The Intense Clash Of The Gods, Downright epic, that's all I have to say Options

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: It borrows a lot of elements/characters, etc. from Saint Seiya... the BEST MAGIC WARRIOR SERIES EVER, along with the Phoenix Wright series, Samurai Showdown, The Last Blade, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Fist of the North Star, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Rave Master, and many, many others. Heck, there's even a slight reference to Winx in the fifth story arc of this and also much more in the third story arc of the prequel. I've got the first 82/3 chapters done... but I'm only going to be uploading the first three story arcs here tonight. If I get enough feedback, I'll continue. Additionally, if anybody requests images so better get a grasp of the appearance of the characters.

Oh, one more thing. Each story arc starts and ends with a song, most of them J-Pop songs with some artistic liberties with the lyrics.

Every soul is gathering to the point�
The final battle, of man and god.
Search, and find your single truth,
In the dark void you were afraid to face...

Follow the road that you yourself choose
But stand up and fight for it,
Wearing the armor of myth.

Make your way out of despair!
Howl to the sky and stars!
You never know, just how
Much one man can do!

Show your passion to the world!
Show them all the hungry wolf,
Stand firm, brave warrior Fenrir!

"Ice vs. Seas" start
Asgard! Discovery of the last Volsung!

The wind and snow buffeted the palace, and even the midday sun was all but blotted out by the storm.

Yet those of Asgard did not mind, for the great palace of Valhalla would weather it all, and inside, warriors and generals celebrated and feasted as always.

At the head of the tables stood two women, the first appearing to be in her mid-twenties, with a gentle face and white hair that had a faint hint of light blue to it. She wore splendid robes of gold, as did her younger sister, who seemed to be the spitting image of her, save for shorter, blonde hair.

At each side of them sat two warriors, the first on the elder sister's side being a man seven feet tall, with a two tomahawks on his back and he was laughing at a joke made by the man next to him. The second was considerably shorter, with fiery red hair cut short, save for a few locks that covered up his right eye.

The two on the younger sister's side seemed more reserved. They seemed brothers in spirit, and they even looked similar to an extent. They both were the same height, with light-brown hair, although the first's hair was straightened while the second's was more a curly mop that was only a few steps away from being a mullet.

The feast continued for several hours, yet the elder sister began looking more and more worried about something. Eventually she stood up, the four men looking at her.

"Lady Hilda," the giant started to say, but he silenced himself when she raised a hand.

"Thor, I know my way around my own home. I will be fine. This is merely a concern for one of my God Warriors."

"Apologies," Thor said as he bowed his head.
_
Nobody could imagine the pain the young man had as he struggled through the forest amid the snow and ice. His short, green hair grimy from the day's struggle, his rags dirty from falling in the mud, there were only two objects on him of any value.

He hungrily saw a deer, it's leg injured from what looked to be a wolf-bite. Without hesitation, the young man charged, metal flashing in the minimal sunlight as two golden daggers were buried in the animal's head, killing it. Glad of his catch, the man sheathed his sole weapons and picked the creature up, taking it to his pathetic excuse for a home...

But then his blood froze as he heard something...

The howling of a wolf. The feral growling of the most dangerous predator in all of Asgard. Bears were slow and had poor vision, and usually worked alone. You could escape them... but wolves were something different.

As if by magic, the man noticed wolves practically appearing out of nowhere around him, the largest and fiercest being a green one not even twenty feet away from him with a large scar across its forehead.

"So you're the solitary predator that people have been calling the 'White Tiger'," came a human voice. The young man turned, seeing another person standing there. Like the first, this human member of the pack was wearing tattered rags, although his light blue-green hair was considerably longer.

"And you're the one that everybody is calling the Legendary Wolf," the first man answered back.

"Fitting, since my name is Fenrir Volsung," he answered. "Remember that name?"

"Volsung?" the first asked, "Yeah. I've heard the stories. Your entire family was mysteriously killed, no?"

"Correct," Fenrir answered. "The Volsung family was once one of the richest in all of Asgard, but one day we were all travelling through the forest and a bear attacked. My mother and father were the first killed, most of the others too. Those that survived fled like cowards. I was only three at the time and left for dead." Fenrir walked over to his green wolf and scratched behind its ear. "This is my family now, one that doesn't abandon me at the first sign of danger."

"So what are you going to do to me?" the man asked.

Fenrir shrugged. "That was our kill, and you took it. Don't think of giving it back, it's yours now. I know how hard it can be making a living out here when you have a true family backing you up, it's hard enough and you don't have anybody else... so I'm letting you off. Just don't touch anything of my wolves again or I'll personally tear your throat out."

"I'll do what I please," the man said as he walked away, the wolves parting for him. He stopped, however, when Fenrir called for him again.

"What's your name, anyways?"

"Bodu," he answered, "Cecil Bodu. You know about that family, don't you?" Cecil left without saying anything else, leaving Fenrir to simply have to bow down in shock.
_
Hilda smiled as she heard the majestic music coming from the next room. She knew who was behind it.

Without knocking, she opened the door, seeing the man with bushy, rustic-orange hair sitting by they window, casually strumming his lyre.

"Mime," she said as he turned to see her before kneeling. "What are you doing out here?"

"You know why," he answered. "I'd much rather just be left alone, that's all."

"You're not still bothered about Folker, are you?"

Mime tensed at the name and shook his head. "That day will stay in my mind forever. But I am a God Warrior now, as are Thor, Hagan, Sigurd, and Alberich. Our duties are to you, Hilda Polaris."

"Then go and eat. Or at least be entertainment. I heard you composed a new song, it might be nice if you played for somebody other than yourself."

"Fine," Mime answered as he stood up and left.

Hilda stood alone in the room before a flash of light caught her eye. She turned to the window and looked, out, shocked to see the light of Ursa Major through the storm. Most noticeable, however, were the second and third stars in the sequence, if you started from the 'handle' of it... the stars Mizar Zeta and Alioth Epsilon.

"Does this mean," Hilda said in surprise, "The final two God Warriors have been discovered?"

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Sep 10 2007, 2:05 AM

[Ranma]

((This would make a gret rp, actually. Anyway, good to see another darkstalkers fan, Morrigan is my favorite character ^_^ It is a pitty that they haven't updated her sprite in years.))

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Thanks. However, I am absurdly far into this story, so a role-play is reletively out of the question. Also, can ANYONE pull some strings so when I double-post, which is going to be necessary with this, that the posts DON'T get stuck together?

Alioth Epsilon and Mizar Zeta! The Last of Seven!

Hilda sat in her small study, her attention fixed on the countless scrolls in front of her, as well as a star-chart and a map of Asgard.

Eventually, however, one of the men from before entered her room. Gone was his tunic, instead he wore a dark-green suit of armor in which the helmet that hid his light-brown hair and the right shoulder were designed to look like the heads of a dragon… the dragon Fafnir to be exact.

“Lady Hilda,” he said as he bowed down, “The storm has settled down.”

“Thank you, Sigurd Siegfreid,” Hilda said. She handed him a small map she herself had sketched, showing migratory patterns of various animals such as deer and elk. “Search these areas and I’m sure you will find the remaining two God Warriors, those of Mizar Zeta and Alioth Epsilon.”

“I and the other God Warriors shall do so… but how shall we tell who are the God Warriors?” Sigurd asked.

“Sigurd,” Hilda said as she looked at him and smiled, “You are Dubhe Alpha, the lead star of Ursa Major. I trust you can find them, whoever they are. Take the others with you, you'll cover more ground.”

“Thank you,” Sigurd bowed again and then left, leaving Hilda alone. She smiled again, her finger moving over the five smooth sapphires she held in her hand.
_
Finally, some dinner, Fenrir thought as his hand ripped out the grizzly bear’s heart. He was amazed how much living with these wolves had done for him. The same animals that had shown him the fallacies of mankind were now those that he could kill with his bare hands.

And the same he helped his true family bring down.

Fenrir tore a piece of the animal off for himself before his wolves gorged themselves on the majority of the creature. While they ate without any other thought, Fenrir’s mind drifted to Cecil Bodu… he had heard stories that the Bodus had-

The sound of snow crumpling under a foot, a human foot, caused Fenrir and the wolves to suddenly become alert. Fenrir wiped the blood from his mouth as he turned around, looking around frantically to find whoever was coming. It wasn’t common someone caught him off-guard. To be precise, it never happened.

“So you’re the 'Wolf'…” came a haughty voice. Fenrir looked above, seeing a red-haired man with one eye hidden under the hair standing on a tree branch, a sword made completely out of crystal in one of his hands. He turned to see the footprints… they were behind him.

This newcomer had jumped through the air right above him and Fenrir hadn’t even noticed.

“You seem rather… human… for one,” the intruder said as Fenrir turned back. He was wearing some sort of crystalline armor, black in design and protecting his chest, arms, and legs. A rather ornate and large circlet protected his forehead, as well as the sides of his face.

“I am human,” Fenrir answered back. “Now give me your name and maybe I’ll give you mine.”

The man jumped to the ground and bowed in mock-honesty. Fenrir turned to his wolves and shook his head. They backed off, leaving their leader to confront the man alone. “Very well then, although I already know from the way you stand, your rough height, your eye color and hair color that you are Fenrir Volsung. Many people think you’re dead.”

“Many others use the word ‘Volsung’ as a synonym for cowardice now,” Fenrir said back. “I’ll say it again, who are you?”

The man shrugged. “A God Warrior of Hilda. I am Alberich.”

“Alberich,” Fenrir repeated, “You mean of the Nibelung family. That’s a pretty old family, you know.”

“Twenty-six generations of men, each one named Alberich,” the God Warrior answered. Fenrir chuckled at something, confusing him. “What’s so funny?”

“Kinda weird… meet two rich-boys in one day.”

“Two?” Alberich asked. Fenrir shook his head.

“Yeah… a Bodu.”

“That’s impossible. Syd Bodu was at Valhalla all day today, and the Bodu family, as absurdly rich and as powerful as it is-”

“I know they’re the oldest family in Asgard save for the Polaris family and literally own half the country,” Fenrir cut in.

“As I was saying,” Alberich continued, irritated at the fact that some wild boy that just happened to be a Volsung showed no respect to the God Warrior of the Megrez Delta star, “Syd Bodu was at Valhalla all day today. You must be mistaken.”

“I’m sure I am,” Fenrir answered dryly in an utterly sarcastic tone. “That’s why I don’t trust my eyes but ironically trust a man I just met.”

“You should watch that tongue of yours, I might cut it out if I were you.” Alberich readied his sword, more than just irritated now. Nobody would care if a Volsung happened to die anymore… people stopped caring about Volsungs a long time ago.

“Nice family heirloom… created by Alberich XIII right?” Fenrir dropped into a fighting stance. “A rusty piece of crap?”

“You will pay for that remark,” Alberich said as he charged. Then he seemed to vanish, only to appear behind Fenrir and began walking away. The wolves snarled at him, and he snarled back as Fenrir turned to say something…

Except he then coughed up a pint of blood and collapsed, his shirt suddenly falling to pieces, numerous cuts all across his body. Alberich continued to walk away, the wolves terrified of him now, but then he saw a flash of light shoot down from the sky. He looked up, seeing that for the second time this day, the star Alioth Epsilon was shining brightly, almost as much as the Sun itself…

A ray of light struck the ground near Fenrir’s unconscious form, Alberich dropping his jaw in amazement as a small, metallic wolf appeared, a statue of some sort, almost like it was watching over Fenrir.

Impossible… Alberich thought, He’s the God Warrior of Alioth Epsilon?!?
_
“Funny how we keep running into each other, eh?” Cecil muttered as he and Fenrir sat next to opposite wall in a dungeon chamber in Valhalla. The “supposed” Bodu had been there when Fenrir had woken up, and it was this was the first point they had been talking to each other.

“Yeah,” Fenrir answered when the door opened and a young woman stepped through, her short blonde hair almost as magnificent as the gold robe she wore. She placed the figurine that Alberich had found on the floor next to Fenrir before putting one that looked like a dark-green tiger. “Who are you?”

The girl turned and nodded her heard and smiled. “I am Freya Polaris,” she answered. “The other God Warriors have been called into action by my sister, and you two are also God Warriors now. If you would, please don your God Robes and follow me.”

“Wear what, those?” Cecil asked, pointing to the tiger. “How are we supposed to do that?”

Fenrir, wondering just that, reached forward and touched the wolf. Kinda fitting, considering his name and all. He just hoped that his wolves were okay. As if reacting to his touch, the wolf burst into parts that quickly attached to his body, bending and reshaping themselves to form a suit of armor as well. Arm guards, leggings, an outfit not unsimilar to Alberich’s, save for his own circlet forming a “V”-like shape above itself.

“Please, right this way, Fenrir Volsung. I assure you that you will only hear things you wish to.” Freya said as she walked away. Fenrir turned to see Cecil’s tiger had formed armor on him too, similar but with a helmet formed from the tiger’s head protecting him instead of a circlet.

Fenrir waited until after Freya left the room before he spoke to Cecil. “When you said you were a Bodu before… is that true?”

“And if it is?” Cecil asked as he walked out the door. “Fenrir… you had support out there… I didn’t. If you want to leave, go ahead. But I want to be able to live in society again, and I’m going to hear what they say.”

Fenrir was alone in the room, but shook his head and looked down at his hands. Was this a chance to show Asgard that not all in the Volsung house had forgotten the concept of honor? If it was, he’d take it. His wolves would be fine, so the only reason to do so was for himself.

A damn good reason, good as any other.

[Ranma]

((I understand. I w as thinking about putting dreamer in the rp section, but after I completed it. That way people could add to it^_^
I understand where you are coming from though. If you get the chance please review my story. I want everyone's input and suggestions. (the writing style is rushed so don't hold that against me. After I finish I'll go through and fill out the description more and fix my errors)
Anyway, good story so far. I love Norse Mythology. My screen name on gaia is Ranma of Asgard.))

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Glad you like it. However, there's also going to be a good chunk of Greek in here, two whole story arcs with Japanese Shinto, and also some stuff I came up with on my own. Anyways...

Investigate the mystery! Fenrir's first mission!

"I can't believe Volsung is actually alive," remarked Thor Jormungandr, God Warrior of the Phecda Gamma star as he and the others sat around a table, Hilda sitting at the front.

"Thor, it's alright. Besides, with all seven God Warriors, we stand a chance of pulling this off now," Hilda said as Fenrir, Freya, and Cecil all entered the room. "Ah, and here they are. Hello, and welcome back to civilization, you two."

"Thanks," Fenrir said as he pulled up a seat and sat down, unfortunately next to Alberich. "Oh, it's you again."

"Indeed," Alberich answered.

Cecil sat between Fenrir and Mime, who was now wearing a slightly rough armor of deep scarlet. He looked at Freya and shrugged. "Call me Cecil if you must."

"But what of your last name? Are you a Bodu?" Sigurd asked, interested at the concept.

Cecil shrugged. "Whether I am or not doesn't have any measure here, does it?"

"Of course not," Hilda said. "The point is, you seven are the God Warriors of Asgard, men from families of great stature and power-"

"Or used to be," Fenrir muttered under his breath.

"Or used to be," Hilda continued. "Your duty is to protect Asgard, and I fear that our land may soon fall under attack."

"From whom?" asked the blonde-haired man, wearing elaborate armor made of rubies and silver.

"From Poseidon," Hilda answered. "I have recieved words from various provinces that the storm today seemed unnatural. And it's been the sixth one in two weeks. I expect he is trying to soften us up before an actual invasion."

"Any other proof?" Cecil asked.

"You question lady Polaris?!?" shouted the blonde-haired man, standing up and staring at him.

Cecil stood back and stared right back. "And who are you to think I shouldn't?"

"Hagan Sleipnir," the God Warrior answered. "God Warrior of Merak Beta."

"Please," Thor said as he stood up between the two. "We don't need to be fighting together. Hilda, please continue."

"Thank you, Thor," Hilda said as Hagan and Cecil sat back down. "But Cecil does raise a strong point. It is possible that this is merely a freak weather situation. So that is why you are all to go on a scouting mission to Atlantis. Recon. But if you are attacked, you have my authorization to show those Mariners the strength of the North Stars. Clear?"

They all eventually nodded and left, Cecil and Fenrir the last to do so.
_
If one would look up, they could swear they were seeing the sky, but the majestic blue was far from it. Instead, it was the oceans, held up by the legendary pillars, but Isaac Krylov, the Sea General and Kraken of the Arctic Ocean didn't mind. What he saw was still blue, what he saw from his one working eye showed nothing flawed in it.

His shaggy green hair was hanging free, his armor as a Mariner, a yellow and orange Scale in the shape of his patron entity, sitting only a few feet away. But nothing ever happened here in Atlantis, or at least not here up in the north.

"Isaac!" happily cheered a female voice. He sat up to see a familiar face coming towards him, a woman actually two years his senior wearing her own Scale.

"Hi, Thetis," Isaac said as he waved a hand. "How are you doing?"

"Fine." She smiled happily, noticing Isaac wasn't wearing his Scale.

Before she could ask, however, Isaac answered. "Just got up, that's all."

"Oh." Thetis herself was not a Sea General, therefor she did not possess a Scale with the same power that one did, but she did sport a red one, representing a Mermaid, that protected her to a modest extent. "Well I just thought I'd say hi and all, and give you this."

"What?" Isaac asked as Thetis presented him with a envelope. He opened it, finding a picture of himself as a young boy before the... accident... along with another kid with blonde hair posing for the camera together. "Thetis... where did you get this?"

"Well..." Thetis said with a mischievous look on her face, "I know you're duty is to protect the Arctic Pillar and all, but I know how hard it is for you some days. So I asked Casa if he'd use his powers to make this for you."

"Thanks," Isaac said. "Tell him he truly is the Hunter of Hearts."

"My pleasure!" Thetis said as she started running off. "Of course..." she shouted as she left, "He's WAAAAAYYYY off at the Antarctic Pillar, so it'll take a while!"

"Take your time!" Isaac yelled back. He then looked down at the picture, amazed Casa was able to make it. He was so optimistic back then... before...

"Kraken Isaac!" commanded a different voice as Isaac immediately snapped to attention, another Mariner appearing before him out of nowhere. A few strands of pink hair were peeking out of the helmet, the only sign that this figure was in fact a woman.

"Yes, Sea Dragon?" he said as she looked at him. The Sea Dragon of the North Atlantic walked around him, her eyes darting up and down his body before she finally walked in front of him again.

"You've been doing some extra training," she said, smiling after a moment. Isaac breathed a sigh of relief, she had a way of making him tense up over nothing at all.

"Yes, Sea Dragon."

The highest-ranking Mariner turned and walked away, stopping once and turning back to him. "Get your Scale on, we might have trouble."

"Trouble?"

"Call it a hunch, Isaac."

[MorriganAensland]

Charybdis! The Vengeful Sea Dragon!

"I was expecting something more..." Fenrir started to say as he stared at the swirling whirlpool in front of the seven God Warriors. They were all standing at the edge of a cliff, the ocean a few feet below them.

"What? Just because you’re a God Warrior now, Volsung," Alberich said as Sigurd and Hagan jumped down into it, "You act like everything will be easy. Swallow your damn 'alpha dog' pride and go for it. You're nothing but the Epsilon dog now... in more ways than one."

Next, Thor in his serpent-like armor and Alberich jumped in too. Cecil went off on his own, leaving Fenrir with Mime.

"God Warrior of Benetnash Eta, right?" Fenrir started to say, "Which big family are you from?"

Mime walked past him without answering, opting to enter the portal to Poseidon's domain on his own.

Lot of friendly people here... Fenrir thought sarcastically as he prepared to follow the others, but a barking caused him to turn. He saw a number of his wolves, the green one in the lead, running towards him. Fenrir dropped down and smiled at them. "Hey, I won't be gone for more than a day at the very worst," Fenrir said.

The green one licked his hand playfully and Fenrir smiled at it.

"Garm, be a good boy and keep them in line, okay?"

Garm happily barked, and Fenrir turned and walked away. It was about time to get this over with.
_
Thetis had just passed through the central temple of Poseidon when a bright light shined above her, and a strong force knocked her down. When she could actually see again, she saw seven men standing before her in different colored armors.

"Are you a Mariner?" asked the one wearing the armor of a dragon. She nodded. "We have suspicion to believe that Poseidon may be planning an invasion of Asgard. We are here to speak with him personally." He moved towards the temple, but Thetis ran in front of him.

"You can't do that!" she said as she flung up her arms as if she could stop all seven of them. "The temple is off limits to all until Poseidon's next reincarnation is found!"

"A likely excuse," Sigurd said as he approached her and threw her out of the way. Before taking another step, coral suddenly sprouted all around his legs. The Dubhe Alpha God Warrior turned and snarled at Thetis. "Stop it."

"No, and I'll fight you if I have to!" Thetis stated defiantly, amazed to see Sigurd smile at the concept.

"That's what I'm hoping for." He raised a single hand and pointed the palm at Thetis. "Dragon's Bravest Blizzard."
_
Isaac had just been donning his Scale when he heard the explosion, and it was gigantic.

It came from the temple! he thought as he suddenly heard Sea Dragon's voice again.

"Isaac!" she appeared in front of him again, looking as panicked as he was sure he was. "We're under attack!"

"From who?" he asked.

"Hilda's God Warriors."
_
"Anything?" Hagan asked as Thor and Mime came out of the temple. They both shook their heads.

"What now, glorious leader?" Alberich asked Sigurd, who immediately answered.

"Hagan, handle the North Pacific!" Sigurd commanded as he began heading to the South Pacific pillar. "Alberich, deal with the Antarctic! Mime, handle whoever is at the South Atlantic! Thor, take down the Indian Ocean pillar! Fenrir, Cecil, do what you can against the North Atlantic and Arctic ones, Hagan and I will be there as soon as we can!"

Then suddenly they were all gone, and Fenrir and Cecil were stuck next to the burnt remains of the killed Thetis, the others already heading off for their fights.

"Do we really have any choice?" Cecil asked as he headed towards the Arctic.

"Not really," Fenrir muttered as he took the path to the remaining pillar... that of Sea Dragon.
_
These Atlantians think they can hide the truth from us, Sigurd thought, But we'll find Poseidon somewhere...

The battle would surely be over quickly, and he quickly found himself in front of the South Pacific Pillar... easy pickings for him.

Atlantis possessed eight pillars that held up the oceans, one for each ocean as well as one for the temple, what was known as "Main Breadwinner" due to the fact it could hold the oceans up on its own. Yet Poseidon loved his Mariners and his precious pillars above all else, and Sigurd was sure that destroying a few pillars and killing a few people would convince the sea god to show himself.

Sigurd pulled back for a punch, but stopped when he saw a maiden wearing a white robe praying before it.

"Woman, stand aside, for I will not wait another moment," Sigurd yelled. She stood up and turned...

... And Sigurd suddenly was tackled by a giant snake.

"You dare invade our sacred domain?" the woman asked as her robe vanished, replaced by the orange and yellow armor of a Sea General. "You chose the wrong enemy today, God Warrior, for you face Calypso Tiamet, Scylla of the South Pacific!"
_
"There," Thor said as the giant reached the North Pacific pillar. He raised his hand up, a war-hammer appearing in it... the sacred hammer Mjollnir. "One good strike should..."

"Stop!" shouted a dark-skinned man as the Sea General appeared to fight him, a golden spear in his hand. "You will not get past Chrysaor Krishna of the Indian Ocean-"

Thor paid no attention to him. He just threw Mjollnir through the idiot's head, spilling quite a bit of blood before slamming into the pillar, shattering the entirety of it.
_
"Megrez Delta," came a familiar voice as Alberich reached the Antarctic Pillar, "Why are you here?"

He turned, seeing Lady Hilda standing there. "My Lady..." Alberich started to say, a confused look on his face, "What are you doing here?"

"There's been a terrible mistake," she said with a worried look, "Please, we must leave Atlantis with the other God Warriors before it's too late!" She reached for his hand, taking it. She looked him straight in the eye. "Please, Alberich..."

Then Megrez Delta Alberich impaled her with his crystal sword, the illusion ending instantly as Hilda morphed into a pale man wearing the Scale of a Sea General.

"Your magic tricks don't work on me," Alberich said as he walked away from the man. "Now would you pleasure me with your name before I take your life?"

The man struggled to speak as he coughed up blood, "Ca... Casa... the Lymnades... of the Antarctic Pill..."

He never finished. Mercilessly, Alberich had cut the namesake pillar to fall and crush Casa.
_
Easy enough, Mime thought as he stared at the South Atlantic Pillar before readying his trusty lyre. He pulled back to perform the first note in the pillar's requiem song, but a haunting and beautiful sound came to his ears.

"I see you too have a musical motif..." came a light-blue haired boy with piercing blue eyes. He spun his flute in his hand before pointing it at Mime. "I am Sorrento, the Siren of the South Atlantic. May I request a duel of musicians?"

Mime smirked at his opponent. "Surely. But know my music is not merely to ease one's soul." He strummed a single cord, strings shooting out of his lyre and launching themselves at Sorrento. The Mariner responded by letting out a single note out of his flue, the power behind that single note repelling Mime's attack.

"Very good," Mime said as the two began circling each other, the lethal musical power of one being matched by the skill of the other. "Unfortunately, you have only encountered half of my power.

Sorrento stared defiantly at Mime as they continued, but then Mime opened his mouth again, and out poured for a wordless song that would make even Sorrento's patron creature full of hatred and jealousy.

And then Sorrento's eyes opened wide in shock as both he and his pillar simply shattered.
_
"Halt!" shouted a strong voice as Hagan saw his opponent appear before him. The Mariner seemed powerful and confident, but Hagan knew better.

Without saying anything, Hagan punched out, a gigantic stream of fire blasting at the Mariner, incidentally Baian the Sea Horse of the North Pacific, and destroying the pillar.
_
"Please... no..." Sea Dragon whispered as a single tear fell from each of her eyes.

Casa, Krishna, Baian, Sorrento... they were all dead, their pillars destroyed. All that remained was the South Pacific, North Atlantic, and Arctic...

"Mariner!" came a voice. She turned down to see a God Warrior wearing a blue God Robe standing there, ready for battle.

"You are dirt," she said as she removed her helmet, throwing it aside. Her long strands of pink hair flowed free, and her red eyes glared at Fenrir. "You come here and kill so many people... well there are still Mariners that draw breath, and you unfortunately challenged the strongest... Charybdis Tiamet."
_
As Cecil continued his run towards the Arctic pillar, he suddenly slipped and stumbled on the ground. He looked, to see a Mariner with green hair and his left eye milky white, gouged out from some past incident, standing before him.

"Get up," Isaac said plainly. "Get up so I can kill you."

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Sep 11 2007, 5:10 PM

[MorriganAensland]

One World! An invincible Mariner?!?

Cecil rolled back to his feet as he seized up Isaac... the Mariner was about his age, had slightly and darker longer shaggy green hair, and had a deep scar running down the left side of his face... as well as a ruined left eye that was simply a milky-white mass.

"In case you haven't noticed, most of your buddies have gone down," Cecil flat-out stated, "What makes you think you stand a chance, Cyclops?"

Isaac suddenly smirked at the insult and turned away... partially to hide the fact he knew Thetis was probably dead now and to regain his composure, but his voice betrayed nothing. "The injury on my face is a medal, a badge of honor that I'd never be ashamed to show to the world. As for you..." He quickly spun around, fist pumping out. "Aurora Borealis!"

Cecil sprang to the side on instinct... instinct that was proven correct when a burst of cold air shot from Isaac's outstretched fist... the glancing blow nearly making Cecil's leg go numb. He charged, his hand forming a claw due to the aptly shaped extension on his God Robe. "Viking Tiger Claw!" He slashed straightforward at Isaac's chest.

Isaac immediately threw up his arms to protect himself, but he was still knocked back quite a bit. Taking the opportunity, he kicked Cecil in the groin and sent the God Warrior flying into the air, "Let's try this again!" Isaac sent another Aurora Borealis attack straight at him, this time the freezing beam engulfing and overwhelming Cecil as he collapsed onto the ground... wondering if any place on Earth ever got that cold...

"Easy enou-"

"GREAT ARDENT PRESSURE!" shouted another voice as Isaac turned to see a stream of fire shooting at him. Isaac quickly sent off another blast of ice to stop it, before its creator came into view. "Hagan Sleipnir, God Warrior of Merak Beta."
_
Fenrir really didn't know exactly was going on here... after all, not to long ago he had been chowing down on a bear... but the woman that stood before him, "Sea Dragon" Charybdis Tiamet certainly seemed to consider him an enemy and she had to fight him... and the initial punch to the face hurt a lot.

In retrospect, maybe being a God Warrior wasn't as cracked up as they said...

Fenrir staggered away, feeling the side of his face, wondering why Charybdis was letting him do so. She probably didn't think he was much of a challenge, but mainly it was because her attention focused on the South Pacific pillar more than anything else.

Well... I'll show her... Fenrir sent himself charging at her at a blindingly fast spring, hand ready to attack... "Wolf Cruelty Claw!" He attacked fast... faster than he ever had in his life, and yet Charybdis didn't seem to care. He was less than three feet from her...

... And then he suddenly found himself behind her, and her elbow flew up into his face, all but knocking him out. She kicked him in the gut, cracks forming everywhere on his God Robe, and one final uppercut sent the whole thing to pieces... a small sapphire falling out from somewhere on it. Charybdis turned down to look at it...

But then the South Pacific pillar fell... and Charybdis's blood all but froze.

"Calypso... sister..."
_
Just how strong is Hagan?!? Cecil thought as the God Warrior managed to repel Isaac's freezing attack with simply an outstretched hand time after time. Hagan continued to fight defensively, but at the sight of the South Pacific pillar falling, he stopped.

"Calypso!" Isaac shouted before a blast of ice shot from Hagan shut him up. "What?"

"Master of both elements, idiot," Hagan answered back. He snapped his fingers, as if this was all a big joke, before Isaac found himself trapped in a giant block of ice. Hagan then simply walked up and punched Isaac through it, straight in the gut before pointing at the Arctic pillar and blowing it up with a burst of flames. He turned and walked away, stopping when Cecil called out to him.

"A little help here..." Cecil muttered as he tried to shake off the frost. Hagan looked at him and walked over...

And then all but gutted him with a punch too, tearing out a blue sapphire from the God Robe in the process as the Mizar Zeta armor vanished from around Cecil.

"What the hell, man?!?" Cecil growled as he tried to get back up to his feet, but Hagan just kicked him in the side and sent him flying into the block of ice where Isaac's life was quickly ebbing away.

"God Warriors don't lose battles. If you do, you're out. Simple as that." Before Cecil could raise an objection, Hagan blasted both Cecil and Isaac with a gigantic stream of fire, walking away as if nothing was the matter.
_
"DAMN YOU ALL!" Charybdis screamed as she held Fenrir up to the side of the North Atlantic pillar, pounding him again and again, tears streaming from her face. "Why the hell?!?"

"Because Hilda commands it!" Came another voice. Charybdis turned, seeing Sigurd Siegfried there, a severed head in his hands...

Calypso's...

"We came here to conference with Poseidon and one of your Mariners attacked, Sea Dragon... Sea Dragon Charybdis Tiamet..." Sigurd said. "Your followers are dead, every last one of them. Never underestimate the power of Asgard! Dragon's Bravest Blizzard!"

He shoved his hands out, sheer destruction coming from them... but Poseidon's dragon shirked not, the attack harmlessly vanishing near her and reappearing elsewhere.

"Pointless... I can kill you all with the power of 'One World'," Charybdis remarked. She didn't expect for Sigurd to smirk at the phrase.

"'One World'?" he repeated, "I thought the stories of the power to fold space, given to Poseidon's finest, were just stories..."

"They're not," Charybdis answered as she charged, punching straight at Sigurd, who held his ground. Her fist hit head-on, yet she screamed in agony as she felt her entire right arm and that part of her Scale shatter as Sigurd kicked her away.

Sigurd suddenly seemed even more confident than ever as he pointed at her. "Unfortunately, I possess considerably more defensive powers than you could ever hope to imagine..." His finger moved down, pointing just at the still-reeling Charybdis's feet.

"Won't work," Sea Dragon flatly stated.

Sigurd shook his head. "On the contrary, without your Scale in pristine condition, I'm betting One World won't work. Odin Sword!" A white beam shot from his finger into the ground, suddenly shooting up all around Charybdis, who could only scream at the indescribable pain. She collapsed on the ground, close to death as he turned to the final pillar. Seeing Fenrir on the ground in a bloody heap stopped him, however, as he reached over and picked up the discarded sapphire and then charged at the pillar. With one strike from his hand, a hairline fracture appeared, and the final pillar fell.

"Sigurd," Hagan called out as he came into view. "Are we finished here?"

Sigurd nodded as he walked away from the bloodshed. "Yes. Judging by that Odin Sapphire in your hand, Cecil whatever-his-name is dead, correct?"

"Close enough," Hagan answered. "Same with Volsung?"

"The same. Well... this was fast..." Sigurd mused as they walked away together, "Hilda'll be relieved."

"Very much so."
_
It was dark... that was all Fenrir could see... and the void seemed to swallow him up for so long... and then he found himself suddenly in... a courthouse?

"Final four deaths of the Atlantis Massacre," read off a man wearing a pure-black suit of armor with a whip in his hand, "Fenrir Volsung, Cecil Bodu, Charybdis Tiamet, and Isaac Krylov... this is interesting sirs..."

Fenrir tried to move, tried to speak... tried to actually just LOOK around him, but his body and every muscle in it failed. Instead he could only hear what three men were saying.

"They're dead, that's been established..."

"Sure," said the second, "But I mean, their conditions are proper for the Trial of 108 Fates..."

"Minos, you can't follow Aiacos on this," the first again.

"Radamanthys, you're crazy!" Aiacos this time. "We don't usually do it, considering how badly their bodies are damaged, but we've let people in worse conditions take the challenge. Some of them even pass and go back!"

"I agree with Aiacos on this," the third, Minos, said. "I get the deciding vote, and I do say, that these four deserve a shot at this."

Then everything went black again.
_
Slowly, everything came into focus again as Fenrir looked around, seeing Cecil on one side and a boy with green hair and a gouged out eye as well as Charybdis on the other.

Then he suddenly realized there was somebody in front of him. He looked up, seeing a boy that couldn't be any more than fourteen standing there, shaggy brown hair hanging loose, and wearing a simple outfit of a green T-shirt and white pants.

"Hi," he said, waking the others up. "I'm Hades."
_
When we were young the future was so bright...
The old neighborhood was so alive.
And every kid on the whole damn street,
Was gonna make it big in every beat!

Now the neighborhood's cracked and torn.
The kids are grown up but their lives are worn.
How can one little street
Swallow so many lives?

Chances thrown, nothing's free
Longing for used to be.
Still it's hard, hard to see
Fragile lives, shattered dreams!

Jenny had a chance, well she really did...
Instead she dropped out and had a couple of kids.
Mark still lives at home cause he's got no job,
He just plays guitar and smokes a lot of pot.

Jay committed suicide. Brandon OD'd and died.
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?!?!
The cruellest dream - reality!

Chances thrown, nothing's free
Longing for, what used to be.
Still it's hard, hard to see.
Fragile lives shattered dreams.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Sep 12 2007, 11:07 PM

[MorriganAensland]

Trial! One's fate determined by the spin of a wheel!

Hades smiled again as the Mariners and God Warriors managed to forget their differences for the moment... they couldn't really afford to be diveded at the moment anyways. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it, seriously," Isaac answered, turning away from Fenrir and Cecil and instead looking at the wheel. "But why don't you just let us leave since you want us to do it anyways?"

Hades shrugged. "Just the way the rules are... sorry."

"So how're we going to do this?" Charybdis added, wanting to get this over with.

"Well," Hades said as walked behind them and took a look around before grunting in frustration. "Dammit... Radamanthys, Aiacos, and Minos ought to have finished with Lune by now..."

"Coming sir!" shouted a voice that Fenrir recalled being Radamanthys as three figures came running into view, each wearing a Surplice depicting a winged animal. The blonde, Radamanthys, arrived first and Chary, Isaac, Cecil, and Fenrir all quickly discerned his Surplice to be based off a Wyvern although his helmet was at his side. "Apologies... we had a little bit of a debate about a couple of people..." He turned to the four, nodding his head. "Hello, I am Radamanthys Tudor, the Wyvern of the Celestial Fierce Star."

The other two came into view quickly afterwards, the first also carrying his helmet, letting his violet hair flow freely. His Surplice seemed to moreso a bird than a dragon like creature, but the exact animal wasn't discernible. He bowed down to Hades before turning to the others as well. "Again, sorry for being late... I'm Aiacos Higashi, the Garuda of the Celestial Valor Star."

The last of the three finally arrived, his helmet on his head and blocking the view of the upper half of his face. Locks of silver hair drifted freely, and while Aiacos and Radamanthys seemed to be sorry and ashamed for being late, this third, Minos, showed no embarrassment. "Hello... I'm sure you all know who I am, and I am the Griffon the Celestial Nobility Star."

"Rather terse," Cecil snorted, but Minos didn't seem to mind. Hades didn't either, and instead the young boy clapped his hands.

"Well, we're all here, so let's get this over with. If you'd all just give the wheel a spin, we can get this out of the way."

Cecil, Fenrir, Charybdis, and Isaac all obeyed, four red arrows spinning around the symbols as Radamanthys, Aiacos, and Minos stood away and began talking with each other.

"Hope they get some of the easy Specters like Ivan..." Aiacos said as their markers continued to spin.

"Yeah..." Radamanthys agreed. "Some of those guys are downright hard to beat... thankfully there's only about five that are really anywhere near our kind of power. What about you, Minos?"

Minos, however, stayed focused on the wheel, letting out a sigh of defeat as Radamanthys, Aiacos, and Hades saw who the four would have to fight...

"The Harpy of the Celestial Mourning Star..." Fenrir said.

"The Minotaur of the Celestial Solid Star," Isaac read off his opponent.

"The Alruane of the Celestial Devil Star," Cecil remarked.

"The Papillon of the Terrestrial Demon Star," Charybdis announced before she looked up at Hades. "Is that bad?"

"They'll be challenges... serious ones," Hades answered after a moment. "They're not unstoppable, though, any of them."

"Great!" Isaac suddenly said as he pointed at the Judges. "Then we'll beat them and then take down one of you, and we can set things right!"

At least one of them is determined to fight, Hades thought as he walked away with Radamanthys, Aiacos, and Minos. "Very well then... you'll have the fights in nine days, I'll arrange for a Specter to train you since you don't have your Scales or God Robes. You'll find rooms and food down the hall to your left... I wish you the very best."
_
The next few hours went slowly as the two groups split up, Fenrir and Cecil taking one room while Charybdis and Isaac took another, the God Warriors lying on their beds and staring up at the ceiling.

"Weird twist, eh?" Fenrir said... "And things are going so fast too..."

"Yeah," Cecil answered. "Whatever... Hilda has no right to be doing all this... and the fact that Sigurd and Hagan attacked us show what's really going on too."

They stayed silent for a few more minutes before Fenrir again spoke up.

"Cecil..."

"Hmm?"

"Is it true... about you being a *******?" Cecil sighed as he nodded. "Yeah... Frigga Bodu, my mom, had an affair once... all but threw me in the forest upon birth to hide the evidence. Been there ever since... scraping by on my own. What about you?"

"You know most of it," Fenrir said, "Volsung kid, abandoned during a bear attack, yada yada yada. Family goes down the gutter; Polaris family liquidates the Volsung assets, splits up the estate... I could easily have stopped it..."

"But you wanted the whole 'Tarzan' lifestyle, right?"

"Something like that. But after this... I'll show all of Asgard that there's a Volsung out there that stands his ground and doesn't back down. What about you?"

"Me?" Cecil shrugged. "Dunno... really not in the mood for revenge..."
_
Isaac had been lying in his bed, thinking about everything that had happened and the fates of Thetis, Baian, Calypso, Krishna, Sorrento, and Casa when he heard Charybdis's bed break. He sat up and looked to see that she had slammed her hand into it, splitting it in half.

"I hate this," she muttered, "I hate what's going on and how we get a chance to come back when nobody else does..."

"Yeah..." Isaac answered. "I mean, Calypso’s get reincarnated and everything but... the others and-"

"It's my fault," Chary stated, loud and yet sadly. "It's all my fault. I was the leader, the-"

"It's not your fault," Isaac said.

"What the hell are you talking about Isaac!?!" Chary snapped as she looked at him. Isaac noticed her eyes were puffy and red... she probably hadn't got any sleep. "I was in charge and I blew it! They're all dead, dammit! What the hell do you mean it wasn't my fault!?!"

Isaac looked at her and then slipped out of his bed. He didn't think he'd be able to do it to his superior, but...

He slapped her. He slapped her hard on the face, and he didn't feel bad about it.

"Why don't you just shut up!" Isaac barked. "You know about Hyoga? He couldn't say goodbye to his mom! No, he had to keep swimming down and visit her body under the ice! And that's how I lost my eye, dammit! Saving somebody that couldn't let the past go!" He slapped her again, amazed he still didn't feel any shame in it. "If you want to blame somebody, hate that ***** named Hilda Polaris for all of this and hate all the God Warriors that killed the people we knew!" He pulled back for another slap, but this time Chary caught his hand and shoved him away.

Charybdis looked down at the ground and shook her head before turning and walking out. "... Thanks."
_
The next day, Fenrir, Cecil, Charybdis, and Isaac ate breakfast together in silence, each one not looking at the other group.

The silence was broken, however, when a door opened and they all turned to see a woman in a black robe there, her long red hair hiding pale skin.

"I'm not disturbing anything, am I?" she asked. The four shook their heads. She smiled and walked in, another man with short, white hair following her. "My husband said you all were hesitantly trying to get along. Again, thank you for doing what he's barred from."

"We have to earn our second chance," Cecil mused in between bites of toast.

The woman shrugged. "He has rules he has to follow, as do we all. But he and I were talking last night and we thought to lend you a hand. Sylphid?"

"Yes, Persephone?" The man turned to her and then to the four, Fenrir, Cecil, Isaac, and Charybdis getting the feeling they had met him before. "Oh, that... I used to be a Specter for Lord Hades, the Basilisk of the Celestial Swift Star... He requested that I would train you for your fights. Zelos Myu, Gordon Cratos, Valentine Bia, and Nike Queen are some of the strongest non-Judge warriors of Hades, and he wants you all to have the best shot to beat them."

"So you'll be showing us the ropes?" Fenrir asked. Sylphid nodded.

"Yes."
_
After breakfast, the four had followed Sylphid, passing through the courthouse of the first of the eight prisons of the Underworld and then reaching the second prison... a mountainous region that was constantly raining.

"Are we going to catch a cold or something for training?" Cecil asked, but Sylphid shook his head. The four were wearing plain clothes, nothing fantastic, but they wouldn't have anything more in their battles in eight days, so it would make sense to train in them.

"No..." He stopped, looking around and then running a short distance to a gigantic waterfall. "Charybdis, this will be your training."

"What?" the sole female in the group asked as she looked around. "Climbing up or something?"

Sylphid shook his head. "Far from it. You're going to reverse the flow of the waterfall just by striking it while being underneath the downpour."

"You have got to be kidding me," Chary said as she shook her head. "That can't be done!"

"It's your training, now get it over with," Sylphid said as he led the three boys away, leaving Chary alone in the rain. Hesitantly, she walked under the waterfall and clenched her fists.

Okay... how to do this... She punched up into the water, but nothing happened. This would take a very, very long time.
_
"Is that even... possible?" Isaac asked as Sylphid nodded. Now they were in a much sunnier location, although they were all still soaked to the skin.

"Of course. It's to teach her persistence and to see something through to the end. She lost to Dubhe Alpha Sigurd solely because she gave up after losing the power of One World. As for you," Sylphid turned to Fenrir and pointed to a small wooden plank standing up at the top of a hill. "That's your training. I want you to punch it over and over until you can break it."

Fenrir initially looked like he thought it would be easy, but then realized that there obviously would be some secret behind it. He slowly walked up to it and punched it once. His fist slid off almost as soon as it touched the wood.

"Training for precision," Sylphid explained as Cecil and Isaac followed him further.
_
The three continued deeper into the Underworld, they eventually stopped at the sixth Prison, finding a gigantic pool of boiling blood. With speed that shocked Isaac and Cecil, Sylphid grabbed the latter and threw him into the dead center of it, ignoring the screams as the God Warrior of Alcor Zeta howled in agony.

"Training for determination!" Sylphid shouted as he looked at Isaac and shrugged. "It's all in his head... feelings of doubt. He has to have the drive to overcome the odds no matter what. Besides, he's done it before."

"And what about me?" the Kraken Mariner asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What else? Training for resourcefulness."
_
Sylphid led the last of the four to the final prison... Cocytus... the icy domain reserved usually for those that rebelled against the gods and died in the process. Sylphid and Isaac stood on a hill, looking over the suffering and freezing millions.

"All you have to do, Isaac," Sylphid said as he walked away, leaving the Mariner alone, "Is to survive. Survive and be content... something nobody else here has ever done."

[MorriganAensland]

Valentine! The sickly-sweet chocolate of death!

"I look forward to seeing how they do," Aiacos said to his fellow Judges as they walked together to the stadium, located on the banks of the river Styx. "Has there been any word about their training?"

"None at all," Radamanthys answered as he shrugged. "Lady Persephone selected one Specter and he gave some advice, but they were isolated and we have no idea what they've been doing the past eight days. What I'm wondering is which one of us they'll have to fight."

"Optimistic, aren't you?" Minos asked, smiling as Radamanthys pumped an arm, the black Surplice of the Wyvern of Celestial Fierce Star shining brightly.

"I'm a soldier," Radamanthys stated, "For Lord Hades, I would fight all the Gold Saints at the same time. Might not win, but..."

"Point taken," Aiacos said. "I took the 'Greatest Caution' head-on once... not a pleasant experience even with my Surplice protecting me."

"You two..." Minos muttered as he shook his head.
_
The stadium itself was filled as far as it could go, Hades and Persephone sitting in their private box while Radamanthys, Aiacos, and Minos sat in their own a few feet below. Below them were the three substitute Judges, Lune von Karma for Minos, Alessi "Pharaoh" Sethan for Aiacos, and Rudo "Kaiser" Stroheim for Radamanthys, each sporting the Surplice of their respective animals. And lastly, below them, were the remaining Specters, eager for battle.

Eventually Hades stood up, his Surplice materializing on him, six white wings like an angel's offsetting the otherwise completely black armor. He unsheathed his sword, Abyss, and pointed it skyward as the Specters instantly silenced themselves. When Hades then spoke, it was at room-volume, at ease, and in no way forced.

"It is very rare for a person to be capable of partaking the Trial of 108 Fates, let alone four of them," Hades said as he put his sword back in its sheath. "As many of you know, they have been thrown into a conflict I myself wish to take part in, if only to end it as soon as possible. However, due to my pact with Poseidon, Zeus, and then his daughter Athena, as well as the Eastern goddess Ambrosia, I am barred from taking action against mortals, even if they wield the power of a god. Instead we must test those that have the potential to end it and show no mercy, for their enemies will give no quarter and therefor we cannot either. So let the battles of the 108 Fates begin!"

The crowd cheered as they saw the first of the four step into view, Fenrir Volsung. He wore no God Robe, instead donning the clothes he had day after day in the wilderness of Asgard. His hair had been trimmed, but the style remained nonetheless.

On the other side of the arena came the great Harpy of the Celestial Mourning Star, Valentine Bia. The Specter removed his helmet, letting his short white hair be revealed to the crowd, a misleading appearance due to his young age. In fact, he was only three months older than Fenrir.

Hades watched from above, hoping for the outcome he wished when he felt a gentle hand move a strand of hair out of his face.

"Shun," Persephone whispered, saying the name of the boy that had discovered himself to be the god's reincarnation. "We must have faith in them."

"Indeed, Malon," he answered, returning the favor.
_
"This won't be long," Valentine said as he put his helmet back on and looked Fenrir up and down. "Volsung eh? Word was that we got a lot of Volsungs that one day fourteen years ago."

Fenrir didn't answer, instead dropping into a fighting stance more meant for defense than offense.

"What, no playful banter?" Valentine asked honestly. "You idiots take all the fun out of public executions, you know that?"

He flew up into the air, his Surplice's wings opening up as he dived down. Valentine sent punch after punch shooting in Fenrir's direction, but through it all the wolf boy kept his guard up, side-stepping the attacks and then kicking Valentine in the chest when he came into range.

Valentine staggered back, unable to believe what had just happened. Did he really manage to crack my Surplice?!? he thought as he looked down to see an ugly and noticeable scar running vertically across the entirety of his armor. He looked up just in the nick of time, Fenrir charging at him with his hands curled into fists.

"BUSTER WOLF!" The fist surged out, Valentine flying out of the way and utterly horrified by the sight he saw...

Fenrir's fist had slammed straight into the ground, leaving a crater twenty feet in diameter and at least fifty feet deep. He looked up at Valentine's shock and then back down at his hand. "It took me all eight days," Fenrir said as he curled his fingers back into fists. "All eight days I stood there, punching that plank again and again... correcting my aim after every single hit. And even when I was hitting dead-on, I still needed to hit harder. So I did, over and over and over again. The Buster Wolf is the pinnacle of my physical strikes... a punch that shatters bedrock like nothing."

"But useless against one who can fly!" Valentine shot back as he spread his wings, feathers falling to the ground. Fenrir could faintly sense the smell of chocolate among them. "AND YOU'RE DEAD! SWEET CHOCOLATE!"

The feathers suddenly exploded, Valentine relieved of how easy it had been as Fenrir vanished in the smoke. With any luck, he could get his Surplice repaired and-

"No, Valentine... you're dead."

The Harpy of the Celestial Mourning Star turned in horror to see that Fenrir had leapt up behind him and calmly extended his arms straight out.

"Dead Howling."

There was a flash of blue light as the image of a wolf shot out of Fenrir's hands, accompanied by a howl, and then it blasted straight through Valentine, killing him practically on contact.

Fenrir landed on his feet and then stared up at the audience. Hades was smiling, and then he stood up and clapped.

The Specters followed immediately.

Fenrir walked away, exchanging a quick glance with Isaac as he stepped out to fight.

"Don't lose," Fenrir said.

Isaac responded on impulse. "I'm fighting for justice. I can't lose."

[MorriganAensland]

Gordon! The imposing figure of a hatchet-man!

Returning to the waiting area, Fenrir wasn't surprised to see Cecil and Charybdis sitting with their backs against the wall, preferring to keep a distance apart.

"Well, I made it," he said before sitting down next to Cecil. The God Warrior looked over at him for a moment before speaking up.

"Fenrir... you weren't abandoned until you were three, right?"

"Yeah," Fenrir answered. "Not until three."

"Do you remember anything from before then?"

Fenrir nodded. "Plenty. I was young, but it kinda sticks in your memory when the other fourteen years involved you running around with a wolf pack. If it weren't for those memories, I'd probably would have seriously thought I was a wolf. Why ask?"

"Dunno," Cecil sighed. "It's just, what was life like for you before then. Would you ever want it back?"

Fenrir shook his head. "Of course not. True, the Volsung family had been pretty rich, but first of all, nothing compared to the Bodu or Polaris families."

"Don't remind me," Cecil muttered, recalling his own birth mother.

"Or me either," Charybdis added from across the room. "I'd personally like to torture Hilda's little sister in front of her, just so that ***** knows how it feels..."

"No arguments here," Fenrir agreed. "But no, Cecil. When you spend your days in some rich, fantastic home where every duty is fulfilled by servants, and image is everything, it's not life. It's a waste of living. I don't know about you, since you didn't have anyone to support or worry about, but-"

"Point taken," the Alcor Zeta God Warrior interrupted. "Living on my own out there in the wilderness of Asgard, I taught myself quite a bit. Languages from eavesdropping on travelers, writing, reading, I can even do quite a bit of knitting if the need were to arise. See this?" He pointed to his own raggy outfit. "It's not that fantastic, but I did have to make it from the fibers of tree bark."

"Living on the edge of chaos," Charybdis mused. Fenrir and Cecil turned to her. Charybdis looked at them and shrugged. "What, you never looked into that sort of thing?" The looks she was getting told the twenty-one year old she had some explaining to do. "It's the idea that in order for anything to exist and remain existing, monotony has to be avoided, meaning change is necessary. But there's a point called the 'edge of chaos', where if you drift to close to it, then the change happens to fast. Society and individuals can't keep up with it, and they quickly fall into ruin. Likewise, steer clear of the edge, and it's like trapping somebody in a coffin. They're fine at first, but if you don't introduce some change, oxygen for instance, they die. Only at this edge can the world progress and improve upon itself."

"I didn't know you were quite the philosopher," Cecil chuckled. Chary didn't seem bothered, though.

"When you're the highest ranking and older Mariner, you're often the one that people ask for advice." She closed her eyes once, recalling how every one of them was dead except for Isaac...

She hoped that the Kraken would make it through.
_
Gordon Cratos, the Minotaur of the Celestial Solid Star towered over Isaac as the Mariner faced him, Scale missing and in the land of the living.

"You think you're such a big boy, don't you?" Isaac asked. Gordon didn't answer, instead slamming down with his hand into the ground. Isaac sprang away at the last second, shocked to see a gigantic cut in the ground where he had been a second ago.

"The Grand Axe Grinder," Gordon laughed, looking at his hand. "Certain soldiers of the gods are empowered with a sacred weapon, its essence flowing through their veins. As for me... the tremendous axe, Geatz, is my gift from Lord Hades's previous incarnation."

"Speaking of which," Isaac said, not fazed in the slightest, "What happens to Valentine? He's a Specter, but is he human or..."

"'Specter' is our title, not our state of existence," Gordon said as he readied for another strike. "We're human just like God Warriors and Saints and Mariners, meaning we can die."

"Then you won't like the cold then," Isaac said as he shot his hand out. "Aurora Borealis!"

Again the stream of cold air and ice shot out of his fist, coating Gordon in a thin layer, but the Specter quickly broke out and then tackled Isaac. He reached up for the killing blow, but Isaac kicked him off and rolled back to his feet.

"I trained for this in the icy domain of Cocytus," he said. "I can understand now why those that rebel against the gods and live to tell the tale don't go there... its because the gods respect them enough that they just don't deserve it."

"You don't seem that shaken by it," Gordon pointed out. Isaac shrugged.

"It's because I did some thinking and besides, I'm the Kraken of the Arctic Ocean, I was in my element. And in order for one to truly be a master of ice, one must know its properties... its abilities endowed to it by two little hydrogen atoms and one bigger oxygen one. Specifically its ability to retain heat."

"Are we talking about ice here?" Gordon asked, confused by all of this.

Isaac nodded. "Of course. Igloos can be quite toasty given enough time, so I made one for myself... I was quite the big man in Cocytus... it ended up only being thirty below zero... that's Summer weather for me."

"Whatever!" Gordon said as he sprang at Isaac. "You're still dead!" He stabbed forward...

... And fell flat on his face. He discovered around him, there was a white ring of mist, created no doubt by Isaac.

"'Kholiso'," Isaac answered as he looked down at Gordon, who was struggling in vain. "It's Russian for 'Circle'. And now I think it's time I deal with you."

Gordon was so cold... he couldn't even think straight and refused to believe that Isaac had lifted him up with one hand, yet he certainly did and then pulled back for an uppercut.

"In Russia, the snow plows you," Isaac half-joked as he slammed his fist into Gordon, shattering the Specter's helmet. As he pulled back for another punch, Isaac suddenly appeared with an intense look on his face. "Now, face the greatest attack of Isaac Krylov, the Kholodnyi Smerch!" Isaac punched up again, this time sending Gordon flying into the air where a gigantic cyclone appeared around him and then froze instantly.

And then shattered, killing Gordon in the process.

Isaac turned and walked back, knocking on the door and letting Cecil know it was his turn to fight.

[MorriganAensland]

Queen! Cecil battling in a garden of death!

As Isaac walked back into the room, little worse for wear, he nodded at Cecil. "You're up."

"Sounds good," the God Warrior said as he stood up and walked out. After a few steps, however, he paused and looked back at Fenrir. "Thanks again... first time we met you could have easily killed me."

"What would've been the point?" Fenrir asked. "But whatever, take down the Alraune Specter so we can move on so Chary here can fight."

Cecil agreed, and walked through the door into battle. Isaac sat beside Charybdis, and they both stared at Cecil.

"You have no right to call me by that abbreviation," Sea Dragon said flatly.

"It saves time, and we called a truce as it is," Fenrir countered. "I didn't kill your sister, or Thetis or anybody else."

"You were still a God Warrior," Isaac pointed out. "There IS such a thing as 'guilty by association.'"

The sat in silence for a moment, all three of them before Fenrir spoke up again.

"Justice isn't clear-cut."

"And why the hell not?!?" Isaac roared, standing up. "You certainly didn't try to stop it! Thetis died, dammit! She's not coming back and she had no right to be killed like that! She was a sweet girl and a good friend and-"

Isaac stopped as Charybdis put her hand on the Mariner's shoulder. "It hurts," she said, "He'd never understand." She then looked at Fenrir. "Volsung, we may be united in this, we may even end up fighting together in a tight-knit team, but we are not your friends. Not after what happened when Asgard declared war."

"Point taken," Fenrir remarked as they all sat down again, just staring at each other in perfect and complete silence.
_
When Cecil stepped out into the arena, he immediately noticed the damage the ground had taken from the previous two battles, but he saw no Specter to fight against him.

And then playful, feminine laughter echoed throughout the entirety of the coliseum.

"What's going on here?" Cecil asked as he looked around. He suddenly saw a slight greening around the him, and then flowers burst out everywhere, along with a giant red rose, closed but with an alluring scent that burst from the ground. The Specters began cheering madly as it opened up, a pale-skinned, blue-haired woman emerging from it nude before her Surplice erupted from another flower and flew onto her.

"A peep show?" Cecil asked, unfazed as the woman stood in front of him. "So you're the Alraune of the Celestial Devil Star?"

The Specter nodded, bowing mockingly as a red rose appeared in her hand. She smelled it once and then looked at Cecil. "Correct, Nike Queen."

"Quite the regal name," Cecil shrugged. "But who the hell to you think you are, Tuxedo Kamen?"

"More like the Pisces Saint of Athena," Nike answered. "The move is yours."

Cecil looked at her and then at his rapidly flowering surroundings. Most likely Nike would use them for an offensive purpose... so Cecil figured he should try to finish this quickly. Without his God Robe, he couldn't afford a screw-up, especially the way things were looking.

"Thank you, and I accept the offer." He hunched over and curled up a fist, "Moko Reppu... Shiden... KEN!" His fist surged forward, but stopped on contact as Cecil suddenly felt his legs grow weak. Nike didn't seem bothered at all as she walked away, smelling the flower in her hands as countless roses appeared everywhere in the ring.

"Just a magnificent smell," Nike sighed as she twirled it around in her hands before it vanished. Instead, a single white rose materialized and she threw it on the ground at Cecil's feet. "It can make so many people swoon over, become dizzy, disoriented. Shocking, no?"

"In some ways," Cecil growled as he looked down at the white flower below him. "What's this for?"

Nike shrugged. "After my next attack, it'll be red from your blood." She then momentarily pointed at Cecil and grinned. "Pirhanna Rose."

Suddenly the flowers all around Cecil turned black, pitch black, and flew at him. Nike closed her eyes as they fell down on Cecil and smiled again. "Even the great Surplice of Lord Hades would be powerless to resist the destructive power of my Pirhanna Roses. They eat through everything... human flesh is no-"

"IMPULSE!"

A blast from Cecil's general direction blew Nike off her feet. She saw Cecil standing there, a few cuts and scrapes around him, but the entirety of the Specter's roses had been blown away. Nike was awestruck as Cecil looked her dead in the eye.

"Any great force of wind can blow a few petals away," Cecil answered. "Mizar Zeta or Alcor Zeta, I don't know which I am. But I spent eight days in the pools of burning blood of the Underworld... the pain was considerably unbearable for the first hour. But I stayed, and I overcame it."

"You mean you became desensitized to it," Nike said. "It's the same way with my poisons or toxins, you gradually work your way to an immunity. Any idiot knows that."

"WRONG!" Cecil snapped ,"Because that pain, in its entirety, stayed with me for all eight days! I overcame it not because I got used to it and blocked it out, it was my drive to not be defeated by it! For eight days I lay in there, realizing that in fact it was me wondering about my own worth! Seventeen years, my whole life, I was some damn wild man in the forests of Asgard, suddenly becoming a God Warrior and having a chance to prove myself a true Bodu, only to be stabbed in the back upon my first defeat! I wondered if all Bodus suffered from this fate... but I refuse to believe it's the truth."

"Then what is?"

"The will to fight on," Cecil said as he gathered up his strength for another strike, "The determination that lets me know I am only a Bodu by blood, otherwise I am Cecil, the White Tiger of Asgard! I can never lose sight of this will to continue living, never let thoughts of my birth or defeats drag me down into failure!"

Nike laughed as she readied a red rose in her hand. "I get it... focusing on what you are now and what you will be in the future... ignoring faults of the past after learning your mistakes. Well then, all I can say is your will to survive fails against an imapled heart. Let's finish this!"

Cecil nodded and charged. "No problem! Face the full force of the White Tiger! Moko Reppu Shiden Ken!"

"Royal Demon Rose!"

Fist and red rose surged out each aimed straight at their opponent's heart. Tiger and Alraune clashed again and again, and then...

The Tiger destroyed the flowers...

Blood spewed from Nike's mouth as her heart crumpled from the strike. Her legs grew weak, and she staggered away.

"The will to fight..." Nike rasped as she collapsed on the ground, her eyes opened wide. "The power to overcome any obstacle... because of hope for the future... incredible..."

She closed her eyes as darkness took her, Cecil unmoved as he walked back. As Charybdis stepped out, he nodded to her.

"Last one, don't screw up."

"I'm a Mariner, we don't screw up," Chary stated.

[MorriganAensland]

Myu! The deadly, demonic, and explosive butterfly!

"So where is that Papillon Specter?" Charybdis said as she looked around her. She really didn't see or sense anything out of the ordinary, just the gentle glittering of a few butterflies coming towards her.

"MILLION GHOST BUTTERFLY GENOCIDE ATTACK!"

Charybdis moved instantly, throwing herself and rolling away to the left as the insects suddenly exploded with more yield than most hand grenades. She really wasn't surprised to see her opponent descending from the sky, wearing a Surplice like that of a giant butterfly.

"Zelos Myu, Papillon Specter of the Terrestrial Demon Star," the Specter said as he landed. He certainly looked the part of a giant butterfly, his Surplice instead sporting a brownish orange tone; his violet hair cut short but spiked up. In a fitting manner, two giant butterfly wings were on his back...

... If it weren't for the smoldering crater where his attack had hit, Charybdis would have laughed at the idiot's appearance.

"Terrestrial Star, eh?" Charybdis asked, "Would happen to be rank lower than Celestial Star, would it?"

Myu shrugged and then chuckled. "If it were? I assure you, I am not like most other Specters."

"I'm certain, but no little bug is going to slay the Sea Dragon of the North Atlantic!" Charybdis shouted as she charged. Without her Scale and the power of One World it allotted her, she'd have to do this with her bare hands. Not like that would be a problem.

Myu stared straight at her and then turned away. "Child's play." He snapped his fingers...

And Chary was suddenly lifted up into the air, held there completely motionless as a bloodthirsty cheer came from many of the Specters, although Hades, Persephone, and the Judges did not seem amused by this.

"Psychokinesis, I presume," Charybdis stated. Myu nodded and then turned around.

"Of all 108 Specters, only a handful posses the abilities to move objects with their mind, and most of them can only handle a few kilograms at best. I, however, have only known a single rival that could ever match my prowess, the Gold Saint of Aries... Shion Kiki. Both of us can essentially control and move objects up to three hundred times our own weight, four hundred if we warm up first." He walked up to Chary and smiled. "Well? No glorious exhibition of One World's power, Sea Dragon? Where's the might of the North Atlantic now?"

"Go to hell," Charybdis shot back. Myu laughed for a moment before he punched her straight in the gut, keeping her completely motionless and transferring the entirety of the hit into her stomach. "I take it back..." Chary coughed out afterwards. Hell would spit you back out."

Myu glared at her as he raised a hand, butterflies flowing forth from it and surrounding Charybdis again.

"You were lucky last time..." Myu said. He noticed a bead of sweat on Charybdis's brow. "You didn't think I could do this while still keeping you completely trapped, did you?"

"The thought really hadn't crossed my mind," Charybdis muttered.

Myu laughed, as did most of the audience as Myu again unleashed the Million Ghost Butterfly Genocide Attack. Screams ripped through the arena as Charybdis took the brunt of the attack without any means of defense, but when the dust settled, she was still alive.

"That it?" Charybdis asked honestly, her humble shirt and pants torn in a number of places. "So much for your awesome powers of genocide..."

"You really shouldn't talk like that," Myu growled. "I might want to try it again."

"I'm sure," Charybdis shot back. "Too bad I'm about to win this."

"You're completely immobile, Sea Dragon," Myu said as the butterflies flowed from his hands again. "NOW DIE!"

Charybdis suddenly glared at Zelos as she tensed up every muscle in her body, trying to move just one...

And suddenly the Specter was blown back. Charybdis landed on the ground and jumped away as the butterflies exploded. She wiped the sweat and blood from her face and then sighed, looking at Myu's shocked face.

"What's the matter, Zelos?" she asked, "Think I didn't learn anything since my arrival here?"

"What could you possibly do..." Myu asked as his circlet fell to pieces, cracks springing up around his body. "You never learned psychokinesis before... you couldn't out-master me in such a short period here..."

"Didn't need to," Charybdis answered as she flexed her muscles. It was as she thought: like the power of One World, Zelos's psychic powers were useless with a damaged Surplice. They were on even footing now. "Because the power of One World is still with me."

"Impossible," Myu snorted. "One World may enable you to fold space and make people punch the backs of their heads among other things, but you need your Scale for it."

"To fully release its strength, yes," Charybdis answered. "But during my training here, trying to reverse the flow of a waterfall, I realized that Poseidon empowered me, not my Scale, with One World. As a precaution I would never be used against him, I need my Scale to draw out its strength... but it's still there, just in a much weaker but more offense-minded form." She raised her arms up into a fighting stance. "When I realized this, I struck that waterfall with force I never imagined before... the strength that caused water to flow up into the air, forming an image of my patron entity."

"IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Myu shouted as he sent his explosive bugs at Chary, yet she didn't seem fazed.

"I already withstood that, Zelos!" Charybdis shouted. "Now discover the true power of One World... the destructive Reppu Kairyunagi!" She pulled her fist back and then struck forward in a circular manner, calling upon the entirety of One World's power she had. Suddenly the air bended, the sheer force of the strike causing such a ripple in the fabric of space that it shot straight at Myu and his butterflies.

Insects clashed into the destructive force of One World, destroying them instantly before it smashed into Myu.

Zelos's eyes went wide in shock as he staggered back, his Surplice shattering. The pain... if it hadn't been for his armor, he would have been instantly killed...

"I believe we are on equal footing now, Zelos," Charybdis said as she stared down her opponent.

Myu shook his head and clenched his fists. "This fight isn't over yet..."

"My sentiments exactly."

They both lunged, fists ready to be thrown...

Sea Dragon against Papillon in a clash like that which the Underworld had never experienced.

A/N: I think now might be a smart time to take care of a number of the various characters pictures... before things get out of hand with them. And be warned that many of them are bishonen... Masami Kurumada was the pioneer when it came to making all the main characters prettyboys.
Sigurd
Hagan
Thor
Alberich
Fenrir with Garm
Cecil
Mime

Baian
Calypso
Krishna
Casa
Isaac
Sorrento
Thetis
Charybdis was an OC I created, and my friend made a few good pics of her... unfortunately, her Devianart account is down, so I can't post links. I'll do it later on...

Freya
Hilda
Hades. Okay, so Shun's wearing his Andromeda Cloth, but that's the only picture I can find of him at the moment. Don't sue me... the Andromeda Cloth will be appearing eventually.
Radamanthys
Aiacos
Minos
Lune
Myu
Alessi "Pharaoh" Sethan
Valentine
LaimiWho will not appear in this story, but will be mentioned numerous times and appear in the prequel.
Images of Queen and Gordon are unavailable since I can't find them at this time. Malon and Rudo "Kaiser" Stroheim are OCs, and no art of them has been made yet. Again, apologies.

This post has been edited by MorriganAensland: Sep 16 2007, 2:11 PM

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: You know, if nobody bothers commenting on this, I'm going to stop. It's a damn good story, but if nobody is going to bother speaking up, I'm going to stop updating it. I'm serious. I can go either way with this, considering these early chapters are all written up already. So sombody better give me some feedback.

Reppu Kairyunagi! The Gale-Force Wave of the World Dragon!

Chary and Zelos's fists slammed into each other's as the Specter and Mariner clashed, neither one giving an inch. Their other legs struck out, and both Chary and Myu staggered back from getting their stomachs nearly kicked out of their bodies.

Dammit... Zelos thought as he staggered away, only slightly thankful that Tiamet herself had to do the same, Without my Surplice... and who would have thought she'd have the power of One World without her Scale?

Zelos was just starting to enjoy this fight. It had been a while since he had faced such a challenge...

Charybdis charged again, slamming her fist clean into his face. Myu bent back with it, parrying a second strike and returning the favor in full. Chary went down quickly, but shot back up. Myu dodged her strike, and then quickly generated another butterfly in his hand...

...Right in front of her face.

The blast scorched Charybdis as she was knocked back, and the audience went wild again. Numerous Specters were chanting Zelos's name, and he relished it as Charybdis pulled back for the Reppu Kairyunagi. Even though he couldn't see the attack coming, he knew it was there. And just at the right second...

"Krizalid Reflector," Myu said as the ripple suddenly hit an invisible wall and was sent right back at Chary, her screams filling the arena as she was knocked to the ground.

"How..." she muttered as she got back up to her feet. Zelos grinned.

"Unfortunately, my abilities are not limited to mastery of explosive butterflies and psychokinesis... I possess a whole arsenal of butterfly-themed attacks...like the Krizalid Reflector..." he snapped his fingers as a shimmering and nearly transparent barrier appeared in between them, "With a considerably durable but reflective material to do its job, it reverses any problematic attacks."

"Bravo," Chary shot back as she charged again. She leapt into the air and shot down in a kick, and as Myu raised another Reflector, she bounced on it back up in the air, flipping backwards and landing on the ground. Myu looked down just in time for her to punch him clean in the face again, sending him halfway across the arena and landing with a resounding thud. He struggled to get back up, and Charybdis was attacking him again. She plowed her foot into his chest, and Myu went sailing away...

... Only to stop and then shoot back at her, his body ramming into hers as he immediately summoned up another Million Ghost Butterfly Genocide Attack and point-blank range.

Dammit... Charybdis thought as she sailed away. I can't keep up with this guy much longer... and he can see the Kairyunagi coming a mile away now too...

Don't give up like this... came a voice as Charybdis hit the ground. Her eyes were open wide.

Was that?

Calypso?

Who else? came the childish voice of her younger sister, mercilessly killed by Sigurd Siegfried. Chary, you can't just give up like this. You've given plenty more than you've taken, just look at the *******! We dead Mariners are entrusting you and Isaac to stop Polaris... you can't die like this!

Charybdis got back up on exhausted feet... her body seeming to be uniform in its unbelievable pain...

Just in time for another of Myu's Genocide attacks. Chary's screams were enough to drown out even the Specters' cheering, but she stayed on her feet this time. Myu was awestruck as he saw her pulling back for another Reppu Kairyunagi, every muscle in her body tensed up.

"What the hell?" Zelos muttered, "If anything, her strength is increasing after all of that beating?"

"I can't lose," Chary growled as she struck at Myu. "FOR MY SISTER!" The wave was sent out, Myu raising up his reflector again.

Ripple against reflector, neither one buckling, Myu and Chary getting a perfect look at each other in the process, their exhausted and wrecked bodies mirroring each other.

"Dammit," Myu whispered as he stumbled forward, his reflector vanishing as the Kairyunagi hit him dead on.

The only thing remaining him after the wave hit was a splotch of blood across the arena, its members dead silent as Charybdis turned to them all.

"And whoever cheers against me next will get double that!" Were her only words before she stumbled forward, her fall being broken by Isaac, Fenrir, and Cecil, who had come out at the end of the battle.
_
Hades smiled as he stood up and looked down at Radamanthys, Aiacos, and Minos.

"Well?" he asked, "Which one of you will take them all on?"

Aiacos and Radamanthys were about to speak up, after all, any one of those idiots that had been killed was no rival to them in terms of strength, but Minos stopped both of them.

"I will," the Griffin of the Celestial Nobility Star said as he stood up, Persephone smiling at Minos's statement. He then turned down to his subordinate, Lune, and smiled. "Don't worry, I have every intention of hoping they win, but you won't be getting my job just yet."

"Never would have dreamed of it," Lune answered back.

[MorriganAensland]

A/N: Oh, and here are those fan-drawing of Charybdis from my friend Knightskye/Niteskye...
The original first sketch of her... http://ladyknightskye.deviantart.com/art/C...oncept-61202173
One of Chary in her Scale... http://ladyknightskye.deviantart.com/art/C...urning-61201931

One more fight! The fate of the planet resting on four sets of shoulders!

Minos slowly walked down into the arena, thinking about the respective fighting styles of the four fighters.

Fenrir and Cecil fought similarly, a nice mix of punches and techniques, while Isaac used ice-oriented abilities and Charybdis used the power of One World for offensive and defensive purposes.

Of course, Zelos, Valentine, Nike, and Gordon didn't really use much strategy in fighting... and their powers weren't any threat to him whatsoever. Those four would have to work together to stand a chance against him...

But I can't give an inch, Minos thought as he walked down the stairs to face them. Laimi'd never forgive me if I did.
_
"You okay?" Isaac asked Chary as she caught her breath. She slowly nodded, getting back to her feet after a moment.

"In a world of pain right now," she answered, "But I'm far from running on fumes."

"Good to know," Cecil announced as Minos came into view, the Specter of the Celestial Noble Star seeming rather intimidating in his Surplice. While the other fighters had seemed powerful, Minos simply radiated strength... pure, unadulterated, intimidating power. "But we got company."

"It's one on four, though," Fenrir said as he stood to face him. "If we actually work as a team, we'll be fine..."

"That's a pretty big 'if'," Isaac said, "After all-"

"That's enough, Isaac," Chary said as she stood with Fenrir and Cecil. "We resolve this and hate them all we want later."

Isaac wordlessly agreed, and the four stood against the single Specter and then charged.

"Amateurs," Minos quietly said as he assumed a fighting stance, silver threat suddenly appearing from his fingertips. He flicked his hands forward, four threads aimed straight at each one of them.

Isaac quickly summoned up a wall of ice in front of them, and they immediately sprang away... which was good because the string pierced the ice effortlessly.

"What the hell?!?" Chary said as the thread suddenly vanished. She looked at Minos, who simply tapped his helmet once.

"My motif involves, as I call it, my 'Labyrinth String.' No matter the strength or the distance of my enemy, the Labyrinth String will always adapt and overcome."

"Overcome this!" Isaac said as he sent off an Aurora Borealis stream, the Specter seeming unfazed as the wire suddenly began forming a large, spiral net in front of him. The attack hit dead, on, the net being bent backwards... but then it snapped forward, the icy attack hitting Isaac dead-on and encasing him in a block of his own ice. He broke free after a moment, but was out of breath as Minos turned to face his other two attackers.

"Buster Wolf!"

"Moko Reppu Shiden Ken!"

Cecil and Fenrir flung themselves at Minos from behind, their deadly punches surging forward, but suddenly a spider-web suddenly came into view, the two God Warriors flying right into it. Minos turned to both of them and delivered swift punches to the gut that sent them flying away and landing on the ground in crumpled heaps.

Impossible... Cecil thought, He feels stronger than all the God Warriors put together!

"Jokes on you, however," Fenrir snickered as Minos turned to see one of Chary's Reppu Kairyunagis flying at him. He generated another "Spiral Duct", as he called the reflective move, but from a different angle Isaac struck, freezing the string cold. It broke, although it stopped Chary's attack, but the Sea Dragon herself was charging straight at Minos along with Isaac.

The Specter casually dodged and blocked their punches and kicks, and when Isaac tried a Kholodnyi Smerch uppercut, Minos just bent out of the way and moved to attack him, catching Chary's leg in his hand and throwing her away.

But as he moved to hit Isaac, two tough bodies slammed into him from behind, Cecil pounding Minos's back while Fenrir landed a perfect kick into the Judge's head. His helmet went flying, landing on the ground as the silver hair flowed free and the upper half of Minos's face was finally visible.

"Shocked?" he asked as he looked at each one of them, not surprised by the looks on their faces.

That was where he had seemed familiar... and why he hadn't said his name...

"So..." Chary said, the first one to recompose herself, "You're the great Griffon of the Celestial Noble Star... Minos Sylphid. The very person that helped up train here..."

He nodded as the four re-grouped and stood together for the next exchange of blows. "Naturally. And in all honesty, I want you to beat me, but I can't go easy. But you have a chance at setting things right, and all you have to do to go back is together defeat someone stronger than all four of you. And all you have to do for that... is to keep hope alive."

The black, Griffon wings on the back of his Surplice opened wide and he flew straight at them like a rocket... no more handholding. It was time to get serious.

Before any of them knew what was happening, Minos was attacking. Four punches later, they were flying backwards, slammed into walls and leaving gigantic craters as the audience went wild.

"Keep hope alive," Minos repeated, "It's the only way you're going to be able to beat me."

"Sounds simplistic..." Fenrir grunted as he got back to his feet, Cecil and Isaac a few moments behind him and Chary only needed a few seconds after that. He charged, only to see Minos standing there and staring straight at him. And then he raised his hand up, pointing straight at him.

"Fenrir!" Cecil shouted, "Dodg-"

"Griffon Mind Shot!" It was too late... a silvery thread firing from Minos's finger aimed straight at Fenrir's head, glinting as if it was the sharpest thing in all of the Underworld.

And in reality, it was.

Fenrir was petrified, it was on him almost instantly... but then a sudden ripple in the space-time continuum bent it out of the way, Chary standing next to him having just performed another Reppu Kairyunagi. The cord went inches to his left, penetrating the coliseum wall as if it was nothing.

"Shake it off," Charybdis commanded as she lunged at Minos, punching through the threads as Isaac froze them solid. Then Cecil joined them, skirting around Minos and trying to attack from behind...

"Child's play," Minos commented as he caught the kicking Bodu's leg, bend out of the way of Chary's punch, and shot another Mind Shot at Isaac, who immediately ducked out of the way, although his arm was cut. Blood seeped out, but he quickly froze the wound and jumped back in the fight.

Minos ducked his strike, countering and blocking all of their attempts at hitting him, but then Fenrir threw his lot in as well. As Minos attempted to kick Cecil away, Fenrir rammed into the leg, spinning the Judge and knocking him off balance.

It was their opening... and Cecil, Fenrir, Charybdis, and Isaac knew it instantly.

"BUSTER WOLF!"

"IMPULSE!"

"REPPU KAIRYUNAGI!"

"AURORA BOREALIS!"

Fist, blast of wind, spatial shockwave, and stream of ice shot straight at Minos, who immediately threw up another Spiral Duct and reflected all the attacks right back, Fenrir taking the brunt of all the attacks as well.

The four were sent to the ground again, Minos relatively unhurt, but he was overjoyed to see them all get back up again.

"Aggressively attacking won't get us anywhere..." Charybdis muttered as she looked over at Isaac and the two God Warriors. "Bodu... Volsung... think you can strike when I give you both the opening?"

"How so?" Fenrir asked, but it was too late.

Another Kairyunagi wave blasted at Minos, who threw up another reflector...

... Only for it to collapse on itself, crumpled by Isaac's Kholiso attack. Minos's face took on a truthful look of shock as the attack hit dead-on, knocking him back several feet. And then Fenrir and Cecil were on him. They both struck down with thundering fists, the Specter flying away just in the nick of time, although the smoke and dust knocked up hid the four from view.

They're staying in the game no matter what... Minos thought as he looked around in vain.

And then Fenrir shot up to him, the image of a wolf emerging from his hands, the Dead Howling slamming into Minos sideways. Then Isaac's hand shot up from the smoke, dragging him back down into it.

"KHOLODNYI SMERCH!" The freezing uppercut landed a direct hit to Minos's unprotected chin, sending him upwards into the air and into range of Cecil's own attacks.

"Moko Reppu Shiden Ken!" Minos tried to block in time, he knew that Cecil was coming from somewhere, but he had no clue. In the end, Cecil struck from behind, his fist pounding into Minos's back and sending the Judge sliding across the ground...

Right in front of Charybdis, who already had a Kairyunagi waiting for him. As it hit, Fenrir, Cecil, Isaac, and Charybdis were overjoyed to hear Minos actually shout out in pain, and when they at last could see him, they knew they were doing decent.

Minos's Surplice showed not a single crack, but his mouth was a tad bloody and there was a bruise on the side of his face.

He looked at all four of them before standing back and letting out a short laugh. "Impressive," he said. "You're holding your own against the most powerful Specter in all of the Underworld... that alone will put you down in the history books."

"No way..." Isaac said in disbelief, "We just hammered that guy with moves that killed other Specters and he's treating it like some stupid romp in the hillside or something?"

"Far from it," Cecil answered. "When you live on your own for your entire life in the wilderness... you learn to never let your enemies see you bleed, metaphorically speaking. He's standing strong, but I doubt it's more than an appearance."

Minos smiled as he looked Cecil dead in the eye. "You think it's all an act? Then why don't we finish this then?"

"Gladly!" Fenrir shouted, the first to charge yet again.

Minos readied himself as Charybdis, Fenrir, Cecil, and Isaac all charged, each ready to strike at the perfect moment.

But then he smiled. "Got you," Minos chuckled as more string came into view around them, suddenly looping around and wrapping all of them up. "You fell into the 'Greatest Capture'."

He snapped his fingers, the string tightening as the four screamed out in pain, every muscle in their body trying to break free. Blood trickled from their arms and legs as they tried to escape, but it was seemingly no use. The cables showed no sign of weakening, and even Isaac had no focus to freeze the strings.

Minos then pointed straight at them. "Last chance... Griffon Mind Shot."

Fenrir, who by now was seeing the attack come straight at him, Cecil behind him and Isaac and Chary to his sides, suddenly realized something. His feet were on the ground... and he tried to throw the entire group to the side...

The silvery cable shot at them... but Minos smiled again as Fenrir actually managed to move the group far enough to the left that the only thing struck was their own bindings.

Breaking free, Isaac struck first, Aurora Borealis shooting out at Minos. He raised his arms up to defend, but Isaac fired again, this time aiming at Minos's feet. Minos shouted in pain as his legs were frozen in a block of ice.

Charybdis was above him, flipping behind him and sending out another Kairyunagi which slammed into Minos's back. He flew straight forward, right into range of a woozy but still standing Cecil and Fenrir, their fists being pulled back.

"BUSTER WOLF!"

"MOKO REPPU SHIDEN KEN!"

Their fists collided straight into Minos's chest and face, being slammed into a wall of the coliseum before Minos collapsed.

"Well..." Fenrir said cheerfully as his legs grew shaky, "We won..."

He collapsed, the others following not soon afterwards...

Only for the four to discover them all back in the ruins of Atlantis... without their armor, but alive.
_
"You think they'll be okay?" Hades asked as he and his Judges walked down a hall.

Aiacos shrugged. "They're tough enough to beat Minos... that says a lot..."

"But it took all of them together," Radamanthys answered. "That doesn't look good if they have to be divided in battle."

Hades then turned to Minos and cocked an eyebrow. "Well? What do you say, Minos?"

Minos smirked before wincing from the pain of his injuries. "Give me a few hours... and I'll get back to you on that..."

Blue dream... drifting in your mind...
Wondering how this came be...
Blue dream... lingering in thoughts,
Thinking how to continue,

You take fresh breath and get up again,
Clawing for more, never just deciding to quit...
Fight on in memory of those you know.

Fight for justice and truth, heroes of Pentrine...