Chapter 32

The sickly green glow emanating from the well illuminated the cavern. The ditto and marowak stood silent as they watched the very fabric of reality crack, leaving the shattered glass like window between them.

"Failure will no longer be tolerated. Finality will be achieved. We give one final disciple, to end the entropy of your world. Open the veil." The cacophonous voice commanded.

"But, we don't yet have the…"

"SILENCE! Insolent speck!" The chorus voice sounded enraged.

The marowak nodded, channeling the power of his well cutting a hole in the nearby cave wall. It seemed to open up to an endless void.

From the void in the wall, a swirling vortex emerged, it's only defining features, a pair of glowing crimson eyes. The hole in the wall sealed itself back and the vortex dissipated.

Standing where the vortex had been, "Shadow!" Naraku morphed his body taking the shape of the darkrai, ready for battle.

"Yes, that is my name, but where I come from, I was simply called The Calamity."

"He will succeed, where you have failed me. He will bring this world to its finality." The choir of voices vanished and the shattered glass closed up.

"And why should I trust you?" Naraku turned back to his ditto form.

"Because I am stronger than you, and you have no choice." The doppelganger spoke calmly.

*With Pyre*

The charmander was surrounded, Tin to his left, his dad to his right, and his mom in front of him. Each one scowling.

"What were you think! Running off to Icekey City!?" Ferna all but shouted grabbing Pyre by his arms and shaking him comically. "Do you have any idea how worried we were? Your father couldn't sleep he was so worried!"

Ember spoke up next. "And your poor mother ended up hugging Tin for comfort so hard, just look at him!"

Pyre glanced at Tin, the charmeleon looked rather raw in places, as if he'd been rubbed raw. "You shouldn't have run off like that Pyre." Tin's voice, it didn't hold the same upsetness as the others, just disappointment.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't just do nothing! Ivy was in danger, and I couldn't just leave his safety in the hands of strangers!" Pyre stood firm. "Especially when the only cop in that city that helped us, turned out to be the one behind the kidnappings to begin with."

"That isn't the point, you had no business doing that, you should've left it to his parents." Ferna added.

"When I got their to save him, his dad was there, basically raping him!" Pyre shouted in frustration. "I did the right thing! I don't care what any of you say!"

Before Pyre could continue he felt them all hug him together. "We were worried about you Pyre, you're our baby boy." Ember spoke more calmly. "And we're your family, it's our job to worry."

"We aren't saying you did anything wrong, just that you shouldn't have run off like you did, we were worried." Ferna added, looking Pyre in the eyes. "You mean everything to us."

"I know Ma," Pyre hugged them back "I love you all."

"We love you too!"

*Nightshade Manor*

"So, what happened?" Mare was seated in his study, with Shadow standing before him. Blade had gone to lay down, he was exhausted from the trip.

"We found Ivy, he had nearly been trafficked before we arrived. I was framed for murder, thank you for the lawyer. The officer who assisted us, Gambit, was behind the trafficking, and was the entity known as Jack of Blades, he revealed it in the courtroom. Though I am led to believe the real Jack was the mask, since it was what appeared when it attempted to invade my mind." Shadow spouted the words as little more than exposition. "There was something strange about him, he felt familiar, like Naraku."

"Another Aberration?"

"Doubtful. If Jack was the mask, as I theorize, he would have had no way to ingest the blood of his target, and thus,"

"No way to have the intelligence he did. I see. Did anything else happen that could help explain what he was?"

"The only other thing, was that he strangely tried to abduct Blade. At least I believe he did, he lunged at him in the courtroom, but had no form of attack prepared. And then, when we finally dealt with him, Blade was used as bait to lure him out, and he came willingly."

"Why Blade?"

"I think because Jack realized Blade was the least experienced fighter, so he planned to use him as a hostage."

"What doesn't make sense, is that he revealed himself in the courtroom. Would it not have been more effective to abduct Blade beforehand?" Mare looked thoughtful.

"That has been bothering me as well." Shadow sighed. "It is the only thing that makes me believe he had other motives. I simply do not know what they could have been."

"Until we know more, there isn't much to be done. You should get some rest, you'll need it. That tournament is tomorrow isn't it?"

Shadow stayed silent, it had slipped his mind entirely. He frowned, Blade had only gotten a few more lessons in battling on the trip to Icekey City, he wasn't ready for the tournament, but ready or not, it was upon them. "Oh, yes, of course. I had forgotten in all the excitement." Shadow stepped out of the room, he too needed to rest.

*Firelink Crater*

Just outside Firelink City, above the crater Pyre accidentally created the stars shone bright and beautiful. One more than the others, but it was no distant and beautiful star, but a small pale sphere descending out of space. As it continued to fall, it was seemingly drawn to the center of the crater, where in a burst of light it would make impact, causing the already cratered ground to scorch over.

But the heat and power extended only to the edges of the crater and stopped as if erecting a barrier to protect itself.

*Elsewhere*

The air all but shattered open above the well of power. And the cacophonous voice boomed "A vessel has appeared, to prevent finality. Accelerate your work, find the child of light and dark. Destroy the veil!"

As suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

"Well, that complicates things. How are we supposed to get the child of light and dark with that other Shadow guarding him. And with that tournament they'll be in their guard will be up more than ever."

"Wait, you've found it already, but just haven't taken it?" Calamity Shadow all but shouted. "Show me!"

The lich, still tending his well, held out a hand letting a green flame appear. It showed an image of Blade sleeping, in Shadow's arms.

"Oh you imbecile." The calamities Shadow spoke.

"Who do you think you're calling an imbecile?"

"We let them have their tournament, let them expend their energy first, then we take the child."

"You don't understand, Shadow isn't the only one protecting him. We'd never get away carrying Blade, besides Shadow has definitely done what he did to Jack to his friends, hes likely laid mental anchors to track them if they're ever in danger."

"Then we don't take Blade. We only need the child."

"What are you, dense? Blade is the child." Naraku spat.

"You really are an idiot." Calamity Shadow pointed over Blade. "The child of light," he moved his claw over Shadow "and dark." He created a small circle with his hands holding them over Blade's stomach. "Is right there."