"OPEN WIDE! YOUR EYES! YOUR EYES, YOU IDIOT!" Garland screamed in the man's ear. He examined the man closely, and concluded the unthinkable. "Dead... he's... they're all..." Then, he felt it. The presence of the beast. It was after him now...

"BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD..." the beast bellowed. Garland felt his death at hand...

"Guh!" Garland gasped, as he jerked awake. He was breathing fast, and heavily. Sweat soaked his face. "Nightmare... again..." He sighed. Reaching to rub his aching head, he realized that he was still wearing his Obsidian Helmet. 'Funny,' he thought. 'Coulda sworn I took it off with my armor...'

Garland heard a voice curse outside his room. "Bloody, bloody Hell!" it said. Garland peeked out the door, to find Tucker Tossing and turning on a pool table. Tucker looked up. "You were right," he said. "These things ARE uncomfortable... I'll never get to sleep." Tucker continued to grumble, and Garland went back to his room, and slept restlessly.

* * * * * *

Kary couldn't sleep. It was enough to be in this little room alone, but now she had to share it with a pair of Returner boys. Kary tried to ignore them, but she couldn't really ignore a couple of nineteen year-olds ogling her every second. It was nice to be admired, but there comes a point where a girl just cracks.

She had tried everything. Watching the moon, the stars, and even the clouds. Kary had tried to look preoccupied with a small box of spare parts, but that was an exercise in futility. They wouldn't sleep. They just watched, and occasionally talked amongst themselves about her body. Periodically, one would act as though he had something to say, but couldn't say it. Finally, Kary took action. "Would you guys quit looking me over? It's really annoying."

"We're not," one lied. He tried not to look guilty. "But..."

"But what?" Kary asked, nearly interested in what he might have to say.

"W... what's a pretty little lady like you doing on a mission like this, anyway? You don't look like a fighter..." the other ventured.

Kary's countenance noticeably darkened. She hated being judged by looks. 'That's always the way with men...' she thought. "Just watch it, boy..." she warned him.

As Merine walked by the door to Kary's room, she was very surprised to her a loud thwump against the wall, and a gasp of shock. Merine had heard the short conversation, and thought to herself, 'Guess he didn't watch it.' In truth, the boy had watched "it" a bit too closely.

* * * * * *

Tiamat and Kraken had been playing checkers for the past half hour, and had attempted to make it a bit more interesting by wagering small amounts of gold. Kraken had just bested Tiamat again, and it seemed to be the general trend of the game. "Rats..." she exclaimed quietly. "I hate gambling."

Kraken chuckled smugly. Then, a thought entered his head. "So, Tiamat... what is it between you and that Gambler, speaking of which...?"

"What do you mean?" Tiamat said, sobering up.

"Well, you pay so much attention to him," Kraken said, voice cold. "What's the deal?"

Tiamat looked Kraken in the eyes. She hesitated, and then began, "He seemed so lost, and lonely, that I -"

"LOST? LONELY?" Kraken fumed, standing up. "What about me?! I get lonely too, you know!"

"Well," Tiamat said, not intimidated, "Now that he's found his beloved, I'll pay more attention to you."

"OH!" Kraken said, his temper rising. "So, THAT'S how it goes, eh?" Tiamat attempted to say something, but he wouldn't let her even start. "You'll play with a man's heart, until another poor soul shows up, and then you're all over HIM?"

"You're no man!" Tiamat said heatedly. "You're a MONSTER!"

"So are you!" Kraken retorted, completely missing her meaning.

"You NEVER liked me talking to other guys!" Tiamat shouted in his face. "You want me all to yourself! You're an obsessive, insensitive, Narrow-minded JERK!"

"Well, it's only because I..." Kraken stopped, and turned away. "It's because YOU always throw yourself at men that can't be trusted!"

"Setzer CAN be trusted!" Tiamat retorted. Kraken shook with anger. He knew it was true, too. He just didn't want to be wrong. Kraken raised his trembling fist, and struck the wall, making an ugly broken dent. Tiamat gasped. She had never seen him like this before.

Kraken was about to really wreck up the entire room, when someone's head popped in the door. He looked around, obviously suffering from lack of sleep, and perhaps even sleep-walking. "You guys know where that damned drip is coming from?" Tucker asked, speech slightly slurred. Tiamat and Kraken just looked at the floor. "No?" Tucker looked very puzzled. He grumbled, and went back on his search for a faucet or something.

When Tiamat looked back up, Kraken was adjusting his blue cape. He cleared his throat, and began to speak. "You'll see. They'll hurt you, one day. I'll be in another room for the remainder of the night..." He silently left the room. Tiamat sighed, and flopped down on her cot.

'Why me?' she thought.

* * * * * *

Most of the people on the airship had been alarmed by Kraken and Tiamat's loud argument, but not everyone. Two people were completely oblivious to it. Lich was one. He took the job of "midnight sentinel", because he didn't need sleep, and it sounded really ominous. In Lich's opinion, anything ominous was worth doing. So, he stood on the deck, looked scary, and stared across the night.

'This ain't so bad...' Lich thought. 'I get a great view, and I get to look really scary...' Lich did indeed look scary, standing eight feet, completely silent, and with no living flesh to speak of. He was having the time of his un-life, when he realized that he wasn't alone.

"Took you long enough to notice..." Xyo said. She stared out over the clouds. No response came from the Earth Fiend. An uneasy silence ensued, which Lich didn't mind. "I don't believe we have formally met yet." She stated curtly, with still no response. Lich just stared. "You don't need to act so ominous, I know who you are," Xyo challenged, trying to get a response out of this once great fiend.

Amazingly enough, Lich turned slightly towards her. "I think I know you too..." Lich said. He still didn't know how, though. He refused to look Xyo in the face. Somehow there was an empty fear at knowing the truth.

"You fear, dead one" Xyo said. "I am of no danger to you. As a matter of fact..." she trailed off.

Lich stared into the dark sky. "What? Go on..."

Xyo said. "You're dead. You experience no anguish, or pain." Lich didn't respond. "You feel no emotion, you merely exist. Timeless."

"It is nothing to be happy about..." Lich said, still looking straight ahead. Xyo, of course, didn't know the true feeling of undeath.

"I have to live, suffering ten-thousand fold what the planet suffers." Xyo said distantly. "Death would be a pleasant change for me..."

Lich turned to her now and studied her. She was gaunt and malnourished. Her skin was already a close match to his bone color. It had an even grayer tinge to it. Her stringy violet hair blew gently in the generated airship breeze. Framed by her dark robes, she already looked like a ghost. She probably was ghastly to most 'men,' but to him... his mind trailed off for a moment and then snapped back, his attention on the situation once again.

"I cannot grant undeath," Lich finally said, his voice quavering. He had never been in a situation like this before. He was pondering many things in his mind. How easy it would be to grant her what she wanted... to control her...

"Death suits me fine," Xyo shrugged indifferently, looking at Lich. She waited. Lich turned away from her and held his skeletal hand straight out in front of him, over the rail. Xyo was unsure what he meant by this. Lich's eyes burned like fire for a moment, and with a sound like hundreds of voices shouting "HAIL!" in unison, his Great Scythe formed in his hand. He turned to Xyo, who closed her eyes expectantly, like someone about to be kissed. The Scythe gleamed hungrily as Lich raised it, and he brought it down with a swift whistling sound...

Seconds later, Xyo opened her eyes. The weapon had stopped not a centimeter away from her face. Lich had stopped, and was frozen in a position of indecision. He withdrew it, and shrank down to a more human size, and form. The only feature which remained the same was his mask-like face, which seemed to look very human, for the first time. He sighed. "I can't..."

Xyo was noticeably disturbed, and even upset. "WHAT?" she raged. "Yes you can! You're the LORD of the Undead!"

"Was... I... was," Lich replied, looking at the oversized weapon in his now-human hands. "I can't kill an innocent. You've done nothing against me."

"SO WHY DON'T YOU HELP ME?" Xyo shouted, pleadingly. "I've lived in my own cage of pain for so long! I want to rest! I want to die!"

"Xyo..." Lich said, finally facing her. "Being dead solves nothing. I still feel pain, and anguish. I was once a human. Nothing has changed for me, apart from nearly all my friends dying right before my eyes, and being hunted, and shunned. I missed being human..." he looked slightly ashamed. "And this world has shot me back into life, with another chance."

Xyo was puzzled. 'Is this the same Evil as it was so long ago?' she thought. 'He never had emotions before, not like this...perhaps I did more harm than I have even begun to realize. So, my lessons haven't all been learned yet...'

Lich continued, "Being undead, or even dead, solves nothing. Chances are, you'll be stuck here working off a debt... I have a job to do. I am not death. My job is keeper of the Earth Orb and its lost children. It is not my job to grant death to those who need it. Death is not a rest, anyway. It's a chore."

"Death is rest in my book," Xyo chided. "It is life that is the curse. I knew that long ago. I seek final death. Undeath would have just stayed off some of the pain... I have nothing here... The Goddess..." She paused. "I have nothing... you at least have something, Death is something. Life is nothing... empty..." She turned away from Lich so they were nearly back to back.

"You wouldn't understand..." Lich said, turning back to the stars. "Go back to bed. Get some sleep."

"You have no idea how much I UNDERSTAND," she rasped hoarsely and began to cough violently in spasms.

Lich stood motionless, his own thoughts racing. Why did he feel like he was already close to her? He couldn't understand what he felt now. She was still an enigma... he needed to be alone, to sort things out.

"Go. I have guard duties to perform."

Xyo sighed and turned away from Lich, even more depressed than before. 'No, Lich...' Xyo thought. 'YOU wouldn't understand...'.

She headed for her room, knowing full well she was not going to sleep very well.

* * * * * *

Garland had been playing a rousing game of solitaire, and it wasn't going too well. He was considering cheating, when an unearthly howl resounded across the night sky, and the game was suddenly transformed into fifty-two card pickup...

But he still couldn't sleep.

Tucker lay awake on his pool table, tossing and turning, painfully, on the hard velvet-covered wooden surface. Of course he couldn't sleep. Could you?

He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to shake the sleepiness from them. He yawned and didn't even think about going back to sleep. He rose from his table and quietly padded around the airship, checking to see if everyone was okay, trying desperately to hunt down that dripping.

He quickly grabbed his gear and put it on. He checked his personal shield generator (newly created of course) instinctively and made sure his TechSword was working before stalking the drip of the leaky faucet. Hey, you never know when you're going to need a beam saber and a personal shield generator. Actually, you probably do.

For the next few hours, he stalked around, from room to room (mostly the empty ones, occasionally an occupied one, by accident of course) looking for that drip. Why no one ever bothered to stop it, he'd never knew. Why there was running water on an airship, he never knew.

"Hey, why is there running water here?" Tucker asked no one in particular.

<<BECAUSE I, THE AUTHOR, AM TRYING TO GET A WORKING PLOT LINE GOING!>>

"Shhh! Not so loud!" Tucker said to the the omniscient booming voice. "Some people are sleeping!"

<<Sorry.>>

Tucker shrugged his shoulders and countinued his hunt. It was odd being on a ship with so many people; it was hard figuring out who was where and when. Setzer, the flyer of this ship. Still a little wary of me, otherwise okay. Xyo, the mysterious one, still a little odd to him. Merine, the nice one. What? I'm supposed to make full mental notes on who's here? Garland and the fiends... definitely weird... but friendly in a strange sort of way.

Were they all friends or were they just colleagues in a common cause? He hoped that Garland and company were his friends. Setzer he wished was his friend. The rest? /Who knows? Do I have any real friends? Is all I have enemies? Why am I talking to myself, in the middle of the night, stalking from room to room, looking for a lousy drip of water? Why don't I just go back to sleep?

/What is the meaning of life? Why is the sky blue? Is there any way to figure out how much wood a wood chuck can chuck? If a tree falls in the... whoa... now I know I need some sleep,/ Tucker thought to himself.

He yawned and went back to his pool table to lie down. He closed his eyes and listened to the almost silence. Then it happpened. A howl, an unearthly howl, not from this world or the next, cut through the night air. Causing panic in every cell of his being, Tucker leapt up and put up a ready stance. He activated his beam saber and ran to the deck, looking for the beast the hunted him.

"Hey, Tuck... what was that?" Garland said with a yawn as he awoke from his slumber. Tucker spun around to meet his "friend". He turned off his beam saber when he realized that the beast could not fly. He hoped.

"Hey, Garland... I need a favor of you... I want you to rouse the rest of the crew. I need to tell them something about my past that has been, in more ways than one, haunting me."

"Can this wait till morning?" Garland said with a yawn.

"Actually..." he said. "Yeah, I guess it could wait... gee./. it almost seems as if we were in..." he said with a pause for dramatic effect. "A story or something."

* * *

Morning came, but Tucker still didn't sleep. He was sitting in one of the chairs, clutching his sword, ready to attack if the beast did arrive. His mind wandered as the sun began to rise. Slowly as light filled the cabin, his eyelids grew heavy and he fell asleep.

He dreamed of the beast... or a version of it. He thought about Disney and animated features, a pretty cartoon girl and a big furry guy. He thought about several things in his sleep, all of which didn't make much sense because, of course, he was dreaming.

"Hey, Tuck... wake up."

Tucker shot awake as he looked into the eyes of Garland. He yawned and stretched to get the kinks out. "Oh yeah... I forgot I had something to say... is everyone here?"

"Yeah."

"Okay... I've told a few people this but I don't think any of you know... well actually, Garland _might_ know, but I'm not so sure."

"What is it?" someone said. Tucker looked at that person. A young kid, about 16.. just barely old and strong enough to hold a sword. Did he deserve a life of danger? Did Tucker have the right to be here and endanger the crew?

"It's about my past... or actually, your future. When I travelled in time, a beast followed me, hunting me down. It's out to get me and it still is. Some of you may of heard a howl in the air last night. I'm pretty sure that was it and I'm VERY sure that it's close by. The more evil and destruction in the world there is, the more powerful it gets."

"Why are you telling us this?" someone else said.

"Because I want you to know this is my problem and the longer I stay here, the more in danger you all are. I don't want it to be your problem." Tucker said.

Everyone began to look at each other for answers. Garland stepped forward. "When I met you and became your friend, it became my problem."

Xyo and Merine stared toward the ground, clutching at the rail surrounding the rim of the airship. Eyes wide and glassy, the thought of humans taking to the air consumed their minds and hearts. The first touches of the passion of flight were beginning to consume them.

Setzer looked over from his stoic position at the airship's wheel. His hands moved back and forth in a soothing, rocking motion, as if he was cradling the ship in his hands, calming its fears.

"It's a glorious feeling, isn't it? A feeling like there is nothing we could not do in this world, if we have achieved the power of flight."

Merine nodded haltingly, the image of the ground flitting by still overwhelming her senses, "I never thought I would ever..." she began, trailing off in mute shock.

Xyo turned to Setzer, her face held carefully neutral, though her eyes flitted occasionally in a violent manner, only to be reined in with a will cold and hard as steel. "It's very nice." she whispered, her soft, dulcet voice barely carrying over the sound of the wind blowing past the figures standing on the moonlit deck.

Setzer simply nodded, turning his attention back to the wheel. And to the flight.

***********************************

Setzer yawned finally, pulling back on the throttle to cut the speed of the airship until it hovered silently high above the ground. He held his arms over his head, the resulting cacophony of pops and snaps bringing a deep, satisfied smile to his lips. "This gambler is getting old. I should settle down sometime, take a break."

Setzer climbed slowly down the stairs to the recreational area of the deck. Card and roulette tables seemed haphazardly scattered about this deck level.

Setzer smiled faintly, making his way among the cloth covered tables. As he passed each one, he brushed his fingertips lightly against the surface, the green wool's touch bringing a gentle shiver of anticipation to Setzer's spine.

"You always were a gambler at heart.." came a soft voice from behind Setzer, the sound of gentle footsteps following those etheral words.

Setzer smiled, not turning to face the woman who he had grown to love, once before. "I always will be. Life is nothing more than a glorified game of craps. Everything that happens, it's at the roll of the dice." Long, slender fingers dipped inside the brown leather jacket, drawing out a pair of gleaming ivory dice. He took a few steps toward a poker table, shaking his fist briefly and rolling the dice violently. They clattered briefly as they rolled down the table, finally coming to rest on two numbers: five and a six. "Unless you know how to control the dice, you're probably going to crap out."

Daryl laughed briefly, a touch of reproach entering her voice. "You're getting incomprehensible in your old age." she said, the grin on her face more than evident in her voice.

Setzer glanced over his shoulder, looking at the beautiful young woman he had once asked to marry him. "Maybe. I'm not even sure if I make sense to myself anymore. But the dice haven't lied to me yet." With those words, Setzer walked to the door, leaving a very puzzled looking Daryl to sit at the roulette table alone with her thoughts.

**********************************

Daryl and Setzer's words had not gone unobserved. Garland sat deep in the shadows, running a sharpening stone slowly along the edge of his sword, bringing the already razor edged weapon an even finer blade. His eyes were turned away from the weapon, however, his eyes glowing with a faint, thoughtful light. "Something's wrong with Setzer." he whispered to himself, drawing himself slowly to his feet. "And I'm gonna find out what." Garland grinned. They had all laughed at him at the acadamy...well, he would show them...he would show them all!

Garland chuckled softly as he turned away, walking slowly down the hall toward his cabin. As he strode, his chuckle slowly grew, becoming a full throated, almost maniacal laugh. Garland the Great would triumph!

************************************

Tucker, Tiamat and Kraken sat around the table, sharing a bottle of Setzer's finest among each other. The night had mellowed out everyone considerably, and the feeling of comraderie was full in swing.

"So these Warriors of Light, they had to destroy each of us in order to revive the orbs and bring light to the land again. At least, that's what the propaganda said." Kraken was saying loudly as Tucker took a long swig from the bottle.

"So why were you fighting them, if they were the good guys?" asked Tucker, throwing a sly wink toward Tiamat in what the intoxicated man thought was subtle.

Tiamat, oblivious to Tucker's overt advances, shook her head suddenly. "It's kind of complicated..." she started, only to look up at the sound of the door to the cabin opening.

Setzer stood there, a wry, sad smile touching his lips. "Have room for another in here?" he asked softly, looking at each in a silent plea.

Tiamat smiled, her lips curving up into a gentle smile. "Of course. Come on, take a seat." She said, pulling a chair up beside her. Kraken frowned, but held in his tongue, though his dissatisfaction was blatantly evident.

Setzer bobbed his head in a kind of thanks, drawing up the chair. Taking the bottle Tiamat had snatched from Tucker, he took a long, slow pull, leaning back in his seat.

And so the four companions sat there, exchanging a few words, or thoughts...until the bottle was empty and the rosy hues of dawn began to light the window.

They were to arrive at Doma tomorrow.

Setzer replied. "Hey, you want to cook tomorrow night, be my guest. And what exactly are we going to -- Daryl, stop that."

"Stop what?" she said while exactly copying Tucker's movements: he and she both glanced at the sandwich, picked it up, turned it over a few times, took an experimental bite, shrugged, and shoved a large mouthful into their respective mouths.

"You're still mimicking." Tucker nodded in agreement, and Daryl blushed.

"Oh... I guess it's still in me to be a mimic. I'm sorry!" She broke out laughing.

"Isn't she cute when she does that?" winked Setzer. "So, Doma...?"

"I say we split up. We can cover more ground that way, and find our objective." Merine, ever the organizer, was obviously thinking hard. "Then we'll meet back outside the castle."

Everyone seemed to agree, and the rest of the night passed normally. Almost.

*******

After washing the dishes, Daryl called Setzer over (he was washing the table and floor - gravy was everywhere). The others had gone to other places in the airship - Tucker, Garland, and the Fiends to the game room, Xyo to her quarters, and Merine to the engine room. "Hey Setz, can I talk to you in private?"

"What about?"

"Let's go up on deck. It's a better setting." Putting their duties on hold, the two headed up the ladder that led to the upper deck of the airship. The late-summer sun was just setting.

"Beautiful. Just like back on our hill..." Setzer sighed. "Ahhh, the memories..."

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She pulled the small crystal orb from an inner fold of her clothing. Currently, it had an image in it: the two of them, years ago, on the top of a hill, watching another sunset. "Hey, it's us!"

"Just like I remembered."

"Setzer, I need to tell you something."

He shrugged. "I'm listening."

"Remember the old days, when we were up against Kefka? How you could learn spells from bits of Magicite?"

"Sure do! That was quite an experience!" The image in the orb shifted to show a magicite crystal. "Why?"

"Remember how I couldn't learn like that?"

"That's right - you always had to copy others."

"Well, this orb is just like that. It has spells, too - an awful lot of spells. Probably somewhere near 20 or 30, but I'm only guessing."

Setzer interrupted. "Hey, your intuition's one of your greatest assets, you know that."

She smiled. "I know. But that doesn't change the fact that I can't learn from objects. This orb has a small magical field around it - just enough to cast some of the very smallest of the spells, but I got it to work once when I was back on the Train. I don't know how. At any rate, I want to give it to you."

"Give it to me? Why?"

"You'll gain more from it than I would. Besides, who else could I give it to?" She smiled winsomely.

"I love you, Gogo," said Setzer through a grin, and they kissed again.

They walked in silence, each pondering on the previous evening's curious events. Xyo pulled her cloak around her and sighed, she wondered if Valron had discovered anything of importance on his little jaunt to Zozo. She looked up, they had reached the alleyway that led down to a dead end. Garland glanced at Xyo apprehensively and she returned is with a slight glance and an unsheathing of her dagger, Garland nodded and drew his own weapon.

They glanced around and ducked into the alley and headed through the maze of crates, boxes, and garbage bins. They reached a dark corner at the end of the alley and came upon an empty area.

Xyo quickly glanced around and scanned the dark corners for life, but of no avail. Garland relaxed his weapon slightly, "We early?" he whispered.

Xyo shrugged slightly and began to kick the boxes roughly. The large boxed shuddered slightly. She finally kicked something solid and it yelped. Garland gripped his weapon again and ran over to the container and tore it open to reveal a soldier... one of Akfek's men.

"Don't hurt me.. please!" he cried, "I am unarmed.

"How many more are you?" Garland demanded roughly.

"I.. I.. just me.. I come with a message..are you Merine's Lot?"

Xyo's eyes narrowed as she glanced uneasily at the rooftops, "Maybe, who are you delivering for?"

The guard glanced around nervously, "Valron.. he couldn't make the rendezvous point. He wanted me to get help..."

Xyo frowned, "Did he at least tell you what he found out?"

"No, he only paid me 1000 Gold and a gem to come here and tell you to get him out."

Garland grumbled, "Well, where is he?"

"They took him to Doma's Prison. He's in the central ring. They interrogated him too I believe.. he did not look too well.." He cut short when he found Garland's weapon dangerously close to his throat.

"Stay right where you are," Xyo said in a harsh tone," If we find you even a speck behind us we will kill you."

The Guard nodded nervously and he watched as Xyo and Garland retreated back down the alley. As he watched them vanish he raise his arm and activated a comunicator, "This is Grim One calling home.." he grinned evilly as he spoke," they took the bait......."

* * * * *

Xyo met up with Merine, Setzer and Daryl later that evening and related what she had heard.

Setzer rubbed his chin, "I smell a trap... it stinks worse than Lich."

Merine nodded and shrugged, "But what do we do? We need that information.."

"Lets get supplies and get going.. if they got him, I'll bet two to one that he's not gonna live for long. We also need to know what he told Akfek and Sascha."

Garland shrugged and turned towards Tucker, "Think we'll have any 'beastly' troubles during this?"

Tucker shook his head, "I may be from the future but I am no prophet."

"Well have to take that risk," Merine said firmly, " And we need to leave as soon as possible so everyone take care of whatever business they need to her in Kohlingen and then...." She sighed as she absently fingered the fresh green ribbon in her hair," To Doma."

"Which way?" Kraken whispered, as the two came to a split in the hallways of Doma castle.

"I'm not... sure..." Lich Boomed ominously.

"SSsshhhh!!!" Kraken hissed. "Not so loud! And quit being so... conspicuous!"

"Don't you mean... Ominous?" Lich said, quietly, yet ominously.

"No, I mean conspicuous," Kraken corrected, spitting unintentionally. "It's not like they have a bunch of Eight foot Dead guys running around, you know..."

Lich snorted. Reluctantly, he shrank back down to his more manageable, yet less ominous, form. "Hmph..." he pouted. "Is this better?"

"Yes, now be quiet..." Kraken scolded. He slunk down the left-most corridor, remaining very close to the wall. Lich followed doggedly, mumbling to himself. "Will you be quiet?!" Kraken demanded. He hated working with Lich. He was such a pain in the extremities...

"Do we even know where this spy is?" Lich inquired. He didn't like the whole idea. 'This whole spy-rescuing business is a load of hooey,' he thought lamely.

"I'd say he's probably in the dungeons, Lame-brain..." Kraken said sharply. He scanned the area for signs of the enemy...

"Just remember which one of us has his orb..." Lich warned. He was not adverse to transforming Kraken into a smear on the floor at this point.

"You don't..." Kraken decided it would be unwise to continue arguing with Lich at this point... "Listen, I'm an expert when it comes to castle layouts... The dungeons should be right through this door..." Kraken cautiously aproached a medium sized, Dull-gray door.

"Are you sure?" Lich asked. He wasn't at all confident in Kraken's expertise in castle layouts. He looked behind him at the long corridors, apparently recently built. "Looks like a newer design to me..."

"Well, we're not getting any closer just standing and talking about it, now are we?" Kraken asked impatiently. The sooner this was over with, the better. He threw the door open, and shouted, "VALRON! WE'VE COME TO RESCUE YOU!"

* - * - *

The horde of guards was hot on their tails. "This is another FINE mess you've gotten us into!!" Lich shouted, as he ran for his unlife.

"How was I supposed to know that was the castle dining room?" Kraken replied lamely. 'I really gotta start reading signs...'

"RESISTENCE IS USELESS!" shouted the guards, in perfect unison.

"Are they trained to do that, y'think?" Lich asked himself. He really wasn't interested in being chased by these puny humans. He just wanted a good chance to play fooz ball in Setzer's game room.

"Oh hell..." Kraken said, as he and Lich ducked into a small closet-like hall. "Now what?" he asked hopelessly.

"...What else?" Lich said, producing his Earth Orb.

"There's no escape!" a zealous guard said, as the horde turned into the cul de sac. Much to their surprise, they were met by an eight foot tall skeletal wizard. Lich and Kraken came back into the main hall to face the horde.

Lich's eyes flashed like lightning. "Feel the immeasurable power of the Orb of Mother Earth!" he shouted dramatically. "Tremble before my supreme mental attack! THE TREMOR OF TERROR!!" Lich thrust his mighty scythe forward, as the entire hall shook violently. Many of the soldiers were momentarily overcome by fearful visions, but within seconds, they charged again. "What?!" Lich exclaimed in confusion.

"RESISTENCE IS USELESS!" came the reply.

"My attack is... ineffective?" Lich realized.

"Let me handle this!" Kraken said suddenly. He began chanting... "O spirits of the Sea, you who Used to be my minions, grant me the power I once had to command!"

"Father Sea, forevermore,

Power from you I now implore!

Spirits of Water,

Father and daughter,

Please utter, 'Caution, wet floor!'"

Kraken thrust his hands towards the floor, which instantly shone with moisture. The soldiers all took complementry slips, spills, and falls. "That'll teach 'em." he breathed.

"What the heaven kinda incantation was that?" Lich asked, disgusted. He hated limericks.

"Well, I'm operating at minimum power, and I was in a hurry..." Kraken said sheepishly. By this time, most of the soldiers had hit their heads on walls, floor, or other heads, and were knocked out. Kraken proceeded to make his way through the chaos, going through each of the soldiers' belongings.

"Wh... what are you doing?" Lich asked, shrinking back to his human form. He watched, bewildered, as Kraken went from guard to guard...

Kraken looked up momentarily, surprised by the question. "Why... picking their pockets, of course..." he said, with a tone that asked a question like, "Isn't that what we're supposed to do?"

"Some gentleman you are," Lich commented. "Whatever happened to your image?"

"Do you see any ladies around?" Kraken asked haughtily. "Besides, gentlemen have to eat somehow..." He helped himself to a man's share of jerky, and made a face.

Lich sighed. "Well, it's not like we're good guys or anything, so I guess it's okay..." He removed his tattered cloak, and proceeded to fill it with their ill-gotten gains. "Nice wallet..." he commented, as he inspected a billfold with a phrase considered vulgar in some circles embroidered on it. "Well, at least this has been a profitable venture..."

Mofo D. Legg, an imperial soldier, strolled down the hallway, whistling happily to himself. He knew that faking sick was a good way to get out of going off to get himself killed. Luckily for him, he had been smart enough to go to Rokegg Kromm for permission of leave. If he had gone to Akfek, he would've died anyway. Everything was going his way that day. He was even considering buying a bouqet of flowers for Lady DelAubre, just to see if he could get out of more work. He picked up his pace, rounded a corner, and had a minor head concussion.

"Oops..." Kary said. She only meant to knock him out, but it seemed that putting her palm swiftly to someone's forehead was capable of crushing a skull completely. "Ooooh... I'm so sorry!" She said sheepishly.

"Nice work," Tiamat said, giggling. "Bagged a real cutie..."

"I guess I hit him a little hard..." Kary whined. She watched him roll over, and moan. "I don't know my own strength..."

"Well, he does," Tiamat joked. She disarmed the unconcious soldier, and handed his curved rapier to her compatriot. "You're good with swords, right? You use that."

"ALLRIGHT!!!" Kary cheered enthusiastically. Swords were her passion, so to speak. She handled the blade, tossed it, spun it, tested it's edge, and tied it's belt around her waste. "Now I'm dressed for action!" She said mockingly.

"You're hardly dressed at all..." Tiamat replied. "You'll be lucky if he doesn't pass out again when he sees you." She Removed the Mofo's helmet, and placed it on her own head. "How do I look?"

Kary giggled. "Lovely, Dearie. Here, gimme the gloves!" She stooped down and ripped the sleeping soldier's gloves from his hands, and slipped them on. They were way too big. Kary stooped down, and patted the soldier's face. "Wake up, sweetie..."

Tiamat continued to rifle through the troop's things, finding little of interest. She did, however, find a note from his mom. Upon reading the note, an empty feeling swept through her, and it seemed something was a bit wrong with her eyes. "Kary?" she began.

"Hmm?" Kary replied, still looking at Mofo's pleasant face. "What?"

"I think I'm feeling... guilt..." Tiamat replied, dropping the letter onto the pile of Mofo's things. "This guy's got a mom, and his Dad's working, And he was gonna marry a girl, and... we just knocked him out and stole all his stuff..." She sank down onto her knees. "He's not dead, is he?"

Kary looked at her bosom buddy and smiled. "Not just our bodies are becoming more human, I guess." She sighed. "He's fine. He seems to be coming around." Mofo stirred, and rubbed his head. He sat up, and looked around.

"Wh... who are you?" He asked, as he noticed the very beautiful Redhead sitting beside him. "Are you an... angel? Am I dead?"

"You... could call us angels..." Tiamat said wryly. She gave the boy a smile, and stood up. "But we have to take you hostage now, so stand up."

"Hostage, Huh?" Mofo asked, still a bit queasy. He smiled slyly. "Okay..." Kary and Tiamat grinned at each other, and their eyes narrowed.

* - * - *

Making their way down a narrow passageway, the three slunk silently along the walls. Kary held Mofo in a headlock, and dragged him along, though he really didn't mind his position. Tiamat traveled a few feet ahead, peeping in keyholes and opening doors. So far, they had found nothing but a few apples, one of which Tiamat munched on thoughtfully.

"Hrmmm..." she said, furrowing her brow. "Nothing here..." Tiamat carefully closed the door she had just opened, though her mind was on other things. 'Maybe Kraken's right... Perhaps I do let other guys flirt with me a bit too much...' She hated to admit that she'd been wrong. 'Or maybe he's just too overprotective...'

"Hey Tia..." Kary started. She absentmindedly drummed her fingers on Mofo's head. "Two things: one, gimme one of those apples. Two, we're getting nowhere."

Tiamat tossed Kary an apple. "You're right. We haven't the slightest idea where Valron is held... he could be on the other side of the castle, for all we know..." She sat down in frustration and thought, seemingly exhausted.

"Yeah..." Mofo piped up. "Or in the North tower."

Kary and Tiamat froze. The answer had been with them all along, held in a headlock by a beautiful Redhead. They instantly became nice, proper, and caring young ladies. "Say, big guy..." Kary began. "Do you think you could show us where this North Tower is?"

"Well, I..." Mofo began. He really hadn't meant his earlier comment to be anything relevant. "I really don't..."

"PLEEEEEAASSE?" Kary and Tiamat pleaded together. Any man who would have refused them would have to be gayer than the eighteen-nineties, or under five years old.

'Uh-oh...' Thought the boy. He was really in trouble now. "O...okay... But you might not like what you find there..."

Kary released Mofo from the headlock, and kissed him on the cheek.

This made the boy feel especially bad, because now he REALLY couldn't refuse. He picked up his now-heavy feet, and headed in the direction they were to go. As the two young ladies followed, Tiamat nudged Kary. "Lay it on thick, why don't ya..." she whispered.

"Well, it works, right?" Kary replied smugly. She was good at what she did, and she knew it. Tiamat didn't retort.

* - * - *

The trio ducked through the halls unnoticed by most of the Imperials. All was going well, until they reached a corridor on the second floor, leading to the North Tower. At this point, Mofo stopped, turned, and hung his head. "Well?" Kary asked. "Where is he? Where's the spy?"

Mofo whined. "He's not here..."

"WHAT?!" Kary and Tiamat inquired simultaneously.

"I tried to tell you, but..." the boy had tears in his eyes. He wasn't cut out for military work. "I don't know where they keep him. I didn't even know about him."

Kary laughed a mean, scornful, pessimistic laugh. "Great. Just Fan-goddamn-tastic." She looked around. "So where are we, navigator?"

"Kary!" Tiamat scolded. "You were the one who intimidated him so much..."

"Not like YOU'RE innocent, Miss Queen of Evil Dragons!" Kary retorted.

"If you get caught around here," Mofo said, "You're both Guilty! You need to leave as fast as possible, or..."

"STAY OUTTA THIS, BABYFACE!" Kary shouted, and pushed Mofo against a wall. She and Tiamat locked hands, and gritted their teeth. "Bitch!!" she exclaimed.

"Slut!" Tiamat retorted.

"Whore!"

"Streetwalker!"

"Starlet!"

"Harlet!"

"Bimbo!"

"GoGo Dancer!"

"Waitress!"

"Cheerleader!!" Tiamat finished. She knew that, to Kary, nothing could be more degrading. Kary's eyes glowed a furious Red. Tiamat grinned triumphantly, but there was one insult she had forgotten.

Kary grinned. She leaned forward, and whispered in Tiamat's ear. "Sado-Masochist Queen..."

Tiamat turned red also, but out of embarassment. A large crowd of soldiers had gathered to watch the catfight, and they had all heard. It was fairly obvious that she wasn't a Go Go girl, or a waitress, but when it came to S & M, you never really knew... "You... you... You..." she was at a loss for words. Kary beamed at her insulting talent. "Here..." Tiamat began again. "I'll prove how slutty you are!"

"What?" Kary inquired.

Tiamat knelt down, and traced her finger in a circle on the floor.

She began muttering incantations, in a language not heard in ten thousand years. Then, she began laughing. She laughed wickedly, demonically. Then, she translated her incantation to put a final seal on the spell...

"Oh ye, winds of fate, whom's soft billowing clears the clouded minds of the weak, Ye great winds of the Fiends of Air, the Ancient line of the Dragon Queens becons ye to do their bidding. Yea, varily, I command you! Sweep the clouded weak from the valleys and hills, that I may let loose their souls, that they may FLY!!"

The majority of the soldiers that stood watching intently suddenly felt the wonderful sensation of being swept up into the very air. As the youthful looking Dragon Queen gestured her arms and hands, these soldiers followed her every move, quite to their surprise. Swinging to the left, the right, and finally colliding into a giant clump, the group of men all were dropped onto Kary in a very swift, and disturbing matter. A giant pillow of dust filled the halls as the soldiers landed.

Mofo was coughing violently. He tried to open his eyes, but it didn't help. He couldn't see a thing through the great wall of dust. "Holy..." he started, interrupting himself with a coughing fit. "Holy mother!" He heard distinct sounds, mainly men groaning in pain, and Tiamat's superior and self-important laugh. The dust did eventually settle, and it seemed that no soldiers had sustained any serious injury.

A muffled moan came from beneath several soldiers. Kary must have been buried a good three men deep, and she was not in the least happy about it. Throwing the soldiers off of her, much to their surprise, I might add, she rose groggily, in a blind and deadly rage. Tiamat chuckled. Kary wasn't nearly so amused. "You..." she growled, swaying back and forth. "You... You... YOU!!!!"

Tiamat swallowed hard. It seemed that she had gone a bit to far in her proof, obscure as it was. Mofo scurried down the hall to a much safer location, a closet. Tiamat watched with worry as Kary's body glowed a bright, firey red. The Fire Fiend shook with fury as she spoke a single word. "YOUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!" She seemed to become a crimson SuperBall, engulfed in flames. She shot aound the hall, off walls, floors, ceilings, and people. As the soldiers were singed, they saw that Kary's fingernails had grown visibly larger, and she seemed to have sprouted fangs. As she streaked toward Tiamat, she screamed like a cat.

Tiamat was ready. she flipped to one side, planting her feet firmly back on the ground. As her "sister" came screeching back her way, she catapulted off the wall, and attempted to clear the flaming woman. Unfortunately, she misjudged, and landed closed to where she started. She had just enough time to dodge to one side...

Kary stopped suddely. She turned, now back to her naturally-flavored self, and smiled sweetly. "We're even now."

"What?" Tiamat asked. she looked down at herself. She noticed several slash marks across her clothing, in a number of embarassing places. 'Thank heavens for underwear...' she thought. She smiled, and realized a slight pain on her cheek. "Kary..." she began, stunned. "You cut me..."

"Yep!" Kary said sweetly. "I had to get you back for that embarassment with the guys... Oh, dear..." She looked around at the singed masses of unconcious soldiers, a few dead. "Maybe I went a bit too far..."

"You might say that," Tiamat replied cheerfully. "C'mon, let's go..."

The two Fiends linked arms as friends, and started trekking back the way from which they originally came. They were secretly still mad at each other, but that could wait. Neither one remained interested in rescuing any spies, and frankly, they had forgotten about it.

* - * - *

Two days later, Mofo finally came out of the closet.

He had been aimlessly wandering the Doman halls, hoping he wouldn't find anybody unpleasant. So far, this had worked. Since luck was on his side, and that always seemed to be the case, he decided to purposefully look for the spy, instead of just hoping to find him by chance. Ducking down a narrow hallway, he darted from wall to wall, not knowing that that was one of the most conspicuous things a spy could ever do. He peered through a nearby keyhole to see if he was on the right track.

"Well well..." Garland whispered, as he spied through the tiny hole. What he saw was a most unusual sight. There stood a man, tall and thin, with a long, dark grey coat. He was obviously not old, as his hair was a full black, much like Garland's. He almost looked like a relative of Setzer's, except this man apparently enjoyed his work more than Setzer enjoyed about anything.

'Well, except maybe gambling... and that Daryl woman...' Garland shuddered as he thought the last few words. He didn't like that woman at all. She had stolen his new best friend... 'I'll get to the bottom of that...' he thought, clenching his fist. 'Nobody takes my friends away from me!' If he had known the truth, Garland probably would have felt very stupid.

Snapping out of his furious thoughts of revenge, Garland turned his attention back to the young man in the coat. He could now see the man's face clearly. He was not handsome, or cute, or even good-looking. He was just a man, who's mother probably told him he was cute. Just a plain, ordinary, mediocre looking man. Garland furrowed his brow. He stood up, and looked at a makeshift sign hanging on a nail in the door. It read "Kromm." Garland said the word aloud, puzzled.

Surprisingly, there came a reply from within. "Yes, who is it?" the tenor voice asked cheerfully.

Garland panicked. He had been heard. 'Be cool, Garland...' he thought to himself. 'He doesn't know I'm with the Returners...' Individuality demanded that Garland not call himself a Returner, so he always used the phrase "with the Returners."

"You're not a Returner, are you?" Kromm asked. Garland nearly suffered a fatal heart attack right then and there. "Just kidding, come in..."

Garland sighed heavily, then pushed the door open, swallowing hard. "Kromm? Krome? How do you say that?" he was pulling out all the stops from his old acting academy.

"It's Kromm. Rokegg Kromm." he corrected as he removed a long, tarnished glove to shake hands. "...and you are?"

"Oh...uh..." Garland momentarily forgot his name. "Garland. I'm Garland." he extended his own gloved hand, and grasped Rokegg's in a handshake.

"You got a last name?" Rokegg asked, turning back to his work.

"Uh..." Garland hated that question. "No, not really. No. Just Garland." He gave a nervous laugh. "W... whatcha makin'?"

"Oh, just a couple..." he gave a slightly muffled laugh. "A couple, shall we say, 'advanced troops' for Akfek's army. Real beauties."

"Is that right..?" Garland asked, making a note of this. He took a seat across the room, near the door. He couldn't see exactly how Kromm's work could be mistaken for troops in any situation.

Kromm looked up from his work suddenly, and looked Garland straight in the face. Garland began to sweat nervously. "You're not with Akfek, are you?" Kromm asked.

"What? I... I mean...well..."

"Oh, don't worry." Kromm said cheerfully. "Neither am I. I just work here." Garland was confused. "However, since you ARE an enemy of his Lordship..."

Garland was momentarily confused. "...oh, I get it..." he said. He did understand. Kromm was mad as a hatter.

"Mason!" Kromm called. The short soldier appeared through another door on the opposite side of the room. "Deal with this Returner scum..."

Mason and Garland looked at each other for a moment. "You!" Mason growled, his face twisting into a spiteful sneer.

"You?!" Garland said, his face in an expression of bewilderment. Then, he was out the door and running. "Why do I have to deal with HIM again?!" Garland complained to himself.

Mason came barreling down the hall a few yards behind Garland. "Why do you run, coward?" He shouted. "You KNOW you can beat me!"

"He's right..." Garland thought aloud. 'Then again, he's probably got some ace up his sleeve... wait a minute, this is Mason I'm dealing with here...' Garland stopped, and turned to face his vertically challenged adversary. "Alright, Mason. I'll make you a deal. Whoever wins this fight is the final victor. After this, we go our separate ways, and all debts are cleared, all right?"

A wide grin spread across Mason's face. "Fair deal. That is, as long as I win... Now let us begin!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Garland said, rolling his eyes. He planned to take Mason out in a single attack. He watched as Mason wheeled back, and through a single punch. It rapped harmlessly against the Adamant plate. "Tsk tsk..." Garland chirped. "Had we forgotten about that?"

"Oh, no, I hadn't forgotten," Mason chuckled confidently. He produced a small vial containing a cloudy yellow liquid. Laughing heartily, he threw the vial against Garland's clothing and armor. It seemed to have no effect.

"Well?" Garland asked expectantly. He looked himself over. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary... Then Mason through his second punch. instead of hurting Mason's knuckles, the adamant plate shattered under the force of the attack! "What?!" Garland asked, feeling pain for the first time in awhile. "What did you do?!"

"MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!" Mason laughed maniacally. "Behold the genius of Rokegg Kromm! Even Adamant has it's chemical weaknesses, you know!!" He lunged forward, and punched Garland in the stomach, with much satisfaction.

"Why you... little..." Garland drew his sword, and charged Mason with an angry vigor. "I'll tear your head off!" he shouted, taking a swing and missing.

"So, the truth comes out now!" Mason mocked triumphantly. He hopped nimbly back and forth, landing on one foot, then the other. "You have little skill apart from your fantastic equipment!" He threw a punch at Garland's face, but it was blocked, and caught.

"Is that so?" Garland smirked back, noting how incredibly strong Mason was for his size. Using both hands, he hoisted Mason , by the arm, above his head. "Is it?!" Garland shouted, smashing Mason's body against the stone floor.

Mason gasped as his breath left him momentarily. He felt the pain, and knew that it was real. Garland had begun to head down the hallway, apparently toward Doma's main entrance. "So... there is some fight in you after all, eh?" He quickly leapt to his feet, grabbed a small shield off a wall display, and drew his cutlass. "I'm not down yet, Garland!!" he shouted as he pursued his enemy.

Garland rounded a corner, and stopped, breathing heavily. "Maybe I... underestimated that little pipsqueak..." he wheezed, holding his aching chest. 'I have to get out of this place...' he suddenly thought. 'This castle is Hell on Earth... I should be searching for my orbs, not rescuing some spy...' he began to trot in the direction of Doma's main entrance. Then he broke into a full, panic stricken run.

"Leaving so soon?" Mason shouted, in fairly hot, or at least warm, pursuit. "But you haven't had any Tea!" He poured on the speed, as he barreled down the hallways. "Tea, as in cross! I'LL CRUCIFY YOU!!!"

* - * - *

"Wh-what are you doing here?" Kraken asked, as he saw Tiamat land a few feet away from him. She had apparently leaped from a high height, probably a window.

"Well, there was this spy..." Tiamat began sarcastically.

"Hmph," Lich grunted. 'Such petty emotions...' He smiled inwardly. 'I figure I'm better off without such things as jealousy, or...' For a moment, Lich felt a strange twinge inside of him, somewhat, but not entirely, unlike being stuck by a small pin. Before he could think such a foreign feeling over, His Master came barrelling through the main gates of Doma. "Hmmm... any luck?" he asked somewhat ominously.

Garland was breathing heavily. "Luck?" he breathed, laughing a laugh of Irony. "Why would I have luck? If you mean the spy..." Garland paused, still attempting to catch his breathe. "...I gave up on that... not my style..."

Kary dropped from where Tiamat had a few moments before. "Is that right?" She asked genuinely. "So now what are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna wait right here until Setzer and the others get back..." he answered, still breathless. "...and then we leave... I don't know after that."

"How about we look for the Water Orb?" Kraken asked hopefully. The other fiends ignored him, and helped Garland to his feet again.

"Well," Tiamat began. "Let's head back to the Airship, and get a little rest." Garland nodded, and they began the walk back, Kraken lagging behind and kicking stones.

The small band had made it within about fifty yards of the ship, when they began to hear an odd sound. A sort of humming, it was. It grew louder, and louder, and louder still, and soon the ground beneath them began to tremble with an unseen force. "Lich!" Garland commanded. Stop this quaking!"

"I can't, Garland!" Lich shouted above the loud hum. "It's not caused by anything natural, or magical!" Just as the Earth Fiend finished his statement, the earth behind the group exploded in a shower of dirt. As visibility reached zero percent, Garland heard several sounds... maniacal laughter, the clanking of metal, the ear-splitting cry of some massive beast.

As the dust cleared, a truly massive shape came clearly into view. It stood at least twice as tall as the fully powered Lich, and gleemed silver as the sun shown off it. The beast was a mechanical monstrosity, loaded with weapons, and looked positively invincible. Maniacal laughter rose up from somewhere behind the monster's head. The small figure of Mason peeped out from behind a shoulder.

"HIM again?!" the fiends shouted in unison.

"Did you really think you could escape so easily, Garland?" The small man asked from his vantage point. "Our battle is not over until I win!" He shouted enthusiastically.

"Oy..." Garland sighed, obviously tired. "You're crazy, you know that?" He shouted back. He drew his sword despairingly, not nearly as confident as usual. Lich called forth his scythe from the Dark Void. Kraken dug through his bag of stolen goods, finding a spear for himself, and a pair of daggers for Tiamat. Kary prepared her recently acquired sword. "DoomGaze!" Garland shouted. From behind the Falcon, the Black form of the Eagle of Death rose, and set itself down near him.

"What is your command, sir?" The machine asked.

"Use your weapons to deal with this beast!" Garland commanded wearily. DoomGaze stood motionless for several seconds, as Mason gloated. "...Well?" Garland said expectantly.

"Weapon systems are down, sir..." DoomGaze said, almost despairingly. Garland and the fiends were visibly upset. "...I seem to be devoid of purpose at the present time, sir." Garland nodded, and waved him away.

"Ha!" Kraken laughed, attempting to raise moral. "Even without DoomGaze, we outnumber this thing five to one. We shouldn't have any problem defeating it!" The grouped raised their weapons, and charged.

"I don't think so!" Mason said, whispering into the beast's hearing facility. With lightning speed, the monster raised an arm to Kraken's face. Kraken's body was seized by motes of white energy, and he flew back, screaming. The motes did not leave him when he hit, however. They remained, dancing around his crouched form.

"You bastard..." Tiamat scowled, as Mason grinned sadistically.

"So, Garland..." Mason began cruelly. "Seems you have some rather... unique friends here. That weapon should only react to creatures with magical properties." The great beast's metallic body heaved up and down as it breathed.

"Wh... what IS that thing?" Kary asked, bedazzled by its strength. She cautiously edged to one side, attempting to gain a position of advantage.

"It is the product of Kromm's genius, friends!" Mason laughed, as the monster prepared for another attack. "...and as you can see, he thought of everything!" He gestured in Kraken's direction.

"How DARE you!?" Tiamat exclaimed, lunging towards the bulky figure, weapons ready. As she came down upon the creature, her knives connected so heavily, they were forced out of her hands. Such a blow would have ended any natural creature's life in an instant, but the daggers simply bounced off the metal exterior, and clattered to the Ground.

"Now," Mason began, a cruel grin appearing on his dirty face. "I think it's only fair that it be my turn to attack now. After all, I've given you two free initial moves, Eh?" The beast raised it's left hand, and the gleam of the sun off five razor sharp, retractable claws was instantly visible. With the speed of lightning, The metallic monstrosity lashed out at Garland, going for an instant deathblow. The attack, however, was fairly predictable, and Garland leapt a few feet back, leaving the clawed crusher imbedding itself into the ground.

"How could anyone come up with such a design?" Kary asked. She had been closely watching the beast, looking for a weak spot. The creature lacked armor in several spots on it's right side, especially the face.

"The beauty of it all, my dear, is that Kromm didn't come up with the design." Mason turned to explain the situation to the red-headed fiend of fire. "He merely took the original animal, and vastly improved the design. Animals have so many flaws, you see."

Lich had had enough. "Step aside, Master..." he began darkly, stepping forward. "I'll handle this." In full morbid splendor, Lich darted forward. His speed was far beyond that of any human, or even machine.

"Huh..." Mason grunted. "You think you alone can compete with the BMB 124? That is something I would truly like to see!" He readied for an attack, and a great explosion arose when the two met. Lightning flashed, and dust flew. Visibilty again began to decrease.

"What's going on in there?!" Garland shouted. Kary gripped her blade tightly, and leapt into the fray. Tiamat followed her example, unaware that her hands bled badly from her previous, and falty attack. "That's right..." Garland said grimly. "NO ONE CAN DEFEAT THE FIENDS!" The rage of battle drowned out his words, and he prepared for his turn...

He shrugged and begged his mind to shut up so he could find out where he was. He quickly sprinted from corner to corner, trying to find a safe way to hide. Then, he stepped where he shouldn't have.

The floor beneath him gave way, crumbling beneath him. Grabbing at whatever he could, his fingers slipped between deep growing roots, slowing his descent, but not stopping it. He landed on the ground, his back slamming against the floor, and his head rebounded, hitting the hard rock with a sickening thud.

Then the world went black.

He wasn't out for more than a few minutes before he woke up again. His computer had shocked him a few times, forcing him to wake up. He rubbed the back of his head and groaned in pain. A pale light shone in from the hole above, but the light did not reach the depths of the cavern.

"Where am I?" he whispered. The walls echoed his words back, almost distorting them, making them sound evil and vicious.

"Computer, light amplification." he said aloud, as his visor came down. The whole area lit green as the computer chimed and repeated, "Light amplification."

He surveyed the area, but seeing was still difficult because there was very little light to amplify in the first place. The cavern was an old cavern, probably here for ages. The castle was probably built over it. The walls dripped with liquid, formed by years of decaying dirt. The humidity was high and beads of sweat began to form on his face.

"This isn't helping me any." he said to himself. "Computer, overlay present view with heat amplification and infer-vision." he said. His world faded from a green and became a bright red, with heat sources outlined in purple. He looked around, spotting several plots of purple and yellow on the cieling, more than not, probably bats. He surveyed the area, trying his best to walk. He took no more than four steps before he tripped on a nearby rock and landed face first into a small pool of muddy water.

"Computer, enhanced imaging." he growled. The computer enhanced the view he had and made navigating the darkness easier. Now why didn't he just bring a light? he asked himself.

He wandered around in the cave, underneath the surface. He knew there must of been a way out. He looked at the hole he came from. Too high up for his grappling arm to reach. Most caves have connections leading to the surface. All he had to do was find another one.

He surveyed the chamber. There was a slight slope to his east. It was the best hope of a passage back to the outside world. He began heading east when something caught the corner of his eye. He spun around and located a massive heat source, humanoid in shape, before it darted around the corner. He quickly followed after it, following the heat patterns on the floor formed by it's feet. The small figure retreated quickly but gave a girlish grunt when it tripped and fell on the ground.

Tucker quickly ran to the creature side, drawing his sword incase of attack, but was surprised to see a little girl, sitting out the ground. She backed away slowly, eyes wide with fear.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you.." he said quietly, reaching out for her. As his hand approached the girl to help her up, he grabbed his forearm and bit down, hard. Tucker screamed in pain and the girl broke into a dead run. Cursing in some languages not to be discovered for another few hundred years, Tucker rubbed the sore on his arm and looked around for the girl who was not to be seen anywhere. He sighed and continued on his search to find a way out of these catacombs.

After a few minutes of walking, he knew that the girl was still around. He walked silently, using a technique for stealth he learned from a ninja friend he had not so long ago named Edge, and easily made out the sounds of this girl's shuffle. Not to mention he used the visor's sound enhancement. Using echo-location, he pinpointed where she was coming from. Noting that she wasn't much of a threat, he shrugged it off and kept walking.

After a few more minutes of travel, still no way out in site, he realized that maybe this kid knew a way out. He spun around, but the girl immediately hid into the darkness. He took a few more steps and spun around again, noting she had taken a mimicing of a few steps.

"Look, kid. It don't want to hurt you. I just want to get out. Do you know how to get out?" he asked, as harmlessly as possible. The girl peeked out from behind a crevice and stared at him blankly.

"You must be hungry. Are you hungry?" he asked, slipping his pack off his back. "All alone down here, you must be hungry." he said. He opened up his pack and pulled out a piece of jerky and a stale roll, placing it on a cloth on the ground. He gestured her forward, trying to get her to eat, but she still stayed away, though he could tell she was hungry.

"Okay, you can stay there if you want.. but I'll keep going. I'll leave the food here. It's yours if you're hungry." he said. He spun back around and continued his search for a way out. He took several steps away from the food and peeked around his shoulder. He saw the little girl pick the food up and began eating it slowly, deliberately as if she had not eating in a long time.

He turned back around, and continued his walking, too tired to wonder about the girl. Filling his mind with all the memories he could muster of his past, he tried his best to keep it busy as he wandered through the darkness. After a few minutes of vagueness, his mind wandered and he turned around again. Instead of darting behind a wall, the girl stood a few yards away, staring at him. "Is she following me?" he asked himself. He turned back around and walked a few more steps before returning his gaze to the girl and sure enough she was following him. He smiled and began to approach her when she would draw back and make motions to run. Stopping in his tracks, he sighed in depression and sat down on the muddy ground.

"Look kid, I'm tired. You can stand there if you want.. but I'm not going anywhere for a while." he said. He slipped his bag off and placed his head down on it. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

After a short nap, he awoke to find the girl, sitting nearby on a rock, her arms draped around her knees, arms cradles between them. She was sound asleep. Tucker tried to get up as quietly as possible but the girl shot awake and stared at him through the darkness.

"How old are you?" he asked, hoping to break the silence. Shifting nervously, she scooted back, away from him.

"No.. don't run. I just want to konw who you are.. I'm not going to hurt you." The girl looked at him blankly and shrugged. "Are you saying you don't know who you are?" he asked. She thought about it a second and smiled. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a small folded piece of leather. Worn beyond repair, she unfolded it, and to her dismay, it fell apart. She scraped up it's contents which had fallen to the ground. There were a few dollar bills, a wadded up piece of paper, and a small plastic card. She picked up the plastic card and placed them on the ground in front of Tucker.

He lifted the plastic card to his eyes and squinted. Much of it was worn away, but he could make out Kaiser Permamente, a hospital chain of the 20th century. He tried to read the imprint on the card for a name, but that too was worn away. He _did_ make out her age. She was 14.

"You're pretty small for you're age. You should eat more." he said, taking off his pack. He opened up the front pouch and pulled out some more strips of dried meat and some more day old bread and handed it to her. She stepped forth and greedily ate it up.

"What's your name?" he asked as she scarfed down her food. She paused in her ravenous behavior and looked up at Tucker with a blank stare. She shrugged and continued eating.

"Do you have a name?" he asked. She nodded her head.

"What is it?" he repeated. She quickly finished off her meal and held the front of her trench coat to Tucker's face.

"Nekko Bauer!" she said proudly as she read the name off the label. It was an inspiration to hear her voice and to know she actually had one.

"Hmm.. Nekko. It's doesn't sound like the name of a nice girl like you. Are you sure you don't have another name?" he asked, looking for the truth. She shook her head no. "Okay, Nekko. I'm going to try and get out of this place. You want to come along?" She looked at him and tilted her head in thought. She smiled and nodded her head, which Tucker assumed meant yes.

Tucker smiled and resumed his trek in the darkness, carefully keeping track of the girl, just in case she tried anything against him. Stalking in the darkness, he turned slightly when a growl emanated from his left. "Look OUT!" Nekko cried as she pushed Tucker to the side. Landing hard against the rock, Tucker growled in pain as he tried to lift the small girl off him.

Before given the chance, Nekko lept up and got into a ready stance. Tucker, getting the feeling something was trying to kill the two, turned on the heat-amplification on his visor. He spotted a very large, and very hot blob of.. something. He drew his sword and prepared to attack.

The creature lunged at Tucker, close enough for him to see the droll dripping off it's teeth. The thing was too fast for Tucker to react. Before Tucker could raise his shield the thing was on him, going for his jugular. Struggling with all his might, he could not get the thing off him. The watched in horror as the thing loomed closer to his throat, going for the final blow.

Before the creature got a chance to bite, there was a sickening crack and the creture fell limp. Tucker pushed the thing off him and stood up, and to his surprise, Nekko held the creature around the neck. It's neck was obviously snapped.

"Uh.. thanks." Tucker said, brushing himself off. "You seem to know your way around in here." Tucker said. "Do you know how to get out?" Nekko smiled again and shook her head yes. Tucker slapped his palm against his head for his stupidity and shrugged in defeat. After a few minutes of trekking, the two were back out, in the sunlight again.

Tucker sighed and turned to look at the little girl who helped him out. She was pretty, in a petite kind of way. Although slightly mature, she had a cute innocence to her. She had black hair and strange, yet normal for her, red eyes. She looked up at the sun as if she had not gazed upon it before and said laughed. Maybe for her, this was the first time ever being out.

* * *

It had been a while since Nekko had seen the sky, the sun streaming down through the trees, the gentle wind nipping on her face, playing with her hair. Of course, the time spent underground had taken it's toll. Tucker took a glance back at the little girl who was marvelling at the sights she saw as they made their pleasant little stroll towards the airship.

Nekko was wearing the trench coat she had taken her name sake from, old and dirty yet remarkably, it had stood the test of time. Her boots looked like a normal pair of boots, standard issue from Doma guards, which meant she probably has been outside, but considering the shape she was in, she probably wasn't out long. Not like she would be able to beat a whole platoon of Doma guards. Her face was streaked with dirt and grime and she didn't smell too pleasant, which was why he was making his way back to the airship. Honestly, the girl needed a bath and her clothes could do with a little cleaning.

He returned his attention back to the path and continued on his trek. He set a comfortable pace, but was unnerved by the unconfortable silence between the two. Less than two words were said on the journey to the airship since they got out of the hole. He decided to do something about that.

"Hey, Nekko. Do you remeber anything about your past?" he asked. He waited for a reply but greeted by silence. "Nekko?" he echoed, spinning around, fearing the worst for the little kid. Again, he was alone. He made a quick sprint back and found the little girl crouched down peering at a bush. "What is it, kid?" Tucker asked.

"Kitty." she said, pointing at a small ball of fluff rolled up deep withen the bush. The kitten was small, probably newborn.

"I wonder where the mother is." Tucker asked, looking around. He scanned the area and soon spotted the mother cat a few feet away. It's lower body, however, was a few feet away in the other direction. Tucker growled. "Some people can be so inhumane." he said. He turned his attention back to Nekko, who was by this time plucking the furball into her arms. The small creature opened it's large, dark eyes, and meowed quietly, licking Nekko in the face, wiping a little bit of dirt off Nekko's face. The kitten curled back up and fell asleep in Nekko's arms.

"In a world so filled with peril, rays of light still shine through." Tucker commented to himself, smiling. "Come on, kiddo. We'd better get back to the airship."

* * *

The trek went by quickly and soon the two re-entered the ship. Tucker, after trying to teach the reason behind baths to Nekko, left Nekko alone in the bathroom to bathe. Unsure whether it would be politically correct to show her how to bathe, he filled the bathtub with warm water and a bubble bath, hoping she knew how to do it on her own.

He, meanwhile, had taken her clothes to the nearby river and with a bar of soap and a scrub board, began to do her laundry. Letting the grime and dirt which had collected on her clothes run down stream, he let the clothing dry quickly in the sun before heading back to the ship.

When he got back, he found Nekko sleeping on one of the beds, wearing one of Setzer's robes, clutching the small kitten in her arms. She was fast asleep, clean and happy, just like the cat, which he assumed she had too bathed. He hung her clothes up on the clothes hanger and shut the door, letting the little girl sleep for the day.

Tucker went out into the lobby and sat down in one of the chairs and propped his feet up. He took off his gear and began tinkering with some strange gadget, quietly awaiting the arrival of the rest of the troop.

"Hush yourself, Merine. Daryl needs to observe him closely, all the better to mimic his actions."

A long pause, as Daryl stared at the guard on duty from around a corner.

"Okay, got it. Let's go."

The guard, obviously not paying much attention to the situation, was nonetheless startled when he was rushed by three strange women, stripped, and left in an alcove, momentarily stunned. Daryl doffed the old Gogo getup, exchanging it for the soldier's armor and helmet. The large pile of cloth, of course, ended up on top of the soldier, nearly suffocating him.

******

"Whaddaya got there, private? More Returner spies?"

"Yessir, where do I put them, sir?" Daryl's voice was nearly indistinguishable from that of the guard, if her new outfit didn't quite fit tight enough, and sagged around the stomach.

"Are you _daft_, soldier?", shouted the officer, "Put them in the dungeon!"

"But, sir, Doma has no dungeon, sir."

"Yeesh." The corporal slapped his forehead. "Put them upstairs, with that other one. Now get moving, and get back on guard duty! For all we know, you could've just let _three_ more Returners in!" Then, from down the hallway, the private, stripped to his shorts and trailing a multi-color cloth, came running in.

"Sir! Sir!"

"What the... didn't you just capture more spies?"

"No sir!" Dawn finally came to the corporal.

"All hands report to the detention area! We have a crisis! Repeat - all hands to the cell!"

**********

During this conversation, Daryl and her "prisoners" had taken the opportunity to make their way upstairs, to the small rooftop room that served as a makeshift cell for the prisoners. The posted guard was more than happy to assist in opening the door, for which he was rudely thrown off of the castle roof, landing bruised on the hard ground below. Courtesy of the Returners, of course.

Valron was obviously in bad shape. He looked not so much like a man as a ragged, torn pile of cloth, with clotted blood and matted hair sticking out at various places.

"Wha - what's going on? Who are you?"

"We're here to rescue you! Come on, let's move!", implored Merine.

"No. Can't. The pain..."

"Would you rather die here?"

"Yes." He winced. "Not much time left. Jidoor - ergh - attack on the base. Soon. Now." And then collapsed on the floor.

"Valron! Speak to us! Say something!" But it was no use. The man was dead. And, if the soldier who had just appeared in the doorway was going to have any say in the matter, so would be the three Returner intruders.

"Keep him busy!" She rasped,"Valron's not gone from us yet!"

Setzer glanced back momentarily with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Fine," he grunted as he fumbled for his cards. "Do what you have to do!"

Xyo turned towards Valron and raised her arm over the cooling form. *Renew!* She mentally drew on the power of the talisman, feeling her own energy drain as she put all of her essence into the spell. This was not to mend a broken bone, that was for sure. She felt herself tune out to the fight just a few feet away from her as she began to bathe herself and Valron in a soft, white aura.

* * * * *

Merine hefted her sword. This would be her first REAL battle against the enemy; nervous sweat ran down her spine as she looked to Setzer and Daryl for any sort of signal. Seeing all eyes were turned towards the soldier, she turned her gaze slowly to the target attacker. She gasped as the soldier made a lunge for her!

Shutting her eyes tightly, she swung her sword. A searing pain shot through her muscles as the blade sank into the solider's neck. The blow was a critical one and the soldier sank wordlessly to the floor.

Merine breathed sharply as she opened her eyes. "Are there any more?"

Setzer opened his mouth to answer but was answered for him by the battle cry of ten more soldiers.

Daryl stood her ground. "I'll handle this one!" She grinned as she started to perform a graceful dance. Setzer knew it was the Gogo in her but was still entranced by his beloved twirling gracefully about like a deadly swan. Energies coalesced about her as she continued to dance; first water, then fire, then earth.

Setzer suddenly realized she was doing all the dances at once!

The Earth erupted underneath the soldiers and fire began to rain from the heavens at the designated targets. Then, water ripped at the soldiers with terrorizing force, lightning seared and tornadoes tore. It was an awesome sight to behold, and in the midst of it all danced Daryl. When it was all over, there was not even a trace existence of any attackers, save for a few equipment they left behind. Merine hurriedly gathered up the tonics and turned towards the still dancing Daryl.

Setzer noticed this too. "Daryl, you can stop now... they are gone."

Daryl's face had turned to panic as she kept on dancing. "I... I... can't stop! Oh, Gods, Setzer, help me... I... I..." Her eyes grew wider.

Setzer took a step forward and was blinded in a bright flash of light and thrown to the ground by the force of an explosion.

As his vision cleared, Setzer began to howl.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOO! DARYL! OH, GODS, WHY?!"

Merine looked up and choked. All that was left of Daryl was a blast mark on the floor where she was last dancing. Daryl appeared to have disintegrated.

Merine pulled herself up from the floor and walked numbly over to Setzer and offered him a hand. He looked up, his eyes quavered as he attempted to force back his grief. He pulled himself up via Merine's hand and brushed himself off. He glanced around, puzzled. "Where's Xyo?"

Merine glanced behind her to see Xyo out cold, slumped to the floor and Valron sitting up dazed and disoriented. His eyes landed on a familiar face, "Merine? Is that really you?"

Merine stopped short before she reached Xyo's inert form. "You... know me?" she stammered, confused.

Valron nodded. "We went to the same school."

Merine nodded absently and turned towards Xyo and shook her. "Xyo? Wake up." She listened to Xyo's chest and heard a faint heartbeat.

Xyo's eyes flashed open and she gasped. She sat up and looked at Valron with slight revulsion. "I NEVER want to do anything so revolting again," she hissed to the air.

Merine took a step back. "What do you mean?"

"I robbed him of his death." Xyo shuddered. "It makes me nauseous just thinking about it."

Merine, giving Xyo a strange look of curiosity, decided to let the comment pass. Turning to the once again 'living' Valron, she stated the much desired question,

"Did you find out what Akfek is using to control the masses?"

Valron nodded and sighed, letting his dark bangs of hair hang in his face ,"Something called Shade, a dark creature..."

"Bah!" Xyo spat. "I should have known... I should have realized it!"

Xyo struggled to pull herself up but collapsed back to the ground. Darkly she looked at Merine. "Help me up, we have to get to the Airship, to Jidoor."

Merine helped Xyo up and supported her frail body quite easily. Xyo looked around. "Where is Daryl?" she asked sharply.

Setzer turned an even grayer shade of pale and Merine solemnly pointed to the scorched earth. Xyo nodded, a trace of grief in her eyes. She looked at Setzer and said softly, "Do not let it grieve you, gambler. No one leaves for good. She's proven that once already."

Setzer looked away, "Lets get back to the ship."

* * * * *

The group headed down the hallways back to the awaiting airship. As they neared the courtyard Xyo lifted her head.

"Do you hear something?" she asked Merine.

Merine halted her movement and listened. Setzer stopped and turned around. "What -"

At that point the foundation rocked and the deafening roar of a rock slide was heard. Setzer shouted, "From ahead! The airship!"

He dashed down the corridor, leaving Merine, Xyo and Valron to hurry after.

* * * * *

When they emerged into the courtyard, they were immediately relieved that the airship was all right. The odd sight was Garland and the fiends sprawled about exhausted, Kraken was helping Kary pull herself out of a gigantic pile of rubble. Merine stared at the wreckage in bewilderment, "What happened?"

Kraken gave Kary's torso a final yank and Kary sprung out of the debris and landed gracefully a few feet away. He then turned toward Merine. "A huge metallic creature, horribly strong, immune to magic. It nearly destroyed us. Kary and I, we combined our strength and rammed it into that wall. The structure collapsed on top of it, burying it alive."

Garland groaned as he picked himself off the ground. He looked around in satisfaction. "Well, we took care of the nasty. Did you get the spy? What did he find out?"

Setzer turned from his assessment of the airship. "Jidoor is under attack, Akfek knows the returner base location. He also found out that they are using an elemental's powers to control the populous. Called Shade."

"So, what do we use against it?" Tiamat piped up, edging closer to Kraken.

"Illumina." Xyo breathed, "We need the talisman of Illumina, Banon will know where..." She slumped back into dormancy, leaning heavily on Merine.

Merine looked slightly irritated. "Either way Jidoor is our next destination. I suggest we get on that ship and go." She turned and shuffled Xyo and herself towards the airship, the others following in moments. Lich grabbed Valron by the arm as he walked by. "Why is Xyo in such a condition?" he demanded as ominously as he could.

Valron blinked for a moment, this was his first encounter with a being which had a skull for a facial endowment.

He began to stammer, "Er... um.... well.. actually." He gulped as Lich pulled him closer; there was a faint flicker of fire dancing in Lich's eyes.

Valron sighed, collecting himself. "She used all her energies to bring me back from the tunnel."

"Tunnel?" Lich questioned, not quite placing the term.

"The tunnel that you traverse to the threshold of death. Please let go, you're hurting."

He shook his head slightly as if snapping awake and let go of Valron and watched him hurry to the ship. Lich stood there for a second and cocked his head to one side, "Why did I just do THAT?" he asked the air around him.

The air must have been more fearful of Lich than Valron, for it decided not to respond.

* * * * *

The airship rose effortlessly into the air and plotted a direct course to Jidoor. Merine had propped Xyo up against the railing where she appeared to be asleep. Kraken and Tiamat were aft, gazing down at the slowly disappearing Doman ruins. Tucker had come to the deck to introduce his new little friend to Setzer.

Lich made his way over to where Xyo was 'sleeping' and stared at her for a moment. "I thought you hated the thought of life." he said quietly.

"I still do," Xyo replied, her eyes still closed, a grimace appeared on her lips, "but I have a job to do. I mean to complete it even if I have to commit the unspeakable. As long as in the end, I will enter the tunnel, I will stoop so low to rob someone of their own gift of death."

Lich turned away and wandered off to a dark corner to brood.

Xyo turned her face into the wind, her eyes still closed. She felt horrible. The spell drained her of practically all her vital essence. It would probably take her the entire trip back to Jidoor to regain her strength.

Her mind began to drift off when the cry of alarm sounded. Kraken and Tiamat were pointing off the aft at large metallic creature that was gaining speed on the airship.

"What is it?" Setzer hollered over the wind and the wail of the beast's engines.

"It's that creature we fought!" Kraken shouted back.

"Setzer, try to outrun it!" Kary called to him.

Setzer leaped for the wheel and opened the throttle. The ship lurched in response and careened forward at an accelerated speed.

Everyone watched the creature with intense anticipation. "I don't want to fight it again." Kary muttered. The others' sentiment seemed the same.

Lich already had brandished his scythe and was waiting ominously for the word to attack.

"He's still gaining on us!" Merine called out, "I think he's gonna ram us!"

Indeed the creature was still heading strait for the aft of the ship. Everyone scrambled to grab a brace. When the creature struck, the ship groaned. Xyo snapped fully awake and tried to grasp the railing for support. She felt very sick; a wave of nausea hit her and she tried to pull herself up.

Everyone was scrambling on the ship as the creature pulled up to the side of the ship. Xyo finally got a good look at it as she clutched weakly to one of the side mastings. It was a grotesque mesh of metal and monster. Xyo mused that the origins of the design might have been a behemoth. The creature turned its course and rose to attack the crew directly.

The battle ensued, and Xyo stood there, unable to move and feeling quite helpless to aid her companions.

After a few bouts of weapons clashing harmlessly against the beast and the fiends being beaten back by a magical restraint type energy. The creature sailed out to the side of the ship and reared around to ram the vessel again. Xyo scrutinized the creature and saw that one of its eyes was still flesh and uncovered. She looked around faintly and found what she was looking for. She grabbed the thick rope and tied it around her waist, then tied it to the mast. Struggling, she hoisted herself up onto the railing and waited for the creature to hit the ship.

The creature reared around and screamed towards the hull of the airship. As is slammed into the side Xyo let herself fall onto the creature's head. She pulled her long dagger from her sleeve and plunged it into the creature's eye. The thing pulled back away from the ship screaming. Xyo felt herself get yanked back and the wind left her as she slammed into the hull herself. Groggily she watched as the creature flew over her and began to attack the crew again, this time it was more in pain. She looked down, she could barely see the waters through the clouds. She looked up at the rope and grabbed hold of it. She made an attempt to pull herself up but it was to no avail.

She hung there for a second, listening to the battle above. She then gasped as she felt an icy grip around her ankle. She looked down and to her shock, a wraith was clawing at her. "No!" she screamed and kicked at it weakly.

The wraith grinned evilly at her and floated up to see her eye to eye. Xyo had never felt so helpless. "What do you want from me, thing?" she said shakily.

"The massster wishesss your company indefinitely." It crooned at her, laughing hollowly.

Xyo's eye widened in fear. *No! How did he find me?!*

"The Masssster knowssss..." It crooned as she swung at it with her now bloody dagger.

It passed harmlessly through the spirit. It yanked the dagger away from her and floated up a few feet above her and began to saw at the thick rope. Xyo scrambled to grab the rope and try to pull herself up to grab the knife away. Failing and beginning to panic she mustered what strength she had and cast her final magic at the wraith.

<Burst!> She chanted. The wraith reeled as fire pockets erupted around. The wraith vanished, screaming.

Sighing, she looked up at the rope, it was heavily frayed. She doubted that it would hold her for much longer.

"Merine!" she shouted.

The fighting was deafening... she doubted anyone would hear her. She realized she would have to do something drastic. Something she didn't want to do. She closed her eyes and spoke a name that evoked floods of memories back into her conscience.

"Rekoansenin," she said quietly, "help me, old friend."

* * * * *

Up on the deck in midst of the battle, Lich stiffened. He heard a voice calling him by a name he has refused to use since... since... His skeletal eyes widened in realization as memories began to coalesce. As if that name was the key to unlock his own history. He turned away from the battle, dropping his scythe.

Garland saw this. "What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted.

Lich ignored him and headed towards the starboard bow.

* * * * *

Xyo tried desperately to not look down as she felt the rope jerk sightly as the rope frayed more. It was now holding itself by one small cord. She tried to feel along the hull for a possible hand hold when she heard a non-ominous voice above her.

"I remember!" Lich called to her.

Xyo smiled bitterly. "Good to see you in your full mental state again."

"I must look strange to you. How did you know?" Lich asked and began to pull the rope up.

"I just did. I called you to me in the first place, didn't I?"

"What do you think of my new look?" Lich inquired ominously.

Xyo laughed and shrugged, "If you really must know, my preferences always leaned towards my colleagues having SKIN."

Lich looked back suddenly and was then slammed in the back by the creature. He slumped forward momentarily letting go of the rope. Xyo grunted as she fell back heavily against the hull. The rope, not being able to take the strain, snapped, and Xyo began to scrabble wildly, looking for a hand hold. She found a slight dent and she put what strength she had into her hand as she clung. She slowly looked up as Lich regained his senses and looked down.

"No! I can't fail you again!" he cried out and looked around frantically for more rope.

He could find none and looked over the edge again helplessly. Xyo could only look up at him and felt her fingers begin to give. "Don't you hate short reunions?" She asked him sarcastically, cracking a weak smile.

Lich watched wordlessly as she slid down the rest of hull into the cloud bank, vanishing from sight. He turned away, shocked at the events.

Garland shouted to him, "Hey, you bag of bones! We have a creature to defeat!"

Lich regained his composure and scooped up the scythe and resumed battle stance. "Xyo is dead," he said emotionlessly.

Garland looked up. "What? How?"

"She leapt off the side tied to the ship and stabbed the creature in the eye. The rope snapped before I had time to pull it up."

"That could be why we are having better luck with this thing. It's not giving. We've got to lead it away, so Setzer can get this ship back to Jidoor and help the returners."

"We could split up and take Doom Gaze."

"I think that might be a wise decision..."

* * * * *

Falling was not a new sensation for Xyo. Over the past years she fallen from numerous cliffs, roofs, and so on, but never in her life had she sky dived. She saw the ground in a new light as it was rushing up to meet her. She felt herself begin to slip into unconsciousness, when she felt an icy chill grip her arms and her momentum slow.

"The Massssster will have you.. yessssss?" a whispery voice hissed in her ear. She felt a deep depression as she slipped into darkness.