Crisis Redux:

[Crow]

The Prologue:

Coming Undone

Time, most people see time as a river that forever flows in a single direction. Even in the beginning, this was false, Time is forever an ocean with currents that flow in every which way. Through out the unending battle known as time, warriors have have always met in battle. And through these ages, many a powerful warriors have been created, some even more powerful than reality itself. These warriors waged terrible wars on each other, until the very fabric of reality and time started to crumble. The closer reality came to shattering the more careless the combatants became. The battles raged on, and reality only became worse. It was so, until humanity and life itself was on the brink of destruction.

It was then decided, by the most powerful warriors of that Universe that reality and time should be split apart, to act as a safe guard for the crumbling realities. That the single universe should be split into millions of pieces to keep it stable. Though there were some who were appalled by the idea, they grudgingly accepted these terms, if only to continue there battles in a new fashion. With the combined powers of the creators, the multiverse was born, and as such the single reality was split. The wars continued to rage,though in a different fashion. The pride of the warriors would not be forgotten, and took it upon themselves to attempt to create the most powerful warrior. Unknown to the weaker races, they were now part of the never ending struggle of the multiverse. As time went on, the wars grew quiet and the warriors began to forge their own lives, and eventually they were forgotten. As time does they were erased. Their tales turned to Legend, There Legends turned to myth. and as Myths faded, only the idea of them was left, on the breath of the wind they remained.

Time went on, and the idea of the multiverse vanished, life only concerned with themselves and with that it disappeared.

At the turn of the new century, there waged a great many war's, and from that warriors of untold strength came forth. None having been created by the original warriors of the Omni-verse, but warriors whose very core had been founded by the multi-verse itself. Powerful in there own right, they began to stir the interest of the creators. There powers grew as time went on, and more joined there ranks until there were to many to control and the second power struggle grew. However this time with warriors whose power shook the very foundations of reality, and all carried millions of counterparts from separate realities. The knowledge of the multiverse uncovered in the ruins of battle brought forth desires to rule it all, and an even more powerful desire to recombine them.

It wasn't until then that the warriors of the old days, locked in a never ending struggle with each other, realized what a horrible mistake it was to pass on the power to oppose gods to creatures who didn't fully comprehend what would happen if they were misused. In an attempt to undo there folly, they appealed to the four original fighters, the ones who proposed the split in the first place. Gods, and controllers of there realities own they ruled the four dimension of reality; Death, Life, Space, and Time. Three of them agreed to return the Multiverse to an Omniverse and remove the fighters as a second safe guard, one however felt that was unnecessary. That Armageddon was the only solution, due to the fact that several of the fighters lived outside of normal perimeters, Avethos, The Master of time, and Fronde, the Being of Life agreed on this point. However Karina, Avethos' twin, the creator of space and Mira'Nel the One True Master of Death both believed that it was possible to fix the problem as a whole, without the death of countless fighters.

As they did before, they argued over what had to be done. In the end, they all decided they would leave it up to the fighter's of the multiverse to decide how things would end. The four set about pitting the fighters against each other. The solution would present itself, and if it didnt they would do what needed to be done.

And so begins the ending of Reality as we know it.

[Crow]

"The Serenade of Water" Chapter One




-London Docks- 7:49 P.M. EST.




The night sky grew steadily darker as the sun set. Off in the distance, a storm began brewing, and it raged at the waters near the docks. The water thrashed and struck at the wooden dock with unending fervor. A single figure stood at the end of the walkway staring out at the raging seas in the distance. The figure itself seemed barely there, dead to the world he simply glared at the sea. He kept his jacket tight around him, while his hair whipped around, and sea water and rain dripped down his face. White's eyes seemed to be a reflection of the chaos on the outside. In all his years the Ocean seemed a place of peace to him, he always found it odd that he of all people would look for peace. He wasn't really the kind of person to sit happily around doing nothing. He wasn't surprised when he found nothing as he stared deeper into the ocean. He'd been told that all around the world strange occurrences were popping up. Weird weather patterns, electromagnetic storms.. end of the world stuff. He shook his head, trying to get some of the water off his face. Things were starting to change, and not for the better, he could feel it. He stared a little longer at the water, trying to see the reasons that clearly wouldn't just present themselves. White's cold black eyes and Yellow Iris', Which made him both famous and infamous, were met with a greater roaring of the ocean. He caught a glimpse of movement beneath the waves, an imposing presence seemed to emanate from the waters for just a split second and instinctively his hand went for the knife on his back and found he had left it at home.

"I'm seeing things again, how irritating..." White chuckled, his glare lessening from the water, now staring at the setting sun. He found it odd that he would, even for a second, seem at peace with the sight he saw. Roaring oceans, most of the city of London in ruins, yet he seemed unavoidably at peace staring at the brilliant orange glow of the sun. His eyes shone off the remaining sunlight.

"Ah, another abomination. Another who lives outside their life outside of time..." The voice filled White's ears, and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt nothing but dread. Something about this voice, which despite the roaring winds and splashing waters, was as clear as if it were a sunny afternoon.

White turned to see what kind of person could have an aura of such malice that even White himself would cringe away from. There at the end of the docks stood a creature unlike any he'd ever met in all his years of travel. The creature might have been human, or as close to one as you could get without actually being one. But only it's shape said Human. His eyes were missing, like skin had completely grown over them, but it was still staring at him, he could feel it. And this stare carried the weight of long years and too many deaths. His skin was hardly normal- translucent, almost albino, it carried a gem-like tint to it that made him look not nearly as imposing as his presence. White couldn't even manage a glare in this guys presence, like staring at a sun from ten feet away.

"Outside time?" Was all he could get out, his self-preservation and his dread now working together against his pride. He took a steep forward to steady his nerves.

"You do not age.... Time does not effect you. How powerful you must feel..." The man took a step forward and white took a step back to match him.

What the hell is this guy...? I feel.... powerless... His thoughts jumbled as he began thinking of escape plans.White struggled to regain his footing.

The creature smirked. "or maybe I'm wrong.... You feel afraid. Weak. You don't even seem to be there as a Living being... A hollow shell of what you used to be.." The taunting started batting White's pride like a child with a stick.

"Heh heh heh" White chuckled to himself, he felt like a fool. It had been so long since there was any real trouble, he probably just got soft. Now he was angry, and he didn't feel the least bit afraid. "Quite the fancy talker.." White aimed to dig his claws into the chest of this guy, lack of weapon or no he wouldn't take insults standing around. "Do you realize who it is you're talking to?"

"Do you..?" was his only reply. White's supposed target vanished in that instant, and white felt a sudden stabbing pain in his arms and chest. He looked down to find he was bleeding and quite badly, several black rock-like spikes were protruding from different spots on his body. White looked back, standing on the other side of the docks, and spewing murderous intent was the intruder. "So you can't die either..? I feel pity for you. You will be swallowed up in the darkness that is to come.. but before that, I'll send you on a one way trip to Hell.."

"Been there…" White spat blood as he removed one of the larger spikes from the right side of his chest. "They leave an entire section of the city open in case I should drop in and visit…" White chuckled, and spat blood in the direction of the intruder.

"Is that so..? But that's of little consequence.." In a blur White was flipped and slammed into the concrete at the other end of the dock, literally Nailed to the ground by spikes made of black rock. "But just because you're infamous in the Hell of a single reality, doesn't mean you should over estimate yourself.."

White spat up blood, and try as he might the spikes kept his hands pinned to the ground. "A single reality..?" White continued struggling to lift himself up from the spikes. With substantial effort he managed to pull his hand through the top of the spike, then his legs, and finally through serious effort managed to free himself. Without the strength to lift himself, he lay on the ground, the holes in his body slowly closing as his Black colored blood polluted the water beneath him.

The creature showed no signs of answering White's question, completely disregarding him as he walked past. "And just what are you three doing here..?" The creature sounded annoyed, like he'd just had his meal interrupted.

White's eyes widened, looking up as much as he could. Three new figures stood infront of White's attacker, and all three of them carried the same feeling He did. White's entire body had gone completely cold.

One wasn't enough? He thought to himself.

"We came to see what it was you were doing Avethos. It's not often you meddle in the affairs of creatures on this plane.." The voice was dreary, almost tired. It came from the one to the right, and though this one was smaller something told White it was the one he wanted to mess with the least. Completely covered in a long billowing cloak that was half White, and half black the only thing that resembled a face under the cloak was a mask of some sort that obscured the true identity of the person.

"What I do is none your business Fronde... If I want to have a talk with one of the creatures in this reality I will.." The one called Avethos answered Harshly, evidently not wanting a discussion.

"That's true, but it doesn't look like your conversation is over yet..." Fronde looked directly over Avethos' shoulder at White who was still bleeding, but standing again. "Even if you're just using a copy to 'talk' this one's rather durable to be able to get back up.."

Copy..? This guy isn't really here..? But besides that, what the hell are they talking about.. This reality? White shrugged on some of the pain that wracked his body, and wiped the blood off his mouth. "I asked you a question earlier.. I expect an answer.."

"You do not get to demand of me anything...creature.." Avethos vanished again, but this time White was ready. The collided almost a second later. White had caught the rock spears, and in doing so caught Avethos as well.

"That's a pretty big mistake there, using the same trick three times.. Even if it took me a second to figure out what you were doing." Avethos tried pulling his hands free, but White kept his grip tight, digging his nails into the rock like material. "After I did figure it out though, a counter was easy. Those rock spears I thought you were throwing at me.. they're actually your hands" Avethos seemed stunned that he'd been caught, but saw a moment of relax in White's grip and tore away jumping back a few paces. His hands grew back almost immediately. "You were punching, and leaving the transformed hands in me like nails in a two-by-four... an interesting trick, but I've seen it before." White's eyes kept scanning the other three for signs of movement, but they hadn't seemed to draw breath since the two clashed so he let his mind be at ease for a second, tossing aside the two gem nails.

"This one is very interesting indeed.." The voice whispered in his ear, and White froze. The one in the cloak, Fronde he was called, was now standing next to him. "No wonder you couldn't kill him Avethos, this one's already dead..."

When the hell did he move..? White jumped out of reach of this new potential attacker.

Avethos looked extremely annoyed. Without eyes it was hard to tell, but if he could glare, White would bet that's what he was doing. "Already Dead...Yet still living. These are the kind of abominations we are trying to prevent.."

I'm screwed if it's two against one, let alone if the other two join in. White wondered why the other two hadn't even spoken, let alone sown an interest in White being here.

"Incredible though. A soul that was so strong it solidified and became a new entity entirely after the body had died... I'd love to test this thing myself..." A cold shudder ran down White's back, as Fronde had been standing behind him yet again.

"we're being called back. It's time to go, Avethos, Fronde." One of the two silent ones spoke up. Strong and forceful, this voice was undoubtedly a girl, but she to was cloaked.

"aw, Karina you are always trying to ruin my fun.. But I guess if it's time to go, it's time to go.." Fronde was no longer standing next to White, but now was toe-to-toe with the Girl that had Just spoken, Karina.

"It was fun playing around, But it seems we have work to do.." Avethos shrugged, turning his back on White.

White's hand sparked with electricity, and the nails on his hand extended. "You haven't answered my damn question. You aren't going anywhere...." Without even a thought, he jumped at Avethos whose back was turned.

A sudden twinge of pain, and White felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out. The last thing he recalled seeing was the four beings disappearing one after another, and then White Lost consciousness.

[Crow]

Chapter Two: Awake, and Confused



-Gamma site Medical Hospital- 9:32 A.M. EST



White awoke in a room that reminded him of an old hospital room of some kind; he had never been in one personally but he'd known many people who were in one at the time of their...death. The pain in his head was excruciating, but that was nothing compared to how the holes in his body felt. He could feel baseball bat sized rocks had been pulled from his body, and not kindly pulled out either. Like they'd been ripped out. Though it hurt, it was a pain he could deal with. He'd felt worse than this, Many times before. His attempts to stand however was thwarted by the pain in his head, and slowly regenerating muscle that had been torn away. His sudden movement alerted someone nearby that he was very much awake now, this was followed by a loud grinding noise as the door slid open.

"You're awake. How...nice.." A stranger's voice, White didn't bother opening his eyes. The voice was a forced calm, but at the same time carried a sort of command behind it. An army general perhaps. White opened his eyes and turned his head to locate who had spoken. It didn't take too long, it was a small room, and there was only one entrance, he quickly found himself staring at a dark skinned, older human male wearing a military uniform. His first opinion of him was that he had an air of almost fearlessness about him. For a human, that was out of the ordinary, but White disregarded it for the second opinion, which was that of someone too nervous and unaware of how to proceed. White stared at him with a kind of awed gaze, he'd seen this man just the other day. He was on the news, He was some sort of Secret service hero who had died in the Line of duty.

What the hell..? Could it just be coincidence..?

White's ears picked up odd sounds. First and foremost was the sound of rushing in the building. A sense of urgency seemed to seep up from the floor, whatever was going on everyone was either worried or excited about it. Next was the undeniable sounds of explosions off in the distance;

a Battle..? He thought to himself. Pulling himself up off the bed with great effort, he noticed he had bled quite a bit.

"You Hear those, don't you?" The dark skinned Man stated as he evaluated White's intentions by getting up, and fixed him with an odd stare. "It seems that you must be a really important person, an experiment or something that got loose. Those Chaser bastards are coming for you, and you led them straight here..." His eyes angled into an iron hate-filled glare.

"Chasers..? What are they some new band or something? Sorry but I don't listen to much music..." White shrugged and turned away to look at the iron bars on his window. His mind wasn't working right, try as he might he couldn't concentrate on speeding up his regenerative capabilities, despite it being a quiet area.

He looked taken back, then angry in the span of a few seconds "Do you think this is a Joke?! Chaser's are hit squad of this entire world's enemy! That bastard and his goon squads declared War on the world itself!" The older guy seemed almost incapable of containing himself, fury deprived him of any further words.

White listened intently on the sounds of battle waging farther away and was startled by the sound of the loudspeaker shouting. "Vice Commander Jared report to the entrance, we need to evacuate now. Carmoire has been spotted leading the attack himself, He'll be here soon!" This revelation sent a chill down White's spine.

White's eyes turned a glassy yellow, and a low hiss of cuss words escaped his lips. Now he knew where he'd remembered the other sound. That weird sound of crawling bugs. It was such a long time ago, that he'd forgotten is all..

What did she call her way back then? Butt-Face? White shook his head, ignoring his memories for now. Doesn't matter, I'm hardly in top condition and I'm not carrying those.. so a confrontation with someone like Car-motor would be drawn out.. and unhelpful.. His mind began processing things faster, and it hit him what had been said only after a while.

No. Wait.. all out War? Chasers? Did those bastards send me to the future? If This is the future, what the hell happened..

"Damn, this doesn't make any sense.." Gritting his teeth, White hit the wall by the window. He stared out the window, while his head pounded. The view from his room was an incredible sight, and it helped confirm at least some of his suspicion. The world outside the hospital window was dead and barren. The cities, which is what he assumed the buildings in the distance were, were crumbling or destroyed. It was London, He'd seen it this morning before he spent the day on the docks, but it was different. It had been ravaged by so many years of war, the buildings themselves looked as if they were bleeding.

"Wait, That Loser never answered me, but I know he was talking about realities... It couldn't be.." White had heard something like that once. Along time ago he'd met someone, a friend of his named Zane who had told him he was from a different reality than his. They were drinking buddies, so White had passed the information up as just drunken stupor, but then again He knew that if Ghosts couldn't actually get drunk neither could Vampires.. "Guess that's the only thing that makes sense.. for Now at least.."

"Loser? Realities? What are you talking about, and what the hell are you?" The 'vice commander' coughed to get White's attention. White just glanced over at him, glaring. Their was something about this guy that seemed to grate on White's nerves.

"I don't have time to play twenty questions.. Move aside.." Without another thought, White vanished from sight.

"What the hell... was that..?" Jared jumped back realizing his 'captive' was no longer there. Thumping against the door.

"You know, it's odd. This entire place is in an uproar... apparently the big boss bad-guy is on his way. But you don't seem concerned at all... I wonder why that is..?" White's voice came from directly behind him, causing him to jump again. Quick as a whip he jerked his head only to realize the door he'd thought he'd run into was actually his previous captive standing behind him. Years of war instinct had caused him to draw the weapon White just now noticed was on his hip and fire it several times into White's chest.

"That wasn't really all that necessary..." White stepped forward and knocked the gun from the now shaking man's hands.

"What the hell.. You- You're like them, the Chasers... But my bullets didn't... they're supposed to.. What the Hell are you..?" The man backed up even further, until his back was against the wall.

" I'm... Complicated... but that's not important..." White's hand sparked with a small amount of electricity. "You see, you have information I want.. and like I said, I don't have time for twenty questions.. So I'm going to have to do this the quick way..." White was almost standing next to Jared, who was shaking uncontrollably.

"Take another step and you're a dead." The voice, and the next sound of a gun clicking had white's reflexes acting in high gear. He'd been greeted by plenty of bullets before to know what to expect. He moved his head just in time to let the bullets whiz by.

"I didn't think it was all that possible, but apparently the 'You' of this reality is a bit more screwed up then the head than the 'you' that I know." White turned his head ever so slightly, revealing a devilish grin. "You're supposed to wait until I take another step, then make good on your threat... Miss K., not to mention... you Missed."

[Crow]

Chapter Three. Confrontation.

-A mile or so outside of Gamma Site-[/b]

A hooded figure looked out over the burning hideout. "He's here... fantastic... I'm glad she can be reasoned with.." The hooded figure snickered, turning away from the smoldering ruins.

"Well if it isn't the Life Master Fronde, to what do we owe this pleasure..?" The voice was mocking, yet sincere and respectful. The hooded figure, Fronde, looked up to see who had addressed him. What he saw was several people looking him over.

"Well, if it isn't the pet Tiger. I was just making sure everything was going smoothly. I'd hate to have my information go astray... It did take quite a bit to gather the location of the Resistance Gamma Site.." Fronde looked out from his hood with a mocking smile, addressing the one who had spoken to him. "Is it all going well? Find the ones you were looking for I hope..?"

The one who had talked earlier stepped towards Fronde with a snarl. "Who's a pet, you freak?"

"That's enough. Master Fronde I don't see why it's so necessary to provoke him so..." From the shadows a dreary snake-like voice grew steady louder. "You two, come restrain him.."

"Aw yes. I was wondering where he other two were... How nice too see you all getting along so well.." Fronde looked them over. Though they all wore similar outfits, physically they were completely different. The one he'd called a Pet earlier was muscular, built for battle. Honed from continuous battles. Concrete colored eyes were almost completely obscured by dyed black and blonde hair.

The only one of the two who had gone to his Side, a girl who was small in size and had waist-length dark brown hair. Though she was smaller in stature than him, there was no denying She too had seen battle. Fronde was always curious of her natural dual colored eye, but never commented on it.

Last was another guy, with toned muscles rather than built. Unlike the other two who wore what looked like normal military-wear, This guy wore a black variant, and a black trench coat to cover it. Black wrappings obscured part of his face, as if he'd been scarred and didn't wish to show them off, Black Hair combed back and long for a guys, sunglasses to hide his eyes. The only thing that showed color on this guy was a pair of pistols carried on his waist.

"As always Carmoire, your gathered troops never fail to inspire. If im not mistaken, these are your Cerberus agents, correct? They're the best you've got. Must be someone special your going after now.."

The dreary voice filled the air again. "Planning on stealing my latest toy, are you?"

"No No. I've got plans for another hanging out down there. But if these guys are as good as you say, perhaps they wouldn't mind bringing him to me..? As payment For the wonderful bit of info I gave to you?" With a dark grin, Fronde motioned his head towards the burning hideout, and the visible Medical building.

"I don't see why not, after all. You did give us that useful information..So, Who are they picking up for you..?"

"You'll know him when you see him. And lucky for you, the one your looking to capture is with him at this very moment~" Fronde's voice picked up in obvious excitement.

"Vayne, Cynria, Arkanos. Go to Work, If you will..."





-Gamma Site Medical Wing- Evacuation in progress.-


What seemed like hours had passed. White had shifted his body to face his attacker completely, the same Stoic grin etched on his face. Her glare could have killed someone, it was easy to see she was having trouble keeping her calm. "What's the matter..? Did I strike a nerve.." White chuckled, hearing the gun she had in her hand click into place once again.

"You've got a big mouth." She ground her teeth, obviously looking for an opening. "Keep it closed. I get to ask the question's.."

White shook his head, making note of her pistols. "You're welcome to try and shoot me again. Wouldn't be the first time... Hell, wouldn't be the thousandth time.."

"Your not making a damn bit of sense Freak, I've never met you before." Two more shots, almost simultaneous. White was barely able to avoid these, one skinned his cheek. Black blood dripped from his cheek for a split second, without even realizing it he wiped away the blood revealing the cut to be gone. K. looked surprised, but leveled the gun to the floor.

"Do I have your attention..? I'm hoping I do. My patience is a finite thing, and I dont have much of it to start with..." White shook the blood off his hand and stood up straight. "For the time being, I mean neither of you harm. You see, I'm in a bit of a bind.. One I'm sure you wouldn't understand even if I explained it fully." White seemed to shutter for a split second, vanishing and reappearing behind K Who obviously wasn't expecting the sudden movement. "But the thing is, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I Don't know what He's like in this reality.. but the Carmoire of my world is a bit of an egotistical Asshole. And I'm betting he shares some traits with himself... you certainly do.."


"You should pick your words more carefully... Insults like that are liable to get yourself killed.."
The voice shocked White, who's head swiveled around to make sure what he'd just heard. At the end of the hallway White spied three figures walking towards them. And White knew the silhouettes.

"Boy, this place is just full of surprises...." White grinned. "Vayne, Cy, and Arkanos... Something tells me your not here to help with the evacuations.."

"Oh, were here to Help. Yeah.. there are two people who need to be.. 'evacuated' quickly. Now if you and the beautiful Lady behind you will just follow along quietly.." The first to come into the light was dressed completely in black. Complete with shades and face wrappings.

"You sure this is the guy..? He looks kinda weak.." The girlish figure stepped into the Light, and White chuckled. It had been along while since he'd gone up against these three. But then again, they weren't really the same people.

"No this is the guy. I can feel it, He's been through battles.. and Lots of them.." Vayne stepped into the light last. A dark but calculating look on his face.

"You've been looking for me? How nice, and here I thought I was a stranger to this place...."

"That Wierdo Fronde wants you. He said your corpse was all he wanted. That suits us just fine.. It'll be easier to drag a corpse back with that women than it would be to drag to unconscious bodies.." Arkanos stepped forward, pistols drawn.

"You hear these clowns Miss K? They talk pretty big.."

"Stop talking like you know me, and stay out of my way..." Asuki brushed Passed White as she stepped out of the Hospital room.

"Jeesh. Attitude must be universal..." White sighed, and looked off into the hallway at the three who looked like they were ready for a brawl.

[Crow]

Chapter Four: Rumble under Fire


The Five fighter's all took in each others presence. White couldn't help but grimace, as much as he knew that these three weren't the same people they still looked like his 'Employee's'. The malice he could feel coming from each of them was a little off putting.

“Let's get this on. Come on... I'm dying of boredom..” Arkanos was jittery, flailing his pistols in Asuki's general direction who had her's ready as well.

“Slow down Arkanos.” Vayne shot Him a glare that all but shouted stop rushing. “We've talked about this a lot.. it's why She keeps escaping us. And we don't know what He's capable of either...” Vayne's eyes moved between White who hadn't moved from in front of the hospital door to Asuki K who was steadily creeping down the hall towards the three attackers.

“It doesn't matter what skills He's got, eh Vayne? First to hit wins you know?” Cy giggled, menacing and dark. The sound actually sent a small shiver down White's back.

“What the girly said. Come on, let's just trash em and drag em back.. I doubt He's any good at all anyway! I've never even seen him before..” Arkanos eyed the two from down the hall. “Besides, me and the other girly got a score to settle..” Visibly grinding his teeth, Arkanos unconsciously rubbed the bandages on his face as if the memory made them burn.

“You must have really gotten to that guy.. What did you do exactly...?” White muttered under his breath, confident that K. Could hear him. If she did hear him she gave no sign that she did, she simply stopped inching towards them. Taking a second to look back and shoot a glare back at White.

“Three against two, we can take em easy~ Let's just go Vayne~” Cy smiled as sweetly as she could at Vayne, who looked no less annoyed.

“Stop allowing that fool's hot-hotheadedness to influence you Cynria. It get's annoying when I have to berate both of you..”

“But-But...!” Cy Started to pout

“If I might interject...” White interrupted from across the hall. He was visibly growing impatient. “You're all right in a manner of speaking...” Arkanos had looked over at him warily as he began moving towards the three of them. Cy immediately tensed up, and Vayne just eyed him more cautiously. “Unfortunately, you guys are at a bit of a disadvantage...”

White's malicious grin told Arkanos all it needed to“We'll see about that, good thing we only need your corpse!” Without hesitating he fired off several shots towards White only to have them ricochet harmlessly against the wall. He looked astounded, until he noticed K's gun pointed at White to. She'd shot the bullets out of the sky. “Err.. Damn Girly, Your making me look bad..”

“Not my problem. You said we had a score to settle, maybe you want that other eye of yours ripped out..” K looked directly at Arkanos, Her glare might have actually had White reeling back if he'd been the one she was glaring at. “I'll blow your brains against the wall, and this time your 'Master' wont be here to pull you out of the fire..”

Her tone of voice was definitely different from the K He knew. This one seemed a little more unstable than her, borderline Psychotic even.. Not that I'm one to talk.. White chuckled to himself. White looked over at Vayne and Cy who were paying more attention to K Now.

“I'll leave the Bird-Brain to you miss K., After all, Gun fighter's should test their skills against gun fighters anyway..” Not a second later the hallway erupted into a hail storm of bullets, much as White knew it would happen. The two of them fired at maddening speed, and each bullet shot another down. White couldn't help but admire the precision and skill it took to use a weapon like a gun. Though, it wasn't quite as civilized as Running your opponent through with a nicely made blade..

“Seeing as how they're going at it, why don't we familiarize ourselves with one another..?” White chuckled, Vayne immediately got ready. Cy didn't even register White there, it was very clear she didn't see him as a threat.

“Cynria, Pay attention. He's coming..” Vayne hissed, jolting Cy back to her senses.

“I'm afraid you lot have caught me on an off day, I'm not carrying my knives.. guess that means...” White's body shimmered, and he vanished. Cy Was clearly caught off guard by this, Vayne frantically tried to relocate his target. “I'll have to Knock your teeth down your throat with my bare hands..”

Vayne reacted to White's voice instantaneously. White's fist extended out, catching Cy dead in the stomach and she was knocked back several feet. Dust kicked up at the impact point, and slowly it cleared with fists and feet moving through and cutting the air.

Cy Just looked stunned, she was sure she'd felt the blow connect, but she didn't feel hurt at all. “He's just a wuss, He's only fast.. He's got no real strength..!” Immediately she stood, and rushed at the two who were ferociously brawling. She stood and got maybe three feet before she felt something was wrong, her insides hurt, and she spit a small amount of blood.

“Cynria..” Vayne caught Sight and let his guard slip, Which White capitalized on. Throwing a punch dead into his jaw which launched Vayne's enormous body enough to land next to Cy.

“Electro-Kinetic. Do you know what that means..I bet you do..” White grinned, waiting for the two to come back.

“Bastard..” Vayne spit his blood down on the floor next to him. Staggering to his feet. “What the hell was that.. I feel like I'm burning inside..”

“Weren't you listening? ElectroKinesis.” White stood up straight, brushing himself off. “I am, Electro-Kinetic.” White's hands sparked with a trace of black electricity to make his point.

Vayne just glowered. “You, You've got an interesting skill... but that skill alone cant be why that guy wants to talk to you..” Channeling what strength he could, Vayne managed to stand on his feet. Motioning for Cy to stand as well.

“You keep calling him 'that guy' It's getting kinda old. Wanna fill me in on who's got it out for me in a Reality where I don't actually exist..?” He wasn't expecting an answer, so without thinking he took his eyes off of the two for a few to see how the other fight was going. Clearly K was the better shot, Arkanos was having trouble firing fast enough to knock her bullets down. And all the while she kept such a bored look on her face, White was always astounded that someone who liked to fight could look bored while doing it..

“You wanted to know who I am.. but We've already Met Mr. Spirit~ Don't tell me you've forgotten already..?” Almost immediately White's hands sparked with electricity and he whirled around to confront the voice that had just spoken.

“You... You're one of those Bastards I met this morning...”

Arkanos dropped to the floor, grasping at his shoulder which began oozing blood. K was the winner of the shooting match, Which was good because as Much as white hated admitting it He was going to need help if this turned into a free-for-all

“Master Fronde..” Vayne looked just as Shocked as White, Cy As well. “If your here, than master Carmoire is...”

“I am here as well of course...” A dark snake like voice cooed in White's ears, and he couldn't help but shrug like he was trying to get something off his neck. “I'm afraid you were... taking too long with such a simple job~ I came to find out Why...”

A low snarrl came through Asuki K's lips as the voice evidently rang through her ears too.

This just went from Easy to friggen damn annoying... White thought to himself, making sure no other uninvited guest made an appearance while he was preoccupied with the two new ones.

“Operative K. You were told to retrieve the traitor, and return to the evacuation point.. and here I find you entertaining guests..” Once again White's head almost did a full One-Eighty as he looked for the source of this new voice. “And, What's this..? Ah, a face from the past No doubt. Hello Carmoire... Having fun destroying everyone's lives like always..?”

“well, as the time passes it would be so much easier if you'd all keel over and Die, Mr. Resistance Leader” Carmoire had made a physical appearance at that moment. Walking down the Hall, coming up next to Fronde, who was watching all of this in slight amusement.

“You should know by now, You're completely surrounded... Might I suggest you retreat for now?” The 'resistance leader's voice mocked, still not showing himself.

“My, we're surrounded? What ever shall we do!? Oh I know.. Cynria, Why don't you show our host what we would do if we were surrounded..?” Cy's menacing giggle slowly worked its way up White's spine again, and in a matter of seconds the room began to scorch in temperature.

“Of course, I think we'd do something like... this!” Right on cue a Flash burn tore through the hallway in front of where Cy stood and roaring towards White, K, The voice, and Arkanos already dead body. Instinctively White held his arms up to block it, and it burned away the skin and burned the muscle on his arm. Behind him the fire had centered on K.

“Pyro-Kinesis.. That's Something New..” White muttered to no one in particular. Sure that little fire show had started another match between everyone, White ripped the Burnt skin and Muscle away from his arm like it was an old sleeve cringing as he did so. Leaving nothing but muscle visible on his left arm used to be... Slowly skin began forming around the exposed muscle. Growing to replace what was ripped away, or burnt. White looked back to see if the flame's had dissipated. Beneath the fire White was certain he could see... Black wings protecting K's body from the fire.

“Oh.... Well.. Um...shit....” White couldn't help but scratch at the scar on his neck, and he could already hear chuckling coming from beneath the flames.

[Crow]

Chapter Five: The Lesson to Be Learned



White's eyes shot back to the end of the hall. Carmoire eyed the wings under the fire with a hungry- Greed stricken Look. Somethings never changed, no matter what messed up relity he was. The flames began to crackle, and wind started sweeping the Hallway White's eyes immediately shot back to K. The fire burned for a few moments longer, and with a large rush of air they were blown out like a candle. White didn't bother shielding his eyes from the flames, he was more interested in who had blown the flames out.

K. stood up, and aside from a few burn marks on her jacket, she was completely unharmed. But the jacket couldn't stop White from noticing the retreating black marks on her skin.

He couldn't help but feel slightly impressed, but then again maybe it wasn't that surprising the relationship between Miss K, Devil, and Holy of his world was...extremely complicated. Maybe it was the same here too. “Enjoy your tan..?” White joked, looking back and forth between K. and where he thought the resistance Leader's voice had come from last.

“more than you did..” She responded with a nod towards the skin White had ripped off his arm. It was slower to heal since White hadn't been actively concentrating on it. He looked back to notice K. examining the burns on her jacket, he couldn't help but notice the air around her steadily grow malicious.

“True enough..” White glanced back towards the other end of the hall, he wasn't surprised to feel a sort of indignation in the air.

Cy was struggling to keep her composure, clearly she had thought that the fire works display she had put on should have completely incinerated the two. Vayne looked a little off put himself, but remained on guard. His eyes kept drifting to the smoldering pile of charred skin and bones that lay in the hallway a few feet from K. Carmoire had taken this all in stride, though it was clear he was mildly disappointed, he had come looking for a show and didn't get one.

“Now, Carmoire. If you would please remove yourself from our hospital so we can finish the evacuation...” The resistance Leader's voice chided. White couldn't help but think he'd heard the voice before, but it was different- not as tough as he could recall. One of the Shadows from the Hallway seemed to come alive, moving out into the open and slowly rising from the ground.

Cy and Vayne readied themselves, while Fronde kept an eye on White. Carmoire stepped forward to better see the forming shadow. “My, this is an honor, greeting us in person like this Mr. Leader..” His overly-polite speech always caught White the wrong way. Somewhere at the back of White's mind, he couldn't help thinking he'd forgotten about something..

The shadow formed a complete person before it began to crawl back down the body. First revealing the hair, and then the face, and finally fading back where it belonged on the ground. Where once stood a large human-shaped black blob now stood a guy with Ebony hair, average height, and a toned muscular build.

“Zane..? You're the leader..?” White questioned, it was impossible, but then again considering the people he'd met already, he thought it was bound to happen anyway. K. Shuffled uncomfortably out of the corner of White's eye, the name rang a bell with her too.

“Ah, I'm afraid you've got me Mistaken, Mr. White Hair- I'm not Zane.” The Leader looked back with a stoic grin, and White was baffled. This guy had to be Zane, he looked damn-near identical to him. “My twin Brother has been missing for some time, you wouldn't happen to know where he is would you..?”

Ah, Twin Brother, that's right. Zane often talked of his foolish younger brother. He'd told White that he changed his name because he didn't like the one his parents gave him, he thought it didn't fit him. “You're Hydro..” White corrected himself.

“My, you really do know my brother!” Hydro chuckled, looking back at Carmoire. “I'd love to ask you some questions about him, after we get out of this if you don't mind..”

“my dear friend, you mean IF you get out of this..” Carmoire chimed in, White couldn't tell if he had paid the slightest attention to what was being said. Not that it mattered. “You see, it's still Four against three. And the odds are in our favor”

Fronde coughed a little, trying to clear his throat. “I do hope you're not including me in that count Carmoire. I'm an observer, not a fighter~”

That revelation actually put White at some ease. If this guy was anything like that diamond skinned freak he'd fought earlier, it would mean trouble.

“No No, of course Not.. Who I mean is Camilla..” Almost as if the word itself caused the roof to collapse, the roof above them caved in. Down with the concrete and building material came what appeared to be a massive centipede.

Now I remember what I forgot... those damn bugs were all over the hospital... White couldn't help but chuckle and scratch the back of his head, while mentally kicking himself. The rubble from the ceiling didn't fall near him, most of it seemed to have fallen on or near where K was standing. She, of course, kicked the rubble that fell near her, making a nice clean circle around her.

“Lady Ariana Camilla Hedgeworth..” Vayne Bowed his head. Cy couldn't help but shutter, and as far as White knew that reaction was a common occurrence when faced with Butt-face Camilla.

“M-My dear, did you have to wait so long to call?” Such a sweet voice for the creature that's appearance seemed to scream something out of a horror movie Though the head was like a human, and she had some human arms. The two huge pairs of very long dark green arms, with very long fingers and black finger-nails, it was the body that got most people, it was like a huge centipedes, two rows of swiftly squirming orange hinted long finger like claws scurried in the air, from the bottom of her body to the head. White had met her before. She had this weird double-sided personality, and her voice changed with whatever form she took. It was her other head you had to watch for. Spider like in appearance, with two mandibles on her mouth. She could spit a heavy acid that melted away even the most hardened defense.

“Spitting image of the phrase Butt-ugly...” K muttered under her breath. If it weren’t for White's short distance from her, he wouldn't have heard it. He couldn't help chuckling, out loud.

Carmoire looked over at White with a raised eyebrow, then disregarded it. “so, three against four, what are you going to do now? We want our little... Project, back..”

K's grip tightened on her Pistol. Clearly she had issues being addressed that way. If he was being honest, White had issues with the phrase too. He was never a fan of Carmoire or his group of powered up freak, probably because their first meeting was less than civilized. There next few meetings weren't either.

White shrugged his shoulder's, making each move a stretch, readying for what seemed to be another inevitable fight. It was only then that White realized he had been carrying a weapon the whole time, it in his jacket's inner rib pocket was knife shaped bulge. “Alpha, you mad genius you. Please let this be something useful..” He muttered under his breath, and reached into his pocket to figure out what he'd brought with him.

He was surprised to find it was HIS knife. The one he thought he'd left at home before going to the docks. He couldn't help a stoic grin, things were looking up. His knife was special, crafted especially for him by his companies super-natural expert, and weapon maker. It was designed to draw White's Electra-kinetic abilities through it, allowing him to put electricity directly into bone, or muscle.. and since his electricity was as inherently destructive as he was.. well. White couldn't count the times he'd herd bones splinter and explode.

White held his knife up, in an aggressive stance. The White blade slowly faded to black as White's electricity filled the unique knife. “You should be careful what you say to her, Car-Motor.” The taunting nickname registered more with Camilla more than it did Carmoire apparently, as she hissed and glared at White. “The Girl's got quite a temper, but I bet you already know that Mr. Scientist..”

“How interesting. You wouldn't mind telling me who you are? Fronde's taken an interest in you, which means you might be something special..” Carmoire's gentlemanly voice seemed to cave for a second, but he quickly regained his composure.

White gripped the knife harder, taking in every little detail of his surroundings. “Name's White. I'm a Spectre. A Phantom. A Ghost. And any other name you got for a Spirit. I'd say it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but truth be told I don't like you very much...”

Hydro craned his head to look back at White, a sort of disbelieving look on his face. Carmoire looked almost as surprised, but he kept his poker face.

“Isn't it fantastic~!?” Fronde chimed in, startling everyone since he'd been so quiet during all the talk. “A Living Spirit, Ohhh I really wanna see what makes your soul strong enough to be solid”

White couldn't help but feel a little weird-ed out. This guy had some serious issues, and White couldn't make hide nor hair of them.

“I see..” Vayne looked back at Fronde. “Being a giver of 'Life' you're interested in something that should be 'dead' but isn't..” Fronde shook his head vehemently in agreement, clearly robbed of words.

A giver of life? And that other guy, they said he was a being of time.. what the hell kind of mess did I run across? White thought to himself, unsure of how to proceed.

“I guess that make's him like me and Vayne.. not from this world..” Cy chimed in, looking back and forth between Fronde and White. Though White tried not to show it, this gave a shock to White. K and Hydro looked just as shocked as he did.

“Correct! He's from a different world than this one, and different from your world as well~” Fronde was all too happy to answer questions, which made White hopeful.

“ah, I see! That's why you wanted him. And Why I've never seen him before..” Carmoire smiled, Looking directly at White.

“Since were playing twenty question's, mind answering Why you dragged me to this Hell-hole in the first place..?” White gritted his teeth and glared at Fronde.

“Oh that's really Very simple you see..” Fronde vanished, standing once again just off of White's right side. “You have too much support in You're reality. It would be hard to kill you if others kept intervening.. So I had Karina bring you to a place Where you never existed~”

“Karina...Avethos.. You.. Who the Hell are you anyway..? You show up, attack me, drag me off to another reality.. and now your talking crazy shit about killing me? You got a lot of guts...” Without a moments Notice White shifted his weight and dragged his claws down where Fronde used to be standing. Fronde only barely managed to dodge it, White caught his cape which shredded on contact.

“ooh, temper temper..” Fronde chuckled. “I'd have told you what was going on if you asked me~”

White just glared, Caramilla, Cy, and Vayne all Tensed up. Readying to pounce.








Chapter Six: Gaining Ground


The sudden movement of Caramilla, Vayne, and Cy had White reeling. Immediately he turned to get into a defensive position. Hydro grinned, apparently he was looking forward to the confrontation, sad that he'd missed the first one, where as K. took a spare clip from her belt, and reloaded her gun with a dull look on her face.

“ohh? You're going to fight them rather than listen to my explanation? You creature's always kept me guessing~” Fronde chuckled in White's ear, and jumped out of the way as White slashed at him with his knife.

“Me and you are gonna 'talk', just you wait..” White threatened. Taking careful precaution not to expose his back to much. “But I've got something I have to deal with first..”

“How rude! You can't just say it like we're trash to be taken out!” Cy shouted from down the hall, and took a step forward, only to be blocked by Vayne who stepped in front of her.

“I'm rather interested in What's going on myself..” Vayne said loudly and clearly And Fronde answered with an apparent nod.

“Dear Vayne, We can hear what Fronde has to say after we're done here...” Carmoire motioned him ahead, visibly calm, but White could feel something behind it. “Now if you would finish the job you were given..”

Vayne shook his head in a small denial. “That's only assuming we are the one's who walk away from this..We already Lost on one Cerberus Head.” He looked over at the charred remains of Arkanos. “We Can't beat Her..” Vayne nodded towards K, Cy gritted her teeth and kicked the ground. “We can't beat him..” His next nod was towards Hydro, who shook his head in mock agreement. “and we we've already proven we can't beat Him..”

White knew this side of Vayne, apparently people were inherently the same in this particular reality. Made him glad another version of him wasn't here, he might've sided with Carmoire...

“So what you're telling me is, you're of no use..?” Carmoire sighed, shrugging. “Caramilla..”

On hearing her name, Caramilla bowed her head in acknowledgment. Vines seemed to shot out at random, aiming directly at Vayne and Cy, catching them both by the throat and began squeezing. White couldn't help staring for a few seconds at what he saw.

If they kill each other, I win...But to have your own 'comrades' turn on you, what a horrible way to go.. He thought to himself with a chuckle, and with that he returned his stare to Fronde. “Alright, start talking...”

“See. This is why I had you dragged to this reality, and you've already got support here! Maybe I should should have Karina send you to a new reality? One where you're a villain...” Fronde chuckled evilly at the sound of Cy and Vayne's necks popping audibly.

Hydro gritted his teeth, he apparently had a problem with what was happening. “Put them down...” Every word seemed laced with venom. Caramilla simply looked back at him with a mocking smile.

“Oh? You're telling me what to do with my pawns? That won't do now Mr. Leader...” Carmoire shook his head, and Vayne and Cy gurgled in What White assumed was agony. In there arms and Legs several thorns had passed trough flesh bone and muscle, and come out the other side.

“That isn't what I'm talking about...I wanna know who you people are. You and that freak with the blue skin and diamonds sticking out of his arms...” White reached up to his shoulder, though there was no visible damage, he felt the leg sized rocks shoved through his body. He couldn't help but feel for the two being strangled behind him.

Several bullets passed by white's ears. K had fired several warning shots, all aimed directly at Caramilla, who had trouble dodging them and keeping Vayne and Cy off the ground. White grit his teeth, looking back.

“It seems your minds made up, me and you will have to talk later~” Fronde chuckled, jumping back a few feet.

“I'll hold you to that, you creepy-ass clown...” White sighed, turning around to gather the situation. “What's the plan...” White appeared standing next to Hydro, who was still grinding his teeth.

“You're going to help? I thought you were just going to leave them...” Hydro looked surprised, but a small grin came to his face.

“I wanted to. Still do. I want my answers.. but I guess, for the time, I can play with these clowns..” White nodded towards K, who had begun firing at both Carmoire and Caramilla. Carmoire rushed ahead, moving towards K. Caramilla had literally nailed Vayne and Cy to the wall with thorns, and rushed forward too.

“Which one you want..?” Hydro dodged incoming Spikes and Vines with relative ease. White simply clawed them out of his way as they came.

“You get the two wall-ornaments down, I'll keep them at bay...” White's claws cut through another Vine that hurdled towards him, and didn't notice Carmoire who was practically standing next to him.

“You'll keep us at Bay? Oh, my friend. How sorely you underestimate us..” Carmoire rushed White, clearly aiming for his throat.

With a large 'crack' he never got to his target. Asuki K had intercepted is lunge the second it started, and delivered a Bone shattering kick to his chest cavity, Sending him flying through the wall on the other end of the hallway.

“You should pay attention..” K landed next to White, who had caught one of the vines in his hand. “You owe me now...”

“That depends on who you ask really...” White chuckled, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. He wound the vine around his hand for a better grip. “Get over here...” With great effort, he pulled Caramilla over to him and delivered a Punch to her gut that shook the building. She too went flying towards the other end of the hall, creating another hole, which caused the wall itself to crumble.

“You almost done over there..?” White eyed Hydro, who had 'taken Cy off the wall, and was working on Vayne. Both were unconscious, and White would bet by the sound of crushing and popping bones had trouble breathing.

Carmoire landed with a skid across the ruined floor of the building, flipping and landing on his feet, clutching his chest in visible pain. Caramilla wasn't as graceful, hitting the ground with an audible thud.

“Working on it, be patient..” Hydro muttered, clearly not used to taking people off the wall like a trophy. “Done, but they're in serious trouble... they need medical attention like.. yesterday..” Hydro said it almost in a panic.

“We should leave.” K motioned to the hospital door, the room that White occupied earlier.

“You're coming with Creepy. We want answers....” White glared at Fronde, who had watched the entire dual from the sidelines.

“I see no problem with that~ Oh what fun~” He twirled around, despite the rubble clearly not caring about the destruction around him

“You're kind of a nut....” White said plainly, fighting the urge to hit him.

“If we're going, we're going now...” Hydro looked down the hall, caramilla was slowly reeling. And Carmoire had already stopped clutching his chest.

Without another Word, White Blasted through the door with a bolt of electricity. K. vanished through the destroyed door first, followed by White, and Hydro was was apparently able to carry both Vayne and Cy easily. Fronde followed up, smirking and giving a wave to Carmoire and Caramilla who were shouting in rage at the escapee's.

[Crow]

Chapter 6.5: That Strategical Withdrawal


“we need to get out of sight.. something tells me those two aren't the only enemies around here. And those they won't just quit following us either...” White kept a steady pace, moving through the ruins of the city he had seen earlier.

K ran ahead of them a ways, though she was close enough to ear what they were saying. She nodded in agreement, taking care not to run out into any unfriendly forces.

Hydro kept pace with White, carrying Vayne and Cy with him. “We have no friendly troops here, everyone was evacuated after we learned of the impending attack.” “Everyone's at an underground base, but we can't go there until we're certain we lost them..”

“You've got a large group of life forces heading our way. In order to evade them, we should take a detoured route from the one were currently on..” Fronde was hovering a few feet off the ground, but still keeping White's pace off to the side, much to his annoyance.

“You suddenly became helpful in a hurry...” White muttered, making no effort to hide his disbelief. It took White a second to realize that what he said was correct, there were several groups of people moving down the same road that they were. “We should get off this road..”

K dropped back, matching her speed to theirs. “We should use the alleys. They're probably not as patrolled as the streets are...” Without waiting for a group consent, she sped up again, ducking into an oncoming alley, and barely broke pace as she made her way through to the next street over. White, Hydro, and Fronde all moved in and followed, speeding up to match her faster pace.

Fronde looked back towards the alley they had come from, and made a motion that indicated he wanted White to look back. Coming down the street they were just on were almost a hundred foot soldiers, marching on the Medical base they were just at.

“Boy.. that would have been fun..” White chuckled, half-heartedly.

“Carmoire's forces consist mainly of people who other's consider special.” Hydro lifted the two he carried with him. “Like these two, though it's astonishing to hear there not from this... reality? Is that right?” He looked at Fronde for confirmation.

“Correct~” Fronde Chuckled, hovering along now at Hydro's side. “This reality is one of almost a hundred thousand Life bearing realities. Though as he' has noticed, this one is resembles White's own reality~” Fronde frittered next to White now. “Yes, this one is the closest out of all of them~ The biggest difference is that you Don't exist here~”

White fought the urge to Swipe at him, then looked over at Hydro to continue his explanation. “You were saying..? Carmoire's forces are made up of..”

“Oh, that's right, sorry..” Hydro shook his head, clearly lost in thought. “Carmoire's forces are made up of anyone you would call special.. be it like these two.. Who have special powers..or other's with incredible talents.. Smart, Strong.. anyone who's normal gets...” Hydro trailed off, unwilling to finish his thought.

“Crushed under foot..” K. Finished for him, obviously unabashed by that train of thought. White was startled by her chiming in, He'd been too focused on the conversation, and forgot what it was they were doing.

“You'll be happy to hear, there are no more living creatures between us and the edge of this particular city~” Fronde chuckled, looking at the buildings surrounding them.

“And how is it you can figure that out? I'm great at telling where are people are.. they give off electric signals, but I couldn't tell you if anyone was more than five miles ahead, and city limits is more than thirty..” White gritted his teeth.

“Be. Ing. Of. Life.” Was Fronde's response. “I can feel them all~ Except yours of course. Everyone in this tiny reality as long as I'm here~ I can tell you where all of them are~”

“That's fair....” White muttered under his breath. How's a guy supposed to compete with someone who can feel the life force of everyone on a planet?

“That's how you knew where to find Gamma Medical site...” Hydro observed. Slightly taken back. “I'm kinda glad you're with us right now... It would be bad if you gave Carmoire the location of the Underground base...” Hydro shuddered at the thought, and White couldn't help but acknowledge Hydro's point as being a good one.

“Q&A Later... Let's go.” K. Cut in as Fronde started answering Hydro's fear. As if to pt a point on what she said, K's speed practically doubled. Hydro sighed, still carrying Vayne and Cy in each arm. White grinned.

“You Don't wanna race...” White's speed sky-rocketed, allowing him to catch her in almost no time flat. Hydro's defeated moan was sounded in the background. Fronde stayed back With him, if only because he was still lost in thought taking in the sites of the ruined city as they ran.

[Crow]

Chapter Seven: Truth at Last.


It had been almost a week since the Hospital incident, and several days since White and his group gave Carmoire the slip and made it to the Resistance Base. White was pacing impatiently in what looked like a stone meeting room, his mind wrapping around what had happened the last few days. Even with Fronde's help, there were still plenty of close calls and near misses, Enemy patrol's hounded the group tirelessly and even though White and K, and even Hydro apparently had no trouble staying awake for days on end, nerves tended to grind after the first few days.

“What is taking them so long...” White muttered, stopping to tap his foot on the ground. His eyes moved to the big entrance door, and for a second he forgot what he was waiting for, instead he couldn't help noticing the practicality of a place like this. When Hydro first mentioned he underground base, White was expecting something deep underground, and while large, lacking in anything but people and problems.

Instead he found himself impressed over and over. The base itself was practically impossible to get to, unless you knew how to get to it.. the only entrance being at the base of a cavern at the bottom of the ocean somewhere off the coast, White hadn't been paying attention when they got there. And the interior, being a cave in a time of war, White was hoping for minimal electricity, instead he found what could have been an entire city. “This place certainly is something...”

He was brought back to the present with the sound of a door clicking open. Immediately White went defensive, eying the door carefully. Both to his annoyance and relief Fronde floated in followed By Hydro.

“You're Late.” White spat, clearly annoyed by the fact. Hydro looked kinda guilty, scratching the back oh his head in mock admittance. Fronde merely smiled and stretched. White just glared at them both, the vain in his forehead twitching.

In an attempt to ease White's apparently bad mood, Hydro tried changing the subject. “Vayne and Cy are doing well, the healing tanks will have them up and walking around within the week” He smiled, looking to see if it worked. It didn't.

“Don't care.” White said plainly, looking over to Fronde. “You, you've got answers and I want them.” Shaking a threatening finger in Fronde's general direction.

“My My~” Fronde chuckled, floating not a foot from White. “Is someone still angry he got shot at..~?” The blood vessel in White's forehead seemed to grow three times in size, clearly it was ready to burst. Fronde seemed to feel the need to move away from White, as he took a step back.

“Ah... about that, how are you..? There was a lot of... I think it was blood on the floor..” Hydro eyed White's arm, looking for signs of damage, but saw nothing. He had a look of amazement on his face, examining it from a safe distance.

“It was an accident, and it wasn't my fault.. now drop it..” White shrugged his right shoulder, he knew he was fine but apparently the recollection had him wondering if he'd healed correctly anyway.

“Accident or not..” White's glare had Hydro backtracking. “Okay, even so it was an accident that very few people could have walked away from..I Mean..”

“I said drop it..” White sulked, thinking back to the first day they had arrived at the base. Everyone went there separate ways, and agreed to meet up shortly Hydro had to check in and get the two to a medical wing. Fronde tailed him, interested in learning about the things that went on here. K vanished as soon as they got inside, and White was left to wander.

It was a short time before White met back up With Fronde and Hydro, who found white no problem despite the size of the base. And In White's impatience and desire for answers, went looking for her so that everyone who was in the battle at the Medical Site would be present, that was Fronde's only prerequisite to answering questions. So, Fronde Gave White K's location, and Hydro told him where it was, which happened to be a sort of 'crew quarters' for higher ups. It took White only a few minutes to get there, and find the room, and without a second thought barged in.

What he wasn't aware of, Was that K had wanted to take a shower as soon as possible.

Needless to say, the end result was a great deal of bloodshed on White's part. And he was now subject to an icy feeling down his spine whenever he and K were in the same room together.

Fronde's chuckle brought White out of his nightmare of a flashback. “And your thoughts on the matter~” Fronde Mocked.

“My thoughts are I'm glad this is another reality...because if that had happened in mine, I'd be dead...well.. more dead....” White sighed. Hydro and Fronde nodded there heads in agreement.

“What are you idiots talking about..?” K's voice seemed to cut all three of them. As each one of them jolted and spun around to face the door like someone had hit fast forward on Life.

“Oh, we were-~” Fronde started talking, and White punched him upside the head on reflex.

“Absolutely Nothing.” White finished. His glare towards the other two made it apparent, there was no contradiction coming from either of them. “Great, now that we're all here. Let's get this show on the road..”

“I see~ Indeed, you three are here, so we can start~” Fronde floated back a few feet until he was sitting on one of the tables in the back of the room. “So~ Where should I begin~?”

White grinned, answers, finally. “I'd like to know who the hell you all are for starters..” White said flatly. It was a question that White had since He was first attacked on the docks a week or so ago in his own reality. Fronde pondered the question, and Whtie could see he was trying to figure out how to answer it.

“Yeah, that question works for me too..” Hydro nodded in agreement, K sat there listening.

“Well~ That's an interesting first Question~ Okay~” Fronde smiled cheerfully “Well, I'm Fronde, and then there's Mira'Nel, Avethos, and Karina~” He counted his fingers as he named them off, and White's temper seemed to boil after a few seconds.

“That's not the question I asked! I want to know who, and What you are!” The Vain in White's forehead seemed to throb, near burst limit. Fronde only chuckled, and waved White's shouting away, which only served to irritate him more.

“Okay, okay~ I was only joking around~” Fronde smiled through his hood and started again. “As I said, I am Fronde Evergreen Duluth , and I am the descendant of the original Fronde, the Being of Life~” Fronde nodded his head, in agreement with his own statement. “I am the Oldest of the four you met earlier White.” His tone seemed to somber up as he went on, becoming more serious. “The One you had the scuffle with, Avethos is the next oldest, him and his sister are Twins. He the Being of Time, and She of Space.”

White couldn't help but feel he'd heard something like this before, in a book or something. “Time and Space..great..” White chagrined, that sounded like trouble.

“It was Karina who brought you to this dimension White, at my request of course..” Fronde looked over at Hydro. “She was also the one who Moved your brother to White's reality.” Hydro nodded, he had gathered as much, but White figured it was nice to get the solid facts.

“And the Fourth..?” White motioned for Fronde to continue after a few seconds of silence.

“Ah, right. The youngest of us all. Mira'Nel is.. a Goddess of Death. Though, she's innocent and doesn't quite grasp all of what's going on yet... It's my understanding She's taken an interest in your reality White, she's there right now” Fronde smiled again, returning to his frighteningly cheerful demeanor. “Is that a sufficient explanation to who we are?”

“Not quite.” K spoke up, White's eyes wandered over for a second before returning to Fronde, who looked taken back. “you told us your name, not who you are..”

“Ohhhh what a smart person you are~” Fronde chuckled again. “Very well, I did say were were the Four descendants~ But the question is four descendants of What you might ask~? I wonder if I'm allowed to tell you?” Fronde chuckled again, looking off to the left.

From the shadows, a human shaped door seemed to appear as if from nowhere. The doors print was that of a large galaxy out in the vastness of space. “Why Not, you've already told them who we are...” 'from the door stepped out a taller woman, with Billowing Blue hair. Her voice calm, yet full of dignity and command.

“Well Well, Karina shows herself at last~” Fronde chuckled. White couldn't help lowering his hand to his knife. K's gun clicked next to him. Hydro was the only one utterly unaffected by her arrival.

“You knew she was there..?” White muttered under his breath, wondering if anyone but him could hear his question.

“No, that's one hell of a woman....” Hydro chuckled, then grabbed the back of his head as White's fist collided with it.

“So It's okay to tell them~?” Fronde chuckled, watching White and Hydro's scuffle. “Oh fantastic~ Let's start with the obvious then~ I told you about the other realities, and the Descendants~ What I haven't said was that our ancestors were four of the original creator's of those realities~” This got White's attention.

The ability to create not only life, but an entire reality..? White looked over to see Karina standing next to Fronde, staring over at the three of them.

“You see..” The one called Karina started talking. “Before there were a multi-tude of realities, there was only a single one.. one plagued by endless war brought about by a power struggle between beings with power beyond any of ours..” White found it easier to follow what she said, her speech wasn't as bubbly as Fronde's, and was right to the point. He looked over, and doubted seriously it was her words Hydro was following.

“Yep Yep~” Fronde agreed, then started again. “You see, our ancestors were strong, but they were just as strong as everyone else way back then. What all your realities refer to as 'The Big Bang' was actually them, splitting the dimensions into fragments to keep them stable..” Fronde Chuckled, nodding to himself. White noticed he must have the need to confirm everything he says with himself.

“Okay... “ White grasped What was going on, but he still had a question for them. “I'm slowly understanding what's going on” White noticed Fronde chuckling to himself. “But I have another question.. Why he hell was I attacked in the first place? If you guys have been around so long.. why am I just now learning all of this..?”

Karina seemed to take a second to process the question, Fronde on the other hand jumped rigt in. “We're having a slight... disagreement with one of our fellow descendants...” Karina seemed to shy away from Fronde's description of the problem. “Avethos is sort of... causing trouble with the stability of the realities..” White listened carefully, and his selfish nature couldn't help but get the best of him.

“I fail to see why I was attacked...”

“Avethos... My Brother, He see's the future, the past, the present.. Whenever He wants too.. He cant control time like our ancestor, just Like I cant create Space..” Karina seemed to shy away from that topic too.
Fronde picked up the slack. “Avethos saw certain people.. getting in the way of his plan, and set out to... remove them..” Now White saw, of course He would be targeted.

“And What plan is that..?” K and Hydro asked together.

“Well, He sort of... Want's to return the realities and Dimensions together, forming a single one again~” Fronde chuckled, trying to lighten the load of that information. White couldn't help but shutter, K and Hydro remained Silent, processing what that meant.

“so, What's that mean to all of us little people...?” White's head swiveled around, and found Cy and Vayne limping into the room.

Karina eyed the two coming in, Fronde chuckled gleefully. “It means, you all wont exist, you'll all be merged together with the thousands of other you's.. and then you'll vanish completely~” Fronde answered with a slight chuckled, and an agreeing nod of his head.

[Crow]

Chapter Eight: Plan for Counterattack.

White, K., Hydro, Cy, and Vayne all seemed to be processing what they had all learned. Fronde and Karina were conversing off to the side, something about a plan. White was the first to gather his thoughts, Hydro and the others continued thinking about it all.

White interrupted the conversation between the two with a clearing of his throat. “You said I got in his way, and that's why he attacked me... What do I do?” The grin on White's face seemed to say he wanted to know for a single reason.

Karina looked White over in earnest, clearly looking for a slight bit of hesitation. She saw None, and that surprised her. “He Beat you down something fierce last time, you sure you want to go through with this..?”

White grinned a devilish grin. “No doubt, he got some lucky shots in. But this time i'm ready for him...”

“Seee! I knew there was something about you I liked~ Well Karina~?” Fronde chuckled, sitting up from his slouched position, And jumping to his feet. “Let's fill him in on the rest~”

Karina looked him over one more time, then sighed. “This little jump to another dimension was a test of sorts...You're rude, impulsive, and you have a history of Violence and senseless murder.. yet for some reason you seem to draw people into working with you. That's what we need...” White's spirit seemed dampened at this, he wasn't liking the way this direction was going.

“I don't think I'm going to half enjoy what you're going to say Next...” Wite gritted his teeth and waited for the news.

“No, I don't think you are~” Fronde Chuckled, patting him on the shoulder. “We need an army, and You're one of the lucky one's who get's to get people.” Though White was prepared for it, he couldn't help feeling defeated.

“My Brother, He's going to march on the central most reality and there draw it all into a single one. What's more is, he's not the only one who's thoughts fall into that same category.. He's got an army all his own. The darkest creature's you've ever met, each one as strong as the next.. and They're all ready to fight for it.” This sunk in on White's thoughts, one person. He can handle one person. But an army of super powered dark beings who want to destroy life in every reality? He would need help with that.

“Okay, so what? I go door to door asking if people want to help save there dimension?” White's response was sarcastic, but something in Fronde's eye said it wasn't that far off.

“Yeah~ Isn't that great... You get to travel dimensions, realities.. You get them all together to clash With Avethos~ Aren't you lucky?” Fronde shook White's hand vigorously, as if He'd just won the lottery or something.

“You're definition of the term 'lucky' and mine, they appear to be rather different...” White sighed, staring down at his feet.

“There's More though...” Karina added, making White's sigh fall even farther.

“There always is...”

“Avethos is still recruiting. And anyone who doesn't join him dies.. “

“Except you though~ Aren't you special?” Fronde chuckled

“You don't have an unlimited amount of time, you have a lot of realities to go through, and not a lot of time to do it...” Karina looked over at the other three in the room. K had been listening the entire Time, Hydro as well. White doubted Cy or Vayne could hear them.

“There can never be any good news can there..?” Hydro walked up behind White, nodding towards Fronde.

“Easy is a relative term~” Fronde nodded to himself “What's hard now, compared to something you do later, might be the easiest thing in the world..”

“So, are you still going to do it? If so, I suggest we leave immediately...” Karina seemed to grow impatient each minute they stood there.

“Count me in on this little war... compared to What's going on here, this seems bigger.” Hydro mockingly punched White's shoulder.

“No, I don't think so Hy.” White shook his head. “You got a war going here, and you're the Leader. I know what that means, it means you have to stay and fix the problem here.”

“No way, Reality itself is unraveling, and you're worried about what happens in a single one? Like He-” Hydro's outraged rants came to an abrupt end when he caught White's glare.

“Make you a deal, you solve the problems here. I'll be back to check just before the Shit hits the fan. If everything is done here, then you can join us. Until then.. You solve your problems.”

“And K...?” Hydro looked over his shoulder to see what she was thinking.

“Something tells me if I brought two of her into the same reality, let alone the same battlefield.. Well, we wouldn't have to worry about saving Reality. It would just implode...” White looked over his shoulder, and K's glare seemed to shout the words 'Damn Right'

“So It's decided then~?” Fronde laughed out loud.

“Excellent..” Karina smiled, looking around the room. “But Avethos will be watching what we do from here on out, I cant move you between each dimension.. It would cause trouble. And Avethos could follow us.. But luckily I think we have a plan to solve that problem..”

“Sounds interesting, mind filling us in on this little plan..?” Whtie looked around the room, looking for who ever Karina was looking for. His gaze stopped on a much smaller 'door' just above Karina's hand. It was similar to the 'door' like object that had moved Karina from the shadow's into this reality.

“I'm sure you know this little creature, He will Help you move between-” Karina's explanation was drowned out by a very loud yelp, followed by sobbing.

“Master Whiiiiiite! Hatchet has been looking for you!” White was hit by what looked like a small White plush toy rushing out of the dimensional door.

“Hatchet..!? What are you..?” White pulled the toy away from him, and looked at it clearly. There hovering just above White's hand was a small ghost-looking creature, barely fitting in White's hand, it was barely the size of a stuffed animal, and for all intensive purposes it appeared to be one. A Pure White Head, with two sort of 'jester hat' styled spikes protruding from either side. A single Eye that resembled White's own Eyes, Pure black, with a yellow Iris, Always smiling with a stitched on smile. Below his head was a billowing cape that covered the rest of his body.

“What the Heck is that..?” Hydro stepped back from it, looking puzzled. Hatchet's head swiveled around, leaving the front of his cape facing White, but his head facing Hydro.

“Hatchet is Hatchet, Master's Friend!”

“Hey Hatchet, what are you doing here..?” White tried to get Hatchet's attention back on him, Karina answered for him.

“In my younger days, I made a lot of these little creatures, and sent them out to study the different dimensions.. they all have the power to move people around dimensions..” She looked at Hydro, who was still staring at Hatchet with a ghost-like look on his face. The head spinning thing was too much for him apparently. ""Your brother met one of them I've been told.”

White listened to this, and he couldn't help but think Of Rose-Marie, the Pink Fairy like creature who had taken an instant liking to Hatchet. But she'd said she made a lot of them, does that mean there were others? White shook his head, now wasn't the time to be thinking about unimportant things like that. “I get it, hatchet's going to help me move the dimensions..”

“Bingo~”

“Yes Master White, Hatchet will help in anyway he can! He always Like's to help!” Hatchet swirled around, floating slightly above White's head and looking over the other three in the room. “It's Mister Vayne, and Miss Cy! Hatchet didn't know they were here too!” Hatchet flittered over to them, both looked a little uneasy. “Hello~”

Vayne looked a little confused, and Cy looked terrified. Clearly they weren't quite expecting the talking plush.

“Hatchet, those two aren't the Cy and Vayne from our Dimension...” Hatchet's head swiveled around, and then his body followed, making Vayne go a little green.

“Oh! Hatchet is sorry, He' wasn't sure~” With that he glided back over to Where White, Fronde and Hydro were standing.

White turned around, and found that K was gone, as was Karina. Hydro shot Fronde a questioning Look. “Those two left~ While you were busy, it's amazing the kind of conversation's pass between Girls even when they dont talk~” Fronde chuckled.

“Well, Guess taht's my Que too. What will you do Fronde..?” White eyed Hydro, who was still a little green.

“I must admit I like the people here, I think I'll help them out~” and he punctuated that with a slap on Hydro's shoulder. “I'll help you win this war, then you can play in the big war~”

“Time to go then Hatchet... If we need the best, there are a few people I already know about who would just love the chance to take part in something like this...” Hatchet smiled, and obligingly moved forward, the small double sided scythe floated from Hatchet's back and cut a hole in the air itself. “Remember.. finish things up Here.. I'll get us some... advantages..” With that White stepped through the tear in space.. and found himself falling through Darkness.

[Crow]

Chapter Nine: A Silent Gray World

White fell for what seemed like forever, the air pressure was crushing. His eyes felt like they were being ripped from there sockets, and finally there was nothing. White opened his eyes, an saw dark rain clouds beneath him, large billowy rain clouds as far as the eye could see. The thunderstorms below made it impossible to feel if anyone was below, but it didn't matter much, He was back in his reality. He began free falling, from the tip of space he Fell some more, farther and farther down.. through the clouds and the Rain and the Lightning. He closed his eyes as he fell, it was such a rush, free falling from space... Flying was nothing compared to the exhilarating feeling of falling.

He had made it almost completely through the clouds, eyes still shut as he fell backwards. Rain had started falling on his face, signaling to him that he had made it through the clouds and was now almost at the ground. Utterly unafraid, he felt the ground closing in on him, but he still couldn't feel any electrical signal from anyone.. He opened his eyes, and in his shock didn't slow his descent. With a loud crunch he Hit the ground, which caved in on itself. The rain wasn't enough to keep him Lucid, and in a matter of seconds he blacked out.

Several Hours later, White awoke in a crater almost filled with Water. Trying to shake the pain, he moved his head back and forth. “What did I just see..?” With real effort, White puled himself over to the edge of the crater and dragged himself out, still bleeding from the cracks and abrasions. His bones had splintered from the impact, some were protruding from his arms, or his legs. With genuine effort he pushed them back into place, and watched the skin regrow. His bones set, they slowly began mending themselves.

Almost Lucid enough to see correctly, White looked around a second time. What he saw wasn't the destroyed world he had come from. The buildings were all broken and falling apart, but not from war... but from abandonment. They weren't kept, and the water from the rain seemed to rip them down, cars in the streets were overturned or burnt from the outside in. The Streets themselves had holes in them. Puddles of rain flowed openly into others, White was close enough to what looked like a subway to notice that it too was overflowing with Water.

“What.. This Place is..Hatchet must have gotten it Wrong, This world is..”

Bones and skin almost healed, White stood up and began walking. Each footstep echoed in the silence of this dead Gray world. As he passed them, White looked in on the stores and buildings, nothing. No signs of life.. each house was being overrun by water, or caked in dust. White slowly felt utterly alone. Hatchet hadn't come through the door with him for some reason, and this place. This cold place devoid of any real life was in a constant dead silence. Even the rain, though never ending and plentiful, seemed to make an effort not to disturb the silence.

“Hellooo!? Is anyone here!?” White called out as he walked, his voice carried with the water. The vibrations of his shouts disturbed the puddles as he walked passed them. “Can anyone here me..!?”

He wandered for Hours, the rain never let up. Thunder and Lightning seemed to strike at him, mocking him as he yelled for anyone who would listen. He wandered and limped, the only signs he saw of life ware not but the skeletons of a few. An entire city, simply gone. The loneliness Ate at White, not because he minded it, but because his entire being told him it was wrong. There was something incredibly wrong with all of this.

It wasn't until he got to the city limits that he truly felt that something was completely wrong. He looked out, and saw a world of water, Rain clouds poured as far as the eye could see. His eyes caught something floating in the water, Green with faded White print. “That can't be right... this place is...” He eyed the sign, it had fallen from it's post, and the rain removed most of the paint, but there was no mistaking what it read. Welcome to Emerald City! Hope you Enjoy your stay!

Immediately White spun around. His own memories seemed to be working against him. The skyline of the city was exactly as he remembered it, down to the radio station's antenna. He had actually enjoyed Emerald City, It was a place he could go to get away at times...No! There was a Freedom Safe House here in Emerald, He would check it out and see what had happened here.

Immediately, without a second thought he tore through the streets. His feet hitting the ground echoed nearly the whole way there, and at last he had finally found it. Though it was as worn down as the rest of the city, there was no mistaking it. He went for the door handle, and even though he didn't put much effort, the second his hand hit the door nob it fell away. The door's hinges rusted and faded to dust. The inside of the building was covered in Water, but electricity was still working surprisingly What he was looking for was on the other end of the room, a working computer. He waded through the water to get to it, and after a few tries it started up.

The screen was cracked, and White could barely make out what was going on. On the screen he saw what he assumed was one of Freedom's agents, they Bore Freedom's symbol on there clothes. He was panicked, and afraid.

“Something.. “ Static cut through the video from ware. “ Wrong Here!..... Safe Houses.... What Are those... Rain.. Vayne...Numbers Found Dead....” White tried making out what was being said, but couldn't quite grasp it. He couldn't help feeling awful at what he had heard though.

“Freedom's Numbers Dead? What the hell happened here!” In anger White slammed his fist down on the computer. Which started up a new recording, still mostly deleted and destroyed from water damage, it was the same guy who had logged the last report. He seemed utterly afraid. In the Background, White couldn't help noticing the door behind him was open, and some sort of figure stood in the doorway, but the video cut out abruptly. White hit the computer again, but this did nothing.. and the computer Whirred and died.

Once again, White felt utterly alone. “What happened here... “ He shook his head, leaving the Safe house behind. As soon as he was out, the building itself fell down, crumbling to nothing but rubble.

“I'll go to Freedom HQ... they'd have answers there.. there has to be..” White looked back at the destroyed Safe house, and in memory of his unnamed employee gave a lite bow, and his own prayer for peace and redemtption. Afterwords, the speed in which White was proud of was put to the test. In a matter of minutes White was tearing through the watered down world at High speeds. Every city he came across he stopped at, seeing that after each one passed the world itself, though covered in water was devoid of Life. At every city he stopped by the Freedom Safe houses, and said a prayer for peace at each one.

In the Distance He saw the city he was looking for, New York was Freedom HQ's home. And not that far from Emerald City thankfully. The Lightning seemed to chase White as he ran, it seemed to stop in the cities he did, and move on as he did.

White hit New York nearly four Hours later, after all his stops and prayers. He walked through the city he had been in nearly two weeks ago. The only ting that seemed different was the lack of people, cars sat empty, hot dog stalls were tipped over and crushed by other cars, or ignored. After Hours of walking, he came across a bit of the information he so craved for. The printing press's last story read an eerie title. “Darkness Covers the World, No sign of end to Rain in sight.” When he tried to pick the page up, it ripped at his touch, and floated away in the river of water.

It took him awhile to get there, do to the slow speed he was walking at, but finally he found what he came for. He looked up at His building, Freedom HQ stood tall in a city of tall buildings. Yet, Time and rain had ripped down most of the other buildings in the area, and Now only this building stood as he remembered it. He was nearly a block away When Lighting caught up to him, flashing for a brief second, and striking the top of the building. White's first reaction was to see if the building was damaged, but as he looked up he saw something.

The darkest creature White had ever laid eyes on stared down at him. Pure black skin, and demon like in appearance. White's stare seemed to be matched perfectly in this things eyes. A cold Yellow eyed glare peered through wild White hair.

“Who...?” White took a step back. “What the hell is that..?”

[Crow]

Chapter Ten: A Silent Gray World Pt 2


The rain continued to pour, harder than it had since White had been there. The creature itself stopped staring at White to look up at the rain, streams from its hair fell down its face. White couldn't help but stare. The creature, while shaped like a human, had no other characteristics like one. Pure black skin, with a marble like sheen glistened in the rain. Spikes grew up out of it's arms nearly a foot tall, Black diamond like claws ended its hands. Reptilian clawed feet, and a tail adorned its lower half.

After a few minutes it looked back down at White, taking him in. It was then that White realized the only thing on it's face were it's eyes. No Mouth, no nose just the eyes. Cold and Yellow, glaring down at him. After only a second of it's second size up of White it turned to leave.

“Wait! Come back here!” White shouted after it, unaware as to whether or not it could hear him. It must have, after it had completely turned around it stopped. Peering over it's shoulder once more, it fell backwards off the edge of the building. White was taken back b the action, he flinched back just before the creature hit the ground.

It hit with a similar thud that White had when he hit the ground, dust and debris flew off in all directions. White covered his eyes, blocking the shards of concrete and asphalt from them, afterwords he brushed the dirt from his face. Immediately he eyed the dust cloud where the creature had struck the ground. As the dust began clearing, White slowly took a few steps back. There in the small crater, standing tall and uninjured was the creature.

“What the Hell are you..?” White gritted his teeth, and steadied defensively. Unaware if he should prepare for a fight. His fists clenched and unclenched, something about this guy said bad news.

At the sound of White's voice, the creature's tail flickered. The long ponytail like hair swayed as well. This Question has been asked before.. The Answer has changed somewhat, We Are the Darkness.. The answer rang in White's ears, like it was in his head., at the same time tough, the voice seemed to come from the creature, but without a mouth White wasn't sure. It took a step forward and White readied himself.

“You are the Darkness? What kind of stupid answer is that!?” White spat, trying to get some of the rain out of his mouth. “You tell me what happened here, where is everyone.?” White took a step towards him, to match it's step.

“What happened here..That question was never asked...” It shook it's head, it's head spraying rain water everywhere. “You are not like the one who came before...” It took a step back, it's hands fell to its side, and it's tail swayed from side to side.

“The one that came before..?” White kept his defenses up, he could still feel a terrible sense coming from the creature.

“Yes. The One we fought so long ago... His name, I Don't recall. He was.... surprised... I Don't look the same. I am Not the same....” The creature seemed troubled by what it was saying, and White took another step forward.

It was then that White started noticing things about the area in front of Freedom HQ. The entire block hadn't been destroyed by the rain, the buildings were rubble but not from neglect. A battle had taken place here, gem like rocks littered the streets. “Avethos, You fought Avethos here....”

“Yes, that Was it's name. Avethos, of Time I recall... but that's all I can remember. Avethos... and This building, it is my Pride. It remains as long as I do....” The creature stared off into space, looking more past white than at him.

“You Beat Avethos..? He's dead..?” White looked astounded, dumbstruck. “That's not possible...”

“Beaten, but not killed. I have seen enough death.... He left shortly afterwords..” The creature bowed it's head, causing the hair on it's neck to fall forward. White couldn't help noticing a jagged marking on the creature's neck.

“That marking...” White reached up to touch the one on his own neck. The exact same scar. White couldn't believe it. “I asked What you were... now, tell me WHO you are...” Why gritted his teeth, afraid of the answer.

“Who we are.... We had a name once.... but It's been so long, we don't use it anymore. There is no one to use it anyway.. and so we are nameless. The Darkness.” The creature stared heavily at the scar on White's neck. “You and I, we are similar...”

White shuttered, knowing that this creature was on the right track, but what could have possibly caused this kind of change? “You called this building your Pride.. What is it?” White nodded towards Freedom HQ, and the creature looked back at it.

“It is a Monument. A Memory. Memory of those who were Lost, so they can't be forgotten...” It took a step towards the building. “You who is the same as I, come...” White attempted to object, but found himself being pulled along by some kind of invisible force. They had gotten to the front door of Freedom HQ before the force let up. “White.... That word means something. It's here, in the monument.”

“Wait, you said You had beaten Avethos earlier... How did you do it?” White asked,hoping in earnest the creature would answer.

“In our darkness, the one Called Avethos could do nothing.. But it is because of this darkness that everything is like this...” It seemed to ponder that for a second, then stepped forward.

White gulped, wondering just what kind of monument would fit inside a building. Inside White couldn't help but notice an odd remodel of his building, inside was a great spiral rock, someone had put in the center of the building. “And that is..?” White stepped forward of his own free will now, taking in the sight of the spiral shaped rock. He could see things hanging from it, nailed to it.

“That is our Memory, the only thing that needs to be forgotten.” The creature stepped forward along White. It's tail swished off in one direction. “Over there. The first Fifteen... The Reason.. The cause of darkness....”

White walked over to the glass encasement and looked over the fifteen items in the case. They appeared to be weapons, each weapon had on it an engraving of a roman numeral.

Among them were a Pair of daggers, with the Roman Number One Etched into it. A handgun, with the Letter X embroidered in gold. Some gloves, with the number Fourteen, A staff and cards.. each emblazoned with the number Eleven. White knew what these were, of course he did... these were the Freedom Number's. He gulped, taking a step back. Etched into the stone below the case were names White didn't dare read, instead he clenched his fist to the point he began to bleed. “What happened..?” was all he could ask.

“We were away. These fifteen took it upon themselves to stop the coming Darkness. They perished, but managed to hold it off until We returned...” The creature stared at the ground. “In our rage, we were consumed by the very thing they fought. We fought Darkness against Darkness, and with our power and desire for revenge we brought the never ending storm...”

White gulped, looking away from the glass case. Instead he walked over to the rock, and was astonished to find it went all the way up to the roof. “And the names on this rock are..?”

“We learned the names of them all. Every life that ended since the day we were consumed with Darkness. They are all here. At the top, the last three are waiting..” The creature slowly made it's way around the rock, Like a stone walkway. White couldn't help noticing the names, he wished he didn't.

“This is...” White began, but he was robbed of words to describe it. Slowly they made there ways to the top.

“There, the last Three...” White looked over at the end of the rock off to the right. There, in another glass case were three more objects encased in glass, three things White couldn't help but remember. Under the glass case on his right was a small double sided scythe, years of wood rot had caused the scythe to fall apart, but it was still recognizable. Hatchet's name was fresher than most of the rock carvings here, but it was still faded to the point of not being able to read it.

In the case to the Left was a faded Black jacket, red embroidery adorned it. Tears on the back of the jacket gave White insight as to what happened. “We remember, this one did not die in the same way as the others here. This one shut herself in...” White nodded, trying not to think about it.

The Middle case was a pure White jacket, moth eaten and faded. Black intricate markings covered the back side, and in the center of the jacket itself The Letter W. No name was written on the stone beneath the jacket.

“We followed you. To every city. Heard your prayer for those you didn't know. This is why we know you are like us...” The creature walked to the end of the rock, at the far end White recognized a chair looking out over the entry to the building. “we have said those words for everyone remembered here. Everyone but the owner of that white Jacket... we have forgotten whose it is...”

White thought about that. “How long have you been here..? When was the last time you saw anyone before Avethos came back..?” He thought it was strange, to forget something like that.

“It has been.. so Long... Years... We Can't recall, hundreds of years we Think... Alone.. for so long...” The creature sat in the chair, slumping down.

White nodded, the creature seemed to grow weary. “I've got a good idea who it belonged to, don't worry about it...” The creature visibly sighed, it was the first human thing White had seen it do since he'd met it.

“That make's me glad... perhaps now that it's finished, I can get some rest...” The creature laid it's head back, and for a time there was silence.

“Savior..” White began. “ This one's heart is Pure, But beset by wickedness and Contention.” He sighed as he continued his prayer. “If you would, Guide him to Where the Traveler Never tires, The Lover Never leaves, The Hungry never starve. Please Guide him to Where all storms become still, and Where all stars show the right path. Guide this One, and he will be a companion to you as he was to me.” He saw the creature look him dead in the eye, pleading him to finish what it had started, and so he obliged.. “Good Bye White, You wont be Alone much Longer..” White finished his prayer, and the creature sighed contently, and then became quiet once more.

White stared at the creature one last time. Then turned to look at the three cases on the other end of the rock Tomb. “Sorry Hatchet, but I have one last job for you...” With a heave he crushed the glass that held Hatchets broken scythe. He picked it up and slashed at the air with it, and just as if Hatchet had done it a tear opened up in the air. The Scyt­he crumbled into dust, and White stepped into the Darkness once again....

The streets bustled and buzzed. White could hear people walking around. He opened his eyes to reveal he was standing in front of Freedom HQ once again. “We'll win. Thank you White... you've given me the answer I needed.. How to beat that bastard...” and with a Dark grin, White opened the door to his Companies building.