He opened his brown eyes and saw the black floor stretch out before him. It was cold on his cheek and he raised himself to his knees to look around. He stood on an expansive black marble floor surrounded by six tall spires of darkness so deep it seemed drag his vision into them. He looked beyond them and saw massive rocks resembling asteroids floating in the air all around him. Upon closer inspection he discovered that the floor stood on a black pedestal on top of one of the larger rocks, which indeed seemed to be asteroids. Unlike the asteroids around him this one did not rotate and did not appear to be moving.

"Rise, son of flame," a voice of many tones and pitches called out from somewhere.

Curious, he stood up. He was a young man and he wore his blue jacket and black jeans, white sneakers, and a large gold chain around his neck with pride. It was not often he dressed his best but this did not look like the place he had been about to head to after his nap on the couch. He glanced around for the speaker. "Who are you? What do you want with me and where am I?"

"So many questions for such a young mind," the mix of voices said. "You are here because I need you. I need you because you have skills that may prove useful to me."

The young dark-skinned man narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about that?"

"What, about your mastery over fire? I know many things, Seth Blair. I know that despite your tough exterior you have trouble saying coherent sentences in front of girls, especially pretty Aleshia. You stole most of the clothes you wear and hate taking baths."

Seth clenched his teeth in anger. "Who are you? Why are you trying to piss me off? You know what I can do!"

"Fire can't hurt me, Seth. We are kindred spirits, fire and I. We both wish to rid the world of everything and are always hungry. Unlike fire, however, I only go for life. I don't waste my time on inanimate objects. A world without life is so much sweeter."

"Yeah, whatever, you still haven't told me who you are."

A shadow appeared at Seth's feet and it darkened and began to stretch out of the floor itself. He took a step back, his hands bursting into flames. The shadow stretched and stretched until it reached eye level with Seth and began to take shape, that of a human. The body thinned and curved and Seth's fiery hands died away when he noticed it to be a rather attractive woman. She had tendrils of shadow swirling around her grey-skinned body, barely covering the areas he wished to see the most.

"I can tell you like me in this form," she said, her full lips uttering the words in a husky voice full of sensuality. Her half-lidded eyes, shrouded in eye shadow, were a piercing bright red and were eyeing him intently. Her hair, whiter than snow, tumbled down her back and reached her hips. She watched Seth adjust his pants and smirked. "Want some of this, fire boy?"

Seth was caught unawares. "Um, what?"

The woman walked up to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, staring into his eyes. He felt uncomfortable yet he could not look away from her. He struggled to think with the right brain yet every passing moment grew more difficult to do so. She appeared to know this and pressed herself against him, squeezing certain body parts against his chest and wrapping a leg around his waist.

"I need your help, Seth," she breathed into his ear. "Will you help me?"

Seth cleared his throat. "What do you want me to do?"

With an almost sinister chuckle she said, "I need you to kill for me."

****

The scene at the foot of the ridge was one of confusion and bewilderment. The four standing at the top of the ridge were climbing down as Ivory, Boog and a recovered Elmar gathered around Aragol and Karmen.

"I guess now we know what that dude meant when he said Karmen had a second nature," Boog said as he looked down at the unconscious young woman. Aragol had removed his cape and draped it over her like a blanket and she looked peaceful as she slept. Boog eyed the silver-haired man. "And how the hell are you still standing? That claw left a hole the size of my hand into your chest cavity. You should have died immediately."

Aragol stood up and felt the bare skin on his chest from the huge hole in his armour. "I'm not entirely certain why that is, Boog. I remember staring up at the purple sky and closing my eyes and when I opened them again Karmen was reverting to her normal form. Something similar has happened to me before and I believe I may be blessed by my gods."

"This ain't your world anymore, Aragol. I don't think your gods are here."

Aragol could only shrug. "I do not know how I survived that but here I am."

Casandra, Celestia, Victoria and Graham appeared on the scene and the mother of the group hurried to Karmen's side. "I can heal her," Casandra said as she knelt down beside the sleeping form. "Is she hurt?"

"From what I can tell she appears completely healthy," Aragol notified her. "She is most likely exhausted from her transformation."

"Speaking of exhaustion I could go for something to drink," Victoria said, glancing around hoping to miraculously spot a drink machine. "What are we supposed to eat and drink in this place anyway?"

"I saw no source of water on the way here," Elmar said. "I saw nothing from the top of the ridge either."

"We will have to decide what to do about that later," Aragol said as he watched Casandra look Karmen over for any injuries. "Right now we need to watch over Karmen until she is fit to walk again. We cannot cleanse the anchor with her in this state."

"If she stayed this quiet when she was awake I'd be a hell of a lot happier," Victoria said under her breath yet loud enough for everyone to hear. "Girl needs a right good ass-whooping, is what she needs."

"Regardless, she saved us, Victoria. Even you can see the truth in that."

Victoria sighed. "Yes, I know...I was only joking." But not really, she finished in her head.

Boog turned to Elmar and looked down his nose at him. "You happy you got your buttons back?"

Elmar eyed him and nodded once. "I...I am, Boog. I know they seemed like a lot of trouble but they are important to me. I need them..."

Boog snarled. "Yeah, that's another thing that gets me right pissed off. All these damn secrets are driving me mad."

"Boog is right," Celestia said to everyone. "We need to have no secrets between us if we can even hope to trust one another. We should use this time that we have now to just let them all out."

Everyone exchanged glances and though most of the group was uncertain of doing what Celestia suggested it did eventually form a circle with Karmen in the middle. For several minutes there was silence until finally Celestia spoke.

"Well, to start off," she said, a finger on her chin as she thought of something to reveal, "I may wear this pretty frilled dress, well, it's not so pretty now but it used to be, but anyways it's not mine. It was given to me by a friend. At least I think she's a friend..."

Boog sighed and shook his head. "Are you going to tell us your favourite colour next? I thought we were going to discuss real secrets."

"Well, no one else was talking! I had to say something!"

Boog looked to Elmar. "What was that thing you did to Karmen on our way here?"

Elmar met Boog's gaze. "Huh? Oh, I can make objects float. I can change their weight with a touch of my staff. It's how Graham and I were able to reach the top of the ridge first."

"Excuse me?" Victoria said, crossing her arms over her chest and cocking her head to the side, giving Elmar a sidelong glance. "I believe I reached the top first!"

"I distinctly remember my feet touching the ground before you finished your climb."

"Whatever. If you had used your legs and arms like a normal person I'd have kicked your ass."

"Most likely."

Victoria smiled and titled her chin up smugly.

"Well, Graham can control the wind!" Celestia said, offering the shy young man a smile.

He blushed when everyone looked at him. "Yes...she's right. I'm not that good at it, though."

"Stop saying that! You're wonderful, Graham."

His blush deepened and he looked at the ground. "I...I try..."

Boog, who sat beside Aragol, gave him a nudge with his elbow. "What happened to you out there anyway? I thought you said you were the best swordsman in your country? You let that bug stab you. If you're the best Tiranor has to offer I could probably claim it for myself."

Aragol frowned. "I don't know, Boog. I agree with you, though."

Boog's eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

"I should not have let my guard down. I am faster and smarter than that. I certainly did not show my full potential out there. Perhaps the spores were disorienting me..."

Celestia began to bounce up and down in excitement. "Oh! Oh! Oh! Graham can make you a whirlwind thingy that he did to me! It keeps the spores away. Just ask him!"

Aragol turned to the man and raised an eyebrow. "You can do that?"

Graham struggled to hold the general's gaze. "I...I can..." He gulped down more shyness and felt the stone on his necklace. He waggled a few fingers toward Aragol and a light breeze sprung up and began to swirl around him, almost imperceptible but there nonetheless. As Celestia had done, Aragol inhaled deeply and exhaled with relief.

"Amazing," he said, already feeling his mind begin to clear. "You are gift to us, Graham. You truly are."

The group's gift blushed so deeply it appeared he was suffocating.

As the others spoke, Casandra moved closer to Karmen and looked down at her. She appeared peaceful and safe, as if she was in a warm bed in her home. Thinking of home brought Casandra's mind to her children, which she worried intensely for. She wondered who would care for them. She wondered if they were panicking about her as much as she was. Her oldest would take care of her two younger brothers but she was only seven and still had much to learn. She hoped they'd have enough sense to find help and not wait for her for too long. Tears ran down her cheeks and she rubbed them away, trying to focus on the great responsibility she had been thrust with. Worrying about her kids would not help anyone. If she wished to see them again she would need to do all she could to aid her team so the threat could be defeated.

She just hoped she returned home to see her children alive and well...

"Ok, Elmar, you can let me go now!" Boog growled as he struggled to pull himself off the ground. He was in a sitting position but try as he might he could not lift himself up. He pushed with his arms and twisted and tried to jump but his body did not move. "I mean it!"

Elmar, laughing heartily at Boog's hilarious attempts, finally tapped him with the staff.

Boog was up in an instant and stomping Elmar's way.

Casandra looked up to see Elmar running toward the ridge as Boog chased him, closing the gap quickly. Elmar tapped himself with his staff and with a leap floated off into the air. Boog jumped up after him but couldn't reach him. She managed a small smile as she watched Boog cursing up at Elmar as the latter made faces down at him. Her mind, betraying her again, returned to memories of her children acting much the same way. Would she ever be able to stop worrying? The thought of her children curled together in a dark room and calling out for her nearly broke her in half. If she could only know. If she could know that they were alive and well then she could put her mind at ease. The mystery was killing her.

Celestia watched Boog toss rocks up at Elmar, who batted them away with his staff, and got an urge to play as well. She glanced at Victoria, who caught her gaze, and nodded at Graham. Victoria quickly eyed him and then nodded to Celestia again. As the poor young man was lost in thought he was suddenly tackled to the ground by Victoria who held his arms at his side. Before he could cry out Celestia was on top of him, her soft chest in his face, and he nearly fainted. When she stood up he saw her dangling his necklace in her hand.

"Celestia what are you doing?" he called out, a hint of anger in his voice. "That is not a toy! You shouldn't be playing with that! Give it back now!"

Celestia heard the rising anger in his tone and suddenly didn't feel like playing anymore. She outstretched her hand as Graham approached her and returned his necklace to him. "I didn't want to make you mad. I just wanted to have some fun. It's boring waiting for Karmen to wake up."

Graham grabbed his necklace roughly and replaced it on his neck. "This is more powerful and important than you know, Celestia! If you broke it I don't know what I'd do..."

Celestia looked at the ground, her hands behind her back and her hair falling over her heart-shaped face. "I'm sorry, Graham... I didn't want you mad at me..."

Graham could hear the pain and regret in her voice and sighed. He glanced around as he thought of something to say, and couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, he had an idea, and quickly tapped Celestia's shoulder. "Catch me if you can!" With that he took off at a run, glancing back to see if she was following.

With a beaming smile on her face, she hurried after him.

Victoria watched the two run away and threw her arms in the air. "Well there goes my fun." She sat down and huffed impatiently. "Why can't we just wake Karmen up? Waiting around for her isn't helping the mission or whatever."

Aragol replied, "It would probably do her harm to wake her when she isn't ready. I know nothing about shapeshifting but she was much larger than her usual self and I can't imagine it is very easy for her body to do that."

Victoria sighed again, playing with a strand of her hair. "Yeah, I guess so." She looked to Ivory. "So what's your secret? I see you sometimes without your armour. Can you like, make it go invisible like Boog can with his weapons?"

Ivory shook her head. "No. I can make it vanish entirely."

"How?"

"It is too complicated to explain."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Of course it is..." Her wandering eyes settled on Aragol. "Why is your hair silver? How old are you, twenty-four?"

Aragol smiled, feeling flattered at her age estimate. "Twenty-one, actually. I was born with this hair colour. As far as I know there is nothing special about it."

"It almost looks like tiny and really thin wires. You sure you're not a robot?"

"I don't even know what that is..."

Victoria waved her hand in dismissal. "Don't worry about it. Too complicated to explain. Right, Ivory?"

Ivory's reply was narrowed eyes.

"Man, this is so Amanda..."

"Who?" Aragol asked curiously.

"Huh?"

"Amanda."

"What's Amanda?"

"Yes, exactly, what is Amanda?"

"What?"

"You said this is so Amanda. What are you talking about?"

"OH! Haha, nothing. Amanda's just some bitch I used to know back home. I really hated her with all my heart and soul so I decided to call things that suck Amanda. Just something I do..."

Aragol chuckled. "Tell me about your world, Victoria. What is it like?"

"Canada? Or do you mean Earth?"

"Which is which?"

"Well, Canada is the country I'm from and Earth is the planet."

"Tell me about them both."

"Well, I really don't know where to begin..."

"What are the people like? Who are your kings? Do you have fighting pits? How many soldiers does Canada have? Is your kingdom powerful?"

"Uh...um....well, we don't really have kings anymore. It's a government where a bunch of old guys sit around and talk about stuff and never do anything."

"Sounds incredibly inefficient."

"It usually is, but that's how it is. Anyways, by fighting pits I assume you mean gladiator arenas? Well, we have these places where people fight with their fists and feet and stuff but no weapons and no one dies. That was stopped a long time ago."

Aragol was completely absorbed. "No one dies? How do you claim the victor?"

"Well either when the other guy can't get up anymore or is knocked out. It can get pretty bloody sometimes."

"Do the losers fight again?"

"Usually. Sometimes they fight the same people that beat them for a second chance at claiming the title."

Aragol nodded. "I would like to see one of these fights."

Victoria smiled. "Didn't you say you used to fight in the battle pits? You could probably win one of those fights." She had a sudden thought of enlisting Aragol against the current champion and getting everyone to place their bets against him. Visions of money and the high life flooded her mind, giving her pleasant daydreams.

Aragol noticed Victoria was lost in thought and decided that she had said enough. He looked at Ivory. "What is your world like?"

Ivory shrugged. "I fight for the Empire. Battle is all I know..."

Aragol opened his mouth to say more when Celestia clumsily tripped into Ivory's head, rolled over her shoulders, and landed in her lap. Ivory, clenching her teeth in anger, threw her off and stood up, her face red with rage. "Watch where you run, stupid child! I shouldn't be surprised you can't even do that properly!" Ivory turned and walked away, her shoulders tensed and her body rigid.

Celestia, on her back with a pained look on her face, blinked rapidly, fighting back tears. "Now her too? Why is everyone so mean to me? It was an accident..."

Aragol stood up and helped her to her feet. "Ivory didn't mean to say what she did."

Celestia looked at the ground, ashamed and feeling weak. "Yes she did..."

Graham approached and with great effort raised a hand and put in on her shoulder. "No, she didn't, Celestia. It was my fault anyway. I was chasing you."

Celestia smiled at Graham. "Thank you...but still, I should be more careful... I just want to be friends with everyone. I don't want anyone to hate me..."

"No one hates you, Celestia."

"Well they don't think much of me..."

Aragol spoke this time, his arms crossed over his chest. "Back home there is a young noble by the name of Elario Nuron who is only seventeen-years old and is showing himself to be one our kingdom's greatest strategist. At first glance no one would ever assume he could be anything but a spoiled and pampered noble but he is so much more than that. His skill with the bow is unlike anything I've ever seen before and his mind is sharper than my sword. He never assumed he was anything special. His parents never thought much of him and his sisters ignored him all his life yet without him we might not have ever claimed victory against our enemy. King Raveneye himself congratulated him.

"What I mean to say is that just because you might not show any potential now doesn't mean you have none. When the time is right your abilities will show themselves and you'll be more powerful than you ever thought you'd ever be."

Celestia looked at Aragol and smiled warmly. "I hope you're right. I really would like to show everyone that I can help too."

Victoria walked up to Aragol, her dark eyes looking at him with intensity. "Were you just making shit up or did you mean that?"

"About Celestia having great unknown power?"

"No, about that Elario guy."

Aragol smiled fondly, conjuring memories of the young man. He wondered what he would be doing right now. "Yes, it is all true, Victoria. Elario is my greatest friend. I would not lie to any of you."

"Does he have any abilities? Like can he make things float or can he turn invisible or anything?"

"No, he just has a sharp mind and incredible aim with a bow."

Victoria pondered on that for a moment. If a king could praise someone for those qualities that must mean that they were something amazing. She wasn't the smartest person around but she did have some skills, especially in survival. It gave her some confidence and uplifted her spirit. Her time would come; she was now almost completely sure of it. The cloaked man had chosen her for because he saw something in her. She wouldn't let him down. She wouldn't let any of them down.

"She's waking up!" Casandra called from Karmen's side.

Everyone gathered, even Elmar and Boog, who were chatting amiably about using their abilities for more personal and private reasons.

"They were massive, Elmar," Boog was telling him. "I swear, like basketballs!"

"Basketballs?" Elmar asked, cocking his head to the side.

Elmar cupped his hands and spread them apart about a foot apart. "I mean it. I think she even heard me gasp."

Elmar laughed. "I once floated past the window of one of the most beautiful dames in the village just as she was—" He stopped when he noticed everyone looking at him, most of them with disapproval.

"Well, aren't you two a bunch of pervs," Victoria said with a raised eyebrow.

"Bah!" Boog said with a wave of his hand. "We were young once too, you know."

Their attention returned to Karmen as she began to rise, wrapping Aragol's cape around her bare body. She glanced at each person in turn and gave them a small smile. "I'm back."

****

The grey woman shrouded in shadow walked across the asteroid and reached its edge. All around her floated the vast expanse of space and the hundreds of other asteroids. Billions of stars sparkled all around her and a massive cloud of colourful cosmic dust floated far away, beyond most of the stars. She spotted galaxies and even a comet. She found it intensely beautiful, yet she could still feel the thrum of life coming from some of the stars. It annoyed her. She wanted complete peace. She wanted no disturbances yet she could feel them. She could feel them somewhere, perhaps hundreds of light-years away, but she could feel the life forms. Living things were pulsating with energy and disrupting the silence of space. She needed them all to stop. She wanted only perfection. Life was the greatest imperfection of all and she needed it eradicated.

She heard a thump behind her and smiled, her full, silver lips curling at the sides. She had one last look at the dust cloud before turning around and returning to the same black marble floor her last minion had appeared. He was gone now, his task given. She didn't expect him to succeed. She only wanted to see the strength of the group her adversary had sent against her. Before her, however, stood someone she thought could tip the scales in her favour. She looked down at the young woman as she gathered her senses and rose up.

"Welcome," she said gently.

The young woman was tall and thin with wavy blonde hair that descended just past her shoulders. She wore nothing but a regular black t-shirt and some jeans. Her grey eyes studied the place she was in and the grey woman noticed a notch on her right ear. It looked like a battle scar and it made her like the young woman even more.

"Where am I?" she said, her eyes now scrutinizing the grey woman. "Why did you bring me here?"

"Where you are is of no importance for you shall not be here for long," the grey woman said with a smirk. "And you are here because I chose to bring you here. I see great potential in you and I believe that you can be of great use to me."

"Why do you think I'd ever help you?"

"It is the only way you will ever return to your world. You can either do as I ask or I will kill you now for I will have no need of you."

"Your options aren't very enticing."

The grey woman with the long white hair smiled. She liked her. "I admire your fearlessness. I don't believe I know your name."

"I never gave it and it's not important anyway."

"How about...Athena? I believe that is the goddess your soul is descended from, correct?"

This caught the young girl by surprise and she said nothing, her eyes searching for a way out but finding nothing. She reluctantly decided to hear the woman out. "What do I have to do to get out of here?"

"You are to meet up with another of my min—allies. He should be arriving at his destination soon. There are a group of people, enemies of mine, that wish to do me harm. I am far too progressed in my work to drop everything and deal with them myself. I have worked too hard to get this far. I need you and your partner to engage them and dispose of them. Do this for me and I shall return you home."

"Are they dangerous?"

The woman shrugged. "I do not know yet. I have not studied them extensively."

"You don't seem too worried about them."

"Not yet."

"But you brought me here anyways. Something doesn't fit here."

The woman narrowed her red eyes. "Are you going to do as I ask or do I have to kill you?"

Athena folded her arms across her chest. "Give me a weapon and I'll do whatever you want me to."

The woman smirked and conjured a finely crafted steel gladius whose blade glowed a dark purple, with tendrils of shadow swirling along its keen edge. She offered it to Athena, who took it gladly.

"Return to me victorious, Athena, and you will be richly rewarded."

"I don't need your rewards. I just want to go home."

The woman smiled. "As you wish." She then waved a hand and an oval of swirling black energy appeared a few feet before Athena. "Step through and you will arrive at your destination within just a few moments. Best of luck, Athena."

"I don't need your damn luck either," she grumbled as she walked into the portal.

As soon as she was through it shrank and disappeared. The white-haired woman stood straight and smiled wickedly. "Your team will fail, brother. I will not be stopped this time."

Behind her, two asteroids collided in an explosion of rock shards and dust.