The kids of the League of Heroes were kept in cages made of Vengestone, which prevented them from using their powers.... well, if they had them at all. The teenagers sat in semi-darkness in their cages, staring hopelessly into space or at their hands.

Ophelia and Ernest tried to free themselves somehow, banging their fists, legs and heads against the bars of the cramped cage. In the background could be heard the hopeless laments of the caged dragons and their painful hisses as the skeleton workers brutally took the beasts and tied them to stakes, iron chains with muzzles on their snouts.

Then other workers would extract poisonous, deadly venom from the venom fangs on their tails and tusks. Then, using syringes, they injected their poison into the dragons' necks to stunned them.

- Stop it. It won't do you any good. - Rose sighed.

- So what then!? Are we supposed to sit idly by like this!? - growled Ernest.

- For now, unfortunately, yes. You see, there are guards and dragons around. We have to give it a rest, our parents are probably already thinking of a plan to take us back. - said Lily.

- Ya as long as they've noticed we've disappeared. - Flame snorted and turned his back on everyone.

Then the teenagers started to hear footsteps and thundering voices heading towards them. They all rose and looked at the Skeleton King and the figure in the black hooded cloak.

- Here, reptile! I caught them all, what do you want to do now! Eat them!!? - demanded the Skeleton King to a figure who, with his hands behind his back, approached the cages with the trapped people slowly.

The figure approached Ophelia's cage and tilted his head in curiosity, eyeing the young Serpentine. Ophelia hissed.

- What are you looking at, pervert?

The figure narrowed his eyes and moved towards Atlas's cage, who retreated nervously into the depths of the cage. The young hybrid felt the piercing, cold gaze of the mysterious person.

- What should we do with them? - asked the Skeleton King exasperatedly. - Listen, I have my wicked plans...

The figure interrupted the skeleton's statement with a gesture of his hand, clickled his tongue and straightened up. - There are eight of them, according to my order. You can see that your usefulness has not yet gone to waste. - remarked the figure as he turned back to SK.

- And what, when will SHE return? - demanded the King.

- That is my business now. However, SHE will return beautiful and powerful, eager for revenge as ever. You've caught the children out, so excellent work. Now it's time to deal with the second phase of the plan. We need to bring her back to the living.

- A Resurrection Ritual? - asked Garrick, who came in a second ago and scratched his head.

- Yes. Did you find her coffin? - asked the figure.

- Yes. It's in pretty good condition. - said the SK bored.

- Complete? - asked the figure.

- How do I know that!? I cannot violate the resting place of the Empress! - growled The Skeleton King.

- So check it out, SHE has to be whole in that coffin, otherwise our plan to resurrection HER will be lost and all 14 years of planning will have been in vain. - hissed the figure with sudden fury and sent the Skeleton King a sharp look.

- Yes, sir. - said SK and looked at Garrick, standing awkwardly. - What are you waiting for!? GO!!!

Garrick saluted and walked back into the darkness. SK looked at the figure and then at the teenagers in the cages. - What are we going to do with them?

- Nothing. Let them wait quietly in their cages for the ritual to begin. Take care of them and that nothing happens to any of them yet. - ordered the mysterious person.

SK nodded his head. - Indeed. I will leave you with them, I advise you to be careful, they have a nasty temper. - He warned and walked off into the darkness.

- Said the ugly dead man. - Ophelia said.

The figure turned his head towards her and raised an eyebrow. - It is nice to finally meet you, after so many years of my absence. Especially you two. You guys totally look like your father and uncle. - Said the figure to Atlas and Ophelia.

The siblings looked at him strangely, before exchanging confused glances.

- Are we supposed to know you? - Atlas asked.

The figure waved his hand. - Nah. You weren't yet in the world and somehow there was no opportunity to meet you in the flesh.

The figure approached Lily's cage. - Ah... And this is the famous firstborn, the only daughter of the famous High Princess (Y/N) and High Prince Aaron Fox. Skin almost removed from your father.... Except for those fiery eyes, which I was given to see more than once on the battlefield. Determination, anger and bloodlust. - He hissed at her and leaned closer to her face.

Lily flinched and stepped back slightly.

- Who are you? - She asked quietly with furrowed brows.

The figure straightened up. - Someone you shouldn't meet at all, if you value your lives. I am the worst thing that could happen to you. - He then approached Rose's cage. - To people like you... when they see someone like me, they have no chance of escape. Once I see you, precious victims, I don't let go. I am the shadow that follows your every step. The death that waits around the corner. The reaper who comes for his harvest.

- These terms say nothing about your identity, mysterious individual. - Ingrid said.

- Yeah. Could you be clearer? - Eshter asked.

- Unless it's a game of 'Guess who'. - added Jake. - I'm very good at this game!

- Silence in the face of a Basilisk!! - the figure roared at the cocky people, until they flinched from his outburst. He looked around among the teenagers already with disappointment. - You guys really don't guess who I am?

- No.

- Uh-uh.

- Nope.

There were mixed responses. The figure contorted his face into a grimace and sighed through his nose in exasperation.

- Stupid kids. Especially you two! - he pointed at Atlas and Ophelia. - You should know about me! Your father, that cowardly traitor and that wuss, should mention me to you! Your naive mother, should tell you what deeds I have done!

- Guy, we don't know who you are! Scramble it in your brain! - Ophelia hissed.

The figure growled and began mumbling furiously under his breath in another language. He leaned violently into Ophelia's face, who bravely reciprocated his thunderous stare.

- I am Basilisk.... And you are the kids, of a vile, cowardly traitor. My worse copy! I... am his brother.

Ophelia looked at him in shock, before bursting into hysterical laughter. The Basilisk moved away from her and looked at the young snake as if it were someone mentally handicapped.

- And I am Captain Soto! Hahaha! Awesome joke, for a villain, one of my favourites! - she whined through her laughter. - Seriously!?! Can't you think of anything better?

The figure then reached over with her hand and pulled the hood off his head. All the trapped teenagers gasped, and Ophelia choked on air as she stared at Basilisk. Now, she was not laughing. Before them actually stood, presumed missing, Polaris.

 Polaris looked at Pythor's daughter with eyes of murder and great, cold seriousness. His blood-red eyes were soulless, hungry for murder and hard as crystal.

Polaris sneered. - Awww... What happened? Did the snake bite your tongue?

Ophelia began to stammer. - B-but... I-what... Y-you are? You look like...!

- Like your dear father? Yes. You see, I managed to inherit the infamous disgusting look from Pythor. But soon enough, I'll get something better. - He explained to her with a nasty grin. - It's a bit sad that my own flesh and blood brothers haven't mentioned anything about me to their children. I feel so.... pushed away. - he said with fake sadness.

- My mum once mentioned something about you. - Lily said. Polaris turned to her in surprise.

- Oh really? What did she say? - He asked with latent interest.

- She said you tricked Aspheera and used some kind of magic stick whose power turned you into a giant snake, but mum managed to defeat you. - explained Lily with a smirk.

- That's a fact. But later I got my revenge on her. - replied with the same smirk as her. This made the girl confused. - Oh? Didn't your mummy brag about how evil she was?

- What? - Lily gasped.

Polaris's smirk widened. - I take that as a no. But yes, your mother betrayed your father and her friends and fought on the dark side of the force. She then turned into a huge, winged, disgusting monster and killed everything she met. She was also responsible for the murder of these friends of this.... Madeline, is that her name?

Lily looked down stunned. - I... Why?

- Well, even the best are sometimes tempted to have more power than they have. Power and other useful things that the dark side offers. And she took it. Beautiful, isn't it? - He asked with a happy smile.

- Our aunt would never do that! - Ernest denied it.

- Believe me boy, I saw it with my own eyes. But whether you believe it is your problem. - Polaris shrugged his shoulders.

Ernest sent, as did Rose, Eshter and Lily a nasty look. Polaris only scoffed.

- What do you want from us? Revenge on our parents? - Jake asked.

- And yes and no. - replied Polaris.

- What do you mean by that? - asked Ingrid.

- I'll just tell you that.... You are valuable pawns on the chessboard. - said Polaris with a cocky grin.

Flame groaned. - Can you please stop speaking the language of poetry?

Polaris chuckled mischievously. - The point is that you will be of great benefit to me and my associates, and your parents, you will be kept in check. How about that? Your lives are the most important thing here, and you are of no use to us at the moment, but later.... When the plan succeeds, we will see whether to let you go or simply slit your throats in front of your parents.

The teenagers exchanged horrified glances. Polaris pulled his nose hard and sighed contentedly.

- I just love the smell of fear. - he said with a creepy, twisted smile. The teenagers flinched again and retreated into the depths of the cages. - It's so.... refreshing. Anyway! Get some rest, because we have some very hard work ahead of us tomorrow. - He announced, walking away towards the shadows.

- It's better for you to get some sleep! If you don't want to faint during the trial! - he shouted somewhere in the shadows, and then fell silent.

They all looked at each other as he walked away and sighed heavily, sitting back down on the ground. Polaris put his hood over his head and returned to SK, who was standing by the other workers and opening a black wooden coffin with dark markings carved into the wood.

- Finally you have arrived. We are opening it. - SK announced.

- I see. Otherwise you wouldn't have moved it. Open it. - he ordered the skeletons.

The workers hesitantly, began to pull out the securing nails. The iron nails hit the stone floor and the workers, with trembling hands, slowly began to open the lid. They removed the lid and SK sighed in awe before bowing.

On a padded, velvet black cloth lay a skeleton dressed in a rich black tunic with a cloak and a black crown that lay on the skeleton's chest. Polaris was surprised himself, feeling the dark power beating from the skeleton. He raised both eyebrows and a slight evil grin appeared on his face. Nerath; Queen of Nightmares.

- You can already feel the power from HER as a dead, imagine what power she will have when she is resurrected. - said Polaris to the Skeleton King.

SK nodded his head. - This is what she was, is and will always be. - he said proudly.

- She is complete. - said one of the workers, who scanned it with a tablet. - We can start the ritual tomorrow.

- Excellent. Get ready for war... because it's starting now! - announced Polaris. The skeletons started cheering and Polaris rolled his eyes. - Shut your mouths or SHE is about to fall apart!

They all shut up and nodded, closing the coffin. Polaris shook his head and sighed. - Sometimes skeletons, they're complete idiots.

= END OF CHAPTER EIGHT =