Kalmar felt a prickling sensation, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up.

"Yes, definitely that way," He said as the Demon Hunter started running toward the focus of the power. The exact direction was imprinted in his mind, so he would have no problem finding it.

Blazen nodded as he then ran forward to where Kalmar was begining to head. He would lead the way naturally as he was closer. Blazen would jump over a log then dodge a tree as came to the POD: point of destination.

"Here we go!" Matt said, rushing foward as Soma and the others dogpiled on...well, the dog. Wolf. Whatever. He remembered seeing this from a TV show-bending down to Taliban's prone snout, he laid his hands on the snarling beast's face. "You got the touch...you got the POWEEEEEEER!" he sang, as energy burst from his palms and coursed into the thrashing wolfman.

R.D. growled as he struggled to keep the flailing wolfman down. Alasea whimpered when Taliban nearly freed himself, but she was able to keep him down. Both started squinting when the bright energy erupted from Matt's hands, and when Taliban started thrashing more, they redoubled their efforts to keep him pinned.

===At Germany===

As Blazen and Kalmar ran, the soon found themselves forced to stop at the edge of a valley clearing at the base of the mountains. The gigantic structure of the Pillar of Dawn towered over them imposingly, the four sides of it pulsing with strange energy. As they stopped, it released another wave of power that washed over the two. Standing on a rock with a large sword slung over her shoulder, was a fifteen-year-old girl.



Ellie Mariannas looked up at the two of them and grinned.

"What the hell are you trying to do over there?" Hugo demanded, standing to Helena's side as she pinned down Taliban's legs.

"Hold on...there we go!" With a final flash, Matt stood, shaking his hands. "There, I cleared the mind control effects over him...I hope."

"You HOPE?" Soma repeated.

"Gotta have faith, man. All right." Matt backed up. "Let him go."

R.D. and Alasea both looked at Matt, then each other, before finally letting go and backing away at the same time, with R.D. readying himself in case Matt had failed.

Helena gently eased her grip on Taliban, backing away as well. Soma lifted his elbow, but shuffled back the least, in case he was needed.

"Welcome to the awesome side, Taliban!" Matt declared, entering a strange pose. "Now, wake up, but don't bother trying to put on any makeup!"

With a growl that sounded partially like a groan, Taliban clasped a clawed hand over his face. "...where am I?"

"It's ALIIIIIIIIVE!" Matt wailed, curling his fingers maniacally. "I am a genie-ous!"

"You're not helping, Matt!" came Hugo's scolding remark.

"Why'd we make you our leader again?" R.D. asked at Matt's latest eccentric comment.

Alasea was the one who responded to Taliban. "You're in the clock tower of Dracula's castle."

"...Dracula's castle?" The wolfman sat up, holding his head. "...where is that?"

"Looks like we've got some explaining to do," Soma said.

*****

"...how confusing," Taliban muttered, his eyes closed, his legs folded.

"You said it, kid," Matt remarked, offhandedly drinking from a slightly open can of soda.

Soma sighed. "Well, that's basically it. I'm not sure if you believe it, but that's the truth."

"I might as well believe it, considering the things I've seen." The wolfman opened a tawny eye, glancing at Matt. "And you say you know the catwoman."

Matt broke away from his soda. "Oh, yeah. I said I'd find you for her, and here we are."

"We more or less got dragged along for the ride," R.D. said, sipping on a similar drink, having taken one from their supplies. "Probably a good thing we did, or you would've ripped Matt a new one."

Edited by RisingDragon on March 24, 2007 at 20:44:36.

"Yeah, uh...you were doing a stellar job, too," Matt remarked to R.D., obviously meaning the opposite as he took another swig.

"So, what do we do now?" Helena asked, not having bothered to withdraw her wings yet. "We can't leave him here, can we?"

"That would not be a good idea," a familiar voice said-Arikado was suddenly present, standing near the group as if he had been there all along.

This startled Matt. "DAMN!" he shouted, recoiling. "Don't DO that!"

Soma didn't skip a beat-apparently he was used to this. "Are you going to watch him, Arikado?"

"Yes. When all returns to normal, I believe a path to his true home will open for him." That last sentence was made with a glance at Matt, as if implying the boy somehow in what had occured.

"You will have to tell me what's going on," Taliban growled to the black-suited man.

"Of course." Arikado's eyes drifted to Soma. "Go, Soma. The throne awaits."

R.D. ignored Matt's comment, opting to finish his soda and crush the empty can between his hands and tossing it to the side. He drew his Phase Blade and kept it at the ready. "Well, shall we go?" he asked, motioning towards where they believed the throne was.

"Well, that was helpful." Gilgamesh remarked.

My thoughts exactly. Meta thought grimly. "Come on, let's go." She said as she started walking again. As she ascended a sandy hill, she turned for a moment to look back at the others. "And make sure your minds won't be fried when you see someone die in the coming battle." She said in a firm, yet grim tone. After her words had been said, she turned again and walked over the top of the hill, Gilgamesh following her close behind.

"All right," Soma said. He gestured to the others. "Let's go."

"Hold it!" Matt interjected, raising a hand, then spreading his fingers over his chest. "Only I may lead our group!" He gestured to the others. "All right, boys and girls, let's get jiggy with it!"

"Forget this," Hugo muttered, already heading toward the wobbly staircase.

R.D. merely ignored the latest eccentricity and continued forward along the staircase, following Hugo.

Alasea looked at Matt apologetically and shrugged, and followed.

Edited by RisingDragon on March 25, 2007 at 21:39:00.

As they neared the Sphinx, Meta pulled a sword out of it's sheath, preparing for the coming battle. Gilgamesh also appeared to suddenly be holding a spear.

"What is our strategy?" The bodyguard inquired Kouken as he started to walk next to him. "You seem the most reasonable out of your group, so that's why I'm asking you."

Kalmar stopped and stared at the girl, for she was. The woman before them was young, very young, yet with her appearance and the Pillar of Dawn behind her she looked like a warrior. Though Kalmar did not know what the Pillar of Dawn was, he still regarded the object with great reserve, feeling the energy flowing forth from it.

"Who are you?" He questioned, trying not to sound rude, "And why have you summoned us here?"

Ellie gave Kalmar an indignant look. "Summoned you? You're trespassing," she said.

Gilgamesh blinked when Juno replied instead of Kouken, a bit to his surprise. He looked at Kouken. "You a bodyguard of his?" He asked in wonder.

Gilgamesh raised a brow. Purple-locks? He thought. The smartest guy here? Right. Interesting He shifted his gaze to look up. "Fighting time, I presume." He said, raising his spear, then jumped and stuck it through a hawk. Meta had vanished from his sight, so he quickly started to search for her. She was up ahead many dozens of yards, already enveloped in battle with several hawks, a dozen lying dead by her feet already.

Meta pulled her blade back, after it had impaled three hawks at once. She looked into Shujou's direction, and nodded, having heard him perfectly, even though he was far away. She joined them, Gilgamesh, Juno, Kouken, Derek, Shujou and the Za-Fuzen in their rush for Electra.
"Juno." She said as if in a whisper to the man as she ran beside him. "I think it would be best if we knocked her into the water. That'd make her power backfire and electrocute any monsters in the nearby seas, possibly even all the seas on the Earth."

On a sandy dune in Egypt, a lone young man, looking no older than 16 and wearing black slacks and a white button-up short-sleeve shirt watched as a battle unfolded between the Lightning Hawks of Electra and one of many resistance bands on the planet. His neck-long gray hair swayed in the wind, and his blood-red eyes gazed thoughtfully. His pale skin seemed unsuitable for the harsh desert, yet the heat could not touch him.

"So, let's see if they have what it takes to defeat the leader of the lightning hawks," he murmured in amusement. The light around him distorted as he teleported across the sands, appearing much closer to the battlefield, yet still out of harm's way.

Edited by RisingDragon on March 27, 2007 at 0:31:03.

"Oh, I am sure you'll find a way." Meta said semi-mockingly. "With enough willpower, anything's possible."