Note: Greetings everyone. Thanks to the winter break, I was able to spend a whole day writing, and now I have pretty much completed the first part of season 2! As of yet, I have not much else to say except that I finally managed to get August and his team back into the loop. And now... enjoy!

Dimension: Rerenhaw

Planet: Rerenhaw

Specific Location: The Council Room

Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer

Doxia stood quietly, watching the horrors that had just occurred to Summer and Lyric repeat over and over again on the holographic video feed. He sighed as he watched Lyric desperately shoot the two sadistic soldiers and get covered in their life blood for the umpteenth time. Then suddenly Doxia gasped.

"Blood… August… I've got it!" Doxia exclaimed as he immediately returned to his old self. He had just received an epiphany for one of his other problems, involving August and Blue.

Sweeping about, he snapped a finger, opening a portal to Amethyst Prime.

"I am so totally a genius," he chuckled happily as he hopped through the crackling hole in space and time.

As he entered he was met by the Dimensional Lord Meadolax.

"Yo, Meadolax, wassup?" asked Doxia while performing their secret handshake with him.

"Cool as a cucumber, I have just been hanging around, giving my ward some space," replied Meadolax, "What are you here for? You usually don't come here anymore."

"Yeah," chortled Doxia, "I actually am looking for Mattimeo. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Yeah, he is alone at Central Command," said Meadolax gesturing behind him, "Well, I have to go. Catch you later, Pokemon."

Doxia snorted. "Stick with your Frozen quotes, they worked better. See you later."

Doxia immediately teleported away to Central Command. The place was a massive dome, approximately twelve times larger than the Pentagon. The entire room was covered in holographic projectors, all working toward turning the incredibly large room into a perfect digital representation of the Earth Multiverse. Doxia glanced about and then spotted Mattimeo a score of kilometers away. Using superspeed, Doxia shot over to him.

"Doxia," said Mattimeo curtly, "What do you want?"

"I realized a way to help August fight Blue back," said Doxia.

Mattimeo glanced at Doxia. "Are you sure of that? Such a thing seems impossible. In addition to that, if any plan of yours works, will such an outcome be even close to beneficial? If Blue is no longer in control, then how will August be able to operate the Inquisitor suit to defeat our threat, H.D.?"

"My answer will eliminate that problem simultaneously. Two birds killed with one stone, to borrow the colloquialism," exclaimed Doxia, "I am talking about the Dream Bleeding Effect."

Mattimeo looked at Doxia carefully, "You are speaking about placing two beings in a dreamscape, and then using a direct transfusion of memories to infuse the skills of one being into the other."

Doxia nodded his head. "Yes. If we place Blue and August within a dreamscape, August will be able to confront Blue without Blue being able to sneak up on August when he is distressed or in pain. And while that is going on, Blue's skills will be directly transferring to August. If August holds out against Blue long enough, August will be able to use Blue's skills without Blue being inside his head, even if he does not manage to push Blue away for good."

"Blue is unstoppable," replied Mattimeo, "And he will know very well that we are attempting the Dream Bleeding Effect. He will counteract the measures, and he might even harm August in the process simply because he can."

"No," stated Doxia firmly, "It is my belief that Blue will do nothing to stop him."

Mattimeo cocked his head to one side, considering Doxia. "What do you mean?"

"Blue is tired," said Doxia, "I have watched him for quite some time now, and Blue just seems… off. Something happened to him before he committed suicide, something huge… Something that even his fellow John 3 Inquisitors could not reverse. He will not fight this, I am sure of it."

Mattimeo actually started to nod his head. "You are right. Perhaps he will not. Your plan may just work."

"And that leaves us with one last component," stated Doxia, "You. Mattimeo… I need you to perform the Dream Bleeding Effect. Aside from the High Lord Kytax, you were the best at working the mind in the realms of dreams. I could not instigate the proper dreamscape for an encounter such as what we need to occur between August and the consciousness of Blue."

Mattimeo looked at Doxia quietly. Then suddenly he said, "I will. But only on one condition: you swear to never tell Flaming Star and Twilight about their daughter Summer being alive in the Stallion Empire."

Doxia voice tightened. "Are you… Are you blackmailing me?"

Mattimeo shook his head. "I am doing what is best for Summer. I know her better than you, and I know that she wants nothing to do with her past life."

Doxia shook his head. "No. That is a lie…"

Mattimeo remained unmoved. "Do we have a deal? I will ensure your plan is enacted flawlessly, and you ensure that Flaming Star and Twilight never find out about their daughter from you."

Doxia sighed. "Mattimeo… What happened to us? What happened to us after the war? Why are we like this now? We used to be the knights in shining armor, standing at the head, clearing whole dimensions in glorious combat… We used to be the brilliant and just strategists, outflanking and outmaneuvering countless enemies with ease. We were the heroes… and now we have been reduced to this. I don't know…"

Mattimeo stared quietly at Doxia, still completely unmoved. "Do we have a deal?"

Doxia finally nodded. "Very well. And I will mention that I am not too put out by you forcing me to not reveal that Summer is alive to her parents… after all, you will find that it is the right thing to do yourself, and then you will personally see to telling Flaming Star and Twilight about their daughter."

"Perhaps," said Mattimeo emotionlessly, "I shall prepare the dreamscape, and then wait for the perfect moment to freeze time and instigate the sequence. Then I will return to Summer and perform a similar ritual, taking Sunflower's complete abilities back from where they are stored dormant within her."

Dimension: Provistorian

Planet: Averthon Magnum

Specific Location: The Upper Realm, north of the Middle Ocean

Time: Over a week after Lyric found Summer

Jefferson peeked over the rock the team was hiding behind and shook his head. He had been through many dimension and done many things, but nothing quite like this. Jefferson, Gene, Radiance, and Blue had a fairly much uneventful time crossing the Middle Ocean, but the moment they had arrived at the Upper Realm – the land that lay beyond the Middle Ocean – their journeys became a little more interesting. The Upper Realm, unlike the Middle Ocean and the other lands behind it, was fairly much the most unusual place Jefferson been to, he had to admit. The land was basically a massive warehouse, packed with scattered metal struts, poles, ingots, and sheets. Smoke hung heavy in the air, all pouring from countless smokestacks lining the horizon. On top of that… the entire realm seemed completely and utterly abandoned.

"Nothing but rusting metal and huge steel and wooden storage containers," muttered Jefferson, "Okay. I will say this right now: what the heck was the people here trying to build?! Is this seriously the hallowed 'Upper Realm'?"

"It is," replied Radiance, who seemed to know more than the rest aside from Blue. However, Blue had been silent the entire day, so it was up to their newest member to supply answers, "Many years ago the ruler of the Upper Realm became mad, obsessed with the Power Garden."

"Okay, people keep mentioning this stupid Power Garden thing, what is it?!" snorted Jefferson, not in the mood to be confused anymore.

"Shut up and I will tell you," said Radiance, her voice somehow even despite the fact that she was still in heavy pain from the wounds Blue had inflicted upon her, "It is a strange floating island that has been hanging vigil over the Upper Realm for countless centuries. Many, many rumors of riches and ultimate power had always surrounded the island as well, and the thought of ultimate power drove the Upper Realm's ruler mad. He was obsessed with the prospect, but the island was too high in the air, too high for him to ever reach, and that drove the king even more insane."

"Lust for something just beyond your reach has always historically caused trouble," sighed Gene, "So this is another example. What happened?"

"The ruler turned his entire real into an industrialized land, devoted to building a tower that would reach into the skies… allowing him to reach the fabled land he had only heard tales about," continued Radiance, treating Gene to a rare smile.

"And so… The project failed, the realm was ruined, became uninhabitable, and then the ruler committed suicide?" asked Jefferson briskly, "Yeah, that sounds about right…"

"The king was murdered by a rogue, actually, but everything else you said is correct, surprisingly," said Radiance, "And now nothing is left, with only dust left within this accursed land to gather undisturbed amongst the walkways…"

Suddenly August spoke for the first time, obviously possessed by Blue currently. "There is more than dust out here…"

Immediately the rest quieted down and looked to Blue. The possessed teenager pointed his armored hand off to his right, towards a massive stack of metal shipping containers stacked higher than the average skyscraper. Through the gloomy and dusty air the team could see a shrouded figure patrolling the very top.

"W-what?" breathed Radiance, "People?"

There was a pause…

"No," said Blue quietly, "Narvix Cosmospredominate, this realm's ruler, was always worried that his obsession would end up with his people rebelling… And thus he made mechanized enforcers to ensure obedience."

Jefferson groaned. "Wonderful. Sooo… What are we dealing with? Terminators or Vahki? Are they like Stormtroopers or like badasses?"

"The answer is 'the latter' to both of those questions," murmured Blue, "They are deadly, and not to be underestimated. But it matters not, we must move forward."

"Okay, awesome, wonderful, great," said Jefferson, still unsure about moving on, "Before we throw ourselves into the great unknown like idiots, just answer this last question: what do these mechanized enforcers… look like?"

Blue stared at Jefferson, regarding his comrade's confused face. "They look like massive metallic praying mantises, armed with razor-sharp blades, and shoulder-mounted rocket-launchers."

Blue then leapt over the rock and began to stride forward into the ash-choked unknown.

Jefferson chortled nervously. "Metal… mantids… Yeah, that is really funny. So, seriously now, what do they look like…? Ummmmm… Really? No? You were joking right? Why is no one answering me?"

Gene helped Radiance to her feet, and threw one of her arms about his shoulder. The two began to slowly make their way after Blue.

Jefferson grimaced. "Okay, so there are giant killer robot mantids… Yeah, nothing I haven't seen before… heh… Okay seriously, I need help. Wait up guys!"

He leapt over the rock and quickly caught up to Radiance and Gene.

"Soooo… You guys haven't ever fought giant killer insects in your life, have you?" asked Jefferson, still nervous.

"I can't say that I have, Jefferson," chuckled Gene, amused to see his comrade so disturbed, "But I can tell you that if we do in fact end up facing these robots, we will feed you to them first."

Jefferson glared at the in mock severity, and then strolled past them, entering into an alley, flanked by sky-scraping towers of abandoned metallic resources and huge rusting containers. Blue was standing alone at the other opening, staring at something lying beyond him.

As Jefferson walked between the containers and metal pylons, he muttered to himself, "Stupid teammates. Stupid Blue. He knew I hated insects. He must have just made that tale up to scare me. I swear…"

Jefferson's voice slowly trailed off into silence as he exited the alley to stand beside Blue. The landscape now lying before him was completely awe-inspiring. A massive valley stretched out before them, dotted with abandoned construction machines and scattered metal plating, piping, and support beams. But that was not the part that took Jefferson's breath away, that element was what was standing in the very epicenter of the valley.

A colossal skeletal tower of metal beams and rusting pylons stretched up into the smoggy and gloomy sky. The top was not visible. The skeleton of a tower was taller than anything Jefferson had seen in his life. And what's more, it was, like everything else in the Upper Realm, totally abandoned. Wind howled in sepulchral tones as it wound its way between the towering forests of metal.

"Soooo… I guess I was wrong in my guess after all to some extent," breathed Jefferson, "The ruler may have died and everything may have been abandoned… but the project sure as heck was finished."

"Perhaps I should have mentioned it," murmured Blue, "But it matters not. My armor – the Inquisitor Chest Piece and the helmet – is at the top. I shall leave you now, I suppose August deserves a little more time with you all before I remove him for good."

Blue's posture slumped a bit, denoting the fact that Blue had left, allowing August to return to his body. At this moment Radiance and Gene arrived.

"My goodness," muttered Radiance, "The rumors were wrong. The tower was indeed built."

"Blue, is your armor up there?" asked Gene, glancing a little begrudgingly to Blue.

August rubbed his eyes and shook his head. "I g-guess… But it is me, August. Blue said I could be with you guys, one last time…"

Gene's eyes hardened. "HE said that? August! This is still your body! You cannot let Blue tell you what to do!"

"I don't know anymore, Gene," sighed August. His voice was tired, and his eyes reflected complete resignation. He had stopped fighting. "I feel like I am the visitor now, and that he is the owner... Come on, let's go find that last piece of armor."

August began to walk down the steep slope toward the monstrously-tall tower, but before he could go more than a couple meters before Gene roughly grabbed one of his shoulders.

"Stop, August!" exclaimed Gene, "You cannot keep doing this to yourself! If you find yet another piece of armor, then Blue will assuredly take control, and the body that you once called your own will be his. Come on, August, let's just go home and call this thing over. I cannot afford to lose you to that sadistic murderer that Amethyst has foolishly called a hero."

August gently brushed off Gene's hand as he muttered, "I was given a mission: to return Blue. I can feel in my bones that Sunflower and Dark have returned, and they are pining for their leader. If the Inquisition is to rise again, I must let Blue come back. There is a great evil that threatens to destroy us all… Harold, he cannot be stopped by anyone but the Inquisitors, and I am the only thing standing in the way between them and Harold's defeat. And thus I must sacrifice myself. The need of the many outweigh the need of a few. I am sorry."

Gene's face was the picture of grief, and even Radiance looked saddened by the complete despair and hopelessness that reflected from August's tired, tired eyes. August turned about and began to slowly make his way to the tower in the distance. After staring worriedly at the receding back of August for at least five minutes, Gene began to follow his former friend at a respectful distance, helping Radiance all the way.

Jefferson frowned. He also felt bad, but he could not let himself get depressed. Whatever came out of this situation, he needed to take it as a grain of salt, otherwise risk losing himself far away from the place he called his true home. After thinking about what August had said, he shrugged and began to walk after the other three.

"Perhaps the greatest way to be a hero is to let the villain win," he muttered.

The next couple of hours were spent in silence, with everyone keeping themselves company with their own thoughts. However, such peace (or torture) could only last for a little while, for they eventually reached the foot of the massive skeletal tower of iron and steel. From this perspective, the magnitude and height of the structure was only magnified infinitely.

"I have never had troubles with heights," sighed Jefferson, "But I do believe I might have just experience vertigo by looking up at this thing."

"August, is there an access point to begin climbing?" asked Gene glumly, still completely against August's wish to complete Blue's quest, "I do not see anything."

"There is a working elevator around there, I think," said August in a monotone voice. He pointed an armored hand off to the side. Through the dust-clogged air the team could see a rusty door, and a flickering, cracked light. It was an elevator, and it miraculously had power flowing through it.

"Well, I must say the guys who were in charge of durability certainly got their job right," chortled Jefferson, trying to keep the mood lighter than it had been for the last few days.

He strolled up to the dust covered door and used his hand to smear away some of the grim from the rusty steel. After several minutes of brushing away dust, ash, and cobwebs, Jefferson was able to find what looked to be a button adjacent to the elevator. It was flickering with barely-visible orange light, and was heavily cracked; but it seemed to be intact.

"One ticket to the very top of this behemoth of a structure: found," exclaimed Jefferson.

He hit the button. A loud buzzing noise emanated from the elevator, and it loudly echoed in the heavy silence. Jefferson winced painfully, and Radiance practically buried her face in Gene's shoulder from shock. The painfully loud buzz slowly died away, but the echoes could still be heard, bouncing around the landscape.

"Well, if there was anything else living out in this wasteland, then they know we are here now," snorted Radiance, "I hope you are all ready."

Jefferson grinned sheepishly. "I am always ready. I hit that loud… buzzy… thing to issue a challenge! Uh… yeah…"

Jefferson turned back to the elevator. There was the sound of rusty gears attempting to turn (but failing) now emanating from the large metal box. It was clear that the door to the elevator was trying to open, but obviously dust and dirt was preventing such a thing from happening.

Sighing from longsuffering, Jefferson pulled out a dirk and jammed it into the crack that represented the separation of the two sliding doors of the elevator. He gave the dirk a hearty twist, forcing the doors apart slightly, and giving him a large enough room for him to place his fingers in there. With his hands now grasping one of the sliding doors, Jefferson grunted in exertion as he wrenched that sliding door back. Dust abruptly fell in billows as he slammed the sliding door open, obscuring the team's view.

As the dust swirled thickly in the air, a single red light flickered to life from inside the elevator. It was soon accompanied by a second red light, a little to the left of the first. They were eyes. A mournful, screeching, clacking sound emanated from the metal room… and then, suddenly, a massive metallic limb covered in serrated blades shot through the dark to strike at Jefferson. By some miracle the limb only bluntly struck the man, sending him flying into Gene and Radiance painfully.

"Well," groaned Jefferson, trying not to sound terrified, "That was weird… Hey, Radiance, now that I can get a look at you closely… you're hot."

Radiance shoved him off of her and exclaimed, "Gene! Look out!"

From the shadows emerged the gigantic, rusting metal praying mantis. Its dull, broken red eyes were leaking a black fluid, and its limbs were serrated and coated in rust, making it only more hideous and dangerous. August attempted to lunge forward to protect his friends before Blue could take control of his body, but that only led to him being rammed backwards by a limb. Blue's armor prevented August from being bisected, but the force of the attack sent him crashing into a pile of metal pipes, burying him beneath the abandoned resources in seconds.

The giant robot slowly positioned itself on its four lower limbs, raising its body high into the air and tucking its frontal limb-blades close to its body. Screeching hideously, it looked down at its prey with malicious eyes. Abruptly a large rapid-fire rocket launcher rose from its back and poked over its right shoulder. An aiming laser beam shot from the tip of the new weapon, pointing straight at the dazed pile of tangled limbs and sore heads that was Gene, Radiance, and Jefferson.

Note: I cannot help but feel somewhat satisfied in how much lore "A Mending Soul" has. The robot praying mantises actually play a major part in some past stories (and graphic novels) I have created, and I was quite happy that I had an excuse to bring their terrifying faces into existence here. Anyway, it seems that only a few of you will be officially armed with the Candy Canes of Ultimate Destruction. To everyone else: don't blame me when you wake up one morning and find half of the human population turned into peppermints. Anyway... I have an interesting question for you all: If you had a choice between happiness (but constant uncertainty and danger) and complete security (but unhappiness), which would you take? Would you regret that decision later on? Let me know...