The Third Thread

[Skylos]

[Third Thread starts 2/20/07]

The Return of Xana (AKA, YNB's arc of chaos ^^; ) : Xana possesses a scientist who makes watches. He plans to hand them out as free samples to everyone. The watches activate at midnight and turn everyone with one into Xanafied Humans (XH). The factory is raided and Skylos and Atamaru are possessed. Skylos then possesses Neon, and Zach is also possessed. After a fight, Skylos and Neon are unpossessed, while Zach is slightly possessed. Jack gets possessed (What else is new?). Things get really crazy and all sorts of people get possessed and then unpossessed. A Death demon bothers Skylos in his dreams, visits in real life, and fights Neon. Xana makes a XH machine, but it is quickly destroyed. The cabin is destroyed, but rebuilt. Skylos is turned half Death Demon and given a scythe. Xana builds nukes. Mass chaos happens and ends with the city being destroyed.

Skylos is no longer Half-Death demon because Reap decided Skylos wasn't developed enough, and Jack wrestles with his dark soul. Danlay has issues with L15M (Editor's note: I believe that stands for Level15Me, Me being an evil Danlay). Jack battles his evil brother Mirou. Jack then battles a dark sorcerer. Jack gives in and burns his cabin down. Sefrex and Alice battle him and puts him on the run. Afterwards, Sefrex and Alice talk about his forms and turns into a black dragon. Ponic sees Izerion and also gets a Silver Orb. Jack becomes good again and Xana flat out disappears. Sefrex goes on about Sealed and released forms. Skylos shows that he can turn into a dark form. Zach learns how to use electricity. The evil Danlay then takes Danlay to use his elemental powers to possess the group. Sefrex dies and comes back as Ichuya. Ichuya changes himself and turns into Ichiya. Keera is also revived. This arc ends abruptly with Ponic leading a charge on Lyoko and deactivating a tower which fixes everything.

Editor's note: YNB was absent a lot and most of the posting was done by Steve and Melanie. Most of the posting was Sefrex talking about himself and forms that he, Alice, and Halo had. Another chunk was Sefrex turning into Ichuya and then turning into Ichiya.

Aduro and Acerbus: A person named Aduro possesses Skylos and claims that Neon's abnormal behavior is not random, but because his brother Acerbus has possessed him. Aduro says that he is a Light Human and that Acerbus is a Dark Human. Neon, realizing Aduro's right after trying to force him out of Skylos, is fully taken over by Acerbus. Aduro and Acerbus fight, with Aduro being the winner. Aduro mentions to Neon that they are related, but he doesn't yet make that connection to Skylos. Acerbus appears in Wrath, but means him no harm. Neon then realizes the relation...

The Great Orb Crisis: Gycor and Dardan try to steal Ponic's Silver Orb, and Skylos's many Demon Orbs. Neon has flashbacks and admits to Skylos that he killed Skylos's cousin, Robbie. Rem is turned into a wolf, but then put back to normal and given a new orb for his Power Glove. He can now turn into a wolf whenever. Wrath spies on Neon and learns his password and shows Alice and Skylos conversations he had with his uncle, Tom. Tom visits a little while later. Skylos and Neon remember Tranductus's old program and decided to test it out. Inside the program are Skylos's dad, and Neon's dad! Skylos and Neon take them out and then Neon is called away to a fight with Dardan. Skylos looks after both dads and Neon kills Dardan, who gives his thanks as he died.

Without thinking about their secret, Neon takes the group to a hospital, where a nurse tries to figure out the Shadow Wielders' cardiovascular system. They leave the three there and go back to the factory where John and Walter have woken up. Skylos convinces John to make up with Neon. The next day, Gycor and Tom attack the hospital where Ponic, Keera, and Markov are healing. Zach, Halo, Ponic, and Neon try to fend off Gycor, Tom, and a Xana possessed Wrath, but Markov is killed. Skylos appears after the fight ends and he heals the group. Following the fight, Halo discovers that she is also a Time Demon when she accidentally messes with Neon's age. At the same time, Rem brings E Link into the present via Lyoko. Ponic, Zach and Skylos go to the Phantom Demon realm and hunt for a demon to give them an orb, but are unsuccessful. On the return, Ponic finds out that you can fuse Demon Orbs. Gycor attacks the group at the factory this time and Skylos uses all of his demon orbs (Fire, Water, Earth, Thunder (Storm), Ice, Light, Dark, Void, Time, Slime, Blood, Power, Death, and Cat) at once, resulting in a massive explosion of power. Gycor barely escapes.

Halo tells Skylos that she has seen a Phantom Demon orb before, at a museum ten years ago. Skylos, Halo, and Rappa make their way to the said area and grab the orb that is thankfully still on display. They return to the cabin and call it a day. The next day, Rem explains to Halo why he hates demons. Apparently, a bunch of them had attacked his hometown. It finally explains the scar on his face. Once Halo hands Skylos the Phantom Orb, his yellow eyes take on a dull gray addition, but were still generally yellow. Skylos goes to the cabin and finds Wrath, who appears to be back to normal. However, this isn't the case and Skylos then battles with Wrath. It ends quickly with Wrath fleeing just as Skylos is going to use the Golden Aura attack on him. Rem is shocked when he finds out that Skylos has been given a Phantom Demon Orb, since it is an orb of possession.

At the same time, Tom tries to capture Alice, but decides to let her go when her parents appear to her rescue. Skylos and Neon make a portal out of void and end up in the Lunar Demon Realm, where Skylos gets a Lunar Demon Orb. They return to the cabin. Lareo tells Draco about his past, which pertains to him being defeated by the Lunar and Cat Demons. Danlay tries to fix the super scan, and a few battles happen. Skylos starts showing signs of the demon orbs possessing him, when he tries to kill a Xana possessed Wrath. Skylos captures him in a capture orb and goes to the ruins. He is introduced to Lareo, the ex-Phantom Demon King. Skylos reveals that he will help this evil demon, if he happens to ask for his help. Skylos leaves and returns to the cabin. The next day, he starts plotting everyone's downfall. He helps Halo back to the cabin since her magical powers were taken by Gycor, but she freaks out in the Light Subspace and talks about burning cabins...and cake. Skylos then plots with Mire and turns Wrath into a demon so he can get a shape shifting orb. Wrath is let go after turning back.

Skylos successfully lies to Neon about a Shape shifting Demon, and throws him off his case. Akio makes himself known and uses his powers on Halo, who then falls in love with Skylos. At the same time, Neon trains in the Dark Demon Realm with a Chaos ranked Necros. Skylos tricks Alice into following to Lareo's ruins. Skylos uses his Lunar Demon orb which strips her powers away, and Lareo kills her. Neon is shocked by this, but Alice is able to be revived. Skylos also tries to kill Halo, but he fails. Meanwhile, Tom tries to capture Jack but fails also. Another battle with Gycor and Tom starts and Ponic and Keera must fight Tom, who then reveals himself to be a Lunar Demon! Tom manages to capture Wrath, and then they retreat.

The next day, Skylos finds Halo, surprises her, and kills her! Skylos appears outside the cabin and finds Ichiya there. The two battle for a bit, and it appeared that Skylos might lose since Ichiya's sword was using void on him. However, Ichiya is then taken over by his dad, Marukiba, and the battle stops. He explains to Skylos that he died because Pierre had killed him. Gycor appears and talks with Skylos a bit, actually admitting that Earth wasn't his target, but just a innocent bystander. After he leaves, Skylos encounters E Link and Jack. He escapes and Gycor encounters him once more.

Later, Tom, in his Lunar Demon form, engages Keera in a battle. At the same Time, Neon concludes his training and learns from Gycor that he kidnapped Wrath and is holding him for ransom. Rem is upset over Halo's death and meets her in spirit form. They then realize that the Sage of Light might be able to help them. hey go to the ruins and The Sage of Light makes a Life Potion for Halo. Skylos joins the battle with Tom, and helps him by destroying the elevator controls so that Keera can't escape the computer room. Keera teleports out, but Gycor is out there waiting. But then Gycor leaves everyone alone after hitting Neon with some object. The last thing that happens is that Tom and Skylos capture Keera successfully and gives her to Gycor. Gycor gives Tom a red stone as a reward, and they both leave. Neon returns to the Dark Demon realm and swallows a piece of the dark crystal. Halo is revived by the potion. After she gets back to the cabin, she receives a present from anonymous and she opens it to find a baby dragon! The dragon's name is Findabhair, or Fin, for short.

The next day, Skylos chills on the top of the cabin and watches the group. One of Ichiya's friends visits and warns that Ichiya is going to turn evil for some reason. He leaves after awhile and Rem talks with Jack, briefly. Jack then goes out to train, and he is sucked into the Void Realm. Another person replaces him, named Konmei. Also, Neon resumes his interrupted training and beats the Light Demon. Necros then teaches Neon how to create an Aura Creature (Dark Beasts). Halo inhales a strange green mist and is possessed by evil, then attacks members of the group, namely, Rem and Cristal. The battle results in Rem's death.

It turns out that Rem didn't die, but that the twilight shard had thrown his spirit out of his body. Unfortunately, Rem's body starts moving on its own because the Power Gloves had taken over his body. Skylos turns Wrath back into a demon and they hunt for someone to kill. They meet up with Halo and Rem's body attacks her. In the Dark Demon Realm, Necros tells Neon, upon completion of his training, that there is another Dark Human in the realm. He states that he doesn't know who it is, because the human wears a mask of a demon. Neon visits him, and challenges him, to find out who he is. Neon ends up beating him, but decides to wait for another time to see who he is. The green mist guy leaves Halo after Rem beats him, and she is unpossessed. Rem is also restored to his body. Ponic finds out about what Skylos and Tom did and gets mad, so he heads for the computer room.

A fight begins with Wrath, Skylos, Alice, Marukiba, Tom, and Neon, Konmei, and then Jack, who suddenly returns and regains his memory of his supposed 'past life'. Jack and Konmei fight briefly, and Jack wins causing Konmei to disappear. Skylos and Nami become boyfriend and girlfriend after Alice restores her life. Skylos's eyes return to their normal yellow and the pupils back to black. Meanwhile, Neon kills Tom, but Tom reveals that he had killed Neon's father. Neon, very upset, retreats back to the Dark Demon Realm where he encounters Necros and the Dark Human for before. The Dark Human removes his mask to reveal... Skylos? Apparently, he had split his dark soul from himself before he had added the phantom orb to his necklace, just in case. They leave them realm and Skylos refuses with himself. Lareo gets mad at Skylos and sends Draco to kill him. After an exchange of harsh words, Draco leaves with the threat that Rem will finish him off anyways. Incidentally, Rem believes that Mire was the cause of Halo's possession and he wants to get rid of him as well. Skylos enters the cabin and makes amends with Rem, thanks to Halo.

The following day, Gycor changes forms. He suddenly has red eyes and tentacles where the bottom of his cloak had been. He becomes larger and gains claws and a very scratchy voice. Tranductus rejoins the group and decides to help out. Gycor marches to the cabin with an army of Oreal spirits following. Ponic comes up with a plan: get Gycor on Lyoko. They successfully get him in, and the battle starts in sector 5. Editor's Note: The battle is pure chaos since everyone was on except Steve. I won't go into much detail because of all the attacks happening. Though I will mention that Halo has earth bending powers on Lyoko The battle ends after much fighting by Skylos's and Tranductus's capture orb/ void orb combo, which seals Gycor away in the void. Ponic then gives Skylos all of Gycor’s orbs, among them is a Wolf Demon orb, which Skylos happily accepts and threads on to his necklace.

Editor's note: I did a bunch of blog posts in this arc which were mini-adventures that explained why Skylos missed a bunch of things that happened near the beginning of the arc. It was during these mini-adventures that he got a majority of the orbs.

A Cure For the Curse: Alice's strange form she acquired came from a curse that she has had on her since she was three years old, that will eventually kill her, leaving only her bones. She becomes depressed and refuses to speak to anyone. Mitsurugi tries to cheer up, but he ultimately fails miserably and only makes things worse.

Tranductus makes a potion from some various herbs from a dimension close by called Chronos, and mixing it with a purple potion that is in a quartz flask. It turns white and she drinks it, breaking the curse. A being named Shinseibachi, who lives in Alice's mind, becomes angry because his curse was broken, and causes her much pain. The reason for this curse is because Alice ate Shinseibachi's favorite cow. Neon enters Alice's mind and their combined power defeats Shinseibachi and drags him out of her mind. Neon's punishment is to leave him alive, and he leaves.

A Quick Remembrance of Our Past: Skylos starts to remember how they all met, because Ichiya's memory charm fades away. It went something like this:

Skylos, Neon, Alice, and Ponic: Skylos's parents went missing one day and Skylos had to live with his cousin, Robbie. While Robbie tries to console Skylos, Neon enters and kills Robbie, instead of the intended target, Skylos. Skylos tries to find Neon, but instead finds Ponic, who decides to help him find the killer. Alice, meanwhile, arrives on a plane from Japan, only to have her food stolen by some thief. Skylos and Ponic meet Alice, who kills a person for food...and then are attacked by her. Ponic protects Skylos from her. Alice calms down and Ponic gets her some food. The next day, Ponic, Alice, and Skylos find a mysterious factory and find Neon there. Neon battles Alice for a bit, then traps Skylos in darkness. Alice gets into a fight again and Skylos escapes further into the factory. Neon gets away and encounters Skylos and Ponic, and is confused by how Ponic stands up for Skylos. Ponic and Skylos convince Neon that he is a good person, and he passes out from a sudden return of memories. The threesome escape the factory. Ponic talks to Neon later and they become friends.

Rem and Halo: Rem goes to the remnants of his house and thinks about how his parents were gone. He searches his house for something while someone spies on him. He finds a purple orb and a map that was in a box. Rem hears a flute playing, so he investigates, only to find a Phantom Demon who wants to kill him. Rem uses the violet orb to make a shadow blast, but it does nothing. He is blown away and the demon hunts for him. Rem is able to beat the demon with an icicle spear/shadow blast combo. He looks at the map and it shows various orbs in France. He decides to head there via airport. On the plane he thinks about how demons had destroyed his home. Rem finds out that the orbs are all on islands, and he'll have a hard time getting them. Meanwhile, Halo's village is attacked like Rem's, and she escapes, losing Manuel in the process. Ponic's shadows lead her to safety. They meet up and Halo doesn't want to give her name out because the masked Rem is scary to her, so she looks at a nearby tree that had the initials RL on it, which also happened to be some letters in her last name as well, so it worked out fine. With Rem, she tells how she can use ice powers, and how she accidentally fell through the ceiling once, and her dad had to catch her. She also zapped her dad and made his hair funny.

Ponic, Neon, and Alice meet up with them and then Xana attacks the city. Skylos goes to the factory alone and tries to figure out why Neon had been guarding it to begin with. Neon shows up, but get possessed, and attacks Skylos again. Xana leaves him alone and focuses mainly on the others who have powers and are a threat. Crazy wires attack everyone. Ponic makes it to the computer room, but Xana tries to force him out. Ponic enters Neon's mind and makes Neon fall unconscious. He wakes up and the entire group finds each other, and they go to Lyoko and look in wonder at the world. Something to note would be that Skylos's attire was a yellow kimono, and he wielded dual yellow battleaxes. After a short battle with megatanks and other monsters, Neon deactivates the tower, and everyone's memory is erased. Ichiya states that he'll come back some day as Hora to bug them.

Danlay: He was a student at some secret training place in Transylvania, Romania. He watches Emanuel die. Off on his own (Biiiig surprise!), he was a student at Kadic two years prior and found out about Xana the hard way, by getting involved with the Lyoko Warriors. He later finds the others and joins them.

Ichiya: Ichiya finds Alice at the factory and tries to get her to leave. He has mysterious red eyes and wears some interesting armor. He is being chased, later, by people trying to get his DNA for some reason, and Alice attempts to help him. Unfortunately, some blood is taken from him via a syringe, and is left to fend for himself. He beats up the people and finds the group.

Beings That Weren't Meant To Be, Part One: Ponic and Keera are confronted by a girl who states that she will get revenge for something precious they took from her. The next day, they are watched by a man with eyes on his palms that are quite real. He quickly leaves when he is noticed, but leaves the following note: "Dear Ponic, I bet you're wondering how we know your name......Well let's just say you've been a bother. So we have decided to take care of it. Oh....and you seem to have a member of ours. We are going to be sure to get him back from you. Oh and don't complain about death....when you're the one who causes it." The note ended with a strange signature. Neon joins up with them and they head back to the cabin to try and figure out who is threatening Ponic and find out who this 'member' is the letter speaks of. Wrath is able to read the signature: The Hakata. Ponic decides to go hunt for clues, but he's attacked by an animal...one that was painted? A boy claims responsibility for his power over paints. After a brief exchange, the boy leaves and drops the clue that "She hates Ponic". Ponic asked neon, later, about her. Neon wonders as well and asks if Ponic might have killed someone. Ponic concedes that he's only killed some Shadow Warriors, and Keera's assassin. They turn in for the night.

The next day, Neon tells Alice about the note. Zach joins and hasn't a clue either. Two figures encounter Alice later and one of them tells her to give his regards to Neon, but he doesn't say his relation to Neon. The one with the scythe then attacks Nami and they battle, along with Alice. At the same time, Neon and Zach are fighting Ichiya's dad, who is trying to take over his body. Alice figures out that the figure is none other than...Tom! His hood is removed to show half of his face being bone. This meant that he was now...a Death Demon. Meanwhile, Ichiya's father leaves, but takes Ichiya's sword. Tom explains that after he died, he found himself in a strange realm and then he was locked up, but a group rescued him. Alice tells Neon and Zach about how Tom attacked both Nami and her. Neon is shocked, because he was the one that had killed Tom. The group breaks up so they can cover more ground, because they might be heading for the cabin. Zach is attacked by a knife that appeared to have been drawn...meaning the painter from the other day was attacking. He reveals his name, Kidora. He then attacks Zach with a pistol when he refuses to tell him where Wrath is. The paint starts to make Zach weak and Neon and Alice come to the rescue. Neon arrives and Zach warns about the pain making him unable to move his arm. Alice heals Zach's paralysis with a healing venom (ironic, no?). Alice then stupidly reveals to Kidora that they do, in fact, know Wrath. Kidora escapes.

The next day, Kisame breaks into the cabin, demanding they hand over Wrath. Kisame traps Neon in a Mind Trauma, disabling him for the time being. Kisame grabs Wrath and starts to restore his memory, only to be interrupted by Keera. Kisame leaves and encounters Skylos, who he wants to use as a bribe. Meanwhile, Wrath seems to think Keera is his mother. The reason for this is thought to be that the memory transfer was stopped at a point where Wrath was with his mom, so it was left imprinted on him. Wrath's memory then starts to come back to him. He starts to attack Neon and Keera, and explain that he wants to become human, because he is a Hakata too. After the fight, an unknown figure grabs Wrath and escapes with him.

With Skylos, Kisame whispers to Skylos that they are going to take everyone's souls. A fight then starts between the two. After little fighting, Kisame explains to Skylos exactly what he is; he is a being that was created from someone who died, and was attempted to be brought back to life, but failed - a Hakata. Ponic arrives to help, but then a familiar face appears saying Kisame is late. The scythe-wielder reveals himself to be none other than Tom. The only problem is that his memory is not fully intact... a side-effect of becoming a Hakata. Kisame hints to Ponic that he killed someone that their leader knew, and wants revenge. Tom seems bent on threatening Skylos. He attacks him, even when Skylos threatens that he knows a Death Demon's weakness. Skylos uses the orb to morph into a Death Demon, knowing that a scythe to the heart would kill him. Kisame and Ponic have a word fight, and Tom tries the same while having a scythe fight with Skylos. Tom puts the Death Crystal into Skylos's body without him knowing. Tom eventually makes Skylos flee, since Tom had been crushing Skylos with words of how useless he was and how the group didn't need him. He sulks alone in a cave and the leader of the Hakatas finds him. Skylos decides to join with them, thinking he is of no use to anyone.

Pierre gives Neon some insight on what exactly a Hakata is, using Ichiya's mom as an example. Meanwhile, Halo is distressed over blackmail. Ichiya shows Halo two rare dragons, Chito and Umaga. Halo then encounters Rem and starts to attack him and E Link for some unknown reason. it becomes apparent that a little boy is in Halo's mind and forcing her to kill someone or he'll kill Rem. E Link, Ponic, and Ichiya go into Halo's mind and remove the boy, making everything better.

The next day, Halo encounters Mire in the kitchen. He hints to Halo about a good breakfast, by tossing a slime orb to himself. Halo declines and goes for cereal. Mire then slimes the entire room by simply making his eyes glow green. Halo escapes with intangibility, but Mire taunts her that she'll never get breakfast now. To spite him, she grabs her bowl and leaves again, only to have Mire "accidentally" slime inside every single cereal box. Halo gets mad and tries to free him, only to have Mire make his slime 100 degrees. She tries lighting, only to find out that Mire is composed of an insulating liquid. She gives up and leaves. Cristal finds the cereal and wonder who the wise-guy is that slimed it. Halo points on her way out and Cristal freaks out and fires water needles at him. Cristal escapes.

Ichiya trains with his war buddy Mitsurugi, and Neon meets up with them. Screams are heard from the city and they go to investigate. Kidora, Kisame, and Wrath are on the scene, causing trouble. The former taunts Ichiya with his mother, causing Ichiya to start to lose his cool. Ponic and Keera appear to help, and Skylos appears in his 'Death Cleric' outfit and helps the Hakatas. He causes Keera to run and Skylos and Kidora go after her. Another Hakata appears and reveals herself to be the leader, Arasuki. She blame's Keera and Ponic for the death of her brother. Arasuki kills Kidora out of anger for him failing. Skylos then captures Keera and delivers her to Arasuki who went back to the lair.

Afterwards, Skylos visit Lareo and Draco once again tries to get Lareo to not like Skylos, which fails miserably, only making Lareo like him more. Skylos chats with Lareo for awhile and E Link's probe sees all, warning E Link and Ponic of Skylos's betrayal. Skylos talks a little bit to Keera, and leaves her to her cage to sleep. Skylos then asks Tom for some help with training and he is taught by Tom to use bone to his advantage. Skylos and Tom go after Neon and try to turn him into a Death Demon. They get him to the warehouse where they had the base, but Neon start attacking again. Skylos's right arm is broken by Neon, causing him to have to go off to the side to heal it. Kisame takes up the fight while Skylos heals and Izumi attacks Ponic. Keera goes crazy with power and tries to find Neon whom Arasuki made off with when he was knocked out by Kisame. Meanwhile, Ichiya starts fighting Kisame. Ponic joins Keera and they attack Tom while Skylos joins Arasuki. Ponic and Keera then shockingly kill Tom and Arasuki uses a few of Wrath's body parts to open a portal of souls. Skylos tears up with Tom's dying words and Skylos's aura goes completely black. Neon wakes up and thinks Skylos killed Tom and bloodied up Wrath. He leaves angry with Wrath, saying Skylos will pay. Skylos comes out of shock and buries Tom somewhere.

Skylos then goes to the cabin to try to patch things up with Neon. Skylos explains who Arasuki is and how everything is her fault. Neon then feels guilty and apologizes for thinking he hurt Wrath and killed his uncle. Skylos then refuses to tell Neon and Halo that Ponic killed Tom. Even though Skylos was overfilled with sorrow and hate, he didn't want to make ties with the group difficult, even though he was ready to kill Ponic the next chance he got. Actually, he say he'd kill anyone except for the group (minus Ponic, but he obviously doesn't say that). Neon then leaves for a bit and Ponic appears. Skylos is angry at seeing him, but informs him that Neon was ready to kill him when he found out about Tom's death. A shocked Ponic then states that he has to tell Neon the truth, but Skylos stops him, saying that he blamed it on Arasuki, and things are alright. Kisame runs when Ichiya has almost beaten him, making it so that all Hakata have vanished as quickly as they had come...

The Ruin's Master and Death Skylos Caper: Skylos goes to Tom's grave and finds a Death Flower growing there. Halo arrives and annoys him a bit, and Nate walks away with Halo. Skylos meanwhile finds Tom's scythe and tries to give it to Neon, who refuses to take it, saying he loved Tom, but he would have wanted him to take lives with it. After Skylos and Neon almost get into a fight, because Neon punched him, Ponic appears and reveals to Neon that he killed Tom. A shocked Neon is at a loss because he had revealed that he had accidentally made Tom a Hakata. It then hits him that Skylos wants to kill Ponic. Neon refuses to help Skylos killed Ponic, so Skylos leaves. Neon is disturbed by Tom's death and Skylos turning into a Death Human and goes for a walk. Reap encounters Skylos and invites him for future training, then disappears. Keera attempts to talk to Skylos, but he pretty much blows her off.

Meanwhile, Halo and Rem listen to a tape of Rem muttering in his sleep. He is apparently running from some type of demon. Also, Ponic and Neon talk about the recent happenings and try to figure out what Arasuki wanted with Wrath and Neon. Mire arrives and takes Neon aside to talk to him. He is happy to have Skylos as his evil brother (as he considers him as such) and wonders how Neon feels. Neon confesses that he is filled with pain just as Skylos is. Mire takes Neon to Skylos after he asks if Tranductus is involved, which he says yes to. Skylos is brightened by Neon supporting him and is made happier. Neon asks who's in charge of the ruins, and Skylos replies that it is someone he calls Phantom Master. Speaking of which, Vain, a Phantom Demon, visits with the Phantom Master for an unknown reason.

With Skylos now in a much better mood, he decides to forgive Ponic and just warn him not to cross paths with him too often. Neon appears and questions what Skylos is planning to do. Skylos shares with him his resolve and also notes that he is helping the Phantom Master. Neon learns that an invasion will occur, and notes to Skylos that their friends will get involved. Skylos replies that they'll just have to kill him. Neon is silent, but then asks if Skylos plans to become a Death Demon. Skylos says that he only plans to stay a Death Human.

Later, Neon pops by the cabin real quick, and then he takes something from Skylos's room. He comes into the front room and finds Skylos in a different outfit. His Death Cleric Uniform was gone, replaced by a black dress shirt, pants, and shiny black shoes. Neon asks Skylos about his Demon Orb collection, to learn that Skylos overlooked a few. Neon says he's remembers something blue near a river, and they go to investigate. While there, Skylos encounters Ponic and he makes up with him... Sort of.

In the ruins, he explains that he's still evil, but he won't touch them unless they get in the way. Ponic asks what's to come, and Skylos freely tells him that he will see a lot of Phantom Demons really soon. Skylos leaves and Ponic notices Neon. Ponic asks if he heard everything, and they head back to the cabin.

The next day, Skylos and Neon visit Lareo. Lareo talks about how he is just about ready for his invasion. He says that the only thing he needs is a disposable army on earth. Skylos questions how he will do that, and he holds up a twilight shard. He uses it on a Creeper, and it becomes under his control. Skylos also finds that Lareo can escape the ruins soon. Skylos leaves for a bit and Neon talks to Lareo alone. Neon states that he's only there for Skylos, and not Lareo. He asks what Lareo plans to do if he wins. Lareo replies saying that he'll rule of the world without the Lunar Demons in the way. Lareo also notes that he won't kill the group if they join him. Neon warns him that they don't give into temptation. Lareo counters that a person's will, can be easily broken when their life is on the line...or when someone else's is. Neon replies that Lareo is not like other villains they've face. He also compares him to Skylos, being relaxed and not rushing. Neon leaves.

The following day, Tranductus appears at the cabin, is apparently evil, due to some connection with Skylos. Tranductus engages Keera, going invisible and fighting her with invisible void orbs. Keera manages to hit Tranductus, but the damage is minimal, due to Shadow not being able to affect Void. Tranductus then floods the room with Light, making it so shadows are impossible to make. (Editor's note: Wrath is punching, Halo joins the fight, but uses ice that just melts, and Keera insists she can still use shadow... Um. This section is slightly uncanon. Oh yeah, and Danlay is on his own still. ^^; Oh, and Fin helps too. Okay. I'm just going to skip to the end. ^^;; Skylos and Neon check up on Tranductus and see that he's in a four-way fight. Tranductus warns everyone that he'll come again in everyone's dreams, but he then leaves after complementing on Rem's Dark sword which voids out his Light. Danlay walks into the madness and wonders what is going on. The others talk to one another about what they're going to do as Skylos and Neon leave.

Mire visits the next day and has a chat with Ponic. He notes that Skylos is getting better. He says that it must have been from making him happy. Ponic suggests to pull Neon back into the group, but Mire says that will close his heart up again. Mire says that giving him what he wants will bring him back, and Ponic completes the thought saying that the world would be in danger. Mire then bids Ponic good day and leaves. But then it ended up that Skylos had been on the cabin roof the whole time. Skylos then gets angry and fires a giant Hellfire Orb at the cabin, catching it aflame. Keera and Wrath are caught up in the fire, but manage to get out. Neon sees Ponic attack Skylos, and thinking that Ponic started the fight, because he then attacks Ponic in return. Skylos is so enraged that he hopes everyone dies, and he attacks the forest as well. Neon states that he has to protect his only family he has left. Skylos tries to Mind Control Ponic, but it fails. Then, Neon appears behind Skylos and grabs his shoulders. Skylos inquires what he's up to, and Neon punches him in the face!

Shock fills Skylos and he hangs loosely in Neon's grasp. He tries to convince Skylos to come back to the group, or he'll personally drag him back. Neon talks of how Tom is a liar, and Skylos gets even madder, to the point that he insults Neon. Neon calmly responds that he at least knows what feeling loved feels like, if not what love is, and that he loves Skylos move than Tom ever did. Skylos's voice deepens and tells Neon that he must hate him, since they all have the same blood. Neon threatens to break his bones and that Rem could heal him later. Skylos summons his Death Cleric uniform and dual-wields his scythes. He goes completely silent and a battle begins. Ponic teams up with Neon and is horrified when Skylos uses the Shadow Blade against him. The fight is silent for the most part, with Skylos barely even responsive other than to attack. Skylos then threatens to destroy the moon, Ponic's source of Shadow power on Earth. Ponic argues that that will affect other things negatively, but Skylos doesn't care. Skylos's anger is so great that even Lareo, all the way in the ruins, can sense it. Skylos unleashes a black mist and then warns all to leave before their flesh decays. Ponic and Neon flee, leaving the cabin and surrounding area a death ground.

However, they come back immediately and try again, even though the mist is decaying them. As they are about to lose, Ponic explodes with enough Shadow Power to remove the mist. He warns that they are in no condition to continue, and he has healed from stealing the life-force from them being in the mist. Skylos is hammered a bit by the others, as they are successful in making his head bleed...black blood. Neon is shocked by the color, and Skylos puts his horned helm on. Red eyes shine like two lights through the dark helm. Ponic and Neon decide to leave, as they need some time to recover. Skylos leaves as well. On a side note, Jack gets transported to a Magic realm where he learns some new magic to fight with. He is given a pendent to help him remember all 101 chapters of spells.

The next day, another fight breaks out between Skylos and Ponic. The fight is much shorter than the previous day's fight, due to Skylos finding it to be a pointless contest. Instead, he goes around the forest leaving his black mist to destroy it as he walked. He then used the life force of the forest to make himself stronger. Once he has finished, he disappears back to the Death Demon Realm. Once he finds Neon alone, he teleports to him and takes his helm off to talk to him. He states that he is willing to accept an apology. Neon denies owing him one and Skylos states blandly that Neon is hurting him. Neon announces that the only reason he joined Skylos to begin with was to try and get him back. Skylos argues that he has been emotionally wounded by Neon double-crossing him. Skylos says he will try to turn Neon into a Death Demon so that they would see eye-to-eye. They get into a fight on the factory roof and Halo joins. Skylos rusts the entire roof, causing it to fall to the floor below. Halo leaves and senses that Rem might be in trouble (as he had dreams about odd patches on various people). Eventually, after a hard fight on both sides, Neon loses and is saved at the last second by Malignant the Void Demon. Neon had managed to shatter Skylos's helm and most of his armor. Skylos leaves after some harsh words are given to him by Ponic.

The Ruin's Master, Lareo, uses the Grand Blade on a pedestal and the island he is on starts glowing. Once this is completed, Lareo is finally free to move out of the ruins and is no longer sealed there. At the ruins, Skylos heals himself and fixes his armor. Lareo gives some comforting words to Skylos, making him feel a little better. Skylos then wonders if one can raise a Hakata twice. Skylos meets up with Nami and she joins him, much to the dismay of the others who were spying on them. Keera trips and finds an odd stone, which he gives to Ponic.

The next day, Ichiya seems to be having a skin problem and when Halo asks about the black skin, he runs off. Skylos is meanwhile approached by a poetic person and he tries to blame Skylos for kidnapping Wrath, knowing that Keera is spying on them. Halo is then approached by a really fat person who tries to eat her! Rem joins in to help her. At the end of the fight, a girl name Yisha burns the enemy and sends him running. She asks to be a member of the group, saying that she is 510 years old. Ichiya then decides to tell Neon about his hand, saying that he thinks the twelve dragons are coming unsealed. Pierre seems able to help though.

The next day, Yisha meets Ichiya and it's apparent that they're falling in love. Later, Skylos, Nami, Neon, Ponic, Keera, Halo, and Yisha are in the computer lab. Tension is pretty high because of Skylos and Nami being there. Nami is asked whether she'd attack the others if they harmed Skylos, which she replies with a yes. Neon then tries to guilt trip him by saying he was going to help Skylos get his cousin back from the dead, but Skylos hotly replies that Neon killed him to begin with. Neon says that there is no harm in trying to rectify things and that he honestly doesn't want to see Tom ever again if he can help it. Skylos shoots back that turning him into a Death Demon would help with Alice, giving him eternal life with her. Skylos denies claims that he is still in contact with the Hakata, saying that he doesn't need them. It seems that Keera and Halo are the only ones who want to beat Skylos up, as Neon says that he doesn't want to fight him.

Ponic stabs Skylos with the Dagger of Memory and begins to show him memories...for some odd reason. Ponic admonishes him for trying to kill everyone, saying that killing isn't justified. Shockingly, Neon disagrees, saying that a Death Human has impulses for it and can't help it. He recalled being half Death Demon and almost killed Skylos... (Editor's note: Must have happened in second thread.) Skylos mentions Keera trying to kill him, and Ponic is in denial. Keera comes out and confesses and Skylos accepts the apology, smiling and saying that he is nice most of the time since it is in his nature to be. Afterwards, Skylos says his good-byes and vanishes off somewhere, leaving a confused Yisha for Halo to explain things to.

Meanwhile, the Phantom Demons break into the Lunar Demon castle. The Lunar Demon king orders a final rush at Lareo, but they are overwhelmed by a Sol Orb that Lareo had. At the same time, Draco talks with Skylos at the remains of the old cabin (a new one had been rebuilt by Cross[Nate]). Skylos denies regrets over what he did because this was the path he had chosen for himself. The Water Sage and Fire Sage then raise Lareo's tower.

The following day starts with Ichiya being attacked by moles and Yisha blushing over Halo trying to get her to talk to Ichiya. Yisha saves Ichiya and he declares that he needs to go pack for a month-long trip. Skylos is at Tom's grave as usual and Draco is with him. Skylos is slightly annoyed at Draco being there, and Draco says he doesn't care and laughs. Skylos demands to know what Draco is always on his case. Draco doesn't answer, but says that Lareo wants them to get along. The two seem to be able to work together now. In the Lunar Demon Realm, the king faces off with Lareo and is quickly defeated by the Sol Demon Orb. He escapes and bunch of Shadow Soldiers arrive to attack Lareo. Lareo leaves, seeing that his work is done here. Rem, meanwhile, goes to the new island and is captured by the Sage of Water and Vain.

Jack appears in the factory with Ponic, and Skylos shows up. Jack gets mad at Skylos still being evil and wonders if he has some sort of twisted mentality. Jack and Ponic argue over Skylos's logic of not fitting in. Halo and Yisha sense Rem in trouble and set off to find him, along with Cross, who is a Wolf Demon (or something like that) at this point. Ponic tries to contact Halo to find out about that weird tower that had just popped up overnight and then Jack attacks Skylos. Skylos flees to the said tower, and is seen by Halo. He states he went to the wrong place and then teleports inside the tower, where Rem is defenseless without his gloves. He was also given Timeline Sickness again. Also, some sort of chemical is injected into him.

A fight breaks out and the whole crew arrives to try and save Rem. Vain helps Skylos and it seems like they have the upper hand. During the fight, Skylos and Neon completely ignore one another. at one point, Halo teleports Rem to safety and Skylos fills the entire room with Light. Ponic and Neon (by accident) are taken out of action until Ponic uses his inner core to dispel the Light. Vain shifts into a Light Demon to make things harder for Neon (but also easier, if you really stop and think about it). Vain explains that Chaos ranked Phantom demons take on the types of demons that they kill. A Shadow Army tries to topple the tower, but Vain announces that it will only fall should Lareo. The group decides to retreat for now and regroup.

The following day, Ichiya and his two past incarnations, Hora and Sefrex, meet with some old buddies (Shina, Mindoran, Mitsurugi, and Gandoma) as they are about to leave on Chito for somewhere. Yisha and Halo come and Yisha kisses Ichiya. Cristal saw it and comments on how Ichiya has a girlfriend. Ichiya quickly leaves and Pierre shows up to mock Ichiya some. Later, Ponic is recovering and finds Rem with blue patches on his skin. Skylos explains to Nami that Ponic murdered Tom and that he's rather bitter about it. Nami suggest revenge, but Skylos states that that won't bring him back, shocking a spying Keera. Nami suggests reviving him by uses one of he lives. At first, Skylos says no, but Nami tells him it will always work, unlike some of the other methods which leads to creating a Hakata. But Skylos tells Nami that they should confront Neon before raising Tom, so then they go out to get something to eat.

Meanwhile, Rem is trying to get information on his Apai, but it turns out that the ink is conveniently smudged in the book that has the information in it. E Link is concerned for Ponic since he did make out that it's contagious, but he says that cold water works to get rid of it. Rem is just glad that he still has his sword. Ponic suggests using Gycor's cloak, as it's like a super shield when spun around. (<insert Nami ruining an emotional moment here>) Smaller towers then appear around Lareo's tower and cause a shield to be placed around the tower. Meanwhile, Skylos finds out that Alice has tokophobia. Afterwards, everyone goes to bed.

The next day, Neon asks Ponic about what has been going on, and he is caught up. Ponic is planning to try and find out if Skylos has a good and evil side, if so, throw the later into the digital sea. Neon seems to think he doesn't have both as separate and thinks it wouldn't work, which convinces Ponic as well. A soldier comes and tells the two that their attacks on the shield have done nothing, and that the only way to get rid of it would be to destroy the power source which is inside the towers.

Later, Neon finds E Link and Aqua busy at trying to find a cure for Rem. Neon inquires of his condition, and gets a good report from E Link, only he reminds that one shouldn't touch the blue patches. Neon inquires who Aqua is, and finds that she came from the same time as E Link. He then asks who that demon was that could change into whatever he killed. E Link explains that a Phantom Demon that was ranked Chaos or higher could do that, but he doesn't know specific demons. Neon goes to find Rem, passing Cristal and Cross on the way to his room (Skylos was secretly laying on the roof). Neon finds out that the demon's name is Vain.

A little time passes and Skylos visits Neon. They talk privately with one another, and they both voice their concern over not wanting to harm one another. They depart when Lareo summons Skylos. Lareo asks Skylos to use his Death Mist on an orb which will allow his demons to get to earth easier. Skylos does so (<insert Alice bleeding and stuff here. Also losing a life from some parasite>). Alice is seriously mad at Neon, however, they have other things to worry about. Skylos leads an attack against the group with some Phantom Demons. Skylos attacks Neon with a new Demon orb he just got, a Hate Demon orb. The attack is short lived and Skylos retreats without anyone else. Ponic and company begin to plan to destroy the small towers. They visit the Light Sage and he says he'll help them with the tower problem. Cross is showing off a potion of sorts while the others plan. The Sage of Light notes that Neon might like meeting the Sage of Darkness some time. They will put the plan to take down the towers in action tomorrow.

Skylos decides to team up with Akio as he has promised to give Skylos a Love Demon Orb in return for a partnerships, since he is so bored. Since no one was around at the time, Akio gives him a summoning candle to use when he finds someone, and he leaves. Halo starts to make the sky stormy to match her bad mood, and Skylos 'helps' by firing a beam from his Hate orb into the clouds, making it rain brimstone. Halo blinks a bit and makes it stop. Keera jumps out of her shadow and tries to stop Skylos, but then Skylos laughs and tells her that he tricked her into showing herself because she had been spying. Keera then realizes her stupidity and inquires what Skylos plans to do with her. Skylos decides to use Keera as a guinea pig for his Love Demon Orb. Akio appears and holds her down so that he can get a ring around her. Neon appears and Skylos asks for his help since Keera wasn't cooperating with him...But he really meant to use it on Neon. Neon fires a chain at him, but Skylos shrugs it off my using his Storm Demon Orb to electrocute Neon. Akio talks about making people fall in love with trees and just how entertaining that is. He tries to make Neon fall in love, but his eye contact with Neon resulted in him getting hit by a Mind Trauma. However, this left him open to be attacked by a halo, which went around his neck, giving Skylos control over Neon's emotions. Neon then grins happily and notes that the clouds look like ice cream. Skylos prompts Neon to go find Halo and tell her that he loves him. He does so, but Cross manages to snap him out of it. Keera is then made to fall in love with Neon, but Ponic manages to slice the halo off. While all of this is happening, Halo is helping Rem with his skin problem by freezing it. Rem was becoming somewhat aggressive due to the sickness. The ice encasing his body nulled his powers, luckily. Rem is getting weird, and neon notices. In fact, he finds out that something called Apai has taken over Rem. Neon frees Rem, and the Apai say that they can help Neon take out Lareo, because that's all they really want is to see him gone. After some talking, the Apai give control back over to Rem.

Later, Ponic finds Skylos lounging in a tree and they start with small talk. Then, Ponic gets mad at Skylos's attitude towards the heart, as he had been playing with Neon and Keera's. Skylos seems unconcerned and quite calm as Ponic seems to lose his cool. Ponic leaves in outrage and Skylos warps back to Lareo's tower. At the same time, Neon, Rem, and Keera plot to break into said tower. Ponic joins them along with Cross, and they easily get past the guards by using Apai. Neon then comes across the Sage of Water, a female in a blue robe. A fight starts with the floor being frozen and Neon putting on black gloves and making chains break through the ice. The sage is not powerful, though, and Neon quickly defeats her. Neon then busts the power room, thus destroying the tower.

The following day, Jack arrives at the cabin with amnesia, but Alice is able to get him some food, and also tell him his name. Neon arrives back as well. Kikyo visits and scares Alice because she is tokophobic... Oh well. Neon tries to calm her down. She faints and... then they go after Rem, who is heading for the next tower. The Apai seem to think they are burning Rem out, and can't move as fast. Neon and Halo are with him, trying to help him get there. Meanwhile, Cristal and Cross are training. Cristal gets the idea from Cross to make her Water Arrows into Ice Arrows. The gang meets Skylos on the way, and the Apai puts Apai around the tree that Skylos is in. His cell phone rings and angry Nami is on the other side. The others sneak off during this. They manage to destroy the next tower by using the Apai, while Skylos and Nami skip to the last tower to be ready for them. The others appear, and Alice gets upset when she finds out about the whole kissing and love thing that happened a little while back. Jack, during all of this, gets his memories back and renovates the cabin so that it has two floors and a basement. Neon and Skylos then take up positions to fight...

Only Alice then kills Nami, and she loses a life. Alice then leaves angrily. Neon and Skylos are affected by this outrage, and seem to be distracted from their battle for the moment. Meanwhile, the Apai finish off the last generator and then remove themselves from Rem.

The following day, Wrath wakes up and Jack seems to be ready to try out his new sword. Neon and Ponic try to figure out what happened to Wrath, but he doesn't seem to want to talk about it. Skylos spies on them secretly from the roof, thinking over in his head that he'll kill whoever kills the Phantom Master, as the shields are down now... Ponic finds Skylos and they get into an argument over whether Skylos can care about Wrath's health. Jack blacks out and wakes up with a gash on him. Skylos then chats with wrath, while everyone else is practically freaking out but saying anything. Eventually, after Wrath continually upsets Skylos, Skylos kicks him and takes him to the Light Subspace, only to wish he hadn't lost his temper. He then let's Wrath go, therefore calming down the group that really did freak out.

The following day would be the last day for some. The Phantom Demons apparently got scared by the shields being destroyed, so Lareo is without his army now. He notes that he is glad that Skylos stayed on his side, and then the others arrive at the tower. Skylos flushes Keera out by lighting up the shadows, but he is immediately confronted by Neon, someone Skylos says he will kill. While Neon and Skylos fight one-on-one, the rest of the group launches their various attacks on Lareo; however, they don't appear to have an effect on him.

Skylos, on the other hand, is bloodied up a bit by some spiked chains. Skylos counters with a Hellfire Orb that has a red core, instead of the usual orange; he had combined his own blood with it to strengthen it. When the orb manged to hit Neon, Neon found himself receiving the same injuries he had inflicted Skylos. Apparently, since they had the same blood (Tranductus as their common ancestor), this type of Hellfire Orb was splitting the pain. Neon rushes at Skylos to slam an electricity covered Darkness Orb at him, but Skylos combines it with a Light Orb! This causes the orb to change into what is known as a Void Orb, something quite destructive (this is the second use of Void that was not by a demon, by the way). Skylos overcharges it, then smashes it into Neon (his clawed gauntlets helping there), killing him in the process. Skylos finishes by marking Neon's forehead with a symbol which makes it so that Neon cannot be revived, unless it is by a Death Human or Demon. In retaliation, Alice takes away all of Nami's lives...somehow. Skylos goes insane a bit and then moves on to battling Alice.

Lareo battles using Rem's gloves, and is able to match everyone and it appears that nothing can stop him. Forming shields at his disposal, he battles with Halo, Rem, and Ponic. Once Ponic gets his attacks going, the tides soon change for the better! But once it looks like they are getting somewhere, Lareo runs Rem through with his sword. In a last effort, Rem grabs Lareo's neck and infects him with Apai. Lareo's core becomes visible, and Ponic runs it through, killing Lareo. The tower starts to break up, and everyone escapes.

Complications with Death and Slime: Dodging past Wrath in the cabin, Rem is put to bed, and Neon laid on his bed. A figure appears to Ponic and Keera, giving them instructions on how to revive Neon. They plan to revive him tomorrow with the scroll given to them by the kind stranger.

The following day, Ponic finds Skylos out cold on a couch ('his' couch, of course). Mire notes that Ponic should look into his mind, but Ponic finds only blackness. After coming out, Mire explains to all present that Skylos has had a bit of psychological damage, and appears to be in a coma thanks to their killing of Lareo and Nami. Ponic hears Alice wailing, so he then goes to check on her. In the meantime, Mire states that he can still use Skylos's body, so he picks him up and slings him over his shoulder. Keera inquires where he's going, and decides to send a shadow to watch where he goes. Rem wakes up and halo is relieved. However, they find that the orb Halo had given Rem had cracked, meaning Rem had died, and now the orb had been used.

In the other room, Ponic looks at the scroll and begins to follow the directions on it: To find something of Neon's, to find an open place and to take the body there, make a circle out of anything, to use Neon's blood to draw an indicated symbol on Neon's chest (looked like a circle with triangles and rings), and to put Neon's item on the symbol. Unfortunately, Ponic had been tricked, as this caused Neon to become a Hakata, and he was taken by the mystery man. Ponic alerts the cabin crew, and they go to the Shadow Realm to contact Neon as they had originally planned. Neon notes that they probably created a Hakata out of him. Without Neon's body, he couldn't come back, and then he vanishes.

Meanwhile, Mire spots Vain, Grandor, and Draco on Lareo's island, looking through the debris. Mire lands and chats with them, noting that Vain would probably be the next king of the Phantom Demon Realm. he notes that the crystal will probably choose him (Editor's note: This isn't true. This is just a Demon belief. The strongest demon or most suited is just simply selected.). Vain wonders why Mire cares, and he replies that he wants to see the Phantom Demon returned to what they used to be. Draco finds a hand in the rubble, and it hands him a twilight shard...the one that belonged to Lareo. Mire leaves, not noticing. he ends up returning Skylos to the cabin, and Reap states that he'll look after him. Reap seems to scare Wrath, but Reap tries to figure out why Wrath doesn't like Death Demons so much. He shares some memories with him, and then he befriends after awhile.

Reap and Wrath return to check on Skylos, and they find Mire who seems to have come up with a way to fix him. Ponic uses Skylos's Love Demon Summoning Candle to summon Akio, and he gets a feather from him. Mire sends Ponic for some shadow root, and Mire seems to have a jar of mud next to where he sat down the feather. Mire then asks for a Death Flower, but not Tom's since that would give Skylos a heart attack. Reap goes to get that, and then he sends Ponic to get a raven's wing bone. After all is gathered, Mire then states that the last thing he needs is a new demon orb. Unable to think of any other than a Dimension Demon, Mire states that they will have to get that orb. Akio perks up and says that he has a Dimension Demon friend, and off he goes to get an orb. Nami appears as a spirit and gives Mire a Dragon Orb, thinking that would help as well. Akio visits Hasha, his old Dimension Demon buddy, and is able to get the orb and return. Mire gathers the items and puts Skylos in an empty room and notes that demon law prevents him from showing what he is doing to humans. Eric gets around this by sending out his dark probe to watch. The ritual takes place, and Skylos is given two black wings...and his sclerae are now black. The main point, is that he was now awake. Nami also appears to be real, and not a spirit. The two hug.

Ponic takes Skylos aside and tries to get him to remember the old times by using the dagger of memory on him. Skylos merely notes that he was weak then and that Ponic should be glad that he doesn't need protection anymore. Some harsh words are exchanged, as well as Skylos saying that he faked the coma so that he could get stronger. Keera leaves after thinking there is too much death, and Ponic is upset by this, and leaves the cabin with Rem and also with Reap, who then joins them. They make their way to the factory, but on the way, they devise a plan to take away Skylos's evil and cure his Death form. Reap mentions that Tom had done this to him, as he had stolen Death Shards from their crystal back in the Death Demon Realm. Ponic plots to separate Skylos's good and evil half, then toss the evil half into the digital sea, destroying it forever. Reap notes that it would be a great punishment because it would leave him as a Darkness Human. Rem wonders why it seems like Light is not good in Skylos's case. Reap states that good and evil are only an opinion. In fact, Skylos could have seen himself as good and them as evil. After little else thought, they all go to bed for the night.

The following morning, Skylos finds Jack in the computer room. Skylos seems to have had a slight change in heart, saying that harming his friends was wrong. However, Jack will have nothing of it, and is only angered when he finds out that Neon was killed, and turned into a Hakata! Jack leaves, enraged. As a side note, Mire starts contaminating the water supply with slime. Wrath is taken aback by all that is revealed to him, and asks for some water to clear his throat. Unknowingly, he is drinking the contaminated water. Jack and Ichiya also drink this water...also not knowing. Ponic is not trusting of Skylos, but takes him to see Neon anyways. Neon reveals that he isn't mad at Skylos, and that he should go visit Tom's grave. Skylos wonders what he means, but goes to see it. Tom's grave is open, and with blood all around it. Skylos is angered by this, but then comes to the conclusion that Tom might just be alive again!

(Continued on next post as I am out of room on this one.)

[Skylos]

Sometime later, Mire starts taking more people over with his Slime. Wrath is the first to fall, but he is rescued by Alice. Jack tries to stand strong, but he is quickly losing the battle since the slime water he drank is getting to him. Mire boasts that he has all of France under his power, but Ponic shows up and tries to convince him to stop. Of course, this is unsuccessful (and then some random guy in a trenchcoat pops up and takes a stone from Ponic and beats up Keera).

While this is occurring, Skylos is hanging out with Rem and Halo. Skylos states that he's never really gotten to know Rem, so he wants to talk to him. This is somewhat cut short, because Skylos then remarks that he wants an Aura Demon Orb (yes, that's the first mention of Aura as being a Power). Halo jumps up and thinks Yisha knows how to get there, so she rushes off to get her. She is right, and apparently, they're all slobs. Rem leaves, thinking that Skylos has lied too much and that Skylos is just trying to use them again to get more powerful. Halo seems to have a little more faith in Skylos. They plan to go to the realm the next day.

However, they do not immediately do so. Skylos ends up back in the cabin, along with Rem and Eric. Rem seems angry, and he leaves furious. Eric inquires about why Skylos likes being evil, only to find out that Skylos just simply wants a perfect world that he could control so that there would be no wars. Eric finds Skylos to be self-centered when he tries to reason that Alice is in the wrong because killing Nami was like killing nine times, where Neon only had one life (even though Skylos admits that he wants to raise Neon (it's also ironic because Neon has already been raised thanks to Reap (editor's note: this is also the first sighting of a new Hakata, which will be explained in a later arc))). Alice states that she will only forgive Skylos if he raises Neon. Ponic is ready to give Skylos a last chance as well. Skylos leaves to go tie up some loose ends.

Skylos travels to the Phantom Demon Realm and chats with Vain for a bit, saying that he hasn't abandoned them, but that he wants to go out on his own for awhile. Skylos returns to the cabin to find Halo very ill, and Rem and Eric trying to figure out what is wrong with her. On the other hand, Mire is off in Germany affecting their water supply. Ponic pops up to talk to him again in attempts to get him to stop. Unsuccessful, he returns to the cabin. While the others deal with Halo's condition, Skylos uses his Water Demon Orb to give everyone a safe water supply to drink.

Skylos follows Mire to South America and resolves to stop him, as he wants the world. He declines help from Ponic, but then soon wishes he hadn't as Mire catches him by the neck and starts to cover him in Slime. Mire has taken hi mover now, and he sends the possessed Skylos to take care of Australia. Konmei (using Jack's spirit) arrives and tricks Skylos into taking him to where Mire is in Asia. Once there, Konmei sacrifices his spirit energy to kill Mire with a spirit blade through his core. Shocked that someone would kill the peaceful demon, Skylos is devastated. His body vanishes, only to leave Mire's straw hat. Mourning for 'Sid', Skylos cries and takes Mire's hat, looking for comfort from Ponic, which he doesn't get. Skylos loses sanity for a few seconds, but it is restored upon arrival of Neon.

Skylos retreats back to the cabin and curls up in his wings on 'his' couch. He chats with Rem about how he feels that life is pointless because everyone will just eventually die. Skylos then notes to Rem that he has the power to change humans into Death Humans and warns him to stay away from him if he happens to go crazy again. They also chat about Skylos's plan to setup a Death Human empire. Neon seems to think that Skylos is being selfish by forcing the power of Light, Darkness, and Death over everyone. Skylos tries to state otherwise, but he does not shake his opinion. Skylos decides to go to sleep. Rem and Neon chat with him asleep, and then Neon goes outside. Jack writes a note apologizing mainly to Skylos for hurting him, and he leaves the cabin, supposedly for good.

The following day, Skylos finds out that Mire is not dead, but has lost one of his two hearts. His second one is in the form of an orb (Editor's note: Known as a core later). He found it in the straw hat, but Skylos wants to keep it safe, so he stores it somewhere no one will bother. In the meantime, he contemplates whether he should save his race, or just kill them all, thinking that everyone might not be worthy of peace. In the forest, Alice looks for Neon, but instead runs into someone who has beat up Keera. She is forced into silence on the subject and the person wants something of Alice's. The gray figure leaves, saying that it will be back for it.

Skylos begins to tell Halo about his vision of peace, which is to turn a set amount of people into Death and have the other parts of the world be Light and Darkness. Ponic apparently had been listening and he grabs onto Skylos as he teleports. Ponic is accidentally taken to the Light Realm with Skylos. Skylos apologizes, but then states he's going to fix the broken Light Crystal so that he'll get stronger. Ponic doesn't like this idea, so he tries to stop him. His Shadow does not work in a place that only has Light, so Ponic resorts to sexually assaulting hanging onto Skylos's legs as he tries to fly. Skylos tries to knock him off with a few somersaults, but this just ends in Skylos crashing in front of the ruins he wants to get to. Skylos manages to get to the top and fix the crystal, but he takes severe damage from Ponic, who had to reach into his core to use Shadow. Skylos challenges Ponic to meet him in the Darkness Realm the following day.

They return to the cabin and Skylos lays on the floor bleeding a little. Ponic then suddenly attacks him with a Shadow blade, trying to dig into Skylos's body and rip out the Death Crystal! Neon then walks in (right on cue) and is shocked to find Ponic practically murdering Skylos! Neon tells Ponic to get away from him, stating that Reap had said that he must be in Death Demon form to remove the crystal (Ponic having misheard him and thought he could just rip it out)! Ponic is shocked by what he had done...realizing that he had almost killed Skylos instead of saving him. Skylos notes that the Shadow Root that Ponic gave him dissolved the shard into tiny particles in his bloodstream, anyways. Neon finds that Skylos is running out of blood, so he is careful to cover Skylos's wounds with Darkness. He mentions that Darkness in his blood would make him worse (Editor's Note: As you will see later!). Neon takes Skylos to his room while Ponic washes his hands and groans over how this had been all for nothing.

The following day, Skylos encounters Neon and they argue for a bit over Skylos's plan. Neon is very against it and shows this by grabbing the front of Skylos's new outfit. Skylos pulls away and argues that with the crystal broken, Neon isn't at his peak of Power, meaning he won't be able to protect everyone as well. Neon takes this to mean that Skylos thinks him power-hungry, and refuses to go with the plan. Ponic further adds that Skylos's peace would be fake. What Neon does not like most about the plan is that Skylos is pretty much deciding everyone's fate for them. Nate agrees, and Neon then remarks that they should just talk cousin to cousin (I guess he thought that there was suddenly too many people around XP). Neon asks Skylos to meet him in the Darkness Realm.

Skylos complies and even notes that he isn't lying about his want for peace. Skylos challenges Neon to read his mind, since he wouldn't be able to to lie that way. Neon finds that Skylos isn't lying, but then he doesn't know what to do...should do. Skylos suggests that Neon fix the crystal, and Neon surprisingly agrees. Skylos offers for Neon to sexually assault him hang from his legs as he flies to the ruins, but Neon states that he'd rather keep his dignity. On arriving to the altar of the Dark Crystal, Skylos tells Neon to use his Dark Soul to fix the crystal. After awhile and a few worried telepathic messages from Ponic, the crystal is restored. Neon return to the cabin and Skylos shrinks the crystal and takes it with him. He does this with the Light Crystal as well.

While this was happening, Ponic was taking care of Wrath who was sick and not feeling well still. Ponic takes him to a river where they encounter Draco, who then laughs and says they're not worth his time and too weak compared to his new Power. He leaves them to their business.

Skylos embeds the crystals into the respective sides of the body (left is Light and right is Darkness) in his palms. He slips his gauntlets on so that no one can see them. He catches Alice and Ichiya's aura, but he loses them and heads back to the cabin. On the way, he finds Ponic who has fainted and he helps him back into the cabin. Skylos slaps Ponic awake and the first thing Ponic notices is that Skylos's irises have turned white, just like Ponic's own eyes. Skylos hadn't known this and he checks in a mirror to confirm that they were no longer red. Ponic also notices that Skylos is wearing his gauntlets and Skylos replies that he had...cold hands. Jack comes in a minute later and is still upset that his demon side has come back for some reason. Skylos naturally wonders where Jack has been, but he just sits and reads a book on demons, trying not to give Skylos any straight answers. Ponic, on the other hands, is wondering where Neon is. Skylos tells him that he hasn't seen him since he fixed the Darkness Crystal, which shocks Ponic. Jack then finally notes that demon blood stays in you, so his demon part naturally returned on its own. They all decide to go to bed.

The following day, Skylos decided that today is the day. He finds Ichiya asleep in a tree, and tries to wake him up by rotting the tree he's in, but that just causes him to land on his head...still asleep. Ponic and the others chuckle for a bit, but the mood crashes once Ponic decides to use the Dagger of Memory on Skylos...again. He shows him the times when Izerion, Mire, and that computer program tried to take over the earth, creating slavery that no one wanted. Skylos still argues adamantly that he isn't trying to make slavery...He just wants peace. Ponic is not having any of it, and says that forced peace is a lie...which is just the same thing he's been saying all along anyways.

Skylos stomps off and Nate follows him. Nate attacks Skylos, unprovoked and slashes Skylos up quite a bit before Skylos's gauntlets glow yellow and violet. Suddenly, an 'X' of Void shoots out, nailing Nate into a tree. Ichiya happens by Skylos later, and Skylos seems to break off in mid-sentence, sounding like someone else. Skylos randomly attacks Ichiya, then notes that he's up against Light Essence after Ichiya has hit a tree, too. Cristal freaks out after Ichiya faints, and isn't sure what to do. Skylos...or whatever it is that has taken him over...progresses Ichiya's illness that he's had for some time now in an attempt to kill him. Ichiya wakes up, but Pierre rescues him before anything further happens to him.

Later, it is revealed to Danlay and Ponic that he is none other than Aduro! Ponic realizes that Skylos must have been being manipulated all along... Danlay and Ponic try to work out how to fix this conundrum. Ponic has made a spell to force Skylos into Death Demon Form, and fix the shard so that it can be removed. But Aduro is still in him, so it might not work... Aduro attempts use Mind Control on Ponic, but Ponic is able to dodge his eyes away. Aduro laughs and states that Ponic has passed his test. Ponic seems to realize that a conflict would be bad since Aduro is so strong, so he retreats for now. Danlay tries to figure Aduro out, and finds out that Aduro has been controlling Skylos since the Ruins Master died. As a side note, Cristal and Eric are able to get the potion to heal Halo back from Draco, and Halo recovers from her life-threatening sickness. Danlay inquires what would happen if all three people comprising Skylos currently were active at once. Aduro seems to think the strain would be to great and it would kill Skylos. Aduro does note that he'd like to fuse with his brother, though. Aduro says his farewells for the night, and everyone goes to sleep...But Aduro leaves the cabin.

Acerbus takes over the following day. He seems bent on destroying the world, much like Aduro, and he charges up a massive Darkness Orb, which he then launches and destroys the cabin and surrounding forest. The group were unable to stop him (party due to the fact that they didn't read the posts well enough to realize that he was in the sky. XP) Halo tries to escape while flying in an ice disk with Rem, but he then asks her why she hasn't just teleported. Halo of course is embarrassed and does so just in time to not get caught in the explosion.

Alice is also starving herself because she hasn't seen Neon in days. Three people join the RP: Genkai, Brian, and Jaden. Rappa and Dargan come back. Dargan boasts about coming first in a hoverboard competition (which is where he's been). Cristal has some fun riding on a hoverboard. Nate is revived as he apparently had died from Skylos's fight with him. Rappa and Brian sort of make friends. There's also a random Scorpion bit. Fin goes missing and Draco appears to have saved Aqua for some reason that he doesn't understand. Nate also spars with Rem a tad. Some guy named Rune makes some trouble at the factory.

Aduro takes over the following day and repeats what Acerbus was doing, only he destroys a nuclear power plant this time. He also kills Ichiya. Ponic was unable to stop him because Aduro stole the Light portion of Shadow so that Ponic was unable to actually attack him. Suddenly, Aduro is too tired to continue, so he swaps to Acerbus, who is still too tired, so he swaps to Skylos, but not before getting the idea of destroying the four World Points.

Neon is clued in by Ponic on the fact that Skylos has been taken over by Aduro and Acerbus. Danlay then accidentally teleports on Ponic's head, claiming that his teleporting powers are slightly off. After getting down, Danlay states that he thinks that Skylos isn't the person they once knew. He also asks Neon whose side he is on, which angers ("a tinge of hate in his face") Neon. Neon states that he is caught in between his family and friends and doesn't want to betray either. Danlay seems to think that Neon must choose one of the other. He then attacks Skylos, who is actually pretty much falling over at the moment anyways. Actually, Skylos does fall over and then manages to tell them to clash the crystals in his palms together to break them. Danlay, always rushing things, does so, but the crystals simply fuse together and fly off. Also, Void wraps around Skylos's neck, and his Demon Necklace is taken! Skylos faints and Danlay takes him to a hospital. The doctor seems to think he'll be all right, but he needs rest. Neon and Danlay sort of apologize to one another for earlier.

The next day, Danlay's friend, Dr. Dorskin, whom he has known from Egypt, arrives to check in on Skylos, as he's dealt with Power Humans. Danlay says his name to him, and then his memories of other things are unlocked...and he remembers Dorango as well. In any case, Skinny seems to think that Skylos has some trauma, and he won't know the extent until Skylos wakes up. Danlay leaves, feeling very weakened and calls Emanuel to be on stand by, just in case.

Neon visits Skylos once he wakes up. Skylos tells him that Acerbus had made him want the World Peace and Aduro had made him want to join the Ruin's Master (Editor's note: a rare instance where he doesn't call him Phantom Master). Taking Tom's crystal also didn't help. Neon doesn't like Tom being mentioned, but urges Skylos to search his mind and see if he can remember where Aduro and Acerbus will strike next. Skylos concentrates, and manages to utter zero degree by zero degrees, before he passes out.

Later, Skylos awakens and notes to Neon that Aduro and Acerbus are one person. It seemed that Skylos had meant something specific about that, as though it were important, but Neon doesn't seem to catch what Skylos was implying by that. Moving on, Skylos notes that the lack of his Demon Necklace has left him with power withdrawal, and it has left him feeling rather weak on top of that. Dr. Dorskin and Danlay come in as Skylos and Neon wonder what to do about Aduro and Acerbus now that they've fused. Dr. Dorskin notes that Skylos really should be resting, and Skylos seems to comply as the power withdrawal makes him pass out again. To end the day, Nate uses a massive amount of energy to restore the forest that Aduro had charred.

(Editor's Note: Steve and I (Caleb) then played a joke on Melanie and made her think we were going to report her to a moderator and that we'd both never rp with her again. It was quite funny. lol. Well. It was funny until YNB got involved, but still.)

Dr. Dorskin discharges Skylos from the hospital, but mistakes him for a demon (Editor's note: As YNB did to all of my (Caleb's) characters for some odd reason...) for some reason. Skylos inquires if Danlay is going to kill him, since he is still somewhat evil even though those two had left him (Tom's crystal is in him, of course). Danlay says now isn't the time for that, and he leaves to find Emanuel. The combined form of Aduro and Acerbus attach an Aura Demon Orb to the necklace and state that they are ready to get underway with the plan. Skylos leaves to find the others. Ponic finds Skylos first, and they talk on the situation. Skylos finally suggests using a Capture Orb to win, as they really don't want to kill anyone. Ponic then asks how it works, so Skylos chucks it at Ponic's forehead. Luckily, Ponic dodges and then says he gets it. Skylos then notes that you'd probably need to weaken the person first though...Seeing as Ponic dodged. He also notes that when he caught Wrath in one and made him a demon that time, he had knocked him out first.

Neon meets up with them, and Ponic then tries really hard to get Alice to come (I mean really... All's she would do is post to Steve and ignore Dan's posts and really just wanted to post to Mike...Ahem. Moving on.). Tranductus appears and states that he has some business with these two. Neon openly does not care for Tranductus, as he had been somewhat of an enemy in the past. The group, Skylos, Neon, Ponic, Alice, and Tranductus, teleport to the island at coordinates, 0,0. The combined form is seen at an altar of sorts, and he is prepping to destroy the four world points, but first he must do some sort of ritual. Ponic has them warp right to the altar, and Neon remarks that it's one of their grandfathers. Skylos then notes that being one person, it's both of their 4x great grandfathers. The man then notes that he has a name. Omni...! Wrath attempts to attack him, But Void wraps around him to make him cease to exist, but Tranductus cancels it out with his own Void. Omni vanishes, giving them one day to change their mind.

They don't leave, and Omni come again the next day. Neon cannot believe that they are related at all, saying that family would not want to kill one another. This makes Skylos feel uncomfortable for a moment, but he recovers. Omni and Neon talk mentally while Neon tries to find Omni's weaknesses. Finding none, they are forced to fight without any insight... Skylos and neon tag-team, making Void as often as they can as it does appear to be the only thing that affects Omni. At one point, Ponic tries to attack, but the Shadow has no effect at all! Neon starts to take heavy damage from Omni using Light and seeming to only attack him (since it does take two to make Void). Ponic then tries to combine Darkness from Neon with his Shadow, but the attacks fails as well due to it unbalancing the Shadow. It seems that nothing is having any impact on Omni, and Omni continues to dish out overwhelming attacks. Finally, after the crew is nearly beaten to a pulp (and almost Voided out of existence), Neon finds a weak place on Omni that was on his back, causing him to flinch long enough for a Void Orb to nail him! Omni falls to the ground, stunned, and Skylos throws a capture orb at him like a baseball. Omni is captured and secured! (Victory music~) Ponic suggest to put him somewhere for all eternity.

Skylos pockets him, but then makes to fly off! Neon catches him and demands to know what he's doing. Skylos states that the partnership is over and he is off to complete his goals. Ponic fires the specially made spell for Skylos at him, but it is directed at Neon, who is saved by Ponic who took him into his Shadow, much to Neon's annoyance. Skylos is now not being held by Neon, but Ponic sexually assaults him again grabs onto him, causing him to crash again. After a bit of rolling around, Ponic manages to blast Skylos with the spell. Skylos turns into a Death Demon against his will. Distressed, Skylos does not want to part with Tom's memento. Ponic rips it out, and Skylos returns to normal, only he is twitching on the ground. Reap appears and picks up Skylos's limp body. Ponic inquires if he can fix him, but Reap says they only made his job easier. Neon seems to get what Reap means, but is too late to stop him as he vanishes to the Death Demon Realm in his black mist! Angered, Neon vows to rip Reap apart the next time he meets him. Ponic states that they've been puppets all along... Skylos wakes up, and states he doesn't want to be there. Reap replies the same. Skylos asks if he can 'escape,' and Reap notes that he'd have to try and 'stop him.' Skylos slashes the air, then escapes through a portal. Reap merely shrugs. "Darn... I failed." he then winks.

Skylos is in the factory the next day, moping that his Death Powers are gone. He then notes to himself that he should have embraced Light anyways. He walks into the elevator, but then Neon gets in at the last second. Neon inquires what happened to Reap, and Skylos tells him that he let him go. Neon also asks why Skylos was acting weird right before his capture, and Skylos states that he likes being evil. Neon forces Skylos against the wall, but Skylos wonders why Neon just can't accept him for who he is.

Neon notices that something is amiss and he then orders Skylos to empty his pockets. Skylos does so, but he is very reluctant. A capture orb comes out, but only a straw hat is in it. Neon demands he take the other orb out, but Skylos will not comply. Skylos states that Mire is his best friend and Omni is his power. Oddly enough, Neon asks for Skylos to give him Mire's orb. Skylos says 'never.' So then Neon asks for Omni's orb, since the Skylos he knows doesn't need power. Skylos gets defensive and tells him that Neon doesn't know him, but Neon calmly states that Tom would have wanted him to use his own power. taken off guard by this statement, Skylos takes out Omni's orb. Omni glares at Neon, and then Neon tries to take the orb from Skylos. Skylos seems to come to and he drops the orb on the floor. He states that he shouldn't touch it, but instead send it to the Void. Neon notes that Skylos is now acting normal. Skylos replies that Omni's presence was trying to take him over. The two each create an orb of their respective Power, then they mix them to send Omni into the Void. Skylos and Neon emerge from the elevator, having never left the first floor. Neon is glad that Skylos chose his family over Power, even if it was Tom. Skylos wonders if Neon hates Tom, but Neon says he doesn't know. They both agree that Tom shouldn't have done a lot of things...but still. No one is perfect.

Beings That Weren't Meant To Be, Part 2: Just as Skylos and Neon are leaving the factory, the elevator suddenly collapses behind them! Danlay appears in the next second, alarmed at hearing it from the computer room (he had been about to use it). Two unknown figures appear and attack the three. After only a few seconds, Skylos identifies his long-since dead cousin Robbie, and Neon identifies...Tom! They are both Hakatas. Tom asks what Skylos cherishes most, but Robbie is the one that reads Skylos's mind. Robbie grins as he finds out that it's Neon, who is conveniently here. Tom and Robbie manage to capture Neon, leaving Skylos, Danlay, and Brian beaten up a bit.

The following day, Ponic finds Skylos and the latter tells Ponic what happened. They head to the factory where they find Brian, Jaden, and Rappa. Skylos and Brian tell about what happened and then Wrath shows up just in time to hear about it. Strangely enough, Neon then comes out of the factory! He states that he woke up there. The others are not convinced this is him, however. Skylos asks 'Neon' what their great great great grandfather's name is, but 'Neon gets it right. With this in mind, Skylos is convinced that this is Neon, as no one else would know this... Or so he thought... Neon lures Rappa away and then he tries to find out what he cherishes most. Luckily, Brian had followed them and he tries to help Rappa get away. Neon turns into a cloaked figure, then morphs into their moms... They manage to get away.

Later, Skylos is in the cabin and Ponic comes in. Skylos is reading his Tome of Power and Ponic shows interest in it. Ponic reads a bit of it and is shocked to find all kinds of spells and such. Skylos goes on to say that it lists all of the demons and has quite a bit on Light and Darkness, as well as History. Ponic seems to like it because it even has lost spells of Earth in it. Skylos notes that it's one of his treasures. Wrath then makes it back to the cabin with a broken hand. It's then evident that it was not Neon after all! Danlay then senses danger approaching the cabin, so he teleports right in. He's slightly confused at seeing Skylos (because he thought he had been captured too) and seems to think he might be a fake. After awhile, Skylos is finally able to convince him otherwise, with much help from Ponic. Alice also helps Wrath with the help of some herbs.

Robbie and Tom show up again, but this time they are targeting Ponic (whom Robbie hates since he thinks he's the kind of guy who just flaunts his power). At the same time, another unknown figure is trying to tempt Rem into giving out what he cherishes. Unfortunately, the other one with him figures out that it is Aqua. Jaden appears just as the cabin is attacked by dead vines, thanks to Tom. The group rushes out of the cabin and find Robbie and Tom. Skylos finds that this battle is personal to him, so he requests that he fight Robbie. Jaden launches attacks at Tom, but Tom is somehow able to stand the large amount of power Jaden had put behind his powered-up Ice Needles. Danlay attempts to help too, but his attack is even less effective. Tom strikes through Skylos with long bone that came from in between his knuckles, causing him to bleed massively. Tom takes Skylos's Tome of Power, even though Skylos says that Tom is better than this. Tom states that he'll end up losing everything. Tom and Robbie vanish. Jaden then notes that it must have been a good book if that's all they wanted...

Meanwhile, Rem is still trying to get away from his 'mother.' They are trying to figure out where is Aqua is so that they can kidnap her. They switch tactics by having his mother swap to his father, but this doesn't help, really. Rem has some sort of purple substance come up, but then Rem teleports away. Another kind of attack happens to Alice, but she is far too smart and finds that the attack on her is too corny. Heads of people she knows try to say bad things about her, saying that she is failure and such, but is really doesn't work at all.

The next day, Ponic and Keera take Wrath to a cliff where there is a river nearby so that they can jump off and swim. only, once they get in, a giant water tornado forms and attacks them! A hooded figure appears and reveals himself to be none other than Kisame! The yellow eye on his hand was glowing, meaning this was his doing. He had grayish skin and eyes with no pupils. His mouth was covered. Using his many eyes, Kisame attacks Wrath mostly and tries to capture him. Seth and Jaden appear to help, but they are too late and Wrath is taken. Danlay, sensing Wrath fade off, then decides to do his own searching with Emanuel to figure out about this organization. The only problem is that they're so "hush hush". Danlay comes upon Seth and they talk about what happened to Wrath. meanwhile, Skylos tries to find the villains' base. He travels to the warehouse, but he knows they wouldn't be stupid enough to use the same place again.

At the villain's base, Robbie presents the Tom of Power to someone in a large chair. The room is filled with spikes and pictures of people in agony (Editor's Note: Yup. Sounds like Mike's work). Kisame notes that he just went out for groceries, causing the person in the chair to laugh a little. Tom and Robbie leave the room and Tom explains why they are doing all of this. It is so that they will exist in the world. Robbie then wonders if Skylos will join Tom again, but Tom seems hesitant to answer.

Danlay parts company with Seth and is then confronted by two more hooded figures. One of them is rather wanting to eat Danlay, but Danlay is not having any of that. He demands to know where Neon is, but they will not tell him. They say that Danlay is unimportant and that they can just kill him. Danlay then says some hilarious insults that you'll just have to read for yourself. They reveal themselves as Zephyr (Editor's Note: This is a different Zephyr from the one in the Time Books, as he is known as Zephyr Cadge) and Kato. The former is tall and skinny while the latter is short and fat.

Danlay puts on his glove and calls up an Energy Bow. Zephyr flies on the wind with his hand as sharp crystals. Kato simply eats Danlay's arrows. Danlay is slashed up a bit, but Danlay uses this chance to attach a string of energy onto Zephyr. Danlay also moves out of Zephyr's way so that he'll fly with into Kato's mouth. Rem also arrives, but will only step in if necessary. Kato closes his mouth in time, but they still crash into one another. They recover quickly and Danlay throws a few bombs into Kato's mouth, causing them to explode in his body, causing him to bleed. Zephyr's crystals ram Danlay into a tree in the next seconds, however. Danlay then gives a speech on friendship and teamwork and love. Kato is then blasted by water that is surrounded by fire, and it leaves no trace of Kato (Score one for Danlay!). Despite winning against Kato, Danlay is too tired to continue and so Zephyr carries him off.

Ponic and Keera are met by a lone female Hakata and she says she is helping them. She gives them a book. When Ponic and Keera inquire about it, they learn that it's Arasuki's diary. Unfortunately, it is sealed with some strange lock and the only thing that will unlock it is a key that one of the other Hakata has. She does not leave a name, but it is evident that she's a Dark Human like Neon. She leaves as quickly as she came.

Later, Halo, Rem, and Rappa are at the cabin. Two figures approach it and knock at the door. Halo answers and is grabbed by one of the figures. However, Ponic and Yisha then appear and they try to help. Attacks fly at the two figures, but the attacks don't appear to be doing any help. One of them is actually using Shadow as well. One of the figures begins a mind attack on Halo, causing her to hallucinate and see heads like Alice had (though Halo doesn't find it corny like Alice did). This continues to happen and Ponic tries desperately to snap her out of it. Halo ends up getting taken and Ponic is unable to follow. Meanwhile, Abby realizes that Danlay has gone missing. Emanuel has also noticed this, so they both try to figure out what happened to him.

Ponic goes into the city with Keera and they spot Kisame watching the crowd. They follow him, but are discovered by an eye that's literally in the back of his head. A key is also on a necklace that is around his neck, so the mystery girl was right about where Arasuki's key is. A battle starts with Ponic and Keera trying to get the key. Kisame doesn't appear to care for Shadow Wielders very much and wonders why they care for Wrath who tried to attack them before. Ponic states that he had tried to give a soul out before, but it didn't work. Kisame doesn't think Ponic understands how hard being a Hakata is. After a long tussle and Keera getting burned, they manage to get the key and escape. They go into Lyoko and retrieve the diary that they hid there, then come back to look inside. Seth chats with Kisame, who seems to think that no one cares for Hakata.

The diary starts off with Arasuki being eight, having just gotten the diary from her mother. Later it talks about her parents not coming home and only her brother. The next entry has her not remembering what she wrote, as she was obviously a Hakata now. Another entry had her brother explaining to her what she is, while yet another has him going off to some unknown realm. The next entry has the Realm identified as the Shadow Realm, where a Shadow Wielder kills him. Continuing on, Arasuki has researched more in-depth into Hakata and finds that the very thing that made her is the only thing that can kill her. She also learns that she has no soul. The next entry seems to be her being forced into the Death Demon Realm and her want to leave. Her last entry is torn out. Ponic and Keera seem to understand what she's been through.

Neon wakes up in a cell and finds Zephyr guarding him. He asks what they want with him, but Zephyr will not tell him. Tom then walks in and tells Zephyr to clear out, making Zephyr quite annoyed. Once Zephyr is gone, Tom enters Neon's cell and takes blood from his neck via a needle. Tom then unchains Neon and hands him a black orb to teleport him out. Neon is confused as to why Tom is helping him since he appeared to want to kill him, as well as Skylos. Tom says he doesn't really know, but to bare with him in any case. He was supposed to kill Neon, but he wants him alive, so he sends him off, telling him he going to lie about his death. On a lighter note, Atamaru runs into Jaden at the factory and doesn't realize he's with their group now. He tells him to leave immediately because of radioactivity. He's apparently there to clean it up, and he's not wearing a suit because he's... um... looking for it...? Shockingly, Jaden believes him and leaves.

Rem encounters someone tapping on his shoulder from behind. It appears to be Halo...but...something is off. Rem thought she had been captured, but Halo says she got away and that he shouldn't treating her like a little girl who can't take care of herself. Rem is taken aback slightly, but doesn't seem to realize that this isn't actually Halo. However, once 'Halo' says she likes Ichiya better than him, Rem isn't buying it anymore. She says that she's kissed him many times, then she takes out a knife and attacks Rem. Rem easily dodges then 'Halo' turns into an unknown figure. Rem gets mad and demands to know where the real Halo is. Some purple substance forms from Rem. Another form comes up and reveals that the first figure is Matsu. The one that just now came is revealed to be Cadge (Editor's note: Mike asked me for names, so I gave him the ones I used to use: Arasuki, Matsu, Hakata, Cadge, and Zephyr).

A fight starts with Rem fighting Cadge, who is able to split himself into copies of himself. Rem battles hard, using his purple substance to destroy copies and his sword in fire mode to burn the first Cadge. Shockingly enough, Draco then appears and decides to help Rem. Cadge continues to divide and the others try to defeat him, without much success. Matsu pulls out a dagger and gives it to Cadge and then they all suddenly are holding the same dagger! Rem and Draco see that they're too outnumbered, so Draco teleports them away. Meanwhile, Tom and Robbie approach Halo's cell (that also has some purple substance in it) to get some of Halo's blood. Robbie does so after getting a few flirts from the female Hakata who is guarding Halo's cell. With the blood in hand, they go to a room filled with containers of blood. Wrath is taken there as well, as he is needed. Some ritual like occurrence happens and the blood is used on Wrath.

Ponic and Keera walk into the cabin after having no luck finding Arasuki's base, to find Neon! Neon states that his uncle rescued him and he doesn't know why. Keera seems to think that Tom still loves him even though he's working for Arasuki. Just then, tentacles break through the city and spikes appear on the buildings. A large fortress appears in the city! The city was engulfed in chaos as a barrier protected the area from people getting in...or out. Strange creatures seemed to form from rocks. Keera and Brian attempt to break through, but the attacks are deflected back at them. Seeing no way in at the present, they decide to rest up and to think of a plan the following day.

The following day, Seth chats with Keera. Ponic comes in and points out what has happened to the city. Seth comments on Keera's burn and then he is shown the key and diary. Seth notes that he can help Keera's burn, so he works up a cure that she is to apply every three hours. Ponic and Keera go to investigate the shield with Brian and Jaden. Unable to get in, they wonder what they can do. Then they notice Skylos is on the other side of the barrier! However, Skylos cannot see through his side, nor can he hear them. Skylos heads off on his own, but then Rem and Yisha arrive where Ponic and the others are. Reap also appears, stating that his Realm is troubled by these Hakata. Eric appears upon request to try and figure a way in. Neon arrives a little bit later, then they are attacked!

Zephyr and Robbie appear and they seem to be after Reap this time. Zephyr notes that he remembers Reap torturing him, even though Reap says that he presently does not torture Hakata. Reap admits that he used to, but that he no longer wants to. Just then, they attack and Robbie gets a strong hold on him, to the point that Reap's body makes cracking noises. After much battling with many crystals going everywhere, Reap is captured and they make their escape.

Later, Rappa encounters Neon who explains to him what a Hakata is, and more importantly, how to destroy them. Neon goes into the cabin afterwards, but then comes around a little while later. He asks Rappa to follow him...but then he ends up being one of the Hakata, merely shapeshifting to catch Rappa. Fighting happens as the Void Human (Editor's Note: See the Fourth Thread, The Revenge of Zalendor) attempts to beat the shapeshifter who is constantly changing into his friends. Using mostly Darkness, Rappa manages to get the shapeshifter to leave. A little later, Alice encounters the two Hakata again...And she knows who the girl one is. It's her old friend Ayame. Alice says she could raise her, but she'd have to die first. Unfortunately, she doesn't believe Alice and Ayame uses some blue fire on her. [Editor's note: Melanie: Cat Demons are immune to fire. ] So they go claw-to-claw for awhile.

Over in a nearby town, Keera, Ponic, and Neon meet up with Skylos. Suddenly, some white barrier appears, along with Tom, Cadge, and Matsu. They state that if they use a Power, then the barrier's ability will hurt them within their body, but it doesn't affect Hakata. With that in mind, they attack. Cadge and his clones go after Skylos, who then notes that he's being a coward. Neon and Keera have to deal with Tom, while Ponic has to deal with Matsu, who is pretending to be Markov. 'Markov' practically beats up Ponic, asking why he let Gycor kill him. He also states they are no longer brothers. Skylos has to deal with the millions of clones, using only his scythe. Tom appears to be fake fighting Neon and Keera...but it's unknown what he plans. After a bit, Skylos realizes that each time a clone is made, it cuts his power in half (or equally distributed). Cadge, shocked that Skylos has found this out, is then blasted by a huge Light Orb that destroys all of the clones. Tom then restrains Cadge, having left Neon and Keera to deal with cracks, and asks Skylos to finish the job. Skylos unleashes a continuous Light Beam formed from a Light Orb, and it turns Cadge to ashes. Ponic finally realizes the truth, then slashes up Matsu's limbs, and they are buried under the rubble of the building.

The others are shocked at seeing Tom help them, but Keera figures that he had to maintain that he was on the other side until he could actually help them. Tom dispels the barrier and pockets the orb into his pocket. For the most part, injuries in the fights were not bad. Rappa arrives to meet them a few seconds later, having been stuck on the other side of the barrier up until now. They decide that it isn't safe to stay around here all day, so they head back to the cabin.

Meanwhile, Reap is in his cell. A Hakata with strange markings like fire comes to his cell, knowing who Reap is. The Hakata is revealed to be Fury, and he absolutely hates Reap for torturing him in his youth. Fury demands to know where he can find Light and Dark Humans, so that he can get back at the Death Demons. Reap states that he does't know and that he is an outcast. Fury then states that they'll go after Death Humans, then. But Reap then causally says that he has no idea where any of those would be either. Fury stomps of in a...well...fury.

Back at the cabin, Yisha, Seth, and Nate welcome everyone back. Tom seems to think that Arasuki's main barrier will eventually use up al of its power and drop on its own. Ponic is quite glad to hear this. They need a plan, however. Since Danlay, Halo, Reap, and Wrath are still prisoners, they have to bust them out somehow, but they are more than likely guarded. Nate, being over zealous, tries to go head there, but is then reminded of the barrier, much to his embarrassment. Keera attempts to cheer Rem up, who is still angry over not being able to protect Halo, but she really goes about it the wrong way and doesn't really help at all. She manages him to come back inside, in any case. Tom thinks that the best way to start is to use someone as bait. Skylos volunteers because he wants to try and get Robbie on their side as well. Tom is a little wary of the idea, but it's decided.

Robbie is called and he goes to Arasuki. Arasuki informs him that Tom has betrayed them, and that he is now getting a new partner. Izumi comes forward and Robbie thinks this will be all right, only he is upset over Tom betraying him.

Rem is still upset over Halo being imprisoned to the point where he is pretty much ignoring everyone. Keera finally has enough and forces Rem to take out his anger on a tree, using his Ice Power. Ponic notes that Keera was playing with fire, but was glad that Rem was using ice. Calming him down, Ponic says that everyone will be returned safely in the end.

Jiyuu, some random samurai from the looks of it, fuses with Ichiya and he is no longer sick anymore. Yisha is quite happy. Ponic, Keera, and Ponic play catch as they are at a loss of what to do at the present time (AKA, Mike isn't on XP). At one point, Skylos tosses a capture orb that has Mire in it to them! They inquire how he's alive, and Mire tells them that Chaos ranked demons have an extra heart. They also ask why he made them attack him, but he refuses to answer. A little later, Tom notes to Keera that they will be unable to kill the remaining Hakata without their weakness being known. Tom has an idea as to how to figure it out, but he doesn't want to tell her.

In the cells, Reap is taken out by Kisame and Fury. He is dragged to Arasuki who is there waiting for them. Arasuki uses Skylos's Tome of Power to find a spell. She places a jewel in his forehead, then chants the spell. Reap is filled with a little pain, but the spell then opens a portal to the Death Demon Realm. Blade then appears an notes that this is Reaps fault, kicking him in the process. Reap says it's his fault, he and that other Death Demon for coming in the first place. Blade then get on a rant about how useless Hakata are while Reap tries to get his attention. Finally getting it, he tells him to shut up and get his scythe out. he complies.

Tom and the others see the portal form and then note that the Death Demons are appearing outside of the barrier! The Death Demons pour out and attack everything that is living. Reap and Blade try to hold off the Hakata. Reap demands to know why Arasuki is causing the deaths of humans. Arasuki replies that she is going to take enough souls to make souls for the Hakata. She does care who is killed in the process. Blade and Reap find that this makes no sense, as they are trying to become human. Arasuki goes on to talk about how she found Tom when she was escaping from the Death Demon King. The white orb she has is a Lunar Demon Orb, meaning it must have come from Tom, as he's half Dark Human and half Lunar Demon, though acting as though full Lunar Demon.

The others gather in the Darkness Realm and try to formulate a plan. Tom asks if any of them have any connections to other realms. Skylos immediately suggests Lunar Demons and Tom thinks that will be more than enough to help. Skylos comments that the Lunar Demons would be happy to see Tom, but he says he'll cover his lines just in case. The group travels to the realm and meets with the king. After Brian whispers many times about not liking the stuck up king, Tom sucks up the best he can, and Skylos and Neon ask for help, the Lunar Demon King agrees to help. Once the others leave, the King notes that he'll fix Tom later, but that they need to concentrate on what's at hand first.

Neon puts a shield around the cabin to protect everyone from Death Demon attacks. Alice is still mad over not being paired with Neon for the rescue mission and is yelling a lot, Brian has a headache from it, Halo is passing out again in her cell, and Mire seems to have become cold and harsh to everyone. [Editor's note: Alice then chases Nami for the next few pages with a bazooka and changes into a new form XP. Brian and Dargan fight with them...and it's a big mess. lol.] Halo then dies.

Arasuki uses the Tome of Power to change Fury's appearance to that of a Shadow Wielder, and Zephyr into a Light Demon. She then tells them to go to the respective realms and cause chaos. They manage to convince the kings to make war.

[Editor's note: Brian and Dargan are off doing their own thing at this point. Dargan has turned into Tanta. That's quickly dealt with.]

Back at the cabin, the television is blaring out news about Death Demons attacking people. Also, it seems a lot of people are trapped at the museum. Not wanting any more lives to be lost, Dargan and Neon decide to head out and protect the people. He asks for the others to help them. A mysterious box pops up next to Alice and Nami. Inside is a locket that Ayame used to wear. Back at the museum, Neon, Dargan, Brian, Rem, Yisha, Nate, Ponic, and Keera go inside to find a mist of sorts. Splitting up to find people, they are attacked by Izumi and Robbie. To be more specific, Izumi attacks Keera with a dagger and Robbie throws a boulder at Neon. Keera is hurt, but Ponic goes on the defensive to protect her. Brian attempts to slash Izumi, but the cut simply heals. Shadow blasts also seem to have no effect... Other than to make her form into a liquid so that she can quickly form behind the group. She fires many bullets and the group does its best to steel itself. Even Nate's spikes through the face only healed! She takes some skeleton like orb and Wrath appears. Seems he's brainwashed again. They leave.

Robbie is angry with Neon for killing him all those years ago. Robbie demands for his memories, but then calms down slightly and asks a little more quietly. Neon asks why he wants them and Robbie replies by sealing the exits and noting that his memories are fragmented. Neon attacks and pushed Robbie into the wall. Recovering, he tries to grab Neon's head so that he can get the memories he wants. Neon does not let him and impales him with a spike. Robbie then questions why Neon is treating him as such, also citing that he took his uncle from him. Robbie is told that Skylos looks up to him, but then Robbie leaves in a hurry. Neon makes it back to the others, but the mist is gone by now. They return to the cabin.

The next day, Yisha talks to Rem about how she has a bad feeling that Halo may be dead. Keera starts getting this weird cough and manages to cough out something about reviving dead people... *shifty eyes* Danlay gets in contact with Ponic for a bit, but he is cut off after only a little bit of talking. [Editor's note: More Tanta stuff at the same time.] Ponic uses the dagger of memory on Rem to make him think of all of the good times with Halo. Valentine's Day with the forks was noted among these. Nothing much else happens and the day goes by without consequence.

The following day, the city is under attack by Fury and Zephyr. Ichiya and Neon are soon on the scene to deal with them. Neon seems to think that getting their DNA to Pierre will help them figure out how to stop them, but they have to get close enough to get it. Emanuel shows up and tries to help as well. However, it starts raining, which puts a dampener on their plans since Fury is insanely throwing electricity everywhere. Ponic, Keera, Nate, and Yisha soon arrive and lend a hand. Emanuel then dons a conveniently electric-proof raincoat (because that's standard equipment and all) from his wristwatch and is protected from the electric rain. Nate is able to make a few lightning rods to redirect the attacks away from everyone. After more round of fighting, Fury seems to be unable to attack anymore.

Brian and Jaden decide to try out some training on one another. Meanwhile, Skylos figures out why Mire is so moody. Apparently, Jack had killed Mire's heart, meaning that he was acting on the demon one now. In fact, he was technically acting completely normal. Neon suggests asking the Lunar Demons to fix his heart, which Skylos thinks is a great idea. Danlay talks to Robbie and continues to demand to be released, Kisame whispers to Robbie that Arasuki says it's time to kill him. Danlay then makes a shield using his own sweat. This causes Robbie to laugh so hard that he simply leaves to take care of other business. Fury is paralyzed by Kisame, and Kisame notes that he has betrayed Arasuki and needs to die. Robbie does the honors by destroying Fury's heart, which is a skull that Kisame had in his possession. Robbie's acidic vines melt it, but then a thorn he makes strikes through it. Fury dies shortly after.

In the Shadow Realm, a war has broken out between the Light Demons and Shadow Realm. Both sides are attacking one another. The common soldiers cannot keep them back, so they call for the Shadow Wielders. Ponic chats with Tom about his love for water, but also that he used to be scared that his Power would hurt so many people as it was not fully in his control when he came to Earth. Skylos is in the Light Demon Realm in military robes [Editor's note: What Kavisto wears, but as a robe.] awaiting orders. Skylos is told to get to the realm on the double, so Skylos hurries in brandishing Photolith, Aduro's sword. Skylos sees all of the death and gets angry, slashing around wildly because his friends are being killed for no reason. When Ponic arrives, Skylos goes crazy and they attack each other. After a bit, they seem to realize that they've been tricked! Ponic hurries to go see his king, but he is too late and finds him dead with Izumi nearby. Izumi vanishes leaving Ponic to seem as though he killed the king. The soldiers drag him off after firing a special paralyzing blast at him.

Back at the cabin, Neon uses Pierre's cauldron and some DNA from Zephyr to find out his past. It shows Zephyr and his wife and their kid, who looks like Aqua. Zephyr is killed in a car wreck, and his kid tries to raise him using a family picture. Taht appears to be his heart. Tom notes that he can probably find the place, since being a Death Demon allows him to sense where people come back to life. Tom leaves and comes back with the picture, as it was still there. Tom suggests he show the picture to Aqua to inquire about the resemblance. Rem nods, but on his way he is ambushed by Zephyr. A fight starts after Zephyr realizes that Rem has the picture! Rem seems to have a problem with killing Zephyr, but he eventually destroys the picture with his sword in Crystal mode. Zephyr dies after wishing that Rem doesn't become like him.

The day after, Ponic returns from the Shadow Realm. He is annoyed at the blood on him, So Skylos, who is nearby, liquefies the blood with his Blood Demon Orb, then uses his Water Demon Orb to cause a waterfall to drench Ponic. Skylos notes that Ponic is now clean. They laugh and then think that the Hakata must have been the realms fighting. Skylos suggest mind reading so that each realm can understand that they're not lying to one another, but Ponic notes that mind reading is an ability lost to Shadow Wielders. They part ways to figure this out.

Skylos is sitting in a tree later, when a portal opens to show a Hakata. Skylos is annoyed and demands to know its intentions, brandishing his sword in the process. Tom appears and explains that this is their spy, Havock. She tells them that Wrath was for the Death Demon portal, Reap is for having a hostage, and the small war was to turn friend against friend. Tom wonders if she can get Reap out, and she replies that she doesn't know when, but she will try. In fact, it works out that she is able to free him after just a few minutes. However, she is then caught by Robbie and Kisame, but Reap was now with the others, safe. Neon and the others are surprised to see Reap, but Reap then notes mildly that he was saved for no reason by a Hakata. Neon then calls the kettle black by noting that he's making it sound like it's no big deal. Tom then notes that he knows where the base is, and they will attack soon.

Alice and Nami come across Ayame, the Cat Demon Hakata that used to be a good friend of Alice's. Nami steps out of the way when she realizes that they have to fight one another. The battle starts and is filled with Ayame getting flashbacks of being her friend. However, this is not enough to get her to stop fighting. Finally, after trying everything, Alice destroys the locket and kills Ayame.

Yisha talks with Rem later about how he met Halo, which was on Valentine's Day. Yisha then seems to understand that Halo had been so nervous about how Rem would feel in return, she had to talk about forks because of it. She also notes that one of her friends had done the same thing with someone, but he had mentioned manure! Yisha then notes that her own love with Ichiya had been on first sight. She refers that Ichiya is absolutely perfect! After a little more chatting, they decide it's time for bed and they call it a day.

The following day, Ponic, Neon, and Ichiya scout out the city for survivors. Neon manages to stop someone from creating a Hakata, and Ponic and Ichiya manged to save some kids. Ichiya then runs into Kisame, and Ichiya changes into a different person, namely, Maeda Keiji. a battle starts here, while Neon is suddenly up against strange earth beasts. Neon tries to help as many people to safety as he can. meanwhile, Abby and Emanuel are still trying to come up with a plan. Emanuel suggests getting a hostage in return, but Abby is very skeptical on this plan working. On Abby's way home from the ice cream parlor, Dorango appears and notes that he owes Danlay one, so he might just help. Abby is again very skeptical and notes it's like making a deal with the devil, which Dorango replies that he's more handsome than him. Abby notes that he doesn't like him in her room, but Dorango notes that mating with a human is beneath him, leaving Abby to wonder if she should be glad or insulted. Emanuel, not by himself, tries to figure out this spellbook he had gotten from Arthur. Neon returns to the cabin after saving many lives.

In an effort to stall for time so that Wendy can get back from supper, Tom decides that he has to fix his hair before they go to save the others. Skylos notes that it'll just get messed up in the fight that is sure to come, but Tom says he wants to look good beforehand. Wendy finally gets back so we can finally go save everyone! Yaaaaay! On the way, Skylos is ready to kill the Hakata, but Tom notes that he shouldn't fight with a cold heart, causing Neon to smile a little. Skylos merely notes that you have to be cold sometimes and that Tom would know that. They arrive at the base, but Tom then realizes that Arasuki is attempting to open an orange portal! Kisame stops them in the front area.

Tom takes out a bone from his pocket and destroys it, but Kisame is unaffected. Shocked by the Hakata not dying, Kisame then has three Death Demons that he killed appear. he explains that he killed them and he can't be killed until they die, since he took their hearts [Editor's note: They aren't referred to as cores until much later in the RP]. Each of the demons has its own element, and they are each wearing a mask. Kisame's stitched up mouth opens despite the stitching to reveal a giant purple eye. There are seals on the floor from the Tome of Power, and Neon seems to be reacting to them rather badly. Neon urges for everyone to continue without him, saying that he'll take on Kisame.

Tom separates from the group and manages to free Danlay from his cell, only Wrath appears and looks hateful. Emanuel notes that Wrath doesn't look so good. They manage to escape. Rem and Yisha split up from the rest of the gang and find a hallway of cells. After searching the hallway, they come upon Halo's cell, much to Rem's dismay; he finds her dead. Rem smashes open the cell with his sword and with Yisha's help, they are able to gether back to the cabin via a portal Rem makes. Ichiya is there and finds Rem glum. Ichiya tries to cheer him up and make him see that death doesn't mean that she is gone forever. Ichiya and Yisha then exchange banter about Ichiya's sword...which I won't get into. Dornago notes to Abby that Danlay has been rescued, but he is still unable to figure out how Arthur disappeared. Abby is happy and immediately leaves. Dorango is thankful for that!

Neon continues his fight, which isn't looking too good for him. One of the demons was impaled, but neon is having to deal with one that uses Fire, which is charring up his clothes [Editor's note: This is when Dan would usually say something about fangirls]. Neon concentrates on his soul [core] and unleashes a devastating build up of Darkness at point-blank range, covering Kisame and destroying the hearts of the demons. Neon looked up at what he had done, then felt guilty for having to kill him.

The portal finally finishes growing, ripping off Havock's legs in the process. Izumi walks through and then smashes into the Death Demon's fortress. Izumi confronts the king with a Lunar Demon Orb, then proceeds to battle. The Death Demon King looks like a giant bone pterodactyl. Its wings have spikes all over them, an arrowhead like tail, four eyes, and twenty scythe sized claws. Izumi manages to pin him and kill him with a scythe through his heart. Reap comes in and sees to his horror that the king is dead...

[Out of space!]

[Skylos]

Izumi laughs and mentions that Reap probably wants to kill her. She then asks Reap who really caused all of these problems, being that Reap tortured Hakata. Reap simply notes that it was the idiot who made her a Hakata, which angers her. As the fight appears to be a losing one for Reap, he apologizes to her, making Izumi freeze in disbelief. She is so blinded by rage that she does not accept it and calls him a liar. The two are pulled in to the Lunar Aura, but Reap is merely weakened by it. Izumi, on the other hand, begins to melt away. With Izumi gone, the aura vanishes and Reap's strength returns. Death Demons of chaos rank fill the room and ask what happened. They compliment him for defeating a Hakata, but Reap groans that he didn't want to. Just when it seems they are going to attack him, a voice enters his head, his Power apparently, and he is chosen as the next Death Demon King. With this new level, he orders all Hakata to be freed. They are sent to fill the Light and Dark Realms.

The group finally decide to attack the fortress, so they gather everyone up and head to it, with Skylos dragging Nami most of the way since she has no clue what is going on (Sango makes her first name change: Sango to Murasaki). Arriving at the fortress, a brief battle ensues with Arasuki! Wrath is killed, but then he comes back as a normal human. He then impales Arasuki and her diary, thus killing her. A weak Neon activates some computer in a run-down factory and they return to the past (And Mike leaves a very humorous note, considering what happens in a later arc of his [Post #26587]). The next day...or perhaps the last week...? Neon finds Ichiya under the TV trying to fix it, and asks him to help Havock, who has lost a few limbs to Arasuki. Ichiya agrees and gets his tools, then gets to work on metal limbs. After much pain from the surgery, Havock is as good as new, albeit in pain still.

Tom returns the Tome of Power to Skylos, who is quite happy to have it back. Tom departs with Havock and promises that he'll be back sometime. Tom thanks Ichiya on his way out. Neon comments that he didn't know that Ichiya was good with mechanics. Ichiya notes that he should be surprised with what he can do. He then gets back to fixing the TV.

The Trip to Japan: As Ichiya attempts to fix the TV, Skylos notes that it's fixed...if you like the static channel, and nothing else. Ichiya fiddles around with it some more, then it turns black and has red eyes staring at everyone. Skylos notes that the TV is watching them, which is rather odd. Alice and Nami freak out slightly and Danlay scratches his head over this one, then tries to figure out if he can trace the signal. The TV speaks to them about some Chinese Zodiac animals. Skylos then wonders if this is the prophecy channel, a joke Danlay likes. Ichiya then suddenly announces that they're going to Japan! Skylos wonders what prompted him to want to go there, but Alice and Nami seem to want to go too, since the three of them were born there. Nami notes that they only visit there once every blue moon. Danlay then smartly answers that they just had a blue moon last month.

They need to find a way to get there, though. Neon notes that traveling long distances is very hard with Darkness, and doesn't advise that kind of travel. Ponic making a portal is also suggested, but he isn't here at the moment. Skylos shrugs and goes out for a walk, suddenly. Rappa and Gohan watch Skylos as he walks by, but Skylos apparently didn't notice them. Instead, Skylos runs into a depressed Robbie. Robbie doesn't want to talk, but he doesn't wait to use his vines to sap info from Skylos's mind. Robbie wants Skylos to kill him, but he refuses. Everyone then runs around trying to get packed, especially Keera who then has a few hilarious problems with her suitcase.

Yisha finds Skylos pinned down by Robbie, but she actually convinces Skylos that he should respect what Robbie wants. Skylos does not want to take Robbie to the Lunar Demon King because he is scared that Robbie might be destroyed. Robbie seems to think it would be better destroyed than be a Hakata. Skylos finally agrees to it. Yisha asks to come along, so the three transport to the Lunar Demon Realm. The king asks why they are here, and Robbie notes that he wants his soul back. The King notes back to him that there will be side effects, but he's going to make it fun and not tell him what they are. The king's hand stretches forward and nearly takes up half of Robbie's body. It shatters into dust, alarming Skylos who thinks he must be dead! Robbie then reforms seconds later as a Great Ranked Earth Demon. The king notes that that was the side effect. Robbie doesn't care, but loves it! The three return home afterwards, minus Robbie who goes to the Earth Demon Realm.

The next day, Neon inquires to Ichiya about how they will be getting to Japan. Ichiya simply notes by use of a megaphone that they will be leaving soon. Robbie drops by later and chats with Ponic, who is wary about him. Robbie shows off his mud sculpting skills and makes a mud Ponic. At the same time, Yisha faints a few times at Keera describing airplanes. Popcorn goes flying when Rappa notices Halo's dead body just kind of hanging out on a sofa. Alice comes in and...notices it and takes care of it. Rappa tries to get Alice's new name right, but Alice notes that it's easy and means violet. Nami notes it also means soy sauce, and those two get into an anime style scuffle. Ichiya pops in and notes that their ride to Japan is here. Everyone goes outside and sees a huge dragon! Yura is the dragon's name, and everyone hops on board. Soon, they are on their way. Neon makes a portal at the cabin door that will make anyone who walks through it pop up on the dragon.

While on the dragon, everyone watches the ocean and comments on how pretty it is. Keera then tries to figure out how a volcano works without batteries, but Ponic and Danlay soon give up trying to explain it. After some star gazing, everyone decides on sleep. In the morning, everyone arrives in Japan. Ichiya explains to everyone that this is his homeland, where he fought in Sekigahara. He also notes that his name is really Miyamoto Musashi. He then points to a mountain and says they're going to climb it. Ponic quickly finds that Power doesn't work so they have to climb it the old fashioned way. After much trial and tribulation, they make it to the top where there is a Sengoku period city at the top. Musashi says he off to visit some friends, leaving the others to look around. Elsewhere, Jack has problems with a dragon, and it bites him. He wanders back to his house and likes the idea of just living there and giving the cabin to the others.

Following a night of rest, Musashi takes Neon and Danlay to see one of his friends. Skylos and Ponic soon join and all introductions are made. Keiji then notes that Kojiro has killed one of Musashi's friends, Toshiie. Enraged, Musashi drags everyone to kill some guards and go hunt down Kojiro. After arriving at the cell where Kojirô apparently was, they find him in the cell. But then he turns into the dead body of Keiji, and the Keiji next to Musashi turns into the form of Kojiro! Kojiro takes a chunk of Darkness from Neon for some purpose having to deal with his master, then he and Musashi leave and go fight one another while a whole team of bad samurai appear and attack the group. The fights are turning grim, but then the bad guys are suddenly sucked up into a black orb and Musashi comes and has everyone escape. Musashi notes that it was Oda Nobunaga. [Editor's note: It's about here we can say that much that follows in this arc is not canon by today's standards... AKA, Ralph. ]

Awhile later, it becomes increasingly more obvious that something is very wrong with Skylos. Skylos appears to have killed someone as there is blood on the end of Omni's white sword, Photolith. Skylos explains to Ponic that he's developed some sort of bloodlust. He seems aware that it's impairing his judgement, but he can't stop it. It's so strong that when Ponic tries to stop him, Skylos spontaneously learns how to use Light Dash to get around him. Unfortunately, Skylos does slay a few in the park, but then seems to calm down. Apparently, he won't attack his friends (at least after Skylos briefly fights Ponic). Danlay and Emanuel also arrive along with Yisha and Keera. After some talks with Skylos (which seem to fall on deaf (almost put death) ears, Skylos simply explains that he must have been a Death Human for too long.

Alice enters into a hamburger eating contest the next day and wins lots of money...Or would have, only the restaurant didn't think anyone would actually win. Alice leaves in anger. In fact, some kids start throwing rocks at her and she burns one of them to ashes and the other two go running. Jaden arrives in Japan with his friend Rory and they try to find the others as well. Jack continues to use his newish powers to fight off the latest unknown person that always seem to be kidnapping him/stealing powers/plain old destroying things while no one else is around. This one seems to think that Jack is Issac, who is Jack's father.

Back on the main story, Masamune appears and attempts to kill Neon! [Editor's note: Date Masamune is used by Ralph nowadays. Steve used him here and this is probably why Neon was always noting about how Masamune was trying to kill him in Ralph's first arc.] Likewise, Ina finds Skylos and a battle starts there as well. After awhile, Neon is left in rubble and Matsamunte Masamune leaves him there. Ponic finds him later and is annoyed that he hasn't been attacked.

Malignant arrives in Japan and suddenly attacks Danlay. His Aura is all wacko, burning off what appears to be pure malignance. After a powerful discharge mid-fight, Malignant appears calm and back to his usual self. Ponic and Keera arrive, and they find that Malignant is acting just like Skylos. Malignant seems to hint that this is no coincidence. Malignant shares what he and Skylos are feeling, then Ponic understands. Malignant leaves after this. Musashi then gets into another fight with Kojiro. After all is said and done, Kojiro vanishes and it seems as though nothing had happened in the surrounding area.

Alice suddenly goes crazy and attacks all kinds of humans and eats them. Yisha and Seth are enjoying lobster tail at the time, then find her and try to get her to calm down. Alice then reminds Yisha that Cat Demons are immune to fire. Seth makes her fall asleep with sleep powder (something a Cat Demon isn't immune to! le gasp!), but she ends up waking up later and going on another rampage. Rem and Nami come up with a plan to calm her down, and it works. Yisha and Keera then have a 'cat fight' (as Dan put it ). Yisha loses after awhile, but they still have fun training. Meanwhile, Manuel visits Halo, revives her, and also states that he managed to save their mom, but he has to go back to her to tend to her. Halo ends up in Japan, then freaks everyone out since she's now alive again. She has fun surprising Rem, though. Most of the group is together, but Musashi appears to have gone missing and no one knows what to do. Back at the hotel, Danlay comes across a very important realization about his Power.

Later, Musahi decides to invade some temple like place with Ponic, Keera, Alice, Wrath...etc. While there, they get surrounded by many many samurai. When it looks like the numbers will overwhelm them, Alice pulls out some sake, then tosses it out the window. All of the samurai jump out of the window after it. Happy to have dealt with the problem, the group moves on. Sefrex and Pierre show up and tell Nami and Alice that they need to stop being so whinny, then Musahsi comes running by shouting about some scroll he found. He is being chased by one thousand samurai. Ponic tried to put up a Shadow Wall, but they all just run through it and show that they are all undead! After falling in a hole, they manage to get away and are rescued by Seth.

Alice and Nami finally climb to the top of the mountain. Then Neon decides to break up with Alice just as she reaches the top. Alice gets upset and leaves immediately, then Nami goes ballistic. Musashi, Ponic, and Seth try to calm her down, but it doesn't appear to be working. A large army of undead samurai appear, and Alice decides to vent her anger out on them. Jaden and Rory join the fight and the samurai are defeated in the end.

After the fight, Alice is still upset, but then Musashi tells her that Neon couldn't have been her true love because he broke up with her. Alice is comforted, then a boy Cat Demon appears and she declares that he must have been her true love all along. The Cat Demon's name is Hakudoshi, which everyone had thought was just a dragon. Chito pops up and tries to breath fire om him, but then kindly reminds him that Cat Demons are immune to fire. [Editor's note: You know I've typed that three times now?] Later, Rem runs into Nami and Halo. She tells them in great detail of how Neon broke up with Alice and that she found her true love in the end. Rem seems to think this doesn't sound like Neon while Halo thinks deeply about having prolonged crushes with people. [Editor's note: Uh-oh...]

Ponic and Keera finally find Musashi and manage to get out why they're in Japan. Apparently, they're here to kill Nobunaga who was dead, but is now alive again and wants to destroy the world out of hatred. Apparently, he had been killed the first time by a man named Magoichi Saika, but Musashi is going to have to kill him this time. He brought the group with him to help. Keera then screams at the noodle guy and tackles him to the floor, then she starts her ungoing gag about hitting random people. Musashi then gets mad at Alice's boyfriend and states that they're both cowards because they're nobles. Then they get into a fight which ends when Neon forcibly separates them. [Editor's note: Cat Demons are immune to strangulation.]

Alice and Hakudoshi then both part ways, knowing that they don't really love each other (he was playing along to help her). Musashi tries to comfort her AGAIN, but it doesn't work. In fact, then he knocks out Alice and Nami, then drags them off to Nobunaga's base! Rory had seen the whole thing, but he can only think of what bad things might befall them, then thinks it'll be cool. They wake up upside-down in a dark room with a creepy person, but then Rory manages to free them, along with help from a guy that looks like Ichigo. <insert fanboy comments here from Steve.> Finally, Skylos finishes his training in the Light Demon Realm and has apparently learned a new technique. Nami then randomly learns that Hakudoshi is her brother. Skylos finally makes it to the top of the mountain again, then rushes off to find Neon once he learns that he broke up with Nami. The two are quite happy to see one another.

Alice then goes on a temper tantrum and wants to be turned into a Death Demon, but Skylos explains that she can't be one because she's not of Light or Darkness. Then she gets even more mad and Nami suggests she become a Tanuki since they're always happy-go-lucky. Then everyone has had enough, and then Nobunga shoes up with all of his retainers [Editor's note: I guess we're saying Masamune had been brainwashed or something. Not sure how to explain the dragons though.]. Five dragons are summoned and they attack the group. Steve vanishes a post later and we move on.

Skylos is hanging out by himself and reading the Tome of Power. He sighs because he's already read the pages he's on, which is on the King of Kings Demon. In the meantime, Rem and Ponic are talking about this whole relationship fiasco. A little later, Skylos joins up with the group and is in time to find Alice be turned into a Tanuki. Skylos also seems to know something about Necros and a relation to himself, but he isn't saying this aloud. Neon and Alice decide to be just friends. Musashi is better after fighting Zangetsu and he decides they're going to go fight Nobunaga soon, then go home.

Later, Skylos is drawing a big circle with chalk and setting up candles. Halo finds him and inquires as to what he's doing. Alice (disguised as a raccoon-dog) and Rem arrive to hear. Skylos notes that he's summoning a demon the hard way (as he didn't have a demon candle for the type of demon he needed). Skylos reads out of the Tome of Power some demon language, but Halo and Rem can't understand it (nor Skylos, really) and Halo even notes that one of the words just plainly sounds creepy. In any case, Skylos manages to summon Sangre the Blood Demon. Sangre is annoyed, but fulfills Skylos's request (which he asked in the demon tongue) and passes him a blood candle for later use. Sangre leaves and the others are slightly annoyed that he didn't speak in French [Editor's note: They said English, but that's wrong. =P] so that they could know what he wanted. Skylos defends himself by saying that everyone has secrets. Skylos then realizes that the raccoon-dog is Alice and is worried that she knew what he said.

The next day, a battle between Neon and Masamune starts. Musashi fights with Kojiro and beats him. Alice is fighting Mitsuhide, but Musashi manages to deliver a blow to knock him out after he was dealt with Kojiro. Neon continues with his battle and has to deal with Masamune's dragon. Skylos then gets into a fight from Ina who tries to shoot him from behind. Neon manages to kill Masamune [Editor's note: ...Will figure out something!]. Skylos then slips on a pair of red gauntlets that Sangre had given him. Skylos then shows of his new ability, increasing the gravity around Ina and making her arrows useless. After much struggling, the fight ends abruptly when Tadakatsu appears and angrily demands that Skylos release his daughter. Skylos complies and then finds out that some of Nobunaga's retainers are not happy with the work he has them do, but can't get away because it would be going against their word. Skylos chats about his friends, but mostly about Musashi.

Rem and Musashi spar for a bit, then Yisha and Halo arrive. The latter two then get into a fight and then Musashi jokes that they'll have to save them. Rem comments that he doesn't want to get in between them. They finally calm everyone down...Whew... Anywho. Later, Zach finally pops into Japan and climbs the mountain up to the half-way point. Skylos, Rem, and Neon meet him there, and then Yukimura holds his spear to Skylos's neck. A fight ensues with Zach, Rem, Neon, Ponic, and Keera to try to beat Yukimura so that they can get Skylos out of danger. After some fancy moves, Yukimura stabs his spear into the mountain and disables the spell preventing them from using their Power. At this point, Skylos is free and everyone else is now trying to combat this demonic flame with their Power. Nobunaga then pops out of nowhere and kills him. He then says to prepare for some final war. Yukimura then wakes up (apparently he didn't die and was on their side the entire time) but he is too weak to help in the battle.

The following day, Zach gets lost trying to find the hotel. Skylos thankfully finds him, them they both sense some giant power that is flowing over the area. Skylos and Zach go to investigate, then try to come up with a plan to help, despite the samurai telling them that it was their fight. Skylos and Zach do some bantering, then wonder if any more of their group is going to arrive to help. Ponic then arrives and Skylos gets into an argument with him about actually helping the samurai, despite them saying they didn't want their help. Musashi comes into the argument and doesn't so a very good job of ending it, until Ponic angers him and he gives him a rather good speech. After that blows over, Mitsunari tries to teach Skylos about leading a battle since he think Skylos can actually do so [Editor's note: Hahaha. Oh yeah. And our first ever pause happens here. Except I called it a suspension of my character.].

Omni then randomly contacts Ponic and 'convinces' (guilt trips, really) him to let him out of the capture orb he had been placed in. Meanwhile, Zach, Rem, and Keera are missing France and can't wait for this final fight to be over. After Omni is finally out and has hugged Ponic, he goes off on his merry way. Omni locates Neon and talks with him a little, the latter not really liking Omni one bit. After awhile, Omni manages to strike a cord with Neon, and Neon forgives Omni. Omni then states that he is a loner and isn't there to join their group, but he may randomly drop in sometimes.

Everyone finally ends up in the same place and has a hitting fest with one another. Of course, this all friendly. Once it begins to rain, everyone is trying to soak one another with water. Eventually, everyone finds Musashi's crew. The crew tries to teach each one of them the aspects of war, but it kind of seems like everyone is being difficult (course that could be because the crew is also being difficult). In essence, Ponic is wondering what to do with a gun other than to just shoot it, Neon is rolling his eyes over becoming a student without asking, Alice is trying to use swords...well, until she starts drinking with her teacher, and Skylos is trying to figure out this whole strategy thing. It appears that the whole process is not going so well. After a bit, some spies are found and then everyone is suddenly on the attack.

Elsewhere, Zach, Rem, and Cristal are bored because they don't know where the others went. Halo and Yisha are simply lost. Rappa and Gohan aren't even near the group. And Seth is around. Rem ends up finding Musashi and they talk about the upcoming battle. Musashi seems to think that Rem has great potential. A little bit later, Zach finally meets up with everyone again. Omni then pops by and makes Skylos faint, so Zach and Nami have to take him back to the hotel, which then causes Nami to get mad because she had been sleeping outside for the past few weeks and didn't even know about the hotel. After getting the best rooms for herself and Alice, she drops Skylos off to his room and leaves a note for him.

Skylos wakes up and is visited by a concerned Zach. Skylos seems ok until he pulls Zach into his room and closes the door in Nami's face. Skylos then relates to Zach about his troubles with Nami. Zach tells Skylos that he'll protect him if he wants to break up with her, something Skylos is grateful to have. Skylos notes that if she goes overboard, he can use the Hate and Love Demon orbs to calm her down. They decide that it would be best if they held off on this breaking up until after the trip. Zach tries to encourage Skylos a tad, but Skylos then becomes a tad nervous and slightly sarcastic to Zach. Eventually, they decide to exit the hotel.

At the exit, they encounter Neon. Neon seems to think that Skylos should wait as well. Neon then expresses his worry that France is vulnerable all by itself. Skylos states that Jaden, Nate, and Jack could be counted on to protect it. Neon seems to accept this answer then asks Zach aside to show just him something. This something ends up being Neon sticking out his palm and using Power to hypnotize Zach and put him under his power.

Skylos encounters Rem and Skylos relates his plan to break up with Nami to him. [Editor's note: I think just about everyone knows now.] Rem doesn't seem to believe him at first, but Skylos ends up convincing him after relating just why he wants to break up with her; Skylos thinks that the demon necklace had prompted him to get together with her in the first place and a relationship isn't something Skylos wants right now. Skylos and Rem chat some more but can't think of a best way to break the news to her. Skylos decides to go to bed and put wards around his room.

Keera then pops up behind Rem and then finds out about the relationship thing...but not from Rem. Nami comes storming up to them and demands to know where Skylos is. Apparently, she had had a dragon spy on the entire conversation. Rem tries to reason with her, but Skylos is quite right in thinking that she won't see any.

Musashi then finds Nami and Alice and bluntly tells Nami to get over it and that it's only a relationship. Nami gets quite angry. Musashi then notes that she'd have to go through him first.

A little later, Zach and Neon are causing chaos in the streets until Neon seems satisfied by their work. He then snaps and causes Zach to not remember what he did and also go unconscious. Neon pretends to also go unconscious and then Musashi finds them.

Meanwhile, Rem finds Ponic and Keera and they argue over whether sushi is raw fish or fish eggs. Rem seems to think it's the former, along with Ponic. Ponic and Keera then suddenly get the feeling they are being watched. It ends up that Omni is watching them from nearby and is getting a kick out of how paranoid they are acting. He then notes to himself that his sleeves are too long. They find Omni and then Omni makes fun of Keera's memory for a bit before she slaps him. Omni reacts violently, punching her in the gut with Violet Darkness. Keera tries to retaliate with Shadow, but Omni merely destroys it with Void. Omni states not to mess with him and that he doesn't start battles, but finishes them. The two Shadow Wielders leave, flustered. [Editor's note: And to think all he did was say that Keera had a bad memory!]

The next day, Skylos finds his teacher and Ponic and Keera are still fuming slightly. They all get to work on learning and whatnot.

Later, Skylos is in his room and Zach drops by. He asks how things are going with Nami, then realizes that he has a demon ward around his room. He inquires about it, then Nami and Alice appear outside of it. Alice decides to call her parents to help, but Skylos merely notes that he can't talk with Nami because she won't understand his feelings. He tells them to come back later, and they comply, actually. With her parents around, it appears that Alice and Nami have calmed down a little bit. Rem chats with them for a little bit and Alice becomes excited that she's technically a deity because of her parents. They all decide to call it a night.

The next day, Ponic and Neon visit Skylos and find that he has geared up for a Nami onslaught. Neon then goes off around Skylos's room and starts looking for something and Ponic tries very hard to help him find what he's looking for. [Editor's note: Yes, very inconspicuous job there, Neon...] Skylos let's the demons into his room and they start to talk. Skylos and Nami then kind of stare at each other blankly until the latter breaks down into tears. Skylos manages to calm her down eventually and notes that he's too young for a relationship anyways. He gives her hope of maybe a future relationship. Nami departs happy.

Neon and Ponic had left to give them some alone time a little bit before. However, just as Ponic is going to go look for Keera (who is off learning Japanese (and failing)), Neon hypnotizes Ponic just as he did Zach! He tells Ponic to trust no one but himself and Skylos. Alice sees the whole thing and then puts Ponic asleep before he blows anyone up. She then confronts Neon and wonders if he's been possessed. Neon plays with her feelings for a bit and she starts crying. Neon then tells her that he's not possessed, but has decided to go back to his old ways out of free will. Alice then wants to join him (she still loves him after all) but Neon does not accept. Neon does say he'll use her though...

Meanwhile, Ponic has woken up and is thinking everyone he sees is possessed. He continues to attack Gohan for a bit before he manages to slip away. Of course, Keera then appears and Ponic attacks here thinking she's a clone. Big battle here. Skylos is also training his demon slayer abilities. [Editor's note: Perhaps he had picked them up from Jack?] Omni pops in later after eavesdropping on Neon and then decides to train Skylos a bit. Skylos is a tad annoyed by Omni reading his mind a bunch. He is then slightly weirded out by Omni being friendly. Omni takes him out to the grounds of the hotel and starts a rough training session with him. [Editor's note: And then I decide to post like five times in a row because no one is on!] Skylos is severely injured, but he manages to learn Light Shard from Omni. He also sees a Darkness ability called Darkness Bow.

The next day, Neon decides to make his move. Musashi is then battling an army of possessed people all under Neon's control. Musashi continues to fight the people until he can finally get to Neon. They fight for awhile until Neon manages to trap him in a Mind Trauma. Musashi is forced to see images of Yisha being harmed in gruesome ways. Musashi is eventually defeated by this and Neon has his captive.

Dark Traitor: Meanwhile, a bomb goes off in Skylos's room and Omni gets him out in time by teleporting. He remarks that that was a horrible way to try and kill someone; he'd have put up teleport jams. Skylos is safely moved to another hotel. Zach and Ponic find him a few minutes later and they recognize Omni. Omni notes what happened to them and Zach becomes unnerved by Omni being able to so openly read his mind. Ponic inquires about Skylos's injuries and Omni tries to explain that they came from training.

Skylos notes that he's perfectly fine and shows this by getting up and heading outside. Ponic and Skylos encounter Neon and find that he's gone evil on his own whim and that no one had possessed him. Skylos wonders what he was thinking when he had tried to kill his own family but fines that Neon doesn't care. Unable to convince him to stop this madness, Neon leaves Ponic and Skylos trying to figure out what to do. Unfortunately, they were overheard by Layla. She approaches them and tries to get them to admit to a problem, but she's no fool. Seth then arrives and warns everyone of a Typhoon.

Skylos decides that the best way to get things done would be to stand out in the open so that Neon would find him. Amazingly, this works out perfectly and Neon is suddenly there. Neon wants to talk, something Skylos hadn't been expecting (he had almost drawn his sword). Neon questions whether if Skylos is nothing more than a tool to be used in the group. He makes him try to think of a time where it was Skylos alone that had solved any problem. Skylos doesn't really answer. but he does admit that the group is pointless, or rather, would be pointless if there was no reason to have one anymore. Skylos seems to think that he'd be fine on his own, but it was Neon that gave him something to strive for.

However, Neon replies that he is ashamed of Skylos, that Tom is as well. He tells him that they all pitied him all along. This seems to send Skylos over edge and seems to believe him as well. Neon also notes that the group doesn't like him and that they talk about him behind his back. Skylos's eyes go red and Skylos's slips on his gauntlets. He then attacks Neon after Neon suggests it. Much fighting occurs. Skylos then tries to eliminate Neon with his new Light Shard attack. Using the Light Demon Orb, he fires prism color Light Shards at Neon. As they all converge, Neon remarks about his Light Side and how Skylos had noted to him awhile ago that not having his would unbalance him. Neon notes that he never said he was balanced...

Neon breaks out of the attack and warns Skylos that his Darkness half will be what destroys him. Skylos argues that the risks outweigh getting rid of it, but then he interrupts himself. Surprisingly, he then removes it from himself and the orb of Darkness merely vanishes. Skylos's eyes go bright yellow - no - golden. Without the restrain of Darkness in him, a frenzy of colors of Light burned around the dome of Darkness, attacking Neon at every turn. Neon then turns the tables slightly by reminding Skylos that this is a Mind Tauma. He has the heads of members in the group fuse with Skylos's body and say awful things about him. He takes it to the extreme level by making his own mother appear before him and say he should have never been born. Skylos tries to forcefully remove Neon from his face by slashing at his own face. [Editor's note: Mike's reaction: o.o]

Skylos seems to remember after a bit that it's a Mind Trauma and then runs for the barrier of the dome. Skylos then declares that Neon is only talking about himself and that he can't push his horrible life on others. A discharge of Light erupts from Skylos and shatters the dome. Neon manages to punch him with Darkness soon after and knocks him to the ground. He let's him live. Skylos soon after notes that he'll kill the others so that he can regain Neon's favor. Neon leaves and Omni comes and heals Skylos. Skylos then notes he will kill Zach because he iritates him and that he'll use his Light abilities that he never uses. Skylos sheds his Light robe and picks up a piece of chain. He then heads off.

Ponic is also being tormented by a Neon clone who attempts to make him angry by use of telling him that his brother is better off dead and that he was basically pointless. The Neon clone also compares Ponic to Izerion and states that they are very alike. He also thinks that Ponic is going to end up getting Keera killed because Izerion is linked to Ponic. Ponic is continuously told this and he starts to go mad with Shadow Power. Glowing Shadow Tentacles fling around as Ponic loses his cool. Naturally, he attacks Neon at this point. Ponic seems to go crazy at this point as Neon continues to taunt him over and over. Attacks are flying everywhere and none of them affect the clone. Neon further messes with him by showing him mind traumas that are supposedly true as he can't lie with past events. Neon blames Ponic for being unable to protect the Shadow Realm and blames him for all of the pain and misery. Neon finally leaves as a shaken Ponic hugs Keera, whom he was scared of hurting.

Neon (the real one) then tries to work at Musashi to get him to break, but Musashi is too smart to fall for Neon's obvious impersonations of the others. Unfortunately, Neon then creates a Chimera, which makes Musashi freeze in fear. The chimera draws near, then Musashi is turned into a dragon...and he is obviously not in control of himself. Neon tries to collar him, but Musashi proves to be quite a hassle. Eventually, Neon manages to control him, and tells him to eat Layla. Musashi complies and meets Layla, which seems unfazed by Musashi's dragon form. Musashi breathes fire at her, but Layla is seriously unimpressed and even mocks him for the uncreative attack. In fact, she starts to get annoyed. More fire is blown at her, and she gets ticked off. Nate asks her if she needs help, but she says no. He helps anyways but Musashi soon flies off.

Alice is being taught how to achieve her Deity form. Apparently, she must learn certain abilities that will each put her one step closer to this achievement. She learns how to make a demon puppet after spending all night on it. She then moves on to enduring physical pain. She needs to be able to use her demonic Power to destroy the chemical messages in her body when she encounters pain. Yisha, Halo, and Nate find Alice and decide to watch her train after exchanging some words with her. Alice then learns to attack only using her Demonic Aura. Next on the list appears to be barriers. They are made to resist exorcisms but they can only be used for a few seconds at a time due to the amount of energy it takes to maintain them. Alice is able to make it no problem and her mom is quite impressed. Alice then completes the speed training and Mayonaka notes that she will transform her in a few minutes since she completed the training.

Following a rather painful transformation that even attracted Cristal because of the screaming, Alice now had two horns and two wings. One wing was a dragon's wing and had five non-serrated knife-like extensions on the part where a dragon's wing would normally taper to a point. The other wing was feathered and had one serrated knife-like extension. Her feet now looked like a dog's hind paws and the bottom half of her legs had thick brown fur on them. [Editor's note: Yeah, I copy and pasted most of that. Even the editor can get lazy.]

Skylos gives Omni his Demon necklace and Light Sword back and then decides to have a change of clothes. He decides to use a mixture of his Death and Darkness Human outfit again. He modifies it slightly to be more ninja-like, and also puts on the Darkness Mask he had used back when he had split into two people. [Editor's note: It seems so cheesey now!] Zach happens to knock on the door at this point and Skylos appears outside his room and attacks Zach. Zach does not recognize him, of course. The two battle for a bit and end up outside. Skylos manages to totally beat him, then Skylos uses Mind Control on him. [Editor's note: Just how many times has Zach gotten hypnotized anyways?] Skylos senses Rem and has Zach casually go kill him.

Zach strikes up a conversation with Rem, only to seconds later attempt to gut him with his sword. Skylos then appears behind him and captures Zach in a capture orb as he suddenly decided it was a good idea to try and gain Rem's trust and then kill him himself. [Editor's note: AKA, Ethan had to go Go improv!] Skylos tries to trick Rem into thinking that some disease is messing with peoples' minds and asks Rem to turn around so that he can check to see if he's infected as well. Rem isn't believing him and Skylos seems unable to trick him despite his best efforts. Skylos then notes he'll have to help him forcibly if it comes to that. Skylos releases Zach and has him resume attacking him. [Editor's note: Ironically, Ethan came back and I had to go.] Some rather acidic remarks are noted to Rem by Zach and they fight.

[Editor's note: I just noticed myself using the paragraph style posting now instead of asterisks. It'll be a long while yet until everyone else follows suit.] Skylos finds Halo by herself and he decides to approach her. He is in his normal outfit and his Light is busy hiding his scar. The area is covered in a light mist. Halo relates that she can't find everyone and she doesn't like that Neon has decided to be evil. Skylos says he doesn't care about his decision even though Neon openly says he hates him. Seth happens on them and seems suspicious of how Skylos is acting. Halo catches on a little bit later and flat out asks him what's up. Skylos [Editor's note: I'm laughing as I'm typing this!] hugs her from behind and then creepily whispers in her ear that he knows that everyone has been using him all along but that he won't kill Halo because he likes her more than the others.

Skylos leaves and just in time catches Zach finishing off Rem, who manages to send his shadow out before he is killed by Zach. Quite pleased, Skylos releases Zach and he leaves him to see what he had done. Neon happens to appear and at first Zach thinks Neon killed Rem. But then Neon notes that he wished he had done it. Neon leaves and Skylos happens to arrive. He asks what happened and Zach can't come to an exact answer. Skylos notes that there are no Darkness wounds on Rem and that they're all burns. Zach suddenly remembers it all and is beside himself to the point that he can't hear Ponic who is trying to help. Halo is here too and quite angry, but is being held back by Keera. Skylos thinks it would be safer to put Zach in a capture orb so that Halo doesn't kill him (or vice versa) but Ponic objects and doesn't let him do so.

Halo beats up Zach a little, but nothing fatal. Zach apologies once more and can't believe what he had done. Surprisingly, Skylos then realizes that Neon had manipulated his thoughts of the others and this was definitely his fault. He asks everyone how they feel about him. Only gaining positive responses, Skylos becomes quiet. Zach and Halo manage to snap Skylos out of it and renew his trust in them. Neon appears and Skylos notes that this was all his fault, but now he is not believing Neon.

Neon uses a Mind Trauma on Halo and causes her much pain that ends up appear in real life. Eric arrives in time with Rem shadow who then takes Halo off to a hospital. Eric then fights Neon. After using Darkness against Neon, Neon suddenly leaves. Halo is healed via a red potion and she is left to rest.

Musashi visits Halo the next day and then an explosion is heard! The two go to investigate, as well as Alice. Alice doesn't get far as a possible Neon clone appears. Likewise, one appears next to Zach. It is unknown if one is real, or if they are both clones. Zach is feeling crushed by Rem's death and Neon tries to use this against him. Zach starts attacking him after crossing the line. Alice is somewhat mad about being ignored the day before or something, so Neon tries to use that.

Skylos is off by himself training his Light. He finds that he can manipulate his Light Shards into a protective barrier shaped like a dome. He appears to think this will blot out Neon's Darkness should he get caught up in it. A few minutes later, he decides to train under increased gravity to see if that will help his endurance. He gets tired out pretty fast and then Eric comes up to him. Eric says he's not mad at Skylos, but Skylos notes that he has every right to get revenge on him. Eric says he's not having that because he can tell how much guilt Skylos is feeling already. Eric tells Skylos that he shouldn't think that he's useless just because of past failures. Yisha, Ponic, and Keera then come on the scene. Yisha inquires if they have seen Halo. Eric notes that she is hurt and that Neon had attacked her the night before. Halo is visited by Tom who chats with her a bit.

Speaking of Neon, he then appears. This one appears to be the real one. He pretty much states that they're all wasting their time training and that they're going to all quickly be sent to the hospital at this rate. Skylos hotly tells him that his face would already be in the ground if he didn't have his Mind Trauma ability. Naturally, they start fighting. Skylos Light dashes at the start and appears to have the upper hand, but Neon surprises him by quickly reacting and even messing up Skylos's movements with an odd electricity. Skylos fires off his Gravity increase and uses it to figure out a way to counter Neon's ability. Skylos notes that he'll break every bone in Neon's body if he doesn't leave. Neon pretty much dares him.

Meanwhile, Eric works on reviving Rem. Eric finds Rem's body after having some help from Ponic. Rem's shadow is sent off with the black and white orb to the spirit world to deliver it to him. Rem has been there for awhile now and has chanced upon Lareo. After a bit of chatting, Rem's shadow arrives with the orb and Rem is revived. The orb is filled with more cracks as a result, though. Halo is quite glad to have Rem back. Zach continues to fight the Neon clone as anger is fueling his attacks.

Successfully calling Skylos's bluff, Neon attacks him and stabs Skylos in the stomach. Skylos then causes the light particles of the Gravity Well to explode with Neon right next to him. Neon was pushed back and hurt a bit. Skylos found that he could move normally again; the light particles must have cleansed him. Both Pantechs attack each others' mark in hopes of getting an easy win. Both miss but Skylos falls to the ground and is easily hit by the next attack. After some Void Needles nearly hit everywhere on Skylos's body [Editor's note: Mike was sure to say 'every' a second time. ], Skylos tries one last ditch effort. Light wraps around him to form some sort of cocoon.

Skylos reemerges in his Light Dog form, only it look more like a demonic wolf. Skylos's being is strengthened instantly and he is suddenly turning the tables! Skylos begins to taunt Neon like neon had done to him before, as Skylos has seen that Neon is emotionally affected by the thought of losing to Skylos. Likewise, Zach is put on edge by the Neon clone and suddenly he is filled with more power than ever! Zach becomes very demonic looking and claws and wings appear on him, practically burning with fury. Both attack their respective Neon, and both manage to defeat him. Zach's merely fizzles away, but Skylos's retreats saying that he will kill Skylos.

Both Skylos and Zach then pass out. Yisha helps Skylos (as she had been there all along) to Rem's room with a little help from Halo who just arrived. Rem heals Skylos with a red potion. Skylos is depressed that he couldn't get Neon to come back. Halo senses his mood and scoots everyone out of the room to give him some alone time. Skylos contacts Akio via a yellow summoning candle. Skylos asks Akio if he could help him not like Neon as much because it impossible for him to purposely harm Neon to the extreme because he still loves him as family. Akio says he can and he complies to Skylos's wishes by taking that love out of him. Akio keep the emotion for later for in case Skylos wants it back. Akio then leaves.

Zach comes around later and finds himself in his hotel room. Omni is leaning on the wall nearby and it occurs to him that Omni must have totally healed him. Omni notes that Zach was fortunate to have not fought the real Neon, even though Neon would probably be dead had Zach been there to help Skylos. Zach inquires why Omni seems to not care and Omni replies that they both did something unforgivable. Zach wonders what that could have been, so Omni takes what appears to be a Darkness Orb from his pocket. Omni explains that it's a Darkness Soul and that Skylos had ditched it. Zach smartly notes that that would make a person incredibly unbalanced. Omni confirms his statement by saying that Neon had ditched his Light Soul. Omni continues and says that part of his job is to return souls back to Light and Darkness Humans forcibly if necessary.

Omni has Skylos's Dark soul in hand, but he says that Neon's Light Soul had been stolen from him by his son...Tranductus. Omni notes that he knows where the soul is now...Skylos has been using it for the past nine months. Zach idly wonders if that means Skylos's Power came from Neon. The two part ways and Omni goes to visit Skylos.

Eric finds Ponic in the middle of a trance brought on by the Dagger of Memory. Eric decides to take it out of Ponic once Ponic shows signs of discomfort from some memory. Ponic thanks him and said it had been relaxing up until that memory. Eric hands him one of Rem's green colored potions to get Ponic's energy back up since he says that he hasn't eaten or drank anything for a whole day. At the same time, Keera and Rem chat about their plans to combat Neon. They end up getting into a water battle. Ponic is worried that the Dagger of Memory has done something weird. He explains that he thought he had felt some other presence looking at the memories with him. He had also felt like he was going into a coma. Eric finds it weird, but they are unable to come up with any ideas, so Ponic heads off to get some rest.

The next day, Eric meets up with Ponic who states that he wants to give the Dagger of Memory another try. He asks Eric to come with him and he agrees to. While sifting through memories, they start to turn bad, something Ponic says he didn't will to happen. He again senses the other presence and can't figure out who it is. Skylos finds Ponic and Eric in the trance and he waits by them. Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice and the dagger is forcibly removed from Ponic, ending the trance. Ponic is alarmed and runs off to figure this out. Skylos is left kind of confused, so he heads back to the hotel.

Later, Ponic has met up with Keera and Ponic seems kind of down. Seth then makes a dramatic entry (or so he calls it anyways) which makes them both jump. Ponic walks off for a second to catch his breath, but then he's overtaken by the stranger [Editor's note: Which is Izerion. Sorry if I ruined it for you. ] and Ponic struggles to quiet him in his own head. Eric wonders what is going on and Keera reluctantly tells him that it might be Izerion. Ponic then notes that it's true. Izerion is still alive and part of him somewhere on Earth. The rest of him is inside Ponic. Therefore, he'd have to die to kill Izerion completely. They part ways for the night. [Editor's note: Is it just me or is it always night time?]

Ponic and Keera run into Rem and tell him the news, but not to advertise it to everyone for the time being. [Editor's note: YOU FOOLISH MORTAL! *covers mouth in surprise*] After they leave, Omni materializes behind Rem. Omni leaves some hints about where to look for an advantage over Neon. Rem says they aren't planning to kill Neon, but Omni gruffly remarks that he needs to wake up a realize that it's going to come a time when that kind of philosophy fails. [Editor's note: Odd reading this about Omni. He was more like the recovering bad guy that grudgingly was helping the others and rolling his eyes the entire way. No wonder no one liked him!] Omni gives Rem some advise and tells him to train his mind and to never look into Neon's eyes. He leaves.

The next day, Zach is bored and states that he has only seen Omni these past few days. Omni promptly appears and notes that he's about all he's going to see since Neon has been quiet for days now. Omni then goes on to say that the only help they're going to get from him is a bit of healing since he is indifferent to the outcome. Zach seems to accept this and states that a healer is just as important as a fighter. Omni then brings up that he's glad Neon hasn't mastered an ability called Darkness Drain. When Zach inquires what it is, Omni promptly uses it on him! Apparently, it sucks the body heat out of one's body, putting them in a deathly state.

Rem mistakes Omni for attacking Zach and gets ready to go on the offensive. Omni quickly fixes Zach and explains that he was trying to make a point. Zach understands that Neon can be very dangerous even when not using his Mind Trauma. Zach is then stunned to see Rem alive. Rem seems to think he made his point to Omni, but Omni notes that he's afraid that he'd kill Rem. It appears after this there is a mutual dislike for one another. Omni notes that he should team up with Skylos since Fire and Light are closely related. Zach doesn't want to butt into Skylos's personal affairs, but Omni reveals that Skylos is past that now. He also comments that Skylos is back on their side. and Zach then finds out that it had been him who made him kill Rem. Zach dismisses it though as Rem is alive now.

Zach then seems to think that he shouldn't have won his fight against the Neon clone. Omni notes that Zach had been indulging in demonic power and Zach nods that he's not the only one. Omni gets ticked off but he calms down after Zach clarifies and means Skylos. Omni mutters an accusation to his not present son and then tells Zach to see how using this power goes. Mentally, he notes that its origin is pretty obvious with that Aura showing. Zach then feels uncomfortable. Omni leaves just as Ponic, Alice (in her newest form as a Cat Demon), and Nami come up to them. Ponic asks to train, but Zach declines and leaves, saying he has things to think over. Rem decides to train with Ponic. After a bit, they decide to rest. Rem chats with Alice and Nami.

A little later, Rem finds Musashi (finally) and learns from him that the war went badly for him and that he had some thinking to do. Rem then finds Alice again and finds her in her new form which is about the size of a tiger. Layla then finds them and they introduce themselves. She freaks out when she realizes that Alice is actually not a tiger but a Cat Demon. After a bit of attacks, she calms down and learns about them. Ponic arrives a little bit later and then introduces himself to Layla as well. Layla seems worked up about the mention of Shadows, but Ponic assures her that he's good.

Zach decides to follow Omni's advice and train. Zach is shocked to see himself in the same form from before, and Flare notes that the seal on his Power has weakened so Zach can now use that form and Power, but it'll be weaker than before. Omni appears and offers some help, which Zach accepts. Omni creates a Darkness Beast in the form of a Hyena which Zach starts battling. Zach's attacks are mainly straight on, so he wants to improve them by having them lock on to a target. Zach manages to score some hits, but over all Omni definitely has the upper hand through the training. Zach manages to destroy the beast, which Omni congratulates him on. Omni then learns how Zach met Flare and how he went on a bit of rampage because of their meeting. Omni then comments that they must be very good friends since Flare revealed his name to him. Omni then parts ways with him.

Meanwhile, Ponic and Rem are going to spar with Layla, but then Ponic's Shadow Power goes crazy. Luckily, he is able to fix it before he does any real harm to anyone. Ponic decides he's going to go work on it for a bit and leaves.

The next day, Omni finds Rem and they chat about his sword for a bit. Zach then arrives on the scene and they joke around a bit along with Omni noting that they're test subjects. Ponic arrives a few minutes later and Omni leaves with Zach, suddenly interested in asking him a question in private. Ponic is happy to announce that he successfully learned to control that crazy Power. Seth appears making one of his entrances and almost hits Layla with a rock. Alice starts singing and Rem and Musashi listen.

In the Darkness Realm, Neon steals the Darkness Crystal to power himself up. He tries to take the Darkness Demon Crystal too, but the Darkness Demon King doesn't let him have it. Neon travels to the Light Demon Realm and Benevolent engages him in a fight. Skylos was there training with him, so he just watches. Benevolent reveals that he used to be Neon's friend back when he was an imp and that this is perfect time for revenge.

Omni leads Zach to his Realm that he made that simply contains his house. He shows him around and then questions him about his combining with a Demon. After learning the story, Omni brings up swords as a topic. Zach is uncomfortable to share that he got his from a friend, but he brightens up when he gets to see Omni's Light sword and Darkness sword. After mentioning that his dad had made it, Omni becomes somewhat sad. Zach takes a cue from Omni that it's time to leave, and Zach departs with the notion that Omni is not exactly what he thought he was.

Alice breaks down again into sobbing because Neon is gone and Ponic doesn't know what to do. It then attracts Tom over who complains about the noise. Tom chats with Rem a bit. They then find Ponic and Keera with the former training. Ponic notes that they need to find Musashi since the war has concluded. Rem then shows Yisha and company his new attack, the Light Star. Rem trains with Ponic who insists he try it out on him as training against Neon. The attack seems to be working, but it never actually reaches Ponic through all of his shields, so it's decided that he should work on it.

Back with Benevolent, we find that in a recent memory, Benevolent borrowed Skylos Light Soul, but his Light Power remained. This of course causes some slight confusion with Skylos who then guesses he doesn't actually need it anymore. Neon kills a demon child and this causes Benevolent to go ballistic! Neon uses a mind trauma on him and causes him to see Neon as his past self, being that he used to be a Light Human and that Benevolent was his friend.

Meanwhile, Skylos decides it's time to intervene. Skylos fires a Light beam at Neon [Editor's note: Cheap!] but Neon actually dodges and notes to Skylos that he doesn't usually play unfair. Skylos then surprised Neon by grabbing his arm and tries to do some Void technique that would either disintegrate or combine with him. Neon manages to get away without taking too much damage, and Skylos uses this chance to snap Benevolent out of his mind trauma. Neon's massive attack hits the realm and he leaves. Skylos and Benevolent manage to escape.

Omni then visits Halo and bugs her for a bit. Halo can't remember Omni's name, so he supplies it to her and notes that he's the demon expert. Halo nods and notes that he must know all about her then. Omni states that she's a Time-Storm [Editor's note: Well it says Thunder still. I guess that'll change soon.] demon hybrid and that she's barely a lesser demon and that she should really work on that. She states she doesn't know how, but then he says that no demon became Chaos rank sitting on their bottom all day. Halo gets slightly annoyed and says she wouldn't know where to start. Omni then mocks her that she's weak and that even meek little Rem is stronger than her [Rem: I heard that Caleb!]. Halo fires electricity at Omni, and he notes that it made a butterfly seem more ferocious than her. She goes crazy with ice and then Omni shatters it all. He leaves and as a parting note says she might have moved to 'upper lesser' demon. Halo sits down and notes that it was fun.

Danlay then makes it back to the hotel from a two month archaeological dig.

Omni shows up to Rem, Ponic, and Keera. He appears to be stubborn and set in his ways of disliking Shadow Wielders and Ponic and Keera lose their cool. Later, when Omni finds Rem alone, he explains to him that it was a test and that had he been Neon, then those two would probably have been under a mind trauma and dead since they lost their cool. Rem seems to understand why he was doing it. Omni then asks if Rem wants to go a few rounds with him. Rem accepts and the training match begins. For the most part, Rem is trying his best while Omni blocks or cancels his attacks. Ponic is also yelling out advice to Rem. After a bit, they decide to call it a night.

Omni runs into Musashi, and then into Danlay a bit later. Rem, Ponic, and Keera arrive a bit later. Danlay seems to trust Omni since Rem seems to. Rem and Ponic start talking about their skills once more while Alice goes on a rampage.

Omni talks with Danlay and explains to him about other universes and that Skylos and Neon are probably in a demon realm since he doesn't think that they are even strong enough to switch to another. [Editor's note: I suppose this is the first time that this is even mentioned. They're referred to as 'Terra' now, though Omni did mention what we call 'dimensions' as well.] Danlay doesn't seem to like the idea of being able to travel to other dimensions. The first thought that came to mind would be one where Neon had taken it over completely! [Editor's note: Might want to check out the Mythos Arc. ] Omni then realizes that they might either be in the Light Demon or Human Realm, or the Darkness Human or Demon Realm. It then occurs to Omni that the Darkness crystal is missing...

Meanwhile, Benevolent reveals to Skylos that his Light Soul was actually Neon's. Skylos suggests fixing the soul back into a person, and Benevolent wonders why he hadn't thought of that before. They are successful and have a living, breathing. Light Human Neon in front of them. He seems to be very confused, however. It is found that Light Neon doesn't remember anything.

Dark Neon then kisses Halo, but it is revealed that he was only doing so to get close to her. A mark is left on her and she demands to know what he did to her. Omni and Danlay then arrive and Omni requests for Neon to speak with him in private. Once they have walked away from the group, Omni says that he'll teach him an ability if he gives him the Darkness Crystal back. Neon states that it wouldn't be worth it.

[Continued on the next post as this one is full.]

[Skylos]

Omni gets ticked off because Neon won't accept his offer. Neon states that he'll only give it to him if he kills the group and gives him a Lunar orb. Omni declines and leaves.

The others seem to think Omni can reason with Neon, so they decide to head for bed in hopes of a better tomorrow. Halo is upset about Neon putting the mark on her, and she doesn't want to tell Rem what happened. Danlay is annoyed with himself for being gone for so long and also wonders where his pendant even is.

The next day, Halo tells Rem what happened. A little while later, Rem runs into Zach and Rem catches him up on some current events. Zach decides he's not holding back the next time he encounters Neon. Musashi then appears with trunk full of weapons. Zach and Musashi leave, but then Skylos and Ponic appear.

Skylos notes he had been training in the Light Demon Realm, to which Ponic jokes that he's always out of the Dimension when he trains. Skylos notes that the Light Demon Realm charges him up and that it helped him. Ponic asks for a demonstration, and Skylos notes that he can now counter a Mind Trauma. Skylos demonstrates on Ponic, and Skylos knows that he has learned how to do Mind Control. [Editor's note: An ability that Skylos actually hates using.] Skylos notes that it was actually the second ability he learned and that he is quite good with it at this point. Ponic doesn't seem to think it will be of much use. Skylos kind of rolls his eyes and leaves.

A little later, Ponic and Keera 'bump into' Danlay and Arthur. Ponic says they're trying to come up with a plan against Neon, and Danlay wonders if they can even beat him in their current state. Danlay also wonders if Omni is someone they can actually trust. Ponic notes that they need to find away to counter Neon's Mind Trauma. Danlay seems to think that Ponic has simplified it too much, but then he decides to head out.

Omni finds Halo wondering where Yisha is. She is worried because she has not been seen for days. Rem then arrives. Omni tells her that worrying doesn't help, but Rem then notes that she is allowed to worry. Omni notes that they should learn how to sense Aura and then points that Yisha is in that direction. Halo and Rem depart to find her, quite happy. Eric then contacts Rem saying he found Yisha. Halo then notes they'll be there quickly. [Editor's note: In Halo language, quickly means: "We'll be there as soon as you can carry a balloon across the Atlantic in A FROZEN BUNNY OUTFIT WHILE BEING MAULED BY RABID CLOWNS ON A TUESDAY!"] Halo and Rem arrive to find that Yisha is in some odd trance. They head back to the hotel with her.

Neon causes a massive storm which then creates a giant Darkness beast. The beast attacks people and sucks them into intself, trapping them. Ponic and Keera try to fend it off, but they aren't having much luck. Ponic then locates Neon and demands that he call it off, to which Neon says he sees no reason to. After the creature is finished sucking everyone up, it vanishes. Neon does likewise.

Zach and Skylos meet up with each other the next day and comment on how the place is now empty. Skylos suggests that it must have been Neon's Darkness Beast ability he sensed yesterday. Zach idly wonders what the strategic value of taking all of the people is. Skylos jokes that maybe Neon is going to take their souls, and Zach joins in by noting that it could be what Neon needs for sustenance or that Neon might be a vampire.

Zach brings up asking Omni if he knows what Neon is planning since the group has no leads. Skylos is dumbfounded as to why Zach would willingly want to find Omni. Zach notes that he's not really a bad guy, but Skylos seems sure that he is. Zach calls him paranoid and wonders if it's because of Omni's job of returning souls, which Skylos didn't even know about. This freaks out Skylos even more. Ponic and Eric arrive shortly after, along with Layla. Zach finds Omni's Aura in the conference room of the hotel, so they go there. Omni relates to them about the three things Neon wanted him to do, then leaves.

Meanwhile, Neon kisses Yisha. [Editor's note: Neon is a playa!] Like with a Halo a mark appears on her. Musashi then attacks Neon, but his hand simply passes through him. Neon asks him what's wrong, and Musashi replies that he's kissing his girlfriend (and that he hasn't even got to do that yet. *cues blush*)! Neon then leaves with Yisha.

A Neon clone is left with them and starts to battle with Musashi, Alice, Shininmaru (Alice's boyfriend), Eric, and Danlay and Arthur, who both then arrived as Neon unleashes a bunch of needles that cause explosions with everything that they come in contact with, i.e. the hotel. [Editor's note: Cat Demons are immune to explosions.] Neon then finishes off the hotel with a Darkness blast. Danlay remarks that Neon really has changed and he powers up to his third level. Neon beats on Danlay a bit and Arthur tries to help. Alice is in bad condition, but then the Neon clone decides to leave.

Danlay has a strange dream where someone is calling him home, but he can't understand it. He wakes up and is dug out of debris by a worried Emanuel. Danlay sighs at himself for recklessly charging a Neon, then pays tribute to all those who died. Eric then walks over and the two begin to brainstorm over how to deal with Neon and what he could possibly be up to. Danlay brings up that the key to fixing things is returning Neon's Light Soul to him, something Eric hasn't heard about. Danlay explains that Neon cast out his soul ages ago and that this was just waiting to happen someday. The four decide to call it a night.

The next day, Zach stares at the hotel's charred remains and then comments on how he always seems to miss the rather important Neon attacks. Omni appears behind him and comments it's because he can only sense Auras when he using Flare - a bad weak point. Zach is unfazed by Omni suddenly talking to him and asks what he wants. Omni states he'll train him to sense Aura so that he can live five seconds more before Neon kills him. Zach chuckles and notes that a few seconds wouldn't be a bad idea after all. Omni teaches him a simple way to sense them. He has Zach close his eyes and focus on what Omni looks like, keeping in mind all of the details. he then tells Zach to envision what his Aura might look like based on what he knows of Omni's Power. Zach does all of the above and successfully sees Omni's Aura. Omni notes to Zach to try and keep Neon on his mind, to which Zach laughs and says it's hard not to. He then sees Neon's Aura far away. [Editor's note: Personally, I like Chuck's explanation far better.]

Omni teleports to Neon and begins to train him like he said he would. Omni teaches him how to use Darkness Bow, which combines blood and Darkness to fire arrows of energy at people to paralyze them at the spot and even spread to other areas. He then teaches him Darkness Touch (as he had used on Zach before). Omni uses it on Neon as an example, and lets him use it on him in return. Of course Neon tests Omni's limits with the freezing attack. When Neon is satisfied with learning he can freeze people, he decides to find a way to freeze them alive. Omni teaches him one last technique that allows for Neon to steal others' Auras temporarily so that he can mask or recharge his own Aura. Neon is quick to try out his Dark Touch and freezes Keera upon their next meeting. Ponic is infuriated by this and tries to thaw her out with help from Rem and Eric.

Zach comments on the town being just creepy now without a soul around just when Skylos shows up. Again, Skylos and Zach joke a bit about Neon. Zach then asks if he can try to see Skylos's Aura and Skylos says that he can. Zach successfully sees it, but then loses concentration when Danlay walks up and starts talking to them. The trio talk about what's been going on and update each other on recent events, and also corrects some mistaken information that Danlay had been thinking about the situation. Danlay is appalled when he finds out that Neon had turned evil on his own accord. Before learning this, he had been all for not killing him and trying to rescue him. Now he is merely confused and now needs to rethink the situation. Zach and Danlay learn of the Light Neon and are hopeful that this will be helpful in the future. Zach wonders what is keeping them from fighting Neon at this very moment and Danlay assures him that the hotel's ruins account for why they can't stop him. Skylos then decides that he will go talk to Neon. Just talk.

Speaking of which, Benevolent brings Light Neon to Earth and shows him to the group. Ponic doesn't know what to think while Eric and Rem seem to be curious. Yisha (who is now better) and Halo are surprised by this breakthrough.

Skylos locates Neon and tries to talk with him. Throughout the talk, Neon continues to wonder what Skylos really wants, but Skylos merely states that he just wants conversation. Neon notes that Skylos may be too confident around him just because he beat him one time. Neon states that he is different now. Neon tells Skylos that he can join him if he manages to get him a Lunar Demon Orb. Skylos decides to get him one, and manages to get one so long as Neon doesn't attack the Demon Realms. Skylos hands it to Neon, but Neon tricks him with a fake Sol Demon Orb which turns out to be a Capture Orb and it sucks Skylos inside. Neon notes that he still doesn't want Skylos and that his love has gotten in the way once again.

Ponic arrives and gets immensely angry at Neon to the point that Izerion's voice fills his own. he lashes out at Neon, saying that he doesn't care for him anymore. Neon leaves a few moments later saying that his master is calling him. Rem, Eric, Danlay, and Seth arrive to Ponic who is now calming down. Ponic is worried about Izerion making his anger increase and causing Izerion to take over somewhat. Rem manages to heal Ponic's wounds with a potion and they all decide to call it a night.

The next day, Zach is worried because it is now the day of the new moon. He seems to think something will happen. Omni pops up and agrees. Zach doesn't need to be told by Omni that today they will be in much more danger than normal. Omni then suggests he taken over the world first so that they can kill two birds with one stone. Zach notes that then they'd have to still beat him. Omni replies that he's only joking and that he isn't really into that kind of thing.

Zach decides to change the subject and remarks that Skylos is pretty afraid of Omni. Omni then notes that anyone stalking a person would probably be paranoid. Ironically, Zach had been slightly paranoid of Neon at the time. Zach wonders if they should go look for Skylos and Omni notes that his aura has been with Neon for a day now. Zach then wonders if Skylos got taken and Omni remarks that he probably got carried away, as is the Pantech curse. [Editor's note: You know, that might be the first mention of their last name...] Zach laments over the fact that Skylos was probably their best fighter. Omni glares and states that with an attitude like that, he might as well walk up to Neon and let him cut his head off. Zach quickly notes that he overreacted.

Everyone [Editor's note: Really. I mean everyone. Now where's Mike? >.>] then joins them and Omni tells them that his weak point is his dark mark on his stomach. Ponic, Keera, Danlay, and Arthur then try to define fear using proverbs and phrases and even argue over it [Editor's note: Trivial~]. Neon's voice then fills the area and it puts Zach, Halo, Yisha, Danlay, Arthur, Emanual, Rem, Eric, Ponic, Keera, and Seth on guard. [Editor's note: Figured I'd list all present.] Omni then takes his leave and wishes them good luck. The area changes to black and white and begins to rain blood. Neon appears on a hill and summons a threatening mass of Darkness.

Elsewhere, Musashi surprises Akio and they talk about Musashi's girlfriend and her hottness. Other elsewhere, Draco and Aqua are bored because the group has been gone for months. [Editor's note: Can you tell we had to pause yet?]

Ponic and Keera start to see horrors in the mind trauma, namely Ponic going out of control and Keera's assassin. Neon watches this and then suddenly everything goes back to normal. However, Neon has noticed Izerion playing a role here. Ponic then realizes that Neon now knows and that this could be a problem. In fact, Izerion then manages to emerge from Ponic. Izerion says he's going to kill them, but he has recharge his power first, so he leaves.

Shadow and Darkness: Layla seems to think that something bad must have happened. Rem and Eric meanwhile recover from the mind trauma. Omni walks up to them and notes that Neon has learned their fears and that will be a helpful tool for him. They begin to talk about Neon's past, which Omni seems to know much of. Apparently, Omni had rescued neon as a child from a Hate Demon, and the power that Omni used (Darkness) was then given to Neon. [Editor's note: He'd have developed it anyways. If anything, he had just quickened its development.] Omni wonders if this has to do with how Neon acts now.

Omni leaves and finds Zach wondering about what had just happened. Omni relates the same theory to Zach and Zach wonders why he'd want that. Omni then tactfully convinces Zach to try and rescue Skylos since Zach has his trump card, after all. Zach decides that this is a good enough reason and departs to get Skylos. Flare then calls Zach's plan stupid and Zach responds that he doesn't even have one, that winging it works fine. Zach plows into Neon's current hide-out and Neon says he'll find him fairly. Just before Zach arrived, Neon and Skylos were exchanging some rather sarcastic remarks to one another, and Skylos decided to continue with it once Zach arrived. It looks like Neon will fight, but then he suddenly throws the capture orb with Skylos in it at Zach. Neon then uses a Lunar Demon orb to unleash a large explosion! Zach manages to get away with Skylos and let him out.

Seth finds Ponic and Keera...and Izerion! Izerion immediately attacks the three, managing to knock Ponic and Keera out. Seth manages to avoid damage from the wave of Shadow, and retaliates. Seth manages a hit, but Izerion's blood merely creates mutated shadow creatures which attack Seth. Seth tries to fend off the hoard, but it ends up being too much for him. Izerion then notes that he isn't going to kill him because he wants Seth to see him take over the world as that would be worse than dying. Izerion departs saying that he has a surprise for Alice. Seth checks to see if Keera and Ponic are all right.

Skylos and Zach use the light subspace to appear next to Rem and Eric. Omni appears at the same time, as does Halo and Yisha. At that moment, Rem is giving Halo a birthday a present. It's a necklace with pretty red jewels in it. Omni then gives Skylos his Darkness Soul back and Skylos actually notes that he feels much better. As everyone leaves for bed, Rem notes that Eric has been quiet every time that fears were mentioned. Eric says not to worry about it. [Editor's note: But you'll definitely worry about it later!]

And now for a recap of a few walls of text that YNB posted hereafter all in a row: A mysterious man and a scientist are trying to crossover the dimensional barrier so that they can go back in time and kill Neon before he causes an event that apparently messed up their Earth. They are having problems figuring out how he will be able to get back, but he will be able to get there by using the power of a full moon. The man realizes that he can't get all of the information he needs about the incident, so he uses the machine and crosses the dimensional barrier. Abby then sees a bright flash of light and wonders what she saw...

Incidently, Skylos finds more pages 'stuck together' in his tome of Power and finds out about the First Quarter and Last Quarter moon and how they affect Power. Musashi then blunders and kicks Skylos's door down when all he needed to do was pull it open, then enters his room. He wonders what Skylos is reading. Skylos tells him and notes that this realization about Shadow could prove to be very bad should Izerion [Editor's note: Scary Ponic] take advantage of it. Musashi tells Skylos not to worry about it so much and then goes off to buy Yisha something.

Zach enters Skylos room and notes that Musashi must have visited. Skylos nods but is now caught up in another page he found. Zach asks him what's up, and he is told that there is only one Omni in all of Reality, something that shocks Skylos and only bewilders Zach. [Editor's note: I had been thinking of other Terra for some time. This is the real start of it.] Skylos then chats to Zach about his failed attempt to talk with Neon. Zach can't understand why Skylos doesn't get that Neon is nothing more than a monster now. Skylos says he'd get over it if he just knew why he changed.

Ponic and Keera finish packing for the return home. They decide it's probably best if they tell everyone else to get packed. Skylos has already packed and Seth then suddenly scrambles around to pack his things. Keera decides that the best way back would be to take an airplane.

Danlay decides to visit Abby but finds the stranger there. The stranger inquires as to who Danlay is, but Danlay says the one that doesn't belong ought to answer first. The stranger indentifies himself as Gromus. Danlay introduces himself and notes that he's in the Lockhart house. Gromus seems shocked. Abby walks in and it is apparently that Gromus does know her despite what he says. Gromus decides that he will only give Danlay some important information if he beats him in a fight. They decide to meet on a field to battle. They commence their fight. Danlay ends up winning once Gromus realizes his Power had been almost entirely drained by his Dimension hop.

Ponic finally is able to get a hold of plane tickets to get home, but they are soon attacked by Shadow Creatures. In France, Izerion encounters Neon and they fight one another. At the end of the battle, Izerion reveals his name to be Izerion. Ponic finally realizes the weakness of the Shadow creatures and the group manages to defeat them.

Later, Zach finds that Skylos's door has been fixed and he visits with Skylos. Skylos appears to be examining his old helm and seems out of it. Zach picks this up and tries to ignore it. He inquires if they're really leaving Japan and Skylos confirms so. Skylos then asks Zach how he feels about death. [Editor's note: Oh boy.] Zach responds that it's a natural part of life. He seems to finally see that Skylos is a tad too fond at looking at the helm. Skylos smiles and says he was just curious. Izerion then appears in the room and brandishes his blade threateningly. Skylos notes that he better leave or else. Izerion scratches Zach's cheek with his blade anyways, but then Skylos says that he'll handle this.

Zach leaves and Skylos's irises fill red. Izerion tells him that Neon didn't fair well against him yesterday, but Skylos really doesn't seem to care. A fight starts between them with Skylos using Death power. Izerion ends up blowing up the hotel. [Editor's note: Again.] Tom and Havock appear just then and find Skylos and Izerion. Shadow creatures appear and the rest of the group tries to fend them off as Skylos continues to solo Izerion. The fight seems in Izerion's favor, but Skylos is hanging on. Skylos makes bone armor [Editor's note: Told you Ralph.] around himself to protect himself. Skylos eventually loses.

Musashi finds him and does not find it unusual that Skylos has red eyes. Skylos asks him not to tell anyone and that he'll figure it out eventually. Musashi says 'mkay'. Skylos then notes that he hopes that Ponic doesn't find out since last time this happened he had his Death Power forcefully removed by a shadow spell. Musashi understands and notes that it's a debasement due to his identity being removed forcibly. Skylos is happy that Musashi seems to understand but Musashi says that someone has to. The two part ways.

Skylos summons Akio and asks for his emotions towards Neon back because he thinks it will help him get rid of this Death Human problem he's having. Akio complies and then inquires about it. Skylos explains how his power had been taken away from him, but he really had still been evil since then. Akio wonders if he accepts it, and Skylos says he does because it gives him confidence. Skylos parts with Akio and heads to yet another hotel and decides to make a new outfit. He encounters Musashi a little bit later and they meditate together.

Yisha finds Rem and Eric and then goes wacko and starts attacking them. Ponic appears and lends Rem and Eric a helping hand. Yisha is subdued after a few minutes of fighting. Danlay finds out that Gromus is himself from an alternate timeline [Editor's note: Dimension. Must be Terra 2 Alpha... Or possibly an even worse one.] Gromus hands Danlay his pendant and says that he woke up with it around his neck one day and it cased him to remember everything. Danlay figures that it somehow was transported to him that time he was in the pyramid and got his glove. Abby reveals herself from the bushes and Gromus leaves. Abby is confused and shocked at the prospect of there being another Abby that died. She wants to know why it won't just happen to her. Danlay says he'll protect her, but Abby says that he can't be with her every second and to be realistic. She says she'll continue to train.

Everyone heads to the airport so that they can catch their flight home. Alice and Nami luck out with first class, as does Skylos apparently. Izerion stays around the plane, thinking that he'll destroy it once it takes off. Musashi ties up some loose ends and heads for France. Musashi manages to make it on the plane and even finds Izerion after the pilot is killed. The two get in a battle. Neon also arrives at this point and immediately takes a hostage. Skylos had been chatting with Tom, but now his attention was on Neon. Neon and Izerion seem to both be trashing the plane as everyone battles.

Eventually, the plane is compromised and everyone manages to escape as it crashes down. Skylos escapes with Tom and tells him about liking being evil. Tom simply reminds him of what he would be leaving behind. After much talking, Skylos seems to revert back to normal. The majority of the group finally gets back to France at this point. Skylos visits his dad real quick then heads to the cabin with Tom. A blast of light comes from the forest at that point and revelas the revived Auras of Lareo, Kidora, Kisame, Arasuki, Izumi, Gycor, and Musashi's father. Skylos faints from the sheer volume of Aura. He wakes up a few minutes later and is in a quandary because Lareo is alive. Gycor and company fight Ponic, Keera, Tom, and Havock.

Skylos conveniently finds Musashi nearby napping. He whispers to him what he should do about Lareo. Musashi understands that Skylos is torn between loyalty and friendship. Musashi relates a story about someone named Oichi and summarizes by saying that he needs to figure out who he holds more dear. He departs to go save Wrath from Kidora. The paint user seems to be quite powerful, but Musashi has Chito come help him and he seems to have the upper hand.

Lareo then conveniently finds Skylos. Skylos is unsure of how to talk to him, but manages to find out that Lareo hadn't blamed him for his death and that he hadn't really expected him to kill his friends. Skylos is slightly taken aback by the comment, but realizes that Lareo is right. Skylos then learns that Lareo is not in charge anymore, so Skylos decides he'll kill Izerion for him. Neon, from behind, then states he can't let that happen.

Neon says that he has peeked his interest in world domination. Neon mocks Skylos and tad and then Lareo mocks Neon in response. Skylos is angry after Neon tells of Lareo and Lareo finds out that Skylos considers him a friend, something he hadn't known. Neon seems as critical towards Skylos as ever, but Skylos then finds out that this new Neon seems to have stemmed from when Skylos killed Neon. Skylos admits he was in the wrong and Neon actually notes that he is touched that Skylos is admitting his guilt. Skylos decides to leave to think about some things, leaving Neon and Lareo together. Neon tells Lareo to keep an eye on Skylos and to not let him do anything he may regret. Lareo notes that Neon seems to care, but Neon simply ignores him.

Zach seems to have been left in Japan but he is contacted by Rem's shadow and told that everyone has gone home. Zach decides to fly home but as he is taking off, Gycor attacks him. Zach shows disbelief as Gycor is supposed to be dead. The two fight for awhile. Rem's shadow finds Halo and Yisha and tells them that everyone went home, but he has some plane tickets for them.

Tom joins Skylos for meditation. Skylos chats to him some more and learns that Tom will be leaving again soon. Skylos doesn't like this but knows he can't do anything about it. Skylos also worries about Tom's memories and Tom continues to wonder why Skylos seems to care about him more than himself. Skylos notes that it's just in his nature. Later, Skylos finds Musashi and seeks his advice. Draco shows up and Skylos notes that Lareo is back and inquires whether he will rejoin him. Draco is evasive. Musashi notes that he wants to meet Lareo. Musashi is then attacked by Izerion and Skylos retrieves Musashi's pipe. Yisha sees it and demands to see it. Skylos says he has to go and disappears. Yisha is then very mad and yells in Draco's face [Editor's note: Anime style, of course.]. Keera then runs into Arasuki. Seth comes to Keera's aid and they battle with her. In the meantime, Rem and Halo go to pick up Fin from the Light Sage. Musashi appears to be losing the fight and is pretty much on his last leg when Izerion makes a comment and it totally rejuvenates Musashi and he goes crazy on him. Ponic arrives and manages to help Seth and Keera fend off Arasuki, but those two are hurt quite badly by the fight.

Skylos finds Neon deep in thought and sits next to him, wondering what he is thinking. Being a mind reader, Neon tells Skylos it's none of his business. Skylos apologizes and simply looks out at the city from the view of the building. Neon then offhandedly notes that he can hear them all thinking and dreaming. Neon says it makes him think harder. He then coldly notes that he will have to work around Skylos being teamed up with Lareo [Editor's note: For clarification, Lareo is still known as 'Ruins Master' at this point]. Skylos shrugs and notes that he doesn't care who is stronger anymore, which causes Neon to start. Skylos sees this and further explains that there is no point in revenge and that he just doesn't care about it anymore. Neon suddenly asks to read Skylos's Tome of Power and Skylos let's him borrow it. [Editor's note: Not that he had much choice. Neon yanked it out of his hand.] Neon reads about Phantom Demons. Skylos peeks at what he's reading and says he doesn't like that Neon appears to be plotting to do something to Lareo. He also states that Izerion is the bigger threat anyways. Neon seems to take that comment to heart and thinks about it, but then says he's watching for now.

Halo is happy to have Fin back from the Light Sage and returns to the cabin. There she finds Seth and Keera in a not so good state. Rem also notes this and quickly puts together some cures for them. Musashi, now bleeding, is found by Yisha. Yisha then gets a shock - Musashi takes out a ring and asks for her hand in marriage! Rem manages to find Musashi and heals him as well with one of his stronger potions. Rem is then shocked to hear that those two are getting married and thinks that Musashi must have hit his head. Musashi says he did, but that was beside the point because he realized that being close to death made him realize that he loved Yisha and wanted to be with her for the rest of his life.

Alice later finds Musashi and he tells her the news, but she can only think of people being pregnant and how that scares her. Neon and Izerion then attack her with the sole purpose of taking a few of her lives for some plot. Even with Ponic and Rem's additional help, Alice ends up losing six lives and her boyfriend ends up having to sacrifice one of his own to revive her. Izerion leaves immediately to enact his plan.

Ponic, Keera, and Seth decide to check on the factory. Once there, they are attacked by the computer and then they find Lareo. They attack Lareo and a big fight starts. Musashi and Yishi start planning for their wedding (which is set for the following day ) and Alice shows up and says she'll pay for the whole thing. She starts planning for some extraordinary things, but Musashi says he just wants a simple Japanese wedding. Alice gets mad and storms away, leading to a funny scene between Alice and Musashi involving a door and a few hundred thrown books of manga.

Eric drops by later and Alice tells him about her phobia and Eric wishes that he could help her if he could. Alice goes on to explain that it's only in real life that it affects her and that in her manga, it doesn't even bother her. Eric talks about how she treated her friend and finds that Alice can't think rationally at all due to the phobia. Eric decides to apologize for Alice and Alice is happy that he would do that for her. He departs.

Danlay and Emanuel return from a funeral to find Gromus at Danlay's house. Danlay manages to annoy both Emanuel and Gromus to the point that they're staring daggers at him and thus Danlay doesn't learn of what happened in his absence.

The fight with Lareo continues and then Izerion returns from enacting his plan. He tells off Lareo for being unable to beat them yet, but Lareo replies that they had killed him too and that he was the one that needed help. Seething with rage, Izerion says he will pretend he didn't hear that. Keera offhandedly notes that this relationship is going well. Izerion then expels them from the factory.

The wedding for Musashi and Yisha starts and is quite humorous. [Editor's note: Well it is Musashi after all.] Hora visits to marry the couple and Arthur comments on how silly the whole thing is. Rem was happy to be the best man and at least be in the wedding. Musashi leaves quickly after to deal with a giant dragonfly.

Skylos returns from wherever he had been and Lareo then appears in his room. [Editor's note: Creeper.] Skylos chats with Lareo and learns that he fought with Ponic, Keera, and Seth. Skylos gets ticked off when he tells him that Izerion had mocked him for not beating them. The two part company after a bit.

Zach finally makes it back home. Upon arrival Mire appears behind him. Mire jokes with him a bit (and is as annoying as ever). Zach notes that he's usually just causing him anguish and not really being a best friend. Mire innocently changes to liquid mode and grins. Zach merely states that he's proving his point currently. Mire grabs him with a hand and slime starts to run down him. Zach seems thrilled. Mire gives him a hug and then releases him. He then notes he has something for him. Wrath then tries to kick Mire, but only ends up getting stuck in mid-kick. Zach questions whether it's more slime, but Mire says that he had met a man in a two-toned robe that gave him something to give Zach. Mire passes him a crystal of sorts...a prism. [Editor's note: The first Light Prism.] He says to use it should he ever need help. Zach thanks him and states that he has a good idea of who it came from. He also states that Mire isn't as sadistic after all. A note from Omni pops out of it and states that it's also a key to his dimension.

Neon finds Lareo and tells him that he can help him. Lareo merely asks what he wants and finds that Neon wants him to kill Skylos. Lareo isn't surprised and says that Skylos is more helpful alive. Neon threatens him by taking out his Lunar Demon Orb. Izerion then walks out of the factory and tells Lareo that he'd better help Neon. Lareo angrily states that he doesn't take orders from Neon, but he has to from Izerion. Izerion then mentally calls all he resurrected. He plans to kill everyone.

The next day, Skylos goes for a walk and runs into Danlay. The two joke about how silly Izerions name is and how 'terrorfying' it is. After a good laugh, Skylos asks whether anything weird has happened to Danlay since Izerion and his baddies have shown up. Danlay confirms that someone from another dimension has shown up. Skylos hadn't quite been expecting that kind of weirdness, but it was interesting to hear. Danlay is about to tell Skylos more about this mysterious man when Gromus himself shows up and tells him to be quiet about him. Skylos introduces himself and can't help but think of Neon when he sees him. Gromus doesn't say much and leaves. Danlay sighs and says he has things to do and also leaves.

Emanuel and Abby decide to visit the factory. Unknown to them is the fact that it is Izerion's base. While there, they encounter him and are forced to flee. Being that it's Halloween, Izerion is super strong! The two are almost killed, but Gromus then appears and warns Izerion to back off as he pulls out a book. Gromus acts tough, but he is only able to rescue Emanuel in the end and curses himself for not being able to save Abby.

The cabin is attacked by Gycor to the point that the cabin is thrown from the ground, but it is saved by Ponic's shadows. A clone of the group attacks the respective person, but Skylos notes that only he knows all of his abilities so the clone of him is therefore inferior. He also confuses the evil clone by saying that an evil version of someone evil would be good. The two just kind of look at one another. Ponic, Keera, and Halo are then having issues with their clones. Eric fights Gycor. After awhile, Keera figures out the weak spot is the head and everyone is able to deal with their clones. Gycor then escapes.

Zach knocks at Skylos's room and enters. Zach comments that Skylos should get some fresh air every now and then. Skylos returns the banter by commenting on Zach's still slimed hair and that Christmas isn't for another month. Zach groans and asks for a solution, but Skylos jokes that he could easily get it out. Zach notes that fire isn't going to make it any better. Skylos calculates the exact length of time it would take for the slime to finally get out, then notes that Zach could just use salt. Zach is happy to hear a solution, but then gets to why he came to visit. He shows off his new crystal. Skylos recognizes it as having to do with Omni. Keera rudely interrupts them and tells them to come into the front room.

In the front room, Ponic reminds everyone that he has a connection to Izerion and that he may be able to use it to figure out his plans. Ponic says he was able to figure out a few words about emitting power, and then some other words he couldn't understand because they were some lost language. [Editor's note: They were words typed backwards. It was so obvious that I had Skylos comment on it sounding like Neon, who had done the same thing.] Ponic then reveals that he figured out that it's just backwards! [Editor's note: Caleb: (OMG! Like I, totally never guessed it! Wow, that blew my mind. xD)] He was saying control time. Halo isn't very impressed since she can already do that. Ponic then notes he has Abby, so's going to be harder than they think.

A bit later, Gromus decides he's going to train Danlay. Emanuel doesn't wish to stick around, so he goes to talk with Eric and Aqua. Halo is busy reading a book when her window suddenly shatters. Halo gets angry that she lost her place in the book and demands to know why Arasuki is here. She says to kill Halo. Likewise, Gycor appears and fights with Ponic while Kisame attacks Skylos. Halo manages to kill Arasuki after a long battle. Skylos manages to kill Kisame after using his Dragon orb to change himself into a Dragon.

After the fighting, Ponic has everyone go to the factory as he has a way, albeit dangerous, to deal with the time control. Izerion has already headed in to start his plan with Kidora, Gycor, and Neon close by. The group arrives and tries to get through the area without getting blasted too much. They need some way to get to Izerion, and they may have found it. They find the Skid and use it to get to Izerion. They find Izerion and Neon fighting, but then Neon hits the big red button which activates the machine. Everyone get separated and flung all over. In fact, we find out that Alice can speak Russian. [Editor's Note: She must be immune to not knowing languages.] The effect of the time machine is so great that Omni is flung to Terra 000 where Omni talks with counterparts of the group. [Edtor's note: This is the first ever time another Terra is gone to.] Alice finds am evil Nami at the cabin, ties her up, stuffs an old nasty sock in her mouth, tapes her mouth shut, and hides her in a closet. Afterwards, Alice runs into an evil Musashi and they battle. [Editor's note: Name change: Murasaki to Enshi, Shininmaru to Yani.]

Skylos finds himself alone and wonders if he is the only one not under Neon's control. After walking around a bit, he finds Lareo and is relived to find him unaffected. Lareo sees how torn Skylos is about now having to kill Neon and how there is no choice now. Skylos finally decides he just has to. Light Neon then finds him...And Skylos sees he could kill him to win. But he whispers to Lareo that he would only do it as a last resort. Skylos then asks what Lareo has on him, thinking they can pool their resources. Skylos has a Dragon Orb. Lareo shows a Time Demon Orb, a Phantom Demon Orb.....and a Sol Demon Orb...Skylos looks at it and is drawn to it almost as though he were hypnotized. He snaps out of it to suddenly inquire as to why Lareo hates Lunar and Cat Demons. Lareo says he doesn't know - he just does.

Tom appears and pretends to be attacking Skylos, then jokes. Skylos is slightly unamused, but he is glad to have those who matter most to him right in front of him. Tom then notes that they could end everything right here and now by killing Light Neon, but Skylos objects immediately. Skylos decides that they should take shelter somewhere safe. As the cabin sounds like a bad idea, he takes them to the Light Subspace.

Halo has to deal with Necros who traps her in a Mind Trauma. Ponic and Keera want to help, but Izerion bars their way and states that she needs to fight it herself, or she is useless. Halo eventually sees through the spiders and dead loved ones and shatters the mind trauma by knowing it was not real.

Varu had apparently saved Emanuel from the effects of the global attack and possession. Arthur finds him and inquires about what happened and he replies that Danlay and Gromus had been training at the time.

Skylos goes on a solo mission and simply rushes into the city and sees Neon ahead. Electricity is flung at him from all sides, but Skylos merely swipes it aside with his Lightning. Once he gets to Neon, he says he had a realization. Neon is not who he says he is and that he's a fake, because he remembered Neon forgiving him after he had killed him before. He also is taking no nonsense now. Neon says he'll let Skylos join him, but Skylos argues that he'll just lock him up again, and he's not falling for it. Neon asks what he could do to have Skylos's trust. Skylos responds that he should let him kill him, because he can heal him on the brink of death. Neon accepts and finds that Skylos really did stab him right through the heart. However, it turns out this was merely a clone, and Skylos angrily tells him to stop playing mind games with him because he really was going to kill him because he loved him and didn't want him to be evil anymore. Killing him was the only option left. the clone fizzles out and Skylos then surprises himself by swearing. He returns to the cabin where he tells Halo, Rem, and Alice what happened.

After being assured he isn't some unemotional monster, Skylos is then confronted by a possessed Eric. Izerion had also been 'helping' Skylos by telling him to get over his stupid emotions, and Skylos wonders if Izerion actually cares. Izerion doesn't admit it openly, but Skylos can see the truth. A fight ensues between Eric and Skylos. Skylos wonders just how strong Eric really is and finds him to be quite powerful. The two exchange banter as they fight. The fight moves outside with Skylos noting that he's going to break Eric's bones and almost does with his gravity well. Eric manages to escape and score quite a few painful slashes to Skylos's back. Izerion 'cheers' [editor's note: If you want to call it that...that's a bit of a stretch though.] Skylos on and tells him to stop holding back and to show no mercy. Skylos replies that that was what he had in mind. Skylos launches Retribution on Eric, impaling him as he is attached to a Light Cross. Izerion merely notes that it's beautiful in his book. Eric surrenders and escapes. Izerion then tells Skylos to stop acting rash and to not be useless when it comes to family issues. Skylos tends to agree with him.

Zach wakes up on Terra 000 and learns from Omni that he is unable to return to his Universe until the Time Lock is removed. Zach doesn't like that answer but he sees that nothing can be done. In the meantime, he gets acquainted with Belak, a counterpart of Skylos, and his own counterpart, Zeak. Omni tells him about the others so that he knows who to look out for. Mainly, he notes Corona, a counterpart of Halo. He then meets Remus who is a counterpart of Rem. Omni then explains how many Dimensions there currently are: 65 quadrillion, 456 trillion, 194 billion, 287 million, 972 thousand, and 998 [Editor's note: I acidentally called it Universes in the original post.] He goes on to say that choices being made create new ones.

Remus inquires about how many demons Zach's Remus has slain, but Zach says he doesn't recall any. Remus then says he figured, since any demon slayer could smell the demon stench around Zach. Zach then tries to explain that he isn't one, but Remus has already grabbed his lance saying that housing a demon is just as bad. Remus advances towards a cornered Zach, but Belak then knocks Remus out with a Dark Touch to the neck. Belak then suggests having Flare leave Zach for awhile as he won't be stuck in him on this Terra. Zach then also notes that he can't use his Fire here.

After a bit, Flare leaves Zach. Remus wakes up and then decides to fight Flare. Flare jokes that Zach probably planned for him to be killed. As the two fight, it becomes evident that Remus has a rather large supply of demon slaying weapons at his disposal. Zach pities Remus because he can see that Remus can only see demons as enemies or outcasts. The lance then gets stuck in the wall and Remus realizes that the rest of his equipment is in his room. He stomps off. Zach then learns that Remus is like this because his parents were killed by demons. After some teasing from Flare and Omni (who are now best friends), Zach finally gets his Fire to work again.

Zach meets Noah and he learns that Noah is a Light Human. [Editor's Note: Or Dawn Human.] Noah is also very strong and shows off by firing a rather large light orb through a tree, leaving a gaping hole. Noah notes that it's his Light Particle Blast. Zach quickly finds out that Noah has a slight sadistic side to him, despite the fact that he's happy-go-lucky. Flare learns about what happened to Skiazo, a counterpart of Ponic, as he tries to find somewhere to rest where Remus won't bug him. Belak states that it's all his fault that he died.

After the fight, Skylos heads into his room and lays down. He comments that Neon seems to have changed the decor, but that is hardly something to be worrying about at the moment. Tom comes in and tries to get Skylos to join Neon, but Skylos seems pretty unimpressed by this attempt. In fact, Skylos tricks Tom into revealing he's actually possessed. Skylos flees due to the fact that he is too tired from his fight earlier to fight Tom.

Rem heals Eric who has put himself into a trance. Lareo helps him take him to the cabin, despite Rem wondering why the heck Lareo was helping him. A little bit later, Rem is attacked by a Neon eyeball and put into a mind trauma. After a bit, Rem is released. Emanuel and Arthur encounter Danlay and try to talk him out of serving Neon. That doesn't go well and Arthur and Danlay fight. Gromus then appears and stops Emanuel from helping. Seth then falls out of a nearby tree and Emanuel asks him if he's dropping by for a visit. Gromus gets annoyed and asks again if they'll join Neon. Ponic also arrives and tries to help beat them.

At the cabin, Skylos returns and learns from Rem about what happened to him. Skylos then remarks that they're mind trauma on-the-go. Izerion comes in and says that he has three spells that will make them win. An army then marches towards the cabin. Izerion remarks that they'd better win this time. Among the enemies are Tom, Havock, and Izumi. Rem fends off Izumi as Skylos battles with Tom and Havock. Izerion and Keera deal with the others. Skylos kills Tom and Havock attacks him madly. Havock ends up trying to kill herself so that she would no longer be a threat. An eruption of Darkness from her reveals the army to merely be machines. With that in mind, the group can destroy them without worry. Skylos heals Havock and tries to soothe her.

Halo is close to the factory trying to spy out a way in when Yisha finds her. [Editor's note: I bet you can guess what Yisha does based on all of the other possessed people instances.] Alice and Yani find Nami, who is quite mad at them. However, she is thrown into a bowling bag again and tossed so far that she lands next to Yisha and Halo, even leaving a crater! Yisha is appalled and let's her out. Halo then escapes to the cabin, only to encounter Aqua and Draco! [Editor's note: What poor luck.] A man named Mumiyoshi then appears before Musashi who is also nearby. He inquires the date, then speaks mysteriously about events to come. Musashi catches him up on present day events.

Skylos finds Danlay and Arthur and he joins the fight as well. Arthur then notes that Danlay is acting stranger and wonders if there is something else wrong with him other than possession. Ponic, Emanuel, Gromus, and Musashi then show up, so Skylos is forced to duel with Musashi while Ponic takes on Danlay and Arthur battles with Gromus. Rem then shows up and helps Emanuel fight Gromus while Ponic and Arthur fight Danlay. Ponic enters Danlay's mind to deal with him there.

A battle breaks out between Musashi and Halo versus Yisha and Draco with Musashi being unable to fight Yisha. A Neon clone also appears to Lareo and uses the Lunar Orb to change him to be human. The clone then tries to force Lareo to remember his past so that he can use it against him in a Mind Trauma. He is largely unsuccessful.

Skylos finds Light Neon wandering around and notes that he's glad to see him. A Neon clone appears and invites him to come see the real Neon. Skylos says not to pull any fast ones, and Neon says likewise. With that in mind, Skylos goes to visit Neon. Upon arrival, he finds Neon is pretty much unable to leave where he is as he is connected to the machine. Neon notes that he is going to die if Skylos doesn't get back his heart from Izerion who stole it earlier that day. And as perfect timing would have it, Izerion makes a slight scratch on the heart and causes Neon great pain. Skylos is alarmed and says he'll kill Izerion for this and says he'll get it back for him. Skylos then leaves, on Neon's side and plotting against the group.

Izerion decides to let Abby go since there's really no reason to have her captive anymore. She is dazed and wondering what's going on. Keera tries to catch her up on events. Back on Terra 000, Zach is astounded to find that the history there is so unlike their Universe's. In fact, upon looking in the atlas, the continents aren't even the same! Daniel then walks in. Zach talks to him about Shadow Power and Daniel shows off for him a bit by creating shadow clones of them which pack a real punch. Zach comments that he had never seen Ponic do anything quite that complex, leading Daniel to believe that they need more communication in their group. Zach then learns of Toraken and hopes that he never sees him.

Rem continues to fight Gromus and manages to land a rather powerful Ice attack on him. Yisha talks to a shadow clone of Lareo for a bit, but nothing really comes from the conversation. Zukia finds Halo and they fight for a bit. Ponic manages to free Danlay from possession, but he has to take him to safety as he has fainted. Gromus manages to get his book back, which is really bad since it contains the majority of his power. Abby and Keera along with Izerion and Arthur then try to figure out what to do about an incoming attack from Neon's army.

Emanuel and Rem try to deal with Gromus the best they can, but appears to be too much. Emanuel seems to think that the only way to win is to drain Gromus's energy, but that it would take too long. Gromus then decides to retreat, much to Emanuel's confusion. They try to pursue him towards the city.

Zach continues to talk with Daniel and they continue to point out differences between their Terra. Flare chats with Belak on the subject of Remus, but he finds that Remus probably isn't going to listen to any reason whatsoever. He begins to talk with Omni some more an Omni explains further about Universes. He says that there is a certain amount of True Universes that are numbered, but in between them are lesser ones that have split off from the main one, which is how Gromus came to be. Zach then meets Corona and manages to instantly offend her. After some help from Belak, Corona calms down and leaves on a good note.

Izerion notes to the others, and Halo who just joined them, that meteors that fell earlier are spawning Neon's army and that he has only temporarily disabled one of them. At this point, they head for the city to find Rem. Zukia and Yisha find Skylos wandering the forest, but he uses his Dragon Orb to turn the tables on them.

In the city, the group deals with the pandemonium of what appears to have been a trap. Danlay wakes up and is furious with Izerion to the point that he is ignoring Neon's possessed army and seems bent on settling the score with Izerion. Izerion just swats him away and says they have better things to do right now, but Danlay won't relent. It isn't until Ponic saves everyone that he has no choice but to put it to rest. Meanwhile, Masamune appears near the scene and starts helping. After awhile, they realize that they need a real plan so they decide to retreat back to the cabin.

On Terra 000, Neon finds Zach and has a strange monster sent there to attack him. After a long battle, Zach and Flare manage to destroy it to find that it was an odd Neon clone. After a little banter between Omni and Zach, the former heals him back to full health. Zach then wonders how Neon managed to find him in another Universe. Omni explains that Auras differ among Universes and that Zach's Aura would easily attract attention since it was different than everyone else's on this Terra. [Editor's note: For example, the Aura on 000 rotates as a mist clockwise around a person. On 002, it's more like a mist flowing upwards.] Omni then hopes everyone is alright since he has future plans. Zach notes he'd better stay on Omni's good side until he at least figures out his plans. The hint Omni gives is 'Sol Demon'. Zach and Flare don't know what he means, so Omni explains that he wants the Sol Demon's orb since it would be nice for his power level and the fact that it would complete his collection. Omni then has to explain to Flare that he can't fight the Sol Demon because he is a demon and what a King says is law to the extent that his body will carry out the king's wishes even if he is not willing to.

Keera decides to go out for a walk by herself [Editor's note: Why does this already sound like a bad idea?] and then encounters a Neon clone. She is then kidnapped after a brief struggle. [Editor's note: ...Guess you saw that coming?] Neon interrogates her painfully and threatens to just control her to kill people if she doesn't cooperate. Izerion enters Keera's mind from afar and tries to help a bit. The cabin is then attacked by poisonous gas. Izerion snaps out of helping Keera and ends the madness around the cabin. Meanwhile, Lareo deals with a Neon clones and even figures out it was just a mind trauma, so he is able to break it. Mumiyoshi then wonders if it would just be better to stab Neon's heart, not understanding that the group wants to try and save their friend. [Editor's note: Well. We all know now that Mumiyoshi has no concept of friendship. ]

Skylos is visited by another clone and told to kill Alice. He sends a ghost into Skylos which takes him over. In fact, it changes his clothes to match William's outfit but with a yellow trim instead of red. The ghost seems to have its own personality, but Skylos is rather annoyed by it being in his head. He finds Alice. Skylos appears to have the upper hand as Alice was already hurt from some training that occurred before the encounter. Once she is in a pinch, she changes into a Judgement Form [Editor's note: Is anyone keeping track of how many forms she has? I lost count around 1,000, myself.] Skylos then seems to have much difficulty fighting her.

Lareo is alone when suddenly Skylos's voice appears from the trees, greeting him. Skylos drops down from the tree in a Darkness robe. Violet eyes were looking at Lareo. Lareo wonders how he knew it was him since he was now human, and Skylos (embarrassed as a Dark Human?) says he read his mind. Lareo says he doesn't mind that he had, so Skylos asks if Lareo needs anything. Lareo wonders if Skylos could do anything about sealed memories. Skylos says he can in this form by making him go into a Time Trance. He warns him that time sickness is a possible side-effect later. Lareo doesn't seem to care and takes up his offer. Skylos sends him into the trance. His memories start to flood back to him and he figures out many things. Lareo is confused by the revelation that he used to be good and that hem doesn't know what to do after everything is fixed.

Skylos explains to him that: "Good and Evil are relative terms that have meaning based on how you see them. What you think as good is always good no matter what your alignment is. Generally...You were good before, but evil later, but it would be good because it's your opinion." Lareo sees what he means and seems to accept this. Without much left to say, they head back to the cabin.

The other Skylos decides he needs to flee from the Alice battle because he can't take anymore of the heat and poison. He then encounters Halo in the woods. Halo inquires if he doesn't care about his friends, but he then replies by asking her if she would save her friends over her brother. Halo gets it, but sees that talking to him will be pointless in that case. With that in mind, they start to fight. After a bit, Skylos warns her that he might go all out on her, leaving Halo to inquire why he wasn't. Skylos merely frowns and notes that she's a rather weak demon...no offense. Halo is angry, but knows it to be true and wonders why she never trained herself to be any better. As the fight continues, Skylos gives remarks that Halo shouldn't push herself too much, but she ends up losing anyways. Skylos kills her and the ghost inside of him asorbs her blood, causing Skylos to feel a rush of adrenaline.

On Terra triple zero, Omni decides it's time for some training for in case Neon comes back. Zach thinks that's a good idea, and then Omni volunteers to train him. He leads them to the battlefield outside of the fortress and they begin to train. Omni notes that he'll teach Zach how to use Fire effectively. Zach protests that he does know how to use his own element effectively and proceeds to maker a small flame which he juggles around. Flare facepalms and Omni simply blasts a White Flamethrower over Zach's head, causing him to get the point. To help, Omni uses a Mind Trauma to help Zach visual flames so that he can work on getting to the Blue level. [Editor's note: This is pretty much the first mention of Power and its various tiers. Fire at this point was Red, Blue, then White. Green isn't mentioned until much later.] Omni tries to trip him up along the way, but Zach finally manages a Blue Flame. [Editor's note: So Zach was the first Powered Human to achieve level 2 in his respective Power.] Omni then decides it's a good idea for him to speed up his time in making the flame, as he is currently too slow for it to be any use. Omni then decides they should go straight for White. he puts Zach in a Blizzard and forces him to be in peril so that he can invoke the use of White flames. [Editor's Note: That most likely means he could use them all along, he just didn't know how to. Do note that Flare had been powering him for a long time.] After his success, Omni dramatically asks him if he wants hot cocoa, which causes Zach to fall over.

Rem finds Halo's dead body and get quite angry when Skylos pops up. He knows he did it, and is ready to kill him, but not before shouting at him. Dark Skylos senses that Halo has died and tells Lareo that they need to stop Rem before he gets himself killed. Lareo agrees and they rush to his Aura. Rem continues to tell Light Skylos that he is merely ignoring what Neon is doing. Once Dark Skylos arrives, Light Skylos says to fuse with him. Dark Skylos replies that it should be the other way around so that he'd recover some sense. The two then start arguing with one another until Dark Skylos declares that Light Skylos is being selfish and should be ashamed. [Editor's note: Is yelling at yourself for being stupid really that uncommon?] Dark Skylos fuses with Light Skylos and he finds his mind in utter turmoil. Rem gives him a red potion which seems to help, but Skylos then asks for a Phantom Orb. Using his Shadow Blade, he conjures the magic within the orb to flood his mind with Phantom Energy. This energy is a possession, but he reasons that a possession and another possession will result in his mind being cleared. It works, but then Skylos is left being possessed by Phantom energy. However, he just kneels to Lareo. Lareo merely retrieves the orb and he turns back to normal. A Neon clone appears and is angry at him, but Darkness Skylos says that even he would rather live in a world of light than a world of Darkness. The clone is shocked and leaves.

Keera is still being tortured by Neon, but he manages to make him mad once more. Izerion adds to this anger by mocking him for becoming so easily angered. Neon tells Izerion that he is merely a coward and using Keera as a shield instead of tell it to his face. Izerion simply states he'll use what ever he pleases to get the job done. Neon continues to torture her.

Neon now decides to make another attack on the cabin. He has a few figures appear and ask Skylos one last time if he'll join him. Skylos realizes that Neon is simply being a manipulative jerk and decides to have no part of him. Neon seems upset and then launches attacks against them. Skylos senses he might be turning the tables so he asks Neon what is different than when Neon had been on his side when he was evil. He then shouts a volley of questions.

[Continue to the next post]

[Skylos]

Izerion, meanwhile, is busy shouting at his Neon clone and claiming that he is the best Shadow Wielder in all Reality. He even claims that his stare alone would turn people to ash. Ponic has trouble with his as it's just absorbing whatever he throws at it. He then figures out where Keera is.

Back with Neon, Skylos continues to tear up as he keeps yelling at Neon many hard questions that the clone will refuse to answer. In fact, the clone seems to be visibly shaken by them. After a bit, the clone attacks him but Skylos easily parries and continues to ask questions. The clone finally states that it's just his reason for living. Skylos finds this answer to be no reason for all of this. He states that he wants peace and happiness, something Neon is not providing. Neon reasons that happiness will be made over time. Skylos argues that happiness isn't made, it's developed through friendship. He states that he should be paying attention to his real friends. Neon goes berserk and states that he was Skylos's cousin first and that now Skylos is simply going to replace him should he die. Skylos finally yells at him that the only family he has other than him is Tranductus, Robbie, and Omni [editor's note: Untrue, but Chuck isn't introduced until the next arc and Kavisto is a very long way off.] and that nothing could ever replace him. The clone goes silent, then tells him to bring everyone to the factory so that they can settle this.

Meanwhile with Zach, Neon decides to strike again. However, this time he sends Yisha to do his dirty work. Zach is unimpressed and doesn't really want to fight her. He sees he really has no choice so he beckons for her to start something. She complies and they start fighting. She then turns into an octopus... [Editor's note: WHAAAAAT?!] ...and sprays Zach with ink who is dumbfounded [Editor's note: Understatement!] by her sudden change. He loses control of his body and is rammed into things due to this. Yisha tries to make him impale himself, but he fights it. Flare then tries to make mincemeat out of her, but she keeps dodging. Zach finally gets control back and Yisha starts a cold storm. Zach gets mad and starts to make White Flames, but very slowly. The extreme cold begins to get to him as Flare seems to be failing with his attacks. He makes the White Flame, but then Yisha drags him back to Terra 002 without Flare and Omni.

Rem finds Alice and she inquires as to why he seems upset. He tells her that he is mad at himself for being unable to save Halo from death. He doesn't blame Skylos sense he was possessed at the time, but he is mad at himself. Alice then notes that he had attacked her too, but he had managed to get away before she could dispatch him. She blames herself slightly for being unable to have prevented Halo's death. Rem tells her not to worry, as this all roots back to it being Neon's fault. Rem then sees a lovely-dovey moment between Alice and Yani and honestly doesn't know what to say! Luckily, Lareo appears and Alice slightly recognizes him. After Lareo speaks, she knows who it is and gets very angry. Lareo notes that he's not there to fight and will even tell why he hates Cat Demons so much. Alice listens to his tale and inquires the name of the Cat Demon. After finding it out, she relates a story about a non pure-breed Cat Demon that liked to kill people after befriending them with the same name. Lareo states it's not the same one. Lareo states he's tired so he leaves. Rem agrees that it's time for some sleep. [Editor's note: Cue Unused Script #2]

A character that has not previously been heard of then comments on the scene that just happened. However, this comment had appeared later...but in the past. If you understand time travel, you'd get it. Moving on~

Skylos repairs the cabin himself with nails and planks. Izerion then uses some weird ball to scorch the surrounding area. Skylos groans slightly as he now misses the forest. Mumiyoshi doesn't appear to be very impressed and continues to pester Izerion. Skylos then examines his Tome of Power for more stuck pages [Editor's note: Omni must have been eating a jelly doughnut or something before it ended up in Skylos's possession.]. Lareo asks what he is up to and Skylos explains. He then finds another stuck page and find sit to be on another breed of demon. Steel Demons. He wonders if he could get an orb and give it to Omni as a Christmas present [Editor's note: It's December]. Lareo then notes that he has never met him. Skylos thinks he's lucky. Skylos then starts to decode the page.

The next day, Neon demands that everyone give themselves up or he will kill every human. Skylos gets a call from Neon directly and says that he can avoid this...Just give up. Skylos reasons that Neon would have no army if he killed everyone. Neon simply says he can control the dead, so he is in a win-win situation. He then hangs up. Skylos doesn't know what to do. Lareo states that they have to do something. Skylos begins to wonder if they can throw together some giant power and finish him off. He doesn't want to risk sacrificing people though, as he doesn't know if they'd be brought back to life if time was fixed. Lareo wonders if he had anything strong enough to do so. Skylos has a Lunar orb, but even that wouldn't be enough. Lareo pulls out his Sol Demon Orb. Skylos seems drawn by it, just as last time. Lareo let's him borrow it on the condition that he doesn't tell Izerion about it and that he will need to give it back later. Skylos agrees and goes to find Ponic.

Ponic is in his room. Skylos, filled with confidence, tells him that they're going to attack Neon anyways, despite their ultimatum. Ponic agrees and states that he had isolated himself so that he could form a plan. He asks Lareo to find everyone so that he can share it. Once everyone is gathered, they decide to make a distraction so that Neon will get angry and blinded. Even though the people may die, there is still the hope that they will be fixed. Skylos also thinks he can disrupt some possessions with his Golden Aura Ability. [Editor's note: Skylos is not aware at this point that this is an ability unique to him and not all Light Humans. It's a Pantech Ability.]

Izerion takes Rem out and tries to give him a bit of a pep talk (a rather harsh one, at that) but it doesn't really go well. Izerion leaves with the same idea that emotions are stupid. Danlay appears and tries to cheer Rem up and is somewhat successful. Zach eavesdrops on the conversation as he isn't sure who is possessed. Emanual enters the cabin and argues with Izerion a bit on his treatment of Rem. Seth finally beats possessed Aqua in battle. He returns to the cabin to find Lareo and Skylos, the former of which he inquires if he'll attack him. Lareo says that there's no time for that at the moment and that he's good for now. He then gets into a conversation about Omni with Skylos. Mumiyoshi listens in, but then he gets caught up in a staring contest with Seth.

With Omni, he is unhappy that Zach got sucked away, but Flare reasons that the group needs him. Omni then notes that he could have helped, but he wanted to train Zach more. Flare says not to beat himself up about it. Omni notes that Flare seems rather caring for a demon. Flares notes that being stuck in Zach must have done it to him. Omni figures that Flare used to be rather a menace, to which Flare agrees. Omni then mentions he has an experiment to conduct with a demon. Flare suddenly says that he's not going to be in any of Omni's experiments since he is well aware of how they turn out. Omni merely notes that he hadn't planned on testing it on Flare, but now that he mentioned it, it wouldn't be a bad idea. Omni shows him a suitcase that has 22 [Editor's note: Pretend it has 25...moving along...] slots. Omni explains that he's going to capture one of each demon and then use the machine to benefit people. Flare asks how, and Omni replies that it would make him all powerful to the point that he could rule over everyone. Flare notes that it's the most logical world domination plot he's ever heard.

Seth then gets a Shinto lesson from Alice and Yani. Zach enters the cabin and finds Lareo. Unfortunately, Zach wasn't around when Lareo had been trying to take over the world, so he genuniely has no idea who he is. Lareo sighs in slight frustration. Skylos comes in and inquires where Zach has been. Zach explains that he was in another universe with Omni. He notes of Skylos's Dark Demon counterpart, which causes Skylos to scratch his head. They then get into an argument over Omni with Zach defending him.

A girl name Elena then appears and asks for Neon, much to the confusion of the others. They can't dwell on it for now as Neon cronies then attack the cabin again. The boss, Doku, appears and Skylos has to fight him. He is able to launch off a Golden Aura to fix the three others, but Doku manages to get away from it. Skylos then manages to make Void by himself with help from his Dark Soul and sucks in all of the poison. He himself is filled with venom, but he thinks he'll live. They managed to win, but at the cost of killing the innocent man that was being possessed. Robbie encounters Mumiyoshi and is floored. Skylos manages to purge his body of poison and the group heads off to the meeting point.

At the factory, the whole group plans on how to take it back. They are interrupted as Neon notes their presence. They are attacked by Aqua and Yisha as well as Izumi. Wrath figures out that this is a special mind trauma and that the only way out is to sacrifice a life, so he offers his. Skylos goes berserk at this point and materializes his scythe. He goes on a frenzy against Aqua and Yisha. Lareo helps him. Skylos and Lareo fight what is a very difficult fight. However, Skylos goes even more crazy and emerges into full Death Human form after a bit. Skylos finally finds a moment of weakness, then uses his Shadow Blade with the Silver Orb and it frees Aqua and Yisha from possession. In fact, it even fixes Skylos. [Editor's note: He'd planned it all along.] Skylos collapses from the amount of energy he used. He dreams of becoming trimmed with gold. [Editor's note: Skylos's real name used for the first time in the dream.]

The others head for the core, but are stopped by another area that requires a life. Havock offer's hers. They find Neon once they get to the core. A hard battle begins as Neon uses some of his avatars to attack the group. One says his name is Xaldin. Rem manages to fend him off mostly with the use of Apai. Mumiyoshi deals with another one called Xaren and does quite well using his own type of Mind Trauma by use of the dreaming plane.

With Omni, Omni talks to Flare about it being New Years and how it's his birthday (without actually mentioning so). He tells him about Prime and also about an incident where he conquered a Terra. It was back in his rash youthful days. Omni then goes into great detail of the encounter, but Flare seems to think he might have gone too far. Omni saves himself by noting that he rebuilt the Terra; he couldn't leave something destroyed as he felt very responsible. Soon enough, a Neon clone appears and attacks them. After a bit, the entire Terra 000 group joins in to help. After the fight gets too tough for them, Omni steps in and faces the clone with help from Flare. In the end, Omni manages to destroy the Hakata with a Lunar Orb. Before it is killed, it manages to tell Omni very useful information.

Neon had switched sides because he had inadvertently poisoned his body and mind. While in the Darkness Realm, he let the Darkness flow into his veins, causing himself to become powerful, yet power hungry and practically insane. Omni now knows that Neon hadn't actually betrayed anyone except himself. Flare calls for Corona on Omni's request and she fixes the fortress after yelling a bit. Omni decides to rest since he used a lot of energy.

Much later, Flare visits him and learns of what Omni had learned of Neon. Omni explains that Darkness Healing doesn't mix well with blood. Flare hadn't even known it was possible. They can do nothing but hope for the best. Flare learns that Omni isn't really supposed to use over 66% of his power or it would turn deadly for everyone around him. Flare also wants to know where Remus is so that he can avoid him. Omni jokes about the situation and even scares Flare a bit. Flare just gets annoyed though. Omni does offer a few suggestions, though.

Skylos wakes up eventually and feels back at full Power. he decided to head down to the lab and he is shocked to find Light Neon there. The two use the computer there to try to find a way to beat Neon. After a bit, they find something that can help, but they will need to get the time machine destroyed first.

In the meantime, Skylos enters the core and finds Neon. A brief exchange of words occurs, but then they're right to fighting. The fight seems to be going nowhere with Skylos merely defending. Neon then seals off the exits and starts to use some strange Darkness ability that had many colors. Each color would do something horrible to Skylos, such as torture his mind...and torture him some more. The pain he went through to save Neon was great. Finally, Skylos found that he had no choice...He had to fight back. After a few rounds of massive attacks never seen from Skylos, he uses Retribution of Neon. Only, it's on full blast. He then follows up with Electrified Light Threads, and also a Light X-Ray that starts to shattered Neon's bones. After so much abuse, Neon finally collapses and is about dead. Neon reveals that the time machine was actually the Darkness Realm Crystal on his back. He says that Skylos has become so strong. With that, he vanishes. Dead in the real world as well as Light Neon. Skylos returns to Earth with the Darkness crystal. Unfortunately, the time control had left it and transferred to Izerion... But the earth was freed from possession for the moment.

Skylos finds Neon's dead body and can't help but feel like his world has ended. He gets back upstairs ad monitors Zach and Rem. He says that there are time distortions popping up all over the place and that they need to check them out. Lareo pops in and tries to cheer Skylos up so that he can continue to function.

Izerion begins to battle Ponic alone and Ponic is having quite the difficulty. Izerion even has Keera as his shield so that Ponic can't do anything as he charges. The Monster Helper Program then activates and blasts Izerion. It's followed by a few attacks by Rem who appears just then. The Kollosus appears in the sector but Ponic is bent on removing Izerion first. Ponic figures out a plan and has Skylos enact it. Rem causes the Kollosus to fall backwards and into Izerion is then flung towards the sea. At that point, Skylos brings Ponic and Rem back after Rem saves Keera and disables Izerion's ability to come back. Both fall in and are destroyed. The others arrive back safely. Ponic figures out how to fix things and states that the rest will fix itself after awhile. They return to the cabin.

Flare has his own issues once Remus decides to go on the attack again. This time, he has all of his gear. Flare tries to reason with him...but I'm sure you already know that that doesn't do anything the least bit helpful (except make Remus look more of a jerk I guess). Omni interrupts him after showcasing all of his poisoned weapons to announce that the time control has vanished and that Flare can go home now. Flare is so happy that he pats Remus on the head.

Omni takes him back and tells him to be careful since the others don't know about him. Omni finds Zach easily and has Flare go on ahead with out him as he had actually felt Lareo watching him. Omni chats with Lareo and finds out his name to be Lareo so Omni tells Lareo that his name is really Felix, and not to tell anyone. Zach and Flare catch up on recent events on both sides. Omni leaves to go annoy Ponic. [Editor's note: It really says that.]

Skylos wonders why things had to be this way. Mumiyoshi, from behind tells him that even had things been different, it didn't matter. He had acted and saved the lives of so many people. Skylos is alarmed by Mumiyoshi's entry, but he feels comforted by all that he has to say. He feels at peace again. Skylos finds Rem under a tree doing nothing [Editor's note: Then read a book while being under the tree!] Skylos asks him to help him run an errand with him, to which Rem accepts. He seems rather down still. Skylos takes him to the Darkness Realm where Skylos puts the Darkness crystal back in its rightful place. They then leave.

A little bit later, Tom appears and it almost gives Skylos a heart attack. He wonders if Tom will remember what happened. He apparently doesn't, and neither does Havock, Wrath...and Neon! Skylos tries to stay composed and does a pretty good job of it and doesn't arouse Neon's suspicion. Skylos then goes to his room and wonders just how much was rewound and changed. He decides to take a walk. Skylos then runs into Masamune and the two kind of get into a Power contest. Masamune then asks Skylos to help him get used to things and also fills him in on the fact that a bunch of Samurai got resurrected somehow. He plans to get Neon to read one of their minds so they can figure out what's really going on. They head back to the cabin.

Omni spends a little time with Rem and passes him a Light Prism like he did with Zach. He also gives Rem access to a yellow flower which he can use to make another type of potion. He also raises Halo from the dead by use of a Lunar Orb, making Rem return to his cheerful self. With everything back in order, he leaves.

Secret of the Meteorite: Seth finds a crashed meteor in the forest. Unknown to him, something escapes from it and takes shelter in one of his masks. Seth then enters the cabin and states that a meteor has landed outside near the cabin. Rem seems to think that's different, but he isn't too worried about it. Rem decides it's time to use the yellow flower Omni gave him to make a potion. Seth is uninterested and heads to bed. The substance leaves his mask and seems to look around.

A bunch of Cat Demons how up at the cabin and kind of crowd the place. Among them is Nami's old boyfriend that she thought hated her, and vice versa. [Editor's note: And we have some name changes. Enshi to Sheena and Nami to Colette.]

Flare's poison is getting worse so he goes with Zach into the cabin despite Zach's protest since he'd be seen. Flare gets acquainted with Rem and he asks him for an antidote. Zach freaks because he didn't know Flare had been poisoned by Remus. Rem hands him his newly made yellow potion and it fixes him. Rem comments that Omni had given him the ingredient for the potion, and Flare comments about the coincidence. He asks about Omni, but Rem says he already left. The day ends and everyone goes to sleep.

Masamune finds Skylos the next morning and they chat for a bit. Rem appears and chats with Skylos about how they managed to survive. Neon finally appears and Skylos introduces him to Masamune. They ask for Neon's help and he agrees. Skylos then notes that he'd like to get to know Neon better later, something he had promised himself he'd do. Rem is shocked to see Neon and doesn't say anything. Neon responds that they can trade information. Halo pops out of her room and then quickly runs back in when she sees Neon. Rem decides to go talk to her while Skylos and Neon talk. The latter two go to Skylos's room to chat. Before they go, Skylos has a weird few seconds disturbing vision and Neon notes that Skylos looked a little pale. Skylos claims it's a slight headache.

In Skylos's room, Neon asks what's really going on. Skylos comments that he truthfully does want to get Neon better, but that there's something else he should know. Skylos explains briefly about Izerion trying to take over time, but Neon also doing do. He states that it is probably best that he doesn't remember and to just not take offense if the others seem jumpy around him. Neon seems a bit mad because he says he didn't do it (which arguably is correct at this point). Skylos decides to move the conversation on and get to what he really wanted to know about. Skylos finds that Neon associates Darkness with death and that helps in fueling it. He further explains that Darkness is believed to be the spirits of dead Dark Humans in a physical form. Skylos explains that Light reminds him of a certain warmth and that's how he associates his Power. Neon concludes that it is warm and provides the feeling of hope. They decide to ask some more questions later as they realize they should probably go help Masamune first.

In the other room, Halo is being moody and blasts Wrath with Ice after he bugs her way too much. Rem thinks that probably was a bit much, but she claims that she has a headache and doesn't need for it to be made worse, especially after she had made it clear that she wasn't in the mood. The weird substance that Seth had unknowingly brought back to the cabin then is seen, but it shrieks and moves away before anyone can really identify it.

Later, Rem is by himself and a card strikes the ground in front of him. Rem wonders what's going on. A man appears from the ground wearing a top hat, a vertical striped, violet and black, vest with a matching undershirt. His sleeves and pants seemed to follow the design, except the stripes were horizontal. He asks Rem if he's going to look at his card. Rem does so without lowering his guard and finds it to be a tarot card. Namely, it's the Wheel of Fortune. The man praises him for getting a good card and notes that he's due for some good change soon. The weird man then trades him for a blank card and explains that it's a growth card, meaning that'll it'll change depending on how long he keeps it with him. He then leaves him and hopes that he will become a little less meek.

A bit of time passes and glass is heard shattering in the kitchen. Rem, Eric, Seth, and Halo investigate and find the weird substance trying to attack them. Halo freezes it and they managed to get it into a container. Seth says he's going to stay up and study it while the others decide to call it a night. Seth uses a microscope to examine it and figures out that it came from the meteor that had landed the other day.

The next day, Skylos and Neon finally get around to helping Masamune. Masamune inquires how mind reading works and Neon explains that it's like listening to a tape recorder. Sometimes it is automatic, but other times he can tune out what he hears. Neon also gives a brief history on the ability, saying that there were two explanations that he knew. One was it was so no Darkness Human would ever feel alone; the other reason was because Darkness Humans were like spies and would have such an ability. Skylos notes that it's neither since he has a wonderful family. They find Hideyoshi, but Masamune goes on ahead so that he can introduce them. After a bit of escaping from a crazy person, Neon reads Hideyoshi's mind and finds out that he had indeed been keeping something from Masamune. Oda Nobunaga was back and Hideyoshi was working for him. [Editor's Note: I don't care much for historical fiction that becomes canon.]

At the same time, the card guy from before appears to Tom. Tom is amused by him and wonders who he is. The card guy says that it isn't important and then asks if he wants to play a game. Tom agrees and is then asked to pick from 78 cards that are floating in front of him. Tom picks one and finds that it's the Death card. The card guy muses that it must be something attributed to him. Tom tells him that he's part Death Human, so it makes sense. The card guy further explains that it could mean a fresh start. Tom says that's not the case, so the card guy invites him to pick two more cards for a more accurate fortune. Tom complies and picks out the Judgement card and the Ace of Pentacles. The card guy notes that he'll have his greatest wishes fulfilled eventually. The card guy gives him a blank card and his three are returned to the deck. Tom asks for his name again, to which the card guy finally states that his name is Charles, or Chuck if he preferred. Tom says that if the card ends up being a rip-off then he's burning it. Chuck notes that he's no fake and that he really does have Power since he is a Light Human. Tom notes that Skylos may like him, then. Chuck inquires if Skylos's last name is Pantech. Tom notes that it is. Chuck reveals that Skylos is his nephew. Tom says he's related to him too.

Zach and Flare find Tom and Chuck and the former approaches them. Chuck invites Zach to pick a card. Zach does so and gets the Two of Swords. Chuck notes that he has a scret that everyone will soon figure out. He says soon because the card is already warm. Zach isn't very amused as this actually does hit close to home. Chuck also hands him a blank card, then he leaves on a warning not to go against their fortunes. Tom notes that he always goes with the flow.

Seth then tells Rem of his finds, but he is too tired to really think more on it and finds it best if they'd talk about it the next day. Rem agrees and everyone goes to sleep. Meanwhile, Chuck briefly encounters Mumiyoshi and gives him a fortune as well. Chuck notes that his Tower card indicates that some important event will occur that will either lead him to good fortune or to his death. Mumiyoshi finds it enlightening. He also pops by Halo and her fortune indicates either lost love or an even greater relationship. Halo doesn't even believe him.

Zach and Flare encounter Mire for a bit and exchange some banter, but Mire has things to do so he leaves after a bit. Zach heads back to the cabin still thinking about Chuck's fortune.

Draco encounters Blade who then asks him if he had thought of a name yet. Draco says that he has, so Blade offers to take him to Reap who has been waiting. He accepts and the two appear in the Death Demon throne room. Draco notes that Reap is king ranked and Reap explains that the previous king had been murdered. Draco decides on the name of Draco. [Editor's note: He'd been known as E Rem up until this point.] Reap says he likes the name as it means Dragon. Reap goes on to tell him about having nothing to do because the only Light and Dark Humans left are the Pantechs, and he can't touch them. He notes that the rest had been stolen away many many years ago. Draco wonders how a race could be stolen. Reap explains that it was a demon that even crystallized the Sovereign ranked demons. Draco then decides to stay for awhile.

Omni is walking in a very dark forest for awhile before he finds Tom. This is their first meeting together. After figuring about one another Omni begins to share with him about his mission. He notes that there are always things happening behind the scenes that the group doesn't know about because it usually involves things that are out of their league. He says that he's always protecting them and that at the moment there is really only one major threat. Tom shows interest in fighting such a thing, but Omni says he'd need to be King ranked. Tom inquires if he is calling him weak, but Omni simply says that even he has trouble fending off such a creature, and by that he means he is merely warding it off. Tom asks if it's the Sol Demon as that is the most powerful thing he has ever heard of. Omni says it's worse. Tom decides he's going to help. Omni guesses that's all right, even though he thinks he's putting Tom in danger.

Omni explains that the crystals in the demon realms are actually Sovereign class demons that are to rule over the King ranked demons. Omni was unable to find the Death Demon one so he wants Tom to find it. Tom notes that being a Hakata might make that difficult. Omni then fixes his soul by use of a Lunar Demon Orb.

Zach encounters Blade as he finally nears the cabin. He doesn't seem to care much for Zach but he is interested in Flare and wants to know why he is with a human. Flare notes that he likes to stay with Zach since there's never a dull moment with the group. Blade seems to understand. Zach then accidentally gets Tom in a bit of trouble after some conversation about Dark Humans and Death Demons and Blade goes off to find out who he is.

Rem decides to train for a bit. He is trying to make a new attack which he calls a Shadow Bomb. Tranductus appears and offers himself as a test dummy since Shadow doesn't have much effect on Void. Sheena appears having just been successful in passing an insanely difficult test of Power and exclaims that she's an empress now. Zelos is the emperor. Congratulations are exchanged and then Ponic prepares to see the attack Rem has. Rem fires it and it causes quite the explosion once it hits Tranductus, but it of course does nothing to him. Both Tranductus and Ponic comment on its potency. Tranductus and Ponic soon leave after a bit.

Eric comments on their new forms with a little bit of amusement. The two explain that they had been instructed to be in other forms and have different names until their final training was done. Now that they are the new rulers of the cat Demons, they can show of their true selves. After some humor from Colette, Rem and Eric find out that Sheena and Zelos can't have children.

Back with Omni and Tom, Omni suddenly sense that Tom is also of the Lunar Power, something he must have lost when he was a Hakata. Omni finds it fortunate because that also means he could possibly find the Lunar Crystal too. Tom then asks what's in it for him, and Omni notes that they'll live longer. He continues and says that he'll train him too if need be. Tom notes that usually he's the teacher. Omni comments that he's a wonderful teacher and that he may be Omni one day. Tom jokes that that seems rather egotistical. Omni agrees with a smile. Omni then says it's time for him to go, so he departs leaving Tom in a happy mood.

Blade appears as Tom is training and finds that Tom is not just a Death Demon. After slashing around and trying to get what demon he out of him, Tom finally reveals that he is also part Lunar and Darkness. Blade is taken aback by this revelation and wonders what Tom did to have gotten such a differing set of Powers. Tom claims that when he was young, he took the souls of the Power holders and that's why he has those three Powers. Blade is sickened by this, but he calls a truce with Tom and then stutters out that he wants Tom to train him, but can't do so right now, as he is needed back with his king. Blade then leaves.

Meanwhile, Masamune, Skylos, Neon, and Hideyoshi head deeper into the city to visit one of Masamune's friends that he had met during the time control. Upon finding him, Masamune says he has a job for him. The person is named Altair and his profession is an assassin. Altair is annoyed that Masamune brought Neon because Neon can read minds. Skylos and Neon then wonder why they need the services of an assassin. Masamune explains that he wants Oda Nobunaga dead, and that Altair can help them.

Back at the cabin, Wrath decides to visit Ponic in his room. To their shock, Chuck randomly appears out of nowhere and is back-to-back with Ponic, as per usual. Chuck says he's not in the mood for a card reading this time, but offers to play a game. He begins to ask riddles, which Wrath confuses with a type of food at first. Ponic correctly answers with 'time' and Chuck rewards him with a blank card. Chuck explains that it will fill itself in in time, so he should keep a hold of it.

Walter Pantech decides it's about time to visit his son at the cabin. Before he can enter the cabin, Mumiyoshi spots him and asks him if he's another Pantech. Walter is alarmed at the question but indicates that he is once Mumiyoshi shows that he knows Skylos. Mumiyoshi makes idle chatter by asking if Walter is here for a visit or if it's a matter of business. Walter explains that it's a little of both. Mumiyoshi notes to Walter that some odd occurrences have cropped up in the area and that samurai have been resurrected. He feigns worry that Skylos will get into trouble should he mix with them and he warns Walter that he should make sure Skylos is aware of the danger. Walter thanks Mumiyoshi for the information and inquires why Mumiyoshi hasn't told Skylos himself. Mumiyoshi indicates that he doesn't want to mess in Skylos's personal life, but he has his best interests at heart. The two part ways with Walter not knowing who Mumiyoshi really was.

Seth is busy examining the alien [Editor's note: We finally got back to the arc, yay!] in the kitchen. Walter notices this and asks what Seth is up to. Seth explains that he found this extra terrestrial lifeform. He is going to thaw it and figure out what it was looking for. Naga then enters the cabin and introduces himself. He seems worried about something and asks if either Seth or Walter has an energy tracker. Walter asks if he meant mechanically or human, but Naga says that it's actually a creature.

Zach and Flare seem to be having trouble entering the cabin so that Flare can be introduced to everyone. Omni appears and points this out, much to Zach's annoyance. Zach states the problem is he can't find another other than Eric, Rem, Tom, and the weird guy handing out cards. Omni catches the last bit and demands to know what he looks like. Zach describes Chuck and Omni gives a knowing smile. He explains that he was the one who made the cards and that he had tarot in mind when he made them. The fortunes do come true so he hopes that Zach's fortune wasn't too bad. Zach is taken aback and Flare jokes that Omni doesn't even have to try to make Zach suffer, that it just happens! Zach then wonders what exactly it is, and Omni notes that it's a Soul Card and that he should treat it with care. He also tells Zach that Chuck is a Pantech, but doesn't name him.

Ponic emerges from the cabin, stating that he saw Omni from it, and asks what the card is that he just got. Flare pauses and then says hello to Ponic. Omni ignores Ponic for a few seconds, then says hello to him and calls him Shad. Omni then comments that Chuck has been busy, then asks if Ponic wanted something, before remembering that he wanted to know what the card was. He explains it to him again and notes that a bit of their soul is actually in the card, but not to worry because they'll get it back so long as the card isn't destroyed or not kept with them. Ponic and Flare get acquainted and Omni asks for Zach to come train with him, alone. Ponic is annoyed that part of his soul is now in a card, but there's nothing he can really do about it.

Omni gives Zach another lesson in his Fire Technique. He manages to get Zach to make his Fire White after only forming it seconds prior. Zach thanks Omni for the quick lesson and Omni departs.

The creature begins to thaw and it starts banging against the container it's in and shrieks. Ponic and Flare enter the cabin with a start and wonder what's going on. Seth notes that he found it, or that it had found them. The alien doesn't seem to like Ponic as it's banging up against the glass towards him. Eric comes in and wonders about the alien. Seth has Ponic move Shadows around and the alien responds to it. Seth gathers that the alien must be attracted to energy. They decide that it's best to not let it get near any of them and they call it a night.

Keera is walking alone in the forest [Editor's note: You'd have thought she'd have learned by now...] and a shadowy figure is following her. The cabin vanishes before her eyes and she is transferred to an area with scary trees. She tries to escape via a shadow, but the shadow punches her back. She shouts for whatever it is to show itself, claiming it must have lost its unfathomable amount of courage.

A figure forms out of the shadow Keera had opened. It was wearing a mask and had blades in its hands. It began to approach Keera. It notes that it is Keera's nightmare; it is the myth of the Shadow Realm. Keera suddenly becomes brave and tried to impale the figure with a shadow blade, only for the figure to absorb the blade. Keera is hurt by a shadow blade and her barrages seem to do nothing.

Omni encounters a man garbed in blue in the forest. The man introduces himself as Elios Sasaki and he gives Omni a foreboding message. Omni agrees to help him find the 'Demon King' and kill him because he is worried that his grandchildren would get into too much trouble with said person. Elios uses his Power of Water on a spring nearby to scry on the Demon King. Unfortunately, the Demon King didn't want to be found and a feedback of Power blasted both Elios and Omni backwards. Elios wonders if Omni has any other methods of finding him, and Omni says that his tracking skills are his weakness. He does note that a bunch of samurai have been resurrected recently and that there might be a connection. Omni also reveals that he knows this because he left a trace of Void on his descendants and he uses it to gather information.

Chuck encounters Havock and asks if she wants her fortune told. She waves him off, saying that he's annoying and that she doesn't have one. Chuck finds that she doesn't have a soul. Bewildered, he leaves her be. Necros then appears and chats with her for a bit. They decide to train together for a bit.

Eric finds Zach alone in the woods. They then agree to a little training, but then they hear a twig snap nearby. Animals begin to dart from their current location which makes them rather wary of their surroundings. Suddenly, Keera and the masked figure appears from above right in front of them! She exclaims that the figure won't get her essence [Editor's note: Core]. Eric and Zach then team up with Keera to try and fend off the masked man. The masked man makes clones of Shadow Wielders he had killed in the past to attack the three and outnumber them. Zach tries his White Fire on him, but is shocked to find that even that's not enough to harm him. Keera shouts that they should escape. Zach makes a huge White Fireball and detonates it. The light dispels the shadow clones, leaving only the masked figure.

Meanwhile, the alien manages to get out of its container and sneak off to Seth's room. Ponic catches Seth as he's leaving the cabin and notes that he hopes the alien isn't in the refrigerator again. Wrath notices that the alien has 'gone on vacation' and calls to the others to warn them. Ponic is alarmed and tries to search for it. Seth hears this as well and everyone frantically searches for it. Walter decides to lend a hand while Ponic thinks that he's found its shadow. Seth decides to check by his masks, which is where the alien is hiding. Ponic suggests that Seth put his masks somewhere safe so that the alien isn't attracted to their power. Unknowingly, Seth puts the mask with the alien in his pack. Since Ponic can do longer sense it, they have to give up for now.

A branch then falls on Halo. She seemed to be in a bad mood and starts throwing rocks into the water. Rem happens to walk by and asks if everything is alright. Halo notes that she doesn't want to talk right now.

Back with Omni and Elios, the two decide that they should check with the samurai nearby to figure out if their Demon King is among them. Although Omni can tell if someone is lying, Elios fears that it's not going to be so easy. They go to the camp by use of a portal. They encounter a grumpy samurai there and they inquire as to whether they know where the Demon King is. Yukimura agrees that he and Kanetsugu should tell Kenshin and Shingen of this development. Omni and Elios wait boredly for the next few pages, Keiji and Lu Bu keep attacking one another, and a dragon suddenly starts attacking everyone. Omni gets annoyed and shouts for everyone to get along for a few minutes because a dragon is attacking them! Omni and Elios then MC the multiple fights going on around them

Since the alien seems to have gotten away, Seth asks Ponic if he wants to spar. Ponic agrees that it's a good idea and accepts. Seth takes out one of his masks, but he doesn't realize it's the mask the alien has infected. Seth is powered up quite a bit after putting it on and his control over the roots throws Ponic pretty hard. Ponic then notes that he must have gotten passionate about his power, but Seth realizes that the mask is the wrong color; it has turned black. Ponic advises him to take it off, but Seth claims that he likes the feel of the power. Seth tries to take it off, but the alien consumes his body and attacks Ponic.

After dealing with Ponic, Seth makes his way towards the factory. Walter spots him and tries to stop him before he is seen. Seth attacks Walter, but Lareo appears and helps Walter try to beat Seth. Lareo takes charge of the fight and taunts Seth to stall him.

Back with Neon, Skylos, Masamune, Altair, and Hideyoshi, Neon starts reading Hideyoshi's mind. Hideyoshi reveals that someone named Hanzo is currently attacking Keera! Skylos inquires to Masamune about the identity of Hanzo. Masamune reveals that Hanzo is a ninja from his time who used his powers to kill important figures in their society. Altair interjects that Hanzo is also in Shadow Wielder stories as being a terrible menace. They decide that they should rescue Keera rather than worry about Oda Nobunaga for now. Altair tells them farewell and that he'll be in touch while the others go to find Keera. Skylos teleports them to Keera's Aura.

Aqua leaves the cabin and finds that Ponic is in bad condition after Seth's fight. He has multiple injuries and can barely speak. Zuika appears and lends aid by chopping up the tree that is currently on top of Ponic. Aqua finds one of Rem's potions and feeds it to Ponic. Ponic is restored quite a bit, but is unable to be fighting anytime soon. Ponic explains the situation to them and they wonder what they should do.

Masamune, Skylos, and Neon encounter Hanzo. Skylos is wary of their soon to be opponent but states that they need to keep Keera safe. Hanzo turns his attention to Skylos and notes that he's going to take out all of his bones. [Editor's note: Best friends from the get-go!] Hanzo begins to make Neon cough up blood. Zach is dealing with the real Hanzo a little ways off. Hanzo attacks their marks. Skylos threatens to hurt Hanzo if he doesn't stop hurting Neon. Skylos throws out a bunch of Light Prisms and locks Hanzo into a grid. The prisms turn Hanzo to dust, but Hanzo just reappears attached to Skylos! Skylos manages to get Hanzo off of him by controlling his Light Prism to fire a Light Beam at his own shadow. Despite their best efforts, Hideyoshi is taken by Hanzo and Skylos is left a bleeding mess.

Zach's Hanzo seems to be capable of removing Zach's organs without leaving a mark. Hanzo then wonders how ripping out
Zach's still beating heart would work. Zach retaliates by burning Hanzo's arm and hand that was clutching his heart. Hanzo makes clones of Zach to fight Zach. Keera appears out of her hiding spot and tries to lend Zach a hand, despite the danger this puts her in. Keera explains that Hanzo needs her essence so that he can extend his own life. Zach finds this pathetic. Ponic appears to lend a hand. Eric and Zach manage to save Keera after being blown back by Hanzo and finally destroy the clone of Hanzo. Ponic is dropped into his own shadow and Hanzo takes Ponic's core, killing him. Keera then tells the others that she senses that Ponic has died.

Omni finally finds the Demon King during the commotion. He warns Omni that his great-grandsons are and friend are in great danger, but Omni states that they can take care of themselves. The two exchange some philosophical-like talk for a bit, before Omni warns Nobunaga that he may get in over his head if he tries anything in this side of Reality. Omni hints that there is greater threat out there than Nobunaga himself. Nobunaga dismisses Omni's warnings and says that power will swing his way. [Editor's note: Bigger threat? That rings a crystal bell...] After a bit of more idle chatter, Nobunaga thanks Omni for talking to him again. Omni then realizes who the Demon King is and states that perhaps he should watch himself.

After Masamune gets over his freak weather occurrence [Editor's note: This was probably my favorite Ralph quote.], Masamune tried to get Hideyoshi back. Unfortunately, Masamune was too slow and Hideyoshi was taken by Hanzo. Hanzo reports back to Nobunaga with Hideyoshi. Masamune checks on Neon, but Neon states that Skylos is in far worse condition than he is. Masamune manages to wake him and Skylos is able to heal himself a bit. Neon helps him up and they both decide that they could have done better and that there's always room for improvement.

Seth crosses the bridge of the factory. Once inside, he takes the elevator down. Katsuie and Okuni take notice of this and decide to follow him. Lareo also follows Seth, claiming that he can sense the strange power easily.

Halo then gets attacked by a bunch of squirrels. After the squirrels run away, Aqua asks if she's ok. Skylos and Neon then arrive and everyone wonders what happened. Neon explains the situation because Skylos is too weak to. Keera gets emotional because it seems like so many things are going wrong at once. Eric tries to comfort her the best that he can.

Keera explains that all Shadow Wielders are too powerful for their own good and so they locked a large sum of their powers away. Different Shadow Wielders can unlock it to different levels. No Shadow Wielder, not even Izerion, could get them all unlocked and only Hanzo could. Obviously with such a power, he can do anything he wants, but to live he needs to steal Shadow Wielder cores. It's very thing that lets a Shadow Wielder live, like a heart. [Editor's note: Copy and paste ftw.] She then mentions that Ponic said something about being under control from an alien. Eric notes that the alien was in some sort of meteorite that had come down to Earth recently. With this knowledge in mind, they decide that they should go help Seth after they get a little rest.

Masamune recovers from some more freak weather occurrences and decides to leave the group. He slips Skylos a note under his door that basically states that Nobunaga must have the upper hand already and that he's going to go get help from the other samurai. He also requests that they all meet at Honno-ji.

Tom and Naga come for a visit and Keera clues them in to recent happenings. Naga recognizes the alien as the energy tracker that he had been looking for. He states that it goes for the nearest high source of energy. Tom notes that the factory contains a lot of energy and that Seth could have headed that way. Keera agrees and set set out for the factory.

Skylos finds the note but can't understand it due to it being written in Japanese. He figures it's important so he puts it in his robe. He runs into Naga who recognizes him due to meeting Walter. Neon appears and they all introduce themselves to one another. Naga states that he's heading to the factory with Keera and Tom, who Skylos and Neon hadn't noticed yet. Naga explains about Seth and the alien, to which both Neon and Skylos have to inkling.

Walter wakes up and makes his way towards the others. Tom mistakes him for being drunk because Walter is woozy from being knocked out. He explains to everyone that he got thrown into a tree, but laughs at Tom's mistake. Skylos shows deep concern for his dad and Tom is shocked to find out this is Skylos's dad. Everyone is then clued in and Tom jokes that with everyone always turning on one another it's amazing that everyone is still friends.

Rem finds Halo by herself in the cabin. She seems to be deep in thought. Halo then tells Rem that she doesn't feel the same way about him that she used to and that she thinks they should take a break from one another. Rem wonders if he did something wrong, but Halo just repeats that she doesn't feel the same way. Rem is not happy with Halo's choice and notes that to her. Halo knows this, but it's how it is. Ponic appears to them in a spirit state and explains his situation to them. Rem leaves the cabin, not wanting to hear anything.

Zach finds Rem outside and tries to joke with him, but he soon finds that Rem is not in a great mood. Rem explains to Zach that Halo broke up with him and that he is not feeling good. Zach tries to calm him down, but he only manages to get Rem to yell at him that he doesn't understand how he feels. Zach berates him for acting like a child and Rem finally calms down a bit.

Unfortunately, Chuck arrives at this point and claims that Halo's card is burning white hot. Zach mistakes this meaning as though Chuck was the one that caused all of this. Zach demands to know what Halo's fortune is, and Chuck tells them to infer. He tosses them the Three of Swords, pictured with three swords stabbed into a heart. Zach blames him again, but Chuck snaps back that she was the one who picked the card so she was the one that wanted it to happen. Rem is hardly controlling himself from attacking Chuck, with Zach still trying to calm him. Zach counters back that Omni mentioned that the fortunes always come true, so Chuck must be to blame because she could have picked some other card. Chuck then has the whole deck of cards float in front of them with the faces facing them. He reveals that the cards are all blank until they're drawn, so Halo did choose it. Zach claims that he won't let Chuck's cards dictate his life!

Zach slashes one of the cards in half that Chuck was using to mock them. Chuck then notes that he can fight too, and the Omni magic circle appears underneath him. Chuck recalls all of his cards and the torn one even mends itself. Prism level Light then sparks from Chuck. Zach and Rem attack Chuck, but soon find that he is no pushover. Zach wonders about the Light and then starts to piece together who Chuck really is. Zach uses an impressive Fire technique with his sword, but Chuck then surprises everyone by taking out a different looking blue card that then unleashes a tsunami on them! Rem is able to freeze it, but Chuck puts Light Shards into the frozen tsunami so that when it was broken, the shards would fly at them. Zach breaks the ice and the Light Shards slash into him, cutting down his mobility. Rem attacks with his Twilight sword, but Chuck holds up a blank card and absorbs the attack into it! Satisfied, Chuck says he doesn't want to kill them and leaves. Rem and Zach are left in a foul mood.

Seth, still possessed by the alien, finds the computer in the factory and notices that a large amount of power is coming from it. He finds the Kollosus is on the screen and wonders if that is what is the really powerful thing he senses. Naga and co then enter into the factory and try to find Seth. Skylos finds Lareo in the computer room and realizes that he still has some of Lareo's belongings. he hands Lareo his Storm and Sol Demon orbs, although he really wanted to keep that last one to himself. Seth then comes out of hiding and attacks Skylos, ramming him into the wall! Everyone comes to Skylos's aid and attacks Seth. Seth is able to dodge all of the attacks easily and seems to have the upper hand. The program on the computer then completes and Seth claims that they are now too late.

The Kollosus materializes in the real world and leaves everyone in awe of its giant form. Unfortunately, this also means that they have to get rid of it, and fast! Ponic manages to resurrect himself with a little known spell and flies to the battle field to help. [Editor's note: Cheaper than a Lunar orb. =P] Naga recovers from some freak weather conditions and then lends a hand as well.

Chuck finds Halo and mentions to her that her card is burning. He inquires if she is alright and then tells her that she should view what her blank card had turned into when no one else is around. He states that no one but the true owner of a soul should be looking at it, as it's a personal thing. Unbeknownst to them, Mumiyoshi is nearby, spying on the scene. Chuck is about to leave, but Mumiyoshi makes himself known and notes that some people would disagree with that statement. Halo gets annoyed and decides to leave them so that she can go look at her card in peace. Her card was now golden on the front. The picture showed a big heart with a silverish aura to it. At the bottom of the card said: Renewal. The 10-pointed star was replaced on the back with an hourglass. Halo began to ponder the meaning.

Omni chances upon Zach and Rem in the aftermath of their fight with Chuck. Omni clears out the Light Shards from Zach with a mere slap on the back while his Darkness Aura was active. Zach wonders why he did that and Omni explains that his potion would have broken down the Light Shards and that internal bleeding isn't very fun. Zach wonders how Omni knew he had Light Shards in him and Omni explains that he could sense them inside of him and that he knew Chuck was just here. He also explains that he gave Chuck the cards with the intent of them being used to help people. He also notes that the cards don't necessarily mean that they will happen to them, but could happen to people around them or to some future, unknown person. He also berates them for challenging a Light Human whose abilities far surpassed even Skylos'.

Rem explains to Omni that Halo broke up with him. Zach then notes that it must have been because of the cards. Omni is having no nonsense from them and asks Zach if Halo is happy. Rem begrudgingly says that she probably is, and Zach can't answer because he knows that the card has made the target person happy. Omni then leaves, feeling a little down since they don't get it and only seem to think about themselves.

Keera appears at this point and thanks Zach for saving her the other day. She also notes to Rem that he should really talk with Halo if he wanted to at least keep her friendship. Rem seems doubtful that it will help and that it might end up making things worse. Keera and Zach both agree that he still should. Rem claims that it's easy for them to say that because they are the ones going through it.

Chuck and Mumiyoshi talk about Omni for a little while. Chuck seems to show some resentment for him for unknown reasons and has nothing much to tell Mumiyoshi, other than that his son has two sons. Chuck also notes that Mumiyoshi is rather secretive, so he should probably avoid Zach since he drew a card that would have secrets coming to light. Chuck also explains to Mumiyoshi that when a fortune comes true, a bit of the power that is unleashed strengthens him, so he is always looking to find strong candidates for the 22 blank cards he has. He also reveals that he gave Omni a fortune but never saw what it was. Mumiyoshi thanks him for his time and he departs.

Meanwhile, the fight with the Kollosus is getting nowhere. Although powerful individuals are trying to destroy it, it just shrugs off most attacks. Ponic confronts Seth and tries to figure out what the alien is planning. Ponic tries to free Seth and Seth can talk to Ponic mentally, but Seth simply doesn't have the strength to break free. Ponic then inadvertently figures out that sound can be used to make the alien recoil in pain when a metal bar is dropped. Ponic then manages to get the alien off of Seth and kill it in a shadow. The Kollosus is then finally destroyed after Rem points out that it has targets on its blade.

The Orochi Crisis (A.K.A. Ralph's 8-month arc ^^; ): Skylos happens upon Masamune in the woods and they decide that they need to contact the others so that they can head for Honno-ji. Skylos agrees and mentions that he will even try to contact other group members that are abroad. Skylos mentions that Halo could possibly use her Time Power to help them get people to Honno-ji immediately, but it would be tricky and probably very difficult. Once at the cabin, they find Halo there. Masamune hopes that the others will get back soon because it is paramount for them to hurry to Honno-ji.

Meanwhile, a lady name Macellare chances upon the other samurai and is clued in on recent happenings. Elios agrees to teach her. The group of samurai are then attacked by Hanzo which puts them all in to a mad frenzy! Musashi finally arrives and meets Macellare. Hanzo seems to have backed off for now, so Macellare decides to go with Elios to visit a friend of his. As they're headed to his friend's, they exchange their life stories. Macellare is from Tuscany and had a rough childhood when her father left her family after he found out about her gift. Elios notes that he has a somewhat similar story, except that his father was dead and his mother used him to get money, but a mob rushed their house and killed his mother. The two bond a bit.

Zach decides that he should visit Omni because he had noticed that Omni seemed sad when he left them before. Using his Light Prism, Zach opens a portal to Omni's subspace. Wrath surprises Zach and they both tumble in. Rem seems to have the same idea and meets up with Zach and Wrath a few moments later. Wrath prys into Omni's house when Omni doesn't answer his front door and they find him asleep on a pile of papers in his study. Zach and Rem tell Wrath to not bother him, but Omni wakes up in surprise. His eyes are an odd stone blue color for a few seconds but then go to their usual brown. [Editor's note: Take a peek at unused script #6]

Omni thanks them for visiting and has them go to the front room which is less cramped. He offers drinks, but no one really wants one. Rem and Zach notice a portrait of Omni and a child and they inquire about it. Omni explains that it's him and his son, Tranductus, but when he was human. He also notes that he wish he hadn't become a demon. They inquire about the other picture that has Tranductus and a little girl in it...And Omni snaps awake. He explains in a sad tone that it's Tranductus and Chara...and she's gone. The others wish they hadn't brought it up, but Omni states that he'll get her back one day, if he only had a way to. He also tells them to not tell anyone because he wouldn't be able to come across and cold and unloving if people knew he was trying to get his daughter back. He states that Zach and Rem are like family to him and he apologizes for yelling at them the other day. he also warns them that he met a new enemy of theirs and that they will be needed back at the cabin soon. He warns them of Oda Nobunaga and tells them not to get killed. As a gift, Omni gives Zach the sword of Matsu Hiroki. [Editor's note: He was the last Dimension Guardian of Fire.] Zach doesn't know what to say, but is happy to receive the gift. Rem and Zach decide that they've taken enough of Omni's time and then leave to go prepare for Nobunaga.

Elios and Macellare arrive at Omni's house soon after and barge in. Elios tells Omni that Nobunaga is making his move so they need to do something about it. Omni agrees and says that he won't forget his duties. Omni warns Macellare that this will be dangerous. Elios realizes this and inquires if she still wants to go. Macellare states that she still does.

Halo is able to bend time in such a way that everyone will be able to get to Honno-ji at the same time once a portal is made. Yisha elects to stay behind and tell everyone of where they need to go. Masamune, Halo, and Skylos then teleport to Japan and end up in Kyoto. They're a little off, but not too much. Masamune suggests they find a map because everything is different from when he was alive. They then wonder why they can all understand one another. [Editor's note: They don't know about the Light Prism's translating properties.]

Alice then changes form...Again.

(Post full; continue to the next post)

[Skylos]

Skylos makes an offhand comment wondering if Nobunaga is even affected by the time stop. Mumiyoshi then rounds the corner and says that he's not. [Editor's note: GAH STALKER!] Mumiyoshi tells Masamune, Halo, and Skylos to scram and to tell Omni and Elios to stay out of this affair. Skylos goes sour and tell him that if he wants Omni to not get involved then he should just kill him. Skylos demands to know why Mumiyoshi interacted with him before only to become an enemy later. Mumiyoshi says that it's for the same reason a predator stalks his prey. [Editor's note: SEE!]

Neon finds Yisha in the cabin and she relays the message to Neon. Neon immediately sets off to meet up with the others. Once outside, Tom stops him and teleports him to Japan. A few seconds later, Ponic and Keera note that Neon's shadow has gone to Japan, so they travel through it to him. Neon is acting a little odd, but Keera just guesses it's a Dark Human thing. They try to find the others.

Zach finds Chuck alone in the woods and puts both swords to his back, demanding to know why he's around. Chuck says that he's human and has a right to be anywhere he wants to be. He is fiddling around with a washer that's on a necklace around his neck. It appears to have some sort of runes on it. Zach claims that the Eiffel Tower is nice this time of year and that he should jump off of it.

Chuck changes the subject by commenting on Zach's new sword. Chuck inquires to the name of the sword but Zach states that he only knows it used to belong to someone named Hiroki. Chuck doesn't seem impressed, but he does note the sword is creating a rift around itself. Chuck annoys Zach by mentioning Halo being happy and Zach slashes at Chuck with it. Chuck is barely able to dodge in time and yells at Zach for being so irresponsible with a sword of that strength. Zach doesn't heed him and slashes an arc of energy at him. Chuck is thrown into the river and then notes that Zach has managed to make a tear in Reality.

Zach is dumbfounded by this development. Chuck takes a peek into the tear and states that he tore to somewhere he probably shouldn't have. He holds the washer up to it and Darkness Arrows fire through it. Zach notices that the washer is manipulating power after his own fireballs are deflected back at him. Chuck wonders if Zach is going to close the rift since the dangerous power is leaking from it. Zach says that he has no idea how to, which annoys Chuck because Zach is using a very dangerous Power without knowing how to use it. Chuck uses one of his cards, a white one, to heal the rift. After it's fixed, Chuck notes that he can now kill Zach! Zach and Chuck then began to actively battle, with Chuck using a combination of his whip and his cards to fight Zach. After Chuck lands a successful combination of attacks on Zach which damages him quite a bit, Chuck begins to lecture him on how he should think ahead to beat him. Seeing no other choice, Zach uses the rift energy again and manages to smash Chuck into a tree as his washer is unable to deflect this energy.

After Chuck regains his form, Chuck reveals to Zach that he can control Dimension Power as well. Zach is surprised to learn the name of the Power he was inadvertently using. Chuck is surprised to learn that Zach doesn't know what it is. He explains to him that the sword uses both Fire and Dimension to be used safely. He uses a card to transport them to plane of nothing but blackness. Zach is unable to move in this environment, which annoys him to no end since Chuck can. Chuck attempts to help Zach try to get a feel for Dimension, but he does it in an antagonizing way and Zach can't focus. After transferring a base of Dimensional Power to Zach, he finally gets how to use it. The area turns back into the forest and Zach claims that they can now fight on equal terms. Chuck laughs and decides that Zach only thinks about fighting. Zach claims that it's not that, but that he just can't stand Chuck! After a few more rounds, they decide it's best to call it quits for now. Chuck can't wait for Zach to get better and claims that he's pretty much at the top of his Power level. They depart, but continue to yell comebacks to one another until they're both finally out of earshot of one another.

Rem is alone, but then out of nowhere Hanzo attacks him with a shadow blade! Rem is able to get away but Hanzo continues to attack him. Hanzo takes over Shadow Rem and has him attack Rem as well. Rem is having trouble keeping up with Hanzo and his gloves are even damaged to the point where he cannot use them, leaving him with only his sword. Rem uses his twilight shard to enter into his wolf form because he thinks this will make him more agile. Rem can only bite and slash in this form, though. A huge mass of energy then explodes, wiping out half of the forest and hurting Rem quite a bit. Rem continues to fight, but his wolf form is not amazingly helpful against the crazed Shadow Wielder. As Rem is numbed by Hanzo, Rem let's out a blast of Twilight from his mouth. He had no idea that he could even do this. Hanzo is fling back, complete taken by surprise and his mask is even damaged so that Rem can see his face. Hanzo gets extremely angry and says that Rem has sealed his fate by seeing part of his face. Rem manages to harm Hanzo with Apai, but Hanzo still proves to be an almost impossible foe to beat. Hanzo then teleports Rem to Japan, but drops him the sea in the middle of a hurricane.

Elios and Macellare depart from Omni's and they arrive at a cave that Elios describes as his home away from home when he visits Earth. He says to her that he needs to run some tests on her so that he can ascertain her abilities. Macellare isn't thrilled to hear this, but she complies after Elios tells her not to worry. Elios asks her what she has used her Power for, and she says that it has been mostly to mend bones. Elios decides that they'll start with a meditation exercise. He has her try to think of nothing while he sifts through her memories. He discovers that she can use telepathy. Elios decides it's time to go find the others.

Back with Ponic, Keera, and Neon, Neon is still acting a tad bit strange. The Shadow Wielders finally ask him if everything is ok after Neon snaps at them when asked why they were in Japan.

Halo demands for Mumiyoshi's immediate surrender, stating that there are more of them arriving even as they speak. Mumiyoshi laughs and creates three clones, one for each of them to fight. Skylos warns both of his comrades that Mumiyoshi is extremely strong and to not take him lightly. The original one laughs and leaves them to make his way to Honno-ji. Halo gets annoyed and decides to let go of the Time Stop because it ended up not working. The team battle commences. Neon senses the fighting and heads in their direction. Ponic and Keera also follow.

Shadows then creep towards the cabin. Yisha notices the change in lighting. A clone of Hanzo then enters the cabin and attacks Yisha! The cabin catches fire during the attack and Yisha tries to put it out.

A mysterious woman named Elena then runs into Mumiyoshi while trekking through the woods. She seems pretty stealthy, but Mumiyoshi proves to be more so. She states that she needs to be on her way, but Mumiyoshi stops her. She becomes annoyed but has to wait for Mumiyoshi to get to the point. He asks her why she is here and she responds that she it trying to look up a friend that she hasn't seen for a long time. It is only a half truth, but Mumiyoshi knows this and makes it his business to tell her that. She finally gets away and Mumiyoshi has Toshiie follow her. He also notes that he put a trace on her. Elena manages to call for a helicopter and she escapes.

Neon arrives and begins to help Skylos with his fight since even using his Light Demon Orb to boost his Light is not enough to beat him. Neon and Skylos create Void to fight Mumiyoshi and are somewhat successful. Skylos then decides that one of them needs to trail Mumiyoshi and that if he gets distracted enough, perhaps the clones will be destroyed. Skylos elects to do this and leaves the others to their fights.

Rem is fished out of the water by the Void Demon, Malignant. [Editor's note: It's been awhile!] Malignant seems annoyed that he had to save Rem and wonders why he is here. Rem states that some crazy guy dropped him off here. Satisfied, Malignant attempts to leave but Rem stops him and wonders where he's going. Annoyed, Malignant claims he's going to whom he should be with. Rem thanks him for saving him, which causes Malignant to suggest they travel together because they are actually going to the same place. They chatter for a bit before Malignant challenges Rem to prove that he's gotten stronger. Rem complies, but he is infected by Hanzo and can't muster the strength to. Instead, Rem punches him and Malignant agrees that he is stronger. He then asks what Rem is going to do about his infection. Rem doesn't know because a Shadow Wielder and potions can't heal it. Malignant rolls his eyes and states that he should find someone else to heal him that doesn't match that criteria. Rem asks Malignant if he can help, but Malignant seems to go around the bush about it, asking what's in it for him. Malignant decides that the fastest way to their destination would be to fly, so he has Rem climb on his back. En route, he gets bored and loops around in the air a bit.

As Elios and Macellare are leaving through a portal, Hanzo appears and says that Mumiyoshi wants him dead. Elios tells Macellare to get away, but she is glued to the spot, not knowing what exactly what she should do. Hanzo attacks them and Macellare is able to protect herself, but she uses up quite a bit of energy to do so. Elios tells her again to leave, and that he'll catch up with her as soon as he can.

Omni finds Zach a bit beat up from his battle with Chuck. He jokes with him about being unable to leave him alone for a few minutes, but heals him. Zach then wonders why Omni gave him the dangerous sword, then. Omni apologizes because he had rushed them out due to Elios appearing unexpectedly. He hands Zach a red ruby set into a silver amulet and states that he needs to be wearing this when he uses the sword so that it'll be safe to use. Zach thanks him, even though it's a bit late. He then asks why Omni is around this time. Omni jokes it was to save him, but then states seriously that he came to take Zach to Japan where the others were since he was headed there as well. Zach groans at the prospect of having to go back to Japan. [Editor's note: And so did everyone else...] Flare runs up and comments that Zach has almost died three times now without him, so he is going too. Omni then transports all three of them to Japan. Flare claims that it will be 3,000 times more exciting than last time since 3,000 times zero is still zero. Omni locates Rem south of them, quite far away while the others appear to be fighting Mumiyoshi. Omni, Zach, and Flare decide it would be best to be stealthy from here out since they are already very close to their destination. Zach and Flare go on ahead and find Masamune in need of help, so they jump into the battle.

Malignant finds Keera and Ponic on the way and grabs them in mid-flight. They laugh for a bit and they try to figure out why they are all in Japan. [Editor's note: Maybe if you had read the posts and found Yisha... *cough*] The only thing they know for sure is that they have a new enemy here. Ponic and Keera wonder where Rem had been before finding Malignant. Rem notes that he got into a fight with a very strong Shadow Wielder. Ponic and Keera shudder. After a bit of high-speed flying, they near Honno-ji.

A wandering man with unknown origins and a lack of coherent memory then finds himself wandering around. His purpose is unknown even to him. [Editor's note: This is important for later.] After wandering around and training a bit with a katana, he learns that his name is Okugi.

Elios continues to fight Hanzo in the cave. Hanzo manages to harm Elios with some spikes, but Elios manages to hit Hanzo back with ice. Hanzo then notices that the Apai infection is slowing him down a bit. Macellare wonders if Elios is ok and is not sure what to do. Elios tells her yet again to get to the portal and to not worry about him. Hanzo unleashes a massive attack. Elios manages to counter it somewhat and escape through the portal with Macellare. Hanzo thinks that he has killed Elios and returns to Mumiyoshi.

Meanwhile, the real Mumiyoshi is approaching Honno-ji. Skylos is following the path behind him, trying to catch up as quickly as he can. After a few minutes, he finds Mumiyoshi standing by himself on the path with his back to him. Skylos is alarmed by this, but he then realizes that Mumiyoshi is purposefully waiting for him because he has the upper hand. He probably doesn't think of Skylos as any kind of threat. The two decide to chat for a bit. Skylos tries to learn what Mumiyoshi's goal is. As of this moment, he doesn't have the slightest idea why Mumiyoshi is here. Mumiyoshi doesn't tell him, but decides to trap Skylos in some energy rings. Mumiyoshi goes on about how life is like chess for a bit and tells Skylos that he'll have a front row seat to his return to the world.

Back with the clones, Halo is struggling with her fight. She puts up a dome of ice in order to ward off some attacks, but Mumiyoshi turns it around by solidifying it with Darkness, sealing her in. On the Zach, Flare, and Masamune side, their fight is actually looking pretty good. With Masamune distracting Mumiyoshi, Zach and Flare are able to get some good shots in.

Malignant arrives to their destination, but notes that his has moved a bit. Omni greets them and notices that Rem has been injured quite profusely by Shadow. Rem explains that Hanzo did this to him. Omni is unaware of Hanzo and asks for an explanation. Ponic gives a long and very detailed account for him. Omni seems quite interested by Hanzo after Ponic's explanation, but decides that he'll keep it to himself. He notes that Rem should get healed immediately.

Rem explains that he can't by use of Shadow Wielders or potions. Ponic then notes how Hanzo could be such a problem on the Universe level. Omni rolls his eyes and says that he has to deal with such things every day of his life. He then decides that he'll heal Rem with... Void. Rem and Keera are a bit taken aback by the prospect but Rem says to go through with it. Omni very seriously tells him to not move as he is healing him. Omni manages to heal him and he saves some of the infection in a capture orb. Omni then departs and tells them that their friends need help.

On the hill, Mumiyoshi then causes a solar eclipse. [Editor's note: It's also really corny.] Mumiyoshi then summons a bunch of warriors which becomes his army of undead samurai. Skylos senses that this has gone too far and attempts to break out of Mumiyoshi's rings. Mumiyoshi claims that it's impossible for him to and that he's overpower him even if he did break out. With that in mind, Skylos stops struggling and is left to watch as events unfold. The army is against a third party of samurai that would be Skylos's allies. Unfortunately, Skylos is unable to do anything. Mumiyoshi excuses himself once he sees Xiahou Dun on the battlefield below them. He leaves Ranmaru with Skylos.

The clone that had been fighting Halo then attacks Zach. Zach is taken by surprise and now has to face two clones, but at least Masamune and Flare are helping. They decide the best bet would be to separate them. They managed to do so and Flare and Zach try to defeat their clone.

Mumiyoshi defeats Xiahou Dun after about twenty seconds of fierce combat. Those gathered are shocked. The other two try to beat hi mas well, but Mumiyoshi uses their fears against them. Skylos tries to make conversation with Ranmaru and indirectly tries to figure out why Mumiyoshi hasn't killed him yet. Skylos finds that Ranmaru is completely dedicated to Mumiyoshi's cause, almost sounding like one who was brainwashed. Skylos and Ranmaru then exchange some rather dark banter. After agreeing that they have different outlooks on life, Hanzo appears beside Mumiyoshi.

Ranmaru notes that Hanzo must have return from an assignment. Skylos fears the worst, thinking someone in his group has been killed. Ranmaru notes that sacrifice for the greater good is necessary some times. Skylos notes that there may be a certain member in his team that he doesn't care much for, but he would never wish death on them. Mumiyoshi mentally tells Ranmaru to bring Skylos to him. They make their way down to him. Once there, he is forced to follow him into the temple of Honno-ji.

Ponic and Keera finally find Zach and co and join in on the fight with the Mumiyoshi clones. Now that it's six to three, they think they can win. Mumiyoshi boasts hat he had face more challenging odds in his past life and tells them to come back once they can shave.

As Mumiyoshi and Skylos are walking down the hallway, Mumiyoshi decides to tell Skylos a few things. He mentions how the last time he was here his hopes for ambition were doused. He then explains that he thanks his resurrection to Izerion! Skylos is shocked because he had not made any connection to that event. He thinks to himself that he wasn't too fond of Izerion, but didn't hate him like Ponic. [Editor's note: Spoiler: They become friends later.] Skylos asks how that's possible. Mumiyoshi claims that since Neon was such a threat to Reality, a divine force intervened and raised him to combat him. Skylos seems to think that it was completely unnecessary since it was Skylos that had ended up killing Neon, not Mumiyoshi.

Skylos has a brave moment and asks Mumiyoshi how he was killed before. Mumiyoshi stares at him for a few minutes and explains that Akechi Mitsuhide betrayed him and burned the place to the ground...and he was killed. Skylos feels sickened and states that he couldn't live with knowing he had been betrayed by someone he had been with through thick and thin. Oddly enough, Mumiyoshi somewhat agrees with him.

Ranmaru is busy scouting ahead. After a bit, he runs into Akechi Mitsuhide, the very man that had killed Mumiyoshi before! Ranmaru manages to escape and he alerts Mumiyoshi of his presence. Mumiyoshi comes and greets Mitsuhide. They exchange a few pleasantries and catch up. Afterwards Mumiyoshi asks his signature "What happens now?" and Mitsuhide decides to ask Mumiyoshi for forgiveness. [Editor's note: He says it A LOT.] Mumiyoshi accepts and Skylos and Ranmaru are called.

Mumiyoshi states that it's time to continue what he started four-hundred years prior. Up ahead, on a pedestal, was a katana, but no ordinary katana. An image of a long, vicious serpent was ingrained upon the blade, winding itself round the hardened Japanese steel. It was incredibly detailed, with even the scales visible - and these scales almost seemed to move when viewed out of the corner of the eye. The handle, similarly, had a gold serpent's tail running round it, as if one ornamentation was a continuation of the other, albeit of different proportions. A magnificent scabbard lay next to the katana - again, the theme of the decoration was a long snake, gold on black like the handle. [Editor's note: Yes, I copied and pasted again. =P] He calls it Oroken.

Meanwhile, Elios and Macellare finally wake up. They are a bit disoriented, but otherwise all right. Macellare suggests they get some rest. Elios mentions that they should probably head towards the Cabin since they may find help there. They soon spot what appears to be the cabin and head for it. Musashi finds them and greets them. He invites them to the cabin to get them something to eat.

Nohime then appears. She laughs a bit and Mumiyoshi comments that he can still feel the blade through his heart. She also decides to rejoin Mumiyoshi after he gives his catchphrase again. Mumiyoshi picks up the katana and throws out his old one. [Editor's note: Let's say Skylos picked it up...Souvenir. *shifty eyes*] Mumiyoshi's countenance suddenly changes and he is less sane sounding, but he has extreme power from the katana.

Skylos asks what exactly Orochi is. Mumiyoshi explains that it was a great serpent that was defeated a long time ago with the katana. He also states that with Oroken, he can control it. Nohime fails to see the need of having it. Skylos jokes that the next step is the world, but Mumiyoshi laughs and states that his target is even higher than that! He wants every other world, every alternate universe, every parallel dimension, all of it! Skylos is taken aback and left practically speechless. Nohime thinks he's a fool for thinking he could achieve this without others fighting back. Skylos chimes in that she is right; there is a group on a world that Omni visited recently that are just like the group here on this world. He already has many enemies. Mumiyoshi tells them off and states that there will be no Honno-ji this time. He heads for the surface. Skylos is disgusted with himself for even beginning to like Mumiyoshi. Nohime unsuccessfully tries to convince Mumiyoshi that he's being foolish.

Omni arrives on the scene and sees that the samurai are about to have a round two against Mumiyoshi. He had listened in on the entire conversation that had just happened using his Aura Tracer that was on Skylos. Ranmaru and Mitsuhide get in on the fight this time as there are quite a few enemies. Skylos stays hidden, still inside the temple. Mitsuhide appears to be evenly matched with his opponent and the fight is drawing out to be pretty long; however, it soon becomes apparent that he is actually at a great disadvantage. Skylos has a few words of small-talk with Nohime.

Yisha finishes her healing practice with Akio and finally remembers that she's supposed to be gathering the others and telling them that they need to go to Japan. She finds Eric just outside the cabin and tells him the news. He states he'll depart soon. Macellare, Elios, and Musashi arrive at this point and Yisha and Eric get acquainted with the first two. Musashi plays the role of a chef and tries to find them all something edible from the refrigerator that isn't fungus. Musashi asks Elios about a Kojiro that shares his surname. Elios painfully admits that he was his uncle. He then goes to say that the past is the past and that he doesn't mind what happened to him.

Rem arrives on the scene to help Zach and Flare as well. Halo is still trapped in her ice dome and is quickly losing oxygen because of how Mumiyoshi sealed it. Rem hears her and goes over to the dome to free her. Since his gloves are still a dark red as they had been since Halo dumped him, they were powered up quite a bit. He rescues her, but doesn't seem to care that he did. Neon is then able to kill one of the clones by use of a Mind Trauma combined with a gigantic Darkness Orb.

Neon breaks away from the fighting to go find Skylos. On the way to Skylos's Aura, he finds Omni watching the mess below. Neon is surprised to find Omni there. Omni clues in Neon on the recent happenings and notes that Skylos' Power has been sealed and he can't fight. He also tries to catch up with Neon a little. Neon says he's too weak from his battle to help and Omni practically makes Neon to ask for his help.

Omni heals him after he 'sort of' asks him for help. Omni compliments Neon on defeating the clone, but Neon doesn't like Omni's praise. He also wonders why Omni doesn't just go kill Mumiyoshi. Omni states that he doesn't like killing and only does it if he has to. Neon thinks that by not killing him, he is not doing the right thing. Omni then counters Neon's words by asking him who is really doing the right thing. He states that Mumiyoshi sure thinks that he is right. Neon states that he will stop people from hurting the innocent. Omni states that Neon has a desirable heart.

Mitsuhide's fight is going horribly for him by this point as he has been practically bested by everything that Xiahou Dun has thrown at him. Skylos makes the joke that Nohime will probably be next in line. She then comments that if he does attack her next, that she is throwing Skylos in the way. Skylos declares that a good guy wouldn't hurt a neutral guy. Nohime then notes that she is perfectly neutral. Ramnaru is taken out but Mumiyoshi still is far from done. Lucky for everyone, the samurai are forced to retreat. Mitsuhide lays on the ground for a bit, glad that Mumiyoshi saved him.

With the fight finished, Mumiyoshi comes over to Skylos and Nohime. He asks Skylos to help with Ranmaru and Mitsuhide since both are out for the count. Skylos says that he'll heal them if he wants, but presently can't. Mumiyoshi takes the restraints off of Skylos' Power and he begins to heal Mitsuhide. Mitsuhide feels that he has lost face from losing, and quickly moves away so that Ranmaru can be healed.

The losing party then finds Omni and Neon and they begin to chat. Omni heals them secretly since they seem pretty worn out.

Ponic is grabbed from his battle with the Mumiyoshi clone by Hanzo. Hanzo shows Ponic the city where he used to live and reveals that he used to be a Shadow Warrior. Ponic calls him a traitor and is angered. Hanzo asks Ponic to combine his core with his own and to open it. Ponic refuses and attacks him. They exchange blows but Hanzo continues to be creepy. Ponic is unnerved when Hanzo mentions that Ponic is more like Hanzo than Izerion was. Hanzo then gives Ponic and ultimatum. If he does return to this spot with his core unlocked, he will kill Keera like he did Ponic's brother, Markov. [Editor's note: He was killed by Gycor, last I checked.] Ponic has no choice but to agree to this, despite Keera telling Ponic that she's not worth it. Ponic then puts his core on stand-by.

Omni and Neon wander down to the temple and confront Mumiyoshi. [Editor's note: Actually, I think they somehow got shifted here. Must be that freak weather again.] Mumiyoshi claims that he has much to talk about to Omni. Neon and Omni have a quick argument about Omni helping them and Skylos finally exits the temple. Mumiyoshi asks where they stand, and Omni, annoyed, replies that they are enemies because of what Mumiyoshi is planning to do with all of Reality.

Mumiyoshi asks his catch phrase again, and Omni declares that he'll beat his head in the next time he sees him because he has things to do before he challenges Mumiyoshi. Skylos is annoyed that Mumiyoshi is being let go, but there's nothing that he can do about it. Neon steps forward, also annoyed and states outright that Omni should defeat him while he is right in front of them. Neon tells Mumiyoshi off for hurting his friends but Mumiyoshi only states that they were in his way. Omni cuts in and states that he'll do more than bash Mumiyoshi's face in if he even so much as cuts neon's hair. [Editor's note: Serious Omni is serious.] Neon notices Skylos and he shows himself to them. He states that he's fine. Mumiyoshi decides it's time to depart and that they'll meet on the battlefield the next time they meet.

Neon is quite grumpy because Omni let Mumiyoshi go, but Omni states that he would do better to have the entire group against him. He also has something for Skylos and Neon that he didn't want Mumiyoshi to see. Omni produces two ring boxes, one black and one white, from his robe. He passes them to Neon and Skylos. Neon asks what the catch is, expecting that Omni is up to something as usual. Omni states that the only catch is they have to use what's in the boxes. Skylos finds a solid white ring in the ringbox and puts it on. Neon does likewise and Omni explains that the ring will power them up as they wear it. Surprisingly, Neon thanks Omni, but he still feels that there's a catch. Omni then states he has somewhere important to be and leaves them.

Omni appears beside Ponic and decides that it's time to go after Hanzo, even though Ponic said it would be foolish to do so. Because Ponic immediately agrees, Omni is shocked and then decides to give Ponic a ring as well. It's a black and white ring and Omni explicitly states that the black half needs to be facing his wrist. Ponic accepts but is a bit hesitant because he plans to unlock his core as well and he feels that the power boost from the ring and his unlocked core might be too much to handle. He thinks it over and decides that he may need it. With that out of the way, Omni shares that he wants Hanzo's core.

Ponic misunderstands his intentions and states that combining his core with his own would blow up Reality! Omni states that he doesn't want to use it on himself, but has another use that he doesn't want to reveal. Ponic states that he'll only reveal how to take it if Omni tells him what he's going to use it for. Omni doesn't want to, but he makes Ponic swear he will tell no one. Omni then reveals that his wife and child have been kidnapped by a higher entity and that he needs Hanzo's core in order to save them. Ponic keeps a straight face and agrees to help him get the core.

Elios has Macellare train a bit with Musashi. She doesn't seem exactly thrilled at the prospect but agrees to it after a bit of badgering from Elios. Musashi gives Macellare a katana, which is something she has no idea how to even use. She wonders if she's even holding it right, but Musashi assures her that she is.

Omni and Ponic begin to train together for a bit since Ponic is a Shadow Wielder and can help Omni a tad bit with formulating a strategy against Hanzo. Ponic tests him a bit with some basic attacks, and Omni passes with flying colors, using only Light and Darkness to ward off and avoid the attacks. They begin to have a realistic battle. During the fight, Ponic mentions that he's going to unlock his core. Omni shows concern but states that Ponic must know what he's doing. The training continues for a while and Omni even steps up his Light and Darkness to Blue and Crimson and eventually to Prism and Violet. Omni also states that he cannot use more than 75% of his Power without going insane. He also notes that any over 70% is pretty bad as well and hopes that he doesn't have to use that much. After a bit, they decide to part ways for now.

Back with the fourth cousins, Skylos and Neon wonder a bit about Omni. Neon notes that he can't tell what he's thinking, which surprises Skylos because he thought that Neon could read everyone's mind. Neon states that Omni's mind is not like a book that he could read anytime - it contains things that he cannot begin to understand. Skylos offers that he might be thinking in Greek. Neon doesn't know, but he does think that Omni might be covering up his true intentions by pretending to be nice to them. Skylos thinks that it's possible that he's really a nice guy, but the two are in doubt. Skylos notes that he did give them the rings so that they should train to make them stronger.

Neon agrees and challenges Skylos to fight him. Skylos is surprised by this sudden challenge and takes the first move as per Neon's request. Skylos opens with a Light Beam and Neon easily deflects it. Neon showcases his ability to make a snake out of Darkness that even had its own kind of Dark venom. Skylos's Light Shards are used over his entire body to counteract the venom and Neon is able to ward off all of the shards by creating another layer of skin from his Darkness. Skylos infuses himself with Light and takes on the appearance of a dog. He slashes at Neon with Light Claws. The form isn't very helpful as Skylos can barely cut through Neon's chains, so Skylos creates a two-handed sword from Light and runs at Neon. This doesn't go well and Skylos falls over backwards from the weight of it. Omni arrives nearby around this time and begins to watch them.

Mitsuhide, Nohime, and Ranmaru catch up to Mumiyoshi. Mumiyoshi is quite impatient but has waited for them anyways. He states that it's time to summon Orochi. They climb to the top of a mountain and Mumiyoshi begins the intricate steps to summoning Orochi. [Editor's note: He dances and chants quietly.]

Rem, Zach, Flare, and Halo decide that it's time that they move on and they flee from the battle of the clones. Rem and Halo portal off together while Zach and Flare make for the hills. Halo hopes that they can find Neon and Skylos soon since they probably have found the real Mumiyoshi by now. Rem doesn't say much. [Editor's note: I think everyone got bored of waiting.]

Zach and Flare find Chuck, of all people. Zach is quite annoyed that Chuck has followed them to Japan. Flare seems to enjoy Zach's annoyance. Chuck congratulates Zach because his card has finished. He now has a card with a shield on it. Chuck notes that it's "tolerance". Zach thanks him and tries to get him to leave, all in the same breath. Chuck isn't having it and instead he tells Zach that he gave Mumiyoshi, Rem, and Tom a card as well. He also let's slip that Tom is his third cousin, but Zach doesn't seem to catch the comparison. Chuck heals Flare but Zach refuses healing, despite Chuck and Flare trying to convince him. Zach vehemently tells Chuck that he doesn't need healing, but Chuck responds that he doesn't WANT it. Zach then manages to make Chuck lose his cool and attack him with a poison fog card. Zach only escapes once Flare flies Zach off.

Macellare's training with Musashi continues. She doubts that she could cut through the tree that Musashi has instructed her to cut through. After a few failed attempts and then some nice advice from Musashi, she is able to slice cleanly through it. The tree then falls on Musashi, leaving Macellare to apologize profusely. Macellare then gets angry when Musashi makes light of her apologies and Musashi challenges her to fight him. Macellare refuses. The two then lecture one another before getting back to the lesson. After a bit, Musashi decides that they should fly to Japan. He calls Chito, which overwhelms Macellare a tad, and they fly off to Japan.

Cristal arrives back in town but finds that the World Savers are not around. Although she can't find them, she is happy that she has trained herself to be even stronger than she was before. Rappa H is also still hanging around Japan, but he doesn't know that the group has returned to fight a new foe.

Keera is alone now that Hanzo has stopped torturing her for a bit. She takes the time to look around her surroundings and she finds Markov's dead body in the corner of the room. She remembers how they were four years ago, happy. [Editor's note: I'm guessing this is a rare ret-con by Dan.] Hanzo then reappears and notes that Keera is admiring his trophies. Keera is disgusted by all of the dead Shadow Wielder bodies around her and states that Hanzo is sick. Hanzo claims that she just doesn't understand how things are supposed to be with Shadow Wielders. Keera then asks why he works for Mumiyoshi when he could just kill him. Surprisingly, Hanzo notes that he isn't strong enough to...yet.

Ponic finds Rem again and they find that Rem is hearing voices in his head. The voice in Rem's head then reveals itself to be Izerion! He claims that he has found a way to mimic Ponic and that he'll be back soon! Rem tries to get Ponic to listen in, but a shadow emerges from Rem at that moment and goes off somewhere.

Skylos and Neon continue to train with them smashing in to one another with Light and Darkness. Neon beats him up pretty good and lands and extremely painful attack on him that Skylos can only soak up a little bit with his Aura. After Skylos recovers, he asks neon if he wants to give chase to Mumiyoshi since he has now left the area. Neon realizes that Skylos had been holding back and notes that he didn't have to. What Neon did not know was Skylos had been holding back, but because he had not long ago killed Neon. Skylos does not mention this.

Skylos then comments that the new moon is soon, so he will be counting on Neon to help him through his Death Human day. Neon states that they could use it to their advantage, and Skylos kind of agrees since he could easily forget his morals and kill Mumiyoshi on that day. Skylos then gets a splitting headache. Neon asks him if he's ok, and Skylos responds that it's been a reoccurring thing. He hasn't told anyone because he didn't want anyone to worry about him. He just recalls that the first time it happened was shortly after Mire left his body. Neon states that he doesn't want to hear Mire's name. They set off to find Mumiyoshi, but they know that he has a bit of a lead on them now. Skylos also explains Oroken and Orochi to Neon the best he can, but he really doesn't know that much more than Neon.

Ponic decides that he needs a little help with his Shadow attacks now that his core is unlocked. He asks Rem for him to help him, and he agrees. Things don't go so well and Ponic's attack explodes. Halo asks Ponic if unlocking his core will help him beat Hanzo. Ponic is then forced to reveal that Keera was taken by Hanzo, so he has to. Ponic tries to figure out what the next course of action should be but Rem states he doesn't know because he had just been dropped here by Hanzo. Rem notes that Halo might know more since she has been in Japan longer, but he will not look at her. Ponic picks up the bad vibes and speaks to Rem privately in a shadow. he tries to make Rem feel better, but he is largely unsuccessful as Rem is unwilling to heed anyone's advice and it enrages him whenever someone seems to think they know how Rem is feeling. Ponic then gets through to him a little bit and Rem is silenced, not having a response. Ponic then leaves them for a bit because he needs to return to the Shadow Realm to train for a bit.

Back with Mumiyoshi, the ritual is continuing. Altair is stalking in the shadows, but once he is about to strike Mumiyoshi, Mitsuhide and Ranmaru catch him. Mitsuhide is shot at, and Ranmaru is slashed, but Hanzo then appears, freaking out Altair in the process. Skylos and Neon are closing in on the location and sense Hanzo, although they are not aware that it is Hanzo at first. Once Skylos recognizes it's Hanzo, they make a break for it to get to Mumiyoshi.

Seth and Eric finally figure out where they're supposed to be. [Editor's note: What did we learn class? Yisha is the worst person to have pass important information along to others!] Eric tells Seth to pack. Once they're all packed, they leave through a portal to go to Japan. Seth recognizes it as Japan...again.

Neon tries to get Skylos to think clearly because fighting in anger is not a good idea. Skylos gets mad at Neon and says his head is clear. Neon states that they should split up and have one take Mumiyoshi and one take Hanzo. Skylos states he'll go after Mumiyoshi. Hanzo then possesses Mitsuhide's armor and causes him to become super strong. Skylos notices this and tells neon that he should probably fight Mitsuhide instead since Hanzo is distracted by Altair.

Malignant is annoyed because Skylos keeps moving around too much. He happens on Zach, in poor condition from the poison, and Flare, not doing well himself. Malignant and Flare get acquainted. Flares asks if Malignant has any antidotes, but Malignant says he has none. Flare tells him that Zach was poisoned. Malignant knows who Zach is and decides to heal him. He uses his Void to clear out the toxins in Zach's lungs. Flare is amazed by Malignant's technique, but Malignant states that 33% die from it. Flare jerks at learning this and Malignant explains that he probably wouldn't have let him try it if he had told him that sooner. Zach is healed of the toxins, but his recovery is his own problem. Malignant asks why Flare is with Zach, and Flare simply states that he goes wherever Zach does. [Editor's note: Aww.] Malignant wonders if Flare is his guardian, and Flare says that he kind of is. Malignant says he is looking for Skylos because he is his guardian. They decide to travel together after some more conversation.

Mumiyoshi then completes the ritual, thus summoning Orochi successfully. Its head was at least 10 meters wide and several times as many long. The scales were a deep violet color, and they rippled and swirled as if moved by a silent storm. The head had two, slit-like nostrils, a wide, smooth gash of a mouth, which was now shut, and two, gleaming, yellow snake eyes. The ovular pupils, rather than black, were a deep crimson, the color of blood, and the eyes had no whites. [Editor's note: C+P] Mumiyoshi then commands Orochi to destroy the city of Kobe to demonstrate its power.

Skylos is infuriated by Mumiyoshi's lack of care for the rest of humankind. He stands next to Mumiyoshi, unable to convince him otherwise of destroying Kobe. Mumiyoshi claims that the human race can lose 1 million or 2 million because everyone is expendable. Skylos disagrees and states that they are still human beings too. Mumiyoshi thinks that it doesn't feel that way sometimes. Skylos notes that Mumiyoshi must truly be a demon, a sentiment on which Mumiyoshi agrees.

Flare and Malignant find Rem and Halo. Flare swoops down and grabs Rem and Malignant comments that Halo will probably sprout some wings eventually. Rem gets a potion for Zach once Rem learns of his current condition. They land so that everyone can get reoriented for a bit.

Skylos states that he will have to fight Mumiyoshi soon. Mumiyoshi notes that he doesn't HAVE to do anything; it is his choice entirely. He tries to entice Skylos to join him since it will be easier for him to live if he does, as well as his family. Skylos admits that he doesn't function well in the group, but isn't enticed by riches or more Power, and that his family can take care of themselves. he says that joining him is out of the question... for now. Skylos gives a brief speech on how he won't fail even if he is fighting alone against Mumiyoshi. He also states that he'll fight with his group no matter what, because that is what a friend does. Mumiyoshi thinks he is a fool, but also notes that he should follow him so that he can watch the show. They arrive in Kobe by use of a portal made by Mumiyoshi.

Back with Neon and Altair, the battles are still going on. Hanzo seems to be at a disadvantage when Altair uses a Void knife, but Hanzo then surprises everyone by using Void himself! Mitsuhide fights with Neon. Mitsuhide uses the Power boost from Hanzo to use abilities that he normally could not use. Mitsuhide goes a bit Power-mad and tries to destroy Neon with his poisonous Shadow infused Water.

Alice then uses a sock that she stole from Neon (and apparently everyone else) to find the group. [Editor's note: Name change: Colette to Mizuhana.] Some other creepy stalker-ish things occur...and we're moving on! Alice contacts Ponic and learns from him that Keera has been kidnapped. She is so moved by this that she offers to help in any way she can, no matter how minor an impact it makes.

Orochi starts its rampage on Kobe. Ponic is in the crowd and attempts to take on Orochi by himself. His plan is to distract it long enough for people to make it to safety. Rather than stop, Orochi has several smaller heads attack Ponic. Skylos recognizes that Ponic is fighting alone, but he finds this to be suicidal and doesn't lend a hand. Mumiyoshi is surprised that Ponic is alive once more and wonders if he needs to step in. Skylos tries to dissuade him, stating that Ponic isn't worth it. They decide to go meet Ponic since Orochi has now tunneled underground, causing an earthquake that was devastating the city. Skylos manages to get Ponic to leave by speaking in code to him, lest Mumiyoshi personally have Orochi kill him. Ponic leaves, and wishes Skylos good luck.

Altar sees that he's now in a losing battle, so he decides to retreat. Hanzo isn't having this and still tries to kill him as he retreats. Altair uses his last resort, which causes a blinding light that manages to dispel all the shadows around him. He then manages to escape. On Mitsuhide's end, he thinks that he has killed Neon, but suddenly, it appears like blood is pouring out of Mitsuhide! Neon states that he has made a new type of Mind Trauma. Mirrors with Mitsuhide are around him, with each one preparing a unique attack. Mitsuhide tries to destroy one of them with his katana, but it ends up impaling him. Mitsuhide is then electrocuted by Neon's final attack, thus defeating him.

Musashi FINALLY arrives in Japan and declares that he will defeat Mumiyoshi. Kenshin doesn't seem so sure about that, but points Musashi in the direction of Kobe. Musashi arrives and annoys Mumiyoshi for a bit before a fight commences.

Malignant and co arrive at Kobe and see Orochi looming over the city. They are shocked by the size of the snake and horrified at the destruction it has already caused. Zach happens to wake up as everyone is shocked and wakes everyone up with his late shout of shock. After learning about what happened since he passed out, he thanks Malignant for healing him.

Skylos watches the fight with Hanzo close by. He decides to make conversation with him, even though he is unnerved by Hanzo's presence. Hanzo wonders if Skylos is an enemy of his master. Skylos notes to him that being a friend to an enemy shows respect and trust. He wonders if it could lead to friendship. Hanzo is reminded of a Shadow Wielder that said the same thing...before he killed him. He then asks why Skylos is trying to take death's hand. Skylos states that he isn't afraid of death because he has delved in it quite a bit. Hanzo infects Skylos with Apai because he is trying to figure out how it works. Skylos is annoyed and can't seem to heal it but only slow it down. Hanzo then addresses him as Skylos, thus annoying him, and says that he has no use for him. Skylos mentions that Hanzo shouldn't harm someone that holds Mumiyoshi's interests. This quiets Hanzo and he leaves.

Mitsuhide revives himself with a water orb he made earlier, then wonders why Neon is still around since Neon defeated him. Neon mentions the poison and Mitsuhide begrudgingly heals him. He also explains to Neon, without being asked to, that if his master says to kill someone then he does just that. A voice tells Mitsuhide to stop helping Neon and to kill him. Mitsuhide shrugs it off and the shadow armor vanishes. Neon thanks Mitsuhide for healing his poison.

Malignant and co finally find Skylos. Skylos is confused at Malignant's appearance. Skylos then greets Flare as the mysterious-aura-that-didn't-belong-to-Zach. Skylos then takes Rem aside to see if he can heal the Apai infection that he has. Rem offers him the yellow potion and tells Skylos that extreme cold or hot temperatures will kill it off. Skylos sticks to using a Light cast.

Zach, Flare, and Malignant are left to formulating a plan against Orochi. The problem is, they need more of the group to get here so that they can last against it. Malignant offers that everyone will end up here eventually. Flare wonders what happened to all those samurai they saw before. [Editor's note: Good question...] Skylos and Rem rejoin at this point and Malignant hugs Skylos, putting him into some more confusion. Rem decides to use his stone to try and call the others. Skylos slips away for a bit to watch Mumiyoshi and Musashi's fight. Ponic appears magically from above and Rem manages to get a hold of Eric and Seth. Omni then appears once he's mentioned by Zach, thus humoring Zach.

Omni offers some suggestions for dealing with Orochi, but they all seem too difficult to actually do. Rem gets mad once everyone seems to think that he's too scared to call Halo. Omni notes that Skylos hasn't tried to harm Mumiyoshi yet and Flare wonders if Skylos has defected. Omni then reveals that Skylos has been trying to get on Mumiyoshi's good side so that he can try to get Mumiyoshi to stop his plan. Neon then rejoins everyone, having left Mitsuhide behind with the advice of lying to Mumiyoshi about Neon's death.

Musashi and Mumiyoshi continue their fight. After a bit, Musashi notes that he expected more from Mumiyoshi. Mumiyoshi states the same, but from him. They agree to fight all-out and Musashi shows off by having his Aura flare a bit. Mumiyoshi isn't impressed and simply starts attacking.

The group, minus Skylos, then meets on what to do about Skylos. Omni states that he's trying to find a peaceful solution to the problem at hand. The others think that this sounds like him, but that it doesn't seem possible in this instance. Omni gets slightly annoyed and then asks them what exactly they plan to do to Skylos if he had defected. The group gets confused and isn't sure because the prospect has never come up before now.

Zach then mentions that he thinks Skylos has been acting strange the past few months. Neon offers that Skylos has been complaining about headaches lately and rushed off to fight Hanzo earlier. Omni then suggests that he could be possessed. There is such thing as a Blend possession where two personalities are active at once. It causes headaches because of the conflicting personalities. Zach then agrees that this would explain a few things. Omni suggests to have someone go into his mind to get rid of the foreign presence. Everyone agrees that this might have to happen.

Ponic excuses himself because he feels his core becoming unstable. Hanzo then attacks him! Hanzo beats him around for a bit and finally gets Ponic to snap by mentioning ripping out Markov's and Keera's cores slowly. The explosion of Power from Ponic is massive, and Hanzo leaves.

Musashi and Mumiyoshi's fight continues for only a few more turns before it comes to an end with Musashi being the winner. Mumiyoshi asks Musashi if he's going to finish the job. Musashi replies that he cannot, because Mumiyoshi is the only one that can control Orochi and he doesn't want to end up getting his friends killed. With that, he leaves the battlefield on Chito.

Skylos rejoins Mumiyoshi and gives him his condolences for his loss. Mumiyoshi states that there is no loss until the final loss. He also comments on the group finally arriving. Mumiyoshi begins to plan on what to do next since Omni is nearby. Mumiyoshi and Skylos then chat about Omni for a bit before Mumiyoshi realizes that Omni is quite like him. Skylos then gives Mumiyoshi the idea to question Zach about Omni's motives. Mumiyoshi has Zach kidnapped by Hanzo for questioning. The others wonder if Skylos is behind this.

Zach is stuck in a shadow and Hanzo beats him a bit. Skylos and Mumiyoshi appear soon enough. Zach asks why Skylos is there and he responds that the enemies are breathing down his neck. Zach isn't having it because Skylos is using honorifics for Hanzo's name. Skylos then admits that there are things he wants answers to that only Zach can provide. Zach yells at Skylos and gets his swords out once Hanzo says he'll make Zach answer. Skylos backs up and states that he's not helping.

Masamune [Editor's note: Yes, he's alive.] has been walking for days it seems. He then runs into Mitsuhide who is gently manipulating a lake nearby and they manage to get wrapped up into a fight when he learns which side Mitsuhide is on. Mitsuhide is pained when he finds out that it's another lost fight. Masamune states that they could come to a compromise; he asks him why he shouldn't kill him to weak Mumiyoshi. Mitsuhide notes that killing him would not weaken Mumiyoshi because he already summoned Orochi. Masamune's jaw drops because he did not know this. Mitsuhide then comments that he's taking everything in, since unless someone can beat it...well. Mitsuhide eventually comes around and decides to switch to Masamune's side, because he doesn't want what this Mumiyoshi wants.

Zach decides to stall a bit by asking what it is that Skylos and Mumiyoshi want to know. They ask about Omni, but Zach states that he's not at liberty to discuss him. Skylos notes that he has controlled Zach's mind before and can do it again. Mumiyoshi also works on Zach's mind. Zach then notes that Skylos is showing his true colors and that he's possessed. Skylos seems shocked, but then his eyes turn green! His countenance changes a bit and claims that since he knows, he doesn't need to hide it. Mumiyoshi is surprised that Skylos is under the influence of something. Zach reveals that Omni had once taken over a universe and lived in Prime. He also wants a Sol Demon orb. Skylos wonders why. Zach also mentions that Omni had a daughter, which somewhat distresses Skylos because he had no idea. Mumiyoshi is satisfied and makes Zach fall asleep and not remember the questioning.

Halo is alone and can't seem to find everyone else. Naga happens to find her and they decide to team up and try to find everyone since he can't find his own companion. Naga suggests they head east. [Editor's note: EAST!]

With Mitsuhide now in Masamune's company, he asks him about the current events. Mitsuhide tells him of Kobe's unfortunate demise and that he had fought a few people. After a bit of traveling, they arrive to Kobe and find it in ruins. Masamune senses a large group to the east and they decide to head that way since Mumiyoshi probably would have his forces masked. Mitsuhide also offers that even if it is him, they have the element of surprise because Mumiyoshi doesn't know that he has decided to change sides. They run into Hanzo and Mitsuhide tries to fool him into believing that they are still on the same side. This does not go over well, but Mitsuhide complements Hanzo for humoring them.

The group is having issues getting Omni to commit to helping them take out Orochi. Omni states that it would still take quite a bit of his energy to match Orochi, and then even more to best it. He also states that at that point he'd become more of a problem than Orochi. Neon claims that they could just go elsewhere to not be caught up in Omni's onslaught. Omni states that they'd have to get even further away than they are now. Neon thinks that Omni is too cocky, but Omni states that there is a reason for that. Neon assures Omni that he could never kill him, but Omni states that it's usually frowned upon to kill one's own family. Neon, quite sure of himself, says that he knows that Omni is just trying to use him. Omni simply notes that Neon is cold and that he could never disguise his feelings for him. Neon does not refute this but looks away. Omni claims that he will do anything that will cause Neon to die. Even so, Neon can't help but feel like a puppet. Omni then finishes by saying that he will tell Neon some things after all is said and done, and that his word is like crystal. Neon seems to think it's as clear as black. [Editor's note: Ouch.]

Elios then leaves the cabin, assuring Macellare that he will never practice quantum magic around her again since they were time locked for who knows how long. Macellare is glad because it made her all dizzy. They decide that they'll make a portal to Japan once their heads are not hurting anymore.

Back with Masamune and Mitsuhide, they are teaming up to try and beat Hanzo. Unfortunately, because of their typing, it's not going well when they try to help one another out. The fight turns somewhat comical as they're running away from a Black Slime creature that isn't affected by Mitsuhide's Water.

Rem is impatiently waiting for Eric and Seth to arrive. Unknown to him, those two are currently racing one another. Omni decides to humor Rem for a bit. He also suggests that they have a training session soon.

Mumiyoshi decides that to dispose of Zach, he's going to take his spirit and hide it in the Nether Dimension. Because of this, Zach's body will be just a mindless shell until his spirit is reunited. Skylos, still green-eyed, notes that Omni would probably blow a fuse if he did that, but Mumiyoshi does it anyway. He instructs Zach's body to pretend that he is still Zach and to attack the others if figured out. He also tells him to not mention that Skylos is possessed. Mumiyoshi puts Zach back near Kobe and Skylos goes with Mumiyoshi to the Nether Dimension. He states that Caleb's Light is messing with his tolerance. Mumiyoshi then makes a point to learn who he really is. Skylos states that the information is unimportant right now and that all he needs to know is that his body is still regenerating.

Omni, after leaving Neon for a bit, decides to talk to him again. Omni wonders what is on Neon's mind, but Neon tries to shrug him off. Omni then agrees to answer a question of Neon's. Neon takes up the offer and asks him what he is currently planning. Omni sighs and tells him that he is trying to devise a way to break into a locked universe. Neon decides to to be acerbic and states that Omni must not want to stop at conquering one universe. Omni ignores him and tells him about Universe Locks and how only the ruler of a universe could make one. Neon wonders what Omni's interest is in a locked universe, and Omni explains to him a basic version of the Legend of the Dimension Stones. Basically, there are eight stones of great power that can be used to increase one's power exponentially. Neon asks what it has to do with them, and Omni replies that he could use their help to get into the locked dimension because one of them could be there. Neon can't agree to help because he isn't assured that it won't come back to hurt him later.

Mumiyoshi puts Zach's spirit into a convincing replica of the cabin that has clones of the group members. Skylos is having trouble with the headaches here, so Mumiyoshi decides to attack his mind. Skylos is able to fight back with mind barriers but after awhile, Skylos gets annoyed and tells Mumiyoshi to cut it out. Mumiyoshi still wants to know who he is. Skylos then reveals that he is a creature known as a True Demon. He claims that the Sol Demon's demons are fake and that there are only ten real ones. They are the reset buttons of Reality when taken to the key. They are all cores because a certain Pantech sealed them away. [Editor's note: That would be Omni.] He cannot reveal his name because it is his life. Mumiyoshi thanks him for the information and finds it to be quite enlightening. He asks what the key is, and Skylos tells him it's a person that changes when they die. Skylos also tells him that when Reality is reset, everything is wiped clean, except for people that they have personally saved. They leave Zach's spirit to its illusion and emerge back in Kobe.

Skylos's eyes return to being yellow, but his state of mind doesn't seem to change much except for him voicing concern for Neon possibly getting caught up in Mumiyoshi's plan. He plans to have Orochi destroy everyone; however, he also plans to raise his army once more to take on Omni since he expects that Omni will be overwhelmed. Mumiyoshi claims that the army used to be human, but they have lost it in Hell.

Omni senses Orochi en route and states that he'll kill it. Orochi hears this claim and tells him to prove that he can. Omni and Orochi then fight. Neon senses the army has been raised and is on standby. Rem, alerted by Neon, then gets ready for the worst. Ponic warns Omni of Orochi's tricks before Ponic has to deal with the army from Hell. They are serpentine in appearance, making them quite odd, but very strong.

Tom arrives on the scene and challenges Mumiyoshi by attacking immediately. Mumiyoshi is annoyed at all of the meddling Pantechs being around. Tom wonders why Skylos is socializing with the enemy and Skylos notes that he's fairly interesting to talk to, bad guy alignment aside. Mumiyoshi states that he'll get rid of Tom first, which annoys Skylos since he is a Pantech too. The fighting continues on with both members exchanging small talk in the process.

(Post's capacity filled, continue to next...)

[Skylos]

Elios and Macellare finally decide it's time to head to Japan. Macellare yawns a bit and then Elios delays once again to make sure that she's not tired. Macellare explains it's a yawn that happens when one has had too much rest. Elios and Macellare laugh a bit before Elios mentions dodging bullets. Macellare flails a bit because she's not that fast, but Elios opens a portal and they finally go to Japan. [Editor's note: FINALLY.]

After a few more rounds in all battles, Mumiyoshi withdraws as he has bigger fish to fry. Omni is a bit annoyed that he had only gotten up to twenty percent of his Power, but he is glad that he doesn't have to fight for now. A few moments later, Mumiyoshi then calls for his army to charge on the group. Eric let's Halo know where they are just as Naga senses Orochi. Tom tries to follow Mumiyoshi but Mumiyoshi sics Lu Bu on him.

[Editor's note: There's a lot of fighting on all fronts at this point and I really can't include all of it because it would simply take up a lot of time and space. If you really want to read through it all, I suggest reading the posts for this section. We're around post #44,900 at this point. The basic gist is that the other samurai have come to lend a hand, finally.]

The other samurai join the battle to help the group, but they decide that it's better to flee to fight another day. Skylos joins with Neon and convinces him that the samurai are right and that they should go. Once Neon and Skylos are alone, Neon addresses Skylos as Skylos for the first time. [Editor's note: Remember that everyone still calls him Caleb at this point.] Skylos turns around and almost demands what Neon wants to know. Neon notes that Skylos isn't himself and that he knows something bout Zach's disappearance.

Skylos denies knowledge and also berates Neon for looking into his mind without permission. Neon ignores him and finds that there is in fact something else in Skylos's mind. Neon asks Skylos to let him search his mind but Skylos refuses and states that Neon is the one acting strange. Neon then forcefully wraps Skylos up in chains and makes contact with Skylos's head. Inside Skylos's mind, Neon tries to track the being that doesn't belong. It speaks to him and tells Neon that he was transferred to Skylos by mistake, but it cannot leave because it is regenerating. Neon eventually finds the presence is a a demon core of sorts, except that it has six holes in it spaced so that if you looked into one hole you'd see out another one. There are also black shards embedded into it.

The voice states that it's been regenerating here for a year but it is slow and its been stunted by something. It thinks that the death crystal shards that Skylos took in from Tom might have done it. It doesn't seem to noticed that it is covered in black shards.

Elios and Macellare see the aftermath of what used to be Kobe. They also see the army and Elios is at a loss of words. Macellare is discomforted by what is in front of them, but Elios assures her that they aren't going to fight them, namely because it would put both of them in grave danger. Elios suggests they find Omni, but Elios admits that it's easier said than done.

Halo and Naga manage to find the rest of the group thanks to the stone on Halo's necklace. [Editor's note: They headed in "that" direction.]

Elios manages to find Omni after a bit of searching and asks him what the next course of action should be. Omni is a bit grumpy by having to work with Elios after he brings up that his gods had commanded him to help. He notes that things usually happen the way they're supposed to. They decide to track Orochi since Elios still can't sense Mumiyoshi.

Back with Neon, he asks what the demon tends to do once he regenerates. The demon states that he'll live out his life, just like anyone would do. Neon also inquires what will happen to Skylos. The demon merely notes that he's not hurting him now so the only thing that will change is his personality. Neon states that the reason he is here is because the demon is possessing him, and that he wants to remove him - with or without force. The demon becomes annoyed because he has already told Neon that he is not leaving until he is healed. He then tells Neon to either figure out why he can't regenerate or to get lost. Neon finally realizes that the shards sticking out of the core are not meant to be there. He overloads them with Darkness, and they shatter. A blackish-green aura then appears around the core, and he wonders what exactly Neon just did. Neon explains the shards, then the demon agrees to leave.

Elios and Omni materialize next to Mumiyoshi. Mumiyoshi mocks them a bit, but Omni tells him to cut out the irrelevant talk so that they can get down to business. Mumiyoshi agrees and then states that he can have Zach killed at any time. Omni doesn't even bat an eyelid and inquires if Mumiyoshi has gone deaf with his age. Mumiyoshi calls Omni's bluff, but Omni states that he's killing him either way. Mumiyoshi then asks Omni why he has waited so long to kill him. Omni states that life is a precious thing for every person, but even now he has to kill Mumiyoshi. Omni then compares the situation to Mumiyoshi being a kid and not wanting to go to bed. [Editor's note: The funny thing is, Mumiyoshi even contributed to the comparison!] Mumiyoshi then dares Omni to kill him.

Neon awakens back to his actual body and finds that the core has left Skylos and morphed into a humanoid shape, rather than one that looks demonic. The demon thanks Neon and tells Neon not to tell Skylos what happened since he should already be aware. Neon then asks for the demon's name. The demon stresses to Neon that he should never EVER tell anyone his name. They shake on it, but the demon has secretly bound Neon to his word. He states that his name is Borboros and that he should only say it when they are alone. Neon agrees to this. Borboros leaves, so Neon decides to check on Skylos.

Omni and Mumiyoshi begin to fight. Omni manages to sever Mumiyoshi's head, but it then proves to be a ruse made by Orochi. Omni and Elios fly off to prevent being sucked in to the serpent. Elios then betrays Omni for reasons unknown and disables him. Elios and Omni are sucked into a dimensional gate into Orochi's body.

Skylos wakes up after Neon shakes him a bit. [Editor's note: He hates suspense!] Most notably, Skylos's eyes have turned back to their normal brown, which they haven't been since before Skylos became a Light Human. Neon is just glad that Skylos safe, but he is annoyed that Borboros was using him as a shield. Skylos notes that he was just trying to live, so he has no qualms with the demon. Skylos then notes that he can now freely tell Neon what Mumiyoshi is planning. He reveals that Zach is trapped in the Nether Dimension and that since it's made up of mostly Darkness, he figures that Neon might be their only hope to save him! Neon seems doubtful because he doesn't even know how to access the realm. Skylos deflates slightly and thought that he could find it since it was made up of a lot of Darkness.

Rem joins them and asks what they're up to. Skylos fills Rem in on Zach's current condition. Rem is aware of Skylos's eyes and personality shift, but decides against saying anything. Neon then asks for the other bad news. Skylos notes that Mumiyoshi is looking to conquer every Universe. Skylos also states that Mumiyoshi is worried about Omni's interference, though. Neon suggests that Skylos try to pretend that he's still on Mumiyoshi's side in an attempt to trick him. Skylos reveals that he can't fake his Aura. In reality, Skylos can't actually use Prism, or Blue for that matter, Light. He points to the gem set in his ring, which is white. [Editor's note: Borboros had been powering Skylos up so that he could use Prism Light. He was also using a Light Demon Orb.] Skylos also mentions that Mumiyoshi isn't as strong as he's made out to be. Musashi was able to defeat him, but he was unable to kill him because of the fact that Orochi would have run wild.

Skylos ponders a bit and states that he could lie and say that he changed his Aura so that the others wouldn't be able to track him. Neon and Rem agree, but Rem fears that the plan is too dangerous should Mumiyoshi figure Skylos out. Skylos shakes his head and states that they make dangerous situations everyday. Neon then agrees, but he states that Skylos won't be alone because he has them. Rem then inquires about "Skylos" and Skylos reddens and states that it's his first name, but he goes by his middle name of Caleb. He then thanks them for trusting in him.
Rem asks him what to call him not, and Skylos states that either is fine (although he really meant the opposite).

Neon asks what they should do about Zach. Skylos asks him to try and find the realm. Neon does so and finally hears it. He takes them there. Skylos tells them that Zach is within an illusion of the cabin with illusion people. He also notes that the residence of the realm are not friendly, so they need to be careful. They find the illusion forest and find Zach in the illusion cabin. Skylos tries to get his attention so that they can teleport out.

Within Orochi's dimension, Elios apologizes to a now snared Omni. Omni isn't having it though, and snaps at him for being an idiot and for making stupid comments about 'knowing what he is thinking'. Elios catches his drift and gives Omni a mind barrier as consolation. Mumiyoshi appears and thanks Elios for the help. He then states that he will release his father from his fate. He turns to Omni and wonders what exactly to do with Omni. Omni secretly begins to fill with another Power that isn't Void. Mumiyoshi gets a bit too close to Omni, thinking that he's subdued. Omni grabs his arm and tells him that there's a reason why he doesn't use thirty percent of his Power. Now that he has no Void to use he has to use the other Power. He admonishes Mumiyoshi for assuming that he's only of one Power. Mumiyoshi gets free from Omni and seems shaken. Omni's eyes turn a stone blue along with his Aura. Omni then states that he will take no responsibility for anyone who dies here.

Omni morphs into a Crystal Demon and wonders when his next memory will be. He loses control and starts trashing the dimension. Elios states that Omni has turned into a Crystal Demon and that not much is known about them because they tend to destroy everything in their path. He does note that they are the strongest demon type in Reality. Mumiyoshi has no choice but to remove Omni from the Dimension because he is bring down the place with his Crystal energy. Mumiyoshi successfully teleports him to the Nether Dimension, but Omni let out a powerful explosion just before he leaves as a farewell gift.

Ponic manages to teleport to Omni's shadow, which he had been trying to do along. He sees that Omni is in a crystalline form, and isn't sure what to do. Omni doesn't seem to recognize him, but does recognize that the realm has a lot of nice energy to absorb. Ponic makes note of Omni's eight wings. Ponic wonders how to fix him, but then gets an idea. He offers Omni the ring on his finger and turns it to the Void direction. Omni recognizes it and puts it on. His Void is restored and he is able to snap out of being a Crystal Demon. Omni thanks Ponic and tells him to tell no one of what he just saw. He hands Ponic his ring back. Ponic then tells Omni that it is time to take out Hanzo.

Omni agrees and states that he feels invigorated. Ponic takes them to a deserted city in the Shadow Realm. Ponic states that Hanzo leveled the place about 100 years ago. Omni spots Hanzo's Aura nearby in a building. Hanzo welcomes them and states that he will rip out both of their cores. He knocks Keera out to silence her. Hanzo wonders about Omni's family since he was callous enough to destroy the lives of an entire Terra before. Omni states that it's irrelevant and personal. He gestures for them to take the fight outside.

Back with Skylos, he is glad that they were able to rescue Zach. He figures that since they teleported out, his spirit automatically went back to his body. He wonders if they should train since they will have to face Mumiyoshi soon. Skylos wonders if he should join a mind link with Neon because he is unsure whether Neon truly knows him, but Neon gets annoyed so Skylos backs off and states that normal training will do. Neon asks Skylos to be more sure of himself. Skylos apologizes and they begin to spar with Neon pretending to be Mumiyoshi since he uses Darkness.

[Editor's note: If you'd like to read this fight in its entirety, then head over to post #45235 and read from there. After a bit you'll need to skip to post #45580 to finish it.]

Hanzo decides to play mind games with his prey. He has two hooded figures appear from the shadows. They show themselves to be Markov and Chara, which is Omni's daughter. Ponic and Omni are angered and attack the fake clones so that they can properly fight with Hanzo. Omni and Ponic fight and use all of their tricks that they have learned through the years to defeat Hanzo. Hanzo has many tricks as well and seems to be evenly matched for both of them.

Elios stabilizes Orochi's dimension and then exits with Mumiyoshi. Macellare greets Elios and is annoyed because she was left there and was bored. Mumiyoshi immediately attacks her. Luckily, the attack never hits her. Elios tries to drain Mumiyoshi's Power so that Macellare can escape, but Mumiyoshi immediately beheads him without a second glance. Macellare is astonished and disgusted by Mumiyoshi. Mumiyoshi finds out through her mind that she knows Musashi and thinks that he'll use her against him. Macellare and Mumiyoshi exchange some somewhat amusing banter about how Mumiyoshi can't let Macellare live so that she's rise up later in life to kill him. She struggles against Mumiyoshi's probing of her mind. He states that he will find her deepest fears and put her into a nightmare instead of killing her. He scares her for a bit and then leaves her.

Elios then talks to Macellare in her head. Macellare is surprised because she thought he was dead. Elios explains that he is just a disembodied voice in her head now. Macellare thinks this will take a bit of getting used to. Elios apologizes because usually when he does this it's on a temporary basis. Macellare then inquires as to how he got in her head. Elios explains that he transferred himself to her once he knew that Mumiyoshi was going to kill him. Macellare wonders what they should do now. Elios says it's up to her and that he wouldn't mind if she decided not to go after Mumiyoshi. Macellare admits that she would like to, but that she lacks any strength to do so; Elios had only just started her training. They decide that they should go find the other samurai. Elios teachers her about Auras so that they can find them.

Masamune, having escaped Hanzo earlier, finds himself alone again. He crashes next to Neon, who he is thankful to find. Masamune wonders why Neon is a tad bit hostile towards him, and Neon mentions that last time they met Masamune said he was going to kill him. Masamune states that he doesn't remember drinking... [Editor's note: The confusion here stems from Steve's Japan arc where he used Masamune and he did indeed have Masamune fight Neon. In fact, there's also a bit of confusion with Mumiyoshi here as well since they were working together.]

Neon is asked by Masamune about any plans he might have for orochi. Neon suggests asking Mumiyoshi since he would need to know what to do in the event of him going crazy. Masamune agrees and suggests Neon read Mumiyoshi's mind. Neon states that he hasn't been close to the real Mumiyoshi long enough to attempt that, and that as a Darkness Human Mumiyoshi is sure to have potent mind barriers.

[Editor's note: Attack of the killer Pause Monster! Poor July...]

Back in France, Lareo is rather bored and doesn't know that the group went off somewhere to fight a new villain. Mire is equally bored and decides that he's going to follow Lareo around without being seen. Lareo flies over the ocean before long and Mire flies after him. They fly over the desert where Rem got his Power Gloves and where Rem lost his parents. Before long, they come to some ruins. Lareo comments to himself that they're still a dump after 700 years.

Mire notes that that beats him by 500 years. This causes Lareo to notice him. They exchange pleasantries and then Mire inquires about the place. Lareo explains that it might be a tomb for his old friend, but the place houses a powerful sword that he helped make called the Solar Sword. It is supposed to be adept at killing evil. Mire laughs and states that he should probably stay away from it because he has done some evil things before, but Lareo assures him that he'd be fine. Mire asks about why it was smithed. Lareo notes that it was made as a back-up sword to the original sword that was used to defeat Zalendor. [Editor's note: More on him later...] Mire seems to think that making a back-up sword was very smart.

Lareo then mentions that he's here to check on the sword, but also to check and see if this is, in fact, a grave. Mire wonders if this was a prearranged burial ground, and Lareo states that it is. They both go into human form to fit in the passageways since they were both too big in their demon forms. Mire mistakes Lareo's Sol Demon Orb for a Fire Demon orb when he uses it as a light source. Mire isn't too thrilled about it when corrected because the Sol Demon never shows himself. Lareo is surprised that he isn't shocked by it. Mire simply states that he isn't about to start a fan club over it. They find Mary's grave which saddens Lareo since he really did love her. Mire doesn't know this but tries to look on the bright side. Lareo then takes him to the room with the sword in it.

Back in Japan, Skylos comments that he feels like he's been standing in the same spot for a month. [Editor's note: I bet you can guess why.] Halo greets him after not having seem him in a while. Skylos is introduced to Naga and Halo comments on Skylos's eyes being brown. Skylos takes out a flashlight and uses it to look at his reflection. He claims they're a Pantech brown (although Neon's eyes are blue...). He also states that he had been forced into his Light form for a very long time.

Halo then asks Naga where he is from. Naga replies that it's more of a matter of where and when, because he is really old and comes from a time before this Reality. Halo is a bit confused by this, but it interests Rem slightly. Naga states that he really doesn't like thinking about it too much. He then asks about Skylos and Halo's origins. Skylos states that he is but a simple Frenchman, but also a Light Human. Halo also states that she's from France, but she is a Time and Storm Demon. Naga inquires about Omni, who Skylos has mentioned. Skylos states that he's secretive. Even Halo agrees. Naga doesn't seem to like secrets, but Skylos defends Omni by stating that he must have a good reason.

Halo asks Naga what he does since he's been around for billions of years. Halo gives the example that they fight evil. Naga states that he hunts dragons...and that's it. He claims his race is responsible for them so he must eradicate them since they are a menace to Reality because of their destructive ways. Halo wonders if they can becomes docile since she has her own, and Naga states that it's possible, but unlikely. [Editor's note: Surely you haven't forgotten about Fin?]

Skylos and Halo then make fun of Mumiyoshi a bit after Naga inquires what Mumiyoshi is trying to accomplish. [Editor's note: This becomes quite funny since Ralph rps as Naga and Mumiyoshi] Skylos and Halo find Mumiyoshi's plan unoriginal, but Naga states that people with that mind-set can be reasoned with. It's the people that just live to destroy everything that are the real villains. Halo can't understand why anyone would want to destroy the very world they live in. Skylos notes that conquering a world will leave it pretty much destroyed in most cases anyways. Skylos asks Naga's opinion on destroying an army of undead samurai. Naga regrets that he can't help there because he's only used to fighting a single villain rather than a group. He also rambles a bit about how said villain was locked out of Reality and then foolishly let back in and caused a mess. [Editor's note: He's talking about Osric Pantera. More on him later.] Naga then states that he needs to go find his partner Brimnus, so he departs.

Skylos and Halo then try to figure out how to deal with Mumiyoshi and Orochi. Skylos notes that they need to tear Neon and Masamune away from their conversation and wake up Rem. Rem grumpily notes that just because his eyes are closed and he's not saying anything doesn't make him asleep.

Back with Lareo and Mire, Lareo moves the robot-statue out of the way of the entrance to the chamber with the Solar sword. Mire jokes that he should get one for his cave. They find the sword in good condition and Mire finds it to be extremely bright. Lareo notes that it gives the user quite a bit of Light Power. Mire notes that Skylos would probably love it since his Shadow Blade probably didn't do him much good. Mire also comments that Skylos is more of a "stand back and fire from afar" kind of fighter. [Editor's note: And this is still true as of this update.] Lareo notes that he'll show it to Skylos sometime after they get back from wherever they went.

Neon and Masamune continue planning their strategy to beat Orochi. Neon finally admits that reading Mumiyoshi's mind is the only way. Masamune asks him what needs to be done and Neon replies that he needs to be able to stare into Mumiyoshi's eyes for awhile. Masamune doesn't like the sound of that plan but doesn't really have any alternatives. Skylos and Halo join the conversation at this point and are filled in on the plan. Skylos comments that he could give some basic mind shielding to everyone since if Mumiyoshi reads their minds then the plan won't work at all.

The fight with Hanzo continues with Ponic and Omni getting out of close calls and managing to hurt Hanzo occasionally. Hanzo makes it so that Ponic and Omni see each other as Hanzo and they attack each other for a bit before realizing the ruse. Ponic and Omni then work in sync to fight back Hanzo's onslaught. Hanzo gets annoyed and blows up the entire building with a shadow explosion. Ponic and Omni defend themselves the best they can and Ponic even manages to turn some of the explosion back on Hanzo, but they are blown back. Hanzo notes that they are very strong, but he still has one final trick up his sleeve. Omni gets annoyed when he finds his robe has ripped and claims that it was a gift. Hanzo creates a gigantic shadow warrior around himself and attacks Ponic and Omni in this form. Ponic asks Hanzo what abomination Hanzo has turned himself into. [Editor's note: Not the same Abomination the group will face later.]

Moving back to the group, Halo is ready to get the show on the road. Neon states that his mind is already shielded. Masamune agrees with Skylos but notes that Mumiyoshi will probably figure out their plan anyways, so they're basically working towards accomplishing it until Mumiyoshi realizes the plan too late. Skylos gives Halo and Masamune a mind shield and they decide it's time to depart. Neon suggests they split up so that one group is fighting Orochi and one is fighting Mumiyoshi. Skylos and Halo volunteer to go against Mumiyoshi.

Musashi finally finishes a fight with Lu Bu. Kenshin summons an army of his own samurai so that they can combat Mumiyoshi's army. Musashi then begins to strategize with the rest of the help that they have amassed, although he really just wants to run into battle and fight.

Omni begins to charge up a lot of Void energy. He has the ten-pointed star appear below him in a circle. The circle makes a barrier around Omni in a cylindrical shape. Hanzo attacks Ponic and Omni with everything he has. Omni's barrier shatters, but it manages to absorb the majority of the attack. Omni then unleashes his stored energy, which causes his demon orbs to fly from his necklace and float around him. They all activate at once and fire an elemental blast at Hanzo. Hanzo is blasted into the ground, motionless. Ponic takes this moment to take Hanzo's core from his body and free all the other cores he has taken. Omni collects his demon orbs and then requests the core from Ponic. Ponic wants to smash it, but he hands it to Omni. Omni thanks Ponic for the assistance and leaves him.

Ponic returns to Earth with Keera and is immediately assaulted by Mumiyoshi. He does not take kindly to Hanzo being killed. He wants to take Keera as payment, but Ponic isn't having it. The two fight with Ponic being at a disadvantage because he had just finished battling Hanzo. Mumiyoshi is able to flush Ponic out of his shadows using a mind shock, which puts him at an even greater disadvantage. After using a Mind Trauma on him, Mumiyoshi kills him. [Editor's note: Dan: RAGE!!!] Mumiyoshi then returns to his hiding place.

Musashi begins to fight back hoards of samurai...That's all.

Ponic awakens to find himself in a small room. A man that is completely cloaked in a white robe gestures for Ponic to sit at a table with a chess set. A queen takes a knight and the man notes that Ponic was the knight, but this is no ordinary game and dead pieces don't have to stay that way. Ponic asks if he is going to bring him back. The man says that will, but under two conditions. Firstly, he hands Ponic a blank card and states that it will eventually end up in the right hands. His second condition is that he move this event to the back of his mind so that no one will learn of him. A door appears and Ponic is allowed to leave. The man states that his name is Secrigis as Ponic wakes up on Earth.

Elsewhere, Chuck sneezes and has to play 52-card pick-up, some thing he doesn't like to play.

Skylos and co. then go to find Mumiyoshi (it appears that splitting up didn't seem a popular idea). They arrive at the castle called Azuchi where Mumiyoshi is hiding. Neon is glad that it is dark out because he can see better. Masamune states that he's probably the only one that would appreciate the dark. The walk inside and find the place is pretty drab, but Skylos is still quite appreciative of the place. Masamune accidentally triggers a trap and leaves everyone in the dark. Skylos illuminates the room with a Light Orb and they are met by four odd, stone statues. [Editor's note: Doctor Who rip-off. Moving along!] They manage to get away once Neon breaks down the door in the room.

Ponic tries to find the others, but he realizes that he cannot get into anyone's shadows. This means that they are in a location he cannot travel to, namely, one where there are no shadows. He wonders how is going to catch up with everyone.

Mire and Lareo decide that it's time to leave since Lareo has done everything he came here to do. Once they exit the chamber, they are greeted by a Cat Demon named Ruleta. Lareo explains to Mire that he was one of his old friends and he is partly responsible for him becoming a Phantom Demon. A Lunar Demon then appears and blocks their exit, stating that they are here to fight Lareo. Mire gets serious and states that he'll help Lareo. Lareo thanks him and Mire decides to start the battle. Mire shows how scary is Power is by poisoning the Cat Demon with a mental poison. [Editor's note: I FOUND SOMETHING CAT DEMONS AREN'T IMMUNE TO!] The mental poison makes it so that she can only experience fear. After a bit of smacking around from Lareo, the Lunar Demon gives up. Lareo and Mire depart, but not before Mire gives Ruleta the antidote.

Mire asks Lareo how he knew those two. Lareo states that they used to fight evil together and that they fought the same evil for which they made the Solar Sword to fight. Mire wonders what happened and why they would erase his memories. Lareo states that he doesn't know why they did this, and that he definitely has all of his memories back now. The two decide to travel back to France and engage in some banter along the way.

Rem and Malignant have gotten left behind so they try to play catch-up to the others. Rem switches clothing because he states that his red outfit is too hot for the current time of year. [Editor's note: The arc started at the end of winter, but it's now the end of summer.] Malignant becomes intrigued by Rem mentioning that he has another form so he doesn't offer to find everyone's Auras.

Skylos and Masamune get separated from Halo and Neon in the confusion, and they end up finding Mumiyoshi. Mumiyoshi is startled and asks them what they are doing here. Skylos gets smart and mockingly thinks about it before saying that they're obviously here to stop him. Mumiyoshi gets mad and engages them to a fight. [Editor's note: The fight starts at post #45958.]

Skylos has the slight advantage by using Light, but Mumiyoshi proves to be quite the fighter. Skylos gets interrupted whenever he tries to charge up an attack and Masamune's bullets aren't doing much good. Skylos asks Masamune to cover him while he cooks up something powerful. Skylos lends Masamune his Dragon Orb which gives Masamune quite a bit of extra fire-power. Skylos throws out ten Light Prisms and creates a dangerous grid of Light around Mumiyoshi. The prisms are controlled by Skylos's mind and they prove to be quite tricky to dodge. Mumiyoshi is burned quite a bit and Masamune uses this change to attack him with his saber.

Mumiyoshi manages to knock Masamune out of the fight with a Mind Trauma and leaves Skylos to fend for himself. The Light Prisms start to connect around Mumiyoshi to make a cage of Light around him. Mumiyoshi attacks the nearest prism. Skylos then causes the prism to all explode, flooding the entire room with Light energy. The impact from the energy hurts Skylos, causing him to convulse a bit. Mumiyoshi is blown back into the wall and hits the ground once gravity takes over. Skylos is unable to get up, but Masamune has now recovered and takes a capture orb from Skylos. Mumiyoshi can't get up either and is horrified by the presence of the orb. He manages to escape, causing Skylos to groan because he wasn't planning to kill him. Skylos then passes out.

Mumiyoshi arrives at Gifu and mutters about pests. Mitsuhide then greets him, but to Mumiyoshi's dismay. Mitsuhide comments that he doesn't look so well and decides to draw himself a little closer to him. Mumiyoshi sees that he is cornered, but he has one last trick up his sleeve that he has to use to escape. Mitsuhide attacks him with all of his Water Power and with his katana, but Mumiyoshi counters with Oroken, causing it to shatter! Mitsuhide shouts at Mumiyoshi wondering what he's done. Mumiyoshi absorbs the Darkness energy that came out leaves Mitsuhide the world...or what will be left of it. Mitsuhide then gets hysterical at how insane Mumiyoshi is.

Neon wakes Skylos and Masamune up with a jolt of electricity. Skylos is very groggy, but he thanks Neon for coming to their rescue. Masamune wonders what happened to Halo, but he figures she's ok. Neon claims he's no hero, but he did make sure Halo got out safely. Speaking of which, he teleports everyone outside and to where Rem and Malignant currently are. Keera also wakes up and has Ponic teleport them to the others. Eric and Seth also join them.

Masamune states that he can no longer sense Mumiyoshi at all. Ponic notes that Mumiyoshi will definitely come back so they should go find him, but Masamune dismisses it and states that he doesn't care since Mumiyoshi is gone and out of their hair. Skylos is annoyed by Masamune's dismissal but doesn't say anything. In fact, he thinks about how much nicer Mumiyoshi had been before he got Oroken. Masamune then notes that he wouldn't mind helping them slit his throat if he did come back, though. Skylos then gets angry and blows up at Masamune, calling him no better than Mumiyoshi for jumping straight to the idea of killing someone. Skylos storms off, fuming to himself. Masamune scowls after him, but concedes to Ponic that they do need to prepare because it may be too late when Mumiyoshi does decide to attack again.

Keera dismisses herself and goes after Skylos to check on him. Skylos has flown off like a lightning bolt and gone a mile in under a minute. Keera arrives in his shadow and asks if Skylos wants to talk about it. Skylos really doesn't, and admits that Masamune is just used to war already. He decides to go back with Keera. Skylos states that there are other ways to stop people. He suggests talking, but Keera states that that won't always work. Skylos does note that he got to know a little bit about Hanzo and Mumiyoshi before he was dismissed by them. Keera thinks that Skylos is being too black and white with his judging and states that most decisions are mostly lighter or darker shades of gray. Skylos claims that there is no good or evil, just yourself. He still thinks that claiming another's life is absolutely wrong, though.

Mumiyoshi lands in the Universal Nexus. He is completely exhausted and talking to himself about needing rest. He takes in the scenery of the many pillars and the four-sided stairway before, much to his dismay, Omni reveals himself from behind a nearby pillar. Omni then shocks Mumiyoshi by helping him. He gives him a Light Prism so that he has his exact home Terra saved. Mumiyoshi demands to know why Omni has had a change in heart so suddenly. Omni explains that he was only helping because Elios had threatened him. Mumiyoshi is annoyed that Omni killed Hanzo, but Omni states that he'll return his core to him after he finishes his mission. He points to a red star and states that he's looking to use it to unlock a Terra. Mumiyoshi is intrigued about Omni, but he doesn't go into many details. He does reveal that he is against a Crystal Demon that is much more dangerous than him.

Omni asks Mumiyoshi if he would help him if he asked, if it comes to the point where Reality is in danger. Mumiyoshi is surprised by him asking, but does agree. Omni is glad to have Mumiyoshi's support and apologizes to him for having to act so nasty towards him. He inquires as to where Mumiyoshi plans to go. Mumiyoshi, somewhat embarrassed, states that he can't really go anywhere because he has left his army behind and has no way of carrying them to another Universe. Omni knows of his problem and agrees that it's quite problematic. Omni then asks Mumiyoshi if he would help him kill Orochi so that his army would be spared. Mumiyoshi agrees. He heals Mumiyoshi and then mentions that he saw a time ghost of them talking here. Omni explains that the Nexus will forget what era it is sometimes and it shows people things that have happened or not happened yet. They decide to set off immediately.

Musashi, on Chito, confronts Orochi, who is now rampaging around due to Mitsuhide accidentally shattering Oroken. He uses his Crystal in an attempt to defeat the great demon serpent, but he needs more help to beat it. Musashi doesn't have to wait very long.

Mumiyoshi and Omni appear on the scene. Mumiyoshi tells Omni that Orochi does have a weakness. The crystal in its brain, if shattered, will cause it to lose most of its energy and its power will become unfocused. Omni wonders how to get in Orochi again since its mouth is busy chasing Chito and Musashi. They decide on an aggressive approach.

Neon clues in Eric and Seth on everything that has happened. Skylos and Keera rejoin them at this point and Skylos apologizes. Ponic decides that it's time to go deal with Orochi.

Mumiyoshi distracts Orochi for Omni and Omni hammers at Orochi with his two-handed sword. Omni breaks through Orochi's hide which leaves them a gap big enough to enter Orochi. Once inside, they find it to be filled with many crystals. Mumiyoshi hopes that the one they are looking for sticks out. They are attacked by strange creatures inside the brain as they get closer to the center of Orochi's brain. After much dodging and blasting of lizards, they make it to the very center. Omni blasts the defenses there with Dark Rain and Mumiyoshi shatters Orochi's crystal into eighths. Omni notes that they have some Dimensional properties and that it would solve Mumiyoshi's army problem. Mumiyoshi gives Omni half and he keeps half for himself. They teleport out and Orochi morphs to a weaker form with eight heads.

Omni thanks Mumiyoshi for the help and states that it has been good working with him. They try to decide on a hiding place for the crystals, but Xiahou Dun appears suddenly and manages to steal one of Mumiyoshi's. Mumiyoshi decides that it's time to leave and states that the others will probably defeat Orochi without many problems now. Omni and Mumiyoshi part ways.

Musashi sees that Orochi is now in a weakened state. He then proceeds to destroy it. Orochi is still quite an opponent so Muasashi still has to use quite a bit of his power to defeat it. With everyone helping, they managed to kill it...for good this time.

Tom appears to the group and Skylos is glad to see him. They hug a bit and even grab Neon into the hug. Neon is very annoyed and gives a bit of a "I'm going to kill you" look. Neon then surprises Tom by hugging him and Tom almost looks like he's been shot after the hug. After Neon walks off, Tom claims that the world will probably end soon. Skylos jokes that at least they're going to die on good terms, then.

[Editor's note: Name changes: Sheena to Alice and Zelos to Decus. This is the last name change.]

Skylos decides that it's time that they head back to France. Orochi's power is just about out and everyone is here that came, except Zach and Flare who are missing. Skylos states that he'll teleport everyone back and hopefully, his ring will turn blue. Eric asks if it's a mood ring. Skylos then teleports everyone back to France, including those who are missing. Everyone is quite happy to be back in the cabin.

END OF THE THIRD THREAD