The spheres of light swooped and dived around Blazen's form as Naze struggled, their speeds increasing rapidly. In one single moment, the orbs stopped their revolutions and slammed hard into Naze, sinking through Blazen's body to Naze's twisted soul. Light flared in a dazzling display; thunder crashed around them. Kalmar cried out in pain as the chains he produced were practically vaporized in the ordeal, and Blazen's body was flung unmercifully through the air away from the Pillar of Dawn.

The fallen God of Fire landed hard in the dirt, a final testament to that which had been Naze Nightfield, now sealed for all time.

Sin? Meta thought back at the voice that called out to her within her very own head. She was surprised to hear his voice again, especially in her own head, due to having seen Sin die and all that jazz. But then, Sin had given her his powers, so it was possible that part of himself had come along with that.

If I have to believe crazy sword-wielding, time-controlling snake-men, then apparently, I'm in the past. And by the looks of it, this epoch is a bad one. She said to Sin within her mind. And there's a demon in front of me to top it all off. Your thoughts on this?

The god landed face first and remained motionless. Inside Naze was screaming in pain before finally being silenced. There was a flashing bright light in Blazen's mind, like a dream. He could the see the darkness that was Naze shrink until it was gone. Still Blazen remained in a coma like state...until his hand twitched.

Blazen slowly became aware that he was face down in dirt. His head hurt still, but it was a very small headache compared to before, proving to be a huge relief. He pushed himself up a bit and looked around himself to see Ellie and Kalmar standing before him, both seeming to have just been through a bit of a battle. Blazen yawned, yes yawned, as he put himself in a sitting position.

"So, what'd I miss?" Blazen asked, clueless as he sat on the ground. His body was a bit stiff, so he let himself wake up a bit more before he stood and stretched.

"Well," Ellie said, brushing a strand of hair from her face, "We found out exactly why you were brought back to life."

"Yeah? What's that, sweet-cheeks?" Blazen asked smirking. Of course he felt like being a smart-ass. That was Blazen, and proved, if anything that Naze was gone. Blazen was back, and he felt more alive than ever. Like some weight was finally off his shoulders. Sparks already were flying from the god's fingers.

"Naze Nightfield needed a host for his power, to keep himself hidden. He chose you to hold his power," Ellie explained, "And resurrected you through some means. After you were defeated up on the mountain, he was able to take control."

"I was able to hold off Naze," Kalmar said, rubbing his severely burned hand, "Long enough for Ellie to seal him away. Naze's still inside of you, but he won't be getting back out."

Blazen frowned a bit then nodded. Seemed like he hoped that, that entire mountain incident was just a dream. (Boy wouldn't that be a kick in the nuts if it were, huh RD?) Blazen then began to pace a bit as he digested the news. He eventually just shrugged then looked back to them.

"So what do we do now?" Blazen asked plainly.

"Well, I need to heal you of the injuries Kalmar inflicted on you, and heal the injuries Naze gave Kalmar," Ellie said, standing up and retrieving Rakukojin, "And then I go talk to the other girls about what happened. They'll need to know."

"And then what?" Kalmar asked, letting go of his arm. "I dunno about you, but I want to go after that bastard Keran and get back Kinslayer. That weapon was to be mine, goddammit."

"Nothing's stopping you from going after him," Ellie said, looking back at the two of them before turning and approaching. Without even asking, she grabbed Kalmar's burned hand, causing him to yelp in slight pain--the damage was caused by light magic, after all--before the pain died as Ellie reversed the damage. "But you'll need help if you go after him. I'll see what I can find out about the matter. C'mere, Blazen."

"You make that sound like an order." Blazen responded cockily as he strolled over, "Gonna whip me if I don't comply?" He stopped a few feet in front of her. Despite some soreness and some scratches and bruises, he still had enough mind to be spiteful.

"I can be kinky with a whip if you like," Ellie said with a grin, "But I don't think you'd like it."

The Daughter of Dawn grabbed Blazen by the sides of his head before working her magic on him, repairing the physical harm that Kalmar caused while checking the seal on Naze's soul and consciousness. It was working perfectly; nothing but a Daughter of Dawn should be able to break the seal on him. Naze's threat to the world had been vanquished, finally. "Alright then, we're all in order here. You're free to go whenever you please. Oh, and before you go..."

Ellie snapped her fingers once, causing a scabbard and belt to materialized around Blazen's upper torso, with Valermos fitted into it. "There. Forgot that last time."

Edited by RisingDragon on March 26, 2008 at 14:24:23.

"You don't know that, babe." Blazen said to himself before being healed, of course he made sure neither Ellie nor Kalmar could hear. It was just a joke, but sometimes a joke could be taken wrongly. He then stepped back as a light came around him, Valermos on ready. He drew the blade, fire coming to life quickly. Blazen smirked a put his sword away.

"What? No good-bye kiss?" Blazen then asked as he assumed Kalmar would be in a hurry, but sneak a jest in whenever possible.

Ellie raised an eyebrow. "I could give you a goodbye slap, if you like." Despite the words, her tone was playful, a harmless jest.

"Hot." Blazen commented as he turned around, back to Kalmar. He seemed, to Blazen, pretty beat. He felt a bit so himself. Blazen was still a bit sore. Looks like another night with the daughter again. Heh.

"We'll head out tomarrow. Let's get some sleep Kalmar." Blazen suggested, keeping a yawn down. He headed towards the cabin, figuring he was still invited.

"Alright," Kalmar said, following after Blazen. Ellie remained behind, to contact the other Daughters of Dawn. As Kalmar reached the door, he paused, and looked behind him up at the sky. Blood-red eyes glinted, and he frowned imperceptibly. Before he could arouse any suspicion from Blazen, he entered the house for the night.

Ellie sighed. This was gonna be a long night. So much to do now, with Kinslayer stolen and Naze defeated.

Blazen placed Valermos onto the ground next to him, leaning against a bed post. He then kicked off his shoes and plopped himself onto the bed. He laid for a moment, his hands behind his back and his eyes staring blankly upward. He thought for some time, about Naze particularly. Blazen could almost hear that dreadful laugh from before, but it was a mere bad memory. Yet his head still gave a quick pound from the very memory of that. He groaned a bit, holding his head then shook it.

"Best not think of it." Blazen said in a hushed voice. Night was about then and Kalmar was probably asleep by now. He didn't want to wake him especially. He sighed then laid back down. After a moment of closing his eyes, Blazen fell asleep until morning.

"Again?" Maya asked Alasea. "Wow, lots of people don' weally like you, do they?" She asked, sounding a little sad.

"Just the bad guys," Alasea smiled, reassuring the girl. "We had to retreat from that battle, though. Bruno was just too powerful at the time. R.D. and Matt never really got over having to retreat from him... R.D. swears up and down that the next time he and Bruno meet, Bruno wouldn't like it. But when we were about to retreat, we were teleported away to another part of Asia. There, we met a woman named Aisha Liembre. She said she was a Daughter of Dawn, and told me, among other things, that I was also a Daughter of Dawn. Though the power hadn't awakened yet. We also met Helena that night for the first time."

Alasea giggled at how that meeting happened: Matt freaking out at having seen a "ghost" and causing such an uproar as she, R.D., Aisha, Hsien-Ko and Mei-ling ran in to find out the problem. "Helena had a bad past, but she was able to move beyond it all. She was granted a second chance at life by being Matt's stand for a while. We stayed the night, and then Aisha showed us the Pillar of Dawn she was guarding. And then, we were attacked by Malvettix."

Alasea paused at that. She remembered what R.D. had told her the night before: Malvettix had been here. She remembered that the Pillar of Light did not phase him, like it did other creatures of darkness. What was he? What did he want? "We don't know who or what Malvettix is. He looked like Matt, only psycho. We all fought him; Matt and Helena were able to defeat him. After that, we found the portal, and I begun my world-hopping adventures with Matt and the others."

===China===

Within her residence tucked into a small valley harboring the Pillar of Dawn, Aisha Liembre sat reading a small book, relaxing for the day. The day was hot, yet a cool breeze flowed through her house, thanks to a small channeling of wind magic. She, like always, was a picture of unshakable calm.

Despite this, she still leaped nearly out of her skin as she heard the shrill, telepathic cry of one Ellie Mariannas.

Aiiishaaa!

Aisha sighed, picking up her book from the floor where it had fallen. What is it, Ellie? she returned over the telepathic link that the Daughters of Dawn shared, with only a trace of irritation carried over the bond.

Eh-heh... I've got some good and some bad news. Which do you want first?

Bad, please. It is always best to start with the bad news first, Aisha replied.

Suit yourself. Another one of the Seven Perfect Weapons were stolen.

This time, Aisha lost her cool.

===Germany===

Kalmar stood outside, behind the log cabin that they were staying in for the night. Cool air washed over him, trailing down from the Black Mountains. Twice now he had set out to accomplish something, to acquire something priceless. Twice he had failed. The stranger set him out to recover his humanity by defeating that monster in a child's flesh, the so-called Rising Dragon. Only for the boy to turn the tide of battle at the last minute, and defeat him. Then, it was here, to acquire the Sword of Perfect Darkness... only for it to be stolen by that armored freak, Ratayu Keran.

And then there was that bitch still lurking out there. She was waiting for the moment where he'd slip up, the moment he'd fail again, and then she'd be there, sinking her foul claws back into him. Sucks to be her. Failure was no longer an option. He wasn't going to fail again. And now he'd make up for his mistakes.

Starting with the Rising Dragon.

Blazen sat up with a yawn and looked out the window to see the sun already fairly high in the sky.

"Shit!" Blazen cursed as he quickly dressed himself and strapped on Valermos. He was late, very late. He rushed slammed open his bedroom door and ran into the hallway.

"Kalmar!" Blazen called, "We gotta go!" He added, unsure if he was awake or not, but just in case. Blazen then ran for the front door and swung open that door, looking around outside and didn't see Kalmar or Ellie. He stood next to the front door, running in place.

"Where is he?" Blazen wondered to himself as he waited.

During his work, Matt kept his mind busy. He prefered muttering to himself when thinking, so he kept it very low and personal, relating some of his favorite lines from comedy movies to himself as if he was in the midst of it all.

"Hey, big bird, ready for the counting game?" he mumbled with panel in hand, wandering back toward some other crewmembers standing near scaffolding set up alongside HyoRyu. "Count the shells, sucker duck!"

The scaffolding, which had been found nearby, was unfortunately not up to par when it came off of the construction line. As Matt approached the structure set up around the vehicle machine HyoRyu, a displaced weight caused the scaffolding to shift, tipping it precariously. Was it just bad luck, or was everything trying to fall over on Matt?

A corroded portion of metal finally broke under the stress, tipping the upper half of the scaffolding forward and finally throwing it off balance. Too late did the GGG crewmembers notice it, and even as they tried to run, the scaffolding plummeted towards them and Matt.

===Germany, previous night===

Ellie sighed as she went over the past month's encounters. ... and yeah. Now that Naze's gone, we have one less threat to worry about. Which leaves... what? Seven left?

More than that. I grow worried about the appearance of this woman, Meta. She's absorbed the power of one the Seven Beasts, and now lately where she goes, there's a rising surge of Nightmare Energy. And there are more threats lurking in the dark, Aisha replied to her. For now, we must worry about Ziatoch's minions. Blazen and Kalmar will have to hunt down this Keran figure and retrieve Kinslayer from him. Weave tracking threads in both of them. We'll need some way of contacting them when we find out Keran's whereabouts.

Alright, alright, Ellie said, waving it off. I doubt they'll like it, Aisha.

They really don't have a choice in the matter, if they want to find Keran.

===Germany, morning===

"Where is who?" Kalmar said, appearing behind Blazen while arching an eyebrow. He was rubbing the wrist of his right arm, the mutated one.

Jim's eyes widened as the huge metal structure tumbled down toward him and the others.

Instincts in Matt flared as he gazed up. Gotta throw up a shield-wait, I don't have the Core! Gotta dodge-

But something happened that he didn't count on.

Just as the scaffolding fell upon them, it was bent and fractured in all directions as it crashed against a thin, violet-colored shield of energy surrounding the group. As the pieces of the structure hit the floor, the shield slowly faded away.

Matt didn't move until he was sure it was over.

...did I do that?

There was a stunned silence after the noise of the crashing scaffolding settled down. It was deafening. And then, all at once, shocked whispers erupted all around Matt and Jim.

"--did you see that?--"

"--what was that? Looked like--"

"--was that a--"

"--had to be! Some sort of barrier--"

"--it was purple, I saw it--"

"--Zonder!"

That last one caused the room to still.

The room felt cold all too quickly.

...Zonder? Matt's eyes slowly glanced across the room. What the hell is a Zonder?

Jim took a step back.

"...what was that all about?" he asked, his tone ugly.

"I...I don't know," Matt replied. "But whatever it was...I didn't do it on purpose."

People away from the incident looked on with apprehension. One person moved towards the main door, meaning to signal for the higher-ups to come, and come quick. Those who were closer, those who had been stunned by the close brush of death, looked at Matt with a mix of shock and fear. As Matt looked around, those who met his gaze flinched, as if he was about to attack them.

"What are you talking about?" Matt asked the group, a bit stronger this time. "What's a Zonder?"

"A Zonder is created when a host is fused with Zonder Metal," Guy suddenly explained, walking toward Matt with a stern look in his eye. "The leader of the Zonders sought to mechanize entire planets though Zonder Metal."

"...what?" Matt asked, a bit bewildered. "Guy...I don't know what that is, but I'm not a Zonder. Scan me if you want, but I ain't one."

"There's no need," Hyuuma said, approaching, his own face hard, "Zonders can't exist anymore. All of them were linked to the Z-Master, and we destroyed him over a year ago. Only one thing else could've done that, and it didn't need the Z-Master around to do that."

The situation was quickly growing sour. "...what are you talking about?" Matt asked, trying to act strong, but calm.

"Zounda," Jim replied, which sent indecision through the charged crowd. "Zounda was the only one that could do that."

Okay. This wasn't good. He had to get them to calm down, no matter how difficult he felt the armor was making it. Matt raised his hands. "All right, guys-"

"Put your hands down!" Jim shouted.

Matt did so. "Okay, okay! I don't wanna start nothin'!"

"We'll have to take him in to be scanned," Hyuuma said to Guy, folding his arms over his broad chest. "Even with Mamoru absent, we'll have to see if he's a Zonuda somehow."

"Let's see if Mikoto and Papllion can find that out," Guy replied.

"Hey, you can probe me all you want, man," Matt said.

Okay, that sounded weird, but still...

"Call Renais," Guy told Hyuuma. "And see if J's with her or not."