"Estu veste mekru imate`. Estu veste mekru imate`. Covensiado losvete` crestio. Estu estu…moventiado. Oskedia lektou lectoo…vensito… Come warriors of the realms. Come warriors of the realms. Innocence calls thee. Evil. Evil everywhere. Help the people who summon thee." Once again, the words were chanted, first in the native language of this race, then in a language never heard by the commoners. The words swirled out over the misty fog of the ancient pool; the water forming a eerie dull green glow to cast upon the figure of the speaker.

A single man, not yet elderly in age but still far from his days of youth, stood with his head bowed and his knotted hands folded. Over and over again, he chanted those words, searching desperately for any who would answer his call. Dressed in black ceremonial robes, splashed with deep shades of green, red, and purple, signifying him as a priest, his still powerful frame remained still as the night sky. His long, thick hair was toned with such a dark shade of green that it came across black. Two soft, sad, deep midnight eyes opened as he lifted his head to look into the pool; eyes still fervently searching for help.

"Xeldio?" came a soft female voice, startling the middle-aged man from his trance-like state. He did not turn as the speaker, a young girl no more than fifteen, with thin, fiery orange hair and deep set red eyes filled with concern, walked towards him, her long forest green robe scrapping the ground as she walked. "Xeldio, letseda comenda es`veca?" (Xeldio, have you found them yet?)

Xeldio sighed heavily, his arms dropping to his side as his young apprentice stopped a few steps behind him. "Nai. Nai ferespisto, Meldeca. Es'toven swtedo te buqota." (No. No not yet, Meldeca. They are hard to locate.) [Author's note: Now switching on the universal translator. ^_~ ]

"Perhaps if I lent my powers, we could find them together?" Meldeca asked, coming to her Master's side. Her youthful eyes swept over the magical pool, holding a sorrow no one her age should bear. She knew the dangers of what her Master was doing, for on her world, outsiders were not welcome. Their god forbade it. But there was little choice in the matter. Their world was dying, and not one of the Zeldian High Priests could find the reason why. So now, in the hours of the night where secrets were kept for eternity, she and her Master had ventured forth to call upon the help of warriors of other worlds, daring their god's anger in the process.

Xeldio locked eyes with his over-eager apprentice, all serious in his. "I dare not ask it, Meldeca. You know the risk we are taking." He looked back into the pool, an almost desperate feeling over taking him. "Zadlir commands us to stay away from outsiders, but I fear his judgement in this matter is incorrect. My life is insignificant in this matter. I have lived my life. But you," He turned back to her, sorrow mixed with pride for his young apprentice filled his eyes. "You, my dear Meldeca, are still young. I would not be able to live with myself if you died from this."

Her youthful defiance took over for a few moments. She crossed her arms and stated matter-of-factly, "With all do respect, Master, we will all die if these warriors are not found."

Though the elderly priest did not like it, he saw the logic in her blunt statement. With a heavy sigh, he held out a battle-hardened hand to her, which she took, and drew her closer to him. Both closed their eyes, the Mage and his apprentice, allowing their powers to flow out, coursing together to become stronger. Once again, the words of the ancient chant rang forth through the darkness. "Estu veste mekru imate`. Estu veste mekru imate`. Covensiado losvete` crestio. Estu estu…moventiado. Oskedia lektou lectoo…vensito."

Their magic flared, the chant becoming stronger, and coursed through the waters of the enchanted pool. Through those waters, the magic searched the galaxies far beyond their own, searching for warriors who would be able and willing to help them. Neither knew what to expect, but both where hopeful that whoever came would, indeed, be able to save them.

The Last Sunrise

Co-Authored By: JC and Kaze

Chapter One :"When Warriors Collide…."

By: JC

"Kaze!" a young man with exceedingly long black hair pulled back in a loose braid, and wearing a black kimono, yelled down the hallway of his castle home, an angry fire burning in his gray eyes. "Kaze! This is NOT funny! I demand you and Tenshi get out here this minute!"

His call was left unanswered, making the young Guardian even more angry than before. "KAZE!!!! IF YOU DON'T GET OUT HERE, THERE WILL BE HELL TO PAY!!! AND MABOROSHI WON'T BE THERE TO SAVE YOU!!!!!!" Once again, not receiving an answer, the young man stormed down the hall towards his sister's room, muttering curses under his breath as his anger continued to grow. He came to a stop in front of a large, wooden door and banged his fist against it while screaming, "KAZE!!! I KNOW YOU ARE IN THERE!!!!!"

Nothing. No response came from the closed door. Only silence. An eerie silence. An eerie silence that filled the entire castle. The young man stopped, finally realizing that no one had yelled at him to shut up. He would have at least expected Akumu or Watasumi to threaten him, or Maboroshi to tell him to leave Kaze alone, but there was nothing. A chilling fear crept up his spine. "Kaze? Tenshi? Umi?" he called softly, fear threading through his words.

Thousands of ideas started to shoot through his mind as the young man burst through the bedroom door, only to find it empty. "KAZE!!!" he screamed again, this time in horror. "Maboroshi! Akumu! Where are you!!!" He ran down the halls, searching each room in a panic. "Oh gods, no, please…don't let them be hanging in Vaphere's dungeon or dying slowly at Tsumetai's hands or something awful like that!" the frightened young warrior's mind pleaded aloud.

Suddenly, he stopped. A strange feeling washed over his body, as if someone…or something…very powerful was calling to him. "What the hell…" he started, but the question was never finished as Toki, the Guardian of Time, vanished.

* * * *

He had felt it. A strange power coming from their room. A man, clad from the neck down in black armor, raced through the palace halls, desperately trying to reach the room of the future king and queen of Ikata: Prince Dark and Lady Dawn. Long white hair flew out behind him as he, Lord Knightcon, personal protector of the future rulers, quickly turned a sharp corner. Soon, he came to a halt in front of a large pair of marble double doors, which lead to Dark's bedroom. Pausing for only a moment, his sharp, blood-red eyes sweeping over the entrance, the knight pushed the doors open, only to find the room…empty.

"Prince Dark?" he called, taking a step into the room. "Lady Dawn?" he called again, his deep voice growing with strength from his worry. Knightcon hurriedly began to search the room. "Your Highnesses, where…" If anyone were to be listening to his cry, they would be shocked when the well respected warrior's voice suddenly stopped. If they were to search the room, they would also find that Lord Knightcon had vanished, along with the prince and his Lady.

* * * *

Watcher's peak in the Lands of Arywn….

"WWWWHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"

The enthusiastic call echoed off of the snow covered peaks as two young girls, aging between 16 and 18, came flying over the peak, taking a fast and furious race down the sheet of ice on nothing more than a long piece of wood. Both had dark tan skin, pointed ears, and silver streaks in their hair, signifying them as Elven, but there was a difference in them that they both shared: they were both half-breeds. The first, looking to be older than the other, had white hair contrasting the streaks, and blue/gray eyes of a human, for that was her other half. The other had blond hair and deep blue cat eyes; eyes that showed her to be the half-breed of a vampire.

Both were clothed in sleeveless tunics and trousers. The human/elf was dressed in forest green and brown, having a bow and pack of arrows strapped across her back and a foot long hunting dagger strapped to her left hip; her vampiric companion was dressed in silver and black, with a long black staff strapped to her back as well as a short sword at her waist. The first had a leather head band tying her shoulder-length hair back; her friend allowed her waist length hair to fly freely. Both had excited looks on their faces as the frigid arctic air bit at their mostly uncovered skin. The sliver and white-haired human half-breed crouched lower, gaining speed and the lead over her racing mate.

With a challenging air, she yelled, "Admit it, Ashes, you will never beat me!"

Ashes merely laughed and called back, "How easily you forget, JC! I beat you in the last three runs!"

"Yes!" JC admitted, turning her head towards her friend. "But this time, you will lose!"

"We will see!" With that, Ashes crouched down as far as she dared, speeding past the overly-cocky JC.

"Hey!" JC protested, then followed suit, crouching lower as well.

Back and forth, the lead was passed between the two, staying neck and neck the whole way down the mountain. Coming upon the final stretch, the two saw a large canyon coming their way, and on the other side was the final member of their group: a young elf named Alana. Her dark green eyes watched her two friends in a mix of amusement and disbelief as the cool wind blew her waist length, black with silver streaks, braided hair. A dark green tunic and semi-loose black trousers acted as the only shield to the cold, being held down by her bow, arrow patch, and duel scimitars, which she had strapped one on each side of her leather belt. Patiently, she waited, watching for the victor; suddenly, a strange power over whelmed her, causing her head to fall back as it ripped through her defenses and consumed her.

JC kept her eyes on Alana, waiting for the moment when her friend would announce her the victor, instead of Ashes. Swerving to the left, she took the space in front of her opponent, and leaned down in preparation of her jump. When they came to the edge of the cliff face, JC leapt off of her make-shift snowboard, feeling the presence of Ashes behind her. She glanced back at her friend, smiling in triumph, then turned back to Alana…only to find her gone.

"What the hell?!?!" she cried, faltering in her jump. She stopped in mid air, forgetting that Ashes was behind her. She was soon reminded, however, when the young vampire rammed straight into her back, throwing both forward into the cliff face…but neither hit as they, too, vanished.

* * * *

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!" JC screamed as she fell through the air, finally landing on, what felt like, a hard marble floor. She hit with a loud 'Umph!' and rolled rather ungracefully across the ground until she was stopped by a wall. "Ow…" the young elf moaned, rubbing her head as she came up on all fours. "What a majorly ungraceful landing, wouldn't you say Ashes?"

No response came. JC lifted her head, startled to find, not the white-capped peaks of the Mistic Mountains, but a thick darkness of who knew where. A strong fear crept up her spine, causing the blue/gray eyed teen to shudder. "Ashes!?!" she called, her voice echoing rather loudly against the stone walls. She stood, wincing at the volume of the echo she caused, and slowly started to walk through the darkness, her eyes swiftly adjusting to it.

She found herself in a long corridor of some kind, made entirely of stone. No torches lined to halls, dashing her hopes of getting some light. Spending her time groping through the darkness was not JC's idea of a good day, especially when it was groping through an unknown area. "Ichie, Ashes, where are you when I need you?" she muttered bitterly, wishing desperately for her friend's magically ability to create balls of light. "I hate the dark…it is so closed in…like a cage….I hope I am not in a cage…" Her thoughts started to wander from there, going through scenario after scenario, the next being worst then the first. One thing JC hated about herself was the fact that she was claustrophobic; cages of any kind did not mix well with her.

Finally, much to her relief, the hallway bent into a turn, meaning there was a way out. JC sighed in relief. 'Good. This means I am not in a cage.' Happily, yet still cautiously, she turned the corner…and ran into a brick wall. Or what felt like a brick wall. Whatever it was made her fall down upon impact. Not liking the fact that she was on the ground again, JC looked up to see what she had hit. What she saw scared her to death. A large, foreboding figure stood gazing down at her, narrowed silver eyes swept over her with a haughtingly guarded look. Power radiated off of him like heat from a fire, causing her to fear him even more. Whoever it was could not only knock her down without moving a muscle, but could most likely kill her with a thought. And, when in an unknown area in the dark, that was not a reassuring thought. Not knowing what else to do, JC closed her eyes and let out an ear piercing shriek. "DEMON!!!!!!!!"

The figure cried out in shock from her outburst, stepping back to the side. "Demon?" he asked, but she did not hear him. In a flash, she was on her feet and running blindly through the darkness. "Hey! Come back!" he called, chasing after her. He did not like being screamed at, called a demon, and run from without a decent explanation. Besides, that girl was the only other living creature he had run into (yes, he admitted, literally run into) since he appeared here. 'Wherever here is.' he thought while shaking his head.

* * * *

"Stay close to me, Dawn." Dark cautioned as he peered around the corner, looking around to make sure it was safe to continue. His piercing blue eyes swept across the darkness, focusing on anything that might be different. "I think there is a door at the end of this hall." he whispered.

Slowly and silently, the two warriors crept down the stone hallway, careful not to disturb any of the items scattered across the way. Just as he had thought, the young Prince started to make out the details of a door not too far ahead of them. A smile played across his thin lips for the first time that day as he pointed it out to his love. Dawn nodded, some of her light blue hair falling over her petit shoulder. They reached the door without incident, and Dark pressed his shoulder against it, using his brute strength to open it. The hinges squeaked in protest from the forceful intrusion on their peace, sending a louder than normal creak through the other wise silent corridor. The two intruders winced at this, muttered a curse or two, then quickly walked into the next room, hoping no one heard the noise and was coming after them.

The air in the next room was cooler and not so tightly packed, signaling to Dark that they had entered a rather large chamber. "Dawn, dear.." he whispered to her, not taking his eyes from their vigilant watch. "I think it would be safe to turn the lights on, wouldn't you agree?"

"Indeed." Dawn stopped her careful pace and raised her hands into the air, two angelic wings spread out from her back. She titled her head back, allowing her eyes to close as her hands came together at the wrist, palms facing up. A small ball of pure white light formed in her hands and floated up into the air, her whole body being covered with the same light. The ball suddenly flew straight up, then exploded, filling the room with light, one which would not fade unless she commanded it to do so.

"Thank you, my dear." her husband said as she landed gracefully, her wings folding down to make a white cape over her light blue, Greek-style dress. The right side extended farther than the left, draping softly over her sandled foot. She looked up, amazed at how high the ceiling was. It was more than twenty feet high, with a dome at its peak. A balcony wrapped around half the room, leading to a smaller second floor, which held a couple shelves filled with books of some sort. She decided to investigate them.

After glancing over at Dark to make sure he was ok, she spread her wings and flew to the balcony, landing softly on the rail. Unexpectedly, though, some of the stone she stepped on was loose, making her lose her balance and fall back. With a startled cry, Dawn reached out to grab a long, black braided rope to catch herself, only to find it was not a rope but someone's hair, and that someone came flying over the railing as she continued to fall.

Dark continued to explore the main floor, walking along side the long, wooden table placed in the center of the room. His hand was instinctively placed on the jeweled hilt of his sword as his dark blue eyes continued to look around. The room was quiet, save the rustle of the wind whenever he made a sharp movement. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a large shriek mixed with a surprised, then angered, stream of curses. He turned around sharply, just in time to see Dawn on the ground with some stranger in a black kimono laying on top of her. His eyes flared red with anger. "Hey, you fucking bastard, get off of her!" he screamed, charging across the room.

Toki's head was filled with a thin fog as reality began to sink back in. Last thing he registered before hitting the ground, was the pain of someone yanking his braid. At least he landed on something soft. Soft, yes…until he opened his eyes to see a young girl under him, looking at him murderously. The meaning of the look finally became clear when he saw where his hand was; he had accidentally grabbed her lower thigh, which was uncovered from the fall. 'Oh shit!!!!' his mind screamed. Right after he screamed at himself, he heard someone else scream at him, then two powerful hands grabbed him by the arms and threw him across the room.

His head met the wall in a very intimate manner, blurring his vision once again as he slumped to the floor in a moment of dizziness. Anger flared up in his soul, giving the young Guardian new strength. With fire in his gray eyes, he pushed off from the wall and stormed over to the young man in armor, who was now helping the winged woman up. Before he could start his stream of insults, however, his charge was stopped by the young man's sword. The black-haired Guardian stopped short, not intimidated in the least by his adversary's weapon.

"How dare you molest the future Queen of Ikata!" Dark accused, rage in his voice. "I will kill you for this, you rotten baggart!"

Toki looked at him in contempt. "I was not molesting her, you over-reactive twit."

The blade stabbed painfully into his throat, almost drawing blood. "You deny it. How cowardly of you, fag."

"FAG!?!?!" Toki's eyes widened in rage. How dare that puny mortal call him a FAG! "I AM NOT GAY!!!!!!!!!" the enraged Guardian screamed, an emerald green aura flaring up around him.

A chuckle came from behind Dark. "Oh really? It is kind of hard to tell, since you ARE wearing a dress." The speaker, a young man with white hair and red eyes, stepped up next to his Prince, arms crossed and an overly cocky smirk on his face.

"You are right, Knightcon." Dark commented, grateful to see his friend there with him. His taunting blue eyes turned back to their miserable prey. "He is in a dress."

Toki growled, his eyes narrowing and his fists clenching as he hissed through his teeth, "This is a kimono, not a dress…"

LK only laughed again, then his countenance changed from amusement to dark and cold. In a flash, he, too, had his sword in hand. Pressing the blade into Toki's chest, he threatened, "If you ever, EVER, touch the princess again, I shall kill you." His red eyes took a quick glance behind his prey, inspiring another comment. "But, why would you molest our future Queen when you already have a whore at your disposal?"

Toki glanced back to see another one of the Guardians, a young girl with waist length black hair and eyes, glaring daggers at Knightcon. This revelation made the young man even more angry, if that were possible. He turned back, the emerald green aura flaring. In an almost unearthly voice, he hissed, "How dare you insult a Guardian. I can tell you two wish to die….slowly AND painfully…."

Dark laughed haughtily as he and his trusted protector with drew their blades. "I doubt you could hurt a plush toy, let alone the two strongest warriors of Ikata."

Toki crouched low into a fighting stance, a long staff appearing in his hands. "Bring. It. On."

"Ladies first." Dark challenged. The four teens charged, Lord Knightcon taking Tenshi (the new girl he called a whore) and Toki took on Dark. Dawn stood to the side, wondering whether or not she should intervene.

* * * *

"I swear, if those two do not stop following us, I will personally rip off their ears and shuv them up their.."

"Oh shut up, Umi!" Maboroshi cut in, his blue eyes shinning with annoyance at his younger sister's whining. He pushed some of his chin length, jagged-cut black hair behind his ear before looking back over his shoulder, once again observing the two elves walking only a few meters behind them. When the two saw him looking at them, they stopped and acted as if they were not doing anything wrong. The older Guardian turned back around. "I do not have reason to believe they are following us."

"You do not have reason to believe?" Watatsumi (Umi) cried, her green eyes wide in surprise. Waist length black hair flew freely in the air as she ran ahead and turned to face her brother, not caring that she was walking backwards in an unknown hallway and liable to bump into something. "They have been right behind us since we got here!"

Kaze, the last of their group, only shook her head, sending locks of her shoulder length black hair over her shoulders. "Umi, if they are following us, who cares? It is not like they could hurt us or anything." Her green eyes flashed with amusement at the thought.

Her sister did not agree. "You do not know that, Kaze!" she cried, now stepping in front of her twin sister. "We have no clue where we are! There might be people here stronger than us!"

"Hm.." Kaze frowned, her tone turning into an emotionless sarcasm. "Like Vaphere."

The name of their former enemy made Watatsumi freeze in her tracks. Just the thought of that man sent chills down her spine. The memories of their battles with him were far too painful for her. Not wanting to dwell on those thoughts, she turned back around, her head lowering as she tried to think about something else. "Yes…like him." she muttered.

Ashes watched the three strangers ahead of them with mild curiosity. "Alana, do you think those three know where we are going?"

Her elven companion shrugged. "I do not know." Her sharp green eyes locked onto her blond and silver-haired friend. "Maybe you should have consulted them about it before deciding to follow them."

This caused the young vampire/elf to frown, her fangs peeking out over her bottom lip for a moment. "I am not following them." she protested childishly. "They just happen to be taking the same rout we are, that's all."

"Ah yes." Alana agreed with a dry tone and short nod. "They have been taking the last five routs, just like ourselves. Just a coincidence, I am quite sure."

Before Ashes could retort, a blast shook the building, one which originated from the light just up ahead. "What the…?" the five warriors exclaimed at once before making a mad dash down the hallway. They all filed into the room in time to see Toki get thrown across the room by a very angry Dark, who was charging after him with his blazing sword held ready. On the other side of the room, LK was being forced back by Tenshi, through the clever mix of ice daggers and staff thrusts.

"Toki! What are you doing!" Maboroshi exclaimed, watching the fight in a mix of shock, confusion, and anger.

"Hey!" Kaze yelled at Knightcon, taking a few steps forward. "Get away from her, you…"

A loud shriek cut off her insult. A shriek that got extensively louder by the second. Before anyone could pinpoint the source, Kaze felt herself being knocked over by something going at a very rapid pace. That something fell on top of her. Also, that something was the source of the screams. "DEMON!!!!!!" it screamed. "Ashes, look!" The strange girl (Kaze identified her gender by the high pitch of her frantic voice) grabbed the already ticked off Guardian by her hair and raised her head to look up at the doorway. "A DEMON!!!!!"

Standing in the doorway was Akumu, his silver eyes showing his annoyance by her insulting implication. "I am not a demon." he muttered.

"GET OFF OF ME!!!" Kaze yelled, pushing JC, rather ruffly, off of her.

The young elf/human fell back in shock, her gray and blue eyes widening as she pointed at Kaze in a surprised confusion. "Hey wait, you're not Ashes…"

"Well duh!" the miffed Guardian hissed. "I am not, but you were too stupid to realize that while RUNNING ME OVER AND TRYING TO PULL OUT MY HAIR!!! AND TO TOP IT OFF, YOU INSULT MY BROTHER!!!!!!"

"Your brother?" JC asked as she stood, not liking being yelled at. A snide look over took her confused one as she crossed her arms. "I guess that makes you a demon too. You certainly are ugly enough. Rather scary, even."

"How dare you insult my sister, you baka hentai!" Watatsumi said, slapping JC hard across the face.

That earned her a slap from Ashes, who was coming to her friend's defense. "Don't hit her!"

Watatsumi lunged at the unprepared girl, knocking her to the ground and pinning her down before starting a furious stream of punches. "AND THIS IS FOR FOLLOWING US, YOU CREEPY THING!"

"Ashes!" JC and Alana cried, but neither were able to help, because at that moment, Kaze fired an energy blast, hitting JC and sending her flying across the room, while Alana was knocked to the side by an attack from the silent Maboroshi. Akumu had gone to help Toki, which in return, brought a now rather enraged Dawn into the fight.

It was official: all hell had broken loose. Once JC had recovered from hitting the wall, her powers flared into a dark blue and silver aura; she sent a rain of poisoned darts at Kaze, who managed to dodge and/or block all of them before meeting JC's charge head on. Alana and Maboroshi fought hand-to-hand, but somehow managed to switch partners with LK and Tenshi, so that Alana was fighting Tenshi and LK was fighting Maboroshi. Ashes and Watatsumi were locked in an all out cat fight, pulling hair and scratching faces and ripping their clothes and doing Lord knows what else to one another. Dark and Toki were royally beating the crap out of one another; both were bloody and bruised. Their clothes were ripped to the point of being unrepairable, and their weapons were dented, close to breaking altogether.

Akumu knocked Dawn into Alana, forcing both of them into a wall. A blast to his side caught his attention; he turned to see Kaze fly back into the balcony railing with JC not too far behind, holding a glowing katana ready for the kill. He looked back at his opponent, seeing she was quite busy dealing with Tenshi at the moment, and decided to go help his sister. He flew up behind the unsuspecting elf and slammed his elbow into her back, sending her into the wooden table with a startled cry. The table broke from the force of the impact.

JC lifted herself up onto all fours, coughing up blood and causing her now extremely sour midsection to throb in pain from the exertion. She had not seen that attack coming, not even sensed it, which unnerved her greatly. The young half-breed's mind was cloudy from getting the air knocked out of her so rudely. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and turned over to see who had attacked her. A strong fear gripped her heart when she saw who it was. Once again, those intense silver eyes bored into her with an alarmingly hard gaze. It was too much for her to handle. She screamed again. "DEMON!!!"

Akumu gave her a strange look when she screamed, getting rather tired of being called that. "I am not a…." But before he could finish his sentence, a dart hit him in the shoulder. He looked at it in indifference, than back down at JC, who was scrambling to get off of the table, then at the dart again. "Pathetic." he muttered, taking hold of the dart. Suddenly and without warning, his body grew weak with fatigue. "What the…." He looked at the dart again and sniffed it; his eyes widened. "Damn…sleeping powder." Once said, the eldest Guardian closed his eyes as sleep forcefully took him captive.

"Akumu!" Kaze screamed, souring down to catch her brother as he fell. She laid him on the broken table, then glared up at JC's retreating form. Powering up again, she charged and tackled the elf from behind, resuming their fight.

Ashes sank her fangs into Watatsumi's arm, causing the girl to real back in pain. The black-haired Guardian retaliated by slamming the butt end of her staff repeatedly against the base of Ashes' head, dislodging the fangs while sending Ashes into the dark prisons of unconsciousness. As her opponent fell, Watatsumi stood up and glared at her, then looked at her bleeding arm. "Sicko." she muttered before grabbing her staff. Before she went to help one of the others, Watatsumi forcefully kicked Ashes in the side. "Next time, think about who it is you are facing before attacking, amateur."

Dawn backed away with a cry of pain as she clutched her damaged wing. Tenshi advanced on her but was caught off guard by Alana, who jumped in front of the hurt angel woman and opened her hand, palm out, releasing a surge of vines, which wrapped tightly around the black-eyed warrior. The vines tightened, making her drop the staff and stagger back. "You brat!" she screamed, struggling to break free.

Alana grinned. "You should never advance on a weaker enemy, especially when they are hurt. What kind of honor do you have, girl? If any at all?"

"She has plenty, wench!" Watatsumi screamed as she rammed her shoulder into Alana, sending the unsuspecting elf into the wall.

Maboroshi blocked a low cut from LK, then twisted and blocked a higher slice to the midsection. He powered up and shot a blazing white shock wave from his fist, knocking LK back but not stopping the red-eyed warrior. This attack only angered him more. The young Guard charged forward, slicing the air in front of Maboroshi, sending an energy attack with it, which threw the Guardian across the hard floor and into the wall on the other side.

Dark spun sharply, bringing his blade around with him. His attack hit its mark, slicing down Toki's forearm and continuing to his side. The gray-eyed teen staggered back in surprise. He gingerly touched the wound, sending waves of sharp pain through his body. His heavy breathing also pained his new side wound; with each breath, more blood poured from it, staining his black kimono. With complete loathing in his eyes, Toki looked up at Dark, seeing his opponent just as tired as he was.

"Giving up already?" Dark taunted between labored breaths.

"Not even close." Toki growled, holding his staff with his left hand, ready for the attack. The two opponents charged once more, ready to fight to the death no matter what. Both were driven with anger and hatred, two powerful forces that, when combined, could not be stopped by anything. Well, almost anything.

"SILENCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" A loud, booming voice filled the room. A strange power overtook each occupant, freezing them in place with invisible bonds. Though they tried to struggle, not one could move. From the door way came a powerful figure surrounded by a dark green, almost black glow. "Silence."

THE END!!!