, powerful somehow" she replied.

"Oh, that's good…" Joe said.

"Are you alright?" she asked him teasingly.

"Not really, I'm getting a really weird feeling, like something bad is going to happen" he answered. Vance then felt a small tremor run through the ground beneath him. The others felt it as well.

"Not MORE of them?" Mike said, his hand going to his spear.

"No, it's coming from below…" Joe said, almost breathlessly. Joe looked down over the edge of the bridge and panic instantly spelled itself over his face. Vance then noticed a dark figure across the bridge, standing menacingly at the side of a post where the rope was connected to.

"It's erupting! Run, NOW!" Joe screamed at the others. They all began pushing forward on the bridge, frantically trying to get to the other side. The figure at the start of the bridge sliced one of the ropes, and the bridge slackened dramatically, slowing the group's progress. Joe apparently noticed and took a look back. The dark figure was just about to cut the last rope as Joe noticed him.

"Hurry! Someone's cutting down the bridge!" Joe yelled to the others. They began stepping off the bridge just as the blade hit the rope. They all made it off except Lyn, who was then plummeted down towards the upcoming magma. She grabbed onto the edge of the hole as the bridge fell completely.

Vance ran to the edge of the hole, knowing that no one could see him, and looked at the dark figure. As Joe pulled Lyn out from the hole, the magma burst forth out of the hole, and the figure's face was illuminated for a split second.

Vance looked in awe as a younger visage of Hakalahs stood before him, then the memory went black.'

Vance snapped back suddenly, and everyone was standing around him.

"You okay there?" Sain asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, just another memory is all" Vance said, taking a step forward. They climbed down the edge of the hole to the solid rock below.

"This is definitely a lot easier than last time" Erk said sarcastically as they crossed the hole.

"You know, we never did find out who cut down that bridge" Sain said, indicating with his thumb to the posts behind them. They were blackened and burned, but standing nonetheless.

"It was Hakalahs. I saw him in the memory" Vance said without slowing or looking back. Sain shrugged casually at the words.

"I had a feeling it was him, but we were never completely sure about it" he said as they reached the other side of the hole. They hefted each other up out of the hole and continued through the rest of the foliage, which was even more charred than the rest of the area; apparently from the extra eruption, Vance assumed.

They came to a small riverbed that had been was drastically shallower from being filled with magma so many times, then right on the riverbank, they passed under a burned bronze archway, which Vance assumed was the entrance to the volcanic region. Sain and Erk gasped as they passed under the bronze arch.

Where the volcanic region had been that fateful day with the fight between Joe and Hakalahs, there was now nothing, nothing but a giant hole in the ground about a mile in diameter. They could see no bottom to it; only a dark pitfall, threatening any victim to a never-ending tumble to their doom.

"I had forgotten about this…" Erk said, looking around in total awe.

"What, that the volcanic region is nothing but a giant volcano?" Anna asked.

"No, that Hakalahs blew it all up the day he and Joe fought for the first time" Erk answered. They all looked in awe at the hole.

"How are we supposed to cross it?" Kristine asked.

"I'll teleport us across; I can see the other side from here" Vance said. He closed his eyes and jolted them across the hole to the other side. When the light dimmed, they were looking at the hole from the other side, and continued their journey. They found a trail that went slightly uphill, away from the volcanic region, and towards the second bronze arch; signaling the end of the region. They found the arch, and saw that it was embedded into a tunnel, presumably to reach the next region.

"The desert is next" Sain announced as they entered the tunnel. Vance's eyes glowed white faintly to light their way through the tunnel.

"This is where Lyn literally stumbled upon the prophecy about the Life Essence. It was a stone slab she tripped over, but it helped them immensely a little over a year ago, in the resistance against Satan" Erk said.

Vance was tuning them out at this point; he knew that more memories would only trigger the sword to show him more. They exited the tunnel a few minutes later and found themselves in what used to be a desert; rolling hills covered in black rock, ash billowing everywhere in the winds. They continued through the desert until they reached a big hill quite a few feet tall. They climbed over it and took in the view from the top.

They were standing on the edge of an old battlefield; empty armor lay mangled in the dried magma, burned and blackened. Spears and swords stuck up from the rock, monuments to their old owner's lives.

"Dead guardians. This is where we had another fight with them, after the encounter with Hakalahs" Erk explained as they slid down the other side of the hill. They trekked over the armor and wreckage, and found themselves at another dead forest, which looked eerily like the first one. They continued through it for a few minutes and finally reached the coastal region.

The sound of waves was the most inviting sound any of them could have wished for. There was still water there, but it was black and left ashy silt on the shoreline with every passing wave.

"The water's contaminated, I wouldn't suggest swimming" Anna said, taking a quick smell of the air.

"How do we get across then?" Vance asked, "I can only teleport us if I can see where I'm going, or if I've been there before" Vance finished. He could see the tower in the distance, a small speck on the horizon. Clouds circled around the top of it, just like in his dreams.

"I have an idea…" Erk said. He walked up to the shoreline, and put his hands in front of him. He chanted something under his breath, and his hands began glowing blue. A beam of bright light shot out from his palms at the water, and a pathway of ice formed itself over the waters. The ice was grey and dull from the ash in the water, and it extended all the way across the ocean.

"It shouldn't be too slippery because of the ash in it" Erk said, making a few fairly strong stomps on the ice. It held fast and didn't budge an inch. Convinced, they all stepped onto it and began across the waters.

It took them the better part of an hour to cross over the water, but when they did, they were all relieved to finally be on solid land again. They then took in the sight of the tower in front of them.

It was an enormous onyx tower, rising tens of stories into the air, straight into the billowing winds and clouds above. The giant onyx stone door stood before them; a final warning before the plunge. Vance gave an insisting push, and the doors creaked open, years of disuse now showing through.

The lobby was just as it had been those years before, except now everything was covered in a layer of cobwebs and dust, and there was a giant hole in the middle of the floor where the flame demon Ifrit had fallen after being defeated by Joe.

The smell of old, musty fabric hit their faces as they entered the building, making them lightheaded for a moment or two. They cautiously wound around the hole and made their way to the staircase that wound around the perimeter of the tower, leading up to the chamber above. They quickly made their way up the stairs, trying not to waste anymore time than they already had. They got to the top in about ten minutes, and stopped momentarily to catch their breath.

Vance could sense, rather than see, that the sun was setting; it would become even darker in there if they didn't hurry up. They approached the next giant doorway, this one made of wood with a black metal border around it.

"Okay, guys, there's no telling who are what will be waiting in there for us, but either way it can't be good. Be on guard, always" Vance said, unsheathing his sword. They all nodded and prepared to enter. Vance shoved the door open and walked in.

The roof of the room was missing, so winds billowed around the open space at the top of the tower. Across the room, Vance could see someone standing at the edge of the room, looking out over the land. As they walked forward slowly, he could see it was his father.

Apocalypse stood there, staring out over the vast expanse of dead land and ocean, looking almost dazed.

"I wondered when you'd find me, Vance, it certainly has been a while" he said, turning towards them. "You've even brought some familiar faces with you. Hello Sain and Erk" he said, greeting them by name.

"Don't even think my name, you bastard" Sain said coldly, unsheathing his sword.

"No need to be rude now, we're all…acquaintances here" he said, taking a step towards them. Vance raised an arm towards him, holding him in his place so he couldn't advance closer.

"Don't even think about it, old man" Vance said, his eyes glowing purple.

"Now is that any way to treat your father?" Apocalypse asked sarcastically.

"You're not my father, not anymore. You may have his face, but his soul is gone, it died when you took his body, you bastard" Vance droned. Apocalypse chuckled slightly.

"So much like your brother, but so much stronger. I guess there's no need to even try to convince you to join me. You're so much more strong willed than he was. He had a spine, but you…you have a back of steel that no one can bend" Apocalypse said, taking a step forward through Vance's mental restraint.

"Why aren't you in your normal monstrous shape like you normally are?" Erk asked, not out of curiosity, only to stall for time while Vance could charge power.

"I find this form much easier to move in. Two legs are much better than four giant claws and wings" Apocalypse joked.

"You seem quite chipper for someone who recently lost one of their most powerful allies, father dearest" Vance taunted, letting down the restraint, seeing as how it was useless.

"Hakalahs was expendable, and besides, Satan's already loose, is he not? Our plan was completed, but now I've seen the uselessness of it" Apocalypse said, almost depressed, and looked back out into the scope of the land.

"And why do you say that? The earth is in turmoil, isn't that what you wanted?" Anna asked, brandishing her own sword.

"Yes it is, but it's always a little disheartening to know that you were used all along in your own plan" Apocalypse said mysteriously, not breaking his gaze.

"How do you figure?" Vance asked, this time in full curiosity.

"Our plan was our own, but our actions were planned by another, someone even higher than Satan" he explained.

"There is no one higher than Satan, unless you mean…" Kristine started, oak bow in hand.

"No, I don't mean God, I mean the puller of strings; planner of plans" Apocalypse said.

"I don't get you" Vance conceded.

"FATE YOU IGNORANT LITTLE…" Apocalypse screamed angrily at them, his eyes flashing with flames momentarily, but he calmed himself immediately.

"The Fates used us for an even bigger plot, a plan the puts the release of Satan in league with two year olds plotting an escape from a playpen" Apocalypse said, composure regained.

"So you're saying releasing Satan was pointless now?!" Erk asked, anger beginning to boil up in his stomach.

"In a way, yes. It was all part of a bigger plan, one that will probably see this world's and your world's ends" Apocalypse said with a bit of finality in his voice.

"That's enough! I didn't come here to chat with you, dad, I came here to finish what Joe started" Vance started angrily.

"Well unfortunately for you, I have unfinished business with an old friend to take care of before my end, so you'll all just have to wait. Here, I have an idea; educate yourselves a little on my little speech earlier. Maybe if you see what I've seen, you'll understand" Apocalypse said, turning to them once more.

He raised his arms towards them, and before any of them had time to react, a blinding yellow light engulfed them and sent them spiraling into nothingness. They spiraled and flipped, much like when they arrived in the world.

Then there was dark.

"They've been sent, master. Shall I go now?" Pat asked, sitting cross-legged in the void, eyes closed.

"Wait a few hours. Let them figure out what's happened to them. Then we'll start the transfiguring. The transporter has to be perfected before they reach their own time again, got it?" Fate asked, almost demandingly.

"Yes master, I will do so" Pat replied, and disappeared in a flash.

They landed hard on solid earth once again, all piled on top of one another. Vance felt grass beneath him, so he knew they were no longer in the same world, but where they were, he wasn't sure. They got up and untangled themselves from each other, cleared their heads and brushed themselves off. Then they took in their surroundings.

They were standing on a hill that was on the edge of a small city, booming with factories, houses and cars. The smell of exhaust reached their noses even from a mile outside the city.

"We…we're back, in our old city" Sain said, sheathing his sword and looking over the city in awe.

"Back home you mean?" Vance asked, sheathing his sword as well.

"No, I mean, back on our own world, in our own time" Sain said. Erk walked up next to him.

"You're right, I recognize this place. I mean, I lived in a small village filled with people like me, but, I've been here before" he said, looking out over the expanse of city.

"But how could that happen? I thought your city went into turmoil once Apocalypse took control" Vance asked.

"It did, but I guess your father sent us back in time somehow, back to before he took control. How far back, though, I couldn't tell you yet" Sain said.

"He did say that he wanted us to learn about what he was talking about; maybe this will help us somehow" Kristine added.

"Let's explore a bit" Vance said, starting down the hill. They made their way towards the city, not knowing where to go or who to talk to, but knowing all the same that they needed to find out how far back they had been sent.

They walked down a bustling street, filled with businessmen and women, young children horse playing down the sidewalks, cars racing passed, and neon lights illuminating the streets.

"In our time, guns were outlawed, that's why swords and bows were preferred, but our technology surpassed your own by decades and decades of advancement. We were quite a ways into the future, after all" Erk explained. A newspaper blew down the street by them and Vance grabbed it quickly.

"Looks like we're about 13 years before Joe and Nate got here. Which is quite close to the time that Apocalypse took control" Sain said, reading over Vance's shoulder.

"So there's no hope of meeting Joe anywhere?" Vance asked, a little let down.

"Not as far as I can see, but as I'm sure we've all learned by now, you should always expect the unexpected" Sain replied, taking the paper and throwing it in a stone trash can nearby.

"So where to now?" Anna asked.

"I guess we should find our old headquarters and see if it even exists yet" Sain said.

"That shouldn't be too hard, you spent quite a lot of time there, didn't-" Anna started, but she was cut off by a huge explosion about a half mile north of them. They ran towards it instinctively, not knowing if it was a calling towards them or not.

The top half of a skyscraper was slowly falling towards the ground, apparently separated by the huge explosion they had just heard. They looked up into the sky and saw a giant black form floating around, shooting purple charges at random buildings, causing more explosions.

Vance was just about to unsheathe his sword, when a small black figure flew into the air from their left. It was so far away they couldn't distinguish what or who it was, but it was apparently someone good, for he began attacking the giant shadow. Just then, another form flew up from the opposite side and also began attacking the shadow.

They all watched in shock as the two figures shot beams of light and energy at the shadow, and swiped at it furiously with blades that moved so fast they were almost invisible. Eventually, the shadow fell to the ground and disintegrated, and the two figures flew towards the edge of the city.

"Come on! We have to follow them. They're obviously who my father wanted us to find. But don't let them see you, it could and probably would screw up the timeline" Vance said, breaking into a run. The others followed and they made their way to the city's exit.

They exited the city and found themselves in a giant open field, covered with deep green grass on flowing hills. The two figures could be seen a few hundred feet away, conversing among themselves. Vance teleported them behind a hill a few feet to the right of the figures, to avoid being detected.

"…I had it by myself, Jacob, you didn't have to jump in like that" one man said, obviously frustrated. The man speaking had short spiked purple hair bordering a boyish face on a frame built by much fighting experience.

"I know, but why do you always have to hog all the fun?" the man named Jacob asked, "Besides, Daniel, if someone doesn't stop you, you'll fight yourself to death" he finished, crossing his arms. This man had medium-length brown hair over a slightly aged face, relieved only by piercing yellow irises in his eyes. His frame was similar to Daniel's, only he was an inch or two shorter and had a bit more stock of muscle on his bones. Vance pulled his head back from watching, his eyes wide open.

"What is it, Vance?" Kristine asked.

"That…that's my dad! He's a bit younger, but that's him!" he said breathlessly, turning again to watch the two men.

"Who's the other guy?" Sain asked.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure, but it looks like Nate's dad" Vance said, still breathing slightly heavily.

"Are you kidding me?!" Erk asked, flabbergasted.

"No, I recognize the eyes; that's him alright" Vance said. The two men continued to talk as Vance and the others huddled closer to talk.

"In my opinion, I say we follow them for a while. We were obviously sent here to do just that, why not do it?" Vance said.

"I agree, but what if something really bad happens that threatens our lives? If we die here, do we die back in our own time as well?" Anna asked.

"I would think so, I mean, we're still in our physical bodies, so if we died, I'd say there'd be no history of us left in our own time as well" Kristine said. It satisfied Vance enough to convince the others to follow his dad. After Daniel and Jacob finished talking, they began walking further into the field, which gave the group little options as far as cover, so Vance tried something he hadn't attempted before.

With them all huddled in a small circle, he began to concentrate harder than he ever had before on any power he'd ever used. Suddenly, he and the group began to dissipate slightly, until they were completely cloaked; invisible.

"That's amazing! I didn't know you could do that!" Anna said, looking at her arm but seeing nothing but the grass on the ground.

"Neither did I, now let's get moving" Vance said. They started towards the two men, keeping a big enough distance so that their footsteps couldn't be heard, while still keeping close enough that the conversation the two men were having could still be overheard.

"…I just don't see why you won't listen to me, Danny boy" Jacob said, apparently irking Daniel about something.

"It doesn't sound right to me, Jake. It's too fishy and I don't wanna get caught up in that kind of business. I just want to find a way home. My wife must be dying with grief right now" Daniel said, not breaking his stride as he spoke.

"You were brought here for a reason; don't let that reason be to waste your time here away" Jacob said coldly, "We could have real power, over everything, and you're telling me you'd rather get back to your family?" Jacob finished.

"Actually, yes I am. My family needs me, and power can wait" Daniel said angrily.

"My family can fend for themselves without me…wait a minute; I know what you're up to. You want to get rid of me so you can get your own kind of power here. You know there's no way to get back home, so you wanna make a mark here, and you don't want me in the way!" Jacob accused, unsheathing his sword. It was a big red blade with a jagged edge. Sain and Erk gasped softly as they saw the blade.

"That's Nate's old sword! But if his dad originally used it, then how did he get it?" Sain pondered aloud in a soft whisper. No one knew, so they all continued listening in. Daniel stopped walking at the sight of Jacob's blade and stared him straight in the eye.

"If you don't put your sword away, I promise you it'll be the last thing you ever do, Jake. Don't test me on this" Daniel threatened, unsheathing his own sword. Everyone realized immediately that the blade Daniel was holding was Joe's old sword; Vance's current one.

Suddenly, Jacob lunged forward, knocking his blade into Daniel's and sending him skittering away a few feet from the impact. Vance and the others quickly moved away a little ways, striving to stay out of the line of fire.

Daniel then rushed forward, seemingly flying forward, at Jacob and made his own attack, sending Jacob even further back. Then flurries of swiped and slashed broke out between the two; all out chaos.

"I don't care about your stupid Bloodline, Danny boy, I'm still stronger than you'll ever be, and if my plan works, you'll be working for me soon enough anyway…" Jacob threatened after being pushed away. He then lunged forward, his sword now glowing brightly red, and made another attempt.

"No matter how strong you become, Jake, I will always wield more power than you, whether it be physically or purely politically. Nothing will stop me from getting home" Daniel said, sword glowing profusely purple, and lunging forward to parry Jacob's attacks.

"I know of the Gateway, Daniel, and it will obey only me" he said mysteriously. Jacob then suddenly started glowing brightly orange; pulsing like flame. Then, suddenly, a wave of orange light shock-waved from his body, radiating as hot and flame. It made a huge crater around where he was standing, forcing Daniel to retreat a little to avoid being obliterated.

Daniel then countered by throwing purple charges of energy from his sword around at Jacob, making big ditches in the ground where they missed. Jacob suddenly burst forward at Daniel, parrying shock charges as he flew, and rammed into Daniel, sending both of them flying, toppling through the air and fighting.

When they struck the ground, charges like fireworks began bursting into the air all around them, hundreds upon hundreds of them, flying around and destroying anything they crashed into. A good portion of them flew astray into the nearby city, toppling buildings over on top of other buildings. Vance could hear the screams and panic in the streets from where they were.

"I remember this now…I was at home when the charges started hitting; everyone thought it was the end of the world, Apocalypse. That's how he got his name" Sain explained, looking on it awe. Jacob and Daniel finally separated after a charge blew them apart in separate directions.

"Never fear, Danny, I'll be back for you soon enough. Just wait, this world will crumble along with you…" Jacob threatened, and was then absorbed into the ground by a pool of shadow beneath him, much like the way Pat was absorbed.

"Not if I conquer it first…" Daniel said, and then flew away, leaving the smoldering field behind him. As he flew into the horizon, they could see his form change into the one Sain and Erk had seen those few years before, when Joe first fought him.

As he disappeared over the horizon and into the mountains, the sky changed from deep blue to a burning crimson, causing more screams from the nearby city.

"Well, that explains what happened to the world here before Nate and Joe showed up, but that doesn't help us as much as it could have" Erk said, the cloaking fading away so he was visible. Everyone else slowly became visible as well. Vance was staring at the ground intently, deep in thought.

"My dad never wanted to rule this world…he just wanted to get home, to me and my mom and Joe. The power corrupted him, made him thirst for more and more. Until he finally ruled the entire world, and had his powers corrupted so badly that he couldn't return home, even if he wanted to" Vance said, stringing it all together in his head.

"So he stayed here and ruled, for 13 years or however long it was before Nate and Joe showed up" Anna continued.

"And that shadow that took Jacob, it's so familiar…if I'm not mistaken, it's the same thing that attacked the house, attacked Joe at the school, and took Pat away…" Vance said, still pondering, "It's all connected somehow, I just know it. I just…can't see it yet…" he finished, frustration spelled out on his face.

"Well, where do we go from here?" Kristine asked.

"We confront my father again, the present one this time, and we beat him. There's nothing left of my father in him anyway; he died along with this world…" Vance said, sounding down-trodden.

"Sounds good to me, but how do we get back to the present?" Erk asked.

"Well, let's see if the old woman has any more tricks up her sleeve" Vance said, unsheathing his sword.

"Oh don't worry, I have enough tricks to satisfy all of you…" he heard her say in his head. He held the sword over his head and chanted and incantation in the old woman's voice. The sword began glowing yellow, and they were suddenly swooped into the air and disappeared a ball of flashing yellow light.

Again, they were falling through the air, twisting and turning in the bright nothingness, until they landed on solid ground again. They quickly got up this time; because of the billowing winds, they knew exactly where they were at.

Apocalypse stood there staring at them as they situated themselves again, then they fixes their gazes back upon him.

"Learn anything of value on your little vacation?" Apocalypse asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, only that you're like a politician when it comes to power and jealousy; you were corrupted and you can't go back. And now, because of it, you have to die for what you believe; that the world belongs to you and you alone" Vance said, holding his sword up.

"Boy, there are powers at work here far greater than you, I, and Joe combined. You killing me would do nothing to help anything. It's all in his plan, I'm telling you. Even as we speak, unthinkable things are being unfolded" Apocalypse said, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. Vance's sword lowered slightly.

"Him who? Jacob?" Vance asked curiously.

"No, John Jacob Jingle-Heimer Schmitt, OF COURSE Jacob!" Apocalypse said, getting frustrated, "He's been invading my dreams the past few weeks. I don't know where he is, or what he's doing, but it's big, on both accounts" he finished, looking out at the grey land.

"That's enough. I'm done talking here. We came here to get something we need, and killing you is the way to obtain it" Vance said, raising his sword again.

"What are you talking about, stupid boy?" Apocalypse asked, turning his full attention to them now.

"You have a pendant we need, and we're taking it one way or another" Vance threatened, taking a step forward. Apocalypse reached under the blue robe he was wearing and pulled a twine necklace out from under it and held it before them. A gold hexagonal pendant dangled from the end, glinting in the grey light.

"You mean this old thing? Jacob gave it to me when we first met, said it was of some importance and to not lose it" Apocalypse explained, tucking it back into his robe.

"We need it, and we're taking it. Period" Vance said.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Vance. You see, this pendant belongs to me, and I know what it does, I'm not stupid. You're not getting it from me" Apocalypse refused, staring at them.

"If I have to kill you, I will…" Vance said, taking another step forward. Apocalypse opened his mouth to argue once more, but suddenly fell to the ground, grasping his head in agony and screaming in demonic tones.

"GO AWAY! I'M HANDLING THIS! GET OUT!" Apocalypse screamed, apparently to himself. Then another voice sounded from his mouth, another demonic drone, but this one distinguishably different.

"I told you I'd be back, Danny boy. Now you get to watch your boy die here by your own hand…" the voice spoke. Apocalypse's eyes suddenly turned from red to bright, piercing yellow, and he got back to his feet. When he spoke, it was the secondary voice; not his father's anymore.

"Raise your sword, boy, let's see what you've got" he said, raising an upturned palm to the air. All of them began glowing blue, and were instantly transported back to the massive field where they started.

"If it's a fight you want, Jacob, then it's a fight you get" Vance yelled, holding up his sword and charging. In a blink of an eye, Apocalypse changed from his human form into the huge flying demon they saw so many years before.

Black wings sprouted from his back, along with two giant claws from either side of his torso. His feet turned into white spider-like claws, and two more identical to them sprouted from his back and touched the ground. His eyes turned completely red; no whites at all. Horns sprouted from his head, along with saber-tooth-like fangs from his mouth. His fingernails elongated and thickened into black claws, and his skeletal structure changed to that similar to a bear.

Before Vance could even swipe at him, Apocalypse had grabbed Vance's blade, picked him up by it, and threw him over his head into the ground behind him. The blue blade went flying meters passed him and stuck into the ground.

Sain charged at him while his back was turned, making a swipe at his torso, but his blade was also caught and flung away. Another claw caught Sain around the waist and squeezed him like a tube of toothpaste. Sain's face instantly turned purple, and a red ring appeared around his neck where blood vessels began to burst. He was literally being squeezed to death like a living stuffed bear.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" Vance screamed, getting to his feet and wiping the blood off of his face.

Vance shot a purple charge at the limb holding Sain, and it severed on contact, spraying green blood everywhere. Sain fell crumpled to the ground, twitching slightly. Apocalypse bellowed in agony while Vance moved Sain away. He searched Sain for any sign of life, and felt his mind fading away. He dragged him over to the others.

"Don't get caught up in it, I know you want to help, but you'll end up like Sain…" Vance ordered, trailing off at the end. He set Sain down and charged back into the battle. His clawed hand suddenly started pulsing with pain, and the transformation began once again.

The scaly skin spread over his body and the horns, claws and wings began sprouting as he charged. By the time he reached Apocalypse, he was fully transformed into his dragon-like state.

"So, you learned a little trick your brother was incapable of. Very impressive" Apocalypse droned' the limb regenerated while he spoke. Vance let out a bellowing roar and attacked viciously, swiping and biting at every opportunity he got.

Green and red blood spurted everywhere, both from Apocalypse and Vance and they attacked. Vance suddenly flew into the air and made fists with his claws. Red energy began to pulse around his fists, and he threw them forward, releasing an intense beam of concentrated energy strait at Apocalypse.

Just as the energy was about to hit, Apocalypse held up a clawed limb and stopped the energy dead in its tracks, so it looked like a pillar of stationary red glowing energy. He then shoved back towards Vance, forcing the energy to stream back at Vance. It struck him square in the stomach and sent him spiraling to the ground, a sickening crack echoing out as he hit the ground.

"Get to the sword, it's your only hope…" the woman pleaded in his head. Vance stood up, shook off the shock of the fall, and charged at his weapon, hoping for any kind of advantage. He reached the blade just as Apocalypse sent a beam of green energy at him.

He pulled the blade out of the ground just in time to swing it around behind him and bat the energy back to it's source; Apocalypse. The energy came so fast that he didn't have time to brace himself, and it hit him square in the neck, sending him spiraling through the air backwards and landing on his side, breaking off another claw-arm, resulting in more green blood.

Vance then flew into the air just above Apocalypse, and grasped both ends of his blade with a claw. The blade flashed blue momentarily, then absorbed into his body. His eyes then suddenly began glowing white, along with his hands all the way up to his shoulders. He pushed his arms forward towards Apocalypse and white-hot energy beams shot from his arms and eyes, straight at the ground.

They hit with the impact of a nuclear explosion, causing the rest of the group to duck towards the ground to lessen the impact of the heat. When the flash cleared, Apocalypse was laying on the ground in the center of a huge crater, smoldering with black, charred dirt. Clothing was burning off of his body, and limbs were scattered about.

Vance lowered to the ground slowly as his sword separated from him out of his chest and fell to the ground with a loud clang. By the time he touched down, his whole body had transformed back.

"Well played, Jacob…" he started, sputtering once for air; the battle injured him greatly, "But not well enough. Take that as a warning; don't interfere" Vance finished, sliding down the edge of the crater towards the body, limping a little as he walked. Jacob's voice sputtered slightly as he spoke.

"I'm not interfering with anything. If anything, you are you little maggot. I had to make sure you were the right one for the job, and you passed the test with flying colors. Your father would be proud of you. I must now make final preparations before the big battle starts. See you soon, my little pawn…" Jacob said, and left Apocalypse's body. His irises turned red again, and his father's voice returned.

"I told you…to stay out of it…now you're going to…get everyone killed…" he said, sputtering up green blood.

"You're not my father anymore" Vance stated, staring him in the eyes. He reached around Apocalypse's neck and yanked the pendant off of his neck and pocketed it.

"You'll regret it, just wait…" Apocalypse said, his breath getting wheezier. Just then, his eyes began to change, along with the rest of him.

The stumps of limbs disappeared off of his body, and the blood seeping out became crimson; human again. His eyes changed from a bloody red to a deep, ice blue, just like they had been when Vance was young. Vance stared in horror as his father reappeared in front of him, lying sprawled on the ground in his own blood.

"Son, thank you…for setting me free…the power took over, I became what I despised most…and lost the one thing that kept me moving…my family" he said, his voice human again. Vance kneeled down next to him.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this to happen, I only wanted to kill the demon…" Vance pleaded, tears welling up in his eyes.

"Don't worry, be strong…even worse things have yet to come…but the rewards…will be worth the pain…goodbye, my son…" Daniel said, and was gone. Vance stood up and crawled awkwardly out of the crater, and limped over to the others, who were huddled around Sain's body.

"He's gone guys, don't worry. He's with the others now. He doesn't have to suffer anymore…" he said. He retrieved Sain's sword and laid it down on his chest, the hilt facing his neck.

"Rest now, warrior" he said, and they began walking away slowly.

"We go home now?" Anna asked, stifling away tears.

"Not quite. Back to our world, yes. Home, no…" Vance said. He held the sword up, and the woman's voice trailed out of his mouth as the sword began to glow again, and then they were gone.

"Master? Master!: Pat yelled, running to Fate, who was now lying on the ground, seemingly asleep. His eyes shot open as Pat shook him.

"Fear not, Dark One, we have found our pawn. And what a great end this will be to such a disgusting world. Prepare the final bout; it's all about to unfold" Fate demanded suddenly, sitting up and then standing up.

"They are back on earth now, I will do as you say" Pat said, and teleported away. As he left, red eyes began to appear all around the void, as if answering an unheard call.

"The time has come, my minions! Go, destroy them all! We will then claim those worlds for our own! The shadows will NOT be denied!" Fate yelled, his yellow eyes seemingly getting brighter. The red eyes then all disappeared in many flashes of red, off to start the beginning of the end.

They appeared inside the chamber again; since Vance had been there before, he could now freely enter and leave it whenever he wished. The giant gold door stood before them, almost tauntingly, waiting for the last two keys. Vance's wounds had healed by now, so he walked forward briskly towards the door. He took out the key from his pocket, and slipped it into the hold on the door.

Much like with the first one, the seams glowed for a moment, and then blended in perfectly with the door. This time, the chamber glowed brightly green, pulsing brighter and brighter as slight tremors ran through the earth beneath them. Then it all stopped as suddenly as it had started.

"That's very reassuring…" Erk said sarcastically. Vance, ignoring him, then took the third pendant off his neck and detached it from the necklace. He raised it towards the final hole, but paused momentarily; something didn't feel right. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was big.

"What are you waiting for?" Anna asked frantically.

"Something's wrong, it doesn't feel right…" Vance replied, hand still over the hole.

"Of course something's wrong; the world is close to ending! Whatever's on the other side of that door should stop it, now hurry!" Erk said quickly. Making up his mind, Vance slowly placed the last hexagonal key into place.

The seams disappeared, just like with the other ones, but then there was silence; nothing. None of them noticed Pat appear behind them out of thin air until he shot a bolt of crimson energy at the door.

Suddenly, the room began to pulse brightly white; so bright that it hurt to have their eyes open. Heat began to emanate from the walls, causing the ice to melt quickly. Holes in the ground around the central brazier in the room acted like drains, taking all the water away. Suddenly, the white light began to glow red, and the markings and runes on the wall were now visible.

They weren't as divine as they all originally thought they had been; there were pentagrams all over the place, along with symbols that looked like maniac cave paintings drawn with human blood. A small crack appeared in-between the two golden doors, and a deep red light pulsed through.

"Enjoy your prize, little one" Pat announced, then teleported again, leaving behind echoing, maniacal laughter. The doors began to swing forward, and wind began to suck into it as it opened wider.

"IT WAS A TRAP! RUN!" Vance yelled to the others. They were already well away from the door when it started opening, but Vance was right in front of it. The door opened even wider and the breeze pulled harder by a tenfold, working like a giant vacuum.

"GO! RUN!" Vance yelled again. He was trying to run away but the winds were starting to pull him backwards. Suddenly the doors flung open all the way and winds sucked with the force of a hurricane.

Vance almost had a hand on the central pedestal, but the winds pulled him back like a piece of lint. Flames and smoke could be seen now on the other side of the door, heat and light emanating from it profusely.

"Find Satan and send him back, it's what we were supposed to do in the first place!" Vance yelled as he was sucked behind the doors.

The gold doors then slammed shut and faded into the wall, becoming a part of the grey stone wall and locking Vance away in a place of flame where even Satan dared not tread; Tartarus.

To Be Continued…