Roleplay:Natural Enemies

'''This Roleplay is not a freejoin. If you want to be in the Roleplay, you must ask on the talkpage first.'''

Rules

 * 1) Zero tolerence for god-modding (excluding plot-specific exceptions).
 * 2) Do not troll or harass other users.
 * 3) Sexual content is prohibited. Kissing, flirting, etc. is an exception.
 * 4) Keep swearing to a minimum. Excessive swearing will be censored.
 * 5) Stick to the plot. This Roleplay has a beginning, middle and end, and they will be followed in a logical order.
 * 6) Introduce your characters in a sensical manner. For example, do not have them fall out of a tree for no reason at a random time and say "Hey, what's up". Bring them in at a believable time in a believable way.
 * 7) Surround out of character talk in ((double parentheses)) to distinguish it from dialogue and actions.

Invited Users
Smash the Echidna

Numbuh712

Banzai123

NoraKouba

Characters
These are the main characters of the story who will appear several times throughout it.

Heroes
Ichiro Keiken the Komodo (E-113:Xi)

The Masters of the Orochi Clan (E-113:Xi)
 * Homura the Crocodile
 * Eiji the Dragonfly
 * Shogai the Cobra
 * Mutoh the Komodo
 * Yamori the Gecko
 * Hebi the Python

Burst Pyrite (E-113:Xi)

Paroi the Guardian (Banzai123)

Mia the Magician (NoraKouba)

Smash The Echidna (STE)

Splice The Hedgehog (STE)

Kyle Tyris The Hedgehog (STE)

Keela Tyris The Hedgehog (STE)

Crystal The Fox (STE)

Gizmo The Cat (STE)

Kitty The Cat Chao (STE)

Thunder The Hedgehog (STE)

Zap The Hedgehog (STE)

Pyra "Inferna" Fireheart (Numbuh)

Shade "Tendril" Nightwing (Numbuh)

Terron "Quake" Subrock (Numbuh)

Aero "Cyclone" Atmos (Numbuh)

Lumina "Flare" Lightbeam (Numbuh)

Vine "Growth" Oakwillow (Numbuh)

Pyro Oceania (Numbuh)

Luna the Hedgehog (ProtectTheShadows)

Static the Hedgehog (ProtectTheShadows)

Statyx the Hedgehog (Kagi)

Fou the Phoenix (Kagi)

Neutral
Thetis the Wolf (Banzai123)

Savant the Goetian - Ryu

Aquella "Tsunami" Oceania (Numbuh)

Aqua the Hedgehog (ProtectTheShadows)

Summer the Hedgehog (ProtectTheShadows)

Villains
Demon Yamato the Wolf (E-113:Xi)

The Followers of the Void (E-113:Xi)

Elemental Alignments
Repeat your characters' names in the appropriate sections if they have an elemental proficiency. Also add to the appropriate category any characters who will only appear during large battle scenes.

Fire
Burst Pyrite

Gabriel Aungel (E-113:Xi)

Splice The Hedgehog (STE)

Pyra "Inferna" Fireheart

Pyro Oceania

Fou the Phoenix (Kagi)

Summer the Hedgehog (PTS)

Earth
Homura the Crocodile

Terron "Quake" Subrock

Poison
Hebi the Python

Light
Ichiro Keiken

Mutoh the Komodo

Lumina "Flare" Lightbeam

Lightning
Shogai the Cobra

Statyx the Hedgehog (Kagi)

Thunder The Hedgehog (STE)

Zap The Hedgehog (STE)

Static the Hedgehog (PTS)

Water
Aquella "Tsunami" Oceania

Splice The Hedgehog (STE)

Aqua the Hedgehog (PTS)

Wind
Eiji the Dragonfly

Rad the Falcon (E-113:Xi)

Mia the Magician (NoraKouba)

Aero "Cyclone" Atmos

Shadow
Yamori the Gecko

Demon Yamato

Shade "Tendril" Nightwing

Savant the Goetian

Plot Overview
For years the members of the Orochi Clan have worshiped Yamata no Orochi, an ancient spirit who is said to bring unity to the world upon its revival. However, all is not well as Demon Yamato, an emeny of the clan, plans to prematurely revive Orochi for his own chaotic needs. Demon will spread war and anarchy to the world of Mobius as he pits the wielders of the elements against eachother in an all out battle of the forces of nature. It is up to the remnants of the Orochi Clan and a select group of heroes to put an end to his heinous scheme.

Prologue
In a far corner of the Dragon Kingdom, two Mobians waited in the underground cellars of Poppy Village. One paced madly while the other attempted to keep him calm. "Would you please sit still for five minutes, Homura. All this moving about is starting to make me nervous."

Yamori the Gecko, one of the Masters of Poppy Village's Orochi Clan, stood propped up against a stack of wooden crates while Homura the Crocodile, another of the Masters, quickly walked back and forth staring at the door. "I have every right to be impatient. Whatever news Hebi returns to us, good or bad, shall be significant to the clan's survival," Homura replied. Growing impatient as well, Yamori walked over to Homura and placed a hand on his shoulded, haulting his pacing. "We have suffered through worse," he assured, "Even if Hebi tells us that... that the Followers are planning an attack, we will be fine."

Following the sound of a door flying open, Hebi slithered down the steps of the cellar with intense urgency. "What have you found?" Homura asked. Hidden by panting, Hebi corrected, "Not what I have found... What Eiji has found." Yamori had suddenly found himself just as worried as Homura was. "Spit it out, then," he demanded. As if somebody had been listening in on them, Hebi gasped, "The Followers are planning an attack!"

Meanwhile, high atop Mount Stormtop, Eiji the Dragonfly was spying on a seemingly private meeting. It was a meeting of the Followers of the Void, a group dedicated to the destruction of the Chaos Force via Vortex Magic, its equal and oppposite. Their discussion was confusing but their intentions seemed clear. Many of the Followers were enemies of the Orochi Clan, and there was talk of an ambush on the recovering Poppy Village. "So it is agreed. We will make our journey in three cycles," one whisped. "The High One should be given enough time," added another. As the group dispersed, Eiji fled back to his home as quickly and quietly as possible. The Masters would need to be together to prepare for what was to come. ..

Part One: Opposing Intentions
It was evening across the western continent of Northamer. It seem like a peaceful time, but that was only its apparent state. A national news broadcast said otherwise.

"This is Channel 6 Evening News, I'm Cecelia Tyrran. Today's top story - a rivalry the way nature intended it. Several hydrokinetics have banded together over the last couple of days in Seaside City, home of the ancient Ocean Palace, and have declared some sort of war on pyrokinetics and fire users of any sort. The homes of many pyrokinetics in the area have been attacked as well. Notes were left on the scene with threats of further damage unless the resident pyrokinetics agreed to the terms of the battle. They have called out all fire users to meet them on the Grounds of the Ancients at Mount Mobius in three days to prove who is truely the strongest. More on that story tonight. In other news..."

A lone brown wolf was watching the news through a shop window. "Such unnecessary conflict. No doubt more people are going to get involved for no good reason. Makes me wonder why I came to Seaside City anyway." He turned away from the TV, unable to stand the stupidity of it all, and continued walking down the street.

The same report was broadcasted throughout Station Square and Green Flower City. A blue echidna watched the news from the comfort of his home. "what." He flatly said aloud. "are you serious..." He shook his head in disgust. "What the heck is WRONG with people these days!? First there was the Jelly Donut Protest, and now THIS!?"

"I dunno, Smash." His sister shrugged, watching from behind the couch he was sitting on. "It seems like the world just keeps getting crazier every other month."

"I mean, How do you go and declare a war against any person who uses fire? Pyrokinesis is one thing, but are you going to attack anyone who just so happens to have a Fire Elemental Ring, or a lighter for that matter!? What if you were trying to camp out, or just put on the fireplace in the freaking winter time? This isn't even racism. Heck, it's not even stupid. It's beyond stupid."

"Maybe they have some sort of reason for doing this?"

"What on earth would they possibly declare a war against fire users for if they had any sort of common sense?"

"Beats me. I'm just kinda throwing ideas out there." Pearl shrugged. Smash sighed and turned off the TV.

"Well, Whatever the case, they're causing unnecessary trouble." Smash said. "If innocent people are losing their HOMES because of this foolishness, it's serious."

"Are you going to do something about it?" Pearl asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Heck, I WOULD if I knew where Seaside City was." He stood up. "And I will in a minute." He walked out of the room, heading upstairs into his bedroom.

Meanwhile, in Seaside City, more trouble was brewing than anyone could have predicted. The hydrokinetics walked the streets with a strange sense of pride, but that would soon end. Two pyrokinetics blocked their path, looking quite angry. "Three days? What, you're too chicken to fight now?" one protested, "Ya, we'll take you on any day," added the other. They two groups brawled for a mere few moments before they were stopped. A mysterious figure jumped down from the rooftops. He wore a black robe with a conical straw hat. "Please, please, save the fighting," he said in a sinister way, mainly directed to the hydrokinetics, "We don't want them dead before the big day. But, if they're so eager..." In a swift motion the figure threw his hand from within his cloak. It was rapped tightly in bandages and now pointed at the pyrokinetics. Before anyone could react, he had shot a bolt of violet energy at the two, leaving them alive yet lifeless. They collapsed simultaneously as the figure concealed his hand once again. He turned to the hydrokinetics and ordered, "Go. Cause no more unnecessary trouble," to which they silently obeyed. Hoping back up to the rooftops, he disappeared from sight.

Back in the Poppy Village, the Masters of the Orochi Clan watch the news report with mutual disgust. "If Sato were still alive, he'd have a fit," Hebi commented. Homura left the room with several reasons to be outraged. Outside, he met with Ichiro Keiken. "What is it, Master Homura?" Ichiro calmly asked. With a brief hesitation Homura answered, "Go to the west. Some sort of balance is upset there, and I need you to at least find the reason behind it. Take this warp ring and return as soon as possible. We will need all the help we can get to defend against the followers." Ichiro silently accepted the task, took the ring and left. He, too, was aware that trouble was brewing, but the truth was something more than he could even imagine.

Rather far away, an odd-looking being wearing a tattered traveling cloak and hood had witnessed the destruction of many homes belonging to Pyrokinetics and Pyromancers. He did not bother himself to stop the carnage; he merely watched, his lip curling in disdain.

"Barbarians," he muttered, his red eyes surveying the damage laid out before him. He then turned and left, towards Station Square, which would be quite a walk for him.

Back in Seaside City, a cream colored hedgehog surveyed the movements of several pyrokinetics. "Pity. They could be out doing something useful." she said to herself, her voice wistfully light. She pulled her navy blue cape up into a cowl and dropped down from the roof she was sitting on, heading back home.

One of the pyrokinetics spotted her. "HEY! That girl looks like, eh, she's with them hydrokinetics!" he said. The others agreed and advanced on her. She turned around; they were quite loud. "Hello," she said pleasantly. "What brings you here?" One of the pyrokinetics snickered. "Look at her, acting all clueless. Let's get her!" The hedgehog raised an eyebrow. "Are you absolutely sure?" When they didn't stop, she shrugged. "Your choice." She thrust her hand out and one of the pyros went flying. With a clutch of her fist, another grabbed at their throat for air until they fell unconscious. She made a gripping motion and one began to float in the air. A jerk of her arm and he went soaring into space. The last one attempted to run, and the hedgehog made a waving motion. The last one's eyes turned glassy. "Tell whoever is your leader to leave Luna Astrid alone." The hedgehog commanded, and the pyro ran off into the distance. Luna tsked and turned heel to leave.

As Luna turned, she was stopped by a figure cloaked in black suddenly standing right behind her. "Luna, is it? I'll be sure to remember that," he began, "It joys me to see that even the most insignificant pawns in our plan can... fire them up. A word to the wise... we want them alive for the big day." In a flash of blacklight, he disappeared as if here were never even standing there.

Luna bit the inside of her cheek, considering what the cloaked figure said. "Hmm... something dark is happening, and I don't like it, I have a feeling I'll meet him again soon."

Back at Smash's house, Smash was sitting on the couch, packing some bags. Pearl came back into the room, holding the house phone. "Thunder said he'd gladly take you." She said.

"Great. I'll be ready to leave soon then." He said. They then heard a knock on the door. "Could you get that, please?"

Pearl walked past the couch and looked through the peek hole. She opened the door seconds afterwards. "Hey, Splice." She greeted.

"Hey Pearl. Did you hear the news?" The multicolored hedgehog asked.

"Yeah. Smash was pretty steamed." She said, looking over her shoulder towards her brother.

"I have every right to be steamed!" He called back.

"Heh, Who doesn't?" Splice added. Pearl stepped aside and let him in. "So what do you think? Is it just some random squabble between a buncha fools or is there or is there more to it?"

"That's what I'm going to find out." Smash said as he stood up, slinging his bag over his shoulder. "The people back there are in a lot of trouble if they're losing their homes and even lives because of this nonsense."

Splice's eyebrows shot up momentarily. "I should have known you were going to step in. In that case, I'm coming with you."

Smash nodded. "Great. Meet me at the docks in an hour." He said. "I've still got a couple more preparations to make.

"Got it. Leaves me some time to prepare as well." Splice headed out the door with a wave. "See ya later."

When Splice turned back outside, he noticed a familiar face coming down the street. It was a terrakinetic who live a few blocks over. "Hey Splice, good to see ya. Would you mind helping me spread the word?" he asked politely.

"Oh hey, man." Splice waved. "What's the word? Is it about Seaside City?"

"Kind of," he replied, "Some buds of mine heard that the toxikinetics and gaiakinetics were getting ideas from the whole mess up there, so we want to get together all the terrakinetics we can to teach them some manners. You and Smash seem to get around a lot, so I was hoping you could help spread the word to any other earth users you might see."

Splice nodded. "I'm gonna be outta town in a little while, but if I see one I'll let em know." He said.

Deep in the candle lit, stone halls of a known villain's hideout, a blue hedgehog with cyan streaks is seen, looking to be in her late teens. As she passes one room, the white snake within notices her and asks, "Where are you going, Aquella?" Without stopping or turning, she replies, "To train alone. I'll be back when I feel like it." Since he's been training her for over a year now, the snake understands that it's futile to try to change her mind about anything, and goes back to sparring with his assistant.

The hedgehog jumps up and out of the hole in the ground marking the entrance to the lair, deep in a forest not too far from Station Square. She walks off in the direction of the city. Soon she has arrived and finds herself walking alone down the streets of Station Square, a blank look on her face.

Hands extended from the shadows of an alley and pulled the hedgehog in. "Shh!" Luna whispered urgently. "I need your help with something."

"Why should I help you?" she replies.

"Let me explain, then you can decide. There's an ongoing conflict between hydrokinetics and pyrokinetics." Luna explained. "They seem to want to have a huge battle on Mount Mobius in three days. I want to pacify as many as I can before then to minimize casualties. Will you help me?"

The hedgehog remains silent for a moment as she ponders the offer. She decides that this would at least give her the chance to test her skills. "Fine," she anwers, "I am called Tsunami."

Luna nodded. "Thank you, Tsunami. I'm Luna. Let's go." Luna grabbed Tsunami's wrist and teleported then to Seaside City.

Tsunami looks around silently, her expressionless face never leaving her.

Early Morning - The Next Day

Ichiro Keiken walked the streets of Seaside City. The sky was still dark and lit with stars; it was only around three in the morning. Traffic was next to nonexistant, so he stepped out into an intersection to shorten his trip, if only slightly. In the middle of the street he was stop, but not by oncoming vehicles. Four figures in violet cloaks jumped out from the shadows, and made it clear they wanted trouble. Ichiro summoned his staff Moonriser, and took a battle stance. All at once, the four figures attacked him with blasts of water. He turned in place and twirled his staff with blinding speed, blocking each and every shot. When their bombardment had ended, Ichiro faded into nothingness, only to reappear behind one of the figures and knock it to the ground with the blunt end of his staff.

Though it appeared Ichiro was indeed fighting these attackers, it was merely a complex illusion. The real Ichiro stood at a safe distance, invisible to the naked eye thanks to his photokinesis. As he scanned the situation he became trouble. He saw only three figures when there was once four. One of his foes was smarter than the rest. It saw through the mask of his powers and attack him from behind, pinning him to the ground with shackles of water. He struggled to get free, but these powers of water were uncommonly powerful, stronger than most he had seen. Ichiro calmed down and waited, praying that his life's mission would not end this day.

But then a large gust of wind attacked the foe freeing Ichiro from its grip. Then a young human girl came to Ichiro's side and helped him. "Long time no see Ichiro! Seems you got yourself some trouble," said Mia.

"Mia?!" Ichiro said in shock, "What are you doing out of Hayashi?" Back on his feet, he took another fighting stance while his illusion was still in battle.

"Well, long story short, I was given a vacation and went to see what a city looked like!" explained Mia as she also took a stance.

The rest of the figures finally caught on and began to circle the two heroes. "Well catch up later," Ichiro decided, "Right now, I think we have a problem to solve."

As one of the figures advanced, a burst of psychic energy pushed him back, making him skid a few feet. Luna landed next to Ichiro and Mia. "Hello there. It seems like you need help."

"Much appreciated," Ichiro replied. The cloaked figures stopped circling and made their move. Each attacked one of the heroes, while Ichiro's illusion held one back to make things even.

Mia used wind magic and created a powerful vortex blowing one of the cloaked figures away.

Luna doesn't need to defend herself, because right as one of the figures attacks, Tsunami appears between them, blocking the attack easily and looking just as bored as before.

Luna, who had her hand raised to counter, gave an amused look at Tsunami. "Really? That one was mine."

"If you say so," Tsunami replies. She vanishes, reappearing in a crouching position in front of one of the other attackers. She brings one leg up, slamming it into his chin and launching him high in the air.

Ichiro fought back his opponent, unsure of how to feel. "All of this is so unexpected," he said. Luckily he was able to get behind the cloaked figure and pulled it to the ground. It's hood flew off revealing a female face with strange, glowing mark on her forehead (空隙). "No!" Ichiro gasped, "It can't be!"

Mia turned around, "Ichiro! What is it?" she said, but then her opponent got back up and kicked her in the face knocking her down. Mia got up, and then blasted her opponent with another vortex causing him to smash into the wall.

Tsunami and her opponent are still nowhere to be seen.

Ichiro backed away from the downed girl, with a distinct look of fear on his face. "It's... it's the mark of the Void. We have to flee, now!" Using his photokinesis he created a blinding flash, affecting only the cloaked figures, and giving the heroes a chance to escape.

Mia quickly makes a gap using space magic, "Hurry everyone in!" said Mia as she jumped into the scarlet hole.

Luna aims another psychic push towards her opponent and follows Mia.

A loud crash is heard, kicking up a cloud of dust nearby. When it clears, Tsunami has reappeared with her opponent unconcious, having just been slammed into the ground headfirst. Tsunami strides casually toward the heroes

Seeing Mia and Luna safe inside the rift, Ichiro was about to follow them, but stopped when he noticed Tsunami, "I'm not sure what your intentions are, but if you want to come with us then I suggest you hurry," he said with urgency. He stepped through to the other side as the figure Tsunami attack stood up once more. His hood had fallen backwards to reveal another identicle mark.

Tsunami ignores the figure and follows the heroes through the rift.

Mia holds up the gap till everyone made it through, and then with a clap of her hands it vanished. "Space magic, handy when in a jam," said Mia, but then she looked around, and walked towards Ichiro "I don't know how far you needed to get away so I just teleported us to the other side of town, if we need to go somewhere else I can do that," said Mia, but then she notices Tsunami but doesn't say anything.

"Getting far away wasn't the concern," Ichiro replied, "It was getting away at all." He stopped for a moment to think, muttering some things to himself. It was mostly incoherent, but the word 'void' came up at least a couple more times. "Those people attacked us with water," he said, "I had a feeling that the fiasco with the hydrokinetics was more than it seemed, and now it appears my suspicions have been proven. We should lay low for now, but later today I would appreciate all of your help again with investigation."

"Hydrokinetics..." said Mia, but then she trailed into deep thought.

Luna thought for a moment. "Hmm... To think I never thought a challenge coming from nowhere was suspisious... Yes, I will help you."

"Excelent," he replied, "I trust you will accompany me as well Mia. As for you... Tsunami, is it... Hmm, I'll let you make that decision on your own. Hopefully we will be able to find others who are willing to help. We will need all we can get."

Luna scribbled something down. "This is the radio frequency I use to communicate. Find a radio and call me when you need me to come back." In a flash of light, Luna was gone.

Mia just blinked, "Where did Luna go?" She scratched her blonde hair, "Oh well, I'll accompany you of course! Ichiro!" said Mia as she straightened the bow on her chest.

Tsunami remains silent for a moment, then replies, "Fine. I suppose it would be more beneficial for me to test my abilities against a greater number of opponents. Seeing as your team seems to be vastly outnumbered, I will assist you."

Ichiro was unsure of how to reply to Tsunami for a moment. "As blunt as that was... you're absolutelty right. We are outnumbered and outclassed, but hopefully not out of luck."

Later that day

It was just an hour after sunrise before a white ship appeared on the horizon. At the edge of the ship, Smash stood watching the island come into view. "So..That's the Ocean Palace..." He said softly.

"Woww! Look at that place! It's really beautiful!" A young silver haired fox said from a few steps over. Smash turned around, slightly taken by surprise.

"Well, good morning Crystal." He greeted. He then saw Splice come out of the cabin, yawning and stretching. "Mornin', Splice."

"Morning." He mumbled as he rubbed his eyes. "I fell asleep too late."

"Heh, well, Don't say I didn't warn ya." Smash grinned.

"Yeah, yeah..Say, is that where we're going?" Splice asked, pointing off to the Ocean Palace on the horizon.

"Yep. We should be there soon enough." A voice said from behind. A yellow hedgehog wearing a sailors outfit stood just outside the cabin door. "Nice to see you all up bright and early!"

"Good morning, Thunder." Crystal greeted.

Thunder smiled at the girl. "Good morning." He looked up at everyone. "Zap's currently in there making sandwiches for everyone. By the time we're finished eating, we should be ready to dock."

Meanwhile, near the docks in the city, the fire users in the area were up bright and early. A rally had begun not to long before to discuss how they would go about the battle. Many people showed up, some of them were not even fire users. They were just there to observe. "We have two days left to build our numbers and gather our strength," the rally leader called out, "Those of us here are indeed powerful, but our true pontential shines as a whole." The fire users in the crowd were mutually in agreement over the matter. They hung on the rally leader's every word, cheering their support.

From atop a high building, the brown wolf from earlier was observing the rally. Thetis was listening intently to the rally leader's words. Although he was neither hydrokinnetic nor pyrokinetic, he was curious to hear their reasons for this conflict.

Luna was sitting cross-legged on a nearby building. "While separate, chaotic, and when together, admirable." she murmured. "Fire users are quite interesting."

Tsunami is standing beside her, her eyes fixed on a single member of the crowd, a blue hedgehog with orange streaks who appears to be lost in thought.

Another black-cloaked figure was scanning his surroundings from atop the tallest building of the Ocean Palace. His gaze was fixed on the rally in the city, but it slowly turned to the vessel approaching on the water. A second figure appeared behind him, who wore a robe checkered in black white with a tailed hood. "You have everything under control, yes?" the first figure asked. "You worry too much," replied the second, "My abilities are not to be doubted. Know that patience is the key. The high one's plan will succeed, regardless of how long it takes or who may stand in his way." As the white ship carrying Smash and his comrads approached the docks, it was slowly greeted by several citizens who strayed from the rally. They watched silently, wondering what else could possibly go wrong in the city.

Deep in the crowd, Tsunami's target finds himself lost in thought. ''Man, how is this going to play out for me? he asks himself, How will it work, with me being a user of fire AND water? A single burst of flame and all the water users will be after me. Showing the slightest control of water will bring all the fire users to me. Not to mention the fact that the entire Water Realm military is already hunting me down. I don't think I can afford this many new enemies. In any case, I should probably listen to what they're planning. If I can manage to stay out of the way of their plans, I might not have to worry. ''He snaps out of his daze and immediately senses the four beings on rooftops. He slowly turns his head in Tsunami and Luna's direction. Oh no. Don't tell me that's....

Luna narrowed her eyes and did the universal 'I'm watching you' sign to the pyrokinetic. Then she turned towards the docks to see Smash and company's boat. "Oh boy, this really isn't the time for a vacation..."

Tsunami silently nods her agreement, glancing over at the ship.

Thetis had noticed the ship slowly dock, and immediately recognized some of the faces. ''What are they doing here? It's illogical to get involved in this conflict without reason''. He scratchet his head, thinking hard. "If trouble does brew up, should I risk getting involved and help them? Or do I stay up here and remain anonymous?"

The ship stopped, and lowered it's ramp to let the passengers off. Smash and Splice stepped down together from the ramp, soon followed by Gizmo. "Look, guys. All the fire users have gathered up here and are banding together." Gizmo said, looking at the group.

"Yep, it's serious alright.." Smash said, looking at the group as well. Thunder began to walk down the ramp behind them. "Do you really think it's just some war that sprung up?" He asked. Crystal and Zap followed behind him.

Something soon caught Smash's attention at the corner of his eye. His eyes cut to the side towards the rooftop where Tsunami and Luna were sitting. "...No. There's definitely more to it than that." He said, somewhat quietly. "Something else is going on here..."

One of the figures who was approaching the dock was a familiar face. Upon seeing Smash and his companions step out of the boat, he broke into a jog and called out, "Hey Smash! What brings you here?" It was Burst Pyrite, who had fought along side Smash on a couple previous adventures.

"Heyy, Burst!" Smash waved. "I didn't know you lived up here."

"'Sup, Burst?" Splice greeted with a grin, which lasted only momentarily. "We're here 'cause of the whole feud between the Fire and Water users."

"I know, can you believe it," Burst replied, "I can't believe they have the nerve to think they're better than us. Just two more days, then we can show 'em a thing or two!" It was clear now they he didn't exactly share Smash and Splice's opinion of the matter. "But anyways, yeah, I live around here. Nitro City's only about half an hour away. Did you guys come up here to help?"

Luna didn't notice Smash noticing her, and she had turned her attention back to the speech.

"Something like that." Smash said, shifting his weight to the side. He glanced over to the group behind him, attending to the speech, and then looked back at Burst. "We're really here to look into this matter a little more closely." He said, lowering his voice a bit.

Burst grew a bit confused as he began to head back to the crowd, gesturing for Smash and his friends to follow. "Look in to it? I don't follow," he said. He seemed to only be paying half his attention now, listening to the rally leader's words once again.

Smash walked with him. "Something about this doesn't seem right to me." He began. "At first I was just too outraged to even think it through properly, but while I was coming here, I realized that something about this seems off." He glanced over at the speech, and then back towards Burst. "For starters, Why on earth would the hydrokinetics just randomly start something like this? They seemingly had no reason. What is there to gain? What is there to lose otherwise? Doing this just out of spite doesn't cut it for me. I know there has to be something else going on here..." At the corner of his eye, he glanced quickly over at Tsunami before looking back at Burst. The others in his group were walking behind him. "I'm not sure where I'm going to start investigating, but I suppose we should listen to the rest of this guy's speech."

The words of the speaker continued, and they seemed to grow more biased as time went on. "For too long have we been subjected to such ridicules as these wielders of water give to us now. For too long it has been 'water douses fire', but no more!" he proclaimed, "Though dormant, Mount Mobius is a volcano, and it's terrain will provide us a significant advantage should we use it properly." He went on with more battle strategies and talk of honour for some time. Up on the Ocean Palace, the two figures still watched. Eventually the one in the checkered robe said to the other, "We've let them talk long enough. What do you say we put on a show?" Back at the rally, things turned to chaos. The nearby sewer grates erupted with water, and the purple-cloaked figures from the night before reappeared surrounding the fire users, now in greater numbers. "Of all the dirty tricks... It's an ambush!" the rally leader called out. The many fire users in the crowd shielded themselves from the water spouts and prepared themselves for battle. "Ha ha, what fun!" the figure in the checkered cloak said to himself.

"What the heck!?" Splice jumped back, startled at the sudden attack. Crystal cried out in fear, and Thunder and Zap stood in front of her to shield her.

"I knew something like this would happen," Thetis said to himself. "Jumping in without observing first would be foolish. The others should be able to handle themselves. Afterall, they go through things like this almost on a weekly basis."

One look at the cloaked figures, and Smash felt a pang of worry. "Are these guys really the hydrokinetics that are causing this war..?" He said quietly to himself. They seemed much more sinister than he had imagined. He grunted, shoving the thoughts out of his mind as he readied himself for battle.

Near the center of the crowd, Pyro stood, fearful of what was happening. Oh no! he though in dismay, ''This is exactly what I was afraid of! I'll have to fight back, but the best way to defend myself from water would be to use my hydrokinesis. But if I do that, it'll tip of the pyrokinetics that I'm an hydrokinetic too.''

A brawl quickly began between the fire users and water users. Though they were currently outnumber, the water users seemed to have the upperhand in both strength and agility. Atop the nearby building, Ichiro appeared behind Tsunami and Luna. "Now would be a good time to help if you're going to," he suggested. Leaving them little time to answer, he jumped down from the rooftop and joined the fight, assisting the fire users at the moment.

Smash took advantage of being in the sidelines and began attacking the hydrokinetics from behind. Splice charged in head first, completely covering himself in flames as he barrelled through the hydrokinetics. Gizmo stayed back, pulling out a small, compact gun. He aimed carefully, and sniped the hydrokinetics with small, electrified needles which could paralyze a normal person. Thunder and Zap stood by, standing in front of Crystal to protect her. Though Thunder wanted to protect both of them.

Tsunami immediately appeared between the two sides, fighting of water users, while defending herself from the fire users behind her.

Mia jumped in to help Ichiro, she created a vortex that started to pick up debrise that not just blew away the hydrokinetics, but cutting their skin in different places on impact.

One hydrokinetic turned to find Luna's boot in his face. As he fell, she grabbed him and used him as an hydrokinetic-shield to protect her from the collective blasts from both sides. Luna tossed the unconsious water user down and sent a psychic blade at the hydrokinetics.

Ichiro was pleased to see so many people helping, but if they were to help successfully, they would need instruction. "These hydrokinetics are being controlled!" he explained, trying to talk over the roar of the battle, "Fight back as much as you need to, but don't hurt them!" Still watching from above, the figure in the black cloak said to his companion, "It's Keiken and his friends from before. Now would be a good time to get serious." The second figurew was silent for a moment then replied, "I suppose giving them a taste of what they are truly up against wouldn't hurt."

Back at the battle, the hydrokinetics all became surrounded in strange barriers (excluding Tsunami and Pyro, of course). Though the fire users continued to try and fight, they had no success. "What the heck is this?" one of them cried out in frustration. Now with no distractions, the hydrokinetics removed their hoods to reveal the glowing marks on their foreheads. They each raised a hand into the air and called out in unison, "Vicious Gale: Soul of the Void!" Ichiro barely had any time to shout, "Everyone get back!" before a powerful wind began to stir. Those who were in its direct path became encased in a strange purple ice, uneffected by common flames. Those who were not in it's directed path, yet still within it's reach, felt the cold air slashing against their flesh.

Mia quickly clapped her hands and created spacial hole in which she took Ichiro and herself in for safety. She created two more to protect Tsunami and Luna.

Tsunami fell back into her rift. Pyro burst into flames that consumed him. In another burst of flame, he reappeared out of range of the attack.

Smash and Splice retreated the moment they heard the attack starting. They stopped by the rest of their group, and Smash began to feel sudden slashes all over him. Splice felt the coldness as well, but he remained unphased. Suddenly, a large barrier surrounded their group. Somewhat confused, they each looked around, wondering what had happened, until they noticed Crystal was the one powering it. The young fox held her hand at her chest, and her body was glowing softly. The barrier protected them from the attack.

"How long does this attack last?!" said Mia as she stared through a small gap far from the attack,

"To be completely honest, I'm not sure," Ichiro replied, staring as well at all the poor fire users who didn't make it away, "These hydrokinetics are getting this power from the Follower who's controlling them. I've seen some hold onto a spell for hours. This doesn't seem like something they would take too seriously, though, so it shoudn't be much longer." He was tempted to go back through the space gap and help, but he knew that he could do little more against the attack than the others could. Instead he waited with Mia, hoping that no one would suffer fatal injury.

Smash watched as the fire users struggled against the attack. "We gotta do something." He said.

"But what?" Splice asked. "That barrier is preventing anything from reaching them, just like ours."

The wind did subside after merely another minute of blowing. Once it did, however, the hydrokinetics were gone completely, along with the two cloaked figures from atop the Ocean Palace. Many of the fire users were either frozen, shivering, or unconscious. Those who could ran for shelter while some stayed to help their fallen comrades. Ichiro stepped back through the space gap and surveyed the damages. "Smash?" he said upon noticing the familiar blue echidna, "It's certainly been a while. I must say I'm somewhat relieved to see you here helping." He then directed his attention to a frozen Burst, and struck the ice with hammer of his staff. It shattered, and Burst was freed. "Mind lending a hand with these folks?" he asked to anyone within earshot.

Pyro summoned a staff and began trying to free some of the other frozen fire users.

As Crystal let the barrier down, the group hurried to help anyone in need. Smash looked over at Ichiro, and was rather surprised to hear him say his name. He looked closely at him, trying to recognize him. "Wait..Hey, I know you. You're Ichiro, we fought in the World Hero Tournament." He said. "I'll be more than glad to help you guys out."

Splice helped the fire users by lending them the heat from his own fire abilities. He unfroze some by absorbing the ice, while at the same time trying to warm them up. Thunder and Zap helped by using the same tactics Ichiro did--Breaking the ice and freeing them. Crystal went across each fire user and began tending to their wounds. Her body glowed as she used her power to heal them.

Mia let every out including herself. She looked around with a sad expression. "I take visit to the world outside the forest and I encounter something like this... I guess one way or another I gotta do my job!" moaned Mia as she brushed back her bangs. But then she spotted Ichiro talking to Smash, "Hey isn't that?" Mia went up to the two.

Once the fire users were freed they fled like the other, save for Burst who stayed behind to help. Ichiro turned to see Mia approaching, and quickly deduced that she had met Smash in the past. "While we have a free moment, I suppose you'd like to know more about what's going on," he sighed.

While they spoke, Tsunami strided over to Pyro, who had stayed behind. Sensing her approach, Pyro turned to face her, only to find her on her hands, the bottoms of her feet connected with his chin, sending him high up into the air. She then performed a midair combo, finishing with an axe kick to his stomach just as he hit the ground.

Smash nodded. "Yes, I would." He said. He rose an eyebrow when he saw Mia approaching them. "Hey wait a minute. Aren't you Mia?" He asked, rather surprised to see her.

Splice ran over to Tsunami and Pyro. "Hey, What're ya doing!?" He exclaimed. "He's not one of them!"

Ichiro looked over to the sudden comotion, and decided it would be best not to intervene. "I'll explain once everybody's calmed down," he said, letting out another sigh.

Smash glanced over at the sudden commotion as well. He nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that would be best." He said.

Pyro looked up at Tsunami, clutching his stomach from the force of the hit. "Tsunami....we meet once again...." he said. Tsunami stared down at him with a blank look on her face and replied, "And again you fall before my power....brother."

Splice stopped, his eyes widening. "Uh..." He took a few steps back. Maaybe I shouldn't interfere. He thought.

"Hello Smash, yeah it's me. I know its weird finding me in a place like this, but I'm taking a vacation... well, at least I thought I was..." said Mia, and she also turned her head towards the commotion.

Smash nodded. "Shame to hear your vacation's being held up like this." He said, frowning.

Thunder walked over to the group. "You must be friends of Smash, correct?" He asked. "My name is Thunder, Captain of the Thunderbolt. If you need a quieter place to discuss this matter, let's talk on my ship."

"Sure," said Mia as she followed Thunder.

"That would be excelent, thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you Thunder," Ichiro replied, "Anyone who wants to learn more of the matter, follow. Tsunami, I suggest you settle your own matter out here first."

"The pleasure is all mine." Thunder said, smiling politely as he lead the group onto the ship.

"Come on, guys." Smash called out to the few people in his group who weren't paying attention. Splice and Crystal soon hurried over to catch up. Once they boarded his ship, Thunder lead them to the other side, where a table with a few chairs and a parasol were positioned. It looked like it was meant for relaxing outside with a drink, rather than having any kind of real meals. "Okay, so I understand you have some information to share?" Smash asked, looking at Ichiro.

Ichiro sat down and took a deep breath. It seemed as if he didn't want to share this information, but he did anyway. "All of this is the cause of an organization known as the Followers of the Void. They work to repair an evil essence with the potential to destroy this entire universe. They are still far from their goal but that does not mean they aren't dangerous. The hydrokinetics you saw back their were under their influence, and I fear the same can be said for the rest of them. I don't know what they are planning, but I believe it has something to do with the battle in two days. I would appreciate all of your future help in these matters. The Followers are identified by their black cloaks. If you see them, do not engage them." After the explaination he remained silent, giving the others time to let the information sink in.

Smash was silent. ''I KNEW there was more to it. I just KNEW it.'' He thought. ''Just what is it that they're trying to do...? We don't have too much time. Two days may seem like a lot, but...time flies.''

"This is serious..." Thunder said, in an unusually serious tone. "I had a feeling Smash was right about coming here, but I never imagined that such a plot was underfoot."

"So," Gizmo started. "If we see them, we can't engage them." He said. "Why is that? And what do we do instead?"

"If you engage them," Ichiro began, "They will kill you, no questions. They won't just get it over with either. They will toy with you and torture you. The Void grants them a dangerous ability known as Vortex Magic. The ice spell you saw earlier was a smaller scale of it. When you see them, you run. They won't give chase unless you give them a reason too." He paused again, giving much thought to the potential consequences of the Followers' actions. "Oh Smash, I was wondering something," he continued, "You live in Green Flower City, right?"

Gizmo held his chest, somewhat frightened by the thought. "S-scary..."

"Yeah, We all do." Smash said. "Why do you ask?"

"If you live there, then why come all the way up here?" Ichiro asked, "You do know that the battle is taking place at Mount Mobius, don't you? If we are to carry out a more thorough investigation, we will need to go back there."

"That's a good question." Smash said. "I came out here because I figured some of the water users were still here, and I could catch a glimspe of their intentions." He said. "I didn't think that anyone would be at Mount Mobius yet, seeing how the battle starts two days from now. Also, I wanted to see how the fire users were doing."

"We were right to come here anyway." Splice said. "After all, we did find you guys and a lot of information."

"As before, if we do come across hydrokinetics, I can use my magic to escape, unfortunately it uses up alot of my energy depending the usage..." said Mia as was going into thought,

"Well, your thoughts are all in the right place," Ichiro said, "I thank you all for what you've done so far, and for what you may do in the future." A certain thought crossed his mind just then, and his newfound calmness was virutally erased. "Unfortunately, come the time of the battle, I cannot be here to help. One of my masters heard word of an attack on our village planned for that very night. I must be there to help. I will be with you until then to provide any necessary information or reinforcement. I hope that is enough."

And so the day went on. The fire users quickly recovered from any injuries they had sustained in the brawl. The cloaked auqakinetics did not reappear, and no more trouble was caused. Late in the day, several fire users and water users alike began their journeys to Mount Mobius, ready to defend their honour at any cost. The following day was rather quiet. Ichiro remained in Seaside City to patrol for his last few hours in the west, as the others returned to the south. The day of the battle finally came, and it was definitely a sight to behold. Fire and water users from as many as four continents gathered in the Mount Mobius area to aid their own kind. Though their paths did often cross, they saved their strength for the battle in the evening. It now looked as if this fight would indeed be taken to the next level, but it's outcome would be left up to fate.

Luna stood on a ledge, her navy blue cloak replaced with a faded purple one. She now had something that looked like a card holder strapped to her waist, and she was shuffling the cards. "Remind me to thank Dusk..." she said to no one in particular.

Elsewhere, mother and son argued. "Summer. I want you to stay out of this." A blue hedgehog said to a different hedgehog, an ashen color. "No! I traveled through a couple different worlds to get here, and I'm not going to leave just because you say so!" Summer said, his voice rising slightly. Aqua, the blue one, crossed her arms. "You do realize we're on different sides. I'm going to give it my all." Summer huffed and turned the other way. "Consider it payback." Aqua sighed. "Your choice." The two turned to go to their respective groups.

A safe distance from the actual battlefield, Smash stood watching the opposing armies arrive. "This is it..." He said to the rest of the group with him. Splice, Gizmo, Thunder, Zap, Crystal, and two other people had come. Two cyan hedgehogs who appeared to be twins had joined the group. "The battle is about to begin."

"Are we really going to just sit here and watch...?" Splice asked, sounding worried.

"Though we may be on the fire users side, we still have nothing to do with this. This is their problem." Smash reminded him. "After all, the reason we're here in the first place, is because we know that something else is going on." He folded his arms and looked forward towards the battlefield.

"I guess..." Splice sighed.

Thetis watched the armies gather a safe distance from the battlefield. A familiar blue figure dressed in green and red appeared next to him. "So you came to find out what's going on too huh?" Thetis asked Paroi. "Yes," he replied. "I have a feeling something bigger is afoot. This is all to big and public for random gang violence." Paroi then turned to face Thetis. "And I thought you never got involved in conflict unless you had a reason," he said to him. Thetis shrugged, then sighed. "This is all so pointless. I was hoping I cold find a logical reason for all this, then ignore it, but now some people I know are involved. I'm not sure if I should help them or remain neutral." Paroi made what souned like a soft chuckle. "Well, it's up to you to decide."

Up above all the commotion, the two figures who always seemed to be watching stood at the peak of Mount Mobius, looking down upon the Grounds of the Ancients. The one in the black and white robe was awfully calm, compared to the one in the black cloak who seemed to be ill at ease. "My apologies, Minister, but I'm absolutely sick of waiting," he complained to his companion, "There are enough of them here already." Minister hesitated for a moment before responding, "No. We cannot take any chances. If this is to fail the high one will be furious. They all need to be in one place."

From behind, a male figure in a purple cloak approached them. "What do you want?" Minister asked without even the slightest turn of his head. The third figure removed his hood, revealing himself to be the rally leaded from two days before. Like the hydrokinetics, he had the very same mark on his forehead. "The fire users are growing impatient," he said, "Should I do something to calm them down?" Minister chuckled to himself and replied, "No. Let the get... fired up. Your opponents are far more numerous, and the fear we struck the other day should be more than enough to keep them in check." Their gaze remained fixed on the world below, as the clouds kept them hidden from any wandering eye.

Tsunami was standing out of the way, watching the two groups prepare. Her mind was racing with thoughts and questions: ''Should I try it? Should I try and face both sides at once? I do have quite a bit of power, even without the Curse Mark. I may be able to take them. On the other hand.... ''She continues to ponder her options, trying to come up with an answer before the fighting begins. Standing beside her was Pyro, also thinking about the battle, though he had a much different question: ''Fire or Water? Fire or Water? Who do I join? Do I just stand here with Tsunami and risk another hit like before? Or do I go out there and join one side? And if I join them, which side should it be?''

Mia views the mountain from the skies watching the pyrokinetics and hydrokinetics gather. "I have a bad feeling about this, but something is hidden in this plot, and like always, nothing can stay hidden from me..." said Mia as she was speaking her thoughts. But then she flew back down to the rest of the gang.

Luna caught Smash's group out of the corner of her eye and teleported over to them. "Hello. I don't think we've been introduced yet." She thrust her hand out. "My name's Luna. Luna Astrid."

The first one to notice was Splice. He turned to her, somewhat surprised at her sudden appearance, but shook her hand anyway. "Nice to meetcha. I'm Splice." He said.

Smash turned around to see the two shaking hands, and his eyebrows rose. "You...I saw you two days ago at Seaside's docks." He said. He was going to ask what she was doing here, but he realized that would be a stupid question.

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Really? Man, maybe I have to lose the cloaks."

"Hm. Well anyway, My name is Smash. Smash The Echidna." He introduced. "These guys here are all my friends. Thunder, Zap, Gizmo, Crystal, Kyle, and Keela." He said, motioning his hand towards each one as he spoke their names. "What's your name?"

Luna blinked. "Didn't I...? Hm. I'm Luna."

Smash's eyebrows rose. "Luna, huh?" He said. "...That's interesting...Anyway, nice to meet you." He held out his hand to shake hers.

Kyle smiled politely at Luna, then turned his gaze towards the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Burst sat and waited at the train station. Like Pyro, he was beginning to have second thoughts about his place in this ordeal. Being a fire user, he had a strong sense of pride and would defend it at any cost... but morals were standing in his was. He repeatedly snapped his fingers, lighting and extinguishing a flame as if here were playing with a lighter. ''Should I fight, and try to stop whatever's behind those crazed hydrokinetics... or should I wait with the others, and get to the bottom of things first?''

Thetis spotted Smash's group in the distance. Paroi followed Thetis's line of sight and saw them too. "Friends of yours?" he asked. "Sort of," Thetis replied, "Helped to defeat Nusquam a while ago." A transluscent white glow enveloped Paroi's body. "Why don't we stop by?" he asked. "Sure. We were probably going to cross paths eventually." With a snap of his fingers, Paroi transported himself and Thetis to the other heroes' location.

Luna sat on a nearby rock as the rest as the pyro/hydrokinetics got ready. "Any idea when they'll start? I'm looking forward to training."

"I have no idea." Keela said, in response to Luna's question.

"It's troubling me." Kyle said, frowning. "The Followers of the Void...they have been waiting for this moment. I fear something terrible is going to happen..."

Smash whirled around to face the new group of people teleporting next to him, his body tensing up from being startled. He calmed down when he saw who it was. "Hey, I know you." He said. "You're...Thetis, right? Been a while."

"Hello," Paroi interrupted, "my name is Paroi."

"Yeah," Thetis said unenthusiastically, "so, I'm guessing you're here about all this." He gestured with his hand to the future battlefield. "I'm assuming something bigger is afoot."

Smash nodded. "You assume correctly." He said. "Something much bigger, and far more dangerous. I don't know what all these guys are capable of, but they're dangerous, and they cannot be underestimated at all costs. As far as I know, they're called "The Followers of the Void"..."

"I suspected as much," Thetis replied. "So, are the pyro and aqua kinetics being manipulated by these guys?"

Smash nodded. "Yes." He turned to look at the battlefield. Both sides appeared to be growing impatient with waiting. "The Followers of the Void are secretly trying to repair some essence with the potential power to destroy the universe. Though they're far from their goal, this is quite possibly one of their steps towards it." He folded his arms. "The thing I don't understand though is, what can they gain by doing this?"

Thetis nodded. Now he had a reason to get involved in the conflict. "I don't know. Then again, with these kind of things, you never know what they're trying until they succeed. So, what's you're plan?"

Smash closed his eyes. "...I don't know." He said. "Ichiro told me that we can't encounter these guys head on. They have this strange "Vortex Magic" that we've already witnessed a portion of back on the docks of Seaside City, and that was bad enough. Right now I'm just trying to keep an eye out and see what happens..but I know I'll regret it."

"So, let me get this straight," Paroi started, "there's this evil organization that's trying to destroy the universe by getting to different groups of people to kill eachother, and we can't do anything to stop them?"

"Hey, man. This is all I can tell ya." Smash said, shrugging. "Ichiro's the brains in this outfit, since he's the one who filled me in. And I haven't seen him all day..."

In the Dragon Kingdom, the members of the Orochi Clan prepared for the attack they heard word of days ago. Ichiro was with them, being one of the most powerful members of the clan. As the hours passed, it was shortly after midnight when trouble began to stirr. A black-cloaked figure walked the streets of Poppy Village in an obviously stealthy manner. Upon reaching an intersection he was stopped by a wall of stone followed by a blinding flash, several percise slashes and mild shocks, and a sudden loss of air. The next thing he knew, his head was surrounded by an idle cloud of toxic gas, and six figures were surrounding him.

"Only one of you? How uncharacteristic for the Void to try and distract us," the tallest one said. The intersection was suddenly illuminated to reveal the figures as the six Masters of the Orochi Clan. Shogai and Hebi were loosely wrapped around the cloaked figure, while the others stood circling him. Yamori lifted the figure's hood to reveal the face of a pitbull. "Ceres," Eiji began with disappointment, "Of all of the Followers to send alone, why would Minister possibly think of it as a good idea to send you?" Ceres only laughed and replied, "You fool, Minister is no longer the high one. He doesn't call the shots." Homura stepped forward and sternly explained, "Hebi can release this gas and any moment and kill you, so I suggest you do not lie. Tell us what's going on!" With much more laughing, Ceres answered, "The new high one has indeed sent me as a distraction, but not from what you think. There is a much bigger plot at hand, and there is nothing you can do to stop it. The world as you know it will soon be gone!"

Back on the western continent it was now early evening. The fire and water users were gathering at the Grounds of the Ancients on Mount Mobius, and several news helicopters hovered overhead to get live coverage. Several large screens on the buildings of Station Square were set to broadcast it, and people gathered in the streets to watch. The battle was about to begin, and it would be something that everyone would want to see.

"Just sitting here waiting for the bloodshed is painful," Paroi complained. He was sitting atop a small rock, elbow on knee, chin resting on his palm with a stern look on his face. "I'm sensing a large amount of negative energy coming from both groups." And a little of something else. "They're all pretty riled up aren't they?"

Luna was now dozing on the same rock. She opened up an eye and asked, "They done with the preparations yet?"

"Looks like they're going to start soon," Thetis said. "Are you sure we can't do anything?"

"Ichiro said we must not fight them.... This is their battle... But..." said Mia, she started to get tense as she stared at the the top of the mountain.

Smash glanced over at Mia, and then up at the mountain peak. He couldn't quite make out to top, due to the many clouds surrounding it. But seeing her tense up made him feel uneasy. "What is it?" He asked.

"I'm sensing something, from that mountain... I can't tell what, but it's not good..." explained Mia as she brushed her bangs back.

"I can fell it as well," Paroi said, "although I'm not sure what it is. It may be worth checking."

Meanwhile, the cloaked being from earlier had finally approached Station Square, less than half a mile from where the heroes were gathered, his keen hearing allowed him to detect their faint voices.

"Hmm...I wonder what's going on here," he muttered to himself, starting to approach.

The crowds in the streets were now awfully thick. People from all around were now in one single place, silent yet lively. The fire and water users were almost completely gathered at the Grounds of the Ancients, forming two enormous groups standing opposite each other. Down in the city streets, Burst approached Smash and his friends and called out, "Hey guys, I think it's about to start."

He stopped and watched near the back of the crowd, towering a good foot-and-a-half over almost everyone else, his sharp eyes surveying both opposing teams.

"Is this how these Mobians settle their differences?" he said to himself. "Through petty scuffles? Sad...I pray they're not all like that..."

Smash's gaze left the mountain as his attention was drawn to Burst. "Hm, alright." He said.

"Are we really going to do nothing?" Thunder asked, sounding unsure.

"Got any better ideas?" Smash asked, raising an eyebrow at him. At that moment both of his eyebrows rose. "Then again, the mountain..." He glanced back up at the mountain. "Mia and Paroi sensed something from up there...I'm not sure if we have the time to check it out, though."

Tendril and Inferna, who had followed Burst through the crowd, followed Smash's gaze to the mountain. Tendril turned to Inferna and asked, "Cera picking anything up?" Inferna paused for a moment, then replied, "She doesn't seem to be picking up anything specific, but she does sense something out of the ordinary."

Taking everyone's attention, like flies to a bug zapper, the screens on the surrounding buildings cut to a close up of the battlefield; it was finally ready to begin. High above, unseen from the vantage point of the news-copters, Minister and his black-cloaked companion still watched. "And now the fun begins," Minister muttered to himself. Back at the battlefield, both sides were silent, waiting for their elected leaders to call the attack. The water leader, one of the cloaked hydrokinetics stepped forward. The fire leader, the speaker from the rally, did the same. They met eachother face to face, paused, and passed eachother. They waited again, now facing their opponents, and gave a simultaneous nod.

As one, they waved their arms, and all hell broke loose. The water side was engulfed in and immense flame, and the fire side erupted in a torrent of water. The two elements wrapped around eachother in a spiral of opposing powers, stretching into the sky and causing the newsfeeds to fuzz with their radiating energy. The civilians down below watched in shock an aw, waiting to see what the outcome of this mess would be. The cloaked being with the large ears raised an eyebrow in mild interest, continuing to watch. He had no intention to stop the fight, or even help his fellow Pyrokinetics, since he had the ability to manipulate fire himself.

"W-What the HECK!?" Smash exclaimed. "D-Did they just..."

"They didn't even give any warnings!" Splice exclaimed. "They just attacked! What's going on here!?"

Mia grew tense as she saw the fight, but then she sliced the air horizontally with her finger creating a gap, in it held a airborne view of the whole fight, but from a safe distance. "Things are looking nasty...." said Mia, she clutched her fist hard for her inner desire to stop this madness, but she wasn't going to let it get the better of her.

Closer to the battlefield, Tsunami watched silently, still trying to decide whether or not to charge in and test her abilities on the fighters. Pyro, however, had decided against fighting them. He could tell that even Tsunami might not survive a war like this, and that meant that he would most likely be obliterated soon after he started.

Smash soon noticed the cloaked hydrokinetic, "Wait a minute...Is that guy one of the Followers?" He wondered aloud. "If that's the case, then...this is not good."

From the top of the pillar came mounds of smoke and mist, darkening the clouds that had already shrouded the sky. The newsfeed had finally cut out completely, leaving only static on the screens. Out in the middle of the street, a warp ring appeared for Ichiro to urgently arrive through. He frantically searched for his comrades, happy to find them in generally one place. In a mad dash to the other heroes he called over, "This is bad... very bad!"

The cloaked creature crossed his arms and gazed up at the towering pillar of fire and water. "Impressive..."

"Ichiro!" Splice exclaimed as the rest of the group turned to look at him. "What the heck just happened here!?"

"I'm not overly sure," Ichiro replied, "But it appears as if they've harnessed the elemental energies of both groups." The dark clouds above began to flash with purple lightning, showing that things were only getting worse. "I'm having trouble myself imagining what this might accomplish."

"I'm scared..." Crystal whimpered. "All those people are getting hurt. T-they might even die!"

"I believe this whole thing was a trap." Smash said. "Not just for the fire users, but the water ones as well. Both armies got together to fight, but whatever's happening now was what they were really brought here for."

"But..why?" Kyle asked.

"Who cares why or how they were brought here!" Splice exclaimed. "I wanna know what's gonna happen if we don't stop this thing! And HOW we're gonna do it!"

Ichiro sighed and said, "Everybody calm down, adding more panic to this will only make things worse." He was referring to the surrounding crowds, most of whom were scrambling to get to shelter. "I've seen them do things like this before, but never on such a large scale," he continued, "Those fire and water users are in a lot of pain, but they will be fine. And Kyle is right to question their means. Clearly this is something big, but we can do nothing to stop it if we don't know what it is."

By now nearly all of the crowd had dispersed, leaving behind Smash and his friends, as well as that strange, tall, cloaked being, who continued to gaze up at the pillar with an intense, piercing glare that would make lesser men cower.

"Something is seriously wrong here." Smash said, his eyes still on the battlefield ahead of them. "If I'm not mistaken...I THINK that the leader of the water users' groups, is one of the Followers." He said, furrowing his eyebrows. "Even if he's not, Going over the facts, I have reason to believe that both leaders are in cahoots."

Mia shut the gap closed when a flash of purple lighting hit nearby. She grew even more tense, she looked up at the cloak being as well, she grew upset but she made sure she wouldn't fly after him or her. He didn't seem to notice Mia, however.

Luna whipped a card from one of her decks. "Light Type: Reflective Haven!" A shield of light enveloped the heroes, protecting them from a stray flash of lightning hit it. When the shield faded, so did the card. Luna stared at the clouds. "That was going to hurt."

"Ichiro," Thetis said, "you know a lot more about this than we do. What course of action do you suggest, because I do not want to be some bystander in all this."

"At the moment, I don't think there is anything we can do to stop them directly," Ichiro responded, "For know, work on getting the rest of the civilians to a safe--" He was cut off by something frightening, something awful, something he knew all to well. A maniacal laughter, almost a cackle, rang through the ears of everyone around. It was deafening and sinister, and it brought with it a feeling of pure evil.

Luna glanced around. "That can't be good."

The laugh made quite a few people jump. Zap's first response was to grab onto Thunder's arm and hide behind his back, as was Crystal's. Splice and Gizmo's eyes widened, and Smash just looked highly disturbed. "Oh lord." He said, flatly.

The cloaked being's head shot quickly to the side, his ears perking up.

Tendril and Inferna froze. Tendril slowly scanned the area, trying to find the source of the sound. Down near the battlefield, Tsunami almost lost her emotionless expression from the shock, but managed to regain her composure before anybody noticed. Pyro jumped and looked around, almost frantic. The whites of his eyes changed to cyan and the pupils to dark blue.

Mia stood fast, she had no clue who this person was but she wasn't getting a good vibe...

The static on the screens slowly faded to reveal a menacing face, masked by a white bandana and black hood; it was the source of the laughter. "Citizens of Mobius," he began with a sinister yet playful tone, "Allow me to first assure you that you are not slipping into madness. I have indeed gained a manipulation of every network satellite in orbit." Ichiro stood below with a mixture of shock and rage on his face. He muttered the being's name under his breath, "Minister..."

Luna took a step back. "Maybe we aren't slipping into madness, but you seem to have a few screws loose..." she mumbled.

Splice, and all the rest of the group looked up at the announcement. "I knew this was bad, but..."

Smash overheard Ichiro muttering the name. "Minister?" He asked. "Ichiro, who the heck is this guy?"

Taking Minister's chuckle-break as a chance to speak, Ichiro explained, "This is the high-one of the Void... or at least, he was. As far as we know, somebody else has taken charge." Regaining his concentration Minister continued, "As much as it pains me to say this, your way of life is in peril. Nature has been thrown into anarchy and the various elements can no longer coexist... that includes their weilders."

Smash was just about to make a snarky comment about Minister's "pun", but the following statements caused him to stop. Now seeing worlds being destroyed and dimensions getting screwed up was bad enough to him. But fatally screwing up Nature Itself? "...What." Smash was so taken back in surprise and completely baffled by the statement, that was only word that his mouth could produce.

"And I suppose you're the cause of this?" said the cloaked being as he approached the screen, leering up at Minister.

On the other hand, everyone else in Smash's group were nearly frozen with shock. "W-Wh-WHAT!?" Splice cried out.

"No longer Coexist!?" Thunder exclaimed.

"Including their wielders!?" Zap yelled, surprisingly out of character. "B-But that means..W-what does that mean? What's gonna happen to us!?"

As any television program would, Minister paid no mind to the cloaked figure and instead continued his speech. "To those of you in the western hemisphere, this battle was only the beginning. I am officially declaring the beginning of an all out war, spanning far and wide. The great will stand tall as the masses band together... and destroy their natural enemies! The elements of lightning, water and wind. Fire, shadow and light akin. Earth, poison, one and all. Now is the time that nature falls!" Upon the end of his rhyme, the pillar of fire and water faded, leaving the fire and water users either unconscious or very weak. With another burst of laughter, his face faded from the screen, once again leaving behind static.

Splice clutched his chest, seemingly in shock from the whole thing. His pupils shrank, and his heart was beating rapidly.

"I...I'm at a loss for words..." Kyle said, blankly.

"You're not the only one." Smash said, giving a very disturbed look towards the fire and water users on the ground.

"This is...not good," Thetis said.

"What shall we do?" Paroi said, turning to Ichiro. "I doubt we can simply go and confront this Minister, but there must be some way we can hinder his plans."

Ichiro was lost in thought. "I... I just can't put it together. What could they possibly be doing?" he said to himself. Suddenly picture returned to the screen, showing a very frantic newsroom. "The outcome of the highly anticipated battle between the fire and water users has left many in shock," the news anchor began, "The effects have even been felt as far as Seaside City, the origin of this even. We now go live to our roaming reporter to give us the inside scoop."

The image switched over to a very rainy Seaside City, and a very disgruntled male reporter. "The storm which apparently originated over Mount Mobius has spread all the way here, and has brought with it a torrential downpour." Without any warning whatsoever, the reporter was cut of by a deep roar in the backround. He turned with a jerk as the camera panned to the left, focusing on a strange mass snaking in and out of the clouds above the Ocean Palace. With the rain and fog obscuring the view, it was impossible to make out what the mass actually was. The roaring continued as an equally unusual phenomenon occured. The bolts of purple lightning centred on a single building of the palace, then redirected towards the mass. After a bright, violet flash and an even louder roar, the mass was gone.

The camera cut back to the newsroom, which was now haulted with ah. The streets below shared the same silence. Unfortunately, that silence was cut short by another roar, this one from the skies above Station Square.

"This has officially been the worst day of my life." Luna proclaimed. "Even worse than when Summer cooked."

The cloaked being looked at the monitor for a few seconds, then looked away.

"Madness," he muttered to himself. "Nature is no fragile thing. He would have to be a deity..no, a god to pull off such a stunt..."

"Unfortunately...This is what we're up against." Smash said, his eye twitching from the insanity. "The whole world is in chaos, in less than a few hours."

Zap was visibly shaking with fear, his eyes welled up with tears. He couldn't even bring himself to say anything, but he was most definitely frightened. Crystal stood beside him, completely stunned. Thunder looked as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the right words. "I don't understand..What do you gain from something like this?" Keela asked.

Smash shook his head. "I don't know, but for something like this I can't see anything to gain out of it." He said. "Some people just aren't looking for anything logical, like money or power. People like this, they can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some people just want to watch the world burn."

"I can't believe such people, I know there were corrupt beings from where I came from, but none that would bring such a chaos upon the world..." said Mia, she then out of pure anger tossed a wind arrow at a nearby tree slicing it down.

Ichiro stared up at the sky. All of the pieces were falling together. With another roar, a strange sight emerged from high above. Like on the news report of Seaside City, a strange mass began snaking in and out of the clouds. This one however was firey and brought with it an orange glow alongside the purple lightning. The only word that Ichiro could bring himself to say was "No," and he said it several times over. "No no no no NO!" The look on his face was uncharacteristic, because for the first time in his life, he was absolutely terrified.

"What...is that thing!?" Thetis said with fear and confusion in his voice. Paroi stood with his ars folded, a look of shock on his face, but he kept his composure. "I've never seen something like that before," he said. He then saw Ichiro's fear, and he realized just how bad things were.

Inferna took a step back, staring up at the mass. Tsunami stared as well, and for the first time since she joined Orochimaru, she found herself unable to hide her fear. Tendril glanced over at Ichiro. Seeing that he was also afraid, he asked, "Do you know what that thing is?"

"What the HECK is THAT!?" Smash exclaimed, staring at the mass with wide eyes.

Burst put his arms around Inferna in a protective way, whispering to her "Don't worry... it... it's gonna be ok."

Ichiro was still stunned, but he managed to get out another word. "K...K-Ka... Ka," he stuttered.

"Ka-What?" Thunder asked, desperate to get an answer.

"What...on earth..." Kyle said, quietly. "...can we do...?"

"...I don't feel so good." Splice said, faintly. He keeled over and flopped onto his back. He stared blankly into the sky, feeling completely overwhelmed with shock.

"H-hey! Splice!" Smash exclaimed. Splice didn't even glance at him.

"S-Smash..." Ichiro began, "D-Do you recall my dragon illusions... from the World Hero Tournament?" he asked. Everyone glanced at him, immediately. Smash began to actually look frightened, now. Without waiting for an answer he continued, "You are about to witness... My inspiration."

Part Two: Beginning of the End
The sky was dark, filled with a purple glow from the lightning, and an orange glow from the fiery beast above. It's roars shook the earth, and struck fear into the hearts of all who witnessed it. "Ka..." Ichiro muttered, "The Flame of Orochi."

"...Hoooly crap." Smash's face looked pale, now. "A-Are we gonna have to FIGHT that thing!?"

Thunder's face went blue from shock, and lack of oxygen. He was so shocked that he ended up holding his breath with his mouth gaping wide open. Zap and Crystal hid behind him, too terrified to even look. Gizmo, who hadn't said anything in a while, just broke his silence by letting out a loud scream. "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT!?!?" He cried out.

The cloaked figure stared up at the Flame of Orochi as well, looking uncharacteristically shocked. Not since the Harbinger that had devoured his home planet had he seen such a monstrosity. He growled and shook his head like a dog, trying to regain composure.

Mia stared at the thing, "Oh my gosh... What is... this...?" gasped Mia as she looked at the creature in the sky.

Luna just stared. "I'd say to run, but civilians don't seem very capable of saving themselves..." She was shivering as bad as the others. "So, ah... basically, we're fighting the embodiment of fire?"

"In a way, yes," Ichiro answered, forcing himself to calm down, "Ka is one part of Yamata no Orochi, a spirit of nature. Legends tell of him being defeated long ago, and his soul being split into eight parts. Those parts were sealed within the warriors who fought along side him, and passed down to their descendants." He hesitated, fearing the mostly likely reasoning behind this cataclysm. "The fire and water users were used to summon Ka and Mizu, the souls of fire and water. The Followers must be trying to revive Orochi."

"Revive Orochi?" Smash repeated. "Does that mean that Orochi...is that evil essence they're trying to repair!?"

"So this Yamata no Orochi is an evil spirit of nature?" the cloaked figure interrupted, suddenly standing behind Ichiro.

Still staring up at Ka, Ichiro replied to both of them, "Of course not. The Followers are working to repair the Void, which will take decades still. Orochi is the deity of my clan, a spirit of unity. To be completely honest... I do not know what will happen if his power falls into their hands."

Luna put a hand to her chin. "If he is a spirit of unity, will Ka attack unprovoked, or does he have an alternative purpose more important than us? Maybe will he try to avoid combat?"

"Isn't Orochi suppose to be a giant eight headed snake?" said Mia as she crossed her arms.

Ichiro sighed, "I haven't seen anything like this before... so I cannot tell you what Ka will do. And yes Mia, Orochi is, or was, and eight-headed serpent. Ka is merely one piece of his soul, with seven others like it." He paused, then continued, "The one seen on the news report was Mizu. The rest still reside within the masters of my clan."

"So...What's it doing here?" Smash asked.

"Whatever it's here for, it's definitely not here for the scenery." Luna was trying desperately to overcome the wall of fear the surrounded everyone with some humor. It was actually quite obvious it wasn't working.

Several thoughts raced in Ichiro's mind, trying to determine the exact consequences of the Followers' actions. ''This is terrible. Ka could cause so much destruction, especially under their control. And what became of Mizu? He was flying above Seaside City just as Ka is here, and then nothing.'' His silent pondering was interrupt by a lightning strike nearby. It came down upon Savage Skyscraper, the tallest building in the city. To everyone's surprise, a figure was standing on top of it. He wore a black cloak like the rest of the Followers, but also a conical straw hat. Upon closer inspection, the figure was seen to be... Demon Yamato?!

Demon stood perched atop the skyscraper's lightning rod, eying the beast up above. "At least do me the honour of a face to face encounter, Ka!" he shouted. Coupled with another roar, Ka's upper body penetrated the base of the clouds. He had short arms and wings, with a menacing, draconic face. The massive, firey serpent opened its jaws, and shot a blast of flame down towards the building. His attack was unfortunately for naught, as Demon obliterated it with a beam of violet energy. Just like what was shown on the news report, several bolts of the purple lightning centered on Demon's location, focusing into his orange samurai sword. He then pointed it towards Ka... and fired. Within moments, the Flame of Orochi was gone.

Thunder gave a blank stare at Demon, standing on top of the skyscraper. "...Did he just...kill him? With one hit?" He said in a flat tone.

"No wait," Smash said, now giving a serious look. "That's the same thing that happened in Seaside city...but the question still stands. Did he kill him? What happened?"

Tendril's mind was flooded with thoughts and memories, the most significant of which was Demon's appearance in Sandopolis a few months before. During this encounter, Tendril had seen something similar to what he had just witnessed now. Not just the purple lightning, but the way Demon seemed to absorb a being of fire into his sword. He began coming up with ideas, possible explanations of what was happening. But being unsure of the accuracy of his guesses, he decided not to speak up.

Ichiro stood with a mixture of shock and disgust in his expression, staring up at Demon. He had no answer for Smash and Thunder's query. The wolf now had two orbs of light slowly circling him, one orange and one blue. To himself he recited, "So begins my quest for power, no longer shall the weak annoy. Now is nature's final hour - Ka's flame, Mizu's flow: Soul of the Void!!!"

As if responding to his call, a massive bolt of purple lightning struck the building, demolishing it in one fell swoop. The windows shattered floor by floor and the structure collapsed upon itself, throwing mounds of debris into the surrounding space. The heroes' view was obscured by a thick cloud of dust, but the intense crash spoke a thousand words. Savage Skyscraper was gone.

"Look out!" Kyle cried out, fearing that they were in immediate danger from the explosion. Reacting upon instinct, Crystal held her hands above her head, creating a crystal shaped barrier around the group.

The cloaked creature was standing a bit away from the group, and a large hunk of concrete and steel was hurtling his way. Gazing intently at the massive projectile, his eyes suddenly glowed, and he held out both hands, which glowed as well. Soon the chunk of building was surrounded by the same glow; the being was using Psychic powers. Looking up at Demon, he concentrated, and in a burst of Psychic energy he made the chunk of building shoot towards the villain like a bullet.

The boulder of rubble flew through the cloud of dust and landed on the other side, hitting nothing. The cloaked person looked only slightly annoyed that he had missed his mark, however. After a few more moments the building was completely demolished. The thick cloud hovering around its former location continued to obscure the view of the heroes, but those who were able could feel something incredibly powerful on the inside. "Mia..." Ichiro called, "... Blow away the dust." He hesitated, but seemed sure of himself. Above the incredible fear held within him was confidence.

"What is this incredible power I am feeling from there?" Kyle asked with concern.

"We're about to find out, I think." Smash said.

"If I may, I'll do it for you." Thunder offered. He rose his palm slightly as he said this, as a gentle breeze drifted by them to emphasize his offer.

Ichiro was silent. His lack of response was an indication that he didn't matter who did the deed, as long as it was done.

Thunder then gently held his hand out in front of him, soon blowing a large gust of wind towards the dust. Soon, the dust cleared up.

Mia pouted a little, just losing what hope she had of being useful for once...

Now they could clearly see what was left. Where Savage Skyscraper once stood, there was now a crater filled with rubble and debris. In it's center, a horrible sight. It was Demon, yet at the same time, it wasn't. He knelt down in the crater, wearing violet, draconic armour. From his right hand came a small spire of flame, and from his left came one of ice. He stood slowly, waving the two around like a new pair of blades. "We... are one," he said to himself. Ichiro stood his ground, waiting, watching.

Smash's eyes widened at the sight. "T-they...fused...!" He said, softly.

"Incredible..." Gizmo whispered. "What does he plan to do with that power, though..?"

"Can't be anything good." Keela said, glaring down at Demon.

Mia took a step back, she never saw anything like this before. She started too take out her Graf Besn (Broom shaped wand) out.

Pyro and Tsunami's eyes changed color, the whites turning cyan and the pupils dark blue. Three dark blue triangles appeared in each Pyro's irises, one just above the pupil, one on the bottom left, and one on the bottom right, with the points of the three triangles touching one another. The two summoned their swords, Tsunami's made of solidified water, and Pyro's a forced fusion of solid fire and water. Twin shadow blades materialized on Tendril's arms and Inferna summoned her sword of solid flame.

Burst coated his arms in metal, focusing his flames around them. The others were up for a fight, and he was willing to back them up, no matter the challenge.

Kyle and Keela simultaneously drew their swords. Kyle's sword glowed brightly upon being unsheathed. Gizmo whipped out his Hand Cannon, and inserted his arm through the back of it. Smash equipped a couple of steel gauntlet attachments on his arms. Splice soon rejoined the group, now giving a look of determination. Thunder looked down at Zap and Crystal. "Zap, Take Crystal and get out of here. Get as far away from here as possible."

"But..." Zap protested. "What about you?"

"I'll be fine. Take her and run! Now!" Thunder ordered. Zap nodded slowly, and looked at Crystal. She nodded understandingly at him, and the two ran away from the scene.

Ichiro began to glow brightly as a suit of samurai armour appeared on his body, and his staff 'Moonriser' in his hand. Demon chuckled slightly, amused that his to-be opponents thought they might stand a chance against him. "You still want to fight, after all you have seen and heard?" he asked rhetorically, "So be it. I will destroy you all here and now... Have at you." With blinding speed Demon charged forward. The blade of ice was held forward and the blade of flame behind him. He went for Smash first, swinging around both arms to slash at him with flame sword.

Smash held up his arm to block the sword with his steel guard. He quickly countered with a punch aimed for his chest.

The punch collided with Demon's armour, leaving him open to thrust the ice sword at Smash. Ichiro turned around, hardly able to keep up with Demon's movements, and shouted, "Smash, be careful!"

Thetis suddenly rushed to Smash's side and, using his telekinesis, managed to at least slow down Demon's sword before it damaged Smash. "Get out of there!" he shouted.

Knowing better than to ignore his warning, Smash quickly backed away before the attack hit him. Kyle swung his sword at Demon's side multiple times, and ended with a thrust towards his side. Simultaneously, Paroi generated six glowing white holy orbs, and sent them all charging at Demon.

{C}Demon easily blocked each of Kyle's slashes with the flame sword, and slashed with the ice sword to create a wall of ice to slow Smash and Thetis. Burst shot a blast of fire at him from a distance, but that combined with Paroi's attack barely made him flinch. Demon retaliated by charging towards Burst and grabbing him by the throat with his left hand, the ice sword now retracted. "You like the fire boy?" he whispered, "Well then feel the burn!" With that he thrust the flame sword through Burst's stomach, and tossed him to the side.

"Burst!" Inferna called out in fear. Enraged, she immediately charged at Demon despite knowing she was outmatched and slashed at him with her sword.

Demon raised his left hand towards Infena as his gauntlet took the shape of a dragon head. "Weapon Style: Icewater Cannon!" he shouted. The dragon head glowed blue and fired a powerful beam of ice and water, aimed directly for Inferna. At the speed the two were travelling, it would be awfully hard to avoid.

Inferna didn't even try to avoid the stream. Instead, she held her own sword out in front of her, calling out, "Weapon Style: Flame Guard!" Immediately, flames sprouted from the end of the sword, creating a spiked shield of fire covering her entire body. The intense flames caused the beam to evaporate while she continued charging at Demon, this time prepared to impale him on the spikes of her shield.

Then beam haulted, turning back into his ice sword. He was slightly impressed by the power of the barrier, but it was nothing that couldn't be dealt with by the spiritual embodiment of water. Raising his left arm, Demon slashed at Inferna, effortlessly tearing through the shield with his newly applied force.

"My turn!" said Mia, and then she clapped her hands together and vanished into the wind but in her place a powerful vortex was created and thrashed itself at Demon!

Splice leaped into the air, and threw himself towards Demon as a blazing fireball. The flames around him burned even harder as he accelerated.

Thunder moved to Demon's side, making sure to keep a safe distance between them, and held both of his palms out towards him. He blew a small tornado crackling with electricity towards him.

Inferna paused for a moment when her shield left her, then continued her charge, her sword encased in glowing flames. Tsunami ran toward Demon, stopping when she passed Burst. She glanced back at him and held her hand up in the air where a small sphere of deep blue liquid materiallized, which she tossed at Burst. It popped as soon as it came into contact with him, covering him in the blue liquid, which then begins to glow brightly, absorbing into him. Soon, the wound on Burst's stomach began to close. Without staying to watch him heal, Tsunami continued toward Demon.

The healing water began to work its magic on Burst, but for some odd reason, the metal on his body seemed to reject it.

Demon pulled both of his arms in, then flexed them outward as the heroes simultaneously approached him. He released a blast of powerful fire and water energy, then disappeared from sight. Ichiro looked all around for him, calling out, "Keep on guard everyone! He could come from any angle."

Splice landed on the ground, relatively unphased by the attack. The flames around him died down immediately as he stood up and looked around.

Smash knew this trick all too well. He just needed to concentrate, and he could catch him before he got hit. He stood by Gizmo, who was charging his Hand Cannon with plasma energy. Thunder rushed towards them, feeling that he had to guard Gizmo as he was the most vulnerable one aside from Burst. Kyle and Keela stood back to back, looking all around them.

Inferna took the opportunity to dash over to Burst and kneel by his side. "Burst..." she muttered under her breath, "Please be alright...." Tsunami and Pyro simply stood motionless in place, eyes closed, while Tendril carefully walked over to Inferna, keeping his eyes out for any sign of trouble.

"He can't get past my eyes..." said Mia as she was still part of the wind so her voice echoed. Mia released the power of her eyes and tried to search for Demon.

Burst struggled on the ground; he was barely conscious. The metal on his body rippled, trying to keep the healing water out of him, but to no avail. Burst sat up, at a loss for words after what had just happen. Suddenly, he burst into flames, though it wasn't exactly a surprise to him. Slowly he transformed into his fiery, demonic counterpart, Blaze. "Ugh... I hate it when your friends do that to me," he said to Inferna.

In a flash of blacklight, Demon reappeared behind Mia and dealt a veritcal slash to her back with the flame sword. Ichiro only saw him at the last moment and could merely shout, "Mia, look out!"

Mia reappeared from her hidden wind form however she only managed to dodge so little, ending up with her arm being sliced off. Mia fell to the ground unconscious...

Tsunami suddenly appeared just above Demon, bringing her sword down on him from above.

"MIA!!" Smash cried out at the top of his lungs. Thunder and Gizmo gasped in shock, and could only watch as she fell to the ground. Seeing her getting taken out so easily made all of their hearts jump. But it did a little more than that for Smash. A blast of energy exploded from Smash, forming into a fiercely flowing skyblue aura as he transformed into his high tension state. He glared at Demon, now enraged by him taking out another one of his comrades.

Demon jerked around and met Tsunami's blade with his ice sword. "Mizu senses your power... but you are no match for me regardless," he grunted. Ichiro ran over to Mia to help, and inspected her wound. The flame sword had burnt its edges, which brought back awful memories of when he lost his tail. He feared that Mia's wound, like his, would not heal this time.

Mia slowly opened her eyes, "I-Ichiro?" whispered Mia, she regained consciousness however she was still missing her limb, "Ichiro, if you can get my arm, I can reattach it..." said Mia,

Smash launched himself into the air with a blast of energy under his feet, reaching Demon in only a matter of seconds. He threw a powerful punch towards his back, strong enough to shatter a normal person's spine and possibly puncture their body.

Relieved to see she was ok, Ichiro nodded and turned his head to see her arm on the ground a few feet away. Demon saw this as well and shot a blast of fire in an attempt to incinerate it. Ichiro acted fast and dove for it, shielding it from the blast. He then quickly tossed it back to Mia and ran at Demon, Moonriser at the ready.

Because of the burns, it took a little longer for it to heal back together, but Mia managed to reattach her arm. She got back up on her feet and clapped her hands together, "Okay, now I'm mad!" she said, and then a large gap appeared in front of her right at Demon. "WIND TUNNEL!!!" she shouted and an all destroying tornado was blasted from it!

The cloaked being, however, was watching the fight, calculating the best time to strike. His red eyes were glowing faintly as he readied a PsycheOrb, aligned with IceFire, in his left paw.

Ichiro swung the blade of Moonriser at the gap and called out, "Mirage Laceration!" A beam of light flew from the blade, spinning like a boomerang. It combined with the gap to power up the tornado with light energy. Demon tried to block with his flame sword, but it proved difficult since his other sword was still occupied with Tsunami. He was forced to disappear again, leaving the heroes in suspense once more.

Mia closed the gap. "Shoot, where did he go now?" she said, and due to what happened last time she wasn't going to rely on her Eyes of Truth to find him.

Smash landed on the ground and immediately began looking around. He stopped before he could get himself too worked up, and was relieved to see Mia back on her feet again. He closed his eyes, and began to concentrate.

Demon reappeared high in the air, his arms raised into the sky. Both swords slowly turned purple, an awful sign. The two blades radiated with energy as Demon shouted, "Viral Flame, Vicious Gale: Soul of the Void!" Ichiro barely had time to shout, "Everybody RUN!!!" when Demon swung his arms down. An intense wave of violet fire and wind shot down towards the heroes, engulfing a major part of the street. Some of the heroes would likely recognize the wind as the spell that the hydrokinetics cast two days before, only this time it was on a much larger scale.

"URRGHIII!!" Smash screamed at the top of his lungs. He let out another blast of energy, but this time it was used to propel himself away from the blast area. Thunder grabbed Gizmo's arm and ran as fast as he could away from the area. Kyle and Keela quickly scrambled for cover. Splice looked almost as if he were about to have a heart attack and ran faster than anyone in the area.

Much farther away from the group, Zap and Crystal watched in horror as they saw the attack being unleashed. They both wanted to help, but they both knew that they would only get in the way.

The cloaked being, however, used his Psychic powers to divert the violet fire and wind around him in a sphere.

Pyro and Inferna released bursts of flame to lift up into the air and fly out of range of Demon's attack. Tendril sprouted wings of shadows and followed them. Tsunami simply vanished, reappearing at a safe distance seconds later.

The violet fire and wind crashed down upon the cloaked figure's shield, tearing it to pieces. Ichiro looked back and shouted, "Savant, no!" The Vortex Magic quickly drained all the energy supported the shield, and proceeded to do the same to the figure. Avoiding this would be near impossible.

Savant had not been expecting this to happen. His eyes widened as the violet flame quickly closed in on him, the sudden dispersal of his Psychic shield sending a bolt of agony through his head. The Vortex Magic then engulfed him.

Mia summoned gaps that took in the rest of the heroes into safety like last time, just right before they got hit!

Luna, being the way overconfident person she was, tried the same tactic as the cloaked figure, now deemed Savant. With a flash of lightning, someone zoomed in, grabbed her collar, and with one more flash, appeared farther away. The new figure glared at Luna. "Can't you take hints? I wouldn't advise trying a shield against an attack that just obliterated another." Luna rolled her eyes. "Yes Professor." The figure growled. "Don't call me that. It's Static, remember?"

Demon stared down at the street, disappointed that he had missed so many targets. Savant was quite satisfying, however, as he had much energy to give. Unfortunately, Mia's space hole managed to take him to safety before he could be finished off, so Demon slowly hovered back to the ground. Both elemental blades were now purple, matching the colour of his armour and the Vortex Magic. Ichiro was now worried, for he had hoped that Demon would hold back for longer. Using his photokinesis, he projected a message into the minds of the heroes: ''I'm afraid blocking his attacks is no longer an option. Do whatever you can to dodge, and only attack when you are absolutely sure you can score a hit.''

Pyro glanced over at Tsunami, who then nodded at him. He immediately lifted his sword up into the air and stabbed it into the ground, calling out, "Weapon Style: Searing Surf!" A hot geyser of water gushed from the hilt of the sword, directed in a scalding flood at Demon.

Smash's group began to regroup together. "This is not good." Thunder said, looking at Demon.

"If I can just get a good shot at him...All I need is time and precision!" Gizmo said, still charging his cannon. "That's all I need...So cover me!"

Without even turning his head, Demon held out his fire sword to block the Searing Surf, and the geyser was completely absorbed into the purple flames. Ichiro listened well to Gizmo's idea, and thought of one of his own. "I've got it! We need to keep both blades occupied, then strike him at once," he explained, "Why didn't I think of this before?"

"I can give it a go," Paroi said, appearing next to Ichiro and generating his holy orbs once more. "I'll see if I can pin him down with my spells. I doubt I'll hit him, but it should keep him occupied for a while."

Pyro kept his own attack going, constantly bombarding Demon with a flood of steaming hot water. Tsunami was now on Demon's opposite side, her own sword in hand. "Weapon Style: Wave Cutter!" she called out, and began slicing rapidly at the air in front of her. Each slice sent a razor sharp wave of water at Demon.

Almost directly after Tsunami's attack, Paroi extended his arms in front of him and shouted, "Meteor!" Rocks rose from the ground around him, and ignited in intense flame. The flaming boulders then fired off in Demon's direction.

Seeing all of the attacks coming at him from different directions, Demon knew he needed to be more cunning. He spun both of his arms in circles, creating two violet portals to nowhere. Each absobed the bombardment of attacks just as his firesword did to Pyro's previous one. "It won't be that easy," Ichiro grunted in frustration, "We have to do something different. Mia... I need to do something a little 'risky'."

Pyro and Tsunami both kept their attacks going, despite seeing that it was pointless. Paroi did the same, shooting multiple blasts of non-elemental magic at Demon.

Mia looked at Ichiro with a little worry, "What is it?" she asked, despite her worry, she was determined to do whatever she needs to do.

Ichiro hesitated, feeling quite awful to put Mia in such danger. "...Fodder his attacks... then try to trap his blades within a spacial gap," he explained.

"Got it!" said Mia, and then she used her magic to counter the portals, and then summoned two gaps that engulfed each of the blades. Just to make sure, they are latched on by shikigami arms. Mia then decreased the size of the gaps till it was impossible to remove the blades from them.

Demon was surprised, having been so easily captured. He struggled to escape until he became quite frustrated. "Violet Vortex: Soul of the Void!" he roared. A purple glow began to eminate from within the gaps, and they slowly began to stretch as he pulled against their sides. "Quickly, attack him at one!" Ichiro called out to the heroes.

Pyro and Tsunami ceased their attacks. Pyro breathed out a jet of flame at Demon, while Tsunami rushed him, Chidori in hand. Tendril charged up a Chidori of his own, except it was purple instead of light blue. Once it was charged, he rushed Demon from the opposite side as Tsunami while Inferna added her own flames to Pyro's.

Mia took out her hat and placed it on her head, it started to pump her up. All of a sudden the winds started to surround her into a powerful vortex. It hit into the skies and then came back down even more fierce, as a tornado which she then tossed at Demon, "Eternal Winds- Destruction of the Monsoon!" she chanted, her most powerful wind spell.

Savant had been inches from what could possibly have been his death before Mia rescued him. He looked around, bewildered, his head still aching from having his Psychic powers interrupted.

Splice and Thunder placed their hands on Gizmo's hand cannon, and began channeling Fire, Ice, and Lightning energy into the cannon. It began to glow brightly with power, as he was nearly ready to fire. Kyle came up behind Demon, and attacked him directly. As he approached him, he chanted "Oh Gems of the Gemblade, Lend me thy power...!" He then proceeded to throw everything he had at him.

Static cracked his knuckles. "Watch and learn, Luna." He held his hands up, concentrating his energy. "Eye of the Storm: Indignation!" Energy sparked across his fingers and was unleashed in a single tricolored bolt hurling at Demon.

Blaze burned brightly as his flames grew in power. He held his hands forward towards Demon and called out, "Firestorm: Chaos Inferno!" An intense spiral of heat and flame shot from his hands and joined the other fire attacks.

As the attacks barreled towards Demon's location, Ichiro leapt high into the air. A holy glow eminated from his body while he shouted, "Hikari of Orochi, with thy light, give me the power with which to smite!" A beam of light shot from Moonriser, meeting Demon simultaneously with the other attacks. The result was a mighty burst of energy, harmless to the heroes but quite painful to Demon. When the light of the explosion faded he was kneeling on the ground in his normal form, panting heavily. The two souls of Orochi floated around him as orbs once more. Ichiro landed on the ground in front of him and claimed the orb of water, but Demon was quick. Still with much energy left, he drew his sword and slashed at the orb of fire, absorbing it back into himself. He then jumped into the air, and disappeared in a flash of blacklight. "Gone..." Ichiro muttered following his departure.

Pyro collapsed to his knees, panting heavily from having to use so much energy at once. Sustaining the Searing Surf as long as he did had taken quite a bit of power on it's own. Tsunami stumbled a bit, but quickly regained her composure, trying to hide the fact that she was also panting softly. Tendril shut off his Dark Chidori as soon as the explosion occured, yet still found it difficult to stand afterwards, indicating that the move still took a lot of energy to use.

Mia fell down backwards, she used up alot of her magic in the last attack, but she smiled as she panted that Demon lost this round. "We did good, right Ichiro?" said Mia, right before she passed out.

Savant glared at the spot where Demon had disappeared, then spat on it contemptuously. "Coward," he growled. He also cursed himself for not getting a chance to attack the villain.

Ichiro ran to catch Mia, just before she collapsed to the ground. "Yes Mia... you all did very good," he said softly.

Gizmo clicked his Hand Cannon into "Power Save" mode, and lowered it. Kyle lowered his sword, panting after using up so much energy. He soon stood straight and returned his sword back into it's sheath.

"So, did we win?" Thetis asked, slightly out of character.

"I highly doubt he won't return," Paroi said.

"But for now, it seems like he's done." Smash said. "Still, Keep your guard up. He may decide to jump back at us when our backs are turned."

"MIA AND ICHIRO, SITTING IN A TREE! K-I-" ''Smack! ''"Yow!" Static had whacked Luna on the back of the head. "Your first impression is thoughtful and detached, and then you open your mouth." he scolded. Static was leaning on his tesla sword, feeling drained like the rest of the group. Splice gave Luna and Static a weird look before turning to meet back with the others.

Zap and Crystal ran back to the group. "Is everyone alright!?" Crystal called out.

"I'll be alright," Pyro replied, "I'm just.....low on energy."

Mia managed to wake up a a bit, but then she brought up a good question, "Will we fight more enemies like this one?"

Despite being somewhat distracted, Ichiro answered, "I cannot say for sure. If Demon manages to get his hands on the other six souls, we could be in grave danger... I must return to the Dragon Kingdom to protect my masters." He helped Mia back up to her feet, then stepped off a few feet to the side and pulled a warp ring from within his pocket.

"Okay, but what do we do?" Thunder asked, walking towards them.

"Yes," Thetis said, running towards the others. "What can we do to help with all this? Right now it feels like I'm just sitting on the sidelines."

"Perhaps..." Ichiro began, "Perhaps if you all accompanied me to Poppy Village, the masters and I could figure out a way for you to help." He hesitated, and then asked, "You may be putting your lives in danger... but will you join me?"

"When is it not in danger," Thetis said sarcastically, "and our lives will be in danger anyway if these guys are left alone."

"I agree," Paroi said, "we'll be in danger anyway, only we have a chance to do something about it."

Pyro rose slowly to his feet. He was still panting, but he seemed to have recovered a bit. "You can count me in," he said, "I'm not going to let the world fall into the hands of these guys." Tsunami shrugged and replied, "I might as well come too. They appear to be very powerful opponents. The perfect people to test my abilities on."

"I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we'll go." Smash said. "Like they said, We'll be in danger anyway and only we have a chance to do something about it. We've faced threats like these before, this is nothing new."

Splice nodded. "Yeah. What he said."

"Yeah, I'm always going into danger when doing my job, so what else is new?" said Mia as she gave off a confidant smile.

Savant crossed his arms.

"I may as well..."

Static nodded. "We'll come." Luna nodded in agreement. "Hopefully we can be of some use."

Ichiro smiled, happy to see he had so much support. "I truly appreciate all that you are willing to do. Poppy Village awaits your presence. Rest well tonight. Tomorrow, we will meet at the train station, and I will take you all to the village. There we can formulate a plan of action, and become better acquainted with our allies." He put the warp ring back into his pocket, nodded, and then faded away into the sunlight as he walked off.

"So..." Paroi started, breaking the silence, "we are we going to stay? Unless we plan on sleeping on the streets."

"Well... maybe some sort of inn?" Luna suggested weakly. "Any of those around here?"

"I wouldn't know," Paroi said, "I only recently arrived."

"If you all need a place to stay, you're welcome aboard my ship." Thunder offered. "That's where I'll be. Come down by the docks if you're interested." He then left, taking the two kids with him.

The next morning, Ichiro arrived back at the train station in Station Square bright and early. To his surprise, Burst was already there waiting for him. Before Ichiro could even get a word out he said, "I don't have much to do other than these 'save-the-world' gigs, so I just stayed around here." Ichiro was silent for a moment, then replied, "Alright then. Now we wait for the others."

Paroi suddenly appeared in a flash of light, arms folded and an impatient grin on his face. "Ready to go," he said. Thetis walked in a few moments later, looking as unenthusiastic as ever.

Static was next to arrive, in the typical zoom-flash. He had latched on to Aqua, the latter of the two looking dazed from the sudden speed boost. "Luna's not here; she's escorting Summer back home." Static said, standing tall. "This is Aqua, my wife." The still dazed blue hedgehog didn't respond, causing her counterpart to sigh.

Tendril and Inferna landed nearby, Inferna on jets of flame and Tendril sporting his wings of shadow. Pyro landed beside them as Tsunami suddenly materialized, reclining high on the wall of the station.

Savant then arrived, flying, and landed silently a few feet away from the group.

"So, are we ready to go?" Thetis asked.

Static did a casual look around. "We're missing Mia and Smash's crew. Should we wait?"

Soon, the group heard a motorcycle on it's way. At the same time, they could see Thunder's ship coming into view from the beach beside the hotel. Thunder, Zap, Kyle, Keela and Crystal were all aboard the ship, meanwhile Smash was riding his motorcycle towards them from down the street. They could see Splice running beside him, and Gizmo sitting behind him.

Mia came walking in from a spacial gap while tightening the green bow in her hair, she gave off a rather confident smile. "Sorry I'm late," she said as she shrugged,

Smash drifted right past the group, swerving around to park next to the staircase. He stopped just before hitting it, and got off. "Sorry 'bout the wait." He said as he got off with Gizmo right behind him.

Ichiro looked back and forth at the small army that gathered before him. "It seems we have everyone," he commented, "Anything else before we depart?"

"Actually, yeah." A mysterious voice called out. To most it was the voice of a stranger, but to others it was quite familiar...

Without even turning his head, Ichiro responded, "And you are?"

"Whoa, voice out of nowhere. It'd be creepier if it was night." Static commented.

"The heck? Who's there?" Smash asked, looking around.

Savant didn't seem so shocked at this mysterious voice. Now what? he thought to himself.

A loud, brief whistle rings through the air, bringing attention to its source. "Over here people!" the voice said.

Savant brought his cold gaze over to the source of the whistle.

Smash walked towards the source, wanting to get this over with quickly.

Still looking at the heroes and not the mysterious new figure, Ichiro called to him, "Making such an entrance seems quite unnecessary. Why not just join us and explain your motives like any regular person would?"

The source of the whistle was a green hedgehog with yellow stripes across his body, with a tan muzzle and vaguely bolt-shaped chest. His eyes were blue like electricity. His attire made it clear he wasn't rural, as he wore black arm-braces over his forearms, and gloves with yellow stripes along the fingers. His shoes are bright green, with yellow stripes running parallel with sky blue florescent details running down the middle. The expression he wore was difficult to read as he looked at the crowd. "The name's Statyx." he said as he introduced himself. "And I'm far from "any regular person". Then again, I don't really believe anyone is "regular"." Statyx said, smirking.

Savant quietly observed this newcomer who called himself Statyx, those cold yet intelligent eyes watching intensely. The hedgehog had a fighter's aura, that was for sure, and a loyal heart; he was a bit too cocky and confident for the Goetian's liking, however.

"Merely a choice of words," Ichiro commented. He then turned to Statyx and asked, "Now, would you mind telling us why you decided to disturb us when we were just about to leave?"

The green hedgehog turned his attention to Ichiro. "Cause I was supposed to be here a long time ago."

Ichiro chuckled for some odd reason. "That doesn't exactly answer my question," he stated.

"Well then, how's this:" Statyx started off. "I'm an elite G.U.N. agent who was sent in to deal with the fire n' water riot. Unfortunately I got lost, and by the time I got there everything had gone to Hell."

This time Burst stepped forward and responded, "G.U.N? What're they sending new agents for? They already had guys on the inside." Ichiro hushed him and ask, "If you are with G.U.N, then you must be on our side. Will you join us on our quest?"

Aqua, who had finally steadied herself, began biting the inside of her cheek. "Whenever the government gets involved, you know the situation is bad."

"Seriously..." Smash agreed, frowning uncertainly. "I'd prefer not to have any interactions with the government, period."

"Well," Statyx said, crossing his arms and looking at the group. As far as he could tell, it was a rag-tag group of strangers brought together entirely by coincidence. In other words, a video-game group of heroes set in reality. "what exactly does this quest of yours entail? If it's in line with my mission I could help, but if it happens to have different goals, I'll have to decline. And if it directly conflicts against my mission...." Statyx raised up his right hand so it was level with his face. Out of nowhere, his hand was covered in crackling electricity. "we can take care of that here and now."

Ichiro paused for a moment, contemplating Statyx's proposition. "We are going to my village in the Dragon Kingdom," he began, "My clan has rivaled with this enemy for decades. With the greatly generous services volunteered by these folk, we will plan out our method of combating them. The fate of existence as we know may depend on our success, so we need all the help we can get."

Static tilted his head. "You look like a kid, but your energy's been around a lot longer than that." He frowned. "You practically radiate electrokinisis. Very powerful." Static's hand began sparking with his own electricity. "But know that you aren't the only one here with that power."

Smash glanced back and forth between the two electrokinetics. "Hm. Well that makes four of us, if I'm not mistaken." He said. He then looked to the side, seeing the rest of his comrades walking over. "And here's the other two right now.

Thunder stopped once he and the rest of them made it over. "Good morning, everyone. I hope we're not late." He greeted. Zap stood right by his side, while Crystal, Kyle and Keela were behind the two.

"Heh," Statyx smirked, speaking to Static. "you have no idea what I'm capable of. Fortunately, it seems that you guys aren't my enemies... for now." The green hedgehog released the electricity, and dropped his hand to his side.

Ichiro pulled his warp ring from his pocket and said, "Excellent, I believe we are finally ready to depart. I would appreciate the help of anyone with teleportation powers, as transporting so many people requires more energy than a single warp ring can provide."

Static, with a parting glare at Statyx, turned to Ichiro. "I could teleport about two people to take the stress off the ring's power, but I'm not sure if I could amplify it."

Statyx gave a gentleman's bow, only further displaying his cheeky attitude. "Would an adept and experienced user of Chaos Control be what you're looking for?" he jokingly asked, looking up at Ichiro with a cheeky grin.

"I might be able to, considering I teleported here," Paroi said.

"You would all be more than acceptable," Ichiro replied. He then held out the ring and said them, "Grab onto the ring, if you please."

Gizmo seemed rather irritated with Statyx' cocky attitude, but Smash just shrugged it off. Zap on the other hand, was pouting. "I-I thought we were going to ride the train..." He said quietly, feeling rather disappointed.

Burst chuckled a little, then said to Zap, "Don't worry little buddy, there's way more fun than riding a train where we're going."

Savant simply glared at Statyx, all previous thoughts about the hedgehog vanishing. The Goetian wasn't capable teleporting more than 5 feet, however, so he'd be virtually useless for this feat.

"Um..." Mia started up, "My space magic allows transportation, I can get multiple people anywhere!"

"So, can we go now?" Smash asked, beginning to feel impatient. "I think we've wasted enough time around here. Let's hurry things along, shall we?"

"Yes, Lets." Thunder agreed. The group began to gather around Ichiro, leaving enough room for the ones helping with the warp ring.

Static put his hand over the ring, allowing electricity to flow into it. Soon he stepped back. "I've done my part."

Statyx walked up nonchalantly, looking at the Warp Ring. "If I recall, Warp Rings run off of Chaos Energy, so I imagine a good dose of that might be more helpful than filling it with a mesh-mash of different powers that could do who-knows-what." The green hedgehog looked up at Ichiro. "Got any other Chaos users around here?"

"I thought you said you could do it yourself." Smash said, frowning.

"I'm sure that in such a large group there are at least a few," Ichiro answered, "But for now, I doubt we will need many volunteers to provide the power needed to transport all of us."

Gizmo shrugged and walked over to the warp ring, removing his glove and replacing it with another one. He placed his hand on the warp ring and gripped it firmly. The glove he had put on was darker than his previous one, and had a small crystal fragment on the back of it--which began to glow as he powered the ring with Chaos Energy. "It's not much, but it should be enough." He said.

Statyx looked at Smash and simply shrugged. "I could," he said bluntly. "but then I wouldn't get valuable information like who the other Chaos users are around here and how powerful they are." The green hedgehog crossed his arms and smirked. "As far as I know we're on the same side. But that's 'as far as I know': I don't intend to be caught off-guard in case I'm proven wrong."

"Hm. I suppose you have a point." He responded. "Anyway, that should be enough, right? Let's get going."

Ichiro spun the warp ring in his hand, and it expanded to become a large portal. "I'm fairly certain the energy provided will be more than enough to sustain the warp for all of us," Ichiro assured, "On the other side is Poppy Village in the Dragon Kingdom, my home. After you." He gestured in a mannerly fashion to the warp ring, signaling the others to go through.

Tendril and Inferna steped into the ring, followed by Pyro and Tsunami.

Gizmo walked through next, soon followed by Splice. Smash glanced over at the rest of the group before heading inside. Kyle and Keela then headed through the ring, interested in the new village they were about to visit. Thunder took one last glance at his ship, wondering if it would be alright by itself, before heading inside. Zap seemed hesitant at first, but Crystal gave him a little nudge and lead him inside.

Static gave a slight bow and gestured for Aqua to go in first. "You're such a gentleman." she frowned, then walked in. Static snickered and followed.

Mia straightened her hair bow and then walked into the ring...

This form of travel intrigued Paroi, since he had never heard of a warp ring before now. We walked into the portal with an almost childlike look of interest on his face. He was immediately followed by Thetis, who simply walked into the portal without showing a single shred of emotion other than impatience.

Statyx tapped his foot with his arms crossed, looking in the direction he had come from.

Savant then walked into the ring as well.

Before following the others into the ring, Ichiro turned to Statyx and said, "We don't have much time. If you're waiting for something, perhaps it would be best if you met up with us at a later time."

"Can't afford to leave who I'm waiting for on their own that long. Especially if he doesn't know where I'm gonna be." the green hedgehog answered, without turning his attention to Ichiro.

Ichiro paused for a moment, and then replied, "Well then, I'll see you on the battlefield." With that, he stepped into the warp ring, letting it close behind him.

The heroes' destination was Poppy Village, which appeared... rather unappealing. Nearly every building in sight was undergoing some sort of repairs, some more than others. Those that were intact had walls of bright-red with golden rooves. Not a single person was in sight, but the faint sound of a distant hammer could be heard, signifying that there were indeed others here. Ichiro stepped through the warp ring, and once it had shrunk back to normal size he placed it back into his pocket. "Welcome... to my home," he said with a slight reluctance.

Smash stared at their surroundings, looking somewhat concerned. "Whoa, what happened HERE?" Splice asked in surprise.

"This...wasn't really what I was expecting..." Gizmo said, uneasily.

Thunder took note of Ichiro's discomfort, and flashed him a sympathetic look.

"It's because of this war, isn't it?" Smash asked, beating Thunder to the question.

Ichiro sighed and answered, "No, not quite. Years ago, Demon Yamato led an army to attack our clan. The entire village was destroyed in the battle. We've been slowly working to repair it ever since, but nearly all of our people left to other parts of the world. There are a few who return on occasion to assist, but it is usually just myself and my masters." He then gestured to one intact building in the distance, far larger than the rest. "The sanctuary is just down the road. We will meet my masters there."

"I see, and that's why it's still like this.." Thunder said, quietly.

Thetis had no comment about the state of the village, although he did have a rather sullen look on his face.

Kyle closed his eyes, faint memories of his own village in the same state were beginning to return to him. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Gizmo say "We should hurry. We've wasted enough time as it is."

Ichiro nodded, then turned to face the sanctuary down the road. "Come," he said as he began walking, gesturing for the others to follow.

As Mia followed Ichiro, her heart ached from the sorrowful sight of the village, causing her to worry about her own home back in Hayashi.

Static took in a deep breath. "Destroyed or not, this place is infinitely better than my home. You never got a breath of fresh air around there." Aqua just looked around in concern and followed along.

Zap looked troubled. This was far from what he was expecting. He began to think about just how serious this really was. Crystal noticed his gloomy face, and rested her hand on his shoulder for comfort.

I'm beginning to wonder how everyone else is holding up... Smash thought as he walked with the group.

The heroes quickly reached the gate of the large building. Ichiro tapped the knocker once, and the doors slowly swung open. Inside, it looked like the foyer of an esteemed manor, though it was rather empty. "Master Yamori, I have returned." Ichiro called out. Suddenly, a grey-robed gecko appeared in a puff smoke, standing in front of the group. "Ah, welcome," the gecko began, "I am Yamori Kage, shadow master of the Orochi Clan." He quickly eyed the group and continued, "It seems that Ichiro has gathered quite a fine band of warriors. I thank you all in advance for your accompanyment and cooperation."

"It's an honor, Yamori Kage," Paroi said, bowing, with Kyle and Keela following along.

The gecko smiled and replied, "Please, just Yamori is fine." He walked off to the side and gestured to a slightly oversized doorway, then said, "The guest quarters are just down this hall, please make yourselves at home."

Burst smirked at Yamori's suggestion and said, "Make ourselves at home? I like the sound of that." He then took hold of Inferna's hand, and gestured down the hallway. Ichiro simply shot him a harsh glance, wanting to make sure he behaved himself.

Inferna gripped Burst's hand and smiled at him. Noticing Ichiro's glance, she said, "Don't worry, I'll try to keep him under control."

Splice smiled a bit, taking a look around. "Nice place ya got here. Really makes up for the state the rest of the village is in." He commented.

"I'm going to take a look at the guest quarters, and put some of my stuff away." Thunder said. "Thank you, Yamori." He walked towards the doorway, gesturing for Zap to follow.

As the heroes headed off to relax, Yamori walked over to the staircase in the middle of the foyer, and stomed thrice on an odd looking floor-panel. "Care to join the land of the sociable, old man?" he called downward, "Our guests have arrived." After a moment of silence, an elderly male voice responded from below, "I'm coming, I'm coming." The floor panel opened up to reveal an entry to the basement, and a hoary cobra emerged from below. "Now, where is everybody?" he asked, looking back and forth repeatedly.

Splice and Kyle were one of the few who hadn't left the room, yet. They both looked over to see the new person coming out of the basement. "Oh, hi." Splice greeted in a carefree manner.

Kyle bowed his head towards him. "Good afternoon, sir." He said, politely.

Ichiro smiled at the new presence and said to the remaining heroes, "This is Master Shog--" He was cut off by the cobra, who snapped. "I can introduce myself, young man! Shogai Kanden, lightning master of the Orochi Clan." Shogai slithered up to Kyle and thoroughly surveyed him, though he appeared to be staring off into nothingness. "Ichiro, introduce me to your friends!" Ichiro sighed in exasperation and named off the others who remained in the lobby ((I haven't checked to see who all's still there ^^;)).

Meanwhile, those who headed off to the guest quarters found a large room at the end of the hallway that appeared to be a lounge. Four sofas were arranged around an ottoman in the centre, and a few other chairs sat around the perimeter of the room. On the far wall was a large, stone fireplace with bookshelves on either side. Another doorway stood in the far corner, leading off to a hallway similar to the last. In the corner to the right of the entrance was a spiral staircase, leading up to a balcony on the second floor. The ceiling was open with several similar balconies, and one could see all the way up to the base of the roof. Burst was the first in the room, and he immediately ran with Inferna in tow to snag a seat on one of the sofas.

Inferna sat next to him, with Tendril sitting on the other side of her. Tsunami leaned up against the wall and remained silent, while Pyro took a seat on the sofa across from Burst, Inferna, and Tendril.

Thetis calmly walked up to one of the sofas and jumped into it, lying body length along the sofa and looking quite relaxed. Paroi moved to a corner in the room, sat cross-legged on the floor, and meditated.

"Well, this is certainly a cozy little area." Smash commented as he walked into the room. He took his time taking a look around, while Thunder took a seat on the sofa near Pyro. Gizmo sat on the floor, setting his backpack in front of him to open it and go through it's contents, while Keela sat on one of the sofa's, letting out a relaxed sigh as she got comfortable. Crystal hopped onto the seat next to her, looking around the room with an innocent smile.

Zap on the other hand, was standing somewhere away from the group, writing something down in a notepad. He occasionally paused to take a brief look at his surroundings before continuing.

Thunder glanced around the room. "Hey...Where'd Zap go?" He asked.

"Hm? I thought he was by the window." Smash said, with a shrug.

"Nope, not there." Thunder said. "He's not in the room anymore."

In his distraction, Zap had wandered down the next hall. Sunlight leaked in from the offshooting rooms, but it was otherwise quite dark. The lounge was now a fair distance behind him, and a corner ahead. In the light shining on the corner from what appeared to be a torch, a long shadow slid by. What cast the shadow was unknown, but it was clear that it was approaching.

After jotting down a few more notes, the boy looked around the hallway he was in. ''Hm? Uh oh, I didn't mean to go too far away from the others...'' He thought as he looked back. He couldn't even see the entrance to the room anymore. Maybe I should turn back..? He wondered. Something then caught his eye; a shadow moving towards him. Someone was coming. Startled, he gasped softly and took a step back. He couldn't quite make out who or what the shadow was of, or if the thing was friendly or not.

Slowly from around the corner, a figure slithered into view. It was a python, carrying a torch in his tail. "Hmm? And who might you be?" he asked upon noticing Zap.

Zap didn't answer. He stood staring at him, wide-eyed. His legs started quivering with fear. S-s-sna-aake...I-It's a giant s-snake... Even the voice of his thoughts were trembling.

The python stared quizzically at Zap for a moment, until a realization dawned on him. "Oh, you must be one of Ichiro's guests," he said with excitement. "I am Hebi Dokugu, poison master of the Orochi Clan. It's a pleasure to meet you, young man."

I-it's a giant... talking s-snake... He thought. He gulped loudly, and tried to calm down a bit. He took a good look at Hebi, not quite sure what to think of him, or how to respond. ...He seems friendly, though... Despite that, he made sure he was a safe distance from him, watching him cautiously. He simply nodded slowly at the snake's introduction, but stayed silent.

Hebi chuckled a bit, noticing Zap's uncertainty. "Well then, why don't you come with me, and we can meet up with your friends," he suggested. With a smile he slithered passed, the torch flickering behind him.

Knowing that he would feel much more comfortable around his friends than alone with a giant snake, he hurried back towards the lounge.

Back out in the foyer, Savant was staring idly out the window. Yamori gave him a quick glance, but then turned his attention back to the others, not wanting to impose. "If you'll all follow me, I'd like to direct you to the garden," he announced, "Mutoh, another of our ranks, should be there already." Strangely, Ichiro turned away at mention of the name Mutoh. It seemed to make him uncomfortable, but he went on like nothing was wrong.

"Sounds good to me." Splice said. "Lead the way."

Mia took notice of Ichiro's action, however something was bothering her. She merely stared at the window and sighed, she was thinking of her home in the forest, what state it's currently in. But she shook her head and followed the others.

Yamori gave a nod and led the heroes to a large door behind the staircase. Slowly, with a loud creak, it opened to reveal a short hallway. At its end was an identical door, and behind it was the garden. It was a large square courtyard with a beautiful fountain in the centre. On each side was a door like the one they came through leading to the various wings of the sanctuary. Rows of flowers lined the perimeter and drew out pathways along the ground. The sun shone down from the mid-western skies and illuminated the garden with a deep-yellow glow. Next to the fountain, sitting in a meditative pose, was a being who looked an awful lot like Ichiro. He was much older, however, and wore a more traditional Yurashian outfit. The approach of the heroes did not bother him, and he remained sitting perfectly still.

Splice tilted his head slightly, and looked back and forth between the man and Ichiro. ''They look pretty similar...no, Very similar. Are they related, I wonder?''

"Is this man the one you called Mutoh?" Kyle asked, softly.

Savant walked outside to where the heroes were gathered, looking upon the meditating elder with curiosity and a look of instinctual respect.

Yamori nodded to Kyle and answered, "Yes, this is Mutoh Keiken, light master of the Orochi Clan." Mutoh opened his eyes and stood, giving the heroes a silent bow. Just then, Hebi came through the door to their right with Zap still following. "Excelent, Yamori. Introducing everyone, I see?" the python began, "Have they met Homura yet?" Yamori paused briefly and replied, "I actually have not seen Homura since this morning... No matter, they will meet him at dinner."

Paroi then appeared at the door, apparently looking for the others. He stopped when he saw everyone gathered around. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"Not at all," Yamori replied, "I was actually just about to let you all off on your own. The sanctuary is free to explore. However, I do ask that you refrain from entering the basement. That area is off limits to visitors." He started off towards the far door and continued, "Within the next hour or so, I wish for you all to join us in the dining hall through here for dinner. During, we will discuss our plan to combat the Void." Following a brief bow, Yamori entered the door and disappeared into the darkened halls of the sanctuary.

Static cupped his chin. "The basement? Interesting." Aqua shot a glare at him. "Don't you dare." Her counterpart held his hands up. "Hey, sorry! I'm nosy, I admit. Nothing stupid. Promise." Even so, Aqua continued to glare. "What, are you trying to freeze me with your eyes? Don't answer that."

"The sanctuary is free to explore?" Paroi said, scratching his chin and looking into the sky. "Looking around might actually be fun."

"Yeah." Splice agreed, folding his arms behind his head.

"Maybe we should be getting ready for combatting this Void," Thetis said as he emerged from the doorway. He walked next to Paroi and turned to him. "Besides, you've gotten a little slack with your spellcasting lately. Maybe you should train."

"Me?" Paroi replied, laughing. "My magic is as strong as ever. However, a little practice wouldn't hurt."

"Well then, I suppose I'll leave all of you to do what you wish," Ichiro said, "If anyone needs me, I'll be upstairs in the south wing." On that note, Ichiro walked off as well to do who knows what, leaving the others truly free to explore.

Come evening, the heroes began to gather in the dining hall at the west wing of the sactuary. The dining table was long with a place laid out for each of them. The masters moved like clockwork in and out of the kitchen, slowing filling the tabletop with various dishes. As they neared completion, Ichiro entered the room with a large, grey-brown crocodile following close behind him. The crocodile was easily at least six feet tall, with a muscular build and a very serious expression on his face.

Seeing the two arrive, Burst gave Yamori a nudge to get his attention and asked, "Hey, who's the big scary guy?" Yamori chuckled and replied, "That is master Homura. Do not be afraid of him, under his rough exterior he can actually be quite kind." Homura stood at the end of the table, with Ichiro at the seat next to him, and tapped a glass with his claw to get the attention of the room. "Greetings everyone. I am Homura Iwa, earth master of the Orochi Clan." His voice was deep, monotonous, and focused. Had he not be an ally, it would have easily stricken fear into those who heard it. "As you all know, we are here to plot our counterstrike against the Void and its Followers. However, as our journey will most definitely take all of tomorrow to complete, we have prepared for you a feast, to ensure full energy on the field of battle, and to welcome you to our village." Ichiro was the one to continue, saying, "If you haven't yet you may take your seats, and please help yourselves to anything we have prepared for you."

Spread across the table were countless dishes, including soups, fish, rice, and various finely sliced meats. There were also many horderves and several jugs of sake. In a dull flash, many of Ichiro's illusion doubles appeared around the table, ready to act as servers for the group.

Smash sat down someone in the middle of one row of seats, with Kyle on his left and Splice to his right. Keela sat next to Kyle, while opposite to them were Thunder and Zap. Upon seeing the illusions appearing, Kyle looked rather surprised. "My. What service!" Smash, recognizing those illusions from some time ago, just chuckled slightly. Kyle looked around at the Masters, and nodded his head. "Thank you all for your hospitality, and for accepting us into your village." He spoke for everyone.

"Yes, thank you," Paroi added. "You have been very kind to all of us thus far, even though someof us have only just met." He concluded his statement with a humble bow.

"Yeah, thanks," Thetis said as he moved towards the table and took a seat. Paroi followed in tow.

Tendril and Inferna sat beside one another, with Tsunami and Pyro sitting across from them. "So, what is your strategy?" Pyro asked the masters. Tsunami chimed in too, saying, "I was wondering the same thing. How exactly do you plan on combatting these 'Followers'?"

Burst casually hopped into the other chair next to Inferna and added, "That's a good point since, y'know, hitting these guys head on isn't exactly an option."

"Indeedly so," Yamori commented, "However, there is another option, possibly the only one we have. As you already know, the Followers plan to revive Yamata no Orochi by collecting the eight fragments of its spirit. Being the masters of the Orochi clan, we house those spirits within ourselves. Ka and Mizu, the two you saw in the city, were once housed by masters Nanda and Sato, who fell in battle years ago. As a result, their spirits were released, making them available to the Followers."

A brief silence fell upon the group before Homura continued, "In order to safely secure the spirits, we must seal them in the eight elemental temples, one on each continent." He paused there, leaving it to the others to comprehend their general task.

"Temples? In each continent?" said Mia, trying to make sure she was getting all this.

"Precisely," Ichiro answered, "Long ago, temples were constructed by the early masters of our clan for an occasion such as this one, when Yamata no Orochi needs protecting. We must travel to each continent, with the help of the teleporters among us, and seal away the spirits of Orochi." Hebi took the opportunity to add, "There is also the matter of recovering the lost spirit of Ka from Demon." Ichiro gave a nod and continued, "What we need to determine is how to go about sealing the spirits. One by one would take far too long, so perhaps a split is in order."

Smash folded his arms, running the information through his mind. "A split, huh..." He muttered.

Thetis sat there with a confused expression on his face. He was trying his best to wrap his head around what was being said. "Okay. I understand that we have to go find and lock away eight spirits in temples all over the world. It sounds a bit like a crazy fairy tale, but I if it's all we can do..." Something just occured to Thetis. "Wait. If you guys have spirits inside you, then wouldn't the Followers come here and try to, you know, get them?

"The village is protected by a magical barrier that renders Vortex Magic useless," Homura explained, "The Followers do not dare set foot within these walls anymore."

"That explains a lot." Splice commented.

Mia went into thought, however hearing the words "magical barrier" awakened a long forgoten memory inside the depths of her mind. "Wait, I... It's been many years so I can't say for sure... But my master told me of a temple inside the Southern Border, I don't know if it's the same kind we're talking about, but if there's one in each continent, there's a good chance it's one of them," said Mia as she clutched her hair stressing to remember something over a 1000 years ago.

"Wait," said Savant. "Demon was that fellow who was at the city earlier?"

"Indeed he was, Savant. A long time enemy of the clan, he is," Yamori answered. Ichiro took note of Mia's comment and replied, "Southern Border... of Hayashi? Yes, I believe that is in fact the location of the Light Temple." He then turned his attention to Mutoh, who gave a nod of confirmation.

Mia began to relax a little, "Yeah, now I remember. When I was little I was told stories that before the Southern Border became the prision it is now, a temple existed there... I don't know much about it, but I know one thing, only two people in the whole world can access the Southern Border, and one of them is me!" she said, her once rather relaxed self became serious as if bringing up a subject she loathed.

Aqua seemed to be in deep consideration. "If Hayashi's Southern Border houses the Light Temple, would the other temples be nearby to their corresponding elements? Like, the Ice Temple in the icecaps and the Fire Temple near a volcano?

"In a sense, yes," Hebi answered, "The temples are essentially located within their element, but with a deeper meaning, so to speak. The Thunder Temple is deep within the forests of Northamer. The Water Temple is on a glacier in the Southern Tundra. The Earth Temple is in the deserts of Downunda. The Poison Temple is on a small island in Eurish. The Fire Temple rests in the planes of Efrika.  The Shadow Temple is hidden in the Great Rainforest of Soumerca. And t he Wind Temple is located atop a mountain in the Northern Tundra."

"Oh God," Thetis complained, "this sounds like a lot of work when you list them like that."

"Not quite," Ichiro assured, "We've taken the liberty of calculating certain things, and it should only take us a mere couple of hours to reach each temple. That includes possible resistance from the Followers."

"Okay then," Thetis said, still not convinced. "You suggested that we split up into groups to find each temple, right? If so, who are the groups?"

"To find these temples," Paroi said, "Would it be wise to send people with elemental affinities to the corresponding temple? For instance, sending a fire user to the fire temple?"

"That sounds logical enough." Smash agreed.

Mia heard this, and she put on a rather disgusted face. "If that's so, then being a wind magician I have to go to the wind temple, but only two people can open the Southern Border..." said Mia, but then she made a large sigh, "But I happen to know the other person who is a light magician..." But when Mia said that her face darkened with hatred.

Paroi noticed a change in Mia, and briefly glanced in her direction in curiosity. He then turned his attention back to Ichiro.

"The matter is not that simple," Homura explained, "For the time you all have been here, we have been observing you to get a better grasp of certain... compatibilities. The final decisions will be made tomorrow upon our departure. Know that the groups will be as balanced as possible, with all details taken into consideration."

Mia sighed and began to relax in relief...

"You've been observing us?" Thetis asked, a slight shudder runningn down his back. One of his pet peeves was being watched. "Are you sure? we haven't been here for that long, so how much can you tell about us? Will we at least have a say in these decisions?"

Paroi subtly elbowed Thetis. "Show some respect Thetis," he whispered.

"Yeah, I'm curious on how exactly you've been "observing" us..." said Mia as she crossed her arms.

Zap suddenly looked very nervous at the sound of that.

Gently, Yamori confessed, "That would be myself and young Ichiro. You see, Ichiro has the unique gift of seeing people's thoughts and memories. With all respect to your individual privacies, he has provided us with information on strengths, weaknesses and personalities, so that we may group you together in the most efficient way possible. Using my own ability to manipulate shadows, I further confirmed the details during your time here. I greatly apologize if you feel we invaded any boundaries." Ichiro merely hung his head, somewhat shamed for what he had done.

Splice bit his lip. He didn't have anything to hide, but he did feel that his privacy was violated.

"Wait, you used the shadows to learn about us?" Tendril asked, "Huh.... Strange that I didn't know until now." Inferna nodded agreement and added, "Me too.... I should have been able to... sense any intruders in our minds...."

Ichiro rose his head, though he still looked rather apologetic. "Please do not see it as an intrusion. I merely glance at minor details, names and such," he said in a heavy tone. Shogai, however, had a more playful response to their queries. "Never underestimate the abilities of a master," he chuckled, presumably to Tendril, "We know tricks that you've likely never even heard of before"

Mia raised an eyebrow, however she was quite unfazed about this intrusion of privicy due to past experiences she had many years ago. "So, how are you going to group us up then? I mean, who's going where?" she said.

"Our most likely decision will be to spilt the entirety of us into two groups," Homura explained, "Each group will travel to four of the temples. As we do not currently have all eight spirits of Orochi in our posession, exactly which temples we travel to will be chosen with time."

"I see." Smash said. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait until tomorrow, eh?"

"Anyone else as excited as I am for this?" Burst called out enthusiastically, his mouth full of food. Homura let out a what seemed like his version of a lighthearted chuckle, and was then approached by one of Ichiro's copies. "Master, there appears to be two unexpected guests in the cellars," the copy whispered, "I assume you would like to deal with them yourself." Homura nodded and stood from the table, saying, "If you all will excuse me for a moment, there is business I must attend to." On that note, he left the room.

* * *

Shortly, Homura reached the cellar. The massive doors, sharing the appearance of all others in the sanctuary, swung open to reveal the large, dark room. To the untrained, it would seem as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Homura, however, was able to pick out a faint sound coming from the far corner. He took two steps in and clapped, turning on the lights that hung from the ceiling.

In the Cellar, Homura saw a green hedgehog with yellow stripes, blue eyes, and black arm-guards, and a young phoenix with dark-red markings, a blue vest, and grey arm-guards. "Hey. You the owner of this place?" the hedgehog asked with a mouthful of food.

"As a matter of fact, I am. One of six," Homura answered. He took a moment to examine the two, his blank expression perfectly hiding the rage he felt towards their thievery. "Judging from your appearance, you must be Statyx. Ichiro mentioned you," he said to the hedgehog, "I am surprised you found this village. It is not on any of G.U.N's maps."

Statyx swallowed before sucking the remaining flavor and crumbs off of his gloved fingers. "Which is exactly why it took me forever to get here, which in turn used up a lot of energy." the green hedgehog replied, "It was just lucky coincidence that we ended up here." Statyx said, having the gall to actually grin.

"Rather than continue to raid our food supplies, would you care to join us for dinner?" the crocodile suggested. Before continuing, he turned and headed back out the door. "I trust you will be joining us on our journey tomorrow." he said, not waiting for an answer.

"Wouldn't it be better to take a few days to test the powers and compatibility of the people you've gathered, to maximize synergy and team-work?" Statyx asked nonchalantly.

Still within earshot, Homura replied with a chuckle, "Already taken care of."

"Fair enough." Statyx said, getting up and walking out of the cellar. The little bird noticed this, and after gobbling a few more sweets, quickly followed in-turn. "I'd much prefer some time to get to know your team though." Statyx said, his fingers intertwined behind his head.

"You have the rest of today and tomorrow morning," Homura replied, "Then... our quest shall begin.

* * *

Back in the dining hall, the heroes continued to enjoy their dinner.

Thetis was busy stuffing his face with the assortment of food before him. He was now on his third serving of food. Paroi, in stark contrast, was eating slowly and taking the time to enjoy the food. Once he had swallowed his mouthfull of food, Thetis faced the others and asked, "So, who do you think's getting paired up tomorrow?"

Inferna reached over, jabbed a piece of meat on Burst's plate, and popped it in her own mouth. Tendril turned to Thetis and replied, "No idea. Though it might be best if Inferna, Tsunami and I were part of one of the teams. We've always worked well together, or at least, before Tsunami joined up with the demon snake who wants her head." Tsunami sat silently, seemingly unaware that there were others in the room. She appeared to be lost in thought, staring blankly at her plate while she ate.

 Burst reached over and tapped Inferna on the opposite shoulder, and while her head was turned, he snatched up a rice ball from her own plate. When she looked back, he shoved it into his mouth and flashed a chubby grin.

 Smash was enjoying his food, taking a little bit of everything that looked good. "I dunno either, but I hope I'm paired with someone I know well." He said.

 "Same here." Gizmo agreed, before taking a sip of his drink. "I feel more comfortable alongside the guys I've known for a while. No offense or anything."

 Kyle and Keela both exchanged glances, and then looked back at everyone. "I feel that the two of us work together very well." Kyle said. "So I am hoping that our team will not separate us." Keela nodded, as her mouth was full of food.

 Splice leaned back in his chair, rubbing his belly. "I'mma just go with the flow." He said, lazily.

 Thunder looked around at the group, and shrugged a bit. "I think that I'll be fine with whoever I team up with, but I'd prefer if my little brother stayed with me." He glanced over at Zap, who seemed to feel a bit uncomfortable around so many people. "Just to keep an eye on him, you know?"

Zap managed to crack a little smile at Thunder, but soon looked at Crystal when she began to speak. "Um, I wanna be with Zap, too." She said. "After all, he was the one who invited me to ride on their ship before all this happened.." Her voice trailed off, as if she wanted to say more but couldn't find the words.

"I guess it doesn't really matter who I'm paired up with," Thetis said, putting more food on his plate. "I don't really know any of you that well, aside from Paroi. I just wish we had more of a say in this." After a few forkfulls of food, he stopped and asked, "Hey, is there anyone you don't wan't to be paired with?"

Tendril glanced around the room, scanning the faces of the others. "Not really," he answered, "I don't know most of the people here either."

Smash shrugged. "All of you are fine in my book." He said. "If there was one of you that I REALLY didn't want to team up with..."

Suddenly, Homura returned to the room with two new figures following him. "I found these two snacking in the cellar... so I invited them to dinner," he said with a hint of exasperation.

"Speaking of people I don't want to be paired with", Thetis whispered quietly to himself. "Hey, you're Statyx, aren't you?" Thetis said, an impassive look on his face once he saw the hedgehog. Although he didn't know him well, his first encounter with the hedgehog didn't really leave him with a good impression.

Smash glanced towards Statyx and the other person at the corner of his eye. Both of his eyelids lowered. ...it'd probably be him. He finished in his mind.

Mia looked at the two, before taking a bite of her food. She had a look of curiousity but she was mute.

Thunder looked at Statyx, equally as curious, wondering what he was doing here.

Savant, who was quietly enjoying his soup, looked up upon mention of Statyx's name. His lip curled in a disdainful sneer, but he said nothing.

Static raised an eyebrow. "Hm. Snacking in the cellar." Bringing his arms up in a shrug, he returned to silently eating his food. Aqua tilted her head, silently observing the two newcomers. "Well... I guess any of you would be fine to work with." she said finally, trying to bring the conversation back up.

"Yo." Statyx says, casually raising a hand to head-level, calmly waving slightly. He was actually acting like everything was completely normal, and he wasn't just found pilfering food.

The young bird that had been trailing Statyx and Homura finally caught up, stopping beside Statyx to look at the group. After a while, Fou tapped Statyx's leg, who leaned down to listen to whatever Fou had to say. After whatever Fou whispered, Statyx returned to an upright position, a somewhat uneasy expression on his face as he now looked across the group. Rather reluctantly, the green hedgehog pointed at Ichiro. The young red bird noted the direction Statyx pointed, and trotted over to Ichiro, coming to stand next to where Ichiro was sitting. After a bit of sizing up the reptile, Fou inhaled deeply and said...

"SHAME ON YOU!!!" he yelled right at Ichiro. The normally calm and almost uncaring Statyx watched the display with wide eyes and shrunken pupils, followed by a hard facepalm.

Startled by the sudden noise, Static was sent back in his chair, resulting in him toppling back. Soon, the hedgehog flashed back up, eyes a blazing crimson red. "Who's in trouble?" he snarled. After a few seconds of getting him to calm down, Static's eyes reverted to green and he relaxed. "Well, what's with all the commotion?"

"What the heck?" Smash exclaimed in surprise. He had no idea what the kid's problem was, let alone who the kid was.

Ichiro was a little stunned at Fou's exclaimation. After he regained himself, he gently said to the bird, "Why, whatever do you mean?"

Fou pointed to Statyx, whose palm was still becoming acquainted with his face. "You asked a bunch of strangers to help you when they had absolutely no reason to! Statyx offered to help you as well and when he said he needed to wait for someone, you left him high and dry!! You didn't even leave a portal thingamajig open or anything, so he had to teleport all across the country to find this place!! Do you know how rude that is, to just abandon someone after they offer help!?" Fou got on his tip-toes, pushing his beak farther into Ichiro's face. "And if you had been polite enough to ask, you would have known that he was waiting for me, an eight-year-old kid!!! So that makes it even worse!!" Fou continued to stare down Ichiro after he had finished his little admonishment. Anyone who looked at Statyx for an explanation or intervention just got a face-covered shake of the head.

Ichiro was flabbergasted. Still, he tried to explain himself to the young bird as calm and clear as possible. "I believe you misunderstand. The foes we face are far too dangerous for us of the Orochi Clan to take on alone. I recruited these people because we were in dire need of their help, and I fully gave them the option to decline. As for your friend Statyx, leaving him with the warp ring would have been a very bad idea. There are only two belonging to the village, and we need them in case of emergency. And I knew that you were the one he was waiting for, which is why I didn't want to leave an open portal to the village to attract the danger of our enemies." Ichiro took a deep breath, hoping that Fou would understand.

"Then Statyx and I could have hi-tailed it through and closed the ring!! Or we could have just kicked their as-"

"Fou!! Language!" Statyx snapped, finally intervening. Fou winced like a scolded child- which he was. "S-sorry Statyx." Four apologized, his tone and expression actually befitting his age. But right after apologizing, Fou whipped back to look at Ichiro. "We could've kicked their butts!" he finished.

"No, no you couldn't have," Homura interjected, "Knowing who's side you are on, the Followers of the Void would not hesitate to agonizingly murder you. Should you try to hold your own against them, you will suffer a long and painful defeat. They are fast, they are strong, and they are dark beyond all comprehension. Alone... you two stand absolutely no chance."

There was a tense pause after Homura made his statement, where Fou remained absolutely still. After several moments, Fou suddenly turned and made a mad dash right at Homura, no hesitation whatsoever. The young bird jumped, and launched a kick right at the master's face.

A look of shock feel upon the faces of all others as Fou launched his attack. However, Homura was more than capable of defending himself. In one swing of his torso, he deflected the kick with one arm, and pinned Fou to the table with the other. The force of the slam knocked Homura's own plate flying to the floor, and rattled most others on the table. "It would be wise if you keep control of your words and actions. They may get you into trouble," Homura snarled. He then lifted Fou by the stomach and set him back down on the floor next to Statyx.

However, right after Homura let go, Fou grabbed his forearm. Using the grip, Fou flipped forward onto Homura's arm. The small bird dashed up the appendage. Twisting around, the metal sole of Fou's show glowed red hot. The bird thrust his foot forward, and Homura found himself with a concentrated explosion hitting his snout.

The explosion created a small puff of smoke, but one it clear Homura was revealed to have not moved an inch. The crocodile grunted, blowing the remaining smoke from his nostrils, and glared angrily at Fou. Almost instantly, Fou became encased in dense stone, leaving only his head free. "That was your first mistake," Homura growled, "Make another, and I leave you to the Followers." With a light smack, he let the newly made bird statue fall to Statyx's feet.

Fou struggled and snarled, indignant at the treatment he had been given. When Homura made his comment, Fou's eyes widened in anger and fury. The young bird struggled more wildly in the stone containment. Soon Fou was shaking and struggling so much it looked like he was going to tip over. But as he kept shaking, Fou's eyes began to glow and a red aura began to emanate from his small body.

Statyx, who had been simply watching up to this point, calmly walked up to the struggling bird. Placing a hand on Fou's head, which caused the bird to immediately stop spazzing. Statyx's expression and tone changed to something completely different, as if a father comforting his son. "Calm down Fou," he said, "you've been beat. You're tough, but size, experience, and the elements are all on his side." As Statyx explained the situation, Fou looked up at him, the glow in his eyes and the red aura dissipating. When the green hedgehog saw this, he smiled gently. "Now Fou, remember what I taught you."

"...Right." Fou nodded, "Concentration over power..." The young phoenix closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. Fou then released an explosion of fire from his body, breaking apart the stone encasement. Unfortunately, this also sent debris everywhere.

Most of everyone shielded themselves and their food from the scattering debris. Smash shook his head in irritation, upon having his dinner interrupted and almost ruined by these two. "Was all this really necessary?" He groaned, resting his face in his palm, while he impatiently drummed the table with the fingers of his other hand.

Personally, I'm more worried about group dynamics than dinner, Thetis thought to himself after witnessing the entire incident.

"Don't worry," Ichiro said calmly, "With everyone now present, I'm sure we can finally finish in peace."

And they did indeed. The dinner finished with no further interruptions, and the heroes shortly afterwards retired to their rooms in the guest quarters for the rest of the night. A great adventure was waiting for them tomorrow, one that may decide the fate of the world, and they would surely need their rest...

Later that night

((Xi - The following are two scenes restricted to only a few users. If you have not been told otherwise, please refrain from editing in the next two scenes.))

Mia woke up from her sleep, for some reason she couldn't rest easy. And so she began wandering the place, but the whole area was confusing to her and she became rather lost. She tried to go back to her room, but she was too lost. Standing there with nothing but a flashlight, she groaned.

Down the shadowy hall, Mia could see that a door up ahead was ajar, letting in a sliver of the moon's azure glow.