RP: Virtus Fabulae

Rules:[]

1: Use proper spelling and grammar.

2: Each role-player is only allowed 1 main character who has, at most, three combat styles. However, they can make multiple side characters that don’t appear throughout the RP; be them a comic relief or an unexpected aid in a tight situation.

3: Each role-player can come up with new Zombies/Monsters/Demons to throw into the role-play AS LONG AS THEY CAN BE DEFEATED! We don’t want our characters to be fighting gods now do we?

4: Each role-player can create an unlimited amount of customized weapons and arcanes (Magic Spells), but they too are NOT to be overpowered. We don’t want magic blasts that cause atomic explosions, or rifles that can shoot a bullet clear into space.

5: The entire world is almost completely ravaged by war, famine, and death, so there are very few large populated areas left.

6: The world the RP takes place on IS NOT EARTH, so role-players can very well make up new locations and desolated cities.

7: If someone posts something, that post is now considered “canon” to the RP’s storyline; it cannot be changed or contradicted by the next RPer’s post. This happens a LOT in most of the RPs I’ve taken part in.

8: PLEASE TALK TO YOUR FELLOW ROLE-PLAYERS! The one thing I can’t stand is when a Role-Player uses another player’s character or other creature without their consent. I cannot stress this rule enough!

9: Since there are currently four role-players taking part in this, I would like to have, at least, 12 parts per each Chapter; meaning each Role-Player will have a minimum of three posts each. The Role-Player list will also help to keep everyone's posts in order, with the first person who signed up making the first post in each chapter, and the last person summing up the chapter.

10: If your post, or the post of another player, is a little short to actually be considered a post, or is mainly composed of dialogue; Please combine the two, or more, posts into a single long part. We’ve had quite a few Role-Plays in the past where a single post would be nothing more than two or three sentences, and I really don’t want this RP to become one of those.

Setting:[]

This role-play takes place in a world where Magic and Science had been woven together in harmony, that is until the gates of the Slip where opened; causing the dead to walk the earth, monster to cause chaos, and demons to possess living souls. To combat these ancient evils, the populace of the world began experimenting with Arcane Magic, Alchemy, Genetic Engineering, and even attempted to delve into the evil ways of Necromancy and other dark sorcery. All was in vain however, as the soldiers they created mutated and turned upon them, throwing the world into what is known now as the Crimson Ages; the age following that of the apocalypse. Now only the strong and courageous, or cunning and crafty are able to survive the war-torn wilderness on their own; very few settlements remained and many of those were slowly falling apart by greed, corruption, famine, and disease. Not to mention the unholy monsters and mutant freaks of nature that still roamed free; the world is, quite literally, a living hell.

Role-Players:[]

Dan Harris[]

Main Character[]

Name: Jackson Seraphim
Combat Type(s): Bladesman (Swordsman), Arcanist (User of Medium-Level Magics)
Main Weapon(s): Swords of any kinds (Mainly Longswords), Magic Spells.
Attitude: Slightly arrogant in his abilities, but fairly easy to get along with. Prefers to be a loner rather than having to lead or follow a certain faction, but frequently tries to make friends and allies. His personality is double-sided; one instant being so angry at the world around him that he attacks anything, and anyone, around him, while in other instances being so high-spirited that he breaks out in song, or recites poetry to himself and others.
General Appearance: Jackson is 37 years old with a medium height and build, shoulder-length silver hair, and blue eyes. There are two scars upon his face; one running down the length of his right cheek, the other over his left eye. His entire right arm is festooned with tribal-style tattoos that glow a light blue color whilst using magic. His outfit includes; a navy-blue, long-sleeved shirt that has had the right sleeve completely ripped off to reveal his tattoos; a dirt-brown, ragged scarf that is wrapped loosely around his neck and shoulders; two brown leather belts, one of which is fitted through the belt-loops of his black jeans, the other fitted through only two belt-loops on his left hip and hanging loose on his right side. The loose belt has a leather scabbard attached to it, which Jackson has enchanted to fit any sword he tries to sheath in it. The tighter belt has a few medium-sized pouches, filled with food, Archaic and Runic books, and a few other provisions. His ensemble is completed by a pair steel-toed, combat boots.

Side Characters[]

Edward D. Morrigan (Alive): Jackson Seraphim's Uncle, on his mother's side of the family, is a cunning and persuasive Sage who is obsessed with the study and exploration of the Slip dimension. Going by the title of Doctor, Morrigan uses his convincing way of speaking to talk capable waste-landers into entering the demonic realm and returning to him with certain items of interest, usually offering the travelers large rewards if they get the job done. However, most of the time the people he hires never return, and those who do, like his own sister and her husband, he destroys outright and takes the items they bring back. Because of this, Jackson has a deep hatred towards him, and will do anything to avenge his parents’ deaths. Dr. Morrigan usually dresses in expensive looking business suits with wrap-around black sunglasses to hide his betraying eyes; he is a small man, usually being a head shorter than most of the humans he encounters in the wastes, and has short, silver hair; a trait that appears in both the Morrigan and Seraphim families, that is a sign of great Arcane potential. He usually surrounds himself with non-human guards, such as Golems and even “tamed” Abominations, though being both a Sage and a Bladesman he is fully capable of defending himself when needed.

Vivian (Alive): Vivian is a Nagini, or female Naga, who is classified as a “Diamond Naga”. Diamond Nagas are a rare breed whose scales are harder than the mineral they are named after. Despite this natural armor however, Vivian’s scaly tail does not affect her mobility in the slightest; she is extremely quick and uses a fighting style that is a mixture between the Brawler and Striker styles, and also is equal in magical power to that of a human Arcanist. During combat, she uses her tail as both a medium-ranged means of attack, as well as a near unbreakable defense; she can also extend her tail up to a length of around eight meters (Or about twenty five feet). Her tail usually stays at a length of ten to twelve feet while not fighting, and its scales are a slightly darker shade of sky-blue. Her hair, eyes, and usually her outfit, are also this color. She is a very kind and gentle being, surprisingly showing more compassion for those of the Human race rather than her fellow Demons, and will rarely ever feast upon a human.

Gehennae (Dead): An extremely powerful Higher Demon who rules over The Burning Expanse, a medium-sized region within the infinite Demon Realm. He is able to control fire at its most evil of forms; black flames that burn endlessly and not only singes away solid matter, but also Spiritual Energy as well. Gehennae’s place of residence is known as Desparatus Keep, and is perched upon a pillar of Obsidian in the center of a vast sea of Lava, with only a single bridge connecting it to the mainland. Gehennae was killed off by Jackson, who used the Lord's own Black Fire to destroy the Demon and his keep.

Portentum (Alive, Sealed): A demonic Fiend and high lord of the Nocturns, Portentum is a massive reptilian beast that is half-again the size of the prehistoric Tyrannosaurus Rex. Its appearance is like that of his Nocturn offspring, resembling Raptors more then T-Rex, and Portentum is able to talk on its own, instead of using mimicry, though it can only speak in the ancient tongue. He is also extremely gifted with magic.

Cinis (Dead): Vivian's brother; an Ash Naga who came under the service of the Demon Lord, Gehennae. He used the Reaper style of melee combat, but this proved no match for his sister's unarmed Striker style. Cinis' soul was ripped from his body to be replaced by Gehennae's itself.

Jedediah Slade (Alive): An archaic "cyborg" if you will; A bounty hunter who works under the service of Edward D. Morrigan, Jedediah is a quiet, ruthless man who enjoys nothing more than causing pain to others. Though money does come a close second. Slade was a soldier on the frontline after the first Slip portal opened, losing his arms and much of his lower body in a devastating blast that otherwise destroyed his entire platoon. Morrigan found, and saved the dieing man's life, giving him new, enchanted ligaments made out of living Durissima, the hardest metallic substance on Cael. With his new limbs, Slade's strength and stamina increased a hundred-fold, allowing him to dual wield a pair of custom revolver magnums that would otherwise snap off a normal Human's fingers. He is a Brawler, Gunner, and the leader of the Razor Raiders gang. (Slade's "theme tune" would be the first few riffs of "Agent Tex" [1] )

The Razor Raiders: A band of criminals and murderers under the leadership of Jedediah Slade, who is in turn a humble servant of the Sage and Necromancer, Edward D. Morrigan. There are always six members in total, not including their leader.
- Travis "Gat" Wiley (Alive): Slade's right hand man and second in command of the Razor Raiders, Gat was a friend of the bounty hunter since before the first Demonic invasion. The two men had been the leaders of the Raiders motorcycle gang, and acted as "Road Pirates"; stealing entire vehicles from travelers to sell of the parts for profit. Travis, now known as "Gat" by his fellow Raiders, is an intelligent Alchemist, and prefers to use a long chain-whip as a weapon.
- Derek "Scratch" Thorne (Reanimated): Once known as "Fiddler" by his fellow Raiders, Thorne was technically killed by Jackson Seraphim during the latter's escape from the Slip. However, Edward D. Morrigan found his body, altered the remains, then reanimated Thorne via a Necromantic ritual. Derek's original soul could never be returned from the after-life permanently, so instead the Sage placed an artificial spirit within the corpse, one that would obey him completely. Fiddler was previously a Half-Demon Berserker and Bladesman for the Raiders, but now can only be classified as a Berserker. His new nickname was given to him by Morrigan himself.
- Shelia "Lilith" Brandt (Alive): Gat's apparent "lover" despite treating her poorly. Lilith does not mind this though, being a Masochist and Sadist; along with having no preferance for what gender her "playmates" are. She has been shown to be a skilled Reaper and a gifted user of Frost Magic.
- Larz "Longshot" Keller (Dead): A Hawk-Eye and Striker of the Razor Raiders gang. Longshot was killed by Logan after attempting to shoot him during the chase to the Portal.
- Joseph "Beef" Hegg (Dead): A Brawler and Barbarian of the Razor Raiders gang. Beef was killed by Kaiden during the chase to the Portal.
- Duke "Butcher" Gaston (Dead): A Barbarian and Alchemist of the Razor Raiders gang. He was killed by Gat during the chase to the Portal.
- Roslyn "Red" Flurry (Alive): After the death of half the Razor Raiders, Roslyn Flurry was recruited by Gat after meeting her in Party City's local mechanics shop. After purchasing seven new Motorcycles for the group, Gat insisted that she'd join them as they could use someone with a head for repair work. Roslyn agreed, though she knew Travis' other reasons for getting her to join. Red is classified as both a Gunner and Hunter combat type, and is a skilled mechanic as well.
- Clayton "Clay" Gaston (Alive): Recruited by Jedediah Slade after Longshot, Beef, and Butcher's deaths, Clay shares his brother's, impressive size and strength, though has a much calmer approach to situations. Being the brains of the family, instead of roaming the wastes with Duke and their childhood friend Joseph, Clayton instead got himself a job at a shop in Party City known as Brock's Big and Tall. After hearing about Beef and Butcher's deaths, Clay finally decided to take up the "family business" and joined the Raiders (Slade neglected to tell him that it was Gat who murdered his brother). He uses the Brawler combat style, but is also an alchemist who uses a small bit of magic to increase his physical strength and durability when needed.
- Lance "Archbow" Stelzer (Alive): Formerly a member of the Black Bow guild along with his close friends Marcel Cross and Allen Wilde, Kaiden's father. He was kicked from the guild after an attempted Mutiny of the group's leader at the time, Alistar Hawkins. He had thought his friends with side with him in his endeavor, but instead it was Cross and Wilde who exposed their friend's plot. Lance had his eyes burned out, and his bow was snapped in two; the fate of any Black Bow that would betray his own kinsmen. Feeling as though he no longer had anything worth while to live for, Stelzer made his way to Party city, where he began to live out his days drinking at one of the local bars. However, he found that while he was now blind, he could still picture the world clearly in his mind's eye; the Black Bow's sensory and reflex training aiding him into becoming a mercenary for hire in the city of bandits; using his natural tallents in Sealing Magic to summon new bows and form a multitude of different arrows. He was later recruited by Lilith, and joined the Razor Raiders in order to gain vengance in killing Kaiden Wilde. Lance uses the Archer and the Arcanist combat types.

Marcel Cross (Alive): A member of the Black Bows, a semi-secretive guild opperating out of Imperisium City; the members of which having a mixed set of talents, including skills in magic, firearms, and melee weapons. All of them have a custom Bow of some kind, and use it as their trump card due to their obvious mastery of Archery. Marcel himself can be described as an easy-going, almost lazy, man who loves a good drink now and then. His combat style revolves around the twin Crossbows and bladed whip he carries along with his Longbow.

Victor Graves (Alive): A high ranking officer of the Imperial Remnant Military spec-ops unit; the Machinists. The Machinists are a group of elite Alchemists and Soldiers who use enchanted pouches filled with a near endless amount of pure Mercury, which the soldiers shape and transmute into a vast veriety of weapons, armor, and other tools which they use in combat. Graves himself has an extreme, "no-nonsense" attitude and takes everything seriously. In battle he usually forms auto-turrets to distract and destroy larger groups of enemies, whilst flanking them with hand-held automatic weaponry.

Will fill out as the role-play continues...

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Imps: The lowest form of demons; Imps are almost completely harmless on their own, and can be placed in the same threat level as rodents. When massed in larger groups however, they are a much larger threat.

Gremlins: An uncommon, mutated version of the common Imp; Gremlins usually have tan or brown skin, plump bodies, and feast upon electricity. Once more, Gremlins can be considered as household vermin, but are dangerous when encountered in larger groups.

Abominations: Horribly mutated beings that now lurk in radioactive swamps, damp cellars, and the sewers. Their bite is highly toxic, and they're able to cling to any surface.

"Tamed" Abominations: While usually savage and uncontrollable, the Abominations can actually be tamed through magical means, as discovered by Dr. Edward Morrigan.

Hell-Hounds: After the begining of the Crimson Ages, many breeds of dogs and wolves came under the influence of the demonic energies escaping from the Slip. Of these kind, the most dangerous are the Hell-Hounds; demonized Grey Wolves whose pelts have turned an obsidian black, and whos eyes glow like the flames of hell itself.

Acrimortuis: (Plural: Acrimorti) Corpses that have gained new life by feasting off of the demonic energies of the Slip; They are the most cunning of the undead, but usually being nothing more then skeletons gives them a disadvantage in combat.

Lesser Demons: There are many different types of Lesser Demons, but each one is above seven feet in height and/or length, and can control hellfire at will.

Winged Lesser Demons: Burgundy skinned beasts with goat-like horns and massive wings that, when spread, are half again the length of their bodies.

Fiends: Fiends are described as being the connection between the Higher and Lesser Demons, being stronger then the latter though weaker then the former. Fiends, like Lesser Demons, have many different types and species, but are usually able to perform high-level magic like that of an Arcanist or even a Sage.

Nagas: (Singular: Naga, Feminine: Nagini, Feminine Plural: Nagini) Nagas are fiends that have the midsection, torso, arms, and head of a human, but instead of legs they have a snake's tail that is well over 18 feet long; some Nagas can lengthen or shorten their tails at will, and others can even transform them into legs to blend in with human society. All Nagas have the ability to absorb magical energy by means of their scales. Nagas are described as voracious eaters, their favorite meal being humans, though some Nagas have more control over this hunger then others and many have tried to side with the humans since the beginning of the Crimson Ages.

Elemental Nagas: Elemental Nagas are breeds of Nagas whom have unique abilities that make them a large threat then those of their weaker cousins. Diamond Nagas, Ash Nagas, Spiral Nagas, Rattler Nagas, and Hooded Nagas are a few of these "Elemental" Types.

Dridders: Dridders are a race of Fiends who look to be a mix between humans and spiders. Unlike the Nagas, who have separate genders, Dridders are asexual; though all of them have the upper bodies of beautiful women. Dridders breed by literally stuffing their wrapped up victims (which are usually humans) into their large thoraxes by means of their vaginas, which obviously doesn’t have the same functions as a human female’s does. Within, the female, or even male human is “impregnated”, incubates within the Dridder’s thorax for a few days, then is removed to allow the baby Dridder to eat its way out of the human. Dridders have the ability to control the “less-evolved” species of arachnids, mainly spiders, to perform their bidding. They wear no clothing of any sort, and usually make their webs and nests in dark, damp places; their webs absorb magical energy.

Nocturns: There are many things that go bump in the night, but the Nocturns are by far the worst. Fast, Ferocious, and tough, the Nocturns are the demonic equivalent to the prehistoric raptors of earth. Their skin is extremely tough, strong enough to deflect small arms fire, and they have a great resistance to pain. Their main weaknesses are extreme heat and cold.

Guardians: Otherwise known as Elementals or Naturals, Guardians are considered to be living embodiments of a particular element. They usually reside near, or around, locations that are considered sacred, but can also manifest around a certain object, animal, or even person. It is an utter mystery how they are formed, but this much is known about them: smaller, and weaker Guardians are usually more intelligent and less threatening then larger, more powerful ones; sometimes presenting themselves as a person’s guardian spirit. The element that a Natural manifests itself as also seems to be completely random, as it is not entirely rare to find a Flame Guardian deep within a massive forest, or Spark Guardian in the middle of a great lake.

Golems: Golems are obedient minions created by placing enchanted tags within an empty husk of any element to bring it to life; though they are similar to Guardians, in the way they are able to control the properties of their particular element, they are technically in a separate class of their own.

Will add more as the role-play continues...

Nick Anderson[]

Main Character[]

Name: Kaiden Wilde
Combat Type(s): Archer (medium-to-long range), and Alchemist (Basic magic)
Main Weapon(s): Black and lavender recurve bow, Sharpfinger knife, blow darts (7), throwing knives (3).
Attitude: Quiet and usually calm, Kaiden prefers to be alone, surviving on his own skills, and with his blue heeler, Max.
General Appearance: Around the age of 24, not the tallest man around, with a medium build, Kaiden has medium-long, jet black hair, cut short. He has a small scar running diagonally across his cheek, and a large one running down his arm. Kaiden has a sole cross tattoo on his chest, and usually wears a dark-brown longcoat, a dual bandolier holding various items across his chest, which doubles as the hoist for Kaiden's arrow quiver, a belt containing pouches of various items, brown trousers, slate gray kneepads, boots, and bandages sealing them from any radiation, tape over his socks underneath. During the day, wears aviator glasses and a black "bandit mask", along with a cowl on the longcoat, occasionally worn on his head.

Side Characters[]

Max (Alive): Wilde's only companion, Max, short for Maxine, is an Australian Shepard (or Blue Heeler) that Wilde found injured in some rubble. She is very loyal, and has a great sense of smell, and is able to warn Wilde when something bad is coming through different tail movements, nudges, and whimpers.

Alice Jameson Katsurimoto (Alive): Known better as AJ, Alice is a spunky, tough, half-caucasian, half-Japanese girl who wanders the wastes in search of a home. She later accompanies Kaiden Wilde and his gang on their walk towards the east. She wields only a Katana, and is an Arcanist, always wearing her red-hoodie.

Chto (Alive): A smallish, red common, who lacks the barbed tail of most, and has the intelligence and spunk of few, he is a defector of the creatures of the slip. He used to belong to Marethryu, the Necromancer, but he and his brother Syreu defected from the Slip, due to their 'kinder' nature and attitude, becoming companions of Kaiden's now fairly large gang. He is usually the leader over his brother, and helps create inventions for the gang-and he and his brother.

Syreu (Alive): An almost identical, green common, who also lacks the barbed tail, and has intelligence and spunk, Syreu is Chto's brother, also a defector of the slip, and his former leader, Marethryu. He travels with Kaiden and his gang and has a good relation with the gang. He is the more witty and humorous of the twins, and has the most creative ideas for armor, weapons and other objects.

Marethryu (Dead): A Necromancer that had been 'trained' by Dr. Morrigan, in the dark arts and employed by Demon Lord Gehennae, Marethryu is the quote on quote, merchant of the Daemons, sending supplies to creatures and people who can barter with other, rare items. He always traveled with his bodyguards, a Lilith, and two commons, Chto and Syreu, but in his first encounter with Kaiden Wilde and his gang, he was almost killed, his Lilith murdered, his own personal Lesser Demon, Maronius, murdered by Logan Longstride as Chto and Syreu defected to the humans. After being overtaken by Kaiden and AJ, he was almost killed by his own broadsword, but he shouted a spell right before his death, teleporting away into the Slip, leaving his Broadsword and two Commons with the humans. Later on, however, during the Saviors' assault on Gehennae's Keep, Marethryu was discovered by Kaiden, AJ, Logan, and Rich, to be guarding the Archa Damnationem with a brand new Rubema Sword. After quickly magically sealing away Kaiden and AJ and knocking out Rich, the Necromancer decided to duel Logan alone because the red jacketed wanderer had killed his pet - Maronius. After dueling with Marethryu, Logan eventually, with a distraction from Rich, got the advantage over Maronius, beheading the Necromancer and killing him once and for all.

Richard Talzid (Alive): Known as Rich, Richard Talzid was one of five children in a big family that always stuck together. He was the fattest of his family, and always acted as a tank. After being hunted down by a rival family in the area; known for bringing in big game of the village. Unlike the Talzid family, they couldn't deal with sharing, and hunted down Talzid's brothers and parents, forcing him into exile. He eventually got his truck "Baby", and found his way to the Slip, seeking a new challenge. However, due to the Daemonic modifications he depended on after at least 30 years in the Slip, the truck was dying; and the only new parts for thousands of miles were located in Gehennae's Keep. But a stroke of luck crossed Rich as he met Kaiden Wilde, Alice J., and Logan Longstride, along with Max, Kaiden's dog, Vivian, and Jackson; who all aimed to attack the Keep. After deciding to leave the Slip after the assault on the Keep, Rich became a permanent companion to the group of wanderers that would later go down in history as the "Saviors of Cael".

Lawrence Caughlin (???): Not much is known about this character yet.

Will fill out more as the role-play continues...

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Goat: Due to their mass numbers around the land, originally used for meat and milk, many demons manifested themselves in goats, turning them into massive, upright beasts, with devilish horns, golden eyes, carnivorous teeth, and human hands, their fingers dis-proportioned and mangled, with long black fingernails.

Liliths: Mostly unmutated women that demons have manifested in, "a Lilith", or "screamers", they are what remains of dead females, wearing only tatters of clothes and black vines across their body, they have long, black fingernails, slate gray skin, bird like feet, sharp teeth. They scream out when they see a possibly victim, alerting any others, and kill their victims by ripping out their necks and then consuming their body. Liliths' are less common than most other demons, due to them manifesting in only partly decomposed bodies.

Commons: 'Commons', as they are called, are the second most common type of Demons, the workers in the Slip. They are sentient, yet not smart, (compare to the Vorcha in Mass Effect), and look like smallish, skinny humans, with red or green skin, small tails, black fingernails, sharp teeth, and horn nubs. They attack humans on site to eat, and are easy to kill. They can talk, but usually just shout random sentences in latin, trying to kill you.

Hijackers: Hijackers are degenerate nomads who prey on anyone they can. They often lure you in with promises of food, water, sex, or a place for the night. Then they kill you, steal your supplies, and eat you. Hijackers travel in groups of four or more, so they survive with each other.

Maronius the Lesser Fiend (Dead): A strange Lesser Demon, sized and rated as better than a lesser demon, but not as fierce as a Fiend, Maronius was a unique, charcoal gray, horned lesser demon that belonged to Marethryu. He managed to temporarily incapacitate Kaiden, his skin plating protecting him from everything, until he turned his attention to Logan Longstride, who managed to shoot him in the mouth, the bullet penetrating his mouth and into his skull, killing the fiend. He disintegrated into ash and blood after that, his remains soaking into the ground.

Will add more as the role-play continues...

Sith Venator[]

Main Character[]

Name: Logan Longstride
Combat Type(s): Barbarian ,Hunter, and Alchemist
Main Weapon(s): Venator Rifle, Machine Pistol, and Bowie Sword.
Attitude: Weapon frensic, prefers the world being a hell hole rather than a society.
General Appearance: Six feet tall and heavy build, chubby compared to the others. Long hair that hides his face most of the time, although it is occasionally in a pony-tail. Wears a red jacket with various pockets including a "pouch" to keep anything he needs in it.

Side Characters[]

Gizmo: A mutated Alligator Snapping Turtle, he has become sapiant and his front legs have become hand like (being able to grasp objects) due to the radiation. Unlike most creations of the chaos he is pure of soul and only wants to help out others.

Venator II: Also known as Venator Jr. or just Junior is the last surviving dragon and a former special operation commander and scientist within the Empire. His main goal is to ensure the survival of his species and to avenge the death of his wife at the hands of an individual only known as the Dragon Slayer. He was the inventor of all railguns and coilguns, naming the Venator Rifle after his father.

Will fill out as Role-Play continues...

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Land Shark: A combination of mutation and demon possesion has led an entire species of Shark to evolve into reptiles. They have long crocodile like feet and are covered in bony plates similar to Ankalasaurs. To make matters worse for survivors they not only are able to breath underwater still, but they are able to dig and ambush their prey from underground.

Vorepire: Before chaos filled the world there was a thriving community of Vampires (not the homosexual sparkling ones....), however once the chaos set in entire female community was mutated into something considerably worse. The male vampires were unnafected by the mutation and so were all killed out by the females. The said mutation changed the females from being bloodsuckers into swallowing their prey whole like a snake. Appearing as beautiful women, being able to go into sunlight, and being able to reproduce asexually they are a serious threat to survivors.

Hydra: Originally Iguanas from a southern chain of islands, the Empire experimented with turning them into shocktroopers for the military. The former lizards became intelligent, durable, and hostile to humans unless trained otherwise. Years after the chaos started the to-be shocktroopers have been mutated and possesed by demons to the point that they regenerate heads, hence the name hydra. In addition to rapid cell regeneration of heads it can also spit acid.

Mantis: Demons come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, the Mantis is a perfect example of that. Shaped like giant Mantis's, they have thick metal like skin and arms that only purpose is to shoot plasma. To add to the effectiveness they are incredibly good climbers and often perch somewhere on a cliff or tree to shoot targets from a distance.

Nagol: Many animals live in the slip, but none are as bizare nor as deadly as the Nagol. With the head of a crocodile, the shield of a triceratops, the horn of a sawfish, the neck of a snake, the body of a turtle, the limbs of a Prey Mantis, Therapod, and Elephant (6 limbs in total, Prey Mantis arms act as hands while Therapod and Elephant limbs act as feet), the spine of a Spinosaurus, the tail of a Whale with spikes from a Stegosaurus, and thw wings of a dragon. In addition to this lethal killer is the ability to breathe out any element from it's mouth. Though they are deadly and very dangerous they are not mutatated and are impervious to demon possesion and magic in general. They are hostile to any who would indanger their young, some have even been known to exit the slip in search of new territory.

Will add more as Role-Play continues...

XtranormalGeek[]

Main Character[]

Name: Nale Callahan (Aged 29)
Combat Type(s): Brawler, Gunner (Pistols, Rifles and Shotguns), and Arcanist (User of medium-level Magic)
Main Weapon(s): Handguns, Rifles, Combat Knifes, and Magic Spells.
Attitude: Somewhat shy, Nale's rough history has made him into a rarely-talkative individual who would prefer to go his own ways and keep to himself. Nale is also very tempermental; if he is angered or frustrated enough, he will go into bouts of rage. However, Nale is caring and kind to everyone he meets and finds to be "okay", making Nale a unique personality.
General Appearance: Tall and built, Nale stands 6'5" tall and has black hair and a beard (which is frequently kept short). Nale also has ice-blue eyes and a visible burn mark on the right side of his face that he sustained as a child which has never fully healed. Nale usually wears a short-sleeved shirt with an armored vest to protect against bullets or piercing, magical spells. Nale's pants are usually custom-made and are always black.

Side Characters[]

Elizabeth (Deceased): Nale's former wife who was killed by Sultrus, a maniacal alchemist that hated Nale for an unknown reason.

Daine (Alive): The son of Nale and Elizabeth Cintaro, who has just turned 16 years old.
Mortimer Cintaro

Professor Revius Alturio (Deceased): A frail man who taught Nale his Arcane skills. Revius died during a Spormer attack.

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Magnas: Magnas are large creatures with uncanny strength and durability.
Volucers: Volucers are humanoid creatures that have the ability to fly.
Cernentias: Cernentias are bat-like creatures that can harness fire.
Saxums: Saxums are giant creatures that are made completely of stone.
Spormers: Spormers are small but deadly bugs that ravage and consume the dead to survive. When under duress, the Spormers will desecrate living individuals. These "bugs" have become a plague across the world.
Sultrus: An alchemist who killed Nale's wife Elizbeth. Nale has been hunting Sultrus for five years.

Andromedans: Beings that are made of pure energy. There are various types of Andromedans:
- Krani: Andromedans that are made of electricity.
- Charrhi: Andromedans that are made of radiation.
- Trata: Andromedans that are made of heat.
- Vani: Andromedans that are made of sound.
- Deltu: Andromedans that are made of water.
- Travi: Andromedans that are made of air.

Will add more as RP continues...

Arden Hope[]

Main Character[]

Name: Sarah Westford
Combat Types: Engineer, Gunner (Shotguns and pistols)
Main Weapons: Sawed-off Shotgun (Modded), 10mm pistol (modded), Sarah's Wrench.
Attitude: Sarah is a hardy young woman who thrives in the wastes, putting together various scraps to make life just that much easier. Generally, she has a good attitude towards life, happy she's made it this far. She can be forgetful and clumsy at times, but when she's building something, nothing else matters. But when she's pushed to it, Sarah will raise hell defending what she loves.
General Appearance: Around 23 years old, Five - foot five, with a slender build. Sarah has rich brown hair, a few inches past her shoulders, which she usually ties back. She normally wears thick steampunk goggles, which protects her eyes from what ever she's doing, and a forest green mechanic's suit, which has a few changes made by Sarah. She wears mid-calf length combat boots with a steel toe, which have been worn down quite a bit. Sarah also occasionally wears a cross necklace which was given to her by her father before he died.

Side Characters[]

TIM (Tiny Intelligent Machine):TIM is a small assistant robot which Sarah created to help her when she's building. Tim is generally near Sarah, but she command him to stay behind or get her certain items. With his intelligence being limited, TIM can sometimes bring back something that was not asked for, or he can smash into things. TIM is somewhat similar to Sarah as he is clumsy.

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Defense Bots: A creation Sarah was working on, when an imp chewed a wire and set the defense bots haywire, destroying all sentient beings it detects.

Brian Gold[]

Main Character[]

Name: Amadom Javesh
Combat types: Combat Healer, Offensive Earth Magic
Main weapon: Shamanic Magicks
Attitude: Amadom is a gentle giant. Although he is intimidating in appearance, Amadom is kind and soft spoken. Although he doesn’t often show it, but Amadom is resentful towards technology and industrialism, as well as the demons of the Slip, for destroying the natural world. Amadom wishes to join the team in order to further his quest to renew the natural world.
General Appearance: Amadom is 7’1” and very muscular. He has dark skin, a deep voice, and a thick (Jamaican) accent. Being a Sage, he also has intricate tattoos stretching from his brow to his shoulders which sometimes glow a deep golden-brown. Amadom's clothing consists of leather bracers, a large piece of canvas pinned around his shoulders, and long tattered deerhide pants with a rope belt.

Side Characters[]

N/A

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

N/A

Will add more as the RP continues...

Role-Play[]

Chapter 1: The Crimson Ages...[]

Part 1[]

“Trafero Pulvis!” The warrior shouted, the last of his undead attackers crumbling to dust in a flash of white and blue light. He hadn’t expected an ambush after taking a shortcut through the ruins of an old bank, and he especially hadn’t expected them to be Acrimorti. The armored skeletons had crashed out of the bank’s second story windows as he was exiting the structure, nearly giving him a heart-attack. But despite their trap, the Acrimorti were still fairly weak when it came to Jackson’s superior Swordplay and Arcane powers. The warrior calmed his breathing, sheathed his weapon, a cutlass he found on the body of a dead Marauder, and continued down the charred and fractured road with cautious steps; he didn’t want to waste too much energy so he could get to where he was going faster.

The Arcanist had heard of a reasonably large settlement just west of the ruins of Oakendrail, but nobody informed him that the once bustling city was where one of the cursed portals to the Slip had been opened; the whole city was infested with mutants and monsters. Ever since he set foot in the outskirts he had fought Imps, Hell-Hounds, and now Acrimorti, “What next, a trio of Lesser Demons?” No sooner than he had said this, a single seven-foot, winged beast crept into the pale light of the clouded evening. The beast roared, gaining the warrior’s attention, the leapt into the air with a beating of massive wings, “Me and my big mouth…”

Jackson dove sideways as a swath of hellfire exploded upon the ground on which he had been standing, and took cover behind the wreckage of an old automobile, “Alright then…” He placed his hand against the car’s dented and rusty side, magically forming a bright orange circle of runes upon it, “I’ll finish this quickly! Vehiculum; Exsurgere!” The mangled shell of the car suddenly rose up off the ground, bobbing slightly in the air, “Debellate!” The automobile suddenly shot forward, slamming into the flying demon and knocking it to the road; with a smile, Jackson raised his tattooed arm, the tribal-styled symbols glowing brightly, “And Displodo!” In a flash of red and orange flames the entire car exploded with enough force to incinerate the demon and most of what remained of the street, “Humph… simple…”

The lone archer walked through a lonely, dirt path. The trees around him were dead, gray, and lifeless. The sky was gloomy, pale light shining from where the sun would be. He pulled down the brown, peaked cowl of his longcoat. He removed his glasses and put them in one of his pouches, and then pulled up his bandana. Kaiden looked down at his dog, a blue heeler named Maxine, or Max. "Max, anything weird around?", he asked quietly, his green eyes staring down at the dog.

The dog nudged him, and then nodded left, whimpering twice. "Great.", he thought. Kaiden pulled out his collapsible recurve bow, marked with a violet cross, otherwise all black, and stepped out of the path, into the forest. He got between two thick bushes, their leaves gray, crackling at every move. Max followed him, lying down flat under one of the bushes. The crackling had gotten the attention of something. Out of the other side of the past, came out of the deep forestry, a Lilith. She was wearing nothing but the black vines of the wild. Her skin was slate gray, and she was purring slightly, a demonic purr, it was. The demon woman looked around, her deep red, waist length hair, bobbing behind her.

Her jet black eyes slowly turned towards the bush where Kaiden lay motionless, sitting back, his bow strung diagonally across his lap, tension rising as he waited to fire. He blended in well with the grayscale trees, the dull colors on his clothes keeping him safe. The Lilith's purr turned into a slight growl. She stood, also motionless, staring straight at where he was. The growl became louder. Kaiden smiled under his bandana. "Hell yeah.", he whispered, letting go of the bow. The whisper had caused the Lilith to slightly adjust, so instead of hitting her heart, it was planted directly in her collarbone. She seethed in rage, a strange hiss, being thrusted backwards by the arrow. She then moved her head forward, slowly lifting it up as she screamed very loudly, a blood curdling, un-human scream.

"Damnit!", Kaiden whispered, jumping up and in one swift movement, firing another arrow at the Lilith. Max jumped forward, running out unto the path, distracting the Lilith as another arrow was fired into her back. She screamed once more, turning around and charging towards Kaiden. He quickly collapsed his bow and put it in the sheath parallel to his quiver. Then he pulled out his Sharpfinger knife and sidestepped as she clawed at him, her dirty, black fingernails swiping at the air next to him. Imps emerged from the trees, each grabbing onto Kaiden's legs and biting into them, trying to rip the thick material and leather boots. He shook them off and stabbed the Lilith in the neck, black-blood oozing out unto the knife. Max grabbed hold of an imp with her teeth, thrusting it away, the crazy little demon screaming as it slammed into a tree.

Kaiden gave a swift kick to the Lilith, knocking her off of her feet. He lowered down, stabbed her in the stomach, and watched as she threw up the black liquid that composed her blood. "Max, you done with the I-", he started looking up and seeing fifteen dead imps on the ground around Max. She cocked her head in a puzzled fashion as Kaiden chuckled. "Nice one, girl.", he stated, removing the knife from the Lilith and starting back down the trail.

"Well, girl, they say that there's an old city up across this hill. Hopefully we can find a campsite for the night.", he said, walking up to the crest of the hill and seeing a small town again. The buildings were charred and black, skeletons and the husks of cars strewn about the streets. It seemed safe enough, and it seemed that there were three torches around a water tower marked "DUCH'S INN". Kaiden shrugged and said, "Maybe we can stay there.", starting forward.

Logan Longstride slashed the neck of a common with his Bowie Sword that had just tried to get to him through smashing through a window. The common was persistant however and tackled Logan onto the ground and actually through a punch into his face. Logan didn't take to kindly to that and threw his fist into the common's neck, grabbed hold of it's spine, and with great force ripped it out of the throat effectively killing it. He looked at himself through a mirror in his room, the common had left a decent sized bruise. He then ran downstairs to find that the last surviving member of his family, Donna Longstride, his sister, beheaded by several imps. Logan ran down and with a valiant swing cut three of the seven Imps in half. The remaining Imps attacked him by jumping onto his chest and slashing at him with their claws.

His signature red jacket was more than capable of defending against Imps however. He grabbed one by the neck and impaled it with the sword quickly. Throwing down the corpse he then runs into the wall squishing the remaining two on him with his weight. Logan looks around as he wipes off the Imps' blood, "Ironic", he states outloud, "mother always said I would be the one to die first." He looks down to see his sister's rifle, "You were always the best marksman of the family sis." Logan leans down and grabs the rifle, pops out the magazine to see how many rounds are still in it. Still a full magazine, Donna had probaly just loaded it when the Imps overpowered her.

Then all of the sudden the ground begins to shake, Logan recognizes the feeling and runs out of the room into the garage. Just as he steps into the safety of the garage a Land Shark pops it's head out of the floor, grabs the corpse of Logan's sister, and returns to the ground to eat. Logan twitches a little bit from seeing his sister getting eaten even after she was beheaded. He shakes it off however and loads up onto the last vehicle in the garage, the family's motorcycle. He ignites the engine and heads out to look for more survivors.

Part 2[]

“Farewell and adieu all ‘ye fine, Zainish ladies…” Jackson hummed to himself, hating the dead silence of the ruined city, “Farewell and adieu all ‘ye ladies of Zain…” He halted his singing for a brief moment in order to find a way around a large pile of rubble blocking the road, finding a small but clear alleyway to his left, “For we’ve received orders to sail home to Elmstone… and then, nevermore, shall we see thee again…” He continued to whistle the relaxing sea-shanty, he eyes darting towards every dark shadow; keeping alert for any sign of trouble. A fait chorus of squeaks and growls echoed from farther down the alley; Imps. He hated Imps; they were crazy, disgusting, and reeked of rotten eggs. He wrinkled his noes as the horrid stench reached his nostrils, and drew his sword before passing by a dumpster. Two of the tiny demons were sitting there gnawing on, what look like, the remains of a dead cat, but once they saw him they were no longer interested in the rotten meal.

The first Imp leapt at his face, getting knocked away as Jackson back-fisted it with his free hand. Wincing as the second Imp landed on, and began chewing at, his crotch, he gripped the tiny monster by the head and threw it down the alley after its brethren, “Watch the merchandise, you little shits!” He shouted at the creatures, briefly checking his trousers to see if they had any tears in them. The Imps launched themselves at him again… and were quickly cut in two for their trouble. He gagged a little as a much fouler smell drifted from their innards; the smells of multiple meals of rotten flesh and radioactive waste. He covered his nose until he was well away from the tiny corpses, and back out onto one of the main streets. It was the city’s Main Street according to a bent road sign on the corner of the intersection he found himself in, and just down the road he could see the old Courthouse; the city’s center.

He also saw the Portal. The towering black and red gateway to the Slip towered over the fairly large courthouse, at least eight stories in height with demonic energies swirling within an obsidian archway. The screams of a thousand lost souls echoed from within the portal, and Jackson felt it best to get away as fast as he could. He made his way down side-street after side-street, keeping his distance, though never wandering too far from, the main street; he knew it was the fastest way out of this hellhole, and he wanted nothing more than to be back out into the wide open wastes, rather than risking his life, and sanity, in these close-quarter surroundings. He jumped as a crack of thunder rolled over the desolate ruins, twisting around to see a massive thunder cloud looming over east-side. This wasn’t an ordinary storm though, and Jackson could tell from the blood red and neon green bolts of lightning that he had to get under cover as quickly as he could; a Hellstorm was approaching.

The dim sun was fading in the distance as the dirt path turned into road, and the town's buildings appeared in a wall. The pavement was cracked and crumbled, grass growing through. The windows on the small buildings were either boarded up or gone, leaves throughout them. He heard a crack of thunder in the far distance, about ten miles east. "Better get to the inn, Max.", he said to his dog. She gave him a strange nod of approval as they walked towards the small water tower. They passed a crooked, rusting, green and white sign that said "WELCOME TO THREE WOOD OAKS-VILLAGE LIMITS-POPULATION 872".

Kaiden chuckled. "Sure.", he said to himself, turning the corner to the street where the water tower was. It was fenced off on the outside, though the chainlink was crumbling. There was an imp gnawing at the chainlink.

"Fuck off.", Kaiden stated, flipping the imp off as he pulled out his bow and quickly fired at the imp. "Gnyaah!!!", he shouted as the arrow plunged through him, ripping him in two. "I hate imps.", Kaiden whispered to Max, trying to block the scent of rotting flesh inside him. Kaiden walked up to the water tower. It was in between two buildings, an abandoned barber shop and a boarded up "WIMBELTON'S MART" store.

Kaiden stepped up onto the sidewalk and knocked on the metal gate. Ironic, how it had a metal gate, yet a chainlink fence.

A small, makeshift door inside the water tower opened.

"Who's dere!?", a small, hillbilly-sounding man asked, scratching his long, unruly hair.

"Can you get me a room for the night?", Kaiden asked calmly.

"Sure, if 'ye got the coin!", he said. Kaiden nodded as the hillbilly came down, holding a lever action rifle, quite a common sight. He aimed it with one hand at Kaiden as he walked towards the gate, unlocking it.

"Whaddya' have, travler'?", he asked.

Kaiden opened a large pouch on the backside of his waist.

"Here's water. One bottle. And this-", he said, pulling out a lighter too. The inn-owner scratched his chin, and examined the lighter, lighting it. "You got guns?", he asked. Kaiden shook his head, patting his bow. "Ahh, okay. You seem friendly enough. You can come in, though you'll have to get yer' dog up yer'self.", he said with a grungy, raspy voice.

Kaiden nodded, walking in to the gated area. The innkeeper closed the gate behind him, bolting it and locking it.He picked up Max, who moved a little, and started up the ladder behind the innkeeper. The inn itself was just an empty water tower, with two lamps, a divider for privacy, and a bed on both sides.

"You get the far room, trav'ler. Go to sleep. You leave at sunrise. Night.", the innkeep said, removing his loafers and getting into the dirty bed. Kaiden pulled down his cowl and removed his bandana, taking off the bandolier and longcoat and throwing it on the nightstand where the lamp was. Kaiden pulled out a music player device, and put it in his ears, putting on some calm music. He removed his boots, keeping the taped socks on, and slid into the bed. Kaiden petted Max and told her to sleep. She crawled under the bed and started to fall asleep. Kaiden heard more cracks of thunder in the distance, as he tried to tune them out with the music.

Then, he fell asleep.

It was dark now and so far Logan had found no survivors. In hindsight living a mile away from one of the Slips was not a smart choice, but the family's car had been stolen during the first week of the chaos. He plugged in some ear phones to listen to his favorite song while he drived. "Ma-ia-hii! Ma-ia-huu! Ma-ia-haa! Ma-ia-haha!" played the song in his ears. "Best damn song of all time, makes the end of the world enjoyable." said Logan outloud as he aproached a storm. After a few minutes a flash of lightning hit the side of the road vaporizing an entire boulder. "Ah this is why they call them Hellstorms...." said Logan as he picked up speed and looked franticly for trouble.

Soon the storm started to get worse, lightning strikes got more frequent, and thunder roared almost non-stop. After about an hour of driving through the terrible storm Logan got to a village. Right as he got to the outer edges of the small town lightning struck right in front of him causing him to swirve out of control. He landed face first in what at first he thought was mud, but after smelling it discovered it was Land Shark dung, if there was anything that smelled worse than Imps it was what Land Sharks left behind after a meal, which often were Imps in fact.

He wiped the crap off his face and ran into the heart of the village looking for a place to sleep for the night. There was a water tower, bad idea he thought. He looked around some more before he would what appeared to be a barn. Once inside the barn he took out his Venator Rifle and fired a shot. About ten Imps ran out of the barn in fear of the gun shot, he watched them run out towards the road and in a flash all were gone when lightning hit the area. He stuffed the gun into his Jacket's "pouch", an enchanted pouch in fact, it was bigger in the inside than the outside which made it very good for storing food, water, and ammo. He cleared some hey and layed down on the hard wooden floor on the second level of the barn. He turned off his music playing device, and finally went to sleep.

Reserved for Will...

Part 3[]

Jackson rushed down the ruined streets as fast as his legs could carry him, red and green bolts of demonic energy striking and destroying large sections of the buildings around him; he had to get underground before he was either crushed by falling debris, or vaporized by the lightning himself. He turned down another side street just before a five-story motel crumbled sideways into the road, making turning around useless; not that he would at that moment anyway. Finally he spotted what he had been searching for, an open manhole cover, not but a block away. He rushed forward, focusing his magical aura just as the buildings on either side of him began to topple against the Hellstorm, “Via Munitur!” He shouted, thrusting his arms forward to create a circular tunnel of light.

As he rushed through the protective passageway, he felt his strength slowly slipping away as he tried to keep the barrier up; the massive amounts of debris falling upon it didn’t make this task any easier. He had to hurry, or his strength would give out completely and he’d be crushed. Just a few more feet from the Manhole, he was going to make it! Suddenly a horrid looking creature emerged from the sewers, possibly out of curiosity due to all the noise on the surface; its face was mangled and deformed, but Jackson could tell that it had once been the face of a human. Its lips were completely chewed away, revealing crooked yellow teeth, and its nose also looked as though it had been bitten off. It was an Abomination, the unwanted product of a failed military experiment.

Jackson grumbled with frustration as the creature didn’t get out of his way, and raised his tattooed arm towards the mesmerized beast, “Pulsus!” Immediately the Abomination’s head left its shoulders as if it had been shot off by an invisible cannon ball, and the rest of its limp body toppled back into the sewer. Usually the Arcanist would’ve reassessed going into the sewer, especially now that he knew Abominations lurked below, but as the magical tunnel began to flicker and fade he found himself with on other option. He jumped down the manhole without even considering how deep the drop could be, just before the buildings above fell and covered the entrance to the underground.

Jackson landed rather awkwardly in the slimy mess within the cesspit, and ended up falling to his hands and knees; sinking up to his elbows in the goop, he grimaced in disgust and pulled himself to his feet. This was just perfect; stuck in a sewer filled with Abominations, and god only knew what else, with only one way to go: Forward. With a weary sigh, he used a small portion of his remaining magical energy to create a glowing orb that hovered just above his shoulder, and pressed onward with cutlass in hand. As he walked, he broke the dark silence by humming another sea shanty, “Oh, what shall we do with this drunken sailor? What shall we do with this drunken sailor? What shall we do with this drunken sailor, early in the mornin’...?”

Kaiden turned in the dirty, dank bed. He was awoken with a bang as the makeshift door fell shut. It had woken Max, who was now whimpering quite a bit. She looked up to him and barked once. He quickly threw on his boots, put up his music player, and threw his longcoat on, grabbing his aviators and the water bottle that the innkeeper had left behind. Everything else was gone. Kaiden pulled up the cowl and slide the aviators into their pouch. He shoved open the door and Max ran out as fast as she could.

Debris was flying far and fast, coming towards the town. "Shit.", Kaiden whispered, picking up Max and vaulting over the rails around the water tower. He let go over her right before they landed, Max hitting fine. Kaiden did a roll and then quickly jumped up. He saw the gate left wide open, and also saw the innkeeper running towards a man hole in the middle of the street. Kaiden incessantly cursed as he ran towards the man hole behind the innkeeper. A huge concrete slab hit the innkeeper, his lever action rifle flying away, everything else being crushed. A few seconds later a massive piece of bracing slammed into the manhole, sealing it. "Oh god damnit! There has to be something around here!", Kaiden yelled, running towards what seemed to be an empty field, with a barn in it. Everything else would have a direct hit from the Hellstorm. Kaiden jumped the fence to the field and started running, holding Max in his hands tightly. A car itself slammed into the ground in front of him, Kaiden vaulting over it quickly. He ran inside the barn, the most adequate form of shelter due to the location, perched between a thick grove of trees which acted as a "second-roof". Sadly, the most safe and adequate form, the sewers, had been crushed and covered.

Kaiden threw down Max, who ran forward, the Archer right behind him. "Aperio!", he shouted, the double doors charging open with golden energy running through Kaiden's hands. Kaiden pounced between two hay bales, pulling Max in, to wait it out for the night. Just to make sure he was safe, Kaiden grabbed another hay-bale and put it over himself.

Logan tossed and turned on the hard wooden, splintery, floor until he finally rolled off the side of the edge. This however did not wake up the young warrior, it did surprise Kaiden however.

Kaiden awoke, like the last time, with a bang. But this one seemed closer. He unsheathed his Sharpfinger and quietly lifting up the hay, stepping up quietly. Straight across from him was a husky, young man, dead asleep on the floor. Calculating from the bits of hay on the edge of the second floor, he had been sleeping there when Kaiden had arrived. Strange, how he had not been awaken by the slams of the door opening, or the hiss of the outside wind.

Kaiden moved closer to him, examining the person. His pouch had a slight glow emanating from it, only visible in the darkness. It was enchanted, and probably had items within. Slung over the man's back was some sort of massive sword, and holstered on his side was a machine pistol. The pistol wouldn't fare to well, stealth-wise, but the large sword would be quite useful. Depending on what was inside the pouch, and the man's weapon skills, maybe he could be useful...

Or I could just kill him and take whatever is inside..., Kaiden thought. He'd wake him up. It was five in the morning, and still not a single spot of sun over the hellstorm. Kaiden did a twirl of his knife with his fingers, and kept it facing backwards in one hand. He poked the man with the hilt, ready for anything.

Logan still did not awake however, he continued to sleep. Kaiden tried poking him again and again even with the blade but still the young warrior slept. Kaiden yelled at the top of his lungs but the storm outside was ultimately louder. Kaiden, now convinced that Logan would never wake up attempted to unzip the jacket's pouch when the chubby warrior awoke and bit his arm.

Kaiden: WHAT THE HELL!?

Logan: Don't touch the pouch dude.

Kaiden: You were dead asleep, and didn't even wake up. It was fair game.

Logan: Your mom was fair game last night.

Kaiden: What is that supposed to mean?

Logan: Hahaha, I'm just joking around man.

Logan raises his hand to shake Kaiden's.

Logan: Name's Logan Longstride, what's yours?

Kaiden: *Kaiden eyed Logan curiously, deciding to tell him* Kaiden Wilde.

Logan: Nice to meet you brosky, where you heading after the storm blows over?

Kaiden: Somewhere.

Logan: Wheeerrree?

Kaiden: East.

Logan: Oi, that sure tells me a lot.

Kaiden: That's all I really know. There's rumors of an entire empire to the east.

Logan: Well, my family is all dead and I've got nowhere to go. Can I come?

Kaiden: No.

Logan: Please?

Kaiden: Max, what do you think? *Just then, Max poked her head out of the hay bales and ran over to Logan, licking him as a sign of "sure!"*

Logan: Haha!

Kaiden: Fine. Then you can come along. But the storm is raging out there, so we'd best go back to sleep for the night.

Logan stretched and plopped back on the floor, asleep before Kaiden could even respond. Kaiden shrugged and took his suggestion, getting back into the haybale, Max following. Kaiden pulled the last haybale over him, leaving it a crack open to keep an eye on Longstride. He wasn't sure about the strange man...

Part 4[]

“… Put ‘im into bed with the Captain’s daughter, put ‘im into bed with the Captain’s daughter, put ‘im into bed with the Captain’s daughter, early in the mornin’…” Jackson’s spirits had risen tremendously, despite being trapped in the smelly sewers. He loved sea-shanties, but oddly had a slight fear of large bodies of water, so he would’ve never gotten a job aboard a sailing vessel; though that occupation would certainly be better than waltzing around in a drainage system, “Weigh-hey and up she rises, weigh-hey and up she rises, weigh-hey and up she rises, early in the mor-”

“Sssshhhhhiiiaaaaaaaaahh!!!” A horrid screech rushed through the passage, reverberating off the walls multiple times before finally fading away. The warrior knelt down, ignoring the fact that the cold, nasty liquid was now filling up his boots; his full attention on seeing what had made the ghastly noise. The orb of light hovering over him barely cut through the slight fog ahead, making it impossible to see anything within. He slowly raised his hand towards the fog, and focused his aura ever-so-slightly, “Ventus Infirmia…” He whispered; a slight gust of fresh air drifted past him and blew away a bit of the fog, revealing an Imp scurrying towards him. With a slight sigh of relief, Jackson stood up strait and smirked at the tiny enemy,

“You had me scared there, you little bastard,” The Arcanist chuckled, taking a step towards the creature; but something was wrong. The Imp was within five feet from him now… so why didn’t it try to jump on him like all the others had? Two feet; it still seemed to be ignoring him, its tiny squeals sounding more frightened then threatening. It ran past him; it was fleeing. Another alarming wail echoed throughout the sewers again, and Jackson twisted around just in time to see the twitching body of the Abomination lunge out of the haze towards him, “Son of bitch!” He swore just before the demented creature tackled him into the waste.

The mutant lashed out at him with its teeth, trying to sink its toxic fangs into Jackson’s shoulder; the Bladesman was able to raise his cutlass up before getting knocked over however, and the monster merely began chewing ferociously at the sword’s blade, “Get. The. Hell. OFF ME!” Jackson grunted, punching the Abomination in the face with every word, and finishing by kicking the creature away. More of the grotesque freaks were showing up now, crawling over every surface of the tunnel trying to get to him, “Ahh crap…” Jackson quickly twisted towards a smaller, secondary drain that was blocked off by a steel grate, “Frangere!” He shouted, running up to the grate, which instantly fell to pieces before him, and rushed down the passageway; he could hear the pitter-patter of the creatures’ wet feet and hands crawling after him.

A dim light shined in through the crack in the hay-bale. Kaiden rubbed his eyes and quietly slid apart the hay-bale. There was a small spot of light shining through the clouds, and it was just enough to wake the Lone Archer up.

"Max, let's go.", he murmured to the dog. She wagged her tail and happily jumped out of the hay bales, prancing around Logan and sniffing him.

"C'mon, leave him. Too much extra baggage.", he said quietly, gathering his items and throwing his sunglasses on.

Max cocked her head in a confused fashion and howled slightly, saying, "Aroo?"

Kaiden started to open the door quietly, but Max started to whine. Kaiden sighed loudly, turning around and walking over to Logan. "Wake up.", he said, kicking the man in the gut.

"Huh? Wha?", Logan said sleepily.

"We're leaving. If you're coming, let's go.", Kaiden bossed.

Logan grumbled and got up slowly, Kaiden looking around the barn. He glanced out of the window, seeing debris of all kinds outside. He managed to notice a truck, a phone booth, and other assorted rubble.

"We move fast, and don't stop often. Okay?", Kaiden asked, still looking outside.

Logan nodded and pulled the "Venator" Rifle out of his pouch.

"Put that up. We try to avoid a fight if we can, and guns are loud. Especially that one.", he added, remembering his father fighting off Hijackers with a Venator Rifle, sixteen years ago, the loud bangs ripping into a young Kaiden's ear as he hid under a table in the ruined house his father had died in. He had a personal vendetta for any of the degenerates that he found.

"And for the last time, let's move.", Kaiden bossed, Max sprinting up to her master's side. "Breakfast, girl?", he asked her, starting to walk, at the same time pulling out cat-meat. "Eat up, it's cat. Your faaavorrite.", he added once more, Max hungrily snatching up the cat.

"Where too?", Logan asked, walking up to the right of him.

"We're going towards Oakendrail. You might just need that gun after all."

“If you two wouldn’t mind…” A calm, collected voice suddenly sounded from the right of the two warriors. Kaiden had his bow up immediately aiming at the short outline of a man standing within the shadow of a skeletal oak tree, “I’d like to make an offer two either one, or both, of you…” The stranger continued, remaining composed despite there being a weapon pointed at him; in fact, the shadowed man stepped closer to them, allowing the Archer and Hunter to get a better view of his appearance. He was dressed rather formally, wearing a single-breasted grey jacket with black, horizontal stripes and a peaked lapel. He wore a pair of finely pressed trousers, and shiny black loafers to match, and the pocket of his jacket was embroidered with a bright green Runic Symbol.

He had his left hand neatly tucked within the pocket of his trousers, his right hand hanging at his side comfortably; he had on a fairly large golden ring that seemed to have a similar green symbol carved into it. A pair of black, wraparound sunglasses was the only part of his attire that seemed somewhat out of place, and his silver hair clashed with the darker shades he wore, “Well? Are you two just going to stand there holding me at gunpoint all day? Or are we going to discuss business?”

"I'm not putting my bow until you state who you are and what you want. Logan, the gun.", Kaiden stated calmly, his bow still aimed at the doctor. Logan nodded and reached into his enchanted pouch, pulling out his Venator Rifle.

"Now, tell us.", Kaiden said once more, Max simultaneously growling.

The silver-haired man actually began to chuckle, taking yet another step towards the two warriors; Kaiden pulled his bow back, making it groan a little at the tightness, and Logan merely held his rifle higher, keeping the man’s face trained in his iron-sights, “My, my are you two really this skittish around an unarmed man who’s at least twice your ages? Perhaps I shouldn’t have sn-” The silver-haired man smiled, but was interrupted by an impatient Kaiden;

“Name! Now!” The Archer growled in frustration. The well-dressed gentleman’s expression suddenly changed into a scowl, and before Kaiden or Logan could even comprehend what was happening, they were bound up, in a position resembling that of a crucifixion, by the dead roots of the surrounding trees, “What the hell!?” The Archer shouted in surprise, looking down at the now smirking stranger, “Magic… You did this you bastard!”

“My apologies… but I detest when I am interjected…” The man said matter-of-factly, clearing his throat, “Now then, if you savages are so eager to know, I am Doctor Edward D. Morrigan. And, as I stated before you so indecently interrupted me, I have a proposition for you both…”

"I'd spit on you, but I'm afraid you'll kill me and my dog, and my friend here. So, your damn proposition.", Kaiden said, looking down at the tight wrap of roots around Max, who was silently whimpering.

Morrigan chuckled again, still smirking at the attitude of the archer. The doctor began to speak again, “I’m offering you a temporary refuge from the wastes for as long as you so desire, including whatever personal needs you may crave; be it women, money, or weapons. And I’ll even throw in a month’s worth of any kind of provisions you might need once you decide to return to the wasteland…” For a moment Kaiden felt his jaw drop at the unbelievable offer, but he quickly frowned at the Sage once more,

“What’s the catch…?” The Archer snarled, fidgeting against the grasp of the roots that held him. Morrigan smiled, apparently waiting for one of the two warriors to ask,

“I need one, or both of you, to retrieve an item of exceptional quality,” Logan raised an eyebrow, “Indeed, that is all I ask of you. Ahh, but there’s also the question of where you’ll be claiming it from isn’t there?” The Doctor grinned, taking the words right out of Kaiden’s mouth. The Sage turned and pointed in the direction of Oakendrail, a faint pillar of red light rising into the cloudy morning sky from the center of the city,

“The Slip!?” Kaiden exclaimed in disbelief, glaring down at Morrigan. "I'd rather not do that, doctor.", he added, quite calmly.

Logan, with some effort, looked over to Kaiden. "He's offering us free food, clean water, and everything we need in this world. All we have to do is retrieve an item for him."

Kaiden looked at the Doctor. "So what's the object we have to retrieve?", he pondered.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you until we get to the portal. Now, will you retrieve the object?", Morrigan asked politely.

Kaiden tried moving his arms around, but to no avail, the roots just tightening. "I feel like I don't have a choice."

Morrigan smiled and turned around. "Now let us out!", Kaiden yelled. Morrigan continued walking away. "How are we supposed to complete your mission if yo-"

Morrigan disappeared before Logan could finish his sentence, simultaneously placing Kaiden and Logan back where they were when they had found him. Max looked around, confused.

"I think we'd best complete the mission.", Logan said. Kaiden nodded, starting towards Oakendrail.

Part 5[]

Jackson splashed through the now waist-high goo, keeping his eyes on the walls just in case; he had lost the Abominations in the tighter tunnels where they could only follow him one at a time. Then it was only a matter of blinding the leader whilst he slipped down a second drain. But now he was in a much larger, more open section of the sewer, and his mobility was extremely limited. He glanced at his sword and noticed that the area where the Abomination had chewed on it was starting to corrode. He forced himself not to curse out loud; he liked the cutlass, but now it’ll be useless soon.

He sheathed the mangled weapon and waded over towards a small concrete isle in the middle of the slimy mess, pulling himself up onto it in order to look for a way out. When none presented themselves, the Arcanist decided to create his own exit; having gained back most of his Mana energy by using simple light tricks against the creatures, he had more than enough strength to blast himself to the surface. Raising his tattooed arm towards the roof of the sewer, the tribal symbols began to glow their cool-blue color,

“Deorum Pulsus!” He shouted; a massive, invisible blast of energy crashed against the ceiling, causing bits of the road above to fracture and shoot into the air, “One more should do it; Deorum… PULSUS!” He called out again, punching his fist into the air to strengthen the blasts’ impact. The entire section of road, and a portion of the sewer’s roof, exploded upward into the air; showering the immediate area with rubble and debris, “There we go…” He uses another simple, air-walking spell to get back up onto the street and begins to whistle the tune of “Yo ho ho, and a Bottle of Rum”.

"Well, slight detour, right Kaiden?", Logan asked happily.

Kaiden didn't reply, continuing to whistle to the tune of a childhood song as he walked down the lonely highway towards Oakendrail.

There were abandoned cars and buses scattered across the highway. They were just husks of what had remained, skeletons with tatters clothing within. Kaiden pulled out his music player. It was dead. He put it away, hoping he would find a merchant with batteries, by tonight.

The two lonely wanderers arrived under a dark overpass, enshadowed by the clouded sky. It was a sad sight. As soon as they passed it, Max looked at Kaiden and nudged him four times, a warning, that wasn't as blatant as growling. "I know.", Kaiden whispered very quietly. Logan looked at him confused. Kaiden motioned for him to go back on the other side of the overpass. Logan felt some danger, and obeyed.

He walked forward and saw a lonely girl ahead, trapped under a motorcycle. Kaiden continued whistling to the song.

"Help me, please. I have no water... Please.", she said. Kaiden pulled down his bandana, revealing his mouth. "Why? So you can just kill me with a pickaxe?", he asked sarcastically.

"No... Please. I'll give you anything you want... Just get me away from this thing.", she said, running a finger down her skimpy tatters of clothing, half her breast visible.

"Fine.", Kaiden said, starting to lift the motorcycle. Just as she was about to slip free, he slammed the vehicle back down on her, the girl screaming out in pain. From behind an overturned bus, and also from a few meters away, from behind a billboard, emerged nine men, all smelling of rotten meat and covered in a thick coating of dirt and grime.

"What the fuck was that for, bitch?", a voice said from behind Kaiden. He smiled to himself.

Kaiden turned around. All of the men were armed in strange, makeshift equipment, t-shirts with shorts, gasmasks that didn't fit, or even work, motorcycle helmets that were cracked and broken. The leader pulled up his visor, wearing a partial motorcycle helmet.

"That's my girl there.", he said, long, mangy hair extending from under the helmet.

"I see.", Kaiden said calmly.

The man spit on him, Kaiden swerving to the side, at the same time making a hidden movement to pull out his Sharpfinger knife. They weren't paying attention to it, all of the men, Hijackers-as they were known, focused on their leader.

"You touched my girl. Now I'm gonna hurt you.", he added.

Kaiden chuckled.

"You 'tink that's funny, trav'ler?", he asked angrily, shoving Kaiden back.

Kaiden nodded. "Yes I do.", he said. Logan was walking up from behind the overpass.

Kaiden had noticed that not a single one had a gun.

"You don' have a gun.", the Hijacker leader said, speaking a reverse of Kaiden's thoughts.

"But I have a bow.", he said in reply.

The Hijacker pulled him close, his breath smelling even more wretched than his body, which smelled pretty gruesome.

"I'm gonna cut you up, part by part, then eat you! And best' part is, I'ma feed your dick, to mah' girl, and I'll wrap it in your SACK! Then she'll have herself a burrito.", he said.

Kaiden's eye twitched. "Take your hands off of me please.", he requested.

The Hijacker took his hands off of Kaiden, then immediately shoved them once more towards him. Before they could reach, Kaiden cut off the Hijacker leader's fingers on one hand, kicking the other towards his face.

"GAH!", he screamed, falling to the ground.

"You see boys, the quickest way to get the advantage over someone, is through the element of surprise.", Kaiden stated calmly.

"Like this.", he added, Logan firing his Venator Rifle into one of the Hijacker's skull, the loud crack screaming through the quiet road.

They watched in awe as one of their comrades, one of them wearing a black leather jacket, fell to the ground, bleeding quite a bit, the back of his skull imploded from the enchanted round. Kaiden's flicked his knife around in his hands, the blade catching on fire.

"Come get some.", he said, five of the Hijackers coming towards Kaiden, the other four, less reluctant to fight a gun, running towards Logan.

Kaiden sidestepped one who had attacked with a monkey wrench. He grabbed his shirt collar and shoved him into another hijacker, the two tumbling to the ground. The archer grabbed the monkey wrench that had tumbled from the Hijacker's hands and used it to smash the forehead of one of the Hijacker's heads in. He flicked it away and stabbed forward at another hijacker's stomach, his innards lighting on fire with the basic magic.

One of the fallen Hijacker's had reeled from being tackled by his own, and was rushing at Kaiden with a steering wheel. With one hand, Kaiden disarmed him, smacking the man in the face with the bare metal wheel, dropping it after. With the other hand, he stabbed the disoriented hijacker in between the ribs, setting his lungs alight with a stab.

The last Hijacker came at Kaiden with a fire axe, swiping at him. Kaiden dodged, sending his knife forward, only to be reeled by the handle of the axe. The archer kicked forward, the last hijacker clenching his stomach in pain. Kaiden took the opportunity to grab his Axe, ripping it from the degenerate's hands. He quickly flicked his knife again, the flame going out, and sheathed it, swinging forward with the two-handed axe, which cut into his shoulder, blood flying out as the collarbone, shoulder-bone, and many nerves and tendons within, were shattered and destroyed. Kaiden then, in one swift movement, flicked his hands downward and right, sending the axe through the man's stomach. He fell to the ground, moaning silently.

Kaiden walked over to the hijacker leader, who was on the ground, bleeding from his fingers. His other hand was broken from the crushing impact of a steel toe boot, and a skull. He was in shock.

"Why?", the leader asked.

There was one more gunshot from under the overpass, Kaiden glancing back as Logan pushed the last of four men back.

"Done!", he said. Max, who had sat and watched, ran over to him and started licking Logan.

Kaiden turned his attention back to the leader.

"Because you're a murderer of innocent travelers. And I don't like you.", he finished, pulling out his sharpfinger knife and slitting the degenerate's throat.

"Logan, you done?", he asked, laying the man to rest.

Logan walked up to Kaiden, in a bit of awe. He had taken out five men with only a small knife. Logan nodded.

"Max, Logan, let's move.", Kaiden ordered, standing up. "Let's leave these men to rest.", he said, as they continued down the road.

Logan and Kaiden walked down the road for another hour until Logan heard a faint but familiar noise.

"You hear that Kaiden?", Logan asked quietly.

Kaiden stopped to listen, as did Max.

"Faintly, sounds like running water.", Kaiden replied.

"Let's go check it out, I need to refill my "water bottle" anyway", Logan stated, pointing to his empty soda bottle that he had just pulled out of his pouch. Kaiden sighed but agreed to the ideal. The three ventured off the road and into a nearby wood, filled mostly with dead trees and bushes. However as they got closer to the noise of running water the plants began to get greener, let alone alive. After about five minutes of walking the two humans and the dog found themselves in the middle of an oasis. All around the river were both mutated and non-mutated animals drank at the edge. Logan kicked a baby Land Shark away from the corpse of a fish to make room so he could lean down and get some water.

Max lapped up the water from the river while Kaiden refilled his various devices meant to store liquids. While Logan was refilling another Soda bottle he noticed an unmutated Alligator Snapping turtle running very fast, faster than any normal turtle, towards them.

"Ever seen a turtle run that fast?", Logan asked.

Kaiden turned to notice the running turtle.

"Strange... I haven't.", Kaiden responded, raising an eyebrow.

Kaiden returned to filling up water while Logan stood up to look closer at the interesting scene. After a few seconds he realized the turtle was being chased by three Hydras. Then the turtle did something Logan did not expect, it spoke. "Help me humans please!" Logan blinked, the shook his head to make sure he wasn't delusional from the lack of soda. The turtle then somehow jumped off the ground and onto Logan knocking him down. "Please stranger, I mean these Hydras no harm but they do not listen."

"Okay, sure. Let's give these Hydras a piece of our mind.", the archer stated, cracking his knuckles.

Logan lifted the heavy turtle off of him and looked at the sapiant creature's face. A large scar showed at the bottom of the left part of his jaw, looked like a chemical burn, mostly likely from the Hydras.

"Okay turtle dude, we'll help you out.", Logan said.

Logan faced the incoming Hydras, at five feet tall and six feet long they were fairly menacing. He took out his Bowie Sword and Machine pistol, one in each hand. He fired a shot from the pistol, causing most of the animals at the oasis to run away and hide, but not the charging Hydras.

"Okay, we do this my way.", Logan added, switching the machine pistol from semi-automatic to full-auto and emptying a magazine into the lead hydra, killing it. Before he could reload though the second hydra snatched his pistol out of his arm and onto the ground. This one had seven heads, compared to the lead one that had only one. Logan instinctively cut off a head with his Bowie Sword but cursed himself as he did the act. The head quickly regenerated along with another, eight heads now great. With great strength he motioned the sword and cut off an arm of the hydra before being slapped by it's tail.

"Can't regenerate arms can you!", Logan screamed at the Hydra.

After a few seconds however the arm grew back, along with an extra one.

Kaiden chuckled, stating, "You were saying?"

Kaiden got up, aimed his bow and fired a bolt into the creature killing it. Logan turned to the last Hydra who was fighting with the turtle. "Ignis Flamma!" screamed Logan, causing his Bowie Sword to catch on fire. He took aim and threw the sword into the chest of the unsuspecting hydra catching it on fire, and killing it. He walked over and plucked his sword out of the creature's chest, then checked to see if the turtle was alright. "Thank you strangers You have saved my life! Is there anything I can do for you? My name is Gismodus Labrethyan, but you can call me Gizmo."

"Just doing a favor for someone who isn't trying to kill us, that's all.", Logan said.

"Well you three must be on a quest of sorts! Being that I have nothing else to do, mind if I come with you to help out?", Gizmo excitedly said, eager to see if he could join them.

Kaiden eyed the sapient turtle suspiciously. "I was originally supposed to travel light... No baggage. What can you do?"

"I can communicate with any non-mutated creature, and am able to produce poisons.", Gizmo confidently stated.

"Hmm... Your abilities seem promising, but you don't seem quite combat ready. Aside from your shell, of course. Logan, I can't believe I'm asking you this, but what's your opinion?", Kaiden questioned.

"He seems like a good guy.", Logan stated.

"Sounds like a plan, welcome aboard Gizmo, but just to let you know your walking like the rest of us.", he continued, grabbing his pistol from the ground.

After a moment of talking the group left the oasis with their water refilled and in company of a sapient reptile.

Fifteen miles away, on the other side of Oakendrail, walked yet another lone wanderer. She seemed frail enough, her slim, curvacious features not commonly seen in the wasteland. Females in general were a rare site outside of major settlements, not to mention traveling alone. She was wearing combat boots, one size too big for her, and was wearing quite tightly fitting jeans. She had a black shirt on with the text "GREAT RED NORTH" on it, for the band, the RED in red text, the rest in white, several different things written on it, such as the anarchy sign, "MY BOOBS ARE NOT FOR TOUCHING" written in white, among other things. Around her shirt she wore a red hoodie, unzipped at the moment. It was coated in dirt, a common trait of wanderers of the wasteland. And lastly, over it she had a sling. The sling was holding a Katana, the sheath written on, saying "NO TOUCHY". On her belt, she had various items, the most notable being a teddy bear pinned to one of the belt loops.

Under the hood of the hoodie, her face was petite, yet not weak. It showed strength and the ability to persevere, yet still held the beauty that she had. She appeared to be half Caucasian, half Japanese, the traits somehow coming together to create a unique girl. Her name was Alice Jameson, though some called her AJ.

She was walking on the main road to Oakendrail, directly ahead of her, and fifteen miles away, the odd group of wanderers.

Alice had seen the dim red tower of light, and she was interested what the source of it was. She could see the large, obsidian entryway ahead of her, strange sounds coming from within.

"Well, I guess it won't hurt to see what's inside.", Alice said, walking forward. The farther she got into the city, the more debris she noticed, chunks of building missing, strewn throughout the streets, some objects just dust.

She stepped forward and her breath stopped. A massive head came out of the portal. It was charred black, almost like a silhouette. As the long neck emerged behind it, folded wings did too. It's horns were curved and pointed downward. It's eyes were golden, fascinating, yet evil. It had massive, birdlike feet, with long, scaly legs. The dragon just flew past her, the pure force knocking her over.

At least it looked like a dragon. Alice stood up, dusted herself off, and continued walking, seeing something running towards her.

"Just great.", she said, pulling out her Katana.

It was a group of three commons. They ran up to her and seethed at her their black claws raging. They were like assistants to the beast. They tried scratching her, the agile girl dodging. She stabbed forward, one of them being shishkebabed by the arm. The other two ran past her. "That's right you buggers. Run.", she yelled, shaking the last one off of the sword. She then turned her attention to a view ahead of her, seeing a piece of the road explode, a man walking out.

"Another arcanist.", she said to herself, walking forward, Katana ready.

Part 6[]

Jackson continued to whistle merrily as he continued down the road, until he noticed where he was that is; just over one of the buildings ahead of him, he could see the obsidian archway of the Slip Portal. Had he really gone in just a big circle down underground? He cursed silently to himself, and then twisted around in order to head away from the gateway once more. He was startled to find that the glimmering blade of a Katana was pointed in his face, and looked to see who was holding the blade. Before him stood a young woman, around 20 years old with black hair and the slanted eyes of eastern descent; she was a lovely woman, though her ability to survive was clear by the way she stood and the shine in her eyes. There was something else as well; glancing at either of the girl’s wrists, she seemed to have them covered up… like she was hiding something,

“I hadn’t expected to be held up by a fellow Bladesman… or woman in your case…” He smiled, examining the weapon she carried, “But are you sure you’re old enough to be holding that weapon of yours?” He joked; knowing full well, by how many dents and imperfections in her Katana’s blade, that she was very capable with it. The girl smirked, tilting her neck to pop it,

“Aren’t you a little old to be blasting holes in the street?” She countered, making the Arcanist frown,

“Humph… touché, though I’m only 37…” Jackson congratulated, suddenly stepping to the side and trying to walk past the girl. Her blade rose up, quickly moved over his head, and came down right in front of him to block his way yet again, “If you don’t mind, I really don’t want any trouble…”

“I don’t either… I’m just curious as to why there are still people left in this hell-hole,” She glared, quickly switching to hold her sword in the opposite hand; apparently she was ambidextrous, “From what I’ve seen, anybody stupid enough to enter this town will become something’s food before the day’s end…”

“Then why are you here?” Jackson asked rhetorically, ducking under her blade and starting to walk down the street; much to the girl’s annoyance. She ran in front of him again, holding up her Katana,

“Hey! Don’t you stop when there’s a weapon pointed at you!?” She demanded, waving her blade a little for emphasis,

“Usually I would. In fact, before realizing what kind of person you were, I would’ve cut you down without a second thought,” Jackson stated plainly; the girls eyes widened in surprise, but she still didn’t let him past,

“Whoa, whoa, wait a moment… Would do you mean what kind of person?” She questioned,

“Well for one; you’re a woman. And unless they outright attacked me, I would never strike down a female. Two; you’re a fellow Arcanist and must live by the laws of the Codex, just as I must,” Jackson explained; the girl was even more astounded now, glancing at her wrists to make sure they were covered,

“How… did you…?”

“No amount of clothing or accessories can hide those markings… believe me, I’ve tried…” He stepped past the girl, getting about half-way down the block before;

“Wait!” She called after him, running as fast as she could to try and catch him, but Jackson was no longer in the mood to put up with the girl,

“Exoculo…” He whispered, partially un-sheathing his cutlass; a bit of light reflected off of the blade from the sun, strengthened with magic, and hit the girl directly in the eyes, blinding her temporarily. Once her vision cleared, Jackson was gone.

"What a fucking douche.", she announced to herself. She had also completely forgotten to warn him about the dragon-like beast. But it's his fault if he get's his ass fried.., she thought. The girl rolled her eyes and started in the direction opposite of where Jackson had been walking. She awkwardly pushed her hoodie sleeves down, trying to hide her runic markings.

Five miles away, now closing on Oakendrail, were Kaiden, Logan, and "Gizmo". Being that his only skill was defense and communication, Kaiden fared that the turtle wouldn't last long.

Kaiden continued whistling to his childhood song.

"Dad!", he yelled. "Dad!", he screamed again, watching his father from under the desk. He had a worn, dark brown Venator Rifle, and was firing it at fully automatic inside their post-apocalyptia bunker, continuing to hold off the endless stream of Hijackers at the door. It was his parent's old home, that they had bought at the age of 19, dropping out of college. After the Crimson Ages began, it had gathered a stockpile of everything one needed to survive, guns, food, clean, purified water, and an electrical generator. And most importantly,from the outside, it looked like a boarded-up old house, the only exit being a hatch to a service tunnel which lead a mile away, exiting at a drain pipe. Hijackers had discovered its secret, and a gathered band was attacking the house.

"Son! Run! Get your mother and run!", his father had yelled, the man's deep blue eyes staring into the young Kaiden's soul. But Kaiden wouldn't move. With each shot of the gun, Kaiden winced from the sound and terror, the diluted screams of the Hijackers outside penetrating into his ears. Kaiden looked at the other window, completely boarded up with sheet metal. He saw a dent in it, then another. Then another

"Dad!", he yelled, trying to warn him.

"Damnit son run!", his dad had screamed back, slightly angrily.

Kaiden, scared, jumped up and started to run, heading into the living room. He heard his dad yell at him, once more, "I love you Kaiden!", as the boy ran for the upstairs loft. Perched on the bed, looking out of the window above it, was Kaiden's mother, firing, very slowly, a pistol.

"Mom! They're coming in from downstairs! Dad told us to go! He said to use the escape hatch!", Kaiden yelled. His mom dropped the gun and broke down into tears.

"C'mon mom!", Kaiden kept yelling, pulling his mom's arm to try to get her to go.

"No no no no...", she wept.

Kaiden was already crying.

"C'mon! Let's go!", he yelled.

The black-haired woman wiped the tears away from her face and sniffled, nodding at him. She stood up, and shoved the mattress aside. The bed frame was part of the floor. She took a key from her pocket and put it in the frame, on a tiny hole. She pulled the wooden frame up, and under it was three sets of chest armor, and a sub-machine gun.

Kaiden watched in awe as she picked the weapon up and chambered a bullet.

The once innocent looking mother picked up Kaiden and rushed down the stairs, going to the side of the house's couch. She shoved a nightstand aside and opened up a hatch, just wide enough to be concealed. Kaiden jumped out of her arms and ran back up to the house foyer.

He saw the sheet-metal guarded window being torn open, Hijackers running through.

"I love you dad!", Kaiden screamed.

"I love you too son.", he said calmly, glancing over at Kaiden and smiling. For a moment life seemed perfect again. His dad's strong and supporting smile, looking at him from the foyer...

Then his father yelled, "Now go!", one more time, Kaiden running to the hatch and slipping in as his mother closed it. Kaiden dropped down into the dark, damp corridor, being caught by his mother.

She put the vest over him, strapping it together. She patted his head and wiped away more tears, setting the seven-year old down and lighting a torch, starting to walk down the maintenance route.

"Kaiden... Kaiden!", Logan yelled at him. He shook his head and saw the buildings before him. There was Oakendrail, right in front of him.

"Well, I've seen worse." commented Logan as the group walked into the city. They turned a street only to find a collapsed building blocking the way. "I love a good old fasioned maze." commented Kaiden sarcasticly. "I guess we are just going to have to wonder until we find a way to the slip, the fog doesn't help and the moon has always creeped me out though." A rat scuttled by, probably looking for food or a new hole to live in after the storm. "Hold on let me talk to this individual." asked Gizmo. Gizmo then let out a series of squeeks, the opposite of what you would expect a turtle to sound like. A few seconds later more squeeks replied and when it had been about a minute the rat finally left, finding a hold in the collapsed building.

"Friends I have found the way to go to get to the what you call the Slip thanks to that rat." said Gizmo to the group. Max cocked her head sideways before Gizmo barked at her, Max seemingly understood and got ready to move out again. "Well Kaiden, impressed yet?" asked Logan as he took his Venator Rifle out the pouch. "Not yet, I want to see him kill something, we had to save his ass from those Hydras remember?" The group walked around the collapsed building and following the directions of Gizmo. As they approached a grocery store sliced in half ,either by the storm or some creature, some creature with glowing red eyes that stared at them from the shadows.

“So… which way do we take?” Logan asked the mutant turtle, who had taken the lead. Before Gizmo could answer though, Logan heard his own voice whispering behind him, “Which way… which way do we take…” Kaiden and Logan both twisted around, weapons raised in preparation for anything they saw; but nothing was there, just the empty street and pea-soup fog,

“W-what do you think that was?” Gizmo shuddered, his head half-way hidden in his shell. “… Think that was… What do you think…” The whispers were behind them again, and the Archer was the first to twist around; he could’ve sworn he saw… something moving through the murkiness,

“I don’t like this…” Logan frowned, scanning around them as best he could with his rifle shouldered and his finger barely touching the trigger. It was the next set of whispers that really sent shivers up their spine,

“What…” Gizmo’s whisper came from the left, and Kaiden turned; another shadow amongst shadows,

“… Do…” Logan’s voice this time, to the right; Gizmo’s head had completely vanished inside his shell now,

“…You…” Gizmo’s voice again, coming from behind them; all weapons turned in the direction,

“FEEEEAAARRR!?” A voice that sounded vaguely like that of Doctor Morrigan’s shrieked from the clouded sky above them, and Kaiden barely had enough time to bring his bow up and let-fly an arrow as the demonic creature leapt down upon them. The arrow sunk deep into the beast’s chest, causing it to screech in pain; but it landed properly upon its razor-clawed feet, the pain vanishing from its body as quickly as it had stabbed into it.

Another ghastly shriek escaped from the monster’s jaws, cueing a chorus of the evil calls to echo throughout the city. It sounded, at first, like there were millions of the creatures around them, but as they focused, Logan and Kaiden could pinpoint only three sources; a small pack of the vicious monsters,

“I suggest we run!” Kaiden informed the others, notching another arrow into his bow; another whisper-quiet voice sounded from the fog behind him; “Run…”

Kaiden kept his bow strung and started to run.

"RUUUUUNNNN!", the voice said once more. Kaiden couldn't see two feet in front of him, but his senses were fine tuned to the sounds of the wasteland. Kaiden yelled "Stay tight to my footsteps!", firing an arrow at a screech to the left of him.

Kaiden didn't know where to go, but the collapsed building was in front of him. He snatched up Max, leapt on a pile of rubble and up to where there was a tight space, a window.

"In here!", Kaiden said to the other two. He slid in through the dwarf-sized opening, running through the wall of a collapsed hallway. The other side was collapsed, but there was an opening on the "ceiling" to another floor.

Behind him, he saw Gizmo running towards him, Logan sliding through the small opening. Just as Logan's last foot slipped through, the face of a terrible creature, trying to get through. Logan pulled out his machine pistol and shot at the "ceiling above the small window, collapsing it. Kaiden was already on the second floor, pulling Gizmo up.

"There's the way out, but I have a feeling there'll be more outside. We'll have to hunker down in a higher flo-", Kaiden started. Just at that moment the window shattered, the blade of a Katana being slid through the window. Kaiden abruptly stopped speaking as he saw a younger girl, about two years younger than himself, moving up into the window.

The way she moved struck Kaiden. Something he hadn't seen in a long time. She was quick, light, and quite beautiful, two tufts of hair sticking down unto her slightly slanted, asian eyes.

She immediately put her Katana into a defensive position.

"Who are you?", she said, looking over the group.

"We don't want any trouble, okay? We were just on the road...", Kaiden said calmly.

"I don't trust you. Put down your weapons.", she angrily stated.

"You do the same.", Kaiden snapped back.

She nodded and motioned for him to put his weapons down. He didn't mention the knife. Kaiden slowly put down his weapons, staring at her.

She put her weapon down too.

"Okay. Now who are you?", he said, walking up to her.

"Name's Alice Jameson. AJ. You guys?", she asked.

"Kaiden Wilde, this is my dog Maxine, or Max, that's Logan Longstride, and Gismod-something. We call the turtle Gizmo.", Kaiden replied.

She nodded.

"Where are you going?", she asked, somewhat bossily.

Kaiden usually would say east, but he felt like telling her. Though petite, she seemed more capable of killing the man than all of the Hijackers he had seen on the highway-combined.

"There's rumors of an empire to the east. We're walking east. But we have to make a slight detour. We're going into the slip.", he said, the words flowing out of his mouth quite strangely, for the man of few words.

Her eyebrow raised at the mention of the empire, and the Slip.

"I've heard of that empire... And the slip? Quite a trial. I'd ask why, but I might just have to ask if I can go with you.", she said, smirking.

Kaiden immediately said, "Sure. But we're going to hunker down a hallway down, or a level above, if you will. You might want to stay here."

"So you just say yes to her, but not Gizmo?", Logan asked, angrily. Gizmo, being an animal, just chuckled at what he knew.

She nodded.

"I have to. There's something fuckin' scary out there.", she acknowledged, pointing towards the outside.

Kaiden agreed, suggesting they stay in a room above. He was tired as could be, and so were the others.

"C'mon then, let's find a "room".", he said once more, starting to go towards the next hole in the wall/ceiling.

Part 7[]

Jackson ran down the tight alley as fast as he could, the pale orb of conjured light keeping pace behind him; he had attracted a bit of unwanted attention after night fell, but he’d managed to escape. But they were coming for him now, they had left one to watch him, he could feel the gaze from its glowing blood red eyes. He’d encountered Nocturns before, but never in such tight surroundings or in fog as dense as this was; the demonic reptiles were fast, intelligent, and most of all… frightening. There were very few things in this world now that truly frightened the Arcanist, and the Nocturns were truly the worst. It was their mimicry; how they used your own words to frighten you into near insanity, before finally finishing you off.

He had eluded them once already by cutting through abandoned shops and magically hiding his scent, and it helped that one had caught a whiff of something, or someone else and had lead two others towards it, leaving one to watch over Jackson. But now Jackson could hear them all around, trying to frighten him by mimicking the voices of others, and arranging the voices into understandable sentences; it was working. Jackson kept nervously looking over his shoulder, making out the creatures’ outlines darting through the fog around him. One set of whispers sounded like that of the red-hooded Arcanist he had run into earlier, and he hoped for a moment that she hadn’t been torn apart by the monsters.

He needed heat; extreme heat or cold were the Nocturns weaknesses, at least according to what he could read of the tiny, archaic tomes he carried with him. The Arcanist was no good at Ice magic, at least not yet, but heat was another story. He could very easily fry the monsters… if he could see them. Through the dense fog he could see the outline of an old factory ahead of him; possibly the old Oakendrail furniture factory. He smiled at the huge building and ran for the door, a plan coming to mind. He slammed his palm against the double doors, “Frangere!” The spell caused the oak doors to fracture and crumble inward against his push, and he rushed inside. The place was fairly open compared to the ruined streets and alleys outside; good. He would need all the space he could get,

“Alright you bastards…” He said aloud, kneeling upon one foot and pressing his palm against the cement floor, “Come and get me…” A large circle of runes and archaic marks appeared on the floor around him, glowing a reddish-orange color. His eyes darted from the main door, to the large windows high on the walls around the room, then back down to the door. He could hear their sharp claws scraping against the pavement outside… or perhaps against the walls of the brick factory as they scaled them towards the windows? He frowned, then placed his other palm to the floor, causing a faint green wave of energy to spread outwards and line the edges of the room; a detecting spell. Now he would know if anything got in.

It didn’t take long; a ripple of green energy washed down the wall and across the floor back towards him, informing him of something crawling in through the window, “One…”

Another ripple, and a few whispers from behind him; one might have snuck in through a secondary entrance, “Two…”

Two more ripples from ahead of him; he could see two of the bipedal hunters slowly stepping inside the factory from the entrance he’s come in through, “Three and Four… that should be all of them…” Jackson waited for another ripple, but as the four creatures slowly began creeping towards him, he decided that this was all that made up their pack. He wasn’t surprised, Nocturns only hunted in packs of three to five.

“Food…”

“… Meat…”

“… hungry…”

“…Kiiiiill!” All of them sent shivers down Jackson’s spine, but after the one behind him screeched the word kill, the Arcanist knew that it was time. All four creatures leapt at him, claws and teeth glistening in the faint light of the arcane circle; Jackson merely grinned evilly, focusing his magical aura,

“COLUMNA INFERNO!” Jackson shouted; a tower of red-hot flames exploded upwards, rising out of the ring of runic symbols. The Arcanist was untouched by the raging fire, but the Nocturns and half of the factory was completely incinerated within the first few moments. Once the pillar of flames finally died away, the entire east-end of the building had been turned to little more than ash, whilst the rest burned through the fog and lit up most of the city. Good; Nocturns hated light, so the blaze should keep them tucked away in the darker alleys. With a satisfied sigh, Jackson brushed a bit of soot off his clothes then proceeded back into the maze-like city.

Kaiden opened his eyes in the dark hallway. He looked around the corridor, and with sleeping bags around them, were the three wanderers that were his companions. He saw Logan curled up inside the black and white striped bag that was usually held within his enchanted pouch. Lying on the ashy floor was the shell of Gizmo, contained within the sapient turtle.

Lying a few feet away, closer to the hole in the "floor", was AJ. She just had her jacket on and was sleeping on her hands. Kaiden had been awoken with a flame in the distance. He had only seen it cresting the horizon from the angle he was at, but it was there. Just two or three blocks away. Kaiden lightly stepped up. An evening excursion wouldn't affect the morning. Kaiden grabbed his Sharpfinger knife and stepped around Gizmo, walking towards the hole in the floor. He lightly stepped over her, planting his first foot on the ground when, faster than he could react, a hand tightly grabbed his boot.

AJ looked up at him, staring at him.

"Where are you going?", she asked, a tone of authority in her voice.

"I saw a flame in the distance. I'm going to investigate.", he whispering.

She looked at Logan and Gizmo. "They should be fine for a bit... I'd like to investigate this 'flame'.", she replied.

Kaiden glanced around and nodded. "Then let's move.", he stated, starting to walk towards the hole, and the way down.

She stood up and began to walk.

Jackson looked back towards the fire, hoping that it wouldn’t start spreading to the other buildings; he would do something about it, but he honestly only worried because it might become a hassle in getting out of Oakendrail. From what he’s been through so far, the city can burn to the ground for all he cared. He found his vision drifting back towards the Portal and the city’s tallest building; perhaps he could see a clear route from the roof of the Courthouse? He cursed himself for deciding to head towards the very thing he’d been avoiding, but it couldn’t be helped. He started walking down the street, glancing down another road to his right just in time to see two figures turn the corner towards him.

Before he could call out to them however, a huge spider suddenly crawled up out of a nearby manhole, grabbed the Arcanist’s ankle, and pulled him in with it, “Oh son-of-a-Biiiiitt…” Jackson’s voice trailed off as he was once again dragged down into the maze of a sewer.

AJ looked forward from her absent discussion about how she fought off a group of eight commons with her sword, hearing a voice slowly fade away. She raised an eyebrow again.

"Did you hear that?", she asked Kaiden in a low voice.

Kaiden nodded, straying off from the road and almost fading in to the crushed wall. AJ did the same.

"Nocturns?", AJ whispered.

"No. Too much of a normal, non-'copied' voice.", Kaiden replied.

She nodded, and he motioned for her to slow down. There ahead of them, was an open drain.

"The voice was right here. Maybe they were heading towards the portal. It's right behind us, now.", Kaiden added.

She nodded. "Look, over there!", she exclaimed in a low voice.

There was a very pale man, wearing pitch black, reinforced-obsidian armor. He had waist long, dark black hair, and eyes that were such a brown that they almost looked red. His hands, not gloved or armored, were frail as bone. His obsidian armor looked almost invisible in the night, the dark armor blending in with the pitch-black sky. He had a forked figure sticking out of his armor, a tattoo on his hands. A Sage? One of dark magic... The man was accompanied by a Lilith, and three commons, who were currently tinkering with a car radiator. Across from him was a strange, snakelike figure, with a human torso and head, with three smaller versions of him, one a female. "Nagas, a bitch, three commons, and a necromancer. They seem to be doing some sort of a trade...", AJ whispered.

Kaiden noticed her red hoodie glowing.

"Oh god... Take it off!", he whispered back to her.

"Take what off?", she asked in return.

"The hoodie! It's literally glowing in this darkness.", he replied.

She shook her head. "Not a chance.", she retorted.

"If you get us killed, when we get to hell, drinks are on you.", Kaiden responded.

"Fine.", she fumed, taking the hoodie off. As she pulled it off, runic markings all over her back and arms were revealed, and also plenty of other phrases on her black tank top.

"Your an Arcanist?", Kaiden asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I'm not proud of it.", she responded.

He smiled. "I actually wish I was an Arcanist. If you got exiled, there's a place east, on the route to the Empire. However, they'll let you in. I'm sure of it. Now, c'mon, show me what you can do.", he acknowledged.

She sighed.

"Fine.", she said once more.

She raised her arms and thrust them forward, yelling, "PULSUS!", a wave of invisible energy moving forward, then down. As the Necromancer turned around to see, he was knocked off of his feet, the ground exploding beneath him.

The Lilith screeched, then cocked her head forward and screamed, a loud, blood-curdling scream, that could probably be heard for miles. The commons growled at her and threw a rock, holding their ears. Then they realized where it came from. The Nagas were running for cover. They just wanted fitting armor...

The Necromancer stumbled up and pulled out a sword, yelling, "IGNIS OCCIDIT!", a strike of lightning flying towards the two. "RUN!", Kaiden screamed, the strike landing where he had been crouched seconds ago.

A roar of thunder woke Gizmo up suddenly, he stuck his head out of his head to see the remnant of a flash to the distance. Gizmo barked at Max waking her up, who then yawned in blinked several times before standing up on all four feet. "Logan get up I saw a flash in the distance!" yelled Gizmo to the sleeping human, but he did not get up. Max decided to do something Gizmo would not have, she licked Logan's face waking him up immediately. "Uggggh... I don't want to go to band camp though." mumbled Logan before he opened his eyes. "Logan, we got to go check it out Kaiden and A.J. are gone, knowing our luck that was probably them." stated Gizmo who stretched out his legs before lifting his heavy body, being roughly 200 pounds did not help.

Logan opened his eyes, got up slowly, then cracked his back with a loud "CRAACK". He then pulled out his Bowie Sword and tossed his machine pistol to Gizmo, who caught it in his left hand. "Let's go check it out then, come on Max." The three exited the damaged building and megan running towards the blast. Before long they reached Kaiden and A.J. battleing a necromancer, three commons and a Lilith. Kaiden shot an arrow at the Necromancer but the evil being deflected it with his sword. "Gizmo give me some poison now!" yelled Logan to the turtle. The turtle nodded a yes and out of Gizmo's shell came two cannons, after a second a small "bloop" sound echoed and a 2.4x36mm vial popped out of the right cannon. "Load it into your rifle, the canister will shatter once in the target." answered Gizmo before Logan could ask what to do with it.

Logan grabbed the canister, popped out the magazine, loaded it into the magazine, popped the magazine back into the rifle, took aim at the Lilith, breathed out slowly, and pulled the trigger feeling the recoil of the mass accelerator from the barrel from his hands to his neck. The Lilith stopped fighting and looked down to see a would in her chest, then before she could scream horribly again her mouth began to fizz and she plopped onto the ground headfirst twitching even though she was already dead.

"DUIS VOCARE MONSTRUM!", the Necromancer shouted, pointing his dark metal broadsword at the ground. Before his feet the ground rippled, rocks cracking and eroding in the blink of an eye. And suddenly, a massive beast appeared before them. His skin was dark gray, cuts and scars throughout his body, from what seemed to be a thousand years of constant battle. He wore rags along his body, chains as bracers on his arm, and as a necklace. He had massive hands, two fingers, just stubs with massive claws, and a large thumb with a curved claw. His body was very muscular, however, though it was quite menacing, and his face was shaped forward, a huge muzzle with four massive fangs sticking out, blood red eyes, and horns that curved straight back and went down. One of the horns was, however, broken off, half of it missing.

The beast roared as he was summoned, glows of violet light fading around him as he materialized. His breath smelled wretched, and there was a fraction of a human skull wedged on one of his lower fangs. Just the eye hole.

"Maronius, kill these imbeciles!", the Necromancer yelled, his deep, rich voice emanating like an evil in itself. The three commons snickered, yet cowered behind the Necromancer.

Maronius hunched low, and started charging straight for Kaiden. Quicker than lightning he lit an arrow on fire and shot it, the object flying through the musty air. It hit its mark, impaling Maronius right in his eye. He screamed and then shook his head, swiping part of the arrow away, the impaled part still stuck inside his skull. He then shrugged it off and continued heading for Kaiden, who managed to fire off another shot at Maronius' head, the arrow hitting the beast on his lip, causing him to grimace, trying to pull it out.

"You fool!", the Necromancer yelled to Maronius, failing to notice the poison bullet coming towards him. He turned around a second before it hit, grinning to himself.

About a centimeter away from the Necromancer, the bullet shattered, a faint aura of violet light forming around the Necromancer.

"Gizmo! Go for the commons! AJ, if the Necromancer get's too close, you know what to do. Logan, FIR-", Kaiden ordered. But before he could say 'e', the massive beast gored him in the stomach, Kaiden flying up. During the demon's upthrust, the broken horn managed to stab Kaiden right in the stomach, a bit of blooding getting stuck on Maronius' horn. He then turned his attention to the man who was shooting at his armored side. "RRRAAHHH!!!", he yelled, coming towards Logan. It opened it's mouth to grab the gun, when Logan fired.

The shot echoed as the action stopped for a moment. Time seemed to slow as the jacketed' round flew through the air, landing right in the maw of Maronius, slamming into his upper mouth, and going into his brain, being stopped by the armor plating and skull of the creature.

"Nooo!", the Necromancer yelled, Maronius limply tumbling forward unto Logan, the crimson blood starting to come out of his mouth as he disintegrated into ash and blood.

"If you want something done right, do it yourself. Chto, Syreu, attack!", the Necromancer yelled, charging forward with his broadsword, and the two commons. He quickly locked into a duel with AJ, who parried him with excellence. They fought for about a minute, the weaker Katana being overpowered by the brutal, enchanted Blade. She was knocked back, her sword gone.

After managing to stand up, most of the creature's attack blocked by Kaiden's leather vest and Longcoat, the archer pulled out a strange, different arrow. It had a barbed tip, and was much heavier than his other arrows. Kaiden strung the round and flicked the back tip with his ring finger, the barbed tip catching on fire.

The Necromancer was about to beat unto AJ's head. Kaiden aimed upward and slowed his breathing... Then. He fired, the round quickly moving, arching down and slamming into the Necromancer's chest, going straight through the barrier. The armor gave way to the arrow, a small fraction of the obsidian shattering as the arrow slammed right through the grate of metal that was used to vent the armor and prevent a malfunction of sorts. The pure force threw the Necromancer down, his enchanted blade flying downwards and into the hands of AJ. She grabbed it, and walked over to him, smiling.

"Goodbye, you sick bastard.", she said, starting to slam the heavy broadsword down.

"Evanescunt!", the Necromancer yelled, disappearing, his blade hitting the ground with a thud.

"Damnit!", she cursed. The two turned toward Gizmo and Max, who had been parrying the Commons.

"Stop stop stoooppp!", Chto yelled, his pale red skin turning even more pale with fright.

Gizmo stopped, and Max cocked her head, confused.

"Please please please! I don't even like Marethryu!", Syreu yelled, his pitched, raspy voice begging.

"We're not like the rest of them! Not stupid, and not evil! We just like c-c-creating stuff!", Chto added. Kaiden, wearing only a muscle shirt and his pants, with a red spot on his shirt, the rest of his gear in his hands, walked over to them.

"Why should we save you?", he asked.

"Because! We're not like them, man! We like you guys better! Plus, we don't like workin' in the yards!", Syreu said.

"Do they seem genuine?", AJ asked Gizmo.

"Me and Max seem to agree. They don't seem like they mean any harm. And they're smaller than most commons! Plus, look at their tails. They aren't pointy at the end!", the silly turtle added.

Max barked in agreement.

"Can-can we come with you? Marethryu beats on us! He doesn't like us, man!", Chto said once more.

"Sure. But you carry your own weight, okay?", Kaiden said.

They nodded.

"Plus, we can make you stuff!", Syreu added happily.

Logan chuckled.

"Welcome to the gang guys!", he said. They high fived and then danced around happily.

"Let's get back to camp before the Nocturns come around here.", AJ said. Gizmo nodded many times. The two commons nodded like him too, jumping onto Gizmo's shoulders.

He laughed as they walked back to their camp in the collapsed hallway.

Part 8[]

Jackson slowly began to wake up after being dragged through the sewer by the giant Wolf Spider; he’d lost consciousness after bashing his head on one of the concrete maintenance walkways on either side of the drain’s channel, and he could feel the faint trickle of blood running up out of the cut, “Wait, up!?” He was hanging upside down; stuck in a massive spider web. In the faint light, he could make out hundreds of the webs that had been weaved around the massive dome-shaped chamber he was in. Some of the webs were little more than cobwebs, tiny a frail, while some were almost five times his size, namely the one he was now stuck in. He could make out additional survivors stuck in the other webs too, and as the ringing left his ears he could hear them sobbing or praying for their lives.

Suddenly all the spiders that were making sure the humans were wound up good and tight retreated into the darker sections of the chamber; there was defiantly something worse here besides spiders. From out of a large ceiling drain descended the torso of a beautiful woman, whose body was completely bare save for a few slivery spider strands; but instead of a pair of equally gorgeous legs, eight spindly spider legs, and a huge thorax fell onto a huge web with her. The Dridder yawned sleepily, her black eyes slowly drifting over the captured humans; a few of them started pleading, “Not me!”

Jackson didn’t like this at all, and he liked it even less as the Dridder’s eyes fell upon him, and widened in surprise, “Oooh… its seams I have another guest…” She smiled, crawling over to the Arcanist, “Hmm… a magic user as well I see…” Her soft-skinned hand touched against Jackson’s right arm, tracing some of his tattoos. He fingers then drifted to his Silvery hair and ran through them, “A very powerful one… perhaps one of the Seraphim family…?” Jackson smirked at the comment, putting on an act,

“You know as well as I do, creature, that many great Arcanists and Sages are born with silver locks… not just the Seraphim clan…” The Arcanist replied calmly, “I am a member of the Andromeda family, and my dear father will be the death of you if you touch me again!” Jackson lied, hoping that the Dridder would be intimidated by the famous name of the Guild Leader; but it didn’t seem so,

“One of the Andromeda Clan eh~?” The creature smiled, leaning so close that she could very well have kissed the Arcanist right there, “Then you will be an excellent meal for my offspring…” She whispered; Jackson grimaced, trying to focus his magical aura, but the webs absorbed his arcane energy. The Dridder backed off a bit, her expression turning into a pout, “But I’ve already choosen someone else for today… so you’ll have to wait your turn,” With a small wink, the creature turned towards a blonde-haired woman with a sniper’s rifle stuck in the web next to her,

“N-no… no! Not me, please!” She began to weep as the Dridder plucked her wrapped figure from the web; her begging fell on deaf ears however as the spider creature positioned itself over the Hawk-eyed warrior, and began pulling her towards its nether regions,

“Don’t worry dear… This won’t hurt a bit~…” The creature smiled, suddenly shoving the warrior’s entire head inside its vagina! With a few moans of pleasure, the Dridder continued to stuff its poor victim inside it until the warrior’s form completely disappeared. Taking a moment to suck on one of her fingers, the Dridder finally sighed with pleasure and returned to her lair in the roof of the sewer. Jackson shook his head, not entirely believing what he had just seen, and looked around for a way to escape. He wasn’t about to end up like the poor girl that the Dridder was now impregnating.

Kaiden was awaken with a tongue to his face, and a boot to his knee. Max and AJ were trying to wake him up.

"Kaiden! The two commons are gone. They probably went back to the Slip out of fear...", AJ said, as if she had known.

Kaiden muttered a curse to himself and sat up, groaning as he clenched his wound.

He looked down at his muscle shirt, a spot of brown tainting the whitish-beige shirt.

"Oh well...", Kaiden said, looking around. Gizmo was picking up Logan's sleeping bag, and Logan was washing his face with a water bottle.

It was about 9 A.M., and Logan looked like he was still very, very sleepy. Gizmo managed to fold it and walked over to Logan's jacket, lying on the ground. He opened the enchanted pouch and stuffed the sleeping bag in, creating an awkward look, the massive sleeping bag going into the tiny pouch.

"Doo-dee-doo...", Gizmo said as he put it in. He started to zip up the pouch when behind him, at the glass window, he heard a clanking noise in the background, as Chto crawled through a small hole in the glass, which wasn't there last night.

"Syreu! You idiot! Throw the freaking grenade! Don't light it you moron! THROW IT!", Chto said. A small ball of scrap metal flew through the unshattered window, shattering it immediately as the ball flew through the air.

"Hey guys! What'd we miss? We were up all night makin' armor and weapons for ya'll!", Chto exclaimed, picking up the ball.

"Logan, d'you notice your Venator rifle missing? You 'know what Venator means? In our language, it means huntah. It sounds cooler like Venator though, hehe.", Chto added.

He was yanked out of the window.

Syreu climbed up, pulling Chto with him.

"What he's sayin, is that usin' some supplies from a few cars, and from an old hardware store...", Syreu started.

"We made some, after-market modifications to your rifle! We call it the B4D-A55 V3TR! The bad-ass Venator! But, you can call it whatever you want. Syreu, go get it!", Chto yelled. Syreu nodded and jumped down. After a few seconds, he came back up with the rifle. Instead of it's metal parts being gunmetal gray, the metal had a jet-black color to it, the metal being used for fancy engravings and markings. It's accessories and plastic parts were painted red and black, skull designs put in different places. It had an under-barrel grenade launcher, made out of the fender of a truck.

"It fires scrap grenades. Filled with shrapnel! We also made explosive arrows, that fire like the huge barbed one you used on Marethryu. Light them with your enchantment, and they explode on contact! We made AJ some leather bracers to hide her markings. We know how that goes! One of Marethryu's merchants was an Arcanist. We tried to get her Katana and make some modifications, but we couldn't get it from her hands. Gizmo, we made you some frontal armor! We went up to the Balcony of City Hall, and it had a scenic view sign, perfect for a chest-plate. Then we used some misc. car parts and voila! We're smarter than we look, ain't we Sy?", Chto asked.

Sy nodded and fistbumped his brother.

"And we made you some engraved armor, all of you! It fits on your shoulders and chests. Separate pieces. You can put that on when we get outside, where it all is! Now, where we headed?", Sy asked.

"The Slip.", Kaiden said.

"Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa! THE SLIP? What the infernum man? We don't like it down there! Too hot, and everybody treats us like ash!", Chto added.

"Relax..", Logan said. "You can stay out on the balcony and hide with Gizmo. You guys probably made yourselves some armor, so you can defend too.", Logan continued.

They high-fived and nodded, jumping onto Gizmo's "shell-shoulders".

"So, let's get out of here.", AJ said.

The group gathered their gear, Logan smiling as he but the "Badass-Venator" into his pouch. Kaiden pulled on his brown t-shirt, leather vest over it, and then slipped on his longcoat. He pulled up his bandana over his face, and put his aviators on, leaving the cowl down. AJ pulled her cowl up and put on her Katana, Logan slipping on his jacket. Gizmo chambered a bullet in his machine pistol, and they started down a floor.

About a minute later, they emerged on the second floor, jumping out. There was a car hood with a stockpile of gear on it. Kaiden smiled and removed his longcoat, grabbing the chest armor and slipping it on, tying the straps. Logan did the same, putting it under his jacket. He slipped it back on and watched as the commons helped Gizmo put his scrap-metal armor on. It had a smart design, made of many leather belts and pieces of cars, a scenic view sign from atop city hall... It even had a helmet, similar to an old-fashioned pilot hat. Gizmo saw that it completely enveloped his soft chest, most of it made of cut up pieces of car grills. He smiled to himself.

AJ slipped on her smaller, "boob-fit", as the brothers called it, armor, and put her jacket over it too. She put the bracers on and slid them over her markings, pushing the jacket sleeves over it.

Kaiden threw the explosive arrows in his quiver, and turned around, looking two blocks away, at city hall.

"Dr. Morrigan said he'd meet us at the portal. Let's go.", Kaiden said, starting forward. AJ smirked, liking his nature at that moment.

She started walking behind him, Logan too. Gizmo ran forward, his armor clanking a little as it shifted into position. Chto and Syreu quickly jumped onto his shoulders, and they started forward.

Jackson went over his options for the fifth time in ten minutes; he could either get shoved into a Dridder’s cunny and get pregnant with its unholy offspring, try to escape the mass of spider webs, fail, and THEN get shoved in it, or somehow escape with his life. Frankly the way he looked at it, the former two options seemed a lot easier to accomplish then the third; his magic was being nullified by the properties of the web around him, his sword was still stuck inside its sheath, and there were spiders watching him everywhere. Well, at least he had four or five days to figure this out…

“Oh god, OH GOD! NO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DO-ACH!!!” A survivor suddenly started shouting in bloody murder off to his right. The Arcanist was surprised to see that the Dridder was clinging to the poor soul’s web just above her; its jaws split apart to form two, menacing mandibles. With a sickening sound, the woman’s head was ripped from her shoulders and swallowed by the horrid Fiend,

“Mmm~…” The Dridder smiled, licking her lips after re-forming her human jaw. She noticed Jackson staring at her, and gave him a wink; mouthing the words, “You’re next,” As she pat both her thorax, and her slightly bulging stomach. The Arcanist gulped nervously; now he had a fourth option. The Dridder smiled, crawling back up to her drain and disappearing inside. Jackson growled in frustration, there had to be a way out of there, “Come on Jackson, think of something! You’re the sun of the two greatest Sages the world has ever known, there’s got to be something!”

Then he had it; Dridders loved the sound of music and singing, so maybe he could sing to her for a bit, then convince her into pull him off his web in order to get more "comfortable"…

“O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done; the ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won,” Jackson didn’t know why he had chosen the, somewhat sad, poem to sing, but he could barely see the Dridder moving towards the edge of her drain, “The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting, While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring,” The creature slowly descended upon his web, her upper body swinging a little at the song’s beat. Jackson smiled; he might actually pull this off, “But O heart! Heart! Heart! O the bleeding drops of red, where on the deck my Captain lies, fallen cold and dead,” The Dridder nestled down on the edge of his web, just below his head; she leaned her head upon her hands and smiled up at him, urging him on apparently, “O Captain! My Captain! Rise up and hear the bells; rise up -- for you the flag is flung -- for you the bugle trills;

“for you bouquets and ribboned wreaths -- for you the shores a-crowding; for you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning,” Jackson smiled at his captor as she bobbed her head, he dared not stop singing to her until the song was over though, “Here Captain! Dear father! This arm beneath your head; it is some dream that on the deck, you’ve fallen cold and dead…” What happened next surprised the musical Arcanist; the Dridder had a small tear in her eye, and tried singing with him,

“My captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still; my father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will; the ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done; from fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won,” It was then that the creature’s voice trailed off, trickles of tears rolling down her cheeks; Jackson continued without her,

“Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells! But I, with mournful tread, walk the deck my Captain lies, fallen… cold… and dead…” The Dridder buried her face in her arms, weeping a little. Jackson frowned a little; he hadn’t realized that such a dark creature could be so emotional, “Shall… shall I sing another one? Maybe something to lighten your spirits?”

“N-no…” The Dridder replied with a sniffle, “No you’ve done enough…” The creature suddenly lifted one of her spindly legs and cut away the webbing holding the Arcanist in place. Jackson grunted in surprise as he fell out of the web and right into a tight hug from the Dridder, “Please go… I don’t want any harm to come to such a wonderful singer…”

Logan walked over to Gizmo to talk to him before the group entered the slip. "So Gizmo, how exactly did you become sapient?" "Well," replied Gizmo, "My mother laid her clutch of eggs in the only place available in miles, unfortunately the nesting site was right next to a nuclear reactor. My mother, like all mother turtles, left to find cleaner water and food. My nest was subject to just enough radiation where all my brother and sister died except for me. I exited the nest in a cruel world, but I learned quickly to avoid anything bigger than me. After about 50 years I figured out how to speak human english, twenty years after that I learned every animal language including the original pig latin. But long before that I had mastered how to use my opposable thumbs, climbing a tree is very useful for a turtle. And here we are, it won't be long before it is my 101st birthday."

"That's quite an impressive tale, although you mentioned nothing about your hidden cannons." said Logan to Gizmo. "That correlated to climbing trees, a hungry land shark doesn't expect to be hit by poison from above her head." replied Gizmo as he pulled out a fin of the land shark he just mentioned from a small crevice in the shell. "Never eat Land Shark though they carry nasty diseases, they will make you sit on a pile of leaves for a week." Logan rolled on the floor laughing at the Turtle's tale.

Kaiden walked down the broken road, and whistled to himself. He heard footsteps come up behind him, and he raised his eyebrow as A.J. walked up.

"What do you think about entering the Slip, Kade?", AJ asked.

Kaiden smiled to himself as she called him Kade.

"It's going to be a dangerous task, and we're going to be retrieving some sort of object... But I'm confident in you and Logan. Should we take Max with us? Quite a good dog, she is. But I have a feeling she'd be swarmed by whatever's in there...", Kaiden replied.

She pulled back her hood and flicked a tuft of her aside, Kaiden laughing a bit.

She blushed a little bit. "What?", she asked in an embarrassed tone.

"Nothing, nothing...", Kaiden replied again.

She then got back on track. "Anyways, Max would be good to stay with Gizmo. Bringing the two little demons with us might pay off. They could slip us behind enemy lines...", AJ said.

Kaiden nodded several times. "That's a good plan. Or we could just take Syreu. He seems more talky. Plus, Chto could stay and help hide with Gizmo and Max.", Kaiden stated.

AJ nodded.

"And you?", she asked.

Kaiden smiled and said, "I'm ready. I've got a few arrows made for exploding, some that are meant to take down enemies, some normal ones... And my trusty knife. You?", Kaiden questioned.

AJ smiled and pulled up her teddy bear.

"I got Giggles, my Katana, and you at my side.", she flirted, causing Kaiden to also blush a little.

"Oh, and Logan, heh.", she added.

Kaiden pulled his bandana back up as he blushed. She lightly grabbed his chin and turned it to her, pulling his bandana down. She smirked and lightly flicked his nose.

"Your the most badass person I've ever met. Believe it.", she said with a smile, slowing down as he lead the group to help catch the rear. Just ahead was the looming, marble-white, now tainted beige building, the windows boarded up, the black metal picket fence rotting and collapsed. The grass was dead and not growing, charred black.

And the double doors were blasted apart, a huge hole lighting up the entrance foyer.

"It’s not smart to have me wait, my dear associates,” A voice suddenly sounded from the second story balcony. There above them stood Dr. Morrigan in his usual, confident pose; Kaiden and Logan had almost raised their weapons towards the cunning Sage, but thought better of it, remembering their last encounter. The doctor raised an eyebrow at the extra company that had joined the two original survivors, “I don’t recall those… revolting creatures being with you last time…”

AJ looked like she was about to explode, “WHAT THE HELL DID YOU CALL ME YOU OLD-Mmmmph!” Kaiden quickly moved his hand over her mouth before she could get them into any trouble. “Sorry, we thought we might need some back-up in there… it is the demon realm after all…” Kaiden explained, trying to see through the Sage’s sunglasses, but the dark lenses obscured all. After a moment, Morrigan’s smug grin returned,

“Very well, I will allow this…” The Doctor smiled, turning his back to the group, “Meet me in front of the portal… and I will inform you about the item you’re gathering for me,” And with that he disappeared inside.

Gizmo moved around erratically as Chto and Syreu tried hiding inside his shell.

"Whaah-aha-haah!", Gizmo yelled, Chto and Syreu shoving each other to get in first.

"What's wrong, guys?", Kaiden asked.

"That's The Morrigan! He's a THIEF man! He's one of the best in there! But WE DON'T LIKE HIM! He's freakin' scary, man. He's one of the most powerful Necromancers out there! He literally TRAINED Marethryu! We'll just stay here with Gizmo, protect him, kay?", Chto said.

"Syreu, we need you to come in with us, smooth talk some of the guards, assuming the object is gonna be guarded.", AJ said.

"Shit man, me!? And there ain't no way you can smooth-talk some of those creatures! And especially from a common! We'll just stay here, 'alright?", Syreu said.

Kaiden sighed.

Then AJ turned towards him and slapped him. "What was that for?", she asked him.

"I was just gonna ask the same thing...", Kaiden replied, a firm handprint on his face.

"You shut me up!", she replied.

"Morrigan could kill all of us before we had any idea what was happening, AJ. Sorry...", Kaiden said, making his move and putting a hand on her shoulder. He noticed a ghost of a smile show. "It's okay... But warn me next time, kay' champ?", she asked.

Kaiden nodded and they walked in to the dark building.

As soon as all of them were within, rocks covered the doorway, probably Morrigan's work.

He appeared in the foyer in a spout of green flames, but still had his back to them, walking towards a flight of stairs. He spoke not a word as they ascended the stairwell to the third floor, and then took a maintenance ladder to the roof (Though Morrigan had merely transported himself to the top). There before them stood the towering Slip Portal. Morrigan finally turned towards them, his perfect teeth almost sparkling in the early morning sun,

“Now then… about the item you will be searching for,” The doctor grinned, pulling his left hand from his pocket; it was the first time, since Kaiden and Logan had first seen him, that they saw him do this. Within his left hand was a small, semi-charred piece of old parchment, which he handed to AJ, the closest person to him,

“And what the hell is this?” The spunky survivor asked, straitening the paper out as best she could without tearing it. Kaiden leaned over her shoulder to see what was on it; a stylized painting of a wooden and iron box,

“This, my dear, is the item for which I hired you to obtain,” Morrigan replied, “It is a music box; its measurements are 1’ by 6” by 6”… and it is located within the heart of a rather eerie fortress located just a mile from this portal’s sister within the Slip,” Logan couldn’t help but glare at Morrigan, not trusting the small Sage in the least, but it was AJ who spoke her concerns,

“And why aren’t you getting this damn thing yourself,” She quickly looked at Kaiden, who nearly covered her mouth again, “No offence!” She said quickly before he could do it. The Sage merely smiled wider at her question,

“An excellent analysis… why am I not getting this item myself?” Morrigan smiled, rubbing his cleanly-shaven chin, “Well, the most obvious reason would be this; I have other, more pressing matters to attend to. Namely, I am going to retrieve a different item by exploring a separate Slip Portal,” He explained,

“So… we’ll see you in there?” Kaiden questioned; Morrigan chuckled,

“No my young colleague… you see unlike our world, the Slip is an endless plain. We could be light-years away from each other in there,” The Sage’s smile suddenly turned into a much more sinister expression, “But trust me when I say this; despite us being so far away physically, I will know if you plan on betraying me, and stealing the artifact for yourselves…”

Gizmo managed to make enough space for Chto and Syreu in his shell.

Kaiden examined the parchment carefully. It had specifications on how large the music box was-but it was written not in numbers, but the words itself, all in Latin.

Gizmo took a seat on one of the rails, Chto and Syreu groaning in response. AJ walked around the portal, examining the massive, obsidian object.

"So, how long will this mission take?", Logan asked.

"Ahh, I'm glad you asked, my young colleague. Time moves, roughly ninety percent slower in the Slip, well, at least on a scale to this world. One hour in this world gives you ten in the Slip. One day here, gives you a week in the Slip.", Morrigan replied.

Kaiden nodded.

"Well, no time to waste. Let's get in there and get going.", AJ interjected.

“Very well then I shall bid you all a farewell… for… now…” Morrigan trialed off, gazing back towards the hatch they had climbed to the roof with; Kaiden, AJ, and the others followed his gaze, their eyes falling upon a man with shoulder length silver hair, not unlike the Doctors. The man was wearing a dark, navy-blue long-sleeved shirt, though its right arm was missing revealing a multitude of tribal Tattoos; he looked extremely angry,

“MORRIGAN!” The man shouted before charging forward with a cutlass.

{C A few minutes earlier…

{C Jackson pushed the hatch open, finding himself within the basement of the courthouse. The Dridder had kept her word about letting him go, and had even promised to release the other survivors as well just before he rushed down one of the many corridors of the sewer. He didn’t know if she would perform such and act, and it was already too late for the girl within her thorax, but considering the emotion she had displayed, he didn’t doubt it too much.

It hadn’t been long till he had gotten lost… again, but he found that the Dridder was continuing to aid him. Following a trail of spiders, he came to a large plaque upon the sewer walls, directly next to a service ladder; the plaque reading, “CITY COURTHOUSE SEWER ENTRANCE,”

He groaned at the bright light shining in through the boarded up windows, and found himself wonder when the last time he actually slept (being knocked out didn’t count) was; he couldn’t remember, he’d been using his small supply of Adrenal-Potions for a few days now. He shook away the thoughts of sleep and walked out into the main lobby, starting to head up the stairs; this was one of the highest buildings in the city after all, so he’d easily be able to see a way out of it from the roof.

As he came to a roof access hatch however, he began hearing voices; someone was already here. He listened for a moment, two of the voices sounding very familiar to him. One was female, possibly the survivor from before? But the other… No; there was no possible way he could be here could there? He quickly climbed the ladder to the roof, taking in everything he saw in an instant. There were eight beings in total on the roof; four humans, one dog, and three other creatures. He had been right about one of the people being the girl from before… but unfortunately he had also been right on both guesses.

There, staring back at him, was a short man in formal attire, with wraparound sunglasses and short, silver hair,

“MORRIGAN!” Jackson shouted before charging forward, his cutlass drawn. He lashed out with the half-corroded sword, his anger only being fueled as the Sage merely leaned backwards to avoid the blade. More uncontrolled swings and thrusts; but Morrigan dodged and evaded every one, managing to step around the rampaging Arcanist and jump away with the agility of a gymnast, all the while keeping his left hand tucked inside his pocket.

Jackson roared again, raising his tattooed arm towards the Sage; the markings glowing so brightly that it was almost painful to look at, “ULTIMA SERA!” The Arcanist shouted; a huge bolt of bright blue lightning shot from Jackson’s outstretched palm, heading right towards Morrigan,

“Humph…” Morrigan sneered as the bolt crackled towards him. The Sage raised his right hand up across his chest, and literally slapped the bolt away without any sort of effort whatsoever. The lightning shot out over the edge of the courthouse, arched downwards, and pulverized a massive section of the road in a blink of an eye. Jackson was absolutely dumbfounded, and tried to put up a defense, but it was too late,

“Incidere Praeter…” Morrigan chanted softly, moving his hand like that of a slow, knife-hand strike in the air before him. Jackson’s sword suddenly split in two, followed closely by his shirt, then his chest split open, a huge geyser of blood spraying outwards. The Arcanist began to fall, but caught himself at the last second, much to Morrigan’s amusement, “You never learn, do you Jackson?” He smirked, raising his palm towards the Arcanist. Jackson gasped for air, glaring at the Sage with complete loathing,

“D-damn… you… Morrigan…” He choked, his whole body shaking. The doctor couldn’t help but chuckle,

“Yes. Many have…” The wordless, invisible pushing spell shot from the Sage’s palm, smacking against Jackson’s chest; not only did this heighten the severity of his wound, but sent him tumbling backwards through the air and through the orange veil of the portal.

After a moment, Morrigan cleared his throat and straitened his suit a little, “Now then… I was saying my farewells I believe…”

AJ stood in awe, though all of them were feeling the same. Gizmo was completely inside his shell, only two tiny, red and green heads sticking out, along with the tip of an aviator hat. Kaiden was dumbstruck, and so was Logan...

"I just... Whoa.", AJ said.

Kaiden pulled down his cowl.

"I guess we could try to find him...", Kaiden started.

"No!", Morrigan yelled.

Kaiden stepped back a bit.

"It would be a waste of your time to go after him. Now, farewell my colleagues. Good luck inside the Slip. And do be careful. I take pride in my... investments.", Morrigan said once more. He gave them a salute, and then turned around, walking past a broken rail on the roof, and disappearing in a quick, emerald green flame.

"Gizmo, if anyone, I mean anyone comes through or towards the Slip, hide. If they find you, you have my machine pistol.", Logan said.

Kaiden nodded. "Chto, Syreu, I want you to stay right here. Don't leave. Good luck you three. We'll be back by evening. Might wanna hide inside the city hall, if worst comes to worst. Farewell adieu.".

AJ agreed. "Good luck champs.", she added.

"See you by night.", she said once more, getting into position. Logan waved to them.

"Ready?", Kaiden asked.

Logan and AJ nodded. "Let's go.", Kaiden said. He stepped up unto the obsidian platform. And he put his foot in, a vaccuum trying to pull his foot in. He then put his body in, and his head went with it. He heard a loud sucking noise, along with some incompetent growling.

His face felt like it was being sucked away... It began with a red light, and in a second it became dark, with flashes of light everywhere. Then the darkness faded, his ears ringing... He saw a red light, and realized he was in some kind of cave. He was bumped by AJ, and a second later, Logan, mashing AJ against Kaiden, making them both blush quite a bit. They were in a long, massive cave, composed of a reddish brown stone. It was well lit, torches marked every few feet, and it was angled diagonally down.

"This is the Slip?", AJ asked, stepping to the side. Kaiden shrugged. "I guess we start towards an 'eerie palace'.", Kaiden said. She shrugged too, and the three started down the long cave.

{C Once they reached the edge, it branched off to a massive land, the sky a dark, blood-red, strange rock formations blotting out most of the sun, as falls of lava fell unto the ground, in massive lakes. Ahead of them, was a strangely fascinating desolate landscape, rocky and moutainous, small canyons making the ground look cracked and worn... There was not a building in sight, however.

"This is... Amazing.", AJ said.

Kaiden nodded and pulled off his longcoat, giving it to Logan to put in his pouch. He stuffed it in. AJ then gave him her hoodie, Logan groaning as he stuffed it in.

"So I have to wear MY jacket?", he said. Kaiden chuckled, checking his armor plating. AJ did the same. Behind them, there was an "Aroo?", sound, as the smallish, Australian herding dog, Max, sat down, asking for attention.

"You have space in that pouch, Logan?", AJ asked sarcastically. He groaned and picked Max up, literally stuffing her in.

"She'll be fine in here. It's room sized, and I'm pretty sure it's got an air supply. I just have to think about grabbing her and I can.", Logan said. Kaiden nodded.

"They'll be fine out there, and Max will be fine in there.... Now let's go get us a music box.", Kaiden stated, pulling his aviators on as he saw the masses of Demons ahead. He put his quiver over his shoulders, his bandolier over his chest, and started forward, AJ unsheathing her Katana, which was slung over her muscle shirt.

Chapter 2: Trials of the Demon Realm...[]

Part 9[]

“Edward, please watch over Jackson while we’re gone. If anything bad happens to him, I swear I will kill you,”

“Do not fret, my dear sister. I will not allow any harm to come to a nephew of mine… you have my word…”

Voices from the past; Jackson relived the same memory over and over every time he slept. So much so, that they had become nightmarish for him. But this time was different; he couldn’t wake up, he was too exhausted,

“The demon world is a dangerous place my love… are you sure you wish to come with me?”

“I will not allow you to go alone Richard… you know that as well as I do,”

“Alright Vivian… just keep by my side…”

“Always…”

Jackson tried his best to open his eyes, tried to somehow stop the memories, but he couldn’t; he would have to relive the most horrible moment of his life. It was almost thirty years ago, when he was just five years old, that his Parents agreed to help his uncle Edward in his exploration of the Slip. They were gone no more than a week on earth, but he learned that it was nearly a month for them,

“Sister! Are you alright? Where’s the relic?”

“Edward! It’s Richard! He’s… he’s been…”

“WHERE IS THE ARTIFACT!?”

“RICHARD IS DEAD! DO YOU NOT CARE FOR YOUR OWN BROTHER-IN-LAW!?”

“How dare you disobey me!? I TOLD YOU TO BRING ME THE RELIC!”

“Edward! NO! STOP! LEAVE JACKSON ALONE!”

“Return to the Slip… bring me the item, and I’ll spare your son’s life…”

“You wouldn’t… Why brother!? Why do you place the value of some demonic artifact before the lives of your brother and nephew!?”

“RETURN TO THE DEMON REALM SISTER!”

“NO EDWARD! I WILL KILL YOU BEFORE I LET YOU HAVE THE LIFE OF MY SON!”

“… Then so be it… Nolite Animum!”

Jackson shouted out to his beloved mother as the sickly-green flare of dark magic struck her heart, then leapt at his hated uncle only to be slapped away,

“Jack…son… please… run…”

“MOTHER!” Jackson shouted, sitting up suddenly and smacking his head against stone, “OW GOD DAMNIT!” He pulled his hands up to his now bleeding forehead, pressing his palms against it in pain. He then felt an extremely sharp pain in his torso as his bandaged wound opened up again, “ACH!” He coughed up blood and rolled over on his side,

“Will you hold still!?” Someone cried, “You know how hard it was to stop you from bleeding in the first place!? By god you humans are so stubborn!” Jackson turned back over to see who, or what, was yelling at him. In the faint light of the cave he could make out the silhouette of a woman, and a rather voluptuous one at that. But as his eyes started to adjust to the darkness he could see now that it wasn’t a normal woman. From her head to her waist, she had one of the most gorgeous features he’d ever set eyes upon; Piercing blue eyes, perfectly strait, waist-length hair, and a pair of well-shaped breasts wrapped up in purplish-blue cloth.

Then his eyes drifted lower and widened in surprise; from out of the knee-length, blue skirt came a long, scaly tail which was the same color as her outfit, eyes, and now that he could see better, her hair. He was being nursed back to health by a Nagini! Jackson pulled himself away from the Fiend but felt a solid wall of smooth stone against his back; the creature had set him on a small “shelf” in the rocky wall. Jackson glanced around for his sword, but then remembered that Morrigan had broken it. He cursed at the fact that a Naga’s tail could absorb magical energy, and merely kept a watchful eye on the creature.

She turned back towards him after soaking a rag in a underground pond, and pouted at his bloody chest and dressings, “I told you not to mooooove…!” She whined, her tail suddenly slithering up, coiling around his legs, and pulling him back into the position he woke up in. Jackson winced at the sudden movement, but relaxed as her scales felt cool against his bare legs. Wait, he had jeans on before he was flung into the portal. He glanced down and found that the Nagini had removed his clothes, folded them neatly, and had set them upon the shelf below his feet. (Thankfully she hadn’t removed his boxers though)

“So… Nagini…” Jackson finally built up the nerve to talk to the Fiend. He had only just been in the clutches of a Dridder not too long before, and now he was coiled up in a Nagini’s tail. He guessed that demons were somewhat drawn to him, then shook the thoughts away, “Might I ask you something…”

“As long as you don’t move you can ask me anything…” She said rather matter-of-factly, pressing the wet rag against his chest. She then noticed his bleeding forehead and groaned in frustration, turning away from him again,

“Well… I guess this would be a good question to start with; are you planning on eating me?” Jackson asked plainly. The Nagini paused in what she was doing and turned back towards him with a playfully smile,

“Why of course I do~…” She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jackson felt his eyes widen and tried to squirm his way out of the snake-demon’s coils. But he just winced as they tightened around his legs again, “And that’s precisely why I’m trying to heal you!” The Nagini continued, revealing that she was kidding before, “Believe me human, if I’d wanted to eat you,” She rubbed her tummy with one hand as she soaked another rag with the other, “You’d be right here already…”

Jackson couldn’t help but gulp at the thought of being eaten alive while unconscious; would he even wake up before getting digested? He pushed the images out of his head and looked back at the Nagini, “So why are you healing me? I thought you Fiends only liked humans for food?” The Arcanist pondered,

“We Nagas have much greater respect for you humans. I thought an Arcanist would know that already?” She spoke softly, placing the wet cloth on his forehead. He smiled as the cool water relieved a bit of the pain, “Does that feel better?” She asked, slowly washing the gash on his chest. Jackson winced, but nodded. He was feeling a lot better now that he’d calmed down, “So what do others call you Human?”

“Jackson… you?”

“My name’s Vivian,” The Nagini said with a bright smile. Jackson felt sick to his stomach; she had the same name as his mother, “It’s a pleasure to meet you~!” She grinned. Jackson looked away from her, the memory of his mother’s and father’s deaths returning to his mind,

“Yeah… likewise…” He replied distractedly, before falling back to sleep.

Kaiden crouched low and held two fingers up, putting them into a fist.

"Stay low. Patrol ahead.", Kaiden whispered. Ahead of them was four commons, and a goat, the goat encumbered with random junk and equipment. "Stultus es stultus ineptum! Non amo te mater tua!", one of the commons yelled. The other one clawed at him, and the goat groaned in agony.

"Some sort of sandstorm's rolling in. We'll be able to move fast, and get out of this gorge.", Kaiden said. He grabbed his longcoat, Pulling it on over his head, his bandana up, and his glasses on. AJ put on her hoodie, Max whimpering from inside Logan's jacket.

"Here's a bandana and a dust mask. Take 'em.", Kaiden said, giving his extras to his friends.

Kaiden pulled out an arrow and flicked it once, the arrow turning into the thick rock that the land was composed of.

He strung it and fired at the rear common, taking him out instantly, but silently.

"Move up. Logan, head left. AJ, head up to distract them. I'll get 'em before they get a good look at you. Let's go.", Kaiden ordered. Logan went to the rear and pulled out his Venator Rifle-a last resort. AJ walked up a few dozen feet in front of the commons.

"Quis est infernum!?", the lead common asked.

"Faciem tuam! Faciem tuam!", AJ responded-the only Latin she knew meaning, "your face!".

One of them yelled "HUH!?", questionably.

They both stood in a line, next to the massive, load-bearing goat. The one behind the 'leader' fell dead, the goat making a "Baaa" sound as the dead demon fell against him. The leader turned around, and felt an arrow slam through his neck before he too, collapsed to the ground, the light fading around the Common as he slowly froze to death. Then, the goat reared up, groaned ferociously, and shook all of the junk off of his back, starting to charge towards AJ. Kaiden took an arrow, quickly lit it on fire, and let the arrow fly.

It slammed into the goat's fur, alighting the tangled, gray mess, only enraging it as it flew towards AJ.

Kaiden quickly reacted and pulled out the explosive arrow. It was a large, barbed ball of scrap metal.

The archer flicked the arrow on fire, a fuse that was mounted to the arrow shaft lighting. He tensed, got the balance of the arrow, and finally, let go.

The shaft traveled through the sky, arching in a perfect curve towards the Goat's massive head as he charged towards AJ, who had her Katana ready. It slammed it's head on the ground, shaking her, and knocking the frail girl down.

The shaft suddenly hit, impacting the Goat's head, and exploding in a brilliant, bright flame, pieces of shrapnel and gore flying everywhere as the goat fell to the ground, his head, and most of his neck dead.

Kaiden ran forward to assess the Goat's carcass, when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him tightly.

He immediately blushed, as the arms were too light to be Logan's. Then the grip released and he felt a kiss on his cheek.

Kaiden didn't speak, a little overwhelmed, muttering out, "Wha-what was that for?".

AJ said "You kinda rescued my sorry ass right there.", giving him a sweet smile.

Logan walked up and smiled, patting Kaiden on the back.

"The edge of the canyon's right ahead. Let's move.", Kaiden said, still a bit giddy from the hug... and kiss.

The group walked over to the canyon, everybody looked right, then left. The only way across that anybody could tell was a small strip of land about a foot wide. "Was anyone a gymnist?" asked Logan sarcasticly as he began to balance himself on the slim bridge. When he was about ten feet out the rest of the group began to follow. That would have been good progress ussually but the canyon was several hundred feet wide.

"Were almost halfway there!" yelled Logan to the rest of the group. "That's it I'm turning back!" yelled A.J. but before she could a huge explosion of plasma destroyed the section of the bridge behind her. About 50 feet away on the side of the cliff appeared three Mantises. "Mantis!" yelled Kaiden as he took out his bow and shot an arrow, hitting the Mantis but was deflected by the thick skin.

Logan aimed his Venator rifle, flipped to birst fire on the selector switch, and fired a burst of 3 rounds into a Mantis's leg causing it to lose it's balance and falling back down the cliff. The remaining Mantises fired their plasma arms again hitting right below the bridge. Logan aimed his rifle up and put his finger over the grenade launcher's trigger. He fired a grenade to far down and the Mantises were unaffected, they fired another barrage of plasma this time hitting right below where Logan was standing causing him to fall. "Fuuuuu" yelled Logan as he fell, he didn't have long he reloaded his grande in mid air, took aim and fired dead center of the two causing them to fall down to the bottom of the cliff.

Kaiden looked down, aimed, and fired an arrow attached with a rope. "Catch!" yelled Kaiden as the arrow flew past the falling Logan. Logan stuffed his rifle into his pouch, zipped it up, and reached for the rope getting a grip and sliding down a few meters before coming to a complete stop. It took about ten minutes of pulling but the group finally got Logan back on the narrow bridge. "Thanks guys, but I would have survived the fall." laughed Logan.

Jackson groaned as he slowly got to his feet, placing a hand on his aching chest; he immediately regretted doing so, as another stab of pain shot through his whole body. He wasn’t going to be doing any kind of fighting for a while. He sighed, glancing over to where the Nagini, Vivian, was coiled up and sleeping rather soundly. He wondered how long he’d slept, but judging by the fact that he was wide awake now, he was sure he had gotten a good nine hours’ worth. He stretched his arms, wincing as his back popped once, twice, three times before he relaxed again.

He grabbed his jeans, boots, and socks, leaving his belts and, what remained of, his shirt were they were folded; he grimaced as he saw that Vivian had ripped apart his scarf in order to use the pieces as cleaning rags. He slipped on his footwear and pants, carefully walking up a small incline towards the cavern’s entrance. He soon found himself overlooking a massive lake of bubbling lava, with a large pillar of blackened rock jutting up out of its center.

He whistled appreciatively at the size of the formation, having not remembered seeing such a massive column during his last “visit” to the Slip. He scowled at the memories and shook them from his head, looking around to see if there was an easy way out of the rocky bowl he was in. A small footpath to direct right of the cavern’s mouth looked as though it would get him to the top; but then as his eyes drifted even farther upwards, he was unsure if he would want to take the route.

Above him was a large stone bridge that extended across the molten sea and connected the mainland to the top of the obsidian column. He could now hear the babblings of multiple demons that were probably patrolling the bridge, all speaking in Latin; the Tongue of Magic as the Guild would refer to it. How Vivian ever got him down here without the legions seeing him, he’d never know; or for that matter, even want to know.

“What are you looking for?” Vivian nearly made Jackson jump off the edge in fright; the Nagini had slithered up behind him so quietly the Jackson didn’t even hear here,

“Don’t sneak up on me like that!” Jackson barked, his tattoos glowing a little. Vivian merely closed her eyes and smiled at him in a way that mainy people would’ve called cute; Jackson just found it annoying though, “Stop that… I’m not a morning person…”

“But it’s not mor-” Vivian began, but Jackson cut her off before she could finish,

“I’m not a Slip person!” He grunted, turning away from her and looking back up towards the bridge, “So… what’s atop the column over there?” He asked. Vivian frowned a little, as if disgusted by the sight of the towering pillar,

“Desparatus Keep… home of the Higher Demon, Gehennae…” She said rather softly, her tone rather loathing, “He is the most powerful demon within this Region of the Slip… and likewise has a most impenetrable fortress,”

“What Element does he control?” Jackson frowned,

“Fire… pure flames of evil… they burn as black as the darkest void and never go out unless he wishes them to…”

“Sounds like you’ve met him before…”

“No… not personally anyway… my brother acts as Gehennae’s right hand…” Vivian’s gaze drifted away from the column, and she began to slither back into her cavern, “He was the one who told me about the Higher one’s so-called greatness…”

“Then why do you live in this hole?” Jackson asked, following after her, “Surely your brother would offer you a place to stay within the Keep?” Vivian turned on him so suddenly that it made the Arcanist flinch,

“My brother doesn’t even remember I exist anymore!” She wailed, tears forming in her eyes, “Ever since Gehennae recruited him, he became more and more corrupt… his usual lovely yellow flames turning such an ugly red…” She trailed off, weeping softly at the recollections. Jackson understood, at least to an extent; Vivian’s brother must be an Ash Naga, a controller of fire, which is probably why Gehennae, a Higher Demon and fire manipulator himself, would’ve employed him. But how could anyone forget their sister, or any member of their family for that matter? He’d always heard that Nagas remained in contact with their fellow hatchlings.

Jackson wondered if Gehennae’s mere presence had frightened the Ash Naga into abandoning Vivian, or maybe he’s just been instilled with so much power that it’s affected his mind somehow. Either way, Vivian had been emotionally scarred by her own brother… and Jackson didn’t like that. He scowled and walked past the crying Nagini, beginning to notch his belts into place,

“W-what are you doing?” Vivian sniffled, slithering closer to him, “You should get some more rest!”

“I’m going to pay a visit…” Jackson said plainly, carefully sliding his shit over his head and tucking it into his jeans,

“To who? Who could you possibly…” Vivian’s eyes widened in realization, “You’re not thinking of going up to the Keep!?”

“No I’m not thinking about it,” Jackson turned back towards the mouth of the grotto, turning back to mimic Vivian’s earlier smile, “I am going up there!”

“B-but… but! You’re not ready! Your wounds could still open up!” Vivian pleaded, grabbing hold of the Arcanist’s arm; her strength easily stopping him in his tracks,

“Vivian… let go,”

“No! I won’t let you go up there and get slaughtered!”

“Then come with me! I could use the help… and besides…”

“Besides what?”

“We’re going to see your brother after all… I thought you’d love to come...”

Kaiden felt a strangely cold breeze rip through his shoulders.

He turned around and saw that, over the horizon, there was only one sun peaking over the canyon that he had past nearly two hours ago.

"We need to find shelter. If the Slip is dangerous in the day, I can only imagine what it would be like at night.", Kaiden stated.

AJ nodded and agreed, pulling her jacket out of the pouch. Max stuck her head out and looked around, whimpering and going back inside the pouch.

"We could use Logan's pouch...", AJ added.

Logan laughed and shrugged. "But it'll be cold in there, and it's filled with stuff. Plus, I'm not leaving it for some pack-goat and Commons to find.", Logan said.

Kaiden nodded.

"Well there's plenty of canyons with caves. If we can get inside one of those we should be fine in Logan's pouch."

"Uggghh... Fine. Let's find a cave.", he acknowledged.

After an hour of walking the group found a decently sized cave, with a narrow opening that no demon could fit through. It actually took a bit of pulling and shoving to get Logan in. Logan had placed the jacket on the ground and AJ was inside the pouch, cleaning herself up.

Logan and Kaiden were setting up a base camp in the cave, which would later function as a hideout and stronghold in the Slip.

Kaiden was making a campfire out of three onyx stalactites, which had proven quite flammable in the cave.

Logan was making a barricaded door out of junk the commons had scrounged and put in Logan's pouch-without his knowing.

"So we use the campfire to keep us warm, and one of us keeps guard in the cave while the other two sleep in the pouch?", Kaiden asked, banging the two rocks together to try and make the small fire bigger.

Logan nodded in approval. "Yeah. We take two hour shifts. Who goes first?", Logan asked.

A hand shot out of the pouch, looking quite awkward in the flat as a pancake jacket.

"I will!", the muffled voice of AJ said.

Kaiden nodded. "We'll have to remember this location.", he added, pulling out a primitive object, and calculated their LAT/LONG. It was very distorted in the Slip, but it gave a clear enough location.

At that moment, AJ slipped out of the pouch, Max in her hands. AJ was wearing a gown made of patchwork clothes. She seemed relatively clean for being in the Slip, and Max's coat was shining.

"I haven't worn this in forever..", she said, sitting down on the jacket to keep clean.

"I think we'll be safe enough in this shelter. Safer than the collapsed building in the real world.", Kaiden said.

AJ nodded, reaching into the pouch and pulling out her Katana.

"You two get some sleep. It's really comfy in there, if you manage to avoid hitting the masses of objects Logan has in there.", AJ added.

Logan put a massive brace over the door, locking it.

"Night guys!", Logan said, squeezing himself into the strange room sized pouch.

Kaiden chuckled and followed him, waving goodnight to AJ.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no, yo, yo, yo, oh no you didn't. Sucka tried to play me, but you didn't pay me, neva." sang out Logan's music player as he slept happily withint the confines of his own pouch. He grunted as he dreamt of one of the several days past.

Logan's father, Wade, slammed his mace into the head of a common. Next to him Logan's mother, Carla, ripped out the liver of a gremlin with a sickle. Logan was only seven so he used a bowie knife to the best of his abilities as his older sister Donna took out a Goat 100 meters out with the Venator rifle. Logan ran up and stabbed an imp with the bowie knife killing the small monster instantly.

Wade: Keep it up son and I'll trade that bowie knife and the couch for a bowie sword for you.

Carla: Wade don't bother, he won't last that long.

Donna: That was a little uncalled for mom, he is your son afterall, you gave birth to him.

Carla: That was the easy part, this world is no place for a child we'd be better off getting some kind of wizard to duplicate a soldier for us.

Wade: You are talking nonsense again dear.

Logan just listened as he cleaned the blood off his knife. Before he could finish the memory though he was woken up by A.J. for his shift to watch the entrance.

Part 10[]

Morning came quickly. Kaiden pulled on his gear again, the others doing the same.

"Lock the door behind you.", Kaiden said, pulling his hood on. Logan pulled out the key, an uneven wood block from the junk Chto and Syreu had collected.

Three metal latches slammed shut over the chainlink-door, as the group shoved through the narrow slot.

The three, plus Max, exited the small, boulder-crevice, and trailed back up the canyon.

Three hours later, the suns were high, nearly even, as it was, according to Nether-time, dead noon. The gang was at what appeared to be an endless plain, random rock formations and plateaus existent, but far and few between.

Kaiden wiped the sweat off of his head, his now-somewhat-long hair only causing the sweat on his head to intensify.

AJ wiped her head, sweating enormously.

"God fucking damnit, it's hot.", she murmured. It felt like the heat was also intesifying. Logan had his haired tied back in a ponytail.

"HOLY!", AJ yelled, falling back unto the red-dust. Kaiden stumbled a bit, a rock kicking beneath his feet. The rock flew forward, but instead of hitting the ground, it fell, the energy propelling it far off of a spontaneous cliffside, which seemed to be a flat wall of rock that fell into a massive lake of lava. When it hit the lake of magma, the rock immediately turned red, then completely melting. Canyons from all around led into this lake, and on the other side was a mountain range with what appeared to be black snow near the top.

In the center of the lake was a tall tower of red rock, with small roads carved up the pillar of rock. At the top was a church of sorts, and a massive manor. There was a bridge to the left of where the gang was, the supports and bracing of the bridge made of a refined version of the red rock, magma flowing within the cracks of the stone. The actual bridge seemed to be made of a black-rock, almost tar like. The bridge was fortified with gates made of the same material, and within were armored warriors walking throughout. They were armed with Obsidian axes, or hammers of the same material, their armor a stone-gray rock with red jewels throughout.

At the end of the bridge was the church and mansion, as they seemed to be side by side, almost merged together. They were made of a darkish-gray stone, windows made of a diluted-obsidian like substance. There were cages at the edge of the plateau, filled with pure-demon spawn creatures, who were unable to get out. Possibly a last resort.

"Either a great oasis, or a death-trap. Either way, they sure love Obsidian.", Logan stated, starting towards the gate.

"Slink." said Logan as he trudged across the barren cliffside, stepping around a small puddle of lava.

AJ walked forward, slightly faster than the rest, and stopped ahead of them, eying the massive island. "So what?", AJ asked. "Are we just gonna' go in head first, in some crazy-ass frontal assault? We may be tough, but that's insane. Practically a suicide mission.", AJ added.

Kaiden agreed. "We need a plan.", he said, kneeling down to draw in the sand.

AJ emerged in front of the gate.

"Uhh! Hola! Bonjour! Guten.. Tag! Arrivederci!", she yelled in different languages, the many patrolman turning a suspicious eye.

Climbing along the ledge of the bridge, silently, as the guards focused their attention on AJ. Kaiden pulled out a lunchbox with duct tape on it, and stuck it to the ledge.

Logan was positioned farther away, and to the right, aiming straight at one of the guards.

AJ slowly unsheathed her Katana, and Kaiden moved back unto the ledge, sliding down unto the cliff.

Logan took aim at the guard nearing AJ.

He noticed that he seemed to be held together by magic, only the armor actually existing. In between the plates of armor, there was empty space. Logan chambered a bullet and prepared to fire.

"?", the guard cocked his head as he neared AJ.

"Fuck you!", she exclaimed.

The Venator Rifle's bullet rocketed through the air, impacting the guard's helmet, and sending it flying off, the magic-conjuration collapsing to the ground as a pile of armor.

At that moment Kaiden hit a small detonator that he was holding, the lunchbox detonating, an explosion sending a section of the bridge into pieces.

The guards reeled from the blow and stood up, charging at AJ. She prepared her Katana, holding it in a defensive position.

A guard at the far end of the bridge pulled a lever, the gate opening slowly.

The first guard approached AJ.

"Fuckin 'a.", she said, slicing at the first guard. It went straight through his neck, coming out of the other end with a breeze.

"GAH!", the conjuration yelled, sending the axe at AJ. The object shattered as a bullet was sent through it, Logan smiling to himself.

AJ sliced at the guard's head, only to be deflected by the tough material.

Kaiden fired an arrow at the guard, knocking his helmet off, that guard too, falling into a pile. Three guards rushed at the two, Kaiden kicking one back and knocking a solid, cestus-reinforced fist into his helmet, permanently imploding it. The guard, knocked senseless, stumbled back unto another, and they fell down. Kaiden heard alarms blaring from above, horns ringing in his ears. Logan ran up to the group and fired his Venator Rifle at one of the guards, knocking him back too.

"Cannons!", Logan yelled, noticing cannons appear from the ramparts surround the mansion.

"Relax! They won't fire on their own bridge.", Kaiden said, sprinting to a guard near the railing of the bridge. He grabbed the warrior's leg, thrusting it upwards and sending the guard for a tumble, as he fell a few hundred feet to the lake of molten below.

Kaiden chuckled at the guard, only to be met with the blunt force of a hammer to the face.

The archer didn't make a sound as he was knocked unconscious.

The patrolmen all heard a voice ring through their helmets.

"Keep them alive...", the ominous voice said. Farther back, Logan yanked out his Bowie sword, sending the massive object into one of the patrolmen, the force sending his torso-armor flying, the other components falling limply.

AJ reached into her hoodie and grabbed a small machine-pistol, proceeding to fire the last-resort weapon the five guards all running towards her. The one with the hammer slammed it into her side, AJ gasping as the wind was knocked out of her. She collapsed on the ground and fired her pistol, taking out one of the guards before she felt a metal boot slam into her face.

Logan yelled as he saw his two friends fall to the conjurations.

He loaded a round into his scrap-grenade launcher, and fired it at the three guards coming towards him, their armor going flying. But they wouldn't stop coming. Twenty more emerged from within the ramparts of the mansion, and Logan knew he was about to be captured, or die.

He fired his Venator Rifle with one hand, his Bowie Sword in the other hand, parrying arrows from some of the 'Demon Archers'.

Five were approaching the young wastelander. "No!", he screamed, kicking one back, and shooting two others. They were unphased by their comrade's death.

The hammer-wielding one swung forward, being parried by Logan. Logan grunted as he felt another hammer being thrust into his ribs.

The warrior spun around quickly, the Bowie Sword slamming into the horned-helmet of one of his opponents. An arrow shot into his shoulder, and Logan yelled, in pain.

"Oi, buggar!", a deep voice replied.

Logan felt the world fading around him, but, in his confused daze, saw two, then three guards get blown apart by something. Then he saw the area where he was lying getting far away. He could hear a faint voice in the distance. His hearing faded in and out, same with his vision, each time Logan was farther away from the massive bridge. Then the wastelander felt himself being lifted from the ground. As that happened, his vision faded away.

Jackson nearly jumped out of his skin as the bridge above exploded, sending chunks of rock and stone tumbling down upon him and Vivian; the latter raising her tail over them to defend against the falling debris, “That happen often?” The Arcanist asked rhetorically, gazing up towards the destroyed crossing. He could barely make out a few armored beings gathered upon the edge of the destruction, and he could hear combat atop the cliff they were climbing; a battle between the legions of two Demon Lords perhaps? According to Vivian, Gehennae was an exceptionally powerful Higher Demon; the Arcanist had read of many a dark spell that pertained to the control of Black Flames, and none of them were a simple feat to perform. But what Jackson heard didn’t sound like the clashing of Obsidian weaponry, but the sound of Gunshots, bullets striking against armor, and the shouts of Humans.

The two reached the top of the narrow path, quickly taking cover behind a slab of volcanic rock so as not to alert anyone to their presence. Before them stood three humans, the same three Jackson had seen conversing with Dr. Morrigan; one was the young female Arcanist that he had met in the city earlier, another was a rather nimble looking Archer, and the last was a hefty looking man who was brandishing a Venator Rifle, sniping the armored beings from a distance. Actually, now that he was closer, the Arcanist could see that the “Armored Demons” were merely moving suits of armor without any wearers,

“Enchanted armor?” Jackson whispered in puzzlement, turning towards Vivian who was watching the fight with an equal amount of confusion, “I thought Gehennae could only control fire?”

“I… I thought so too… he manipulates flames of pure darkness… I didn’t know he could also enchant such warriors...” Vivian assured him, returning his gaze, “Please Jackson, don’t run into this blindly… There’s no way you’d survive…” She begged him once more,

“Don’t worry about that…” The Arcanist said, turning his gaze back towards the combat just in time to see a large vehicle roar out of the horizon soon after the last human was beat down by a pair of the enchanted suits, “I doubt I’ll even have the guts to charge into battle with those things…” He just watched as a large, armored man blasted away a group of the enchanteds with a grenade launcher of sorts, and quickly proceeded to carry each of the three combatants to the safety of his truck, and drive away with them.

Once the vehicle vanished from sight, the armor that was still well-enough intact began to reassemble themselves and return to their guard duties. Jackson glared at the suits, noticing that there were swirls of darkness wavering in the gaps; almost flame-like in appearance, “He is controlling them… those armors aren’t enchanted, they’re being moved by Black Fire somehow!” The Arcanist figured, scouring his memories for anything to do with elemental based, puppetry magic. Vivian really hadn’t exaggerated Gehennae’s power, but even Jackson didn’t think any demon could be this strong. The Arcanist bit his lip, glancing at an obsidian sword which was still laying by a shattered breastplate from one of the suits,

“Sorry Vivian… we’re not going to be visiting your brother… just yet…” He apologized before sneaking out of his cover, grabbing the sword, and returning to his Nagini companion, “But once I get used to this new blade, maybe personalize it a little, then we’re going to have a word with him and Gehennae…”

THREE HOURS AFTER ASSAULT

7:34 PM, SLIP TIME

Logan let out a breath. He slowly opened his eyes, his blurry vision becoming clear. He saw an unfamiliar rooftop above him, one made of plate metal, though worn and with signs of rusting. He felt a pillow under his head, one made of hay. Logan panicked, wondering where he was. He sat up, and looked around. He was in some sort of vehicle. He was lying on a small, pull out cot, the windows around him using metal blinds. Logan pulled his window open, and looked out. He was nowhere he had seen before, but still in The Slip. The last sun was still in the sky, fading slowly. The rev of an engine was instantly recognizable. He was in some sort of armored truck. Logan looked over, and saw another two cots on the other side of the truck. He sighed in relief as he saw his two friends lying on the two cots, still unconscious. There was a small table in the middle of the 'room', nailed down to prevent it from falling over.

Logan jerked violently as the truck went over a pothole, the pain in his shoulder intensifying. He had a bandage over where he had been hit by an arrow. He could see through a small window, partioned by a hatch that led to the front seat, that there was someone driving. Obviously.

That someone had a lack of hair atop his head. Though it surrounded the sides, and was a red color. The driver was rather fat, especially for a wastelander, but it could've been just an extra amount of food, and the man's genes.

He was older, maybe in his early fifties, and had stark green eyes, and a red beard. He was humming to the tune of Drunken Sailor, which Logan could faintly hear over the sound of the engine. The wastelander stood up from his cot, and noticed that he was bruised and cut. The man glanced back and then forward again, slowing down the truck. He stopped it completely, and pushed an arm over to the hatch, opening it.

"Hey there, mate.", the man said, gruffly saluting him and stepping over into the back area of the truck. Logan looked around, and saw his weapons lying in an open footlocker under the cot.

"What, no reply? Hah, you must be wondering who in the Queen's ass I am, eh?", the main stated once more.

Logan nodded.

"My name is Richard. Richard Talzid. But please, call me Rich.", the man, Rich, added.

Logan nodded again.

"You seem quiet. Sit down, and I'll explain everything.", Rich said. Logan took a seat on the cot, Rich leaning against the wall of the truck.

"Like I said, I'm Richard Talzid. I'm a scavenger. This truck we're in, her name is Baby. We've been through a lot. My story is, that I was up north in Nordica when I stumbled upon a massive gate like this one. Well, I had been with Baby for around 25 years, kept her clean and all. I felt like, what the hell, if we can fit through, it shouldn't hurt to go on a little expedition into the Slip. But then, the place fascinated me. I was virtually invincible inside Baby. I loved all the dangers, the creatures. I live out of this damn truck. So I scavenge rare items from the Slip, and keep 'em all in a cargo compartment right under our feet. But the truck is dying. And any surrounding towns outside the Slip seem to have a stunning lack of anything that Baby needs to survive. Five components, is all. But I can't fuckin' find em. So I stay around this area, around the massive lake. We're a good thirty kilometers away though, so don't worry. Anyways, I stay around here, only venture out when I need food or something. Goat meat is surprisingly delicious, albeit tough. And, it comes in massive amounts. And there is plenty of water in caves under the Slip, if you can get through. I was out looking for a spring when I heard gunshots at the fort over at the lake. Found you guys, pulled you out.", Richard told.

Logan looked outside.

"How did you get us out?", he asked.

Rich chuckled. "I'm a bit of a juggernaut. You see, I'm a bit of a blacksmith. With the right tools, I can make many things. Plus, what I brought with me. 1000 surplus .40 millimeter grenades, and a revolving-style grenade launcher, along with a suit of armor that I've found nothing can get through.", Rich added.

"This is the helmet.", Rich said, reaching over and grabbing a Crusader-style helmet. It was oversized though, and seemed like the neck was fitted for another piece of armor.

"Like I said, I'm a bit of a Juggernaut. The rest of the armor is inside this cabinet.", Rich said, pointing to a massive, metal safe.

"Well, I never got your name.", Rich stated.

(NOTE: This is a really big post, (I just partitioned it so Dan could post, so I'm writing notes. Those guards, they are pure dark magic with armor on top. So slicing through cracks in the armor slices through air. They are controlled by a certain Necromancer, and can only be controlled for so far before the 'signal' wears off, being why they are used just as guards. Also! Rich is wearing this armor: right here. Think of him in Fallout terms. He's a temporary companion you get to help you in the DLC. He's gonna help us get the music box. BUT! There's a side-quest to help get him the components, which can be found at the stronghold. And! His truck looks kinda like this, but it has a bigger, longer, fully enclosed back area, like an armored truck. Thats what is described in the post. I should do a map for the Slip... >.>)

"Logan is my name, Kaiden and A.J. are the others who seem to be knocked out still. Note there is a dog in that jacket too." Rich looked over to see the jacket hanging, "Oi, I haven't seen one of those in a long bloody time, they're worth more than some high caliber guns now adays."

"I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." replied Logan. "It was given to me by my sister only a few days before she died."

Rich bit his lip a little before he commented, "Well, lad, I know how that feels. I lost all eight of my' brothers over the course of this terrible day. We originally all survived together, but as time went by, we were picked off one by one by some mysterious figure who seemed to track us. He just stopped comin 'one day, after I got baby."

"That sucks." commented Logan as he stretched.

Kaiden grunted as he came to. He sat up in the cot he was in, seeing unfamiliar surroundings.

"Aye! You're friend is wakin' up.", Rich said.

Kaiden let the blanket fall from his chest, revealing a white muscle shirt, the old wound from their last major battle healing, a new group formed around his side and chest.

"Who are you? Where are we?", Kaiden asked, looking around.

"Relax, my name's Rich. You got your ass handed to you, if ye' don't mind me sayin'.".

Logan nodded. "He's lived out of this truck for a while, being a scavenger in the Slip. Saved us.", Logan added.

Kaiden looked back and saw AJ. He saw her asleep, and looked over towards Logan's jacket. Kaiden started to get up, but grunted in pain and sat back down.

"Max! Where is she?", Kaiden asked nervously.

Hearing his voice, Max jumped out of the jacket and ran over to Kaiden, licking his fingers, which were hanging off of the cot.

"There you are girl!", he said, petting her.

"Where are we headed?", Kaiden asked Rich.

"Your friend here mentioned that you all had some sort of stronghold closer to the portal. We're headed there. But we won't make it by nightfall, and it isn't good to travel at night in the route I'm takin'. I'll dig us in, and we'll spend the night here.", Rich said, going to the front of the truck and pulling a lever.

The truck's engine roared loudly, on the outside, the truck lowering close to the ground. Armored slots lowered over the massive tires, covering them completely, as the steps that helped Rich into the truck collapsed and dug into the ground.

The front of the truck, with a massive, elephant like skull mounted on it, rumbled even more, the front fender completely covering the space between it and the ground. The slotted windows slammed shut, a panel in the ceiling of the main rear cabin opening up, revealing three bright lights, which hung down, just a little bit. A similar light came on in the front cabin. The engine went off, everything going dark for a moment. It quickly lit back up, a much quieter buzz ringing under the front seat, a generator.

"If you need, there's a light switch right near the hatch to the front compartment. I'm off to sleep. We can talk more in the morning. Night lads.", Rich added finally, lifting up a storage space in the middle of the front truck, closing the door, and lying down.

Part 11[]

The Obsidian-blade of the guard's sword was nearly molten now, and Jackson strained to keep its former shape relatively intact as he fed the orange-hot stone with harder, much more sturdy pieces of other minerals and ores that he'd excavated from the walls of Vivian's cave. The Nagini stood beside him, watching his work with curiosity as the Arcanist fused the final piece into the near-liquid blade; a lengthy rod of iron to reinforce the somewhat fragile obsidian, copper, and silver sword. He would've reinforced the blade with the silver, but he couldn't find enough of the ore in order to make a similar rod to the iron one. Sweat nearly poured down his forehead, threatening to burn his eyes with its salty contents, but he was done; all he had to do now was cool the blade. The cave echoed with the loud hiss of cool water meeting heated stone and metal as Jackson slowly dipped the sword into the small pool of water with which Vivian had used to clean his wounds.

He glanced sideways at the blue haired Nagini and couldn't help but smile a bit; she'd saved his life despite being a Fiend, and for that he was eternally grateful and in her debt. He'd help her get her brother back, and he'd slay the demon who corrupted him. Slowly he removed the longsword from his makeshift forge and examined it carefully. He wasn't a blacksmith, but he could tell that the blade would hold up against greater duress. The previously smooth looking obsidian was now blemished by ugly shades of metallic brown and silver; but the new conglomeration of conductive metals would allow him to easily focus his storm magic through the sword and make them stronger. He expertly twisted and twirled the sword across his front, testing its weight; it was still perfectly balanced albeit a little heavier, but he would manage until he could obtain a good ol' fashioned, Human made weapon once he escape the Slip. He sheathed the blade, his enchanted scabbard instantly adjusting to the swords fit, and turned to Vivian,

"Now, there's still the matter of getting into the Keep..." He said, more to himself than to her. Vivian scowled at him, crossing her arms over her chest,

"You're still planning on confronting Gehennae? Even after you've seen what he's capable of?" She reprimanded him, glancing at his chest, "Even after I put so much effort in saving your life?"

"Fortitudo est cum Debilitas," Jackson quoted in the ancient tongue, "Strength is accompanied by Weakness; while Gehennae may be one of the most powerful beings in this region, he still has his flaws," He took a step closer to the demoness, pacing his hand on her shoulder, "And yes... I'm doing this because you worked so hard on keeping me alive. I'm going to make sure to get your brother back," He said firmly, gazing into her eyes. She gazed back, though her lovely blue eyes soon filled with tears. The Arcanist smiled at her reassuringly, "Don't worry, I don't plan on attacking that Keep alone. Which is why I need your help; are you at all gifted with detection, or tracking spells?"

Her expression turn from depressed to a look of slight cockiness as she put her hands on her hips, "I'm a Fiend, Jackson, we're gifted with all kinds of magic," Vivian smiled, winking at the Arcanist,

"Good," Jackson returned the playful grin and motioned for her to follow him to the mouth of the cave, "We need to find the other humans from earlier today," He said as he raised his hand over his head, "While I don't know them very well, they seemed rather capable, and I know one of their aura's fairly well,"

"So I take it you're not to good at tracking spells then?" the Nagini asked, slithering up next to him,

"That's right. I can create a motion sensing circle to detect auras within a certain area around me, but that's about it. Tracing someone's spirit from a great distance away is extremely difficult for me," A faint, orange strand of magic seemed to unravel from his raised hand, growing taunt and almost pointing towards the east, "She's in that direction, that's all I can tell," He grunted, the locating spell draining his mana reserves rather quickly. Vivian quickly memorized the essence of the young female Arcanist, and raised her hand to perform the same spell. The orange strand easily flowed from the Nagini's hand, rising up over the cliffs and out of sight; Jackson whistled appreciatively,

"Its all in the wrist," Vivian joked, letting the strand dissipate, "Shall we get going?"

"Lets," Jackson nodded, beginning to head up the footpath.

Kaiden stirred in his sleep, dreaming yet again of the roadside thugs that had murdered his father, and how Kaiden had proceeded to kill them, dropping them into a pit full of reek-spiders.

But the wanderer awoke as he heard a slight humming. He slowly opened his eyes, allowing his vision to focus on the metal plate ceiling. For a moment, he had forgotten where he was, and almost called out for help. The humming sound, whatever it was, was coming from an orange strand which had appeared over AJ's heart, seeming to pulse with power. Then it disappeared.

Kaiden sat up and grabbed his knife, looking around the room.

"AJ! Wake up!", he announced, awaking AJ and Logan. AJ opened her eyes and turned her head sideways.

"Why did you wake me up?", she asked calmly, yet with a slight tone of aggression. Logan looked to at Kaiden, stared for a second, then closed his eyes, not noticing any immediate danger. "There was some sort of orange beam,", Kaiden started, as the hum began again, immediately followed by the orange strand.

"What in god's name...?", AJ asked, sitting up and quickly tracing the strand with her index finger, figuring its destination at her heart. "I know what this is, Kaiden.", AJ asserted.

Kaiden cocked his head in question, as AJ continued. "It's a clairvoyant spell. An 'aura tracker', if you will. But how consistent it is shows that we have a very powerful mage that's tracking me. If we could follow the beam to the source, we could figure it out. But our best plan would be to wait, considering that by casting a spell like this they're making it obvious that they want to find us. I suggest we get our gear ready for whoever this is, and whatever they want from us.", she finished, taking a large breath.

Nightfall; but the Slip was never truly dark, at least not the Burning Expanse. The region controlled by Gehennae had so many volcanic areas and lakes of lava that it lit up the night sky just as much as the double suns. But there were still places where barely any light fell upon, places perfect for a Nocturn pack to hide in, waiting to strike. Jackson kept a firm grip on the hilt of his reforged sword, his thoughts conflicting within his head. On one hand; he hoped he could test his new blade out on an actual demon. On the other; he hoped he wouldn't have to use it before the raid on Desparatus Keep, especially not against the humans he was searching for, should they turn hostile; they were working for Morrigan after all. The air around them was completely quiet, giving off a calming and yet foreboding feeling; who knows what else could be lurking around there besides the Nocturns. He didn't want to break the silence, but he couldn't help but start whisper-singing,

"The King and his men stole the queen from her bed... and bound her in her bones..." Jackson sang softly, not knowing why he chose such a chilling ballad during such a time as this, but he'd already began and couldn't stop himself. Vivian glanced over to him, a slight smile appearing upon her face, "The seas be ours and by the powers... where we will we'll roam..."

"Yo-Ho... all hands... hoist the colors high..." Vivian suddenly began, her singing voice so beautiful that it was almost hypnotizing, "Heave-ho... theives and beggars... never shall we die..." Jackson chuckled a little at the talented demoness,

"I didn't know you could sing..." He grinned before continuing the song, "Now some have died and some are alive... and others, sail on the sea... with the keys to the cage and the devil to pay, we lay to fiddler's greed..." Vivian smirked a little,

"You never asked," She winked, "Yo-ho... all together... hoist the colors high...!" Jackson joined in, "Heave-ho, theives and beggars... never shall we die...!" He nodded for her to continue, enjoying the soothing sound of her voice, "The bell has been raised from its watery grave..."

"Hear its sepulchral tone... all call to all, pay heed the squall," Jackson took over,

"And turn your sails to home..." They both finished the third verse, smiling at each other's talents before continuing,

"Yo-ho, all together... hoist the colors high...! Heave-ho, theives and beggars... never shall we die...!" They repeated the chorus three times, all the while hiking and slithering over a natural bridge; a river of lava flowing far below them. Their voices had grown louder by the second repetition, and were echoing off the pillars of stone around them, giving the already eerie song an even eerier sound. It was almost like a whole chorus was in session during the late hours of the Slip. But as they reached to opposite end of the natural bridge, they lowered their voices down to almost a whisper,

"The king and his men stole the queen from her bed... and bound her in her bones... the seas be ours and by the powers, where we will we'll roam..." Their singing trailed off; the song complete as they gazed over a large flat expanse before them. There, not too far off in the distance, was the large vehicle that they had witnessed the humans escape in. The orange strand that unraveled from Vivian's hand was the brightest it has been and looked like a solid beam of energy; pulsing with the heartbeat of the young Arcanist within the mobile fortress.

"Go slow, and be careful. We have no idea who might be tracking us.", Kaiden said, his hand on the shoulder of Rich. The burly man nodded, his lights off. But no one could miss the dust plume that rose from the dirt the tires kicked up, or the loud sound of the engine. Kaiden sat back and grabbed his bow, just slightly adjusting the tension to compensate for the minor difference in gravity in the realm. It seemed in the ethereal world, everything had a default pull on it, and Kaiden was slightly heavier.

Rich made a sharp turn, avoiding a sinkhole that was sized perfectly for the truck. "Well lass, the strand is a lot bigger now, and the pulses seem to come more often. We're probably close. Could be beyond this pass...", Rich announced. AJ nodded as the man continued. "But I've been to this location. The 'natives' seem to call it Excors Saltum, which I believe translates to... Idiot's Pass. Or idiot's forest, I was never good at translating. The area is peppered with sinkholes and loose dirt, probably from where this massive, barren rock formed from. It's filled with who knows what. Area gets no sunlight, ever. But we should be fine if we just stay in Baby and keep quiet, we should be fine."

The truck started up the narrow incline, the heavy plating brushing away a few boulders that were blocking the entrance. As the truck was engulfed in the malicious darkness of the massive cliffs, a blood curdling screech erupted from the black, echoing in the shadows. Rich slammed the brakes and started to back up, but too late, as a pale claw emerged from the right of the vehicle, pounding the clawed fist into the windshield of the car. It screamed again as it grabbed the truck by a tire and with some strain shoved it on its side, the four within tumbling. Logan grunted as he was knocked out, Rich barely moving as the group was thrown about in the car, the beast now proceeding to shake it and damage it as much as possible.

"Damnit! This thing is always asleep at this time!", Rich yelled, trying to unjam himself from the seat. Kaiden sat up quickly and grabbed Logan's Venator Rifle, chambering a bullet. He never used guns but it was a desperate measure. The archer unbarred the main door and kicked it open, running outside to get the beast's attention. It turned towards Kaiden and screamed. The beast turned towards him. It looked vaguely like a Nocturn, but had many features that proved it to be a Fiend. However, the creature didn't seem to be capable of using magic, that was, until it looked over at Kaiden. The beast turned, waving it's disproportionate, long, clawed arms at Kaiden, and opened it's mouth. "DEOREM IGNIS!", it screamed, Kaiden jumping out of the way as a thundering crack followed the scream out of the beast's mouth, a plume of flame scorching Kaiden as he jumped out of the way.

"Damnit! Logan! Help!", Kaiden screamed, firing erratically at the beast. It tossed the door aside, grabbing Kaiden, who fired the weapon at the demon once more.

"SOMEONE!", Kaiden screamed, until he heard a door open, and saw a bolt of frost hit the beast in the arm. AJ had ripped her jacket off and with one hand wielded her Katana, almost stabbing the beast until she was thrown aside.

Vivian gasped as she glanced at the aura strand yet again; the pulsing was growing rapid, which meant that the young Arcanist's heart was pumping harder within her chest. Jackson raised an eyebrow at her sudden mood change, glancing at the strand himself,

"Is that bad?" He asked, not having a whole lot of experience with locating spells. Vivian shook her head slightly,

"I can't tell, but its not necessarily good," She answered, looking into the canyon ahead; the high cliffs on either side completely obscured the suns' light, making it very dark, "This is Excors Saltum... Idiot's Pass," She pointed out, "Named so because only fools would enter this place..."

"And why's that?" Jackson asked, glaring into the darkness after the intensely bright orange string of magic,

"Well its full of sink holes and bottomless pits for one... and it's also the lair of a ferocious demon Fiend known as Portentum... the lord of the Nocturns," She explained, glancing back at him, "Which means this Arcanist's heart could be racing because they're in peril!"

"Well what're we waiting for! We're so close now, I'm not just going to leave them to die," the Arcanist growled, suddenly rushing head-long into the darkness, following the aura strand. Vivian rushed after, quickly grabbing Jackson by the scruff of his shirt before he could run right into one of the pits she'd warned him about, "Whoa... thanks hon..." He breathed,

"Here, follow me. I can see in this darkness. You can't," She smiled, slithering around the hole.

Kaiden could barely breath, the monster's grip was so tight around his body; Its eyes bore down upon him like two dim, massive, red lights,

"Homines... indu meum cubile? Cur invadat super somno!?" The creature's voice echoed throughout the canyon, and Kaiden wished he could cover his ears, "Non materia... haec misellus mortalium esse optimum convivium filii..." It was speaking in the ancient language, so Kaiden had a bit of trouble understanding what exactly it was saying; he had a gut feeling that he didn't want to know however,

"K-Kaiden!" AJ screamed, attempting to slash at the beast's ankles, but a Nocturn quickly got in her way and caused her to back up in caution. The only light came from "Baby's" high-beams, which left a large portion of the canyon in darkness. But even if she couldn't see them, she could defiantly hear them; Nocturns all around, crawling up the walls of the canyon, and watching their every move. The massive Nocturn cackled loudly, almost mocking the Bladeswoman,

"Parvulus bucula difficilis via nititur, sed frustra ... vos videre unusquisque in tenebris vacuum mox licet. Nunc mori in agone!" The beast's clawed hand came down upon AJ, who leapt out of the way as the ground beneath the monster's appendage crumbled against the blows force, "MOVENDI!" The ground shook once more, this time caused by the Fiend's magic, and knocked her off her feet,

"Alice!" Kaiden shouted, struggling to get free. The beast tightened its grip around him though, and he yelled out in pain as a faint crunch sounded from within his torso,

"No! Kaiden!" AJ cried out to him; the monster couldn't seam to stop its laughter,

"Te videre, meum? Quam infirma mortalium sunt? Quare nos festum super carnem? Nos sunt maior entia! Potest non perdidit per similia his vermiculos!" It howled in sadistic pleasure as it threw Kaiden's limp body against the side of the canyon. AJ quickly hurried to his side, and was glad to see he was still alive, "Hmm... Haec pestes sunt fortior quam sunt ... sed sunt adhuc cimices pugnae tempestas!" The monster lumbered towards the two survivors, opening its massive jaws in order to end their lives. But then;

"Hey! Here, you great bloomin' lizard! I'll give ya somethin' to chew on!" Rich shouted, shooting the Fiend in the side with his Grenade Launcher. The beast wailed in pain at the intense heat, reeling back as another, then two more grenades struck against its hide,

"AIIIIEEEE!!! IGNIS!! ARDET!! CARO MEA ARDET!!!!" The massive Nocturn roared, shaking the walls of the cliffs around them; the roars of a thousand other Nocturns echoed in response to their master's pain. Rich rushed over to AJ and Kaiden, quickly looking them over,

"Everyone alright?" The juggernaut questioned, glancing over his shoulder just in time to spin around and bash a Nocturn in the snout with the butt of his Grenade Launcher, "Don't even think about it!" He crushed the lizard's head under his armored boot,

"I... I think I might have a few broken ribs..." Kaiden winced, clutching his side. Rich gripped the underside of his overturned truck and, with a great heave, turned it back over on its wheels,

"Can ya walk lad?" Rich demanded, taking out a trio of Nocturns that were rushing towards them with a single shot,

"I think so..." The Archer grunted, getting to his feet with AJ's help,

"Get back in the truck! I'll cover you!" Rich ordered, firing off a few more grenades into the darkness, lighting up the canyon with orange explosions. He could barely make out the shape of the massive Nocturn once again charging towards them,

"Non fuga vestra!" It screamed as it came into the light from the truck,

"OH PISS OFF!" Rich cursed; firing another 'nade towards the monsters open jaw,

"AD MITTENTIS!" The Nocturn shouted, reversing the grenade's trajectory and sending it right back at Rich!

"Oh bloody-GAH!" Rich grunted in pain as he was sent flying by the explosion, crashing against the dark wall of the canyon,

"Rich!" AJ yelled after their comrade,

"I'm fine love, get Kaiden back in the truck!" The Juggernaut's thick accent sounded from out of the darkness, and Alice quickly obeyed. The armored scavenger quickly came back into the light of his truck; his armor a little scorched, but otherwise unharmed, "Oi! Was that the best you got, you oversized gecko!"

"Tu pro tua insolentiam, mortale! Te poenas!" The monster snapped at him,

"Yack, yack, yack. I can't bloody understand ya! So you might as well shut your bleedin' trap!" Rich snapped back, prompting a ear-splitting roar from the Nocturn, "Oh boy... I think I just pissed 'im off even more..." The human grumbled, bracing himself for whatever came next,"

"ULTIMA SERA!!" A blinding flash of destructive lightning suddenly exploded outwards from the darkness beyond the gigantic Nocturn, striking it against its already burnt side,

"GYAAAAHHH!!! MAGIS CALOR!! MAGIS INTOLERABILIS CALOR!!!" Portentum shrieked in agony, turning towards its new attacker: a silver-haired Arcanist with glowing tribal tattoos,

"Hey. Lovely weather we're having huh?" Jackson smirked.

Logan woke up hearing explosions and screams. "I'm not in Vegas am I?" asked Logan to A.J. who suddenly was dragged away from the truck by a pair of reptillians arms. "Oh great not this situation again, Kaiden where is my rifle?" screamed Logan as he hopped out of the truck with his Bowie Sword. "Funny thing about that...." replied Kaiden. "YOU LOST MY FUCKEN GAUSS RIFLE!?" yelled Logan over all the other noise. "You Mr.Fancy Spells, did you see him lose my rifle?" adressed Logan to Jackson as he decapitated a Nocturn. Jackson shrugged as he continuely battled with the giant beast with help from Rich's grenade launcher.

"Quick Logan get A.J.!" yelled Kaiden. "Oi I'm working on it." answered Logan as he swung his sword again cutting the chest open of a Nocturn revealing it's set of pitch black lings. "Ewww they look just like my Aunt Tracy's." commented Logan. The Nocturn that had grabbed A.J. then began to drag her up a small rock formation away from the fighting. "I'm not the best climber," commented Logan as he reversed his grip on the sword, "But I was always good at throwing darts." finished Logan as he threw his massive sword into the air and into the back of the Nocturn killing it instantly causing both it and A.J. to fall. "Fuuuu.." said Logan as he ran to catch A.J.

"Boy I need you to man the turret!" yelled Richard as he pushed a 40mm grenade into his launcher and fired it at a small group of Nocturns. "Oi I gotcha." replied Logan as he handed A.J. to Kaiden. "The Nocturn bit her, those things aren't venomous are they?" "I'm not sure." replied Kaiden as he looked at the bite mark. "Not a doctor." said Logan as he gave Kaiden a thumbs up in a sarcastic manor. "But," Logan started as he climbed into the drivers seat of the Truck and grabbed a hold of the turret controls, "I am a man of other talents."

The turrets on the truck then began to set the area to ablaze with 40mm grenades hitting nocturns left and right. "Ooooo what's this button do?" asked Logan to himself as he pushed a button that fired a rocket from somewhere on the truck into the incoming hord of nocturns. After the rocket exploded a second explosion occured spreading napalm everywhere. Nocturns were not a big fan of napalm. "In the words of some guy or girl I have never met nor will I ever, Burn baby burn...."

Jackson carefully headed over towards the Van and the armored human, being sure to keep his eyes upon Portentum; the Fiend was the biggest threat, though the Nocturns around them were a close second. Logan was on the trucks turrets though, wasting any and all of the the reptilian beasts that popped out of the darkness, "Thought you could use some help..." He joked, standing side-by-side to the juggernaut, Rich.

"Magis damnant mortales ... veniunt ad domum, ardens caro mea et parricidium filii ... Non habere!" Portentum fumed, his eyes locking with those of Jackson's, "Ego sumPortentum! Princeps Nocturnam! Mera mortalibus posse stare contra potestatem ... non etiam de Seraphim sanguinis! Vos omnes putrescet in vacuum!" The massive Nocturn boasted, stomping the ground and causing the whole canyon to tremble,

"Te sunt nihil! Filii tui sicut et infirmi Nunc quam similis hoc, o magna nefas de Nocturnam!" Jackson sneered in the ancient tongue; drawing his new sword and holding it out so that the truck's headlights could shine upon it, "OBTENEBRANS MISSAS!" A massive flash of blinding light seamed to emanate from his blade, lighting up the whole area with a white-blue glow; much to the Fiend's frustration,

"Maledictus lux signifer! Te audeo labe mea cubile cum impia splendor!?" Portentum wailed, shielding his eyes from the brilliance. Jackson only smiled and waited, turning towards the armored truck,

"Oi! Mr. Flashy Gun guy! Now'd be a good chance to take down more of those Nocturns while you can see them!" He shouted at the other survivors. The armored warrior suddenly seamed rather surprised at something, "Well I'll be... Is that you Jackson?" Rich asked, tilting his helmeted head a bit,

"Hey Rich... it's been a while," the Arcanist returned, smiling at the elderly scavenger, "How's your brothers?"

"Dead I'm afraid..." Rich grunted, "But how've you been? Damn... what has it been? Sixty years?"

"Sixty? I think you need to recalculate old man!" The Arcanist laughed; turning to look at the canyon wall above the writhing Portentum. There, on a ledge high above the Nocturn Fiend, was Vivian poised and ready for Jackson's signal.

Ten minutes ago...

Jackson and Vivian quickly but cautiously made their way through the canyon, killing a few Nocturns as they leapt out at them,

"God I hate these things!" Jackson spat, keeping pace next to the slithering Nagini, "If we kill Portentum, will it kill off his offspring as well?" Vivian turned towards him; her face presenting mixed emotions,

"Yes, and that's exactly why we're NOT going to kill him!" She stated as if any kind of argument Jackson would have otherwise didn't matter,

"Then how the hell are we supposed to defeat him then!?" The Arcanist demanded,

"We'll Seal him away within his own lair," Vivian smiled confidently. Jackson looked upon her with a mixture of "good idea!" and "how in the hell will that work?"

"I thought only lesser demons and below could be sealed away? How're you going to seal Portentum, a Fiend?" He questioned; Vivian smiled at her own intelligence,

"ANYTHING can be sealed if the "container" is large enough Jackson. It doesn't matter if its demon, human, or anything in between," She explained, stopping as they saw the light from the armored truck and the looming shape of the dreaded Fiend, "Just keep him distracted and away from the vehicle for a minute or two,"

"Alright..." The Arcanist nodded, trusting the demoness, "I'll give you a signal when he's clear of the truck! Good luck... and be careful!" He grinned. She returned the smile and slithered off into the darkness and out of sight. Jackson watched after her for a moment before turning back towards Portentum, focusing his magical aura.

Current time...

Jackson waved his arms up at Vivian, trying to signal her to attack, but he soon realized that his own blinding spell might also be obstructing him from her vision, "Shit!" Jackson cursed, glancing at Rich and his grenade launcher, "Hey, old man, do those Grenades explode over time?"

"They sure do, why?" The juggernaut pondered. Jackson didn't answer; he quickly rushed over, grabbed the launcher out of the scavenger's hands, and fired off a single shot into the air, "Oi! What in the blazes are you doing boy?" The Arcanist didn't have time to explain. The grenade detonated in midair, in full view of everything within the vicinity of the truck; its smoke partially obscuring a bit of Jackson's blinding spell. The Bladesman shouted with joy as he saw Vivian suddenly dive from her perch; landing on Portentum's back and quickly coiling herself around the beast's massive throat,

"Quid est hoc!? Quod est sensus talis proditione!? Nos sunt conservus demones, Nagini!" Portentum demanded, trying to grab at Vivian and throw her off, "Quid senserant cum cibum!?"

"Quia sunt damnabilis monstrum qui debet imprisonetur, Portentum!" Vivian spat at him, constricting around the monster's throat even more. The massive Nocturn began gasping for air, clawing at the Nagini's coils to no avail; Vivian's scales were harder then diamonds. Finally the monster collapsed onto all fours, trying its hardest to stay conscious,

"Vos... solvet... enim perfidiam... Nagini!" Portentum wheezed, clawing at the rocky floor of the canyon. Vivian raised her hands over her head, clutching one tightly in the other,

"Signa bestia. Signa bestia. Signati aeternum intra sua. A Sigillum quinque, perpetua omnes; aeternum Signatum usque mortis vocant!" The Nagini chanted, a blue shard of magical energy appearing between her palms as she spread her hands apart, "Portentum, ego vinculorum vobis!" She smashed the crystal-like conjuration against the Nocturn's forehead and leapt to safety as the monster turned ethereal,

"A sigilli!? Non! Ab his similia non signatum; M-maledicentibus vobis! Maledicam omnes..." Portentum screamed, his voice slowly fading away as his form was split into five, fiery blue orbs. The burning spheres hovered over the ground for a moment, orbiting around the space where the whole creature had once stood, then suddenly shot downwards, bursting against the ground and leaving five runic symbols engraved into the rock; connected together by a circular design,

"Ha! Got him!" Jackson cheered, "Nice one, Vivian!" He smiled as the Nagini slithered towards them. Rich cautiously raised his launcher towards the demoness, unsure of what to think about her. Logan, still within the armored truck on the turret controls, thought otherwise. The twin turrets turned towards Vivian, who luckily coiled herself up before the guns open-fired. The 40 mm rounds harmlessly pinging off her super-hard scales. The Arcanist shouted at Logan from off to the side, waving his arms to tell him to back off, "Oi! Cut that out bastard! The Nagini's with me!"

Part 12[]

"Five years today, honey." Nale said as he looked down at his wife's grave. The words "ELIZABETH CEDENO-CALLAHAN, BELOVED WIFE, DAUGHTER AND FRIEND" were etched in the gravestone. Nale kneeled down before kissing the palm of his hand and placing it on the top of the gravestone and saying "I love you."

Nale stood back up, tears streaming down his face. He uttered "goodbye" to the gravesite before turning and walking away into the wasteland. As he walked, Nale began to feel tired and decided to sit against a nearby rock, which was very large and provided some protection from the boiling sun. "What's the point?" Nale asked himself. "What the hell is the point if I'm never going to find him?"

Nale wiped his face of tears before pulling out his handgun, which had about three rounds left in it. "This world is full of dangers. Maybe he'll get killed by a Magna or something." Nale thought as he put the barrel of the gun to his head. "Do it!" Nale thought as he struggled to keep the barrel of the gun aimed at his temple. "What the fuck am I doing? Committing suicide over something I can fix? This is ridiculous!" Nale thought subsequently. "Well, how the hell am I going to find Sultrus out in this shithole of a desert?" Nale thought again.

It was a tense two minutes as Nale's hand began to shake from the anxiety. He contemplated killing himself, yet he felt if he did so, he would pass up his chance of killing the man who took his beloved away from him. "This isn't right. I can't do it!" Nale thought before slowly holstering his weapon. Nale sat against the rock for another five minutes before getting up and walking further into the desolate wasteland.

Hours passed as Nale sipped from his canteen, ate some jerky and relieved himself. The only real action Nale witnessed was a Magna fighting against a Saxum. Nale didn't stick around to see who was the victor, but Nale kept himself occupied by contemplating which creature won the fight. It wasn't a very exciting subject to think about, but it kept Nale's mind at peace, not thinking about the consequences of his current mission.

Kaiden leapt up towards Logan. Whatever the Fiend was, it had just saved them. "Logan! You idiot!", Kaiden seethed at him, cringing as his cracked ribs moved under the agitation.

"You don't attack things that just goddamn saved you unless they attack YOU!", Kaiden continued, Logan pulling his hands away from the two levers that controlled the turrets. "Go get your fucking gun. We need to have a talk with thi-"

AJ sat up and rubbed her shoulder. "Wait a minute... I know that hair.", she started, walking out of the back of the truck. Kaiden, grasping his side, followed; as did Logan, who got out of the side door.

Jackson crossed his arms, Vivian uncoiling and sliding around to his side. Jackson looked over the group, as Rich removed his helmet and placed it on the horn of the massive beast skull that was tied unto "Baby".

"Jackson! My friend!", Rich bellowed, spreading his arms wide and hugging Jackson, who cringed under the bear like force Rich had. "Argh!", Jackson grunted, not able to see any more. Rich chuckled and let go. Jackson smiled at him, saying, "You look good for your 70s, old man. Knew the Slip couldn't hold you.".

"Guess we didn't have time for a proper introduction trying to murder Portland over there.", Rich continued.

"Por. Ten. Tum.", Vivian annotated. Rich shrugged, and looked over to the other three. "This is Kaiden, AJ, and Logan. Rescued the blokes when they tried to attack that Keep."

AJ, ignoring the bloody wound on her shoulder, walked over to Jackson. "You're the asshole who abandoned me back on Cael.", she raged, pointing a finger at him in shame. "It was nothing personal...", Jackson started. "Unlike Rich, however, I can't deal with... Baggage.", he continued.

Kaiden rolled his eyes. "Get to the point.", he demanded. Jackson sighed. "Very well. Rich, I saw these people working for Morrigan. At the sound of the name the frightful Nocturns started hissing.

"Strange how they react... We shouldn't stay here.", Jackson continued, now recognizing the immediate danger they were in. "Rich, get the truck started. I have a query to make. Logan. That's your name right?", Jackson questioned, looking at Logan, who nodded. "I stepped on this thing when I was running towards you. Presumed it would be yours. Luckily the only thing I damaged was the grip.", Jackson announced, throwing Logan his rifle.

"Get in the truck.", Jackson bossed, brushing Logan past as he clambered up into the vehicle.

"Hey, now hold on just a second! What gives you the right to just show up out of the blue and start bossing everyone around huh?" Kaiden questioned, stepping in front of Jackson as he was trying to get in the truck, "We were doing just fine without your help!"

"Really? Is that why your ribs are broken, her shoulder's bleeding, and his forehead's lumpy?" Jackson retorted, nodding towards Kaiden, then AJ, then Logan for emphasis; the last reaching up to check his forehead, wincing in pain, "If it weren't for Rich being the badass that he is, and our intervention" - He pointed towards Vivian over his shoulder - "You'd all be dead by now!" Kaiden clenched his teeth, not liking the silver-haired Arcanist one bit; they glared at each other for a moment, and you could swear that there was visible tension between them,

"Now's not the time to be bickering!" Rich growled, stepping between the two of them, "If we stay here any longer we will be dead!"

"I don't see why we should trust his judgment! I saw how he blindly threw himself at Morrigan in rage, and that's not the kind of person I want to be taking orders fro-AHH!" Before Kaiden could finish presenting his complaints, Jackson delivered a sharp jab to his broken ribs, causing the Archer to fall to his knees,

"Get him in the Truck. We're leaving," The Arcanist enforced, stepping past Kaiden and climbing into "Baby's" Passenger seat. Kaiden was helped up by Logan and AJ, who pulled him up into the back. They tried to make as much room for the Nagini, but they were surprised when the demoness transformed her snake tail into a pair of human legs. Jackson chuckled at the sight, "You really are a girl of many talents, Viv," Rich grunted a bit as he pulled himself up into the driver's seat and locked the doors,

"Where to, Jacky-boy?" He asked,

"Where ever you were taking them... we're not ready to attack the Keep just yet..." Jackson smiled at him, "And didn't I say not to call me that?"

Rich put down his helmet on the storage console and sighed in relief, putting the truck into drive and starting down the road. "So yer' both seeking to attack the Keep, huh? Well let me tell you, that won't be easy.", Rich stated, pointing a burly finger to the back of the truck. The scavenger continued his sentence, questioning Jackson. "Why do you both want to get into the keep? You don't just want to take it for yourselves and live in this hellhole of a wasteland, do you?", Rich asked.

Jackson shrugged. "I just... Owe it to Vivian, I guess." Vivian nodded, adding to his statement. "It's a bit of a favor.", she added. Rich shrugged too, and looked over to Kaiden. "How 'bout you, lad?", he asked.

Kaiden looked at him. "It's not much our choice... I presume you know Morrigan, Jackson?", Kaiden questioned. Jackson nodded. "To my unfortunate luck, yes.", he responded, brushing his hair back with a hand. "He pressed us into this job, forced us to get him a music box. Don't know why, however. But when we get done with the job, I'll be goddamn happy to see the wasteland again.", Kaiden replied, sitting back and slowing his breathing.

The truck emerged from the darkness of the canyon, into a large, open area known as Gigas Intinge, or simply the Massive Dip. Gigas Intinge was a large, flat area that might have been the source of the strange rock formations around the open area. It was barren, and the sand that dipped down into the crater was loose, making the 40 foot incline hard to traverse. "We'll circle around to the keep from here. But up above is the Harena Mare, and the loose sand is crawling with all kinds of creatures. But I've been through before. We'll be fine."

Jackson got momentarily lost in thought, gazing into the distance before glancing down at the pouch on one of his belts. He withdrew from the pocket a small red book with runes and archaic symbols festooning the cover. The Arcanist flipped through the pages quickly , scanning it for something in particular. AJ's curiosity got the better of her, prompting her to sit up and look over Jackson's shoulder at the little volume. Finally he stopped turning the pages, examining the text carefully,

"This music box... Did Morrigan describe it at all?" Jackson asked, noticing that the girl was reading, or at least trying to make sense of the encrypted text, over his shoulder,

"All he really said was its dimensions and where it could be found," Kaiden answer, handing the Arcanist the small piece of parchment that the Sage had given them. Jackson scowled at the rough drawing of the box ,

"That's what I thought..." He said quietly, glancing back at Vivian, "This so called music box is in reality the Archa Damnationem... the Chest of Damnation..." He explained, rubbing the material between his index finger and thumb, "You all might know it as Pandora's Box..."

"Whoa whoa... I thought Pandora's Box was just a fairy tale?" Logan spoke rather blatantly. Jackson smirked a bit,

"It is... well the Pandora part anyway... the Archa Damnationem wasn't opened by the first woman on Cael... it was opened long before then, and many times, by a Higher Demon known simply as Chaos; the ruler of the Slip at that time," He continued to look right at Vivian as he told them this, as if waiting for her to step in and correct him if he was mistaken. She only nodded for him to go on, "Back then however, the Slip wasn't entirely evil; it was in a constant war. On one side; the Demons - or Daemons. On the other; the Angelus. The Archa Damnationem was the demonic version of an atomic bomb if you will; their trump card.

"When opened, the damnable box would not release music, but the essence of pure evil; corrupting everything around it for miles. Eventually, using the power of this artifact to their advantage, the Slip was overcome by the demonic forces..." He paused for a second, looking over their faces to see if they understood so far, "And the Angelus were wiped from existence,"

"Wrong." Vivian suddenly interjected, causing everyone, minus Rich, to quickly look at her, "The Angelus did not go extinct... they were assimilated into the Daemon ranks. You said it yourself, Jackson. The power that courses through the Chest of Damnation will corrupt everything in its wake... including living beings if exposed long enough," Jackson nodded to her, a silent thanks for correcting him,

"So it'd be REALLY bad if someone as evil as Morrigan got their hands on it?" AJ asked, looking between the Nagini and her fellow Arcanist,

"He could wipe out the last of Humanity..." Jackson answered coldly. Kaiden looked down at his feet, contemplating the situation,

"So if we bring the box to him; he might destroy the last trace of humans on Cael..." He said, more to himself then anyone else, "But if we don't bring it to him; he might hunt us down until we're all slaughtered..."

"Believe me, Archer..." Jackson spoke up, getting Kaiden's attention, "There is no might in this situation. At all."

4 HOURS LATER

11:23 PM, SLIP TIME

ON THE EDGE OF THE DRY SEA

AJ's eyes opened in a snap, and she let them focus as her senses slowly came back. Sitting up, she noticed the pile of sleeping people around her. The Naga's tail had come back when she had fallen asleep, and was hanging limply from the cot she was on. Logan was asleep with his hand on his head, probably from rubbing it. Kaiden was turned around and Jackson was lying down flat, with his hands crossed on his chest. In the front of the truck she could hear the loud, monotone snores of Rich.

AJ made looked around, making sure if everyone was asleep, and pushed aside her hoodie, which she had been using as a blanket. AJ got up, lightly placing her feet on the ground, and quietly moved over to Jackson's bedside. He had a satchel under the cot, filled with his supplies. She very slowly unbuttoned it, pulling the flap out. It was filled to the brim with miscellaneous items. Water bottles, rations from before the apocalypse, long preserved in airtight bags, a spare set of clothes, some potions, and three massive books, which took up the bulk of the bag. She looked over the books, one called Spells of the Arcane: A Thesis On The Consequences of Magick. The girl rolled her eyes, looking past it at a very small, red dyed leather book, obviously worn. There was no English, but she knew the telltale runes and that inscribed it's bridge.

AJ smirked and picked up the book, sneaking over to the door. She grabbed the metal bar and lightly moved it aside. Then AJ unlatched the door and opened it, sliding under the exterior barricade which had been put into place for the truck's 'digging in' sequence, and she plonked down on the red stone. She opened up the book, and it seemed to dimly glow, what appeared to be 50 pages multiplying as they flickered back and forth across the book. She looked around the area the group was at while the pages "loaded". It was barren, and she could see the massive Dry Sea ahead of her, past it the rocky landscape of the mountains. The vehicle was perched on what seemed to be some sort plateau, a spiral rock formation leading up to the flat summit that looked over the Slip. In the far distance she could see the light coming from the lakes of lava near the Keep.

AJ sat back against a loose rock and began to read, shivering slightly as a breeze blew past on the tower of rock.

Almost an hour had passed as she had looked through the book, when she heard a quiet voice. "Alice....", it started.

The you girl needed only to turn her head slightly to see the blade of her own Katana be held rather closely to her bare neck, “You really shouldn’t be out here without this, kid,” Jackson smiled, leaning over the snatch his book from her hands, “You also shouldn’t take something that’s not yours,”

“Then why do you have my sword?” AJ smirked as the Arcanist sheathed the Katana, “Humph… touché,” He grinned; mocking their first encounter, “So tell me, sneak-thief… why’re you out here with my copy of the Codex?” He dropped the weapon into her lap,

“So that’s what that is?” the younger Arcanist realized, eyeing the little book, “I was just curious… I was trying to make out what half of it said,”

“So you can read the ancient texts?” Yet you hide your arcane abilities?” Jackson pondered, kneeling down in front of her and rubbing his chin; he realized that he needed a shave as his chin felt bristly to the touch. AJ hung her head a bit, almost in shame, “I can read only a little bit… only what my parents taught me…” She said quietly. The older Arcanist frowned, glancing down at the Codex,

“Those who delve into the arcane arts, can never cease to head down the path they have chosen.” He quoted, tapping on the book’s cover, “It’s one of the first laws that the Codex states. I’m afraid that turning away from your magical heritage is impossible for you now, kiddo…” AJ grimaced, nervously twisting her Katana’s tassel a bit,

“But I have nobody to teach me now…” She sighed, nodding towards the little red book, “The laws state that only a senior member of the magic user’s family are allowed to teach them…” She looked up into the starless sky, “That’s what I could read make out anyway…”

“You read right… however there is a small exception you could consider,” Jackson explained, smiling as AJ’s eyes shot back to him. The older Arcanist opened the Codex again, flipped through it to a certain page, and read out the exemption in the ancient tongue. Once he finished, he looked back at her expectantly,

“Something about… unable to teach… fellow Arcanist…” She tried translating, shaking her head. Jackson only smiled wider, “That was good!” He assured her before re-reading the exception in English; “Should the family be unable to teach the magic-user, the user is permitted to learn from an experienced, fellow Arcanist or Sage.” He finished by shutting the Codex with one hand, and looking back at Alice; another expectant look upon his face,

“So… that means…” She figured out, looking into his eyes with realization, “You could…”

“Mhm…” Jackson nodded slowly, “Unless you think I’m too old to be your teacher?” he added with a smirk. AJ seemed to consider her options; her usual spunky attitude returning to her, “As long as you don’t think I’m too young to learn!” She smirked right back. Jackson couldn’t help but laugh,

“Touché…”

Nale walked for a couple more hours before deciding to sleep. He found a secluded area behind some rocks and laid down a makeshift mattress. Nale fell onto the mattress and exhaled before dozing off.

"Who are you?" said a stranger's voice, echoing. Nale thought he was dreaming, but he soon felt a poke on his arm. "Err-- piss off." Nale muttered as he waved his hand at the stranger. "Who are you, mister?" said the stranger again; who poked Nale's arm once more with a little more force.

Nale rolled over to see a boy who looked to be about twelve or thirteen years old. "The hell do you you want kid?" Nale uttered. "Do you have some water?" said the boy. Nale's vision was becoming clearer, and he discovered that the boy was emaciated. "Uh, yeah I do. Just hang on." Nale said as he fumbled through his bag. He pulled out a second canteen of water and gave it to the boy, who began chugging it. "What are you doing all the way out here?" asked Nale. The boy started to cry. "My mother...she's dead." the boy said. Nale looked down and wiped his forehead.

"Well...why were you and your mother out here?" Nale asked. The boy wiped his face. "We were out looking for Dad. He disappeared a couple nights ago." said the boy. Nale leaned in closer and offered the boy to sit while he stood up for a moment. "So...did you find him?" Nale asked, pacing. "No. All we found was his hat." the boy said. Nale stopped for a moment and realized something. "This is magna country. Nothin' worse than getting shredded by an angry magna" he thought. Nale fumbled his words before kneeling down and asked "What happened to your mother?"

Kaiden awoke slowly, opening one eye before the other, as the sound of shouting and - what sounded like - loud thumps shook the whole truck. It took him a moment to recognize the voices as Jackson and Alice's, and took him less time to come up with his own excuse as to why they were outside and shouting at one another; he thought that the no good, silver haired Arcanist was having his way with the girl. The archer immediately jumped up, grabbing his bow and quiver before heading to the back hatch.

"Come on! Magic gets its power from how loud you shout and how much thought you put into it! Now break my defense!" Jackson shouted from his place near the edge of the plateau, opposite that of AJ's spot. He was holding his hands out in front of him; one above his head, the other at about waist level, with his palms turned forward at her. Between them was a silvery-blue warding spell, protecting the Arcanist as Alice performed her first lesson under his teachings. AJ clenched her teeth together, drawing her right hand backwards as if she were about to punch something, and focused. The archaic markings upon her wrists and forearms glowed a bright orange color, and were designed to look like twin bracers,

"Pulsus!" She shouted, thrusting her fist forward and splaying her fingers outward. The invisible pushing spell shot outward from her palm, causing the air around it to waver and the dust on the rocky ground to kick up into the air. Jackson felt the blows impact, but it barely did anything against his barrier; it merely caused a large dust cloud to explode around him,

"Louder! Visualize the breaking of my shield before performing the spell!" Jackson ordered, bracing himself and freshening his ward. At this point Kaiden came out, bow in hand, looking around for the supposed foul play. He was more then surprised when he found the two Arcanists at odds with each other and positioned in fighting stances, "Might want to stand back, archer! Otherwise I can't guarantee your safety..." Jackson warned, keeping his eyes on AJ; who herself seemed distracted from her training, "Hey! Focus Alice! Don't pay attention to anything but the task at hand!"

"R-right!" AJ stammered a little, forcing herself to pull her gaze away from Kaiden. She got serious again, her markings glowing; ready to try breaking Jackson's field once more, "Hey Jackson, I'm going to try something different. Is that OK?"

"I'll allow you to do whatever you'd like, as long as you break my ward with the pushing spell, or any variant there of!" He gave her permission, stiffening his stance a bit in preparation. AJ smirked a bit, bringing both fists back behind her as best she could, "Hmm... this is new... she's finally starting to think outside the box..." Jackson thought, smiling a bit, "About time... we've been up all night..."

"Valida...!" AJ shouted before throwing both hands forward; wrists connected and fingers spread away from each other, "PULSUS!" the path of the magical push was clouded with dust once more, but this time it traveled over the short distance much faster, and struck Jackson's ward with much greater force. The older Arcanist's eyes widened a little as he felt himself getting pushed back; his booted feet sliding across the dusty rock. He dug in with his back toes, holding his position and keeping his defense up. The ward was rippling like a pond after breaking the water's surface, but it was ultimately still holding strong,

"Much better! You're getting the hang of it..." Jackson grunted, dropping his shield, "What say we change things up a bit?" He asked, picking up a baseball-sized stone,

"How so?" Alice asked, slightly bewildered and out of breath; she'd almost forgotten that Kaiden was watching her every move. Jackson glanced between the two of them as they smiled at one another, chuckling to himself,

"Hey, archer," The silver haired Arcanist spoke, getting Kaiden's attention, "Here, hold this for me," He tossed the stone at the archer, who caught it with ease. Then Jackson turned his attention back to Alice, "Now we'll practice the other beginner level spell; Tractos. Which means...?" Jackson tutored, motioning for AJ to answer,

"Pull," She answered quickly, smiling at Kaiden a little. Jackson snapped his fingers a bit, getting her to focus on her teacher at the moment,

"Geez girl, you have a bad habit of staring you know that?" Jackson joked, prompting a blush from both Kaiden and AJ, "Anyway, Tractos is obviously used for pulling objects towards the caster," He raised his hand towards Kaiden without even looking at him; the stone shot out of the archers grip and into Jackson's hand easily, "Like so!"

"Humph... you surprised me! Otherwise you wouldn't have got it back so easily..." Kaiden fumed a bit, crossing his arms in annoyance. Jackson growled and suddenly sent the rock back at him, hitting him in the thigh, "Ouch! Damnit!"

"Shut up. Now hold onto it tighter so that Alice can try. And don't go easy on her by just letting it go..." The Arcanist demanded, pointing at Kaiden, "I'll know if you do..." He turned his attention back to AJ, "Remember; magic is only as good as the imagination of the user. Visualize the stone escaping from Kaiden's grip, and flying into yours. The louder you say the ancient word, the stronger the power of the magic that it relates to,"

"Got it..." AJ nodded, focusing all her attention on the stone in Kaiden's hand.

"My mother was sick." said the boy. "She had contracted a deadly disease before we traveled to Dantius...that's where we lived for over two years."

Nale could only sit and listen to the boy as he told of a nightmare that he thought no child should go through. "My Dad had been acting weird the day before he disappeared. He was outside watching the night sky and he came in looking like he had been jinxed by something." The boy took another large swig from his canteen before continuing: "The next morning, me and my Mom discovered that he was missing. We searched the town for him, but it was to no avail."

"Did your father say anything the last time you saw him?" "Yes. He droned around for a little bit before coming up to me and saying 'I love you'. He said something else, too. Something I don't understand..." "What did he say?" "He said...'fili, scire te cito. manere fortis, tueri mater et bene.' Isn't that latin?"

Nale leaned back, and rested his head on the palm of his hand. He leaned forward once again. "Yes. He said: 'My son, you will know the truth soon. Stay strong, protect your mother and live well.'" The boy and Nale looked at each other for roughly a minute. "What's your name?"

The boy stood up. "Michael. My name is Michael."

Part 13[]

"Tractos!" AJ shouted again; standing in a position in which she looked like she was reaching out for the stone with both hands. Kaiden still had the rock securely between his palms, keeping the young Arcanist from getting it. The archer could feel the invisible force tugging at it, trying desperately to pull it from his grasp, but to no avail. Alice groaned, leaning over in slight exhaustion,

"That was pathetic!" Jackson barked, scowling at her; much to Kaiden's contempt, "A five year old could pull that stone from his hands, but not you. Look, now you've nearly wasted your Mana reserves!" The older Arcanist scolded, trying to push AJ into finally achieving her goal, "Again!" Alice almost whimpered a little, but obeyed; straitening herself back up and reaching for the stone once more. Kaiden was only about three meters away, yet it felt like a mile to her; but she had to get it!

"Tractos...!" She grunted, reaching out with her magical energies and gripping the stone. Once more, Kaiden felt it being tugged by the invisible threads, but it felt weaker then before, "Tractos!" She said louder, her outstretched arms twitching as they grew tired, but the rock wouldn't come free of his grip. He wanted to just release it from his grasp, but he knew that would be counter-productive; she had to achieve this without any help, "TRACTOS, damn it!" She nearly screamed; her voiced sounded annoyed, either at the stone, Jackson, or her own power. Either way, she wanted to take a break, just a small one, but when she'd asked before her teacher had nearly bitten her head off!

"Enough... you've used up all of your Mana..." Jackson frowned, glancing at Kaiden. He raised his hand and, despite how tightly the archer held it, the stone shot from his grip and into the Arcanist's palm, "You're done for the moment... once you feel like you can continue, we'll return to the Pulsus training..." He stated, dropping the rock, "Tractos is obviously too advanced for you right now..." He growled before starting to head back to the rear of "Baby". Alice glared after him, her emotions flaring,

"Wait a minute!" She fumed. Jackson stopped but didn't look back at her, "I can do this...!" She tried to assure him, panting heavily. Jackson still didn't turn to face her,

"No. You can't. Not with so little Mana left. Using any more will cause the spells to gain their power from your very life force... and will slowly take years off your life," He stated, starting to walk towards the truck again, "We'll resume when you feel you've recovered enough... then it's back to Pulsus training," He said again, disappearing around the side of the dug-in vehicle. AJ collapsed to her knees, beating her fist upon the ground in frustration,

"I could've had it! Why does he act so impatient with me!?" She complained, almost in tears. Kaiden frowned, glancing over at the stone. He walked over to pick it up, rubbing his thumb over the smoothened surface a bit, then turned back to AJ,

"Here... there shouldn't be any harm in trying it one more time..." He smiled at her, holding the rock firmly in place. She took a moment just glancing between the stone and him before finally brightening up a little. Without a word, she stood back up and got back into her previous position. He nodded to say he was ready, and she nodded back,

"Tractos...!" She said firmly, suddenly feeling much better; she was still tired, but it no longer felt like she was straining to call forth on her energy. Kaiden felt this too as the invisible pull of the spell tugged at not only the stone, but his hands and forearms as well, "Tractos!" She chatted again, a little louder and more commanding; the archer was really feeling the pull now,

"Hey, I think you're doing it AJ!" He cheered her on, "Keep it up!" She smiled at his good mood and then focused all her attention on the rock; she let in a deep breath, visualized the stone flying into her grasp, and then...

"TRACTOS!" She shouted. Kaiden's entire body was suddenly pulled forward as if his hands were tied to the bumper of a moving vehicle. He shouted in surprise as he flew through the air and landed upon, a rather bewildered, Alice. They just laid there for a moment in an awkward silence, both of their faces reddening, "I... I think I'm done for now..." AJ managed,

"Y-yeah... a break might do you some good..." Kaiden replied,

"Ehem...!" The shadow of the older Arcanist was suddenly looming over them; his gaze somewhat frightening to both the young survivors. Kaiden quickly climbed off of AJ and the both of them stood up quickly, their faces still apple-red, "I warned you... didn't I?" Jackson said quietly, "You know why you were suddenly able to lift the archer off the ground, when before you couldn't even pull a stone from his grasp?" Alice's vision drifted down to her feet,

"I... I don't know..." She finally answered,

"It's because you had completely drained your Mana reserves! You just took roughly three years off your life due to your stupidity!" The bladesman scolded her as if he were her father; he was at least old enough to be. Kaiden suddenly stepped in to stand up for her, "C'mon Jackson, cut her some slack! She didn't-"

"She didn't think! And neither did you!" The Arcanist spat, turning his anger towards the archer, "While it is true, using your own life force to power your spells cause them to become much more powerful, it also makes them uncontrollable! She could have very easily have killed you along with herself!" Jackson continued his onslaught; his eyes darting back and forth between them, and finally settling back on Alice, "We will continue... the Pulsus training, once you've regained your Mana... this is the last time I will tell you..." At that, the Arcanist turned away, leaving the two of them rooted where they stood.

Kaiden kicked the rock that had been pulled from his grip (along with himself) across the tower of rock. He turned around as he saw the first sun rising, and saw AJ behind him. "Sorry.", he mumbled, to which she nodded and said "No worries. It was my fault."

Kaiden gave her a halfhearted smile and then walked back to "Baby". He could hear the groans of Rich who had woken up, and was accustomed to awakening at this exact time. Kaiden heard the truck start up. "Stand back mates!", he yelled out of the window. Then he "dug out" the truck, the plating simply collapsing in small slots of the windows.

Rich stepped out of the truck, and for the first time Kaiden saw him without his trademark armor. In his hand he had a map. The brute slowly waddled over to the area behind the truck and pulled the map out, placing it on the reddish stone. Logan suddenly appeared from within one of the cots, as did Vivian. As everyone gathered around, Rich began to speak.

"This is a map of the Burning Expanse. Plotted it myself as I went around. It's all I've explored, as aetheric realms like this are apparently endless. But we are here.", he started, pointing to a small corner on an area marked 'DRY SEA'.

Then Rich moved his finger to another part of the map, southwest of the location, near a massive collection of lava lakes, this one being the biggest. "That's the lake the keep is located on. We need to get from here to there... But what would be the best way to attack it?"

"The best way is the only way; a direct assault. We storm the bridge that leads into the courtyard," Jackson knelt down next to Rich, pointing at the rectangular shape that represented the crossing, "Are you sure that's smart lad?" Rich asked, rubbing his bearded chin, "That sound like a pretty bollocks plan if ya ask me..." Jackson nodded assuredly,

"I've seen the Keep's surroundings up close; Vivian's shelter is just below the bridge. The pillar of volcanic rock the castle's perched on is surrounded by lava on all sides," He explained, circling his index finger around the Keep on the map, "There really is no other way... unless that truck of yours is a submersible that can withstand extreme amounts of heat..." The Arcanist joked, "Aye... seems like we're gonna be marching right across..."

"There are gun fortifications here, here, and here..." Kaiden pointed out the trio of turrets nearest the the bridge, "And dozens of archers took up positions on these two bastions here, and here," He pointed again, "At least that's what I saw when we first attempted an assault,"

"Good... so its safe to say that the other four turrets'll have canons positioned upon them too," Rich guessed, tapping his stubby finger against another round image on the map, "As for what's inside the walls themselves... we can only guess at..."

"The Keep itself is where we'll encounter Gehennae, and more then likely is where you'll find the Archa Damnationem; unless they store it somewhere in the Temple - which is across the courtyard from the Keep's main doors," Jackson frowned, resting his hands on his knees,

"How the hell do you know that?" Logan asked the Arcanist, "Have you been inside the walls?"

"No... but Vivian has... she hasn't been everywhere within the castle, but she knows the way to Gehennae's throne room, and the basic layout of the courtyard itself; lots of cover," He explained, nodding at the Nagini next to him, "I'd really like to wait till everyone's 100% before we try taking this place... but since Morrigan will be awaiting your return, we don't really have a lot of time left,"

"And what are we going to do about Morrigan? He obviously hates you, and if what you say is true; if he doesn't kill us after he gets the music box, then we'll all be doomed anyway when he uses it to wipe out the last of humanity," Logan pondered, staring at Jackson,

"Leave that to me... right now we have to focus on Gehennae and his forces," Jackson assured him; ignoring his stare, "He's stronger then Portentum was; a Higher Demon that can control black flames,"

"Black flames?" Kaiden repeated in disbelief, "Now that'd be a sight... I've seen blue flame magic, and green flame magic... but black?"

"Yes... its hotter then the very flames of hell itself... and it doesn't just burn away physical matter... it burns away spiritual energy as well..." Jackson grimaced at the memory of a colleague of his back at Medeis Refuge; a large tower built on a small island off-shore from Imperisium City. The tower served as a school, and home, for gifted Alchemists, Arcanists, and Sages. Jackson's classmate had tried to experiment with a black fire ritual spell, and it went horribly wrong, "You can extinguish the fire from your body... but there's no way of dousing the flames burning away your very soul..." The Arcanist said silently, "The Demon Lord is not to be taken lightly..."

Kaiden looked the map over, studying the area around the keep. "What about the plan when we get inside?", he asked. "Then what happens?" Jackson looked over at him and furrowed his brows. "We're going to need a distraction. An explosion, perhaps.", he stated, looking over at Rich, who nodded.

Rich sat up and cocked his neck. "Well a few very explosive grenades should do the trick...", he stated. Logan nodded his head slowly, starting to understand. "So we'd thin out their lines with some extra explosive grenades?", Logan questioned.

Rich grinned. "Smart lad.", he praised, standing up. "But how smart are 'ye with tampering with grenades?", he added. Logan scratched his head and reached into his pouch. From within he heard a whimper and something dawned on him- MAX!

Kaiden's jaw dropped as the Australian Shepherd was placed on the rocky terrain of the stone plateau. "MAX!", Kaiden yelled, picking up his dog who licked Kaiden's chin. But as the dog noticed her surroundings, her acute sense of smell picked up on a demon; and close too.

She turned towards Vivian and started barking erratically, trying to squirm from Kaiden's grip. "Max! Girl! Slow down! That Demon is with us.", Kaiden said, petting Max. He could feel her heartbeat slowing down. "Girl, these are our friends. That's Rich, the guy who saved us when all that ruckus was going on, and that's Vivian. She's with Jackson. You remember him, I'm sure.", Kaiden announced to his loyal companion.

Logan chuckled, realizing he had almost forgotten Kaiden's dear old dog, and went back to what he was reaching for in the pouch. From within, he pulled out a small satchel full of what appeared to be tools. "My dad gave me this.", Logan declared. "He said if the gun ever needed fixing, all the tools necessary would be in here. He also put some plastic explosives for good measure.", Logan asserted, smiling.

Rich stood up and trudged over to the van, pulling open a panel. From within, he took out 6 .40 millimeter grenades. "You'll need these.", he said, closing the panel and walking back over. You can do whatever you want to the grenades. Since you've got that enchanted pouch, if your foot fits you should be able to cram inside. It'll give you more working space and the ride won't be as bumpy. Kaiden, your dog can stay out here with us until we get close to the Keep. Once she comes in, Logan, you come out. When we get to the Keep, we fire a few of those grenades to begin with, and that should give the Demons their daily surprise.", Rich reported.

"Alrighty Max? It's for your own good, girl. Anyways, we'll be at the keep by noon. Everyone pile in, and get your weapons ready. Vivian, use your magic to finish sealing the wounds everyone got. Remember to prepare your gear and be ready for a fight.", Rich finished. Kaiden nodded in acceptance, followed by Jackson, then AJ, Vivian, and Logan. Max glanced around and cocked her head, the interpretive meaning being Uh, okay? As long as I get attention for now.

Rich rolled up the map and everyone dispersed, getting back into the truck. Everyone else did too, and then "Baby" started down the spiral cliffs towards the Keep.

It was surprisingly quiet within the confines of the truck as none of the warriors spoke a single word, their minds racing ahead towards the coming battle. Not one of them showed any signs of fear, nor overconfidence, but their faces help the expression of sheer determination; though the fight would be hard, they knew that they could pull it off. Jackson sat crosslegged on the cot just behind the passenger seat, his arms folded over his chest. His brow furrowed and twitched a little at the silence; he could only go for so long without saying something or breaking out in song. But before he could open his mouth and break the silence, AJ beat him to the punch,

"Hey... Jackson...?" She said quietly, though it caused everyone to glance towards her - excluding Max and Logan, the latter of which was hard at work within his satchel's private dimensional space. The older Arcanist didn't speak, but raised an eyebrow in a silent "What is it?" fashion, "I... I just wanted to say I'm sorry... sorry for disobeying you..." She continued, hanging her head a bit. Jackson exhaled through his nose; a heavy sigh,

"Its fine... I shouldn't have been too harsh on you right of the bat like that. I made the same mistakes during my first lessons, as did every magic-user I've ever known," He apologized, a faint smile creeping upon his face, "I'll go a little easier on you next lesson," He promised. Alice smiled and glanced sideways; looking at nothing, but lost in thought,

"Well... could we perform any sort of lesson here? On the way?" She asked hopefully, "Maybe an offensive spell? Something I can use in combat?" Jackson considered this for a moment,

"Sure, why not," He shrugged, turning towards her, "Alright, first lets find out what kind of magic you're best suited for..." He started, cracking his fingers a bit. A bit of nervousness came to AJ's features,

"Erm... how exactly do you do that?" She asked cautiously. Vivian couldn't help but pick at the young Arcanist, leaning in and talking softly into her ear,

"For girls; you can tell by the shape and firmness of your breasts~" She whispered with a giggle. AJ looked extremely concerned now,

"You're not serious!?" She protested, holding her arms over her bust, "You're NOT going to grab my tits!" Jackson pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance,

"She's not serious AJ... she just likes to pick fun at people, that's all," He convinced her, smiling at the Nagini. He winked at her before turning back to Alice, "Besides, if that were how you judge a woman's magical strength, I'd ask Kaiden to do it for me! I'm sure he'd leap at the chance!" He laughed, causing both AJ and the archer to stand up suddenly, shouting "SHUT UP!" at the same time. This, in turn, caused Vivian to fall off her cot in rib-splitting laughter, and Rich to chuckle a bit from the wheel, "Anyway... now that everyone's in a good mood... all I need to know, in order to determine your ideal magic type, is your birth date," Jackson explained simply,

"Oh... ok then," Alice said, forgetting about her previous embarrassment, "You need the whole date or...?"

"Just the Month and the day," Jackson smiled,

"16th of Anguis."

"Ah, excellent... then this will be much easier on me!

"Why's that?" Alice asked,

"Because I was born on the cusp of the months of Anguis and Vipera... meaning that we share a strength in Storm based magic," He explained, "Which means it's easier for me to teach you, due to that being my magical specialty. It also means that you have the potential to cause massive chaos with your power... and should be extremely careful..." AJ nodded in understanding, and couldn't help but glance down at her archaic markings, "Now tell me... do you know the ancient word for Spark?"

"I think it was... Ista? Icte?" She tried answering, knowing the word, but not knowing how to pronounce it properly. Jackson smiled,

"You're close. Iste..." He spoke; a visible arch of electricity appeared between his index and middle fingers, then disappeared just as fast, "Unlike the words Push and Pull - Pulsus and Tractos - however, the word spark can actually translate into four words that all bring about magic," He explained, "Iste. Igniculus. Scintilla. Lascivio." He chanted; each time he spoke, another arch of static appeared between his fingers,

"... That's... pretty neat..." Alice admitted, having never heard the latter three words,

"That's the reason why there are no written spells besides the basic pushing and pulling spells; there are many words in the ancient tongue that would translate into a single word in our own vocabulary, and vice-versa. And that's what makes magic so unique amongst different Arcanists," He clarified, "You combine different words of power to create a spell. Like so; Scintilla Orbis...!"

Alice stopped breathing for a moment; in awe of the softball-sized sphere of static energy that appeared in Jackson's outstretched palm, "That's really cool!" Alice almost squealed in excitement, holding out her hand to try the same spell,

"Whoa there!" Jackson gasped, grabbing the girl's wrist, "You're not ready for that yet." He stated,

"Oh come on! I can perform Pulsus and know a little bit of Frost magic... why can't I try this out?" She pleaded him, but the older Arcanist was adamant,

"Because, there's a chance you could loose control and cause a burst of static to escape from the orb. It might fry the circuitry in the engine and generators!" He said, crossing his arms again, "However, I will allow you to use any word for Spark in combination with the pushing or pulling spell in the coming assault; otherwise, just use your blade. You've obviously done well with it so far,"

The window in the truck's partition opened up, and Rich turned around. "Hey! Be careful back there! I can hear your spells! Anyone mind checking on Logan?", he asked, turning around. The Keep was in sight, and the group was back on the original path to it. It was a straight run, and no one could've missed the massive dust cloud emanating from behind the truck. The enchanted archers all turned in attention as the beast roared closer and closer.

"Tell Logan we're about a mile from the Keep.", Rich added. Kaiden nodded and sat up, sticking his arm in the pouch. Unfortunately, he didn't have the owner's touch, which allowed him to simply think of what he wanted to pull out to be able to pull it, so he ended up going arm-first into the pouch, where he was met by a diligently working Logan. The wastelander had his hair tied in a ponytail, and had a set of thick looking glasses on his head. Sweat was pouring down from his temples, and his hair was gleaming with it. The walls were lined with clutter, probably assorted loot Logan had picked up in his time, including a large, worn out looking, 2 liter soda bottle. The ground was plush, but everything seemed nailed in place via the magic that enchanted the jacket. It was also rather cool inside the pouch, which somehow maintained a constant temperature in it's own dimensional space.

"Logan, we're about a mile away from the Keep. You done down here?", Kaiden asked. Logan looked up and with a ghost of a smile on his face, nodded. "Yes. Made sure I made the concussive abilities better, to blow apart those clanky suits of armor."

Kaiden grinned too. "Get them prepped then, we should be arriving at the keep any minute now.", he said. As he said this, Max was dropped in by AJ. "Girl, stay here. Logan, come on up.", Kaiden added, climbing the woolen ladder out of the pouch.

It was a strange sequence, exiting the pouch, as you seemed to be materializing as you came out because of the transformation from a hatch sized exit to a pouch sized one. The pouch had the capabilities of snake jaws, one could say.

Kaiden stepped out and thudded down on the plate floor, walking over to the area below his cot, where all of his supplies for combat were. He pulled out his bow, adjusting the draw weight slightly to allow for a faster, yet accurate rate of fire at a closer range. Logan came out behind him, and as he did so the truck stopped. Still about half a mile away, the archers could barely see them, but couldn't shoot.

Rich got out of the truck and went to the side of the truck with a key in hand. He lifted up yet another storage space, however this one was long, and had at least a four inch thick plate on it. Within were four compartments. "Logan, lad, come out here.", Rich said, Logan quickly walking out to where Rich was standing.

He opened a hatch and grabbed a long drawer, pulling it out. Within was a set of golden and brass tinted plate armor, very similar to Rich's armor, but with a less heavy design, not equipped to hold the ammo for the grenade launcher, or the grenade launcher itself. The armor was more simplified than Rich's copy itself, but retained a a similar design, albeit lighter. It had a two piece chestplate and metal sheeting that allowed for flexibility, along with a tarnished plate around the sides. With boots that extended past the knee, leather in the upper legs, and gears flowing around the edges to allow for enhanced movement, the armor was a sight to see.

"My original suit of armor. It was before I was so goddamn old and didn't have the flexibility that this thing could be used for. But you can wear it. I always keep up the condition of it, even though I never used it. Thought I could sell it or something. So I thought you needed an extra something other than that jacket. I love it, but it's not the best for the Slip. So take the armor. Wear it. ", Rich stated, Logan slowly grabbing the armor. "All of you!", Rich bellowed.

"Get out here! There's plenty of armor for everyone.", Rich yelled. The back door opened and Vivian slithered out, followed by AJ, Jackson, and Kaiden. Rich left his armor where it was. He would put it on after he tended to the others.

"Along with Logan, I figured you all would need armor.", Rich proposed, waddling to the other side of the truck. He took the same key he had used for the last drawer cover and pulled it open, revealing four more drawers. They were each marked with names. Donovan, Riker, Alan, and Reed.

"Jackson, you remember Reed, right? He was the one that used the armor to increase his magical abilities, and trained you, if I remember right. Alan was always with 'im, too... So I figured their armor could be used for both of you. Riker wore some lighter armor, so Kaiden might be able to wear that. And Vivian could wear Donovan's armor... Well, at least the upper half of it... Anyways, go ahead and put 'em on. Vivian, use your magic to get you and AJ's armor to fit.", Rich said, confident in Vivian's magical abilities.

The sets of armor were all similar, composed of enchanted steel plate, tinted gold and bronze. They each had different style helmets though. Jackson's helmet was a close faced Hounskull style helmet. Kaiden's had a double-visored, also closed face Sallet style helmet. Vivian had a simple Spangenhelm, and AJ had a Burgonet style helmet. "Put 'em on.", Rich asserted, walking back over to get his armor on. As Kaiden put his armor on, he smiled, thinking of how they would all be Knights in Shining Armor, just like in the stories his father had told him as a child.

Part 14[]

It was a blip in the distance. It had stopped, the dust settling; small figures emerging and doing something. But now the blip was visible, and it was detailed. The massive, impenetrable truck that had arrived two days before. The archers were now at attention, their heads moving in an eerie synchronization as the truck plowed through the dust forward.

Kaiden looked at the helmet of his armor, shrugging around in the light plate. He quickly flipped it around and placed it on his head. Looking around the truck, he could see that everyone was about done preparing. Vivian, wearing the upper half of her set of armor, was now fine tuning the adjustments she had made to AJ's armor. Logan sat still, a bit nervous of the fight ahead- but confident of his abilities; and the abilities of his friends. Jackson seemed to be meditating, small waves of heat emanating from his hands. His helmet was laying under his cot. Kaiden decided to break the silence, and he asked, "Not wearing a helmet, Jackson?", looking at the mage.

Jackson opened his eyes and looked over at Kaiden. "Never much liked helmets,", he started. "Too clunky, and too little flexibility.", he stated, looking at Kaiden, who shrugged. "I guess if you don't get hit by a stray arrow.", he finished. Vivian smiled and nodded. Grabbing her helmet with her tail, she planted it firmly on her head. AJ did the same, and Logan looked over at everyone.

"This is it.", he said, quickly checking his Venator Rifle and loading a shrapnel grenade into it. Rich looked backwards very quickly and rapped on the partition's window, bellowing out a shout that interpreted into. "Get ready." Everyone looked around. Kaiden made sure to have his knife on standby, and Logan racked the Venator.

And as he did that, the truck stopped. "Move!", Rich yelled, jumping out of the door. Kaiden slammed open the rear doors, and the guards immediately turned at attention. "FIRE!", Rich barked, firing two explosive rounds into the courtyard. Logan hopped out behind Kaiden, switching the fire selection to full auto. AJ, behind him, formed a spell in her hand. Vivian slithered around and did the same, Jackson too.

The enhanced .40 mm grenade exploded, pieces of the obsidian armor shattering and being thrown about the tower of rock. Archers and guards turned at attention. "I got the archers.", Kaiden said, pulling out his bow. Three shots in rapid succession, each slamming into each guard's "glove" and disabling them to shoot.

Logan loaded a round into the patrolmen's chest and ran unto the bridge, firing more rounds into the patrolmen, the recoil knocking their chestplate into the lava. Another few rounds of explosives rained down unto the bridge and courtyard, along with two slamming into the face of the keep itself.

"Push push push!", Rich bellowed, jogging forward. Ahead of them, in the cages that held so many abominations of the demon realm, were twenty commons, all scurrying around and trying to open the cages.

"Don't let them get those cages open!" Jackson shouted, releasing an explosive ball of flames from his hand; throwing it directly at the commons, who scattered in fear of the blast, "That should buy us a little time... with those creatures on the field, our chance of victory would be even slimmer then it is already..." The Arcanist thought, slightly distracted,

"IGNICULUS PULSUS!" Alice shouted, thrusting her hand out towards a suit of armor bearing down upon a distracted Jackson. The armor was sent flying by the magical blow, visible arcs of electricity crawling all over its metallic form. She smiled as her teacher glanced back at her, nodding a thank you, "Don't you even think about dieing until you teach me more spells!" She joked, turning back to the enchanted enemies. Vivian lunged forward with her fists, each one surrounded by her crystalline-blue magical energy; many of the suits of armor crumbled against the force of her strikes. With a mighty swing of her serpentine tail, five of the armors were crushed and sent flying off the bridge towards the lava far below.

Jackson parried three guards at once, knocking their helmets off with the backswing and magically pushing the remaining armor away; striking more suits in the process. The Bladesman tilted his head just in time to be missed by an arrow, "Humph... too slow!" He shouted up to the many archers above them, static wavering over his tattooed arm, "Fulminis... Vinculo... INRUPIT!" The Arcanist chanted, releasing the spell just before the archers launched another volley of arrows. The magical bolt of lightning leapt from archer to archer, nearly vaporizing their weapons and causing the suits to explode,

"Oi! Arcanist!" Kaiden shouted at Jackson, kicking another suit of armor from the bridge, "That makes 13 kills for me!" He boasted, notching three arrows at once and firing them into another wave of suits, "Make that 16!"

"I'm already at 24!" Jackson bragged back, "Gladius; Fulminis Ignem Caedebant!" His blade suddenly surrounded itself with both lightning and flames, "This'll make 30!" He shouted, swinging his blade in a large semi-circle before him; a gout of lighting infused fire leapt from the blade, washing over another group of attacking guards. Kaiden grimaced at the Arcanist,

"Show off..." He grumbled, turning back to the action. Alice was doing her very best, using her blade to defend herself, while using static charged pushing spells to disarm, break apart, or push the living armor from the bridge. She didn't notice that a full set of armor had reformed itself right behind her!

"AJ watch out!" Logan shouted; but before the suit could bring its axe down upon the surprised Arcanist's head, Vivian's tail suddenly moved up to block it. The Nagini's upper body moved up behind the human girl, checking on her,

"You alright dear?" She asked with a smile. AJ smiled back,

"Sure am, thanks Viv!" She nodded, glaring back at the suit of armor. Vivian's tail swept downwards, knocking the guard to the ground before rising up and crashing down upon it, "Nice!" She complimented before the went back to taking out more of the guards,

"Move up! Rush the gates!" Rich bellowed, both he and Logan taking up the rear of the group; launching grenades into larger formations, and sniping guards from a distance, "Move before those cannons can take a crack at us!"

Barred windows slid open from within the castle, and the yells of Daemons in the ancient tongue echoed through the battlefield as cannons rocketed down unto the courtyard. More commons rushed out from a side gate, along with an armature of Lesser Demons in a shield formation around them. The Lesser Demons were simple, red skinned humanoids with obsidian black hair, and eyes that glowed as gold as the sulfur spouts in the depths of the Slip. Kaiden's eyes widened as he saw what their plan was. The lesser Demons all moved into a barrier formation, allowing the commons to move more freely.

"Rich! Nail 'em!", Kaiden yelled; turning to watch as Rich quickly rotated the lever on his grenade launcher three times, selecting one of the modified grenades Logan had specified for him to use. Rich aimed the gun upwards, and one of the commons rushed over to the cage, starting to pull the lever which would open it. The brute held his breath, calculating the wind speed and direction of the shot. He placed his finger to the trigger, and relaxed as he fired; the grenade speeding through the sky and leaving a trail of smoke as it arced down, exploding on the gravelly courtyard ground, obliterating the common that had nearly arrived at the cage, and four out of six of the entourage of Lesser Demons.

"HAHAHA!", Rick chuckled, quickly sprinting across the bridge, and eliminating the last of the barrier. "Move up!", the juggernaut yelled to his squadmates; moving down the cobblestone path to the gate. The defense of the enchanted suits of armor had been obliterated, and only stray pieces of the armor remained, along with shards of obsidian from where many had been blown away. There were three commons cowering behind the cages of some assorted fiends and variants of Nocturns, who were focused on getting out of their impenetrable cage to devour the hellish slaves.

"Ignore the bastards. Commons are too damned cowardly to fight us, and the creatures in the cages pose no threat.", Rich stated as his team regrouped. "Might want to take those shields. They're nothing special, but while we're in there, they'll be better than nothing.", Rich said, stepping over the body of one of the Demon guards. Kaiden and AJ both grabbed a shield, the latter shrugging it over her shoulder for the time being. Logan picked one of the shields up, examining it. He looked it over and also put the shield unto his back. Jackson looked at the group and walked over to the gate, as he could hear the muffled sounds of the Demons past the main foyer.

"We should keep moving.", Jackson said, as he could hear the voices becoming louder. The team nodded; all of them quickly moving into the main foyer.

It was dark, pedestals of flame lighting the corridor, which led up into what would've been the main hall. The walls were made of a dark maroon brick, uneven and patchy in color. The doors had elegant, ornate engravings, and were made of what appeared to be obsidian, too, which must've made them a pain to create. Pillars of dark grey rock probably acted as supports in the hallway.

"It's quiet...", Kaiden whispered, holding his shield high; his dagger in his right hand.

"Too quiet..." Jackson finished, and as if his words were ones of power, a trio of Lesser Demons appeared before them in the dark hallway, "Why the hell does that always cause shit to happen!?" Logan shouted as the three demons raised their arms upward, sending three tongues of bright green flames towards the group. Jackson and Vivian quickly got in front of the others, thrusting their own hands forward to create a large warding spell that spread to either side of the hall,

"Quickly! Check the doors, we have to find another rout!" Jackson growled, trying to keep the ward up against the onslaught of demon fire, "Protegat Tueri!" He shouted the words of power out loud, strengthening his part of the fading barrier,

"Obice Praesidium!" Vivian chanted, her ancient tongue obviously a little older then Jackson's. This seemed to make the shield all the more powerful however, buying the rest of them time to check the doors in the hall,

"Here! These two doors enter into a second hall that might curve inward towards the main chamber!" Kaiden informed them,

"Take it!" Rich barked, rushing down the new corridor, followed closely by Logan, Kaiden, and Alice. Jackson and Vivian glanced at each other and nodded in understanding. They turned their attention back towards the attacking demons,

"Protegat Ad Gladium!" They both shouted, pushing their ward forward, transforming it into an attack which stunned the trio of Lessers. The two then rushed into the side hall, Jackson closing and magically booby-trapping the door behind them, "Lets find another way towards the central chamber..." The Arcanist panted a little, he was using up a lot of his mana in the assault. Vivian saw this and rested her hand on his shoulder; transferring a bit of her magical energy into his body, "Hey... Thanks hun," Jackson smiled,

"This has to lead to another strait hall... maybe into some stairs?" Logan spoke, resting on hand on the wall, feeling it curve in on itself. Vivian shook her head a little,

"This hallway just leads around the Keep, making it easier for high-class Fiends and Demons to reach their quarters. Gehennae's throne room is on the second floor, and there is a spiral staircase in the central chamber," She explained, "There are three main halls leading into the central chamber... but if one of them has demons guarding it, then the others will too. They might even try blocking us into these smaller halls in order to capture or kill us,"

"Then we make our own way to the chamber!" Rich grunted, suddenly kicking the wall with his armored boot. The slightly fragile stone work collapsed inward against the blow with ease, opening up into a large bedroom of sorts. Instead of a bed however, there was a coffin situated atop a stone platform, "Oh bollocks, that can't be good..."

The group entered the room with caution surrounding the coffin as tactically as possible, investigating if the owner was inside. Vivian looked around closely before pointing out a small weak point in the wall of the room, which had a barred vent that probably lead to some kind of sewage system. "If the door gets blocked, we can send someone through there to reopen it.", Vivian announced, looking over to the others. "Or I can blow through the door."

Before the group could decide to send through the tunnel however the lid of the coffin was then thrown into the air hitting the ceiling so hard that it stuck to the surface. "Oh schiesse..." cursed Logan as he loaded a fresh magazine into his rifle. A claw popped out of the coffin and grabbed the air in an attempt to grab any member of the group. After realizing its failure the claw returned to the depth of the coffin. "Maybe we scared it?" asked Kaiden in a tone where everyone knew he knew that this skirmish was just getting started. The full creature then jumped out of the coffin and onto the wall to the left, revealing a fiend with the body of an ugly, gigantic scorpion.

"Ah guests, I have not entertained guests in over two centuries!" stated the scorpion as its eyes adjusted on the group. "And we have not been entertained by a scorpion since, well ever.", stated Logan, speaking for everyone. But Vivian looked over at him, and under her breath, mumbled, "Actually I have.". Logan gave her a look before continuing the conversation. "What do you go buy Mr. Scorpion?" asked Logan who stalled for a plan to come to the group. "Oh please Mr. Scorpion was my father! Call me Belsavis Tenuis Moralus XXIV. And I am female, you pathetic meatbag.", the fiend barked, crawling out of her cage.

"Well as much fun as this is," started AJ, "I think it's best we find an alternative entrance." The group turned around to head of the hole in the wall to the room, only to find it blocked by a mound of silk. The scorpion chuckled in a low, malicious voice. "I'm afraid you all misunderstand the situation.", she stated as jets of web retracted from the ceiling unto her back.

"As you can see it's time for my children to be born and you know what they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day!", the abomination roaring as a football sized scorpion emerged from her- well, to say the least, in Logan's eyes, it wasn't a pretty sight.

"Put a sock in it bug!" stated Rich as he fired a grenade towards the scorpion only to have it blocked by a mound of sand. "The bloody bug can control sand!" yelled Jackson to the group. "Where the hell did she even get sand?" asked Kaiden. Various boxes and dressers were then opened magically revealing nothing but sand. "Fucking-A, she kept sand in her room!", commented Logan as he fired a round at the monster only to have the sand absorb it like the 40mm grenade.

"RICH! Work on getting the door open!", Jackson ordered. As four of the scorpions rushed towards them, Logan shot them all to oblivion with the Venator Rifle's grenade launcher. "Baby arthropods have soft exoskeletons!", Logan announced as he reloaded his shrapnel grenade.

"HOW DARE YOU KILL MY CHILDREN! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THEIR FOOD!" screamed the scorpion at such a high pitch that the group got a headache. Rich looked back at her and started slamming his side into the door, the silk slowly going forward.

"Why couldn't we just have ignored the goddamn room!?", Kaiden yelled, sand erupting through the cracks in the stone flooring and sifting in the air towards the slots in the helmet.

"Protegat Tueri!", Jackson and Vivian screamed in unison, a ward forming in front of the two and blocking the sand off. Rich continued trying to bash the door open when AJ thought back to reading Jackson's spell book. She looked around. Water spells weren't her strength, but any little bit of water would turn the sand into mud. She closed her eyes, sheathed her Katana, and time seemed to slow as the words spilled from her mouth. "Diluvium... AQUAE!", the aspiring mage shouted. Jackson turned around, and as she thrust her arms out in a manner that would channel the water around her, the sound of a whitewater river spilled from her palms, the room darkening as a massive flood filled it.

The sand stopped floating around the room, trying to suffocate the people in the room, and the web shielding the door collapsed under the water. The scorpion collapsed, her powers weakened by it.

Kaiden took the opportunity, and as sound returned and the water poured into the vent, he leapt forward, tackling Belsavis and stabbing her in the face. The beast screamed, her pincer leaping forward. Kaiden cringed as he grabbed it, almost growling as he strained to keep her down with one arm. The others realized what he was doing and as the water poured from Logan's rifle he fired at her other claw, shooting it off. Kaiden lifted his knife once more and stabbed it into her left temple. The fiend was silenced immediately, all that remained a pile of mud and dead bugs.

"Fuck...", Kaiden yelled, sitting up in his soaking armor.

Just as Nale sat up, he heard a roar unlike anything he ever heard coming from the wasteland to the east. "What the fuck was that?" Nale thought as he sat up, gun at the ready. He heard another roar as he jumped in front of Michael. "Do you know what that is?" Nale asked as he turned towards Michael. "My dad told me stories of the creatures that roamed the wasteland. The roar most likely came from a saxum." said Michael.

Nale packed up his supplies before walking into the desert. He turned around and saw Michael, who was standing absolutely still. "Well, you comin' kid?" Nale asked as Micheal slowly walked towards him. "Don't worry, you can trust me." Nale said as Michael reached him. The two then walked through the desert, following the ominous roars.

"Well, Michael...how old are you?" "I'm thirteen. My birthday was a week ago, actually." Nale pulled out a pistol and cocked it. "Well, do you know how to shoot a gun?" "Yeah. My father was a survivalist. He made sure I knew everything about the wasteland and how to survive in it...so yeah, I know how to shoot." said Michael. Nale nodded and gave Michael the pistol.

"I'm kind of surprised a kid your age knows so much." said Nale, astonished. Michael chuckled. "Thank my father. He was kind of a hard-ass, but he was probably the best father anyone could have in a time like this." Nale nodded in agreement. Just as he was about to say something else, Nale saw a large figure in the distance, grabbed Michael and leaped behind a nearby rock. "What was that?" Michael asked.

"I don't know." Nale said as he peeked over the rock. The figure was in fact a saxum, feasting on a magna. Nale only realized then that these were the same creatures that were quarreling hours earlier. "Hmph. Looks like I was wrong about the magna." Nale thought as he prepared for an intense battle, but the saxum was lured away by the sound of what sounded like another saxum. Nale stood up and beckoned Michael over to the dead magna. Nale bent down to examine the creature, and found out that the magna did not die by the saxum's cold hands. It was in fact another person, since there were bullet holes in the chest and the back. Nale then examined the head and found a bullet wound. "Hmmmm, interesting." Nale quietly said as he stood back up.

"I think your father may be alive." said Nale.

"Liquid magic eh?" Jackson spoke, glancing towards his apprentice, "I'm surprised you were able to manifest so much water, being born a natural of the element's opposite," He pondered, speaking more to himself then to her, "Just be careful not to zap yourself; if not spoken or thought clearly, words of power can have adverse effects," The Arcanist warned,

"This is no time for a magic lesson!" Kaiden barked, hearing Jackson's trap going off down the hall, "We need to move!" Jackson glared at the archer for a moment, then nodded; following him out the door to the next Hall,

"They won't be expecting us here, we can easily get past the Demonic pyromancers this way," Vivian stated, slithering ahead of the group to take the lead. They managed to make their way back into the entrance hall, a little farther in then where the demons attacked them,

"Just nobody say; It's quiet..." Logan joked a bit, receiving a shush from Rich behind him. A large room opened up before them; large banisters portraying Gehennae's crest hung all around the circular room, and they moved up the stairway that led to the Lord's throne. The seat was set upon a raised platform, and was made of materials that even Vivian couldn't identify. The throne room around them was crowded with six huge pillars that stretched upwards into complete darkness,

"Well... where is he...?" Rich growled at the back of the group, his head turning slowly from side to side; looking for the Higher Demon, "You don't suppose he's away from the keep do ya?"

"No... no he's here..." Jackson assured him, glancing at his tattoos. His whole arm was tingling, and the marks themselves were glowing faintly, despite the fact he wasn't charging his mana for a spell, "I can feel him..."

"Well... let's not look a gift horse in the mouth... if he isn't in this room then that lets us search it for the music box right?" Kaiden asked, looking expectantly towards the others. When nobody paid him any attention, he shrugged his shoulders and started towards the throne. Jackson quickly reached out, snatching the archer's shoulder,

"Are you insane!? If I can feel his presence, don't you think he can feel ours!?" The Arcanist hissed, grasping his sword, and Kaiden's shoulder, tightly, "He knows we're here... he can appear at any moment! Think before you act, damnit!"

"Stop treating me like a damn kid, Arcanist! You've no authority over me!" Kaiden raised his voice, causing it to echo throughout the throne room. A great number of shouts and roars reverberated back, coming from the stairwell behind them and the darkness above,

"Good job Kaiden!" Jackson blamed, turning towards the stairs, "You probably just alerted every single demon within the throne room's vicinity!"

"It was my damn fault! You're the one who made me shout!" Kaiden snapped back, notching an arrow into place,

"Would you both just can it and focus on the ugly beasties that are comin' for us!?" Rich bellowed over them both, launching a grenade down the stairs towards the wave of numerous monsters ascending them.

"Ugh, fine!", Kaiden seethed, turning his attention to the assorted Demons. The grenade left the walls of the stairwell- and of multiple Demons, covered in a gritty, tar like substance that accounted for blood in the Daemonic' bloodstream.

Logan continually fired rounds into the Daemons; quickly shrugging the helmet on his armor up to give him the maximum field of view. "There's too many!", he started, backing up. "We can't hold the line!", Logan continued, running towards another stairwell which lead to one of two open walkways above the throne room.

"Logan! Stop!", Kaiden said. "Remember what Jackson said! He's here somewhere!", he continued, screaming the words in regret of what he had done. His field of view was clouded with a black haze; a dark voice seeming to whisper into his mind. Kaiden collapsed, groaning in pain. Rich turned around; as did Jackson.

Time seemed to slow as the arcanist uttered a single word:

"Gehennae."

"Bene, bene... What have we here...?" The Demon lord's voice echoed throughout the throne room, sounding ancient and sinister. Kaiden groaned with pain, clutching his temples as Gehennae's voice boomed within his head; the black haze that had appeared around him taking shape and solidifying into the monster himself. The demon was at least three times taller then Rich, with slate-grey skin that was riddled with, what looked like, cracks and scrapes. At first glance, the beast looked almost like a massive Gargoyal as he stood over the Archer in his black and crimson colored armor. The giant Gehennae reached down and wrapped his huge fingers around Kaiden's head, lifting the young human off the ground in a painful fashion,

"Homines... mortal beings in my regiam, my palace..." The demon's head swivled towards the others, and Jackson could have sworn he heard the grinding of stone against stone, "Quid vos hinc? Why do you insult my power by attacking my guard...?" The Arcanist noticed that the other demons had stopped their assault, either in fear or respect of their domain's master; Even Vivian looked like she was trembling. Jackson gulped a little; he knew Genhennae would be dangerous, but he hadn't imagined what the Higher Demon would look like, "Loquere! Speak now, unless you wish to see your companion die!" At this, his grin tightened around Kaidens skull, causing the Archer to shout out in pain,

"Hold on! We came here for separate motives!" Jackson spoke up, knowing that if he didn't AJ would've started pleaing for the Lord to release the Archer; and do so without thinking first, "These four came the Archa Damnationem! They are in the service of the Necromancer, Morrigan!" The growling and screaching of the demons around them fell silent at the name, much to the groups surprise. What few sentient creatures amongst the horde began whispering to themselves, mentioning "The Morrigan" several times. Even the mighty Gehennae seemed phased by the uttering of the title,

"Uideo... I see..." The Demon Lord grumbled; his bright yellow eyes glancing back to his captive. With a chuckle, the monser released Kaiden from his clutches and faded from sight, "So the Maurrader still lives... talis perturbatio... the other Lords shall be unpleased..." Gehennae appeared again, this time seated upon his elaborate throne; resting his head upon his fist. It was then that Jackson noticed just how elderly the demon looked. AJ and Logan rushed to Kaiden's side, while the others took possitions around them; keeping an eye on the horde all around. Jackson himself kept his eyes upon the Higher Demon,

"As I stated... they seek the possesion of the Archa Damna-"

"Silentium! I heard you the first time... I am not so old that my hearing has left me along with my sight..." Gehennae barked, his voice sounding almost raspy now, "Ego sum ita fessi... I do however grow weary with my ancient age... for what motives does The Morrigan seek the Damnationem, the box of Pandora as you so entitled it..."

"We... we do not know... we believe that he plans to kill us once we return it to him," Jackson tried to explain,

"Tanta superbiae... such arrogance. Though what can I expect from obscura magus, Necromancers..." The demon snorted in response, "If you've truely come for that cursed chest, then you've wasted your time in entering my chambers. Est non hic... It is not here..." The whole group almost winced together at Gehennae's words, but the bored-looking monster merely sighed and leaned in his seat more, "Paeloris, calm yourselves mortals, for it is within the Shrine to master Chaos..."

"So... wait..." Kaiden grunted, causing the monster to glance towards his voice, "You're... just giving it... to us?" The Archer almost sounded annoyed. Gehennae cracked a smile, almost litteraly; the stone like skin near his lips fracturing a bit, but the beast paid it no mind,

"The Archa Damnationem has been in my possesion for as long as I can remember... and for that length of time, there has been nothing I've wanted to do more then to traictio, to remove it, from my possesion..." The Lord grumbled, hanging his head a bit, "Take the cursed box... and leave me be..."

"There he is!" exclaimed Michael as he swiftly ran towards the motionless body. Nale stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that all-too familiar sound...

"Michael! Stop!" Nale whispered as Michael was only a couple feet from his father's corpse. Michael then turned around, confused. "Don't...move," Nale whispered. Michael started to breathe heavily as he slowly turned his head towards the countless Spormers converging around him and Nale. Goddamn it, I knew this was a bad idea Nale thought as he rested his hand on a grenade he scavenged while out in the wasteland. "Michael, when I count to three, I want you to run as fast as you can. Don't look back," Nale whispered. Michael nodded, preparing to sprint for his life. "One..." Nale said, gripping the grenade. "Two..." Michael moved his leg in the opposite direction. "THREE!" Michael yelled as he pulled the pin on the grenade and tossed it into the Spormer horde. The explosion killed many of the fiendish bugs, but there were too many. Nale quickly threw another grenade before picking up Michael's father and running. The spormers soon followed.

"Run!" Nale yelled as he rested Michael's father's lifeless corpse on his shoulder. Nale grabbed his pistol and fired at the spormers, killing only a couple but angering the rest. One of the spormers landed on Nale's arm, biting him. Nale yelped as he swiped the vermin off his swollen arm. Nale then threw his last grenade, killing many more spormers, but it was to no avail. It wasn't long before Nale pointed Michael at a cave, telling him to hide while he distracts the spormers. Michael complies, and makes a run for the cave.

Nale's plan worked until a few spormers dropped out of the chase and began to track Michael, who was defenseless. Nale cursed at the spormers before reaching a maze of boulders and rocks. Hiding in the crevice of two rocks, the spormers fly past. Nale chuckled before resting Michael's father's body against a nearby rock while he went to protect Michael, who was seconds away from becoming another victim of the deadly bugs. Retracting his pistol, Nale fired at the incoming spormers, killing a few. The rest reached Michael, but to Nale's shock, Michael had formed an arcane shield around himself. The shield then exploded, killing the spormers and sending Nale back.

Nale got back up, and could only look at Michael, who was just as confused as he was.

Part 15[]

"Well...?" Jackson finally spoke after a brief moment of silence caused by the Demon Lord's statement, "What are you morons waiting for? He just said you can take the Music Box!" He turned his head to glance back Kaiden and the others, "Go on ahead; Vivian and I will catch up later..."

"And what the hell are you going to do!?" AJ demanded, helping Logan lift the archer to his feet. The demons that had taken positions along the walls of the stairwell behind them seemed to grow antsy, the noise from their growls of hunger growing louder. Gehennae slowly looked up towards Jackson as his words echoed through the chamber, and raised a inquisitive eyebrow in the Arcanist's direction. Jackson could almost feel the Lord's gaze upon him, so he quickly turned back to meet his frightful gaze,

"Excuse me for leaving a small part of my explanation out, oh great lord of black fire. But this Nagini and I are here for a different purpose!" The Arcanist bellowed, standing tall against the monsters around them, "We're here to free Vivian's brother..." Jackson continued, raising his sword to point at Gehennae's face, "Even if it means killing you!"

Vivian flinched a little at Jackson's words, completely caught off guard by his bold statement. She'd never heard of a mere human mage challenging a Higher Demon before, much less a Demon Lord. Gehennae seemed unphased though, chuckling a little at the Arcanist's bravery,

"Occupetis... maxime celebravit! I admire your courage Mortalis..." The Higher Demon spoke, clapping his hands mockingly, "However... No matter how much I have aged in the past aevum, a mere human could never best me!" The demon stood from his throne, towering over everyone else; his rocky skin cracking and grinding against itself. Jackson didn't move, fully prepared for the battle,

"Go! Get the damn box! We'll catch up!" He shouted to the others as Vivian slithered forward, taking her place beside him; their auras sparking for a short moment. At first nobody moved, somewhat dumbfounded by what they'd just heard. The Rich's voice cut through the horrid sounds of the other demons,

"You heard him! Get your asses in gear!" The older survivor twisted back towards the stairwell, launching a concussive grenade that stunned a large majority of the horde awaiting them, "Move!" The others rushed the small opening, managing to keep the demons at bay as they made their way down the stairs and out of sight. Gehennae's deep laughter once again shook the room,

"Homines... so brave, yet so mindless. If they believe my followers will not stop them from reaching the Archa Damnationem then they're stupor is greater then anyone else that I've witnessed," The demon growled, "So then... Nos adepto coepi?"

"Not just yet..." Jackson answered, unafraid, "Where is Vivian's brother!?"

"Ah yes..." Gehennae smiled evilly, turning towards a second entrance to his right, "Cinis! Venit et obviam, ingrata convivae!" The lord shouted in the ancient tongue. From the darkness of the second corridor came a lightly armored Naga, whose scales were slate grey and had red diamond-shaped designs along the back of his long tail. His hair was the same dark color as his scales, was messy and uncempt, and came down to his waist. Slung over his shoulder was a massive, folding-blade scythe; which he no doubt used in combat. At the sight of her brother, Vivian nearly broke into tears again, but resisted the urge to rush over and embrace him,

"C-Cinis... Its been so long since I saw him last... How awful he looks..." The Nagini winced, biting her lower lip to keep it from trembling. Jackson looked upon her sympathetically, having never had a sibling of his own, "He used to have black hair... Even darker scales... And his eyes... His eyes were once amber color... Now there but soulless pools of grey..."

"You see now, Nagini... Coming here was insulus. Your brother does not even remember you now..." Gehennae's cold voice echoed throughout the throne room once more, "I'd planned on taking his corpus, his body, as my own through means of a soul transfer. My own form is not as impressive as it had once been, and it is reaching the end of its lifespan... however, with your brother's form I will be able to keep my piorum viribus, and have a young powerful body once again!"

"I will not let you!" Vivian suddenly screamed, tears running down her cheeks, " I will not let you have my brother! I will not! Will not! Will not let you!" She suddenly smashed her fists against the stony floor, a sapphire blue glyph appearing under her hands, "Cristallum carcere!" The marking stretched out, becoming distorted into the shape of a long glowing line that stretched from her to the Higher Demon's clawed feet. It quickly expanded into a full circle of runes again, large crystalline spears expanding from it in an attempt to pierce through the Lord's body. Gehennae vanished however; the crystals shattering against each other,

"You are not the one who challenged me meretrix!" Gehennae's insult sounded from behind Jackson, who turned fast enough to raise his blade; blocking the giant, naginata-like weapon that swung down upon him. The Arcanist clenched his teeth at the Demon Lord's strength, but still managed to chant his Warding Spell,

"Offensum Fidem; Fortitudo Sestertiorum Millia!" The effects were immediately noticeable as Jackson's physical strength skyrocketed; the weight of Gehennae's press putting much less strain on his body, enabling him to deflect the demon's weapon and leave him open to attack, "Drago Ignis Tonitrui!" The Arcanist let loose a massive wave of fire and lightning from his mouth, but the spell passed right through the Demon as he vanished yet again, "Damn his shadow dancing..." Jackson cursed out loud,

"Cinis! Fac cum soror dum disperdam Seraphim!" Gehennae ordered; Vivian's brother obediently unhooking his scythe from his shoulder, unfolding its vicious blade, and rushing at her with tremendous speed,

"Vivian! I'm sorry but he no longer remembers you! He's no longer your brother!" Jackson warned as the Ash Naga was upon her,

"I know..." She said softly, raising her tail just before the scythe cleaved off her head. The blade sparked against her indestructible scales, and the Nagini was quick to retaliate; pounding her fist into Cinis' jaw to send the Naga flying backwards through the air. Cinis recovered midair, landing upon his coils and springing towards her yet again. Jackson was almost too distracted to notice Gehennae's naginata heading towards his own neck,

"Fulgur Vivorum Moveat!" The Arcanist flashed away from the demon's blade in a crack of thunder, instantly taking a fighting stance at a safe distance away, "I've grown tired of your instant movement magic... So I made one of my own! Now lets truly see if Darkness is faster then Light!"

Quickly escaping the main chamber, the group shut the door behind them. "We need to move fast! It looks like this wing is that to darkness!", Rich bellowed, spinning his grenade launcher a few times.

The group was what appeared to be the hallway of any old castle. The doors however had been replaced with what appeared to be some sort of a ward. Some were opaque, others, empty ones, translucent. "Too many bloody damn hallways in this place... Look, over there!", Rich continued, five suits of armor rushing out. They were the same stone ones as seen on the guards, but these... Something was different. Perhaps it was simply that their helmets had faces emblazoned on them, massive, long horns protruding from their top, a massive jewel on the head of each, one red, one blue, and one a darkish green... Or maybe it was that-

As Kaiden thought things over, preparing an arrow, one of their hands reached out, pulling a chunk of the floor out and thrusting it at the group, Kaiden sidestepping as Rich and Logan ducked, AJ stepping the other way.

"Well, fight fire with fire, magic with magic!", AJ yelled, shoving the three boys out of her way as she peeled off her helmet, runic markings seeming to appear on her face with an intense glow.

She remembered a spell she had read in the codex, and was hoping that she understood it right as the young Arcanist shouted out "MURUM FULGUR!", a giant wall of lightning appearing before her and quickly rushing through the hallway, blasting out lanterns as it did so and engulfing the guards as they each stumbled back from the blast, one of their attacks blocked.

But the one with blue jewels on his armor looked back at her, screaming, in a ghostly, supernatural voice, "Pressura infusorium", a jet of rapidly moving water flowing towards AJ. "I'm not sitting out on this one!", Rich roared, firing a round from his grenade launcher; quickly dousing the jet and splashing water everywhere.

Kaiden, hyped up on an adrenaline rush, jumped past AJ and into the air, making three quick footsteps on the wall as he passed her, ducking under a ball of fire launched by one of the guards. He flew forward at the pyro guard, grabbing him and putting him into a rear choke, thrusting him towards the group, shouting "LOGAN, SHOOT THE GEM!", the armored fellow nodding and firing at the jewel three times, the gem shattering as the guard toppled to the ground, now nothing more than a few pieces of armor. "These aren't, augh, black fire, like the-", Kaiden started, now in heated hand to hand combat with one of them. He grabbed the guard's helmet, pulling it back by the horns as with one foot he swept the armor off of his feet, quickly thrusting his head back against the archer's knee.

"Help, god damnit!", Kaiden screamed as Logan and AJ ran forward with their swords out, all aiming for the jewels. Kaiden quickly disarmed one of the non-magical guards and took its sword, hitting the other's helmet off as Logan slammed his durable sword through its chest. "Up the stairs, go!", Rich shouted as the group finished off the last guard, three more demons running down. Still running at top speed, the girl shouted "DEOREM PULSUS!", two of the demons flying back, quickly dispersed by Kaiden and Logan as she swung her Katana around and decaptiated the last Demon.

The group reached a second level, which in Latin, had a very convenient sign written crudely on the cobblestone wall which said "LATRINA ET SACRUM TENEBRAE". "Tenebrae... I think that means chaos or darkness. This way!", Rich translated as he turned the corner into what appeared to be a large chamber with elegant, red stone wallings, black details, and what looked to be large amounts of books to the left and right.

It was some sort of large room, possibly for darkness. The group had no understanding of the layout, but this was nestled safely in a central room, four parallel hallways containing other amenities.

The ceiling was high, a dark grey chandelier dangling from atop. Centrally located on a pedastal was a chest. The group could feel a dark presence in the room, as a medium-high pitched noise rang out in the ears of the wanderers, boots materializing, glowing violet as slowly, matter seemed to be dragged into the point where the boots were materializing. Slowly, the violet glow faded away, the group met with a familiar sight, a face with hair that was dead silver, pulled back so one could see the widow's peak which seemed to merge with the pale white skin that contrasted like the moon on the fabric of the night sky.

"Hello again, homines. Remember when I said quid vis, recti et ipse benefac? When you want something done right - do it yourself? Well, I told his highness that I had to get something of mine back.... He was confident in my abilities to stop you all.... I will take joy in this, mortals. And perhaps when I'm done-", Marethryu looked at AJ with a smile,

"I can turn this fine specimen into something more... adequate.", the high ranking demon finished. "Now, let's not stand here talking. Venit faciem hoc daemonium dominus, homines!". Grinning, Marethryu lit one flame in his left hand, pulling a sword out of the other as he ran forward. "Inhabilitantes dis!", he shouted, Rich flying into a wall, the masonry cracking with the force as the burly fellow was knocked unconscious.

"I will settle this with the one that killed poor Maronious, you vile beast!", Marethryu seethed as he dodged attacks from Kaiden with seemingly no effort. "Now off with you and your couent, mortalis!", the lord said, pushing Kaiden and AJ towards the upper wall. "Funale conterat!", the lord casted, the chandelier being ripped from its post and magically pinning the two to the wall as it melded into bars, encased with a magical seal that would hold up until broken from the outside.

"You know, one thing Gehennae tries to teach is that killing is much more fun when you get to seem them struggle, not chained away. However, I personally believe that if you want to settle something personally, take advantage of what you've got, right?", Marethryu chuckled.

"Look you jerk, that didn't even make sense!", Logan said, grabbing the sword Kaiden dropped from the ground.

"Oh, yes it did. Your feeble mortal mind just cannot understand the concept in my power. Gehennae grows weak, and I shall overthrow him soon....!", Marethryu shouted, sparking out his spells.

"Now, let us duel mortal!", the demon seethed, holding his sword upright. Logan charged at him with anger, all his friends unable to help him. The young man swung with his Bowie sword, the demon grabbing it with his hand and swinging it downward, thrusting his own sword up as Logan parried with his other sword.

"Ignire gladio!", the demon warmage screamed, his sword alight as the two clashed.

Rich's vision slowly faded in as he saw Logan seeming to put up a good fight with Marethryu. His back aching and a gash on his side, his first priority was to distract Marethryu. Perhaps he could distract him, giving Logan time to kill him.

Rich quietly grabbed his grenade launcher, and put it on his lap, Logan glancing over at the movement, as he was facing him.

"So- what about those two feminam canes, that, agh, dumped their brethren for homines?", the powerful demon cursed at Logan. "RICH NOW!", he responded, jumping backwards as Rich laughed, firing at Marethryu, thrust back by the sheer force.

Logan, already up, ran over to him and hilt bashed him back to the ground as the mage started to get up. "DON'T CALL THEM BITCHES!", Logan said, slamming his Bowie Sword down on Marethryu's stomach. The demon gasped for air, coughing up blood as Logan sliced his esophagus in two, the tip of his right lung along with it.

He pulled out the sword and quietly mumbled, "I hope you bleed to death, you bastard.", turning around and walked towards the two still trapped in the chandelier, Rich taking his side. "We'll get you out of there!", he bellowed, Kaiden's expression seeming to change to shock and fear as he saw something.

From behind Rich and Logan, Marethryu had gotten up, and was now limping towards the two. Logan smiled and nodded at Kaiden. Rich understood and Rich and Logan pretended not to hear Marethryu.

As the demon raised his sword, Logan, faster than the human eye could see, spun around, swinging his Bowie Sword into the proper alignment with Marethryu's neck. It impacted the cold flesh with a satisfying squish, the sharp, wide sword cutting it clean off, the warmage not knowing what had hit him as his head flew to the ground.

"That was for being such a douche last time, you son of a bitch!", Logan raged for one final time, blood spurting from the jugular of Marethryu's neck as Logan spit on his body.

Rich fired one shot at where Kaiden and AJ were, the chandelier and the two dropping down unto the ground.

"Agh.... It hurts being magically sealed in tight spaces.", Kaiden said, rubbing his shoulder. "Good work out there, Logan... You remind me a lot of me as a boy'...", Rich stated, AJ smiling and opening her arms for a group hug, the three others obliging.

"Fulmine Percussit!" A small, but piercing bolt of lightning shot from Jackson's extended index and middle fingers; shooting through the empty space the demon once stood in, "Damn!"

"Nigrum Ignis Flagellum..." Gehennae's voice boomed, forcing Jackson to use his Lightning Jump movement spell to dodge a whip-like tongue of pitch black flames. The Archanist panted a little; the teleporting spell was a real drain on his mana reserves, since he had only just tried it out. He couldn't help but chuckle at the fact he risked his life in order to try a spell combo that might not have worked,

"Ingenti Augue!" He tossed a large fireball towards the monster, only to have it smacked away like nothing,

"Foolish mortal! Me vincere posse putas incendia!? Die pathetic dog!" The demon shouted, lashing out with his naginata at the Archanist once more. Jackson brought his blade up to defend, his previous strength enhancing Ward still in effect, but he was knocked back by the force anyway; smashing through one of the large columns and tumbling across the floor to a stop,

"... Ouch..." Jackson grunted, slowly getting back to his feet, "That one's gonna hurt in the morning..."

"You'll never see another morning!" The Archanist was suddenly smashed against the wall of the throne room, pressed against it by Gehennae's clawed foot. He shouted out in pain, but thankfully the blow was not enough to crush him; at least not while his ward was still up. But he could slowly feel his strength fading, and the demon's sole slowly pushing harder, "Ego finem hic!" The Demon Lord shouted, preparing to stab his massive blade into Jackson's exposed head.

"PULSUS DISPLODO!!!" The giant Gehennae was suddenly forced backwards as Jackson's aura exploded around him, causing the wall he was pinned upon to collapse, revealing the outside air and the courtyard below. The Demon himself fell backwards against another pillar, crumbling it and bringing down a piece of the ceiling above; partially obscuring him from sight, "... Damnit... that was too close..." Jackson panted, crouching just ahead of the destroyed wall.

"MUTARE LUMEN CORPUS!!!" Gehennae's shout rang in the Arcanist's head, and the rubble the Demon Lord was buried under was blow away. It wasn't the giant Gehennae that stepped forward to continue the battle however, but was a much smaller version; one that looked much less clumsy and slow, "I settle this in a smaller, faster form..." The demon chuckled, his Naginata having shrunk in size as well,

"Well... I can't say I'm surprised... but I guess I should thank you for taking it easy on me..." Jackson retorted, standing to his feet and readying himself,

"Believe me, mortalis, I am by no means 'taking it easy' on you..." The demon growled, suddenly lunging forward at an astounding speed to which Jackson could barely keep up with; and when their blades crashed together yet again, the Arcanist realized his mistake. Gehennae hadn't sacrificed his strength for speed; he was just as strong as before!

"S-shit..." Jackson swore through clenched teeth as he kept his sword locked with the monster's, "You're one... tough mother fu-" He didn't get to finish his insult as the Demon swept his legs out from under him, "Fulgur Vivorum Moveat!" Jackson blinked away again, but Gehennae was quick to follow using his Shadow Dance technique; appearing behind the Archanist and bringing his blade down upon him. Jackson brought up his blade to defend, redirecting the naginata off to his side and spinning around to make a slice at the demon's neck.

Gehennae took a quick step backwards to avoid the slash, but was unable to defend against another Lightning spell that struck him in the chest and sent him twisting through the air. Jackson used his teleporting spell once more; jumping to the spot in which he believe the demon would land and swinging at him with his blade. Somehow though, Gehennae was able to right himself at the last second, blocking Jackson's attack with his weapon,

"Tenebris Flamma Spiritus!" The demon shouted whilst seemingly suspended upside down in front of the Bladesman. Jackson barely avoided the wave of black flames that escaped the Demon Lord's mouth.

Meanwhile, Vivian and Cinis were still battling each other, the former clearly having the upper hand due to her brother's Reaper style of combat; excellent offense, but little defense. But no matter how many times she knocked him down or thrown him away he kept coming back, fueled by Gehennae's dark magic. She effortlessly ducked under another wide swing of her brother's scythe, and smashed her palm into his chestplate,

"Quinque Tridens Sigilli!" Five, brilliant blue beams passed harmlessly through Cinis' torso, making him leap away; possibly in question of what had happened, though he showed no emotion of it, "Sorry brother... but you won't be using any of your cursed flames against me in this battle..." She said softly, moving back into a fighting stance, "I've sealed away your mana energy... the spell isn't permanent, but it'll last long enough..." She glanced over to where the Archanist and the Demon Lord were still exchanging attacks, "Jackson... please hurry and finish him...!"

An explosion rumbled, echoing through the entire fortress as the ground quaked for a moment, Kaiden slowly grabbing the chest. In design, it was as Morrigan had described it - just like a music box. "Careful now.... That thing is full of every nightmare you've ever had, essentially.", Rich stated, Kaiden blinking as he saw an image of his father firing at hijackers.

Logan wiped off his Bowie Sword with a rag he had inside his pouch. "Let's put it inside your pouch, Logan.", Rich suggested, motioning for Kaiden to put it in there. Carrying the box over, the pouch seemed to pull back as Kaiden neared it, a distant whimper erupting from the pouch as Max seemed to protest putting the box in there.

"It sounds like there's some pretty insane stuff going on down there.", Logan said, listening to the rumbles of explosions from Gehennae and Jackson's battle. "Jackson can handle himself well enough, Logan.", Rich started. "And remember, he's got Vivian to help 'im out.", he finished, looking around.

"I'm pretty sure the stairwell we came in through leads up to the ramparts. There's a few cannons up there I need.", the burly brute stated, attaching the giant grenade launcher to a clip on his side.

"Hey, look.", AJ said, picking up the sword lying by Marethryu's limp body. "Think this would be worth something on Cael?", she asked. Rich nodded. "That there is a Rubema sword. It's the equivalent to... Diamond reinforced with metal rods. Yeah, you heard me. Diamond.", Rich said. AJ smiled and handed the sword to Logan, who dropped it in his pouch.

"We should go before more arrive. They've probably cleared out the ramparts by now, so we'll have a good few minutes before-", Rich stated. Before he could finish, bits of dust and rubble from the ceiling dropped down.

"Alright, we'd best hurry up before the place comes down on top of us... I think he might need help after all.", Rich finished, the group running back towards the stairs.

As they reached the peak of the stairs, the Burning Expanse truly looked like a warzone. Bits and pieces of gore and armor were strewn about the large pillar in which the Keep was situated. The bridge had a few holes from the explosions that everyone had caused, and blood colored the orangish rock claret, a sign that a group of simple homines could, even if they failed, take out over half of the fighting forces of a Demonic Lord. Shoot, they might even take the lord himself out, as Logan had taken out one of his higher servants alone.

"There's a Umbranic sheath in these cannons which I can use to fire heavy artillery blessed rounds from my cannons. It'll also be useful for keeping the engine temperature down.", Rich stated confidently, walking over to one of the cannons.

He pulled a wrench out of one of the small cracks in his armoring, probably containing a few assorted pouches inside, and began unscrewing the top half of the cannon.

"So, where're you blokes going once you get out' of here?", Rich asked as he peeled off a section of the panel, the inside lined with what appeared to be stark violet glass.

"East, to Imperisium City. It's a good 600 kilometers, so we'll be walking for days.", Kaiden stated. AJ and Logan just shrugged. They had no where else to go, so it wasn't a bad deal for them.

Rich nodded slowly, then pulled out a tool obviously made for scraping. He placed it under the sheath, and lifted it up, then pulling off the thin, plastic like material.

AJ nodded her head several times in return, and asked "What about you, Rich? Just gonna live out the rest of your life down here?" Rich chuckled. "Bah, I haven't been to Cael in five god damn years. Is the community in Three Wood Oaks still - ah, who am I kidding. Once that portal came down everything started going to hell... Literally.", he replied.

AJ furrowed her brows at the reply. "No, Rich, answer the question." The brute sighed and pulled off his large helmet, setting it on the ground. Beads of perspiration were forming on his head as the sun beat down on it. "I... Don't really know. This place... It fascinated me, the different scenery, all the strange life. But.... I mean it's gotten so mundane, down here. The most excitement I've had in years was you kids. And seeing Jackson again reminded me how long I've been down here.", Rich started.

"And with how beat up Baby already is, I mean I'm sure this stuff will keep her alive longer, but keeping her up and running down here is a task.", he continued. "Either way, I guess I'll-", the brute almost finished, as he was interrupted by a loud explosion punching a hole through the ceiling of the center chamber.

"Alright, that's it. We've gotta go help Jackson. I've gotten what I need. Let's move.", Rich stated once more, sliding most parts from the cannon into a canister located parallel to the one that contained his grenades. The group all got up from their short rest, everyone sliding their helmets back up. Logan and Kaiden turned to Rich, who motioned for them to come along, the four starting towards the main chamber.

"Atritus Calorem Percussit..."

"Fulmine Blastica!"

"Passo Fuoco Nero..."

"Tempesta Dio Furore!"

Slowly but surely the continuous exchange of spells and attacks were blasting away at the central chamber, and there was only two pillars remaining to hold up the ceiling. Jackson's breathing was heavy, as he was wasting precious mana and stamina in his attempts to strike Gehennae; who didn't seem to be tiring at all,

"Damnit... why won't you just... hold still!?" The Arcanist shouted in mild frustration, prompting a faint chuckle from the Demon Lord, "Volano Scintille Incidente!" Another Storm Spell flew from Jackson's hand, this time hitting the monster's torso directly; but he was so weak that his spells had lost their power, and were little more then fancy light tricks now, "... D-damn..."

"What's the matter, bastardo? Lost the will to fight?" Gehennae mocked, beginning to slowly walk towards the hapless mage, "Or perhaps la voglia di vivere, the will to live?" Jackson quickly brought up his sword to defend himself, but he knew full well that if his offensive spells were already useless, then his strength enhancing ward was also inert; which meant that the Demon Lord's next move might put an end to their confrontation.

Vivian caught her brother's scythe in her coils, tugging it from his grip and pulling him into a powerful double-hit that sent him crashing into the chamber wall. She then lifted her index and middle finger of her right hand, aiming them at Cinis' torso whist gripping her wrist to keep it steady,

"Palizzata Anello D'oro!" A trio of shining, golden rings pulsed outwards from her fingers, clamping Cinis' neck and wrists to the facade; effectively trapping the Ash Naga. She then quickly turned back towards Jackson and Gehennae, raising her palm towards the former, "Trasferimento Magico Legame!" A blue stream of magical energy poured from her hand, flowing forward to connect with Jackson's weakening aura.

The Arcanist felt newfound strength in an instant as the Nagini allowed him to tap into her own, near limitless, mana reserves. He quickly used this to his advantage, giving his strengthening ward new power just as the Demon Lord brought his weapon down upon him. Blades clashed and sparked together once again, and Jackson smiled at his enemy's astonishment,

"What's the matter, Gehennae...!? Were you expecting it to be that easy!?" The Arcanist boasted, pushing back against the Demon and causing him to stagger, "Pulsus Urlare!" The invisible push manifested itself through Jackson's voice, smashing against the demon and sending him flying once more, "This guy is relentless... if I'm not careful I might use up Vivian's power as well..." The Arcanist thought to himself, watching the Demon crash into one of the last Pillars.

Kaiden and the others rushed into the throne room, or what was left of it, just as Gehennae smashed through one of the final two columns; the ceiling would come down at any moment now. Rich bashed away a large chunk of the roofing that nearly came down upon AJ's head, giving her a reassuring nod when she smiled up at him,

"There's Vivian over there! It looks like she trapped something," Logan pointed out,

"It might be her brother!" AJ replied, all of them heading over to the Nagini, whose cloudy, blue aura was visibly connected to Jackson's jagged, electric-like spirit, "What's going on?" The young Arcanist asked, glancing back at her mentor; who'd just crossed blades with the monster once again, "And why is Gehennae so small now?"

"He resorted to a smaller form once Jackson was able to resist his larger, slower one. This form is much faster though, and after I trapped Cinis I was able to feed my own mana into Jackson," Vivian explained, "He already used up the majority of his own, so I'm allowing him to use mine in its place, until he gains enough of his back!"

"Jesse... Magic's somethin' else eh?" Rich grunted, watching as Jackson expelled a large shockwave from his body, pushing the Demon Lord away as the latter was beginning to gain the upper hand at close range,

"Damnit, this is no good!" Jackson thought, keeping the Demon at bay with a volley of lightning bolts, "I'll have to use it... there's just no other way to beat this guy! Sorry Vivian... this is going to be a strain on both of us..." He suddenly drove the tip of his blade into the floor in front of him, and clasped his hands together as if her were praying. Gehennae stopped for a moment confused on what the Arcanist was doing, "Invocazione... Del Emissary Tempesta..." The Arcanist chanted. The visible, late afternoon sky of the Slip was suddenly obscured by a profusion of black clouds, and the sound of thunder echoed over the Burning Expanse,

"Impossibile... Is this mere human calling upon an Emissary for aid!?" Gehennae whispered questioningly, dumbfounded by what he was witnessing,

"Didn't know they were calling for thunderstorms today!" Rich joked, almost shouting over the roar of the thunder,

"What the hell is he doing!?" Kaiden demanded, holding onto AJ so she didn't fall over against the sudden gust of strong wind; but Vivian looked just as bewildered as the Demon Lord,

"An Emissary... I can't... I can't believe it...!" Was all she could manage to say, suddenly strengthening the flow of her mana to lend Jackson even more, "If he's serious about pulling this off, he will need all the essence I can lend him..." She thought, her expression turning stony and serious, "Jackson... be careful..."

"Well! What are you waiting for, mago? Call upon your Emissary! Dammi una sfida! Let me truly test myself!" Gehennae howled, outstretching his arms on either side of him and grinning widely,

"Humph... with pleasure..." Jackson grunted. He suddenly raised his marked, right arm towards the sky, supporting it by grasping its wrist with his other hand. A large bolt of lightning rocketed down from the sky, striking his raised palm and creating a large electrical sphere around his body. A few devastating bolts rushed along the floor, tearing at the stone like paper and sending a large amount of debris into the air. The whole keep shook from the continuous lightning strikes, and the roof began to tumble down upon them,

"Watch it!" Logan shouted,

"Its coming down!" Rich warned, franticly trying to move everyone back away from the falling chunks of stone.

"Uscira... ANGUIS!!!" The air was filled with a blinding light as the largest bolt of lightning crashed down upon the Arcanist, completely disintegrating the remains of the falling roof, and knocking all but Gehennae backwards from the sheer pressure. Once they could see again, Kaiden and the others almost couldn't believe what they saw; towering over Jackson, whose tattoos and eyes were glowing a bright blue color and whose aura was sparking out of control, was a massive Dragon-like apparition made completely out of crackling lightning, "Behold, Gehennae... Anguis, the Lightning Dragon, and Emissary of Storms!"

"Holy fucking shit.", AJ cursed under her breath. The four stood in awe as energy pulsated through and around Jackson, sparks flying in the air of the now open room. The sky darkened, the sun around the Keep blotted out.

"Mortalis homo, why have you called upon me at this time? I do not enjoy the company of your kind, so primitiva.", a voice from the sky thundered. The voice itself seemed composed of an eerie thunder that seemed to induce a slight rain, the lake and Keep becoming moist for the first time since the opening.

"Lord Anguis, I have called upon you to aid me in slaying this Demon Lord.", Jackson said, swallowing quite loudly as sweat poured down his forehead.

The bits of electricity composing the Dragon seemed to spark out, replaced by another every instant as the Emissary moved its head towards Gehennae. "Daemonum spumae, quod est qualm cum hoc mortale?", the thunder boomed once more.

"Stulti Humanum provocatus me, pugnae pro nefas coeunt frater!", Gehennae replied quite confidently. "Ita ire ad ubicumque de et relinquere stulti homines et esse!", he continued, raising his hand up towards the sky, drops of water falling on it as stray barks of thunder filled the sky.

"Non modo mihi quid faciam. Ideo,", Anguis replied, "I shall help you, humana venientes de Seraphim.", he finished. Jackson nodded and grasped his sword even tighter as the beast seemed to lower itself unto Jackson, its energy funneling into the tattoos, each glowing brighter as Anguis gave its power to the Arcanist.

His tattoos glowed so brilliantly bright they almost blinded the others, Rich safe only because of the small eyeholes of his helmet. "GEHENNAE...", Jackson started, his voice booming, merged with the sounds of thunder that roared in the sky above him, as if Anguis was speaking in synchronization with him.

Jackson grasped his sword so hard his knuckles turn white. He lowered his head for a moment, and then raised it, shouting, "ULTIMA SERA!", the thunder booming in synchronization with his words as a massive bolt of lightning formed, flying towards Gehennae, who roared with anger as he was engulfed in a brilliant jolt of lightning, smoke enshrouding the area around Gehennae.

"I think... I think we did it!", AJ cheered. A smile formed on Kaiden's face as Logan's jaw dropped, the moment of silence almost eerie.

But then Vivian gasped, as she saw the sliver of movement from within the clouds.

As they cleared, one could see Gehennae. Electricity pulsated through the Demon as he rose to his feet, dusting himself off to prevent the dirt from becoming wet and sticking. "AGH. YOU FOOLISH HUMANA, PREPARE TO DIE!"

Jackson winced with frustration as Gehennae stood, almost completely unharmed by the tremendous attack. He fell to his knees in pain as sparks of remaining electrical energy shot over his body, and his muscles spasmed from the pulses shooting through them. The Demon Lord's anger suddenly turned to amusement from the Arcanist's pain,

"What's wrong, bastardus!? Can you not stabit!? Do you lack the strength to pergere certamen!?!" Gehennae cackled, quickly striding over to Jackson, kicking him onto his back and stamping upon his face, "Te misellus. Infirma. Fragmen nugas!!!" He cursed in the ancient tongue, grinding his clawed foot against the Arcanist's cheek. Jackson shouted out in pain from the Demon's tormenting, trying his hardest to push Gehennae off of him; but his power had fled him, Anguis having drained most of his and Vivian's remaining mana. The Demon's expression changed once more, a look of annoyance plastered upon his facade,

"You never truly were a match for my power... and will die like the filthy, humana, magus that you are..." Gehennae hissed, rising up from the stone floor, suspended by his magical aura, "But... for providing me with such a splendid operamini I shall make sure your death will be a slow... Painful one!" At this, the monster raised his arms above his head, a swirling orb of pitch black fire manifesting between his palms. A loud hissing echoed through the air, as if some great serpent were coiling around the column of obsidian that kept the Keep towering over the lava-lake far bellow, "TENET INCENDIA INFERNI; MAGNUS PONTICUM FLAMMA HYDRA!!!"

The orb of dark flames expanded to fill the air above the Demon Lord, blotting out the light from the Slip's twin suns once again. The group of survivors could feel the heat of the cursed fire from where they stood far below Gehennae. Six red lights took shape within the blackness, forming the eyes for a trio of serpent-like heads and bodies that took shape from the black fire; they slithered through the air around the monster, their hisses having a burning sound to them. Gehennae once again broke out in an almost insane laughter, and at once the Black Flame Hydra turned all of its attention down towards Jackson. The Arcanist slowly got back onto his feet, using his blade as leverage to pull himself to a standing position.

"IT MATTERS NOT IF YOU ARE ABLE TO STAND, SERAPHIM! FOR TODAY YOU DIE IN THE HEART OF INFINITAS INFERNO!" Gehennae roared, his voice almost distorted by his insanity,

"... Quit your howling, old man..." Jackson grunted, smirking up at the demon fearlessly, "If you're going to put an end to my life, then get it over with before I die of old age!" The Arcanist continued to mock the monster, much to the confusion of his friends, "COME ON! STRIKE ME DOWN GEHENNAE! OR ARE YOU TOO WEAK!?!"

"Damnabilis magus... MORI!!!" The demon cursed Jackson one last time before thrusting his palms downwards, prompting the trio of snake-like tongues of fire to crash downwards towards the Arcanist; Jackson lifted his blade towards the incoming flames, bracing himself just before the darkness came down upon him, exploding outward to form a vortex of black fire.

"JACKSON!!" Vivian cried out, but the roaring flames drowned out her voice,

"D-damn it..." Kaiden swore, turning his gaze back up to Gehennae, "That bastard was probably our only chance of beating this guy..." He growled in frustration, notching an arrow as the monster turned its attention down towards them,

"Watch it... he's comin' for us now..." Rich warned, readying his grenade launcher. The others prepared themselves as Gehennae's red, hate filled eyes bore down upon them,

"I can almost feel those eyes of his piercing through my body..." Logan winced, keeping the demon's head trained in his iron sights. Without warning, the Lord vanished from sight, reappearing on the floor before them instantly and causing them all to jump,

"... Mortale stulti... daemonum proditor... Out of my way!" Gehennae shouted, an invisible force splitting the group apart and clearing a path to the still-trapped Cinis, "That damnable mage forced me to use up the last of my power... fragmen stercore... I'll feast upon his ashes!" The demon spoke to himself, stepping up to his Naga servant and grabbing his jaw; forcing Cinis' mouth open, "Non materia... This body is prepared! Anima Accipio!" Gehennae's form changed once again, this time into a wavering cloud of darkness which began drifting into the Ash Naga's opened mouth. Cinis' eyes rolled into the back of his head, and his entire body twitched uncontrollably as his soul was slowly being ripped from his body and Gehennae's moved in to replace it.

"Cinis! Please no!" Vivian cried over the roar of the continuous flames, rushing to her brother's side and swinging at the darkness that continued to flow into his body, "I won't let you have him! Cinis please fight back!" But it was no good; the darkness vanished into the Naga's maw, and his body went limp. Kaiden and the other took up positions in front of Cinis' lifeless body, watching it carefully,

"... Is... Vivian, what just happened...?" Kaiden asked softly, not knowing of Gehennae's intentions. The Nagini twisted quickly towards them, tears flowing down her cheeks,

"Go! Get away! Hurry before he kills you too!" She screamed.

"FOOLS!!!" The magical rings that had been holding Cinis suddenly shattered as the Naga's body pulled itself free from the wall, "You should have escaped when you had the chance... ego sum exhilaratus per stultitiam!" Gehennae spoke through Cinis' body; only it was no longer Cinis'. The demon lord had taken the Ash Naga's person for his own, and Vivian's brother was no more, "This new body... It's amazing! I feel like an eternity has been lifted off my shoulders! Volo ad renati! I am reborn!" Gehennae exclaimed, his laughter echoing out over the wasteland of the Slip. He continued to chuckle with delight, cracking his neck and flexing his arms, "Its so good to be youthful again... I wonder just how powerful I have become!" He turned towards the group of humans and their fiend ally, "Tempta nos erimus?" He smiled threateningly, raising his palm towards the group, "Nigrum..."

"RUN!" Rich hollered, ordering everyone to make a break for the exit as the reborn Demon Lord began to cackle insanely once again,

"... AUGUE!" Gehennae finished, expecting a fireball of darkness to leap from his hand and destroy the annoying pests. He continued to laugh and laugh... until he realized that nothing had happened, "Q-quod dicitur in!? Ubi est ignis!? Cur non adolebit haec adulteri!?" The Demon Lord shrieked with frustration, glaring at his palms expecting them to erupt with his dark fire.

"... My seal..." Vivian remembered, glancing at the monster's chest; the mark she had placed upon her brother to imprison his magic was still there, and was obviously effecting Gehennae. As if he'd just read the Nagini's mind, the Demon looked down at his torso, beholding the ring of glyphs for himself,

"A sigillum!? Te perfidus nefas! EGO CAPUT TUUM!!!" Gehennae shouted angrily, charging towards Vivian with the intent of killing her with his bare hands. But just as he was about to reach her, his attention was pulled away by the vortex of uncontrollable fire; the flames were dying. In fact, the flames were being pulled towards their center, as if the initial explosion was being reversed. Slowly, the onlookers began to catch brief glimpses of what was causing the endless black fire to die down; a familiar face amongst the darkness.

The last of the black fire was pulled into a tight swirling formation around the blade of his sword, and he exhaled loudly as he stood from his kneeling position; his tribal tattoos and blue eyes glowing brightly in the dim light of the setting suns,

"Oi, Gehennae... next time don't talk so much about killing somebody and just get the job over with!" Jackson smirked, holding his flaming sword so that it pointed to the Demon Lord, "I was easily able to create a channeling ward spell... that Black Flame Hydra's now mine to command!" Gehennae looked as though he'd seen a ghost, as did everyone else, as Jackson slowly stepped forward towards him, "You know... whilst I was momentarily indisposed, I thought to myself 'Hey, I wonder if someone could have enough control over black-fire to extinguish themselves?'" Gehennae's eyes widened and he began slithering back away from the Arcanist, who smiled with confidence, "I take that as a no..."

"Vos... te damnaret humana sordibus!" The demon spat, unable to speak in their tongue due to his rage overcoming him. Jackson suddenly dashed forward, holding his fiery blade in a position to strike at Gehennae's heart, "Flammis sponte recuso mori!" The Demon Lord, smashed his fist against the seal upon his chestplate, releasing himself from its effects, and gaining back his powers, "Umbra Saltatio!" He used Shadow Dance to teleport backwards over the edge, falling backwards over the courtyard in order to escape the Arcanist; but with the sound of thunder, Jackson appeared in a flash above Gehennae, raising his sword over his head,

"Go to hell..." The Arcanist shouted, throwing the weapon so that it stabbed into the Demon's chest, "AND TAKE YOUR BLACK FIRE WITH YOU!!!" He finished, launching the demon towards the ground with a wordless pulsus spell. As Gehennae struck, the trapped Black Flame Hydra within Jackson's blade was released, causing an explosion of the dark fire to consume the Demon Lord, and any lessers who were unfortunate enough to be in the yard at the time. Jackson used the last of his mana in an attempt to blink back to the others, but his teleporting spell ran short, barely allowing him to grab hold of the remains of the central chamber's wall, dangling over the spreading flames, "... Shoulda... thought this out... a bit more...!" He grunted, hanging on with one hand. His heart skipped a little as he lost his grip, but he didn't fall; looking up he saw that Rich had grabbed hold of his arm, and was hoisting him back up,

"That'll do kid... That'll do..." The elderly survivor chuckled.

Part 16[]

....The elderly survivor chuckled, trudging back to the courtyard with a sense of urgency.

"Alright, listen up. Black fire never goes out and the courtyard is covered in it. Along with that, the huge fight has left this place on the verge of god damn falling to bloody hell.... Literally! So unless we want to take a tumble into that lava, I'd suggest we figure out a way out.", Rich stated, Jackson limping towards him.

The arcanist reeled over unto the ground, all of his mana and strength gone. A chorus of screams seemed to echo upon the wanderers, all fearing for Jackson's life. "Damnit Jackson, you scared me once, don't do it again!", Vivian cursed, placing a hand on Jackson's arm to help him up.

"Sorry about that, heh...", Jackson mumbled. Only now did they notice the bruises, scrapes, and cuts that were scattered upon Jackson's face like craters on Iuno.

Everyone helped Jackson up, Rich hoisting him on his shoulders to keep him upright so he could walk. Looking back, he shoved open the remaining half of the doorway into the courtyard with his leg, a bit of the fire billowing in the breeze caused by it.

"I have an idea of how we can get across...", Vivian commented, looking upon the expanse of the fire. Rich nodded. "Then go for it. We have no idea -

"We have a problem...", Kaiden said, looking back at the one surviving support column. The great black marble was starting to crack from being the only surviving pillar. The entire building seemed to rumble as the top half of the pillar shifted.

"Whatever you're gonna' do, Viv, do it fast!", Rich yelled, grabbing Jackson's legs and hoisting him over his head in a fireman's carry, Jackson falling unconscious, probably his body trying to replenish the Arcanist's mana.

Vivian nodded and quickly raised her hands, the words erupting from within her mouth, "Signa nigrum ignis a in viam tenet permittit iter!", jets of energy spewing from their hands, forming a tight case around a bit of the black fire, just enough for a path to form to the bridge. Baby was in sight, still unscathed.

"Go, before the seal breaks!", Vivian yelled, holding her hands up as she slithered across the path, burning bodies strewn throughout the courtyard, random weapons and armor lying about, smoldering under the black fire. The others ran right behind her, Jackson still unconscious with a peaceful look on his face, his tattoos glowing ever so slightly as his mana recharged.

The group was at a sprint as they left the gates, the shifted column now tearing off, one of the minarets tumbling inwards, turning into a massive pile of rubble, the others starting to tumble in different directions as the group reached the bridge, explosions rupturing throughout the Keep as unused explosives detonated, the black fire raging even more as it found more things to alight.

Crossing the bridge quickly, the group found safety on the tough dirt and red stone of the Slip, Rich quickly unlocking the passenger side door with a key that he pulled out of one of the many slits in his armor. He hit something inside, the locks unlatching as the doors swung open inside the truck, Rich quickly running around and lying Jackson down on one of the cots. Everyone piled in, Vivian reverting to her more compact, human form as she jumped down unto the cot next to the unconscious arcanist.

The others jumped in too, Logan closing the door as the truck started to speed away, the last minaret being forced over the others that had already fallen, tumbling over, in pieces, unto the bridge, the weight and explosives within causing the bridge to, like the rest of the Keep, fall to pieces, tumbling into the lava below.

"Vivian, Jackson mentioned you lived on the cliffside. What about your stuff!?", Kaiden asked, pulling off the Sallet, the others pulling off their helmets too.

"I have nothing of importance there, Kaiden. Everything that I need I carry on me.", the Nagini stated. Kaiden nodded, the cloud of debris starting to settle in the distance as the group finally relaxed, Jackson opening his eyes as the glow seemed to fade.

The Arcanist slowly tried to sit up, grunted in slight frustration at the difficulty of the movement, and flopped back down on his back; sighing in annoyance,

"Ok... I killed off the damn Demon Lord... now can someone kindly remove this heavy armor so I can sit up?" Jackson joked weakly, prompting a smile to form on everyone's face. Vivian happily did as he asked, pulling off his chestplate and the armor of his left arm and dropping them on the floor next to his cot. Once more, Jackson tried to sit up, "Ah... shite...!" He groaned, collapsing again, "Ugh... nevermind... I think I'll just... lay here..." The small band of survivors couldn't help but laugh at his foolishness,

"It's fine... you deserve all the rest you can get, Jackson..." Vivian comforted, stroking his forehead in a friendly manner,

"I'll say! You came closer to dieing then any of us did!" Logan guffawed,

"Oi... don't get too used to that..." Jason chuckled in response, "I won't always be around to save your sorry asses..."

"And why not?" Kaiden questioned, "We're sticking together right? Someone's got to stop Morrigan!"

"I still need more training!" AJ exclaimed as well, "So if you even think about leaving us to go wandering off on your own again; I'll kill you!" She teasingly threatened, stabbing her Katana through the air towards him for playful emphasis. Jackson just laughed a little, relaxing a bit in his cot,

"Hey... Viv..." He finally said after a moment of silence. The Nagini straitened and gave him a questioning look, urging him to continue, "I'm... sorry... about your brother... there was nothing I could do..." The Nagini's cheerful expression dimmed, promoting a look of slight sorrow,

"It's alright... I somehow knew that we couldn't save him... I'm happy that you were able to destroy that bastard Gehennae though!" She nearly hissed the ex-Demon Lord's name with disgust, "... Cinis would've liked you... he would've liked you all..." She smiled, a tear rolling down her cheek as she looked them all over, "I just wished... he could've had a better death..."

"Yeah... I can't imagine having my soul torn from my body..." Kaiden spoke quietly, more to himself then to the others, "What would it be like... just having your spirit ripped from your body? Do you just... see the light and head for it? Or is it just darkness... do you even exist anymore?" Alice nudged him in the side as Vivian looked down at the floor, the tip of her tail twitching slightly, "I'm... sorry Vivian..."

"No, I already said it's alright..." The Nagini gave him a faint smile, "But now there's nothing for me here... all of my friends... my family... they're all gone..." She sighed, her lip trembling a little. Jackson reached over and took her hand in his own,

"Then come with us." He said plainly, as if it were the most obvious choice for her,

"But... your fellow humans... they'll shun me, attack me... I'm not of your kind... even though I can appear to be. I'll never truly belong..." She complained, shaking her head a little,

"No. We'll protect you. I'll protect you..." Jackson squeezed her hand in his, "I swear on my life, no human will ever do you harm!" The Arcanist said solidly and confidently. The others smiled, nodding their heads as Vivian looked back over them. She suddenly fell over Jackson, hugging him tightly despite his slight wince of pain,

"... Thank you... for everything..." She whispered, but loud enough so that everyone could hear over "Baby's" engine.

The small window that separated the main cabin and driver's area opened, Rich sticking his head in the frame. "And you lads and lasses couldn't leave without dear ol' round Rich, right!?", Rich asked, turning forward as the Keep finally disappeared from sight behind a small plateau, nothing more than a pile of rubble atop a pillar of molten rock, now.

The group laughed, Jackson grimacing a bit as his face contorted in pain with the smile. "Sure, old man. Now, how long till I get to see the real sun?", he asked. The small "window" still open, Rich continued to throw in his two cents. "Well with how often you can see it through all that gunk, probably a month or two. We'll be out of here by sunrise though.", Rich stated.

Kaiden looked outside the window, staring at the barren, red landscape. "We've got some friends on the other side.", he started, staring blankly as the scenery bumped along. "Really? Who?", Rich asked. Sitting up, Kaiden peeled off his chestplate, setting it on the ground, AJ and Vivian taking the initiative and doing so too.

"One of the weirder mutants of the wasteland - a sentient turtle. Not only that, but he's got cannons mounted in his shell, which acts as a backpack, and two commons that we took in. They're like Vivian, though,", Kaiden said, glancing over at Vivian.

"Oh, what a bunch. An old, fat man in armor, a girl in a hoodie with a shirt that tells people not to touch her tits, some silver haired arcanist, an archer in a trench coat, a guy with one of 'them Smith leather jackets with an enchanted pouch, a bloody Naga, a turtle with shell mounted cannons, and two damn Commons!", Rich yelled, raising his arms in mock frustration.

Logan chuckled. "What'll we be doing once we get out of this place, though?", he asked. Kaiden looked over at him and said, "East." Chuckling once more, Logan continued, saying, "No, seriously though. What's our initial plan?" as he peeled off his shoulder and arm gauntlets.

"We'll need to get out of Oakhaven. I've had enough of that city to last me a lifetime, after this.", Kaiden affirmed, removing his gloves. Vivian handed Jackson a pillow, allowing him to sit a little higher up. He clenched his side where Gehennae had blasted him against a wall, and spoke. "We'll get there at least ten times faster with the truck, it's about a ten hour drive from here.", he said.

AJ nodded. "What about gas? How much do you keep in stock, Rich?", she asked. Rich turned the steering wheel towards the long walk to the area with canyons. "The truck runs on mana and electricty. I used to run it on gas but re-engineered the thing when I realized since I didn't have a drill I'd use the dead demons for it. It's no trouble getting fuel for it if it absorbs it from the atmosphere, and then I've got some batteries installed for power when we dig in.", he replied.

"Rich, are we gonna' stop for the night?", Logan asked, yawning as a small cut on his face widened a fraction. The brute nodded. "We've got a camp not too far ahead. Just turn left at that boulder. Follow that arroyo and it's right up at the rock formation. We can gather up our stuff so we don't leave it behind. I don't think we're gonna' be coming back here anytime soon."

Kaiden and AJ nodded, just as a bark rang out from Logan's jacket. He reached in and pulled out Max, who had been waiting patiently since the assault started. Logan picked her up and petted her three times, handing her to Kaiden, who did the same and then put her on the ground. The dog circled around Kaiden's feet a few times, sniffing them and then taking a seat right on both of his boots.

"Alright, I'll head there.", Rich stated, moving down the arroyo.

Quickly arriving there, the truck stopped, dust settling as Logan took the first step onto the tough, crunchy ground, a thin layer of red sand covering the rocky surface of the Slip. He grabbed the worn, makeshift wooden slab he used as a key from his pouch, moving towards the crack in the wall that carefully concealed the entrance. He took a step to the side, waiting for the others to get out. "We'll pack everything in your pouch. We need as much as we can get.", Kaiden said.

Vivian was staying aboard to care for Jackson, and Rich was going to guard the entrance - solely because it was deduced that he couldn't fit through the crack.

Jackson woke with a start, sitting up suddenly in his cot; his body covered with sweat and his chest heaving as if he'd just ran ten miles non-stop. He winced at the pain the sudden movement caused him, and carefully laid back down. It was only then that he noticed Vivian was sharing his cot the best that she could, her coils gently covering his legs like a scaly blanket. He smiled, gently lifting her tail off him and cautiously standing up. His legs nearly gave out on him at the action, causing him to fall against the the trucks interior wall with a grunt. He checked to make sure the Nagini hadn't been roused by the sound, smiling when he saw it hadn't. She'd taken a while to heal almost all his visible wounds, and had used a lot of mana doing so; the poor demoness must've been beat, and far be it from Jackson to deprive her of some well earned sleep.

The Arcanist quietly stepped out of the rear hatch after pulling on his spare set of clothes, and nodded towards Rich as the juggernaut saw him exit. Without a word, the elderly man nodded back and raised a small silver flask towards him. Jackson chuckled a bit and sat down on a stone next to the massive, senior survivor,

"Thought you quit drinking?" The Arcanist smiled, taking the flask from him anyway,

"Nah... not 'ntirely anyway... just when ol' memories surface," Rich grunted, prodding the small campfire he had created with a piece of metal piping,

"I'm sure you have a great many to drink to..." Jackson replied, bringing the flask to his lips,

"Don't we all, eh?" The juggernaut chuckled. The Arcanist suddenly pulled the flask away from his mouth, spewing the unusual drink on the ground in front of him,

"Ack! Gods Rich, are you trying to poison me!?" Jackson exclaimed, wiping his lips with the back of his hand, "The hell is that stuff?" He demanded, handing the flask back to Rich. The old man laughed rather heartily,

"Can't hold yer liquor, Jacky-boy? This stuff's me own personal concoction; made of Imp Blood, Goat Piss, n' a bit of ash for that extra kick!" Rich smiled, taking a huge swing of the horrid drink. Jackson felt like he was going to toss his cookies, "Ah... won't get yah loopy, but it'll sure wake yah up n' keep you up!" The juggernaut laughed again, offering the Arcanist another swig,

"N-no... thank you..." Jackson choked on his words, warding the flask away with his hand, "I'm more then awake now..." Rich gave another hearty laugh, and the Arcanist couldn't help but laugh with him. It'd been a while since the two had sat down and had a nice conversation with each other. The old man was like a grandfather to him, having helped raise him the first time Morrigan had thrown him into the Slip at such a young age. He and his brothers had saved Jackson from a small pack of commons, and kept him by their sides till the young Arcanist was more then ready to return to Cael. Jackson smiled at the good memories; he preferred to have them over the nightmares any time. He pulled a small vial of Adrenal-Tonic from his pouch, uncorked it, and raised it to Rich, "To the good times, and let the bad times wash away like the waters of a stream,"

"Here here..." The juggernaut grunted, touching his flask against the glass bottle with a faint clink,

"Cheers old friend..." Jackson added, before they both took a swig of their drinks and sat there to watch the first sun rising over the distant, red horizon of the Slip. "You know somethin' Jackson...", Rich started to continue, wiping his hand on his forehead to brush off the beading perspiration.

"What's that, old man?", Jackson asked, leaning back as he took a swig of his tonic. "We did it. We took down an entire bloody keep...", Rich replied, smiling with a tired satisfaction. "God.... 'Feels like years, since I just... Sat down. Never gotten a chance with all of this traveling.", he continued.

"Well, I think you earned a rest, you big galoot.", Jackson responded, Rich chuckling as he took another drink of his "liquor". "You ever think about... About what it would be like?", Rich continued to ask. Jackson raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?", he asked.

"I mean... If the gates to bloomin' hell hadn't opened, and the old government hadn't decided to nuke the wankers - and all of us? How would our lives be different if this hadn't happened... It's a shame, Jacky. I never did have a family. I mean, I had my brothers and my mum', but no children or a wife to go home to...", Rich asked, looking out unto the red wastes.

"There'll be time enough for that.", Jackson responded, rubbing his bruised cheek. Maybe I should've worn that helmet..., he thought to himself, his thoughts interrupted as Rich chuckled. "I think it's a little late for that.", Rich retorted abruptly, looking down at his stomach, his armor scorched from the battle. "What about you, though? You're young, handsome... Much like me at your age, haha.", Rich stated.

Jackson chuckled. "Me? Please... I'm arrogant, controlling, and get angry at the slightest mistake... what kinda girl in their right mind would go for me?", he asked.

Rich smiled, looking over at the truck. "I don't know Jackson, that 'Nagini seems to have taken a liking to ya'.", he joked. Jackson laughed at him. "I'm not sure I'd be much good at being a dad, though.", he retorted. Rich sat up against the cold, rocky wall. "Think about how proud your kids would be. Their dad is one of the only surviving Seraphims in the entire wasteland. Half a Morrigan too. And he's one of the most powerful mages in all of Cael! Well, by that time you'll be.",

"I don't know about that, Rich. Not everything I've done is something to be proud of.", he stated. Rich nodded. "You did good, son. All of you did.", he finished, grumbling with tiredness afterwards.

"Thanks old man.", Jackson stated, sighing. He looked out at the blazing sun, brilliantly gleaming, like a flaming ruby in the sky, its glare lighting up half the expanse. After a moment, he turned to Rich, who had fallen asleep.

Logan was disassembling the door to the stronghold, while AJ, inside Logan's jacket, was playing with Max, who was quite happy with the situation. Kaiden was sorting the supplies from the jacket outside, who was quite happy with the situation.

"Logan,", Kaiden started, Logan looking up from his work. "Yes?", he asked. Kaiden picked up a few jars labeled BEN AND BURT'S CAN O' BEANS, gently placing it down in a pile of other canned goods. Kaiden, wearing only a t shirt and his jeans as of now, looked over to Logan. "You think we're gonna make it?", he asked.

Logan looked up at him with a look of shock. "What do you mean, Kaiden? Of course we're gonna make it!", he replied. Kaiden glanced at his trench coat. Only now did he see how worn it was, tears and rips pockmarking the tough, outer layer that had been hardened by the wastes. Bits of blood from Kaiden himself and from his enemies stained it, random splatters and drops strewn about the folded coat. Dusting it off and sitting down on it, Kaiden grabbed his MP3 player from one of the pockets. Looking at it, he realized that he hadn't charged it since the Hellstorm. That had only been a few days ago, yet it had felt like forever since Kaiden had been a lone wanderer, his only companion his dog.

That chance encounter - that sole moment in which he chose to dive into the barn, probably an illogical choice in retrospect, was the one that changed his life forever. "There's so much that can go wrong. We already got sucked in by Morrigan once... And we know how god damn powerful he is. And the food supplies we're gonna' need for all of us. Unless we stockpile our food, we'll go hungry till we resort to eating imp breast."

Logan laughed, patting Kaiden on the back. "It's okay, Kaiden. We'll be fine. I mean, look at how much faster we'll go now that we have Rich and Baby!", he responded. Kaiden nodded his head slowly, looking at the column of light that was shining in from outside.

How the hell does he keep so upbeat and optimistic all the time?, Kaiden wondered. He had remembered Logan telling of his family dying, attacked by imps, demons, or... He couldn't remember. I guess not everyone's story is so different., Kaiden thought, remembering the gunshots that cracked like the sonic boom of a whip.

The sonic boom of a whip...

"Kaiden?", a voice asked. Looking up, he could see who it was. His mother. She was fair skinned, with piercing blue eyes and black hair. Her face was rounded, yet she carried a certain beauty; one of authority about herself. "Kaiden! Wake up.", she ordered. Kaiden rubbed his eyes and yawned, his mother looking away due to his morning breath coupled with the rancid stench of Imp meat the two had been forced to eat.

"Come on, sweetie. We can't stay here for long.", she said in an almost soothing tone, helping Kaiden up off of the mat he used as a bed. It appeared that the two were camping under a street in the middle of nowhere, in a drainage pipe that cut through it.

Kaiden was only about six years old. His hair was short and cut neat, black like his mother's. He was wearing a black tactical vest that was way too big for him, obviously meant to fit an adult, and a light blue t-shirt with a teddy bear on it, jeans on his legs and tennis shoes on his feet. It had been three months since he had left home, three months since he had last seen his dad.

"Mom, where are we going?", Kaiden asked, rolling up the mat and putting it in a backpack she carried. His mother cracked her knuckles and picked up a LAR-4B, a light, carbine variant of the LAR-4, a weapon commonly employed by the old Empire's military forces. It was a weapon with a wooden frame, resembling a hunting rifle with a magazine barely jutting out forward, diagonally. The top of the rifle had metal iron sights and a barrel visible, the barrel cutting off shortly after "leaving" the wooden frame of the rifle. The LAR-4's barrel was longer, and the magazine stuck out more. The 4B was obviously made to be lighter, for shorter ranges. The civilian variant his mother used was semi auto, not able to fire full auto or three round burst like the military version, and it was slightly less loud than its special variant, the LA-EBR "Venator" rifle.

His mom threw on her jacket, grabbing Kaiden's and putting it over him, allowing the young boy to have some "independence" to put it on himself. "Mom, where are we going!?", he asked, tears forming at his eyes. All Kaiden wanted was to return home.

"Kaiden, we're going east.", she replied. Kaiden nodded for a second as they left the cover of the drainage pipe, rain from the west coast trickling to the territory's border, where the two were. "Put your hood up, sweetheart.", she stated, pulling her hood up. Kaiden nodded and did the same, then asking again. "Mommy, why won't you tell me!?", he cried.

"Fine, Kaiden. We're heading east because there's apparently a city there. One that is safe from all the bad monsters and people where we were, Kaiden.", she finally announced. The tears immediately dissipated in Kaiden's eyes as he pictured the city, remembering the books his mother had read to him about old myths, cities of gold, and treasures at the end of rainbows. He smiled and nodded finally, starting east with his mother, a new gleam in the child's eyes.

"Guys.", a voice called. Kaiden blinked and suddenly shook his head. He sat up, realizing that he had fallen asleep in the cave. Looking up at the entrance, he could see Jackson poking his head in, half his body visible. "Sandstorms' blowing in. You about done?", he asked. AJ stepped out of the jacket with Max. Logan nodded. "Yep! But I had to do the last of this all myself, because Kaiden zoned out again!", Logan exclaimed jokingly. Kaiden gave a half witted smile, grabbing the last two cans and throwing them into the bag that held the rest. AJ stuffed it into the pouch and handed it to Logan, who put it on.

Kaiden dusted off his trench coat once again and slung it over his shoulder as he stood up, grabbing the lantern they had use to lit the cave. "Last one out, get the lights!", Logan joked again, glancing at Kaiden as he shut off the lantern. He slid through the narrow crack, noticing a slash mark that could've only been made by the Bowie Sword. He must've gotten lazy and just cut the door hinges down!, Kaiden thought, chuckling.

The sun was slowly rising in the sky, only about an eighth of it visible, but a massive, reddish black cloud was blowing in from the east, darkening the sky even more as the late night gave it a sinister look in the horizon opposite of the sun.

"We should get a move on... if we head out now we can make it to the portal before that storm hits us," Jackson grunted, slowly bending down to touch his toes, causing his back to pop numerous times. It almost made the others flinch, and the elderly Rich growled a little; rubbing his own back,

"Aye... but if'n we get caught up in a storm like tha' we'll need ter stop for a while. I ain't riskin' driving right into a ravine 'cause I can't bloody see," The older man warned, heading over towards the driver's side while the others piled into the back. Vivian awoke as the engine revved and "Baby" began to move once more, smiling at Jackson as he laid back down on his cot next to her,

"We're off then?" The Nagini questioned, resting her head on the Arcanist's shoulder. He only smiled and nodded slightly before she fell asleep again. AJ and Kaiden stole a glance at each other, and blushed as they made eye contact; turning away as the latter cleared his throat a bit,

"So... Jackson..." Kaiden began after the redness left his face, "What are we planning to do if Morrigan's waiting for us back on Cael? You're not exactly at your peek at the moment, and if I recall you couldn't touch him when you were at 100%!"

"For your information, Archer, I was not "at 100%" as you put it... I had just escaped from a god forsaken sewer where I was a prisoner for a hungry swarm of spiders and their Fiend mistress," Jackson retorted, careful not to wake Vivian again, "I'd love to see how you'd match up against a Sage who's strength lies within both Light and Dark Magic!" The last statement caught AJ off-guard,

"Wait what? Aren't those two magicks complete opposites? How could he be strong with both of the-" The younger Arcanist began questioning, but was cut off by her mentor

"You tell me! It's the same reason how I'm gifted with both Heat and Storm magic," Jackson interrupted her, almost as if he were giving a pop-quiz,

"... He was born on the cusp of Sus and Mus?" She guessed, "But I thought it doesn't carry over into the next year?"

"Only on very rare occasions..." Jackson explained, "Usually those who are born on that particular merging of the months are either consumed by Darkness or engulfed by Light, neither side having any greater chance of survival. The good doctor just happened to be strong enough to balance out the two, even as an infant..." Logan whistled appreciatively,

"S'one tough baby..." He joked, getting semi-annoyed looks from the others, "... What? Its true!"

"Don't worry though... Morrigan probably won't come to pick it up himself. He'll probably send some of his underlings to do so," Jackson reassured them, "Maybe some of his tamed Abominations, or a couple of Golems. The worst we'll have to worry about are the-" The entire truck suddenly veered to the side as Rich jerked hard on the steering wheel, swerving to avoid a large boulder that rushed down the side of the incline to their right,

"Hang on back there!" The juggernaut called back, turning baby again to avoid another rockslide, "What in bloody hell is causin' all these rocks to come crashing down so suddenly!?!" As if to answer his question, five people riding custom motorcycles suddenly came driving down into the valley towards them,

"Shit..." Jackson hissed as he stood up from the floor after falling out of his cot, hearing the telltale roar of the bikes' engines over that of "Baby's". Vivian was fully awake now as well and sat up quickly along with everyone else,

"What is it!?" Vivian, Kaiden, and Logan asked at once,

"Morrigan sent the god damned Razor Raiders after us!"

(Play http://www.yourepeat.com/watch/?&v=MLQxsDTqUKo for maximum epic-ocity)

"Fuckin' A!", Rich yelled, swerving left to face the Raiders. "Open the shutters! Get all your ranged weapons out! Someone, get on the bloomin' gun!", Rich ordered, pressing a few buttons on his steering wheel to heat up the guns mounted on the front of the truck.

Logan, taking the initiative, slid a piece of metal away, unlatching the turret hatch. He quickly sprung up, Kaiden throwing him his Venator rifle with a nod. Grabbing the turret, Logan held it stable, then reaching a hand to the side to pull the cable that would get it spooled up. He yanked it, the turret starting up. Logan pulled again and it made a confident buzzing noise.

"AHHHH!", he yelled, firing as cracks rang out through the sky, the .50 caliber bullets spraying the ground besides the Raiders. Bullets started returning, peppering the truck with dents. Rich threw on his helmet and pulled Baby into high gear, the truck speeding up as it continually swerved to avoid the gunfire.

"Logan, shoot better!", Rich bossed, a shot impacting the glass in front of him. "If your driving was better I would!", Logan responded, pulling again to "reload".

One of the bikes dropped out of the shark style, circle formation and pulled to the right of baby, riding at an equal speed alongside it. Vivian looked out at the rider, who, only able to see her torso up, quickly pulled up his orange lensed welding goggles and winked at her, putting them back down he pulled a chain from its position tucked on his brown leather belt.

The rider was "Gat", the second in command of the Razor Raiders. He was shirtless, and his build wasn't impressive but wasn't at all fat. He wore worn looking jeans reinforced with bits of scrap leather and patches, looking a bit like a punk style Hijacker. Vivian could see that the fist holding the chain said HATE.

"Logan! Watch out!", she screamed. Logan quickly looked left, then right, a massive, electrified chain flinging towards him. He gasped, jerking back as the chain slammed into one of the guards on the side of the turret. The chain wrapped around it, electricity engulfing the turret. The buzz stopped and smoke quickly rose from it. Logan's jaw dropped, but he was prepared. As quick as Gat could bring the chain back, Logan had his Venator Rifle up. The biker immediately hit the brakes, Baby advancing far past him.

"I can see the portal from here, but I don't know if we're gonna make it!", Rich yelled. Logan turned in his seat, firing shots at all of the bikes as quickly as possible. Quickly switching to his grenade launcher, he fired a round in the center of the bikes, the explosion erupting as it turned the thin layer of dirt above the rocky surface into glass.

The female biker, Lilith, groaned as a small piece of shrapnel embedded itself into her back. She pulled back to the rear, the raider behind her sneering as he sped up, a rifle mounted on his handlebars. He fired, the bullet ricocheting off of the face guard of the turret, Logan ducking as he fired a shot directly ahead of "Longshot", as was the Razor Raider's name, Longshot clutching his chest as his bike swerved off course, plowing into a boulder as he collapsed in the seat.

"Ah piss... Hey Gat, Longshot just took a heavy dive mate! Looks like he was wounded! Should we check on 'im?" Fiddler shouted over the roar of the Motorcycle's engines, "He's been with us for the last two years after all!"

"Forget that bastard! If he ain't dead yet then the imps'll finish him off. We gotta stop these asshats from reachin' the portal, otherwise that's half our pay down the crapper!" Gat snapped back, "Beef, Butcher! Get along side that damn truck! Try knocking it off course! Fiddler, you're with me! There's an opening on the roof! Let's get in there and tear these bitches to shreds! Lilith; hang back here and cover the rear hatch, just in case these asswipes try anything heroic!" As the orders were given, they were immediately carried out; the two huge Barbarians pulling up on either side of "Baby". Butcher was a massive hulk of a man, and unhooked an equally massive Battleaxe from the side of his Bike; gripping it in both hands and letting his enchanted bike drive on its own. Beef, Butcher's overweight and food-loving companion, withdrew a heavy Maul in a similar fashion. Both of the massive men suddenly began wailing on the truck's sides, leaving large dents and gashes upon the heavy armor; much to Rich's loud complaints.

Meanwhile; Fiddler, the Bladesman of the Raider's group, pulled up directly behind the massive vehicle, standing on his seat and letting his own Bike drive for him. He leapt up onto the roof of the Truck, causing a resounding thud to sound within the compartment. Jackson scowled at the noise and glanced at the opening for the turret, climbing up to it while nobody was looking; despite his body's complaints against the motion. Fiddler smiled wickedly as he saw the silver-haired Arcanist appear from the opening ahead of him, and brought his sword to his mouth; he licked the fiddle bow-like blade, causing his tongue to bleed a little, before stepping backwards into a fighting stance,

"Lets have a go then, mate..." The bladesman hissed, grinning evilly once more as blood trickled down his lips. Jackson spat to the side, balancing himself against the air flow behind him and praising the Emissaries for the somewhat smooth terrain they were driving over. He bravely reached for his sword... and nearly choked as his hand grasped nothing but air. He looked down at his empty scabbard, forgetting that his sword had been destroyed along with Gehennae, then swore at himself,

"Fuck...!" He looked up just in time to duck under Fiddler's first attack. Vivian braced herself against the wall of "Baby's" interior, not used to riding in a motor vehicle in the slightest; while the others tried their best to get a decent angle of the huge brutes that were pounding away at Rich's truck. AJ quickly glanced at her, gave a slight smile and nod to make sure the Nagini was alright, then paused for a moment. Her eyes widened in astonishment at the compartment's partial emptiness, then glanced at Vivian again as if to ask where Jackson was. The Nagini read her expressions like a book, turning to look for the Arcanist in vain. They both quickly realized he was topside as they saw him tumble backwards over the turret hatch,

"Oi! What's wrong bloke? I thought they said you were a bladesman like me!? So where's your bloody sword!?" Fiddler cackled, swinging at the Arcanist again. Jackson rolled under the slash and stood behind the Raider, twisting quickly to jab at the man's face. Fiddler's head cocked to the side, and he took a small step backwards from the strike, but he quickly recovered, smiling wider and more viciously then before, "ThAt'S mOrE lIkE iT!!!" He shouted, almost dementedly, as he smashed his own free fist against Jackson's jaw; sending the Arcanist reeling backwards, tumbling over the roof. He managed to grasp the edge before falling off onto the barren ground rushing past underneath them, and began struggling to pull himself up.

Fiddler rushed towards the dangling Arcanist, raising his oddly forged blade for a finishing strike, when Vivian's diamond-hard tail sprung from the turret hatch and smashed into the berserker's shoulders; the Raider flew off the back of the truck, but was somehow suspended in midair, getting pulled back onto his motorcycle. Fiddler's expression had changed from that of sadistic enjoyment, to complete rage; his right eye suddenly flooding with blood as the man's anger brought about slight hyphema. Jackson strained, pulling himself up onto the roof again, grunting as he stood up to face the angered Fiddler,

"Jackson!" AJ shouted from the hatch, tossing the Arcanist Marethryu's Rubema sword to him. Despite the blade being unsheathed, Jackson expertly caught it by the grip, twisting the surprisingly light-weight sword around so that he held it properly. He very quickly went over the blade's traits in his mind; It was a bit heavy around the blade, defiantly used for more powerful swings, it had a worn grip so it had been used frequently, and since it was a Rubema sword he knew it would be extremely durable,

"HeRe I cOmE!!!" Fiddler nearly shrieked, lifting off his cycle again and landing on "Baby" with a roll, stabbing upwards towards Jackson's chest. The latter twisted to the side, avoiding the blade easily, grabbed the Raider's wrist, and severed his arm at the elbow,

"Humph... its sharp too..." Jackson smiled as Riddler gawked in astonishment, backing away from the Arcanist,

"Y-yOu... ToOk My ArM!!!" The Raider stuttered, blood pouring from the place his missing limb had once filled, "I'lL tAkE yOuR hEaD!!!" Fiddler rushed forward, the skin on his left hand suddenly flaying away to reveal a devilish looking claw. Jackson prepped himself once again, ducking under the ruthless attack, twisting around, and lopping off the berserker's other arm as well. Twin fountains of blood flowed from Riddler's form as his skin turned ghostly pale, "D-damn... you..." He winced, falling backwards over the edge of the truck. Jackson suddenly reached out to the Raider, grasping his white scarf,

"Hold on there Thorne..." Jackson demanded, calling the raider by his true name, "This scarf'll look a hellofa lot better on ME!" Off came Riddler's head in another swing of Jackson's new blade, and his body fell onto the ground below, tumbling past Lilith and out of sight in the dust beyond,

"Hey bitch!" Jackson suddenly felt his foot get pulled out from underneath him as Gat wrapped his chain whip around his ankle and tugged on it hard. The Arcanist once more found himself dangling from the edge of the truck's roof.

"Piss off ye wanker!" Rich's voice boomed over everything else right before Baby turned suddenly, forcing Butcher to make a quick break in order not to get run into a large rock formation. Gat's bike however clipped "Baby's" rear tire, flipping over and throwing the Raider off; its enchantment broken, "Shite!" Gat shouted in surprise, loosing his chain from Jackson's leg inadvertently as he rolled over the rocky ground, "Fuck no you don't!" His whip lashed out to find another target, wrapping around Butcher's neck; Gat quickly crawled up onto the choking Barbarian's motorcycle, and uncaringly kicked him off. The giant man's body tumbled over the ground, and crashed into a pile of boulders,

"Mmm... there goes two more," Lilith chuckled, turned on by all the suffering and getting pleasure from the sting of her own wound, "I wonder who'll die next, Gat?" She said rather evilly, making the goggled Raider wince a bit,

"It sure as hell ain't gonna be me!" Gat shouted, more to Jackson and the others then to his remaining crew.

Beef, the fattest of the three remaining crew, revved his engine up and flicked a switch on his bike so that the steering column locked in position, the bike keeping at a straight angle. With a hammer on his back and what looked to be a heavier version of Kaiden's cestus, the brawler grabbed onto the ledge of the truck, his bike keeping steady as he released the handlebars.

As Beef placed his second hand on Baby, it tilted a little, Kaiden turning his head in surprise as he was met with a large, greasy looking torso blocking the early morning Slip sun.

"Again!?", Jackson yelled, Kaiden throwing his bow aside as he jumped past the chair and onto the top of the truck, aside Jackson. Glancing over at Jackson as the two "surfed" on Baby, Kaiden barked "Jackson! Get back inside, I've got this!". Jackson looked over at Kaiden and cocked his head.

"No way, Kaiden! I'm not leaving this guy alone, and we're almost to the portal!", he replied, looking around at the darker rock on the steep canyon walls as he held his sword high.

"Jackson, we know Kaiden can handle it. Come back inside.", he heard a voice state. The arcanist turned around and saw Vivian poking her head through, with her expression of fear and worrisomeness.

"Kaiden, here.", she stated, handing Kaiden AJ's katana. He nodded and grinned, looking over at Beef, who was just about done climbing up. "Jackson, go.", Kaiden said, holding his sword in a blocking formation.

Jackson jumped back inside with the others, allowing Kaiden to finish off this heavyweight. "Hey, haven't I seen you before?", he asked, cocking his head at the brute.

The last Hijacker came at Kaiden with a fire axe, swiping at him. Kaiden dodged, sending his knife forward, only to be reeled by the handle of the axe. The archer kicked forward, the last hijacker clenching his stomach in pain. Kaiden took the opportunity to grab his Axe, ripping it from the degenerate's hands. He quickly flicked his knife again, the flame going out, and sheathed it, swinging forward with the two-handed axe, which cut into his shoulder, blood flying out as the collarbone, shoulder-bone, and many nerves and tendons within, were shattered and destroyed. Kaiden then, in one swift movement, flicked his hands downward and right, sending the axe through the man's stomach. He fell to the ground, moaning silently.

Kaiden blinked his eyes. He had seen this guy before. The hijacker from the overpass before Oakendrail... The one with the fire axe! Kaiden looked at his stomach. No scar or wound of sorts.

Beef looked at Kaiden and sneered angrily. "Ol 'Pass-around Patty told me about a guy with a long coat and some Tennessee glasses when I was at the bar in Party City! YOU KILLED MY BROTHER, FIRE-AXE!", he growled, raising his warhammer.

"Oh shit.", Kaiden cursed, ducking down as the fat man swung his hammer over him. Kaiden always knew what hijackers would do next; and even if this man wasn't exactly a hijacker, he was related to one. Kaiden grabbed the hammer, thrusting it forward. Beef fell over onto the turret; his gut blocking the sunlight coming from the open hatch inside.

Kaiden smirked as Beef's hammer fell off of the truck, thudding on the sand. "Kaiden, hurry! The cave has a low opening and you might slip off when we start going up!", Vivian yelled. Kaiden grinned. "No problem Viv!", he yelled, quickly flinging the sword around and firmly shoving it down the barbarian's spine, the tip just budging out of the gut down below.

The archer grabbed the scruff of Beef's shirt, shoving the limp body aside, tumbling off as it was no longer wedged into the hatch. The bike tumbled into the wall, exploding as Kaiden stepped back in.

"We should be able to lose em', now.", Rich said, driving up into the cave, wide enough for only Baby. Kaiden nodded. "Turns out that fat one had a hijacker brother. Remember him, Logan?", he said, handing the Katana back to AJ.

Logan nodded, untying his hair for the first time since he had visited the Slip. "I can't wait to be back in good ol' Cael! But I'll be ready to get out of Oakendrail!", he responded, grinning from ear to ear.

Rich laughed once as the light of the cave reddened. "Nice job on killin' all of those bloomin' arseholes, mates.", he stated, giving a firm thumbs up from the front seat.

Rich turned forward and his head sat back a little bit as he noticed a figure standing directly ahead of them. "Look...! One more! Let's run the bastard over.", Rich yelled with a devilish grin.

Jackson stood up in his chair, his eyes widening as he realized who this figure might be. "Wait! Rich! You don't know what you're do-", Jackson screamed. The figure lifted his fist, tensed up, and struck down just as Baby was about to impact it. The arm seemed to glimmer as Rich heard a painful CRACK, gasping as he flew forward and over the figure, flying into the portal tailfirst.

Rich closed his eyes tight. He always hated this part, and being upside down didn't make it any better. The skin on the brute's face felt as if it was being sucked away, his hairs standing up. His eyes felt like they were being pulled out from his sockets, and he had no choice but to open them to stop it. It began with a red light, and in a second it became dark, with flashes of light everywhere. Then the darkness faded, his ears ringing...

And as his vision faded in, he saw that Baby was in midair, green light flooding the truck as it crashed through the small "fence" surrounding the point the portal was held on. It flew down unto the street, crashing face first into another building across from the city hall, then bouncing back, a dent left by the truck as it rolled to a stop on the fence surrounding the courtyard before the city hall.

"What the hell!?", Rich screamed.

Jackson blinked away his blurry vision, his eyes still ringing loudly as he tried sitting up; multiple stabs of pain in his side, leg, and arm caused him to wince. He was on the road, the main street in front of the courthouse, he must've been thrown out of the truck somehow. Looking around he saw that "Baby" was still upright, and looked as though she were still drivable despite the front looking as though a huge beak had take a bite out of it. The Elephant skull was missing, the front of the hood dented downward, forming a huge gash in the truck's grill. The bumper must've been loosened by the attack as well, considering it was embedded in the stone wall of the building they'd crashed into. Thankfully though, the Raider's fist had barely missed the engine itself; not that it made the Arcanist any happier as he stood up, limping towards the back,

"Rich! Damn it, old man... I tried to tell you to..." Jackson trailed off, his tattoo's flaring without warning. He twisted around quickly, pinpointing the location of the tremendous energy; the Archa Damnationem was sitting in the middle of the road, its lid completely open and the handle spinning itself. An Eerie tune was seeping from the music box, echoing hauntingly off the walls of the city around them; the melody sounded vaguely like that of "Drunken Sailor" but sounded as if it were being played by an orchestra of the damned, "No... no, no, NO!" The Arcanist panicked, stumbling towards the Archa as fast as his hurt leg would take him. He tripped and began crawling the rest of the way, the music gaining a chorus of ghostly voices,

"Feed him to the hungry rats for dinner, feed him to the hungry rats for dinner, feed him to the hungry rats for dinner, early in the morning..." Jackson clenched his teeth together, trying to get a grip on the ground ahead of him, but he found his left hand to be useless; its wrist cleanly snapped, "Cut his throat with a rusty cleaver, cut his throat with a rusty cleaver..." The Arcanist shouted out in frustration, the space within the damnable music box growing brighter; visible energy, taking shape as blood-red mist, washed from it's interior, "Cut his throat... with a rusty cleaver..." The music was at it's loudest, quickly giving Jackson a headache as he drew nearer. He was almost there now, just a little further, he just had to close it. His hand gripped the side of the box,

"Got it!" He grunted, sitting up on his knees as best he could and grasping the lid to close the Archa,

"Early... in... the... morning..." A huge explosion of evil energies shot upwards out of the chest, washing over Jackson's face and torso as it reached the overcast sky high above him, turning the reddish clouds pitch black. The Arcanist fought back against the demonic powers, pushing down on the lid with all his might; the screams of thousands echoing in his ears, pounding at his eardrums, rattling his brain. He shouted with them, the lid almost shut now. The beam of energy suddenly dissipated, the box's cover slamming shut. Jackson panted heavily, his vision blurring again, his whole body feeling as though it were burning from the inside out,

"Jackson!" Vivian's concerned voice reached his ears, but he couldn't turn to face her,

"Jacky!" Rich's voice boomed in succession, but like the Nagini's his voice fell on deaf ears,

"What the hell happened?" Kaiden grunted, rubbing his shoulder before helping AJ out of the back, "Where was that singing coming from?"

"That damn music box you lot brought with yah!" Rich answered, hurrying over to Jackson along with Vivian. The Arcanist collapsed over the Archa before they got to him, losing consciousness completely,

"It opened?" Logan exclaimed, jumping out of the truck and approaching Jackson's broken form with AJ and Kaiden. AJ winced as she saw Jackson's injuries; the Arcanist's left wrist and right ankle were swollen, broken from being tossed out of the back of "Baby" once the truck's power went haywire during the crash,

"Is... is he going to be alright?" The younger Arcanist asked hesitantly, trying to keep her lunch down after seeing her mentor's opened side; his ribs clearly visible,

"He was probably so bloody loopy off his own adrenaline tha' he didn't even feel pain... or at least not enough to slow him down too much..." Rich grunted, trying to decide whether or not moving the Arcanist was safe or not, "Who knows what other injuries he could 'ave..." Vivian scowled, placing her hands upon Jackson's back and surrounding them with a soothing blue glow,

"Check your Truck. I'll see what I can do about his wounds!" She ordered, her voice steady after having done this sort of treatment a number of times. Rich nodded, motioning for Logan to join him as he ran back to the truck; Kaiden and AJ staying behind with Vivian, "His heartbeat is normal... his spine's just fine... no cranial damage that I can make out..." The Nagini spoke informatively, each word causing her to smile a bit more, "It looks as though the only serious damage is in the areas where we can see clearly..."

"I guess that's good... but what we can see looks pretty damn bad..." Kaiden winced, not helping but rub his own side to make sure it wasn't cut open,

"His injuries are not nearly as bad as they could have been... I couldn't do anything for him if he wound up paralyzed..." Vivian pointed out, carefully turning the Arcanist over onto his unharmed back; handing the music box to AJ, "Make sure this is put in a safe place dear..." She said softly, AJ nodding in concurrence before turning to head back to the truck, leaving the Archer with them.

Kaiden crouched down besides Jackson, examining Vivian. It was rare to see her so emotional. The Naga was always so focused in battles, so determined; with a steely eyed look. But now, despite the fact that she still held that focus in her eyes, Kaiden could see a different emotion.

"Kaiden, look!", he heard a distant voice say. He looked back and saw AJ pointing up at City Hall, where he could see a familiar green head sticking out. It was Gizmo. Kaiden waved and stood up, walking to the edge of the courtyard as Gizmo ran out of the building, stopping in front of him with a smile of relief.

"You're alive! That was really fast!", Gizmo stated, two Commons popping their heads out of Gizmo's shell. "Daaamn man!", Chto said, climbing out and skittering unto the ground.

Kaiden chuckled. "And what's with the big ol' truck? And and and why is there a Naga, Arcanist, and a big guy!?", Chto continued to ask. Syreu gasped. "Man man man that's the Aurea Paladinus!", Syreu exclaimed, jumping up and down with excitement.

"Can can can we meet him?", Chto asked. Kaiden nodded and turned around, motioning for Gizmo to walk over to the truck as Chto and Syreu jumped back into his shell.

Rich turned around with a surprised look. An anthromorphic turtle with three heads, one red, looked kind of strange. "Rich, this is Gizmo and these two are Chto - the red one, and Syreu - the green one." Rich nodded his head in a "not bad" style, the two commons jumping back out.

"Mr. Paladin!", the two nodded, bowing their heads before the legend of the Slip. "Well, you can call me Rich, but, uh, it's nice to meet you guys too.", he replied, patting Chto's head, then Syreu's.

"We're Chto and Syreu!", they said at the same time. Rich nodded, then looking over to Vivian. "Viv, I'll get Jackson back in the truck. I remember a radio station somewhere a few miles from here that did repairs. If I hadn't just gotten out, I swear to bloody god I would go back in there and shoot the bloomin bastards till their heads were a pulp! Especially that barmpot with the black, shiny arms!", Rich said, losing his cool.

"Calm down old man, they'll be here soon enough, considering Jackson said they're working for Morrigan.", Kaiden stated as Rich walked over to Jackson. Rich mumbled something under his breath, turning around to motion the group to get in while he leaned over to hoist Jackson over his shoulders. "The Portal is damaged from the way we flew through. You can see all the chunks we ripped off from-"

The Portal buzzed, flaring up with bright red glare as three bikes rode off of the roof, all landing with a thud and starting to circle around the group.

"Well, shit.", AJ cursed. Logan quickly pulled out his rifle, and Kaiden whipped his Sharpfinger out, lighting it on fire with the rudimentary magic he used on occasions like this.

The trio of remaining Razor Raiders slowly came to a stop in a triangular formation, effectively surrounding the band of survivors. It was only then that Rich and the others could get a better look at their leader; Jedediah Slade was an intimidating, tower of a man and if Kaiden compared him to the other Raiders, he'd say Slade wasn't quite as buff looking as Butcher had been, but had much more muscle then Gat. The Bounty Hunter was defiantly a good four inches taller then Rich, maybe five.

Slade was dressed in something a typical, wasteland Bounty Hunter would don; A long black duster coat, now brown from the layers of dust plastered to it; an equally dirty, felt slouch hat with a wide brim to shadow his face, on which he boasted a thick Van Dyke style beard and moustache combo; a pair of, slightly torn, black jeans that were held up by a thick leather belt, and tucked down into a set of cowboy boots. His large belt buckle had a motorcycle styled upon it, with the words Raiders Motorcycle Gang engraved above and bellow the design. He wasn't wearing anything underneath his duster, aside from a couple of chain necklaces, one of which had an "Ace" charm hanging from it. The sleeves of his coat had been cut off, giving the survivors a full view of his prosthetic arms, made of an odd, shiny black material,

"Howdy there strangers... I don't suppose you'd be willing to part with the music box you have now would ya?" He smiled, his teeth almost perfectly white; but there was nothing comforting about his grin. There was something almost wolfish, hungry about it,

"And why exactly does a bloke like you want it so bad?" Rich grumbled, having not forgotten about "Baby's" damaged front, "You arseholes don't look like the music-lovin' types..."

"Well how 'bout that..." Slade chuckled, glancing over to Gat, "We got ourselves a funny man!"

"You know what they say, Boss, the fat ones are always the funniest!" Gat sneered, pulling his chain taunt between his hands; Vivian could see that the knuckles on his other hand read LOVE, fitting considering that it was the Raider's weak arm,

"Shame ol' Beef ain't with us no more... he'd have probably gotten a real kick outta that one," Slade chuckled, "Now... where was I? Oh yeah..." Slade's expression suddenly darkened, leaning his head forward so that his hat blocked the light from the setting sun, "The music box... hand it over..."

"Otherwise, we'll take it from yer cold. Dead. Hands..." Gat emphasized, snapping his chain. The survivors circled around Jackson's immobile form, covering him from all sides; AJ and Kaiden facing the Scythe-wielding Lilith, Logan and Rich staring down Slade, and Vivian keeping her eyes on Gat. Gizmo, Chto, and Syreu did their usual thing; hiding inside the circle with the limp Arcanist,

"If you freaks really want this damn box so much, then come and fucking take it if you think you're so bad!" AJ snapped at the female Raider, who smiled wickedly back at her,

"I love a girl with attitude..." Lilith said softly, licking her lips and causing AJ to flinch a little in disgust. Kaiden stepped forward a little, holding his sharpfinger in a reversed fashion before him,

"Sorry, she's taken..." He stated confidently, prompting a slight blush from the young Arcanist, but she had no complaint. Vivian clenched her fists a little, cracking her knuckles at the same time. Gat grunted, nodding towards her,

"You really wanna take me on Bitch? I'm usually against hitting a chick... 'cept Lil' in bed... but since you're a shitty Demon I ain't got a damn problem puttin' you down!" Gat hissed, whipping his chain against the ground; Lilith bit her lower lip, possibly remembering how "good" the chain felt.

"This bitch really is a freak...!" AJ whispered to Kaiden, who nodded in agreement. Slade lowered and shook his head a bit, apparently disappointed in the group's decision,

"Shame it always comes to this," He grumbled a little, pulling back the train of his duster to reveal a monster of a revolver that was holstered to his belt; it was chrome in color, had a double-row cylinder to hold twelve rounds instead of the usual six, and two barrels, both of which were, at least, thirteen inches in length, "I've killed so many men and women in my time on this wretched rock that it's lost its luster..."

"It sure as hell hasn't for me! I can't wait to skin these bastards alive!" Gat hollered, prompting Rich to turn on him suddenly,

"Pipe down ya bloody prat!" The juggernaut shouted, firing a single grenade in Gat's direction. Fast as lightning; Slade unholstered his revolver and fired from his hip, destroying the grenade mid-flight and causing the small group to scatter, either from the explosive force or because the fight had started at last. Vivian slithered forward through the smoke caused by the blast, hoping to catch Gat off-guard; she didn't. The Raider leapt out of the way before she could smash her magically enforced fist into his skinny gut. He couldn't, however, stop her tail from smashing against his face as she rushed past him. The mohawked Raider flew backwards toward's the Nagini's upper body as she brought her fist down to meet his face, introducing the back of his head to the pavement they were fighting upon.

Gat recovered quicker then Vivian thought though, kicking himself to his feet and pulling on his chain; which flew towards the demoness' face. She leaned backwards underneath the metal switch only to have it wrap around her neck with another tug from the Raider, who snickered at the way Vivian choked a little; distracted by his own vicious amusement however, he didn't react quickly enough to dodge another blow from the Nagini's tail. His chain instantly unraveled from Vivian's neck as he was knocked away, but she wouldn't let him off that easily, grasping the whip tightly and pulling him back towards her. The demoness drove another devastating punch towards Gat's face, but the latter twisted mid-air and avoided her fist once more, smashing his instep against the side of Vivian's face.

AJ lunged forward, slashing at Lilith with her Katana, while Kaiden used his stealthier tactics, moving around to where he was behind the Reaper. He'd fought her kind before; fast, deadly, their weapons providing them with medium range attacks, but because they were large and somewhat awkward to swing they had very little defense when it came to closer ranged assaults. He dashed forward as AJ gave him an opening, raising his inflamed knife to stab Lilith in the back. The Raider was prepared though, and the Archer suddenly felt the traction beneath his boots vanish; looking down he saw a thin sheet of black ice, which had caused his clumsiness. Lilith shrieked with laughter and swung her blade downward upon Kaiden, who rolled out of harm's way and back to his feet before the Scythe sank deep into the concrete that had been under him. AJ swooped in, trying to take advantage of the Raider's weapon getting stuck, but Lilith lifted herself up, performing a hand-stand on her scythe's handle to dodge the Arcanist's weapon. Alice tried to step in for another swing, but found that her shoes had been frozen to the ground,

"K-Kaiden! I'm stuck!" She exclaimed, trying to keep her balance as the Raider pulled her weapon free, spun it over her head expertly, and lashed out at AJ. Kaiden reached the young girl first though, tackling her to the ground; breaking the ice she was stuck in and ducking under the deadly blade. Both survivors rolled back to their feet, Lilith looking upon them with slight annoyance,

"You two are no fun... It won't hurt for long, I promise..." She cooed, licking her scythe's blade in a manner to which Fiddler would've been proud of.

Rich had nearly gawked after Slade had shot his grenade out of the air, but now the Juggernaut was completely focused, standing firm next to Logan as the other's fought on. Logan kept his eyes darting from the Raider's face, to his revolver, then back again, finally thinking of something witty to say,

"Nice gun... Big, accurate, powerful... it's almost like you're compensating for something," The survivor laughed, keeping his rifle trained on Slade's head. The Bounty Hunter merely smirked, and he didn't have to think about his smart reply,

"Says the hippie with a military grade rifle," He chuckled, nodding towards Logan's long hair. The gunman cursed at himself for not thinking of something better, then squeezed the trigger. Slade drew his revolver once more, whether it was before or after Logan fired nobody would ever know, but it didn't really matter as the Venator Rifle's accelerated 2.4x36mm round impacted against Slade's .44 Magnum round mid-flight, both shots being sent off course. Before Logan or Rich could even express any sort of surprise, Slade had holstered his gun once more, and rushed forward to attack them head-on. The younger survivor switched his rifle over to full-auto, unloading the remainder of his clip towards the charging Raider; but the bullets only pinged loudly off Slade's metallic forearms, which he raised up in front of him to protect his vulnerable head, neck, and torso.

"Watch it lad!" Rich exclaimed, stepping in front of Logan as Slade reached them and attempting to bash the Raider with the stock of his launcher. The weapon just fell apart against the Raider's block though, and the attack had left poor Rich wide open. The sound of metal bending rang throughout the street as Slade smashed his fist against the older survivor's armored gut, who grunted with pain as the protection didn't stop the attack. The Raider's Leader lifted the heavy old man over his head effortlessly, and tossed him away like a wad of paper,

"B-bollocks..." Rich grunted, trying to catch his breath as his chest plate pressed inward against him. Slade quickly turned on Logan, who'd managed to reload and take aim once again, and smashed his boot into the young survivor's gut before he could even touch the trigger. Logan flew backwards, smashed against "Baby's" side, and nearly went limp; the blow having knocked the air clean out of him,

"Humph..." Slade chuckled boredly, leaning over to pick up Logan's Venator Rifle, "Boy, lemme give you some advice the next time you try facing someone like me in a brawl..." He cockily stated, stepping closer to Logan and kneeling down to look him in the eyes, "First things first; trim that stupid, hippie hair. It don't work for you. It don't work for anyone... Two; get about twenty more years of experience under that belt o' yours. And three... make sure you know how to fight with your fists, just in case people get too close to shoot..." Slade finished, patting Logan's head; which ultimately hurt him even more, and forced a painful groan from his lips.

The Raider then stood up, looking around to see how well his fellow Bounty Hunters were doing; not very well. Vivian was constricting Gat, whose face was turning blue from the pressure, and Lilith was trying her best to defend herself from AJ's sword and Kaiden's bow, and already had a arrows sticking into her shoulder and thigh.

"Heh... Looks like I've got some cleaning up to do," Slade smirked, looking back down at Logan, who was starting to get a hold of himself again, "Don't worry 'bout that advice too much though, Kid..." He slowly unholstered his custom revolver again, taking aim at the top of Logan's head, "'Cause you won't really be needin' it where you're going..."

A sudden mass of heat filled the air, the ground beneath everyone's feet shaking from the loud boom of an explosion, followed by the crack of Slade's gun; everyone paused in order to find out where the first sound came from. There standing before Slade, grasping hold of the Bounty Hunter's black, metallic arm, was a being cloaked in an aura of raging flames. He was dressed in a similar garb to what Jackson had been wearing, in fact it was the exact same outfit entirely. But the being who'd stopped Logan's death couldn't have been Jackson; they had no wounds, black hair, and blazing red tattoos. But they were the exact same tattoos as well. It was Jackson... and yet,

"What in hell!?" Slade coughed, trying to pull away from the heat of the new being's aura. Logan winced at the fires as well, moving his hand to block out the intense light. Jackson had his head lowered, his eyes closed, almost as if he were still knocked out; but how could he be? He'd moved from his spot upon the cold ground in an instant, and had the strength to pull Slade's Durissima arm away. This new display of power was enough to bring the fighting to a stand-still, everyone staring at Jackson, "Hey! Let go of me you bastard!" Slade continued struggling, swinging his free fist to strike at the Arcanist's face, only to have it caught as well, "Damn you!" The Raider shouted, the heat from Jackson's aura really getting to him now. Was the temperature increasing even more?

"Logan move!" Vivian suddenly shouted, snapping the Hunter out of his slight daze. He rolled away just in time; Jackson lifted his head quickly, causing Slade to flinch as he didn't know what to expect, then slowly... opened his eyes. Instead of the cool, blue eyes he had normally, Jackson's eyes were a glowing orange color, and were slitted like that of a snake's; the Arcanist laughed hysterically, his aura flaring even more, until it finally exploded. Everyone was knocked backwards off their feet against the force of the extreme flames, and even "Baby" rolled a couple times, coming to a stop down the street on it's wheels. Slade managed to come to a stop, digging his hands into the pavement in order to do so; his gun had been destroyed in the blast,

"What in god's name is this bullshit!?" He demanded, looking towards the other survivors for the answer, but everyone was gazing upon Jackson. The Arcanist cackled maniacally yet again, leaning over into an animalistic stance. Slade scowled, drawing a second revolver from his other hip, "Fuck you!" A shot rang out, Jackson's head snapped backwards, and Vivian gasped. With a sickening crack, the Arcanist righted his head, the .44 round dropping out of his forehead as its wound closed instantly. Slade looked like he'd seen a Ghost, "Die you fucker! Die!!!" He fired four, seven, ten more times, but still the Arcanist didn't fall. Two more bullets; Jackson just laughed again, swinging his body back and forth, letting his arms dangle down in front of him. The Raider tried again. Click. Jackson's expression turned to one of complete insanity, and he dashed forward towards the Bounty Hunter, his fists enclosed in flames.

Another explosion rocked the city as the Arcanist's fist smashed against the Raider's jaw, sending the latter flying backwards through multiple buildings. Another wicked cackle echoed through the streets as Jackson leapt after him, leaving the others looking after them,

"Hey! Bitches!" Gat shouted, getting Kaiden and the other's attention, "What the hell was that!? How was that asshat moving so fast!!!" He demanded, to which the Archer merely shrugged, just to annoy the Raider. Gat didn't have a chance to attack Kaiden before Jackson crashed through a building back onto their street, "Shit!" The goggled biker exclaimed as the Arcanist cratered close to him. Slade followed quickly after, smashing his metal fists against themselves,

"Alright yah flaming prick! Get up! I know that didn't end you, so GET UP!!!" The Leader of the Razor Raiders shouted, getting into a fighting stance. Jackson obeyed, sitting up rather unnaturally, his back popping so much that it sounded as if his bones were straitening themselves; he still had a crazy smile upon his face. Slade yelled at the top of his lungs, rushing at the Arcanist and driving his fist up into his stomach. Jackson was lifted off the ground at the force, Slade grabbing his, now black, hair and pulling him downwards behind him, slamming the Arcanist's face into the concrete and holding him there, "HOW'S IT FEEL PUNK!?!" Jackson didn't answer verbally, instead he lifted up against Slade's strength with ease, causing the Raider to stumble backwards.

Then the Arcanist was on him; Jackson lifted off the ground from all fours, twisted in mid air, and smashed his boot into the Bounty Hunter's face to send him flying. The Arcanist caught up with him mid-flight, smashing him into the pavement so that he bounced back up. Jackson was below him now, once again on his hands and knees, and drove his foot upwards into the Raider's gut with a sick laugh. Slade flew skywards, tumbling through the air, as Jackson watched from below; his grin was enough to make even Gehennae cringe in fear. The Arcanist lifted his arms into the air, the sky becoming filled with a second sun as he formed a massive fireball above Slade; then, just before the Bounty Hunter began to fall back down towards Cael, Jackson threw his hands downward, the massive sphere of flames falling down upon the Raider, consuming him in the intense light,

"Everyone get down!!!" Kaiden shouted, the fireball crashing down towards the street. Both the survivors and the Raiders took cover just as the explosion hit, demolishing the city around them and almost melting the earth on which it had struck.

"Jackson!" AJ called, trying to see through the mass of smoke that obscured the remains of the city.

"Jackson!" Rich followed suit, turning over a large slab of rubble. It had been a good half hour since the explosion, but Vivian refused to give up. The Raiders had vanished, and night had fallen, but the city was still light from the damage the Arcanist's flames had done.

"Jackson!!!" Vivian screamed, her locating spell useless due to her nervousness,

"Vivian..." Logan tried comforting her, placing his hand on her shoulder, "You saw how large that explosion was... there was no way-" She suddenly wrapped her coils around him tightly, twisting around to glare into his eyes,

"Don't even... try to say that he's dead..." The Nagini spoke weakly, tightening her grip around him, "He couldn't have been killed by his own flames..."

"Vivian, you SAW that he wasn't himself... there was no way that was Jackson..." Kaiden shouted, trying to get through to her,

"It WAS him!" She snapped back, releasing Logan and starting to slither away, "Just..." She covered her face with her hands. Everyone slowly hung their heads, just as sad about the situation as she was.

"Oi..." Vivian lifted her head at the faint voice, twisting towards a large pile of rubble to her right; the others had heard it as well and started helping her remove the debris. There, under the mess and completely unharmed, was Jackson, "What's... everyone sounding so concerned for...?" He chuckled sleepily.

Chapter 3: Road Trip Out of Hell[]

Part 17[]

"Who knows what the bollocks happened to that bounty hunter and his two friends.", Rich stated. For the first time he wasn't wearing his armor, but was wearing a simple, brown shirt with no markings or engravings. His upper body armor was sitting in the far right corner, the shoulder pads and armor in a pile next to the chest piece and backpack. The chest piece had a massive dent in it, four finger marks in a fist formation visible in it.

AJ, without her hoodie on, her hair tied back in a ponytail, sat next to Kaiden, who was comfortably sleeping with his coat as a blanket, Max's head poking out of it as she clung to her master for warmth. Jackson was knocked out cold, lying down on his cot, the Arcanist's wounds starting to heal with an occasional "blast" from Vivian, who was sitting with her tail coiled under the seats, sitting between the cot and the wall.

"Maybe they got incinerated, maybe they got out. I guess if they got out we'll see 'em again.", Rich said. Logan nodded, running a hand through his hair. "So where to next?", he asked. Next to him was Gizmo, with Chto and Syreu safely sitting on the edge of his shell.

Vivian yawned, leaning against Jackson. "I remember some girl used to run a repair shop a few miles from here. We need a lot more room if there's gonna be at least six of us, and that damn bounty hunter got rid of Ol' Wendy!", Rich said, his bumperless, dented, beat, and scratched truck thudding down the road, twisting past all of the rusted cars.

"I wonder if this old radio still works...", Rich said, flicking a switch on a clunky looking radio and vinyl CD player. It turned on, white noise filling the ears of the group. Kaiden grumbled, Max glancing up at him.

Rich rotated the knob once. More white noise. He hit a button labeled "SEEK", and the radio started searching for a channel. Vivian sighed, looking over to Gizmo and the Commons while she waited. "So, you two are from the Slip, too?", she asked to the commons. Gizmo looked around and shrugged, interested on what the Commons' reply would be.

Chto spoke first, saying, "Yeah, we were in Gehennae's Keep. We didn't have anything there, though. We just worked to keep everything in order! I mean, I hate killing people that aren't bad, and lemme' tell you, lady, the Slip was fuuull-of-them!"

Syreu nodded his head. "Yeeeep! But I guess you're an exception!", he said, prompting Vivian to smile. "As are you.", she stated, Chto hiding his head in blissful embarrassment, Syreu's cheeks turning red.

As they spoke, a tinny noise filled the speakers in the front of the truck. "And they sing, "Oh, ain't you glad you're single, and that song ain't so very far from wrong!", the speakers started, the song fading out.

"Hey 'all and welcome to Westford's Repair and Radio! I'm Sarah Westford, your humble radio host. If you're just tunin' in for the first time, I run a nice little radio station about 40 kilometers away from that cozy little town Oakhaven! Which, in recent news, has been the highlight of suspicion from survivors of the recent Hellstorm. The central city hall and surrounding areas were apparently obliterated earlier this evening, according to reports from my trusty fans. Anyways, feel free to stop by anytime you'd like! But I shouldn't be droning on and on with my talking, so now, back to the music!", the voice said, fading out into another old song.

Rich flicked it off as the night sky set in. "We're not too far now. Maybe if she trades supplies we can get some snacks and some good repair work."

Sarah awoke to light pouring in through the window. Groaning when it hit her eyes, she rolled over and covered her face with a pillow. She had just begun to fall back to sleep when she heard crashing noises coming from the workshop below her. She shot up to a sitting position in her bed; "Raiders? Bandits? Or Imps?!" She leapt out of the bed, sheets falling to the floor behind her. She threw on a black hoodie with a small gear symbol on the left side of her chest that was hanging on her metal bed post. She pulled on a pair of dark jeans that were laying in front of her bed, they had a small rip on the right knee. She rushed to the edge of the room where her mid-calf length combat boots with a steel toe were laying. She pulled them both on, not remembering to lace them up.

As she reached the stairway down to her workshop, she stepped on a loose lace hanging from her boot, causing her to trip at the top of the stairs. Falling headfirst, she did a somersault down the metal stairs. Luckily, she had forgotten to throw out an old mattress that she was dissecting to get some metal springs. She landed on the mattress, creating a large could of dust.

"Well, If I was going to make a stealthy entrance before, I'm not going to now." Sarah whispered as she pulled herself up. She grabbed her modded shotgun off of her gunrack, and held it in front of her, preparing to be attacked. She stepped into the room where the banging was coming from, only to see her small robot assisstant, TIM, laying on the ground, unable to get up due to his lack of intelligence.

"TIM! You scared me half to death! I thought you were raiders.. or bandits... or, you know, imps. I was having a good dream too! I dreamt that I was walking in a bright forest, the sounds of birds all around me, and I was chasing down imps and shooting them! Actually, to some people, that might not seem like a good dream. Though I was winning." She helped the miniature machine off the ground and checked for damage. It seemed to be relatively unharmed, except for a scratch on it's side.

Sarah walked back to her gunrack and replaced the shotgun for a sniper rifle, bringing up to the second floor where she a had a room dedicated to security. There were monitors on a wall opposite a window large enough to fit her gun through, and watch for incoming visitors. She leaned the gun on the wall and looked through the window, noticing an imp going towards a pile of scrap. Sarah picked up her gun, aligned it with the imp's head, and took her shot. The imp's now lifeless body fell to the ground, limp. "That's what you get for trying to steal my stuff, you stupid thing."

She walked downstairs, put her gun back on the gunrack, and noticed her shoes were still untied. She bent down, tied them with a double knot, and rose to see her defense bots lined up against the back wall of her workshop, beside a circuit-breaker. Walking up to them, she went over her plan in her head. Okay. Tomorrow I'll test them out. Checked over for any flaws, flawless, as always. Aaaaand, they need a paint job. Wait. I should paint them AFTER I test them. Don't want to waste any perfectly good paint if I need to scrap them.

Sarah walked to her kitchen, which was basically just some counters, a fridge, a stove/oven, and a sink which were found on the left side of her workshop. She put together a small sandwich, the ingredients coming from her latest raid on one of the supermarkets located near her. After she finished her sandwich, she began heading up to her room, where her radio transmitter was found.

"Hey there, wastelanders! So, the other day I heard reports about an explosion in the city! Can you believe that? I can. Raiders out here are ruthless, and if you want to beat em' you better start building some pretty damn deadly stuff. Now, here's some greatest hits." She put a record in her recordplayer, and hopped down the stairs, back to her workshop.

She began to work on some small inventions, as well as modding her guns. Occasionally, Sarah got up to change the record on her radio, and let her listeners know how to defend themselves on the battlefield, and how to prepare themselves off of it. By the time she was done with her work, it was dark out. She closed the garage door to her workshop, which she had opened to get a breeze, and headed up to her room. As she was preparing to get into bed, she saw lights beaming outside of her window. She got re-dressed and went down to her workshop to get her sniper rifle. She brought the gun back upstairs and into her security room, ready to face whoever, or whatever, was at her door.

Back in Oakendrail, Travis "Gat" Wiley kicked at a large slab of concrete, knocking it over into a pool of half-molten rock. The center of the old town might as well have been a volcanic crater now, with a great deal of the buildings around them still ablaze. The Slip portal had been destroyed by the blast as well, only fragments of its towering, obsidian structure remaining strewn about the solid patches of ground. Gat wiped the sweat from his brow, turning back towards his girl, Lilith,

"This is a fine fucking mess!" He shouted at her, almost as if the Reaper was to blame, "Everyone's dead, the Boss is missing, and we've got no way to get back to Party City 'cept on foot!" He stamped on a pair of old reading glasses, which crumbled into dust,

"But everyone died in such a deliciously gruesome way..." Lilith smiled with pleasure, closing her eyes at the memories for their companions being killed, "How could you possibly be angry at that...?"

"Bitch I ain't walking all the way back to the slums! I want my damn bike!" Gat shouted, pounching at the air in frustration, "You know what the others there'll say about me? Gat, one of the best, got his ass sent home by a bunch of asshats in a moving sardine can!" An old van exploded off to his right, making the Raider jump a little, "Fuckin' city..." He mumbled, scratching his forearm.

"Calm down, Gat baby... you're still the badest man around..." Lilith complemented with a teasing grin; but Gat wasn't in the mood. The goggled Raider contemplated about smacking her across the face right there, but before he could do so a huge pile of rubble shifted off to his left. From under the debris, Jedediah Slade stood up; his clothes had been burned off from the heat of Jackson's rage. His entire lower body was made of smooth, living Durissima just as his arms were,

"Boss! You alright bro?" Gat exclaimed, running up to his long-time friend. Slade merely spat to the side, the saliva hissing as it fell into a small puddle of lava,

"Where's my bike?" Was all the Raider's leader could say, pushing Gat out of the way as he stepped onto more solid ground. Gat gulped a bit; Slade's bike had been his life before the war, and after Morrigan had "tricked it out" with its special enchantments, Jedediah had grown to love it even more, "Gat. Where is my bike?" Slade demanded, looking back at his friend over his shoulder,

"See... about your bike man..." Gat struggled to find his words, trying to thing of a good way to break it to the gang leader. Slade turned fully towards Gat, expectantly, "See... when the explosion happened... all of our bikes were kinda... roasted..." Slade's expression didn't change, much to Gat's surprise, "Those bastards are probably long gone by now too... left us here without a way home!" He continued, clenching his fists and expecting his old friend to share his worries. But Slade didn't respond verbally, and merely turned away again, "J-Jed?" Gat questioned,

"I'm going after them." Slade finally answered, walking down the ruined street; heading eastward. Gat's eyes widened and he quickly got in front of his boss,

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" He exclaimed, "They're probably halfway to Riddleburg by now man!"

"Then I'm headin' to Riddleburg." Slade stepped past Gat to proceed with his plan, the latter getting in the way again,

"It'll take you hours to get there, Jed! They'll be long gone before ya do!"

"Gat. Out of my way. I'm going after those bastards." Slade growled, his fist tightening with a metallic, grinding sound. Gat stepped backwards,

"Look bro, I lost my bike too! You don't see me bitchin about it!" He snapped, keeping a firm grasp on his chain whip,

"Why you ornery sonofva-" Slade spat, raising his arm to pound Gat in the face, but before either men could attack each other;

"Gentlemen..." Morrigan's voice sounded colder then usual as the short, well-dressed Sage slowly walked up to the Raiders; who'd frozen in place at his voice,

"M-Morrigan..." Slade finally brought himself to speak, straitening himself in his master's presence,

"Hey Doc... lovely night huh?" Gat stumbled over his words. The silver-haired mage simply grinned at the rhetorical question, stepping up between the two men,

"So... Is it safe to say, my dear friends, that the Chest has been taken?" He said slowly, as if the others would have trouble understanding him otherwise. They all only nodded in response, causing the Sage to shake his head disapprovingly, "I am not at all happy with your work this time, Jedediah Slade. I expected more from you and your men," Morrigan grumbled, looking towards the towering Bounty Hunter, "But you failed, and more then half your group was killed by a simple band of wasteland trash,"

"I swear to you sir... I won't fail again," Slade said through clenched teeth, "I will hunt down those bastards and skin 'em alive... 'specially that damn Arcanist who destroyed my ride,"

"No. You will not. Not yet," Morrigan had raised an eyebrow when his minion mentioned an Arcanist, "I will come to call on you once Phase Two begins,"

"Phase Two? I thought Phase One wouldn't be complete 'til we got you the music box?" Slade questioned as Morrigan turned away from them,

"This is why I do the thinking, Jedediah Slade; my plans usually consist of multiple stages and phases in case one of them were to fail. In this case alone I had six separate stages to fall back upon should the Archa not be in my possession by this day's end. The wasters are heading for Imperisium City... they're unwillingly carrying out the first stage of Phase Two as we speak," Morrigan couldn't help but smile at his cunning, pivoting on his right toe to face Slade again, "In the meantime, I want you to return to your residence in... Party City was it? Rebuild your little Gang; replace the three members you've lost and what not..." He circled his right hand in the air uncaringly,

"Sir, not to correct you... but I lost four of my boys today," Slade replied, much to the Sage's apparent amusement,

"You're not correcting me in the slightest, my dimwitted associate!" He chuckled, snapping his fingers; in a flash of white that could only be associated with Cosmic Magic, there before them appeared...

"Fiddler!?" Gat exclaimed as the blonde haired berserker stood up from his previous kneeling position. The goggled Raider flinched at what he saw; it was defiantly Derek Thorne who was now standing before them, back from the dead with all his limbs attached, but he was now shirtless and had numerous stitches all over his body, "Damn man... you look like a fucking ragdoll!"

"I feel like one too..." Thorne laughed a bit, his smile widened by another pair of stitches, "But bloody hell do I feel brilliant...!"

"Ladies and Gentlemen... I'd like to reintroduce you to Derek Thorne; who will now prefer to be called 'Scratch' if it is to your liking," Morrigan smiled wickedly.

"State your business here!", Sarah bossed as the truck came to a stop, its lights flickering out. Inside, Rich hit his hand on the console once or twice, trying to get Baby back on.

"Damnit, she's got a close range defensive EMP.", he stated, opening the door and stepping out. "We mean you no harm, girl!", he exclaimed. "We just need some repairs... Badly!", Rich said as he nodded towards the truck. The barrel seemed to angle around, poking out of the small grate.

"How many are in the back?!", she asked, her voice still loud - and a tad bit nervous. If I let them pull in and that truck is filled with Raiders, I'm screwed, she thought to herself. But what about the defense bots? I guess a field test wouldn't hurt..

"There's six in the back - eight counting the smaller ones, and nine counting the dog.", Rich stated, still leaving the identities of Chto and Syreu anonymous.

Shit, kids., Sarah thought to herself, that woman's intuition her mom always talked about finally making a bit of sense. Emphasis on a bit.

Looking around, Rich could see the compound more closely. It was a smallish scrapyard, old cars and random bits of junk lying around. It was surrounded by a steel wire fence with some stone support pillars at the corners, turrets surrounding the pillars. The grate had scrap metal plating around it, making it safer than your average home. The house and workshop itself was located a little off center, a narrow storage space filled with tires hidden off in the "alley" at the left. The facility seemed weathered, yet fortified, and the driveway into the parking lot was the only area without the scrap plating, which would've made it too heavy.

"Alright...!", Sarah yelled, the barrel disappearing. "I'm opening the door!", she said, the gate opening slowly. Rich nodded and got back in the truck, pulling in. He stopped right before the garage door into the carport and workshop, the gate closing behind him.

As soon as it clicked shut, the garage door opened, Rich pulling in. The brute remarked on how glad he was on figuring out how to make the axles work without power - even if it was at the slow pace of one mile per hour, because it depended on how hard he pushed with his legs. As soon as he had gotten in to the fence though, the power came back on and he was able to pull in quite easily.

"Sarah,", Rich stated. He knew the girl's name already from the radio. "I'm gonna' let my friends open up the door now...", he said as Sarah walked through the door, gun and rifle in hand. She nodded and Rich hit the "back wall" of the front cab three times, Kaiden opening up the door. She stepped around, shotgun in hand, and raised it. Instead of the children and wounded animals she expected, the mechanic found three humans, a mutant turtle looking thing, a Naga, and two Commons... Along with the said dog.

"What the hell?!" You never said anything about... well, you know!" Sarah jumped back as everyone stepped out of Baby. She raised her gun up more defensively, and back up towards the rest of her guns. She replaced the rifle for a heavy pistol, which seemed to have been modded. She pointed her shotgun to her left and pistol to her right.

"Hey, hey! Put those guns down, we're not gonna hurt ya'." Rich raised his hands, beckoning to the others to do the same. Everyone else raised their hand, revealing their weapons. "O-okay. That's a start. I'll let you keep your weapons, but you better not touch them, or I'm gonna...wave my guns at you aggresively." Logan chuckled. "A sense of humor! Can we keep her?" Sarah lowered her weapons. "Anyone else in there? The truck, I mean."

"Yeah. We got one more, but he's pretty beat up." Rich gestured to the back of the truck. Sarah turned around and put her guns back on her gunrack, then ran up the stairs. "Well, that's odd." Kaiden stepped forward, wondering where the engineer went. "Ah, crap!" Sarah yelled from the top of the stairs, which was followed by a crashing sound and swearing. The group stood, confused. After a minute of awkward standing and staring, Sarah re-appeared at the top of the stairs, with a med-kit in hand. "Hey, sorry about that. you said your friend was hurt? I'm decent with medical stuff, considering this happens a lot." She held out her hand, a fair-sized cut on her palm.

Vivian went up to Sarah and inspected her wound. "This can be healed. Hold steady." Sarah flinched as Vivian closed the wound. "Wow, thanks! Wait, how come you haven't done that to your friend- I never got their name." Sarah craned her head around Vivian, looking at the damaged Baby. "Jackson, and it's too bad. I'm afraid I can't deal with that. I've tried, though. Maybe you'll have better luck?" Sarah nodded, and walked by the group, towards the back of the truck. She opened the doors to reveal a damaged Jackson. She stepped up into the back of Baby, and towards Jackson. "Is he unconcious? Or just a really heavy sleeper?" Sarah questioned, with no response. "Alrighty, then. Let's get to it." She muttered under her breath.

Sarah examined Jackson, realizing how bad his wounds were. "What the hell happened to him? He's got a fractured leg, and a gash on his shoulder." Sarah stepped out of Baby and went up to Rich. "It was a ... fight." Rich replied, not giving full detail. "Must've been a pretty bad fight. I'm gonna look for a leg brace. I'll be right back." Sarah walked outside.

"Anyone got a flashlight?! It's kind of dark out here!" AJ noticed a flashlight on the table beside her, and threw it to the engineer. "Thanks!" Sarah walked out to a pile of scrap, and immediatley found what she was looking for. She was back inside, and hopped back into Baby. Before she put on the brace, she wrapped Jackson's leg with a cast, making sure it was set so it would heal properly. She then wrapped a bandage around his shoulder after sterilizing it with alcohol found in the med-kit. Once she was finished with that, she the proceeded to put on the leg brace. She stepped back out of Baby. "Okay, he's set. But you're gonna want to make sure that when he wakes up he doesn't walk on that leg, otherwise...well...yeah."

"Alright. I'll take care of him, make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Vivian stepped forward. "Where can he sleep? That truck's just gonna put him in worse shape." Sarah nodded. "He can sleep upstairs. Here, I'll show the way. Can you carry him?" As Sarah and Vivian brought Jackson upstairs to the bed, the others all looked at each other. "She seems really nice. I think we can trust her." AJ said with confidence. "Yeah, I like her, too. She seems pretty funny." Logan agreed with Alice. Rich laughed. "Good thing you like her, I have a feelin' we're gonna be here for a little while yet." Kaiden sat down on a table full of scrap. "Guess we better get set up, then."

Sarah returned back downstairs. "Okay, They're both upstairs. So, I'm gonna guess your truck needs some repairs?" Sarah eyed the hand-shaped dent on the hood. Logan laughed "Nah, we'll be fine. Slap some duct tape on her and we're off." Rich stifled a laugh. "So, how long do ya' think it's gonna take?" Rich put his hand on Baby's hood and looked at Sarah, who was staring off into space. "Hmm? Uhh.. few days. Depends on what you want." She walked over to the table Kaiden was sitting on, and grabbed a giant wrench from beside him. "I can do repairs and upgrades. Maybe add some more armor and some guns..and...oh! Nitrous..yeah.." Sarah started to list things she could do, and a few made Rich look uneasy. "You can skip the flamethrower, but the spikes sound good." Rich laughed. "So, you tell me what to do, and I'll do it. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need." Sarah walked past Max and closed the garage door, preparing for the night ahead.

The shop and house were decently sized. Its shape was roughly modular, and had probably been edited, tweaked, and added onto in the past years. The entire building was made out of a durable, thick, concrete that had held up to the tides of the Crimson Age for years before Sarah had inhabited it. The shop was large and a bit taller than the house itself. It could fit Baby and had room for a more civilian sized car.

The house was attached to the shop directly, the kitchen and dining room linking up to it via a door by the counter. The kitchen had a large opening which led into the living room, the stairwell connecting it to the bedroom and tower.

Sitting at the dining table - an old, plastic table probably used for the back yard of a suburban house, were Kaiden, Rich, AJ, Logan, Gizmo and the commons, and Sarah. Sarah was sitting at the chair with its back to the opening into the living room, Kaiden and AJ across from her. Rich, Gizmo, and Logan were sitting parallel to each other, Logan, Gizmo, and the commons with their backs towards the door to the workshop/garage, Rich facing the two. Logan had his jacket slung over the chair, as did the other two.

Up in Sarah's bedroom were Jackson and Vivian, the latter taking care of the Arcanist, who was in bad shape from the previous battles. The group at the dining table were all eating a very delicious meal of meat loaf, the food from a recipe gained from the back of a can of tomatoes. Sarah was quite the cook - as the tomatoes tasted fresh in the delicious meat loaf. They were all drinking purified water from a device Sarah had also created. It was clean as hell and Kaiden felt relieved not drinking the opaque, dirty stuff from the average working faucet or fountain.

"So, how's your friend doing?", Sarah asked, taking a sip of water.

"He sustained a shitload of injuries in the past few days. Defeated a demon lord on his own and stopped a pretty messed up music box from releasing demonic energies into the Earth. We wouldn't want it to be another Slip now would we?", Kaiden stated, taking a bite out of some potato chips from the many bags Sarah had gathered.

"And you mind explaining to me why you have three Demons in your group? They seem nice, and... I guess even cute, but, uh, where did you get them from?", the curious Sarah asked.

Logan smiled and wiped his mouth. "Not all Demons are alike. Some of them are really nice, like these two.", he said, Chto and Syreu eating their smaller portions of Meat Loaf. They nodded, their mouths bursting with the delicious, homemade food.

"So the truck got all messed up why again?", Sarah questioned once more, fascinated by the story of this group of wasters.

This time it was Rich who spoke. "Well, some doctor named Morrigan forced these two fine lads to go into the Slip. On their way to Oakendrail they found this nice... What did you call 'im Logan, turtle dude? Along with AJ. They wiped out a caravan of demons and these two tagged along with the group. When they were in the Slip, I had to rescue the youngsters from dying when they attacked a Keep head on. I have to say, though, they got pretty far in compared to some other attacks I've seen. Oh, and when they got out and I nursed them back to health is was right back to the Keep that belonged to a Demon Lord named Gehennae. I needed parts for Baby, and the gang needed a music box. We found Vivian and Jackson a little before the assault when they helped us out fighting a fiend, and they tagged along too; they had to find Viv's brother and kill Gehennae. So then we assaulted it, Jackson fought a Demon Lord all by himself and killed him with the help of an Emissary, which I'm bloomin' surprised he could summon, and then we left the Keep in a hurry after it was engulfed in Black Fire and all of the support columns went down. And then we took out an entire Keep of Demons and left with everything we needed. I wasn't there for most of it but, I am impressed.", Rich finished, brushing a bit of meat off of his mustache.

Sarah's jaw dropped, the light hanging above the dining table flickering a bit - as if in awe.

"You guys must tell me something about yourselves, let's start with you Logan you seem to have your wits with you still." "Well," Logan started, it started many many years ago back when I was a wee lad. My mother squirted me out and didn't even bother to look down at me. My sister took care of me mostly, my dad was to busy keeping us alive to raise us like a proper family." Logan pointed to his Venator Rifle, "That belonged to my sister before her untimely demise at the hands of a hoard of Imps, as you probably know in small numbers they are nothing more than scaly rats but when there a big old "pack" of them, they leave the term "pest" up to debate. Back to the point she taught me how to shoot it and how to use a sword. In the end it was just me and her in that old house. Once she was gone there was nothing left for me to stay there."

"That's ummm... quite the tale. Who's next?" asked Sarah. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa...whoa whoa whoa, whoa. Did I say I was done?" commented Logan. "You didn't even care long enough to listen about my clash with a dragon!" "Dragons don't exist Logan." replied Kaiden. "Have you ever met one?" replied Logan. "No. Because they don't exist.", he continued, a bit irritated.

"This story is just beginning. So there I was on the open road before I met these lovely companions when I took shelter in this cave in a cacti forest. Inside I found this giant dragon named Richard sleeping next to his gold. I then proceeded to wake him to ask if I might borrow a dollar for a drink from the vending machine next to the road. I know what your thinking, you should really stop drinking soda, but deal with it I know I have a problem! Though the dragon was a tough bargainer we eventually settled on a trade, I gave him a rare amulet that had been buried underneath a gas station and he gave me a dollar."

"Uh, what?", asked a dumbfounded A.J. "Oh, you think you can do better?" replied Logan.

"Who gave him the soda?", Kaiden asked, noticing that Longstride was drinking it instead of the water everyone else had. From what I've learned, you should never give Logan soda., the archer thought to himself.

"Logan, can I please have the soda?", Rich asked, reaching his thick hand across the table. "It's my soda, though!", Logan yelled at him, chugging it with the last bite of his meat loaf.

"So, Mrs. Westford, where are we going to be sleeping?", Gizmo asked as he took a sip of water. Chto and Syreu were still happily digging into Gizmo's meat loaf. Sarah looked at him and smiled.

"Call me Sarah. And I'm not married, so it'd be Ms.", she responded, leaning back in her seat. Gizmo's head went down in his shell a little. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm still learning about all the technicalities of your language.", he responded.

"Anyways,", she continued, "I've got plenty of spare mattresses, blankets, and these air mattress things you can all sleep on. One person can go on the couch, and there's enough for two on a mattress if you don't mind sharing. I've got two mattresses, and I guess Vivian will stay up in the bedroom with Jackson. I'll sleep a sleeping bag and there's some more I found for you all if you get cold."

Sarah yawned and the others followed, one by one yawning lazily as the former stood up and moved out of the kitchen/dining room and into the living room; which was decorated with a plethora of different furniture, varying from the retro looks that some were trying to bring back - to the modernistic looks of the Azure Era.

There was a rounded, teal couch with some blankets neatly folded on it. On the ground were mattresses - blankets folded in the same fashion. Some were, Kaiden noted, beach towels.

Looking out the window as everyone got up, Sarah walked into the living room too, stating "You all go to sleep whenever you want. You're the nicest bunch I've ever met.". She walked over to a small closet space under the stairs leading up to the bedroom and tower and got out a sleeping bag. "I'll let Vivian tend to Jackson up there. He needs comfort more than me.", she finished, unrolling it.

Kaiden removed his jacket and lightly placed it on a small table next to the couch. Gizmo removed his armor and too, folded it up in a neat pile. AJ placed her jacket on the nightstand and slid into one of the smaller mattresses, Gizmo into the largest one with the two Commons sticking close to him - like Demonic puppies to their beastmaster.

Rich removed the heavy leggings he hadn't taken off in ages and stacked them next to the recliner he was about to fall asleep on. Logan looked around and grabbed a sleeping bag, forced to sleep next to Gizmo. Eh, he thought, At least I know he's not gay... Wait I think., he finished, shrugging the thought off. Warmth was better than personal space, anyways.

Kaiden pulled his boots off and unfolded the blankets, tucking them neatly into the cushions as he removed the pouches and armor plating that had been crafted for him. As the others slowly moved into beds of their own; the whir of the air mattress filling Kaiden's ears, he drifted to sleep.

The dry gravel crunched below his boots, the sun high in the horizon. Sweat was forming on Kaiden's forehead, bits of dust forming a ridge of dirt on his forehead. He was in the city of Cantonville; nothing more than the last, rusting remains of the West Canton Oil Refinery. The area apparently had a small trading outpost; and Kaiden had to see it himself.

The wanderer was wearing his trench coat and the same vest he had worn since the day of his father's death. He had no protection from the baking sun aside from a black bandana he had picked up in New Auro three years before hand, which was tied around his neck.

The trench coat was emblazoned with a single red bandage and nothing more - the jacket still gray after at least twelve years of use. Stepping foot inside the building, he was met with a gun to his face, someone standing right behind the wall.

Kaiden sighed. "I really think you should put that away.", he said, trying to remain calm. I don't have the power to take on this guy..., he thought to himself, turning his head slightly to the left to get a good view of him.

The man was obviously very underweight. He was wearing a baseball cap with leaves and dead grass tied on with what appeared to be the remains of an old t-shirt. Blonde, scraggly hair hung down into the man's face, massive gums and a skittish smile causing this man to look quite strange.

"Empty your pockets!", he yelled, jumping up and down. Kaiden smiled and looked over to him. "I was just looking for Cantonville. I didn't mean any trouble.", the wanderer stated calmly to the man in the shop.

"Oh them! Some bandits came through a few days ago and killed everyone! I locked this here store up TIGHT as your momma's vagina and not a single one got in. Scared 'em off by rantin' some shit in this book I foun' about a guy who joins this brotherhood of dark guys. Iunno!", he replied.

Kaiden sighed. "Please take the gun away from my face. I'd like to trade you some goods.", he replied to the merchant, who reluctantly put the gun down and hopped a little bit, going to a small, upside down plastic bucket with a few pieces of paper stacked messily on it.

Looking around, Kaiden could see that the building was nothing but a small shack, its cinderblock walls starting to collapse from wear and tear. Shelves and a singular desk were all used as stands for merchandise.

"What exactly happened to Cantonville?", Kaiden asked the merchant. He looked at Kaiden and bit his lower lip, looking out of the foggy, broken window. "Whole band of fiends came through here. Bandits, hijackers, whatever you wanna' call 'em. They wiped out all the houses and I got away by not havin' a place up in the higher levels. Completely overlooked me!", he said with pride.

"You also said that you locked up this place and they couldn't get in. Are you okay?", Kaiden questioned, looking over his goods. "Yeah yeah, I meant that too!", he said, sitting down behind the bucket. Kaiden grabbed a bottle of water; still unopened; and two cans of beans.

He walked over to the merchant and placed them on the bucket. "Got any ammo? Ammo is nice.", the merchant stated to Kaiden, who nodded and pulled three mags of .9 mm rounds out of his pocket. He nodded and looked them over. "These will do! Thank ye' kindly, traveler!", he said to Kaiden, grinning so that his yellowed teeth shined like tainted pearls.

He waved at the merchant and walked out of the door, hoping to get out of the eerie Cantonville as soon as possible. Pulling his MP3 out of its pouch, he slid the canned beans in and placed the water in a separate spot.

Turning it on, he saw that the battery was still on full from his last stop in Suavecito. He put one earbud on and stuck the other, along with the MP3 itself, into his pocket.

The town felt eerie. Knowing that farther down in the refinery people had been slaughtered. If Kaiden had been dumb, he would've tried to wander in to look for supplies in the townspeople's homes, but they would no doubt be crawling with parasites and hijackers from all around, looking to do the same.

"AHHHHHH!", Kaiden heard from the shop. Turning around quickly, he saw blood splatter upon the distance, cracked and broken window. Kaiden was unarmed and unprepared.

He readied his fists and dove out of the dirt road and behind cover of three diagonally aiming pipes. Within his pockets he had the Sharpfinger knife his mother (and originally his father) had used for skinning.

Already he could hear three bandits behind him. "We knew you'd come back this way!", one of them yelled, jumping towards Kaiden who sidestepped and tripped over another.

Sarah gently knocked on the door of her room before slowly entering; while she realized that the small band of survivors obviously meant her no harm, the Nagini still made her a bit nervous. She spotted Vivian sitting cross-legged on the bed next to Jackson, who was still comatose from sheer exhaustion; the Demoness had morphed her tail into a pair of human legs to better fit into the partially cramped bedroom,

"Is everything ok in here?" Sarah asked softly, to which Vivian replied with a silent nod, "I'm sorry about the mess, I usually never have visitors and I'm a bit of a clutter bug," She pushed a few gears and levers away, clearing a space on the small workbench beside the bed, "I brought you some dinner... I don't know exactly what Demons like but..." Vivian turned her head towards her, slightly alarming the mechanic, "Not that I have any trouble with Demons!" Sarah caught herself, but Vivian merely smiled,

"Its alright, it looks delicious," The Nagini replied happily, then turned back to Jackson,

"Is he going to be alright?" The Mechanic asked after a moment, taking a step closer to the bed; she was surprised to see that Vivian had removed Jackson's bandages to reveal the wounds were almost completely restored, "Oh wow, you're doing a great job!" She complimented, hesitantly placing her hand on the Nagini's shoulder, but Vivian shook her head,

"This isn't my doing. Somehow Jackson's recovering this fast on his own..." She frowned, placing her hand upon his chest. A visible blue pulse of magic "scanned" over his form, then retracted back into the Demoness' palm, "His bones have already repaired themselves, and he has little more then a few bruises left..."

"Well that's a good thing isn't it?" Sarah questioned. Vivian turned to face the group's new friend; mixed emotions were written across her face,

"In a way; yes. Jackson should be back on his feet by the morning, if he wakes up that is," She stated, "But... this healing rate isn't something humans have, even mages like himself. A master of Vitamancy could have healed him this quickly, but to do so on his own like this... Its just not normal,"

"He wasn't always like this?"

"No... I've treated his wounds a couple times before. He has a high tolerance for pain, but he never fully recovered before rushing into another battle. This regeneration rate is just not normal for humans to have," She turned back to Jackson, "The rate at which his body's rebuilding itself... only Demons have regenerative abilities like this..."

Where was he? Who was he? How did he get here? So many questions rushed through his head as he wandered aimlessly through the massive plain of darkness. His body ached, at least he thought it was his body. It had to have been, how else would he be able to feel such agonizing pressure? He shook his head, trying desperately to rebuild his memories. A green flash, a woman's dying breath, a gate of red energy. His mother's death and the first time he was thrown into the Slip. More memories seemed to branch outward from this point; meeting Rich and his brothers, returning to Cael after five years in the demon realm, going home to Medies Refuge, his apprentice-ship under the teachings of Silas Andromeda. All of the memories flooded back so suddenly, it was like a massive wave that crashed down upon him. His head throbbed, so he grasped his temples, grunting in pain as the last of his memories filled his mind. Without warning the dark expanse lit up with a bright orange heat, and there before him was... himself?

Jackson gazed upon his twin before him, and it likewise stared back; but as the red-hot intensity around them seemed to grow out of control, his duplicate became distorted. The other Jackson's hair turned black as coal, his tattoos and eyes glowed with an equal heat to the flames surrounding them, and he flashed his white teeth in a wicked grin that sent shivers down the Arcanist's spine,

"You... you were never there before... were you created by the Archa's powers?" Jackson demanded, taking a step forward to show he wasn't afraid. His twin merely cocked his head in an animal-like fashion, the grin widening as he began to chuckle, "Answer me! Who are you!?"

"... You..." The other stated, his slight chuckle turning into a loud cackle that echoed through Jackson's head,

"Really? Then let me ask you this, Jackson. If you are me, then who am I?" The Arcanist was losing his temper now, his tattoos glowing their normal bright blue colors. This question seemed to silence the duplicate's laughter, and he cocked his head to the opposite side, leaning forward a little to let his arms dangle. Had Jackson confused it? "Well? Tell me! If you are me, then am I-" the Arcanist didn't get to finished asking a second time, for in the time it took him to blink away the dryness in his eyes his twin was standing right in front of him; almost touching noses as the duplicate grinned menacingly,

"Nobody..." It finally answered, smashing its flaming fist into Jackson's jaw; sending him flying and quickly giving chase.

Kaiden looked around him. "Give us your supplies or I'll cut yer dick off, and feed it to mah' girl!. Kaiden blinked and cocked his head. That sounded familiar....

"You've got five seconds to accept our offer.", one of the bandits said. He was wearing aviator glasses and a strange, leather outfit. His friend seemed to have a sword similar to the bow of a stringed instrument.

"Four...", one of the others said. Kaiden blinked again. Kaiden pulled out his knife.

"Get 'im boys!", the leader said, running at Kaiden with a tire iron. Kaiden flung his knife up but felt a pain in his back, the knife dropping from his hands as he was thrown to the ground by a mysterious force. Turning around, the leader's tire iron slammed into his stomach, knocking the wind out of the young adventurer.

He felt a fist slam into his face, his eye slamming shut as a reaction. Opening it again, he could see that the sky had reddened, and that the bandits were no longer bandits - they were Demons.

They began growling inhumanely, grabbing Kaiden and thrusting him around the ground. Faces seemed to flicker - whispers in the sky as it darkened instead of reddened now, the scenery seeming to disintegrate into the atmosphere as bits of distorted foliage shot up.

"I will know if you plan on betraying me,", one whispered. "We're not like them, man...", another chimed. "Name's Alice Jameson.", yet another finished. The whispers became unintelligible, eventually distorting until they all started chanting "Kaiden,", "Kaiden!", "Kaiden...", the whispers driving Kaiden crazy as he was beaten by Demonic projections.

"Son!", he heard. And immediately, everything stopped; the projections of the Demon-hijackers seeming to freeze in place. "Find your mother. Bring her to safety. Bring her home.", the voice said. In the darkened, tinted breeze, Kaiden could see his father, still as young as the day he last saw him at their house.

Kaiden tried to speak, but when he opened his mouth, the visions disappeared and suddenly, he was awake, the dim glow of the early morning starting to shine in as the 6 AM sun rose.

Part 18[]

Kaiden slowly sat up, catching his breath; sweat trickling down his forehead. In fact, he felt as though he'd just showered with his clothes on, his whole body was soaked with sweat. That dream had been too strange, what did his father mean by find his mother. Both his parents were dead... or at least that's what he believed. He nearly jumped out of his skin as AJ set her hand upon his shoulder,

"Hey... you okay, Kade?" She asked worriedly. He finally steadied his breathing, swallowing to wet his dried throat,

"I'm fine..." He grunted, running his hand through his hair, "Just... just a nightmare..." She placed her hand upon his jaw, turning his head to face her,

"You sure you're alright?" She asked again, raising an eyebrow. Kaiden smiled and nodded,

"I'm sure..." He said softly, kissing her without a second thought. It was only a quick peck upon the lips, but AJ seemed to want more, leaning into him as he started to pull away. They probably would've continued, had it not been for the loud explosion that came from upstairs, followed by Vivian shouting out a spell. Kaiden grabbed his sharpfinger instinctively, quickly getting up and rushing upstairs, AJ right behind him with her Katana.

They barged into Sarah's room, where Jackson and Vivian had spent the night, and froze in surprise at what they saw; Vivian had conjured a pyramidal barrier around Jackson, who's body was releasing a massive amount of electrical energy,

"V-Vivian, what's happening?!" AJ exclaimed, shielding her eyes from the blinding light of the sparks,

"I have no idea! Jackson's body just began releasing magical energy!" She explained to the best of her abilities. Jackson's body suddenly changed within the barrier, his hair turning black and his markings turning red; fire and heat resonated from his entire being, incinerating the bed, "I... can barely contain it!" Vivian flinched, clasping her hands together, "Catenam Lux Circumago!" A trio of golden, glowing chains appeared; wrapping around the blue pyramid containing Jackson, "Quattuor Paxillus Tenuit!" Another sealing spell; four purple spikes of magic drove themselves into the barrier through the links of the golden chains, "Buxum Proxima Circa!" Finally a green cube built itself around the entirety of Jackson's prison; a four stage seal to contain magical energies. But even with such a strong barrier, Vivian was still having a difficult time holding back the Arcanist's energy. More lightning came; Jackson looked normal again. Suddenly fire and heat; Jackson's appearance changed again,

"This is insane!" Kaiden shouted, the others heading up the stairs behind him.

Again and again Jackson felt the explosive heat of his other's attacks; every punch and kick resulting in a fiery, concussive blast that sent him sailing through the "air" of his mental plain. He righted himself midair landing upon the invisible ground in a kneeling position, locking eyes with his attacking duplicate,

"This is my mind! There's no way you can beat me!" the Arcanist shouted confidently, pressing his palm against the floor, his tattoos sparking with electrical energy, "REPTANT FULMINE!" A deadly bolt of lightning shot along the ground, leaping around erratically before rising up to strike against his other's chest; the demonic entity spinning backwards, static crawling over its body. The previously bright orange and red surroundings suddenly turned a lightning blue color, and Jackson quickly found increased vigor.

The other tumbled through the air, coating itself with flames and rocketing back towards the Arcanist like a heat-seeking missile; not once losing its insane grin, finding complete enjoyment in the battle. Jackson side-stepped away from the incoming attack, his own hand super-charged with his lightning magic,

"I already told you!" He shouted at his twin, smashing his electrified fist into the being's jaw, "I'll not be defeated in my own damn head!" Realizing that since this was all in his head, Jackson didn't worry about calling out his spells, nor did he need to pace himself; in here his power was infinite. The being tumbled head over heals from the Arcanist's strike, the latter quickly giving chase with his Lightning Step; getting ahead of his duplicate and bringing his fist upwards into a lightning-charged uppercut. The being flew skywards, its continued laughter echoing throughout the expanse, "Think this is funny do you!? I bet you'll find this one hilarious!" Jackson thrusts his arm upwards, his Ultima Sera technique exploding forth from his palm.

His twin cackled, a jet of flame from the sole of its foot thrusting it out of the deadly bolt's path. A massive sphere of pure heat energy converged around it, and from said sphere came a barrage of thermal bolts headed strait for Jackson. The Arcanist attempted to lightning step away from the incoming strikes, but the explosions the bolts caused knocked him off balance; he quickly found himself pressed against the ground by the consecutive blasts. The mental plane around them once more reverted back to it's red-hot colors as Jackson's other gained the upper hand again.

The volley of heat bullets came to an end, but it was only just the beginning of the duplicate's attack as the sphere of heat around it shot downwards towards the Arcanist; forming a huge wave of destructive solar energy. Jackson leapt to his feet and stretched his arms outwards on either side of his body; a protective field of lightning quickly expanding around him, defending him from the heat wave's damage. But his duplicated wasn't rejected quick so easily; passing strait through the shield and smashing its fist against Jackson's nose.

The Arcanist bounced off the ground, another flaming strike smashing into his back to sending him tumbling over the smooth ground. It chased after, catching Jackson by the ankle and pulling him back into another devastating punch. He managed to right himself by pushing off the ground with his hands, landing upright and charging up an attack of his own; using lightning step, Jackson instantly closed the ground between himself and his twin, his arm enclosed in a spear-like bolt of lightning. His attack was stopped in its tracks however, after his duplicate caught hold of his wrist. A fiery upwards blast shot Jackson into the air, another blast sent him higher, and a third even farther into the "sky". It raced up after him, getting behind the Arcanist and locking its arms around him; then it shot downwards, propelling Jackson, and itself, into the ground head-first.

The Demonic being stood up easily, the pile-driver having no negative effects on its own body, and chuckled evilly at Jackson's crumpled form at its feet. It turned away, fully prepared to take complete control of Jackson's body; Vivian still struggling just to keep Jackson's magical discharges at bay.

Jackson's body now was locked in the same state he'd beaten Slade in, his tattoos and eyes glowing bright orange, his hair black as pitch; he stood up from the ashes of the bed, smiling wickedly out of his magical prison at the others who were observing him. It would kill them all, then escape into the wilderness to have some more "fun". There was nothing that could stop it now. In a blur of motion the inner barrier, consisting of the blue pyramid, golden chains, and purple spikes, shattered with a single punch. Vivian cried out in surprise as the sudden disintegration of her barrier drained at her mana pool, and caused her to collapse; she managed to retain the outer barrier, but It would destroy that one as well.

"Run..." It growled through Jackson's mouth, flashing a grin that could kill a man on sight.

"ANGUIS!!!" Jackson shouted at It, which lost control of the Arcanist's body at the sudden interruption. It twisted around to behold Jackson, the Emissary of Storms towering over him; the Arcanist was coated with a brilliant blue glow as his jagged, static-like aura sparked and twisted around him, "I've told you once, and I'll tell you a hundred times more! This is my mind! You cannot win!" Jackson spoke, the Lightning Dragon's voice echoing his own. It's expression no longer held the look of insane happiness; now it showed only anger and annoyance,

"This body... WILL BE MINE!!!" It spoke in a roar, Its own flame-like aura exploding around It. The fires circled around the duplicated, roaring and bending through the air until the form of a massive coiled snake was created, "VIPERA!!!" The twin Emissaries hissed and roared at each other, the twin Arcanists' auras clashed and sparked against one another, and Jackson's mental plane continuously cycled through the lightning blue and fire orange colors as both sides fought for control.

"Vivian!", Rich yelled, running in, his baggy nightgown billowing as he sped up the stairs, grabbing her as she fell unto the ground, a dimly glowing aura still appearing on her hands as she held the barrier up with her last bits of strength.

But suddenly, the red glows of Jackson's tattoos seemed to fade, then rapidly brighten again - this time in a bluish glow. His head fell limp and he toppled back unto the bed, but shockwaves of magical energy began shooting from his body, quickly expanding in size and damage as they went, the electric looking circles knocking everyone but Rich off of their feet.

"Vivian!", Jackson seemed to yell, his tattoos glowing red once more as the pigment in his hair almost instantaneously darkened, his eyes glowing yellow as his blank expression contorted into a demented smile.

Then quickly, it blanked out again, Jackson's eyes turning their gaze to the ceiling of Sarah's bedroom, another two shockwaves being let out in instantaneous succession, one red, one a light blue.

"Vivian, how do we stop this thing!?", Rich yelled, stumbling unto his feet, his nightcap toppling unto the hardwood floor. Vivian had a look of determination and pain in her eyes, gleaming in the dimly lit roadside bedroom.

"I don't... I don't know.", she mumbled weakly, her hands falling limp as the barrier failed. As it did so, however, Jackson too, fell limp once more, his aura glowing a violet tint, his hair slate gray; slowly dying down to its standard white as the tattoos faded to their inactive black, Jackson's eyes closing as he drifted back into his coma.

"Vivan...", AJ whispered, gently placing her hand on the Nagini's shoulder as she had done with Kaiden earlier. Vivian looked up at the young Arcanist, giving her a faint smile as she slowly rose to her feet.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on him. You all go have breakfast or go back to sleep. If he does it again - he won't do it again, I promise.", she said, motioning the others away.

As they all walked down the stairs, Sarah looked down at the group as the last out. "You guys owe me a new bed - and it better be a nice one, too!". Rich chuckled at her statement. "Guaranteed. Just... Not immediately, haha.", he said, giving her a proud smile.

As Sarah prepared breakfast, the others sat at the table, the cloudy sunlight peeking in at eleven o'clock in the morning. Kaiden was wearing only his pants and an olive green t-shirt emblazoned with a logo that said "Walnut Creek Kickers", possibly the name of a football team.

No one was wearing shoes at the moment, the floor in Sarah's home relatively clean for a dust bowl in the middle of the Astim Eastern Plains region. She appeared to be making some pancakes out of old mix, but Rich was enjoying one of his favorite childhood foods - Oodlie's O's, one of the most popular brands of cereal during the Azure Era.

"Where'd you get this milk from?", the brute asked as he dug into his fifth bowl. Turning away from the oven, which was now sizzling, she looked at Rich. "A lot of traders come around with trailers filled with unmutated cows. It's old world milk. I hear one company is even trying to merge the others and make a big distributor of milk.", she stated quite confidently.

Rich smiled and continued digging in, the mechanic thinking for a moment as Rich took a bite out of the O-shaped, brown sugar infested cereal. "But, chances are they'll be taken down by hijackers if they make a decent investment.", she stated. Jackson nodded.

Sarah turned back around to the oven, Chto pulling a spice out of a cabinet and handing it to her. She gave a "thank you" salute and poured it in, handing it back up to him as Syreu ran up with three eggs.

"Oh look, Chto and Syreu are helping Sarah,", a voice said, Gizmo stumbling out of bed and over to the table. "That's so nice of you two!", he stated, pulling out an empty chair and taking a seat.

It was Gizmo, Kaiden, AJ, Rich, Sarah, and the commons. Jackson and Vivian were, of course, in Sarah's bedroom, while Logan hadn't woken up. Max was lying in a bundle under Kaiden's jacket, still tired from the heat of the Slip.

"Logan is the heaviest sleeper I've ever god-dom' seen.", Rich commented as he slurped up some sweetened milk from the cereal bowl. Kaiden, snacking on an energy bar, nodded.

"So true. Reminds me of the first time I met him. In retrospect, there were a dozen better places to hide from a hellstorm, but it was out of its path. I remembered trying to wake him up in the barn I hid in. It took Max to do it!", he replied.

A small flame shot up into the air as Sarah jumped back, the Commons looking on in horror. "Oh we're sorry! Didn't mean to, honest!", Chto exclaimed, his skin tone lightening in embarassment.

Sarah smiled at him and then at Syreu. "It was my fault. I grabbed the wrong type of oil.", she said to the two, who nodded. "Wait...", Syreu started. "Was it olive oil?", he asked, suddenly an expert on cooking oils from the stockpiles of Sarah's inventory.

"Uhh, no.", she said nervously, throwing the one pancake that had the oil on it away. "Vegetable oil?", Chto continued. Sarah shook her head again, laying two pancakes on a plate.

"It was butter.", she said, her cheeks now reddening. Why do I always get mechanical supplies in my food?, she thought, feeling a bit like an idiot. Grandpa called me a genius, and I can figure out how to fix a zeppelin, but I still can't get how the hell I mix up all these supplies?, she continued to think as she pulled out the last pancake.

"If Logan gets up I'll make him some too, but here's two orders of pancakes for both of you! I've got some really old maple syrup and a bunch of different kinds of honey.", she said as she placed the two plates of pancakes unto the table, Syreu opening up a cabinet full of different kinds of honey.

"There was a fat bear there. A trader called it an Osov? They apparently gravitate towards honey and protect it with their lives. He was friendly enough though.", she started explaining as she pulled out the silverware for the two.

"He even let me take as much as I wanted. Reminded me of my old dog Cocoa, except, you know, mutated. And bigger."

It was around noon when the Razor Raiders arrived in Party City; the massive strip of old, reestablished stores, restaurants, casinos, and whore houses was already bustling with hundreds of degenerate wasters from around the country. Slade grumbled a little as Gat pulled the armored bus into a parking lot full of unwanted vehicles; they had hijacked the fortified vehicle from another band of wasters, also headed for the City. The never planned on keeping it, and this way they'll be rid of it quickly enough. The bounty hunters exited the bus and split up, as per Slade's orders, to find three new members for the next generation of Raiders. Each normal member was to head into a crowded area, present the wasters there with a challenge that they must perform, and anyone who's able to complete the challenge were to join the gang. Simple enough, he didn't want to take too much time in recruiting these low-lives.

Slade headed into an old clothing store named Brock's Big and Tall to replace the ragged outfit he was currently wearing; yet another set of items taken from the Bus-driving wasters. Lilith headed into one of the many saloons, already having her challenge thought up; most the men inside had taken no time at all to stare at her voluptuous figure as she strutted inside, got up on a table, and gazed out over them all,

"Hey there boys... I have an invitation for anyone who thinks they're worthy enough!" If she somehow didn't have their attention before, she did now, "I'm sure you've all heard of the Razor Raiders, we've been the envy of you brutes for a long, long time, and don't think we haven't noticed it..." She smirked, "Well now's your chance to be one of us!" A quiet murmur spread through the bar at her statement, "But, we've only got three slots open... and I myself am only looking for a single person," She jumped down off the table, "Any one of you can join... if you take my top off!" For a moment nobody moved, as they all wondered if they'd heard her correctly, "Well come on now, you can't all be homos can you? Or did I accidentally walk into a gay bar?" She groped her own breasts, teasing the crowd, "You all know you want to see 'em..."

Reluctantly, one man who looked to be in his late forties, stood up and approached her; a perverted smile on his face. Lilith smirked as he walked up to her and reached for the leather corset she was wearing. Before his fingers could even touch her top however, he was cut in half by the Reaper's scythe, prompting multiple exclamations of surprise from the crowd, "You really didn't think it'd be that easy did you...?"

Gat walked into a run-down vehicle shop, admiring the numerous motorcycles that were lined up in the store front, "You looking to buy, handsome?" A soothing voice sounded from behind him. He turned to look upon the typical looking biker-chick; dressed completely in jean fabric and leather, with a ton of metallic spikes and chains protruding and hanging from her attire. On both of her hips were a pair of holstered SMGs, and the black patch covering her left eye was decorated by a white skull and crossbones. Gat smiled as he looked her over, "That all depends if you're for sale, babe."

The Sun-Baked Saloon, one of the most successful bars and casinos in Party City to date; only the wealthiest of the city's visitors can get inside, as there is a required credit check to enter. Thorne, now known as Scratch, walked up to the tavern's entrance; he walked strangely now almost stumbling forward like he'd had one too many drinks. The two doormen looked at each other as the Raider reached them,

"Sir it looks like you've already had enough for today, I don't think the Sun-Baked Saloon's right for yo-"

"Oh c'mon, Phil..." Scratch chuckled insanely, raising his head so that the two bouncers could see who he was, "You both know I'm bonza for it..." He smiled wickedly, cocking his head to the side with a loud pop,

"F-Fiddler? God damn... what happened to you man?" One of the doormen, Phil, exclaimed, his eyes tracing over the hundreds of stitch-like carvings,

"Ya' look like somebody stuffed ya' into a blender and hit puree!" The other guard added, making Scratch cackle,

"So now that you two morons know its me, how about letting me in?" He asked again, trying to step past the two,

"Whoa there Fiddler! You still can't go in," Phil warned, stepping in front of Thorne, holding his 12 gauge across his chest,

"We need ta' actually see if ya've got the moola!" The other guard, Carl, stated, "So lets see it! Two Thousand Caerulas to get inside." Scratch cocked his head to the other side, another loud crack could be heard; not once did his insane, wide-eyed grin change,

"Let me in Phil..." He grinned threateningly, "Otherwise you are going to die... here and now!"

"Fiddler... you know the rules, you never had any trouble with 'em before. Just let us see if you got the money!"

"I'll give you three seconds..." Scratch's smile widened even more, the stitches on either cheek giving him an inhuman look, "One... Two..."

"Damnit Fiddler quite joking arou-" Phil was cut-off as Scratch said three, and dug his hand into the bouncer's chest,

"And by the way, mate... they call me Scratch now..." The man's heart was torn from his body, and he dropped to the ground in a heap. Scratch quickly crushed the fragile organ in his hand, tossing the remains away before turning his attention on Carl; who shouted in fear and blasted the Raider with his shotgun. Scratch's arm was torn from his body, but instead of blood or chucks of flesh all that could be seen was millions of pitch-black threads. The Raider cackled again as the threads lengthen and pierced through Carl's gut, digging and ripping through his intestines before exploding out of his back; pulling the man's spine out. Scratch withdrew his Durissima innards from the bouncer's corpse, his severed arm literary crawling up his leg and replacing itself upon his shoulder. With an evil laugh, the Raider pushed open the doors and stepped into the air-conditioned bar.

Two more guards met him on the inside, having been alerted by Carl's gunshot; both of them brandishing assault rifles. Scratch merely grinned wider, his hand shooting forward, extended from his body by his threads, and driving itself through the first guard's chest; the bouncer gagged in pain before the Raider's hand burst out of his neck, twisted around, and shot towards the second guard. When the man shouted in fear, more of Scratch's threads extended his fingers forward, breaking the man's jaw so that the rest of his hand could fit into their mouth; the bouncer's eyes rolled into the back of his head just before Scratch's hand burst out of their skull. Everyone in the bar was alert now, grabbing their weapons and prepping their spells to use against the devil that was now amongst them.

"Now ain't this some shonky business... I leave home for a couple weeks, come back, n' all my old blokes are pointin' guns at me..." Scratch sneered, looking around at everyone in the establishment, "Then again... you all took advantage of my piss-poor gambling skills. So you're all good as dead to me!" His arm shot off towards his left, grabbing a man by the neck and lifting him upwards. The Raider's hand detached itself from his arm, the Durissima strands wrapping around the man's neck and the rafter above him. While he hung there choking to death, more of the strands burst through Scratch's palm into his neck, running their way through his flesh and moving his arms like a massive puppet. Similar to Scratch, the man's forearms shot from his elbows with the aid of the threads, and grabbed two more men by their necks. The first man's head was severed from his body, allowing his torso to spin while his head remained motionless; this cause the other two to be lifted into the air, spinning around as blood rained down from the first.

"Now that right there is what this place always needed! A ceiling fan and a blood fountain!" Scratch cackled again, before stopping and looking down at the empty place his forearm had once been, "Oh right... I need that," He chuckled, his whole head twisting around to look into the eyes of a dark-skinned survivor behind him, "Hello there Darrius! I seem to remember you had a good strong arm on ya!" He recalled the many times the large, black man and beaten him at arm wrestling; well had beaten Fiddler that is. More of Scratch's threads shot from the stump of his arm, grabbing hold of Darrius' wrist; tugging the man towards him, "Oi! Let go of it ya bloody piker!" Scratch nearly screamed with laughter, jabbing the huge man in the gut; pushing him backwards as his other arm extended from his body, ripping Darrius' arm off. The man shouted in agony as more of the deadly strands plunged into his torso as Scratch forced him away, pinning him and three others to the wall; the threads ripping them apart.

"Thanks for lending a hand, mate!" Scratch replaced his missing forearm with Darrius', flexing the dark-skinned fingers a little before realizing his mistake, "Well piss! This is the wrong arm!" He cackled, detaching it again and tossing it away, "Any other volunteers...?" He almost growled. At this point, every waster in the saloon attacked at once, riddling Scratch's body with bullet holes; the Raider stumbling backwards against the barrage, until one by one the loud clicks of empty clips and magazine echoed through the room. Scratch crumpled against the wall, sliding down in a slump as if he no longer had any bones; for a moment all was quiet,

"NoW yOu PaCk Of GaLaHs WeNt N' mAdE o'L sCrAtCh ANGRY!!!!" The Raider stood to his feet once more, his torso bent forward and his arms and head dangling by his Durissima strands. Slowly he pulled himself back together, standing upright with his head hanging forward. Without warning, he looked up at the frightened wasters; his eyes a dark red color, with blood dripping from them like tears, "NoW o'L sCrAtCh Is GoNnA mAkE yOu DEAD!!!"

Logan stirred as he slept, for every twitch he remembered a painful memory, but there were also smiles mixed in there. He was remembering one of the happy memories at the moment, but things can change quickly while dreaming.

(This section up for review)

Logan rode through the desert on his motorcycle at the dead of night trying his best not to fall asleep. "Need caffeine!" he shouted as he stopped at a destroyed gas station. He got up to look around and to his delight found a vending machine. "Heeya!" he said as he kicked and punched it over and over trying to get the precious soda out. "Frack. I need a dollar." He looked over to see a large cacti forest. "Maybe I can find someone in there. Good supply of fruit and nice cover, what thief would look in those prickly plants?" he thought to himself as he started walking. After about 20 minutes of dodging cacti he came to a large cave.

He spent about two minutes walking through the ill-lighted cavern until he reached a large door guarded by two gargoyles. "Sup dudes." said Logan as he waved to them. They didn't move. "Can I come in?" he asked. "Only if your purpose is pure." said both gargoyles simultaneously. "Well I'm really tired and thirsty and need a Soda so I can stay awake. I'm making good time on my little "road-trip" but if I fall asleep now I'll lose all the good time I made." Both Gargoyles looked at each other. "An honest a noble cause, but we're not completely convinced, answer this question truthfully and depending on your answer we may let you pass." "Okay, shoot." replied Logan.

"What do you say to death?" Logan thought about the question, did they mean death as an entity or death as a verb? "Not today." he answered. The Gargoyles looked at each other again, "Eh good enough you can go in now." Said the one on the left. “The boss could use the company anyway.” Said the one on the right. They opened the door and gestured Logan inside. Logan looked around and whistled, beyond that large door was the fanciest and biggest room he had ever been in. A 25 meter wide television with various devices hooked up to it sat on the right while a huge kitchen area was on the left. In the back sat a very large bed and on top of it, a dragon.

“Ah a human guest. I cannot recollect the last time I have been treated to such an event.” Said the dragon as it stretched its body and jumped off the bed similarly to that of a domestic cat. “I also cannot recall the last time I met a dragon, ever.” Replied Logan. “Well most of your kind believed mine to be nothing but myth and legend, in actuality though Dragons and Humans co-existed peacefully for many years both before and after recorded history, though certain individuals throughout the years have tried to ruin such a relationship. One of those was my brother about 2,000 years ago. He and a group of followers attempted to enslave humanity for nothing more than profit. Eventually I led a coalition against his forces and was forced to kill him.” “I’m sorry. I lost my sister recently so I know how it feels to lose family.” Commented Logan. “That was just the beginning of my misery though young one, after that I settled down and married a beautiful female named Sapphire. Life was very good after that, I was employed under your fledgling Empire as a Special Operations Commander and Chief Scientist of the Railguns and Coilguns. It appears that some of my work has survived.” Said the Dragon as he pointed towards Logan’s Venator Rifle. “I remember one of my human colleagues requesting such a gun, at first I was skeptical due to the amount of recoil but after trial and error I eventually succeeded. I named the gun after my father, which in turn is where I get my name also.” said the Dragon as he notioned Logan to come into a different room.

“How has your life been since you know what happened?” asked Logan to Jr. “Not so good, when the government collapsed I lost most of the soldiers and scientists under my command. We made one heroic last stand at the capital before letting it fall. During the retreat my wife was killed by a self-proclaimed Dragon-slayer leading a vicious platoon of very well armed daemons. I tried to avenge her death but by then I had already been crippled to the point that I could not fly. I was lucky enough to find this cave in this Cacti forest. Over the years have added to it with the help of those two gargoyles. But without my wife it has been difficult, there is only one thing keeping me going.” Said Jr. as he opened the door and revealed an incubation room. “The continuation of my kind.”

You’re the only one left aren’t you?” asked Logan as he looked at the brightly colored eggs in the various chambers. “Yes,” answered Jr. softly, “The Dragon-slayer would go on to find and kill all other dragons but me. His commanding officers knew dragons were the key to the Empire ever rebuilding itself. These three here are mine and Sapphire’s, the other two I was able to rescue, but there were so many other eggs I was unable to save.” Continued Jr. “How long do Dragon eggs take to hatch?” asked Logan as he circled the machines. “It varies on the conditions of the region or the entire planet. Some have known to be able to hatch in just a week, while others like myself waited decades to hatch, waiting for the right conditions.” Replied Jr. “Why are you showing me this Venator Jr.?” asked Logan looking up and finally noticing the flak wounds in his wings.

“Because young one it is no longer safe for them to reside here. I can sense that the Dragon Slayer is approaching the cave; it’s only a matter of time. You wear yourself a unique jacket, one that can hold an infinite amount of valuables and equipment if I’m not mistaken. I ask you out of the kindness of your soul to take these five eggs and hide them in your pouch until they are ready to hatch.” Logan thought about it for a second before answering, “Throw in a dollar for some soda and you got yourself a deal.” The Dragon smirked and walked over to a large chest filled with Gold, after a moment of looking he found a single Imperial Dollar and handed it to Logan. Then without warning a large explosion rocked the entire cave. The Dragon Slayer had found the cave.

“Quickly get the machines in there while I hold them off!” yelled Jr. as he ran over to the wall and picked up a full size M1 Gauss Cannon. “Wait!” yelled Logan before the Dragon stormed out of the room. He then threw a ruby amulet to the dragon, “I found this a while back in some ruins my family was staying at one time. It will heal any injury, even your wings.” “I’m not sure how I could ever repay you Human for the kindness you have showed me in the past few minutes.” Said Jr. Logan waved the dollar around in the air, “It’s okay Venator, you already have.”

Logan got to work loading the machines into the pouch, not a very easy task. When he completed the task he joined Jr. up at the mouth of the cave with the two gargoyles. “Sir it looks like they have at least three Nagols, two tanks, and dozens of well armed infantry.” Reported one of the Gargoyles. “We’re not going to win this fight men, prepare to retreat. Human I hope we will meet again one day, whether it be in this life or the next. Please before I send you off back to safety tell me, what is your name?” said Jr. “Logan Longstride.” Answered Logan. “A puzzled look sprawled across the Dragon’s face for a moment or two before he casted some kind of spell teleporting Logan back to the gas station. Even from the distance Logan could hear the sounds of weapons fire and flashes of light across the Cacti Forest. Logan went and bought his soda, took a sip, and got back on his bike heading towards his destination. Logan then woke up with the smell of breakfast in his nostrils. “Ooooo.” He commented as he jumped up and headed towards the kitchen. (end questionable post)

Half-past three, and Scratch was still nowhere to be found. Jedediah Slade grumbled a little, spitting off to his right. The Raiders, both old and new members, were waiting impatiently in the parking area in front of the bike shop where Gat had picked up Roslyn Flurry, a long-time mechanic who was also a nut for light-weight, fast-firing weaponry. She was dressed from shoulder-to-foot in chained jeans and spiked leather, and had an eyepatch covering her scared left eye. Her most noticeable feature was her almost unnaturally red hair, the group immediately giving her the nickname Red in accordance.

"Where in the fuck is that ragdoll!" Gat complained, resting on the seat of his new bike with both his arms wrapped around the two women's hips, "He was supposed to be here an hour ago!"

"Maybe he found a piece of ass of his own, Gat baby?" Lilith chuckled, having already been introduced to the three new members amongst them, and taking a strong liking to Red in particular.

Slade had met up with Butcher's younger, though far from smaller, brother in the clothing store he'd visited, and had asked if he'd like to avenge the death of his brother, and their childhood friend Beef. Clayton Gaston, dubbed simply Clay, hadn't accepted verbally, but had taken immediate action, quitting his boring job as the store's "errand boy" whilst crushing the head of his previous boss against the wall. Jedediah liked to have men who took action instead of asking questions, and Clay was certainly one of them, though he neglected to tell the hulk of a man that it was actually Gat who'd killed his older sibling.

"That fuck-face with a chick? He's never had that kind of luck... and if he did he'd probably end up with a fucking drag queen!" Gat continued to ramble and complain, prompting an annoyed groan from the group's third new member; an ex-mercenary that called himself Archbow, "The fuck's your problem, rag-face!?" The goggled Raider insulted the new recruit, referring to the bandages he wore over his eyes,

"I was just wondering if you ever shut that big mouth of yours...?" Archbow retorted, angling his head as if he were glancing towards Gat, "Or does it just keep running on and on like a Gremlin's nose?" Wiley looked just about ready to blow his top when Slade intervened,

"I like your choice, Lilith... how'd you pick him out from the riff-raff?" The leader asked calmly,

"Nothing too big, boss. I just said that the first person to get my top off could join," She shrugged as if it were no big deal, much to Gat's annoyance, "Of course I cut down everyone that got near me... but this blind guy, ripped my top off with a fucking glowing arrow from across the bar!" Slade raised an eyebrow, "I mean... I wouldn't mind it so much if he could actually see his prizes..." Lilith sighed, much to Archbow's amusement.

"I'm getting sick of waiting for this guy..." Red groaned a bit, leaning on Gat some more,

"Should we send someone out to look for him...?" Clay questioned, but before Slade could answer the entire front of the Sun-Baked Saloon exploded.

"C'mon! Ave a go, ya mugs! Or are ya going to just run away like a bunch a ankle biters!" Scratch cackled, tossing the lower half of a man he'd just killed into the selves behind the bar, smashing all the spirits and mixing blood and ale together, "Are ya all backdoor bandits or something!? Screaming like a bunch of lil' girls caught without their bathers on!!!" Another bargoer had his organs ripped out and his carcass tossed into a group of three other mercs, who were franticly shooting at the deranged creature before them.

More and more Party City residents fell, the bodies that Scratch wasn't using to replace his own deformed parts were thrown into a pile by the resurrected berserker. Finally, only three of the patrons remained; triplets by the look of them, all three with the runic markings that all Mages posses,

"Well would ya look at this! Its the barby boys!" Scratch laughed at the trio of Heat magic Arcanists, who were focusing their multi-colored flames before them. One spun green flames around his wrists, another focused on a bright red sphere of heat between his palms, and the last held both his hands forward with blue embers falling from his fingertips, "What are you waiting for ya blokes! Lets see if you hooligans can kill me!"

No sooner did the words come from Scratch's lips then the flames converged and leapt from their casters' hands, engulfing the monster in an infernal tornado. For a while, the trio of brothers thought they had stopped the deranged creature, until they heard the floorboards break behind them. They turned to launch another barrage of magical fire, but each stopped dead as they felt the cold sting of the Durissima threads pierce into their guts,

"Awwh... nice try mates, but I guess I just can't be murdered by the likes of you bludgers!" Scratch cackled, reforming his smoldering body the best he could as more of the metallic strings reached out and ripped off the pieces of flesh he needed to do so. Soon all that was left of the original Derek Thorne were his bleeding eyes, which bore down upon the triplets,

"Welp... it's been a real bash!" Scratch's mouth suddenly ripped itself wide open, more of the unbreakable strands rushing out and digging into each of the Arcanist's necks; their heads were ripped from their bodies and pulled into the creature's maw and down his throat. The bulges from the severed heads could be seen moving around in his chest as he turned towards the last living being in the Saloon; the bartender.

"Hey there Lou! Sorry 'bout the mess..." Scratch chuckled maniacally, slowly walking over towards the short little man,

"S-stay away from me Thorne! You... you m-monster!" Lou shouted, swinging a broken beer bottle at the Raider,

"Just put the cost of the damages on my tab! And there is no Thorne here..." The lumps from the Arcanists' skulls suddenly began moving into the creature's right arm, which ripped open as they reached his wrist. The three brothers' heads were indistinguishable now, being nothing more then juicy masses of flesh with eye sockets and clenched mouths, "There is only... Scratch!" As if frightened by the mention of his name, the three heads suddenly opened their mouths and began screaming bloody murder; a spout of flame escaping from the jaws of each. Lou, along with the entire frontside of the Sun-Baked Saloon, was gone in an explosion of blue, green, and orange flames.

AJ sighed a little as she leaned back in her chair, trying to blink away her sleepiness. She could smell the hot breakfast downstairs, and could hear the others talking; it made her feel a little lonely, though she'd thought she was used to the feeling after the death of her parents back in the town of Jormun. She glanced down at her wrists; her bracelet-like markings shimmering orange as she remembered just how alone she felt after that...

How she felt as the tufts of ice formed on her thick brown jacket. Even in the layers she wore - the heavy brown coat with her signature hoodie underneath, nothing could prevent her from feeling the icy chill of the cold wind upon her scarred face. Jormun had a special place in her heart; and not the good kind, either. She still distinctly remembered the location her mother had died at: an old, beaten trailer home that was a commonplace in the mountain-top town. The sound of her father's fist, and the feel of the warm claret spilling from in between his ribcage.

AJ coughed, looking around. The small community of lumber houses looked much different compared to the rest of the wasteland. The clouds were thin enough to let snow in - and in the summer, Jormun was actually quite beautiful. "Hmph. I wonder where everyone is tonight?", she thought aloud, looking around the cracked, icy road. There were few lights on in the houses, and the trailer home was sealed tight, the second floor addition lacking the usual guardsman. Anybody would have to be crazy to attack in this cold - and a blizzard was beginning.

Alice turned to the commonplace, hoping they'd give her a bunk for the night. "I wonder if ol' Jenk is still around...", she thought once more. Even in the place of her parents' death, she felt relatively calm. Not many bandits would wander far enough into the mountains to attack the naturally fortified village.

"Miss!", she heard a voice yell. Turning around, she saw nothing amidst the far and few trickles of snow that were beginning to fall. Before she could respond to the voice, she felt a violent force jerk her back, a burly hand quickly placed upon the petite girl's mouth. "Mmmph!", she struggled, being pulled back by the hand. AJ could feel her shoes scraping the icy ground beneath her as they were dragged unto the snow. She could feel another hand reaching around her jacket, attempting to find the zipper as she screamed in vain.

"Nnnn! Nnnnnn!", she struggled, icy tears quickly forming in her eyes as she realized what happened. "Sae a 'daemn word and yer' dead, missy.", the voice said, roughly unzipping her thick down jacket and ripping it off as he threw her on the soft snow. Turning to face him, she could see the man. He had a thick beard, matted and blonde, piercing blue eyes, and hair dripping down unto his face from under his fur lined jacket. He was wearing some heavily padded pants - probably what some would call a Yeti, or a "monster of the mountain". A snow bandit. "Please, no-", she whispered, the man kicking her in the crotch.

He reached down, unzipping her hoodie quickly, tearing it off and throwing it back towards the road. "Ye' shoulda' gon' inside, missy!", he ecstatically, quickly ripping her white shirt in half, exposing her chest in the cold. "You can be nice an' we caen go inta' my house like so, wher' it's warm, or we can stay right here. I know I'll be reight' warm, missy.", he continued, sensually moving his hands around the girls exposed torso.

"No, no, nonono-", the panicking girl thought as the frightening man began his parade."

"No is right.", someone said. The Yeti's grin dropped from his face, and he stared at the snow behind AJ. The Yeti jerked forward, a sheen silver blade coming out of his sternum as he gasped. The handler of the blade slid it to the side, the dying bandit falling unto the snow - beginning to stain it red.

"This town is not safe at night, girl. I can get you into the commonplace. Come along.", the handler said, swinging around the slightly curved blade. He was of the same race as AJ - an islander, and wore ornate robes, detailed with creatures of the sea. AJ's savior outstretched his hand, at the same time grabbing her jacket.

AJ quickly opened her eyes after the dream had ended. She hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep, she guessed she was more tired then she'd thought and rubbed her eyes. The young Arcanist nearly jumped out of her skin once she noticed Jackson had sat up,

"J-Jackson?" She questioned, leaning over to look at his face, "You ok?"

"Where are we?" He asked without looking around; he looked exhausted.

"We're safe... we made it to the mechanic's workshop that Rich told us about," AJ answered, resting her hand on his shoulder, "Are you feeling better?" She asked again,

"How long was I out?" The older mage questioned, ignoring her own for the second time as he stood up from the bed with a lot of strain. AJ immediately made him balance himself using her shoulders,

"A few days! You shouldn't be walking if you're still that worse for wear!" She stated, but Jackson pulled himself away from her,

"I'm this bad because I've been in bed for so long!" He grumbled, making his way towards the door, "Come on. I'm hungry, and I smell something really good..."

Part 19[]

Jackson had barely even talked once he'd come down for breakfast, not even giving any sort of thanks as he wolfed down his pancakes and bacon, gulping down the entire glass of milk he was given in under a minute. With a grunt, he stood from the table, wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his tattered shirt, wrapped the white scarf he'd claimed from Fiddler around his neck and shoulders, and made his way outside.

"Well... he's pleasant..." Sarah stated after they heard the door slam shut. Vivian bit her lip at the mechanic's comment; Jackson had completely ignored the hug she'd given him after he'd gotten down the stairs in one piece,

"He sure ain't actin' like himself..." Rich said, taking another bite of his toast. AJ had sat down in the seat next to Vivian, only just now getting her breakfast,

"He'd asked about how long he'd been out for... he didn't much like the answer," The young Arcanist spoke just before biting down on a strip of her bacon. Vivian's worried expression must have grown more noticeable, and prompted Logan to speak up,

"Don't feel too bad, Viv. Jackson's probably just going through his man-period right now, he'll be better in a few da-" The hunter's joke was cut off by the Nagini slamming her fists down upon the table,

"He's been through a lot, Logan! Please don't take his current condition lightly!" She snapped at him,

"Calm down Vivian! I'd be in a grouchy mood too if I had to fight for two days straight..." Kaiden interjected, once again trying to calm the demoness down; but she only seemed to get more frustrated,

"You don't GET IT! Jackson's body has been functioning in a way that's completely out of the norm for a human being, even one so connected to magic as he is! His body was beaten and broken beyond magical care, aside from something a Vitomantic Sage could heal. He shouldn't even be awake yet, let alone walking around!" She stood from her seat, reverting her human legs into her snake tail, "His regenerative abilities can only be compared to those of a Fiend or Higher Demon right now, and his behavior has changed along with this, but you all just continue to joke and poke fun at his possibly dangerous condition!?" The Nagini was almost in tears now, glaring back and forth between Logan and Kaiden,

"Well damn... when you put it that way..." Logan frowned, hanging his head,

"Vivian. You've yet to learn something about us..." Kaiden started, standing up from his own seat and staring directly into her eyes, "We've all be hurt... we've all had tragedies in our lives. We joke because it is one of the only ways we can cope with our losses..." He walked around the table and set his hand upon her shoulder, "We're all worried about Jackson... don't feel like you're alone. You came with us to prevent that, remember?" And at that, he nodded for AJ to follow him outside, leaving the Nagini to her thoughts.

"Daaaaaaamn... Archer got deep with her..." Syreu drawled, taking a sip of his drink before Gizmo bopped him on the head for his rude comment.

Kaiden stepped out into the fortified yard, looking around at the rusted machines laying around; their derelict husks were once a part of the old world, something taken for granted... now they were just a memory. Looking over, he saw AJ walk out of the old home behind him, taking a step unto the gritty, caliginous soil.

Across the yard, in a clearing of the junk, Jackson was furiously casting spells all around. His eyes were focused, yet distant as he twisted and fired a ball of lightning at one of the rusted cars, causing a bright flash, sparks erupting and fading almost instantaneously.

"Jackson...?", AJ quietly asked, gingerly stepping towards the grouchy Arcanist. He turned around to face her and raised an eyebrow, sarcastically replying, "Alice?"

The unimpressed girl furrowed her brows at him, walking over to the mage. "Can we do anything to help?", she continued to ask, obviously worried for the Arcanist's well being. Jackson tossed his head back quizzically, smirking at her. He flung around and immediately conjured a ball of lightning in his hands, the odd sphere rotating and morphing with a stuttering quality as it flashed and flickered in his hands.

"Practice time.", the mage stated confidently, raising the ball in his hands to attack. "Oh shit.", AJ cursed, quickly whispering something as she raised a lightning ward, the sphere simply absorbing into the uneven wall of electricity.

Jackson smiled, his spirits seemingly raised as his pupil defended against his spell, "Good!" He shouted above the sound of his lightning spells, each of which AJ was repelling easily, "But how will you fare against a steady current?" The Arcanist raised both his hands forward, and a continuous stream of electricity crashed towards her. Alice struggled to keep the dangerous bolts at bay but they started to break through her defenses, striking the ground and building behind her. Kaiden jumped out of range just before on of the shocks singed the ground upon where he'd been standing. Something wasn't right; while Jackson seemed to be in good spirits, his attacks were almost relentless as he "practiced" with AJ.

Inside Sarah's workshop, the mechanic had already gotten back to work on her defense bots. She'd planned on showing them off to her guests latter that afternoon, and was taking a short break from working on the now nearly finished Baby to do a last minute system's check on the androids' programming. Suddenly, excess electrical energy from Jackson's assault on his student began leaping over the conductible surfaces of her lab. With a high-pitched shriek of surprise, she fell to her knees and held her hands over her head in panic whilst TIM rolled around in a small circle, flailing its arms as the sparks kept flying.

"J-Jackson! Could you tone down the fucking voltage!" Kaiden shouted, shielding his eyes from the blinding bolts,

"No kidding! It's like you trying to kill me!" AJ complained, wincing as another bolt shot through her defense, right next to her ear that time. The Arcanist grumbled a bit,

"Fine! I'll turn down the voltage! But in that case I'll be turning up the heat!" He shouted angrily, stopping the stream of electrical energy and forming a fireball in his left hand; but it suddenly exploded out of control. Jackson cried out in distress, his aura igniting into a orange-red color as he collapsed to his knees holding his temples. Kaiden and AJ both tried to rush forward to help him, but the fires wavering around his body were giving off too much heat, "No..." They barely heard him say of the roar of the flames, "No...! This is MY body, damnit!" The fire started to die down a little, the hot red starting to turn to a cool blue color, "And I won't let you... HAVE IT!!!" Standing up, Jackson's aura exploded outwards in a massive electromagnetic shockwave that washed over the entirety of Sarah's outpost and knocked Kaiden and AJ both off their feet.

Panting, Jackson slowly got a hold of himself, glancing over where the Archer and young Arcanist had fallen, "I think... I'm done with magic practice for today..."

Just as Kaiden and AJ regained their footing, a curly haired head peered out the door. "Guys,", Logan said, still a bit groggy. The others looked towards him, wondering what he wanted.

"I know magic is fun and all, but the power's out.", he stated, scratching his head. He pointed to the fences of the compound, no longer humming with electrical energy. Jackson, with a face of fatigue and now concern, sighed, looking over at Kaiden and AJ.

"We might've fried her entire electrical system with that last shockwave...", he grunted, rubbing his sore arm. AJ placed a tired palm to her face. "We never get any rest, do we?", she asked rhetorically. Kaiden began to walk towards the door, hoping Logan or Sarah could lead him to a circuit breaker or any kind of conduit, when there was a loud crash from inside the garage where Sarah was working on Baby.

Adrenaline coursing yet again, Kaiden, AJ, Jackson, and now Logan quickly ran through the side door of the shop into her garage, seeing an unconscious Sarah slumped against the wall, with a very conscious automaton at her side. "TIM" stood, looking around in a state of confusion.

"Handler beacon lost scripts disabled until handler beacon is found", he said, standing in place. Sarah moved a dazed hand, placing it on the little android's head. "I think that blast just sapped all of the power from this place. And now...", she started, when she heard a serious of beeps go off from around the facility.

"Oh no.", she whimpered softly. Rich walked in, still in his "pajamas", wondering what all the noise was about.

"What's wrong?", Jackson asked, tapping an impatient foot. Sarah let out a heavy sigh, standing with a state of urgency and walking to a cabinet below her workbench.

"That blast powered up the defense bots. I wasn't finished programming them. They'll tear this place to pieces! We need to grab what we can and load it into your truck quickly. I gave them enough ammo to make this house into a pile of sawdust!", she exclaimed, pulling assorted weapons out of the trunk beneath her workbench.

"What!? But yer' repairs aren't finished!", Rich shouted, looking at his newly elongated and armored truck. It had its usual front, but the back had gained the back half of what was once a school bus. The fenders had been refit with scrap to use wheels and tires as large as the one's from Rich's truck, and the armored doors at the rear had been moved to the rear of the school bus. The back half of 'Baby' couldn't be automatically locked down, but had levers concealed in panelling inside to pull down shutters for the windows and tires of the bus. There was also an extra compartment above the bus, that ramped up from where Baby's original back once was. Though it had a low ceiling, this extra space that carried all the way to the back of the bus had wide shelves that would work perfect as more sleeping space, and had room for storage.

"I've been working since before I made you all breakfast! All I needed to do was lay down some old carpet and throw on the paint job. Put a few bottles of black spraypaint, the spray gun, and those rolls of carpet in if you want me to finish it.

The group quickly proceeded to start loading up the carpet and spray guns, placing them in the extra shelves at the top of the bus. The space, Rich noticed, also had dropdown ladders for ease of use.

"We've got about four minutes before those bots I have finish their runtime routines!", Sarah yelled, bringing a few packages with blankets into the truck. "And somebody get food and drinks! I've got big boxes for 'em in the living room cabinets!"

Jackson barged back into the main house, causing Vivian, Gizmo, and the two Commons to jump with surprise. Chto and Syreu were in the middle of playing, what looked like, crazy eights with a stack of old playing cards; Gizmo had been simply watching them play; and Vivian had been pacing the room (as best as someone with a snake tail could anyway) deep in thought,

“Jackson!” She exclaimed, but the Acanist paid her no mind at first,

“Start packing. There’s an emergency and we’re leaving.” He stated sternly before moving around the Demoness and heading up the stairs,

“Whoa whoa! What’s with all the commotion, mang!” Syreu exclaimed, raising his hands over his head. At this point, Rich came in and addressed the masses,

“Tha’ commotion is that we’re leavin’. Jacky-boy accidently fried the electrical systems an’ shorted out Sarah’s Defense Droids, tha’ll be active at any moment!” He boomed, starting to grab some food out of the fridge, making sure not to forget the box of Oodlie’s O’s upon the counter nearby. Jackson came back down the stairs, fully dressed in a new pair of jeans and long sleeved shirt; but after purposely flaring his magical aura, the covering around his runic markings was shredded, just how he liked. He made sure both his belts were secure, checked his pouch to make sure everything was there, and slide the Rubema Sword into his enchanted sheath.

Vivian slithered up to him and smiled a little as she looked him over. He looked 100% better than he had a few days ago, but she had to force the smile for she knew that there was something evil happening within him. Hiding this fear, she reached up and messed with a bit of his hair to make it look neater and smiled a little brighter. For the first time that day, he seemed to notice her presence and smiled back. A loud shriek suddenly sounded from the garage, Sarah’s, followed by the rapping of machinegun fire. Both the Commons hit the floor and covered their heads as Jackson and Vivian made for the door to the workshop, with the unarmored Rich following close behind.

Within the workshop; Kaiden, AJ, Logan, and Sarah were all taking cover behind Baby as a scrap-metal automaton fired up their position with twin, spingun weapons. The machine quickly took note of the Arcanist and Nagini’s entrance, and its torso rotated so as to aim the automatic weaponry at them!

“INITIATING DEFENSE PROTOCOLS: ALL INTRUDERS ARE TO BE EXPELLED AND/OR TERMINATED EFFECTIVE IMEDIANTLY. VACATE THE PREMISES NOW OR BE EXECUTED!” The scrapyard robot shouted in a monotone voice, its triple-barreled weapons spinning up again, “Vivian!” Jackson shouted, ducking down. The Nagini didn’t need any kind of order, thrusting her arms forward and forming a defensive barrier before them just as the bullets started flying, “Rich! Get everyone in the Truck!”

“Don’t hafta’ tell me twice!” He bellowed, ducking down and rushing over to baby under the protection of Vivian’s ward, “Everyone into Baby! Now!” He relayed to the others, who quickly obliged; grabbing anything necessary as they did. The defense bot began moving forward like an old clockwork wind-up toy, rickety yet determined; Vivian’s barrier held strong against the shower of heavy caliber rounds as Jackson shouted at Gizmo and the Commons to “get their asses over to Baby”. When the brother demons didn’t listen at first, remaining huddled under the table, Gizmo grabbed them both by their ears and dragged them out into the workshop himself.

The garage door suddenly began to open as the back-up generator, designed to activate and keep all the defensive powers online, kicked in; allowing another defense robot access to the workshop. Rich stopped dead in his tracks whilst donning his armor over his pajamas whilst the machine echoed the droning orders that the first one had already presented them with. Jackson noticed the second droid just as its own weapons were about to unload upon them,

“Rich get down!” He shouted, unleashing a bolt of lightning directly over the brute to strike the machine head on.

“E-E-ERROR: MAGICAL ENERGIES IN-IN-INTERFERING WITH DEFENSE PROTOCOL-COLS.” The second scrapbot stammered as electricity danced over its metal plating, “SOLUTION: INITIATING ARCANE ENERGY SAPPERS. PROCEEDING WITH EXTERMINATION PROTOCOLS.” The first blurted almost in response to the second. From the top of the defense bots’ “shoulders” emerged a pair of tesla coil-like devices; the devices upon the second bot instantly began collecting and converting Jackson’s storm magic into additional power, and ceased its electric-induced spasms.

“Don’t use any kind of energy based magic on them! They’ll just feed of it and keep going!” Sarah warned before Rich pushed her into the truck with the others. He continued to put on his heavy armor, having fixed the dent in the chest plate cause by Slade’s fist before falling asleep the night before. Jackson cursed to himself as the second bot began to approach like the first, spinning up its gun barrels. If he could use energy based magic, then there was only one other thing that came to mind,

“Pulsus!” He shouted franticly, the invisible force slamming into the scrapbot’s “chest” and sending it flying backwards into a pile of tires, spouting error messages all the way. Jackson allowed himself to relax a bit, but quickly tensed again as two more bots came into view of the workshop.

“Jackson!” Vivian cried out, alerting the Arcanist to the first bot, which was slowly collecting the energy of Vivian’s barrier as it got steadily closer,

“Oh hell... this is gonna suck…” Jackson cursed. Had it not been for the unexpected help, it would have sucked indeed.

About ten minutes earlier, a lone junky-looking dune buggy was making its way down the barren highway running through the Astim Plains. Its driver wore a dusty brown, cowled long coat with armored plating over its shoulders and elbows, equally dirt-stained black and olive military fatigues underneath. The pants had similar plating upon the knees and shins of the driver, who drove along the old road with a very relaxed, almost bored demeanor. With a heavy sigh the man leaned over and grabbed a flask full of whisky out of a duffel upon the seat next to him, temporarily took his other hand from the wheel to open it, pulled the bandana from his mouth, and took a long swig. He wasn’t worried at all about wrecking the buggy; he certainly didn’t care much for the old junk heap, and it was safe enough so that he would be harmed, unless of course the wreck included being attack by highjackers. He shrugged at the idea and took another swig. Like a bunch of bandits could take him on anyway.

A sleek, white and blue motorcycle suddenly appeared over the crest of the hill behind him, and Marcel Cross had to do a double take in his rearview before he was wholly and utterly convinced that he wasn’t having drinking-induced hallucinations. Unlike the loud rumbling of his buggy, the cycle came up on his right sounding all the world like a quiet jet turbine. The two wheeled vehicle was fully enclosed as well, completely hiding the driver (or as Marcel would have said, Pilot) from view. As if to examine the lone junk buggy, the cycle matched Cross’ speed for a moment, giving the archer enough time to toast the mysterious driver sarcastically by raising his flask to them, before picking up speed once more. Marcel scowled a little and pulled his bandana back up over his face as the cycle pulled in front of him, kicking up dirt as it zoomed ahead.

“Humph… Don’t think they liked me,” Cross grumbled, returning his flask to its place in the duffel and gripping the wheel with both hands, “Well he’s gonna hate when I pass him back…” He added with a chuckle, finally having something more to do as he continued his search. He pushed the pedal down to the floor and the buggy roared forward, slowly catching up to the sleek, spotless motorcycle. This time Cross gave the driver the one fingered salute as he sped ahead and pulled in front of it. He laughed a little, looking over his shoulder at the cycle, temporarily distracted from the road. He turned back just in time to swear, swerve out of the way of the front half of an old bus, swear again, swerve again to avoid a dead tree, come skidding to a halt facing the complete opposite way he’d came, and swear once more.

As he sat there for a moment, trying to swallow his heart so it’d slide back down into his chest, he took solace in the fact the cycle also had to pull off just ahead of him, probably to avoid crashing into Marcel’s buggy. Both vehicles were now parked in front of an old mechanics shop.

“Had enough thrill seeking for the day, degenerate?” A commanding voice questioned via a speaker system in the sleek motorcycle before the “cockpit” opened with a hiss. Out stepped a very stern looking man wearing a white, silver, and blue outfit which also included a long coat and military fatigues. Unlike Marcel’s dirty attire however, this man’s clothes positively glowed with cleanliness, lacked any sort of protective plating or cowl, and was adorned with the rank markings of a military Sergeant, “Or do you plan on attacking me next?”

“Nah, just sittin’ back and catching some rays right now. That coat and bald dome o’ yours reflects the sun real nice for it too,” Marcel joked, sitting back in his seat as if he were sun bathing on a beach chair, “Could ya’ move a little to my left though, can’t feel the heat very well on that side.” He added with a smirk. The Sargent’s mouth was now a thin line, obviously annoyed by Cross’ antics,

“Do you have any idea with whom you are speaking to, degenerate?” The man almost sounded feral as he spat the last word like poison,

“There’s that word again… obviously you’ve no clue with whom you speak to either!” Cross exclaimed, the whisky getting to him a tiny bit now. He blinked a little, then looked away as if he were reading what he just said off a script. Satisfied that he’d stated it right, he nodded then pulled himself up and out of his own vehicle.

“Fine then.” The Sergeant stated coldly, “Who would I be speaking to?”

“Ah! Ah! Ah… I asked you first!” Marcel wiggled a finger, staggering a little. The Sergeant’s face turned a frustrated red color.

“No. You didn't.” He grumbled, “But if you insist. I’m Sergeant Victor Graves of the Imperial Remnant’s Machinist Special Forces Unit. Now, if you don’t want me to shoot you where you stand, I suggest you take that heap of junk… and be on your way.” Marcel stared at Graves with a slightly absent look on his face, mouthing the Sergeant’s words as if he’d had trouble hearing them.

“AH! One of them… fancy, shmancy, alchemy persons that the IRM uses to do their dirty work!” Cross exclaimed, causing Victor further irritation, “But! I don’t think you wanna do that cause I…” He pause for a moment, let out a loud belch, cleared his throat and continued, “Am one of the Black Bows… Marcel Cross!” He performed a mocking salute, “At your service sir!”

“The Black Bows. And you say the Machinists do all the dirty work. Your little guild is nothing more than a band of common criminals that masquerade as vigilantes with a good purpose. If I were in charge, you and you whole clan would be captured and lynched in public!” Victor exclaimed. Marcel nodded as if the Sargent had made a solid and valid argument, taking a few steps so that he was standing right in front of Graves,

“But you’re not in charge,” Cross leaned forward a bit, with another smirk upon his face, “Are ya’, chrome dome?” With a sudden speed that only years of experience could manifest, both men drew weapons; Victor raised a sidearm that he’d just formed and transmuted from a mass of pure mercury from the enchanted satchel upon his right hip, while Marcel drew a compact, single-handed cross bow from his right hip. Both men aimed for the vital areas in each other’s throats, and after a long moment, Cross finally stated, rather soberly “Perhaps we should agree to disagree?”

“Perhaps we should.” Graves replied coldly. Both men lowered their weapons; then immediately took cover as the sound of heavy caliber machine guns filled the air, along with a cry of terror. The sound was coming from within the scrapyard of the mechanics shop.

“Whoa now!” Marcel exclaimed, having ducked behind the Machinist’s bike, “Someone’s not happy!” Graves had created his own barricade against the possible incoming fire out of more transmuted mercury, but once he’d realized the shots were not directed at them, he restored the barrier to its original state and returned the liquid metal to the satchel,

“I’m to deliver a message to one Sarah Westford, who was last known to be located here,” Graves stated mater-of-factly, “That sounded like Azure Era Spinguns… possibly using 7.62 millimeter rounds. That type of weaponry could tear up both armor and flesh in a matter of seconds,” He sighed heavily, then looked at Marcel, who was still in cover, “As much as it pains me to says this; If you are indeed a Black Bow, then I could use the assistance.”

“Oh sure, no problem!” Marcel exclaimed rather cheerily, almost skipping back to his buggy, eager to have something to keep him occupied, and withdrawing a quiver full of multi-purpose arrows and an antique, yew wood Long Bow from his duffel; slinging both over his back and securing them in place.

“That’s it?” Victor asked with disbelief, “A few crossbows and an ancient weapon?”

“You have your way of settling disputes…” Marcel started; withdrawing a whip with a small, curved blade tied to its end, and securing, “And I have mine!” Graves shook his head at, what he thought, were degenerate antics,

“Well. My way of “settling disputes” is obviously much more efficient,” Victor stated, a large amount of mercury emerging from his satchel and wrapping around him; transmuting into state-of-the-art combat armor that protected just about his entire figure. The remaining mercury formed a heavily customized Venator Assault Rifle, a personal favorite of his.

“Well. My way of “settling disputes” is obviously more entertaining and kick-ass!” Marcel laughed, “Now, are we going to stand here all day? Or are we going to save this Sarah you’re here to pester with your grumpy attitude?”

Graves rolled his eyes inside his visored helmet, then moved towards the open gate, getting his first glimpse of the enemy. At first count, there were five Automatons closing in on the open doors of the garage, in which a large vehicle was parked. His tactical display’s motion sensor picked up possible additional contacts within the building, along with three additional motion blips moving towards the open doors. He was also just in time to see the closest scrapbot get knocked away as someone shouted out in the ancient tongue. He took a moment to label the motion blips in the garage as possible friendlies before stepping foot onto the perimeter.

“ALERT: UNIDENTIFIED PERSONS IN THE VICINITY OF THE COMPLEX. MOVING TO ENGAGE POSSIBLE HOSTILE REINFORCEMENTS!” The scrapbot closest to Graves blurted out a warning, its torso rotating to face the twin spinguns directly at the Machinist. With a single shot, the machine’s optical sensor was shattered, causing the blind robot to spout errors and giving Graves an opportunity. He quickly approached the scrapbot, turned its torso to face another of the machines, and smiled to himself as the first robot’s spingun rounds tore into the plating of the next.

Marcel had a much less tactical approach. Scaling the fence, and leaping onto a stack of old cars, he drew both his single-hand crossbows and drew the attacking machine’s attention away from the garage, “’Scuse me! You clunky fellows wouldn’t happen to know where I could get a good drink around here would ya?” He called down to them. The three closest to the garage turned and aimed upwards at him, each one revving up their deadly spinguns and blurting out warnings and exclamations that Cross was too tipsy to care about. The first shot from his right hand crossbow was fitted with a grapple. The second shot from his right hand crossbow was the same kind of said grapple. Both shots were connected to each other by heavy duty, Dridder-strand cable. Both bolts struck, and attached themselves directly to the waists of two of the killer automatons, and after a few seconds pulled said machines together with such force that their processors couldn’t tell them to stop firing in time and the heavy caliber weapons tore each bot to pieces. But Cross wasn’t done yet; the third machine open fired upon his position, forcing him to flip sideways off the stack of vehicles. The Black Bow took aim whilst upside down with his left hand weapon this time, whilst he shoved his right hand one into its holster to automatically reload it. The third bolt was equipped with a cryo-explosive, and struck the scrapbot directly at the waist and detonating with a blast of ice; freezing the machine’s limbs in place. After Marcel touched down, he finished the frigid droid off with a single bolt to its optical sensor; decommissioning it.

Two more scrapbots lumbered into view before Graves, both firing upon him and tearing the first, blind automaton to shreds while Victor ducked behind an old, steel boxcar. He quickly tossed a blob of mercury out into the open, which morphed and became a sentry gun; which returned fire on the approaching defense bots while the Machinist moved around to flank them. It worked much better than expected when he found the machines had already been dismantled by his sentry. He grunted, shrugged, and restored his turret to its original mercury form, making his way towards the garage.

Marcel too headed towards the garage when another murderous bot pulled itself out of a pile of tires nearby. Without looking, he casually waltz by the downed droid, shot an EMP Bolt into its shoulder joint, and kept walking, not even looking back as the automaton shorted out before its tesla coils could collect the energy. He nodded at Graves, who respectfully nodded back, then proceeded into the garage. He found within and very odd, and very shocked looking, group of wasters.

“Well… glad I didn’t miss the party!” He exclaimed, “There any booze left?” He added, suddenly pulling his bow and an arrow from his back and, with incredible power, pinned the very last (or in this case, very first) scrapbot to the wall of the garage, “Oop… guess not anymore.”

The 7 in the garage stared in awe as the two unlikely companions walked up to them. Sarah looked around, still half in shock from the events that had just occurred. Marcel adopted an ear to ear grin, and walked up to the group, folding his arms.

"That was hella' fun, wasn't it?", he questioned, attempting to get the last drops out of his flask of whiskey. Victor slowly trudged up behind him, pulling off his helmet and setting it on a bullet-filled shelf. He too, crossed his arms, looking at the seven who formed a row next to "Baby", when he caught sight of the Demons.

Quicker than anyone could react, Victor had formulated a rifle in his hands out of mercury, and held the wavering and half-liquid weapon tightly, looking at the three demons and mutant that were part of the the travelers' crew. "WHO ARE THEY?", he asked loudly, shifting his aim to each of the underworld creatures.

Each member of the group held up their arms, taking a step back to avoid the gaze of a chrome colored gunbarrel. "They're friendly! They're with us! Don't shoot!", Kaiden exclaimed, wondering if he could reach his knife in time. Marcel put his hand on the grip of the barrel, attempting to ease it down.

"Calm down, man. We need to at least hear them out!", he yelled, Victor keeping his rifle up.

"Why in hell do you have Demons with you?", he asked, questioning if they were part of some hellish cult. Jackson stepped forward, slowly easing towards Victor and Marcel with his hands up. "They're not like others... Not every Demon is hellbent on ravaging Cael...", he said, glancing back at Vivian, Chto, and Syreu.

"They're from god damned hell and you're making friends with them? You got some kinda deathwish, magician?", Victor asked. Marcel mouthed the words "I'm sorry", his hand still on the barrel.

"Look, lad,", Rich started, moving up to the front of his group. "We ain't about makin' trouble for ye', nor are we about makin' trouble for anyone. We're just tryin' ta' get to a city. Leave us be or put yer' gun down, son.", he stated, holding his grenade launcher in hand.

Victor sighed, removing his hands from the rifle. The mercury instantly lost its form, sinking back into its pouch. "I still don't trust you or them... But I think an explanation is in order, at least.", he prodded, Rich nodding at his request.

"Ye' see, these three were on a journey, trying to find their way to some city far out east on the coast.", Rich started, looking at Marcel and Victor.

"Hey, you, the one in the middle,", Marcel stated, looking directly at Kaiden. Kaiden raised a curious eyebrow. "Yes?", he asked, Marcel moving closer to him.

"I know you from somewhere...", he started, tilting his head and looking closely at Kaiden. "Wait a minute... Your dad wasn't the late great Alan fucking Wilde, was he?", Cross asked, his face lighting up. Kaiden's expression went blank. He looked at Marcel and then back at himself. Their trench coats were identical. Kaiden's trench coat had been gained when his mother gave it to him before her death. The trench coat belonged to Kaiden's father.

"You look just like him. I'm not even kidding. Grow yourself a beard and get some lighter hair and bam, you're your own damned father!", he said, going up to Kaiden and giving him a rather unexpected hug. "Man,", the vigilante continued. "Those were the days... I remember how much of a stern-ass your dad used to be. Great guy though. And he could chug a bottle of Bourbon like your mom co- Uh, never mind. He was a crazy guy though, man... Mentioned you a lot.", Marcel continued, a euphoric, nostalgic, and slightly buzzed look in his eyes.

"And who's the hippie?", he asked, walking over to Logan and looking over him. "Got anything special?", he asked, chuckling as Logan shook his head. "That's a nice jacket. How about my dune buggy and I can have it?", Marcel asked half-jokingly as Logan, again, shook his head no, smirking at the drunken individual's remarks.

"You're not riding back with me if you sell that piece of junk you drunkard.", Victor added, still keeping a close eye on the three Demons in the crew. "I'm interested to know about these three. And the turtle, too. Where did you pick up these three hotters anyways? And how come they seem so calm?", he interrogated the group.

"For your information, we're just as civilized as you are.", Vivian chimed in, a look of disgust about her.

"And this one speaks good too!", he added, a look of apparent genuine surprise on his face. Chto and Syreu both scowled, the former of the two yelling "We all speak good man!". His compatriot, Syreu, nodded, continuing "We're not all like the ones back in the slip, man!"

"And rowdy fellows, too. Humph.", Victor stated, still disgusted at the sight of friendly Demons. However, Marcel didn't care. He was too busy enjoying the nostalgia of seeing his old friend's son all grown up.

Kaiden, on the other hand, didn't know what to think of Marcel. For all he knew, his Father didn’t have any friends, and if he did, they certainly didn’t come visiting when they lived out in the wastes. Kaiden had no clue who this man was, but the Archer certainly seemed to know him. Marcel wobbled a little, still beaming at Kaiden when he suddenly got a look on his face as if he’d just forgotten something very important,

“Name! Right! I have one of those don’t I? Sorry, slipped my mind for a second there,” Cross laughed, rubbing the side of his head, “Marcel Cross, Friend of Friends and Drunk of Drunks!” He laughed at his own joke, Logan chuckling a little at his antics, “Formally though, I’m a proud member of the Black Bows,”

Kaiden had never heard of him, nor the Black Bows. Jackson, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at this introduction,

“Black Bows huh?” He questioned, his gaze drifting over to Victor, whose high-tech armor was slowly liquefying and receding into an enchanted pouch on his hip, which was itself very similar to Logan’s, “And I guess from the spotless uniform and unique combat style that you’re one of the Machinists, right?”

“Sergeant Victor Graves,” The Machinist grunted, still keeping an eye on the demons, Vivian in particular,

“So what brings the both of you out this far? Aren’t both your organizations based in Imperisium?” Jackson questioned, looking between their two saviors. Marcel was the first to answer, though he did so by cutting of Graves,

“Well I’m still not certain why this bald bastard is out here,” Cross smirked, point over his shoulder at Victor, who in turn shot back with a look that could’ve given a bandit a heart attack, “But I was informed that there’d been sightings of a man wearing the signature coat of the Black Bows, and that it was in-fact my ol’ buddy Allan Wilde’s coat.” He turned back to Kaiden, “I came out to find the bastard who was wearing it and kill them for the disrespect… but it turned out to be his son…” Another nostalgic smile. Victor rolled his eyes.

“I’m out here for something much more important. My superior officer has ordered me to locate one Sarah Westford and bring her to Imperisium for a classified assignment.” Graves stated, crossing his arms. Sarah had obviously reacted to her name, because the Machinist’s cold stare fell upon her next, “I assume that you are Sarah Westford?”

“Y-yes…” She answered nervously, stepping forward and almost tripping over TIM, “I’m… being recruited?”

“In a way. My superiors have deemed it necessary to reach out to what few, educated civilians left out here in order to proceed with their project.” He glanced at the scrapbot that Marcel had pinned to the wall,

“Well… um…” Sarah thought about this for a moment, “Is there a certain time I need to be the-” Graves cut her off.

“It would be prudent of you to ride back to the city with me. My superiors don’t like to wait.”

“Well I was… going to go with these guys. They’re heading there anyway so…”

“Plus I don’t think she likes you,” Marcel pointed out, “I certainly wouldn’t go with you if you suddenly came up to me and stated;” He stood rigid, mocking Grave’s military training, and spoke in a Swartzeneggian tone, “Come with me. My boss told you to!” Logan, Kaiden, and AJ all chuckled at this, and Sarah even struggled to keep her composer. Kaiden was beginning to like this old friend of his father.

RP: Virtus Fabulae

Rules:[]

Setting:[]

Role-Players:[]

Dan Harris[]

Main Character[]

Side Characters[]

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Nick Anderson[]

Main Character[]

Side Characters[]

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Sith Venator[]

Main Character[]

Side Characters[]

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

XtranormalGeek[]

Main Character[]

Side Characters[]

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Arden Hope[]

Main Character[]

Side Characters[]

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Brian Gold[]

Main Character[]

Side Characters[]

Enemy Characters/Creatures[]

Role-Play[]

Chapter 1: The Crimson Ages...[]

Part 1[]

Part 2[]

Part 3[]

Part 4[]

Part 5[]

Part 6[]

Part 7[]

Part 8[]

Chapter 2: Trials of the Demon Realm...[]

Part 9[]

Part 10[]

Part 11[]

Part 12[]

Part 13[]

Part 14[]

Part 15[]

Part 16[]

Chapter 3: Road Trip Out of Hell[]

Part 17[]

Part 18[]

Part 19[]

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