Blayze

Lucifer was thrown to the ground with a pulse of energy from the Harbinger. Zuriel stood over him, bloodied and bruised, with his clothes ripped to shreds at the hems. He held the Harbinger, and watched as the Archangels battled the Fallen. Blood of the vampires made the floor slick with crimson. Lucifer flipped to his feet, and swung the Pride at Zuriel, who blocked it with the Harbinger. Sparks began to erupt all over the surface of Zuriel's Night-Blade, and Lucifer's began emitting black sparks. Energy rumbled from both of them. The other warriors stopped fighting and merely watched this spectacle. The red and black energy spiralled into one huge column of energy, which burst forth from the top of the building, ripping a rift open in the night sky. Purple energy met the column from the two weapons, and flew back into the two blades. Lucifer spasmed wildliy under the pressure of that amount of energy, and was thrown backwards, his flesh fried black. The leader of the Fallen was badly injured, and his Night-Blade fell to the floor. For Zuriel, however, it was a different matter entirely. The purple energy conducted down his own Night-Blade, and entered his body. He was thrown about by the conflicting forces in his body, then he flew backwards. He dropped the Blade, and then got up, blinking furiously. He opened his eyes fully, and they glowed a hideous blood-red. He laughed, and then spoke in a deep, guttural voice: "Pathetic Fallen Angels. Fighting amongst yourselves. But it doesn't matter. Soon the power of the Blades will destroy you all." He was changed. "Who are you, monstrosity?" asked Satan, hefting the Wrath. "I am the spirit who lies inside the Harbinger. I am the Harbinger, and I am using this body to make my own presence known." He clamped his hands together, and purple light began to emanate from them. Energy lashed out in tendrils, breaking the walls of the building apart, tearing the concrete from its steel girders. He was ripping the building apart by himself. Soon, there was nothing left but a large pile of rubble. The angels and the King himself were gone, buried under the rubble...

[COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Arial Narrow]It was boring. Staying posted was boring. Having to sit there for hours on end, not knowing what decision the Senate was going to make eventually. Kai sat in his chair, wondering what they would decide to do. Withdraw forces to the line or take back other stations? He thought about it while he concentrated on his hand. A tiny ball of flame burst into life in it, and he threw it around the station for a while. It bounced quite well, he found, but it singed if it hit his blue tunic, the blue tunic all psychics had to wear. He extinguished it after a while. Playing with fire only had appeal for so long, then it got boring. He decided to float a book around for a while instead. The citizens of Archaus had to do things like this to keep themselves occupied in times of boredom. Even moving things with his mind got boring after a while, though. He dropped the book and left the room, searching for more things to do. He went down to the Psy-lab, visiting some of his psychic friends who were hooked up to computer mainframes which allowed them to attack the Archetype. He sat down next to one of his friends for a while, talking to him about the indecision of the Senate, even though his friend couldn't hear. Then, one of the workstations spewed sparks and bolts of electricity, throwing the psychic occupying it across the room, killing him instantly. One of the techies rushed across to him, but he was already dead. Another rushed to the workstation, trying desperately to repair it quickly. Just more of the everyday happenings to occur in the world of Archaus... (OOC: I hope this is alright, I didn't really know what you wanted from our first posts)[/FONT][/COLOR]

Kane walked slowly down the corridor, having said goodnight to Kala. He was truly happy for the first time in a long time, and felt as though nothing could take that feeling away, even though they were in the middle of Hell. He rounded the corner, and the wall exploded inwards. Demons swarmed through, and Kane was knocked to the floor. He felt warm blood trickle down his forehead. The demons were attacking the castle to get at Jun, he realised. He got to his feet, wobbled a little, as he was feeling rather light-headed from the knock, and drew his sword. He sliced his way through the first group of demons coming through the wall, and blood stained the floor and walls. He used his powers to set up a gravitational field around the point of entry, blocking the demons from getting in for a while. Then he ran to the throne room, where Sam, Jun and Lyon were. "Demons are attacking!" he shouted, "They're coming through the walls!" The others got ready, drawing their weapons, as more demons crashed through the walls of the throne room. Kane left them to fend for themselves, and ran to Kala's room, fighting off a few demons on the way, and found Kala, who was miraculously sleeping through all of this. He woke her gently, and told her what the situation was. She got up and drew her blades. A pang of sharp pain ran through Kane's chest when he saw the blade that had stabbed him, but he rubbed it away, and they all ran to the throne room. Demons had encircled Lyon, Sam and Jun, and they were falling back further, even with their highly-developed fighting skills. "Hey!" Kane shouted to the demons, "Over here! I'm the one you want!" He threw Kala over the demons, cushioning her fall with a pillow of gravitational energy, then raced off, leaving the demons to follow him. They did, but he ran round the corner straight into the clutches of the Destroyer. "The gravitational angel," he said musingly, "What a surprise to see you here in Hell." He hauled Kane off his feet, and took him back into the throne room, where he threw him into the wall with the other angels. They were all bruised and battle-worn. The demons encircled them once more, moving closer towards them. "Begone," said the Destroyer. The demons left the castle. The Destroyer moved towards the angels, and held them all down with a mighty force of will. They struggled, but couldn't free themselves from his telekinetic grasp. "Now, it is time for you to die. You will not defeat me on Earth, in Hell, or anywhere else. Perhaps it would be amusing to see your friend destroy you all," he said, gesturing towards Jun. He snapped his fingers, and Jun growled, his demonic side taking over. He rose to his feet, and his hands wreathed themselves in flame. He turned to the angels, and then to the Destroyer. "No!" said the Destroyer, "What are you doing?" "I am Lucifer, Lord of Hell, and I will not be controlled by anyone, not even you, Destroyer!" Jun shouted. He grabbed the Destroyer's head with his flaming hands, and fire exploded into life on the Destroyer's head. It burnt long and hard, before finally going out. It had not hurt the Destroyer at all, merely burnt his hood away. He clutched his face, hiding it from the angels. Jun's human side took control once more, and he fell to his knees, gasping form the pain. "We can now see you for who you really are, Destroyer," said Sam, getting to her feet, "We shall finally see who is behind the mask." The Destroyer turned, and moved his hands away. Sam, Jun and Lyon gasped, but Kane and Kala didn't know who it was behind the mask. Finally, Sam came out with it. She merely said: "Zack?" It was their fallen comrade. His dark hair was longer, there were dark rings under his red eyes, and his face was scarred somehow, but it was definitely Zack. "Now you know, will it make it harder for you to destroy the Destroyer?" he said in his booming tones, before disappearing. Demons swarmed back into the castle, and Sam wiped the tears from her eyes. "Let's fight," she said, drawing her knives...

Zuriel and the Archangels entered the bar where Zoku was last seen. There was nothing left of him, save for a bloodied corpse underneath a table, another in the men's bathroom and one more, of a waitress stuffed behind the bar. "Dammit!" shouted Zuriel, "Where could he be?" Gabriel was busy, talking on his cell phone. He was listening intently to what the person on the other end was saying. Zuriel could hear muffled voices and then a high-pitched scream and a splatter, and then the phone went dead. "What was that about?" asked Zuriel, fuming. "The Fallen have made a move. They have killed every member of the clan loyal to you. That was the last one on the phone, and Behemoth killed him before he could give me any details. We need to go back to the headquarters, Zuriel." "We shall go immediately. The Fallen shall pay for this insolence!" he shouted, storming out of the bar and driving back to the large building. He walked in the door, and the Archangels drew their Night-Blades. Vampires loyal to the Fallen rushed them, but were soon cut down by the Archangels. Zuriel took the lift, and they went to the very top floor. The doors opened, and immediately they were assaulted by dozens of vampires. The Archangels took up defensive postitions around their King, and cut their attackers to shreds. Then all who were left were the seven Archangels, Zuriel, and the Seven Dukes of Hell. Lucifer stood from Zuriel's throne, as did Beelzebub and Satan. Behemoth, Leviathan, Mammon and Belphegor took up their own defensive positions around their leader. "Well, Zuriel, we weren't expecting you back so soon. And Michael. I thought you were better than to join the King. You could have been great working with us!" "I would never join you, Lucifer!" shouted Michael, his Night-Blade, the Archangel glimmering in the electric light. "We are stronger than you will ever be!" shouted Zadkiel, his Night-Blade Nebuchadnezzar glittering. "Oh really, Zadkiel? Well lets see how strong you are when we do this!" replied Lucifer. Leviathan hurled the Lust Night-Blade at Zadkiel. It slammed into his chest, and pinned him to the wall, a fountain of blood weltering out of his chest. He gasped a few times, struggling for breath, then he died. The Lust vanished, and returned to Leviathan's hand. Zuriel was furious. He turned red in the face, and shouted at Lucifer: "Are you too cowardly to face us in a face-to-face battle, Lucifer? I will have your head for this treachery!" He grasped the hilt of the Harbinger, and the leather straps fell away, dropping to the floor. He drew it, and held it ready for battle. "I thought you would not use the Harbinger unless the situation offered no other alternatives, Zuriel?" gloated Lucifer. "This situation does not appear to, traitor!" Zuriel felt the power of the weapon course through his hands, and he activated the power of the Skull Sapphire. His eyes glowed blue, and energy gathered at his hands. He fired a beam of energy at Lucifer, but he dodged, causing the beam to hit the wall behind him. The wall began to crumble, and an army of skeletons appeared through the cracks. They moved towards the Fallen, who destroyed them easily with their Night-Blades. Then the Archangels attacked. Night-Blade struck Night-Blade. Wrath hit Eden; Greed hit Zion; Gluttony clashed with Maximus; and Lust, Envy and Sloth fought against Prophet, Elijah and Archangel. Lucifer and Zuriel faced each other across the room, their Night-Blades humming with power in their hands. Finally, they moved, and Pride struck the Harbinger, sparks showering off them, burning holes in the floor. And so began the Civil War of the Angels...

"Farel's down!" shouted Taikaru through her microphone. It came out loud and clear into Lee's ear, "He's down!" "What happened, Taikaru?" Lee asked. "He got bitten by a sandviper!" she replied, "He's unconscious!" "Is the sandviper still there?" asked Lee. "No," she said, "It's burrowed back down into the ground. Farel is unconscious but alive, and I'm unharmed." "Ok, stay there, I'm coming to get you!" Lee said. He disconnected his commlink, and turned to Carl. "Farel's just been bitten by a Sandviper. He's unconscious, but his vitals are still there. I'm going to go get them." "No you're not. We have to complete the mission, then we can go and find Taikaru and Farel, okay?" said Carl. "But Farel's hurt! Badly! I have to help him!" "But if you do, more people could die because they don't get their antidote. You have a duty to help the others. It's what Farel would want!" Lee nodded, and they carried on through the long grass. They came to a small village, and there were people walking around who looked very ill. They were throwing up, and all looked weak at the knees. Lee wondered into the village, and there was a sign just outside which said "No Entry, Plague Carriers Village." "They think it's some sort of plague," said Lee quietly. "Well, we'd better help them, I guess. At least we're going to be immune to the virus." "I guess thats a plus," said Lee. He went into the village, and began talking to a young woman. "Where is the head of your village?" he said, slowly and loudly. "He is in that tent over there," she said in fluent English, making Lee look rather foolish. He thanked her and went over to the tent. He went in, and there was a sickly old man inside, looking extremely ill. "Hello," said Lee, "We are here to help your village get rid of the plague. But we need your permission to do so. Do we have it?" The old man nodded weakly. Lee opened his bag and took out a small needle. He pierced the cap of a phial of clear blue liquid with it, and pulled the plunger back. He then injected the old man in the arm with the vaccine. He brightened up immediately. Lee smiled and left the tent. "The anti-virus works," Lee said to Carl, smiling. He sat on the ground and took his notebook out. He began writing notes about the virus down. [I]Effects of virus are: vomiting, weakness, pale skin, red eyes, partial blindness Virus appears to be transmitted by drinking water, possibly airborne as well[/I] He put his notebook and pen away, and took out some more needles full of the anti-virus. Carl pulled some out of his bag, and they went to work.

They walked quickly towards the red castle sitting high on the cliff wall, which was apparently Jun's home. Demons swarmed around it, guarding it, armed with blades of all shapes and sizes. Jun opened his wings, and hid the rest of the angels from view, then moved forward. "Why do you guard this castle?" he asked the demons. "We protect it for Lucifer, true king of Hell. When he returns we shall let all who wish to pass past. They shall deal with Lucifer, not us," replied one of the demons. "Well you need not wait any longer," said Jun, "For Lucifer has returned!" He let his demonic side a little looser, to show that he was Lucifer. "My lord!" shouted one of the demons, "It is you!" They all bowed down, and opened the way to let Jun past. He walked past, still hiding the rest of them from view, and they entered the castle. "Well, it seems that there is some good from having a demon on our side," said Jack. "I'm not a demon!" shouted Jun, grabbing Jack and slamming him against the wall. Dust floated down in clouds. "Stop it!" shouted Kane, throwing the two of them apart with his powers. Jun slammed into the wall opposite. "Now show us where we are going to be staying, Jun!" he shouted. Jun walked slowly down the corridor, keeping his eye on Jack. They were each shown to their individual rooms, although no-one was going to be able to sleep with all the demonic activity around. Kane sat on his bed quietly, thinking about how, without Sam's help, he could have been dead a few hours ago. He didn't blame Kala for what she did, but his chest still hurt slightly, and it was still bruised. Kala walked into his room. She was trying to hide her face from him, but not doing very well at it. "Kala, it's ok, I've forgiven you, so we're all alright now. you don't have to hide from me," he said. She stopped hiding. "Kane, I'm even more scared than I was before. A few weeks ago, I was just worried that I might even meet a demon, but now I'm right in the middle of Hell!" she said, sitting on Kane's bed next to him. He put his arm around her, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "I think we're all scared. Jun is the only one who knows this place properly, and it will be much easier for the Destroyer to wreck this place than the temple. I'm as scared as you are." She turned to him, and their heads moved together. They kissed each other, long and slow, and then Kane broke away. "I'm sorry," said Kala, moving away. "It's not you, don't worry. I just don't think you want to get into anything with me. I'm quite messed up emotionally. I never knew my parents, and I think it might be hard for us to work through that." "Just don't think about it," she said, and she kissed him again. He kissed back, and they drawn into each other...

[COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Arial Narrow]"My lord," said Michael, archangel of the Myrkur Aniol, "Rumour has it on the street that Zoku has forged an alliance with the Knubrap. This could prove most useful." "Then their alliance is with Zoku, not with us. It just happens that he is also allied with us. I want no part of their friendship," spat Zuriel. "Zoku has also sent out a message to the leaders of the Mirichai, requesting their allegiance." "Fine. Then we shall be allied with the Gwyar, the Mirichai, and...the Knubrap," he said, with hatred in his voice. "If you don't mind me asking, my lord, why do you hate the Knubrap so?" "They are filth, scum, not worthy of living on this Earth or any other. They wallow in grime and dirt. They do not stand tall and proud like vampires should." "Well, by my reckoning, that is not all. You hate them for reasons above the fact that they live in filth." "Who are you to question my judgement, Michael?" shouted Zuriel. "I was the prime archangel for this clan for many years before you came along! I have understanding of these matters!" replied Michael. Zuriel broke, and walked over to Michael. He embraced him as a brother. "Forgive me, my brother," he said, "The stress of war has been bringing me down. I value your opinion over all others, Michael, I hope you know that." "I do, Zuriel. But another matter. I am worried about the attitudes of some of the Fallen. Lucifer especially has been rather resentful towards you. I worry about possible plans of an uprising against you." Zuriel walked back and sat on his throne once more. "The Fallen may resent me, but there is not a lot they can do. At least they do not have Night-Blades such as yours. That means the Archangels outclass them in power by a great deal." "But the other Archangels, as well as myself, are worried that they might have their own Night-Blades that they are keeping from you. Why would Kuroichi send these weapons to the Archangels but not the Fallen? It makes little sense." "Perhaps you are right, my friend. But it is night. We must find Zoku, Dusk and Dracula now. Will you travel with me, Michael?" "Yes. The other Archangels will accompany you as well." Michael put on his white robe, and the other Archangels followed suit. They left with Zuriel to find the Gwyar and Zoku. Lucifer entered as Zuriel left, and the other Fallen moved out of the shadows as well. There were now only a few Angels left who were loyal to Zuriel, and the Archangels had left with the King. The rest were powerless to stop them now. Lucifer moved to the throne, and Zophiel stood. "Welcome, my brothers. It is not often we see you in the throne room." Lucifer opened his cloak, and drew his weapon, the Night-Blade named Pride. It glittered in the moonlight streaming through the windows, and he thrust it through Zophiel's chest. Blood fountained out, and Zophiel called the other Angels in with his last breath. Xaphan stood as well, and drew his blade, but Satan was too quick, and had already cut him down with his Night-Blade Wrath. It glowed red with Satan's hatred. More Myrkur Aniol vampires swarmed through the door, but the Fallen were too strong. Behemoth, Mammon, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Belphegor attacked with their Night-Blades, named Gluttony, Envy, Lust, Greed and Sloth. Soon, all the angel in the clan loyal to Zuriel lay dead on the floor, their blood staining the floor crimson. Lucifer walked up to the throne, and sat on it, taking what he believed to be his rightful place. Satan and Beelzebub sat on the others, and the other four Fallen stood in guarding positions around the thrones. "And now begins a new era for the Myrkur Aniol. An era ruled by Lucifer and the Fallen!" Lucifer shouted, and the Fallen all began to laugh, evil, degrading laughs which echoed throughout the building...[/FONT][/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=2][FONT=Arial Narrow]I love [I]Red Dwarf [/I] sooooo much! It's such a good show. I mean, there are better comedies out there ([I]Black Books[/I], [I]Spaced[/I], [I]Green Wing [/I] etc.) but [I]Red Dwarf [/I] is really the only sci-fi comedy out there, or at least the only one thats any good. My all-time favourite episode is easily [I]Quarantine[/I], where Rimmer gets a holo-virus and goes completely nuts, and ends up wearing a red-and-white gingham dress and army boots, and has a penguin glove puppet named Mr Flibble. Its very funny, and if you haven't seen it you really should. As for the favourite character, mine would have to be Rimmer for some of the pure comedy one-liners and that stupid moronically smug face he puts on sometimes, although the tough-talking conversation between Lister and a hologram in [I]Holoship[/I] is pure class. I hope my opinion is valid, and its great that people love this show as much as me![/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

Kane got to his feet, and took a few deep breaths. Kala stood in front of him, and said: "Kane? Do you forgive me for what I have done?" "Yes, Kala. I just hope you forgive me for leaving you," he replied. He walked out of the room, and down to the seafront. The cool water lapped against his toes, and the wind was cool and refreshing on his face. He sat down, and rested. Something was coming up fast across the water. What it was, Kane didn't know, but it was red, and it glowed. He stood, and called Sam and the others down to the seafront. They rushed down, and by then the object had almost closed in on Kane. It was a huge, swirling red wormhole, tendrils of orange lightning lashing out of it, boiling the water around it. "Sam?" he asked, "What is it?" "I don't know!" she shouted above the noise the wormhole was making. "I think I do!" shouted Jun, "It's a gateway into Hell! I think the Destroyer is implying something by sending this here!" "So," said Kane, "It looks like we're going to take the battle to the enemy. Let's go to Hell!" He jumped in the wormhole and disappeared. "No!" Sam and Kala cried, and jumped in after Kane, Jun followed Sam in, and Jack sighed and jumped through last. The wormhole closed, taking the angels to Hell...

Lee and Carl trudged through the long grass to the west of the island. They were both wondering why they had been paired up, but they were still going through it. There was an awkward silence for around half an hour, until Lee said: "So how did you get moved to the Project then, Carl?" "I don't like to talk about it," replied Carl, taking a drink from a water bottle, and then emptying the rest over his head. "Hey, watch it!" shouted Lee, "We only have a limited amount of water, so don't waste it like that!" "I'm not wasting it. I'm hot, so I'm cooling myself down. If I don't I could become dangerously dehydrated. I know about these things, junior. I was in the army." "Don't call me junior! I'm basically the same age as you. And I don't care whether you've had army training, because I also know you were kicked out of the army a year after you joined, and you almost got court-marshalled. So that makes you an expert in all things military?" Carl grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hauled him up against a tree. His face was red with anger and he was shaking. "Don't you ever talk about that! You do not have the right to talk about my past!" he shouted. "I'm sorry, Carl. I didn't mean to offend!" said Lee shakily. This was a side of Carl he had never seen before. He had always seemed so shy, so personal, but now he was venting his anger so publicly. Carl dropped Lee and carried on walking at an increased pace, and Lee struggled to keep the pace up. Now they had gone back to silence...

[COLOR=DarkRed][FONT=Arial Narrow]Zuriel could taste the death in the air. He looked battle-worn from his trip to Austalia, although he actually felt much better in himself than he had before. He was the King of the Myrkur Aniol, he held the power of the Skull Sapphire, and he wielded a powerful weapon, the Night-Blade Harbinger. His hair now hung down over his face, and there were dark rings under his eyes. His body was heavily scarred from his encounters with Zoku and Kuroichi himself. But he was a much more seasoned warrior now than he had ever been. The Harbinger longed for release, humming with power from the sling on his back. He had only had the courage to use it once, when he used it to dispatch a horde of Blood Spawn created by Kuroichi. It had almost torn the sky in two that night. He dare not use it for fear of what it may do. Knubrap vampires roamed the streets, searching for blood, of humans or of vampires. Blood flowed into the gutter from the alleys where they had killed. The rain diluted it, but you could still see the scarlet of their life-blood. A particularly brave Knubrap vampire walked over to Zuriel, not knowing who he was, and drew a knife. ?Where are you going?? said the foolish vampire. ?That is none of your business, filth,? replied Zuriel, grabbing the surprised vampire by the throat. He struggled for a moment, and Zuriel snapped his neck. He pulled the head back so far the flesh of the neck burst and blood flowed out. Zuriel drank deeply, not forgetting his promise to Abaddon not to drink the blood of humans. He spat the blood out. It tasted foul, as he would have expected from a vampire who wallowed in the filth that this one did. It was bitter, and made Zuriel shudder as he took a mouthful. He threw the body of the vampire away, leaving it to lay in the gutter and rot, as that sort of filth deserved to. More Knubrap vampires witnessed the disgrace of their brother, and rushed Zuriel. He punched the first in the chest, his hand crunching through the bone and cartilage of his ribs. He grabbed the heart and ripped it out. That vampire fell. He kicked the two behind him, smashing open their skulls. He grabbed the face of the last, and rammed his fingers in the eye sockets, then pushed them into the thing?s brain, killing it slowly and painfully. He walked away, leaving the bodies of the Knubrap in the street for their brothers to find. He went back to the skyscraper which was the Myrkur Aniol?s base in Japan, and rode the elevator to the top floor. The doors opened, and he stepped into a huge room, made entirely of steel and glass, with three thrones against the far wall. The two lowest thrones were taken, by Xaphan and Zophiel, Zuriel?s trusted advisors. He took the middle throne. ?Report,? he said to the vampire who was standing, shakily before the throne. ?Well, sir,? said the vampire, ?We have found that the Knubrap are here to push the Krilat Zmaj out of Tokyo. They have moved significant numbers of their soldiers into the city, leaving enough behind in America to keep any intruders away. Even their leader is here. This means something big is going to happen eventually.? ?And what of the humans? I heard rumours that surviving members of the Project are here in Japan as well as us.? ?That is true. We have surveillance photos of one of them. The whereabouts of the other four are unknown. They could pose a slight threat to you, my lord, but not enough to de-throne you.? ?Excellent.? ?My lord Zuriel, if I might suggest?? said a vampire from the corner of the room. ?Go ahead, Lucifer, and come out of the shadows. We all know who you are. There is no point in trying to hide yourself.? A vampire with long black hair and wearing a black robe stepped out of the shadows. ?I believe that the Knubrap could prove to be powerful allies in the war against Kuroichi. Why not try to forge some sort of alliance?? ?The Knubrap are hateful of all clans but their own. They will never join with us. Also, they are unworthy to fight alongside our mighty clan.? ?But my lord, I think if we can show them we will destroy them if they do not join, they will. They are, like all clans, interested mainly in self-preservation. They will join if they see a significant threat to their own lives.? ?But we cannot fight them. We have too few men to pose any sort of threat, and I am not willing to lose any more of mine until we have defeated the Silver-Haired demon.? ?But you could destroy the Knubrap alone, my lord. You do, of course, wield a Night-Blade.? ?I will not use the Harbinger unless the situation offers no other alternatives, Lucifer! Now begone!? Lucifer slipped back into the shadows. He moved to another room, where there were six cloaked figures sitting around a dark table. ?Lucifer,? said one of the figures, ?Have you spoken to the King?? ?Yes I have, Mammon,? replied Lucifer, ?And he is unaware of our plans.? ?Is he aware that we wield our weapons?? asked another. ?No. He has no idea that we wield our own Night-Blades, Behemoth.? ?Excellent. The King will be getting a little surprise very soon??[/FONT][/COLOR]

(OOC: Jesus! How much do you guys post? It's all good, though. Also, I will be taking over the character of Kala for about a week while amgoddess goes to university, so expect that) Kane jumped, and floated himself up to his window. He felt happy for the first time in a long time. Kala was gone, though. A large bloodstain remained, but she was gone. "Kala?" he said, "Where are you?" Suddenly, a figure moved from the shadows, and a knife was rammed through Kane's chest. Blood spilled out of the wound, and dripped onto the dusty floor. It hadn't hit any vital organs, but it still hurt like hell! Kane's anger grew, and he grabbed his attacker by the neck and lifted them up. He moved them out of the shadow, and saw... "Kala!" shouted Kane, "Why the hell did you do that?" He began to sink to the floor. "I had strong feelings for you, Kane," she said, tears running down her face, "And then, as I was about to tell you of them, you left me to die! I could have died with that arrow through me!" "But Kala," said Kane, his strength going, blood still dripping from his chest, "I was just trying to protect you from any other danger!" "Well you could have taken the arrow out first!" she shouted. "I'm sorry, Kala. I wasn't thinking. I get so angry at people when they hurt people I care about," said Kane, beginning to cry. It was the first time in his life when he had cried. Kala knelt down next to him, and realised what she had done. Tears of sorrow began to pour out of her eyes, and they fell on Kane's face, mixing with his own. She ripped her sleeve off and wrapped it round Kan'es chest, stemming the flow of blood, and they lay there, Kane half-unconscious and Kala holding him, praying that he didn't die...

The demons had pulled back, but were still there, waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Kane watched them as he sat on the ledge of his balcony. "What are you doing?" he said quietly. Kala came into his room and sat next to him. She looked scared. "They're going to attack again soon, aren't they?" she asked. "Yes. I don't know how or when, but it will be soon," replied Kane. His ribs still hurt, and he was bleeding from the arm now. He clutched his ribs and winced. He had never been in this much pain before, and it made his eyes water. Kala saw his pain and said to him: "Are you alright? Do you need me to look at your wound?" "No. I'm fine. I just..." he groaned in pain. "I'm going to take a look at your ribs, Kane. I'm worried about you." He nodded weakly and removed his shirt. The area around his ribs was purple, bruised heavily. Kala ran her fingers over the bruising, feeling his powerful chest muscles. "That looks really painful, Kane. Are you sure you can manage?" "Yes! I'm fine, okay!" he shouted. Kala backed away, looking frightened. Kane put his shirt back on, and put his arm around her. "I'm sorry, Kala, I'm just not used to people caring that much about me. I'm getting used to people trying to look after me. Thank you, though." "Don't worry about it," she said shakily. Then, an arrow from the demons flew and hit Kala in the shoulder. She was knocked backwards. "Kala!" shouted Kane. He carried Kala back into the room, into safety, then moved back onto the balcony. More arrows flew past him, all missing him. "That's it!" he shouted. His voice was turning other-worldly, echoing even though there was nothing to echo off. He drew his sword, and stepped onto the railings around the balcony. He hunched over for a second, and huge white wings burst from his back. Kane was finally beginning to get in touch with his angelic heritage. His eyes turned white, and he flew from the balcony towards the demons, and slashed them apart with his angelic fighting skills. Blood spilled onto the battle field, and the few remaining demons, along with Dawn and Dusk fled the field, returning to the Destroyer. Kane stood, and his wings folded back into his back. His eyes returned to their normal colour, and his arm and chest wounds healed themselves. He walked back to the temple, pleased with himself.

Lee was on the floor, and then he woke up as some soldiers ran through the doors. He got to his feet, and wiped the vomit from his mouth. He went inside and got a drink of water to take the taste away. Then he sat on his bed. Had M really gone through all that? Had he seen his mother burn to death? Had he seen the amputation of his own arm? How could he have kept sane through all that? Lee knew he would have gone nuts with all that going on. He lay down and tried to sleep. He slept soundly, as M had taken all the images out of his mind. He felt good, despite what had happened. The next morning he woke up and looked in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot and his nose had been bleeding in the night. There was a trail of dried blood running from his nose to his lip, which he washed off, and he splashed water on his face, waking himself up. He walked out into the kitchen, and ate breakfast alone, before getting dressed and ready to go. He was on the jet as Carl got on, and he nodded to him. They sat down, and waited in silence. The others gradually got on the jet as well, and soon they were ready to go. As M got on the jet, Lee absorbed himself in the back of a seat, trying to avoid M's gaze. He wasn't ready to face him with what he had seen. They took off, and flew for half an hour when M got up. He stood at the front of the jet, and said: "I'm sorry for what happened last night, guys. I'm especially sorry to the doctor who died because of me, and also I'm especially sorry to Lee. I'm sorry that I made you go through that. I know you felt as though you owed me something, but I never wanted to burden you with those memories." "Hey, it's ok, man, I've seen much worse things in my time!" said Lee. "Good. Okay, I hope you're all ready, because we'll be landing in a couple of hours. Prepare yourselves for some serious observation!" he joked. They all laughed, and eveything was back to normal again.

Lee found M out in the garden, sitting with his face buried in his hands. Lee took a seat next to him. "Hey," he said. M replied with something that sounded like a grunt, but was actually a "Hello." "You okay, M?" "I'm just a little confused right now, Lee." "Anything I can do?" "Not really. I just need to go over my own thoughts for a while." "Okay. That's cool with me." He looked over at M, who looked distant. "M," he said, "You've helped change a lot of us. You took my chip out, you helped Andy control her power, you helped Ivy control hers. Are you sure you don't need help to change? Are you sure there aren't some memories or something in there you need to go over with another person, just to help yourself?" "How do you mean?" "Well, if there are some memories that hurt, so you've locked them away inside, maybe you're feeling bad because sometimes we all need to get that kind of thing out in the open. You're always so calm and controlled, but even the best of us need to let loose and get really pissed off every once in a while. Maybe your stored-up anger is getting you down." "I don't think so, Lee." "Well, we could try anyway. You know, I think you actually helped me more than you think." "How?" "Well, before, I just had telekinesis. Now whenever I'm in a room with a group of people, I start to hear what they're thinking. I think that when you took the chip out, you unlocked my telepathic potential as well." "So you're telepathic now?" "I think so. I haven't really mastered my abilities to the extent that I could, say, tell what Ivy really thinks of me, or what's going through your mind right now." "So how does this help us here?" "Well, I could go for a dive in your head, and try and find what's bothering you. How does that sound?" "Well, I don't know. There's some pretty private thoughts in there." "Oh, and you've never seen anyone's private thoughts when you've been poking around their emotions?" "Well, that would be by accident." "And you don't trust me not to go looking in your private thoughts?" "No, I do. Go on, Lee, take a dive." "Okay then." Lee placed his hands around three inches from either side of M's head, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was in M's psyche. He saw his private thoughts, and decided to stay away from them. He travelled a little further, and found his bad memories, locked away in a black box. Lee prised it open, and searched through it. He found a certain memory sitting right in the bottom corner of the box. It was black-and-red, and as Lee touched it, his mind was filled with images of a small shuttle crashing on the moon, a woman's corpse rolling down a hill, completely aflame, and a young boy's arm being ripped to shreds. More came out, of the boy seeing his arm being amputated, but not feeling it, due to the anaesthetic. Then he felt a new, robotic arm being put on the small boy, and the mechanics of the arm being covered by synthetic skin. Lee jolted, and awoke, shaking his head with surprise. How did M keep all this locked away inside? M was looking at Lee expectantly, but Lee couldn't do anything for him. He felt nauseous, and stumbled towards the building. He collapsed at a corner, and vomited, before passing out, with M standing over him...

Kane knew that Jun wasn't a monster, and that he shouldn't be judged. He needed to do something for him, and Sam, and Lyon to prove that he was a strong part of the team, and most of all, their friend. He looked around from his seat on the golden sands, and saw the ruins of the temple. Maybe he could do something with them... He got up, and walked up the beach to the remains of the temple. The rocks were broken apart, but he felt as though they would be able to go back together. He held his hands out, and lowered the gravity around the temple. The rubble began to float in the air, and he pushed the pieces back together. They didn't quite go together as they had before, but he was making a new temple. That would prove that he was a team player, and most of all it would show that everything the Destroyer did could be undone. Within the hour, the temple was whole again, and Kane lay on the grass, exhausted. His nose was bleeding from the strain of all that work, but he was happy. He felt satisfied with what he had created. Sam and Jun ran up to him, seeing the temple as a whole again, and stood there in awe. "Kane?" asked Sam, "Did you do this?" "Yeah," said Kane, laughing, feeling giddy from the change in blood pressure to his head, "I thought it would be something nice for you to come back to." "It is, Kane. I love it," said Jun, smiling. Lyon and Kala came up the beach, and saw the temple. "Oh my God!" exclaimed Kala, "Kane! You did this?" "Yeah." He sat up, and turned to Kala. "You like?" "I love it!" they all ran inside, except Lyon. He sat next to Kane on the grass. "That was some display of power there, Kane. Are you sure your body can handle it?" "I'm just a little light-headed, is all. Don't worry about me, Lyon, I'm fine." "Just remember to create boundaries for yourself when using your power, okay?" Kane nodded, and wiped the blood from his lip, then got up and went inside. The inside of the temple was better than ever. Vines made by Sam lashed along the walls, flowering in the dim light, and the torches along the corridors were all lit up by Jun. The training area was even better than before, too. It was a huge, wide-open space, with padded floors and walls. They all congregated in here, and Jun said: "Why don't we christen the new training area by getting in some combat practice?" So they all began to practice. [I]Meanwhile...[/I] The Destroyer sat on his throne, with Dawn and Dusk at his sides. Demons were flocked around his throne. "I will transfer some of my power into you, my high demons, and then you shall be able to defeat the angels. When you die, the power will come straight back to me, so there is no risk for me. Are you willing?" A cheer went up through the crowd. "Excellent." He created a ball of red lightning in front of him, and then it split, bolts of energy going into every one of the demons. Their eyes glowed red, and they felt more powerful than ever. "Now go, seek out the angels, and destroy them!" he boomed. The demons left his throne room, seeking out the angels they must destroy. "Dusk, Dawn, go with them. I want to see you kill Lyon. If you do not, then ensure that another demon can!" "Yes, my master," they said in unison. "Good. But leave Kane to me. He will be a most amusing distraction..." Dusk and Dawn left, flying towards the temple. "It is almost time for them to find out who they are really facing..."

Kane awoke and went outside. Kala was still asleep. Jun and Sam were outside. Sam's blades were drawn, and Jun was panting, with exhaustion or rage or a combination of the two. "Sam?" said Kane, "Is everything okay?" "Everything's fine, Kane. Don't worry about us," she replied. There were some demons retreating across the grass in front of the temple. They were strange, new demons, who seemed like they were searching for something, or someone... But Kane didn't worry about them. A huge sphere of red energy appeared in the sky, and grew until it was like a sun in the sky. Energy burst forth from it, and then it disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving a single figure in its place. The Destroyer had found them. He saw them and laughed. His eyes were piercing, even from this distance, and his cloak seemed to absorb light, creating an aura of darkness around him. "I have brought a few friends along with me! You might know some of them, Sam!" he boomed. Another sphere of red energy appeared in the sky, and a flock of beings poured out of it. They were all humanoid, but with darkness shrouding them. They were high demons, the evil side of humans. There was Sam's demon from before, grinning evilly at Sam. Zack's demon was there as well, now given a new form. Jun's wasn't there, as he had merged with his demon. A figure who looked a lot like Kane, although he was dressed in black, with red eyes and black wings was there as well, next to a demon who looked a lot like Kala. "The demons! They are here to make your lives hell!" boomed the Destroyer, "But to business. It is time I showed you a taste of what will happen if you try and oppose me!" He drew energy into his hands, and fired a single beam of crimson into the temple. It blasted through the wall and directly into the centre of the temple. The walls began to crack, and red light shone through. The temple began to collapse. "Kala!" shouted Kane. He ran into the rapidly collapsing temple, and found his own room. Kala was sitting on the bed, shaking as the ceiling fell. Kane ran through the rubble and got to Kala. A piece of rubble fell and struck her on the head. It knocked her out. Kane picked her up and ran out of the room, avoiding the rubble as it fell. He ran down the corridor as it collapsed behind him and moved out onto the balcony. He jumped off, landing perfectly on his feet. He turned around and saw the temple fall, the stone break into dust as it hit the floor. Soon, the temple was lying in pieces on the floor, and a cloud of dust rose from the remains. Kane placed Kala down on the floor, and his rage took over. The Destroyer looked at him, and laughed coldly. He raised his hands, and the air around the Destroyer collapsed in on itself, creating a vortex, which sucked all the air in. The Destroyer saw this attempt on his life and snorted. He closed the vortex, and lifted Kane to his face, thirty feet above the ground. "If you ever try anything like that again, you vermin, I will rip her limb from limb. Do you understand?" Kane spat in the Destroyer's face. He wiped it off, and threw Kane down to the ground. He tried to activate his powers to cushion his fall, but they wouldn't work. He hit the floor on his front, and felt his ribs crack. The Destroyer disappeared, as did the demons. Sam ran over to where Kane was lying, and turned him over. She felt his chest. "I think you have four or five broken ribs, Kane. We'll have them fixed in a few hours, though. Jun, can Osiris help?" "Yeah, I would have thought so." As Osiris fixed his ribs, all Kane could think about was his utter hatred for the Destroyer...

Storm ran with Leon and Angelus to where Keisha had fallen. The demons she had fought were dead, but more were coming to take their places. They rushed out of a portal opened just close to them, and drew their weapons. Storm nodded to Leon and Angelus, and they both drew their own weapons. Storm unsheathed his swords, and charged at the demons. But as they reached each other, the demons exploded in flashes of crimson light. Storm and the other two stared at where the demons were a few moments ago, puzzled by their sudden disappearance. The portal they had come out of closed. A spark of red lightning jumped from where the demons had been, and seemed to hit something in mid-air. It floated in the air for a moment, and then began to grow. It spiralled out, becoming larger and larger as it spun. Tendrils of energy snaked out of the spark, and the single spark of power grew until it was a fiery vortex. Wind rushed into it, and Storm, Angelus, and Leon had to grab onto something to stop themselves from being pulled in. Storm grabbed Keisha from the floor, and grabbed on to a railing. The ground around them began to crack and crumble, and huge chunks of it flew into the vortex. The warehouse was being pulled apart, the walls and girders flying into the vortex, feeding it and making it bigger and bigger, until it was around thirty feet wide. It warped and pulsated, and fire blasted out in huge spouts. The three of them who were still conscious had to cover their eyes from the light. Something began to come out of it. It was human-shaped, but with wings. It fully emerged, and revealed itself. It was Alexander. He laughed at the humans and the angel, his eyes glowing with power, but his gaze softened as he looked upon Keisha. "Behold!" he boomed, "The death of this world!" He poured more and more energy into the portal, and it turned crimson. Energy spouted out, blasting holes in the walls and floor around them. Another figure emerged, cloaked in shadow. It was another human-shaped figure, with wings much bigger than Alexander's or Angelus'. The figure dropped to the floor, and shook the darkness off itself. It revealed a man-shaped figure, slightly taller than Alexander, with shoulder-length red hair streaked with crimson. He had a scruffy goatee beard, and wore a full-length black jacket. His black wings spread far out behind him. "Azrael!" whispered Storm, his voice a mixture of confusion and hatred. "So, these are the Slayers who will oppose me?" said Azrael, looking at the four of them. He laughed, and kicked Leon in the face. He turned to Storm. "Storm. We meet once more. This time we will fight, and I will not be the one who will become imprisoned in Hell!" He drew his sword, a huge katana, and swung at Storm. He managed to block it, but the swing was so powerful that both his arms went dead. Azrael picked him up, and punched him. He went flying, and hit the ground so hard it winded him. Blood poured out of his nose, which felt broken. Azrael walked over to Storm, and picked him up in a bubble of dark magic energy. Then he threw him in the river. He didn't come back up. Azrael turned to the other Slayers. Leon's jaw was broken from the kick, and Keisha was still unconscious. "Pitiful," muttered Azrael. He encased Leon in a bubble, and cast him skywards. He flew up through the atmosphere. "I would say that Storm has around three minutes to live, and Leon has around 2. you can't save them both, Angelus, so who will it be?" said Azrael, giving the angel an impossible choice to make... (OOC: I thought I'd liven things up by bringing Azrael to this world. Enjoy!)

Hi. I'm making this thread because I need a banner. I would like it to say "Watch the Blayze or you might get burned" and have some sort of fiery motif on it. If anyone could make this for me then it would be greatly appreciated, as I have tried to make one for myself, and it turned out pretty badly. If you can make me one, then please either use this thread or PM me with your ideas. Thank you.

Lee didn't know how to prepare for this mission. They weren't going to be doing much fighting. It was mostly a study-and-observation mission, so he only needed to take one of his handguns, fully loaded, and a single spare clip. He walked around the base and wandered into the containment area. There were a few guards patrolling, but he simply nodded at them, and they nodded back. He looked into a few of the cages, some with malevolent spirits flying around, and some with small imps or goblins contained within them. He came to the largest cage, one made of metal, not glass like the rest, and with only a tiny area made of glass to see through. Lee looked through the glass, and saw what he had wanted to see ever since he had got to the compound. The HellKnight. It was a hulking beast, armour-plated, with glowing red eyes poking through its organic helmet. It saw Lee look at it, and turned towards him. It was chained to the floor by a huge array of chains, all different sizes, from one the size of Lee's fist, to one one the size of a telegraph pole. It couldn't move at all because of these chains. The door hissed, and opened, and Ivy walked in. The door closed behind her. She walked over to Lee. "Don't know how to prepare for this mission, right?" she said. "Yeah. I guess I'm better at preparing to fight, because then at least I know vaguely what I'm getting into. I have no idea how to prepare for a study mission." "Just prepare yourself mentally. You don't know what kind of condition those people are going to be in." "I guess you're right." He paused, looked at her, then said: "We all saw a different side of you in England, Ivy. When you went ape on that vampire. I think you surprised us all." "I kinda surprised myself too. Anyway, I think we all changed during that mission. Andy broke free of what's been holding her back her whole life. You got rid of something that was limiting your ability to help others. I found it's too easy to lose control. Farel found out the meaning of teamwork. Taikaru found it's not always easier to do things yourself. We all found new sides to ourselves, and I think we are all the better for it." "I agree. We all went through some serious shit in the name of Commander Red. I think we should really be thanking him, not punishing him." "I guess maybe we should. Although what kind of asshole refuses his team an evac?" "The kind named Commander Red, I guess." They both laughed at this comment, then went back to staring at the HellKnight. "It's impressive what a team can do, isn't it?" said Lee. "What do you mean?" "Well, I've been working alone my whole career, and the biggest thing I ever killed was one of those South American Golem demons. Have you ever met one of them?" "I can't say I have." "They're around 8 feet tall and made of stone. Bloody well near impossible to penetrate their skin. You have to get them really wet, and then their skin starts to sort of rot. Then you can shoot them, or decapitate them, or whatever you want to kill them properly." "Biggest thing I ever faced. Probably a Leviathan." "A what now?" "A Leviathan. Its a giant sea serpent. Blue and green scales, horns on the head, about 40 feet long. You have to get it out of the water to kill it, because it sort of gathers water into it to heal. Course, I got really pissed off with it and it exploded. It was actually a complete accident, but I killed it in the end." "Wow. 40 feet. That kinda beats my Golem!" Lee and Ivy both burst out laughing. "Well, I should probably go and prepare," said Ivy. She walked out of the room, and Lee followed her after a few minutes.

Kane lay on his bed, holding Kala's arm, his eyes filled with anger. He saw Kala kneeling on the floor, crying, and his gaze softened. "Oh, Kala, it's you," he said, getting out of bed and putting a shirt on. Kala wiped the tears from her eyes. "Don't worry, Kala," he said, "I wouldn't hurt you. You're the only one in this group who understands me." "Sam seems to," replied Kala shakily. "She thinks I'm a child, that I'm too immature to take these responsibilites. Jun thinks I'm a stupid child, and Jack thinks I'm completely inferior to him. I'm glad that we found you, Kala." "Kane," she said softly, "I'm scared. I'm afraid of the Destroyer, and his heralds. They terrify me. I've never been in a situation like this before." "Neither have I, Kala. I think all of us are scared. But it must be hard for you. You were thrown into this whole thing. Jun and Sam have been through it before, and Jack and I have training to deal with this kind of thing." "Yes. I don't know what I can do, and that scares me a little. I have control over this abundant energy source that is also the most important thing in the universe. If my powers even go slightly wrong, I could upset the entire timestream." "I get that too," replied Kane, "My powers relate to gravity, which keeps the entire eco-system alive. If I were to lose control, my powers could flip the Earth's gravitational field, and destroy all life on Earth." "Maybe we could train together a little tomorrow," suggested Kala. "Yeah, I'd like that," replied Kane, "But for now we both need some sleep." "Kane?" "Yes?" "Can I sleep in here tonight? I don't want to spend my first night here alone." "Of course you can, Kala. Here, you can have the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor." "Are you sure?" "Yeah. I'm used to sleeping rough. Don't worry about it." Kane spread out sheets and pillows on the floor and got into his makeshift bed. Kala got into the bed. "Goodnight, Kane," she said. "Goodnight, Kala." And they both drifted off to sleep, each comforted by the other's presence.

"Well, now we're all together, we may as well go to the temple. You ready to go back, Jun?" said Sam. "I guess so," he said gruffly. Sam took a remote control out of her pocket and pressed a button. The floor opened up, and they all jumped down into the temple area. Kane had heard Sam talk about this place, but he had never thought it would be this beautiful. It was a stone temple, now covered in flowering vines. It took Kane's breath away, and the same happened with Kala. Jack immediately began to look around the temple, presumably for any structural weaknesses at all. Sam and Jun stared at it, their memories taking them back. "A lot has changed here since we were last here," Sam said quietly to Jun. They all entered the beautiful building, and found their own individual rooms. "There have always been rooms themed around Water, Earth, Lightning, Wind and Fire, but new ones have appeared," said Sam, puzzled, "The rooms for Gravity, Time and Metal. Strange..." Kane was in his room. Everything was specially weighted in case his gravitational powers got out of control when he slept. He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the floor, meditating. He was centering his energies, to focus them for when he most needed them. Sam walked in and leant on the doorframe. "Are you okay, Kane?" she asked. "I'm fine. I just got a little frustrated at Jun, so I am meditating to calm myself. Don't worry about me." "But I do worry about you, Kane. You hardly ever say anything, and when you do talk it's just angry banter. But you seem to be able to speak to Kala more easily than you can talk to me, and you only met her a few days ago." "I just relate better to people more my age. She's going through the same kind of things as me. I find it easy to talk to her because she doesn't judge me." "I don't judge you either, Kane!" "You do sometimes. I know it might just be sub-conscious, but you do judge me. You think I'm uptight, and I have some sort of superiority complex." "I don't think that. Why would you say I do?" "You're always telling me to take it easy, to treat people as equals. I think that would count." "You don't have a superiority complex, Kane. You find your equals wherever you go." "Then come and meditate with me and stop interrupting." She smiled and walked over. She sat down and began to meditate with him. It calmed her, made her put her feelings into perspective. Afterwards, they were relaxing, talking. "Do you love Jun?" asked Kane. "Sometimes, a lot of the time, I think I do. Then he does something out of the ordinary, and I feel as though I don't. I'm not sure about his feelings for me, though. Sometimes I think he could love me back, but he has always been so cold and distant. I'm just not sure..." "Why not?" "I've always been quite undecisive, Kane. That's why I dreaded becoming the leader of our group. But I'm glad I have Jun to help me now. I just wish Lyon and Zack were here to see this." "They sound like good people." "They were the best friends I've ever had. They showed me how to control myself, how to centre myself, and they treated me like a friend, not like a freak, as many people used to treat me." "It must be nice to have had people who cared for you like that. I never had anyone who cared for me so much." "What about the monks at the monastery? They took care of you." "Yes, but I don't think they ever cared for me. They brought me up, but there was always fear there, something deep and powerful. They feared what I might become with my powers. So they trained me to be good, not evil. And I thank them so much for that." They sat there, thinking for a while, before Sam said: "Ok, well I have to be off now. I'll see you in the morning, Kane." She walked out of the room, and left Kane to get to bed.

Lee stumbled out of his room, bleary-eyed but awake. His hair was tousled and he was rubbing his eyes. He walked clumsily over to the breakfast table and took a seat. He saw all the food laid out on the table. "Who made this?" he croaked. He picked up a glass of orange juice and drained it, clearing his throat. "I did," said Taikaru, "Dig in. The others should be up soon." Ivy and Farel were already seated at the table, also looking tired. "So who actually slept last night?" asked Lee. "I did, on and off," said Ivy, "But it never lasted longer than around 10 minutes. You?" "No chance. I had a really weird hallucination, and then I couldn't sleep at all for the rest of the night. I guess its just the whole battle situation-I'm not really used to it. I'm sure I will, though." M and Andy both walked out of M's room. "Ooh!" exclaimed Lee, "I see you spent the night together!" "Quiet, Lee," said M affectionately. They sat down at the table and began to dish food onto their plates. Soon everyone was eating and pulling apart the various ways they wished to kill Red. They were all only joking, however.

Kane was staring, angrily, at Jack. The memory of the past day had been lurking in his mind, refusing to go away. Jack was arrogant, and a fool for doubting in Kane's ability to fight, both using his own strength and his elemental strength. He would prove himself in battle some day. Something swooped across the water, skimming the waves, flipping over and dipping the tips of its wings in the water, creating a spray. It was golden, and was obviously Dawn. However, as the sky darkened and Dawn got closer, he transformed into the more mature of the two siblings, the one that Kane identified with the most. Dusk landed in front of him. "Greetings, master Kane. Has your mentor made her decision yet?" he asked in his rough, gravelly tones. "I'm not sure. I'll go and find her." Kane got to his feet and ran over to where Sam was sitting with Jun. Jun was holding Kala around the neck, lifting her off her feet, his eyes burning. Sam shouted at Jun to stop, and he dropped Kala. Kane ran over to her, and dropped to his knees. "Are you alright? He didn't hurt you did he?" he asked. "Well, it hurt a little when he grabbed me, but its alright now," she replied, rubbing her neck. Kane got to his feet and strode over to Jun. "What the hell do you think you're doing, asshole?" he shouted, "You could have killed her!" "She was listening in on our conversation." "That doesn't give you the right to strangle her half to death!" "Kane, that's a bit of an exaggeration," said Sam. "I don't care. Jun, or whatever your name is, we are the people you are working with to defeat the enemy. If you don't like us, fine, but you still have to respect us. I know it was wrong of Kala to listen in, but she was concerned about Sam. But that still doesn't give you the right to hurt her that much! You can't do that to your team-mates!" "What do you know about being in a team, boy?" said Jun threateningly, "I was in a team, and I almost died because of it. Three other members of that team died for the others. Sam and I are the only ones left. Being in a team is fine, but it doesn't prepare you for the pain of losing that team. Do you understand?" Kane nodded, thenturned to Sam and said quietly: "Dusk is back. He wants to know whether you have decided yet." They all walked back to the waterfront, where Dusk was waiting. "We have decided to accept your offer. Take us to the Destroyer," Sam said calmly. "Very well." Dusk wrapped his wings around himself, and turned into a shining ball of silver energy. "Step in," said his voice from nowhere. They stepped in, and were whisked to another place entirely. The Destroyer sat upon his dark throne, Dawn on his left hand side, Dusk on his right. He was cloaked in shadow. No-one could see his true face. "Welcome, elementals," he said, "I am glad you have decided to meet with me. I respect you for that." (OOC: Ok, whoever wants to post next can make a meeting with the Destroyer)

Lee woke up suddenly, for no apparent reason. He was shaking and dripping with a cold sweat. He was pale, and felt quite ill. "You won't stop us, Lee, no-one can," said a voice from the corner of his room. He turned to look at what was making the sound. It was the President's daughter, alive again, with no chest wound. "That attack earlier hurt, Lee. Why did you do that?" "Because you're scum, and scum needs to be wiped out." "But we weren't hurting anyone. We were merely fending for ourselves." "By slaughtering innocent civilians!" "Oh, come on, Lee, we both know that they weren't innocent. They were all sinners. There was a rapist there, a masochist, a sadist, even a necrophiliac. No-one is innocent in this world. We are all sinners." "But they were human beings. You didn't have to kill them all just because they displayed human qualities!" "We weren't killing them. We were giving them new life. We were turning them to our cause." "No, you were slaughtering them." "Do you think that's what happened to your parents? Your dear little sister? You believe they were slaughtered meaninglessly?" "Yes. By filth like you!" "Don't say that. They won't take kindly to it!" "Who won't?" "Your family!" she said gleefully. His father, his mother and his younger sister stepped out of the shadows. They were all vampires. "Shit!" Lee shouted. "They weren't killed by a spider demon like you thought they were, Lee. Back in New Berlin, they were turned. They have become vampires, like me. And they want you to come back and be part of the family again!" "No!" shouted Lee, and then the hallucinations disappeared, melting back into the shadows. M came running into his room. "Lee! What is it?" he said. "It's..." Lee paused, "Nothing, M." "Are you sure?" "Yeah, I just had a nightmare. Don't worry about me, I've been taking care of myself all my life." "Well, you know where we all are if you need us." M left the room, and Lee settled back and tried to sleep again.