LES MUSICIENS DU MONDE ARC III 2011 TO 2016

by DanteVirgil09

This is the final arc of this particular saga where it is reaching closer and closer to its climax. When transcending choice for others and making them for some, where every emotion and motive for all characters will have to face and handle to the best of their abilities. Will everyone rise and pave their destinies or fall from grace? But all roads lead to the stars in the end.

11. JULY 2013 PART UNE

LES MUSICIENS DU MONDE

A CROSSOVER STORY

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

As of this moment, the memory of their fight against the rogues has led to magi and mystics to slowly unite under an ideology of unity to combat those who believe separatism is still needed; and harm the redevelopment of their society since the previous wars of the 20th century. But also in this new portion of the arc, a new development will come, but first an opening salvo is fired due to the lack of oversight from the Plumbers. I had fun conceptualizing this with friends when looking at a show from my childhood, 'Jackie Chan Adventures'. More specifically two episodes from the show, the first being 'Re-Enter the Dragon' from Season 3 and 'Ninja Twilight' from Season 4. Shendu's resurrection and Tarakudo's emergence and power were great to see on television back in the day. There will be some elements from another favorite anime, 'Black Lagoon' and films I just found out about and quite like a lot, 'Demon City: Shinjuku' and 'Wicked City'. In addition, additional elements from Game of Thrones, from Daenerys Stormborm of the House Targaryen (no I will not list her titles here) in this case, as well as winks and nods to Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Work with what you know and imitation at times is the sincerest form of flattery.

Moreover, returning characters will make their return here. Fann from D-20 will re-appear as well as other minor characters from past stories will re-appear in some capacity, as well as new characters debuting. These four are predominantly from Japan, inspired by four different shows. Of which I'll mention when this chapter is done. This is laying the groundwork for a new portion of this arc where I'm just, and with friends in tow, having some fun. Oh and the opening theme music (wink)…

~Music Bit: Game of Thrones Main Theme~

The world tilts on its axis as the game begins…the world turns to show us the board…

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA

Casa Rosada rises from the earth alongside the outside and structures of the capital. Leading up to it is the 9 de Julio Avenue with the obelisk rising like a needle.

PHILADELPHIA, PN, USA

The Continental Congress building stood proud even as the modern skyline surrounded it and a green layer of energy surrounding it. Seagulls flew in the south towards the harbor.

TOKYO, JAPAN

The city grew like a mass from the ground and spreading outward like a confused octopus. The skyscrapers of Shinjuku looking upward along with the famed Tokyo Tower, while a shadow from the south is looming overhead.

TAIWAN

The capital of Taipei forming with Taipei 101 rising upward likes a stack of Legos. Then to the south, the mountains rise and mists form around the southern tip towards the sea.

WUDANG MOUNTAINS, HUBEI PROVINCE, CHINA

Mists formed and surrounded the mountains with temples adorning them and towards the south a D-20 Plumber's training facility formed with the sound of metal and machinery.

CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS, GEORGIA

The light layer of snow still was atop the mountains that divided Russia from the Middle East to the south. A shadow of a winged creature was shown flying across a hidden valley of rock and grass.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL

Fighter jets flew over the city with waves of the sea crashing along the old walls of the old city. Seagulls flew over them as well.

MARSEILLES, FRANCE

Seagulls flew over the harbor of the port city. Yachts, buoys, ferries sailed in and out of the harbor. Wisps of smoke flowed upward with the smells of exotic Mediterranean cuisine. A dark cloud is coming from the southwest.

KENT, ENGLAND, UK

Towns, farmlands, villages, livestock flowed across the breadbasket of England. To the west were the glittering spires of modern London. Another dark cloud is coming from the south.

DUBLIN, REPUBLIC OF IRELAND

In the courtyard of a church, party balloons, streamers flowed about with a wedding altar set up. Thunder is heard from the southwest as the lens flew over the city.

PLUMBER HQ, BELLWOOD, TX, USA

Across the sea towards the US, the lens flies over the Texas region just northwest of Houston. Down the hole drilled into the earth is a vast cavern that houses the alien habitation of aliens called Under Town. Then looming in the distance is the Plumber HQ for all of Earth. Alarms sound inside.

(PLUMBER ACADEMY, DEEP SPACE)

Two hundred light years from the Solar System lay the famed Plumber Academy. Law enforcement officers, researchers, tacticians, and others come here to establish diplomatic relations to ensure galactic security. Inside the main control room, an alarm sounds for Plumber HQ on Earth, signaling a Level 3 alert.

~End music bit~

"Roanapur. A natural gathering point for criminal organizations; The Hong Kong Triad, Hotel Moscow, La Cosa Nostra, the Colombian Cartels, and countless others. During the Second World War, the Japanese dredged the harbor of Roanapur into their naval base. After the war, it became a transit port for drug smugglers. Now it's worse. The city is like a rat's nest. And you want me to save those kids, in a place like this? Think! Forget about your self-doubts and think. Come on, you can do this."

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail episode 2

Rokuro "Rock" Okajima

CHAPTER NINE

JULY 2013, WEEK THREE

Taiwan

[Plumber Research Facility No. 24, Central Mountain Range, Monday, 10:23PM]

Beneath Xiuguluan Mountain, there exists a research facility for the Plumber Headquarters. In this instance, it largely stems from esoteric research. The main anomaly for many in the force and research departments on Earth and across the galaxy is when data is acquired about esoteric forces and those to practice them, all data 'disappears'. Well, that is not quite accurate, but the acquired data is corrupted as soon as it's documented within 24 hours. No one has figured out why, but that is why this facility was constructed during the latter years of the Cold War, when Plumbers began to acquire through missions on Earth, artifacts and relics when faced with esoteric anomalies. The facility's total number of personnel is 50 scientists, 100 security officers, and a vast storage room filled with relics and artifacts that have sky-rocketed over the past thirty years.

An elevator opens at the bottom floor and the long hallway stretched down a ways, an officer was carrying a box with the newest acquisition of an esoteric artifact. However the closer he got to the storage room, the box started to vibrate. He stopped in his tracks and waited for the box to settle down. The two officers beside him looked unnerved and their plasma laser guns at the ready to destroy it. Once it stopped, the officer continued walking and once at the large doors, he punched in the code and the doors opened. Inside were crates, statues, pots, and a whole miscellaneous list of objects from across the world. He looked around and walked to his left to leave the box on a larger crate. Once done, he and the two officers left the storage room and the doors automatically shut with a loud clank. It all seemed quiet inside, but the very box the officer was carrying was shaking again and it toppled over and hit the concrete floor. The energy inside began to change dramatically and the sounds of moans, groans, cackling laughter, growls, and roars were manifesting.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

[Teatro Colón, Sunday, 10:27AM]

Mohammad and Dania were on Skype, talking with their daughter Yasmin and her fiancée Liam who are in Dublin at the moment arranging the final wedding preparations. They promised after their performance in the city, they and their orchestra would fly out to Ireland to participate in the celebrations. In the meantime, LMM have now reached the end of their Latin American tour, Buenos Aires in Argentina, and next week, a repeat concert in Montevideo, Uruguay across the Rio de la Plata. Dante since his release a year ago is now healthy, happier, and more grateful for his circumstances. His family now lives in their new home in Palermo Viejo and for him, a short ride to their concert venue. His physique has changed as well. Gone was the slim but toned look and now he has what can be said an athletic bodybuilding physique. He found that once home, he felt the compulsion to lift weights and maintain the strength he'd acquired while doing hard labor across the door. So through trial and error over the course of ten months he's maintained a steady regiment of exercise, diet, and rest to better his health. The results speak for themselves.

The historic and well-known Teatro Colón, and for them, their second time performing there. But since it is technically winter, the weather outside is cold, cloudy, and wet due to a recent rainstorm. Dante got off the bus and headed for the theater, "Buenos días! (Good morning!)"

The group of girls from the university saw him, "Buenos días! (Good morning!)," they said in unison and one asked, "¿Conseguiste que tu proyecto despegara? (Did you manage to get your project off the ground?)"

He smiled as he replied, "Claro que sí. Te lo diré después. ¡Ten un buen verano! Disfruta de Miami! (Sure did. I'll tell you later. Have a good summer! Enjoy Miami!)," he said as walked past them and called out.

One girl then called out, "¡Puedes venir con nosotros! Lionel y vos nos puede hacer compañía! (You can come with us! You and Lionel can keep us company!)," she batted her eyelashes, as did the girls, from which he can only chuckle.

"Me encanta también y también lo haría él. Pero el trabajo ya sabes. (I love too and so would he. But work you know.)," he pointed to the theater in question, "Pero gracias por la invitación! Ahora, disfruta de Miami para nosotros! (But thanks for the invite! Now, enjoy Miami for us!)," he waved at them and smiled before heading inside.

"¡Lo haremos! ¡Gracias! (We will! Thanks!)," they shouted as the distance between them got greater and he entered, ignoring their giggles.

"Si solo él y Lionel vinieran. Haría nuestro tiempo allí todo lo más dulce. (If only he and Lionel would come. Would make our time there all the sweeter.)," one girl muttered.

"Sí. Si solo Dante no estuviera con alguien ya. Definitivamente le mostraríamos un buen momento. (Yeah. If only Dante wasn't with someone already. We would definitely show him a good time.)," one girl said and they laughed good-naturedly as they walked towards the sidewalk and hailed a cab.

As he walked inside he greeted the theater's staff and then entered the auditorium. He sees them already on stage. He approached Zach and greeted silently as the orchestra were about to rehearse music by one of three composers in their repertoire for the weekend concert: Antonio Vivaldi. The piece in question was Violin Concerto in A Minor, RV356, a piece that was short and sweet regarding the composer's strengths in the concerto form. Dante slapped Bernhard's shoulder at the second harpsichord, "Am I late?"

"You're on time," the German smiled, "And its your hometown so I'm thinking you have the right to be fashionably late," he bartered with his friend.

Dante laughed a bit, "If only I can be like that," and got in his seat at his harpsichord.

He fiddled with the keys and tuned it slightly for the rehearsals. Mohammad walked up to him and smiled, "One year later and here we are. Ready for putting the past year behind for good," he spoke to his would be protégé.

Dante nodded smiling, "Ready as I'll ever be," he replied and readied his score on the stand. Mohammad then walked to the podium to begin.

He looked around and notices the missing faces; Shinji was on assignment in the Tokyo suburbs in seeing the effects of low birthrates were having on schools, while Fatma was in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey on assignment near the Armenian Highlands. Oskana is busy with obligations regarding her territory in Russia, Emiko is in Japan unable to perform this time around, and he wants to head for the wedding of his daughter and Liam in a week after this concert. He breathed in and looked at his orchestra raised his baton and the rest prepared to play. The first movement started with Gilberto the lead, playing it left handed, thanks to his ambidextrous gift.

~Allegro~

Bellwood, TX, USA

[8:34AM]

Ben arrived in town roughly an hour ago after checking in at Houston's George Bush International Airport. Since arriving in Seattle two years ago, he's done a lot as a deep undercover officer. It was by far his most challenging assignment, one where he had to see a therapist two to three times a week after a month of integrating into the criminal families of the area. But now in Bellwood, it was a welcome reprieve to see his family again and feel the sense of calm he's missed. Riding in an Uber, he checked Google Maps on his phone to see if the driver was not lost or something. But thankfully he didn't need to; he arrived in front of his home, "Thanks man!"

"No problem! How is it to be back," the driver asked as he sent the payment stub to Ben's phone, which he promptly paid with a good tip.

"Feels great!"

Ben got out of the car and took out his luggage for a two-week stay. He waved the driver a goodbye as it drove off. He carried his luggage to the front door and rang the doorbell. The door opened and his mother, Sandra, hugged him in surprise, "Ben! Oh my look at you," she observed his overall look.

He's indeed gotten stronger in appearance and was filling his clothes quite well. As a mother of a hero, she was impressed, but also missed him after two years away, "You've grown," she said proudly amidst her tears of seeing her son.

"It's good to see you too, mom," he hugged her and then sees his dad, Carl, "Dad! I'm back!"

"Good to see you too, sport," his dad, said as he too hugged his son, "Come in! Breakfast or wanna rest from your flight?"

Ben smiled, "I can never pass up breakfast," he said as he entered his home and his parents closed the door behind them.

At the same time, Gwen and Kevin were in her family home getting reacquainted with her parents. The two have gotten closer to him over the years and the fact he followed Gwen and worked nearby to provide housing and supporting her even when she has a scholarship impressed her parents, especially her mother. They're in the dining room having breakfast with some coffee and Natalie asked Gwen has she considered any career options when graduating Brown in the near future. Kevin meanwhile wants to give her father a look at his car and would tune it up free of charge.

At the same time, in Plumber HQ, many officers below Bellwood in what is known as 'Under Town', were doing their morning rounds and making sure any criminal activity among alien smugglers were not present. The town was built during 2009 and 2010 when recent conflicts on multiple worlds left many thousands homeless and or refugees. So in this sector of space, Magister Max Tennyson arranged a human/alien project to build these refugees a town to settle and start lives while in transition to return home or establishing roots. The current population of the underground alien settlement was roughly around 20,000 but unofficially the numbers for this site hovers between 50 and 100,000. Many only stay temporarily until said conflicts are resolved on their home worlds. As morning rolled on, businesses were starting and alien residents were beginning to go about their day.

In the main headquarters, officers were doing their duties and new recruits were going through orientation. Max was overseeing activities from his office with Albedo there relaying the new research done in the Research and Development Department. It all seemed normal with news from across galactic sectors relatively normal; aside from the Incursean Empire and the Tetramand Federation are managing a fragile peace with the path of Vilgax the Conqueror of Nine Worlds establishing routes and a governments among the nine. Another issue Max was contending with are the increased encounters with esoterics across the world in six of the seven continents. This unnerved, as the reports recorded in the database mysteriously disappear in a 24-hour period. As to the why he doesn't know, but the fact that esoterics can cause disruptions to Plumber missions is problematic. He's unsure on how to handle this or the facility in Taiwan in question.

Meanwhile in Buenos Aires

The orchestra continued to perform the allegro movement. Zach filmed the rehearsal while Mike who returned to do the audio, and apologize for his role as a role last year wanted to make amends. So he's there to make sure the audio recording of said performance was as good as their big night. Dania was taking pictures with her digital stills camera with the flash off so to not disturb anyone in mid concentration. As the movement continued she got a good panorama shot from an angle near the stage. She was going to use it as the new photo for their Facebook page. As the first movement finished, the musicians flipped the pages and prepared for the second movement. After a moment of silence, they continued…

~Largo~

ANATOLIA, TURKEY

[Armenian Highlands, 4:30PM]

In the Eastern Anatolian Region and just west of the Armenian border, Fatma was done hiking and was setting up camp in what she found was a picturesque valley. Lush green grass and wildflowers, the valley has a microclimate that was unique to this side of Mount Ararat. She wasn't there to find the supposed site of Noah's Ark (in fact, it wasn't there at all). She was there to purely on personal urge to get away from the city and take pictures of the highlands to post on the website. The natural beauty of the area was beyond compare to any location she's traveled to, alone or with the orchestra. But also knew from memory this was near the path she and her mother took to flee Iran and head west to Istanbul. Her father was to the east, still in Iran and was heartbroken to not have heard from him in three years. All contact stopped.

As she boiled a kettle of water over a fire pit, she unlocked her locket around her neck. Inside were the two men who have meaning in her life. Her father, and her love in Dante Lascano. She smiled and closed it. The afternoon was rolling on and thankfully not too warm. The cool mountain air made this a comfortable experience to rest. She took in the surroundings and down to the valley below. She spotted something in the distance and it looked to be a large vehicle. Knowing the valley was inaccessible to cars or many people, she grabbed her backpack to take out a pair of binoculars and observed for a moment. The water inside the kettle started to bubble and near the point of boiling.

MEANWHILE IN ISRAEL

[Tel Aviv, 4:35PM]

Delilah was in the oldest neighborhood of the city, Jaffa, where she was enjoying an afternoon at Jaffa Port. She agreed to meet her father and reconnect a bit. Since the rogue incident, he told her of when he met her mother at Mount Sinai. She wanted to know more, but was told that her mother stayed at the sacred mountain to guard secrets and will not return until God and or fate will allow. She felt a bit bittersweet about it, wanting to meet her mother who is still alive, but bitter about how her father would withhold this information for nearly a year. To get her mind off of this, she settled at a café for an afternoon coffee before dinner.

Tokyo, Japan

[Shinjuku Gyo-en, Shinjuku, Monday, 11:34PM]

Shinji was walking alone in the massive park right in the middle of the urban ward bordering Shibuya. Since it was a warm summer day, the evening was comfortably fresh for many to enjoy their night out after a sweltering day. Dressed in a light blue-buttoned shirt with the sleeves rolled up and unbuttoned to show a white shirt underneath, grey slim-fit jeans, and black and white Converse sneakers, he felt he deserved this after a productive day. He spent the day covering a story regarding the closure of elementary schools where the country's low birthrate resulted in. However he also interviewed someone that this phenomenon was more common in the country's cities. It didn't reflect the somewhat healthy birthrate in the countryside. However, the trend of the young leaving their towns for the urban centers does take away from the workforce with no new one to fill it in.

He found a bench and sat down. He looked out at the manmade lake where the ducks long left to sleep, and the koi under the water's surface swam idly by. He looked up at the sky where few clouds rolled by and the few stars visible were outshone by the city. He remembers those times when traveling where in a desert or forest, or in the countryside of Japan, the stars shone like nowhere else. He looked around and pondered a bit on when he should return to his hotel. Shinji got up and started walking before he encountered three women, attractive in their separate ways. He waved at them and to his mild surprise they stopped to greet him and the four started to talk and walk in their general direction.

MEANWHILE IN CHINA

[Plumber Special Forces-Division 20, Wudang Mountains, Monday, 10:34PM]

Ernesto was busy training on computers to learn how to program, relay information, data entry, and learning how to operate alien computer systems. The alien coding was advanced and at times went over his head, but he pushed forward. Knowing by next year he will graduate from the four-year program. He missed his family and friends and hoped to visit them in Bellwood and New York respectively before being assigned to a location on Earth.

The officer of the division, Fann was busy with paper work in her office and then the alarm came in. It was a message straight from Taiwan:

收容單元已被破壞！聲音報警！

收容單元已被破壞！聲音報警！

Containment unit has been breached! Sound the alarm!
Containment unit has been breached! Sound the alarm!

She rushed out of her chair to then press the alarm system for the base. She then looked out her window and noticed something wrong. A jet of light was in the far distance shooting upward. She then turned angry, "我已經告訴過你了... (I told you so…)"

Back in Buenos Aires

The orchestra was continuing the largo movement on their strings and basso continuo. Mohammad conducted the group in question and as the last note played, he relaxed and waited for his musicians turn the sheets of their music to perform the last movement of the piece. Once done, they waited for the signal and then, they continued…

~Allegro~

Dublin, Republic of Ireland

[Clontarf, 2:35PM]

Yasmin was monitoring the rehearsal of her father's orchestra while she was going over the final details of the wedding, which will commence in a week's time. The music filled the sitting room of her soon to be husband's family home. Sarah was bringing over some tea to share with her while her soon to be father-in-law Thomas was outside cleaning the gutters last minute. She thanked Sarah and the two listened to the music in content silence. Liam however was with Craig at the moment getting fitted in a tuxedo for the big day. Like all traditions, both he and Yasmin had a bachelor party (stag-do) and a bachelorette party (hen-do). Yasmin recalled to Sarah about the male strippers her friends from New York, now in Dublin's city center hired for the night. It was interesting and slightly embarrassing. But no less a blast of a time she was glad to share. Liam and Craig however, as some men do, had a hangover afterwards. Whatever happened the night before is best left unsaid between mates. Yasmin heard this and forgave him since it was technically his last night of bachelorhood. And she wasn't in a position to complain; she too had a bit of a hangover that day as well.

Kent, England, UK

[Rathbone Estate, 2:37PM]

Anthony, Rachel, William, Jane, James, Angelina, Basilio, Michael, and Vincente were invited to the luncheon to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of New York. The rogues, the WWAEI group, who wanted to start a war to push forward the importance of separation between magi and mystics, but in reality was to decimate the progress of their recovery from the past World Wars and hoping in the end of the chaos, rule over the remnants with an iron fist, then target the human society as a whole. For the greater good as they pushed forward in the European countries, akin to what was calling for among Middle Eastern esoterics. But today it was a warm and inviting afternoon and the only worry was to decided what to do? Do they swim in the creek along the grounds of the estate? Have fun in the nearby woods? Go to town and enjoy the local summer activity? That's what they wanted to do, put aside the year of tension. However, their thoughts of LMM do pop up now and again. They wanted them to come to let bygones be bygones. A gust of wind came from the south and it started some birds.

Marseilles, France

[3:39PM]

The mystic allies who assisted LMM and argued for the lenient punishment for them, while also agreeing to the terms Alastair's legal team proposed were in the city in a vein similar to the magi in Kent. In this case, its to the celebrate the local esoteric tradition of The Procession of the Madonna of the Sea, or 'La procession de a Vierge de la mer'. It was a tradition to let go of the sins and negative emotions following an event that led to war or almost did in their case, while people carried it to the docks and have it float with the assistance from the local fishermen. Prince Mahbeeb, his uncle guardian, Priest Hakeem, and Anan were there to participate as an act of goodwill and pay their respects. They each lit candles to put on the floating Madonna, each wishing for good fortune to come, while also wrestling something happening to them in their personal lives. Anan is working for a non-profit for the representation of minorities in London, Prince Mahbeeb and his uncle are wrestling with enemies along the borders of their desert kingdom, and Priest Hakeem was making sure the royal family of Morocco keeps the country calm with enemies to their southern borders and providing aide to his countrymen fleeing violence and leading them to safety or on their way to Europe should Allah permit it.

Back in Buenos Aires

The orchestra continued to perform the final allegro movement for the violin concerto. Gilberto once again showed his talent across the three movements to convey the passion and liveliness of the first and third movements while in the middle, a slower slightly somber mood. In fact, all of the violinists can do this and after eight years since their founding, slowly making waves across the world. Their Latin American tour started rough in Mexico City, but now in their final location, the capital of Argentina, this was in their eyes better than their European tour from last year. After two weeks of rest, they will head for New Zealand and from there, a month to gather their things and a year of planning, will do something ambitious. But for the moment, they're focusing on performance night. The final passage was played and the piece ended.

MEANWHILE, BACK IN TAIWAN

The cracking of various pottery, statues, and crates exploding under the pressure as if explosives were planted inside, chanting was heard in demonic tones. The chant was surprisingly in the name of Saint Mark in a mocking and sincere quality:

Pax ti bi Marce aevangelista meus.

Pax ti bi Marce aevangelista meus.

Pax ti bi Marce aevangelista meus.
Pax ti bi Marce aevangelista meus.

Pax ti bi Marce aevangelista meus.

Alarms were going off in the Plumber Base and the officers then bared arms on the defense. Several dozen headed down to the vault doors and pointed their plasma laser guns toward them. Armed to kill, they felt ready to handle what was inside. Then the doors opened slowly and tense moments of silence were felt. Nothing inside but pitch-blackness and then, roars and growls were slowly and faintly heard, which shook the nerves of the officers there. Then, a wave of darkness launched toward them, nothing more than screams of terror filled the halls, the base, the radio transmission of their terror was heard at Plumber HQ in Bellwood and Plumber Academy in deep space.

Then, the darkness of the vault filled the base with many of the officers disorientated or ordering to evacuate. Several held the line as the scientists and others went to the evacuation crafts to leave the mountain base. Then the officers began to fire on forms appearing from the darkness. To the growing horror they felt, not only did their round did little to no damage, but the approaching forms looked to be demonic generals. One of the leaders swiped his right hand; many were brushed aside like paper and did the same with his left hand. He saw the escaping crafts leaving and looked around:

"Let us begin."

The demon general was then joined out of the darkness by three other generals and they formed a circle. Chanting in demonic tongue, a swirling form of black energy formed between them and it soon engulfed them and the base's interior.

From outside the mountain, the escaping crafts landed miles away to see a dome of black energy engulfing the mountain and a jet of energy fired upward, miles and miles upward. It then split into separate jets miles up and spread outward to other parts of the world. Two in particular headed northeast, presumably to North America. One of the officers saw this and sent an S.O.S. to Plumber HQ with this message:

-SOS! SOS! Containment Unit breached! Code 3! Code 3 Alert!

-Unknown dark anomalies have taken over Taiwan Base!

-Bare Arms! Bare Arms! Bare Arms!

Bellwood, TX, USA

[Plumber Headquarters, 8:41AM]

Alarms and buzzers were sounding off like crazy in the base. Officers gathers their weapons and formed lines of defense inside the base, around the prison units for their local and intergalactic criminals, as well as above ground in Bellwood. Several hundred in total to be exact, if not to defeat the oncoming enemy or enemies, but to at least hold the line.

"Come on boys! Hustle! Hustle!"

Several senior officers ordered the new recruits and others to quickly gather supplies. Albedo looked around him and then a flash of magenta appeared to his left and sees Gwen and Kevin appearing.

"What's going on," Gwen asked as she and Kevin looked around. To which Albedo responded, "A Code 3 Alert; a security lockdown on the main headquarters until the threat is neutralized. News came in that a containment unit in the island of Taiwan was breached and whatever is there is coming here. Instructions were stated to bare arms."

Gwen was confused by the news. In particular, the news of a base not known to her, "There is a base in Taiwan? Since when? From what I know, there's nothing there for Plumbers to store away or research."

Kevin looked at her, "It seems our information is out of date…" he looked around and muttered darkly, "Or incomplete."

Before Gwen can ask what he meant, out of the blue, Jet-Ray flew in from above and landed besides them and transformed back to normal, "Jesus! Can't we get a day where nothing is going down?"

"You really want me to answer that," Kevin smirked, Ben returned it and the two gave a brotherly hug. Ben hugged his cousin warmly and looked at Albedo with a somewhat surprised expression.

"Hi there."

Albedo nodded and then heard something in his earpiece and his eyes widened. He looked at the three and Gwen asked, "What?"

"Do any of you know what are demons?"

Then a rumble was heard above and Gwen got into a fighting stance. Then uttered a chant in Latin, a seal of protection to surround herself, Kevin, Ben, and Albedo. They then heard Max over the intercom, "Hold your position!"

The rumble ceased and a few moments of silence passed before a beam of light came down from above and blinded all in the vicinity. There were then four demonic generals right there. Then the order came, "Fire!"

The Plumbers fired their plasma laser weapons towards the four generals. But the four exuded a wall of energy naturally that warded off the blasts like the cold wind of winter smothering the warm campfire in cold. Gwen saw this and started to chant the spell for teleportation. Albedo while still in her dome of protection realized what was going on and inwardly cringed as the spell activated and the four in question disappeared. One of the generals, a female in appearance, noticed Gwen's doing and the four's teleporting away.

"The firefly has taken her companions," the second in command, wearing what can be described as a samurai general's armor.

The leader looked at him, "Keep an eye on them. She is powerful and skilled. And is a familiar of esoterics. A potential danger," he stated.

He continued to look around at the Plumbers in general. He then sees a conduit in the center of the facility. He calmly walked to it with two other generals behind him. The officers tried to hold them at bay but to no avail. The general looked at it and gave a wicked smile and turned to face the two, "Punishment should be swift and earnest."

Meanwhile, above ground, flash of magenta light was seen by pedestrians and out of the orb came Kevin, Gwen, Ben, and Albedo. Gwen felt dizzy but shook it off; teleportation did not drain her energy reserves as it once did. But she needed time to effectively use the spell again. Albedo looked around bewildered and looked at Gwen, "It's still not safe here! We better move!"

"Move? Where," Kevin asked as he helped Gwen to regain her balance and then he and Ben looked up at a shadowy figure, the second in command.

"Away from here," Ben asked and everyone nodded. Gwen pushed Kevin out of the way and unleashed her Anodite form and flew upward to face the demon.

The two collided and a pulse of energy shattered surrounding windows and cracked the asphalt beneath the boys' feet. Albedo then remembered to unfold his left sleeve and on it was a wristwatch type device to measure energy levels. He measured the energy between the demon and Anodite. He was shocked how the demon's energy was the polar opposite of Gwen's and he looked up, he can see Gwen's power and appearance changing, and not for the good.

Gwen was using her karate and judo moves in mid-air. At first she was on par with the demon general and as the demon blasted her, she puts up a shield, "Not bad at all woman! You provide good sport!"

The demon exclaimed but Gwen was holding back as much as she can. However, she can tell her shield was cracking, "But that's all this is woman, sport!"

Her shield shattered and she fell down to the ground hard. She left a small crater six feet in circumference and her Anodite form dissipated and returned to human form. She groaned and the demon general levitated above the small group. The people who were around ran for their lives in fear. Ben and Kevin were about to face the demon but Albedo stopped them, "Stop!"

"You can't be serious," Ben shouted in indignation. But Albedo gave him a look that was unique to Ben.

The demon general laughed, "At least the fair haired one is smart. You four either can die, or flee for your lives. This is punishment and even your allies will be unsure on helping your lot."

"What does that mean," Kevin asked and then a jet of energy sprang up from the ground and headed skyward and did not stop. The demon general smiled in glee while the four heroes were there, looking on in terror.

The jet continued and inside the beam, the leader smiled and then, teleported away in a flash. But the jet however continued and connected with the rest currently forming a web around the planet. Only those touched by esoteric forces can see this, and it was not good.

PLUMBER ACADEMY, TWO HUNDRED LIGHT YEARS AWAY

The Code Three alert rang out in the halls of the facility. The senior officers got the students to safety by ordering them to escape pods to warp drive back to their home worlds until the threat is over. Magister Coronach and Magister Hulka, veterans from past conflicts across the galaxy, with the latter more decorated than even Max Tennyson of Earth, can tell something is definitely wrong.

"This is suspicious as hell. Why would only a Code Three alert be activated," Magister Hulka asked as he pushed last of the really new recruits into the last pod and saw it launched off the facility.

Magister Coronach did a final count and those remaining are of high enough rank to serve and defend the facility, "Don't know. The threat is from Terra (Earth) in Magister Tennyson's backyard. Whatever it is, we need to send aid immediately."

The two decorated officers then heard another type of alarm and this one was a Code Four: An intruder was on board. They rushed for the main controls' bay and it took mere moments thanks to a direct elevator. There was something impossible to have come, a demon general.

The demon general looked around in mild bemusement, "Amazing how advanced you all are technologically, but have forgotten the lessons your ancestors have left behind," he spoke in a low rumble but everyone heard him.

"We don't believe in your kind," Magister Hulka said as he got in fighting stance, "You're just a relic from our primitive past. Forgotten and buried."

The demon general, "That is a pity. Do you wonder why," he asked.

Then in the blink of an eye, the facility rumbled and alerts were sounding off all over the place. For everyone to see, they see themselves and the facility warp driving across light-years. Then when they stopped, they see the outline of the 'Oort Cloud' of the Solar System in the Sagittarius Arm of the galaxy. The magisters and the officers there were astounded in this mysterious being who did this with relative ease. Then he looked at them all with a serene but sinister look:

"Because you are ill prepared for what is to come."

"And what that might be," Magister Coronach asked, with the stress of maintaining his calm demeanor but failed.

The demon general lifted him up with his mind, "Justice," he replied before roughly setting the officer down on the floor.

The demon general then looked at the faint light of the Sun with a mixture of admiration, contemplation, and assured justification for his actions. He turned around to look at the mixture of officers, aliens from different species and the remaining humans on board, "All of you should remember the lessons from your ancestors. But alas, you have forgotten."

The human officers didn't say anything but instead fell to their knees or too frightened to do anything. For them, seeing this entity in the flesh, resonated with their Church experiences, the stories their grandparents or relatives have told them, and every superstition they've ever heard of. But knew this is not a good thing. In fact, they know what was to come and one of them said, "You're going to destroy our bases on Earth."

The demon general smiled, "Very good. Something is wrong and I must reset the balance."

"Balance? You call eliminating our organization on your backwater planet resetting some…" Magister Hulka begun to ask but was then interrupted by an invisible grip on his throat from the demon who hadn't lifted a finger.

"Yes. Your precious human magister has committed a crime in the eyes of the esoterics. They will know soon enough and when its over, they will wish they hadn't stopped me from my goal."

The invisible grip was let go and Hulka was on the floor gasping for breath. Then the facility was enshrouded in darkness with only the faint light of the sun to fill in the control bay. He then uttered a demonic chant, and then a squadron of seven demon lieutenants accompanied him.

"What are your orders, sir?"

One asked and the general uttered, "But all of the officers in their cells. But leave Magister Coronach and Hulka here, but in chains. I want them to see the organization they represent, destroyed before their very eyes."

The seven did just so and put the two commanders of the facility in chains while the rest were rounded up easily and sent down into the bowels of the academy in now makeshift cells. The demon general stood there overlooking the 'Oort Cloud' and the faint light of its host star in quiet contemplation. But also, planning something that would set the stage for what's to come very soon. He knows the esoterics and familiars have had dreams or prophecies predicting a major event coming. Ghosts, nature spirits, and now his kind; something is coming and the fear of God must be implemented.

"Not since the old days am I going to have this much fun," he muttered with sinister glee.

MEANWHILE BACK ON EARTH

Tokyo, Japan

[Shinjuku, Monday, 11:42PM]

The three women and Shinji left the park and he found himself enjoying their company. He found out they were all American, much to his surprise, especially the Japanese American who was three years younger than him. Her name was Michiko Hasegawa and has been in the country for two years so far, originally from Torrance, California south of Los Angeles working two part-time jobs while in college. He learned the names of her slightly older friends as well: Hyun-Ae Kwon who was from San Jose, California and in the country as a college student in Waseda University. Their oldest friend was a Chinese American named Meilin Yang. She came off as flirty towards Shinji, making some innuendo suggestions, but also had an air of seriousness due to her background.

"You're a sergeant in the US military," Shinji asked, now curious.

She nodded, "The Marines to be exact! I'm on leave but the base is in Okinawa," she said and then as they walked to a bar, they noticed the once clear night sky getting cloudy.

He nodded, "Usually when military personnel are on leave, they either go out drinking or do the horizontal tango," he quipped which got a laugh out of her. Her two friends either giggled (Michiko) or were impressed inwardly (Hyun-Ae).

Michiko then looked up and noticed something odd, "That's weird. News didn't say anything about a storm," she remarked as clouds formed and Shinji confirmed it.

"They didn't," he remarked and then his phone rang, "Hello?"

"Shinji! Something is happening here," Dante's voice rang out and just as he was about to hear what his friend was saying, he saw it himself upward.

Thunder and lightening scorched the sky and then his signal cut off, "Hello! Hello!"

More thunder and lightening rocked the sky and something was setting off his instincts; to run. He turned to the three women, "We got to get out of here!"

"What are you talking about," Hyun-Ae asked and then she got her answer when a lightening bolt struck the ground and an oni demon general appeared which caused many pedestrians to scream and run.

Meilin grabbed Hyun-Ae's hand while he grabbed Michiko's hand. They bolted and headed back to the park, "Where are we going," Michiko shouted.

"I got my car parked in Shibuya! We can take the highway and head for a safe place!"

Meilin was running along him, "What is safer than a military base?"

He answered simply, "A shrine!"

In just two minutes they got to his car and to his surprise, Meilin's armored vehicle was parked just behind his, 'I wondered whose car was that. Now I know,' he thought.

They all buckled up and headed out of the downtown area. Somehow on Shinji's radio, Meilin found his channel, "Go," he answered.

"Where are you planning to take us? Over," her voice rang out.

He puts on his GPS in his car and it was working and puts in the coordinates, "We're going to drive past Nerima and head west toward Okutama. Over."

The radio crackle, "Roger that."

Michiko then looked to Shinji from the passenger seat as then he and Meilin maneuvered around the oncoming demon soldiers coming toward them. She was surprised by this seemingly normal guy was doing evasive driving well. Not as well as Meilin but still pretty good. She finally asked him, "Why are we heading there?"

He looked at her before diverting his attention back to the road, "A friend of mine is completing his final initiation into priesthood. It's a holy place and if anything, would provide some protection for you three. And a mutual friend is completing a purification rite as we speak. So hang on!"

He shifted into sport and barreled towards the nearest expressway entrance, as did Meilin. They headed up the ramp and drove as fast as they can to the west of the capital.

Meanwhile in Buenos Aires

Dante rushed out with the rest of the orchestra. They looked up and saw in the sky a network of beams of light and shadow. Then a beam of light hit in the middle of the street and they saw a demon in armor. Wilfredo noticed this and then shouted to his friends, "Stay behind me and Cecilia! Got it!"

She then put two fingers together, held them in front of his face, and pointed downward. His seal, inscribed in Hebrew, the one that guards him and aids him in battle was formed. Cecilia then did the same, by getting in a fighting stance common in capoeira. A seal was formed below her, with unknown script of West Africa was seen. Wilfredo saw this and grinned, "Segurando de mim esse tempo todo, eh? (Holding back from me this whole time eh?)"

She grinned back, "Segredos são to tempero de qualquer relacionamento. (Secrets are the spice to any relationship.)"

"O mesmo acontece com os demônios. Prepare-se! (So is fighting demons. Get ready!)"

The lieutenant looked at them and smiled with a malicious glee. Then it spoke in guttural Spanish, "Esoterics! No estoy aquí para pelear contigo! Aunque con gran dolor ignorer tan buen deporte, no es nuestra preocupación! (Esoterics! I am not here to battle you! Though with great pain to ignore such good sport, you are not our concern!)"

Wilfredo and Cecilia are confused but still held up their line of defense, just in case. The demon continued, "Estoy a las órdenes de mi general! El equilibrio debe cumplirse! Los perpetradores de este mundo a través de las estrellas se enfrentarán con un juicio severo! Un juicio por crímenes cometidos contra todos ustedes! (I'm on orders from my general! Balance must be met! The perpetrators of this world from across the stars will be met with severe judgment! A judgment for crimes done against you all!)"

Wilfredo and Cecilia blinked and everyone in LMM was stunned and confused. Why would a demon lieutenant, based on its uniform, tell them this? Wilfredo and Cecilia looked at him with distrust of his words and Cecilia asked in English, "But what of the people in the areas you seek to instill your justice?"

The demon lieutenant smiled and responded back, "Collateral damage for the greater good!"

Wilfredo narrowed his eyes, "Then we esoterics have no choice but to hold the line of defense for their sake! Now what of your business with the alien officers?"

The lieutenant looked at him and spoke, "You have every right to defend the common folk. Otherwise, there would be no sport now would there? Son of the scorpion."

His eyes widened in surprise, then he felt a pulse of energy hit against his seal. It came like a fierce wind and when he blinked, the lieutenant was gone. But the darkened sky remained. Clouds blocked out the sun, but it looked like any normal cloudy day. Then rain came. The sound of rain was peaceful enough, but the ominous feeling around them remained. Dante then took his phone out of his pocket. He went through any known activity with the Plumbers via the link he's connected with the EVA to keep an eye. But whatever he's set up was unable to connect to the Plumber network.

"Shit," he cursed and puts his phone away.

Everyone in LMM knew something big is going down and the Plumbers are in the middle of it. Mohammad and Dania even can tell something was not right. Continuing rehearsals would be safest, but he looked to the mystics in question.

"What can we do," he asked and Wilfredo looked at him and answered.

"Until we know for certain what's going on, we remain here and hold the fort. Every superstition, every belief we all have here, any weapon Asuka and Dante have snuck in, and us," he referred the last part to himself and Cecilia.

"We hold the line."

~Music bit: Weapon, ritual, superstition: Penny Dreadful OST Season 2~

With that said, everyone went inside the concert hall. Mohammad alerted the concert organizer to contact a priest to bless the area. He too was afraid and simply nodded, and immediately called his local parish. Wilfredo and Cecilia began to go around the building, muttering incantations of protection in Latin, Hebrew, and a West African dialect. He held rosary beads while she held prayer beads from her Candomble faith. Inside, Asuka took out a semi-automatic sniper rifle that she can easily put together from her backpack, which bypassed airport security due to it being made of advanced polymers and little metal. Dante did the same with a sword he's packed in his computer equipment case, a gladius. But instead of a short sword it was longer to have greater reach, akin to a bastard sword.

The rest of LMM were praying, laying down items from their own beliefs to ward off evil spirits. Gilberto and Alberto were praying over their Catholic Bibles, Zane was chanting Taoist sutras as he lit incense sticks and unpacked his jian sword, Jang, Juliette, Edmond, Bernhard were praying from their Protestant Bibles, Eda took out an old copy of the Talmud her grandmother urged to pack due to some bad dream she had, opened it and began to pray. Ahmed took out his Koran and prayed in Arabic, alongside Mohammad and Dania, despite the former being a non-believer and his wife a lapsed Christian, but did so out of respect. Wilfredo and Cecilia came back inside to lay down the final bits of protection. She took out a bottle from her bag that had herbs and oils mixed to outline the layout of the hall while Wilfredo cut his thumb. The blood he used to make a scorpion ensign on the door, the size of his hand but then formed the last portion, a circle, around it. A surge of energy filled the hall like waves.

MEANWHILE IN THE USA

Philadelphia, PN, USA

[Little Italy, 9:45AM]

Elizabeth was doing the same in her home. Her daughter was looking on curiously as did her British husband. Her blood scorpion adorned the door of their home and she prayed in Latin, which activated it. She turned to her family, "We must be careful until the storm passes. Sophia, go to the bathroom and fill the bucket with water."

She nodded and ran off. Her husband came to her, "Will this be enough," he whispered.

She looked up at him, "Better to be prepared love," she chastely kissed him on the lips and moved to the cupboard. She took out a plastic bag with dried sage leaves, "We'll burn them to purify the air."

He nodded put the dried leaves in a bowl to light them. The smell filled the kitchen and as she prayed a Native American chant of protection. Her daughter came back with the bucket, struggling to bring it to her. Her mom did the sign of the cross over the water. She dipped her wall crucifix in it, and the rosaries belonging to her family. They then filled their apartment with the scent of sage. A surge of power emanated throughout the home.

Meanwhile in Amity Park

In the Fenton home, Sam and Tucker's families are there to seek safety. Danny's parents then calibrated the ghost shield to also ward off demonic energies. Based on past encounters when Wilfredo used to live in Philadelphia. Sam hung cornhusk totems on string across the living room as a sign that only good spirits are welcomed. Tucker covered mirrors in the house with cloth, due to past experiences that demons can come through them. A surge of power pulsed in the home.

Danny hovered outside the home in his normal human form. Then transformed into his ghost hero persona, power emanating from him and a fierce look of determination on his face. He's going to make sure his family and friends are protected. Beside him was Valerie on her hover board and in battle armor. Jazz was also beside to the in her mechanized armor, prepared for battle. The oncoming shadow of dark clouds began to form and they can feel it demons coming.

~End music bit~

MEANWHILE

Aboard the Rust Bucket II, traveling at hypersonic speeds across the upper atmosphere, Kevin, Gwen, Ben, and Albedo were heading southward. Ben was looking out the window with a mixture of reminiscence and comfort. This was his life, not the double life he led back in Seattle. Albedo calibrated his plasma-laser weapon to kill these demonic entities and looked at the three none of who have spoken since leaving American airspace. He decided against his own character, to speak up.

"Are all of you going to ask LMM for help? But what if this predicament has reached them even at their location," he asked and Ben who sat across from him answered.

"We have no choice. Whatever is going on, they got mystics and they may have answer on how to stop this."

But Gwen spoke up, "I got to remind you that even with their help, solving this is not always a given."

Kevin sighed and looked at the monitor. Calculated time to arrive in Buenos Aires is eighty-five minutes. Thankfully being at 90,000 feet there was little risk of interfering with local commercial flights. And the plate shielding on the aircraft would shield them from Earth orbit surveillance satellites. However, he glanced upward and can see the faint netting of demonic energies. He then asked an awkward question.

"What if they can't help up? What if this has something to do with that black site in Taiwan? What if whatever the Plumbers got there may have started this."

But Gwen dismissed this, "Oh come on! We can't have conspiratorial thinking right now! What we have to do is think of a plan to seal up the portal in Bellwood and maybe that will end this!"

Kevin looked at her, but remained silent. Albedo of the four agreed with Kevin, "Mr. Levin has a legitimate point. Earthbound organizations have a lot in common with their galactic counterparts. After spending five years on this primitive backwater, the realization is there are universals in sentient behavior."

"Which is what," Ben was half interested but curious in what his doppelganger had to say and Albedo said what was on his mind, "Keeping secrets at the expense of trust will rot a system from the inside out."

His words rang true for Ben more so these days. He wondered if Albedo was correct? The thought of it really rang ironic in his mind. Between working with the Seattle Police Department, the FBI, the Plumbers, and working in deep cover to infiltrate local criminal syndicates with possible connections to alien technology. But at the moment, his own foray into his past life, as a hero from Bellwood feels like sinking into a warm bath. A welcome return to an old routine, but still…

MEANWHILE

Dublin, Republic of Ireland

[Clontarf, 2:47PM]

Thunder and lightening filled the sky and the wedding party reception crowd went home via cars or taxis. Yasmin rushed to get Sarah and ran with her holding hands, "Whatever is going on we better move!"

"I know! But what is it," Sarah, Liam's mother and future mother-in-law to Yasmin, asked as they head for the Mercedes S-Class.

Thomas, Sarah's husband, and her son, Liam were there already, waiting already and once the two ladies got in, they high-tailed out of there. Seeing the church behind them becoming smaller and smaller as they drove off, Liam looked to his father.

"Where are we going?"

Thomas had a serious expression, "Back home. We hold down the homestead and arm the place. Remember the stories your nana (grandmother) told you. Remember the stories I've told you. Whatever is coming is a reckoning for a group."

Yasmin gasped, "I-I think who might be in the middle of this. But why would they push their luck this far?"

Thomas looked at her via the rearview mirror and spoke, "Whoever this group is, and you may know…could be they pushed their luck too far," he swerved to the right to avoid an oncoming demon.

Those inside held on as they drove onward. Liam looked outside his window and then behind him to his mother and soon to be wife. He breathed in and out to steady his nerves, "Whatever may be the case here, and if we can defend the home, then we can bring out the old weapons."

Thomas glanced at him before refocusing on the road. He can see the house in the distance. He shifted into fifth gear for the final push forward. Thomas thought on what his son said, and nodded in agreement, "Very well. But first we prepare the home's defenses."

Liam looked at his father and nodded. They drove on and once at their property at the edges of Clontarf they see another car there, belonging to Craig. The Corrigan family exited the car to greet him, as did Yasmin. Craig approached them with a duffle bag of his own, "I'm ready to hold the line. Yourselves?"

Thomas nodded, "Come," and the two rushed into the home and began to put down totems and splashed holy water in the corners of the home.

Liam meanwhile got his mother and soon to be wife inside and shut the door. He locked it and ran for the basement. He headed for a heavy looking chest and opened it with keys from his pocket. He unlocked it and took out swords, one arming sword and one a long sword he can wield with a hand on the hilt and the other on the blade so it can be used in a home setting. He ran upstairs and handed his father the long sword while he wielded the arming sword. Craig unzipped his duffle bag and took out an axe. But like the swords there are runes on the blades, each one enhanced to handle non-human threats if it came down to it.

Sarah was praying while Yasmin tried to call her parents. But her call didn't make the connection. She sighed and looked out the window. She felt unease and dread as she looked onto the darkened skies and even though it was day, it had the look of a storm coming. But the skies were still blue but now darkened with something coming. She closed the curtains. Sarah then got up to do the same throughout the home.

For the next few hours across the world, demon activity has surged with only esoterics and those sanctioned in religious circles to ward many of them off. However, for the latter, it only resided in neighborhoods around their churches, synagogues, mosques, temples, etc. For the former however, they've held the line around esoteric wards and the cities at large. This was perhaps since the New York incident where people began to see them coming out in full force. In Marseilles for example, the mystic allies that have aided LMM have gathered those in the city to protect the areas near the port and formed a defense line along the outskirts. They have also sent scouting parties into the city to aid people who have become possessed in the process or fight off demon soldiers on the streets.

In Kent, the magi have held the lines as well, but instead of the sea to protect from demon soldiers coming from the continent, they helped in flying about on their brooms to villages across the countryside. Wraiths and spirits of dead soldiers came out to seek havoc and possessions are starting to happen. So the magi are now seeking aid from mystics and local priests to minimize the situation. However, the growing sense of unease, storm clouds or not the conflicts for magi and mystics who have fought in the rogue mess are dealing with this with the mentality of a surgical operation; standard, routine, and a sense of responsibility that governs most of their culture.

MEANWHILE IN THE ARMENIAN HIGHLANDS

[6:35PM]

It took Fatma two hours of traversing the terrain with only a backpack, on foot no less; to reach the sight of the light she saw atop the hill she set up camp. She took several breaks for water and food to keep up her stamina. Once she reached the sight, two hundred yards away she's seen something she thought only the Plumbers have, a spaceship. The design was odd looking, spikes along the hull, but huge. The craft was bigger than any military plane she's seen. Even from a distance she can tell it was. Then she heard wings flapping around her and looked to her left and right, she saw nothing or head. But then she looked above, winged creatures akin to dragons.

"İmkansız! (Impossible!)," she muttered and then saw a group of them, numbering five in total land along the craft and one of them noticed her.

She puts her hands up, "I mean no harm! I trekked for hours to find this from a distance! Then things started to go wrong! As you can see above," she pointed upward.

The dragon-like alien nodded. Thanks to the universal translator on its chest, it spoke and sounded male, "Indeed Terran! What is your name?"

She felt a bit at ease, "Fatma Hahira Asgari! I am here only for my purposes only! Who are you?"

Then a big dragon-like alien stepped forward and flapped its wings, "I am the commander of this team! Our business here is above your clearance and have no business to speak with us!"

"Are you with the Plumbers," Fatma shouted but meant to stop him from overstepping her.

The dragon aliens stood there silently and eyed her now with suspicion and curiosity. Fatma was on guard, but if these creatures were dragons, they didn't exhibit power that filled her with awe or terror. No, they felt normal to her. As if these creatures no longer have the magic that make them…

Then she heard something in the sky, a roar. The dragon aliens looked around as well and they bared their plasma laser weapons aiming around and then the roar was heard again. It came from the nearby mountains. To her, the sight in the distance was what she should have felt from these dragon aliens; awe-inspiring terror. A winged best with a serpent like body, the wings were large as was the tail to have it fly across the sky. The color of the encroaching beast was black scales with green patterns on the translucent wings and underbelly. She was in awe of it, straight from the stories of her childhood, ones her father and mother told her when really young, like a dream then now a terrifying reality.

The dragon aliens felt something different however; for them it was closer to encountering a primordial ancestor of their species across space. In fact, they felt a connection to the beast. But the beast's roars were louder, more aggressive, its body was bigger than theirs, and then it landed. Its form was hulking with an added grace, as if its not entirely biological. It used its wings and legs to move on the ground. It slowly approached the dragon aliens, growling and roaring slightly. To Fatma's surprise, the aliens didn't understand the creature.

As she saw them struggling to understand it via their universal translator device on their chests, she whistled to get its attention. The dragon looked her way and then she can see flames forming in its open mouth, in the back of the throat. One of the dragon aliens shouted at her, "Move out of the way!"

But it was too late. The dragon reared its head and unleashed a torrent of flames upon her. The flames engulfed her and then it danced around her in a maelstrom of fire. One it was done the fires slowly ceased, the dragon aliens hoisted their weapons, preparing to receive the same treatment. The dragon then looked at them with carnivorous behavior, to assert its dominance over them. Then it sniffed and turned its head. Fatma was standing, her clothes burnt away and her skin in soot, but alive and well. Her eyes however glowed an orange-red hue and a point of light in the same color. She looked up at the dragon and formed a whip of her energy between her hands and held onto the end like a handle. She whipped it about the dragon to subdue it, to acknowledge her presence as no mere woman.

The dragon growled and attempted to blast her again, but she was quick in her responses and whipped it several times near the head and on the ground. Her aim was to not injure the dragon, but the dragon aliens thought otherwise.

"That's enough human!"

She blasted one of them with her energy. She looked focused and spoke in a powerful deep voice, "I shall tame the winged beast! We need him for what is near!"

She whipped her fire whip around the dragon and it roared at her. The dragon slowly learned its flames will not harm this human. It growled and crawled on its belly with the aid of its legs and wings. The dragon aliens wanted to guard the winged beast, but it growled at them too. It startled them and one of the alien dragons, looking less muscular than the rest of his teammates thought he heard a word or several in the growl.

"Me…me want fight (challenge?)," he muttered as he saw the human female and winged beast battle for dominance.

The winged beast felt the pressure waves around it as Fatma showed it she would not be cowed. Then the beast used its tail to strike her. She jumped and landed on top of it. It growled and attempted to shake her off. It then stretched out its large wings to take to the air. The dragon aliens saw this and followed suit. To their surprise, this winged beast was out flying them and ahead as it tried to shake off the human female. For her, it was no different than bull riders trying to stay on as it grunted and buckled about. In the sky it took sharp turns and flew at high speed upward, then dove downward, doing everything to shake her loose. Fatma held onto the spikes along its back and hunkered down.

It roared as he flew next to the ground and continued upward. This went on for minutes and the dragon aliens kept up with the winged beast. Their universal translators barely helped in distinguishing the growls from actual words, if indeed there was anything they can decipher as language. In their minds, it was close to being a primordial ancestor of their species. Except this winged beast did not have a beak like mouth, no arms, it was larger, faster, it had teeth, a larger wingspan, and its fire was fiercer and hotter than their own. They also took note of the human female on its back. She held on and determined to dominate the beast. Their weapons to stun her off proved ineffective with their shots bouncing off an invisible shield around her.

Twenty minutes have passed until the winged beast landed on the grass, flapping its wings to control its descent. It's tail swerved back and forth as it then looked surprisingly calm in the eyes of the dragon aliens. The aliens lowered their weapons and watched the silent exchange between the human and a forebear of their species. The smaller dragon of the alien group slowly walked to the two creatures of Earth.

"Uh…hello."

The winged beast turned its head and growled at the alien, now seemingly protective of the human. The human female petted the head as it purred a bit, but on guard with the aliens around. Again the universal translator device the alien had, done little to translate. Fatma looked at the dragon alien in question.

"How come all of you are here?"

The dragon alien blinked, "You're not afraid of us?"

She nodded, "I can sense you all have power but…compared to this one here, you lost something," she added.

Then the leader of the alien group, more muscular with a scar on its left eye spoke, "To answer your first question, we are here to see why the dragon that was missing for one thousand of your planet's years. He explained himself on the knights who held him captive. We wanted to come to see if this planet should be eradicated. But in the end…we spotted this one," he looked at the winged beast.

"We decided to investigate why this creature has a heat signature similar to our own. But as we've seen, it is a distant ancestor to our kind."

Then they all looked up at the darkened sky. The dragon growled in aggression. Fatma got on the winged beast and had it fly back to her camp. The dragon aliens followed suit and within minutes she jumped down to her tent to grab some clothes. A t-shirt, light jacket, jeans, and sneakers. Not the best but it had to do with what she is thinking on doing. She jumped upward with aid of her aural powers and landed on the winged beast. She looked up at the sky and at the surrounding mountains. Then she sensed it in the air around her.

"All of you! Take position! An ambush is coming," she yelled to the aliens who were hovering with wings flapping as did the dragon Fatma was riding. Then they see a horde of flying demons with talons showing, screeching for a challenge.

Her dragon roared and flew off, so did the dragon aliens and met to fight off the horde.

MEANWHILE IN TEL AVIV

Delilah was running, her forehead had a gash when impacted against the wall of the old fortifications. In the old part of the city as much in the rest of the modern city outside, the demon soldiers were looking for something or rather a certain group of people. However, that didn't stop many from possessing innocent people and having their fun terrorizing everyone else. She was running to get help from her father at the synagogue. Then she saw five demons charging for her. She stopped, her seal formed around her feet, the symbols of Aramaic and Hebrew were seen and she fired a bolt of energy to send them back to the void. Once they were gone, she continued running. She then can see the synagogue in the distance. She sprinted the final two blocks and then sees her father at the doors holding a staff and warding off demons and subduing possessed people.

"אבא! (Dad!)"

He waved for her to enter the sacred space. Then his expression turned worried and pointed his staff towards her direction. He fired an invisible wave of energy that repelled demons about to attack her from behind. She smiled and approached him to give a hug of gratitude, "אתה בסדר? (Are you all right?)"

"יותר מכך. כעת יש לנו אנשים להגן, להאכיל ולביתה עד שתעבור סערה זו. מוודא שהחלונות והיציאות האחרות מאובטחות. מבינה? (More so. Now we have people inside to protect, feed, and house until this storm passes. Makes sure the windows and other exits are secure. Understand?)"

"קריסטל. (Crystal.)," she replied.

She rushed inside and sees families huddled in the pews of the synagogue. Those who were staffed were making sure they were safe. She then turned left to then go upstairs for the second floor to check the windows. They were all secure, then one bumped against the stained glass, she saw its skin burn, then she put her hands together to then send an energy wave across the windows like an invisible wave where they got an extra layer of shielding. She then got on the iron railing and jumped off to land on the stone floor below. She walked down the main aisle to approach her father, "החלונות מאובטחים. (The windows are secure.)"

"אנחנו יכולים להחזיק את התור למשך שבוע אם זו סערה קשה. עד אז, החדרים צריכים להיות מוכנים לאלה שנמצאים כאן. ואז עלינו להקים את המיטות עבור השאר כאן למטה.(We can hold the line for a week if this is a severe storm. Until then, the rooms need to be prepared for those here. Then we need to set up the cots for the rest down here.)"

She nodded and her father spoke to the rest of the people inside, "כל אחד! נהיה בטוחים אבל אם העדר ישבור את הדלתות והחלונות, נצטרך את כולכם כדי להגן על הקו! מבינה?(Everyone! We'll be safe but if the horde breaks down the doors and windows, we will need all of you to defend the line! Understand?)"

They all agreed and then set out to prepare the guest rooms and cots for the ground floor. The kitchens were then opened to prepare dinner. For the rest of the evening, food was served and Delilah's father provided a sermon from the Torah. Delilah guarded the main entrance with her arms cross, a seal of protection and attack lowly light underneath her feet. She observed her father but also felt a presence in the darkness. It didn't feel threatening and can see a person behind a pillar. She was comforted, it was her mother closely observing and guarding them both.

Her mother who hailed from Mount Sinai was there in the robes designated for her. She foresaw what was coming with images of a mountain, clouds, screams of unearthly hordes, then saw a winged wyvern in the northeast, then a gate opening and closing. She then slowly walked to her daughter, "אתה בסדר?(Are you well?)"

Delilah felt a lump in her throat, but kept her composure. She nodded and her mother smiled, "זה ייפסק בעוד יום וחצי. כמו שתראו.(This will cease in a day and a half. As you will see.)," her mother said cryptically.

"אז למה אתה כאן?(Then why are you here?)," she asked.

Her mother then looked toward her ex-husband, "להגן על משפחתי. אלא גם להישאר הלאה לאחר מכן לתת נבואה על המתרחש.(To protect my family. But also to stay on afterward to give a prophecy for what is coming.)"

This perked Delilah's attention and saw the expression on her mother's face change to one filled with worry. But also with a hint of anger, "קרבות, קונפליקט, כובש ...(Battles, a conflict, a conqueror…)"

MEANWHILE IN CHINA

[Plumber Special Forces-Division 20, Wudang Mountains, Tuesday, 12:55AM]

The defensive line of the experienced officers and students used plasma laser weapons to blast back the demon soldiers. But if it proved too much, another line of fighters compensated. Local monks, Shaolin and Taoist respectively fought barehanded, or used blessed weapons like bow-staffs, swords, and sword breakers to ward them off. Others positions around the mountain and base aimed arrows upward to rain down on the hordes. Ernesto was watching on with his team in the base through the window. He had his hands together with a circle of salt around his team and symbols in Latin to keep them safe.

His comrades were suspicious how this archaic method would be better than a force shield. Then a spirit who managed to phase through the wall sensed Ernesto's aura and dove to possess him, "You're mine!"

Then he hit an invisible wall yelled as it disintegrated. Ernesto closed his eyes as he felt the energy hit him like a wall and he fell on his backside. He puts his hands together and began to pray to Saint Michael. The Latin words to the aliens were strange and exotic, since universal translators when on Earth are automatically set to the lingua franca of the 21st century, English. Some of the words were indeed to them familiar to Portuguese, which Ernesto uses when talking to his mother or cousin. Right now, they were grateful his archaic methods of defense were paying off.

"This is temporary. We have to move soon and once we do, we better move like hell," Ernesto said as he unclenched his hands from prayer.

"But where can we go," the Tetramand, Lo'torno, asked as he held his heavy looking laser cannon, "Our weapons are useless in killing these fuckers!"

Ernesto thought on it for a minute and then he looked to the telepath alien, Yabli'narya, who in turn looked at him with a similar thought, "Library?"

She nodded, "Library!"

On the count of three, they made a run for it out of the hangar and into the main facility and took the direct route. The 'library' they referred to was the closed off section of Earth's esoteric knowledge due to past dealings in the recent few decades of increased activity on Plumber missions. Once there, Yabli'narya punched in the code and the metal doors opened. Inside were books, tomes, scrolls, and carved objects on spiritual protection. However, inside was to their surprise (except the telepath alien) was the fourth member of their team, a blue female alien with green eyes and a hominid form that suggests it was female. A Citrakayahan alien known as 'Fast Track' in Ben's list of alien transformations, or here, named Shighra.

"I figured you three would be here," she smirked and walked to them, "So what do we need professor," she looked to Ernesto.

He nodded, "We need some books first and foremost. Yabli'narya. Go with Shighra to Fann and tell her we her to arm herself with her special sword; the one that can fight off these bastards. Lo'torno, you're with me to carry some of what we need to the line."

"Got it," Shighra said, "Come on Yabli," she said and sped off.

Yabli'narya sighed as she hates that nickname nodded, "Ernesto. Stay safe. You too, Lo'torno," she then closed her eyes to track the Citrakayahan and ran off for her.

The Tetramand and Ernesto then gathered the books they can get. Once their bags are stuffed, they ran for the line, "Last one there has to wash our floors bathroom alone!"

Ernesto ran off, which surprised Lo'torno, "Hey! Wait up! I ain't washing that bathroom alone ya' prick!"

MEANWHILE IN TOKYO

[Nerima, 2:01AM]

Shinji swerved his car out of the way and crashed into a lamppost. He got Michiko out of the car that was dazed from the impact. They were lucky to have airbags deploy on time. Then they see the tank van that Meilin was driving with Hyun-Ae as passenger.

"You two okay," Meilin shouted as she opened the door.

"We're fine! But the car is total," Michiko shouted as Shinji hoisted her up with her right arm around him.

"Can we get on," he asked, and then sees the sliding doors open, "Get in," Meilin shouted.

The two entered and then Shinji felt searing pain in his back. He yelled and buckled under the intense heat against his back.

"Shinji! Shinji," Michiko knelt down to his level to get him up. She sees a burnt mark at the center of his back; the smell of burnt skin was revolting to her.

Then she sees a levitating demon soldier who smiled and puts his hand out to fire a shot of demonic energy. Then in a blur the demon was then attacked by two young men in a fury of fists and a swordsman unleashing a barrage of mystical energy. Then a white van came up to the side of Meilin's armored where a young man who also was with a younger man drove it. Michiko lifted Shinji up and escorted him into Meilin's van. She got in as well and the Chinese American shouted at the young man in the other van, "Now let's punch it!"

"R-Right!"

The younger man in the white van shouted at the fighting duo above, "おい！行こう！(Hey! Let's go!)"

The two unknown fighters looked down and jumped from the roofs and landed on the white van. Then they hung on as the two vans headed off into the neighborhood. The demon was about to go after them, but then it hit an invisible barrier and dissolved. Below there is a line of salt, purified to ward off evil spirits. The unknown figure looked at the departing vehicles and followed. The person got on a motorcycle and drove off to pursue the two.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

[Teatro Colón, 1:02PM]

Ben, Gwen, Kevin, and Albedo finally made it to the theater the orchestra and mystics were. Driving for half an hour from the outskirts of the city to the main urban area was bad enough, but with Gwen and Ben holding off demons as best they can was the worst of it. Kevin drove like a maniac through the streets and Albedo was the most shocked of all. His old mentor in Azmuth brushed off entities as remnants of the Null Void. But upon observation, these creatures were nothing like those from the pocket dimensional prison. Those creatures never terrified him, but these demon soldiers did. And the force field around the car did little to ward them off. So Gwen's mana powers helped, but then shattered like glass when attacked. He wondered if pure Anodites would fair better. Consciously he did, but his intuition disagreed.

Then they arrived and the four got out of the car. Gwen then hit an invisible barrier, "What the…"

Albedo's device was screaming and he pointed it at the concert hall, "Looks like multiple barriers protect this place," he said out loud.

Kevin's face looked serious, "They're definitely up for the job. No way the demons will penetrate this place. It's got no doubt Catholic, Jewish, Candomble, Protestant, Muslim, and other prayers layering this place like an onion. It will take Gwen's grandma to blast her place through."

Then Ben spoke, "Or…we walk in," he stepped forward and walked up to the door, "Gwen, Kevin, stay put. Albedo, come on."

Albedo looked at him confusedly and did so, "What are you thinking?"

"Simple. We knock," he pounded on the door for anyone inside to and heard a loud voice, "WHO IS IT?"

"It's Ben! Can I come in? I'm not alone!"

"FIRST! WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FRANCHISE OF DRINKS? QUENCH? ROBEKS? MR. SMOOTHIE? OR JAMBA JUICE?"

"What kind of question is that? Mr. Smoothie of course!"

The door opened and it was Wilfredo, "Sorry. But as you know, to let a demon entrance, one must be invited," he explained.

Ben smiled and waved it off, "No worries. Can Gwen come in?"

Wilfredo looked at her and nodded, "Hurry up! All of you!"

No time to object, they all rushed into the theater. Wilfredo closed it, just as a demon rushed for the door. But was repelled back by the layered barrier. Inside, the four followed the LMM cellist into the concert hall. There they see candles and everyone huddled on stage; strength in numbers is commonly the best policy. Ben waved, "Yo', what's up?"

"The beautiful molding," some answered in unison.

"Charming," Ben replied in a dry tone. But then Albedo spoke, "We need all of you to come with us to Bellwood to defend Plumber Headquarters and solve this predicament!"

"Well, well! Someone has put on his adult breeches," Dante's voice rang out as he jumped from the stage and landed on the floor and walked up to Albedo.

"Why should we go? Give us a good reason," Dante asked the albino individual, "The moment we leave this place, we are going to be attacked immediately."

Mohammad and Dania looked on and then Ahmed spoke, "Well, yes and no. We should be safe if we stick together and not do any individual heroics out of the city," Ahmed spoke as he held his Koran.

Dante looked at him and then returned his gaze upon Albedo. The albino young man looked at Dante and spoke, "Mr. Lascano. The reason is we require your collective expertise in dealing with demonic forces that have taken over Bellwood. All of you are on file with the knowledge to aid in or predicament."

Dante was already suspicious, "Where is Danny in this matter? Shouldn't he be the one to call upon for aid?"

Albedo however nodded a no; "He is facing similar forces in his city. In addition, other local sources for help are handling their affairs. Therefore, unable to help us."

Dante listened and was somewhat satisfied with the answer, but not quite convinced. Then Mohammad got up and approached the two and looked directly at the albino individual, "And are you sure the mystics in my orchestra will assist you all?"

Albedo nodded but then relayed to him what is the situation. Koji was in Japan, Fatma was in Turkey, Delilah was in Israel, and the other mystical allies are in France. Their magi acquaintances are elsewhere across Europe. Upon hearing this, Albedo slumped but then replied with, "We'll make do. Unless we can get to them in time."

"What's the time window to solve this problem," Wilfredo then spoke out loud, "Usually for things like this, there is a window of opportunity before it closes and we're all fucked."

Kevin and Gwen heard this and then almost by coincidence, Kevin got a beep on his badge. He pressed it and up came a hologram. The projected image showed a timer counting down with three locations; Taiwan, Bellwood, and a third they did not expect, Idaho. As he found this weird as did the rest, the countdown now read this: 34:09:23.

Wilfredo looked at the time remaining and turned to Cecilia next to her, "Isso é tempo suficiente? (Is that enough time?"

"Nem uma maldita chance. (Not a chance in hell.)"

Dante understood enough from the exchange. And in the subtext, their own talents won't be enough. Not even close. They needed the others. He felt helpless and no ideas came up, except one; "You two!"

Wilfredo and Cecilia looked at him as he spoke, "Contact the others! If there is a chance, they can use the rainbow bridge or some other means to come to Bellwood! And if you can, contact the magi as well! We're going to need everyone on deck to tackle the main source of this issue, understood?"

Wilfredo and Cecilia looked at each other and then at him, "Ten steps ahead of you! And everyone," Wilfredo spoke and turned to everyone, "It's your choice to head into the fray or stay here protected!"

But the answer he got was the obvious, "Hell no! You guys aren't going there alone!"

Even Mohammad and his wife were against in seeing the two mystics and pilots going to Bellwood outnumbered. Strength in numbers and after going through so much over the years, they're not going to separate now when things took a turn for the weird and dangerous. Mohammad then snapped his fingers, "Hey may not help us per say. But we can use the help!"

"Danny," Asuka asked.

Mohammad nodded, "Danny."

Albedo then looked confused, "But I just said…"

"We know young man," Mohammad spoke as he speed-dialed Danny's parents number, "But I need to be sure myself."

As everyone else in the orchestra dialed their families on where they'll be going and who will stay behind, he waited for a dial tone and then got it, "Hello? Hi there, Mrs. Fenton! How are you? ...I'm well thank you. And yourself? …Oh stop with the flattery. My wife is here."

Dania smacked her husband's arm playfully. Mohammad then continued to talk with Danny's mother and catching up a bit. Then the conversation changed when he asked, "What do you mean your son is not in Philadelphia?"

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

[Lost River Range, Idaho, 10:05AM]

The Fenton Cruiser landed within sight of the Rocky Mountains. The remote range was surprising as Tucker was tracking a signal that was beeping in the Western US. He shared this with his friends and using his intuition that the demonic appearances and mysterious energy webbings in the sky were connected, they gambled in coming to this part of the country. Danny, Sam, Tucker, and Valerie exited the craft and walked out.

"So what's here," Sam asked Tucker as he looked on his device to track the mysterious signal.

"I don't know. The signal had a low radio frequency similar to what the Plumbers use. It's so low, it would barely be caught by low jack radio. Hell, White Sands won't pick it up. But I did using a computer to reverse the signal to the one we use to track ghosts and other anomalies."

Danny then spoke, "So basically, whatever you caught, it is dead on being a cursed object," but then Valerie interjected with a darker possibility.

"Or worse. It could even be a demonically possessed object. And if the Plumbers are involved, whoever hid it here is scared it would fall into the wrong hands. Or," then a realization hit her like brick wall.

She looked at Sam who was in a train of thought. She seemed to have come to a similar realization. Danny and Tucker looked on confused but slowly catching on. Then seconds later they gasped, "No! They wouldn't!"

Danny exclaimed but Tucker spoke, "Why not? To be honest, Dante and I have thought on it before."

The girls looked at him, "Why," Valerie asked.

Tucker's face turned serious, "Insurance. So none of us get caught off guard again."

The weight of his words rang true for the group. Danny then looked around, "Something is seriously wrong. Or rather, what isn't here?"

"What," Sam asked but Danny looked at her, "Come on Sam. Concentrate as I've taught you. Try to sense anything ghostly or otherwise here."

He told her and she nodded. She closed her eyes. As Danny said, controlled breathing and centering her mind as in meditation to sense the environment. He held her hand and with added assistance from his powers, she can now see her surroundings and the energy fields. She felt her mind leaving her body and can see herself below, Danny beside her, and Tucker with Valerie looking at her. But they were now standing still. Save for Danny whose ghost persona looked up at her and spoke, "Concentrate and look, listen and learn."

She nodded and looked around. She then saw something; an invisible well of energy emanating from the ground in the distance underneath a hill. She moved her consciousness forward to see but then hit something. That snapped her awake and let go of Danny's hand in shock. She looked at him and then the others, "Something is dark here. Demonic and…secretive; I think someone is hiding this from us."

"But why would the Plumbers do this," Valerie asked, "Unless, its for their own means and will do anything to keep it in house."

As she explained the probable reasoning here, Danny spoke, "Well, we're going to need help," he transformed into his ghost hero persona and puts his hands up to open a ghost portal.

What came out was the ally he alluded to. The ghost he fought before but as mysterious, only coming when the need called for it; Anamnesis. The demon-looking ghost of memory came through and now, it wore burgundy robes with black motifs, as well as a mask that covered half his face that had a smile. His face beneath was as serious as the current situation.

"Why summon me now," the ghost asked in a guttural tone, "Unless the energy here reminds you of people met before and allied a few times."

The four listened and Valerie spoke, "What have the Plumbers hidden here?"

"Those from the stars have hidden something with the aid of a human who is scared to know the truth. Certain truths humanity have forgotten or held on through tales."

Danny grew frustrated at the ghost's rhetoric. It was vague and that sort of help wasn't going to help now. So he pressed the entity further, "Okay! We know the Plumbers are hiding something. Who did it?"

"I have said it. An ally has done this," the ghost said.

"Max," Tucker said and the three looked at him, "Very good young sir," the ghost replied.

The ghost floated past them and outstretched a hand where a black hand with claws instead of nails scratched the air. The air tore and opened a portal. Inside they can see what was emanating from the ground. A piece of pottery, Japanese in style with a Buddha in the lotus position painted on it. But for something holy in appearance exuding dark energy was off putting at best, and terrifying at worst. The ghost outstretched his hand into the portal and opened his hand, muttered words incomprehensible to the four young humans and the object glowed red. The ghost sensed what the energy wanted in the object and the ghost granted it. Uttering more words, it glowed orange and disappeared in a flash.

The energy around the area soon dissipated but whatever remained was like an imprint in the energy field. Danny didn't like how it felt he was standing in a ditch, metaphorically speaking before seeing Anamnesis closing the portal with its claw. The ghost then turned to the four, "The object is no longer here. But now elsewhere, at its desired location."

"Where the allies are," Sam spoke, "Where Max is."

The ghost gave a sinister looking smile of satisfaction towards the young woman, "Your third eye is opening, that is good. Now I must go, to a place to see this game to its end."

It floated past them and returning to a portal Danny made, but was stopped by him, "Then what should we do then? If he did this…what's the right choice?"

The ghost turned its head to face him, "Let the gifted ones sort this out. All you four can do is assisting them," it spoke and then vanished through the portal. The portal closed leaving the four in question alone, with only the wind filling the silence.

The four looked at each other, nodded in silent agreement and boarded their craft once again. Once started it levitated they flew southeast. Instead of using a portal to head there, they flew normally, in case other places needed assistance in fighting off demons. But Bellwood was where they needed to be for this to end.

The next few hours were a flight from Idaho to Texas. Along the way, the Philadelphia Four fought against scouting demon hordes across the skies, the mountains and fields below, as well as testing their equipment to their limits. Demonic energies are different from ectoplasmic energies, as if an energy blast from them is a spiked mace against an unprotected soldier. It hurts. It damages their shields, and Danny had gotten injured in the process. Across the Atlantic, the situation is hardly better with the magi and mystics holding the line and for many of them, enjoying this 'stretching of limbs' so to speak, but angry overall on why this is happening at all. Nevertheless, the magi of the British Isles, the mystic allies of LMM are in France are planning to track those they know to find the source of the problem; they have an inkling on whom to blame for this, but so far, no evidence. The Plumber soldiers and recruits in China are hardly fairing better, with only a few tools to utilize and local monks to aid them, the fight is reaching a stalemate.

LOOK OUT FOR PART TWO

Had to cut this short, otherwise this would turn out like the debacle I had with the massive New York battle. I'm still new in depicting battle scenes that are both grand and intimate. Ten years of writing I should have gotten this down by now. You never stop learning I suppose.

Read, review, critique, and I'll see you shortly.