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.

13. JULY 2013 PART TROIS

LES MUSICIENS DU MONDE

A CROSSOVER STORY

2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Here comes part three of this chapter that once again, ran away from me. But you know, I'm beginning to worry less about deadlines and work more on quality of the writing. But I do dislike postponing the deadline repeatedly due to life circumstances or my own procrastination. In addition, I've been extensively planning a surprise for what is to come for the tenth chapter, and perhaps do a side project unrelated to this story. More on that later, and in general, evolving the themes and characters in this story as best I can. And with help from friends, it's making this a smoother process than when I first started this story. With that noted, here is part three. Enjoy.

~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

JULY 2013, WEEK THREE

Bellwood, TX, USA

[7:30AM]

Those inside the gym ate quickly, dressed up, many with clothes from the day before and brief showers in the locker rooms. Mohammad and Dania looked at the young men and women with a map of town sprawled on the wooden floor. A phone call came in and Dante answered the satellite phone, it was Shinji. After a quick discussion, he hung up and relayed the information.

"Everyone is accounted for and heading west from Port Arthur as we speak. And…"

The phone rang again and he answered. The call was short and quick and then he hung again to continue, "Delilah is with Julie as we speak on the Mechamorph ship and will be here sooner than the others."

"Then that means we are about ready to party with the uninvited guests out there," Wilfredo said as he wrapped his rosary beads around his left and right wrists.

Cecilia lit candles around the gymnasium, each one with a picture of Catholic iconography: St. Michael the Archangel, Virgin Mary, Jesus Christ, the Boy Jesus, or the Virgin with the infant Jesus in her arms. She looked at him with a smile. She then turned to the others who will remain behind to man down central command.

"For those who will be the first targets will remain here. Wilfredo and I have blessed and laid down protection seals so nothing evil can get in or out," she looked to Christine, Zane, Alberto, Jang, Gilberto, Ahmed, Juliette, Edmond, and Zach.

She continued, "You guys stay here and relay what the police, EMT crews, firefighters, and even the National Guard's movements. Plumber communication would perhaps be masked from our technology."

Kevin coughed and they looked at him, "Not necessarily," he then connected a small device to the computers hooked up and then a new screen popped up on the monitors, "This will keep track on all of the officers in town. Including us."

He pointed to himself, Gwen, and Ben. The LMM members staying behind and nodded, "No problem," Gilberto said in a determined tone.

Then, Asuka spoke out loud, "Sticking together is paramount to increase our chances of safety; namely those of us who will head out to do reconnaissance around town. So we'll go out into teams of two going from west to east, then north to south. If you any one of our teams thinks we cannot handle a threat, fall back and return here to regroup."

Mohammad then spoke to address everyone, "Everyone. This is no longer Bellwood outside of Houston. We are in Beirut, 1979. Out there is the war and here is our base. Use whatever it takes to do your intelligence gathering missions. Whatever weapons you have, utilize them. Don't hesitate. Don't show fear. The person next to you is your brother and sister in arms. Understood?"

His LMM members about to go out said in unison, "Understood."

Danny and his friends nodded, "We're in," Sam said with a smile as did Tucker, Valerie, and Danny of course.

Ben, Kevin, Gwen, and Albedo looked at each other whom now felt they were about to do something rare: work together with people they for some time did not like. But now they were with few options. With no other option available, they all had to work together. So the Bellwood quartet nodded in silent agreement, which Mohammad took it for what it was worth.

Those who were about to head out into the fray stepped out of the school's gymnasium divided into three respective teams with code names: Ben's Team was 'Bellwood', Danny's Team was 'Philly', and lastly, LMM was 'New York'. Ben, Danny, and Dante looked at each other, nodded, and the three teams headed west towards the downtown area of town.

Ben and crew got into Kevin's car and sped off, but Danny's team allowed LMM to enter the Phantom Cruiser and they flew off. Mohammad and others looked on. He turned to the rest who stayed behind, "Now, let's get to work."

MEANWHILE IN PLUMBER ACADEMY

The hooded figure in armor looked on at the lonely Sun in the distance. But he can see the events going on with the players set to resolve this issue. He smiled and chuckled as one of his lieutenants looked at him.

"What is it you find amusing? If the human children can't solve this, the gate in Bellwood will expand and allow a full demon infestation to cover the world and plunge it into a long night."

The hooded figure turned his head and spoke, "It's because of that they'll succeed. And it won't be a long night. More like righting the wrongs committed. Purging the world of the alien presence would be a fitting punishment for one's hubris."

The lieutenant nodded, "It is."

"No it's not!"

The two turned to Magister Hulka who was in chains. He was bruised and fatigued, but was still alert. He growled under his breath, "We're the only galactic force in this backwater of a quadrant to protect you all from real threats across the galaxy! Wipe away the Plumbers from Earth and you're leaving humanity wide open for annihilation! Magister Tennyson is your only shot at preventing that!"

The main hooded figure walked down the steps, "And what if I told you that the human officer in question is responsible for this entire predicament?"

"Then you're lying! Everyone's traditions taught us that your kind is never meant to be trusted! Fucking demon!"

The hooded figure took off its hood and what was revealed was a skeletal head. In the alien's eyes, it's the skull of his race. But to the human officers there who stayed put or in chains for resisting, they saw a human skull where in the eye sockets was pitch-blackness. The figure spoke again, "I am no demon, Magister Hulka. I am what everyone knows between the planes."

A human officer spoke who was standing up and took a few steps forward but remained a respectable distance away, "You're…you are the guardian between the world of the living and the dead! Aren't you?"

The skull turned to the officer, "Close. I am the guardian that makes sure the planes of existence do not converge. Living mortals live on this side. Demons and angels live in their realms."

When angels were mentioned, there was silence. Angels even for aliens were a myth, a powerful, foreboding myth. Beings from another plane of existence where they were on par with demons, but their mere presence signals an end to a planet's species or the herald of a new age. The only advanced beings that have witnessed angels in full form were Anodites and Celestialsapiens. And neither encounter was welcomed. Celestialsapiens went as far as to ban the mentioning of angels in their society. Anodites fly away from a planet in fear when a species uses a technique to open or close a portal to both angelic and demonic planes.

"Angels don't exist," Hulka stubbornly refused to believe this. But it was more out of fear than outright disbelief, "They can't!"

The skeletal being turned back to him, "Oh they do. And believe on what I am about to disclose," he leaned in and whispered something to Hulka.

Immediately the color went from the Magister's face. He looked petrified and looked at the skeletal figure before, "That's…that's not true…"

"All souls of mortals go to one place. What makes you think yours is any different from humanity's?"

He then got up and went back to the window facing the distant Sun. He stood beside his lieutenant and both looked on at the lonely star, "They will face some obstacles."

The lieutenant responded, "And one will use the key with the help of his allies…the pattern is presenting itself."

The skeletal figure nodded and both resumed looking at the star, "Obstacles and patterns are intertwined," he said lastly to his right hand.

The two then sensed two speeding energy trails in space heading for Earth, "Looks like the last key component has arrived," the lieutenant said in a bemused tone.

The figure in charge nodded, "The girl's grandmother has brought two along to assist. Anodites, powerful, noble, but short-sighted fools."

"But necessary for the mechanism as described."

"Yes they are."

MEANWHILE BACK ON EARTH

[Bellwood, TX, USA, 7:45AM]

With reinforcements still a ways away from town, LMM and company are on their own and so far, their reconnaissance mission is going less than smoothly. Flying fire sprites immediately ambushed Danny's team. Their magical fires damaged the hull of the cruiser and they made an emergency landing in a parking lot in downtown. They evacuated and they made an impromptu defensive formation. LMM's team under Dante's watch rushed to their aid. Danny ordered Wilfredo and Valerie to scope out the area within a five-block radius. The two refused but then Wilfredo was taken up and abducted by one rogue sprite. Valerie was then ambushed and launched into a nearby office building. From a distance, the Bellwood team looked on; Ben then transformed into Jet Ray and flew upward to help out Danny and Valerie.

Eda hijacked cop car to drive across the city with Kevin in his muscle car. She struggled to keep up, as it was not as modified as hers back home, let alone Kevin's. With the radio inside and the computer, she can keep tabs on local police communication and those back at the gymnasium. Meanwhile, Gwen in Kevin's car was concentrating on getting her grandmother to come to their aid via the mana field, or aura field as esoterics call it.

Her eyes glowed and she grinned, "Grandma Verdona is coming!"

"When? Cause if you hadn't noticed, Eda and I are dodging these fire attacks like our lives depended on it," then a big hit of fire struck the car, which was only protected by the magic runes engrained in it.

"Damn it," then his radio crackled and Eda spoke, "Kevin! We can't keep this up! We need to call in Danny for backup!"

"Just hang in there, Kramer! Help is on the way," he hollered out.

"From who?"

Then a magenta beam of energy struck the horde of fire sprites. They disintegrated upon contact. A female magenta being of energy levitated down and she wasn't alone. She as accompanied by two male magenta beings of energy that then attacked the other sprites, while the cars below halted to a stop. Kevin and Eda rolled down their windows to look up, "Anodites?"

Eda called out to Kevin who nodded in return. Gwen got out of the car and waved to her grandmother, "Grandma! Grandma! Down here!"

The female smiled and floated down to Gwen's level, "Dear Gwendolyn, very clever to contact me through the mana field. Your powers are developing a lot more gracefully then the last time we met when your cousin Sunny came here."

"Thanks for coming. We got a problem," Gwen started to explain but the evidence around them spoke for it self.

Verdona and her two Anodite allies looked around and one male spoke to Verdona, "If this is what I think it is, then we don't have much time! We have to help your granddaughter and her allies before the generals come!"

"They're already here," Gwen said and pointed up at the buildings with four demon generals looking down upon them.

One of them levitated down and was now in sight of Gwen, "You've returned for another dance, Ms. Firefly?"

Verdona glared her eyes at the demon and flared up in energy. She levitated and prepared for a bout, "No one threatens my kin. You hear me, you foul beast from the pit!"

The demon barely raised an eyebrow, looking at the mature Anodite and her two allies, "Three more for the party I see. As I have said to the red head, you're…"

Asuka fired a shell towards the demon, which caused the skin to bleed. It screamed and it turned its head. The bullets she had on her were blessed by holy water before being loaded into the magazine of her rifle. Asuka fired multiple shots before abandoning her rifle (thanks to Kevin's inventory he kept it), as the demon fired an energy blast at her. She dodged in the knick of time before she jumped and landed in a dumpster. She got up and ran out of there.

She radioed Eda, "Drive like hell!"

Eda revved the car's engine, "Yo'! Hier drüben, du Fotze! (Yo'! Over here you cunt!)," she screamed to the demon, "Willst du was anfangen? Dann lass uns! (Wanna start some shit? Then let's!)"

She sped off and the demon then flew after her with a roar. Kevin took this as the two Germans' way of providing distraction. Kevin dragged Gwen back into the car and closed the door. He revved the engines and he looked up at Verdona and her two Anodite allies.

"Scary grandma! I need you to watch our back and look after the others doing reconnaissance around town! Those not in hiding or possessed! And don't get possessed yourselves either! If that happens we're fucked! Can you do that?"

She blinked and nodded, "Anything for Gwendolyn's boyfriend," and with that Kevin drove off after Eda to give her some backup.

Verdona looked at the two male Anodites and off they went. Everyone else was basically running quick attacks and running for their lives, on foot or hijacked cars. LMM is beginning to realize that without further backup, they're sitting ducks and may have a life of half an hour or an hour maximum.

Meanwhile, Wilfredo landed from a height of twelve stories using his aura powers to create a seal to safely land himself in front of a botanic store specializing in traditional remedies from Latin America. The landing was rough so he had to shake off the impact. The sprites were coming for him. He broke the window and went in the store. He found a crucifix, some Palo Santo wood, and a lighter. He went out placed the Palo Santo wood around him, he lit up the metal crucifix with his energy and had it float in the air. He then concentrated the energy on one point and lit the wood. He then formed a seal around himself, chanted in Latin to summon the power to decimate the sprites coming for him. In one move, the energy projected from him went out like a series of waves that burned the sprites to ash. The seal calmed and the fire around him was calmed.

He took out his radio, "We have to fall back. We can't do reconnaissance in our current state. Copy."

He got static, "I repeat we need to fall back! Over!"

Again he got static, so he tried a different channel, "Mohammad do you copy," but he got static. He cursed as he looked up at the dark rolling clouds and low rumblings.

Then he heard noise down an alleyway and he went around the corner to investigate. As he tiptoed his way he saw several Plumber officers. He counted seven from his position, but he suspected there are several more he couldn't see. So he took off his shoes to become stealthy in his movements. As he got closer he can pick up a full conversation and even can hear Max Tennyson who was out of earshot.

"LMM and their Philadelphia allies are making their moves as we speak. Two of the former pilots are present as well. If this plays well we can recruit the pilots into the force," Max's voice said.

"But the rest of the orchestra will not cooperate. With a former soldier as a conductor, and mystics certainly will not cooperate with us. Especially since they will catch wind of what is going on at the moment," an officer spoke.

"If we get the two pilots, then the third will no doubt join. And with the three in our ranks, the rest will follow suit," Max assured him.

"So basically, LMM will be managed by us to conduct missions for us across this planet. It is a method to control their exuberant nature," another spoke up and Wilfredo can barely see that alien's appearance.

"It is what we have to do. Ben and his friends we can trust to carry out their duties with little difficulty. But LMM and Danny must be controlled to make sure they don't overstep their boundaries while we conduct our missions. We don't want what happened in 1986 again," Max relayed and for Wilfredo, the underlying subtext was telling.

"The Soviet Branch of the Plumbers fucked us over back then! And we are barely on good terms with them," an older officer said which Max had to calm down.

"I know. But the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That applies to those we deem anomalies to the order of things. This situation can be handled if things don't get too out of hand."

Wilfredo was growing more upset the longer he listened to this. He had to go and alert the others on what Max Tennyson was really hoping to accomplish here. But then he noticed a shadow on the wall. Before he was able to get into a stance he was knocked out and then the alien officer picked him up and slumped him over his shoulder. Max heard what happened and looked at the unconscious Wilfredo. All he could do was muster his men to head back to the base; the only portion that's safe to access.

Wilfredo was then stirred away by a splash of water. He found himself chained to a steel wall with energy cuffs. He struggled to break free, but found his powers were disrupted and Max approached him, "Don't struggle. We've calibrated them to repel your powers. However, it did take some dialing in due to esoteric energies are all over the spectrum."

"And you are looking to strong arm my friends to fight for you guys if this situation goes along with what you want. Sorry to disappoint you, it won't."

Max arches an eyebrow, "You are in no position to bargain. This anomalous situation has gone on for far too long. Your escapades last year across Europe and then New York have put several operations on the red. You took my granddaughter and a fellow Plumber on unsanctioned missions across several countries, and practically ripped New York a new asshole with your magi friends. And now in Bellwood, you are all in our territory and we will ensure whatever plans you all have will fall along our parameters."

"Even if this is your fault?"

Max was silent, "What do you know?"

"Intuition. Something about this whole thing must have been related to 1986. And whatever will be revealed shortly is not going to look well for you all. And you Max, say goodbye to one of your limbs."

Then he got a gut punch that knocked the wind out of him and Max looked to his officers, "Keep him here. Stand watch. But if you have to evacuate due to the demons, do it. Leave him here until this mess is resolved."

"Yes sir!"

And with that the guards stood in front of the cell. Inside where Wilfredo was chained and to his quiet surprise, the person he healed years ago was there as well; Michael Morningstar. He looked around and out to the hallway outside the cell, he can only guess what is really going on out there in the world. He also wondered how his cousin is faring in China.

Wudang Mountains, China

[Plumber Special Forces Division 20, 9:45PM]

The dark energy dissipated from the area when the situation in Taiwan was somewhat rectified by local priests. A Shaolin monk approached Fann where both stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the damaged site that is her base. Both were unhappy about the state of affairs, and this did not concern the demons.

"您已經超越了1986年達成的共識。 (You've overstepped your boundaries as agreed upon in 1986.)," the monk spoke to her and she nodded.

"我告訴他們這是一個傻瓜的差事。收集深奧的遺物進行研究，以開發防禦甚至進攻的設備，以防萬一深奧的事實證明水管工在地球上工作時遇到問題。 (I have told them this was a fool's errand. Collecting esoteric relics for study in order to develop defensive and even offensive devices in case esoterics prove a problem for Plumbers to do their job here on Earth.)," she explained.

The monk nodded, "我明白這一點。捍衛您和您的病房的命令也是如此。但是，您的上級和同事的處事方式表明，他們幾乎沒有考慮到通過多個命令和官僚機構統治大陸的神秘法律。 (I do understand that. So does the order that have come to defend you and your wards. But the way your superiors and colleagues have gone about it shows they have little to no regard for esoteric law that governs the continents via several orders and bureaucracies.)"

"我知道。 (I know.)," Fann was exasperated, "我知道。我將因與那些違反我警告的人的隸屬關係而受到懲罰。多虧了這裡一些新兵的快速思考和您的幫助，這個基礎才得以免於被惡魔夷為平地。 (I know. I will be punished for my affiliation with those who have gone against my warnings. And thanks to some quick thinking from some recruits here, and your help, this base was saved from being razed by the demons.)"

The monk nodded, "但這還沒有結束。如您所見... (But it's not over. As you can see…)," he pointed to the night sky and the clouds remained, "台灣關閉了第一扇大門，我懷疑第二扇大門在西方關閉了。也許是美國。因此，通過排除法，第三門仍然打開。 (Taiwan closed the first gate, and I suspect a second is closed in the west. America perhaps. So by process of elimination, the third gate is still open.)"

Fann nodded and with growing dread she spoke, "而且它的震中。麥克斯可能已經藏起來的遺物現在在那裡。門戶將打開，該地方將是獅子的窩。沒有人會離開該網站還活著。(And it's the epicenter. A relic that Max may have had hidden is now there. The portal will open and that place will be a lion's den. No one will leave that site alive.)"

The monk's eyes then turned white and Fann looked at him. Within second the monk returned to focus and looked at her, "援助已經到來。而一個有鑰匙關閉主門戶。 "無效鎖"。(Aid has come. And one has the key to close the main portal. The 'Void Lock'.)," the mere mentioning of it caused her to widen her eyes.

The two then heard steps behind them and it was Ernesto and his team, "Did you say the Void Lock," Ernesto questioned with what can be described as shock and horror.

The monk nodded and then spoke in English to the young man, "I have. It is the key to resolve this problem and render the relics useless from further exploitation."

Ernesto nodded and looked up at the sky. He felt growing dread for his cousin Wilfredo, no doubt in the lion's den now in Bellwood. He tried to concentrate and allow his mind to connect with his cousin. He dove into his mind, below is plane of mental defenses and reached a door in his subconscious. He opened it and found his cousin's mind. It was a mixture of duress and calm, with wind and clouds above with the moon peeping through. He also saw broken statues of women leading the way and then they disappeared to reveal a platform where a giant scorpion was laid with Latin and Hebrew runes around it. It glowed red and the script itself glowed white with black hues around them. It sparkled with energy, as if repressed by an outside force.

He woke up and looked at his superior, Fann, "What's going on," he asked.

She looked uneasy and then looked at the monk. He nodded cryptically and Fann looked at Ernesto and his team, "A complicated mess."

Bellwood, TX, USA

[Plumber Headquarters, 9:10AM]

It's been an hour since captured. It's been minutes since the Plumbers left him in a cell with of all inmates, Michael Morningstar. He was frustrated and then the lights went out. Emergency lights kicked in via backup generators. He was groggy and barely aware of his surroundings. His aura energy was disrupted. Energy cuffs were put on his wrists and ankles to prevent him from leaving. He even tried to use his internal reserves to try and break free, but it felt too distant for him to focus on. Then he felt something. And it felt…good?

The waves of pleasure emanated from his groin, spreading to his legs, up towards his abdomen, and then the rest of his body. He started to shiver and then with a jolt he was awake and looked down. It was the succubus he 'banished' back in New York last year. Now looking like a blonde with a slender build, wore a tank top that showed her perky breasts, shorts that accentuated her tight looking ass, and Converse sneakers. She smiled as she took her mouth off of his cock with a pop, "You're awake! Good!"

"Hi…Are you just passing through?"

She nodded in a yes, "Since you and I had that dance back in New York, been working part-time as a bartender at Club D. Then I heard this was going on so I figured you'd be here. And I was right," she said cheerily as she resumed to sucking his dick.

Knowing the pleasure from a succubus/demon was immense he knew how it worked. So he played it calmly as best he could and kept the conversation going, "That club just outside of Brooklyn near Riker's Island?"

She nodded as she then fondled his balls and sucked him off. When he groaned to climax, she suckled off his seed and then let go with a moist pop. She then dried him off with a wet cloth and stood up. She grinned at his still erect cock, throbbing with desire. Meanwhile Michael looked on and was just flabbergasted at the display, "Is that how demons greet humans?"

"Only when both parties have history together Mr. Morningstar. Morningstar, that is a classic name. Especially since it reminds me of my overseer."

"Overseer," then it hit Michael like a tidal wave, "You're saying Lucifer is real?"

"Like's it's a surprise," the demon brushed it off, "You've been to church or read poetry right?"

Wilfredo sighed as he then looked at the demon, "As much as I am glad you're here," he said dryly, "Can you undo the energy cuffs so I can get out?"

She looked back at Wilfredo with a grin, "Oh but I just said hello, dear. I wanted to give you a hug as well," she said cryptically.

He caught on, "You're not gonna ride me. Not since the blonde there wants to do more than watch," he quipped and she laughed.

"He's a cuckold at the moment. But you and I can give an encore worthy performance right," she said as she set to lower her shorts, revealing her womanhood looking shaved, tight, and moist.

She went over to lower his pants, grinning, and straddling him with her womanhood over his cock, "You're sword is sharp and ready for battle. Let me sheathe it for you, my sweet."

He shivered when she spoke like that, even more when the head of his cock parted her nether lips. Then just as he was about to get a ride from the demon, his eyes rolled back and saw an image of the magi having arrived. He then saw Hanford carrying a chest with markings glowing with energy. Unusual script he's vaguely familiar with and then, bright light in the sky with winds and rumblings.

"The lock…" he whispered just as she was about to be pierced by his cock, she looked at him with an incredulous expression, "What?"

"The lock…the void lock…" he whispered and she turned around to look at him in the eye, "You lie."

"No."

She then attempted to strike fear into him by slamming her right hand into the metal wall behind him. Her hand turned into a demonic claw and this display of strength startled Michael who looked on in confusion and fear. But was annoyed that Wilfredo looked as calm as ever. He also saw the demon kneeling down to kiss his cock before tucking it his trousers and redressing herself. Her clawed hand returned to looking like a normal human hand.

"I trust you. And as much as I know what that entails, I really don't want to experience that again. So," she then ripped apart the energy cuffs like one would to west tissue paper.

"I'll help you out and we need a third party member," she then changed her tone of voice and faced Michael. The blonde American was not scared, he was petrified with fear, unable what to think or say at the moment. Then with a shudder, she too ripped apart his energy cuffs.

"You're coming along handsome. And I won't take no for an answer," she leaned in and smiled menacingly.

"Girl, focus! We are twenty levels down and we need to at least get to the main headquarters up above to get out in time," Wilfredo said as he rubbed his wrists to get rid of the tension and feeling his energy levels returning to normal.

She walked past him and headed for the door. She punched it open. The guards aimed their plasma laser guns at her but she quickly repelled them back with energy. She then gave them a dark gaze that put them to sleep with dreams of lust. She smiled at their blissed expressions and turned to the young men behind her who witnessed her display of power.

"They'll be fine in a few hours."

"Sure. Now it's time to get back to the surface," Wilfredo cracked his neck to relieve some tension and stretched his limbs.

"Are you sure you want me along? I mean I could finish you off now," Michael turned to Wilfredo with an upset look, to be helped by him again. He wanted nothing more but to defeat Wilfredo here and now.

Wilfredo looked at him, "Don't. Cause I don't think you would like to be here when the lock snaps shut," he told him and the succubus demon approached the two and put her hands on her hips.

"I'm only helping you two because of what handsome here saw," she pointed to Wilfredo and continued, "So let's drop the display of male dominance and come along."

The two young men nodded to her and then reluctantly nodded at one another. The two followed her to the end of the hall that revealed the grand ascent upward to the main floor of the base. Below was an enveloping darkness. Michael thought that was odd, considering he would be able to see the bottom. But then he heard demonic voices below and that made his hair stand on end. The succubus went behind the two and placed her hands behind them, "You first."

She said gleefully and pushed the two out into the darkness. Wilfredo summoned a seal below him to levitate himself upward. Michael then pointed his hands downward and propelled himself upward with his energy. The succubus unfolded her wings and is now flying upward with the two young men. She turned to the two, "When this is over, do you want a threesome!"

"Carina! Enough," Wilfredo shouted.

"Ah you remember my old name? That's sweet. Maybe when this is over you can come to my club for a 'private show' and…" she said in a playful tone, which caused Michael to roll his eyes as the three ascended upward, and her still talking to Wilfredo.

As the three went upward, down below in the dark pit was a secret. A secret Max Tennyson has wanted to hide away for nearly three decades. A small bit of pottery where dark energy is emanating from it like a swirling cloud. Then at the base of the piece of pottery, a crack formed and then as the three above are making their way to the surface, a beam of dark energy came shooting upward. The energy past the three and it jetted into the air, splitting into four beams and those beams then hit the four demon generals. In the distance, the National Guard, and near the city's limits, the police too are seeing what is going on and within them all one emotion was felt: fear.

BACK ON THE SURFACE

Bob and company finally made it to the outskirts of Bellwood in the suburban region. Julie's ship was above and for the time they traveled with the car below to provide extra protection. Those in the car got out and Julie with Delilah exited their ship, which then turned its Mechamorph alien form again. It crawled to Julie and behaved interestingly in Delilah's eyes as a dog. Julie pet its head and Delilah was amused by this. Then the girls heard Fatma approaching them.

"Delilah! You're here," Fatma exclaimed and hugged the Israeli and she returned it briskly.

"Indeed I am," she said and Fatma shook Julie's hand, "Nice to meet you Ms. Yamamoto," she said and Julie shook it back.

The Mechamorph alien wagged its tail around the three ladies happily. Then The Japanese with the Chinese American approached them, "Nice to see this party is prepared and used to unusual activity," Meilin spoke up.

"And a fun crowd despite the seriousness," Bob said from the wheel as Meilin got out her stuff and closed the door.

"And before I forget," he continued, he popped open the trunk and inside were armaments for her and extra guns. Meilin's eyes widened and she thanked him. He brushed it off politely and while she unloaded the supplies for the fight, the four Japanese looked around and for them, it was their first time in Texas.

"私たちはアメリカにいます！あなたはそれがどれほど素晴らしいか知っていますか？(We're in America! You know how awesome is that?)," Takuya exclaimed as he stretched his arms and Ryo looked at him as he relieved tension in his legs with squats.

"知っています。私たちがここに着いてから、あなたはそれを叫び続けました。(We know. You kept exclaiming that since we got here.)," he said dryly while Takuya brushed him off.

Takuya then looked at Julie. He noticed her pink sporty attire and white sneakers; he was dumbstruck, "うわあ！誰が可愛い？ (Whoa! Who's the babe?)"

He strutted up to her where she was with Fatma and Delilah. He smirked and put his hands on his hips, "なぜ、キューティーハロー。 (Why, hello there cutie.)"

Julie looked at him, "すみません？ (Excuse me?)"

"私の名前は外藤卓也です。君は？(My name is Takuya Soto. What's yours?)," he asked and Julie inwardly rolled her eyes at the obvious attempt at flirting.

Ryo groaned where he was as Takuya continued, "戦闘が始まるとき、危険なことになるだろう。安全に行ってプロに任せてみませんか。たぶん、後であなたと私がすることができます... (It's going to be dangerous when the fighting starts. Why don't you go to safety and let the pros take care of it. Maybe later you and I can…)"

Ship then growled at him and he jumped back in surprise. It then crawled to Julie's feet in a protective stance. Shinji walked past Takuya, "Forgive me Ms. Yamamoto. I brought him along due to his expertise in the martial arts. He'll be in line. I assure you."

Julie relaxed in Shinji's presence and nodded, "Thank you," he then grabbed Takuya's arm and dragged him back to the others as Julie along with Fatma and Delilah came forward as well. Ship crawled up Julie to perch itself on her right shoulder.

Bob honked his car horn, "It's been fun kids! Now go take care of this and who knows," he started his car up again, "You all may get a check from this!"

He then began driving off, "This is Bob from accounting signing off," he shouted as his car headed eastward.

Shinji and company waved him off. He then turned to the others and gave his plan, "Okay. We are here in Bellwood. Takuya and Ryo, you both will go with Meilin to the city's center. Emiko and Koji, you're coming with me and we'll find the others there."

He turned to the ladies, "Fatma and Delilah. You both will head with Julie as well. In this formation we can support each other's blind spots and add variety to our offensive and defensive tactics. Koichi and Soichiro, you'll head to this location."

He wrote down an address and handed it to them. Julie took a look, "Why at my old high school," she asked.

"Simple. The others from LMM are there to monitor the radio traffic from the Plumbers, the police, and the National Guard. That way, we can get on the clock feed on who is moving and where to place ourselves when things get tough."

Soichiro wanted to protest, but Koichi nodded in agreement, "It would make sense to have us with little to no combat experience to remain in a safe zone. But it would be better for the both of us to gather intelligence however we see fit."

Soichiro disagreed, "But gathering intelligence means to go into the field no matter the condition," but Koichi countered with this, "Intelligence means nothing if the operative is dead."

Soichiro stood silent and nodded, begrudgingly. He was young, but had enough sense and experience back home to know when he's outclassed. He looked at the two martial artists where one held the hilt of his sword and the other exhibiting his bravado on his sleeve, '私はそれらの人は、彼らがためにいるか知っている願っています。 (I hope those guys know what they're in for.)'

Then the group then heard some shouts from above and see five magi. To the others, seeing people flying around on brooms was incredible and a sight to behold. But to Shinji, Emiko, and Koji, they wondered if they were the magi from last year. To Shinji and Koji, they weren't but they were in fact familiar nonetheless.

The five landed and Shinji knew, "You're those five we met when the rogues attacked Philadelphia three years ago," he said and the leader bowed his head.

"And glad to know you guys had lived after all."

The girl of the team looked around, "Where are the others?"

The rest of the group pointed to downtown Bellwood and the young lady raised her eyebrows, "Well that's expected."

Shinji nodded and then looked at the now bigger team he's now effectively leading. Meilin, nodded to him, "Continue, captain," she winked encouragingly.

He grinned and then proceeded to repeat his plan and then went into their groups. Soichiro and Koichi headed in the direction of Julie's old school aboard her Mechamorph. The others now looked towards the skyline of the small city, "Let's go and start this party," Koji said as he gripped his staff.

He tapped the ground five times and an orb of energy enveloped around the group. Fatma and Delilah strengthened it with their power as well, and the young magi present pointed their wands around them to add the final layers of protected and assisted the mystics in levitating them towards the city. At speed they'll be there in a few minutes. Shinji forward as he gripped his own sword and thought about the others, 'Hang in there, we're coming.'

PLUMBER ACADEMY

[Oort cloud, Solar System]

As the two overlooked the events in the distance, they felt a presence behind them. It was a ghostly figure that the Plumber saw in terror. The skeletal leader of the commandeered station approached the entity, "Anamnesis. What brings you here?"

"I am here to see the events unfold myself. And I heard from several ghosts in my dimension that you were here as well."

The skeletal figure nodded and motioned it to stand alongside him and his lieutenant. The three now looked before them to the distant Sun. Anamnesis looked around at the starry expanse before him and then at the Sun in the center of his visage. He like the others can see Earth clearly and see the people running around Bellwood from their great distance to see the paths all are taking. Anamnesis blinked and sees the starry visage again. He hovered about and sees the officers around them either lying down unconscious or barely awake with fear.

"They're afraid. It's the shell of ignorance cracked open and exposed to truth," the spirit spoke and the two standing nodded in agreement.

Then the skeletal figure spoke to Anamnesis, "A truth long forgotten and now refreshed for them to spread the word."

Then the skeletal figure's lieutenant then spoke, "It's almost time for it to open."

The two looked at the figure and nodded, "Indeed. But we're far enough away for us to not be ripped apart."

Anamnesis commented with, "But the Anodites aren't, though. They should get under cover to survive what's going to happen."

"Indeed," the skeletal figure agreed.

BACK ON EARTH

In Ben's high school gymnasium the rest of the orchestra were trying to increase radio signals to communicate with the others. But so far, the intense energies around the city have made things difficult. Then the doors slammed open and to the rest they see two Japanese young men. One looked older in his late-twenties while the other looked to be of high school age. Christine approached them, "Who are you guys?"

The older guy stepped forward, "My name is Koichi Yoshimura. This one here is Soichiro Kudo. We are here because someone from your team told us to come here. Shinji Manabe."

This got everyone to get up and ask if he's all right and why he was here. The two answered their questions and this got everyone on edge. Then Mohammad and Dania whistled, "Listen everyone!"

The orchestra members and the two Japanese listened to the older Lebanese man and woman, "We need all the information we can gather and relay it to the others as soon as possible."

With the two Japanese guys now in the fold they then said what was going on in Japan, what they saw in Taiwan and how they got here. Everyone was impressed with how Shinji took charge, and relieved to know Emiko and Koji were here as well. Then in a moment the radios blared and from what once was static now was a storm of sounds from the police, the National Guard, and the few reporters who remained to report on what's going on. Then they heard radio traffic from their friends in the city.

"Oh thank God," Alberto said as he reached for his radio, "Come in! Over! Anyone!"

Then the crackle of a voice came in. It was Danny's voice, "Yo! This is Danny, over! We're in way over our heads here!"

"How bad is it," Alberto asked as everyone heard over the radio. Meanwhile the two Japanese listened in on other radio communication.

Danny responded with, "It's a mad house here!"

As the chaos was picked up on the radio, Koichi was talking on his cellphone to contact his team who were now in the Gulf. He said he'd meet them there once the chaos here dies down. Meanwhile, Soichiro was looking around to see the orchestra there and the monitoring equipment. He can see the locations of the National Guard, press, and police around the outskirts of the city. He saw separate monitors, counting three to track Plumber movements. Based on what he's seen and Shinji implying when discussing matters with Koji the priest and Emiko of the Takashiro family who oversees the Amber Palace hotel chain, he wondered on several things.

'配管工がこれら3つの間の議論の主要なトピックである場合、なぜこれらすべての長さを利用してそれらを助けるのですか？世界政府と関係があるが、これらの秘教との緊張もある外国の警察を育てるのはなぜですか？この町の配管工本部に何かがなければ、彼らは家に居ようとしている。そして、台湾とつながる必要があります。(If the Plumbers are the main topic of discussion between those three, why go to all these lengths to help them? Why bring up a foreign police force that have ties to world governments but also have tensions with these esoterics? Unless there was something in the Plumber headquarters in this town they're trying to keep in house. And it's got to connect with Taiwan.)'

Then it hit him like a ton of bricks, 'レバレッジ！これらの配管工と難解性の間に優位性があるのは誰かです。LMMは、双方を支援するためにここにいます。そして、私が見るものから、それが昨年ヨーロッパとニューヨークのイベントに接続しなければならないなら！私はずっとお金でした！でも…あら！この新しい洞察で何ができますか？(Leverage! It's leverage on who has superiority between these Plumbers and esoterics! LMM are here to help both sides. And if from what I see, it has to connect with events across Europe and New York last year! I was on the money the whole time! But…oh man! What can I do with this new insight?)'

Then he looked at the monitors, he caught an unknown blip on the screen, 'それは私たちのチームです！彼らは時間内にそれを作る願っています！(It's our team! Hope they make it in time!)"

In the middle of downtown, it was more an accurate depiction. It was a horrifying reality. The LMM members there, Danny, Ben, and their friends were running low on stamina and ammo. Valerie and Danny were in the air doing their best to ward off the minor threats, but even they were a tougher force than troops of ghosts back home. Danny went as far as to create a sword made of ectoplasmic energy to slice and dice the demons in the sky. Valerie provided cover for his blindside. Ben as Jet Ray was out maneuvering the sprites in the air in his form, but even he had to admit his eye beams and tail blast did little to hurt but only stun or ward the excess away from the other two. Below, Sam and Tucker were holding the line by dodging, running, and shooting their weapons at them (they calibrated the weapons to have a stunning effecting on the creatures). Eda and Kevin were running on fumes, as their tanks were nearly empty. But unlike Kevin, Eda doesn't have an extra tank to keep going in the car she 'borrowed'. Demons firing upon them and Eda dodged as best she could, but then her rear was on fire.

"Kevin! I'm done! I can't go further than this!"

His voice crackled, "Hang in there, Kramer! Hang in there," but it was easier said than done. Then the winged demon general came from around the corner and she stopped the car.

She put it in reverse and sped backwards. The winged demon was getting closer to her and then she swerved to her right and saw the demon heading into a truck filled with gasoline. The truck exploded and she put the car into drive and sped forward, turned right, did a J-turn and now facing the winged demon a half-mile down the road. It came out of the flames unharmed and roared at her. Kevin drove up to her and rolled down his windows.

"You got one shot to attack or runaway right now! What do you need," he asked and she called out for, "The 'little boy' you got in your car!"

He blinked his eyes and rummaged to his backseat. He pressed a button, a compartment opened, he found it, and threw it too her. On the underside was a rune Gwen covertly conjured to appear on it. It's to rip apart demon flesh to provide extra time to escape. She began to set timer, thanks to him giving her quick instructions, and pressed the enter button. The countdown had begun, with 90 seconds and counting. The demon half a mile down began to charge while she shifted gears and floored it. The two charged at one another. The two collided and the demon's claw broke the windshield and Eda dodged the claw. The countdown was going down and down, second by second, with Eda hanging on, until she jumped out and headed for Kevin's car in a sprint. The demon then tossed the car into a building next to it.

"Come back here and face death like a woman!"

"Almost," Eda asked Gwen and Kevin, which the two nodded and hunkered down.

The seconds rolled down to zero and the blast destroyed the face of the building and laced the debris with mana. Kevin's car was able to take the brunt of the explosion but the debris cracked the windshield. He screamed inside the car and banged his fists on the steering wheel. Gwen and Eda looked up at the smoke plume and debris. Eda peered through the smoke and tapped Kevin's shoulder, "Let's get out of here! Now!"

Kevin put the car in reverse and floored it. The hurt demon with deep wounds and aura raging was flying towards them in rage, "We're so fucked," he exclaimed.

Eda looked out the window and saw Danny and Valerie struggling to fight off the sprites and then sees the rest of the others running two blocks down and running after them. She just gripped the upholstery of the backseat and uttered, "We could really use the help."

Then there was a sight of a floating orb in the sky where it glowed in the light. Then it landed on the roof of a building. She then saw Priest Hakeem jumping from the building and landed on the demon chasing them. He wrestled the demon on the ground and hit it across the face with his fist. Prince Mahbeeb and his uncle rushed down and in rapid movements they encircled the demon and slashed across its body with their blades. Then using his blessed iron staff he pummeled it to the ground with a thunderous strike. It shook the ground and even the three in Kevin's car felt it. They stopped and saw the others coming.

The magi from last year, the five magi from Philadelphia, they soon see Danny and Valerie coming down, they saw Japanese martial artists, an alien ship landing with Delilah, Fatma, and another exiting it with the Mechamorph returning to its alien form, and a Marine aiming her gun at the demon ready for a shit, and Eda saw Shinji and Koji on the rooftop. She exited the car in a rush and ran to the magi.

"How are you here," she asked them and Hanford chuckled, "The gate system. More practical than the rainbow bridge we used last time."

She chuckled and greeted the European and American magi. Then welcomed the martial artists, and Ryo nudged Takuya aside to stop him from attempting to flirt. Koji and Shinji levitated down and ran to her. Both hugged and greeted her warmly. Then the rest of LMM came and they all were surprised to see everyone there. The demon was about to push the priest, the prince, and the prince's guardian off himself, but then came Anan from the shadows to then deliver a precise blow in the demon's center of mass, chanted in Hindi and the demon was then struck with a blow to its center of mass. The blast blew the four away from the epicenter by five meters. They shook it off and climbed out of the shallow crater in quick haste. That bought them some time, but not much.

Everyone accounted for and then comes in Wilfredo with Michael and a succubus demon. They were about to attack her but she put her hands, "Relax. I'm just here to deliver these two to you all. Much to my reluctance."

Wilfredo ignored her and hugged Cecilia and everyone else. He then showed Kevin, Gwen, and Albedo Michael Morningstar. Ben came down and was still in his Jet Ray form. Ben went to check on his friends, Albedo and now Michael free from his cell. This was an awkward meeting at best and Albedo checked his monitoring equipment and listened in on his earpiece. The unfortunate news and then looked up at the sky.

"D-20 in China is about to face another wave of demons and Taiwan is prepping for a final bout with these creatures! Whatever we can do now to resolve this situation, we better do it quickly," he relayed the scary information.

Hanford nodded and looked at everyone. Shinji looked around, and it was his cue to taking out a map from his bag of Bellwood and unrolling it. He laid it on the ground and used rocks to keep it flat and not flutter about, "This is the best map I can get on short notice."

Hanford observed it and took out a marker. He drew four circles on the map and then put down pinpoints across the downtown district. He then drew arrows for the outermost circle and put down three to four locations labeled safety. He then took scraps of paper from his bag and handed them to the magi and mystics. He looked at them and began to detail his plan.

The plan is as follows: Danny's team will lay down runes in the first outer ring, Ben's team will lay them down in the second ring inward, followed by the LMM team in the third, and finally the magi team in the fourth and final ring. After they do so, one or two will inject power into the symbols while the others defend him or her for the best part of fifteen minutes. Once time is up, they would hurry to the safety zones outside downtown in the suburbs. The Anodites who floated in looked at the plan and one male Anodite looked on in horror. The demon among them observed them and at the plan simultaneously and noted on what to do before it activates. With the final plan in place, Hanford clapped his hands.

"Ready?"

"Ready," the rest said in unison.

"All right. Let's move!"

And with that, the designated teams headed for the four areas of downtown and laid down the runes. This process of the Void Lock was simple, it would gather energy to then create a portal in the sky that would gather all of the dark energy and entities in the city and send them back to their plane. Once done, it will release a shockwave to then rip apart any dark entity that have resisted in going back. In addition it will release a plume of energy that would then spread across the world to designated zones where portals have opened and close them. Any dark entity remaining in parts of the world would easily be sent back by local esoteric teams.

On the outskirts of the city the National Guard, the police, and news press were witnessing from afar the growing concentration of clouds around the downtown district. They also see four demon generals jumping from building to building, heading closer and closer to the epicenter of activity. They also see the esoterics hovering about to get to separate zones to put down runes on the asphalt. The cops, the lieutenants, the general, and reporters were anxious on what was about to go down. The general then relayed an order to have the troops make sure the officers or reporters don't go any further than the exclusion line they've set up last night.

Meanwhile in downtown, the magi and mystics laid down the final runes: Hanford was in the inner ring with his friends guarding him. Wilfredo was in the third with the mystics and LMM team, Gwen in the second with her team, and Danny in the first ring with his own. Each circle had a rune surrounded by a seal with four rings around it, each ring with inscription written in a foreign language that showed in full view. The Anodites around Gwen felt the power emanating from the rune and its seal, the power glowed magenta as their own mana. The others glowed in the color of those who laid it down (Wilfredo's in scarlet red, Danny's in ectoplasmic green, and Hanford's in royal blue).

Albedo and Tucker in their respective spots monitored the demonic activity on their devices. The news wasn't good and as the power in the runes began to build, they knew the final battle would begin any second now. Then it came, a thunder wave swept through and both see a demon general coming for them. Albedo and Tucker ducked for cover and from their vantage points they saw the others defending the line. Ben transformed into several aliens that may defend his cousin, Chromastone, Diamondhead, even Alien X to either divert the energy from the demon general or take it on with power. But to his surprise, even in the form of Alien X, it provided little advantage aside from slowing down time or using time energy powers in an attempt to age the demon. Nothing of the sort helped. Kevin, Verdona, and her two companions fended the demon general off as best they could but were out-classed.

Meanwhile with Danny's team Tucker saw Valerie and Danny doing battle. Due to past experiences they can put up a solid defense with a mixture of ghost attacks and moves and Valerie out-flying them. Even at the expense of a power gap. Danny's energy still charged the rune even as he fought, with years of experience handling a sword made from his own energy. Sam helped by using her weapons to ward off the sprites that aided the general. But the excess energies around her caused headaches and a sense of vertigo. Her burgeoning psychic powers were in haywire and wanted relief from the area immediately. She fell to her knees and panted.

Then the five Philadelphian magi swooped in to guard her. The heavy hitter used his magic to fuel his physical stamina to barrel his way through the demon soldiers with physical combat. The girl of the team used hexes to distract and stun, while the others including the leader used a combination of protective spells and curses. They provided support and defense for Danny's team, but they are finding their magical attacks much like their European counterparts are only doing so much. This was the eleventh hour indeed.

Meanwhile on the rooftops and in the sky, LMM's mystic allies were in a fierce battle to guard Wilfredo's spot. Priest Hakeem was in a contest of strength with a flying demon where his iron staff did damage in line with his West African styled wrestling. He swung around his iron staff to disorientate and strike at the demons. He then levitated and flew after some demon soldiers to then strikes them to the earth. Anan then used the shadows to go in and out of attacks, distract, and strike at right moments. But she was finding it difficult to stay hidden due to demon's using their sight. When she was cornered, Prince Mahbeeb and his uncle/guardian came in to defend her and assist in her efforts. The prince helped her up and he swiftly went forward to sliced many down with his scimitar, the same can be said for his uncle who was faster and more precise with his strikes. Anan then formed an orb of light above her with Hindi script around it where it made her invisible to the eyes of demons. She then struck at vulnerable spots on the creatures and once she did, she made a small portal to send those she struck back to the Void.

The magi meanwhile handled their conflicts in a storm of mana blasts, incantations, hexes, curses, and rune blasts. Wilfredo charged his rune even as he put up a defense and others around him running distractions or causing damage as best they can. Then with Hanford's team they ran distraction to make sure their problem wouldn't get past the line. The demon succubus avoided the general at all costs; knowing that even being there would cause her to face punishment later if sent back through a portal.

The Japanese aided the mystics to then handle foot soldiers. Takuya handled ten easily with his skills, but the relentless energies of demons proved much more formidable than he anticipated. Ryu fought along his side and used his sword to ward them off. Takuya then felt his energy bubbling up and then used his chi to form energy attacks to then strike more effectively. As much as the two held their own, they saw how the others were faring. Meilin used the rounds with Asuka to shoot down the foot soldiers with blessed rounds, which proved effective with precise shots. Koji used his staff and sutras to incapacitate the rest with Shinji slashing them across the torsos. Emiko was not far behind with her shooting arrows to get those coming in from mid-to-long-distance. The wind proved difficult around her to aim her shots just right. In fact, everyone was being pushed to their limits with the relentless numbers around them.

Then a horn sound came and the four left the teams and landed on the buildings. The time for their leader will come shortly and will wreck the city and start the final process of eliminating aliens across the planet in short time. The runes then activated along the four rings around the city. The four conduits; mage, mystic, phantom/hybrid, and Anodite, are now preparing to bolt. The magi Apparated as did the mystics, but the Anodites however escorted everyone out of the area who was trapped via portals. Danny did the same for his friends via portal. Everyone then were in the suburbs of Bellwood, far from the furthest circle Hanford said would form.

The magi and mystics checked one another and the others. Michael, Albedo, and Tucker are looking around feeling confused and worried. They looked around and they saw Hanford yelling them to duck and cover, and told them to cover their eyes as best they can. Tucker went down, Albedo as well. Michael did as well and saw enough to see Anodites flying west in fear and the demon succubus opening a portal and stepped through and got back to safety, wherever she went.

Meanwhile in the central district of Bellwood with the four generals looking around at the runes on the ground and four rings of energy formed around them at varying distances. Despite the pillar of dark energy coming from the depths of Plumber HQ, and deep inside the hidden piece of pottery cracked, that very wave of dark energy started the final catalyst for the Void Lock to begin activating.

The runes then burst with light and the four rings hummed with energy. Then a pulse was felt and then it shot upward where the four pulses of energy concentrated at a point. A crackling sound was heard, akin to lightening. When it started it lasted a few seconds, a sphere of energy was formed that then imploded and the sound was heard. Silence was heard and felt, and then the true power of the Void Lock began. A portal was formed in the sky and the power emanating from the center was strong enough to push apart the dark clouds revealing the full brightness of the morning sun in the east. The four generals were sucked in and their bodies ripped apart, their screams heard around was enough to send shivers down the spines of the evacuated evacuees, National Guard, police, etc.

Even the dark pillar of energy of Plumber HQ was sucked up with the dark entity about to emerge was then sent back to its plane. Sprites then were sucked up within seconds. But what came next struck the fear to all. Bright light that outshone the sun, powerful gusts of wind and in the center of down, the pressure waves cracked all the glass windows. In the suburbs, LMM, the Japanese team, the magi, mystics, Danny and Ben's team were hunkered down and did their best to cover their eyes and not look up. The wind emanated from the energy pulses would blow them down if they stood up. At the high school's gym, the rumbling on the roof got everyone inside scared and the two Japanese looked at the monitors where readings of the energy waves revealed very unusual measurements.

The Anodites in the west were far enough from the epicenter still were caught in the energy waves. They were struck and collided into the face of a concrete high-rise. They dared not look at the bright light in the distance. From their vantage, they were not far enough away to avoid the pressure waves or the power emanating from there. In addition, Verdona saw a pattern forming around the orb of light. What she glimpsed terrified her. She was what looked to be a hand forming around the portal.

'Angels…what power they possess…and this is just them shutting a lock. Not even the door to the forbidden planes! Just a lock snapping shut!'

She looked on at the pattern above, thinking if this is how humans felt when they first detonated their primitive but destructive atomic bombs decades ago. Angels, demons, beings from planes her kind and Celestialsapiens fear to tread for this very reason; the presence of powers beyond them.

Meanwhile, the Plumbers including Max were in an armored vehicle measuring the waves. They then monitored in the distance the Anodites getting struck and Max was concerned for Verdona. They dared not to go outside for the next few minutes. In Plumber Academy outside of the Solar System were seeing this via a window conjured by the skeletal figure, his lieutenant, and the ghost Anamnesis. The officers inside witnessed the power of an angelic device activated by a mage using the power of magi, mystics, a ghost/human warrior, and an Anodite. To witness it first hand sent them into a frenzy of thought and wondered if this was a sign of things to come. The skeletal figure turned to his lieutenant and the ghostly figure. The three nodded in silent agreement, the ghost teleported away in a wisp of smoke. The skeletal figure and the lieutenant turned to the officers and the one in charge spoke.

"Your Magister, Maxwell Tennyson will be tried by the Esoteric Court of the New World, the United States and will face judgment. He will be punished by his hubris in controlling the magi and mystics of the world. He will live, but will bear the scars of his mistakes, as a man of honor should. In the blink of an eye, when the both of us leave, your academy will return to its location prior to coming here. But take heed, do not tread into areas you have forsaken and expect a benign outcome. Let this Void Lock also warn you of the power of God and the Devil."

And as promised, the academy in the blink of an eye returned to its location in the galaxy. They looked around and the damage done to the base was repaired and the shackles gone. This was a day they will remember for a long and if the warning towards Magister Tennyson was true, the head officers will head to Earth to see what the fate of Max Tennyson will be. But at the moment they counted their blessings and hoped the danger has passed. They hoped anyway…

A FEW DAYS LATER

Buenos Aires, Argentina

[Plaza La Vuelta de Obligado, Friday, 5:34PM]

It was a cool early evening with the sun setting at the moment. LMM finished their final rehearsals and now are attending a soccer match and an asada for good measure. It was a match between a dancing company from Rio de Janeiro for their performance and some of the musicians of the city's orchestra. The air was filled with the smells of meat and laughter as wine began to pour and Fernet Branca mixed with Coca Cola. Half of LMM were cheering for the orchestra and the dancing company. The events of a few days are out of their mind as they relished in receiving news earlier in the day. Due to the events of Taiwan that spread throughout the world, and the director of the venue for Saturday made arrangements with Mohammad for them to stay another week in Buenos Aires. A welcoming reward and blessing in disguise after fleeing Bellwood and leaving Max to his fate in the hands of the local esoteric authorities. One of who was Father Carmine, who Wilfredo recognized from New York.

As the match began and the food was served in casual setting on this crisp evening, Dante and Lionel sat next to each other. They commented on the game and placed bets on the dancing company, "Quiero decir, mira sus piernas! (I mean look at her legs!)," Lionel commented on the lead player.

"Ella va a dar vueltas alrededor del otro hombre. Por otra parte, nunca se sabe. (She'll run circles around the other guy. Then again, you never know.)," Dante retorted as they clinked their glasses of wine.

Then the boys heard calls to their left. It was the group of girls who wanted to head to Miami earlier in the week. But the flight was canceled and stayed put for known reasons. They approached the boys and they greeted each other with kisses on the cheek. It was friendly with light flirting, but while Dante was of course polite, Lionel was going in for a catch. They talked over some grilled meat and wine as they watched the game.

"Desde que nos ha dicho acerca de este problema demonio que se hizo cargo de dos, pensamos que era mejor que podemos recompensar de alguna manera. (Since you told us about this demon problem you two took care of, we thought it was best we can reward you somehow.)," one of the girls proposed.

"¿Una noche en la ciudad?(A night on the town?)," Lionel perked up, "Un viaje a Montevideo? (A trip to Montevideo?)," Dante added, more playful than serious.

The girls giggled and whispered something more 'adult' to them. Lionel was definitely interested but Dante was polite in turning it down. One of the girls gave him a look, mild interest, competitive perhaps with his long time girlfriend, but she brushed it off and made a smart comment, which got laughs and even a chuckle from him. They then resumed to watch the game, with the girls cheering for the dancers and the guys for the orchestra.

Wilfredo was hugging Cecilia with one arm around her as they shared wine. He looked around and indeed it was peaceful. But then he saw a man in the distance that looked out of place with his pressed clothes and physique. He tipped his fedora hat to him and stood up to walk away. He recognized him immediately. The man he met back in Sintra, Portugal. He made a mental note to contact him later. Something was up, he felt it and it was a shame. To replace one problem with demons with another that involved further conflict.

Bellwood, TX, USA

[Tennyson Residence, 2:37PM]

Flashback 48 hours ago

The trial was held at a federal building in an undisclosed location. Inside looked like a standard courthouse, but the décor suggested otherwise. With murals depicting the faith of esoterics, and Lady Justice standing side by side with the 'Prince of Peace', the courthouse was as esoteric as any building gathered by the Plumber Intelligence Bureau, Division 10. The one presiding over the case was the Honorable Thomas Leroy Marias. His judge garb was standard with American courts, with the added bonus a red wig (akin to the portrait of Nicolas de Vermont by Nicolas de Largillière).

"To know and no nothing is the same as being complicit. Either one stands behinds a movement or one doesn't. To stand for nothing is the allowance of the abuses to take place."

"But she stressed that the hoarding was against the protocols of esoteric laws when debriefed in 1977. She petitioned to have the relics returned home multiple times between 1999 and 2011."

"Who was the chief oversight officer who saw this complaint from Lt. Col. Fann of the China Branch of Division 20?"

"Officer Hulian, transferred in 2000 from Planet Yiarna 4."

The officer who looked like he went through hell from the demons just 24 hours ago looked straight ahead. He appeared to have purple skin, red eyes, bruised and bandaged all over, his armor damaged from the battle and defenses against the demons.

"Officer Hulian, when the Division 20 overseer gave you her complaints, what did you do with the dossier?"

"I've compiled them under Esoteric Matters for Investigation," he said and continued, "We are pending whether or not to station officers in esoteric wards across the country and the other hot zones across Earth."

"So an offense of this nature, and you knowing our stances on such affronts simply file it away?"

"For investigations. You can't expect us to do our jobs when threats to our operations are persistent. Alien criminals coming to this backwater is bad enough. But to know of a local phenomenon with no oversight or intelligence on how to deal with it, is dangerous to officers. Young recruits or experienced veterans alike. We're ill-prepared for your kind."

"Our kind? One wonders if we are truly the ones in need of oversight and intelligence gathering? You stole countless relics, stored them for your own tactical gain as a form of leverage and you think we are the ones in need of oversight? Really now?"

The officer just looked at the man, "I did my job for the security of the officers. Lt. Col. Fann is a esoteric familiar and knows the culture of your kind, but she's too biased. She needs to accept that having too close ties will pose a security risk for her recruits in China."

Officer Hulian continued, "Remember. Humans are one of 21 species across the galaxy capable of magic. We still know next to nothing of this power."

"Too close ties? We have been the cornerstones of many nations for thousands of years. You yourself benefit from many of our programs such as subsidized housing, welfare plans, medical insurance from your workplace, public healthcare, among others so; protection even for aliens from the stars. To say one of your own is too close, you know next to nothing barely worthy of your post. Silence your proud tongue or I will take your tongue. Retort and you and your company will be summarily executed, understand? You are as guilty as any one party and you especially because of your overseeing rank."

The alien officer was silent. Oh he wanted to retort, to debate and to fight back. But in the face of these humans, he dubbed Homo sapiens 'Esotericus', were formidable. He sat down and shut his mouth.

"Very good. Now as it stands we have Maxwell Tennyson, Division 20 leader Fann and you, Officer Hulian. Is there anyone responsible for the preservation of the artifacts under the Plumber watch? Also, who oversaw shipment of the artifacts to the stockpile in Taiwan?"

"Preservation of artifacts and shipment were entrusted to the Taiwan base. Only 20 survived and the one in charge perished when the portal to hell was opened. But also other stockpiles are in Australia, Chad, Mongolia, Siberia region of Russia, Badlands of Canada, and Death Valley in California," a young but scared and inexperienced officer testified.

The judge halted, "Wait, what? You have that many stockpiles!"

"Those I have mentioned are in the past seven years when the one in Taiwan reached capacity in 2009. They are 60% smaller than the one decimated in Taiwan."

The judge looked at the other eleven and they all stood, "In light of this revelation all said squads and overseers are to be revoked of their positions. A message will be sent to your Head Magistrata to discuss terms. The young officer will receive a lighter sentence but will face judgment when Head Magistrata comes to Earth as I have stated. Maxwell Tennyson you are to be removed of your left arm for theft, Ms. Fann will be dealt with, and the company belonging to Hulian will be imprisoned until further notice in Western Siberia. That is all."

The judges slammed their gavels and retired behind the burgundy curtain while armored soldiers came in and took the prisoners to be processed.

End flashback

Max's RV was parked outside of the Tennyson home. He was staying in the guest room recuperating what he had to go through. He was arrested soon after LMM, European and American magi, and the Japanese left town. He was brought to The Union Branch of Justice, located in the north of the US. He was tried and promptly had his arm cut off by sword. The others now no doubt will be disciplined by the Head Magistrata for endangering the lives of locals on Earth. He too knew he would face judgment when he gets used to his new cybernetic prosthetic arm, installed by the medics in HQ. Sandra, Ben's mom came in to take the tray of food and water. Max thanked and apologized again for all of this. As she told him it was all right, his son Carl, Ben's father was around the corner listening to his wife and father talk. He felt pity for him, but also old feelings of his father disappearing over the course of his life to keep him and the family safe from harm left them conflicted.

All he could do for now is making sure his own family and home are safe and taken care of. And at the moment, keep the peace. Ben and Gwen were doing chores around the house while Kevin with his mother. Ben as he threw the trash out and Gwen helped; he drank water from his water bottle and tossed a spare to his cousin.

"Gwen, how's Brown treating you these days," he asked.

"It's good. Glad Kevin's there though. How's Seattle for you?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "Same old Plumber jobs here and there. And just surviving that's all. But there are days where…I have to separate myself from the job."

This caught her attention, "Why? That's unlike you. Usually you go all in."

"I know. I know. But this time, on my own…now I know what it means to grow up fast. I have to think on my feet faster, being more careful with what I do, and getting myself in weird situations. It's weird. I would expect it in New York or LA, but not Seattle. But…now I know."

"Know what?"

"That part of the country is weird. It gets to you."

Gwen nodded and playfully nudged him in the left arm, "Come on. The faster we do our chores, we can enjoy our time home with Kevin before summer is over."

He smiled, "Night patrol?"

She smiled, "That and I did promise Kevin we go to the beach tomorrow. How about it?"

He nodded, "Deal."

They headed inside to take care of the other things and overhead helicopters encircled the downtown district with news about the collective cleanup and the municipal government demanding greater transparency with the Plumber authorities. And news of Max's trial with the esoterics also showed greater revelations with the existence of these people and what to do to ensure cooperation and avoid unneeded suspicion or prejudice.

Philadelphia, PN, USA

[Little Italy, 3:40PM]

Elizabeth was playing with her daughter Sophia. With the board game Candy Land and its pieces on the board, her daughter was learning how to play and now winning. Elizabeth feigned defeat with dramatic pauses and moans while her daughter cheered. Jonathan was drinking water in the kitchen after coming back from the basement/gym, finishing his workout. The rugby club was off for the next few weeks before resuming and he needed to be in top shape for the new recruits. He wiped the sweat from his brow and looked at the two in the sitting room and smiled to himself. He was glad the demonic situation was rectified and no longer a threat to his family or the city at large.

Danny and Sam were in bed together, naked under the covers with him playing with her raven black hair. He spooned her as she crooned in soft pleasure with her eyes closed. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear and she smiled and called him a 'loveable lug' affectionately. Tucker meanwhile was working at Fenton Laboratories (formerly Fenton Lab Works) to develop new devices to protect themselves from demonic threats in the future. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were looking at the data he acquired along with Albedo, who was with him on the computer to figure out the different mana levels between demons, magi, mystics, and the huge spike of angelic power collected on that fateful day. Albedo then looked at his device, which was to monitor potential threats in this sector of the galaxy. He looked at it secretly from the others and uttered one thing:

"Oh no."

Dublin, Republic of Ireland

[Clontarf, 8:41PM]

Overlooking the churchyard from across the street, on the third floor was a mixed-retail and residence location. Up on the top floor in a vacant space ready for the new occupants was an impromptu meeting of the Ferguson and Millikan families. The families Liam and Craig belong to respectfully. The several members were discussing the Taiwan incident that have just ended, the trial of Max Tennyson, those who closed the main portal which led to the closure of many others across the world, and a troubling development they have just started to notice.

"The beacons are lit," Liam's father Thomas spoke up as he had his hands on the table, "The first was lit in the Far East. And since Max's trial, the beacons are lit in Japan, China, Tibet, India, Iran, Iraq, and just now making its way to Israel and Turkey."

Craig's father spoke, "And it will be a matter of time before the beacons in Europe are lit as well. More than likely the places LMM have gone to in order to prevent anarchy between magi and mystics."

Merrill, or 'Old nan' as she is affectionately called came in from Brown University to assert her position between the Ferguson and Millikan clans. And since the incident she's been monitoring things closely for the wedding between her descendant, Liam Ferguson, and the descendant of a man who ushered in tolerance in Lebanon at the end of the 19th century who had trading ties with the two clans, Yasmin Moradi, swimmingly. She stood up and looked out the window to the church and sees Yasmin and Liam arm in arm who looked happy and relieved the wedding will take place in a week's time.

She then turned around, "Check 'The Almanac' once more if the beacons are indeed a signal of what's to come from the stars. Or simply a demonstration their effectiveness," she said but then added.

"However, if this is indeed a serious matter, preparations will go underway to ensure the survival of all of us. And get the message out to mystics as well. Even if they are at odds ideologically with the magi, a united front is what we need instead of a divided one."

The heads of both clans nodded, stomped their feet on the hardwood floor, and voiced their agreement in unison. An aide then appeared into the room as the men and women discussed what's to come. The aide came to Merrill and whispered to her:

"I have found what you were suspicious about. So as instructed, only family and invited guests are to come to the wedding. Security is tightened to ensure no other outside party will enter the festivities."

Merrill nodded as she then looked outside. She saw Craig approaching Liam and Yasmin. She can also see the jovial attitudes between the young men and the good-natured exasperation on Yasmin's face. She grinned and then frowned at the still affected auras of her two descendants below. She breathed in and out and turned to aide, "Good work. Ensure security is tightened as you say."

"Yes ma'am," and with that the aide left.

Kent, England, UK

[Dover, 8:43PM]

James looked out at the Channel. The early evening made the narrow stretch of water dark with lights of nearby Dover just three miles away illuminating the seawater. He breathed in the sea breeze and heard the sounds of steps behind him. He turned and it was Jane, "I thought you would be home by now."

She smiled, "I just felt you would be here and not home in Buckinghamshire. What are you doing here?"

James looked to her and then at the stars above, faint due to Dover being close by, but still can see what was wrong up above. She looked up, but was not at adept at reading what the summer constellations were signaling. She then looked at James, "What's wrong?"

He looked to her, "There are reports of lights being lit across Asia and will slowly reach Europe. I'm wondering its true," he told her.

Jane raised her eyebrows a bit, "But they haven't been lit for thousands of years. According to myth, the last time they were lit was when Gilgamesh and Enkidu were alive. Why now?"

"I heard its what the Almanac predicted. That a strong possibility of a great conflict is coming; a conflict that was started decades ago but never finished."

Jane sighed and looked across the Channel, "My brother is in France, visiting Henriette. No doubt if that is true, he would send word very soon."

"And I hope the Almanac is wrong," James ultimately said, knowing his concerns will go unheeded. Jane however knew her brother and if he were to see it, then it's deadly serious.

Marseilles, France

[Old Port, 9:47PM]

William and Henriette were along the port of the city. With them were the LMM's mystic allies, Anan, Prince Mahbeeb, Priest Hakeem, and the prince's uncle/guardian. They were finishing up the week's celebration of the city's patron saint of the sea. Anan was dressed in a green sari over a t-shirt and jeans with Converse sneakers. Mahbeeb and his uncle/guardian were dressed in formal Arab clothes but the young prince was more 'modern' and chose a more suit like appearance with his robes. The prince then was propositioning Anan to accompany him to his family's kingdom in Saudi Arabia.

"I'm sorry but its way too hot there for me," she said, smiling as she drank her water.

"You're Indian. You should be used to the heat," he told her.

"Punjabi and Hindi yes. But that's sub-tropical heat. I'm used to that climate. Deserts? Not so much," she told him and the prince laughed.

"Despite the reputation of a desert waste, it's indeed a varied landscape. My kingdom to be however, it's an oasis near the mountains. You will find comfort there," he stood close to her with his hands behind his back.

She smiled coyly at him, "Tempting, but I have to head back to London to visit family."

The prince nodded, "I understand. But the offer still stands you know," he said and hoped for another answer for her.

She nodded, "I know. And…" she then looked out to the sea.

"What is it?"

He then looked out to the sea. The priest and the guardian noticed and looked to the sea. Meanwhile with William and Henriette they were enjoying their company with ice cream. Henriette ate her cherry flavored one while he had rocky road. He propositioned her for further company, "When are we returning to your farm?"

"Soon, very soon. Just patience is needed please, while I enjoy the city a bit. Plus, I want my father to cool off when he caught us together in an awkward position."

He laughed out loud, "I hardly call me on top of you planting kisses on your delectable body awkward," he said with a toothy grin and she nudged him playfully.

She then caught the sight of the mystics looking out at the sea. She looked to the sea as well, southwest to be precise. It wasn't a sight they were able to see, but a glow that illuminated the sky from some distance away.

Henriette gripped William's forearm that then felt his aura flare up. Her magical aura as well flared up in response and looked at him. She uttered, "It's…It's not possible!"

"Aye! But it is. We must be ready for what is coming."

"But if the light off the coast is lit, then that means…the lights further east are lit as well," she muttered and she then looked to the mystics.

The mystics looked to the direction of the glow in the sky and new the light came from some secret location off the coast of Marseille. Prince Mahbeeb then turned to his uncle who then sped off for the Saudi Arabian Embassy, Priest Hakeem then clutched his iron staff, his own aura was flaring up, and Anan was looking with despair. She prayed to her gods that this was not to be…but it was…

Tel Aviv, Israel

[10:50PM]

Delilah can see the lights from several synagogues lit in the distance. Old towers the city officials haven't torn down due to rapid development over the past two decades. She was with her father and her mother at the top of the temple overlooking their portion of the city.

"האם זה ... אמיתי או מבחן?(Is that…for real or a test?)"

Her mother shook her head, "הלוואי שזה היה מבחן. אבל נראה שהאלמנאק נכון. משהו בא מהכוכבים. עלינו לתמוך בזה.(I wish it were a test. But it seems the Almanac is true. Something is coming from the stars. We must brace for it.)"

Then her father spoke, "כבר נערכות הכנות למאגי ברחבי היבשת וללא ספק היא תגיע לכל רחבי אירופה, אפריקה ואפילו אמריקה די בקרוב.(Preparations are already underway for magi across the continent and no doubt it will reach all across Europe, Africa, and even the Americas soon enough.)"

Delilah asked, "האם יש לנו זמן?(Do we have time?)"

Her parents were silent for a moment, and then her mother spoke, "המאג'ים רגילים לטיפול בלוגיסטיקה בכל סוג של קונפליקט. בין אם הם צבאיים, פוליטיים או כלכליים, הם יהיו בסדר. אבל מיסטיקנים כמונו ...(The magi are more than used to handling logistics for any sort of conflict. Whether military, political, or economic, they will be fine. But mystics like ourselves…)," she referred to herself and her daughter in context.

"אנחנו יותר כוח מתנדב ורק מי שרוצה להתכונן ישתתף לקראת העתיד לבוא.(We are more of a volunteer force and only those who wish to prepare will participate for what's to come.)"

"אז אנחנו לא מוכנים? (So we're not prepared then?)"

Her father spoke, "אנחנו, אבל הכוחות שלנו מפוזרים, מפוזרים, לא מנוסים ולא מוציעים (We are but our forces are scattered, disunited, and leaderless.)," he reminded her, "איבדנו את הקואליציה שלנו עם קסם לפני מאות שנים. אנחנו יכולים לעקוב אחריהם או להמשיך לבד. אבל המנטליות תהפוך את המעמד שלנו לחלשים ונרגיש לשבירה. (We lost our coalition with magi centuries ago. We can either follow them or go on our own. But that mentality will make our stand weak and susceptible to breaking.)"

Delilah breathed in and out through her nose. She looked at the lights in the distance and felt shadows in the dark alleys of old Tel Aviv stirring and even in the distance of the new modern Tel Aviv. The incident now dubbed the 'Taiwan Incident' with the demon portals was now resolved. A new and perhaps, rowdier crisis is looming. She then formed a grin on her face and her mother and father saw this.

"Delilah?

"האם באמת אתה שוקל להצטרף לעניין? (Are you truly considering to joining the cause?)"

She looked at her rabbi father and mystic mother and spoke, "עזרי LMM יהיה בעדיפות גבוהה. הם יצטרפו לעניין מתוך ידיעתם, למרות הסרבול. אבל הכישורים שלהם לא יספיקו. אנחנו זקוקים לבעלות הברית. בעלי ברית חזקים ורבי עוצמה. (Aiding LMM is going to be a priority. Knowing them, despite their reluctance, they'll join the cause. But their skills won't be enough. We need allies. Strong, powerful allies.)"

Her father reminded that resources are important. But it was her mother who then brought up that was obvious, "ובעיקר אתה וחברותיך יצטרכו להקים צבא. (And most of all, you and your comrades will need to build an army.)"

Delilah's mother then considered an idea; "תראה אותי בזמן של חודש. היכונו לצאת כשאני שולחת מילה. אבל לעת עתה, הישארו כאן בבית יחד עם אביך. (You'll see me in a month's time. Prepare to leave when I send word. But for the time being, stay here at home with your father.)"

She wanted to debate but her mother gave her a stern look, "עשה כפי שאני אומר. אם ורק אם חבריך יצטרפו כאשר לא תהיה אפשרות זמינה, תוכנית זו תפעל. תן לי אמון במילה שלי. הבנתי? (Do as I say. If and only if your friends will join when no choice is available, then this plan will work. Trust me on my word. Understood?)"

Delilah wanted to argue but then realized the validity to her mother's statement. She nodded and her mother smiled. She kissed her daughter's cheeks and went to kiss her former husband tenderly on the lips, "אני אשוב, אהבתי. (I shall return, my love.)"

She then jumped from the roof and landed on her rune seal and flew off in the distance to open a portal back to Mount Sinai. Delilah and her father looked on silently.

~Music bit: Ripped "Dragons Growing" Game of Thrones Unreleased OST~

MEANWHILE AT THE SAME MOMENT

Armenian Highlands, Turkey/Armenia

[Mount Ararat]

The dragon aliens were monitoring the flying beast above with the human mystic. Along with them were the human mystic's mother and sister monitoring her progress. The scientist of the alien group observed the behavior of the beast and its firepower. It's flying technique, biological anatomy, and temperament. The two in front of him were the security with their weapons at hand, looking up in reserved awe.

"It's crazy to think that this creature is…perhaps related to our ancestral kind," one of the two spoke while the other nodded.

The scientist dragon alien also spoke, "Because it is. Its sample scale in relation to the fossils on our world is about 98.789% identical. The remaining two percent is a mystery to me for the moment."

Then the two leaders, one captain and the second in command exited the ship via a ramp. They just finished speaking with their kin via a sub-space communications array. Which allowed them to talk across the galaxy in real time and not worry about the light speed limit. The captain looked at the three who then stood in attention, but had them relax a bit.

"How's the beast," the second in command asked as he looked up and seeing the mystic human trying to control it.

Then the beast roared and she was thrown off. She landed safely using her rune seal. Her mother and sister came to her to get her up. Fatma looked up at the dragon wyvern and despite her failing again to fully ride it, and it seemed before it was willing to listen due to obvious circumstances, it was now testing her and her power. She was in awe and disappointed, "Dragon's can't be tamed. Not fully. But they will listen."

Her mother Nazeria spoke, "They'll only listen when you let go of your insecurities. And you still have them. Relating to your father."

Fatma was silent and her sister Marjan spoke, "What does dad have to do with this?"

Nazeria looked at the dragon that then landed and rested and looked over the terrain near the mountain. The winds came in from the west and looked at the early summer twilight with the stars above becoming visible. The dragon noticed the stars and roared, but it was different. Fatma approached it and slowly pet it. She was allowed that at least, "Shush now," she said gently.

The dragon roared and the aliens called out, "Something is coming! Even the dragon can sense it," the alien scientist called out to the humans.

Nazeria looked up and felt something, "Yes…something is coming…what in the name of Ahura Mazda is going on?"

Marjan was feeling anxious and then a portal opened to the south of them. The dragon crooned and Fatma noticed. Out came a young woman from the stone portal. Her hair was in a tight bun and looked at the aliens and then at the wonderful beast before her. She walked to the dragon and pet its head. She looked at Fatma, "Looks like you need help."

Fatma looked at the mysterious woman, "Who are you?"

"I was sent here through an acquaintance of yours. And you should realize the magi network is extensive. Even in remote regions," the young woman said, "Call me Kitty."

~End music bit~

Wudang Mountains, China

[Plumber Special Forces Division 20, Saturday, 4:56AM]

Back in China, Lt. Col. Fann of Division 20 sat alone in her office. She drank whisky alone and facing the window to look at the mountains around them. When she heard what happened to her superior, Max Tennyson, she wondered when her punishment would come. When she heard he got his arm amputated for his role in the Taiwan Incident, it confirmed what her grandma had told her of esoterics; they are sticklers for the rules and balancing the books. She then heard the door behind her open.

Footsteps were heard as the door slid shut. She sets down her glass, "You've come sooner than expected."

She turned and looked at the two magi men. One was middle aged while the other was a young man in his early 20s. But she can tell he was more dangerous than his appearance suggested. The older man began to explain his reason for being here and what Fann will endure; rape by the hand of the bard of Duchess of Florianne or whatever she chose to listen to. Inwardly, she didn't care to know or what she was about to suffer. She warned the others about delving into matters they did not understand or cared little for it. She looked at the two with accepting eyes, layered by despair and anger. But she did not react.

As soon as the older man finished, she uttered flatly in Chinese, "继续、履行您的职责。 (Go on, do your duty.)"

The man turned to Alastair who then stepped forward. He was reluctant and the woman looked at him, preparing for the worst. Alastair then mouthed, "No. I will not degrade the woman in this way. Not anymore."

But the man heard him, "You must. You're under orders from the High Tribunal and orders of Duchess Florianne of House Michon. Do your duty!"

Alastair whispered, "Non."

"Boy! Quit being impertinent!"

In a flash, Alastair took out his dagger and pierced the man's throat. The man gurgled blood and fell to the floor dead. Alastair then wiped the blood from the blade and turned to Fann. The Chinese woman was shocked by what happened instead of her punishment. She turned to the young man in question who looked uneasily at her and then seeing him relax a bit.

"I was tasked to rape you as punishment for what has transpired. I won't do that to you."

Fann blinked by what Alastair had just revealed. But she was wary all the same with his presence. She then heard him spoke, "But you must also face the pain caused to us and your payment would be just."

She nodded and then took out a crossbow from his robes and aimed it at her, "Your left eye, that's all. On the order of King Midas of the New World's esoterics and founder of The Union Department. Do you accept these terms?"

Fann nodded, her heart racing, her right hand gripped the table, and her left hand gripped the chair. She breathed in and out to steady her nerves, and thanked the scotch for dulling her senses a bit.

"I meant no disrespect to you all."

"I know."

He fired and the arrow pierced her left eye. She screamed in pain and clutched the arrow. She pulled it out and put pressure on the blood coming out. She pressed a button for the medics to come. The medics came in and ran past Alastair. One officer a Tetramand pointed his blaster to him. The mage was unfazed as he put his crossbow back under his robes.

"Who the hell are you!"

Rathbone did not answer as he stood there and turned around to head out the door. The Tetramand then repeated, "Who the fuck are you? And don't walk away from me, coward!"

"Let him leave," Fann was able to yell out despite the pain as the medics were rushing to stop the bleeding and using advanced alien tech to quickly patch her up. But she was still hoisted up to her feet so the medics would escort her to the medical bay.

"But why?"

"Esoteric justice," she panted and groaned, "It's all said and done now. Is that right?"

Alastair nodded sternly and she relaxed, "Very well. Now go young man," and with that Alastair left.

He brushed past a concerned Ernesto and his team looked on. Alastair excused himself and looked at Ernesto with a quick glance but kept walking. Ernesto wondered if it was really over. With the demons and a quick call to his family and friends back home, he truly was concerned if this truly was over. Then he remembered, one more year of training before he can go home and rest before officially be on the roster for duty. He sighed and walked with his team to the training grounds for training. Minutes later, Lt. Col. Fann was now in the medical bay getting fixed up and now sported an eye-patch. But she needed time to recover before resuming duties, two days maximum.

Then a messenger ran into the medical bay with a message on the male alien's tablet, "Lieutenant! Incoming report from 100 light years in Z-Quadrant," he handed it to her.

Despite the pain, she read the report and the news just kept on coming in worse and worse. All she did was looked at those in the room and spoke, "我们必须做好准备。我们的估计即将到来，我们无法阻止它。(We must prepare ourselves. Our reckoning is coming and nothing we can do will prevent it.)"

Kyoto, Japan

[Sakyō-ku Ward, 6:00AM]

Shinji was finishing his morning jog. He just finished an hour's worth of running, winding down several blocks and several times around his old high school, the Kyoto Prefectural Hokuryo Senior High School, and after his run, did twenty or so minutes of stretching and resistance training in his local park, Iwakura Nakagawara Park just one block from his home. Using the swing sets and benches to do lunges, pull-ups and chin-ups, sit-ups, push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, and sets of kata in karate. He was sweating and panting when done. He drank and finished his gallon of water he carried in his bag he carried and once empty, knew he had to go home and clean up.

He sat down and enjoyed the quiet morning and looked around. He liked it being back home, even if he wanted to join LMM in Buenos Aires. However, the pilot knew his time on the fast jet was on Emiko's time not his, and the Japanese team along with the Chinese-American US Marine would have to return to Japan. So he swallowed his selfish wants and did the right thing. After leaving Bellwood they all hitchhiked on Julie's alien ship to return to Port Arthur, boarded the plane and headed west. Once that was done, they landed on an airstrip in Nevada; a gate was formed and landed safely in Japan. They all went their separate ways, or rather he left for him with Koji as fast as he can. The two women in the protected shrine were let go by Koji and returned home in the nation's capital. Shinji sent his regards and his thanks to those who aided him via letter. And since returning, he thought that was that.

As he then recuperated and thanked that the training with Emiko and her sister, Makoto increased his strength and stamina, he got up and headed home. A short walk of one block he approached his home's gate. Then he saw that some branches were disturbed and went inside. He opened the door and removed his shoes, "朝のお母さん! (Morning, mom!)"

His mom appeared from the kitchen, "朝の真司君。あなたの友人の何人かが訪問のために入って来た聞く。(Morning Shinji-kun. Listen, some friends of yours came in for a visit.)," she said and he at the moment figured were his old high school friends making a surprise visit.

As he went to the dining room, to his surprise it wasn't them. Instead it was the three young men who volunteered to come with him to the US. Soichiro Kudo, Takuya Soto, and Ryu Morikawa. The three sat up and bowed, "おはようございます。ボス！ (Good morning, boss!)"

Shinji bowed lightly and sat down, cautiously watching them, "失礼でないが…なぜあなたの両方はここにするか。 (Not to be rude but…why are the both of you doing here?)"

Takuya grinned, "とても簡単です。素晴らしい旅の数日前に私たちを連れて行ってくれてありがとうございました。 (Simple, to thank you for taking us on an awesome trip days ago!)"

"私はここで彼に同意しなければならない。(I have to agree with him here.)," Ryu said with a light jab to his friend/rival, "素晴らしい経験でした。特に、日本以外の国々の状況を見る。 (It was a fantastic experience. Especially seeing what goes on outside of Japan.)"

Shinji didn't know what to say and observed the two as his mother then served breakfast for them. Miso soup, grilled fish, steamed rice, and a small salad, "ありがとうございました! (Thank you very much!)," the two guests told his mom.

She bowed in thanks and the two began to eat voraciously. Shinji noticed their lack of manners, but then again he couldn't blame them. So he began to eat, not minding the two. But then the doorbell rang. He heard his mother said she'd get the door. Then he heard a greeting and a familiar voice. He nearly dropped his chopsticks. He turned and it was Soichiro Kudo, the high school senior from Tokyo, in his home with casual wear (a light blue blazer, a white buttoned shirt underneath, grey trousers, and his brown loafers were at the door as he glanced).

"こんにちはシンジ！今朝はどうですか？(Hi there Shinji! How are you this morning?)," Soichiro greeted with a smile, which only raised the ire in Shinji's temper.

"ここで何をしていますか？(What are you doing here?)," Shinji asked but his mom reminded him to be polite. Shinji winced and apologized but he still had a stern look to the young detective from Tokyo.

"私はちょうどある事のあなたに来、話すことにした。しかし、この2 つが私を破っているようだ。(I just decided to come and talk to you on some things. But it seems the two here beat me to it.)," Soichiro said as he sat down next to Shinji.

Shinji eyed him and the other two boys who finished their breakfast and looked at him now. Shinji sets down his rice bowl and folded his hands with his tea next to him, "ここに3 人いるのはなぜですか？マイリンが沖縄の彼女の基地に戻ってきて、少女たちは安全だと知っています。友人のコウジはトレーニング中で、コウイチはカリブ海のコロンビアに向かっています。もう一度お願いします。なぜここに来るのですか。(Why are you three here? I know Meilin is back on her base in Okinawa and the girls are safe. My friend Koji is training and Koichi is in the Caribbean heading to Colombia as we speak. So again I ask, why come here?)"

Takuya and Ryu looked at him in seriousness and said in unison, "このような状況が再び発生した場合は、当社をリードしていただきたいと考えています(We want you to lead us when something like that happens again.)," and Ryu said and continued.

"台湾はPlumbers がしたことに目を開いた。そして、戻ってから、友人と私はスペクトル活動が上昇し、司祭が時間とともに働いていることに気づきました。私たちがチームを形成し、この国で私たちが所有するつながりを持つことで、最悪の組織を緩和できると感じています。 (Taiwan opened our eyes to what the Plumbers have done. And since we returned, my friend here and I have noticed spectral activity rising, and priests working over time. I feel if we would form a team and with connections we posses in this country, we can mitigate the worst of the entities.)"

"彼が言ったことはそうです。(Yeah, what he said.)," Takuya said and continued, "自分の戦闘能力は、私がキパワーを使うまでは十分ではないことがわかった。それは私を抜き取ったが、それは引っ張ったあなたおよびあなたの友人だった。印象的です。 (And I saw that my own fighting skills aren't enough until I had to use my ki powers. It drained me but it was you and your friends that pulled through. That's impressive.)"

Then it was Soichiro who spoke, "私は1 人のために、実際にこれのすべてを、前に信じなかった。しかし私が私の自身の2 つの目とのこれすべてを見たとき。白人のつばの罪、警察の壊れ目、殺人、自殺、薬剤の胸像はすべて、悪魔およびesoterics がすることができるものと比較される子供の演劇である。そして… (I for one, didn't really believe in all of this, before. But when I saw all of this with my own two eyes. White collar crime, corruption in the police, homicide, suicide, drug busts, all of that is child's play compared to what demons and esoterics can do. And…)"

He whispered into Shinji's ear in English, "Your past is as checkered as a mercenary."

Shinji stood up and spoke to the three with contained rage, "この情報を使って3 人が何を考えているか、計画しているかはわかりません。しかし私は3 つこれを言う…私はリーダーでないし、私の友人がfray にあり、よい良心にそれらを去ることができなかったのでこれらの事だけをした。私はそれが正しいと思ったので私の生命の多くの事をした。昨年は、私たちがhubris で行動し、それを支払ったことを実感した瞬間でした。(I don't know what you three are thinking or planning with this information. But I will tell you three this…I'm no leader and only did these things because my friends were in the fray and could not in good conscience leave them. I did many things in my life because I thought it was right. Last year was the moment we realized we acted in hubris and paid for it.)"

He breathed in and out and then sat down. He drank his tea and looked at the three, and Takuya uttered, "この情報を使って3 人が何を考えているか、計画しているかはわかりません。しかし私は3 つこれを言う…私はリーダーでないし、私の友人がfray にあり、よい良心にそれらを去ることができなかったのでこれらの事だけをした。私はそれが正しいと思ったので私の生命の多くの事をした。昨年は、私たちがhubris で行動し、それを支払ったことを実感した瞬間でした。 (Bullshit. You did act like a leader and were good at it. Who cares what was in the past! You took charge in the moment and saved our butts in the process!)"

Then Soichiro's phone rang. He answered to hear the voice of an angry girlfriend. He apologized profusely and tried to explain he was handling an important matter. Shinji then sees the eager expressions on Takuya and Ryu's faces. Though Ryu was more level headed than Takuya, Shinji wondered how truly level he was. Takuya was eager for a new challenge and then heard his own cellphone rang. He answered to, surprisingly or not, another angry girl demanding where he was. His tone was more along the lines of calming her down but she wasn't having it. Shinji looked to his mother for aid and she walked to him and whispered.

"彼らはあなたより若いことを覚えておいてください。彼らはあなたと同じくらい成熟している。忍耐強く、怒ってはいけない。 (Remember, they're younger than you are. They are maturing just as much as you are. Be patient and do not be angry.)"

He nodded and she smiled. She turned around and spoke, "兄とはガールフレンドと夕食に来ています。彼が今回提案するかもしれないと思っています。 (Oh and your brother is coming to dinner with his girlfriend. I'm thinking he might propose this time.)"

Shinji smiled at her, "あなたは2 年前からお母さんになったと言っています。(You've been saying that for two years now mom.)," and she smiled, "母親は子供にしか希望できない。 (A mother can only hope for her children.)"

Then she walked back to the kitchen to wash dishes. He returned to eating his breakfast but didn't realize that Ryu was now passing him a note. The swordsman's writing was decent and legible and it read this:

ちょっと人、

正直

なところ、私は行く場所を得なかったし、それらの3 人の女の子を救うために揺れるとき私は好意のための信頼できることを意味する。私はこれが奇妙であることを知っているが、ここに行く: 私はあなたおよびあなたの家族と二段ベッドできるか。私はさまよっているswordsman であり、私は国中の鬼および幽霊を追放した。しかし私は森で眠ることに疲れている感じている。私が3 年前に私が仕事の実質部分から愛したものを保護することに失敗したので大抵。ペランスとして私は私が言ったようにここにそしてそこにあった。私は私が私の専有物の場所を見つけるまで私がここにしばらく二段ベッドできるかどうか疑問に思っていたか。

ありがとう。

森川龍。

Hey man,

To be honest, I got no place to go and when you swooped in to save those three girls means I can trust you for a favor. I know this is strange but here goes: Can I bunk with you and your family? I am a wandering swordsman and I have banished demons and ghosts across the country. But I'm feeling tired of sleeping in the woods. Mostly because I've failed to protect the one I loved from a real piece of work three years ago. So as penance I've been here and there as I said. I was wondering if I can bunk here for a while until I find a place of my own?

Thanks.

Ryu Morikawa.

Shinji looked up at Ryu who looked at him openly. He sighed and thought of one thing, 'How are mom and dad gonna handle this? Can't turn the poor bastard away can I?'

He leaned forward and whispered to Ryu, "他の2 つが去るとき、これについての私のお母さんおよびお父さんに話す。案件： (When the other two leave, you talk to my mom and dad about this. Deal?)"

Ryu grinned a bit, "ええ、お得です。(Yeah, deal.)"

And both sat down and Shinji was able to finish his breakfast.

Plumber Academy, 200 light-years away

The Head Magistrata of the Plumber Law Enforcement Agency was surveying the academy and those who remained when the incident occurred. The officers gave their testimonies, Magister Hulka was surveying the students and recruits who returned, and the Magistrata was surveying the activity from the upper level. In the office it was clean and organized and Magister Coronach was standing erect as she paced to and fro.

She then stood in front of the academy head, "Nothing was collected in the equipment regarding this skeletal figure or ghostly apparition?"

"None whatsoever, ma'am. Whatever was recorded was corrupted to the point of not even our techs or Galvin operators were able to reconstruct it. So, as those on Earth, we were blindsided."

She listened to Coronach and nodded silently. The stories of esoterics, ghosts, apparitions, demons, and angels; they were slowly creeping into several if not all operations across the galaxies. Even Azmuth who was at the moment doing research on Galvin Prime was unnerved by what had happened. She had several scenarios in her head simultaneously on what to do about this. Esoterics are proving to be a handful and policing them would only backfire in the most horrifying them. And the news of Max's punishment under esoteric law reached her relatively quickly. She was feeling dread and anger and was at a loss on what was the next course of action.

She then returned to the window and surveyed what was below. She was silent for a moment until Magister Coronach spoke, "And there is more troubling news."

He took in a deep breath and relayed the information, "Vilgax the Conqueror has subdued the ninth planet and added it to his territory. Now he is making his way to Magister Tennyson's home planet, Earth. He would arrive there in one month's time. What is our course of action?"

She was silent. He pressed, "Ma'am?"

She said nothing and let only despair fill her, "Tell them to prepare themselves. Vilgax is coming and Magister Tennyson best recuperate quickly. If I know that Vilgaxian well and I do, he will attack headquarters in the Sol System. And he will strike hard. At the moment his forces don't have the strength to repel him."

Magister Coronach paled at the revelation. He and Max have gone through a lot in their younger years and Magister Hulka was their superior captain back then, even now. When Magister Hulka finds out about this, he knew this would not end well. He then sat down at the desk, his mind racing through at least a dozen scenarios of what to do. He then took something out from his desk drawer. It was a human photograph with himself, Max, Hulka, and several officers from America and the former Soviet Union, now the Russian Federation.

Then an idea swam across his mind, 'I know what I have to do. I just hope the message can get to them in time.'

He then opened communication with the Magistrata looking on silently. Magister Coronach then was on live with several Russian operatives now based in Eastern Siberia, "Комрады. Заходите, заходите. (Comrades. Come in, over.)"

Then the transmission came in over the screen and audio. He can see a team based live form Eastern Siberia. The equally famed and infamous squad of the Plumbers since the 1980s, the 'Red Star Squadron', as they were once known in their prime; and for their off the books mercenary work to hunt down criminals beyond red tape.

"Магистер Коронач. (Magister Coronach.)," one Russian officer spoke, "У вас есть причина связаться с нами после того, как американец вызвал у меня группу, которая вот уже почти полтора дня. (You better have a reason for contacting us after the American caused a cluster fuck out here for nearly a day and a half.)"

"Я так и не буду вам этого нравиться. (I do and you won't like it.)"

"испытать нас. (Try us.)"

He explained it to them and the leader of the Russian team, now in his late sixties uttered, "Соберите команду вместе. И добейтесь Халки от его осла и стряхните этот дерьмо. Мы получили работу сделать. (Gather the team together. And get Hulka off his ass and shake off this shit. We got work to do.)"

Coronach nodded and Magistrata looked in curious and focused and heard Coronach replied with, "принято. (Copy that.)," in the Earth language of Russian.

MEANWHILE, ACROSS THE MULTIVERSE

BEN PRIME TIMELINE, PLANET EARTH

JULY 2009, WEEK TWO

Bellwood, TX, USA

[Mr. Smoothie, Wednesday, 9:23PM]

A gentleman was standing in a parking lot of Ben's favorite place. Here he fiddled with his pocket watch and sees a muscle car approaching. They were just coming back from encountering an alien from the Andromeda Galaxy who was on the run from the Osmosian threat, Agreggor. Ben was happy that at least he wasn't arrested by the US Military, and ensured an alien would go home. But Paradox knew better as the events that happened tonight will reverberate later to its inevitable conclusion; or at least, one of the more probable of outcomes.

"Greetings children," Paradox greeted them and the three teenagers were surprised to see him.

"If you're here that means another global threat is coming," Kevin said and Paradox looked at him in the eyes.

"No not yet. And remember my rule, 'no spoilers'," he assured him and Kevin groaned, muttering about the frustrating levels of ambiguity with the British time traveler.

Ben smiled, "Is that for us or for you," he cheekily asked and Paradox winked with a grin, "Touché."

Then Paradox blinked and in his vision he sees events for another eventuality playing before him. He sees armies; between a conquering group of aliens on Earth and another where they were human but also something more to them. Then he saw two mythical creatures flying about, and then attacking with their power. He then sees Dante among images of people he's not met yet. Then sees an image of another, a villain who he thought he had dealt with. Then the images ceased and he blinked again to see the three teenagers looking at him.

"You all right," Ben asked, "You were out of it for a minute there," he added.

Paradox waved it off and put on a smile, "I was seeing something interesting," but Gwen looked at him with an incredulous expression.

"Are you sure?"

"I assure you Ms. Tennyson, it's nothing to worry at the moment. So with that said, I'll see you three later."

He strolled away and as he past the lamppost he disappeared. Kevin groaned at this, "I can never get used to that. What about you Gwen? Gwen?"

She then was in a meditative state where her eyes glowed magenta. She was trying to see whatever image Paradox saw in the mana field. But then she returned to focus and faced the two boys. Ben and Kevin looked at her with curiosity.

"Sorry. I was trying to see what Paradox was seeing. So I tried to see if it was accessible in the mana field. But I saw nothing. I think there is a barrier between what he saw and what I can access," she explained.

"You think there is a spell to crack it," Ben asked but Gwen shook her head signaling a no, "Sorry. I don't there are spells or rituals to access certain things in the mana field unless it was allowed."

Then Kevin said something, "Where angels fear to tread," he said wistfully and the two looked at him, "What," he asked.

"I guess even you can think of something deep like that," Ben waved it off and entered Mr. Smoothie and Gwen nudged Kevin a bit and followed suit.

Kevin smiled and followed his girlfriend and his friend inside. Then he looked to his left and there was an image of a young man slightly older than him and then it vanished. He brushed it off as a trick of the eye and entered the juicer establishment.

Edit this when near this portion of the chapter. Until then, keep writing.

1/2/2020

Between work, a slight illness, work related transfer confusion, I've been in a slight delay in posting this part of chapter nine. But here it is. I hoped to have done this justice given the multiple ways of portraying this chapter. From action to horror, from drama to thriller, I've done my best. These past few years I've been focusing on quality of my writing and evolving my personal style as opposed to strictly trying to get a chapter done in a month or two. I can't really do that as much as I have before. But my drive to soldier on, regardless of low viewership or little to no comments, remains strong. I write because it feels good. And if there are people out there who find enjoyment in this story, thank you.

In addition this chapter had to be split up into two parts again due to the length of it. Furthermore, when this happens again, I'll just write it up and split it into two or three parts if need be. That way, I won't overwhelm readers, which I feel I have had due to my own stubbornness for not accommodating all of you. If I have overwhelmed you people, my apologies.