The HALCYON NEKO NIGHTS

[Deathkiller]

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Previouse Works <some were manga some were just writing>(Note Only some are available online still)[i]
Angelic Seisure, Obliteration, GL Tron, G4 Pool Party, The Masakari Kushari Kai ,31st Century Sol, 32nd Century Sol, 33rd Century Sol, 34th Century Sol- A new begining, Halcyon Otaku 1, Halcyon Otaku 2, Halcyon Otaku X,Halcyon Otaku X 1/2,The Spell Check Poem,The Chakram Dance,Macross Ragol Freestyle Fic,3 Teylenol and a bottle of Sake, and rhe rest of the stuff i've done is too old to remember like game maps, sigs, some music too... anyway...
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And so my son, you wanted a story, and it is a story you shall have! It will be nothing like the last ones! oh no! this one will be completley differint...

It all started 80 years ago. Man was a prosperouse race living on their own, single planet. Not a care in the world became a part of their lives. They were free of tyranny and depression. Evil was something that dug itself deep underground never to spring up again. Science became overwhelmingly strong, and then one man was crazy enough to go and do the unthinkable. He split human DNA with that of an animal's. "Which animal?" you ask. OH it had to be a cat of all things... And it was female to make it all the more... out of the ordinary... she came about years before the word NEI-type would be spoken on anyone's lips... but what ended up happening was a cataclysm... ... pun intended... For some reason or another it only took 20 years for Neko DNA to become an every-day existance within the human race, there was no descrimination, no controlled breeding, things went out of hand. And before the human race knew it, they had entered a new dark age. Science came to be known as magic, and, as proven, history repeated itself...

The year... is forgotten... the Age shall be known as the neo middle ages. Humanity barley has retained it's technology. Some have shrunk, others grown. The human race has split into several races. Governments have become forgotten and Schivalry was the main guiding force in determining what one wanted to do in life.

These are interesting times... of adventure. loyalty, and... war...


"are you sure that this is the right way...?"

"look, the map summon never lies, I swear it's saying we have to go BACKWARD through this hall!"

"This old castle gives me the creeps.... what if this is some sort of maze that's been hexed..."

"it hasn't been hexed... calm down..."

"Easy for you to say Warrior boy! I'd like to see you fight a goul with these little daggers!"

"Shh both of you... i hear something..."

There was a droplet of water which struck the ground, it's sound echoed off of the stony walls... three figures stood in dark abyss that was an underground catacomb...

"Listen carefully..."

A fain voice echoed from beyond the distance... "EAHA! I ALMOST HAAAAD IIIIT!!" it seemed to be crying...

"Who is saying that?"

"I don't know... but I'm not going to try and find out if you're not!"

"let's just go!"

"waait!"

"what?"

"There's a booby trap! LOOK at what you're about to step on!"

"huh? OH my what's that switch on the floor there for!"

"lets step back and flip it and see what it does..."

There was the sound of shuffeling armor and metal hitting metal... then the sound of a flipping switch... suddenly a giant stone pillar shot through the hallway and colided with the wall on the spot where the switch was... it pulled back and set itself in place... there was a giant gaping hole now in the wall...

"I think she just saved you're life..."

"eeeeyeaaah..."

"OH GOD I WAS SO CLOSE!"

The dark sounding voice continued to echo across the walls...

"let's see if we can't figure out who'se voice that is..."

The sound of footsteps on a cobblestone surgace some of metal others of animal hide... leather... perhaps even silk... then an abrupt stop..

"this path... its hexed..."

"hexed in what way?"

"Well one of us is going to have to get through it..."

"but who?"

"I KNOW! Kimagure! You can go through it and fight magic with magic!!"


"...yeah yeah always send in the sorcoress... Sheesh! Do i have to do everything around here?"

"We're counting on you Kima-chan!"

"... call me that again and ill polymorph you into a snail..."

"oohooh you always say the cutest things!"

"GRARR I'm just gonna go in now..."

She took a few steps into the hallway which she was facing... her dress droping behind her.. she looked for signs of magical traps.. but saw none...

She began to take a few steps forward... then a large time-peice... a granddaddy clock... started to materialize itself from the wall, it moved in at an upside down angle but it stillhad the same effect. The pendulem on the clock slowed as it moved further into the hallway and then stopped directly in Kimagure's path...

"whhhuuuuuuaaaaaat-t-t iiiiiiiiissssss ttthhhhiiiiiiiissssssssssss???"

"iiiiiiiiiii thhhiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnk-k iiiiiiiiiiitttttssssss rrrrrrreeeeeevvvvvuuuuuuuurrrsssssssee haaaaaaaaaaassssssst-t-teee...."

"Boooooooooollllllt-t-t... ffffooooouuuuuurrrrrr....."

A bolt of lightening shot from the sorcores's hand... it moved slowly through the air toward the clock... it struck a wall and began sliding along the side of it, it then crossed sides.... gliding over the stoney surface of the hallway, finally it colided with the clock and blew it to smitharines... time rapidly sped up...

"well that wasn't so bad..."

Suddenly a slew of arrows passed by Kimagure's face... she quickly pressed her back against the wall of the hallway ... an almost endless steam of arrows in three lines were passsing in front of her... they didn't seem to have an end...

the two onlookers at the opening of the hallway immedialtey got out of the way as the arrows began hitting the wall and splintering, some stuck while others chaotically bounced aorund and a large pile of arrows was already starting to form on the ground...

"FARLIS SHEILD <Rebound of Arrows>" Kimagure shouted out... the arrows began to bounch and ricochet off of an invisible wall...

"well that appears to be working..."

Kimagure looked over to her fellow comrades... "lets go guys!"

This Message was edited by: Deathkiller on 2002-04-06 07:23

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Deathkiller on 2002-04-09 12:34 ]</font>

[Deathkiller]

Kimagure ran to the end of the hallway and began looking around. The room she was now standing in had a very high ceiling with a skylight... no light poured in through it though, just darkness... there was another narrow hallway which continued the high-ceiling on. The path became a shallow pool of water though at the point where the room became a hallway. It was only ankle deep but she had a bad feeling about this place... Her two freinds came to stand beside her...

"So what do you think we do next?"

"I think we just move on..."

"well I'll lead i guess" kimagure began walking toward the shallow pool-filled hallway. She took a step down and started moving down the hallway... then she heard something... a squirming-type noise... it began to move along the walls and then struck the water. The water ahead downt he hall was a flurry of furouise splashing motions which seemed to be coming from nothing!

"SERPANTS OF SOME SORT! THEY'RE TRANSPARENT!"

"ILL HANDEL THIS!"
The red-armored warrior pushed Kimagure out of the way. She quickly yanked out a pair of daggers and began slashing to and fro furriously... she then leapt into the air and landed directly in the mass of moving water...

"CAST HASTE!"

"I'M ON IT!"
Kimagure lifted her hands to her freind and muttered a light chant... suddenly the furoiuse motions became even faster and then finally all was still...

The female warrior let her daggers drop from her hands... her body felt quite limp...


"ALICE? ALICE ARE YOU ALL RIGHT? DID YOU GET BIT BY SOME POISON??!"

"oh oh i'm sorry... it's all right... don't worry, I- I guess I just went off again didn't I..."

"Yeah I suppose! BUT HEY it wasn't so bad!" The male knight said walking up and giving her a pat on the back

"You don't have to be sad about it, it's just you're true potential showing itself earlie that's all..."

"I've heard that excuse for years..."

Bending down to pick up her swords from the water she re-sheithed them gently and completley differint from when she tore them out...

"I'tll be the death of me" she thought...

Moving along the hallway narrowed and the ceiling grew closer.. finally a door came into sight in the darkness... the three warriors looked behind them.. it seemed the skylight HAD served a purpose.. water began pouring down outo f it at such a rate that it rivaled Niagra falls... a tidal wave began to rush toward them...

"UMM THE DOOR ISN'T OPENING!"

"USE MAGIC!"

"YOU THINK I HAVEN'T TRIED THAT ALL READY! ITS HEXED!"

"LOOK WRITING!"

The red armored warrior began to interperate some scratchings on the door...

"It says we need to use the VOICE of an undead hero to open the door!"

....

"WHAT'RE WE GONNA DO!"

"Maybe if there was a Nekromancere in our little group but NOOO we had to be Chaotic good allied!"

"hey! Don't regret you're life decision!"

"STOP ARGUING AND GET OUT OF THE WAY!" The male warrior shouted in a deep voice...



"where did you get that broadsword, flare?"

"I thought you used haliburts!"

"I tore it off that courpse over there... KIMAGURE! CAST ANTI-RUST!"

She waved her hands over the rusty sword and it became polished as new

"WATCH THIS!"

Throwing a polished stone into the air he swung the sword at it... the slicing of the stone and the sword together made an unmistakable "CLANG" that echoed through the halway, the door swung open and the three knights jumped inside, closing it just as the water came crashing down agasint it...

"I don't get it, how did that work?"

"It was the voice of the sword, the sword was an un-dead hero..."

"How'd you know that sword was a hero?"

"The skeleton holding it had a sheild on that could only belong to a veteran fighter..."

"well that's amazing!"

"i'm going to keep this baby for the rest of my life!"

he quickly sheithed the sword...

"where did you get a sheith for the sword?"

With a tear in his eye the knightly liightly exclaimed "ehe... I just remembered that I didn't have one..."

"... ow..."

"umm ill cast a heal spell on ya buddy heh... ehe..."

"AAAH DARNIT COME ON COME ON!!"

The echoing voice was louder than ever...

"wait a minute" Flare said... he pressed his pointy ear up against a cinder block....

He could head a muffled voice behind it...

"The guy's in there!!"

"well then how do we get this thing open?"

"I know! Lookat that sign!"

"Ye Who Opens This Will Unleash A..."

The rest of the sign was cutt off...

"ummm that' doesn't really help..."

"Oh look! Drawn instructions!"

There was a picture that showed three torches being lit by three seperate people simultaneously and then the large stone thingy in the center popped open and then it showed a guy step out and shake hands with everybody... The next image showed what lookedlike a mushroom with a ring around it... or maybe it was more like a peice of colleyflower...

"what do you think the colleyflower thing's supposed to be for?"

"It looks like an explosion..."

"NAH maybe it's just a ... filler of some sort..."

"well it's propably a good thing! lookit the guy shaking everyone's hand!"

"well allright let's try this torch thing...."

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inside the chamber all was dark...

*pant pant* "how did it go again? oh that's right... ehem... Creepy little thing how i loathe you, youre thoughts are starting to show through.... so tired... rewired... You're just the perfect little liar... talk about nothing... or everything... it all starts to sound the same...Denial is so... sweet... THE SPELL MUST BE COMPLETE!!!

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"On the count of three! One... Two... FOIE! <Light Flame>" All three knights lit their pedistals and purple and red light began to shoot forth from the object in the center... a red-haired figure stood there grasping a red ball, it had a point from it sticking out, Flare was the first one to run up to him...

"are you allright sir?"

"QUICK PRESS IN THE BUTTON THAT'S STICKING OUT!!"

He placed his index finger on it and the ball became complete...

"YEE-HEHEHESSSS!!! OH how many years !! HOW MANY YEARS has it been?"

"... since what?"

"Since I was imprisoned in that damned cell! I served my scentence I swear it! Why did they go and condem me for eternity! I know what it was... they were afraid... ... ... but what were they afraid of..."

"who are you... um... hello?"

"... I... don't... KNOW!"

"you what?"

The pale individual looked at his hands... then looked up at the Neko-jin with his oddly colored eyes...

"I forgot who I was... what I did..."

"can you remember something about your career?"

"I... I used a bow..."

"Rangers use bows!"

"so do arch-"

"RANGER!! That word... it brings back memories... If only It would bring them back enough so that I could!! AAAH!! I don't KNOW!"

The figure fell to the floor and began pounding his fists on the cobblestone...

"NUUH!! It was Shinji... and that bozo the Masakari Kushari Kai... They were afraid!!! Tell me... is the year at least 2800??"

"..ummm maybe?"

"YES!!! THEY'RE LONG DEAD BY NOW! AHAHHA!!"

"umm I said maybe..."

"We'll maybe is shure close enough! haha! yes!"

"so how did you get here?"

"I remember, I was on a quest with a fine young boy named David... I forgot where I got him from but I remember he was a real fine Sling-shoter..."

"sling...shoter?"

"Yes You''d not belive it! just coming up that last hallway" He pointed to the door which was now spouting with water " He knocked 14 Giants in the head with a single blow!"

"...you fought Giants here?"

"Did you encounter any giants?"

"no..."

"then YEAH we fought giants!"

"ok this guy is whacked..."

"Nonono please I just can't remember everything ive spent an unrecordable amount of time trying to solve the puzzle that would restore my strenghte, it took me all that time to realize that it takes 3 SETS OF HANDS!! haha!! perfect!!"

"umm so was this the 'Great Treasure' we came here for in the first place..."

"im reliable really! you can trust me!"

"well then tell us your name..."


"So you use the bow and arrow?"

"yes but My bow is like no other!"

Using the red sphere Death erected a long bow that seemed to be made of pure energy...

"The word DeathKiller comes to mind..."

"... *sigh* Well then, I guess we could use another party member... as 'filler' as you put it Kima-..."

"say chan and you're a dead man..."

"yessir ma'am!"

It took less time to exit the temple than it did to enter... and the sunset was beautifull...


And So... Our Story... BEGINS...

[ This Message was edited by: Deathkiller on 2002-04-06 08:37 ]

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Deathkiller on 2002-04-10 08:32 ]</font>

[Deathkiller]

and for you're listening pleasure

Never Winter Nights Preview Track #5

The Theme Song From Akira

Gasaraki- Dust to Dust Remix

^_^; Feel free to leave you're comments here...

[War_Child]

Nice! Lets hope thjis one goes for 22 pages as well

[Nerd]

Hehehehehe i like that pic against the sunset. It takes alot of dedication to keep a fanfic goin as long as u kept the last one, Death...

[Deathkiller]

Just Listen to this during the small fight scenes ^ ^

The skies soon grew dark as the four warriors decided to rest...

"So tell me, Death, umm... what was it like? Before you were prisoned?"

"I... Wish I could answer that question... but it's honestly so deeply rooted in my mind, everything in my past... i've forgotten it all..."

"Strange..." Kimagure sat up and looked at the 'Ranger' in an odd manner... "If you're supposed to be a ranger then why do you have so mcuh of a magical ora... what the..."

"What is it?"

"The second I said ora his energy vanished completley..."

"EEAAH you're just seein' things Kima... lets forget about such silly things and go to sleep..."

"Easy for you to say flare, all you do is take off your armor, if you even bother to, and then DROP like a sack of potatoes! you should at least have the descensy to wash up or something!"

"bah! Cleaning! who said that was 'natural'..."

Death opened an eye and stared at the warriror...

"Haven't you ever heard the wise words of Ben Franklin..."

"Ben WHO?" all three asked at once...

"you... you know right? Cleanliness is next to Godliness..."

"...what's that supposed to mean?"

"It's an Idiom!"

"OH Like A little Dab'll do ya!"

"...err something like that..."

Death turned his back to the others and muttered under his breath "what the hell kind of century am I in now?"

After a little pondering he decided to lay on his back and look up at the sky..

...

...

"umm... you're kidding right?"

"What are you going on about?" Alice asked looked over toward the 'ranger'...

"The sky! LOOK AT IT!"

"... I see teeny bright lights... you never seen those things before? They're called staaaars..."

"I KNOW WHAT STARS ARE BUT..."

"What's the matter then?"

"Where are the cars?"

"The what?"

"And the planes! and Star gliders! Warp class ships! All the benefiets of SOL!"

"what's sol?"

"... ... ... ... ... ... the... planet we're on..."

"oh really? I always called this place 'DIRT'..."

... ... ... "You know like the old ledgends of the mystical place man was at before here, Earth! well I figured the name would be similar..."

"KIMAGURE!!"

"yes?"

"Please tell me Alice just has a severe mental defect..."

"What are you talking about?"

"... THE SKY!! WHY IS IT SO WIPED CLEAN! JEESUS THERE'S NOT EVEN A SATELITE!"

"What's a Satelite?" Flare and Alice asked...

"hmm OH i think its a thing that goes around another thing in an orbital path..." Kimagure ran her index finger around her other in a circle...

Death's jaw was at a 45 degree angle on one side...

"auuw...*snap* dont belive it..."

"don't belive what?"

"The planet! KIMA tell me this is SOL!"

"...Yeah This is Sol! But we also like to call it Dirt, somepeople prefer the name Earth 2, there are too many theories as to what this place was actually properly named!"

"ITS SOL! which is SHORT for SOL 4 Which means the 4th planet orbiting the STAR which is SOL!"

"So you're blabering about Satelites was about the sun we're orbiting? Wow You must be an astronomist to know all about the stars like this..."

"... we are... of the stars..." Death sat up...

"who is? us?"

"I mean... my .... kind..."

"huh? OH are you remember something?"

"...yes... that quote... a dreadfull... powerfull.. yet SWEET... quote... wiked and deadly..."

AND THE DARKNESS OF THE SKIES SHALL BE MADE OF OUR NUMBER!!

..."eehe.. ehHEE... yes... That's all I can remember thought, it's meaning is cloudy, and I don't know who said it and for what reason... but It makes me want to LAUGH AHAHAH!!! HAHAAH!"

The three decided to join in Nervously.. "ehe.."
"heh..."
"eh...heh..."
"MUWHAHAHAHAHAH!!!"
"umm... Death... Why don't you take a catnap... I normally see visions in my dreams..." Kima turned and proceeded to loosen her clothing a bit before slipping into a padded bag...

"... ... Alice... may I ask you a question..."

"yes?"

"where did you go to school?"

"I studied at the academy for hunters... then went into a bit of an apprenticeship..."

"what happened to your master?"

"he died a horrible death at the hands of a dreadfull warlord named Masaka..."

*bells and whistles went off, Death's head was pounding, all outside noise, the nearby stream, the birds, the wind, all ceased, there was only silence and then those ECHOING words MASAKARI KUSHARI KI-Ki-ki-keee... the echoing name faded away...

Death was holding his head now... the throbbing was intense...

a tear ran down his eye and turned black before striking the grass which he was sitting upon, a few blades sizzled and died...

"hi-him! he's still alive...."

"who?"

"The one who trapped me in the fi-first... place..."

"You mean the guy that killed my teacher! Mister Hashuko!!"

"HASHUKO!!!"

the name echoed again through his head...

death fell face forward, his pale hands clenched the soil and he began to rip the grass from it's roots...

"AAUUUUGH!!! HE WAS IN ON IT TOO! THEY MUST'VE... BEEN UNSATISFIED AFTER HAVING DONE AWay WITH ME!!! THEY FOUGHT EACHOTHER! IT TOOK THAT LONG! IT TOOK THAT LONG!"

Kimagure jumped up... "Whoah quit yelling so loud you want to signal a pack of wolves or something!"

"i-im sorry it... its all comming back.... all of it..."

Alice decided the only right thing to do was place her hands on his shoulders... "there there... it's all right..."

The 'Ranger' was balling like an injured child...

"not again... oh not again... I don't want to have to fight him again..."

his face turned toward alice...

He swallowed his emmotions... "a-alice..."

"yes?"

"May I ask... h-how did your ears get to be that way?"

"What way?"

"they're pointy and.. do you have a tail?"

A string of flesh wagged behind her...

"umm we all do... and so do you!"

Death ran his hands up to the sides of his head... he touched something, he began to feel across it but it irritated him and his head swung from side to side rapidly with his eyes closed as a stimulus response...

"eahh!! what the heck!"

"are you saying you've never been... like us... before?"

"OH!!! now I get it..."

He ran his tail into his hands and he began to feel across its red furry surface...

"heh... it's all part of the program.. that's all..."

"Part of the what?"

"NOTHING nothing... you know... i'm sick of trying to figure this darned place out! as far as I can tell, all technology seems to be dead, so we'll just leave it at that... Death decided to lay on his back....

"why was I punished? and why do I feel so much FEAR about those two men? who are they? Why did they destroy eachother? And why is this world in the freaking DARK AGES... man.... when we get to a town tomorrow, at least I hope we will, I'll be able to sort this whole thing out!
Death thought to himself...

He looked up at the motionless sky...

"It's kind of peacefull like this..."

He quickly fell limp...

Alice yawned, stretched, and then fell asleep laying her head across her crossed arms... kima said goodnight to flare who only grunted in return..

the sounds of sicadas rang out and the only light sources were the night sky, a set of moons, and some fireflies. all of which reflected off of the nearby babbling brook in brilliance and awe...

Sol turned quietly in space... undisturbed by anything..

Sleep well... heroes...

[Deathkiller]

When we first dove off of the cliff I swore my life had flashed before my eyes, soon enought, thought, my feet had landed softly on the ground. Trillig recomended we walk from that day on, not all of our men were exactly 'fit' for dwarven parachuting drops. Our casualties are currently marked at 3 today, alone...
-Balor

Chapter 1: Crossing the Cloudspine

Flare yawned and reached his burley arms upward toward the heavents... suddenly his hand brushed something hard... he let the tips of his fingers glide across its surface... whatever it was, it was sharp, made of metal, and it felt like it was pointed... down...ward...

his eyes flung open... A spear was pointed directly in his face.. he was about to scream but suddenly the one standing above him hissed and said "say one word and you're a deadman..."

He pivoted his eye to look toward his freinds... they too had men standing over them with pointed weaponry aimed at their throats...

Alice yawned and then opened her eyes, she let out a scream but quickly silenced herself...

Kimagure was the next to make a similar noise...

all eyes were now on the 'ranger' who was sitting there quietly...

"I know I know, there's probably some theif with a weapon pointed at me right now... I bet he think's that he can steal our stuff, or have they all already taken it..."

"SHUT UP OR DIE!"

"On the count of three... THREE!"

All four warriors rolled to one side as the large spears struck the ground, Flare swept his leg around and tripped the theif who was wearing a brown cloak, he quickly yanked a dagger out and began swinging at flare... flare jumped back... he realized that he didn't have anything on but a pair of thin pants... "bare handed it is!" he thought, as he lunged at the attacker and placed his grip on the hand weilding the blade...

Kima stood and her dress began to slip downward, grabbing it with one hand the attacking theif decided to take his attention off of the fight and placed it more on... the beauty before him... He was met with a sharp swipe in the face my a clawed hand... kima then barked "PERVERT!" before casting a stone spell on the theif...

Alice did the same tripping technique as flare but she pulled a sharp pin out of the back of her hair and jammed it into the attacker's back... she then quickly tore it down while salivating, her jaws grinding and her eyes narrowly focused... she pulled the pin out after running down the theifs back which was now torn and bloody, she then kicked him and he fell onto his own spear...

she suddenly lost her snarling attitude and fell to her knees... "what have I done?"

Death raised an eyebrow to this and then looked at the masked theif..

"I bet you're wondering why I didn't have any weapons to take... That means I'm either a weak little paladin or an incredibly strong mage... the real question is,.. DO YOU FEEL LUCKY? PUNK!"

"um... uh..."

"look out behind you..."

A figure dressed as one of the attacking theives was stumbling toward him...

"What.... Derek? What are you doing?"

"nuuuh"

"De- DEREK... DEEEREEEK!!!"

There was a biting sound accompanied by the sound of a ripped artery bursting with blood... the two cloaked and masked figures struck the ground and death looked at them... he then looked up toward alice and kimagure who were staring at him dumbfounded... he had an emmotionless stare that brought shivers down their spines...

They were quickly distracted by Flare who was in mortal combat with the attacking theif... he finally grabbed him and started pumeling him senslessly until he was unconceouse...

"Just leave him, let's get out of here, they might have freinds..."

"Are our weapons still on us?"

"Here in this bag! it's your Haliburt, and heres your Cane Kima..."

"It's called a Masamune!"

"Whatever... AH here are my daggers..."

"Any other spoils?"

"just some bread and cheese... and two arrows... Death you need these?"

"that's all right..."

"save that stuff for later..."

"alright... let's get out of here..."

The four warriors began walking through the grassy planes... the trees were becoming more and more scarse... suddenly the earth itself dropped downward...

"AH Is this the cloudspine?"

"Yes, the deepest series of canyons, so deep they call the level-earth a mountain range..."

"So how deep is it?"

"The bottom cannot be seen from the top..."

"yeesh!"

"Ya think we can go down there?"

"We'll have to find a way around..."

"kima, do you have a teleportation spell?"

"Nothing that strong..."

"hmmm"

"Wait guys... I have an idea..." Everyone turned toward death...

"if anybody here has a capsule.... ... Ok that idea's out..."

"A what?"

"Never mind it's nothing... Darnit!"

"well it looks like the only way around it is a few miles, that's how we got here, goign around... it will take us 5 days..."

"Yeah it's better to go around, only ghosts and theives run this place, and that's at night, so I think we can make it..."

Death started pondering... "hmmm how was this place formed?"

"Ledgend says that there was a huge volcano that shatered and broke the continant up, but not completley.."

"hmmm If you guys don't mind... just keep marching onward.... I think i'm going to see just how far down this thing goes..."

"and how do you plan to do thAAT!!"

Death had already leapt off of the edge...

"HE IS CRAZY!"

"No he isnt..."

"flare what are you talkning about..."

"he has alot of tricks up his sleeves..."

"What trick is he going to use? A slow-Fall spell?"

"nope.. it's his shoes..."

"Shoes?"

"Boots Of Jumping, only those proficceint in bows and spears can use them..."

"Wow you do know about mystical garments after all..."

"it's a hobby..."

"where does one obtain such boots?"

"they only work once a day, but they let you jump to any height, it's said they were made by an evil warlock for a good purpose..."

"really? Anything interesting about this warlock?"

"he turned himself into a liche before he died and he's said to still exist far to the east... perhaps that's where our new freind originated... Alice, did he ever tell you where he went to school..."

"he mentioned something about studying under Masakari Kushari Kai..."

"Wasn't that the man that killed your Teacher?"

"Yes..."

"Yes, he was, and your teacher was the one that traveled far to the east to battle the strongest liche on earth..."

"Wait a minute, if Death learned everything he knows from a LICH then that means that he's..."

"chaotic evil?"

"No.... he doesn't have to be but... he might not be a ranger... after all... Alice, do you remember what happened when you killed that theif?"

"I don't remember killing him exactly... I mean... I went blank.... but afterwords i saw him fallen on the spear... he was choking on his own blood..."

"So what happened next.."

"it's foggy... I think he.... got up and started lunging toward Death's direction..."

"... WHAT ?"

"wait... if he choked then how did he get up again?"

"HEY that's right! he walked right up to the other theif and killed him... and Death had that FIXED look in his eyes..."

"it was scarry i'll admit..."

"...The look of a killer of death..."

"what was that Flare?"

"nothing... I just remember something my old teacher said to me once, about a people who'se own world couldn't sustain them, so they spread through the universe, they were highly unknown and mysteriouse, they practiced Dark arts but did them for reasons to support the light..."

"were they like Deathkiller?"

"...not from what I thought..."

"Do you think any of this is true?"

"But he SWORE that he was a ranger, and he had that odd bow with him..."

"where did his bow go?"

"maybe he can materialize it whenver he should need to use it..."

"perhaps..."

"Say If we keep walking in this direction we'll just have ot walk around that other edge, we can travel faster if we move in a straight line... that way, see.."

"oh you're right... let's go..."

"warruuuu..."

"did you hear something?"

Death landed at the bottom of the deep canyon... He looked up... the sky was a thin line of solid white... the only light source was barely there...

"yup that's pretty deep..."

He tapped his feet on the hard volcanic rock...

"hmm... nice EQ on the echoing effect..."

he began to tap dance a little...

There was a deep rumbling sound... "creepy city..." his voice echoed over the walls several times... he began to walk around the halls of the canyon..

there was a low bass like sound that resounded through the canyon, it was accompanied by the noise of flowing lava deep below the soil...

"the sound in here really picks up..."

There was a noise of something scraggly walking around... it sounded like several tiny legs scratching the surface of the rocks

"humm?"

Death started looking around in all directions...

There was more scratching-type noise...

"brillig and the silthy troves..."

Scratching noise...

"ah yes... that's where I am, am I not?"

More Scratching...

"come and GET ME!"

erecting an energy bow, death aimed a glowing red arrow into the darkness, it lit everything up like a flashlight...

He saw the silouetes of what looked like wild dogs, but they stood on their hind legs, where weren't legs at all... then tenticals portruded from them... One made a scratching noise, and then the other answered back with a differint type of scratching noise... suddenly the two hit the ground and began slithering toward Death at rapid speed... Death Let his arrow fly, it struck the first creature which wailed in a high pitch tone then retreated back... he forged another arrow out of the air and let it fly. It missed the second beast....

"DETONATE!"

it exploded and blew the small creature toward him... he caught it in his hand... its tentacles began frailing wildly...

"ah, Jorn's Hounds..."

He threw the creature against the wall and shot an arrow in to it.... it was litterally pined to the wall...

Death began chasing after the next hound... it noticed that it was being chased and began to pick up its pace...

Death too started striking the ground with his feet more rapidly... he grabbed at the bow and it dissapeared, in place became an energy spear... he leapt and then speared the beast... he then flung the spear around and stabbed it again as it came down, this time at a differint angle... it screached a dying sound, he then slammed it agaisnt the wall and it hit the ground, parts of it were scattered to and fro, and the blood bursting from it was melting the ground it sat on, Death left it to die and he continued on down the dark path infront of him...

| | |_| | `|` | / `|` |_| <= |/| | `|` | | / ´/
|/| | | |` | | / | | | | | |` | | | / !

*insert weird cat-head shape spinning toward the screen and away from it accompanied with batman scene-change music*

"SIRE SIRE!"

"What is it this time... why doth thought troublest me on such a fine dark day..."

Lightening struck the ground...

"Sire!! The... The Tomb of Metsukatsu!!"

"what of it?"

"IT IS EMPTY!! THE TRAPS ARE ALL SET OFF! THE TIME TUNNEL'S BEEN DE-HEXED!"

"slow down young one, tell me is our freind still in his place?"

"NO!! IT'S OPEN! HE'S GONE! AND THE TORTCHES ARE STILL LIT!"

"WHUAAAT!!!"

"I can't explain it! We think it might have been some theives!"

"Well we can't find and punish the theives, they're already dead now... were there any other traces of anything?"

"We found some odd dager marks in the pool, the a grain like residue was left behind would you care to examine it?"

"let me see here..."

A thin, bony hand extended out to reach hold...

"umm sir can't I just... lay it here and have you umm come and pick them..."

"BRING IT TO ME"

the small runner walked up a set of stairs toward a throne, he then placed the contents into the thin hand and jumped back immediatley afterword...

"why do you show such fear?"

"I- I'm sorry sir, i just can't help it! its the overwhelming strenght of your..."

"THIS DAGGER WAS MADE OF THE METAL WHICH MY LONG DEAD NEMESIS PRODUCED!"

"what?"

"He cannot still be alive... but I never cared to dispose of his weapons... If just a THEIF had these I would be QUITE amazed... NO... not just mere theives raided the tomb.. it must've been an army, or a small group of warriors, one of them, AT LEAST one of them, had to be a student of the bersurker fury who'se name I dare not speak..."

"But He only took Berserkers for his students! People under the controll of demons and what-not..."

"that is correct, you should be a scholar instead of a runner..."

"I prefer running..."

"It will be your death..."

"PLEASE DON'T FORSEE SUCH A DARK FORTUNE FOR ME!!"

"..that was a figure of speech..."

"Oh.. *wipes brow* I- im sorry... I'll go now and see if we can't find any students.. of... HIM... around here..."

"that would be excellent... thank you...."

"hmmm so ShinokoroSha is lose, and his memory must be lost, otherwise he would be here now to confront me... or perhaps... he's avoiding me... heheheh he's afraid that ill do to him as I've already done to his village, HAAHAAHA!! Poor fool... I will find and strike him down soon enough... there is nowhere on this planet where he can run, and nowhere on it to which he can escape...

hmmmm yes... you're only escape shall be Death... my young freind... hmmm"

the long hands stretched to grab a glowing orb...

"now let's see if we can find you..."

*insert another batman-like transition*

"Its been 4 hours... Death hasn't popped back up from the cloudspine.... i'm worried about him..."

"maybe we should just forget about him and move on, he's free to do whatever he chooses with his life..."

Alice stopped and looked outward into the canyon...

"well yes but... I..."

"you what?"

"He might be the only person who knew my... master... personally..."

"You care too much about him..."

"But he gave me the very daggers which I use and I still don't understand myself, why I have the tendency to lash out, and I just lose myself.... I was hoping that maybe he might at least be able to diagnose my condition... he was very learned..."

"pfft, he seemed like an astronomer who had way too much to drink..."

"what if, what if he was talking about the past, a world which we couldn't fathom that existed before ours?"

"If there was such a world, it would be written in our history books and studied by our scholars COME ON let's get a move on..."

"UMM GUYS"

"What is it?"

there was a cloud of dust on the horizon...

Death nealt down by his lit fire and picked up a kabob, he tore some meat from it and bit into some scaly flesh... he downed it without a problem... "now that's good eatins! really takes me back... heh..."

He looked around at the pile of dead hounds....

"hmm... maybe I should save a few of these..."

he was about to put some into a sack when he heard a high pitched scream,...

"Alice? Kima... why do i care so MUCH rrrmph FINE..."

He looked up toward the bright thin light in the sky...

"i'm getting out of here..."

"ARE YOU SURE? ARE YOU ABSOLUTLEY CERTAIN!"

"Those are Fetch! Lightening mages of the dark armies from the east! what are they doing this far west! I thought that they only ran territories to the..."

"perhaps while trying to move about the cloudspine we ventured too close to their territory!"

"ma-maybe they'll just give us a warning? right?"

Dark horsement in cloacked outfits began riding closer and closer...

"if we have to, we must fight, I'm not going to go down without one.."

"don't draw your weapons yet..."

"perhaps i should begin casting a spell!"

"NO they can sense that... just lay dorment and don't let your thoughts drift to places you wouldn't want them to see, they can read your mind from what I've heard..."

"HERE THEY COME!"

A black horse pulled up and kicked at the air with its front legs, it landed and the rider leapt off... he unseithed and sword and began walking toward them... he stopped... looked at flare... and then pushed him out of the way like he was nothing... he walked up to Alice... Kima ran over to attend to flare... all of the dark riders caught up and dismounted... they gathered around Alice in a semicircle, she was backed up against hte edge of the cliff...

"I-.... I-... What do you want from me?!"

the first one spoke in a deep dark otne... "she is of the berserk blood"

"a student of his master's foe..."

"TELL US WHERE THE OTHER ONE OF YOUR PARTY IS!"

"the other? you mean Death?"

"...she knows of his name..."

"He may be controlling her..."

"controll... no I'm not being controlled by anyone!"

"she is ignorant, leave her..."

"Do not leave your eyes off of her, she may strike without warning..."

"b-but...."

"ALICE!!!" Flare shouted out... "UNSHEITHE YOUR DAGGERS! auw my ribs i think he broke one..."

"hold still..."

Alice pulled out a weapon.. the dark warriors stepped back a litle...

"Do not fear, she cannot weild the weapons properly..."

Alice fell to her knees and grabbed at her shoulder... it was burning... "NO... NOT AGAIN!!"

"DEATH FROM ABOOOOOVE!!!"

"WHAT?"

A black object moved across the sun in the sky and reflected light like a lense flare, it came downwarnd and landed on top of the head Deathtroop, mashing its head it... One pulled out a mace and began to whirl it around...

"HEEYAAH!"

A glowing red spear ran him through and then it twisted and attacked another...

"I SUMMON FARLIS STRENGTHE!!! <increase strenghte to allies>"

Death began to glow with red-hot energy...

"thanks Kimagure.."

He smiled at her...

He then leapt and stabbed at the next death troop.. it struck the ground hard.. he formed his spear into a bow... without warning a death troop on the groudn stood up and was about to bash him in the head with a spiked club when suddenly a red blur whisked past the attack and cut him into 5 seperate peices which struck the ground and melted...

"A... alice?"

She didn't look like alice at all.. but she was... her face was contorted into a wiked snarl and she let out animal-like growls and screams as she stabbed and tore apart the enemy with her bare hands...

Death stared at the armor of a death troop... "you still have your weapon that will be handy..."

One of the death troops was striking and matching blows to the injured flare...

"Damnit he's too much like me! I can't hurt him and he can't hurt me!"

"...you cannot challange your mirror image!"

"mrraauurrr..."

"what the?"

The fighting dark knight turned and saw another dark night lumbering toward him.. it pulled out a skimitar and ran it through the dark warrior....

"well now you've met your own shadow..." it whispered as the two fell over..."

"What the heck..."

Death was staring at the two of them again, he then looked up at flare... he cracked the bones in his kneck a bit and then looked at Alice... she was puting on an astounding display, cutting the enemies to and fro, slicing their heads off and counteracting any attack that was made toward her...

finally all of the attacking knights were dead and she fell onto the ground... her eyes were gently closed and her daggers were to her side... almost neatly placed...

"mrrar wake me in the morning wouldga daddy?"

she snored innocently...

"My god..."

"She has never fought like that..."

"How did you guys come to know eachother anyway?"

"we heard about a treasure where YOU were at and figured we'd join together, walkt around the cloudspine and help eachother out, we never expected to form a party but we all get along pretty well..."

"hmm that's nice... well I hope to stay with you people a little longer... having alice nearby is good for protection... and you, kima-chan..." she blushed and then guffawed at his remark.. "are quite nice to have around for magical support..." he then stared at flare... "and as for you flare," he said in an almost grunting tone "well... you make a GREAT human sheild..."

"If I could i'd punch you in the face..."

"yes... if you only could..." death smiled wikedly and proceeded to place Alice's daggers in the sheiths at her sides....

"funny how something so terrible can serve such a great purpose..."

Death began to walk off with his hands in his pockets... Flare picked up alice and decided to follow... Death then stopped at the edge of the cliff...

"look there..."

"what is it?"

"it's a bridge, it runs in between the two parts of the cloudspine, its natural..."

"But its TOO FAR down there!"

"it's not as far as the bottom "

"you mean we're going to cross it..."

"all you have to be able to do is scale a normal-sized mountain!"

"it's gonna be a long day isn't it..."

"We'll get to this town you're headed for three times as fast if we try!"

"I'm up for it!"

"kima! how can you go along with this guy's plans we don't even know if we can trust him!"

"He made us a promise, and he saved our lives!"

"i'd say alice saved our lives!"

"and he saved alice!"

"... grrrr I can't belive you're just up and going along with this guy!"

Camp was set up quickly... Death layed in the grass, he didn't want to watch the still night sky... it was disturbing to him..."

"I think we should start taking shifts on the time that we sleep..."

"yeah, that way we can warn one another in case we'll get attacked..."

"I'll take the shift for tonight" death said...

"you mean the WHOLE night?"

"trust me, just sleep all you want..."

"I'M not going to have this guy watch us sleep! What if he thinks on doing something twisted or slits our throats!" Flare did a cutting motion with his finger across his kneck...

"don't worry, you can trust me..."

"yeah well you keep watch and ILL just sit here and WATCH YOU!"

"suit yourself, but you're going to fall asleep anyway soon enough... Goodnight ladies..."

Kimagure layed her sleeping mat right next to death, blushing she said "i think i'll feel safer if i sleep here tonight, is that allright..."

Death looked at her for a while... then turned his head... "do as you wish" he closed his eyes... Listening to the breeze, then he opened them again, focusing on the horizon for even the slightest movement... a deer was standing alone on the plains... yeaak... some ravens were sitting in a lone-standing tree... the grass was blowing in the wind.... a tumbleweed ran over the plains.... the cloudspine made a deep sound as a breeze blew through its many cracks... death bent on of his knees upward and ran his arms around it, clasping his hands... he pivoted his head slowly... surveying the horizon... he suddenly feelt somthing tug on him, he turned and saw kimagure with her hands on his shirt, she pressed a cheek against the leathery cloth...

Death smiled and looked back at the horizon with a hawk-like gaze...

Sleep well heroes...

[Deathkiller]

we stood atop a hillside, a large windmill turned peacefully in the distance, we could hear a marching army behind us but pretended not to as we passed into the town, the babling brooks were of silver refletion and the rich feilds seemed to be endlessly teeming with rice and wheat...

-Chapter 2... Willow Creek

Kimagure yawned and started to feel around her... she became suprised to find Death wasn't sitting beside her... she started looking around quickly... she then turned to look at the lone tree in the feild... he was there... with one arm pressed against the tree... he seemed to be leaning against it... the sun was brightly lighting up the blue sky... the leaves blew past him as he stared off into what appeared to be nothingness from behind... in reality he was meditating... she got up and decided to start walking toward him...

"Death? Are you allright?"

Death's eyes shot open and he turned to look at her while slyly sweeping his foot across the ground and sliding a horned helmet behind the tree...

"yup... nothing happened at all last knight! But I did find something I think Flare could use!"

"Oh yeah? What is it?"

"Some type of big battle axe.." death lifted a heavy battle axe from out of the grass... "i figured that It might come in handy, just as a disposable weapon..."

"I dont know if he can lug that huge thing around..."

"well we'll see what he thinks of it..."

---

"SWEET JESUS! THIS IS A BARBARIAN'S AXE! OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY STEEL! AND IT'S EVEN GOT A HERO'S EMBLEM ON THE SIDE! THIS WEAPON HAS SLAYED... 10.. 20... 30 THOUSAND!!"

Everyone cringed looking at the blade...

"and it still looks good as new... this must be the holy blade that cannot rust..."

"wowie zowie..."

"well I think it's about time that we climb down the geoge onto that tiny bridge and cross the canyon!"

"I'M UP FOR IT!" said alice in an enthusiastic tone...

"well then what are we waiting here for!"

Reaching t he cliff edge, the warriors began slowly descending the cliffside which, luckily, was at an angle that was easy to climb down...

"Someone aught to resurect some stairs here!"

"THAT GIVES ME AN IDEA!"

"What're you gonna do kima..."

"umm OH i know that Geromancy Step spell it can be done twice a day! SO you can help us go UP with it too!"

"It's BRILLIANT!"

"Yadavari Tetsu no VAYA!" <Geomancy Stair Formation>

The ground began to cruble away, and quickly stairs shot outward... the four slowly descended the small yet steep steps and then started to walk along the land bridge...

"well this wasn't so hard afterall!"

on the other side an animal head stuck up from a bush and quickly dove back down...

Suddenly there was a howling sound...

"What was that?"

Death quickly formed his energy bow...
"Creatures which you've never encountered..."

"What are they?"

"Hounds... that's what they're called.... they only exist at the bottom of the cloudspine's crack..."

"Well if that is the case then why should we be woried..?"

"they're excelent climbers though they don't like staying in the light for long, if you have any sun spells, I recomend you start charging them..."

A slew of three-eyed tentacle beasts slithered up around the center of the land bridge and stood there, more started coming up the sides and they formed a wall...

"ah, this is one of their strategies..."

Suddenly more formed a wall behind them...

"they think they have us trapped... they thought wrong..."

Death quickly flashed his hands... an arrow flew from his longbow and struck the first creature which wailed in pain...

"ZONDE!!!" A small, dark cloud formed above the gorge, lightening left the cloud and struck the hound... this made it retreat further back... the others started scattering too but then regrouped... further back...

"we're pushing forward! Kima watch our back, Alice, Flare, Rush the front gate, ill cover you!"

"why are we following his orders?"

"He knows what we're dealing with GO!"

"YEAAARRG!" Alice leapt forward and began stabbing at the first slimey beast... she flung it off of the cliff side, then gripping a dagger in her jaws she used both hands with one dagger and rammed it had through the next monster... Flare ran up beside her and rammed his steel axe hard into one of the hounds, litterally slicing it in half... an arrow shot past him and shot a hound back that was just about to jump on him... Flare looked back at death who was smiling at him...

"I guess I should say thanks..."

He saw death let another arrow fly STRAIGHT TOWARD HIM! he ducked his head and the arrow struck another hound that was about to leap on him...

"you knew i'd do that... didn't you..."

"You should be more trusting "

Alice grabbed a hound and then suddenly leapt off of the land bridge she hurled it downward toward the ground and then did a 180 degree turn mid-air, she caught he side of the land bridge and pulled herself back up, with both daggers in her mouth....

"Damn woman..."

"FLARE! mind your mouth! KAISHIEEN! DAN! <Dispell sun spray>"

Rays of light burst over the rear flank of attacking hounds and it forced them to retreat back further...

"Am I buying you guys enough time?"

"you're doing great!"

"thanks!"

"YAAAARGGGGHAABLE!!!"

Alice had the last hound pinned up against the wall...

"NO WAIT SAVE THAT ONE FOR ME!!"

Death started runnning toward her... alice suddenly fell to her knees with the hound still shifting in her tightened fist...

"wow your anger is only controlling one limb!" death said as he caugh up, dematerializing his bow.... he scooped up the squirming beast and sunk his sharp teeth into it... he then suckled the wound for it's sweet nectar...

"MMMMYEAAAAAAH!!" he cried out, he then threw the dead beast off of the edge of the cliff...

Alice and Flare started at him horrified...

Kimagure finally caught up and asked "What are you guys looking at like that?"

Death turned toward her with his lips still dripping with purple ooze....

"What... did you just do? is that hound BLOOD?"

"ehe... back in the day we called it the spice, though i prefered the name Ambrosia..."

"you mean the mythical stuff of the gods?"

"not quite... but it refills your mana so fast you'd swear it had never happened..."

"but wait... you haven't used magic all day!"

"what do you think my bow runs on? Batteries?"

Everyone cringed at the thought...

"let's get us a flight of stairs!!"

"GOING UP!" Kima shouted and the wall split into a more elegant stairway up... it didn't take long to reach the top... there were bushes all over the plains on this plateou... and it connected through a thin peice of land to the mainland... from there the hill sweeped downward... the sound of a flowing river wasn't too far off...

"hmm interesting place we're at..."

"What's the matter? why aren't you moving death?"

"dont... move... a muscle..."

"why?"

There was a twock sound.. like that of a bow releasing an arrow... death slashed at the air and caught a poison tipped dart...

"In the bushes..."

the bushes began to move... and small pipes extended form them..

"Theives?"

Death looked around.. "i dont know but they're not human..."

The bushes began to circle the four knights...

"HAAT AAAH MAAAH!!! <summoning circle for beasts>"

Kima created a light which blew the bush-people backward and surrounded the party of four with a circle of light...

"I SUMMON A MIRROR IMAGE OF OUR FOES!"

Suddenly a group of orks appeared aroud them with poisoned dart pea-shooters...

"What the HECK!"

"What? Ain't you never seen Orcs before?"

"they're... green..."

"Some say it was because of the magics which rained out of the sky after a huge explosion spell was cast... but noone really knows..."

The image of the Nuclear mushroom cloud on the warning seal on his own tomb flashed through death's head...

"hmm... not my doing... must've been ... gah... HIS...."

The orks began shouting at eachother and those wearing bushes on their backs started attacking their mirror images which matched their attacks blow for blow..

"lets just get out of here!"

"agreed"

The four warriors left their occupied guests behind and started running for the mainland... they crossed the thin land bridge and were on the mainland again...

"WE DID IT! WE CROSSED THE CLOUDSPINE!"

"YAY!"

"On To WILLOW CREEK!"

"YES WILLOW CREEK... whatever that is..."

The three looked at Deaht... "you know not of willow creek?"

"well I assumed it was a little town with windmills and a nearby creek with a tallow or a tavern and an outhouse on the edge of town which is JUST near the MAYORS GRAND OFFICE whih is really a log shack... oh and I bet there will be PIGS out in the open too!... am I right?"

"oh NO no... Its a wondrouse villaige completley void of all dark influence and it's so FERTILE and teeming with business and life!"

"yeah sure..."

Death stepping off of the land bridge with his hands in his pockets decided it would be nice to put the energy from his right boot of jumping to use.. he pressed it as hard as he could agains the ground and the tiny bridge gave way...

On the other side of the plateou, kima's stairway dematerialized into a staight drop down and the stress on the landbridge caused by gathering hounds caused it to fall over and plummit to the bottom of the cloudspine cracks... The ocupied orcs opponents finally dematerialized as well since kima was out of range... they ked around puzzled and soon realized that there was NO way off of the plateu!!!

Death came to the edge of willow creek... and gues what he saw? A windmill... a creek... a tallow... an a tavern... a small barn with some pigs in front of it... and an outhouse on the edge of town.... just outside of the mayors office which resembled a wooden shack...

"-_- ... oh yeah... life is *so* good..."

[Deathkiller]

It was then that our party was informed of the dark prescense to the east, and it's binding power over the west, we were told to examine a well just out side of town, it was apparent that any man sent out to fetch water never came back alive. Brillig decided to test the well's depth by tossing a brand down the dark abyss. What bubbled up from it was an image that is haunting every one of our number with knightmares to this day.

-Chapter 3 the spiders...

They were called into the mayor's shack immediatley...

"Ah so you are back from your fighn excursion I see..."

"yes mister mayor..."

"did you find anything? I notice someone new with you... I try to keep tabs on all of the mercenaries around here... I keep them in a notebook... I selected these three to go keep an eye on the army of the easts activities for me... so tell me... how did it go?"

"everything was fine... but then some dark troops attacked us?"

"really why? Does this mean there will be further conflict?"

"No we doubt there will be any further conflict, thought some Orks did try to jump us as well..."

"You don't say... well i've heard worse stories, I'm just glad that you're all back in one peice... so tell me young man... who might you be?"

"I'd prefer to not give out my name..."

The mayor, a fat stubby man with short hair atop his head and what looked liek three knecks let the pipe in his mouth dangle a little...

"why won't you tell him you're name De..."

"Don't say it... he doesn't want it heard by my ears... I understand chaotics like him... he's just another mercenary... OH did you do anything else while youw ere out there you were gone a while?"

"well umm... we did go treasure hunting..."

"AH you rambunceouse youngsters... I suppose I don't need to give you a reward then..."

"Well actually we didn't find anything but him..." Flare pointed at death with his thumb... Death kept his back turned at all times... he shuddered a bit...

"where did you find him...exactly?"

"I'd rather you not know..." death said lightly... and everyone shut up for a good few minutes... finally the mayor turned to kimagure, the only one still faking her smile...

"ok i'll be blunt... the well outside of town... umm it's had a history of housing something evil... and well after hearing that you got away from Dark troops unharmed i've decided that you're more fit that anyone else in this town to examine its contents... do so and you will be handsomeley rewarded..."

"WE'LL DO IT!"

Kimagure stood up and grabbed her 'two old freinds' by the shoulders... "Let's go to the local tavern and chill out, then we can get up at darn and examine the little well thing and get PAYED!"

"is the well just down the street straight forward?"

"why yes... how did you know?"

"it's made of a metal which you consider stronger than steel but not poisonouse like lead...adn the water from is always seems to become magically refilled?"

"how... what? Have you been to willow creek before young lad..."

Death turned and looked the mayor in the eye... his stare was cold it made him shiver as he spoke "NO but I know that an Irrigation controll unit looks like, you're lucky that water isn't tainted... calling it a well, that's supposed to be for the feilds! oh well, drink all you want, it constantly fillters ocean water..."

"ocean water? where from? we are nowehre near the..."

"then it's from underground water supplies or a nearby lake or river, who cares, the fact is that if you were'nt carefull you could be drinking air conditioning fluid and dying from amonia..."

"Dying from what? Air con- what?"

"NEVER MIND!" death flew out the door and began trampling the ground, he stepped on the grass so hard that it died beneath his feet and instantly turned brown... he looked at the well and squinted...

"What could be dangerouse about YOU..."

the metal pipe read a company logo... "these memories are coming back far too quickly for me to make sense of them.." he thought... "but I seem to be making sense of them myself.."

Kimagure caught up with death.. "you know, Before I thought that you were a kind young gentleman... but now I realize that you're as dark as the deepest part of that well! You're ill, you rant on about nothing for hours and then you STORM out of offices and DEMAND to not have your history repeated to GOOD people! THe mayor is on OUR SIDE!!!"

"I work for noone..."

"THEN YOU MAY AS WELL NOT WORK WITH US ANY MORE EITHER!"

Kima turned and ran right into Flare... flare touched his hand to her shoulder...

"Calm down, Kimagure!"

"How can you DEFEND HIM after the way he acted in there! He bloody insulted us!"

"listen... he's of a differint alliance that us... plus he's been through alot.... we can't just leave him now, he's obviously confused about this new world... like a child, he has to re-learn everything..."

"how can you look at him like that!!"

"I think you're just upset that he wasn't the prince charming you thought him to be..."

Kimagure pushed herself back from the knight...

She stared at him wide eyed...

@_@ "Auh... AH... ACK YOU BASTARD!"

she kicked him as hard as she could between his legs...

There was a sound of metal hitting metal...

"heh..." he smirked at her...

She scowled with viens bursting on her forehead and headed for the tavern with Alice at her side...

A tear fell from Flare's eye...

"YYJuST GoTTA TAKE IT LIKE A MaNNN Aeeeeeeooooo God it hUuuUurt"

having a bizare mood swing the knight placed his arm around death...

"say... do you want to know where a man can have a good time in willow creek? I know about all the secret places they try to write off the map hehe heh..."

Death turned his head slowly... his eyes never blinked... and his gaze was constant and almost frozen... he looked at Flare for five straight minutes without moving or saying a word...

Flare blinked... "ok fine I'll go alone..."

Death looked at the warrior as he walked off...

he stared at the steel pipe...

"hmm so fine i'll call it a well..." he said standing alone by himself...

"i wonder if they're having any fun in there..."

he crossed his arms...

"it would be more impressive if i just stood here until dawn..."

he loosened his jaw a bit...

"AWWW HELL!"

He kicked one leg up and began walking toward the tavern, the lights in the windows were on, there was joyouse music playing... all seemed fare and well inside... death shrugged as he opened the door... he walked in... he saw his two female cauligues sitting in the dark corner, trying to stay unnoticed from the raunchy men who were already being entertained by a couple of dancers... he looked up the stairwell to the second story.... he saw Flare talking to a lady who placed her arms around him and they walked toward a small wooden door which they entered quietly... death then looked at the bar, there was an empty seat in between two barbarians with spikey helmets on... he sat down...

"OY ladie! who do ya tink ya tink yar sittin in da seeet ova me freind wallice!"

Death looked around... "I don't see wallice anywhere..."

"AY laddie! he went out dis mornin to examin dee oder siyeed ova da cloudspine and he never come back now!"

"you don't say..,"

"Oy you'd best leave the man his seat should he come back HRARHAR!" the other viking-like brute laughed and talked with his mouth full...

"well, If you must know, I saw his courpse not too long ago, so I can asure you that you're freind isn't comming back.."

"AUND HOW DEED YOU DO THAT LADIE!"

"Well I either just stumbled on his courpse or I killed him... but in reality i did neither..."

"WHAT DOO YA MEAN!"

"Word spreads quickly around this place you know... it's not to hard to get a little information when you need it..."

"AYULL CUTCHUR THROAT IF YA DON TELL ME WHUTCHA DEED TO WALLICE!"

The large brute yanked out a sword which wobbled in his hand...

he was drunk...

everyone in the tavern ghasped at the brute's threat... then all eyes were on death...

Death decided it was fit to do an impersonation... "WEYULL I DUNNOT SEEN HEEM IN DAYS BUUT I GOT WURD FROMA RUNNAH! HE DUNNA LIE DA RUNNAH!"

"How Deed he DIYEE!"

"By Da hands of a RANGA dey say he was Chaooteek Gud!"

"...CHAOTEEK GUD YA SAY?"

"YEEE DATS WHAT DEY SAYEE!"

"NAW YOUR SPEEKIN MAH LANGUEEGE!"

everyone laughed hysterically, one man even fell out of his seat...

Death smiled... then turned toward the bar...

"What can these twenty gold thingies get me..."

"...well hell son that could buy you the bar!"

"Ill pay it all for a glass of water and some sake for those two ladies in the dark corner..."

"Freind's of yours?"

"well we kind of just met..."

"Two of our finest drinks for the ladies and... a glass of water for our freind?"

"Yeah you'd better make that FIRE WATER" he guffawed at his insult to the lack of modernization...

Nobody else laughed...

"son it don't take an elementalist to know that FIRE and WATER don't mix..."

"oh... what'say we put a little wager on that..."

"oh really?"

"yeah... ill bet you all this gold here and the BAR that i can make this here glass of water you give me taste like fire!"

"... you've got to be kidding me..."

"oh no it can be done!"

"heh FINE then its a bet!"

... even the bar tender must've been drunk...

Death took the glass and pressed it between his hands...

He began to shake it furiously...

He had secretly slipped a slice of dried ice into the glass and the acceleration was causing the water to become carbonated while his grip was litterally hermetic... he lifted his hand off and it made a poping sound that got everyone's attention..

"and no magic required..."

the bartender took the water from his hand... the pressed it to his lips and then dropped the glass... death caught it and then handed it to the barbarian... "why don't you give us you're opinion since the bartender's given his..."

"WHAT THE HELL MANNER OF MAGIC IS THAT!!"

"no magic... just science... "

"You're crazy, lad!"

the barbarian let out a belch... "WHOAH NELLY DAT BE SOME FUNKEEEY WATA!"

Death twidled his thumbs... "looks like I won the bet..."

"I... I..."


"i was just kidding about the bar... now about the gold..."

"I'll GO BROKE if i produce as much! that stuffs worth 24 thousand!!"

"waitaminut!!" the barbarian looked at the gold then at death... "24 tousand be da numba of gold dat WALICE HAD ON HIM!!"

Death smiled...

"I didn't kill him though..."

The door swung open... a large dark figure stood at the opening...

"Wallice? is that you..."

death's eyes stayed fixed on the figure... it grunted and then walked away... Some swore that it's eyes were glowing...

"Walice! You be alive! HAR! SO DIS MAN TELLS TALL TALES! HAR HAR! STORY TELLER! LETS GO CRUNIAC! WALLCE LOOKS INJURED! HE MAGHT NEEDUS!"

The two lumbering barbarians left the tavern... they were never seen or heard from again... nor was wallice...

Death turned back to the bartender.. he lifted a finger... "i'll be back...these two seats are reseverd though..."

He went over to the table where the two ladies were sitting...

"What the hell kind of stunt are you pulling now?"

"I realized that life's too short to spend without company! come sit at the bar with me!"

"I don''t need any bizare men looking me over!"

"oh trust me, they wont even let their eyes wander to you..."

Death and the two ladies sat down at the bar, Kima ordered a fine red wine in turn for the cash that death had actually won over, and Alice ordered a glass of tea.... death decided to drink his water contently, after adding sodium, sugar, and a variety of other things from his odd coat that turned the water a dark color... he sipped it and then added some ice... it wasn't Dr. Pepper... but it was 'fire water', all the same...

The hours flew by, and sudddenly there was a sharp screech.. it was followed by a male screaming.... then the door which Flare had gone through earlier burst open and flare fell out in nothign but his underwear, a pair of armor and pants with his cape and the large daunting axe along with a sword and haliburt struck the ground next to him... "eyaah!"

he rolled out of the way as the large axe struck right about where his head would have been...

"MEEP!!"

he gathered up his belongings and retreated to a back room...

The woman he went in came out screaming with messed up hair and a tear in her dress "AND DON'T YOU EVER PULL THAT FAKE ROMANTIC CRAP ON ME AGAIN YOU BASTARD! I SWEAR! I AM NOT JUST ANYBODY'S GIRL YOU KNOW! I THOGUTH YOU WANTED TO MARRY ME! YOU JERK! TRY A ONE NIGHT STAND WITH ME AGAIN AND ILL KILL YOU!! WHERED HE GO!!!"

"flare shure knows how to make an exit...."

"yeesh..."

The furiouse woman then looked at death who had the two ladies sitting next to him, with their tails happily moving to and fro...

"AND YOU!! YOU MISTER ARE PATHETIC!!"

Death pointed to himself what a "me?" expression on his face...

"YES YOU! PEOPLE LIKE YOU MAKE ME SICK! UUGH! IM OUT OF THIS TOWN!!"

She slammed the wooden door behind her... death looked at the girls around him... Kima was red in the face from drinking and she was resting her chin on her hand....

"that's the most perverted i think i've ever seen you sit Kima..."
"WHa WHAHWHAAT!" she suddenly jumped up and looked at hereslf in a vanity mirror, she immediatley began applying some powdery substance to her face... Death turned around... he saw a warrior staring at Alice... he narrowed his eyes.... the warrior quickly turned his head back to his freind and shivered...

"I told you nobody would look at you two...

The girls looked around the bar... all heads were turned 180 degrees AWAY from them...

"I dont think i've ever seen the backs of so many heads!"
"wow alot of people have back hair..."
Death chuckled and pounded his fist on the table... "oh you two are just too much hahaha! Seriously ladies, are we going to scope out this well now or what?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING WE NEED TO GET TO SLEEP !"

"I know im already weary!"

"then what's the point of staying awake in a place like this for you?"

"well we.... just... ya know... umm..."

"come to think of it... there is no real purpose to staying in a bar all night if what you need is rest..."

"SHHH if you two keep talking like this you'll ruin my business" the bartended whispered...

"check please!"

"I beg your pardon..."

"OH JUST TAKE THE BLOODY GOLD!"

The bartended handeled the coins and filled his pockets greedily..

"IM RICH! RICH I TELLS YA!"

Kima, alice, and death started walking toward a nearby inn, they saw Flare jump out a back window and crawl across the ground... once out of proper distance he stood up and joined his freinds...

"Getting out too eh? that place was too wild for me!"

"AAAAAH!!!"

"what was that?"

Death started running in the direction of the well.. he stood and looked... what he saw was unimaginable...

The Luered barbarians from the bar earlier were covered head to toe with dark creatures which sheiked and scurried all about them,. they were then lifted and carried down the well... death ran up to the entrance... he could heard the sounds of hundreds of scurrying legs... and then there was only silence...

The others caught up...

"what was that?"

"nothing... I just wanted to test the well..."

"can you tell us what's in there..."

"It is actually more easily solvable than you think..."

Death pulled out a pesticide grenade...

"I always knew that ONE DAY i'd encounder Masakara's spider army! but here! hoo! who'da thunk it..."

He pulled the pin on it and dropped it down the well...

"there" he said wiping his hands together... "problem solved!"

They all stared at him oddly...

"we'll come back in the morning to clean up the remains, don't you worry it's all taken care of..."

the three walked into the inn and checked in, one night's board was free for those who could prove their bravery, Flare's axe and sword proved to be usefull after all...

the four knights were given a single room... with... one... bed...

Flare spoke up... "ok, Death and I will sleep on the couch and you two ladies can have the bed... it's just courteouse..."

Kima ran for the bathroom "OH GOD I'VE BEEN NEEDING A BATH!"

She ran around past a door... "YES! THEY HAVE WARM WATER!" the sound of a flowing spiket was heard and her Kimono was quickly thrown onto a hook... Flare's eyebrows raised for a bit but quickly shot back down... he narrowed his brow... "alrigth then I'm just gonna go to sleep on the couch..."

"but wait..." Alice interupted... "Where will Death sleep tonight?"

"I- i can just stand..."

"YEAH... HE NEVER seems to need to sleep!"

"nyo.... I just can't let you do that... Death... since you stayed out last night... let me watch the door tonight.. it won't be that hard, and you need some rest after not sleeping at all last night...

"but really i don't need slee-"

"I insist!" Death took his jacket off and layed it onto a rack, the rack snapped under the jackets heavy weight...

"well you know ma' always said pockets were for filling heh...eheh..."

Death just layed the jacket on the ground... he decided to keep his pants on but he rested his boots under his heavy jacket...

"Nobody's gonna pick those up hehe..."

He layed the jacket over them which made the sound of an anvil as it struck...

"wow..." alice said looking at it,..

"I never travel light... EVER...."

Death jumped onto the matress... it didn't bounce or squeak, rather it conformed to his shape...

"oh my god it's a water bed..."

"EY! how come I don't get to sleep on the water bed!"

"Oh Flare! you know you'd never fit in that small thing!"

Flare grunted... A half an hour passed and Kimagure stepped out of the shower... droplets of water slid down her skin as she stepped out in full form... she made sure to only step through the darkness.. her body dried quickly as she then pu on the towel and figured that since only 'ALICE' was in the bed she'd jump on in in the towel...


everything was quiet,... dark...

Death had his eyes closed when he heard a voice... "hmm i'll never understand these boys will you?"

She placed two thin arms around death's waiste... he jerked a bit in the bed... she pulled herself closer to him...

she was still warm from the bath water... he felt her body heat irradiate onto him...

"oh my god I hope she's not just wearing a towel..."

He turned his head... he saw through the darkness something which he never expected to see...

"ok so maybe less than a towel... ok Death-ol' chap.. just ... slide... out of the grip... that's it... now maybe y ou can roll onto the floor and free.. yoursel..."

there was a scratching at the door... and the window...

"WHATS THAT NOISE!"

alice shot up and unsheithed her daggers...

"hmm alice?"
The set of hands started feeling death's stomach... "you're not..." the hands came to a flat chest... "EEYAAAH FLARE YOU PERVERT!"

Shooting up Kimagure stepped out of the bead... the towel slowly hit the floor...

She lit a light with a quick fire spell and death stared for about two seconds... kima could only stare back... before lifting and arm, lowering a hand and hitting the ground, death's nose exploded with blood...

"AAAH GOD I'M SORRY IT WAS ALICE'S IDEA I SWEAR!"

"YOU PERVER--"

"SHHH GUYS!!! LISTEN!!"

Kima looked up at the window wide eyed... death did too... flare shot up and his head hit the low ceiling... rubbing it he looked at the door... it was wobling... Kima ran back into the darkness of the bathroom area and slipped on her clothing...she walked out of the darkness and death stood as well....

"what do you suppose that is?"

"I don't think my plan worked..."

"KIMA do you have an Anti-Bug tecnhnique?"

"ILL ANTI-BUG YOU BUDY YOU'RE LOWER THAN AN INSECT!"

"Listen there's no time! just tell me if you have something against arachnids!"

"well yeah but it was a small spell I learned as a child.."

"well wtih all of your experience i'm sure you can use it powerfully enough to handel GIANT SPIDERS right?"

Everyone looked at death.. "GIANT SPIDERS?!"

"yes..." he said wiping his bloody nose... "listen.." he panted... "Cast it on any crevices or openings... Im going to charge an attack that will rid this problem once and for all!"

Death gripped his hands tightlyt... a force grew in side of them that forced them apart, they bent almost mechanically at the joints and began twisting his arms and legs at odd angles..

"THIS IS THE ONE!!! TELEPORTAY!!!"

Death dissapeared from the room...

"THAT DISERTER!!"

"I'm sure he's going ot help form the outside..."

Death decided to assess the situation.... the spiders were overrunning the town... luckily no windows were open due to it being a cold night... he held his arms as far apart as he could...

"this is gonna be a big one...."

A voice echoed through the town...

"GATHER UNTO ME CHILDREN OF THE DAAAAAAARK!"

The spiders ceased their movement...all left the well... all was silent now though... the overrun town was covered every inch on the outside by spiders, they ran into the hilsides, and now they were moving again... inward... toward the center of town... where death was hovering above the street....

"THATS IT YOU LITTLE BASTARDS! HERE! COME HERE!"

They began forming a mountain to catch up with him... he hovered higher as the spiders grew higher on the mountain...

"it's taking too much power to summon them!! KIMA PLEASE HURRY WITH THAT SPELL!!!"

"Spiders... spiders.. go... AWAY... COME AGAIN... ANOTHER DAAAAYEE!"

Kima was out in the street, she shouted and a burst of white light left her hands... "MY GOD thats the first level 16 spell i've ever CAST!"

"good thing you practiced it since childhood!" death yelled down to her.. the spiders suddenly turned white... and then blew away like dust int he wind... everywhere in the town lights were lighting up, candels, tortches, anything and everyone began walking out of their houses, they saw Death, standing in the air, with the spider remains blowing away intot he wind... he fell into the pile of ash and then held his breath, once all the ash had blown away he inhaled and then coughed, panting furriously.... "that took Way too much energy... i need... i need abrosia... if i don't get a hound then ill have to... sle- sleep... zzzz...

Death fell unconseouse in the street...

that was when suddenly the well began to vibrate... everyone in the town was now out... the well exploded upward... the steel pipe shot out of the ground with a "TA-THUNK" sound... it landed on the small outhouse out side of the mayors office and someone who was inside started screaming for their life.. then it fell over comically...

From the hole emerged a single gigantic spider...

"HOW ARE WE GOING TO DEAL WITH THAT!!"

"The only way that we can" flare shouted...

"WE MUST FIGHT IT!"

"someone needs to protect death!"

"he's done his job in getting the little ones... this one will be up to us..."

"wa...wait..." death said in a parched voice... get me close to the spider..."

"you're crazy!"

"i know his weakpoint... if you don't get me close to him, I won't tell you what it is..."

"what other choice do we have?"

Flare picked up the limp doll-like 'ranger' and started running toward the spider at top speed...

he threw death directly onto it's back, past its gaping jaws... a pair of legs went to the back of it to deal with him... death with his last ounce of strenghte dug his teeth into the spiders back.. he began to suckle on the hole he'd torn...

"auugh god that's discusting..."

he suckled some more... "but this is the queen! its quite invigerating! ehahAHAH!"

He erected a beam saber and then jammed it into the spiders back... he twisted it around in the shape of an hour glass... this crteated a surface spell that fried the spider from the inside out... it fell limp... death then pulled out a glass jaw, he popped th elid on it and began letting some ooze from the creature's mouth pour into it... he collected three jars of the stuff and then finally turned toward the mayor who was in his robe and night-cap still...

"I... don't know what to say young man..."

"listen... it's all in a days work... and I couldn't have done it without the help of my freidns... Especially kimagure... she deserves the most gold of us all..."

"IF YOU THINK THAT'S GOING TO WORK AS AN APPOLOGY..."

"I don't care any more... I need some rest.... *yawn*... I think we should all get to sleep and we'll sleep easily tonight... knowing that this place is truley safe..."

Death layed down on the couch... Alice managed to fit there with him... while Flare slept on the cold hard floor and Kimagure got the whole bed to herself...

Hours past... flare spoke up..."i think we need to re-think this situation..."

"SHUT UP!" everyone in town barked...

sleep well heroes...

[Deathkiller]

Only one thing can surpas both time and fate... it is the binding force which keeps humans saine and those without it lose touch with reality. It keeps us warm inside it is what makes up the soul... it is the feelings which we have for one another... it is...

Chapter 4:[b]The Third Master Of Reality...[b]

Death sat up from the couch... yet another set of arms was around him, he slipped out of alice's death grip like a serpant and then nabed the shower while he still could... stepping out he dried his wet red hair and then proceeded to sort through his inventory...

The others were starting to wake up as well, each took their turn in the shower and then Kima stepped up behind him..

"So what're you doing?"

"I never could trust my own inventory, I only carry the bare necesities with me..."

"So then where's the rest of your inventory? Like weapons and stuff?"

"Where do you store you're extra stuff..."

"I have it all in a bank in Farlis... why?"

"Well I have a bank too..."

Death stepped out into the afternoon daylight... "I love sleeping in late.. I never rerally get to sleep at all heh..."

He stretched a bit, waving his heavy coat in the wind...

"alright, I'm going to travel to my bank... its across a great body of water onto a small island... I'm afraid that you can't come with me, i'll bring gifts I just hope the island is still there... Ok ladies, gent... Have fun will ya? Oh and feel free to accept my reward money for me... I'm outta here..."

The tubby mayor burst from his office and started running toward death..

"WAIT! WAIT YOUNG MAN! DON'T GO! I WANT TO THANK YO...ueeew..." Steam already burst from Death's metalic boots and he leapt so far into the sky he disseapeared form sight...

"wha-what did he have for breakfast this morning?"

"Nothing... maybe that's why he was so light hehe..."

"is your freind a dragoon?"

"Nope, he claims to be a ranger and he uses a bow, sometimes he uses a spear though like a lancer, we aren't quite certain as to what he is...."

"his eyes were of necromancy blood"

"Excuse me?"

The three turned and looked at the mayor...

"he knew that I knew, that's why he distanced his view from me... it was obviouse, but then i turned and saw those angry red eyes... the whites of his eyes turned navy blue... that had to be him...."

"Is he of a special race or something?"

"We don't know... they train in the east and spread to the west, avoiding the sea..."

"he just said he was going to cross a sea to get to an island..."

"HE SAID WHAT?"

"Yeah something about a bank of his being over there..."

"so maybe they go in all directions... that means that threats may be to the west as well!"

"but Death seems like a nice guy..."

"DEATH was his name? How is that the name of a nice person?"

"OH no no NO wait his name was Deathkiller... don't tell him I told you..." flare said embarrasingly...

"AHA so that's it is it.. he's a descendant of legerndary blood..."

"he's WHAT?" everyone asked at once...

"oh he hasn't told you? then perhaps you should ask him yourself..."

"wait couldn't you just tell us?"

"*sigh* fine.... I don't know for sure, but there is a type of good necromancy out there... though your freind didn't seem to be a dedicated member, that's because of his line... a type of person who was highly educated and dedicated to no class existed a long time ago.. they were in hundreds of thousands... some amongst them weren't native to the previouse world though from which our ancestors came..."

"you mean... aliens?"
"Or... or DEMONS?"

"Both or neither, I cannot be sure... all we know is they took a liking to the dark arts, it is said that the last generation of them spawned three brothers..."

"their names?"

"Cannot be spoken by human lips... it would draw them so close to us that we would be smitten on the spot..."

"was Death one of those brothers?"

"he may have been.. that name could have been given to him by his father because he exhibited good atributes rather than bad... could've taken to his mother...

"Ma' always used to say never to travel light!"

... "You sure know you're good and bad mercenaries mister mayor..."

"hehe... more than you know dear... more than you know..."

The chubby figure started walking away, his orange tail waving as he walked...

"wait a minute..." kimagure spoke up...

"That hair of yours is a DYE JOB!"

The silver haired figure turned and stared at the three who's tails corresponded to their hair color..

"er um I ... It's just because I'm getting old and nothing more..." he dashed for the mayors office...

"he ran WAY too fast for a little fat man..."

"I think we'll figure out his secrets soon enough... let's start venturing toward the next down... farlis... I think we can get a better job there..."

Kima sighed... "why do we have to go back there..."

"well you're banks there..."

"But I hate farlis, all the mages there are so snoody toward me for being a mercenary sorcorsess..."

"well who cares what those pitifully weak mages think!"

"PITIFULLY WEAK! I'd like to see you say that on the streets of Farlis and live to tell the tale!"

"wait you guys... will death catch up?"

"He always seems to be able to do what he wants whenever he wants.."

"hrmph..."

"ey i thought you didn't like being snoody Kima-chan MUAHAHA!"

"ILL GET YOU!"

Flare began running for his life as Kima started pursuiting him furriously, Alice smiled and said... "on to Falis I guess!

They began running together...

Elswhere in a small forest the ground was struck by a large. heavy object. The trees vibrated from the earth trembeling shake and then settled...

Death was on one knee, he stood up from the crafter he'd formed and started walking into the jungle, this time only making a small patting noise on the ground as he walked... he stepped through some sand and looked behind him... the tide had risen exponentially!
The waves crashed agains the soil made sand.. death continued into the livid jungle... he came upon an ancient stone carving with the shape of a hand on it... he placed his hand on the sculpture and the island began to shake.... suddenly a plaform shot out from the sand on the beach... death blitzed for the platform and got on just as it shot down through the earth... he was not in a transparent tube,,,

he looked out and saw bizare fish with lights on their heads for better seeing swimming around... some had huge jaws and their size with incredible!

Death licked his lips... "ambrosia..."

the elevator tube stopped, and then turned paralel to the ground, death shot through the islands inner caves sideways and then was righted at the opening to a giant room... Death walked up to a huge gate and placed his hand into another socket, tiny wires shot out and ran up his palm and into his veins, they searched around in the ball of his wrist and then hit something metalic, energy poured fom the lines into the wall, the wall lit up and the giant door next to the switch began sliding open. on the front of it was a three prong symbol that mean "Gods among men"

The doors opened and death stepped in..

there were bright spotlights shining on rubies, gold peices, silver, platinum, a wealth of rare metals and in the center a case that read "DO NOT OPEN! EVER! EVER!!!"

Death walked up to the case and opened it.. he then pulled out a rare-looking red stone that cut to a sphere... he quickly shut the case and latched it with 14 seperate locks that were then hexed to stay closed... he took the red jewl and turned up his left hand... he rolled up his sleeve and then slammed the stone into the palm of his hand... there was a siziling burning noise... death then saw the ball pass through the flesh of his palm and it moved into the ball of his left wrist.. he twisted his hands around... and popped his knuckles... EXCELENT!

he tightened his first and held them out,, both were now glowing with tiny red circles...

Death turned toward another wall and then pressed his wrists together, he began rubbing them... an odd sound was produced and the wall shot open a small door just large enough for him to fit through. Death walked in and down a dark cooridor which seemed to get smaller as he got further down it... finally the hall conformed to the exact shape of his body, it even ran between his legs, he walked through the hall like a glove... then reached a door shaped like him. he said "Rose Bud" and the door slid open, revealing a dark crevice... death leapt down into the darkness and some lights shot on... *insert freaky suprising music here* Death saw feilds.... litteral feilds... of machinary, robotics, planes, jets, spacecraft, death pounded his fists on the ground.... "AND NOT ONE GOD DAMNED QUADROLITHIUM BATTERY TO POWER A SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!!"

Death stood up and walked in between the menacing mecha... he then went up to a melee weapons vault...

"This gold jewlel-incrusted skimitar will do well with Alice... And Kimagure could really use this wand..."

Death pressed a jewel on the center of the head of the black wand and it split into three spikey parts, these started glowing blue and energy began gathering around the points...

"Tritan's phycho wand... and the Skimitars of Attraction... this will make them quite deadly in combat..."

He then looked around and pulled out a dusty spell book... "kima could use this too.." he then pulled out a stealth cloak... "and this can be for Flare..." he also pulled out a haliburt made of energy...

"mmm runs on solar power... yup that'll be fine... UNLIKE THE REST OF YOU!" death's booming voice echoed over his army of 'mechs...

>_<

there was a blaring sound...

"huh?"

A single fighter jet lifted up and flew to him.. it had a one passanger seat.... it was shaped like the letter V and had a gyroscopic cockpit... the menacing plane hovered in wait...

"you run off of oxygene don't you... No wait! now I remember, you're runo off of ATOMS themselves! you harnes any atoms and split them in your core, you have an onboard AI trained to respond to my voice... yes?"

The thing happily nodded in mid air...

"ah yes, my little X fighter... you are equiped for above ground and underwatever capabilites... how are you on space flight?"

The plane hummed cheerily... "FINALLY A WAY OFF THIS ROCK!"

He was about to jump into it and get away when he felt his new freinds ora...

"they miss me... oh my god... they atually are expecting me to come back..."

He started to feel a conflic of interest...

"Say X... are you fit for atmospheric reintry..."

it nodded "NO..." and made a low pitched beep....

"WELL THEN CRAP! there's no point in leaving a world if you can't get back onto it! This idea was worthless!"

The ship turned away disapointed.. "no wait... I realize that I need everything that I can ger..."

Death stashed a broadsword and a few extra things into his many pockets... "Alright! Lets Fly!"

The mayor of willow creek sat at his desk.. he began twidling his thumbs... he retured from his 'work' and then pounded his head against his desk.. "why... WHY... why... WHY..."

his door flew open... the sound of a humming engien was heard, a furriouse breeze from engiens blew into the mayor's office and some papers flew around the room, a shady figure then appeared from the light which was blocking the doorway...

"hello... brother..."

"HOW! Did you know?"

"i can read minds... afterall I know what everyone thinks..."

"your memory... has it returned completley..."

"Not entirely no... but I cetainly recognized you! I can't belive you faked your death just so you could retire from the Berserk-hiring business! look at alice! you've left the poor girl lost and confused..."

"I did the right thing... she is a rambunxiouse girl, though I don't like to admit shes stronger than me now, I didn't want her following my footsteps! She could have gotten herself KILLED if she hadn't seen me die!"

"hmm so then you erased your abilities from your mind, too up a guise as the mayor of a small town and now you sit here all day in a dark shack waiting for your time to run out..."

"I'm already dead... to the world I already am... you cannot raise the..."

"DO NOT MOCK ME!"

"Please, i thought you came to make ammends..."

"I realize that we now have a common foe... but you're no help! all you did was fight him and dissapear from the world, and for that you make me sick!"

"Don't take this battle too far Death-... it will get you killed..."

"...you care too much and do to little... love..."

"I'd like to see you do better, fate..."

"so that's my name... and occupation... well now I can say that all of my memory has returned... Where are my freinds..."

"they said something abotu Farlis, DON'T GO THERE! They don't need to get invoulved!"

"i'm going to ration everything I have, they will be trained, and I will train myself, once it is deemed fit, we willl do what is necessary for ballance to be kept..."

"YOU MUSN'T DO THIS!!!"

"I'm sorry to have to do this to you..."

Death left the mayor there... he flew off in the sleek black aircraft... the mayor looked up in the sky fearing to be shot where he stood... but death only left him there...

"... ugh... " the mayor then realized his fate... his fate was nothing... nothing but to sit there... and wait.... until hell froze over...

"too bad love is forever" death thought to himself as he began searching for the cooranents of Falis...