Flashback 214: Adjusting part 4 -Christina-

I felt wetness on my cheek, touched it with my finger and stared at in confusion. It wasn't that I didn't know what it was, Samuel had told me it was called crying back when his mother died, but it had never happened to me.

"You cry because something you care about was lost," He had told me, "It's a way to help your body heal."

Maybe I thought I didn't need to heal because there wasn't much that could hurt me, but as I put my foot down again on the fay's face, I felt more pain than I'd felt my entire life. For the last year I'd spent my time with him learning to love, learning to adjust, becoming more human than God. For the first time I was starting to understand what happiness really was. Now as I cried, everything he did seemed so pointless; like a movie without an ending or a book with no last page. I felt there was more to be told, but key parts were missing.

Soon the rage slipped away, like water down a drain, leaving only emptiness behind. I felt my legs shaking and only had the strength to move near Samuel's body before I collapsed. I tried to look at his face, but just a glance was torture.

"Samuel," I lifted him up and pressed him against me, "Please, let this be a dream. I want to wake up. Please." My voice faded as I was overtaken by sobs.

A siren in the background told me that my time was up, so I laid him back down and bowed my head over him, "I swear," I slipped to fingers in to his wound, covering them with blood, "that I will find a way." I smeared the blood on my shirt, making a large, crude S, "I will be with you again."

I stood to my feet and wiped the tears from my cheeks, "And may God have mercy on anything that stands in my way."

The police car turned the corner as I got out of the area.

A week later, I had learned that about a year ago a fairy named Qaliphus had used Excalibur to revive every fairy that had died in the war and bring them into this realm. Carl and Melissa had both been trying to stop it, but ended up killing each other in the confusion. During the following year, fairies had been slowly and silently making their way toward complete human control, and anyone that had stood in their way was very quickly destroyed. Just like Samuel.

My hand grasped the final rock as I pulled myself up the side of Mount Ida, the final resting place of The Palladium. The Palladium was a large wooden statue that Athena had given to humans. They thought it was used to keep the city safe, but they didn't understand how. Only a few humans knew that.

I stood in front of a large cave opening; the entrance to the temple containing The Palladium, an artifact that could rewind time for the person, or persons touching it. There was nothing I could do now to bring Samuel back, but there was something I could have done then. I had to go back and fix it, only then would I be able to be with Samuel again. I looked down at my shirt, the S now a brown color, and remembered every moment of that day. Tears stung my face once more as I remembered my promise.

Stepping into the cave, I saw the statue sitting atop a shrine of gold and silver. It was unguarded, so I could just walk up and reach out to touch it. I knew it was unguarded because I had helped put it here. After I used it, I would be expelled and this temple would move to a place unknown; a final protective measure to keep humans from getting greedy.

My fingers touched the warm wood and I closed my eyes as the world around me blurred. I had to find Melissa, and then I would stop Qaliphus from bringing the faeries back. When I was done, I would fight no more. I would find Samuel and we would spend our days together, and be happy.

But first, I had to get my old sword Balmung back.

Flashback 213: Adjusting Part 3 -Christina-

"Hey, do you think you could go to the store?"

I laid the controller on the floor and pulled myself to my feet, "I guess. There's no more milk anyway." I stopped at the door as I grabbed my coat, "I think I'm going to grab a candy bar."

"Cookies n' Cream?" He stood and walked over to me. Placing his hands on my waist, he leaned in.

"Of course." I kissed him lightly and then slipped out the door.

As I made my way down the stairs I slipped on my coat. Almost a year had passed since he'd found me in that store and saved my life, but I still wasn't used to any display of affection yet. He was probably the only person that could get away with anything with out losing a limb, but normally even a hug put me on edge. I swooped down to grab an empty can off the street and looked ahead for a source of disposal. There it was, about five blocks away was a nearly full trash can that had just enough room.

Two children that I'd seen here before stopped to stare at me as they always did. I didn't like children and found enjoyment in making their jaws drop. At least it stopped them from staring. I pulled my arm back and threw the can with as much force as I could muster.

A loud boom was heard as the can zipped through the air, smashed in to the diamond grating of the trash can and stuck there. I glanced at the children and grinned at the way their mouths hung.

"Remember, pick up your trash." Then I turned and continued my way to the store.

I don't ever want things to be the way they had been at the academy again. I was never free to do things that I wanted to. I was trained to fight and never anything else. He had taken the time to teach me that the world wasn't just a terrible place where war ruled. He taught me to let my guard down enough to enjoy the world around me. He showed me a sunset for the first time and then taught me how to walk to the beach so I could see it again at anytime.

Video games. He gave me them so that I could relieve my anger in a way that wasn't a felony. I was a master at almost every one he put in front of me except Super Smash Bros. Brawl; I could never beat him in that no matter how many times I forced him to miss work so that we could keep going. He was right though, I didn't feel like punching anything that moved. I was even okay with people accidentaly touching me, and I didn't think of humans as lower than myself. In fact, I had come to realize that they had became the reigning species not because of an accident, but because they deserved it. I found myself feeling proud about their accomplishments, almost as if they were my own; as if I were human.

The shop owner was sitting outside of the store and as I approached he waved, "Well, how are you this morning?"

I returned the wave, "I'm just here to grab some milk and maybe some of those delicious candy bars of yours."

"That's good, I got a new shipment today. Just go inside, Darrel will take care of you."

I stepped in the store and walked to the milk. One thing I really loved about humans was the invention of air conditioning, which this place had neglected in purchasing. My candy bars were probably melted. I carried the milk to the front register and grabbed three cookies n' cream bars.

"Christina! Hey, How's the man?" That's what Darrel referred to him as, probably because they once played games together and Darrel was so bad that I had to look away.

" I think he's okay, he seems happy." I shrugged. Human emotions still confused me a lot. I could never tell the difference between happy and indifferent, but I tried to pretend I understood.

"Well, we should get together sometime. I've been practicing."

"Let me see your hands." I leaned over the counter as he raised his fingers.

The wear from playing games was nowhere on his fingers and not a single controller blister could be seen. I leaned back and laughed at him, "Not enough practice, but I'll see when he has time for you."

"Oh come on, you always say that."

"And you always lose." I grabbed the change from the counter and smiled as I walk past the store owner.

I enjoyed this life we'd made. I was smiling when we were together and peaceful when we were apart. I loved walking to the store and making dinner when I brought it home. My favorite movie at the moment was Mrs. Doubtfire, and I enjoyed the band Poets Of the Fall more than any other band out there. I didn't have to worry about having my life in danger at every moment of the day, which was more relaxing than I had thought it would be.

I turned the corner on to my street and I knew something was off. Ahead of me stood three people, a tall dark skinned man, a small child with a look of fear on her face and then there was him. He was defending the child. I knew it because that was the kind of person he was. He would do what ever he could to help someone and even some things that he couldn't do. He'd helped me because I looked like I didn't belong, and he didn't even crack a smile as I told him all about my life. He was the kind of person who was born to be the hero, even though he wasn't built for it.

The air was wrong. This situation was wrong, and as I dropped the milk to run over I noticed what it was. The man he was defending the girl from was a fairy and the young girl was anything but. As I raced toward him the girl lifted up in to the air, attached by a thin string of muscle to the man. It was its tail and he was their prey.

The tail grabbed him tight, restricting his movements and the fairy swung its arm straight through his chest. I was close enough to smell the blood, as the fairy raised the heart of the only person I truly cared about to his mouth and bit down.

"This one was good. Very . . . defiant, and strong. He was very tasty on my tongue." He hadn't realized that I was closing in, but he would soon.

The rage flowed forward, unlike anything I'd ever felt. In mere seconds everything that I'd learned had been torn to shreds in front of me. There was no amount of gaming that was going to release this tension. I knew of only one way to make the pain go away and I wasn't even sure if that would work. I felt empty and I filled the emptiness with rage. All the pain and suffering I was feeling slid along until it rested at the edge of my fist. For some reason I felt that would make my fist swing faster, hit harder; I felt that it would erase the emptiness once the rage was gone. I knew I was wrong.

"HIS NAME . . . " I was running full force as I pulled back my fist. The creature finally noticed me but it was very late, and it knew it.

I swung my fist forward with a force that left my ears ringing, "WAS SAMUEL!"

I felt the fairy's surprised face vaporize as my hand collided with its head. Fairy blood sprayed across the buildings along the street as the creature's body hit the ground. The tail screamed and tried to run, but was stopped by the weight of the body. I flicked my wrist, cleaning it of the blood and leaving a light, red stain in its place.

The fairy tail screamed as I crushed its head with my boot, but I didn't care. Samuel was dead.

Flashback 212: Adjusting Part 2 -Christina-

"A county is in mourning since early today when a school bus of forty-three children disappeared in thin air only to be found 2 hours later across state lines. The children were found dead inside and the bus driver had vanished. But that's not all of the unusual news today, as a you-" The radio was shut off and he pulled it from my grasp.

"You've been listening to that broadcast on repeat for the last hour." He flopped down on the bed next to me, "It's time for you to put it down and return to reality."

I watched him for a few moments and then smiled, "I guess I got distracted. Was there something planned today?"

He stared at me for a few moments before speaking. He did that a lot and at first it made me very uncomfortable, but lately I'd come to expect it. When it didn't happen I would feel weird and end up moving into his line of sight.

I guess he paused to think out his words beforehand because his questions always surprised me, "So, when are you going to start using my name?"

"I . . . I can't." I was an unsigned God but even they never called humans by their names, they usually came up with a nickname or just called them "you". Calling someone by their name signified equality, maybe even intimacy, and was very much frowned upon with humans, "It's not proper."

"We've been dating for two months." He rolled to look at the ceiling.

Dating was a very foreign word to me, even after I'd heard him using it so much lately. I knew what it meant and thinking about it made me feel flushed. Although we didn't talk about what we did when we were alone often, I always knew that he was thinking about it by the look in his eye or the way he smiles when he's deep in thought. I didn't understand why it was so important that I use his name, or why the fact that we're dating has anything to do with it. I reached over and pushed him off the bed.

A loud thump was heard followed by an exclamation of surprise and then silence. I waited for him to get back up but heard nothing. My heart leaped into my throat. Had I hurt him?

"Are you okay?" I leaned over, trying to see over the side of the bed to make sure he wasn't injured, "Say som-"

"HAH!" He sprung up at me, making me jump back in surprise and fall off the bed. As I untangled my limbs and pulled myself off the floor, he was laughing so hard that his eyes were watering. I grasped a pillow off the bed and smiled.

He looked surprised and ran for the door. He didn't make it, my pillow snagged him on the foot causing him to tumble into the living room. I went after him, snatching the other pillow off the bed. I turned into the living room and was met with a couch cushion in the face. My bottom hit the floor and he jumped at me, pushing my wrists down.

"Gotcha." He said breathing heavily.

He didn't have me. I could easily have thrown him off anytime I wanted, but that was the problem.

I laughed lightly, "Yeah, I guess you do."

"So, now I get one request and you have to comply." He grinned.

I bit my lower lip, thinking about all the things he could ask, "What is your request?"

"I want you to tell me about your past. I want to know why you were wearing armor and didn't know what a trash can was."

It wasn't what I had expected. I looked to the left, my eyes resting on a controller that had been kicked under the couch. I didn't want to tell him, because then he might go away. How many people have I killed? How many times have I done horrible things in the name of my academy? How could he stay around someone as horrible as me? I'm not worth his affection, and I don't even know what affection meant.

"Hey," He let go of my wrist and swiped a piece of hair away from my eyes.

I turned to look at him, but didn't say a thing.

"You have nothing to worry about. What ever you tell me, I'll stay right here. Then after you're done telling me, I'm going to take you to your favorite place to eat."

Looking at his eyes I could see sincerity, and for some reason I trusted him, "Okay. I'll tell you," He was about to move when I stopped him, "but don't go until I'm done."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Flashback 211: Adjusting part 1 -Christina-

"Miss," He tugged at my armor for the fourth time, "Miss, could you grab that candy off the top shelf?"

He'd been tugging on my armor since I'd walked into the store, and immediately after I noticed that everyone was staring at me. I knelt down till I was eye level with the young boy and smiled, "If you like those fingers then you'll stop bothering me, okay? Now go ask your mom for help before I chop off those stubbly toes."

Very quickly his face transformed into a wail and I regretted not just helping the boy. His mother came running and pulled him away from me.

"What did you do to my boy? He never cries like this!" She stormed out of the store as I turned back to the newspaper. It had been a long time since I'd been put inside that jar and things had certainly changed. Most humans seemed even more mindless save for the few that I'd met before.

They were still squabbling over religion and killing each other for material possessions; barbarians in a suit. Feeling a tap on my shoulder I spun around grabbing my assailant and flipping him on to the stack of papers. I twisted his arm so it was under his body and then slammed my elbow into his gut.

"I'm not here to hurt you!" He cried, "I'm not here to hurt! Let me go!"

I released him and pushed him off the newspaper, "You shouldn't have come up behind me. Now go, I'm not in need of help."

"Listen, the manager of the store has called the police and they will be here any second. So, we kind of have to get out of here before they show up."

"I can kill them if they decide to attack me."

"I don't doubt it, but killing is really bad and will just make more show up. They're kind of like roaches, where there's one there's hundreds."

"Fine, what do you suggest?" I grabbed a newspaper and something called a RingDing.

"We le-" He stopped and slapped his forehead, "Too late."

"Hello, Miss? I think you should come down to the station with us." A person behind me spoke with authority. He made himself sound so important that a small giggle escaped my lips. I turned to see a small man with his hands on his hips. The only weapons seemed to be a large stick and a really small L-shape object.

"I'm really sorry officers." The man behind me stepped around to the front, "This is my mentally challenged sister an-"

"I am not your sister." I would not tolerate someone lying about me, "and what is mentally challenged? If I find out you're insulting me . . . "

The man looked like he'd just lost a fight, "You were not supposed to disagree."

"You lied, how is that disagreeing? I just told the truth."

The short man grabbed my arm, "Alright, your both coming with me!"

Elbow to face was my response. The man stumbled backwards, his hands holding his bleeding nose. I grabbed his right shoulder and spun him so he was facing the window of the shop. From there it only took a small kick to send him out the window.

"Holy Shit!" Two voices, the man that lied and the other "police" outside, who was eating a doughnut. The clumsy man dropped his doughnut in surprise as the short man flew out the window. Glass littered the ground and I heard some people scream behind me.

The man outside lifted up the L-shaped object and pointed it at me, he was shaking.

"Put your weap-" He noticed that I had no weapons and blinked a few times, "Come out with your hands up, both of you!"

Was raising the hands the new bow? I would never do that! I stepped out the window, one glance at the short man told me he was alive.

"Hands up! Now!" He was still pointing the object toward me.

The man who lied stepped down next to me, "You are a piece of work. I was trying to avoid something like this. Now please put your hands up before this only gets worse. You see what he's holding? It's a gun, it can kill you."

I knelt down and grabbed a small shard of glass, "Oh, it's a weapon." I flicked my wrist and a loud thwack was heard followed by a clattering noise as the gun fell to the ground.

"Oh, no." The man beside me put his hand over his face.

I slide up next to the police man as he reached for his gun. I grabbed his belt and lifted him in the air. A quick jab to the gut and he quickly went limp, "What? He was wielding a weapon. What was I supposed to do?"

I glared at the man as he reached for my arm, stopping him mid-grab.

"Lady, you need to follow me before more of them show up."

"You're very annoying with your demands."

"Yeah, I'm told that a lot. Now come on."

I followed him as he ran down the street and jumped a fence.

208: Delayed Heartache With A Dash Of Betrayal -Melissa-

A pain blossomed deep in my heart as I became self aware once again. I slowly felt my energy returning; building till it could reconstruct my body again. Heartache stung as memories I'd never had before came flooding back as though they'd always been there, hidden behind a thick veil of false assumptions and hidden connections.

Qaliphus couldn't be dead. The first connection I made as my mind formed itself again was that his name had never been evoked. A fairy could only be destroyed by having their name evoked at the time of their destruction. Something that had never happened that horrible moment several years ago when my heart was torn to pieces and I'd lost everything.

Now I had to endure the same painful horror as the few good years of my life were colored black with sinister deception. The love that I'd felt from him never was. The feelings of safety, those last few moments that we'd had before he'd put his plan into action.

As my eyes formed, so did the tears. They fell directly to the floor because my cheeks had yet to reform themselves. I remembered his face as I looked at him dead, but I also remember him pushing the child in front of the car maliciously. Two memories clashing for dominance in the battleground of my mind; one laced with betrayal and the other grief. He looked at me with a soldier's eyes and told me that I would only get in the way. He told me I wasn't a true fairy. His magic seared my memories away and replaced them with lies. I felt him melding my mind so I wouldn't go looking for answers, so I wouldn't realize the inconsistencies inside my own past.

I fell to my newly formed knees as the image of him brutally murdering that child, our friends, with a smile on his face. To him he was working for the rest of our kind and I was a liability. I told him that I was happy there. I told him that these humans were our new family and he realized that I wouldn't help him with his plans.

How long had he been planning it?

I stood and glanced back at my wings as they formed, stretching out from my back purple and ending with light blue tips. I was haunted all at once by the face of people I'd killed, because I thought it was the parents' fault that the child had died. My hand flew to my mouth when Carl came to mind.

I loved Carl like a son, but discarded him when he tried to tell me what I had neglected to see. I sought out a pliant slave, but what I'd needed was exactly what Carl had given me. Qaliphus' deception caused so many people so much pain, and now he was planning something much worse. We were the last fairies alive, so there was only one option. He needed to bring the rest of our kind back to life.

I gasped. More heartbreak. This had been his plan the entire time, since we were forced to come into this world from our own. We could have hidden. We could have stayed there and never bother with this place, but this was the home to one of the most powerful artifacts known to man. Excalibur.

A weapon forged for a king long since fallen. Filled with fairy power and able to unleash devastating magic, it was the only thing that had enough power to reform all the fairies we'd lost in battle. He knew it was here, and that's why we ran to this realm. He's still fighting the Gods and now he's going to bring all the fairies here, to a world filled with beings I'd come to love. This war would tear the realm to shreds.

Ben and Carl. I needed their help. I leaped into the air and looked around. I had reformed inches away from a blonde girl wearing a black and white hoodie, with ears staring at a small object that kept flashing images across the front. An I-pad, I believe.

"I was waiting for you to reform. It's been almost a week." I knew that voice and was taken by surprise.

"You're that blonde bitch!", I went to fly off, but then realized something, "Wait. You can help me."

Her eyes never left the screen, "With what?"

"We have to warn Ben. Qaliphus is bringing my kind here, he's going to restart the war."

She was silent for what seemed like forever. I stared at her face as the light from her I-pad flashed across her face.

"Well?", I asked after twenty minutes had past. "Am I on my own?"

"YES!" She jumped to her feet, a large smile on her face, "Finally reached level 15 and got the ring of +7 fire resist!"

I was so surprised I fell back on my ass, "Wh-what? Are you okay?"

She looked at me finally and I could see the anger in her eyes, "Fine. Let's go warn him, but we need to be fast. I only have about 2 more hours of battery and if this shuts off, I lose everything that I've gained in the last hour. Oh, and one more thing."

She was like a different person.

"What?"

"My name is Christina. Don't call me a Blonde Bitch or I'll cut your wings off."

Some things don't change I guess.

189: Common Threat, Common Goal, Uncommon Alliance -Carl-

I was yanked out of the worst nightmare of my life to find myself face to face with one of those horrible Abhorians. The look of surprise was evident on the Abhorian's face even with the deformed shape. It took a step back as I pulled myself to my feet.

In the middle of the room stood Ben and a translucent girl staring at a young boy with a triumphant look. The boy looked just as surprised as the Abhorian, but there was something else mixed with the surprise. I had seen the look before in other Gods that I'd fought. None of them expected me to triumph, and when I did a look of intense fear fell over them. That was on the boy's face right now.

The entire room was filled with noise as everyone who apparently had been sleeping woke up. Next to me Christina pulled herself to her feet, and nodded toward the people in the center of the room.

"The small boy is Bob, the God of Fear." She spoke with an edge to her voice, almost a hatred.

"Bob? He couldn't have chosen something more fitting?"

"What do you mean? Bob is his name.", she sounded confused.

"Couldn't have chosen something that instills more terro-"

"That's not important. Your friend there is in trouble. We have to get over there."

"We're surrounded by Abhorians."

"Yeah, but they aren't moving."

She was right. In fact they were moving away, back toward the door. Fear isn't what motivated them . . . it was almost as though they were being summon back to the door.

The young boy, Bob, noticed their movements, "Where are you going? Who said you could leave? I'm your master. I'm your boss."

They ignored him and kept walking, "STOP! I command it! Listen to me!"

One of the Abhorians turned around and stared at Bob, "You have failed me. You let mere humans get the upper hand and now your fate lies with them."

"You can't take them away from me. This isn't fair."

"Oh, Bob. Dear, stupid, childish Bob. Life isn't fair. Do you think it was fair when you killed the Teddy Bear and the Fairy in cold blood? Do you think it's fair that most of your victims couldn't fight back? Stop being such a coward and face what you've sewn.", the Abhorian turned and continued to walk away.

"MARDOCKT!", Bob cried as the last Abhorian disappeared into the door.

I didn't wait for anyone to speak, I spoke first, "VINCENT! VINCENT, YOU STUPID BEAR, SAY SOMETHING!"

I jumped over a few bodies and ran into the door room toward a tan clump on the floor, "VINCENT!"

Crystal ran up beside me and we both stared at the torn pieces of cloth, the remains of Vincent.

"Carl. Vincent's gone?"

I had never been more angry. Vincent was annoying and completely obnoxious, but he didn't deserve to die. I turned to look at Bob, who was still getting over the fact that he'd been abandoned and was now surrounded by a bunch of people who really didn't like him much.

"Get the children and civilians out of here.", I was shaking with anger as I walked over toward Bob.

Bob watched me with uncertainty hidden beneath a mask of confidence. I'd seen it before . . . many, many Gods looked at me the same way before I killed them. This one would be no different. I stared at his eyes with out averting my gaze or changing my expression. As I approached I watched his expression change and slowly the uncertainty overcame the confidence.

"Christina, watch as I show you proof as to how weak humans are. I'll kill this human . . . and then go to the res-"

"No you won't, Bob.", Christina spoke, "These humans . . . they aren't the same as they once were. I'm not sure what happened but they've grown to be stronger. That one walking up to you held his own against an Abhorian with no magic, or special abilities. He also survived a Sprite curse for many, many years. These people whom you have judged as weak and then hurt, are much much stronger than either of us would have expected. But, Bob?"

Now there was fear laced throughout his face, "What?"

She walked toward the front door of the museum and then turned, "Maybe you should have helped me when I was pleading for it in the war."

With that, she was gone.

"You Bitc-" His sentence never finished on account of my fist smashing into the side of his head.

187: Fear Of Ham -Christina-

"Well, I did not expect you to drop in."

"Bob?"

My dragon and I had crashed through several walls, and now stood in a large room with a pool of red liquid in the middle. The dragon had not survived the crash, but I got through with only a few bruises. Standing in the middle of the pool was Bob, waist deep in the fluid.

"Bob, what are you doing here?" I staggered to my feet, feeling exhaustion take hold.

"Did everyone seriously think that the Abhorians could unite together and start a war? They're barbarians; they don't have the intelligence to do anything like that."

I fell to my knees. The crash had hurt me more than I'd realized, "We have to get out of here, Bob. I need medical attention."

"No, that wouldn't be possible."

"What? I could die, Bob. Please, help me get out of here."

"The answer is no. Just die so I don't have to deal with your whining." Bob cupped his hands in the fluid and poured it over his head.

"Why? Why won't you help me? We're allies."

"Allies?", Bob scoffed, "You must have hit harder than it looked. I'm not your ally, I'm your enemy."

"That's impossible! Why?" I tried to stand again, only to fail.

"At the academy, I was weak. No one feared me, so my power never left the confines of my mind and when it did, the opponent always got the upper hand somehow. I tried everything and failed. I was given the lowest scores and put into the lower tier because I never showed my true potential."

"You left because you were weak?" I finally was able to get to my feet, but had to lean against the wall.

"I left because it wasn't fair. I pleaded with the teachers to give me a chance to use my powers to the fullest, but they never gave in. They told me that if my power did not activate than the fault was mine. I did not accept that, and I vowed to take my revenge."

"You're a filthy traitor, and a weakling." I was breathing heavily but slowly the pain in my head began to subside.

Bob laughed, "The system is flawed. The people with out abilities are executed when they reach nineteen, and the weakest of us are sent to the mines. There is no equality in the system, it's the strong survive and the weak are forgotten. I would gladly become a traitor to that."

"So, why the villages? Why the human settlements?" I had to keep him distracted till my head was clear enough for me to find a way out, or I was recovered enough to kill the bastard.

"I don't discriminate. Instead of allowing only the strong to survive, I'm just going to kill everything. First the Gods, then the human settlements, and finally the Sprites; none of them will survive."

"You're sick." My knees buckled and I almost fell to the floor again, "How are you controlling the Abhorians?"

"I'm the God of Fear, Christina. When I'm in the presence of these Abhorians, things change. My ability becomes supercharged. These creatures allow me to do things I'd never thought possible. I can show you, tell me . . . what do you fear most?"

Immediately, Mardockt surfaced in my thoughts. I felt goosebumps on my arms just thinking about what he'd become. Just Mardockt's eyes after the resurrection filled me with a dread I'd never knew could exist.

"That's very unusual. Why would you fear him? Why Mardockt? Isn't he dead?" His eyes widened, "Mardockt isn't dead, is he? Something else happened that forced him to be exiled. I wonder if he left for the same reason I did?"

"Bob, don't." My voice had no strength.

"Well, no matter, I'll take care of that later. Right now, I'm going to help you with your fear. Once I do that then maybe I can convince you to join me. With your strength, maybe I wouldn't have to worry about losing this war."

"I'll never join you, Bob. I'd sooner kill myself than become a murderer."

"You're already becoming a murderer! Once you earn some say on council matters, then you'll do the same things they do. They train us for this our entire lives, Christina. They make us in to them and then we make the next generation in to us." Bob's face had gone red with anger.

"This isn't the right way, Bob. This is wrong, can't you feel that?" My headache was nearly gone but my knees still shook beneath my weight.

Bob waved his hand toward me, "Maybe you'll think differently when you're not controlled by your fear."

A new headache erupted and I fell to the ground. The stone against my cheek only served to make the headache worse.

"The pain won't last long, Christina. You'll be better than fine. You'll be powerful, unstoppable. Nothing will - Oof!"

I looked through my pain-filled eyes to see Patrick standing where Bob had been. Bob was pulling himself to his feet and sneering at Patrick, "You shouldn't interrupt while I'm inside your friend's head, anything could go wrong if I make a mistake. You wouldn't want her to be a vegetable, would you?"

The pain in my head grew to a new intensity, and I could swear my head was splitting open. I opened my mouth to breathe but only screams escaped.

"All this time you've wanted to fight me Bob, and now that you have the chance you're hiding behind a hostage." Patrick tried to remain calm. If he didn't than he would use too much force. Patrick's power was related to his emotions, though I wasn't sure exactly how. If he got too angry this would get very messy and he'd have to explain to the council why he didn't bring the target back alive.

Bob took the bait and ran toward Patrick. He didn't release his hold, and I could feel him shifting things around in my head. The increasing pain of the headache made sweat drip from my forehead to the floor. It paralyzed me completely while I watched.

It was over in seconds, as I knew it would be. The pain subsided quickly as Bob fell to the ground unconscious. For some reason I already knew what had happened; Bob never finished removing my fear and because of this, I would never see ham the same way again.

Exhaustion, pain, and trauma from the ordeal took its toll and I fell to sleep.

I woke up back in the museum looking into the eyes of an Abhorian as he raised his fist to smash my face in.

Flashback Entry 184: Always Second Place -Bob-

My face hit the dirt so hard I was seeing stars. I rolled to my feet and caught the foot heading for my face. The pain stung my hands as I brought my foot up to connect with her chest. She stepped back and brushed herself off, her eyes finding me again. Well, that's not exactly true, she couldn't see me with her eyes closed but it sure felt like she could.

This was completely embarrassing. I had come here to finally prove that I'm worth Patrick's time only to get stuck fighting one of his lackeys; the weakest lackey no less. It was infuriating, to be completely outmatched by the weakest link when all I'd wanted to do was put Patrick in his place.

I sidestepped her swing only to have her elbow play patty-cake with my face. A pain in my gut was the only evidence that her knee had been there for a half-second. I jumped back to avoid a kick that would have turned my arm into jello. She was unrelenting with her assault, seeing my movements before I made them and acting with out sight.

I glanced to the sidelines to our teachers, whom were watching with interest. They wanted to see which one came out on top so they could give top tier to the ones that deserved it. The students around them, including Patrick, also watched but they saw more than the teachers. The teachers were looking simply for the potential. All they wanted to do was find the best and promote them; increase their strength and reach in the Other Lands.

The Students were like vultures. I was the underdog, who had no hope against Patrick, but they watched because if I succeeded, then the rumors of Patrick's invulnerability would be destroyed. If I failed, I would be the laughing stock of the entire class for years to come.

So if I'm beaten by his weakest of friends than that just makes it worse. I didn't want it to be worse. I wouldn't be able to stand the horror of all those people laughing at me. I turned back to Christina's fist as she took advantage of my distraction. An attempted duck had her knee teaching my chin a physics lesson, and my sight blurring over as I tasted blood on my lips.

Was this how it was supposed to be? Was I always supposed to take second place? Would I ever get to fight Patrick? I wouldn't let that happen. My hand slipped into the waistband of my pants, pulling out the small knife I'd stored there. I saw a brow on Patrick's face raise as he noticed what I held. The teachers wouldn't stop the fight until a clear winner was shown, so anything was allowed and Patrick could do nothing.

I knew that she hadn't had her knife training yet, so she was at a disadvantage. I saw her leg swing up and brought out my blade to intercept. I heard her cry out as it cut her deeply. This time she fell back to get away from my blade flitting back and forth, inches from her face. I could see desperation in her face, along with a twinge of something else; something I had craved from the beginning.

Fear.

Fear was my ability. Manipulation, manifestation, and projection of fear as long as it was present. Until now she had been fearless, but my knife had taught her humility and forced her to fear me. I felt drunk with power as I soaked in her fear. I felt the laughter bubble up and opened my mouth to reveal it to the world.

The sound that came out was a scream of pain. My groin felt like it had exploded into flames and Christina stood up, her boot smacking my weapon away. A loud, "Ooohh!", could be heard all around me; everyone watching shared my pain as I fell to my knees. I felt my chin bone turn to mush when the tip of her other boot slammed into it with a force I'd yet to ever feel. I sat there as the world slowed down, watching her spin slowly to use other body parts to teach me more about pain.

The laughter would start soon. I was beaten, completely destroyed by someone who had been considered weak. Even after I had my power backing me up, she still thought her way through the battle enough to redefine pain.

Why? Patrick was always a step ahead, always above the rest and making even the teachers worry. Staying with a tight group of friends who were considered the elite, and never wanting anyone else to sit on his throne of conceit.

I woke up a few hours later on a bed in the infirmary. Patrick was sitting on a chair watching me.

"Oh, good. You're okay." He smiled that high and mighty smile, "I was worried that you wouldn't wake up."

"Came here to gloat? I lost, you don't have to rub it in."

"No. I actually came here to warn you, because I used to think that you were the type to always play fair." Patrick leaned in close, his face angry, "The next time you bring a knife into a fair fight, I'm going to give her one too. Understand? You think that she was dangerous with just her hands and feet? Wait until she introduces your insides to the floor."

There was no fear in him. None. He wasn't lying, and there was no ego on his face. The silence lasted for minutes as he stared at me.

"I didn't go there to fight her." My voice was barely audible and the pain in my chin was slowly becoming more evident, as if reminding me of the lesson I'd learned, "I went to fight you."

He stood and walked to the door, "If you can't beat her, than you won't last three minutes with me." With that, he left.

Three weeks later, he was removed from the academy and sentenced to janitor duty.

181: Wake Up -Alice-

The world around me came into focus and I found myself staring off the edge of a massive cliff. An old man lay dead to my right, a look of complete agony permanently planted on his face. The sound of begging behind me made me turn to see Ben fighting against invisible bonds as he attempted to reach the three people locked in battle nearby.

Three children just a bit younger than me fought; a blonde, what looked to be a younger Patrick, and a black-haired one with an uncanny resemblance to Ben. It was Patrick and the blonde versus the one with black hair, but even at two against one the black haired boy didn't look like he was losing.


I glanced at Ben and I could see the suffering in his eyes as he fought to get to them. I didn't care about his suffering, I just wanted to know where I was and how I got here. Things were happening too fast and it was overwhelming me.

"You'll be okay, Alice." A kind-looking middle aged man walked over to me from the left near Ben. I hadn't noticed him before, but the amount of new people I'd met in the last hour was getting ridiculous.

"Who are you?", I spoke as though his arrival was nothing new. It might have been rude but being thrown all over the place was getting tiresome.


"Gilfred Odephius Doorstop." He smiled and slowly I began to feel a bit better, "You can think of me as . . . a needed push, or a hint."


"I don't need a push. I need a time machine." I turned to look at Ben again, but this time his face of suffering actually hit home and I felt tears in my eyes, "Where are we?"

"We're in Ben's worst memory. A time when he was imprisoned and unable to help the people he cared about most."


"Why are we here?"


"Because the ignorant retard that put everyone into their worst feared memory didn't realize what he was doing." He turned to me and smiled, "Lucky for us, huh?"


"What am I supposed to do here?"


"There's nothing you can do. Your part comes later, after this is done. Now you should watch and remember this time always.", he walked over to the black haired boy that was dominating the battle so far. "Alice, I have to go. I can't be in two places at the same time."

With that he pulled a spear from behind him and stabbed it through black-hair's chest. The world twisted and spun as both me and Ben were yanked into the sky. The clouds surrounded us making it impossible to see each other.


"Ben?!"

I felt my feet touch ground and I found myself standing at the top of a staircase. Ben was no where to be seen. The smell that came from the bottom of the stairs made my skin crawl. My skin? I looked down at myself to find that I'd aged quite a bit. I looked to be eighteen, but that wasn't the most disturbing thing.

I was alive.

180: Meeting Bob -Alice-

I had heard enough ghost stories to know that I didn't have to open the door, so getting out of the room was simple. Going through the door felt like I was going through a layer of water except I could breathe. I felt my hair stand on end when I reached the other side, because of a small static reaction between me and the door.

The silence was the first thing I noticed as I entered the large lobby of the museum. The only sounds were that of the large, shambling creatures moving toward a door on the opposite end of the lobby from the entrance. On the floor a few feet away lay the guy who killed me and the lady that was with him, their eyes closed.

What was going on here? What were those things? I should have been terrified, but already being dead meant that there wasn't much to be afraid of. Their long, spindly fingers moved rhythmically as they stepped around the bodies of the presumably sleeping people. The doors of the room they were heading into had been ripped off its hinges and inside I saw a massive archway of stone. Inside the archway an eerie, white glow shined brightly, and each one of the massive creatures knelt in front of it and bowed what could only be assumed as their heads.

I glanced back at Ben. I didn't care about the creatures, I only cared about making Ben pay for killing me. I reached out to touch his face, but as a ghost my attempt failed. How would I go about exacting my revenge if I'm not able to touch him? I glanced at the creatures again and back at Ben.

"What am I supposed to do!?", I swung my hand to slap him but it was a failure, "Why?! You could have let me live! You had a choice!"

The light from the door faded and inside the archway stood a very young boy. His hair a pale red and his body nude, he strode toward the creatures and laughed.

"Good. Now, we must find it. The anomaly is in the area so we're going to go through and kill every person here before we go any further with our plans. I want to see this place full of ghosts, just like that one.", he pointed at me.

Before I had thought that being dead meant there wasn't anything to fear, but something about the way he looked at me made me uncomfortable. I could feel the fear in me rising.

"You." He was still looking at me, "Come here."

I didn't move. I kept staring at him.

"I said-", his voice had an unreal calm, "come here."

Just earlier today I had been a normal teenager and now I was dead, looking at a young child who could command creatures of the like I'd never seen. I was so scared that I found my self wishing that people were trying to throw gum in my hair on the bus ride back to school. I took a shaky step forward.

"Do speed up." He glanced at a small faerie-like creature lying on the floor near his foot, "I don't have all day."

He lifted his foot and smashed it on the small being with such force that I could hear the floor beneath it crack. He swiveled his foot as though he were squashing a bug, and as I approached I saw pieces of wing and flesh smear along the ground.

"All of you!", he glanced at the room full of unimaginable beasts. "Kill everything. I want a room full of ghosts and one of them must be of the anomalies."

All around me the monsters slowly stood as they made their way out of the room, two of them dragging the bodies of a blonde girl and a tough looking guy. I could see them breathing, so they weren't dead yet.

"They're not sleeping." I turned to look at the boy as he spoke, "You could even say they aren't here. I've transported them to the time or place they feared most or will soon fear. See, I don't like to kill something that knows they're dying. Just doesn't sit right with me."

"Who are you, and what's going on?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Bob, and I presume you were planted here by Patrick, yes? Of course, you had to be, he is what he is after all."

"I'm Alice, and I don't work for anyone." I tried to sound tough, but all my legs wanted to do was run, and fast. In the other room I could hear sounds similar to that of a watermelon being smashed and even though I tried not to think about it, I could picture what was going on in the other room.

Bob lifted his foot and picked the rest of the creature he'd killed off his foot, "Everyone works for Patrick. What does he think a ghost can do? No matter. We've won and the only thing he could do to stop us is come here himself."

"He was here." I saw Bob stop and I felt my fear subside when I saw it form on his face, "He left."

The fear on his face turned to anger, "He thinks he's so mighty! I'M THE GOD OF FEAR! HE'S A JANITOR! How can he just toss me aside and pretend that I'm NOTHING?! He left a ghost to stop me!", he leaned toward me and his face got even more angry, "HE LEFT A NEW GHOST TO STOP ME!"

He grabbed a teddy bear off the floor and tore it in half, "WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS?! AFTER WE'RE DONE HERE, WE'LL KILL HIM! And you . . . ", he tossed the pieces of the bear aside and looked at me, "There is only one way to get rid of you." He snapped his fingers.

The world around me disappeared.

176: Abhorian War -Christina-

Ahead I watched a lone human trying to fight against a beast that was once known to level cities in a single night. The Abhorians had been known for their swift and unrelenting attacks on human settlements in the Other Lands.

If you had told me that in a few thousand years, that I'd be seeing a human dodge an Abhorian's attacks, I'd have thought you were mad. Humans had changed since I'd slept. They'd grown stronger and gained more fighting prowess in such a short time. The rest of my kind was dead, but I wasn't sure that humans needed our protection anymore.

I shook my head. No, I was wrong. Humans would always need my kind. Carl was fighting well, but losing fast. I'd severed the hold Melissa had on him and it wasn't helping. I grabbed my weapon off the floor and ran forward.

The world exploded. Intense white light flowed from the door stopping everyone in their tracks, except the Abhorian whose arm caught Carl in the side. Carl was lifted from the ground and the force of the hit sent him flying in to the wall. He wouldn't be getting up from that, not with out a miracle.

I turned to protect Carl from the Abhorian, but the world faded as the Abhorian shambled toward his limp body. The bright white faded to blackness, and then the world around me came in to focus.

I was standing atop the scaly back of a jet black dragon flying high above the battle happening below. Below me, my people were storming the last standing Abhorian stronghold, but had been ambushed from behind by some Elite Abhorian Vanguards. I swooped down, raining fire on their back lines and picking off a few heads if I was close enough.

By the looks of it the Abhorians were going to win this battle, several of our own elite had fallen under the ever growing fear our enemies caused in living beings. I knelt down on my trusted dragon's back as we flew low over the battlefield, dodging attacks and knocking the legs out from under the taller Abhorians, so they could easily be killed by our ground troops.

The tallest Abhorian I've ever seen was the size of a small mountain, and the smallest the size of a young child. Abhorian elites stood at about two times the size of a normal human and could move faster than most signed Gods, so when one jumped on to the back of my dragon I didn't hesitate. A step back and a simple flip over my shoulder gave my dragon a mid-battle snack. I urged my steed in to the skies again to survey the battle. That was when I saw them, a new type of Abhorian.

They could fly, and very fast. They were on me in minutes and I spun in an attempt to shake them off but they held tight. I swung a foot out and made one lose their grip by inserting my foot in to their gut. I heard the dragon scream as we lost control, plummeting to the tall Abhorian building.

To my surprise the Abhorians held on and flapped to force us to fall at a faster speed. I saw the building getting closer and shut my eyes as the Abhorians finally let us go. My dragon and I smashed in to that wall and darkness surrounded me again.

171: KEEEYAH!! -Christina-

She was fast. Melissa's movement didn't even register until the bolt of sprite magic smashed into my bleeding chest. New pain surged down my arm as the cackling of magic signified her next attack was on its way. I rolled to the side trying to ignore the growing pain as her magic made my wound feel worse than ever.

"What the fuck?!", Carl yelled as the bolt of energy knocked his blade from his hand. It clattered across the floor to the other side of his huge opponent. The Abhorian laughed.

This was bad. Carl would soon fall to the Abhorian without any help and I was stuck dodging this picky flea's bites. Another bolt slammed into the floor next to me.

"Pay attention to me, not that stupid human. This is between you and me, the last of our kinds!" Melissa's magic flowed around her at an increasing rate as she powered the next attack, "Kill me angel!", she released the magic in my direction.

"My pleasure!" I spun my blade around above my head and slammed it on the approaching energy, causing it to split and fly in two different directions; one just barely missing Carl and the other harmlessly hitting the wall.

"Could you maybe not try to kill me?" Carl gasped as he dodged the Abhorian.

Ignoring his cries, I closed the distance between me and Melissa. I brought my blade around only to have it shocked from my hand by a light blast of magic. Melissa spun and swung her foot forward, catching me under my chin with a concentrated magic force.

I fell back and my vision blurred slightly. The pain from the stab and the sprite magic were making things more difficult than they all ready were. Melissa became a flurry of energy as she connected with seven more heavy hits to my face. The combination of pain and her magic made it difficult to move.

"You see, angel? We were supposed to survive. You would have all fallen to us because you're weak. A worthless creation with no redeeming features." She emphasized her point with more fairy magic, "You just sit there while I slap your life away. Like a good dog."

"KEEEYAH!!" The bear known as Vincent came out of nowhere, tackling Melissa to the floor. Melissa shot blast after blast of sprite magic, but without any life the bear was unaffected. The bear grabbed her face and rammed his knee into her stomach. I could see pain in Melissa's face though I knew the bear to be very soft. I stood to give him support but he turned and growled.

"While you were over here having a squabble with this Barbie, Carl has been fighting for his life! He may be a pain in the ass but if he dies, I'll kill you. Go help him!"

It'd never occurred to me that something so small could be so scary.

170: Sever The Connection -Christina-

With inhuman reflexes, Carl leaped to the left as the Abhorian's massive hand smashed the floor where he'd been. Carl spun swiftly while bringing his blade down, catching some Abhorian fingers beneath its sharpness. With a roar the Abhorian pulled back and swiped it's other arm toward Carl.

Carl moved like nothing human I could remember. He ducked beneath the Abhorian's arm and swung the blade toward the Abhorian's middle. The sword came so close that the Abhorian reacted as though he'd been hit.

Something was wrong here. Humans don't move like that, not without help, and there was only one other being here capable of giving that kind of help. I closed my eyes and saw the line of power flowing from Carl to somewhere behind me. The sprite.

Everything happened at once. The Abhorian drew his arm back for a hit that would knock any human silly. I grabbed my blade and severed the connection between the sprite and Carl, and turned to face Melissa. The Abhorian swung his arm forward and without the sprite's cursed power Carl couldn't get out of the way.

"What?! Are you trying to kill him?!", Melissa seemed more mad at the fact that her connection was gone than the fact that Carl's life was now in danger.

"Quit the lies, you rotten sprite. You have some kind of plan for this human. Your kind always used humans against their will.", I pointed my blade at her.

Behind me I could hear Carl's grunts as he did his best to avoid the Abhorian. His exhaustion was very evident on his voice. If he could survive long enough for me to dispatch this Sprite, then I could help.

Melissa gave a smile coated with evil sweetness, "You angels and your stupid, honorable natures. Can't watch your precious humans die, can you? You have to get involved. Well, you're the last of your kind, deary. They've all died. It's sad . . . "

Melissa sparked a purplish blue, giving her an even more sinister appearance, "It's sad that today the last of the angels fall!"

Then she attacked.

168: Abhorian -Carl-

I'd never in my life seen anything like what had come through the door. In my time I'd faced against giant crabs, the ghost of a doll, and a swarm of zombie children, but I'd never seen something like this.

As the smoke from the remains of the door faded, I found myself looking at a very tall, shadowy creature. It stood on two partially bent legs and had massive arms, with fingers as long as I am tall. The more I stared at it the more frightful I became of it.

"An Abhorian?", Melissa hissed as she pointed at Christina, "Can't your kind ever kill something dead?"

"This is different.", I could hear the surprise in Christina's voice as she stuttered, "I thought we had."

I didn't take my eyes off the creature that stood in the doorway studying us silently.

"I hate to interrupt your obvious surprise, but I don't know what this thing is."

"An Abhorian is a lower beast that feeds on fear. It's commo-"

"Oh, shut up!", Melissa interrupted Christina, "It's the monster in the closet, under the bed, in the dark, et cetera. The more you look at it, the more it fills you with fear. They don't usually become strong enough to be physical. I guess the door is doing something to it."

Christina gave Melissa a dirty look and then slid Andrew's sword over to me, "Just, don't look at it and you'll be fine."

The beast let out a roar and charged.

167: CRUNCH -Christina-

I swiftly jumped out of the way to avoid his attack. His blade smashed into the floor where I'd been standing. I recognized the workmanship of the blade as something from the Other Lands. That's why it'd cut so deep.

I felt blood trickle down my chin as I tried to remember my training from so long ago.

"Never defend with defense.", the words of my instructor came to me easier than I'd imagined, "The worst thing you could do if injured is act like it."

I approached him from the side, the pain in my chest making it difficult to breathe. I swung my fist only to find it easily deflected. He retaliated by a side swing with the blade that, if I hadn't ducked, would have cleanly taken my head off.

I grabbed his sword arm and my knee found his groin with sickeningly sweet crunch, causing an soundless scream of pain to escape his lips. He fell to the ground and I snatched up his weapon. I raised it above my head to deal the final blow closing my eyes to avoid the sight of blood.

What I saw stopped me cold. Something I hadn't seen in years was wriggling around his body like vines on stone. Mardockt's tendrils.

"What are you doing?! Just swing down and end it!" It was that annoying bear.

I tossed the sword to the side and knelt to take a closer look. I wasn't mistaken, these were Mardockt's.

"Are you insane?! He's going to kill us all because of your stupid mercy!"

"I have no mercy." I glanced at the bear, "If I kill him he'll just come back. We need to tie him up. Do you have rope?"

"DO I LOOK LIKE I HAVE ROPE YOU CRAZY-"

"Shut up and find her rope you stupid bear." The man who had defended me earlier was awake. He stood and walked over to me, "My name's Carl, that retard is Vincent. I get the feeling we aren't enemies, so I want you to tell me what's going on."

"FINE! I'll just go find rope then!", the bear wandered off.

I stood and looked at Carl, and the door, and finally the fairy, "How are you alive? I thought we'd killed you all."

She stuck her tongue at me and turned away.

"My name's Christina. Why is the door in close proximity of humans?"

Carl opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the bear known as Vincent rushing into the room, carrying a bundle of rope over his shoulder.

"Guys? We have a problem. Something seriously weird is going on. There are all sorts of nastiness in this place."

"We'll take care of them in a second." Carl waved his hand.

"No, I mean, one of the bigger ones followed me."

And that's when the door behind him exploded.

166: Other Land Survivor -Christina-

I shook my head as a voice from my past faded into nothing. The world was so different now, something new; where humans could stand against Gods in one on one battle and survive.

The door had spit out another creature from the Other Lands, but I was surprised when I found it to be a human male. Since when did humans gain control of the outer realms? The guy I was fighting before moved to attack this man from the door, who easily side kicked the attacker to the side.

"Pathetic. I've seen rodents make better attacks." He laughed.

My mind raced, remembering what me and Patrick had been looking for before he locked me away. I remember what we'd found out.

"Christina! We have to find these anomalies, one of them could be his!" Patrick's voice echoed through my mind.

Soon that voice was replaced with horror and disgust as we found out the truth, "Oh God Christina . . . we have to stop him. We have to find the anomaly before he does, everything depends on us."

This person in front of me now had come from the Other Lands, just like the anomaly would have. He's fearless, just like what is predicted from the anomaly, but something was off. There was no good coming from him. What had happened while I was sleeping?

As he stepped away from the door I realized that I was in a room full of anomalies: A fairy that survived the great war, a walking toy, a man with enough strength to stand against a God, and me, a God with the ability to see things others could not. What had Patrick done while I was sleeping?

The man turned toward me, "You. Are you planning on attacking me too? A wee little girl like you should just stay back and watch me work."

Ah, rage. It washes away thought and rationality and replaces it with raw power, the kind of power I now used to bash this man's disrespectful mouth in.

My fist collided with his face and I felt bones break. His face resembled a crushed grape as he fell, and I closed my eyes so I didn't see blood. A sudden pain in my side opened my eyes, revealing a light from behind me slowly fading away and the man's body disintegrating. Looking down I saw a sword sticking out of my chest.

"So, you've got moves," somehow the man was back from the dead again, "but you can still die. Now just lie still like a good dog while you bleed out."

I grunted as I pulled away, yanking the sword from my body. Breathing heavy I spun around to deliver a kick to his stomach. He stepped back to avoid it.

"Surprised I'm alive? As long as this door exists, I'll just keep coming back. Do you know why?" He sneered.

"Why?" I was bleeding out, this wasn't good.

"Someone up here fears me." He attacked.

The world sure has changed.

Entry 161: Voices Of The Dead Revived -Carl-

"You're a worthless son. Come over here so I can kick your genes straight!"

My Father’s voice caught me by surprise. I faltered with my attack and was knocked to the ground by a lucky piece of ham. I rolled away from an attack and glanced around quickly. He wasn't here.

"Sometimes, you just make me want to kill myself rather than deal with the shame of having you as a son."

I shook my head. Why was I remembering this now? It sounded like he was in the room, his voice even echoed off the walls. Melissa's ear moved slightly and she glanced around.

"Qaliphus? Qaliphus, I didn't mean it!", she flitted around the room, a look of confusion on her face, "I wouldn't have ever found someone else! You are my only true partner forever!"

Even the hams had stopped fighting. They stepped back, eventually fading in to the darkness again. My body was exhausted from fighting the constant onslaught of those unusual creatures. Melissa's wails for forgiveness flooded the room as she cried out for a person only she could hear. Light flooded the room as the symbols along the door lit up one by one.

"You think you're tough? If you were tough then you'd know where your brother was. If you were strong you wouldn't be tired from fighting. Worthless. Shit on the bottom of my shoe. I should have punched your Mom while you were growing inside!"

My Father’s words hit me like a punch, pulling what little energy I had left away from me. I fell to my knee as the door glowed brighter.

"Qaliphus . . . you are wrong. The parents; those horrible, horrible parents!", Melissa flew straight in to a wall in her dismay.

Christina pulled her self to her feet and by the look in her eyes I could tell she was trying to ignore a voice. The influence of that voice made it difficult for her to stand. She leaned against one of the exhibits, her breath heavy and her eyes brimming with tears.

"Can't protect anyone! Even your brother left!"

“Qaliphus . . . no . . . ", Melissa cried weakly, "I didn't tell them. It wasn't me. I'm yours for always."

The only person not affected was Vincent. He was dropped by the ham as they left and now was watching us as we reacted to something he could neither hear or see.

"I'm sorry!!!!", Christina yelled at the top of her lungs and then fell to the ground in a heap of tears, "I couldn't stop it! I tried. I didn't climb fast enough!"

"Vincent, your friends . . . they seem to be in pain. Could something be bothering them?"

The light from the door faded and standing only a few feet away was Andrew.

Flashback Entry 157: Janitors -Christina-

"You'd be surprised at how frail you actually are. Your kind sits above everything, looking down at all the humans below as if you're better."

Mardockt knelt and grabbed some grass. He twirled it in his fingers and its green turned to brown as the plant died instantly.

"You aren't though. You can die just like any other mortal, it just takes a little more force. You call yourselves Gods! You cannot even FATHOM what a God really is!"

Patrick stood up, "Christina, you tell me what you see. I'll be the sword and you be the mind."

We'd done this before in the past to fend off wild animals. This wasn't the same. This was us fighting for our lives against something we didn't understand. Maybe the adults felt it. Maybe they were headed here to help us right now. The Highest Tier would know what to do.

"Christina! Concentrate!", Patrick ran forward.

Mardockt stood and continued walking as Patrick closed in. The dark tentacle flew from Mardockt again.

"Left!"

Patrick veered left, straight in to Mardockt's waiting arm. Patrick's feet left the ground and he flipped in the air behind Mardockt. I could hear the pain as Patrick pulled himself to his feet again.

"This is fun. I haven't done this in years! A few thousand years of imprisonment makes this more enjoyable than it normally would be. Come on, don't give up. I want this to last!", Mardockt's eyes had a lust that made me shiver.

At my cues Patrick dived left and right to avoid the tendrils of death as they swung out to do their horrible job. Mardockt didn't move, nor did he stop staring at me. Even though his eyes watched me, it was all I could do to keep Patrick from being hit.

"You're interesting. You can see things you shouldn't. Skills like that are reserved for certain humans, not your kind."

Mardockt smiled evilly and then a tendril shot out toward me. I rolled to the side to avoid it but it kept coming. I jumped to my feet and ran.

"Christina! Where are they?!?!", Patrick was still, looking left and right as though he'd be able to see what I could.

"Left!" I jumped to the side to avoid the tendril that was after me.

I heard a thump and Patrick’s groan of pain. Glancing back I saw Mardockt standing over him staring at his face. The tendrils had faded to nothing.

"See, you were doing so well and just one mistake is the end. I'd tell you to learn from your mistakes, but I have the feeling that you don't have time. You should have left your young friend up here and ran."

"You talk too much." Patrick glared at Mardockt with a resolve I hadn't seen in a long time. He swung his feet up, spinning his body to get momentum. A loud crack was heard as Patrick's foot made Mardockt's neck collapse.

Mardockt stepped back, his neck inflating as a laugh escaped, "Such disrespect. I'll show yo-"

A spear suddenly appeared through Mardockt's chest. A light emanated from it, surrounding him. From his feet the sacred Circle of Ghat formed. Patrick jumped back away from the circle. Hundreds of smaller circles burned in to Mardockt's skin, causing him to scream with pain.

A massive white tentacle erupted from the clouds above and stabbed in to Mardockt. Judging by Patrick's reactions, he couldn't see it like I could. He couldn't see the radiating white aura that stretched across the sky.

"AGAIN?!? You think I can be contained the same way twice?!? I'll be back, sooner this time and when I am, I'll wipe your miserable race off the Earth. Arrrgh! No matter how long you live, no matter how much you forget, I will always be in the back of your heads; and when all the Highest Tier have died I will come back. Who will stop me then?!?"

With those last words Mardockt vanished. As the skies cleared several adults floated to the ground. I recognized half of them as people on the Highest Tier.

"We can not kill the children, but they must learn a lesson. They must stay away from areas that are restricted."

"We didn-" Patrick pleaded.

"Shush child!"

Patrick fell silent.

"You will forevermore be unsigned. Never will you have a chance to sit with the Highest Tier, and all your jobs shall be janitorial."

All of my goals dissolved in front of me as my future was stripped away.

Flashback Entry 156: It's From Before I Was Born -Christina-

Mardockt's eyes never left mine as he walked over to the fallen body of the old man. As I watched, a bright red glow slipped from the old man and in to Mardockt. He took a deep breath and kicked the man.

"Fools; all of you."

He turned to me and smiled, his once friendly face wearing a new shade of emotion. Hatred.

"Do you know what they did? What they did to me all those years ago?"

"Mardockt, what have you done? They'll take away our futures for what you did."

In a second he was next to me, his hand leaving a bruise on my cheek. He grabbed my shirt and lifted me up till my feet no longer touched the ground.

"I-", His voice of calm evil etched in to me, "I asked you a question."

New feelings enveloped me as I stared at my old friend’s face; desperation, hopelessness, and fear. I'd never felt anything like them before now. It was as if they were emanating from Mardockt. It took all of my little resolve just to speak again.

"What did they do, Mardockt?"

"They put me in the dark alone. That ever-lasting nothing that you go to when you die. There I sat crying to no one, because I would never be heard. Do you know the feeling? I forgot that I even had a body. I forgot my parents. I forgot my friends. I forgot my life."

"Who are you?"

"I don't remember my name. They took that away from me too! You took it all!", He threw me to the ground.

"I never did that!"

He turned and looked over the cliff, "Your friend is coming back. He's resilient." The following laugh was murderous.

"His name is Patrick. He won't know that you aren't our friend."

Patrick leaped up and looked around, "Christina! Mardockt!"

He ran over and as he did, I saw the pieces slowly fall in to place in his mind. The dead man, the bruise on my face, and Mardockt's smile, all collided in to confusion.

"What's going on?", he stopped moving toward us.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho . . .", Mardockt pointed at Patrick and I watched as a strand of something only I could see flowed toward Patrick.

I slammed my body in to Mardockt's side, interrupting his attack. He turned and grabbed my hair. Patrick started to run forward, but I felt my body collide with his as I was thrown.

"Violence. I love violence. I invented it. I've had blood on my hands since I was born. I am a God among Gods, and unfathomable among men. I can't be stopped, only contained. I am the original darkness, the first monster beneath your bed and I will destroy all of your kind for what you did to me!"

Patrick and I untangled ourselves from each other and stared as he slowly walked over. Our friend was gone and replaced by something else.

Even Patrick looked scared.

Flashback Entry 155: Mardockt -Christina-

"Christina! Stop being a baby!", Mardockt was all ready halfway up the cliff face.

"I'm not a baby!", I was only a quarter of the way up and advancing slowly.

Patrick quickly scrambled past, catching up and passing Mardockt easily. Patrick had always been the most physically fit of all the unsigned Gods. He was known for his resistance to physical harm. I once saw him swim in a pool of lava with out clothes on, and that's something that some signed Gods couldn't even do.

I was never so lucky with my skill. I always tried to match Patrick's strength, but he was always just above me. How ever, my special trait put us on equal ground and made our battles last for hours.

I was born with sight. I had amazing vision normally, three times more powerful than a normal human’s, but I also could see things unseen. The entire ability was new and unknown even to the Highest Tier.

Mardockt was one of the special ones born with a trait that wouldn't manifest until a specific trigger activated it. Unlucky for Mardockt, the trigger was his death. It was unknown what would happen, but it has been speculated that he was the embodiment of the apocalypse. It was said that his death would clear the planet of mortals and allow the Higher Tier to create a new mortal race.

Climbing this cliff had been Mardockt's idea. At the top was supposed to be the origin of all God-types, and it was forbidden to go all the way to the top. Being children; we completely ignored that rule.

I wish we hadn't.

I was ten feet from the top when I saw Patrick fly over the edge with a flash of light close behind. The light hit him in mid-air and he dropped to the ground far below.

"Patrick!" I'd never seen him lose consciousness, but as I watched him fall, I saw his eyes close. The sight of the toughest of the three of us falling unconscious scared me more then anything I'd ever seen. I scrambled up the last few feet and was met with a sight I'd never thought possible.

Mardockt’s body lay only a few feet away in a puddle of his blood. I'd never seen any of our kind bleed like that in the ten years I'd been alive. I could see the life force slip from him and dissipate in to the air.

"Mardockt!", I ran over to him as the last of his life force faded.

I leaped out of the way as a bolt of light hit the ground where Mardockt lay, knocking me and him to the side. I turned to see an old man standing a few feet away, his hands developing another blast of light. Just as he prepared to fire, a pulse erupted from Mardockt's body.

I watched as Mardockt pulled himself to his feet, and knew that he was not the same. He was one of my closest friends and used to be very kind. Now he was something darker, something scary. He pointed at the old man, who fell dead immediately.

Mardockt laughed lightly and then smiled at me.

What had just happened?