Veronica and Bryant turned their attention quickly to the teen, eyes wide, Brandon was close to follow. Bryant then sighed and looked down. Figured.

"Dead?" Veronica whispered, looking down as well, at the floor. She shook a bit, remembering how Bahamut nobly risked his life as well as the lives of other dragons to save her life. It seemed unfair. He did such a good thing and was such a good soul...only to die.

"How?" Bryant asked, obviously heart broken somewhat. He had put a hand on his forehead, trying to calm himself down a bit. Brandon was clam however, being in prison made a person loose a bit of their emotions, but it still hurt him a bit.

They seemed distressed, R.D. noted wryly. Guess Bahamut really did send these guys.

R.D. lowered his weapon, aiming the barrels down at the floor. If Bahamut trusted them, I guess he could as well. "Killed in a battle against a demon called Diablo. He was trying to protect me."

R.D. leaned up against the doorframe of the entryway, hooking his free hand's thumb in the pocket of his cargo pants. "Diablo cornered me and turned his attack on me. Bahamut used his own body as a shield. He died, and I ended up killing Diablo."

Edited by RisingDragon on September 26, 2007 at 18:51:40.

"Jesus..." Bryant said under his breath in a soft whisper. Now what? What would they do when they found the damn thing? He sighed and looked back up, his eyes a bit red from sorrow. Veronica was breathing roughly, keeping herself from crying.

"Ok..." Bryant then said, trying to get back to the matter at hand. He ran a hand through his dirty blond hair and stood up.

"We need to find this thing then." Bryant approached the teen, "We're looking for the Chronoscepter, know anything about it?" Bryant asked, taking back the situation. They needed to get this thing soon then, before any trouble finds them. Brandon had pushed himself off the desk in the meantime.

LCPL. Jones raised his assualt rifle as Hudson as he ran at their group. "Turn and fight, or I will fire!" The three other Marines quickly filtered past their commander and joined their brothers, adding to the gas propelled death.

Dual 9mm's hit various parts of the rushing Trigen force, while Smith's assualt rifle complimented it. PFC. Potter knelt down, waiting for any Trigen to get too close before blasting it with his shotgun.

---- Mountains of Germany ----

The Demon Hunter wrenched his blade free as he flew away, intending to avoid the Devil Guardian's bite. However when Blazen's attack distracted the beast, he quickly went back on the offensive.

Using his energy flight he rose behind the creature, gathering energy behind him to swiftly propel himself at the beast's head.

If it doesn't work at first..

Summoning his greatsword, he pointed the tip down at the base of the Devil Guardian's skull. Quickly gathering energy into the tip of the blade, he fired a finger thin beam into the spot where his sword would connect moments later.

R.D. shook his head. "Never heard of it," he said, "But if Bahamut sent you after it, it must be important."

The amnesiac looked at the living room briefly, then gave the three of them an annoyed glance. "You're cleaning this up, you know," he said, pushing off the wall while leaving his shotgun propped up against it. "Name's R.D.."

===In Germany===

The Devil Guardian continued its angry, pained roar as Kalmar flew up into the air. Red eyes locked onto the Demon Hunter, staring defiantly at him. Reddish-black fire gathered in its mouth.

The beam burned into the hide just above and between the creature's head, weakening it greatly. Its roar intensified as Kalmar plummeted down, and screamed as the blade of the demonic greatsword pierced the weakened skin and through the skull.

It continued to scream, the cry reverberating in the skulls of the two warriors. Suddenly, darkness erupted from every inch of the Devil Guardian's body, unleashing a shockwave of power that would throw away the two of them with ease. Only its blood-red, glowing eyes could be seen through the blackness that rivaled the light that blazed as the sun finally peaked over the German land.

The morning sun finally breaking over the German mountains was lost to the Demon Hunter as he was flung high into the air. He twirled end over end as the explosion emitted from the Devil Guardian propelled him.

After a few hundred feet Kalmar regained his bearing and stopped himself, letting the now dying shockwave sweep over him. He felt pain blossom over his body from numerous cuts, bruises, and gashes that covered him. His clothes were in shreds, and his hair covered his face disarray.

If that bastard isn't dead by now, that thing is going to wish it was.

Running his hands through his hair to get the hair out of his eyes the man scanned the mountain's bowl, looking for any signs of the gigantic Devil Guardian, or the God of Fire.

What the hell happened?

Edited by Fallen on September 26, 2007 at 23:45:50.

The Devil Guardian remained in its place, its screams now lost within the great darkness surrounding it. The black maelstrom writhed and expanded, growing in size. Still, the only sign of the Devil Guardian being within it was in those raging, red eyes.

And then suddenly, the darkness shattered into thousands of black particles, each one streaking forward to slam into Kalmar's body. As each one hit, it spread out across his skin and clothing, covering it. Soon, the blackness had overtaken him completely. Of the Devil Guardian, there was no sign. And Kalmar...

Something was growing over Kalmar's body.

The Demon Hunter quickly spotted the Devil Guardian, it's red eyes blazing within the blackness beneath him. It's roar cut through his head like a razor, though he barely paid it any mind.

"Fuck you, you bastard!" Kalmar roared in rage as he glared defiantly back at the Devil Guardian. Red eyes met huge red eyes for a moment, but it was quickly lost. When the gigantic black maelstrom shattered, the man started.

The hundreds of shards stabbed into him felt like death, but a strange feeling overtook him as the shards began covering his body. Soon he was completely covered in it, much like a living body suit.

What is this?

The suit quickly began to take form, expanding from his body. Soon the black material formed into a full set of armor, black and soot colored from top to bottom.

His helmet covered his entire head, only a sunglass like visor along the front allowed him to see out. Two fin like blades extended from his cheek area diagonally up and around the top sides of his head. A two pronged soot-colored crest rested on his forehead, a blood-red ruby set into the center.

The black and soot colored pauldrons looked like overdeveloped muscles, though red lines ran throughout them and they held three nuclei-like power cells each.

The curiass is composed of black and blood-red mail, a roaring demon's head inlaid into the center of it with blood-red rubies set into the eye sockets. Two blade-like ridges run down the back of the curiass to the lower back, starting at the shoulder and growing smaller as they descend. The armor gives the appearance of overdeveloped torso muscles.

From shoulder to wrist his limbs were covered in black and soot covered material, the same that composed all of his new armor. The armor here also gave the appearance of overdeveloped arm muscles. Two curving blades extended from the wrist section to three inches past his elbow, the front blade being an inch high while the back blade being an inch and a half.

The gauntlets were black and made of layered armor segments, allowing for full-range finger movement. The fingers were shaped like claws, though had little effectiveness in battle.

The greaves were black and soot colored, the side 'skirts' holding twin propulsion units which allow for increased flight speed and maneuverability. Two blades were set into the knee area, both being a foot long while a third blade is set into the shin area, being half a foot long.

The boots were black and made of layered armor segments, with twin blood-red spikes on either side of each boot.

He held a large oval shield in his left hand, black rimmed with a blood-red center. The brim of the shield tapered into four blunt points, while a thick soot-colored cross was inlaid into the center of it

Kalmar slowly descended into the bowl, his armor dully reflecting the morning sun. As he scanned the bowl for his friend, an red blur slowly appeared. The God of Fire.

"Blazen!" The Demon Hunter yelled, hoping the man would be able to hear him.

Edited by Fallen on September 30, 2007 at 11:10:37.

Meta cocked her head sideways, not bothering if it was unwise to take her eyes off Hydro, as they both were out of one another's range for most of their techniques and attacks, and looked at Sin in the most funny way she ever had looked at anyone, in a way in which she wasn't likely to look at anyone again, ever.

"What the FRICK are you SAYING?" She said to him loudly, as she didn't understand anything of his words in the least. She didn't know who this strange being was who had just shown up, apparantly to help her, or at least not fight against her. The words Sin had spoken only confused Meta more as to what his purpose was, and whether or not to think of him as a sane person.

"Well, perhaps I won't mind that, but right now I am a little busy." Meta replied to Sin's words, hurriedly glancing back at Hydro to notice him still standing where she had left him.

OOC: Lawl, Fallen is Spawn.

Meta noticed how Sin disappeared, and then suddenly felt a surge of water rising upwards from behind her. Leaping out of the way, she landed in time to see that Sin had rosen up from the water underneath Hydro. But something was wrong about that picture. She saw two Hydros. One of them wasn't moving at all, the one that was slightly closer to her than the others. Meta held one blade in front of her in her left hand, and let her right arm be in a position behind her, also holding a sword, pointing upwards with the blade, finding such a position to be most effective for one in the defense.

Sneaky little snake. Meta thought, as she glanced at the still figure of the fake Hydro, keeping both it and the real Hydro and Sin in her sight. If you distract an opponent well, you should come up with a better attack than that.

Edited by Morphman on September 28, 2007 at 17:08:38.

Meta's eyes widened, her left one twitched at the corner. She leaped into the sky, using her magic to propel herself and at the peak of her jump create a barrier below her to stand upon. She stood there, as if defiantly, staring at the water-turned-Fuzen-Mizu Indian Ocean, her eyes narrow.

"You have never been bested on your own turf you say," Meta spoke loudly, "well then, prepare for the first time!" She cried out, her voice thundering as if it had become lightning itself.

"You do not know what happened to Electra, do you?" She continued, softer, as she stood there, many dozens, into hundreds of feet above the water. "Upon defeating her, I gained her power. And as you well know, lightning beats water, as rock beats scissors!"

@THD: lol. Didn't think of it that way. But I guess he kinda looks like it.

"Who said I command mere lightning?" Meta responded with a sneer. "I absorbed Electra's power, making it my own. I can everything I want with that power, even using it to fuel other powers of mine." She outstretched her right arm above her, ignoring the fact that Sin was above her. "I am sure you are familiar with Electra's powers, or at least those of the one she got hers from." Meta continued. "So now prepare to face the power of the Kuro-Raikou Moon, but instead of being a lightning moon of darkness, this one shall be of light!" She proclaimed. "Holiness descend upon you!" The last words were cried out roaringly, rocking the skies like thunder. A sphere started to form in Meta's opened, outstretched hand overhead her, growing rapidly in size, assuming the same size as the Kuro-Raikou Moon that Electra had used on her, but instead of being filled with darkness, the humongous sphere shone with an incredible radiance, brightly shedding it's light upon the world below as if a second, smaller sun had sprung into existance, but not one made of fire, but one made of light and lightning, it's radiance piercing through the dark and evil waters of the oceans and seas below, desecrated by Hydro's presence and of his minions.

Meta, still looking upon the disgusting face of evil that was Hydro's wicked form that was like a disease to the ocean in her eyes, did not take her eyes off him for even a split second. In this manner, she started speaking to Gula, who was near her. "For your sake, I hope you can amplify this much power, so concentrated and vast, but above all the light that is infused into it. If you deem yourself incapable of amplifying it, than don't even try."


(OOC: Next post is up to Zane, yes. >.> And, well, I suppose I could have Meta don some blue armour. But no spandex! It's icky. =X)

Seeing Gula turning and twisting and squirming itself to become a vast portal to be able to encompass the humongous sphere of light, lightning and holiness. Meta swung her arm in an arc, directing her attack downwards. The holified Darkness-turned-Light version of the original Kuro-Raikou Moon (now not-so much Kuro, but a heck load of Raikou, and a heck load of Shiro), started to descend. It entered the entrance of Gula, having turned into a tunnel, powerful energy torrents swirling in the creature's insides. Gula had trouble with it, but drawing from the massive forces of sin that flowed through any heart filled with gluttony, it found itself just able enough to keep itself from falling into non-existence, and process the attack, fuelling it into becoming thrice as powerful. The massive sphere, when more than half of it had entered Gula, started to come out of the other side, even more radiant and bright, it's power so vast one could only deem it to be otherworldly. Build up, the power was unleashed. As fast as light and lightning could, they travelled downward to meet with Hydro, whom had merged with the very ocean. The massive amounts of light and lightning struck the Fuzen-Mizu waters of the Indian Ocean, encompassing the whole ocean, blasting apart it's waters with it's sheer might, and it kept coming, and the power surged through all the oceans and seas of the world, coming back again and again to their source of origin in the Indian Ocean to torment Hydro to the fullest, to give him pain like no other, one that in it's elements would shred his physical being apart, and in it's holiness would burn his mind and soul until it was so crisped that he might not be even able to think.

A dozen seconds had already passed since the blast had struck Hydro, and it still kept coming, the last bit of the moon-sized attack had just entered the Gula-portal, the last bit still visible in it's bright radiance. Meta's hair flowed wildly around her, her gaze stern, fixed upon what was happening below her, in her mind and soul she was shaking wildly in awe of what she saw, of what she had done. She started to count, "Five...", count down the seconds until it all would be finished, "Four...", until Hydro would be finished, if he had not already perished, "Three...", She wondered if what she had done might not have been overkill, "Two...", perhaps more than just Hydro and his Fuzen-Mizu ocean and his seasnakes would be vanquished, "One..."

No more power poured forth from the end of the Gula-tunnel. The oceans still shone and shimmered as lightning and light still streaked through their every drop of water and Fuzen-Mizu -- Meta thought she noticed dead seasnake bodies surfacing a little bit away, her eyes were still focused on where Hydro had been before the attack had commenced.

And then, after some more long-winded seconds, the Fuzen-Mizu ocean and the seven seas of the world stopped shining in the bright and brilliant radiance of Meta's attack. Meta allowed a sighing breath to escape her lungs through her lips, and a corner curved to form some crooked, charming smile. She looked at Gula, who had re-assumed its previous form. "You did quite well."

Gula stirred and shook a little, and from it came its voice. "It was hard and hurtful, but it worked. Your attack became thrice as powerful, and that was all there is to. Nothing else."

However, with all the confusion within the explosion of shards of the guardian, some were put off target. For all intents and purposes, one small sliver of that darkness had accidentally slipped into one of Blazen's many injuries. Though this was only a sliver of darkness that was held within the mighty beast, it was enough to power something even darker within Blazen. Something sinister yet keen and wise. This set off the worst migraine Blazen has felt in days. While that's the only change he felt at the moment something, that dark something was slowly exploiting that small sliver of darkness in order for it to dominate the host that was Blazen.

At, what felt like a something exploding several times in his ears, the call of his comrade, Blazen slowly brought himself to his hands and knees. He held his head tightly, unable to bear the pain much. It only seemed to grow in the sharp pain of his head, continually pulsing and pulsing within him. There it was again though, that mocking laughter that seemed to drive Blazen on the brink of insanity and just set ablaze whatever was in view. It seemed to enjoy his pain, his humiliation.

"Ah...Kalmar?" Blazen responded, weakly. Slowly his vision became a blur, and in his mind it was only the after effects of the fight, while that indeed was part of the reason he felt so weak and in such pain, it indeed was something far worse. Speaking of the aftereffects of the battle, he did feel the pain of his other injuries and weariness that was basically the crash when all the adrenaline was worn out. He was out of energy and needed to rest, but that mocking laughter that was empowered by the very migraine that was making Blazen want to rip off his own head, made it impossible to for him to rest easy. Unable to take it, he collapsed.

....Within the Labs of Quebec....

Frozen from the gun pointed to his head, Hudson quivered from the sheer command that was coming from his superior officer.

"Yes, sir!" Hudson replied as he turned, reloading his gun, and shooting at the trigens who threatened his comrade's life. The Timmons brothers looked back at Jones for a moment, before returning their attention to the enemy. Now standing with their brothers in arms, they raised their loaded weapons and fired, shooting down as many tirgens as their aim would allow.

Meanwhile Patterson and his men were back peddling down the narrow hallway away from the trigens, shooting down several as they went. Young's shotgun had run dry of shells, and before he had a chance to reload, he was forced to resort to his pistol side-arm. Ross was next to him, assisting his comrade who was weaker with aim.

"Get to the end of the hall and we'll hold them there!" Patterson commanded the men he was now in charge of. It wasn't long before Young, Ross, and Patterson had reached the end and Ross was leaning against the side of the hall , shooting to hold them back. Quickly thinking, Young pulled a grenade from his belt, he quickly would take count of the soldiers on the end of the hall, if all were there, he would pull the pin.

"Grenade!" Young would yell as Ross would then retreat from the hall and come behind the wall. Young would then throw the grenade away from the entrance but about be about five seconds in front of the trigens. The grenade would explode just as they were over it, allowing the few remaining to fall into pieces from the explosion and shrapnel.

.....California.....

Bryant shrugged. Really he hasn't either and knew hardly anything about such a scepter. He doubted his family did either. It wasn't so much their concern of what it's past was, more what it was going to be used for.

"My name is Bryant Hartnett, in the chair is my wife, Veronica, and the big guy's my brother, Brandon." Bryant then held a hand out to the teen as a sign of friendship and the willingness to work together in the future. Bryant needed allies, and the few he had were lost in battle or were busy with other matters. Every little bit counted.

R.D. looked at Bryant's hand and took it in his own smaller one and shook it. He nodded. "Welcome to Hell," he said, frowning slightly. "I'm guessing you guys have had your fair share of problems on this world. Mind if I hear them?"

The newly armored Demon Hunter saw his comrade fall to his knees after holding his head, and quickly flew down there. Kalmar landed a few moments after Blazen had collapsed, hoping nothing was wrong with him.

"Blazen." The unconscious God of Fire didn't stir as Kalmar called his name. "Damn. Don't worry, comrade. I will find us shelter."

The Demon Hunter picked up Blazen as the hip thrusters in the Devil Guardian Armor activated, propelling the two men into the air. It was a long flight back to the small cottage Ellie called home, but Kalmar was determined to make it
before he too collapsed.

"Don't worry, buddy."

---- Quebec Research Compound ----

LCPL. Jones felt a small sense of pride as Hudson turned and began firing upon the Trigens again. His assualt rifle clicked a few times before he dropped the magazine and inserted a fresh one. With his fully loaded clip in place, he moved forward to cover Smith and Potter as they both quickly reloaded.

The four Marines quickly followed their acting CO back down the hallway, firing upon the advancing Trigens in the process.

As the men heard Young's call, they quickly ducked past the corner and hastily reloaded. As the grenade went off, they would wait a few seconds, and if any sounds were heard they would turn the corner and exterminate the remaining Trigens.

Rather than there being unconscious, the God of Fire was merely tired, too tired to hold his own weight. He chuckled a bit as his friend came to same struggle as he. Who could blame them?

"Hey...Kalmar...we...got other business before we go." Blazen said weakly, his eyes half open, "The sword." He reminded Kalmar of the reason they were up on the mountain in the first place. If they just left without it then the fight would be in vain if someone were to come as they rested and stole the damn thing.

"Go get it real quick, I'll be fine..." Blazen assured his comrade who was spoken too before even leaving the bowl. Though Blazen was useless and weak at the time, he wouldn't let that be shown, well at least in its full. Maybe once he was in a bed he could do such.

.....Quebec....

Ross peaked out again down the hallway and walked just a step forward before dropping to a knee. He glanced around the darkened hallway as the smoke from the grenade cleared, seeing only blood.

"Clear!" Sgt. Ross called to his fellow marines. Patterson and Young would then pop out as well, standing next to Ross on either side, weapons raised. Though this threat seemed to be cleared, many more was sure to come.

Timmons, with the assault, reloaded hastily as his brother covered him as best he could with his pistol. Hudson was on the other side of the hall, shooting down as many trigens as he could. However, because of lack of nerves the young soldier had, his aim wasn't keen and many trigens were able to avoid his shots. It was up to Timmons, with only his pistol to do well, luckily he ran out just as Timmons had reloaded.

Soon the trigens would disperse as the soldiers continued their assault. It forced the last few to retreat, leaving the wounded who convulsed on the ground in pain.

...California.....

Bryant looked back to Veronica to see if it were alright. She was still a bit broken down about Bahamut but she did nod, though slightly. Bryant looked back to the teen. He had a rather grave face painted on rather than the sorrowful but casual one.

"Ok, but I expect the same in return, at least." Bryant stated simply, then began, "I assume I should start from the beginning, why we're here." Bryant closed his eyes, that's how the trouble was from the beginning, his first damned mission.

"You see we worked for a man named, Sawyer. He was an underground person who was looking for strong people and we found a boy. His name was Blazen, the self-claimed god of fire. He died from last we knew, but it started with him still. So me, Veronica and my currently dead companion Krauser all searched for this boy. We sought to have him join us, he refused and so we were then ordered to kill him."

"So we split up, and I found where he was last, a crater. He was dead no doubt because I lost track of his life count. So I went for the next big target, a guy named Juno. So we all decided to attack him fairly quickly and bring him to Sawyer. He failed but were soon freed. I and Krauser began to fight this menace, but were quickly over came and killed...by some evil being. We both went to hell. Veronica came soon after, because well, she just didn't see the point in living without me I guess." Bryant shrugged, and continued.

"So we were in a hell for a good deal, with no sign of Krauser. His soul must have been destroyed or something, but me and Veronica made a base in hell as best we could. Both of us were quickly aware of what was going on in the mortal world. We did our best to fight off the seven after we escaped, only to get captured by one of them. I can't really remember his name, nor do I care to. That's when Brandon came in. A couple of our captors seized him upon their own accord. I really don't think it was the worst move I made."

"I'd have been better of in prison." Brandon interrupted.

"But then you have been killed either way, now wouldn't you?" Veronica answered with a rather harsh tone. Bryant sighed.

"As you can see its getting to us. Anyway we were then parted, Veronica was taken away and me and Brandon stayed for a long while together. Finally we were summoned were ordered to kill each other, of course we refused. After some suspenseful moments, we were saved by a man named Dargor and his Knightriders. They took us to a save haven in the black mountains and there Bahamut brought Veronica and we were reunited. Then Bahamut gave us the mission to make the Chronoscepter, and a child provided for our war machine, I doubt you missed out back." Bryant took a deep breath, "And now we're here." Finally finished with his story, he waited for any questions, feedback, or the teens story.

Edited by Blazen on October 4, 2007 at 18:54:21.

R.D.'s face retained a thoughtful frown as he listened to Bryant's tale. When they spoke of actually being in Hell, he raised an eyebrow slightly. So the afterlife is true? he thought idly as he continued listening. After a brief moment, he came to a late conclusion.

Why wouldn't it be? Seeing the worlds I've been to...

He continued listening until the end. He looked about the room, and the mess in it. "So you suspect my house has one of these... Chronoscepter pieces."

R.D. walked across the room, around the piles objects, and sat wearily in a chair. Propping his head up in his hand, he started his own tale.

"I have amnesia. So my latest memories are from only over a few months before now. I've been regaining memories, but not nearly enough to be substantial. I do know this is my house," he said, looking up at them for a moment, "As I've been here before since my accident."

Sitting back, he sighed and continued. "When I woke up, I met Juno, a young man named Matt, and a Mettaur named Hugo. Juno went his own way, and I traveled with Matt and Hugo. We met others, Alasea, Hsien-ko, Mei-ling, Helena... we traveled around a lot in search of a portal. Along the way, we pissed off the current powers-that-be."

Looking up, he thought back on the adventure he had. "The first was Rugal Bernstein. Apparently he had his own role in the mess in this world. We fought him twice; the second time Matt killed him for good. As we traveled, we met Bahamut, who saved our lives a number of times.

"Of the Seven Beasts, we pissed off Gouki and Donovan, who kept sending monsters after us. Then we pissed off a real superpower. The dark god Ziatoch. After a number of battles, we found the portal and left Earth. We traveled through the Multiverse, going to multiple worlds in search of a certain one. Along the journey, we came back to Earth, and Alasea left our group. Diablo attacked us, Bahamut died, and I killed Diablo in return."

He hung his head down, remembering the awful events that lead up to now. "We reached our destination a month after that. The Eternal Sanctuary. There, I saw one of my friends die trying to save me. And then I had to battle Matt and stop him from destroying the entire Multiverse."

He remained silent for many long moments after that. "When I stopped Matt, the Sanctuary began to collapse. Hugo and I escaped, and I made my way back here... to find you three ransacking my house."

===In Germany===

Dark power could be felt from the very center of the bowl canyon, a black aura pulsing around an object that floated above the collapsed fissure of where the great Devil Guardian had stood.

The dead black blade of the sword could not be illuminated by the morning light. The dark gray crossguard spread out into the shape of demonic wings, and the crossguard was wrapped in black leather. Its pommel ended in a purple-colored diamond, gleaming softly, barely visible beneath the darkness radiated by the sword.

The Devil Guardian had fallen, and in return, it granted its power to Kalmar in the form of great armor. But this was not reward enough, and now, the weapon that had been held within the black body of the mighty Devil Guardian was free. Kinslayer, the Sword of Perfect Darkness, radiated its power over the canyon to Kalmar, and called him master.