"Not much," the man replied, gripping his sword tighter, "But I know what possession is like and I wouldn't wish it on anyone else."

As smoke rose up from his shield in small trails, the man studied X carefully. He didn't know what surprises he had in store for him, but he knew he himself would have a few for X.

"A pity. I don't really feel like fighting you, and I was about to offer you a chance to release him. But if you'd rather fight..."

X jumped back to the other end of the roof. "What's your decision, then?"

"That's easy," he growled, staring through the slot in his helmet at X, "If you're willing to destroy a city, then you're evil, and have to be destroyed. I'll force you out of your host and then kill you, just as you deserve."

"Force me out of my host?" X laughed. "OK. Your call, but I warn you, I'd be much more powerful if this mortal hadn't sealed away the majority of my power. Do you really want that?"

X strolled around the roof, shrugging. "I guess you could do that, exorcise me, that is. Even if you did manage to defeat me--which I doubt--I'd still be strong enough to put up a large enough fight to level the city without thinking about it.

He put his hand to his chin. "Alternatively, you could beat me into submission, possibly killing my host. Even if you only knocked me out, there's no telling who would be in control if we woke up."

He smiled. "Of course, I could also send you to the mind of our dear little hostie, if you want to save him and protect the city. It's the best of both worlds... well, if you can pull it off. I'll be honest. With the other two options, you get one guarantee, either the survival of the city or the host's freedom. With this you get all or nothing."

He held up a finger. "I'll give you one chance to make your final decision. What's it gonna be?"

A chance to free the host and save the city? he thought, frowning. But in the mind, where he'd be dominant... risky. Perhaps too risky. But, if his strength is as much as he says it is, I'd lose.

"Very well," he said, "I will accept the terms of your last option."

"Very well." X snapped his fingers and the man felt the world rush around him into darkness as the world changed his mind was filled with the flashes of memory.

The first one was of a man resembling the enemy to a great degree. Despite somehow knowing that the man was a little shy, the memory nevertheless depicted him sitting around a table with two other individuals. One of them was a man with short dark hair and goggles, and the other one had longer dark hair. All of them wore blue uniforms with gold insignias. They were sitting around a table and laughing when a woman walked in. She was beautiful, had brown hair and a smile on her face as she walked in with a small folder.

"X, Silvanus, Kender. We've got ourselves a mission."

The memory faded, replaced by another one. It was night on the battlefield and one of the team members was already dead. The long-haired one, Kender he knew, had been decapitated by the enemy's blade. He wore all black, had a mask and a hooded cloak. With his katana in hand he tore through the forces like a knife through butter.

Goggles smashed, Silvanus lay unconscious, leaving only X and the woman. For whatever reason, the man rushed X with his sword. But the woman got there first. Tears rushed down X's face as the sword pierced her heart, killing her instantly, the man making no sound of surprise or emotion...

The memory faded again, and the new world came into focus. It was bleak and desolate, without color or vegetation (that's not to say there weren't trees, but they were dead). The only thing of any significance was large tower in the center of the plane. Atop the tower was the same purple light that X had given off in the real world.

What in the name of God is this? he wondered, somehow seeing the memories. While it seemed he was in each location with them, it was as if he were silent, invisible. Like a ghost. A ghost in the past. He quickly identified X, now knowing the man's name.

The memories disappeared, leaving him in a desolate wasteland of a mindscape. He didn't like this; this was all too familiar to the time of his own mental imprisonment. Sheathing his sword, he gazed at the tower in the distance and began to move, his pace neither lagging nor hurrying.

The Queen waited at the top of the tower. The man had arrived. She wondered what would happen at the end, when the man arrived at the top of the tower. While it was true that she was more powerful within the mind, she was only able to do as much as X allowed her to, since he was still dominant. That was not a matter of concern, however.

She turned to regard the blue-armored young man. "He'll try to get you to seal me away, X. But don't let him. How can you protect the people you care about without my power?"

~~~~~~~~~

He stood in the bottom floor of the tower, imprisoned within seals and runes. He was like X, only grey and with a psychotic look in his eyes. How he longed to be free. And while he did want to be the dominant half of the soul, above all else he couldn't stand an outsider using the body.

Even that spineless loser was better than that narcissistic bitch.

This was unusual. As he approached the tower, he encountered no resistance. No summoned monsters, no spells flung from the tower, no nightmarish visions projected into his head. Wasn't this entity even the least bit worried that he may succeed in this trial? When he was possessed by Diablo, he encountered heavy resistance whenever he attempted to free himself from the devil's control. This entity, however, didn't seem worried at all. Perhaps he could use that to his own advantage.

He soon arrived at the tower, and he stared up at the imposing entryway. Tilting his head back, he gazed up the high walls, at the malevolent glow above. Frowning, he drew his sword, and shoved open the doors, letting dull light spill into its darkened recesses.

"Oh. Goody." The gray X said. "That's just what we need, more visitors. I'm sorry, if I knew you were coming, I'd have brightened this place up, beat some sense back into the wimp who controls this place and brought some color back. Oh, and I'dve killed that," and he yelled this part upwards. "annoying bitch who took over the upstairs!"

He sighed. "You know what, I don't know why I bother. Can I *sigh* 'help' you?"

"Perhaps," he replied to this gray-colored X. He gazed at him warily, noting the psychotic look in his eyes. But, he shouldn't be surprised... he'd go insane too if he was imprisoned like this. In fact, he had gone insane well before his own imprisonment. "Though it certainly looks like you need some help yourself."

The man strode forward, sheathing the sword quietly. He figured that to succeed, he would need the help of this man, no matter how untrustworthy he seemed. He gazed about the various runes and seals that held this being in place. He pulled off his helmet and stared at X. "If you know anything about these seals, I could use that knowledge. If I know how they work, I can figure out how to break them and free you."

"Oh that's easy. My other half is so mixed-up right now that all it'd take is to smudge up one of the seals and I'd be free." X regarded the man warily. "So... why are you in my head? If you're here to take over our mind, then I'm afraid the royalty's already done that. And trust me, my other half might be weak-willed, but try anything funny with my head and I'll make you wish you'd stayed inside yours. I'd do that to her, but I've been sealed since before she got here."

"I came here to stop her from destroying a city," the man replied, "She offered me the chance to stop her from within and save both you and the city at once. She didn't think I'd be able to do anything, and I intend to prove her wrong."

He looked about the various seals once more, striding over to one of them. "I know what possession is like," he continued, examining the seal. The runes on it glowed dimly, weakly. A shoddy job if he ever saw one. "And it is a hell I'd wish on no one else."

He leaned down and placed his shield and helmet on the ground, then stood once more and gripped his sword in both hands, channeling magic into it. Hopefully a simple surge of magical energy would be enough to disrupt the seal and dispel it. With the desired amount in place, the man raised his sword up, and swung downwards, slashing through the seal.

"Uh-huh. That's nice." He stretched. "Daaaamnnn. Feels nice to move."

He clapped his hands and rubbed them together furiously, staring around the tower and thinking. "All right. Now she'll be expecting you to take the stairs the top. Which is bad on her part because you'll experience visions and memories and learn about my other half's personal problems as well as probably gaining some amazing insight into yourself."

He cracked a grin somewhat, though not entirely, like the one the Queen had made in the real world. "But I've never been one for self-discovery, so if you want to skip all that, I'll give you the SparkNotes and we'll see if I can't manifest a shortcut."

Completely ignoring the man, he spoke. "Essentially X was even more of a loser than he used to be. Then a big evil Virus queen waged war on his universe, that'd be the bitch. Army vs army, universe wide conflict. X joined the army, part of a 4-man cell--hot chick commander, by the way--and they died at the hands of Queenie's General. X went all badass and helped lead the charge that "killed" her, though that didn't seem to work out too well. Now he's sad that he's too much of a loser to save anyone, especially after the Queenie's old army--The Templar--almost killed him. After losing consciousness, Queenie took advantage of his weak will and healed him and has him convinced that she's the only way he can protect his loved ones. Got all of that?"

He waved his hand, and a gray door appeared, the queen and X visible through the doorway. "Ask any questions now, 'cuz one way or another, we're finishing this battle."

Many of the terms this gray X used flew right over his head. Universe? Virus? What in God's name is he talking about? he wondered. "What happened when the queen was 'killed'?" he asked, planting his weapon into the stone floor for a moment so he could reequip his shield and helmet.

"...Dunno. Somehow she's in my...our...head...yeah. Anything else?"

"not really," he said as he placed the helmet back over his head. He wrenched the blade from the ground and examined it for any damage; he found none. He was still a bit uneasy about the weapon's origins, as it was supposedly indestructible, and yet he examined anyway. "Let's just slay her and move on."

She smiled her wicked smile as they materialized onto the roof.

"Well, that was a lot quicker than I'd imagined. Are you ready?" she asked.

"Quiet bitch. You keep yammerin, I ain't gonna be able to hear you die!" The Evil X shouted.

"Very well. I hope you're prepared. X!"

The blue-armored man walked out onto the battlefield. His eyes were empty, like he was under some kind of spell.

"Kill them."

X lept into battle, aiming twin busters and firing.

The man raised his shield, catching a few of the rounds X fired with it. This was unusual. A man whose hand can become a weapon? Unusual indeed. He pressed forward despite the hail of plasma fire, running as fast as he could before lunging forward, slashing horizontally at X's arm with his sword.

"Careful, careful." Cried the Queen. "If you kill him in here, he's gone forever. You'll have destroyed his soul!"

"His half, thankyouverymuch!" Cried the Evil X.

The Evil X ignored X and charged straight at the Queen who easily knocked him to the side. She stood regal, and humanoid in appearance.

As X fired at the man, and bullrushed him he yelled. "Get out of my head! Without this power, I can't save anyone. I can't do it on my own!"

His sword missed narrowly, and swept out past X's head. Pulling the weapon back, the warrior thrust his shield out forward at X's chest, hoping to knock him back as he said, "That power will kill more people than it will save them!"

Evil X and the Queen continued their scuffle, with Evil X gaining nothing.

"Oh?" Cried X, hysterically with the breath knocked out of him. "So what are you telling me? There's absolutely no way I can save them, is that it? What the Hell do you expect me to do?" He swung his fist at the man.

The warrior brought his arms up to defend against X's blow, having been in enough fights to shrug off the meanest of blows. He didn't expect, however, for X's punch to slam him into the wall. He cried out as he hit, and his sword fell from his hand, his grip on it loosened upon impact.

How can he be so strong!? he thought in amazement as he pushed himself back up. His gauntlet armor was dented where the man had struck him, digging into his arm uncomfortably.

"Did you ever try believing in yourself!?" he yelled, "You just proved to me you're plenty strong enough, but that means nothing if you don't have the will to use it!"

Despite the discomfort, he pressed forward, and a field of electricity creeped up around him as he chanted, firing a bolt of lightning at X with a wave of his hand.

X moved to punch again, but hesitated. "I... but... I wasn't... enough to save... back then..."

"NO!" The Queen cried. "Don't listen to him, X! This is your mind, your strength means nothing here. You are much stronger here than in the physical world!"

X's hesitation ended and he went back to pummeling on the man.

"Hey! Keep your mind on the battle, lady!" Cried the Evil X. Forming a ball of red energy, he chucked it at her. As she deflected it, he delivered an uppercut that knocked her to the ground.

Edited by Mega X.exe on November 12, 2007 at 6:42:34.

Knowing X's strength this time around, the warrior brought up his shield to defend against X's blows. One blow, however, glanced off the shield, and caused him to lose his balance. He dropped down to one knee, but kept his shield up to deflect more blows. His hand brushed up against something lying on the ground.

"So you're going to believe everything that woman tells you?" he growled, grabbing the object and flipping it around in his hand. Pushing himself forward, he drove his reacquired sword forward at X's armored shoulder, intending to force him back. "That woman tried to raze an entire city full of innocent people before I came here to free you!"

X hesitated again. "What? No. No no no no no no no. T-that can't be t-true. No. You're lying, you have to be. That's... not..." he laughed.

The Queen backsmacked Evil X who went flying towards the two. "Idiot, have you looked at her? Don't you know who she is?"

X looked at her for a moment that stretched into eternity. Then his eyes snapped out of their hypnotic gaze and emoted horror and terror all at once. "Y-you! But... you're... why are you in my head??"

"She's been using you," the warrior growled, standing up by grinding the point of his sword into the stone and pushing himself up with it. "You're nothing more than a means to an end. Get rid of her. Get rid of her, and start using your rael power to protect others."

X ignored the warrior.

"You. You of all people." he muttered. "I want you out."

"Oh?" Asked the Queen. "Do you think you have the strength to protect your loved ones?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's kind of a moot point anyway, since you pretty much killed all of them. Either way, I won't be getting my help from you. So how about you die?"

The Queen laughed. "Oh? And how do you plan to do that?"

"The same way as last time."

"And that worked, did it?"

X conceded the point. "Then get out of my hea--"

"Oh," the Queen asked, "You're letting me go free? OK. I'll just rebuild my ar--"

"Fine!" X yelled. "Then I'll seal you away!"

The warrior watched the exchange silently, observing the interaction between X and the Queen. He was tense, waiting to spring into action in case the Queen decided to attack.