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.

"Yes I guess we've all done some damage to these powers, but not nearly enough to be effective enough to shake their hold on this place." Bryant sighed, it was even possible the Hartnetts had the least impact, but until now at least. But even now it seemed rather small, concerning they only have so much of the chronoscepter. He heaved another sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Though I am sorry about your house..." Bryant started again, showing little sorrow, "I believe you should be at least grateful you have it. Now we have bigger matters, the chronoscepter for one." Bryant stated, taking a leading role , "Now are you going to help us find it or not?" He asked, hastily.

"Yeah," R.D. confirmed, standing up. "Tomorrow."

He made his way back to the entrance, picking up the Bone Jack on the way while ignoring their undoubtedly irritated glares. "I just walked all the way across California on foot. I'm tired. I'm going to bed," he explained, punctuating it with a yawn, "And when I wake up, I expect this place to be clean. Then I'll go look for the hidden compartments in the basement and see if I can find anything that's out of place."

The glares being present stayed for awhile, Bryant however did understand that the teen traveled far and deserved at least a nights rest. Luckily the trio had just came and the teen's room would be just how he left it, no doubt. Bryant turned to his companions and shrugged.

"Ok, I guess we may as well, then get some sleep ourselves." Bryant said as RD left for his room. They hadn't slept in a while either and already he could feel sleep wearing on him, and he was assured that everyone else felt the same. Veronica was already hunching over a bit just from the mention of sleep and forced back a yawn.

"Veronica, why don't you go find a room to sleep in, me and Brandon will clean up." Bryant said, not caring if RD would. Besides, if the teen's family wasn't in the house they felt they could at least use it while they could. Not polite, but it was how they were. Veronica nodded, before following in the footsteps of the teen. She assumed another bed would be near his.

Brandon got down on his hands and knees, grabbing a bunch of papers as Bryant put back the portrait on the wall and straightened the things out around it. Brandon placed several pile of papers on the desk he sat on earlier and Bryant put some carpet back down. The entire process took well over three hours before both were finally done. They couldn't do anything about the holes in the walls but oh well. Brandon threw himself on a couch and Bryant on a chair, he pulled back a lever allowing the leg rests to kick up and leaned back. He wouldn't bother going upstairs with Veronica, he was too tired.

As R.D. moved through the house to his room, he grew rather uncomfortable as memories slid across the surface of his consciousness. He heard Veronica following him, most likely in search of a room to stay. He didn't feel like playing tour guide (mainly because he wasn't sure what or where everything was, and was a bit afraid to even venture into the many other rooms of the building) and thus, left her to her own devices.

He found his own room and pushed open the door, finding everything exactly where he left it the last time he was there. He spotted the old stun-baton holster he'd used for a makeshift Phase Blade sheathe lying on the dresser, and the various bits of armor lying around here and there. He sighed. He had hoped that perhaps someone other than him resided here in his absence, perhaps a family member.

But it would seem that he lived alone.

Wearily he unshouldered his satchel pack and unstrapped his Phase Blades from his hips, stowing them near the bed with his giant shotgun. Not even bothering to get undressed, he buried himself beneath the covers and quickly fell asleep. A night of restless sleep and troubling dreams soon followed.

In the morning, R.D. got up early (as was habit thanks to his adventure) and quickly gathered his things. He might've come home, but he had no intention of staying long. Quietly he looked about as he made his way back to the living room, spotting his sleeping guests. The room was mostly in order--he'd have to do something about the holes, but he wasn't sure Lumiya could pull something off like that. It was a weapon of destruction, after all, unlike the Omega Core had been.

The amnesiac teen exited the room and entered the kitchen, flipping on a light in the corner before searching the place for food--he didn't find much, only stuff that wouldn't go to waste from the long period of disuse. However, as he moved about, he spotted something on the table he was sure wasn't there last he was here.

A small, glowing cube rested on the kitchen table, holding down some parchment. The cube was an awfully lot like the form the boat had taken when he had stowed it away. He wandered over to it and picked it up, taking both it and the parchment.

R.D.,

We, the denizens of the Isle, congratulate you on a job well done, now that you have completed your trials concerning the Omega Core. We know you have other obligations on your homeworld, and we hope that the vehicle we have provided, the Thunder King, will help you get you where you need to go.

Sincerely,

The Principality of Observation

R.D. frowned thoughtfully as he read the message, turning the cube--the Thunder King?--over in his hands, wondering idly what kind of vehicle they had provided him with.

And why did they consider the journey a kind of trial?

Veronica had found a rather large bed on her own. It looked quite nice and made, as if something had readied it for her. She quickly made herself at home within the covers and slept for the night. Bryant and Brandon slept soundly as well, apart from the occasional churn to a better position.

In the morning Brandon was the first to wake up. He was used to the early day at the prison. Normally he would have marched to a shower room, but he remembered that he was free from that dreaded place still. With a sigh of relief and of dread, he sat up. Looking to his left he saw a light flicker on. He stood himself up, allowing Bryant to sleep still.

Brandon came into the kitchen quickly enough, watching RD examine a cube. Feeling no reason not to ask, he approached the teen and did so: "What's that?" He questioned, looking from over RD's shoulder.

Meanwhile upstairs some boards creaked as Veronica woke up. She wrapped herself in a robe she found, already discarding her clothes in a basket. She felt that a little freshening up was in order. She had quickly found a bathroom, with a shower. Turning the correct faucets she stepped in, allowing the robe to drop to the floor for later use.

Bryant was a bit disturbed by the noises made by Veronica's movements above him. From her walking about to the sound of a shower head shooting out the hot water for her to use. He grumbled, and sat up, pushing on the back end of the chair. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Bryant then pulled on the lever once more allowing the rest to fall. Bryant then stood up, and twisted his back a bit, it in pain from the bad sleeping positions.

"Note to self, never sleep on a chair," Bryant pushed on his back hard making a loud crack, "again." He finished with a sigh.

R.D. jumped and spun around, startled by Brandon's quiet entrance. Within the space of a second he had a Phase Blade drawn, activated, and was in mid-swing when he realized it was only the ex-prisoner. He scowled at the man as he put his weapon away and said, "I don't know yet. A vehicle of some kind, but I don't feel like destroying my kitchen to find out."

After stepping out of the shower, the female mercenary dawned her robe once more. He wandered back into the bedroom, leaving some water marks as it dripped from her short black hair. She approached a drawer and smirked slyly.

"Well, I'm sure no one will mind if I take just some clothes." Veronica then proceeded to rummage through the drawer and many others. Quickly she had found all that was necessary and threw them on the bed. She quickly got dressed, looking much more refreshed. She now wore a white long-sleeved shirt and some jeans with some socks of course. She then looked about a little longer to find some running shoes and quickly put them on, finding them to fit quite nicely.

Downstairs Bryant was heading outside. The front door opened then closed as he proceeded to the war machine. He swung open on of the doors and looked inside. All their weaponry was still present. He grabbed an AK-47 and pulled out the banana clip and checked inside, loaded. Satisfied he reloaded the clip and pulled back the hammer. He switched it to safety and placed the gun back in the war machine. He closed the door and headed back inside.

Brandon took a good look at the orb. A vehicle? Leaning down he took a closer look, didn't look like one.

"Then I guess outside would be best then, eh?" Brandon said, still a bit perplexed. Though it didn't look like one, he knew looks could be deceiving and just believed RD for now.

"Yeah," he said, tossing the cube into the pocket dimension of the travel satchel and walking out of the kitchen. "Fix yourself something to eat," he said over his shoulder, "I'll be down in the basement."

R.D. continued through the house, soon spotting Bryant reentering the house and Veronica wearing new clothing. Idly he wondered where she found the clothing, and just who they belonged to. Ignoring it for now, the teen made his way to a certain part of the house, where, after thinking for a moment, stomped the floor once, causing a trap door to spring up in a corner of the room. He dropped down inside and conjured up some light to see in the dusty, crate-filled room.

Brandon nodded as he then turned to the cabinets that were put along the kitchen walls. He opened a few, placing some plates along the counter as Bryant and Veronica entered the kitchen, both watching as RD left the room and down a hole in the floor. Ignoring it for now they continued into the kitchen. Bryant sat himself on a stool as did Veronica, on the other side of Brandon. Brandon was still working on getting some silver wear out and on the counter. Soon enough a fork, knife, and spoon were placed along a cup and plate.

"You expect me to be your cook or something?" Brandon grumbled to his relatives. Veronica snickered to herself as she stood up.

"Sit down Brandon, dear, I'll take care of the food." Veronica said as she passed around the counter and allowed Brandon to sit down on the end, tapping his finger on the counter top.

Veronica opened the fridge and freezer quickly and pulled out whatever wasn't hurt by frost burn. She was only able to scrounge up some orange juice a box of brand waffles and some syrup. All had almost passed their expiring date, but luckily for the Hartnetts, they were just on time. Veronica opened the box and quickly found a toaster, being able to put in six waffles, filling each slot. She unscrewed the top for the juice and poured some in each of their glasses. There was no hesitation as all three quickly drank it up in an instant.

"So, what do you think is down that hole?" Veronica finally asked as the waffles all popped up.

"A shelter maybe." Brandon suggested as he sipped slightly on his second glass.

"Maybe..." Bryant agreed a bit quieter as he gently stirred his topped glass.

"I think its just a basement and he just remembered it." Veronica said, leaning on the counter in thought as she placed her half empty cup on the table. She then finally grabbed the six waffles and placed them on the plates evenly, bringing hers to herself.

"I assume he'll tell us when he comes up." Bryant said as he poured his syrup on his waffles. They were silent now, more focused on the food before them. Each eating quite fast.

The Demon Hunter walked over, staring at the floating dead black bladed sword. He could feel the power from it, much as he could before. Only stronger now.

Kinslayer, one of the Seven Perfect Weapons just a few feet in front of him. The fruits of their labor, so to speak.

"It's not as.. impressive as I would have believed." The Demon Hunter reached his hand out slowly, his fingers almost touching the blade.

---- Quebec Research Compound ----

The four marines under their new commander's orders quickly popped out and trained their weapons on the smokey hallway. No signs of life could be heard, but the men were not about to be caught off guard.

LCPL. Jones and his men stopped firing as the Trigens retreated, quickly checking their mags for ammo and reloading if needed.

After a few moments, the LCPL spoke, "Well, waiting around here isn't gonna do us any good. Unless we wanna get killed.. so, let's move."

R.D. muttered as he waved dust out of the way as he slowly moved about the dusty basement. He found a light switch and flipped it up to 'On', causing the lights to turn on and allowing him to dismiss the conjured light.

He spent nearly an hour digging through the inventory in the various crates. Most of it he didn't recognize, some of them brought flashes of broken memories, each time causing him to shake his head to clear his thoughts. Now that his adventure with Matt was over, he had that much more free time to go through what memories he had left, and realize just how fragmented it was.

Eventually his wandering hands touched something that was distinctly out of place in here. Grunting, he pulled out a long metallic silver rod, nearly three and a half feet in length. Along the sides of it strange, alien script was engraved into the sides. The metal felt unlike anything else he had ever touched before, and he felt a minuscule resonance coming from it, and Lumiya reacted much the same way it had when he laid eyes upon that strange woman in Sudan, Africa.

He realized that this must be what they were looking for. He quickly turned off the light and pulled himself out of the basement, walking over to his guests. He held the rod out to them and declared, "I think this is it."

===In Germany===

The resonance of dark power within Kinslayer grew stronger and stronger as Kalmar reached out to it. It called to him, beckoning him closer, and closer, until--

A sphere of dark power descended from the skies and slammed into the earth underneath the floating Sword of Perfect Darkness, and threw everything into chaos as unholy power lashed out in a widening dome, a wall of evil energy that rent everything apart in its path.

Turning to the the teen, the Hartnetts examined the staff. Veronica stood up and walked over, taking the staff. She examined it more closely as Bryant finished his juice and let out his breath.

"Lets put it back together then." Bryant said standing, Brandon standing as well. Veronica nodded.

.....Quebec.....

"Yes sir!" Responded the Timmons twins and Hudson in unison. After they had checked their weapons they stood by their current commanding officer weapons raised. They would follow his lead unless ordered otherwise.

There was another amount of pitter-patter and Patterson held a fist up, signaling for his men to hold. Ross and Young would then take a knee down by the wall. Patterson would walk forward a couple of steps and reach the end of the hall and peak out into more darkness. He saw nothing. Looking back he swirled a finger around his head to have them follow again. Young and Ross would advance a bit as Patterson rounded the corner.

.....Germany.....

Hearing the crash of the sphere of darkness behind him, Blazen grumbled. However he didn't have much time before he was toss slightly and rolled down a slope to run into a rock. He coughed several times, his headache splitting still.

"Son of a bitch..." The God growled under his breath and coughed again, "Give me a break." He then whined turning his head to see the wall of darkness to come towards him. He was hit and pushed further into a mountain side. Grunting he could only wince in pain and sit helpless.

R.D. raised an eyebrow as he listened. "You guys have another piece of this Chronoscepter?" he asked, crossing his arms.

Bryant nodded. He would then lead them outside, to the war machine. He swung the door open. He stepped in and opened a slot after moving a couple of guns, some spilling out of the vehicle. He brought out a two foot long blue crystal, rounded at one end, pointed at another. He would then toss it to Brandon. Bryant would jump down and throw the guns back in.

"That." Bryant pointed to the crystal, but then looked at the staff, and frowned, "Seems it won't fit, sadly." He heaved an annoyed sigh.

"All of that for nothing." Veronica said annoyed and disappointed.

Kalmar yelled as the sphere of darkness expanded, throwing him back into the edge of the rocky bowl. "What do I have to do to catch a break, damnit."

He heard Blazen slam into a wall nearby and looked over, seeing the man little worse off then before.

"Alright, let's try this again."

---- Quebec Research Compound ----

LCPL. Jones moved forward with his squad, weapons trained on the end of the hall. At the end of the hall, they found a T split hallway. Looking left and right Jones saw only more gore. Trigens and other assorted demons lay among the bodies of the deceased compound soldiers. The floor was covered in blood, it also streaked the walls as though men were pulled along them. Claw marks and bullet holes riddled both dimly lit hallways.

"Prepare yourselves, we're in for more trouble." He motioned for the three men under his previous command to secure the right hallway, while the three other men would secure the right.

The four Marines watched their acting commander carefully, and when he motioned for them to follow they swiftly proceeded down the corridor and took position on either side of him.

As Bryant went out to the war machine outside, R.D. fished a sandwich out of his satchel and began eating while he followed. His eyebrows raised as the man returned with the crystal, as he could feel the resonance in Lumiya and the crystal. And the same resonance grew slightly stronger as the two Chronoscepter pieces were brought closer.

"I guess there's still more pieces," he said between bites. "Well, you guys got what you came for. And judging from my experiences in this world, it'd be best if we stayed on the move."

===In Germany===

The noise of the fallout was all that could be heard as the dust and dirt were flung into the air by the dark blast. A sharp gale struck down into the center of the dust cloud, scouring it away as a massive armored figure floated down into it, behind Kinslayer.

Black plate mail, trimmed with gold, covered its bulky frame. The cuirass was emblazoned with a demon's skull, radically different from the one on Kalmar's new armor. The helmet covered its entire face and neck, allowing only a single slim eyeslot and framed by four horns, two that jutted out and two that curved upwards. A massive, serrated black axe was strapped to its back. The being raised armored hands to the helmet and slowly pulled it off, revealing the hard, angular face of a black man, bald except for a black topknot. Cold gray eyes stared at Blazen and Kalmar.

"So... Kalmar Uverth, the Fallen," he growled harshly, "And Blazen Messiah, the God of Fire. We meet at last."

Blazen growled to himself when he name was mentioned. Ignoring his splitting headache, if that were possible, he began to slowly push himself up. His arms could hardly hold his weight, though it was enough for him to shout something to no one in particular: "Great, another damned fan!" He coughed, "Just one thing after another!" He yelled again, falling afterward.

....California....

Bryant nodded and was about to hop into the drivers seat when Brandon tugged on his shirt. Bryant turned questionably, but was answered when Brandon spoke to RD: "Well then lets see this new vehicle of yours." Brandon said to the teen, with both Veronica and Bryant giving a queer look to Brandon, every now and again glancing to RD.

.....Quebec......

Timmons, Timmons, and Hudson nodded, turning to their respective hall and slowly began to proceed down it. They would only take a few steps forward and searched down the length of it as best they could. The flickering lights were a bit unnerving, but even Hudson was able to keep his cool for the moment. Though there were indeed many bodies and blood, no live trigens came their way.

"Clear!" Timmons called from the center of the hall. It was more to his own men, allowing them to proceed with less caution. The group reached the end of the hall and Hudson peak out from the corner and scanned the hall, this one with seemingly working lights.

"Clear." Hudson confirmed, watching the hall still as Timmons watched behind him with his rifle and the other watched the other men as they would proceed in the opposite direction.

R.D. sighed and opened his travel satchel, reaching a hand inside and fishing around. He finally touched a metal cube and pulled it out, looking at it and its light purple glow.

"Eh, wrong one," he muttered, throwing the boat back into the pack and fishing around again. He found the other one and pulled it out, checking its azure glow. He pushed a small crystal on its side and tossed it forward, away from his guests. The cube glowed with expanding light, and in a brief flash, had become something entirely else.

Resting on the dirty driveway was now a sleek, futuristic motorcycle. Sleek black armor covered its sides and over the wheels. Four flouting exhaust pipes extended out from the back in an elegant curve, framing the large, two-person seat. A number of indentures in the sides indicated storage units, and considering this was made of the Isle, R.D. couldn't help but smile.

Kalmar picked himself up, looking at the man behind Kinslayer and feeling anger well up inside of him.

"Who are you! And how do you know my name!"

---- Quebec Research Compound ----

Jones and his Marines moved down the opposite hallway, searching for anything living or dead. They found one man laying facedown in his own blood that still breathed. Or rather half a man, as Jones rolled him over the men saw his lower half was missing.

"What's your name? Your gonna be okay, just tell me what happened here."

The armored man reached over and grasped Kinslayer firmly by the hilt. Its power welled up within him, strengthening him. Its black blade ate at the morning light as he hefted it up and examined the Sword of Perfect Darkness. He soon aimed the weapon point-first at the two of them, grinning horribly.

"My name is Ratayu Keran," he said, "And I thank you for delivering this fine weapon to me and my cause."

"Hey! That sword is fuckin mine!" Rage overtook the Demon Hunter as the armored man took Kinslayer effortlessly. He shot forward, activating the hip thrusters in the Devil Guardian Armor.

Two blood red blades sprang forth from the dual emitters on each hand, the blades being two and a half feet long, curving over his hands and to form two seperate blades.

Kalmar roared in anger, throwing the blades in an upward X at the armored man who held Kinslayer.

Ratayu's arm moved upwards and came crashing down, swinging Kinslayer in a vicious arc. Thunder crashed as the arm blades met with the dark sword, and energy flared as Ratayu poured his immense strength behind the attack. Slowly he was forcing the arms down, inching the blade closer to Kalmar's armored body.

"You?" he scoffed as he parried, "You barely have the strength to fight me, let alone wield this sword. You have no right to such a great weapon!"

Blazen had began to push himself up again, trying with all his might. His headache continually pummeling at his skull. He was able to finally stand. Reaching back he found Valermos still in his shirt. He pulled out the blade as the flames swirled around it. Panting, Blazen took several steps forward, his clothes and hair turning black. He had to summon all of his strength in order to even attack this new threat who was stealing Kinslayer.

Blazen took several more staggered steps forward as Kalmar and this Ratayu fought before him. Blazen then pushed some heat into his feet and shot forward. Though it was weak, he was able to swing at the man as he was distracted with Kalmar. Though the initial hit would be pathetic, the amount of heat and fire put into the blade would make a pretty burn on the man, even if it were the Gouka fire...well that's what Blazen hopped.

.....California.....

Bryant blinked a couple of times once the cycle came out from its orb. He jumped down, approaching it and examined how well it was made. It indeed was a sweet ride, but it wasn't exactly the vehicle Bryant expected. He assumed a bigger war machine or something of the sort. Eh, at least he wouldn't have another person in the already fairly cramped tank.

Satisfied, Veronica and Brandon stepped into their vehicle and came to their seats. Veronica heaved a sigh.

"On the move again...You think we'll ever have another moment of peace again here?" Veronica asked no one in particular, but Brandon was the only who heard.

"I hope...but I don't know if we'll be here to see it..." Brandon said grimly as he pulled a lever allowing the machine to rev up. Bryant turned around.

"Well you enjoy your ride, kid. We'll be right behind you." Bryant said and entered the tank, swinging the door closed. He sat down in a chair in the middle of the tank and it elevated to a turret in the top, gripping the triggers, his thumbs ready to press the fire buttons. The machine turned a bit behind the motorcycle, waiting for RD to go on ahead, assuming he would be ready faster.

R.D. nodded to Bryant as the man entered the vehicle and pulled out crimson-tinted sunglasses. He sat down on the Thunder King and opened up two of the compartments, stowing his shotgun in one and the satchel in the other. R.D. took one last look at his home and wondered if he'd ever return here again. He imagined it had many more secrets about his past for him to discover... but now he had a war and a promise to follow up on.

He disengaged the kickstand and turned on the cycle, causing it to roar to life. He smirked as he felt the power in the vehicle, and revved its engines. Gunning forward, he pulled the Thunder King up into a brief wheelie before shooting forward down the mountain.

===In Germany===

Ratayu sneered as Blazen shot in to attack him as he dealt with the Fallen. Valermos' left a dark burn on his black armor, and with an angry growl, the man started moving Kinslayer to the side, disengaging them from the Devil Guardian Armor's arm blades and knocking them aside as he slashed sideways at the God of Fire.

Kalmar felt his strength giving, the long battle before finally catching up to him. His swords were almost effortlessly pushed aside, though the man wouldn't quit there.

He continued his assault, turning around quickly and dropping to one knee in an attempt to slash the armored man's feet out from under him.

X was no longer in control of his body.

More specifically, whatever had been inside X's head had slowly usurped control. Now X's armor had become purple and navy blue, had an empty look in his eyes and had sprouted a dark feathery wing despite all physics to the contrary.

Whatever entity was now in control had no ill will toward Tracer. Revenge had been an effective appeal to X which had allowed control to be taken inch by inch. Rather, the being longed to be found by the Templar for reasons of its own.

To this end, it had devised a plan. Taking flight, it headed toward Western Europe, preferably for Great Britian, as it appealed to some sense of instinctual monarchy in the being. Upon arriving, it would attempt to terrorize a fairly well-known city, and be shown on the news. It was fairly low risk, after all, what could possibly stand up to a queen?

Blazen reeled back Valermos just as Kinslayer came at the God, however he was able to drop his sword just in time to block the dark blades. However upon impact, Blazen's hands and arms shook and he fell to a knee in weakness. Blazen grunted in frustration at himself for being so weak, but he could hardly think anymore because of the headache that continually shot through his head. Even he was sure that this threat would be impossible to fend off and still survive. Maybe survival period was impossible now.

...California...

The rear boosters flamed on and the two rear wheels screeched as the war machine shot forward behind the Thunder King. Brandon pushed forward on the stick shift, forcing the tank into second gear, allowing them to catch up next to the Thunder King. In the main turret, Bryant continually spun the cannons left and right, searching for any threats in the sky, while Veronica watched the motion tracking radar for any ground hostiles or perhaps below that even.

R.D. briefly glanced back at the Hartnetts' tank while keeping his bike steady. Like whenever he drove, he did not remember how himself, but his body knew for him, and he was content to let it guide the craft. It was kind of cold, but he merely used wind energy and a slight flow of fire energy to heat the air around him to prevent him getting the chills as he drove.

Down through the forest and onto the broken road he led, more or less re-tracing the path he took to get here. He wondered idly where to go--this was land occupied by the enemy, and the sea was a dangerous place still, with Hydro's minions controlling it. Of course, when they first battled that sea serpent, they were ill prepared. Now, R.D. had unlocked five of the seven Ciphers on Lumiya--the serpents were no match for him now.

But, what of the Hartnetts? They looked to be normal people. Skilled with weapons and military tactics, but still normal people nonetheless. No secret artifacts or strange hidden powers that he could detect. Would they be able to hold their own if they used the Riptide to cross the ocean? Or would he have to resort to Chaos Control, which he had only just mastered?

===In Germany===

Ratayu grit his teeth and leapt upwards as Kalmar attacked his legs. With one motion, he donned his dark helmet once more and landed behind Kalmar. His leg flashed out in an attempt to kick the Fallen away from him, and then aimed Kinslayer at Blazen and unleashed its power upon him.

The Kinslayer had the ability to increase one's anger, one of many unique powers within the Sword of Perfect Darkness. As he channeled its dark power, waves of tinted red air pulsed down around the God of Fire, to ignite the spark of anger and fan the flames of rage.

The Demon Hunter was kicked away, though he quickly flipped and landed on his feet. His legs gave way though and he landed on his knees, the man grunting in frustration.

Kalmar saw Kinslayer's point unleash it's attack upon Blazen, and moved in hopes of intercepting it. With every last bit of strength the man had he activated Devil Guardian armor.

The Fallen roared in pure anger as the hip thrusters ignited and the reddish blades again appeared around his hands. He swung hard with the left blade following quickly with the blades on the back of his forearm while keeping his right blade ready to deflect Kinslayer.