Betelgeuse Grimms's Story

"Welcome to the morning news." The morning reporter started out. "Today we have some unfortunate urgent news that has just been brought to our attention a few minutes ago. Richard Leonard, also known as Little Ricky, was found dead just outside the police station not long ago. Richard Leonard, for those of you who don't know, was thought to have been a small time criminal who only caused destruction in his wake. Known to the public as Little Ricky, he was sent to jail multiple times, only to get out of it time and again by his father: Walter Leonard."

Yohan's head was pounding as he barely managed to drag himself towards the hospital. He already knew from what the police spoke about that they had already sent people to investigate his house over the night. Great, he just hoped they wouldn't find that Gateway or anything else magical. Yohan had done what he thought was the right thing and left the body of Ricky out for them to find, but didn't stick around for questioning or to be found. No fingerprints or any evidence of them having to do with Ricky's death wouldn't of been found or noticed by them. To the cops, they had simply gone their separate ways. It annoyed him that things ended this way, but it was for the best. For once, he agreed with the mindset Sienna would probably have in this scenario.

"That is how the story has been, or so we thought. However, once Ricky's body was brought in to the police, something strange happened over the last hour and a half. New things began to pop up, not just from his family, but from other people as well. It may very well be that Little Ricky was not a criminal at all. But a rebel who only wanted to fight against the injustice of something he saw wrong with today's society. His father was the first to speak up about this unheard of side of Little Ricky. The things he said contradict what the public had known for years, and this could very well change everything we once knew about Richard Leonard!"

It was only half an hour after Ricky's body had been brought in to the police. Walter Leonard had not heard of anything yet, as one of his assistant's opened the door after knocking to find him busy talking on the phone. The assistant was nervous, Walter always made it clear not to disturb him for anything when he was on the phone. However, the news she had heard pushed her today to have to bring him the bad news. "Sir." She spoke up loudly, causing Walter to pause and put his free hand over the phone as he looked over to her.

"Did I not make myself clear before? I am not to be disturbed right now! I am on an important call with very important people!" Walter Leonard uncovered his hand over the phone and resumed talking. But that's when he heard the word again, this time louder. His eyes narrowed as he sighed and shook his head. "I apologize, sir. I will have to call you back. Yes, I know, but this is urgent. My deepest apologies." Hanging up the phone, Walter put down the phone and could already feel the rage swelling up within his body as he turned viciously towards the assistant girl. "What is it?"

"Sir, it's... It's your son, Richard." Walter's expression immediately changed upon hearing about his little boy. "He was found dead half an hour ago near the Timberland Police Station." The news caused Walter's face to become grim as tears began to flood up within his eyes. A primal scream came out of Walter as he brought his hands up to his feet, throwing his glasses aside as he found himself falling to his knees, with his assistant rushing over to his side.

"My poor Little Ricky!" Walter sobbed out. "NO! Not my little boy! Anyone but him! Why?! Why not me instead?!" Walter's hands came down from his face that was now full of tears as his eyes raced over to look at his assistant. "Get my phone! I need to make some calls, now! I need to make them, right now! RIGHT NOW!" Walter's love for his Little Ricky was apparent, only out of fear did his assistant rush over to the phone and begin to dial numbers at his request. Walter continued to cry, his youngest son was dead and his heart had shattered into pieces upon hearing the news.

"It is with great pain that I..." Walter hesitated on the television, sniffling could be heard ever so slightly as he rubbed his face with his sleeve to wipe away the coming tears. "Announce today that I have been keeping a lie. My son's lie. He wanted to make it look like he was leading a life of crime. I opposed this time and again, telling him that he wouldn't even be labeled a vigilante! But he refused to listen to me, he was such a good little boy." Walter brought up his sleeve again before continuing. "It is with a great and heavy heart that I call on all of you not to see him as what he wanted to be. A criminal. He was my Little Ricky! All he wanted was to prove his point to the world! And now he is dead because of the corruption he saw within today's world!" Walter had to stop and walk away because he couldn't stop crying.

"You want me to what?" Walter spoke hesitantly over the phone. "Oh, no, I don't have a problem with saying all of that, it's just... For him? Are you certain about this sir?" Walter stopped to listen to the words of his superior. "I, I understand. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't for the wrong reasons was all." Walter walked over to his chair and sat down in it, letting out a low groan. "I will make some calls to the news station. I can pull some strings very quickly and be able to be out speaking about the matter at once. I will do it with only honesty though, sir. Nothing more, nothing less. I want to be clear here. I am only doing this for my son, not to play along with any of your games. If you understand that, then we will talk later."

"Aside from his father, other people have come up talking about how Little Ricky was actually doing things for the better of Timberland. When the connection between him and the death of his gang was brought up, it was actually revealed that Ricky was just brought up in the crossfire and acted out of self defense. Speaking of his gang, it is believed that Ricky found four survivor's among them and took them under his wing, uniting them under the same cause as him. However, traces of these four have yet to be discovered. It may be that they have run off, but police will investigate further into it."

The group of little delinquents laughed as they all held up jugs of beer against each other. They had abandoned Ricky in his finest hour, after delivering all of the items that were actually filled with The Black across town. The sun had risen up in the distance for them, so that meant by now, The Black had already spread throughout the town. Anyone who bought those items would be unknowingly spreading it further. They couldn't help but each laugh as they were going to ride off somewhere to relax and settle down. When Ricky died, The Black he had given them all had died out as well, meaning they were no longer involved in this whole magical business. Life was good, life was very good for them! They had just stolen a huge amount of cash, they had gotten away with potential murder, and best of all, Ricky was probably dead!

That's when the one Ricky had called Franky began to act weird. He couldn't breath for some reason and he was collapsing. The others all started to back away from him, they had already ditched one person today, they were willing to throw another aside. But just when it looked like they could run, black flames burst forth and burnt Franky to a crisp! The others could only stare with wide eyes as a new body began to quickly form within the horrible flames. Murderous eyes looked over towards them as they stood frozen to the spot with fear. A demonic smile could be made out from within the black flames as the being's right arm rose and sent out black flames rushing over to them. The last actions they would ever perform were that of horrifying screams.

Once all the black flames subsided, the reborn being walked over and checked over all of their items. Just as it was looking through the money they had collected, clothes were thrown on it and it looked annoyed. However, as it looked back, it couldn't help but gasp at who it saw. "You!" The voice called out. The person gestured for it to dress up. The being could only growl as it was forced to dress up in human clothes now. "This is terrific. I come back in a new body, and suddenly, I am forced to wear disgusting clothing over my body!" The being pointed at the man. "Let me guess. You're the reason I'm still alive, right? And let me also guess this. You must also be the reason everything happened tonight, right?"

"You guessed correctly." The man in shades revealed himself to the being, smirking as he pulled off those mysterious shades and opened his eyes, revealing them to be glowing yellow. "I didn't expect things to go as well as they did. But Ricky didn't fail me in the end. The kid never questioned me when I gave him the orders in person either." The man couldn't help but grin as four yellow eyes opened up in the darkness behind him. Spider webs began to latch out over the area behind him as he spread his arms out. "It's been a long time, Despair. I trust the Hellhound's death helped you? It's time we went back."

"Ugh, back to those sinful morons? I wonder what they've been doing in my absence. Give me a smoke." The man in shades handed Despair a cigarette, as Despair lit it himself with his thumb before puffing out some smoke. "Damn, it feels good to be alive. Guess there are some things I didn't even know Despair could do. But it feels like I've been set back to zero. We'll have to perform some new tests when we get back to the labs. You chose some good clothes for me though, you clever little sneak." Despair and the man in shades began to walk away, the spider webbing's dragging the items in a bunch behind them as they soon shot out and the man in shades caught the webbing's with his bare hand to carry.



"Without a doubt, today seems to be the day people are crying out for Little Ricky to be seen as some kind of voice of justice. Regardless, police will continue to investigate the strange incidents that have occured as of late. In other news..." Yohan couldn't stand to listen anymore as he was lying there in the hosptial bed, turning off the television as he groaned out to himself.

"What is this, some kind of sick joke? Suddenly Ricky's being hailed as an icon? A voice of justice for the people?" Yohan put a hand on his forehead. That wasn't right at all, Ricky clearly seemed like the kind of person who would just murder people without a second thought. And suddenly, when he dies, people turn him into a hero? It made Yohan worry, whatever was going on, the trouble had not yet ended for any of them or Timberland. "Something's not right."

"Dad," Saiph says, her voice shaky, her hands shaky, Barely she held her phone to her ear, sitting up, leaning up against a wall in an alleyway. She had been debating to make this call for a while, but finally mustered up the courage. She swallows hard, her head... well her entire body ached. "Heh... I think I... I might have outdone myself. I uh... I kind of... killed a man... o-or well-"

"Hm? What are... what is the matter? So you got involved." a deep and powerful voice is heard through the phone, almost causing her to pull the phone away. Mr. Grimm's voice was undeniably concerned, she already knew it would cause a stir. "Sugar, did you hear the news? It is about to get very... problematic there. You should return home... you should come home." It was clear, he knew something she did not. Getting up she sluggishly exited the alleyway, and around the corner to see a television on display behind glass, watching in horror what the news was saying about Ricky. She didn't know what to feel, she felt a lot of things lately that she never had quite before. Was it anger? Was it confusion? She was transfixed, stunned on how quickly this had gone down. Her arms grew limp and just hung there, barely holding the phone. "Listen to me."

"D-dad, that isn't true, y-you gotta... fix it!" she says, swinging the phone back up, her voice becoming apparently panicked. "I-it's wrong, we stopped him because... because he-," before she could continue her head began to hurt her once again, causing her to nearly lose her balance.

"Fix it how? How can I fix this?" he responds, somewhat harshly, causing Saiph to fall back and lean against the display window. She was at a loss of words, was he scolding her? "What do I tell the public? An opposing story about his character, with what living witnesses to back it up? Your new friends who up until recently were marked as missing? Who ran hysterically out of a police station by creatures that no normal person could see? That a man, mad with some dark magical power killed people? People... are not ready for this. And even if I did manipulate the news, two opposing stories would just cause mass confusion, and who knows what that would create," he says, as earnestly as he can to Saiph. She didn't like it at all, sliding slowly down to the pavement, holding her head. "You're not feeling well, you've strained yourself, you need rest... care... you can only get that, here. Please?"

"I... I, o-okay," she says, finally conceding, albeit reluctantly. "B-but I... don't have the strength to," she began to say, before the sound of a vehicle approaching caught her attention, and soon a lavish black limousine parked itself right across from her. "Heh... you, just had him waiting, didn't ya?"

"Always be prepared. See you soon, love you," Mr. Grimms says before hanging up. The door of the limo opens showcasing an even more lavish interior, soft red velvet seats and carpeting. Saiph managed to drag herself inside, shutting the door behind her.

---

Elsewhere in a little novelty shop, a young white-haired man, the local Timberland High School gym teacher and wannabe big time actor, Rupert Kraus was hunting for props in his next attempt at a play. He was dressed in a t-shirt sporting a wolf, the mascot of Timberland High. Around his neck a whistle, and wearing shorts. Pretty well what one would expect of a school's gym teacher.

The owner, a rather crotchety, balding, whiskery old man, was growing tired of how long he was taking to browse his wares, rapping his fingers on the counter, puffing away at a cigarette. He had been looking at a couple oriental masks on the wall, one of a Tengu, the other the menacing facial armor mask of a Samurai.

"You sure these all you got? Certainly not befit the great HERO of the next big epic!" he says, placing a hand over his chest and the other in the air, all with dramatic flair as he looks upwards.

"Listen bub, I got what ya see, no amount of posturing... or whatever it is you're doing... gonna change that," the owner says finally, slamming his hand onto the counter. "Just buy something and go, you're scaring the other customers!" Of course, there were no other customers in this shoddy little shop, but questioning that would likely just get a smug exactly in response.

"Fine! Then I uh..." before he could finish that statement, something seemed to suddenly pull at him, his attention magnetically being pulled to the glass case under the counter. He scurries over, kneeling down and looking within. Some old watches, most of them broken... some decks of old playing cards, lighters... but then he say something faint, like a black mist surrounding one item in particular. A rather fancy looking gun, etched with... Little Rick. His eyes light up and he claps his hands together startling the owner.

"Aha! This one!" he says, pointing at the gun. The store owner scratched his bald spot in confusion, twisting his mouth switching the cigarette from one corner of his mouth to the other.

"I'm not sure giving some weird youngster like you a firearm is-," the man begins. But Rupert enthusiastically digs into his pocket, pulling out his wallet, reaching in, and, with a clenched fist grabs as many dollars as he can and slams it down before the owner, a wide white sparkly grin appearing on Kraus's face. He didn't even bother to count, but the owner did, the cigarette falling from his mouth. Greedily he scoops it up, opens the case, pulling the gun and hands it over to Kraus with a smirk. "Know what? Screw it, it is yours kid! Have fun, shoot your eye out or whatevah, don't give a shit if yer being generous!"

"EEee yes! Thank you, thank you!" Kraus says, nearly dancing as he runs out of the shop. Outside he glances over the gun, a dreamy look in his eyes. People walking down the sidewalk look briefly at him, a bit of concern as they back up and start to walk the other way. "I can't believe it, the guy didn't even know! Hah! A piece of the hero himself, passed down upon... ME! It must be a sign, oh yes! Things are finally looking up for Rupert Kraus!"

"More than your wildest imagination, mortal," a whimsical voice is heard inside his skull, Kraus looks around in confusion, trying to locate its origin. Soon an odd feeling begins to well up inside of him. "You and me, we are both want what the other wants, to put on the greatest show nobody will soon forget!"



Kraus looks beside him, red eyes looking back into his as a strange figure in purple robes was leaning over. Nobody seemed to see it but him, some walking straight through the odd pale man, who's face contorts into a wide smile.

"Name's Puck by the way, and... you could say, we are quite the kindred spirits, you and I~!"

"Do you remember this book, Yohan?" Shiro asked as he opened up the book Yohan had brought him. "This is a very important story to you. One of two, actually." Shiro smiled. "This is the story of The Blue Haired Warrior's fight against The Wizard. I know your parents used to read this to you all the time along with that other story." Shiro couldn't help but chuckle. "I suppose everyone knows it, but you might have hazy memory right now." Shiro sat down and let out a satisfied sigh. "Well then, allow me to tell you the story in my own way, shall I?" Seeing Yohan nod, he smiled. "Alright then. Let's see, where to start?"

"During a time when magic was at it's peak, wizards across the world were revered for their talents. Magic had never been more useful or stronger to the world. Magic had become more commonplace over the ages, and as the magic got stronger, so too did the power wizards held over the world. It was decreed by the Royal Families of The Other Side that wizards of Gaia would be the balance between magic and normality. People could only imagine how much stronger magic could become from that point on, what humanity could achieve with it's ever growing power. Some, however, grew too greedy with this idea."

"They were known as the Dark Wizards. They opposed the ideals of being the balance, and wanted to simply use magic within normality. The Royal Families did not agree with this mindset, and declared that anyone calling themselves a Dark Wizard or acting like one would be executed. Reduced to nothing more than criminals, the Dark Wizards all united under one cause in order to create something even the Royal Families could not deal with. They made a deal with an Ancient, obtaining some of it's blood to bring forth a new creature. One neither God nor Man! A terrifying being was born on that day, and history would forever know him as: The Wizard!"

Another dream, another piece of the puzzle. Two figures walked through the shadows of a great hallway. One of them was a beautiful man, who's body seemed like something out of a legend and couldn't seem possible for a normal human to obtain. The other was a young male, a prince who had recently just lost his kingdom to a new force of magic that neither of them had ever seen before. As both of them came upon a set of double doors, the man pushed both of them open to reveal a grand room with figures sitting high above them, chattering among-st themselves.

As the two walked forward, the room was made of the finest jewelry the prince had ever seen before in his life. This was not something normal royalty would just have chanced upon, nay, it appeared that these beings were considered much more important than just simply royalty to the people on this side of things. When the two had walked forward enough, they could see the figures each had different colored hair among them. Each one wore a different style of robe upon them, with all the robes having gorgeous designs upon each of them. When the man cleared his throat loudly, all of the figures stopped chattering and looked over towards them with eye piercing glares. One in particular stepped forth among them, his hair of a dark purple while his robes were that of a light purple with beautiful phoenix designs on them.

"Betelgeuse Grimms! Also known as Sir Grimms!" The purple haired man spoke with an obvious arrogance behind it. "What has thou done?! Ye dare bring a mortal to this most sacred place? Has thou lost thy mind by bringing a man unworth the beauty beheld here?!" The purple haired man stared at the human prince with only venom behind his gaze. The prince could tell this man, or whatever he is, was clearly not friendly to outsiders. But the prince decided to step forth, despite whatever they may bring down upon him or his friend, he was not afraid. The lack of fear in his eyes made the purple haired man flinch back with surprise.

"Sir Grimms is not at fault here. I was the one who called out to a wizard, who brought me to see Sir Grimms here." The prince pointed up towards the different colored haired men. "I have come to call out to thee, Dragonborns of this place!" The mention of the word Dragonborn left them speechless, they could only look towards Sir Grimms before looking back at the prince. "I know thou are here! Show thyself, Dracul of the Dragonborn!" The Dragonborn began to panic now, but the purple haired Dragonborn let out a mighty laugh in response! The prince's eyes turned into a sharp glare as he looked over to the arrogant Dragonborn.

"Thou wisheth to see Dracul?! Hold thy tongue, mortal!" The purple haired dragonborn couldn't help but continue to laugh at this. "Ye are not worth besetting thy eyes upon the glory that is Dracul! Mayhaps Sir Grimms has filled thy head with nonsense now! Dracul is our glorious God, who was punished and scattered into pieces that were given to his children. Dracul is resurrected through one of the royal families when one of the pieces has chosen them upon birth!" The purple haired Dragonborn points arrogantly at the two. "Begone! Such outrageous actions could get thee slain on the spot if thou are not careful!" All of the Dragonborns erupted into laughter now.

"SILENCE!" A mighty voice boomed across the room, causing the Dragonborns to move aside out of fear. Behind them began to walk a figure, who's very steps caused the room to rumble with a power that was rarely seen. As the figure stepped out into the light, his beautiful golden hair stood out the most about him, with his black and red outfit making him appear very threatening to those who would see him in battle. Though his body looked beautiful, his eyes stood out the most as they only held purple pupil's within them. The one called Dracul bowed from his waist to the two of them. "I must apologize for the rude actions of my brethren. I will hear you both out. What is it you wish to speak to me about?"

"I thank thee for thy time, generous Dracul." The prince and the man both bowed back in response. "We have come with some grave news. A wizard of unknown power has been born and has started spreading a new type of magic throughout the world. Many lands have already started to suffer great losses due to his power, including mine own kingdom. My father has not been seen since the attack on the castle, and he is assumed dead at this point. This terror can not go on any longer, before it consumes our world entirely, before it does any further damage, it must be stopped. We extend a hand of help out towards the Dragonborn!" For a moment, everything was quiet as everyone stood waiting for Dracul's response.

"Do you know why I am Dracul?" The prince was confused at Dracul's words. "I am Dracul because I was chosen at birth to have him reincarnate through me. I am a member of the Gold Dragonborn family. Before me, a member of the Pink Dragonborn family was chosen. Before that, a member of the Green Dragonborn family was chosen. After me, a member of the Silver Dragonborn family will be chosen. Finally, Dracul will reincarnate himself fully through the Purple Dragonborn family. Dracul chooses who he reincarnates through next, and I bear the title of Dracul not to help out humanity, but to help the magical plane. This wizard you speak of only threatens humanity, only Gaia, nothing more, nothing less. If humanity falls, that is the way it must be. That is my answer to you." Dracul turns his back on the two when the man spoke up.

"But thou can help." Sir Grimms words caused Dracul to stop, glaring over his shoulder at him. "Thou has the last of the blood, correct? Give it to the mortal." Sir Grmms gestured to the unmoving prince. "If he proves unworth, he will die. It is the least thou can do for him, no?" Sir Grimms stared unafraid of Dracul's gaze, it was an intense moment for the other Dragonborn to see for certain. Even the arrogant Purple haired Dragonborn seemed to stand afraid of letting Dracul's glaring gaze even come near his general direction! After breathing out of his nose, Dracul raises up one of his hands and has it glow purple, letting a cup materialize before the prince.

"Very well, Sir Grimms! It shall be your word against mine!" Dracul's voice once again boomed out across the room, sending the other Dragonborn tumbling down off their feet. "But know that if he dies, it shall be you who pays the price! He will die, but you, you will know a hell that you thought never existed! Have I made myself clear?!" Sir Grimms nods in response, as Dracul's eyes glared over to the prince now. "Take the chalice and drink every last drop of the blood! Know that should you let one drop hit the ground, you are certain to die!" The prince nods in Dracul's direction before picking up the chalice and raising it up to his mouth, drinking down the blood.

Once all of the blood had been consumed, the prince set the chalice down. A few moments pass and nothing happens, with everyone staring and waiting to see what would happen next. Then, a blue aura erupts forth around the prince, causing the Dragonborn to all flinch back, while Dracul could only stare in shock at what he saw before him. "It is impossible!" The purple haired Dragonborn cried out. "A mortal of Gaia has been chosen to become a Dragonborn?! This is madness! This is nonsense! Nothing about this makes sense! Who are you?!" The prince, now with his eyes glowing with a blue mystique to them and his hair having been transformed into a blue color, stared at the Dragonborn with a slow smile spreading across his face.

"I am Belmont!"

Shiro closed up the book and put it down next to him, standing up to his feet as he smiled at Yohan. "Come with me. I have something to show you." Shiro lead Yohan back through the stairs from before, leading him up to one of the towers to show Yohan the state of things now. "See how the land looks to be healing? This is all due to your efforts. Since you overcame the Inner Demon of Despair, your world has been slowly taking some time to heal. Although, as a result, a new Inner Demon has risen up in the former's place. This one was quite a pain to contain for me. Nonetheless, it appears that the thing I said before will not happen quite yet. However, a new danger has emerged to threaten the castle."

"A new danger?" Yohan questioned Shiro, but as he did so, he felt the castle begin to shake furiously. Yohan could see it in the distance as it's wings flapped through the sky. As it got closer, it only got bigger and he could see the horrifying details that made it so fearsome. "No way, that's a dragon!" The beast let out a thunderous roar as it flew past the castle, the gusts of winds that it created sent Yohan flying down onto his back. Shiro remained perfectly still as he watched the dragon fly about, breathing fire into the air before flying off somewhere. "That wasn't here before!"

"I am already the conflicts within you have grown since the last time you were here. I am afraid that with the Inner Demon of Despair gone, your mind has allowed other things to rise up against you. It is sad to say, but we may have to awaken him soon enough." Shiro turns to Yohan and grabs his arm, quickly pulling him up to his feet. "But that can wait. I will keep this beast at bay, but in time it may become a threat to you and the two others who are still connected. This dragon reminds me of a conflict I was in a long time ago."

"Tell me something." Yohan began to speak. "You said before that when you had arrived, the door was already open. You can't use the key as well as I can, and yet you have no problem sealing away things or fending off beasts that appear here. If you were a part of my world, you wouldn't be able to have such a unique stance within it. Who are you, really? Or for that matter, what are you?" Shiro looked over at Yohan and let out a slow sigh, looking up at the sky.

"Think of me like a guardian angel. I'm here for a reason, and I know of only one other person who has a guardian angel. Speaking of, you must be weary not to come into conflict with that man. He will have a golden aura. Should you see that gold aura, run. Do not even think about fighting him. You must run as if your life depends on it." Dark clouds began to roll in as Shiro began to walk back down the steps. "I've said enough. I can tell you the full story another time. I think I've kept you here long enough. I must show you one more thing before you leave, and hopefully, we will not have to use it anytime soon."

It was business as usual. The bell had rung out and The Order of Gray's members had been summoned forth. With the exception of Epsilon, for obvious reasons, everyone had been summoned without issue. Upon taking their seats, Lady Alpha walked in with Omega by her side as always. Lady Alpha wore only the most beautiful white robes that could be made. Though her skin was unusually pale, she did not wear any makeout or try to make herself look "pretty" to stand out. Omega pulls out her seat and when she sits down, pushes her in before sitting down in it's own seat. Omega largely remained unknown due to always being seen wearing that strange armor. The only thing that reminded them that it wasn't just a robot was the long pink hair that could be seen coming out the back of the helmet.

"Welcome." Lady Alpha spoke with a soft tone that made her sound quiet, though usually one could understand and hear her just fine. "We have a lot to discuss today, so before we begin, I would like to see if any of you has anything to say before we start. Once we start, I expect full cooperation and attention on the matters we discuss, and no distractions." Lady Alpha turned a glaring gaze over to Delta. Delta gave up a lazy peace sign with his hand before relaxing in his chair again. Lady Alpha rolled her eyes as he did this. "Ugh. You know what I mean. Get it out of your systems now before we start, okay?"

The doors suddenly slammed open. "Sorry I'm late!" A voice rung out, which most would recognize as Gamma's. "It's a funny story-" Gamma was cut off by a glare from Lady Alpha. "Don't get your panties in a bunch! You said get it out now, did you not?" Gamma had on a cloak with the hood covering her face. One could tell she was spent physically as she took her seat next to Delta. She gave him a smile and said a quiet hello. Gamma then returned her attention to the oh so glorious Lady Alpha. Gamma's disdain for the woman was known among other members, but Gamma kept it in check. The woman waited patiently for the meeting to begin.

"Mmm, yes, greetings, a pleasure as usual," a deep voice reverberates through the room. The origin of this voice was a hulking figure already seated, waiting patiently. He was wearing a golden oni mask and dressed in a rather clean gray business suit. This was Omicron, a rather peculiar man, to say the least, if this colossus could be simply called a man.

He stares forward with glowing eyes, like burning embers, difficult to ascertain who he was looking towards, if anyone in particular. He was somewhat distracted today, but did his best to cover it. "Greetings, Gamma," he says calmly upon her loud entrance.

Lady Alpha couldn't help but let out an audible sigh. Omega ended up patting her back for her, with Lady Alpha shaking her head. "Of course the suspended fool is the late one. Bravo, Gamma." Lady Alpha rolls her eyes and looks around to the rest. "Anybody else wish to step forward with something?" But no one did. "Very well. Let us begin then with the first matter. We have been watching over The Other Side and Gaia for centuries now. We all know the rising conflicts that have occurred over the ages. Starting with before The Order's foundation itself, when The Wizard and The Blue Haired Warrior clashed. Or the time Gaia's influence brought about conflict on The Other Side, causing the first Sukodo Emperor to rise and form the Sukodo Empire from said conflict."

"But the worst example yet, to me at least, was the battle a hundred years ago. The one that took place a hundred years ago. The battle that almost reached Gaia and attempted to destroy it. When the man declaring himself as Dracul came out with an army of demons and laid a path of destruction in his wake. Were it not for the two men who were chosen by The White and The Black to mold them into what we know them as today, Gaia would be in ruins. But conflict has never truly ceased since any of those times. Mu!" Lady Alpha's sudden burst of the word caused Mu to flinch in his seat. "Your Dominion's name, it's Scan Chan, right? I need you to use Scan Chan to give me a report on the incidents I requested earlier before this meeting."

"Yes, yes, of course my lady." Mu seemed shorter compared to the rest of them. Though Mu had the strangest googles that made his eyes look bigger than they actually were. Mu's hair had long since turned white, his skin wrinkled and his body sometimes shook when he worked for too long on one thing. But that didn't stop Mu from doing what he loved, and he wore a suit of tech of his own design to let it be known what had taken his heart for so many years. With blue lines that ran over his body that occasionally glowed, Mu raised up his hands and wiggled his fingers before speaking again. "Scan Chan!"

Scan Chan appeared before Mu in the form of a monitor with a keyboard set out before him. The monitor and keyboard both looked holographic and green to an extent, though both were see-through. With a big wide grin, Mu began to type away as the monitor quickly began to change with it. "Regarding the number of The White and The Black infections finding potential candidates on Gaia, I have determined that the rate has grown by 37% in just the last decade. Most recently, there appears to have been several outbreaks of The White and The Black across the USA alone! The most recent incident we could find of this was a town called Timberland."

"Thank you for that, Mu." Lady Alpha spoke as Scan Chan faded away. "It is not just Gaia either that faces conflict right now. The many factions of The Other Side have always been tense with one another. We live in an Age of Tension, this I will not deny to you. We are meant to be keepers of balance, the people who bring peace between the magical and non-magical. Yet we cannot intervene if it does no harm to the greater good. But what we potentially face right now is far worse than just a mere battle or two. The Sukodo Empire, The Legion of Demons, Epsilon's Dark Wizards, The Dragonborn, among many others! They are all getting ready to attack someone, and with each side growing in power by the day, someone will launch an attack that will start a massive war unlike any seen on The Other Side before it."

"As you said, we cannot intervene much." Gamma said nonchalantly. "What do you suggest we do? Prevent one of the sides from gaining power? If so, which one? What's your plan, oh great leader?" Gamma glared at the woman from underneath her hood. "While it's in everyone's best interests to ya know...not have a war, how can we prevent it without violating what the Order is about in the first place?"

"Well then... there certainly are a lot of anomalies happening around Timberland, aren't there?" Omicron asks in rhetoric, tapping his fingers together patiently as he puffs on a cigar. With the creaking of his chair, he reaches down and starts to pull out some papers with his index finger and thumb, and then splays it across the table. On them are rather complex printouts of maps with marks on them and reports. Along with this is a few pictures, some of the Hound of Despair from Saiph's perspective. "Here's something to add to your data, Mu. Cross-world fluctuations seem to be happening quite frequently with this place and The Other Side, perhaps too frequently, wouldn't you agree? Lets call these crescendo points. To be frank, we are long passing the point of coincidence, and if a war were to break out, with this amount of instability, well... I'll leave it to everyone's imagination on what that entails."

Mu gathered up the papers and looked them over. "Ah, yes." Scan Chan could be seen forming over Mu's googles now, taking a look over the pictures and such. "It seems that, ironically, Timberland was founded by magical creatures. Even before that, Timberland has been known for being a hotspot for magic. It seems a lot of people there have always emerged with the potential to wield magic. How strange, considering that multiple people there have been chosen by The Black. My lady, I fear we may soon see The White and The Black clashing on Gaia. If The Emperor was correct in his report to us, that vigilante group he plans to have form could lead to a group forming in response."

"I understand, Mu." Lady Alpha spoke. "It appears that we may be facing people with connections. Sometimes these connections were formed to spread out an individual's power to others, though the person would eventually regain their power while the chosen kept their powers as well. Other times it was to simply gather people under their wing, as if to grant people the power of The White or The Black before the connection would eventually break. Though I imagine any connections have been recent, and the individuals who were chosen have not received training yet. Without this training, they will by now be starting to receive side effects. These chosen individuals will start to experience shifts in personality, they may see memories that are not their own and most for certainly, they will start to recall people they may not have met before. We will need two volunteer's to go forth to Timberland to find these people and train them before they have such experiences at the wrong time."

"I will go." Beta stated to the rest. The strongest human in The Order of Gray, Beta mostly kept himself concealed within the usual white robes of The Order of Gray. "I have business to take care of there. I will bring Delta with me just in case. If I find anyone with magic causing trouble, I'll handle it myself. I know you and Delta aren't on good terms, plus if something comes up beyond my control, he can help me out with it."

"Indeed. I trust Beta with my life." Delta spoke up. Unlike the others, he wore a gray robe over himself, standing out just that little bit among the white robes most of the members commonly wore. "I will help Beta with the training of these individuals, whoever they may be. However, from what I can tell, we have someone there who is not naturally from Gaia. I will look more into the matter when I arrive, but that is just my theory for now. Although I do wish to report that Epsilon was spotted looking for one of his artifacts in Timberland. Knowing Epsilon, he used the opportunity to go out and find information ahead of anyone else in Timberland. It's possible he is setting up influence in there now, without us knowing it. Hopefully that is not the case, but if it is, we may have more people showing up in Timberland."

"Epsilon is a danger we must not overlook. He is not only skilled with his abilities, he is smart and cunning. When he left our order, he managed to win in his fight against Delta." Lady Alpha put her hands together. "Beta, Delta. I will leave it to you then. As for the matter of dealing with the rising tension..." Lady Alpha's eyes glared over to Gamma at this. "It has always been our interest to remain as neutral as possible. With that being said, the Legion of Demons have always been our natural enemy. We have always fought against them, and they have always done the same with us. Should they cause any problems directly, we will have no choice but to make them targets. The Emperor seems to be making his move to prepare for the long term, while the others are simply gathering in forces and power. Either way, if we have to make a stand in this war, I have no objections to that."

"If I may, Lady Alpha." Chi stood up, one of the newer members. Chi had taken his position with pride after the retirement of the former Chi, however, Chi had proven at times to be reckless and new to the game. "This is not the time for me to be sitting here. With the growing conflicts on both Gaia and The Other Side, I propose that I be assigned to The Mage Killer. Whoever it is, this ruthless murderer has been targeting people with magic and I will no longer stand for it. Send me after this fiend, I have already started to research on this criminal and will personally see to it they are brought to justice!"

"Very well, Chi. I can't stop you. This Mage Killer is the one who's been behind incidents that the news keep bringing up anyway. Do what you must." Chi, Delta and Beta all vanish from sight at these words. "Upsilon, continue to observe Epsilon's every action and report it back to me. Gamma, go back to being suspended already before I send Omega after you. Omicron, continue to do what you do. I feel you are doing a good job, unlike certain people. Sigma, I need you to investigate something for me. Mu, continue to use Scan Chan to find any information you can. Everyone else, do what you do best. I need some time to decide on the matter of how to proceed with these conflicts we have been seeing of late. I will call everyone back in a week's time. Dismissed!"

Upsilon appeared in a cave after the meeting had ended. What nonsense, he thought to himself. There was only one person worthy to his eyes and that person was nowhere near the same league as anyone else. That man was a prodigy, he knew this from the beginning that he would be the one to save them all. Upsilon smiled to himself, gripping his staff as best as he could. He tolerated the others only because he had no other choice. His position in The Order had to remain for just a little longer. Damn that Omicron! He was too nosy for his own good, looking into matters that didn't concern him! It made Upsilon furious with rage, he didn't like how The Order were so close to finding out his secret plans!

Upsilon moved further into the cave, his staff hitting the ground as he walked. At least it wasn't all for nothing, he now had the information he wanted to confirm. The fools knew nothing! Not a single one of them knew what was best for the world, they were all fools. Upsilon would make sure this war would happen with or without them. He suspected Lady Alpha might try to make her stance in the coming flames, but she was too smart for her own good! She must of suspected something was up and sent others to investigate further into matters! No matter, he would find a way to involve The Order soon enough. Upsilon couldn't wait until he could execute his plans, the thought of it brought joy to his old heart. "One hundred years I've been searching for you again. I may be old now, but you were at your prime even after so many years had passed by you." Upsilon talked to himself as he moved on.

"I looked upon you like a God! Your majestic hair flowing behind you, the menacing aura that has never been seen since, the way you stood against the world and sought to brought it down with your forces. I haven't forgiven anyone for letting you die the way you did. Oh, but don't worry, I will find you again. I know you are somewhere in this world again, someday I will find you and have you brought to me. All I need is the sign, the sign that you have returned! Oh, the day will come, do not worry. We will meet again, just you wait. I have kept myself alive only to see you again. Not like you can listen to me anyway, but it's always good to talk as if you were here. I still have your precious little orb, I have kept it safe for you, my one true master!" Upsilon made several growls, among other noises, before finally calming down and walking over to one of his apprentices.

"Ah, Upsilon, sir!" The apprentice was shocked to see his master return. "I had thought the meeting would last longer, but nonetheless, Epsilon wishes to speak to you." He could see Upsilon not even look in his direction, continuing to move despite his old body slowing him down these days. "Uh, sir. About that thing you wanted me to investigate into. We have not yet been able to find the exact thing you mentioned. I apologize, sir, but..." He watched as Upsilon stopped moving. "It seems impossible at this rate. We have been searching for years, and no results have come up. It may be he just isn't coming back this time."

"BE SILENT!" A scythe's blade ripped itself out of the orb on Upsilon's staff, the scythe reaching over to hold itself over the apprentice's neck. The apprentice was unable to move, frozen by fear for his own life as he saw Upsilon stare at him with that cold gaze in his eyes. "He is somewhere, I know he is! I will find him, and I will have him! He promised, he promised me he would return! He would not lie to ME!" Upsilon pulled the scythe's blade away carefully, the blade sinking into the orb as Upsilon turned his back to the apprentice. "Search harder. It doesn't matter who they are. A baby, a child, an adult or an elderly. He MUST be somewhere! Find the mark, the mark is the key, the key." Upsilon began to move again, with the apprentice collapsing to his knees as he gripped his chest tightly. "The mark is the key. The mark is the key. The mark is the key." Upsilon kept repeating to himself in whispers. It was the only thing he looked forward to these days.

Another meeting, another reason to hate on the current Order of Gray. What a mess they were in now, once the most respected people in the magical society now were just looked upon as keepers of the peace. It was nonsense, they were practically a joke at this point to him. "Lady" Alpha next sat right with him, why not just call her Alpha like the previous Alpha's before her had been called? Beta was his student, seeing him having grown so far from the old days made Sigma nostalgic of the old days when Beta was younger. Gamma was being snarky with Alpha as usual, no surprise there.

Delta was a man Sigma held the highest respect for, though in recent meetings he had begun to take on a more laid back role. It was Alpha's fault, really. She had tried to force Delta over the years to bend to her will, but the more she pushed, the more he resisted. She must of said something after a meeting and he didn't take it well. Still, Delta was a man he and the others could trust with their lives. Epsilon was a different story though. For whatever reason, Alpha held his seat out even though he had left in not the most polite fashion. Epsilon had since started a Dark Wizard group and refused to attend any meetings since his departure. Whatever Epsilon had discovered had forced him to leave The Order entirely. Sigma had no right to tell him to stay, but it also wasn't his business to go snooping around like Epsilon had. If Alpha should prove a problem to him, he would be the first to be on the case.

Most of the others looked bored whenever Mu began to talk. Mu was like that wise grandfather you had that would always invest his time into researching new things, but would often fall asleep during the middle of things. Luckily Scan Chan could operate during Mu's nap sessions so it all worked out in the end. Omicron held a sort of air about him as usual, however he seemed to be taking an interest in this Timberland. One of his kids must of gotten involved for him to have done his work so quickly, it was the only thing Sigma could think of that would lead Omicron to have gotten interested ahead of time. Sigma couldn't really tell what most of them were thinking or were ever going to do, but he could sense it. The tension that was building up when Chi spoke up. Chi was a good kid, but he didn't realize some of the members had gotten a little picky about handling things. Lucy for Chi no one went in for the kill, but Sigma knew one of these days The Order was going to have to bring it's fist down some of the more unruly members.

Omega was quiet as always at the meetings, staying by Alpha's side like a dog. He could only guess what Alpha had done to Omega in order to make it so obedient to her, the day this Omega had been brought in was the day Sigma had started to watch Alpha with a suspicious eye. Epsilon and him may not see eye to eye on everything, but he knew Epsilon was onto something to suspect Alpha was doing something to The Order for her own gain. Without anything coming to light, however, there was nothing Sigma could really do about it. Sure, there were the times when Alpha would seem suspicious or her actions could be questioned, but she was sneaky in how she kept her true intentions hidden from the others. One day, she would slip up and be brought to the justice she rightfully deserved to be put into.

Upsilon had once been a man he could respect in his ambitions. At one point in time he had been hailed as one of the greatest Dark Wizards to have come, and the only reason he had been brought into The Order was to maintain fear through his power. He had gotten to know Upsilon though, and over the years he got used to Upsilon's ways. He reminded him of Epsilon in a lot of ways, though Upsilon was Epsilon's teacher so it made a lot of sense he'd see what Upsilon formerly had having rubbed off onto Epsilon. But ever since a certain point had passed, Uspilon had been slowly grading and the process had been painful to watch. At the current meeting, Upsilon looked the worst he ever had. His once great body reduced to a withered old form that made him seem tiny when at his peak he was someone who could stand with pride. Knowing the old Upsilon though, he wasn't finished and would probably make a grand return one day. This much Sigma had always suspected to be true in his heart.

When the meeting had been dismissed, they were all told to return in one week. He wondered who had come from The Sukodo Empire to inform Alpha of this new vigilante plan The Emperor had in mind. He could ask more about that another time though, for now he had to go see Beta and Delta before they left for Gaia. Taking out one of The Order's emblems on a peculiar stone, he focused his mind on it before suddenly appearing in front of Beta and Delta. "Oh, I will never get used to moving around like that." Beta and Delta quickly helped Sigma remain standing before backing away to look upon the mask and cloak he always wore. "I suspected you boys would still be here."

"Ha, that's funny, calling us boys Sigma." Delta responded with a smile. "Knowing you've been around for so long though, I can let it pass." Delta seemed to be one of the few members of The Order he knew who could manage a smile even when times were coming to a rough point. "I know why you've come though. You want to warn us to be careful in Timberland, right? Don't worry about that so much. You put too much stress on yourself these days, Sigma. You should take a vacation sometime and just get the chance to relax."

"As much as I would love to take some time to rest for myself, I must tend to The Order first. Actually, I came to warn you two to be on the alert about this Mage Killer going around." Sigma decided to sit down on the ground as he let out a heavy sigh. "This Mage Killer, whoever it is, is casting doubt on those who use magic. Whether it be true magic or The White or The Black, it doesn't matter. Should this Mage Killer be revealed on Gaia's media, it could start the opposite idea to The Emperor's vigilante plans."

"Ah, so you mean the equivalent of super-villains." Beta put a hand up to his chin as he thought it over. "It would be troubling to see a rise of people like that. Whether magical or not, we could see a mass slaughtering of innocent people or those who would get in the crossfire. From what I know about this serial killer, they've done all they can to make a low profile for themselves. That's why we haven't been hot on this person's trail, but they could cause a mass panic sometime soon and chaos would spread them there."

"It's not just that I am worried about." Sigma looked down at his hands and tightened his grip slightly with them. "Dark Wizards, Demons, even intelligent magical creatures could all notice this and start to get more bold. Dark Wizards appearing to sweep their magic unopposed, lower Demons getting more bold and attempting to bring their more powerful masters over to Gaia in order to take it over. Magical creatures could start going on a rampage for humans throughout Gaia. This Mage Killer must be brought down quickly. If Chi fails in his mission, I may have no choice but to get involved myself."

"We understand, Sigma." Delta spoke up as he put a hand on Sigma's shoulder. "Don't worry about it. We won't allow this Mage Killer to get any attention and for others to use the opportunity against us. We may not be seen as in our glory days, but we are still The Order of Gray. We will keep the peace, no matter who seeks to break it. Beta and I must go and prepare our things for a temporary stay in Timberland. Just don't go straining yourself Sigma, that's the last thing we need right now." With that, Beta and Delta vanished from sight. Sigma could only sigh and close his eyes, hoping for the best.