After she could scream no more, Fieht tried to think of a way out of this hellish place. This, of course was easier said than done, for in front of her was the shadow killing her family, and even if she turned away, she could her their dying cries. Seeing her family die once was more than enough, seeing them die more than that was pushing her limit, as the scream would indicate. She bit her lip, trying to distract herself if only for a few seconds, she needed to find a way out, before she lost herself completely and snapped.

Trembling, Ash could not find the words to respond to the simple request. 'Will you help me?' ; a simple question it was but she simply could not answer. The innocent azure eyes bore into his, as though expecting her to rise and swear she would protect him from all evil. She so badly wanted to meet the young child's expectations, to stand confidently before him and nod her head with determination. But the truth was...she was weak.

Ash closed her eyes at that thought. She was weak. She was a coward hiding behind a tough exterior that was now quickly falling apart. Years of building up a thick wall around herself was now fading away in the dark oblivion and all she could do was kneel there in defeat. "I...I can't," a soft whisper emerged from her red lips as a single tear slid down her soft cheek. "I can't help you," Ash turned away from the small child, too ashamed of herself.

"Why not?" Ash trembled at the whimper that escaped the sweet child's mouth. "They said you could protect me. They said you would keep me safe. You have powers," Gurasa was simply enjoying himself. Playing the part of a vulnerable child had to be one of his better acts. This Guardian was weak and Gurasa was starting to suspect she was one of the two souls.

Her tear brimmed eyes opened and Ash looked at the child. Her lips quivered as she tried to form the words to explain to him that she was not capable of protecting him. She was not capable of protecting anyone. Her powers? She nearly laughed insanely at the thought of her ability to manipulate time. Why her powers were what made her weak.

Memories that seemed a lifetime away came flooding back. The wooden stairway that spiraled up to the second floor bathed in a warm orange light that filtered throughout the entire home. The sounds of her parents laughing in the kitchen as they all prepared to sit for dinner. Her little brother jumping trying to get her attention. The smile on her face as she embraced the fact that all of it was hers to keep.

But nothing was to last and she did not blame Garthox for it. Her own wretched powers were the cause of it all. It was late at night and everyone was sound asleep. Ashanti had been tucked into her comfortable bed and there was nothing but peace on her mind. But soon her dreams were tarnished with violent jarring images of death and killings. Sitting up with a sudden jerk, breaking out into cold sweat, Ashanti had not been able to even scream for her parents for her nightmares had been of them being ripped apart by creatures she could not even begin to describe.

Slipping out from under her thick comforter, Ashanti's bare feet met with the cold floor of her house. Padding across her dark room she headed for her parents bedroom when it happened. Familiar screams and growls echoed throughout her house. Grasping the doorknob, Ashanti had swung the door wide open only to find both her parents held at their necks by the same creature that had visited her dreams.

Her heart pounding, Ashanti shut her eyes and screamed, the ear wrenching sound filling the entire house. And when she opened her eyes again. There she was standing in a scene that was frozen. That was when she had first discovered her abilities. But what good had they been in saving her family.

Unable to think beyond that memory, Ash's mind returned to the present and she shook her head. "My powers are nothing," she whispered.

A maniacal laughter filled the air as Gurasa fed off the Guardian's insecurities and fears.

He was trembling. His fear was winning out. Azrael had spent what felt a lifetime alone in this forsaken place. The longer he thought about other life, the more distant it seemed, even his link to the other minions. He clutched at his head and screamed in terror as his worst memories looped in his mind. He could no longer cry, as his body had dehydrated itself. What's it been, minutes? Hours? Days, even?

No, he was not going to survive it this time. This time he would surely go mad. This time...What is that? He sensed another presence. One that was different, yet at the same time familiar. It was much closer than the others he felt, almost as if it were right in front of him. Azrael opened his eyes, but the white expanse burned bright as ever, and he snapped them shut once more. Was he already losing his mind? The presence seemed to permeate his soul. It was warm, welcoming, even. A stark contrast to the link he had to the other minions. But there was a wavering to it. The person he felt was in trouble. He could tell that they were afraid. No, not afraid. Terrified. She needs me. She?

Concentrating on the new thoughts pulling him from his deadly spiral, Azrael pushed himself up onto his knees and opened his eyes. He was no longer in the emptiness created for him by Gurasa, but he had not returned to Earth, either. Everything was black. He was bone cold. He was once more in the nothingness of the Realm of Fears. It's her? Azrael's hands shook as he pushed off his knees to stand, staring at a very odd scene.

He approached Ash, slumped on the ground, and confronted by what appeared to be a small child. She was trembling...and sobbing. The child was laughing, and the vile laughter did not fit the innocence of the face. Azrael growled and drew his rapier. Closing the short distance to the pair, he grabs the child by the throat, cutting the laughter short, and raises him so that he could look the child in the face. "What are you doing to her?!" Azrael adds a short, but violent shake for emphasis. "ANSWER ME!"

Gurasa giggled into the face of Azrael as the minion picked him up. He had found the other soul. "What is it to you if I make her scream and cry?" he snarled into Azrael's face, "Is this not what you wanted? The death of her?" Gurasa sneered as the human shook him violently but never paused in what he had to say.

"All I'm doing is helping you to fulfill your duty to your master. If anything you should be thanking me."

Ash's thoughts were all in a mess as she was unable to discern her surroundings. Laughter erupted from the child's mouth' laughter that did not match his face. Even then, she felt too weak to respond in anyway. It was as though the very energy was being drained out of her. Placing her palm on the cold dark surface, she attempted to push herself off the ground but her knees gave way and she stumbled to the floor. She was just about to give up when she heard a voice. Lifting her head up slightly, Ash saw that it was Azrael.

Hope filled her as she saw her companion stride towards where she stood. He lifted the child into the air and began to threaten him. She wanted to reach out to Azrael but felt too weak. Instead, she listened as the 'child' responded.

For just a second, Ash refused to believe what she was hearing. "No." She shook her head as though trying to get the words out from her mind but the truth was there. She had suspected him at first but after awhile, she had come to trust him. Now hearing this from this 'child' was something Ash could not get her mind around.

Her green eyes held disbelief and hurt as she looked at Azrael before she was grabbed by the darkness. Thin spires wrapped around her arms and legs pulling her up so that was now standing, her body trapped by the darkness. Instead of fighting them off, Ash simply became limp as all determination fled.

Gurasa kept on grinning as he ordered his darkness to grab hold of the Guardian. "You have a chance to return back to where you came from and this," he pointed at Ash, "Will be gone forever. Your duty will be done." Even though Azrael was holding him, Gurasa had the upper hand; the thing that was at stake.

Shaking with rage, Azrael lowers his voice to a dangerous whisper. "No. Release her now." He couldn't bear to look at her. He knew what he had done, and he knew what must be going through her mind. His eyes close, and tears well just below the lids. What is happening to me? Why do I even care? I should let him do what he will with her. It's what I want to happen...Is it really? Think about it. Who helped you fit in on a world you had left behind? Remember how excited you got when you were looking for those time chains? But most importantly of all, who brought you back from the brink of insanity in that hellish fate created by your own mind?

When he opened his eyes, they were cold steel. Emphasizing every word by tightening his grip on the creature's throat, Azrael flexes his grip on his rapier. "Let. Her. Go." By this point, Azrael is holding his blade to the thing's throat. Glaring at Gurasa, silent tears roll down Azrael's face.

By this time Fieht had figured out that to escape this hell, she had to beat her fear....but that was easier said than done, how could she beat the fear of her family dying? Fieht sat done and crossed her legs, closing her eyes she tried to relax a little 'Come on....think of something besides them dying.' she thought to herself. She knew the only reason she feared their deaths was because she loved them, and she couldn't stop loving them, so that was out of the question. Perhaps she could love them and yet not fear their deaths, but that was hard also, especially because of the land she lived on, there was always war or fighting going on....death was a constant thing.
While thinking she noticed that the screams of pain had stopped, she chose to risk it and open her eyes, all her family were there sitting around a small table that her father had built. The dark shadow had turned it's attention to Fieht, she could tell it was glaring at her in anger....that meant she was getting close. Closing her eyes again she thought some more, after what seemed like a lifetime to her she finally thought of a way to get around her fear, beating it at the same time.
A scream split the air and Fieht opened her eyes in time to see the shadow dissapearing, the scene in front of her also dissapeared and changed to that of the chamber she had started in before she was pulled down...this made her confused, she was sure she would be sent back to the palace after she was done here. Then Fieht noticed Azrael chocking some imp looking thing...and Ash. "Ash!" she yelled getting up, but as she stood, she was sent back in front of the palace. "Ash....." she said to herself looking blankly ahead, she hoped everything would be all right.

"Let her go?" Gurasa grinned. Strangely, his straight white teeth began to lengthen and sharpen. It was a horrendous contrast to his still baby face. But that was soon to change as well. "I do not just let people go unless they defeat their fear," his child like voice was now gone and in its place was a scratchy sound that irritated the ear to no extent. "I could release her but then the for the rest of her life, she would suffer, the fear becoming her constant companion." Gurasa knew he was getting to Azrael. The tears that formed in his eyes were evidence of that.

The milky coloured soft skin of Gurasa began to fade into a deathly gray while his body grew so that he was now the height of Azrael. As though he were a ghost, Gurasa slipped through Azrael's tight grip. Azure eyes turned into an abyss of black that matched that of the surrounding. A thin black cloak appeared over the grown creature and a black hood fell on top of his head, hiding the rest of the changes that were taking place to his facial features. "But I could strike a deal with you," Gurasa was now floating of the ground, his hood casting a dark shadow across his gray face. One could only see his sharp jagged teeth now.

"The Guardian's life and sanity in exchange for something precious to you." Instead of stopping there, Gurasa carried on, "If you may recall, the three of us were in the same situation ten thousand years ago when you first came to my humble abode."
.................................................................................................................

Ash refused to look up despite the fact that Azrael was ordering Gurasa to release her. She had trusted him and felt betrayed. But in the distance, she heard a soft cry. Tilting her weak head, Ash peered into the darkness and saw Fieht. "Fieht..." she managed to whisper before her fellow Guardian was whisked away. Ash hoped that her friend was alright. Although Fieht was no longer there, the sight of a familiar face reminded her what she was fighting for.

Her hands curled into fists as tears trickled down her cheek. But she could not seem to move her body any longer. The spires of shadows held her head down as well. But she could hear what the demonic child was saying and the images that had been flooding her mind were slowly starting to fall into place.

She had been here before. And she remembered her body growing as weak as this. She remembered knowing Azrael.

There she was, in the middle of the desert. Moira begun walking towards one direction, hoping to find someone or something, hoping to fix what she thought has happened. The desert was the same all the way, mainly sand and corrupted land, not sign of a single tree or animal. The sun was making the place more hot each moment that passed.

After three or four days the scenery didn't change at all. Moira was still walking, with her energy drained and her feet killing her. Her will to survive was fading with each second passing. "Why..." She was thinking. "Why do i have to be so weak... Why i can't just save those i love... Why..." These thoughts were in her mind as she finally saw something moving around her. It was a small snake, yellow like the desert. It moved past two rocks and jumped to bite a small lizard.

Moira walked closer to see what was going on. The lizard was fighting to escape. It's blood spilled all over the place as it slowly dies in the mouth of the snake. The snake, after eating the lizard dissapeared in the dust. But it left something strange behind it. A small, tiny, green leaf came out of the place the lizard's blood have dropped. In the middle of the desert this small <nothing> appeared, despite the heat, despite the lack of water, being fed by the blood of the lizard this small leaf was quickly growing as the time begun passing faster.

It formed a great tree under which Moira sat and begun thinking. "Maybe this is my mistake... Maybe this is the way of fighting my fear... A death for a life... A death for the greater good... Some people have to be sacrificed in the cause of saving others... In the cause of creating life... Saving life..." Moira looked at the tree in front of her. It was standing there, proud and strong, with some animals which appeared out of nowhere gathered in it's shade, resting there.

"This is it. Maybe some times i can't save some people... Maybe i sometimes can't help someone... But it's all natural. Death, life... Fate... If one of my people dies ten could be saved. Death is part of life. No one can avoid it... No one can create it... Only protect it and help it come to life..."

The place around Moira begun melting again and she was transfered to the place she dissapeared before she goes to that dark place with that demon thing. "I will take my revenge beast... I shall show you what the pain you caused feels like...".....

Azrael's extended hand closes into a tightly balled fist and he slowly lowers it to hang by his side. He refused to think. He had been through pain before in his life, but nothing compared to what he was going through now. His whole body quivered, and he just wanted to see Ash through this. Closing his eyes and lowering his head, Azrael answered the thing now floating before him. "What do you want?" He refused to acknowledge the last statement.

Garthox grinned at the boy known as Gabriel as he walked forward, the land around them becoming known, it was everything and nothing at the same time. The other Guardian's mangled bodies layed around him, his chest becoming their faces which were eternally missing last time he saw them. Garthox opened his mouth to reveal seven pearly white teeth, "A tooth for a tooth." Garthox laughed, "Only one to add to my collection. They would of lived Gabriel, but you weren't there!" Garthox laughed as his eyes flickered green now. "Nice little Karnog to add to my collection." Looking down the magnificence sword and scythe appeared in his hands--like magic. What was Gabriel to do with these? Did they mean anything? Was he supposed to destroy Garthox with a measly sword and the scythe, of a farmer at that?

Maybe it didn't matter what he fought him with, but he destroyed his friends. Could he stand around and watch this? Looking up at Garthox who still had no form to him, the faces moping and screaming for help. "NO!--NO!" Gabriel's voice traveled as he realized he couldn't do it without them, he couldn't do it without their help, the puzzle had to be together.

Breathing in deeply, Gabriel rushed at the beast, eyes drawn closed. "DIE DEMON!" Pouncing on him as he went for his mouth, heading for the teeth--or his friends. Plucking one like a flower he was thrown off as one of the Guardians appeared to his side, which was unknown but a body was there. Nodding his head it was now two against one. "DIE YOU BASTARD!" Running at him again, obtaining two this time. There were now four bodies and four teeth. It seemed easy as all the guardians were plucked and standing there before Garthox as if judgment.

"You mean nothing Gabriel..."

A voice hissed in the back of his head.

"You are nothing to the other Guardians... stand down."

Holding his head as everything started fading.

"You will die just like the rest. Run away, you are weak. They do not need you."

"No..."

"RUN GABRIEL. FAR AWAY! GO!"

"No..."

"DO NOT DEFY ME! YOU ARE NOTHING! NOTHING! NOTHING...!"

"No... I am Gabriel. I am the Guardian of the Karnog's!"

"No you are nothing but a stupid mortal! You have no power here!"

"Gabriel, Son of Hisbanl. The power of darkness is mine, and with it, I use it!"

"You don't stand a chance..."

"Use it..."

Looking at Garthox and grasping it, "I have all the power." He said as he ripped the beast in half, breaking away into shreds as he picked up the sword and the scythe and tossed them to the ground. "I don't need a weapon no longer. All I need is the clothes on my back and that of the Guardians that follow me." Turning his head from Garthox before he stopped.

"GABRIEL! YOUR FEAR OF FEELING UNEEDED AND UNWORTHY IN THE FIGHT AGAINST GARTHOX HAS

.....SUCCEEDED!"

The voice said sorrowfully as if it was a bit agitated and angry with him.

Fieht made her way up to the palace gates, the guards payed no attention to her, which she found unusual. Then again this whole day was a strange one, her thoughts went back to Ash, she truly hoped that everything was all right. Fieht made it all the way to the palace doors without being stopped, a bad sign if you asked her....plus that nervous feeling was coming back. She looked around at all the guards that she had passed, they were watching her, but made no move to stop her at all.

"What do I want?" the sinister voice asked mockingly. "Come now, you must know what I desire of you," Gurasa's laughter echoed throughout his domain. "You must remember the thing I took from you. You know what I took all those years back. Now I want it again." The cloaked fiure leaned forward and whispered into Azrael's ear, his sharp teeth gleaming in the darkness.

With gracefulness that a creature so evil should not possess, Gurasa swept past Azrael and went to float beside Ash. His slender finger lifted her weak chin up and her forced her to look at Azrael, "What would you give me in exchange for the soul entwined with yours? I want what's essential to your living. I want the very essence of your life."
................................................................................................................

She felt his cold finger grasp her face and she tilted her head in compliance. Her eyes took in the look on Azrael's face and for just a moment, Ash's hatred for him fell. The agony in his eyes reflected hers and it was all she could do from whispering his name. But the thoughts of him betraying her, the very fact that he was working for Garthox prevented her from doing so. Instead, she hardened against him and said, "He won't sacrifice a thing for me nor for anyone else. Forget it."

Ash's words cut him to the bone, but instinct and nature covered his pain before it had a chance to surface. Azrael knew she had every right to hate, no, despise him. He had given her no reason to feel else, but he had hoped that she could forgive him. There it was again. Hope. That fickle thing that had abandoned him so long ago, had dangled itself enticingly so many times he had learned to ignore it, but once more it crushed him under the weight of all reality.

He looked away from her, her pain only deepening his own. Azrael's entire body seemed to slump in resignation, and he moved slowly, the occasional glint of steel and rustle of cloth against itself the only real indication of movement at all. "Very well, but I feel I am still needed, for the moment. I will give you collateral against that which you ask." Shoving his right hand out before himself, a faint rattling of chains sounding as Gurasa's nocturnal eyes see what seem to be shackles swinging gently from Azrael's loose grip. "I will give you everything but my life against her soul immediately, and once my task is complete, my life is yours. Now let her go."

Gurasa's sharp pearly white teeth were revealed in a nasty smile that filled his face. He would get what he wanted just as he had back then. "A life for a life....now that's more like it," he laughed as he released Ash letting her gently fall to the ground. The dark tendrils loosened themselves from around her waist, wrists and calves allowing her freedom.

Gurasa had already been disappointed at the loss of the other Guardians and minions that had escaped his grip. One by one, they were slowly conquering their fears except for two of which one was Ash. The other was another Guardian, but Gurasa would deal with that one later. Despite the loss that he faced, Gurasa was pleased at what he was gaining now.

"I'm glad you've come to your senses Azrael, for it is the best decision you have made thus far," as he spoke, he glided away from Ash's side to lean down upon the minion. "Your life is mine the moment the great battle is over. May good or evil win, YOU....ARE....MINE..."

With those last few words lingering in the air, the cloaked demon vanished from sight as he blended in with the darkness that encapsulated the entire area. The two would be returned to where they had come from.
..............................................................................................................................................

It was probably disbelief that made her refuse to absorb the words that fell forth from Azrael's mouth. But the movement of the darkness releasing her from the temporary prison brought her back to reality. As her feet met the ground, she instantly moved far away from Gurasa. But her eyes were not on the demon but on Azrael. She was admittedly shocked at what had just transpired.

Azrael had just offered everything for her. Not only that, he was agreeing to carry on with the journey and only at the end would his soul be Gurasa's. Ash was shocked beyond words and couldn't help but be confused. However, at the same time, this all felt too familiar and she knew that Azrael had offered up the same thing for her before....thousands of years ago. Memories flooded back and Ash was stunned by what she felt. The two of them had been in the exact same spot with Gurasa asking for the exact same thing.

Ash felt ashamed for the weakness that she had. Her inability to handle her fear had led to Azrael losing everything he had and something even more precious. "No..." she stepped forward hoping to change his mind or offer something of her own up to Gurasa but the master of the Realm of Fears vanished within seconds.

Her fingers grasped thin air as he disappeared leaving her facing Azrael. Her eyes held sorrow and a deep sense of regret. She reached out to him but before she could touch him, the dark surrounding slowly began to melt away and she felt the same tugging motion at the back of her neck. They were being returned to Earth back to the museum.

Despite his best efforts, new tears were welling up in his eyes. They were not of sorrow, however, but some strange feeling that seemed so familiar, and at once so alien. It was happiness. Despite having just forfeit his life to that fiend, he was filled to bursting with joy. He had just saved a woman he hardly knew, a soul he knew all too well, and despite the cost, he knew it was worth it.

Azrael turned to face Ash and gave her a sheepish grin before saying, "I'm sorry." Well, he wasn't truly sorry. He had done what he must to save her, and nothing could make him feel sorrow over such a course of action. As he stepped towards her, he blinked. She seemed to be waning, fading out of existence in this world, which only made him grin wider. She was returning home. Remembering his current situation on Earth, Azrael wiped all emotion from his face except cool condescension. It wouldn't do for the curator to see him grinning like...like...Well, it's been so long you can't even remember a good analogy for what you look like you big dumb oaf...Shut it...

Moments passed, but his surroundings did not change. The emptiness remained, unbroken in every direction. Anger rising in him once more, Azrael growled and yelled at the sky, closing his eyes against the oppressive darkness. "YOU BASTARD! I SAID NOT UNTIL WE WERE FINISHED!" The last echoed as though in a large room, and Azrael opened his eyes to see the painted, vaulted ceiling of the museum looming far overhead.

The curator wrung his hands nervously and looked around the room. He smiled hesitantly at the two security guards behind Azrael and stepped forward. "I know that is what you said. That is why we're touring the building, so that you might see the security measures, as per your request, so that we might come to some sort of agreement." The curator takes his glasses in his bony fingers and begins wiping them jerkily with his handkerchief, clearly weighing the swords against the possible madman standing in one of his exhibit rooms.

Without thinking, Azrael moves his hand to one of the pockets containing powders and draws a small inscription in it, a small device appearing over his ear, inconspicuously hidden by his hair. I hope I'm right about these things, otherwise this man will know something's not right. Smiling charmingly, Azrael bows and lowers his voice to a more reasonable tone. "I apologize for my outburst, good sir, but I was speaking with a colleague of mine." He pulls back his hair to reveal the device he had seen others on Earth walking around with, and the curator relaxes visably, his nervousness returning to mere desire for such fine pieces. "Oh dear me, I am sorry to interrupt, I didn't see your bluetooth at first. Please, follow me. I'll try not to distract from your conversation." As the curator turns to lead him deeper into the museum, Azrael lets his hair drop, and the illusion vanishes. He follows the frail old man, the silence feeling as though it is a trip to the gallows. A wry smile pulls at the corners of his mouth, but true mirth fills his eyes. I have faced worse with no fear, for I had nothing to lose. Now, I've given everything for another, and still have nothing to lose. But the knowledge that I have finally done something of worth makes all the difference between grim acceptance and determination and being truly carefree.

Claudius would not fall easily to whatever that ethereal bastard could throw at him. He strained against the arms of inky black darkness that were holding him in place, and stared at the remains of his army. And he grinned.

One thing that made the Caluxes so powerful on the battlefield was their pure ferocity and tact in combat; if the battle was going to be lost, their enemy would no further ones. Each dead soldier had died in glorious combat -- taking the lives of their foe to a man. Blood was spilled equally, for every Calux there was a fallen enemy. And for every dead Calux, the carnage of the enemy was a hundred times worse.

"YOU SEE - BASTRAD! THAT MY PEOPLE DO NOT BREAK EASILY!"

His shouts rang out across the chamber, as his eyes narrowed and he strained even more against the shadowy arms holding him. Adrenaline was flooding through his body, giving him strength above his already formidable own. And with a shout, he ripped with forces strong enough to snap metal -- HHHYYYYAAAAA!

The tugging became harder and Ash watched as the surrounding melted away. With a hard pull, she was removed from the much hated realm and within a blink of an eye, she was set back at the museum. A glance about revealed to her that nothing had changed. Azrael and her being sucked into the realm of fears was nothing in the time line as only a second had passed despite the fact that it had seemed like an eternity there.

The thought of Azrael made her want to check on him, ensure that he had gotten back safely but the sight of the bright red rock made her think twice. It seemed to be growing even brighter now but there was still no way for her to even possibly get the chains out. It would be simply foolish for her to just topple the rock over as she did not want to ruin the chains that were encased within. No, there just had to be a way.

Taking a step, Ash peeked around the structure when she heard a loud booming voice that echoed throughout the empty halls of the grand museum. It sounded like Azrael. Her pace of working increased by ten fold, her determination in attaining the chains rising. With haste, she checked the entire surface but still was unable to find a hole or a crack until she spotted it.

At first glance, it seemed nothing more than one of the many dents in the 'hand of god'. But upon closer inspection, Ash realised it was a dent that was well shaped. In fact, it was shaped in the size of a hand. Looking down at her own hand, Ash was skeptical of the thought that first hit her but what other hand could it be. Grimacing as though preparing for the pain, Ash reluctantly placed her hand in the dent. Wincing as though she was in pain, she firmly placed her palm on the surface.

However, instead of feeling the burning sensation that she expected, there was a cooling effect. She peered strangely at the structure and to her amazement, from the tips of her fingers, icy tentacles stretched forth and engulfed the entire rock. And when she removed her hand from the dent, there was now a hole. Stretching her hand, she reached into the small hole and her fingers came in contact with the cold surface of the chains. Gripping at one, she pulled it out and did the same for the others.

Soon, she had all eight chains in his hand. They were simply crafted bronze chains, nothing more. Ash was cynical about them actually working but she would soon test them out. Tucking the chains into a pouch she carried with her, Ash made her way out of the room and into the hallway. Once there, she leaned against the wall of the entrance, taking on a bored look. She would explain that she had gotten lost and had simply chosen to stay here. Her fingers tapping impatiently on her arm, Ash waited for Azrael to return.
..................................................................................................................

Kronos was figuring out his fear and Gurasa could sense it. The cloaked figure was now missing and in his place was the small child. Gurasa's grip over the minion was fading as he fought against his own creation.

Gabriel had already escaped from his grip and Gurasa was displeased. He had hoped he could retain a few puppets with him but it was starting to seem otherwise.

Fieht watched the guards as she touched the palace door. Nothing, not even a twitch of their fingers. She drew her hand away and crossed her arms, what exactly was going on? She had expected at least some sort of fight to get in, but these guards were just letting her in??
She watched them for a few more seconds and then shrugged, and opened the doors to the palace, entering inside, there of course were more guards. These guards turned their heads to watch her, but made no move to stop her....this was just getting tiresome, she didn't expect that getting the ring from a royal would be so easy....but maybe this was just part of a trap. Shrugging again Fieht made her way to the person who had the ring.

As his world dissolved around him, Calus was in deep thought.

Why am I doing this? What reason do I have to fight this battle?
S? No... He's never regarded me more than a tool...
Why then, why?
I could happily live the remainder of my life on another world, and let this war slip my mind...
But they need me...
'I'm the best they have, or will ever have. The fate of their world may rest in my hands.'
The lives of the innocent lie in my hands?

All he could see was the white void that was carrying him to the other world.

I've killed innocent people before though... Many of them...
But it was always for the Southern Cross, and I've never enjoyed it... Ever...
But those villains I'm after, they are anything but innocent...
This may be my only chance to atone for my life...
My only chance to act free...

Swirls of color appeared, seemingly moving without pattern.

Fine.
I will lend my skills to those warriors, and purse these worlds of the ingrates responsible for this.
There will be hell to pay for the lives already lost.

"I will not fail."

With those last words, the world flashed into existence around him.

He didn't know why he felt so strongly, but Azrael was sure Ash had completed her task and was now merely waiting on him. Azrael knew that this fragile old man desired the swords he held so casually in his hands, and yet he and Ash needed them far more. Quickening his pace, Azrael closes the distance between himself and the curator, and smiles charmingly at the security guards who are still watching him warily. He taps the man on the shoulder and the curator nearly leaps atop one of the glass cases he was about to pass.

"My WORD!" The curator places a hand over his chest and Azrael could almost swear he heard the man's heart racing. "I thought you were speaking with an associate of yours." Azrael smiles apologetically and bows to the curator.

"I am sorry, my friend, but it would appear I have lost track of the time. You see, I have a previous engagement that I simply cannot miss. I apologize for having wasted your time, but hopefully some time in the future we could conclude this little tour, and possibly the rest of our business here." Azrael makes as though to go, and the guards begin moving to intercept him. At a wave from the curator, however, they merely divert course and make as though checking some of the locks on the exhibits. A sad, wry smile creeps over the old man's visage as he watches Azrael go, and he silently bids him a farewell forever. He knew that the 'previous engagement' was with another museum elsewhere, and that he'd probably never see the man again. He waves to the guards and the small party begins to make it's way back to the curator's office in the back of the building.

Azrael turned a corner and emerged from an exhibit hall at the main lobby of the building. He quickly spotted Ash leaning against the wall near the door, and couldn't help but grin. She was looking about the room, trying her best to look nondescript, but to the trained eye, she looked anything but. As he neared her, Azrael spoke in a casual tone, wary of the receptionist overhearing. "The old man was not willing to accede to my requests. We are going elsewhere."