R.D. kept his arm aimed at Lee, and contemplated his words. Alasea had filled him in on the details this morning while only the two of them were up; how Lee, Draco, Legion, and Houka had been resurrected, and of Lee's past. He frowned, and said to Brandon, "Go down and get Alli up here."

Within the house, Alasea looked over to Maya and smiled reassuringly. "Let's just say we have an uninvited guest over," she said, "I'll just have to finish these up the easy way."

She sighed at that; she enjoyed cooking and didn't want to use her powers to do it for her. However, Lee was a bit more of an urgent matter than the girl's breakfast; with a few flows of the Pillar's power, Maya's desired breakfast appeared on the table from a glimmer of light. "I'll try not to be gone long, okay, Maya?"

===In the Nightmare Realm===

He always wondered if time had no meaning in this place. He could never tell when days began or ended, and had to rely on his appetite to figure out what time of day it was. It was certainly a strange realm, but it was a realm that was just as friendly as Hell. And he certainly wasn't welcome in Hell.

As the man continued this hellish trek, he went over what he had learned since his arrival here. Of the Keeper of the Dark, of the Nightmare God, of the demon that had put him here in the first place. And of how one man had opened a route back to the mortal realm from this place. Hopefully, it was still open.

Edited by RisingDragon on November 6, 2007 at 8:50:55.

Maya grasped the deeper meaning of what Alasea told her, and she nodded her head a little, looking uncomfortable.

"Okay." She said. The next moment, the child's little mouth would start to hang open as she saw her breakfast appearing on the table in the blink of an eye. "Wow, not even sis can do that!" She said happily, and she immediately hopped onto a seat. "Okay, I'll just stay here for now. Seeya later, 'sea."

*Pluto's orbit*

A massive Grados battleship entered the sol system.

"So...This is where the Layzner unit was sealed." said the captain as he looked at an image of Earth on the bridge's main monitor.

"Correct, sir. It's been sealed a hundred years ago. Although, it's been activated by some locals trying to access something called the 'Nightmare Realm'." replied the second in command.

"Hmmm...Doesn't matter. If Layzner is active, we will simply accelerate our plans. Prepare Zakaal and Grimekaisar to sortie. Their mission is to rendez-vous with Layzner and start to clean up the planet." ordered the captain.

*Earth*

Layzner continued to fly in the skies when suddenly his computer told him it detected a Grados ship in the system.

"Hm." Meta didn't really care about judging the souls of the dead and dealing out punishment to those who deserved it, although the latter sounded appealling. She tried to reach Xoquoxitill through the mental link the other had created between them and speak to him.

"Xoquoxitill," She said, "You may tell me all that, but I don't even know what the souls of the deceased look like. For all I know, they could seem identical to the natives of your pretty little realm. Let alone the fact that I wouldn't be able to distinguish the innocent from the wicked." She paused a moment, and let out a sigh. What came next would be hard for her to say, as it required her to swallow some pride. "Undoubtedly you know what I just did to that little Colosseum. I hardly know how to use my newly gained powers, and I don't think I'll be able to use them to send back innocent souls to be resurrected or revived," She paused again, this time a little shorter, "though I must admit that dealing out punishment might turn out to be quite easy."

Brandon nodded, hauling the SADAR on his shoulder with a strap. He quickly dashed down the hill, leaving Bryant to keep his aim on Lee, despite his peaceful coming. Brandon slid down the hill and ran to the front door. He opened it quickly, looking in, seeing Veronica staring at him.

"Ms.Alasea," Brandon began, "you're presence has been requested by both RD and Lee. It seems Lee has come to merely speak with you." Brandon looked down to Maya, "Veronica can look after the child while you're away." Veronica stood on cue and stood near her, looking down to the ground. Even if the peace was said, Veronica was very tense at the moment.

"Right," Alasea said, "Give me just one moment."

Drawing in another slight flow of power, Alasea swapped her bathrobe for her normal outfit in the space of a second. She quickly strode out the door, snapping her hand and causing the sheathed Megami Tsurugi drop down into her hand from a flash of light. Strapping the weapon to her hip, she motioned for Mercy to come and quickly dashed out of the house and through the forest, up towards the Pillar of Dawn.

As she ran, she saw that Lee was there, in front of the Pillar of Dawn. Both R.D. and Bryant were in front of him, aiming weapons at him. She soon arrived, stopping near R.D.. "What's going on?" she asked.

===In the Nightmare Realm===

The man stopped as he felt the strange presence surround him, enveloping him. One of the higher powers had arrived. The woman? Or the God? It didn't matter which. He stopped, but did not look back towards Xoquoxitill. Nevertheless, his action signified he was listening.

Edited by RisingDragon on November 7, 2007 at 12:18:35.

Veronica watched as Alasea and Mercy leave. Brandon glanced at Maya then at Veronica. She had looked up and forced a smile. Brandon nodded then chased after the two. He came to the top of the hill, finding Bryant and stood next to him.

R.D. watched as Mercy ran up and jumped at Lee with a strange look on his face, one indecipherable behind the dark visor of the Dragon King Armor. Slowly he lowered his arm and deactivated both arm cannons, and folded his arms over his chest.

"You've decided to accept my offer?" Alasea asked, clasping her hands behind her back.

As Maya was left behind with Veronica while the others left, the little girl resumed her breakfast, her expression showing delight as she consumed her first pancake with jelly. The young girl cast a look at Veronica, eyeing her curiously. "Are you hungry?" She asked the woman.


~ The Nightmare Realm ~

"Psshhh." Meta let out. Her expression was one of a person who wasn't very much content with how things were going about, and Meta certainly wasn't. She had wanted to ask Xoquoxitill her one other question, but he had went and gone before she could ask him. She came to the top of the stone stairs of the Colosseum and was just exiting the rubble-covered area when a thought struck her mind that made her stop in her tracks. She stood still for a moment, before yet again bowing down and sinking on one knee. She placed her hand on the ground again and closed her eyes, before starting to use the technique Xoquoxitill had mentioned as being his favourite one. She would certainly find him now, and pull the answer out of him.

Alasea unclasped her hands and put them on her hips, studying Lee quietly. She was seeing the level of corruption within him, seeing if it were possible if she could reverse what had happened to Lee on her own.

"... you'll have to wait a bit," she said finally, sighing, "I'll need to talk to the others about it to see what can be done."

The man turned around and pulled his helmet off, and shook his hair out of his face before gazing upon the Nightmare God. Holding the helmet between his arm and his side, the man said, "Nearly a thousand years ago I fought and slew a devil known as Diablo. However, I had been driven mad during the quest to destroy him, and in my madness, I was forced to take the Soulstone that harbored the demon's spirit and put it inside my body. Doing so lost me control of my body, and I became the host of the Lord of Terror. Using my body, Diablo somehow went between times and weakened the seals on the Seven Beasts of the Dark Apocalypse, allowing them to be freed for a time before they were sealed again.

"Eventually, Diablo engaged in a battle against two young men, two dragons, and a mechanical creature. Somehow, the two boys managed to overcome the demon despite the power it wielded, and destroyed him along with the Soulstone," he continued, "As Diablo's body was my own, I too was killed, and I found myself here, where I lived and trained for several long weeks."

Edited by RisingDragon on December 18, 2007 at 13:39:17.

The man released a bitter chuckle. "Of course," he said, "It was completely destroyed. Diablo could mutate it at will, and when the boys slew him, the body was completely incinerated in a blast of powerful magic."

The man calmed after a few moments, then continued. "I have been told by the natives here that leaving this realm would grant me a new body. One story said a man returned to the mortal realm with a new body, and took a pair of monsters with him."

Alasea walked over the Pillar of Dawn and kneeled down in front of it, closing her eyes as the light emanating from the totem washed over her. Using the mental link, she reached out to her friends, the Daughters of Dawn. All of them seemed to be awake, despite the time zone differences. Tomoko seemed to be cramming for a upcoming test, and was growing frustrated. Aisha was going about daily chores, and Ellie was reading yet another action-adventure book. Colleen was talking to a group of young children.

She decided to speak to Aisha and Ellie about the matter, and spoke to both of them. After a brief explanation of the situation with Lee, the newest Daughter asked for advice on what to do.

You're in quite the predicament, Aisha commented lightly, We've yet to train you on the more advanced practices of healing corruption.

It's such a pain! whined Ellie, Like reversing demon DNA back into pure human DNA. The longer it sits, the deeper the taint it leaves goes in. So annoying.

Alasea sighed. Is there anything I can do to help him? He's become a shadow creature, not a demon.

Yes! Ellie exclaimed happily. Shadow energy and demon blood are completely different!

She's right, actually, Alasea, Aisha confirmed, If it were demonic DNA present in Steffanos' system, it would require the presence of more than one Daughter, and the usage of more than one Pillar--a dangerous risk in this world. However, shadow energy is just energy. Conversion is a simple matter, especially since the source of the Pillar's magicks is primarily that of light and healing.

Alasea sighed in relief. This was good. Thank you, she said, I should be able to heal him soon. Losing Lee would be a crippling blow to Donovan.

Alasea cut off the psychic link and stood up. "Okay," she said as she turned back to Lee. "I know what to do now."

"You up to it?" R.D. asked, his arms still crossed. Alasea nodded.

"I can do this. We can begin whenever Lee is ready."

===In the Nightmare Realm===

The man closed his eyes as the God touched his forehead, reviewing the memory in his head several times. The island was unfamiliar, as were the two temples. But, if that's what it took to escape, so be it.

The man opened his eyes and nodded once, placing the helmet back over his head. "I'm ready," he said simply, "Take me to my home, England. I shall begin this quest there."

Edited by RisingDragon on November 7, 2007 at 20:55:27.

X landed on solid earth. Like a puppet, his body was manipulated into walking through the streets, randomly firing energy blasts into buildings adjacent to him. The energy was purple, and crackled with a sinister force as though it were innately evil.

Eventually, the police arrived to subdue him, but X simply created a barrier of the purple energy, harmlessly deflecting the bullets.

Reporters arrived on the scene with their cameras, filming this new menace. X made it a point to stare directly into every camera he located, his empty eyes, soulless and doll-like penetrating the lens.

Taking flight to the sky, X outstretched his right hand to the sky. With great effort, he began to gather the purple energy into his hand, compressing it into a ball. In a matter of several hours, he had created a ball as large as a plane.

"I hope you're filming this," He said in a monotone voice. "I want the whole world to see that I'm here. I'll give you 72 hours for the broadcast to reach the Templar and gather them here, or I shall destroy this city."

Her mind's eye had spotted him, Xoquoxitill, standing in an area very much like the one she herself appeared to be in, and he was with the man she had seen during the first, last and only earlier time she had used the technique she was using at the moment. Pulling her hand off the ground, opening her eyes and standing up, Meta started to make her way into the direction the psychic-like technique had made her think the other two were.

The man woke up to noise. Voices, rumblings, horns, all of it assaulted his ears in an unpleasant cacophony. A cold, dreary sky met his line of sight, with clouds rolling slowly over a gray expanse. He had returned to Earth, returned to his country of old. His armor clinked as the plates struck each other as the man lifted himself from the wet grass. He looked about the foliage, and wondered if this really was England. There were a few trees and bushes, but all of it was in strange patterns. As if their growth had been controlled. But that was hardly a concern for him; those massive, reflective towers reaching higher than any castle ever could currently had his attention.

What in the name of God? he wondered as he looked about. Roads made of smooth black stone crisscrossed between the buildings, and cut off this strange enclosure of nature. This would take some getting used to. The man reached up behind him and grasped the familiar, leather-wrapped hilt of his sword. Good, it was still there. The armored man looked about, wondering where he should go.

And then he heard screams, and explosions, and sounds of battle. He tuned into it, looking off in the direction of the sounds. He strode towards it, and soon people in absolutely strange clothing were running past him, looks of terror screwing up their faces. They paid him no mind; apparently the threat was more of a concern to them than he was.

A voice in the skies drew his attention, and he immediately caught sight of the giant, pulsating ball of evil light hovering in the sky. The first thoughts were that of magic. Perhaps it was time to do something he hadn't done in nearly two thousand years:

Become a hero again.

Meta stumbled up one of the nightmarish hills of the realm, and, seeing Xoquoxitill stand not too far away, at the top of the hill she was climbing, increased her pace towards the god. It had taken a little bit of time, but at least she had known where to look for him. She was just in time to see the figure of a man disappearing, but she didn't very much care for that.

"You!" She shouted over to Xoquoxitill to get his attention, as she thought he would otherwise just disappear again before she would have had any chance to speak with him. "I need a word with you!"